Get a Vision for Your Future!

so last Mother's Day as Pastor Adrien said we studied a woman who couldn't have children and but the Lord told her about this time next year you will be holding your son and she did and so I told you that your Miracle has a a a season attached to it or a time frame where you can expect it to an appointed time how about that and so last Sunday I reminded you that it's about that time and I just want to remind you again that it's about that time so today we're going to discuss very specifically how to get a vision for your future how to get a vision for your future you know there's different kinds of pain um and two in in specific are the pain of regret and the pain of discipline and how many know that if you will employ or engage or embrace the pain of discipline you will avoid the pain of regret and so that's a thought that I've really been meditating on in my own life recently and but once you've applied discipline you never have to live with regret so let's all go through the rest of this year without any regret can I get an amen right there amen so and the reason that all of you didn't clap is because the rest of you were thinking oh that means I'm going to have to have discipline I don't know about that that's going to hurt but not near as bad as the reget reget that you'll have if you don't use discipline so how many of you like me you're a fan of Christian chicken you like Chick-fil-A anybody yes I see those hands God's moving everywhere thank you for your honesty praise the Lord yeah and hav youever seen those cows and they say what do they say eat more chicken right what are they doing they're trying to put a vision in you for chicken because they don't want you eating beef but today we're going to talk about something a little different and it's have more Vision so we called the cows we had them to hold the sign so we could get a picture of them and we're going to talk about how to have more Vision so here's the first step in how to have more vision and it is number one you become what you behold you become what you behold let's just turn to your neighbor right now and say what are you looking at so Vision one way we could describe it is it's the sight of your mind it's the sight of your mind um so I want to encourage you today to imagine your future so vision is Imagining the future and you can imagine your future future any way that you want to but I want to encourage you to imagine it the way that God is telling you it's supposed to look so uh my one of my mentors and actually the man who led me to Jesus when I was 5 years old and then years later performed my marriage ceremony and and then 25 years after that did a vow renewal ceremony for my wife and I and he's still on my board of directors for our nonprofit that does work in India so this man has been a part of my life for a long long time and he says and his name is Jim Wiman he used to be Lefty right on the Gospel Bill show if you ever watch that and so he says that Vision defined is simply the way God said it's going to be maybe not the way it is maybe that's not the way it's ever been before but that's the way God said it's going to be that's Vision so I want you to imagine the way God said it's going to be and supposed to be for your life so if you want to see more increase in your life you have to see more increase in your life so again what are you looking at let's look we're gonna have Story Time with pastor Kevin this morning we're going to turn to Genesis chapter 20 or Chapter 30 and we're going to start reading at verse 35 now this is a a an unusual story but it's uh where the Chick-fil-A cows originated from from it's right here in scripture Genesis 30 and verse 25 as soon as Rachel had borne Joseph Rachel's husband Jacob said to his father-in-law laan so there's a family Dynamic going on here he said to his pa-in-law he said send me away that I may go to my own home and Country give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you that I may go for you know the service that I've given you but his father-in-law LA and said to him if I have found favor in your sight or if you love me son I have learned by the by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you so name your price name your wages and I'll give it to you and Jacob said to him you yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me for you had little before I came and it has increased abundantly I mean that's a good staff member right there and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have turned now when I shall provide now when shall I provide for my own household also and he said what shall I give you name your price and Jacob said You shall not give me anything if you will do this for me I will again pasture your flock and keep it I'll keep working for you but let me pass through all your flock today removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb and every spotted and speckled among the goats and they shall be my wages so my honesty will answer for me later when you come to look into into my wages with you everyone that's not spotted and speckled among the goats and black among the Lambs if fth me shall be counted as stolen and laben said good let it be as you have said in other words laan was like I know a good deal when I hear one I'm going to take you up on that this works to my advantage but then laan his father-in-law was sneaky he was a tightwad don't be a Laban that's where that word came from lame is anyway that's not true but that day laan removed from the male goats all that were striped and spotted and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted everyone that had white on it and every lamb that was black and he put them in charge of his sons and he set a three days distance Journey between him and Jacob and Jacob pastured laan's flock you see what he did there so Jose uh Jacob is saying only the spotted and speckled sheep will be mine and when they have babies the spotted spotted and speckled babies th those will be mine and Laban said cool and while they're sitting there negotiating his workers go back and they take all the spotted and speckled ones out of the flock so there's only solid ones left so it's impossible it's rigged in laan's favor and it's impossible for Jacob to come away with anything he's going to work and work and work and all these solid animals are going to create more solid animals but laan didn't know that if God before you it doesn't matter how they stack the deck against you how me know God knows how to make up stuff to his kids then Jacob this is what he did he got a strategy from the Lord verse 37 Jacob took fresh sticks of popper and almond and plain trees and peeled white streaks in them and exposed the white of the sticks and he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs that is the watering places where the flocks came to drink and when they bred when they came to drink the flocks bred in front of the s so that the flocks brought forth not solid like they were but striped and speckled and spotted Offspring and Jacob separated the Lambs and he set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black and the flock of laan but put his own droves apart and did not put them with laan's flocks he kept them separated he kept good records and whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding Jacob would lay the sticks and the TRS before the eye eyes of the flock that they might breed amongst the sticks but the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there so the feebler would be laan's his father-in-law's and the stronger would be Jacob's thus the man increased greatly had large flocks his business boomed and he had female servants and male servants he had lots of employees and he had camels and donkeys that means his garage was full so all the solid animals did something really unusual they produced spotted and speckled animals why because they they reproduced or they produced what they saw when they were breeding they were looking at those sticks that had spots and Speckles and stripes on them so they reproduced what they saw you become what you behold you become what you behold we produce what we see that's the way God designed us that's the way he wired us so you I'm going to read something from my notes here because I wrote it a very specific way you can change your mind you can change your life in other words unless you change your mind you're not GNA change your life but if you will change your mind and change what you see and you can do this very intentionally you can get spotted sticks if you will metaphorically and you can put them before your eyes so that that's what you reproduce so three three fast things here's number one if this will work for cows how many know it'll work for you Hallelujah number two this was God's idea and I want you to know that this strategy came from the Lord the Lord will also give you a strategy to produce in your life what you need and want what he said he has for you whether it's good health or whether it's additional wealth or whether it's quality relationships or a healthy happy marriage or whether it's having a child or whether it's getting your body in good shape or paying off your house or uh etc etc see what I'm saying so this is a strategy from the Lord and here's what I want you to see is that if it's a strategy from the Lord it still works right it still works you got to modify it for you how do I do that Pastor you just listen to what the Lord instructs you to do and do it that way I was I was showing my wife something in my journal yesterday and um I said I just need you to read this because how know sometimes you just need to be accountable to somebody I need you to read this because I had this devotion and I read the script scripture and the Lord spoke to me from the scripture and my prayer was Lord how do you want me to act on this scripture that you just showed me and he gave me ABC one two three and they were very very practical things Paula they were very practical they weren't you know like well you know just trust me son and it'll be all right it was just a do this B make sure that you don't do this and C be sure invest time here it was very very measurable specific things and how many know that if if I set the things before my eyes and I will do those things or be obedient to that strategy from the Lord I'm going to have results the title of my devotion that day was from good to great so I'm going to go from this level to another level I'm going to level up I'm already getting into next month's series I'm going to level up but how many you have to follow the instructions if you're going to level up and then C I want you to remember that Proverbs 23 and: 7 says as a man or as a woman thinks in their heart so are they so that you you can intentionally decide what you're going to think about and that's what you can bring about it'd be impossible to think sick thoughts and be healed but it'd also be impossible to think happy thoughts and be sad it'd be impossible to think Rich thoughts and be poor like that one couple they were they were so poor you're supposed to say how poor were they that's old didn't they know okay they were so poor that they they couldn't even pay attention I mean they were just poor they were poor and so they they knew though that if they surrounded themselves with a better atmosphere and with wealth and opulence they would become what they behold so they couldn't afford to stay at the real nice hotel in town but they'd go there on their date night and they'd sit in the lobby and they would order a cup of tea and they sit around and they would pretend like it was their living room and they would talk hang out and look at all this wealth and abundance and then they'd go home well guess what that that atmosphere got in them because you become what you behold and what you think about you bring about ain't that good and so there was a man who created a vision board he wanted a certain house he knew what he wanted it to look like and he hung it he put it in his on his vision board he put it down in the corner of his vision board well as life happens he moves moved he moved twice and then he got married how many know everything changes when you get married right and so he PID packed everything away multiple times and and then as time went by he had a child and he moved and and when they had their child uh they moved into this really nice house and he looked down as he was unpacking some boxes and he found his old vision board and he looked down in the corner of his vision board and he realized that's the house we just moved into what happened that that picture had gotten on the inside of him and he produced what he became what he beheld isn't that awesome and so uh when he uh when he got that image when he changed the image on the inside of him then he was able to bring about that image on the outside of him because what you think about you bring about that's why you got to think about what you're thinking about all right so turn to your neighbor one more time and say what you looking at what you look at all right I got a project for you got a homework assignment for you and maybe some of you have already done this and if so I want you to update it but I want you to create a vision book or a vision board that's what I brought up here just as a visual this is my vision book and I've pasted on the inside just different images of of various things so um there's my airplane and um and I don't have to own the airplane just need access to it I'd rather just somebody like I have a pastor I say pastor friend he's he's an older pastor and he's um an acquaintance of mine and and uh he's got a guy in his church and who came to him and said pastor he's he's down in Louisiana he said pastor uh anytime you need to go anywhere you just let me know I'll have the jet ready I just need at least 24 hours notice and uh the pastor was like um okay so that'd be all right I don't have to own a plane that's my favorite picture that's a crowd of people in India Hallelujah glory to God all right so you put images of things oh I got a funny one in here I'll show yall if I can find it real quick I know that's going to surprise y'all got a funny one oh you probably can't see that but see that muscle man so M my mama you know she's she's not here so I can talk about her she's probably listening though hi mom um she's uh she's about 80 I know she only looks like she's about 58 but but she we I took her shopping with me yesterday I said Mom I got to go buy some new shoes you want to come with me and so and then so anyway I was holding a pair of pants up you know how you do and see if these look good see if they'll fit and she said she patted my stomach she goes I don't understand you work out so much but you still got that tummy it's all right Mom I'm becoming what I behold I got my picture in here that's that that version of me ain't got that tummy he got sixpack abs right all right so I want you to create a vision board for yourself I want you to uh get pictures of places you'd like to go possessions you'd like to have the quality of relationships that you want the kind of health and the kind of body that you'd like to have projects or opportunities that you would like to have come your way because you become what you behold this is not the Law of Attraction this uh the law of attraction is just an ingredient in God's way of doing things it's not like well you know the universe no it's the God who created the universe we we go over the universe's head Let's uh I want to remind you remember in Genesis chap 11 when they decided they were going to build a tower all the way up to heaven and that's when all the languages were confused at the Tower of Babel or confusion and so that's what acts uh chapter 1 it says and when the Holy Spirit comes upon you you shall receive power to be a witness and on the day of Pentecost when it had fully come the Holy Spirit fell upon everybody that was in the room and there was the sat upon each of them divided clothing tongues of fire and they all were filled with the Holy Spirit and they all began to speak with tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance and so Pentecost was the Divine reversal of the curse of the Tower of Babel but because they had a unified speech in even in Old Testament in Genesis 11 in verse 6 in the Amplified it says now nothing they imagine in their hearts will be withheld from them wow nothing they Imagine One translation it says what nothing they imagine in their hearts will be withheld from them or inaccessible to them did you know that you have access to amazing things but the way you access it Enoch is through your imagination you got to imagine it it's time to dream again it's time to imagine some things not imagine the gloom and doom of oh my God my future no imagine jermiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you says the Lord I have plans in a future imagine that better brighter future it's time to dream again oh pastor but the economy how many know the kingdom goes exceeds the economy doesn't matter who's in the white house or who's in the ouse it matters who's on the throne and it's still God Almighty and you're his child so yeah the universe is conspiring together to bless you because the one who made the universe said this is this is why I made the universe to serve you he put the stars in the heavens for you you you talk like the whole universe revolves around us yes yes pretty much you know brother Andrew wck you ever heard of him and you can go on YouTube and watch him I recommend him say are you're one of those preachers I am I am well we think he's weird well he thinks you're weird so it's we're all even here right so he says that all the time well here's the deal is that he says that by using his Godly imagination that's what catap ulted him back around the year 2000 from being a Ministry of around a million dollars a year to now being a Ministry of over $200 million a year and of course the only reason we say money is because we have a concept of that but he went from having a little radio broadcast locally to having one nationally to now he's all over the world on TV on radio on the internet he sells books he has a Bible College he's had Bible colleges around the world he has has a base in Colorado Springs and he is training up ministers by the thousands he's H in other words he's having an eternal impact that is exponentially greater than what he had and and you ask him how he says the Lord encouraged me to start imagining imagining what it would look like if I was doing everything that he had called me to do now think about it if you were to imagine some negative things for long enough you'd probably end up doing them it works in the positive your imagination is one of the most powerful things that the Lord has given you here's here's number two today so he said you become what you behold number two is consistency is the key consistency is the key how many know those cows they did not miss a day they were consistent they looked at those sticks every day your life will begin to look like what you set before your eyes you ever heard that phrase your mind's eye what does that mean it talking about your imagination so you're not who you are today because of even yesterday but I think it's because because of who you were thinking about being 5 years ago you're living today who you imagined you'd be 5 years ago you're living today your thoughts of yesterday so change your thoughts you change your tomorrow change your mind change your life now is this is this um is this hard to do only if you think it is but I want to tell you that it's not hard but you do have to be intentional if you just relax and let your brain think about whatever it wants to think about it's not going to gravitate towards Godly wholesome prosperous healthy things you have to jerk your mind into the right direction right you have to take every thought captive change your thoughts change your life now anything that's beautiful how many of you like beautiful things anything beautiful has time connected to it anything beautiful has time connected to it like a nice beautiful manicured landscape lawn uh versus my yard don't spend any time in our yard um someone who has that sculpted body and abs they have spent time they didn't just you know wake up that way wouldn't that be nice but they you have to invest in the process okay in other words success there's a price for success and success will not be short changed you have to pay full price and it never goes on sale so if you want it you got to go get it but it's always worth more than what you paid oh man that's good Proverbs 29 and verse 18 says where there is no vision people perish so if you don't get a vision for your future you will perish you will not arrive where you want to you'll just arrive wherever you end up and you might not like it when you get there I asked my pastor when I was a teenager how do you know if and he goes well that's easy if it keeps people from perishing it's from the Lord because where there is no vision people perish but where there is a vision people don't perish they're saved so do you have an a vision for your business what did did you envision today for your business tomorrow what did you envision today for your family tomorrow what did you envision today for your health tomorrow what did you envision today for your um for your marriage tomorrow um you got to picture it you got to picture it picture this a better future now if I say dog does anybody see a dog in your mind now what if I say little white fluffy dog little white fluffy puppy with brown Speckles wagging his tail You Don't See words go across the screen of your mind you you Conjuring up an image that's how your brain works so you can tell your mind to bring up any it's an image generator you can tell it to bring up any image that you want it to bring up and you will begin to bring about what you think about proverbs 4 and verse 20 says Proverbs 4:20 says my son or my daughter everybody say that's me give attention that's a key phrase give attention all right hey hey give attention give attention to my words incline your ear listen up listen up that's what he's saying he's just being nice about it he's saying incline your ear but if he wrote it today he go hey pay attention listen up do not let them depart from what your eyes don't let God's word depart from your eyes keep them in the midst of your heart imagine what they look like if you're redeemed from poverty imagine what being redeemed from Poverty Looks like on you come on turn to your neighbor and say Prosperity looks good on you keep them in the midst of your heart why for they are life to those who find them and they are Health to their flesh come on turn to your other neighbor that you didn't like quite as much and say health looks good on you and then verse 23 says keep or guard your heart with all all diligence be diligent about this for out of it Springs the issues of life in other words be careful of what images you let your heart and your mind generate because your life your faith your spirit is going to bring that about in your life amen woo Glory man I could just medal right here but I imagine being married to a hot wife my gosh okay come back for family month we'll talk about that dreams how many know it's time to dream again dreams are like seeds if you plant it and water it and then dig it up what's going to happen nothing but if if you if you get distracted and you don't think about that Vision it's like digging it up out of the soil and preventing it from grow from growing you got to leave it planted in the soil of your faith the pastor has been so long it don't matter how long at the appointed time it will come but if you tend to it if you give attention to it if you hey hey pay attention listen up if you keep it before your eyes give attention to his words incline your ear if you nurture it if you take the time to actually visualize it use your [Music] imagination it will grow it will it will begin to develop like a photograph remember in the old dark rooms they developed it just takes how things develop in the dark it takes time it takes time to develop so you can see that image oh this is good PK I don't know how to nurture a vision yes you do everybody say yes you do yes you do let me tell you how I know you know it's the same as nursing a grudge and I know all of y'all have done that I mean me included I'm not saying you should do it but you know how to do it just natur naturally that's the same way you nurture the dream you nurture the vision every time it comes up you roll it over we call in the South we call it mulling it over right yeah mull it over you roll it over you meditate on it what they did to you you replay it in your mind you think about what you wish you would have said you picture the outcome and you allow yourself to feel it all over again feel it and you what are you doing you are nurturing that thing it's a habit like some of you have a habit of coming to prayer on Wednesday nights what are you doing you're nurturing different things you might still be struggling with nurturing the wrong things but you're at least trying to nurture the right things cuz if you nurture the right things long enough it'll choke out those bad things oh and by the way this coming Wednesday night the state the Alabama state director of Alabama for the National Day of Prayer is going to be in prayer with us this Wednesday night Shere love it she attends church just right up the road here and she is a Holy Ghost woman of God and she's my friend she's awesome so come and experience Shere love it the holy ghost in her she's awesome you don't want to miss prayer this Wednesday night so in other words meditate on it take your vision your dream meditate on it uh picture it replay it over in your mind until it gets clearer and you you work out some of the details of what you want your future to actually look and then here's here's the third thing today is I want you to let yourself feel it let yourself feel it what am I going to feel like when that baby comes got to be so excited oh can't wait can't wait go ahead and feel it now let yourself feel it oh what am I going to feel like when I look in the mirror and I'm like oh there they are one two three four okay four that'll work that'll work keep it realistic now four is better than one but no you said let yourself feel it let yourself feel it I mean Adrian you can go ahead and feel what it's going to feel like when I got four pack abs go ahead and feel it Psalms 34 July family month you don't want to miss that it might be rated to PG-13 but we're GNA have fun Psalm chapter 34 and verse 4 says I sought the Lord and he heard me and he delivered me from all my fears well how did he do that Pastor well he gave me instructions and I followed them and because I followed his instructions I didn't end up where my fears were taking me I ended up where my faith was taking me verse five they looked to him and were radiant they weren't paying attention to the circumstances they weren't paying attention to the na ERS they weren't paying attention to their symptoms they weren't paying attention to the economy they weren't paying attention to the Democrats or the Republicans or CNN or a fox they were paying attention to the alternative news source of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and because they looked to the Lord they were radiant radiant like like that Disney movie I'm so shy so when you get to your future I'm going to prophesy to you today online prophesy to you when you get to your future you're not going to be ashamed either you're going to be shiny so here's your call to action today take some time this week deciding what you want your future to look like and then ask the Lord for it and then find images or pictures that represent those things decide ask imagine image and then look at it every day just like those cows did because you become what you behold put it on your mirror put it in your vision book put it in your on your vision board and then don't forget to feel it let yourself feel it feel it just imagine that future then go what am I going to feel like when that happens oh and just go ahead and feel it you got to wheel it deal it and feel it last verse habach chapter 2 habach chapter 2 when I was a kid I thought it was the book of tobacco I thought that's a funny book in the Bible Pastor said turn to the book of tobacco chapter 2 and they're going to put it up on the screen for you so I can read it it says then the Lord answered and said write the vision and make it plain on tablets that he may run who reads it that's what I'm telling you to do today amen write it down write it down so you can see it you can feel it you can imagine it you can inform yourself you can form on the inside of you all right so it's time to dream again today we've been talking about how to get a vision for the future we said you become what you behold we said that consistency is the key and we said you imagine it and you feel it you feel it picture it and feel it now if this spoke to you today will you just raise your hand wave at me let me let me know because I want to pray for you all right let's pray right now online join us as we pray father in Jesus name we all come boldly before your throne of grace and we thank you for giving us the power of imagination of Imagining the future that we believe you have for us and we know what future you have for us because you told us in your word and you said that that future is bright and so Lord I just bless the dreams and the vision of those these your people and I believe that you're stirring up again you're opening up again the wells of imagination on the inside of them to picture the future and the destiny that you have for them we thank you for it in Jesus name now if you'll just keep your head bowed and your eyes closed if you've never made Jesus the Lord of your life we want to just pray for you right now if you'll say Pastor I want to make Jesus my Lord or I want to get right with God today would you just raise your hand let me know who I'm praying for today say hey Pastor include me in that prayer awesome God bless you awesome God bless you yeah wonderful good online if you'll just say that's me type that down in the comments we'll know that you're saying Hey I want to recommit my life to Christ or you can just type it in the comments I'm recommitting my life to Christ today and as we pray right now would you just all join me together Harvest Church let's pray with those who raised their hand and those online that are making a fresh commitment to Christ today come on let's all say it together say dear heavenly father I Repent of my sin and I Call On Jesus who died for my sin but on the third day you raised him from the dead and I say Jesus you are my Lord From This Day Forward I'm all yours now fill me with your spirit right here on Pentecost Sunday fill me with your spirit and give me power to be a witness and live this new life in jesus' name amen amen can we just Rejoice with those who just prayed that prayer as Pastor Adrien comes to close out our service today we're grateful for the Holy Spirit we're grateful for those of you who just made that commitment I'm so proud of you you've made a good Choice amen are you just so encouraged by the word today oh my goodness it is time to dream again and you know as we were just sitting there and and realizing people just made decisions to dream again and to start with giving their heart to the Lord and if that's you they're going to put a Connect card up on the screen behind me and we want to connect with you Pastor Kevin's is going to be back at the welcome center today he wants to personally and I'm going to be back there with him we want to personally meet you and like just welcome you to the family of God and to this church family because we are truly better together and I know that's kind of overused and said all the time but it's just true we need each other we are the body of Christ and we just do you function better when all your body parts are are are working properly and and connected and so we just want to connect with you so please join us back there we've got a gift for you it's actually a tumbler a really cool tumbler you could use it's useful for you through the week and um it can just help remind you of what God has done in your heart today and also this this uh Wednesday pastor Kevin talked about it prayers at 6 following Jesus's at 7:07 and uh so we cannot wait to meet you come and uh see us at the welcome at the Welcome Center and you are are dismissed [Music]

Channel: Harvest Church

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Length: 41min 32sec (2492 seconds)

Published: Mon May 20 2024