THE SOURCE OF VISION

Proverbs chapter 29










Today we are walking in: The Source of Vision













Habakkuk 2:2




And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, ​ and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.








VISION








Today we look to the word​ VISION- H2377 chazown- vision(in ecstatic state)​, vision​s​ (in night)​, oracle, prophecy (divine communication)​, vision (as title of book of prophecy)​ ​from H2372; a sight (mentally), i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle:—vision. to see, perceive, look, behold, prophesy, provide​, ​to see, behold​, to see as a seer in the ecstatic state​, to see, perceive with the intelligence​, to see (by experience)​, to provide









The Torah testifies........




Numbers 24:4




He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw ​ the vision H2377 of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:




Numbers 24:16




He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw ​the vision H2377 of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:









The prophets proclaim.........

1​ ​Samuel 3:1




And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days;there was no open vision H2377. ​





Jeremiah 14:14




Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision H2377 ​ and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.








The writings bear witness.........




1​ ​Chronicles 17:15




According to all these words, and according to all this vision H2377, ​so did Nathan speak unto David.





Psalm 89:19




Then thou spakest in vision ​H2377 to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.







The Source of Vision




Vision is foresight with insight based on hindsight.

The first step to fulfilling your reason for existence is realizing that you have been given a vision. Yet how exactly do you receive, recognize, and activate your vision? When you understand the source of vision, you will learn the secrets to its origin and working in your life. This knowledge will help you take your dream from initial idea all the way to fulfillment.




Vision Comes from Purpose




The first key to understanding vision is to realize that it always emanates from purpose. Why? Yah is the Author of vision, and it is His nature to be purposeful in everything He does. Every time He appeared on the scene in human history, it was because He wanted something specific accomplished and was actively working it out through people’s lives.




Therefore, Yah is a Yah of action based on purpose. Moreover, His purposes are eternal. Psalm 33:11 says, “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations,” and Isaiah 14:24 says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’” Nothing can get in the way of Yah’s purposes; they always come to pass.




Yah Created You with a Purpose




Second, we must understand that Yah created everything to fulfill a purpose in life. Whether we are talking about a mammal, reptile, plant, star, or person, everything and everyone Yah created serves a unique purpose. That includes you. You may have been a surprise to your parents, but you were not a surprise to Yah; He has given you a special purpose to fulfill. The Scriptures say you were chosen in Him before the world began. (See Ephesians 1:4–5.) Yah planned in advance all that you were born to be and accomplish.




I am continually positive about life because I know that Yah created me for a purpose and that He will bring that purpose to pass. I believe that I’m not a mistake, and I know that my life is significant. Yah created me to do something, and no one else can do it for me. Do you believe that about yourself? Do you know that your life has a purpose? I hope you will become more and more confident of this truth as you progress through this book.




You Were Born at the Right Time




In the book of Ecclesiastes, we read about the revelation of Yah’s purposes to the hearts of humankind. The third chapter begins, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 nkjv). Yah has not only given you a purpose, but, according to this Scripture, He has also determined the time for that purpose to be accomplished. There is “a time for every purpose.” Whatever you were born to do, Yah has assigned a season in which it is to be done—and that season is the duration of your life. Do you see why it is crucial for you to know the vision that is in your heart? Your purpose can be fulfilled only during the time you are given on earth to accomplish it.




Within this season called life, Yah has also appointed specific times for portions of your purpose to be accomplished. As you pursue the dream Yah has given you, He will bring it to fruition during the period of your life when it is meant to be completed. As Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”




Some people wish they had been born during a different time in history. Yet if you had been born a thousand years ago, or even a hundred years ago, you would have been miserable because you would have been living in the wrong time to complete your purpose and vision. Yah chose when and where you were born for a reason. You didn’t just show up on earth. Ecclesiastes 3:2 says that there is “a time to be born.” You were born at the right time to accomplish your vision during your generation.




You Were Given a Sense of Purpose




Ecclesiastes 3:10 says, “I have seen the burden Yah has laid on men.” The word “burden” in the Hebrew could actually be translated as “a heavy responsibility,” “occupation,” or “task.” It could also be described as a “responsible urge.” Every human being comes to earth with a purpose that, in a sense, weighs on him. Whether you are twenty, sixty, or ninety years old, there is a burden within you, a “responsible urge” to carry out all that you were designed to do. It is a cry of the heart—a cry of purpose that says, “I was born to do something that I must fulfill.”




Do you sense that cry? Do you feel that you were born to do something with your life? Almost everybody does, even if they have never expressed it. That feeling, longing, or burden comes from Yah. Yah has placed a “responsible urge” on your heart because of His purpose for you.




Yah Placed His Eternal Purpose in Your Heart




In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we read, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” That is a powerful statement. There is something within you that is being called by eternity. Unless we have turned a deaf ear to it, then every day we wake up hearing a call that comes from outside this world. We live in time and space, but time and space are connected to eternity, and Yah has put something into your heart that calls the unseen into the seen.




The vision Yah has put in your heart is “a piece of eternity” that He gave you to deliver in time and space—that is, on the earth during your lifetime. What Yah put into your heart is also what is in His own heart. I think this is what the Bible means when it talks about “deep calling unto deep.” (See Psalm 42:7.) Therefore, Yah has done something awesome. He lives in eternity, yet He has specifically placed you in time so that others on earth will be able to see a piece of eternity that is in Him.




It is this piece of eternity that makes you uncomfortable or dissatisfied with your present life because you are not yet manifesting your purpose.




Your Purpose Is Already Completed in Yah




The third key to understanding vision is realizing that not only has your purpose been given to you to manifest, but it has also been completed in eternity. The following passage entirely changed my perspective on the fulfillment of vision:




I am Yah, and there is no other; I am Yah, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.(Isaiah 46:9–10)




In this Scripture, Yah mentions two things that He does. First, He establishes the end before the beginning. This means that He finishes things first in the spiritual realm, and then He goes back and starts them up in the physical realm. Second, He reveals the end result of something when it is just beginning.




I have noticed in the Scriptures the principle that purpose is established before production. In other words, Yah first institutes a purpose, then He creates someone or something to fulfill that purpose. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. We often don’t recognize the fact that when Yah starts something, He has already completed it in eternity. “Yet they cannot fathom what Yah has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We need to remember His order of working: He first tells us what the end of the matter is to be, and then He backs up and begins the process of fulfilling that end—just as a builder first develops an idea and a blueprint and then starts building.




We can see this principle in Creation. Everything was already finished in Yah’s mind before He laid the foundation of the world. After He had imagined and planned how He wanted everything to be, then He initiated the beginning by creating the heavens, the earth, and humankind. In the book of Genesis, which means “origin” or “source,” we are really reading about the start-up of the project called “earth.” Those of you who are involved in project management know that start-up is a significant step in the process of building. When you reach the start-up phase, it means that you have all the plans drawn, all the physical resources in place, and all the management resources in order. Before you start a project, all these things must be in place. Only then can you begin.




When do you start building a house? Is it when you dig the foundation? Essentially, you begin building whenever the idea for the house is conceived. The finished house is still in the unseen; other people pass by the property, and they don’t see it. However, to you, who understand and know what is going to happen, the house is already finished. Digging the foundation is simply the beginning of bringing your purpose to pass. Therefore, after you dig the foundation, and somebody asks you, “What are you doing?” your answer is very definite. You point to the architect’s rendering of the house and say, “I am building this.”




There is a street near where I live and at one time, there was a parking lot there. One day when I was driving along that street, I saw a large sign with a beautifully painted picture of a building. There was no building on the site yet, but there was a big sign and the name of the building. It showed the landscape, the color of the building, the windows, everything; it was a very detailed picture of what the completed building would look like. The sign said, “Coming soon.”




I drove past the lot and sensed Yah saying to me, “Did you see that?” I said, “See what?” He said, “Did you see the finish?” So I turned my car around and went back to take a closer look at the sign. By showing the completed picture of the building, the construction company was revealing the end of its purpose. To have vision means to see something coming into view as if it were already there. The company had a vision for that building because it saw the finished product before construction had even begun.




Yah essentially completed us before He created us. Not only does He establish our ends, but He also gives us glimpses of them through the visions He puts in our hearts. We must pay attention to His work within us so that we will be able to understand more of what He “has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).




Your Beginning Is Proof of Your Completion




Yah wants you to “see” the completion of your vision by knowing that He already planned and established it before you were born. The fact that you were started is proof that you are already completed because Yah always finishes before He starts and accomplishes His purposes. Therefore, instead of striving to fulfill what Yah has given you to do, you can rely on Him to finish it as you allow Him to guide you in the specifics of carrying it out.




For example, as I move forward in the development of Fiveamprayer Ministries, I am not trying to “finish” it. Yah has already completed a world-class center for leadership training in all its facets. He finished it in eternity, and now He is bringing it to pass. He purposed it, and then He backed up and said, “Now let me go to a little city in Mississippi and prompt a young woman who lives in a house in a family of eleven kids so she can start the process of completing the vision.” The process is Yah’s way of preparing me and those involved in Fiveamprayer for the end result.




You are not an experiment. Yah wouldn’t have allowed you to start your life and your purpose unless they were already completed in eternity. You were born to manifest something that is already finished. You must realize, however, that your end doesn’t look anything like your beginning—or like any other point in the process, for that matter. This is why you must live by faith, looking forward with expectation for what Yah has already completed; otherwise, you will believe only what you see with your physical eyes rather than the vision you see in your heart.




At this point, I want to clarify the difference between purpose and vision. Purpose is the intent for which Yah created you, the reason why you were born. Purpose is what Yah has already decided in His own mind that you’re supposed to begin to fulfill. Therefore,

purpose is when you know and understand what you were born to accomplish, and vision is when you can see it in your mind by faith and begin to imagine it.




When you are able to see your purpose, your vision comes to life.




I like this definition: “Vision is foresight with insight based on hindsight.” We have insight into Yah’s purpose for us based on what we know Yah has already accomplished in eternity. Vision is a glimpse of our future that Yah has purposed. We don’t know all the details of how our purposes will unfold, but we see their “ends” because Yah reveals them to us in the visions He gives us. This is why we can be confident that they will come to pass.




Suppose you don’t have the money you need to fulfill your vision. Yah says to you, in effect, “I’ve already been where you are going, and you will have everything you need.” He tells us that our visions will be completed, and this is what gives us courage and keeps us from being depressed when things don’t look as if they will work out.




You Were Designed Perfectly to Complete Your Purpose




When Yah created you with a purpose, He also designed you perfectly to be able to fulfill it. This means He wired you in a specific way so that you would have all the essential components necessary for fulfilling the vision He gave you. You never have to worry if you are able to fulfill your life’s vision. The fact that you were created to complete it means that you have everything you need to accomplish it. Yah always gives us the ability to do whatever He calls us to do.