PRINCIPLE 8: RECOGNIZE PEOPLE’S INFLUENCE ON VISION

Proverbs chapter 29







Today we are walking in: Recognize People’s Influence on 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.




Principle #8:




Recognize People’s Influence on Vision




When you begin to act on your vision, it will stir up both those who want to help you and those who want to hinder you.




Principle number eight is that we must recognize people’s influence on our visions. We need other people if we are going to be successful in life because, as I emphasized earlier, we were not created to fulfill our visions alone. As a matter of fact, Yah specifically said about His first human creation, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). We need people to make it in life. Again, individual purpose is always fulfilled within a larger or corporate purpose. Therefore, it’s important that we work with others in making our visions a reality.




Remember that Nehemiah reported, “Then I said to [the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, and others], ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace’” (Nehemiah 2:17, emphasis added). Nehemiah was the one who had received the vision, but he had to go to other people to help him get it done. For any vision that you have, Yah has people prepared to work with you, and they will be a blessing to you.




There will always be a need for positive people in your life. When I went to college, I had a dream to get my degree, and there were people who already had been set apart to help me get through it. Some of them helped me academically, others financially, others with encouragement in my spiritual walk. When you have a dream, that’s the way it works. People will always be there, waiting to help you. Therefore, if you have no dream, or if you do not begin to act on it, the people who are supposed to help you won’t know where to find you.




The principle of influence has a twofold application, however, because people can have a negative effect on us as well as a positive one. When you begin to act on your vision, it will stir up both those who want to help you and those who want to hinder you.




The Law of Association




The law of association states that you become like those with whom you spend time. We often underestimate others’ influence in our lives. There are two words that most accurately describe influence: powerful and subtle. Often, you don’t know you’re being influenced until it is too late. Whether you realize it or not, however, the influence of those you spend time with has a powerful effect on how you will end up in life, on whether you will succeed or fail.




What we call peer pressure is simply this: people with whom we associate exercising their influence on us, trying to direct our lives in the way they want them to go. We should stop telling young people that they alone have peer pressure. Adults have it, too. They find it hard to disregard other people’s opinions. There are people who are sixty, seventy, and eighty years old who give in to peer pressure; almost everyone is affected by it.




You must be careful whom you allow to influence you because your vision will be either encouraged or destroyed by others. There are two kinds of people in this world: those who are with you and those who are against you. I have learned that people have the potential to create your environment. Your environment then determines your mind-set, and your mind-set determines your future. Therefore, you must choose your friends wisely, selecting those who are with you and not against you. Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.




Questions of Influence




You should generally choose friends who are going in the same direction you are and who want to obtain the same things you do, so you can reinforce one another. In light of this truth, I want you to ask yourself three questions. First, “With whom am I spending time?” Who are your closest friends; who are the people you are confiding in?




Second, “What are these people doing to me?” In other words, what do they have you listening to, reading, thinking, doing? Where do they have you going? What do they have you saying? How do they have you feeling? What do they have you settling for? That last one is an important one, because your friends can make you comfortable in your misery. Most important, what is being around these people causing you to become? Solomon said, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20). The New King James Version reads, “The companion of fools will be destroyed.” My version of this maxim is, “If you want to be a success, don’t keep company with those who aren’t going anywhere in life.”




For example, if you associate with people who spend more money than they make, the chances are high that you also will spend more than you make. A friend may say, “That new dress came in, and that’s the latest style. You should get it,” when you know you can’t afford it. When she says, “I have mine; do you have yours yet?” you really feel pressured. Another friend may say, “I traded my car in for a brand new one. You should do the same thing. You have to look right, you know.” The result is that you’re knocked right off your goals—your payments are so high that you can’t save money anymore. Don’t let anyone throw you off course any longer. Decide for yourself, “What are my goals and plans?” and don’t let others influence you to deny them.




Third, ask yourself, “Is what other people are doing to me a good thing in relation to my vision?” When you start telling people where you’re going to go and what you’re going to do, they may (even unconsciously) begin to say things to try to hinder your dream.




You need to ask and answer these three questions for yourself truthfully—and regularly—as you progress toward your vision.




Vision Wakes Up Opposition




Nehemiah 4:1 says, “When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed.” People of vision have found that the minute they decide to fulfill their dreams, all their enemies seem to wake up. Again, as long as you’re not doing anything about your vision, no one will bother you. If you start to move toward your vision, however, opposition arises.




For example, suppose you have been a secretary for twenty years, and everybody thinks you’re content in your job. One day you decide, “I’m going back to school.” When your friends ask you why, you say, “I’m going to get a master’s degree in computer science because I want to head a computer company someday.” Suddenly, your friends seem to become your enemies. They ask, “Who do you think you are?” or “Do you know how old you are?” or “Do you realize your brain can’t handle studying anymore?” or “Who do you think will become your clients?” By the time they finish, you feel like settling down and becoming a secretary again.




It is an interesting phenomenon that certain people will become angry when you step out and start to do something that they have never done. Friends and associates don’t want you to break out of your situation because they don’t want you to leave them behind. You need to get used to the idea that people may gossip about you and treat you with malice because of your vision. It’s all part of the process! It is often proof that you’re really doing something with your life.




Napoleon Hill wrote a great book called Think and Grow Rich. From the title, some people might not think this is an appropriate book for believers to read, but it actually contains many of the principles of the Word of Yah. Hill made a statement that has really stuck with me:




The majority of people permit relatives, friends, and the public at large to so influence them that they cannot live their own lives, because they fear criticism....Countless numbers of men and women, both young and old, permit relatives to wreck their lives in the name of duty, because they fear criticism.*




That is a powerful statement. Sad to say, sometimes the people who are the most detrimental to the fulfillment of your vision are members of your own family. Some family members may be extremely supportive, but others may not be. This is because they have lived with you for such a long time that they think they know who you are, so they try to talk you out of all your dreams. Your mother may say, “You’d better stay at your job. It’s secure, and it has benefits.” Your cousin may say, “What are you leaving your job for? That’s good money.” These are forms of attacks on your vision, even if they are well- intentioned. By the time your family has finished telling you all the reasons you shouldn’t follow your dreams, you want to give up on them. In your heart, however, you still have the desire to fulfill them, so you end up frustrated and suffering from things such as high blood pressure.




The potential for negative influences from family members in regard to vision is probably the reason why the Lord told Abraham, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). The Scripture doesn’t say that Abraham’s wife was present at the time, which was probably a good thing. Remember that, later on, Sarah laughed with unbelief when Yah said she would have a child. (See Genesis 18:1–15.) Joseph also had to leave his family before he could become what was essentially prime minister of Egypt.




Sometimes, we need to pull away from the influence of even those we love if we’re going to follow our Yah-given visions. Many people want you to be what they want you to be, not what you were born to be, and often they end up limiting you. For example, a family member may say, “I know you—you’re just like your mother. She never had any business sense. What do you mean you’re going to open a store?”




When you step outside what others expect you to be, they begin to see you as a problem. However, people who change the world have declared independence from other people’s expectations. That’s what makes them successful. Even if people lie about you or start rumors about you, keep your eyes on the mark, continue working, and keep on building. Your passion has to be more powerful than the opposition of those around you. You must be clear about what you’re going to do and persevere in doing it.




Nehemiah faced this very situation. In Nehemiah 4:2, we read,




And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, [Sanballat] said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble?”




Look at the questions Sanballat was asking. When people are angry, they ask questions to discourage you. Verse three says, “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, ‘What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!’” In other words, “Don’t worry about them. This isn’t going to work. It will soon come to nothing.” Have you ever heard that before? “Oh, don’t worry about that new business. It will last only a couple of months before it folds.” That attitude is what I call the “Tobiah Syndrome.” When someone says something like that to you, just keep moving forward with your vision.




The reason some people may begin to hate you when you pursue your vision is that you are exposing their own lack of vision. There are toxic people in the world, and they will pollute your whole life if you let them. They will tell you things such as the following: “You can’t do that.” “You don’t have enough education.” “You’re too young.” “You’re too old.” “You don’t have the right background.” “You don’t have the right connections.” They continually talk in this way. My response to such people is this (essentially): “Leave me alone. I was born into my family, and I didn’t choose my brothers and sisters. However, I can choose my friends.”




In addressing the problems that come with the law of association, I have had to learn to do three things to protect my vision. The first is disassociation.