EMPLOY THE PROVISION OF VISION

Luke chapter 12













Today we are walking: Employ the Provision 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.






Principle #9:

Employ the Provision of Vision




Yah designed every purpose with its own prosperity.







Principle number nine is that we must understand the power of provision. People often stop dreaming about what they really want to do in life because they know they have few resources with which to do it. They believe they have to pay for their visions with their present incomes when they can barely make ends meet as it is. Similarly, when young people tell their parents what they dream of becoming, the parents often become nervous because they feel their children’s dreams are too big for them to finance.







Whatever Yah Purposes, He Provides For







If we believe that we have to use our own resources to accomplish Yah-given visions, then we are small dreamers. I want to encourage you that the Bible is very clear concerning the dreams and plans that are in our hearts and how they are meant to be provided for. Proverbs 16:1 says, “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.” This statement has to do with provision. Whenever a person receives a dream from Yah, it usually seems impossible. Yet Yah knows that our provisions are never equal to our visions at the moment we receive them. He realizes that we cannot explain to others—or even ourselves—how we are going to accomplish our visions without the necessary money, people, facilities, or equipment. He knows that often our dreams are big and our bank accounts are small. What is His solution for us? He says that He will give the answer or “reply of the tongue.”







Yah’s will for our lives comes from His own will. That’s why He says it is our job to understand, believe, and write down our visions while it is His responsibility to explain how He’s going to accomplish them in His own time. That frees us to be creative and productive in pursuing our visions. Therefore, if people ask you how you are going to accomplish your dream, you don’t have to try to give them a full answer. Tell them you are trusting Yah for provision each step of the way. Then let Yah explain to them how it is going to be done. Purpose is your responsibility. Provision is Yah’s responsibility.










Vision and Provision Go Together










Perhaps your dreams are so big they almost frighten you. You don’t see how they could ever come to pass. Let me assure you that your initial apprehension is normal. Yah often gives us dreams that confound us at first because He wants to make sure we don’t attempt to fulfill them apart from Him. If we try to do so, we won’t succeed, because the resources won’t be available.










Many people who are doing something significant for Yah in the world are doing it without their own resources because Yah doesn’t want us to depend on our own abilities. Instead, He wants us to be obedient by putting the vision on paper and then looking to Him to generate the funds and other resources that are needed to support His own work.













Rest assured that Yah will never give you a vision without provision. The ability and resources are available for whatever you were born to do. Your provision, however, is usually hidden until you act on your vision. Whatever you were born to do attracts what you need to do it. Therefore, you first have to establish what you want to do, and begin to do it, before the need can be met. Most of us work in reverse. We like to see the provisions before we start, but faith doesn’t work that way. When we take action, then Yah manifests the provision.










I want to show you proof that everything you need has been provided for you already. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the Yah and Father of our Lord Yahusha Hamachiach, who has [already] blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Hamachiach” (emphasis added). Yah has already blessed you with everything you need. Where is it? It is in the heavenly realms, the spiritual world. Verse four starts out with the word “For....” When we see that word, we understand that, because of the truth of verse four, verse three is a reality: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.”













Yah already prepared everything you would need before He created you so that you could do what you were born to do. He knew what you needed because He chose you for your vision a long time ago. Yah tells us we don’t have to worry about our provision because He has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Worry is the greatest sign of doubt in Yah. If He can put Pharaoh’s money into the pockets of the Israelites and take His people into the wilderness loaded down with the gold of the enemy, do you think He can’t provide for your needs?










Misconceptions of Prosperity










Prosperity as Excess













One of the reasons we have trouble understanding how Yah will provide for our visions is that we have a false view of prosperity. We think prosperity means excess, and that is why we worry when we don’t already have money in the bank to fund our visions.










Further, our concept of prosperity is more like hoarding. In the Bible, hoarding is referred to as gluttony. A person can be gluttonous even when he has no money or food. Gluttony is a state of mind in which a person never feels he has enough to satisfy him.










Whatever you hoard will begin to destroy you. When we eat more than we need, it becomes a problem called excess weight. That weight causes pressure on the heart. Our arteries begin to clog up, putting us in danger of stroke, all because we loaded up on excess food.










The Bible says that people who have excess money have many burdens, worry, and headaches trying to figure out what to do with their riches and how to protect them. (See, for example, Luke 12:16–21; James 5:1–5.) Too much wealth can cause oppression and even depression. Some people have so many gems and diamonds that they put bars on their windows to protect themselves against theft. They worry every night that someone might break in and take their twenty-thousand-dollar watch, which they rarely wear anyway.










To me, that approach to wealth is foolishness because the riches are a burden rather than a blessing. You don’t have to own extravagant things just because you are wealthy. You'd be better off buying a twenty-dollar watch and enjoying your life. That way, if someone takes it, you can just buy another one. All you need to know is the time. You don’t have to worry about who is keeping it for

you.










Prosperity as Future Needs Met Today







Other people have the idea that prosperity means all our needs should be provided for well ahead of time.










Yahusha addressed this misconception when He told His disciples,










Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?...So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(Matthew 6:25, 31–33)










Do people worry about something they already have? No. Worry isn’t related to our present supply. It is related to a perceived or potential lack in the future. Yahusha was asking His disciples, in effect,“Why do you want something that you don’t need right now? You are focusing on the wrong thing. Seek first Yah’s kingdom and His righteousness, and these things will come with the job. Don’t pursue them; they will follow you.”










Yahusha concluded His statements on provision by saying,

“Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (v. 34). I interpret this to mean,“If you have something right now, then enjoy it.” In other words, if

the rent on the house is paid, then enjoy the house for the month. Stop worrying about the next month that isn’t even here yet! Live in your house, sleep in your bed, cook in your kitchen, relax in your living room. Have joy in the house that is paid for today. We get ulcers over how we are going to pay for next month’s provision because we don’t allow ourselves to live in the present.










Prosperity doesn’t mean that tomorrow’s need is met today; it means that today’s need is met today. We find the same concept in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us today our daily bread” (v. 11). Yahusha tells us not to worry about tomorrow because it has its own supply (v. 34), and tomorrow we may need even more than we do today. When we get to tomorrow, the supply will be there. We must understand what prosperity really is in order to grasp the foundational principle of how Yah provides for our visions.










The Nature of Real Prosperity










One of the Hebrew words that is translated “prosperity” in the Bible is shalev (see, for example, Psalm 30:6; Psalm 73:3), which means “tranquil,” “being at ease,” “peaceable,” and “quietness.” Another Hebrew word for prosperity is shalom (see Psalm 35:27; Jeremiah 33:9), which means “peace,” “safe,” “well,” “happy,” and “health.” The Bible is saying that prosperity is peace. Prosperity is also harmony. When things are in balance, we say they are peaceful. True prosperity means to be free of worry and fear and reflects a state of contentedness that everything necessary is being taken care of.










Yahusha used an analogy from nature to help explain prosperity: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:26–27).













Some people interpret this passage to mean that, since Yah is supposed to take care of them, they don’t need to do anything themselves. They’re going to just sit back and let the Lord bless them. If they need anything, they will pray, and someone will bring groceries to their front doors or pay for the gasoline in their cars or give them several hundred dollars. Therefore, they just wait for Yah

to act.










However, let’s look at the implication of the passage. How does Yah feed birds? He provides for them, but He doesn’t personally hand-deliver food to their nests! The birds don’t just sit around and wait for Yah to stop by with their meals. When Yahusha said the heavenly Father feeds the birds, He meant that everything they need has been made available for them, but they have to go and get it.










Yah does not build a bird’s nest. He provides the twigs. The bird has to find them, pick them up, and bring them back to the tree it has chosen for a home. Yah does not leave worms on the top of the ground every morning. The bird has to go digging for them. It has to keep working, working, working until it finishes building its nest. It has to keep working, working, working until it gets the worm.










Whatever Yah Calls For, He Provides For










A principle we talked about earlier applies here: Whatever Yah calls for, He provides for. Yah provides us with what we need, though usually not directly. If you are a college student, your parents may provide your tuition to go to school, but they cannot make you learn. The provision is made, but the work is up to you. Your parents cook food and put it on the table for you, but you have to eat it; you have to get the energy from it yourself. It’s the same way with Yah. He provides, but He doesn’t do the work for us. We have to go after what Yah has provided as our supply.










Every Purpose Has Its Own Prosperity










Another fundamental aspect of provision is that Yah has designed every purpose with its own prosperity. Your purpose has built-in provision for it. Yah never requires from you what He does not already have in reserve for you.













Here is the key: Your prosperity is directly related to your purpose in life. The nature and degree of your prosperity is determined by what your assignment is. You were not born to have too much or too little. You were born to fulfill Yah’s purpose. When you capture your vision—the part you’re supposed to contribute to your generation and succeeding generations, the role you’re supposed to play

in history—when you capture that and are doing it, you will see that all your provisions are automatically built into it.










In this way, you don’t ultimately work for money or food, because you’re too busy living. You were not created by Yah just to pay a mortgage. You were not given life simply to keep food in the refrigerator. In your heart, you know that’s true. If this is what you’re doing, you are probably frustrated with your situation. By the time you turn sixty, you will look back at your life and say, “Did I enjoy any of this?” Perhaps you have a nice home, but you are there only between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The rest of the time, you’re helping someone else get rich, and that person is at home playing golf behind his house and enjoying the company of his family and friends while you are busy at work.










You and I have prosperity based on our assignments, not on keeping up with the Joneses. We should get rid of whatever is excess in our lives. We are as rich as our purposes, and our visions aren’t yet completed. We still have provision coming to us that no one can hold back.










Sometimes, Yah doesn’t give us all the resources we need to fulfill our visions because He has called other people to provide them for us. Yah may have provisions all over the world waiting for you. He may move you a thousand miles to get you where you were meant to be, to do things you were born to do, to fulfill the purpose in your own heart while, at the same time, fulfilling the purpose in His heart.













Therefore, if you want to go to college, don’t abandon your dream just because your mother doesn’t have the money for it. Your mother doesn’t need to pay your bills. Your heavenly Father has promised to do that. Mary and Joseph’s money came from wise men on camels. When they said yes to Yah’s vision, the wise men traveled a great distance to get to them. Yah will supply your provision, even if He has to have someone cross the desert to get it to you. Yah has provision for you that no one but He knows about.










Therefore, you have all the provisions you need for your vision, including your finances, staff, buildings, and anything else that is required. There are people who were born to help you fulfill your vision. There are people who went to school to learn a skill just to work for you. Right now, they’re in a preoccupation job because you haven’t started your business yet. All the resources you need are already in place; they will become visible in Yah’s timing once you start pursuing your vision.










Provision Is Right for the Vision










Yah is a Yah of provision. He is Jehovah-Jireh,“The Lord Will Provide.” He provides everything, but He provides it after you begin the work of the vision. Your obedience to your vision affects not only your life but also the lives of

those who will work with you. This means that obedience to vision is not a private issue. It affects everyone who is supposed to work with you and be impacted by your life.










Prosperity means having everything that is needed. It doesn’t necessarily mean having a large bank account, several cars, and a large house, although you might need those things to fulfill your vision. For example, because of our purpose, my wife and I need a long dining room table that can seat a large number of people since we often have guests of the ministry to dinner. That’s part of our assignment. It might also be yours, depending on what you are called to do. However, perhaps you need a four-chair table rather than a twelve-chair table because you usually just have your family at dinner. Instead of using the money on a large table, you use it for other things related to your personal or community vision. Similarly, I may not need something that you must have to fulfill

your purpose. If I had it, it would be excess. The point is that Yah provides for all the needs of our visions, no matter what they are, large or small.










Use Your Provision













Several years ago, when I was visiting a friend in Detroit, I said, “You know, I’ve always wanted to tour the Ford Motor Company. I’ve heard a lot about Mr. Ford and the way they make cars there, and I’d like to see it for myself.” We ended up spending a whole afternoon there. The man conducting the tour showed us some massive buildings, including the corporate office and the place where they design the cars.










Then he took us to look at another big building and said,

“This is where we do all the production work on the parts.” We went through what looked like one massive building, but there were smaller storehouses within it. Every section had a different name, and there were millions of parts stored in each section. I pointed to one section and asked the guide,“What is this?” and he said, “These are the cars we’re preparing for 2005.” I said,

“Wait a minute; it’s only 1998.”He said,“Yeah, but we are at least five years ahead. This one is for 2002, this is for 2003, this is for 2004, and this one is for 2005.” When I asked if I could see the cars, he said,“No, the cars themselves are not yet made. We make the parts first. However, these are not the parts we will use on the new cars. These are the replacement parts in case any repairs would be needed.”













The company makes the spare parts before they build the new cars. Then they make the cars. That’s why, when anything needs to be replaced on your car, the part is already prepared. They prepare what you’re going to need before you even buy your car.










As I listened to our guide explain this, I felt as if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me right in that warehouse. He said, “That’s exactly the meaning of Ephesians 1:3: ‘Praise be to the Yah and Father of our Lord Yahusha Hamachiach, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Hamachiach.’ Everything you’re going to need for your vision is already provided for. I have it all reserved in big storehouses in heaven. Even before you came on the scene, I had it all prepared.”










My good friend Jesse Duplantis once told me about an unusual experience he had. He had a spiritual vision in which Yahusha took him on a tour of heaven. He has written about this experience in a book. At one point, Yahusha and he came to a large area of heaven where there were big, massive warehouses. There were names on the warehouses, and he saw one with his name on it, so he asked Yahusha, “What’s in that warehouse?” Yahusha said,

“Do you want to see?” He said, “Sure. My name is there.” They went up to the warehouse and opened its large door. Inside, piled up to the ceiling, was what looked like billions of dollars’ worth of things. In the corner was a small, empty space. He asked, “Lord, the whole place

is filled with all these magnificent things, but what’s that empty spot right there by the door?” Yahusha said,“That’s all you’ve asked for so far.”










After he told me that story, I said to myself,“I’m going to die empty. I’m going to clean out my warehouse before I leave planet earth.” When we go to heaven, most of us are going to be shocked at what was ours for use on earth that we never asked for. We must use what is in our warehouses. Daily, we should ask Yah,“Deliver to me what I need today.” Second Peter 1:3 says that Yah’s

“divine power has given us everything we need for life and Yahliness.” Where is it? It’s waiting for you to ask for it with confidence. Yah is not short of anything you need.










What I’m concerned about is that you may be asking for some things that aren’t yours. Let me explain. If you pursue the wrong assignment, you’re going to need things you can’t get, because the provision isn’t there unless the vision is yours. It’s someone else’s assignment, and he has his own warehouse. Sometimes, people make demands on Yah that He can’t supply because He can’t give us what doesn’t belong to us. Again, knowing Yah’s will for your life is the key to your prosperity.










Five Specific Ways Yah Provides for Vision










I now want to discuss five specific ways that the Scriptures teach us Yah provides the resources—financial and otherwise—that we need to fulfill the visions He gives us.










Land and Its Inherent Wealth










The first way Yah provides for our visions is through our ability to obtain and use land and the resources inherent in it. Until you own land, you are still considered somewhat poor, and you are not really secure. As long as you are renting, someone else owns you. Although real estate prices fluctuate, there is a special prosperity in owning land.










Land is Yah’s concept of wealth. Note that the first thing Yah placed man in was the Garden of Eden, or real estate. Genesis 2:7–12 says,










The Lord Yah formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Now the Lord Yah had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the Lord Yah made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)










This passage describes the wealth of the land surrounding Eden. Yah said there’s gold, resin, and onyx in the land. Resin is a fragrant gum, similar to the precious substance myrrh. Onyx is a type of gem. All these things are in the land. Note that this passage describes what the world was like before the Fall, when everything was perfect, yet Yah was talking about gold, aromatic resin, and gems. He was saying, “Adam, there’s richness in the land.” Not only do you have use of what is on the surface of the land, such as trees and fruit, but you

also have use of what is under the ground.










Sometimes, a person has to work hard to get the riches that are within the land. For example, a fruit gatherer doesn’t work quite as hard as an oilman does in order to get results. To harvest fruit, he stays on the surface of the earth and picks fruit off trees and plants. However, to drill for oil, a person has to get really dirty. He has to dig deep in the ground. It takes time and pressure. Here’s the lesson I think we can draw from this: Those who are willing to work hard, to go the extra mile, are the ones who get deep into wealth.










From time to time, the United States has had to go begging the oil-rich countries, “Please, drop your prices.” With all the farms in Kansas and Nebraska and elsewhere, America still needs oil. Why? Oil is needed to run the combines that reap the harvests on the farms. Those whose wealth comes from under the ground seem to rule those who gain their wealth from working on the surface of the earth.










Let’s look at another example from Genesis that shows us that wealth is inherent in land. What was Yah’s first promise to Abraham?










The Lord had said to Abram,...”Go to the land I will show you.”...Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”(Genesis 12:1, 6–7)










Yah made the same promise of inheritance of land to Abraham’s son Isaac (see Genesis 26:2–4) and grandson Jacob (see Genesis 28:10–15). The Lord continually reminded them of the land they were to inherit. Yah also reaffirmed this promise of land to the Israelites through Moses. (See Exodus 3:7–10, 15–17.)







In Genesis 13:15, Yah said the land would forever belong to Abraham’s descendants. Even today, in the state of Israel, land is leased, rather than sold, to the citizens. No private citizen owns property. A person can build and own a house, but he doesn’t own the property upon which it stands. The government owns the land. It is considered Yah’s property and therefore is secured for Him.










The previous government of the Bahamas, under colonialism, was the United Bahamian Party. Overall, they didn’t impress me, but they did one thing that impressed me: They were conscious of the value of land. They would lease land to people for up to ninety-nine years, but they still owned it. They said, in effect, “You can make money off the land, but you don’t own it.” Have you ever wondered why foreign investors want to buy land in your country? Those who own the land are the decision-makers. They are the ones who influence policy

and legislation, not those who work for them.










According to the biblical record, therefore, land seems to be Yah’s first order of prosperity. I think it’s desirable for most people to own land. Young people, if your parents left you land, don’t exchange your perpetual inheritance for a pot of soup. (See Genesis 25:29–34.) Live very simply, if you have to, but keep the land because there’s wealth in it.










My prayer is that you will truly understand the value of land. My beloved friends, some of us have been so heavenly oriented that we have practically forsaken the earth, which has been given to us by Yah. Matthew 5:3–12 is called the Beatitudes. I like to call them the “attitudes to be.” In other words, these are the attitudes Yah wants you to have in life. Notice the attitude in verse five: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit....” What? Heaven? No, according to Yahusha, if you’re meek, you inherit “the earth” (v. 5). Christians always think in terms of heaven because that is where their focus is. Yet Yah didn’t create humanity for heaven—He created us to fulfill His purposes on earth.













Meekness means discipline or self-control. If you control your spending and don’t use your money on things that are automatically going to depreciate, and if you cut back on your expenses and start putting your money in the bank, then you can save up a nice down payment for a piece of property. You can own land if you exercise discipline and self-control in your life.










How do you do this in practical terms? Stop buying lunch every day when you can take your lunch to work, and then put that excess money into your savings. Keep your Toyota until you buy your property; then you can buy a Lexus. Put your true priorities ahead of any luxuries and you may be amazed at how much you can save toward your vision’s goals.










The Ability to Work










The second thing through which Yah provides for our visions is our work. When you decide to move forward with your dream, it will often take a great amount of work. I define work as the passion that is generated by a purpose.










Many people misunderstand the nature of work. I’ve heard people say, “I’m so mad at Adam. Because Adam sinned, now I have to toil at a job.” They don’t realize that work was given to humankind before the Fall: “The Lord Yah took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of [“cultivate” nas] it” (Genesis 2:15). Cultivation involves both creativity and effort. Work is not a curse, but a great blessing. Genesis 1:28 says that Yah blessed the male and female and gave them dominion over the earth. He blessed them in all their dominion assignments—including work.







The primary reason Yah gave us work is found in Genesis 2:2–3:










By the seventh day Yah had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And Yah blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.










Yah Himself worked when He created the world, and He still works to carry out His purposes. For example, Paul said in Philippians 2:13,“It is Yah who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Because you are made in Yah’s image and likeness, you are designed to work. Remember that work is meant to include creativity and cultivation, not drudgery.













Another significant aspect of work is that it reveals your potential. You cannot show what you have inside unless demands are made on it, and demands are placed on it by work.










Moreover, work needs to be kept in its proper place. The Bible says that Yah worked hard and completed His work, but that He also stopped His work and rested. He didn’t work seven days a week just for the sake of working. He stopped when it was appropriate, and He has instructed us to do the same. (See Exodus 20:9–10.)










It is through worship and communion with Yah that humankind receives vision, vocation, and work. Yahusha, the Second Adam, seemed to have two favorite words that reflected Yah’s purposes for humankind. One of those words was Father. He was always talking about His Father in heaven and seeking His presence in prayer. The other was work. For example, consider these statements of Yahusha: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34 nkjv). “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I,

too, am working” (John 5:17). “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).










Yahusha was intent on doing His Father’s work to completion. We are to aspire to fulfill Yah’s purposes while developing and using the gifts and talents He has given us. We aren’t to be lazy; instead, we are to have visions for our lives and to be willing to work so that they can be fulfilled. Our motivation for work is to complete the purposes for which we were created.










Yahusha said,










I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that

spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give

you.(John 6:26–27)










In other words, there’s a higher reason to work than simply providing for physical needs. Again, don’t work just to pay bills. Don’t work only to buy food. Understand the true nature of work. In the Garden, there was no supervisor, no one to hand out paychecks. Work was given to Adam because it was a natural part of his being. Through work, he fulfilled part of his purpose as a human

being created in Yah’s image.










We have been designed to work in such a way that we can fashion things into something more than they were in their original state. We are to multiply or enhance what we have been given. In the parable of the talents, the man traveling out of the country entrusted the first servant with five talents, the second with two, and the third with one. It is implied that the man said to his servants before he left, “Now, when I come back, I don’t want to see just the money I gave you. I want to see an increase in my investment.” When the man returned, and the servant with the one talent had done nothing to increase his master’s money, he was called “wicked” and “lazy” (Matthew 25:26). If we’re still working at the same level we were working at ten years ago and haven’t improved at all, there’s something wrong.













Isn’t it interesting that the harder you work, the “luckier” you get? Sometimes, you hear people say, “You're lucky that you’re rich and successful.” Unless the person inherited the money, that isn’t luck. That’s hard work. So if you want to get lucky, start working hard.










Matthew 25:16, which comes from the parable of the talents, is a powerful verse: “The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.” How did the man gain more money? He put his original money to work, and the money multiplied. Yah wants us to go to work to multiply His kingdom on earth through our visions.










The Ability to Cultivate













Third, Yah has given us the ability to cultivate things.“The Lord Yah took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of [cultivate] it” (Genesis 2:15). It is interesting to note that Yah wanted humankind to manage and nurture the vegetation. Yah prefers cultivation to barrenness and wilderness, and He has given us the ability to cultivate as one way of reflecting His image. Recall that in Genesis 1:2, Yah created or cultivated the earth out of a “formless and empty” state.










The situation with most pieces of property that are currently being developed is that the property had been there a long time, but no one had ever done anything about it. For example, you may have passed by a piece of property every day and never thought much about it until you saw bulldozers and other construction machinery on the premises. A large part of the gift of cultivation is the ability to see potential in what others view as wasteland.













Let me tell you the story of Hog Island in the Bahamas. Years ago, people used to dump garbage on the island, and the wild hogs there used to scavenge through all the mess. It definitely lived up to its name. There were also wild dogs roaming around. No self-respecting person wanted to be seen there.










Then, one day, someone came to the Bahamas, flew over Hog Island, and saw something there that no one else could see. He took Hog Island, cultivated it, and made it productive. Today, Hog Island is a destination for vacationers. It has a new name. It’s called Paradise. What a change! Can anything good come out of Hog Island? All it takes is someone to manage it.










Suppose someone came to you and said, “Look, there’s some land available in our claims in a rural area. Would you be interested in buying it?” You might think that would be a waste of time and money because you would prefer a piece of property downtown. Y et that would show you don’t have a vision for the future because downtown is already cultivated. When the man bought Hog Island, he bought it for practically nothing because the seller figured,

“Oh, it’s just hogs. You can have it.” The man who bought it, however, didn’t see only hogs. He saw a resort.










You can cultivate what is around you and make it a resource for your vision. That’s what we are doing at Bahamas Faith Ministries. We bought a piece of barren land in the center of the island at a very good price, and we are turning it into an international leadership center. Yah wants people who can dream and then act. Maybe your neighborhood used to be residential, but now it’s mainly a business strip. You don’t realize the power you have in your house in terms of a business. Dream. Think. Look. Open your eyes. You could move into an apartment for a year, turn your house into a business or restaurant, and then build another nice house out of the proceeds of the business. Cultivate what you own to further your vision.










The Ability to Preserve and Reserve for the Future










Another way Yah provides for your vision is by giving you wisdom to preserve and reserve for the future. For example, Joseph was sent to Egypt ahead of his brothers and his father Jacob because Yah knew a famine was coming, and they would need to be preserved. When poverty struck the land, Joseph’s family would need a place to go to survive and then prosper when times got

better. There are people whom Yah calls to be planters, and Yah will send them ahead of you to prepare the way for you.










Yah will also put things on reservation for you so that, when you need them in the future, they’ll be there for you. Don’t plan only for today, but also for tomorrow. Don’t worry, but plan. In fact, planning destroys worry. It’s when you don’t plan that you start worrying. We live on the daily bread Yah gives us, but He also wants us to plan for things. Yah will bless you, and He will provide for the vision, if you know how to put things on reservation for the future. For example, Yah gave Joseph a reservation plan during the famine. He was able to harvest the grain during the seven years of abundance and store it for the years of famine so that Egypt and the surrounding lands would have food when the drought hit.













Yah knows the future, and He will give you insight to put things on reserve for times when you will need them. For instance, when you put your money into savings and investments, you put it on reserve while increasing your capital because you know that the needs in your life will change, and you want to be prepared financially for when that time comes. I like what the master in Yahusha’ parable said about the servant who took the one talent he had been given and buried it in the ground. He said, essentially, “You could at least have taken it out of the ground and put it in the bank and gotten some interest on it.” (See Matthew 25:14–27.) Yah will bless you when you put things on reserve.










The Ability to Pass Along Wealth










Another way Yah provides for vision is by enabling you to help future generations with their dreams. Yah doesn’t want only you to enjoy the wealth; He wants your children and grandchildren to enjoy it, too. “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). What about your great-grandchildren? The great-grandchildren of the man who developed Hog Island will inherit “Paradise.” What is your vision of inheritance for your descendants?










Yah wants us to think generationally. He is always thinking and speaking in generational terms. Therefore, when He speaks to you, He is also talking of your descendants or the generations that will follow you. Yah gives wealth in generations, and that is why your planning and reservation for the future must include this consideration, as well.







Action Steps to Fulfilling Vision










Has your definition of prosperity changed as a result of reading this chapter? Why or why not?










What resources do you need to fulfill your vision? List them, and then trust Yah to provide for all the needs of your vision as He has promised to do.










How will you use the information in this chapter to pursue provision for your vision?










Chapter Principles










1. It is our job to understand, believe, and write down our visions, while it is Yah’s responsibility to accomplish them.




2. Yah often gives us dreams that initially confound us because He wants to make sure we don’t attempt to fulfill them apart from Him.




3. Yah will never give you a vision without the provision for it.




4. The ability and resources are available for what you were born to do, yet your provision is usually hidden until you act on your vision.




5. Yah has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.




6. Prosperity doesn’t mean that tomorrow’s need is met today; it means that today’s need is met today.




7. True prosperity means to be free of worry and fear. It reflects a state of contentedness that everything necessary is being taken care of.




8. Yah has designed every purpose with its own prosperity.




9. Sometimes, Yah doesn’t give us all the resources we need to fulfill our visions because He has called other people to provide them for us.




10. Your obedience to your vision affects not only your life, but also the lives of those who will work with you.




11. When we go to heaven, most of us are going to be shocked at what was ours for use on earth that we never asked for.




12. Five specific ways that Yah provides the resources to fulfill our visions are (1) land and its inherent wealth, (2) the ability to work, (3) the ability to cultivate, (4) the ability to preserve and reserve for the future, and (5) the ability to pass along wealth (generational wealth)