The Vision and The Journey…

Not all journeys begin with a vision, but every vision is the beginning of a journey. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I am talking about something that originated from the heart of God, not the desires of man.  We have all felt strong desires and placing them in beautifully crafted words and called them a vision.  Church leaders are notorious for this , the proof being captured in many churches’ three part vision statements.  I’m not slamming on the desires of Godly men who want to do good things, but there is a big difference between the visions of men to do Godly things and the visions from God that only He can give and fulfill. 

“That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  John 3:6

God fulfills His visions through us and by the resources He supplies.  We cannot see or understand the full scope of this kind of vision.  If we did, we would run away from it like Jonah or run right out thinking we can fulfill God’s vision.  A true vision from God frightens you and captures you at the same time.  You don’t go looking for it, it finds you.

It was a typical Sunday service.  We were going through the same routine we go through every Sunday.  As we came to our time of worship, I was engaged as I usually am somewhere between sorting out the last thoughts of the sermon I am about to deliver and half listening for any last minute promptings from the Holy Spirit and trying to worship.  All of a sudden I am arrested by God with a vision.  I am engulfed by what I see in the Spirit as everything in the natural fades into the backdrop till I am only aware of God and what He’s showing me.  And, this is all I see…

I was taken outside of our Church building as I watched a storm appear.  It was sudden with no time to prepare.  You could not see the storm, only it’s effects.  It was like seeing one of those storm stories about a hurricane or tornado on the Discovery Channel.  The power of the wind began to tear the building apart starting with the shingles.  Piece by piece the building tore apart, shingles, plywood, timbers and bricks, til all that was left was the concrete slab foundation.  Then as quickly as the church was torn apart and stripped away, God began to build it back.  Suddenly, I found myself back standing in our sanctuary singing our last song if worship.

I tried quickly to compose myself.  What now?  I sensed in my spirit that God was about to do what I saw, but I had no idea what that meant.  As I said before, it frightened me and captured me.  I heard the Lord say, “surrender.”

I made my way up front and stood before the people God had been so gracious to bring together as our church.  I felt compelled to share what I saw and what God said to me.  When I was done sharing the vision, I said to the church that I sensed God telling us to surrender, that if He needed to strip anything away, we needed to surrender and let Him.  If I needed to go, the building needed to go, any programs, any people, finances, ideologies about ministry or personal issues, then we needed to surrender and let Him.   I asked everyone to pray with me a prayer of consecration.

What came next, I would not have expected.  And, so the journey began…

Come along with me.

Changes, changes, changes….

Life is an incredible journey and it is easy to lose sight of it if we only focus on the moment.  Some moments in life can be paralyzing if we let them.  Those of you who have done much flying have been stuck in a city or airport when you needed to be somewhere else.  It’s a layover, not your destination.  None of us decide to permanently stay there.  However, we are there.  We make the best of it, maybe even find a way to enjoy it, knowing it’s a journey not the destination.  We have to learn to enjoy the journey which means embracing changes.

Our Church has gone through many changes over the past 3+ years.  These changes have reshaped and reoriented who we are and what we look like.  There have been many moments in this journey that could have been paralyzing and maybe for a season even were.  But weathering and savoring the good and bad continue to shape us for God’s plan – a people who genuinely reflect Him and reveal Him.

I am not the same nor is our church the same but what we are changing into is something glorious.  This blog and our church blog will begin to reflect the changes we are going through.  Tomorrow I am going to share a vision God showed me 3 years ago that has shaken everything in my life. (Vision: not something I desired or dreamed up, but an actual, literal vision from God.)  This vision was the beginning of a journey.

Have you ever seen a literal vision?  What did you see?

You gotta have faith…

 

It is killing me that I have to wait til next season for another episode of Eli Stone.  I sat and watched the season finale last night and then Amy and I sat up and watched three more episodes online that we has missed.

If you have no idea who Eli Stone is then you need to go online to ABC.com and watch.  Short – Eli is a lawyer who begins to have visions, like George Micheal singing to him.  These visions seem to be leading him to the cases that need him.  The cases he takes seem to be for the greater good, which is against his money grubbing firms ideals.

This show is about faith, fighting for something good, and making a difference in the lives of people – even when it will seem to cost you everything.  It’s about taking some things on faith.

I you have been watching and saw the last show, you know why I’m chomping at the bit for the next one.

As George would say, “You gotta have faith, faith, faith…..”