The Family House: VISION IV

Ezekiel 10:4
Daniel 11:32
Matthew 14:22-28

Vision means to see.
One of the basic things that God does when a person gives his life to Christ is to work on your sight.

That you are now born again is because God gives you a different perspective to life. The ability to see beyond what you were seeing before. When you encounter God He gives you the ability to see the wickedness of sin. And to realize that you were in darkness and you will step out.
Vision is your ability to have contact with God and have your eyes open.

The bible says in John 3:1-8 except man be born again, he cannot see...
The first thing that happens to a man who is born again is to see
Eye opening
When God encountered Abraham, he opened his eyes
For every man God encounters what he gives the man is vision.
The ability to see differently.
So that's why if they shoot in the air outside, even if you panic by reflex, the way you respond should be different from an unbeliever’s response; because that one makes you a Christian.

In the days of kidnapping, about two years ago. I was eating in a restaurant with a friend who visited me and all of a sudden, we heard a shot outside. Everybody left their food and jumped through the fence to another compound. My friend and I didn't move. Reflexly. All I did was look to the side where the sound came from and because of the panic in the atmosphere some came back and couldn't continue the food because of blood in their bodies. And what caused the commotion, two men were fighting and one broke a bottle. It was the sound we heard as a shot

You can't tell me you are born again if you still see the way others see. That's what vision is all about
Vision is the ability to see the will of God for your life.

It's the ability to tap into the divine plan and program for your life.

Jer 29
I know the plan I have for you, plans of good and not of evil to give you a hope and a future
And when you tap into that plan for your life it gives you solidity in your steps so that when people say there is a casting down, you will say there is a lifting up. You are not saying it on the basis of the economy you are saying it based in the vision God has shown you.
And you can't run your life without vision; to do so is to live a life that will end in doom the same way cars cannot drive at night without head lamp; no life can make headway without vision; because what gives you illumination is vision.

Matt 6:22 (amp)
If your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

So if you are seeing what you are supposed to see, you will never walk in darkness
Vision is what makes a man live his life for 90yrs with few mistakes, not regretting much. How do you know men who are living their lives without vision? From the age of 20 upwards they are already regretting life. Sit with them in counseling and all you hear is "you don't know me pastor, if you know what I have done" that’s a statement of regret. But when you encounter God, all those things will cease. Because for every step you will take, you will see ahead of it. That's vision.

Vision is to know where you are going to and where you will land in December from January. And from January you are working towards where you are going to in December.
Many run their lives without vision.

Vision and ambition are not the vision. People run their lives on ambition not vision. Vision is birthed as a result of a relationship with God. Ambition is natural, it’s of man. Vision is of God. It is birthed on the platform of spiritual intercourse with God. When a man has sex with God he gives birth to vision or when a man has sex with God, He impregnates him with vision. And after a while, the man begins to give birth to what God has put in him.

Abraham encountered God at 75yrs; God impregnated him with a baby he carried for 25years when he gave birth to the baby. Men that have been giving birth to children, we didn't hear the name of their children. When vision is birthed you know. Mary was an isolated virgin with no history. But when she encountered the Holy Ghost she became pregnant with vision and today we still debate whether she died. Before going to heaven or she went like that.

Even though the name Mary means bitterness. Now, When someone is called Mary, they Mean holier than thou. Vision will give your name the real meaning.
If a man named Robert carries vision everyone will want to bear that name.

Encounter God then you are ready to carry vision.
You encounter God in the secret place. Vision is not gotten by reading books. It's good to read books but vision is gotten in the quiet place. That's where God speaks to your spirit and says 'son, daughter this is what I want you to become and nobody will stop it.

When a man encounters God and gets pregnant with vision, as with a woman that gets pregnant the next thing is to tell people about it you can't get pregnant and hide it. Especially if you had issues with getting pregnant before. When you take in, even though it's one month you start wearing maternity gown. You want everybody to know. Even when they don't know you want to tell them, at one month of pregnancy you start acting tired in the office. Vision engenders confession. When you take in with vision, it leads to confession. You must let the people know that you are carrying something. Jesus consistently said 'if you knew who you are speaking with’ he was trying to tell the woman who he was. 'You can't kill me, I have the power to pick my life and to lay it down again'.

He was announcing his personality.
In the book of Luke 4:15...
When it looked like nobody recognized him, he picked up the book as was his custom and opened to the place where it was written about him. And began to announce his ministry
the spirit of the lord is upon me...
Immediately afterwards all eyes were fastened on him.
When you catch vision you will confess it, you will announce it.

3 Stages of Vision
1. Contact it
2. Confess it
3. Act on it

Does confessing the vision make it manifest? Not really. What confession does is that it creates awareness and prepares the ground.

When I was growing up and speaking superfluous things about myself everything about me was hyper. I was bragging. God opened my eyes to see where I would be. Even though I was in a slum, I was speaking the kingdom. Every lady I dated stayed with me because of what I was saying. Just my mouth. I had the privilege of dating high level ladies. I would say, you think your father has money? Forget that thing. Your father is a commissioner? The level I'm going to, your mother will buy ticket to come and see us. They will look at me and say, your mouth too much. Have I even stopped? I'm still speaking it.

Because I have seen it’s progressively coming to pass. You can't get pregnant and not deliver. Just like a pregnant woman cannot say she is not sure. If you catch it, you will know you have gotten it. You will say it. Tell the people that my God will take me to where I am going. I will not miss my steps in life.... Speak it
I will get married!
I will have my kids!

Whatever I tell you in the secret, announce it in the open. Vision is gotten in the secret place. The announcement of vision is done in the open. So, if God spoke to you in the secret go to the open and talk about it. After speaking and confessing your vision to people and the environment, note, not just anybody, the need to speak will always come. Vision is like pregnancy, every pregnancy is time bound. Once you take in, the only thing holding you is time. That why a common language of a pregnant woman is EDD. Expected date of delivery!!!

Even in the hospital, all your check ups, scans and tests tell you and prepare you for your EDD. In the realm of the spirit any vision gotten has EDD. You can't say I'm rich and just be saying it. A time will come when you will deliver it and men will see it; because there is EDD. If you are carrying something be rest assured that date is what is holding you. As long as time ticks, you will deliver your vision.

1. The first thing to do after confessing your vision is to locate men of like passion. Locate people that have vision like you. You must change your friendship as soon as vision is gotten. Hang out with people that have your kind of vision. When you locate them, it will help to you to nurture your own. Aren't you surprised that immediately Mary got pregnant she started looking for Elizabeth. Both Mary and Elizabeth got mysterious pregnancy. When Mary heard about her aunt, she didn't go to meet just any pregnant woman. She went to meet the one who got pregnant mysteriously too.
On arriving, Elizabeth confessed to her, Mary when you greeted me, my son leapt for joy.
They started fraternizing together.
When you have vision, look for people of similar vision and fraternize with them. There are people that will abort it if you fraternize with them.

Immediately Jesus decided to start his ministry, what did he do, he went looking for John. He went to Jordan. Why? Men of like mind, of like vision. John was born to be a forerunner of Christ. He was born at a time when there no prophet had risen for 400yrs. So John rose in the midst of a lack of prophets and Jesus was coming behind him. Christ needed to identify with an existing prophet that He will take over from. So He went to look for John. He didn't start his church from the other end of John's own. That is why to go to John's baptism was to fulfill righteousness. What He meant is that that is where He would be announced.
He had to identify with him.
That's my springboard. From here I will launch. He went to seek for John. And immediately He came John saw that the man who will take over has come.
Jesus went looking for John in Jordan. The bible says in
Prov 13:20.....he that walks with the wise shall be wise but the companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Vision is too delicate that you can't carry vision and look for one who is not carrying vision.
The association will kill your vision. It is an abomination for a young man or woman who desires to be a doctor to go out with one desiring to be a lawyer. It's a wrong association. If you are in medical school, year 1, your friends should be 2nd or 3rd year medical students. They are the ones who will help you nurture you vision. Not a law student in part 2. Vision is nurtured. Like a baby, vision can be aborted. If care is not properly taken. You will never see a lion befriending a cat even though they are in the same kingdom, as similar as they look. They can never be friends. It's only in the human kingdom that we don't know our levels.

If you notice that you are pregnant your environment becomes very very important. You must be sensitive of your environment. When you have vision. When you catch vision, church is a vision atmosphere. It is an atmosphere of men that are carrying vision. When you come into church your level of vision is determined by the people you fraternize with. So if you come into the church, you have the people that are good, bad and ugly. When you come to church and you are expecting God to bless you, please look for people who are expecting God to bless them. Don't look for men and women that will analyze pastors message and dressing. When you fraternize with such people anything coming from the pulpit will be blessing others and jumping you. Then you will be saying, since I came to this church, no testimony yet. Others are having testimonies when will it be my turn?

Check the friends you are hanging out with; because you can't condemn the pulpit and expect it to bless you. If you must be blessed, your blessing depends on vision.

Vision is how you see not what you see.
How do you see the pulpit, as a place where you can be blessed or as just any profane thing?
When you move with people of vision they help you begin to manifest your own vision.
The EDD of pregnant women varies even if they got pregnant the same day. When you fraternize with women of different EDDs what it does for you is give you hope, that if God can do it for her, he can do it for me. But if you hang out with the barren, you are the only one with EDD; they will not understand and will attempt to kill your vision.
Hanging out with people who don't have the same vision as you is like that. They don't have what you have. They will kill your vision.
In realizing your vision

2. The second thing is you must decide to fulfill the vision. You can have vision but no decision.
John 9:4
I must work the work of he that sent me the night cometh when no man can work.
If you look at the person speaking, its Jesus, at the beginning of the story, He was walking with the disciples and suddenly they saw a man born blind. And it was assumed that the infirmity was as a result of sin. So the disciples asked Him. Why is the man born blind? Is it the father or mothers sins? Jesus said no, and opened the blind man's eyes. And He immediately left the man and started speaking. I must work the works if him that sent me. In other words, what I am carrying is for people like this. It is an abomination to associate with a man that nature is fighting. By that I mean, when man is cursed by blindness as a result of sin, you don't associate with him. Jesus performed that miracle in anger so to speak. I am called to do this and nobody can stop me that is why He used the words He did. My priority is what I came to do. I must work the works I have been sent to do. He is so time conscious that, he knew he was not going to live long so he was busy doing the work. Vision is time bound. You don't have all the time in the world. Decision precedes action. When a man decides to execute his vision, the next thing that happens is

Action! Jesus, saw the guy, decided and took an action to heal the man. And declared His stand and walked away. This has been His culture He was in a haste to execute vision. You must be in a haste to do whatever vision has given you or whatever vision you have, you must decide.
You must make a decision not wishful thinking. Where you will be in December you will decide it now.
You must also realize that life will not give you all you need. It takes vision to get all you need. That's why men don't pursue life. Men pursue vision that's why every man's blessing is hidden in his vision.

3. Next thing is, No matter how big your vision is; don't be afraid to start small. Some of us, what is holding us is the size of our vision. Your vision is too big and you don't want to start small. If God has decided that you will be president of Nigeria, remember that the outgoing president started as a primary school teacher. He went up the ranks till he became a president. When you have vision you don't target the top, the top becomes a natural thing. You are top; you don't have to aim for the top. Don't be afraid to start small. The only project that starts from the top is the grave. But in life naturally, you start from down to up.

Jesus didn't become popular in one day. The bible says that if everything that Jesus did was to be recorded the bible won't be able to contain it all. Jesus did a lot. Something happened in John 2 where Jesus turned water into wine. You must start small. He came to the marriage feast and suddenly the wine finished and his mother walked up to him and said, their wine has finished.
Why did his mother walk up to him? The reason is that there are some things He has been doing at home. You can't just walk up to an ordinary child and say that. There must be some things He had been doing at home; that the mother observed and kept quiet. Maybe he broke a glass while washing it and then put it back together or he stubs his toe and just says 'Father' and the wound is healed. The mother was observing it. And her pride and ego increased. The mother was observing. So when the wine finished she came to Jesus. He was angry; you want to take advantage of what you have seen? Haven’t you said the same to your mother on occasion when she wants to take advantage of some good you have done to boast.

It's an abomination to think that the relationship between Jesus and Mary was official. They were mother and son. The same way your mother has a pet name for you was the same way Mary must have had a pet name for Jesus. It was a normal family.
So when she told him about the wine that got finished, she also instructed the disciples, whatever he tells you to do, just do it.

An average Jewish wedding ceremony will not have more than 2000 people over 3-7 days and they come and go in batches. So on average about 300 people per time. Jesus did that miracle in front of about 300 people not 7 billion people. But notice what happened, after doing that in the secret, he went to church, read Luke 4, went somewhere else, healed a man bent over, he straightened up. He was doing all of these in secret. Notice what happened, suddenly, the bible records in Matt 12:14 that one of the things that caused that miracle of walking on the sea was that the crowd following him was too much. Men were 5000 in number and he fed them.
After feeding them, according to bible history, the crowd started pursuing Him to make him their king; because at that time people were tired of Herod, who had just killed John the Baptist. They were afraid and very angry with Herod. After performing the miracle where he fed about 15000 people, they were running after him to make him king compulsorily. He hurriedly put the disciples in a boat and told them to go before him. Then he snuck out in the midst of them without their knowing. Went up the mountain to pray then walked back on the sea. He does not have respect for nature; because he is not operating under nature. Don't be afraid to start small. God said I will open. 10 companies and Dangote will be nobody in the next 50 years. Start the kiosk. Don't wait till you get a stall in the main market, hawk the business.

According to sources, Ochei was selling clothes in his car before he finally got a shop. Today, he can buy all the boutiques in Asaba.
You must start small. Bible says neglect not the days of little beginning. Move through the ranks. You can't become governor in one day. Start from being a counselor, chairman, house of reps...

4. Once you start pursuing your vision, stay focused. Matt 6:22
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. Falling and rising is an indication of how sound your eye is. Don't be afraid, stay focused. What kills some of us is dual vision; Di-vision, division. You have a vision to sell female clothes suddenly you notice that what is reigning now is baby clothes. Then you get distracted; God sends your female customers to come and they can't find what to buy; because you got distracted. And you wonder why your goods are not moving while your counterparts have sales. The reason is that the vision differs. Stay in your vision. Don't jump around.

Matt 14:28
It's a summary of the 3 stages of vision.
As Jesus was walking towards the disciples on water, all the disciples saw Him. At that point where they saw Him is the point of encounter when men receive vision. All 12 of them received vision as a result of divine encounter at the same time. When you encounter God, he opens your eyes.
The next step is to confess. They all received vision and shut their mouths. Only one man confessed what he saw. Peter said, Lord If it be thou, bid me come. Let me experience what I'm seeing. Every man that encounters vision, it’s because God wants you to experience the vision. They all saw Christ walking on water but none of them desired to see himself doing what he saw. Lord if it be you; permit me to experience what I am seeing. Jesus said, experience it. He has confessed it, the next one is action.

In the history of life, Jesus and Peter are the only 2 who have walked on water. How did he start to sink? When he wasn't seeing vision again. In the water he was seeing Christ, Christ was the vision. Christ was the word on which he was walking. But when he left seeing Christ and started seeing what the 11 disciples were seeing, he started sinking. The miracle of vision is that you don't sink at once. Why would a man on water start to sink? You don't start to sink on water, you just sink. But the bible says and beginning to sink, cried saying, Lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus stretched forth his hand, meaning he was already close to him, he had walked far. Any point in the journey of vision, don't allow distraction. Get there. Get focused.

When he was saved, he and Jesus walked back to the boat.
It's usually not easy when you are pursuing vision. But one thing you must not do is to allow distraction.

Rev. Cosfinney Udoka N.

Senior Pastor

House on the Rock, Asaba