BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

1 8 : B V O V o f h e ave n o n t o s o m e o n e 's head. He uses people. He uses the Body of Christ. We are His change agents in the earth. To be e ective change agents, we need vision directly from God, or what the Old Testament calls revelation. It's a mental understanding of what the future holds, revealed by the Spirit. Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." You can't get more plain and simple than that. Vision is vital because it a ects your decision- making process and pushes you toward God's end result. Of course, many people read that verse without considering the second half. The full verse says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." Keeping the Word of God—embracing it as your standard of living—is a prerequisite to receiving a divine revelation. There's no point in seeking God for great vision without fi rst basing your life on His Word. Vision Comes From the Holy Spirit Under the new covenant, vision comes through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 2:9-10 states: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." You and I are called according to God's purpose. And you can bet that what God has prepared for us, by the Holy Spirit, is far greater than what we can imagine for ourselves. So, pray and see what He has prepared for you. First, Write the Vision Of course, receiving a vision for change and implementing it are often two di erent challenges. When you want to implement change, the fi rst step is to write it down. Habakkuk 2:2 says, "And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." There's something supernatural about writing your vision down. It's easy to hear a vision you believe is from God, get excited about it, not write it down…and then see it fade over time. If you want momentum to run with the vision, you must write it down. Put it on your refrigerator door and read it daily. Write it down so you can speak to it. Write it down so the Holy Ghost can add to it and make it clearer each day. After you've written down the vision, set what Philippians 3:14 calls marks—intermediate goals and objectives that take you toward your high calling. These are actions that push you in the right direction. They may be small, insignifi cant tasks, but they're small on purpose…because they're seeds. You're planting seeds toward your harvest. Philippians 3:14 says, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." To press means "to pursue hotly." In other words, you should press toward the mark with what I call "maximum sustainable e ort." Anyone can pursue a goal for a minute or two. You need to put forth your maximum sustainable e ort indefi nitely. Facing Resistance Of course, none of this is easy. Your fl esh won't want to cooperate. It doesn't matter whether it's a diet, exercise or something else that applies to your high calling. Your fl esh will wake you up at 1 a.m. thinking about the pecan pie in the refrigerator. Only your commitment to your diet will carry you through that battle. There are other types of resistance you'll face, too. One of the biggest is demonic resistance. Make no mistake about it; there are demonic assignments against every believer. It's nothing to get nervous about, because Satan is a defeated foe. But you must be vigilant because there are subtle assignments against you that are designed to thwart your Mac Hammond is senior pastor of Living Word Christian Center, in Brooklyn Park, Minn. For more information, go to lwcc.org. Watch Mac Hammond on i Wed. 9 a.m. | Sat. 8 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 p.m. ET lwcc.org. C H A N N E L Mac Hammond on Wed. 9 a.m. | Sat. 8 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 p.m. C H A N N E L YOU CAN BET THAT WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR US, BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WE CAN IMAGINE FOR OURSELVES.

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