MANIFESTED VISION, PART 2: "THE SOURCE OF VISION" | APOSTLE MIKE WOODS, SR.

Well, grace and peace, everybody, be multiplied to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is Apostle Mike Woods, and hey, welcome to Thursday's edition of Rhoda Now. For those of you who are uninitiated, one, the word rhoda means dominion, control, to be in charge, and my name is Dr. Mike Woods. So welcome again, I'm so glad you're here. I don't want to tarry with you long tonight, but I do want to drop this word and share it because I believe it is so important to the next phase and stage that God wants to move his body in. And it's very important that every kingdom citizen, every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, grab hold to this teaching because I promise you The difference between failure and success in the kingdom is vision. And you want to make sure you get every one of these messages. Now, with that said, I need every person watching me right now, whether you're watching live or by replay, whether you're listening to this message via podcast, however you are watching us or listening to us now— YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram— no matter where you are, I need you to take a moment and just please be kind and share this. I always say sharing is godly. The Bible says that we are blessed to be a blessing. Why would you receive such blessing from teaching and not share it with someone else? Unless you're a preacher that just wanna use this stuff and don't want nobody to know where you got it from. And hey, if that's what you're doing, that's what you're doing. But at the end of the day, you yet want to make sure you're blessing somebody with it. It amazes me. I mean, really amaze. I share people's stuff all the time. And, uh, it amazes me that people never share anything— not just me, but they don't share nothing, nobody else do but them. And at the end of the day, you know, that's not how the kingdom works. We ought to celebrate one another, we ought to honor one another, and when something's good, you just ought to share it. So I promise you, God will smile upon your obedience in sharing this word. Listen, I'm ready to get started. I know you're ready to listen, but before we do, tonight we're going to be talking about the source of vision. This is part 2. Last— on Sunday we talked about vision and purpose, so this is part 2, the source of vision. You don't want to miss this, but before we get in the word, I want to go into this trailer. Stay right there while you're sharing it, while you're tagging people in the comments. Check out this trailer, then I'll be back to get started in the word of the Lord. God bless you. One of the most tragic things in the world is to have sight but no vision. As a matter of fact, it's quite pathetic because you see, the greatest gift God ever gave to mankind, it's not the gift of sight but the gift of vision. Sight is a function of the eyes. Vision is a function of the heart. And because so many people look at life through their eyes and not real vision that comes from the Spirit of God, they're frustrated in their marriage, they're frustrated in their businesses, they're frustrated in their life. They have no hope. They're depressed. They can't see their way out. But the reality is, though those that have good success are those who live from the realm of vision, prophetic perception. And I just want you to be clear this month and next month even, that as we move into this new year, vision will begin to be manifested in our lives, and we gotta get ready now. I promise you, vision is God's optimal reality for your future, and he wants to see it manifested. That vision has to be manifested. And I promise you, the Lord spoke to me so clearly on Sunday personally. He said, Son, listen, 2023 will be the year of manifested vision for you. You'll start seeing more and more things that I promise you come to pass. And you know, the reality is some vision just takes time to unfold. There's a lot of things even that God takes you through personally to get you ready to see the manifestation of that vision in your life. And so I'm just grateful, you know, for all the things I have seen, but I'm so I'm so excited about the things we're getting ready to see, and I'm excited for you too, because if you align yourself and get ready— and 2023 ain't the time to start getting ready, you need to really start now getting your mindset right about vision and bringing to pass the things that are in your heart. So let's pray. Father, in Jesus' mighty name, I thank you tonight for another opportunity to teach your word. I thank you for these people that are listening. I decree and declare today, God, that your word will go out with power. It will go out with clarity, wisdom, insight, revelation. And I thank you that every person that hears, God, they will have a mindset to apply and do what they hear. Thank you for supernatural application that will lead to supernatural manifestation of vision in their lives. I thank you for every leader with vision, every parent with vision, every CEO with vision, every pastor, apostle, prophet, teacher, evangelist with vision that uniquely comes from you. And I pray, God, that you would use our lips. Hallelujah. To help them be empowered to the next phase of vision in their life. And we give you praise for it now. Thank you for the year to come. Thank you for all that you've done in 2022. But we are grateful, God, for what's coming, and we declare now that what's coming is better than what has been. And ashkitabai bruskele mi oru munskete. It's better than what has been, in Jesus' name. Amen. And thanks be to God. Hallelujah. Well, I'm super excited, guys, about this word. I promise you, I promise you with everything in me, you need to stay with me tonight. This word is gonna bless you. I want to begin by saying this, praise God, you know, all kingdom vision, all of it, any vision that authentically comes from the King, built inside of the construct of that vision— listen to me is provision. But here's a reality: you cannot have provision without a provider. So at the end, it's just like in your family. If, if, if you're a man and you're the provider, or you're a woman and you provide for your family, you make provision in certain areas— hear me— because you have the strength, you have the ability, you have the skill And because of what you do, you exchange your time for money. It creates provision in your family. Well, God is a source of all vision. So as a result, he makes sure that he provides for what he tells us to do. I want you to be clear that, you know, God never will give you a vision and not give you the provision. I struggle when I hear people say God told them to do something, but the provision is not available. And not saying you won't go through seasons of processing where you have to go through things where God is teaching you faith, where he's teaching you how to— glory to God— grow in the realm of the spirit, matriculate in a way where provision— watch this— is not an issue. Because everything you're doing is actually in line with vision. So there are things and seasons you go through where you may have some dry seasons. But I want to say this tonight. Matter of fact, I hear that in my right ear. Yes, God. What God wants to do is in all dry seasons. As a matter of fact, I just heard the Lord say, for those that will align with his vision, his vision, not yours, It will end literally dry seasons and everything you need to do what you've been called and ordained to do. It will be provided. Oh my God, have mercy here. So God, again, is the sole provider of all provision necessary to fulfill vision. The word provision is two words. Pro, like any other word, pro is for, or for choice, for life. So provision, that means God is for vision. We learned last week, glory to God, that vision was qazón in Hebrew, and it was prophetic revelation. It was prophetic hope. Oh my God. It was a prophetic end, an articulation done in advance. Watch this, designed to be— oh boy— experienced or encountered. We also learned on Sunday, and I just want to review this really quick, that the opposite of vision was the word ra'ah in Hebrew, which means to see generically. And we learned last week that sight is a matter of the eyes, but vision is a matter of the spirit. And most people— we learned this last week too— they just really look with their natural eyes and they never see. Matter of fact, people who really see are rare. People who look are common. People looking at things every day. You— most of y'all watching me, you've been scrolling timelines all day. And really, I don't even understand how some of y'all have time to really tap into the mind of God and really see his vision for your life when all you do is scroll timelines and look at everybody else's life. Oh, oh, don't turn, don't scroll, because yes, you need this, man. You're sitting up scrolling all day. Don't turn this podcast off. Listen, you need to understand you're watching everybody else do what they do and you're getting mesmerized by other people's life. When in, when in reality God has a specific, authentic, strategic, very deliberate design that he created for your life. Hear me. So you, you got to spend some time in the realm of the spirit to find out what God designed. Hear me, just for you. So we, we understood then last week that vision means to see We're perception, to see perceptively, to get to see clearly without ambiguity, without being constrained. So understanding that, we got to catch the reality is, and we learned this last week too, that vision and purpose operate together. And we, we got into that last week. I won't teach it again, but your purpose is very important as it relates to vision, because any vision emerged— watch this— outside of purpose is against God. I'm going to talk about that a little bit in a minute. Any vision you erect that is not aligned with the mind of God or the purpose of God is against God. And that's what you really— you never want to be against God. You may feel good in building it out of your flesh, and it may give you certain satisfactions because you built it in the flesh or you built it out of carnal desire. But there's no real fulfillment in it in the kingdom. And watch this. Many a time you— this is why preachers burn out. They get tired because a lot of times, man, and I learned this myself in my own life. They're building things that are outside of the mind of God for their life. Oh, oh, and when you do that, you're doing it out of your own strength, your own intellect, your own resources. And literally, it's transgression. And the way of a transgressor, according to the scripture, is hard. His burden is easy. His yoke is easy, and his burden— I'm sorry— is light. So anything you're doing for him, even if he puts a burden on you to do it, it's easy because you're doing it with him. And oh my God, his yoke— he's yoked to you. It's not hard to serve him. Let's move, man. So enough review. Let's, let's get into this, man, because we, we understood last week, and this is going to be a very important point to, as we flow through this message, that vision is a source of discipline and motivation. Because when we start approaching the source of vision and understanding the source of vision There has to be a level of discipline that flows out of our life so that we stay connected to the source, but also so that we have the wherewithal to identify— watch this— the enemies of vision. And that's what I want to lead with. There are two— there are a lot of enemies, but I believe there are two main enemies that war against vision. That I want to quickly identify at the beginning of this teaching tonight, because at the end of the day, you got to have enough discipline and discernment because of your vision to identify these and— watch this— deal with them quickly when they show up. Because I want to submit to you, glory to the name of God, that your greatest enemy against vision— uh-oh— I know your preacher might have said this, but it ain't true. I'm sorry, it's not the devil. As a matter of fact, the devil and his cohorts, demons and strongholds and principalities, because they lack eternal essence, they lack the ability to operate behind the realm of glory or in light, their system is set up for those that move, watch this, without supernatural illumination, which is vision. So if you're operating in darkness, this is the only way the devil can really show up. So he's on the list, he's an enemy, but he's not at the top. The top two things are two things that I believe invite him in. And the first one is carnality. Carnality, hear me, is the act of being carnal. Carnality is a dependency, listen, on your flesh, a dependency on yourself, a dependency on your ability, a dependency on your way of doing things, a dependency on Mama's way of doing things, Daddy's way of doing things that were not kingdom ways. They might have been all right, but they were carnal because if they don't produce kingdom results, glory to the name of God, huh, they will limit you from real vision. And that's really what they technically are designed to do, is to distract you so that you don't tap into real vision that comes from God. Let's look at the scripture. I want to read it because in Romans 8 in the first 11 verses, pretty much it deals with carnality and it weighs a comparison between a life in the spirit and a life in carnality. And I want to show it because we can't even get to the source of vision, which is God, because you can't even access the source to see vision being carnal. So we got to deal with our carnal mind. That's why your mind has to be renewed so that you can walk in the spirit, that you don't fulfill the lust— watch this— the sight of the flesh, that you don't fulfill what the flesh and carnality sees or what carnality desires. Let's look at Romans 8. I'm gonna read, start at verse number 5, and I'm gonna probably read through 11, and I'm gonna read this out of the Message Bible. Stay with me, don't you dare Scroll, don't you dare push that pause button on this podcast. You need every bit of this word, even if it's stepping on your big toe. Listen, even if it's stepping on your neck, you stay right here and you get this teaching, because at the end of the day, you'll never fulfill vision, you'll never fulfill your dreams with God if you operate carnally. Let's read Romans 8 Verses 5 through 11, the Bible says this, and this is the Message Bible. Listen very closely. It says, those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle, but never getting around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them, living and breathing, God alive in them. Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end. So let me just stop right there for a moment. Obsession with yourself in the matter of vision is a dead end. You're going nowhere. As a matter of fact, these verses in the King James says, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So when you move in carnality, only place to go is death. Your vision dies. Your dream dies. Your finances die. Oh my God. And you get stressed out with the mundane existence you have because you're trying to make things work outside of the plan of God because you're moving in the realm of carnality. Oh boy. The Bible says it's a dead end. The scripture also in the King James says To be carnally minded is enmity against God. So when you move in your carnality, when you flow out of your flesh, when you flow out of your soulish appetites, you're my friend, are moving against God. Let me, let me keep reading. Let me keep reading. Let me keep reading. Oh my God. He said it's a dead end, but attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. My God, focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. So when you focus on you and your carnality and your carnal desires and your desire— I meet so many preachers, especially young preachers these days, man, and it's— I'm saddened, really, I am. That they have stars in the eyes because they look at the, the popular preachers on social media. They look at popular preachers on television and they're raving to get what they see. And they're operating out of an appetite that didn't genuinely come from God, because God never called you to be anyone but you. And guess what? You're the best version of you there will ever be. And when God comes looking for you, you want him to find you, not T.D. Jakes, because you're trying to be T.D. Jakes. You want to find you, not Creflo Dollar, because you're trying to be Creflo Dollar. You want to find you, not John Hannah, not Matthew Stevenson. You want him to find you. Are you hearing what I'm saying to you? The reality is There's more to you than meets the eye. Let me keep reading, let me keep reading, because I could stay there all night, man. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God. Romans 8:5-11, that's what I'm reading, Message Bible. They end up thinking more about self than God. The person ignores who God is and what God is doing. Watch this. And God isn't pleased at being ignored. So anytime you are building your life, your vision, your dream, your desires around things you ain't prayed about, around things you think just might be a good idea, around things you just might be interested in, I want you to understand something. God is not pleased because he has a perfect plan. That he already created for your life. He has a perfect vision that he already set up for your life. Lord, I'm— I got to go. Verses 9 through 11, let me read Message Bible. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than him. Wait a minute, the writer says here, if God's really living inside of you, hear me, there is no way in the world you could be thinking more about you than about him. So people that do this and move in carnality, you have to question whether God lives in them or not. I know they said he do. I know they grew up religious in the church and they felt like he did. But if you're more preoccupied with you and your situation and how you're gonna do things rather than you are with God. My friends, I doubt very seriously if the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, has actually moved inside of you. I doubt it. I really very seriously doubt it. You know why? Because when Jesus is in you, he's so glorious, he's so present, he's so awesome, it is impossible to focus on what you think is right, on what you have conjured up and dreamed yourself, and ignore him. I know some of us want things to be God so bad I always say we got a big box of God stickers, and out of convenience, because we wanted to be God— and it's admirable that you wanted to be God— but if you discipline yourself, live holy, let God move in for real, spend some time with him— see, part of the problem is most people live dirty lives, and the reason God can't come in, because you're gay. Yeah, I mean, the reason you got to make up stuff, because you're gay. Or you're a hoe, or you tell lies all the time, and your life is like that of a sinner. That's a problem. You're constantly missing the mark. You're not clean. You're not pure. God is holy. He ain't going to dwell— scripture, Bible, the Bible says in Corinthians— in an unclean temple. He ain't coming. I know some of y'all say, oh, that's religious, that's legalistic. No, that's true. And this is why you stuck. And this is why you can't have a real relationship with God, because you live raggedy. Let me tell you something. The greatest struggles in my life as a Christian, as a kingdom citizen, was when my life was raggedy, when I was out here hoeing and supposed to be saved, supposed to be a preacher, but a hoe. Let me tell you something. She— at that time in my past, cheating on my wife. And, and I'm so glad his grace is sufficient, but I understood that even in his grace, the power that I needed, the relationship what I needed, was being hindered because of my lifestyle. Oh, you can't keep doing what you want to do. And I know y'all don't want to hear this, but you got to make up in your mind you're going to live right, you're going to live chaste and pure. So God can move in. Oh, let me, let me, let me, let me go. I'm almost done. He said you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. So you don't even understand this if you ain't really welcomed him, if you ain't received him. Come on. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells, even though you still experience all the limitations of sin, you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive and present God who raised Jesus from the dead— listen— moves into your life, oh my God, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself. When God lives and breathes in you, and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus, you are delivered from the dead life. With his living spirit in you, your body— listen— will be as alive as Christ is. There was nothing carnal about Jesus Christ, even though the word Christian is a pagan word. The Bible says that Antioch, they were first called Christians. God never really called us Christians. Antioch called them Christians, mocking them. It was a matter of fact, they were saying that they worshiped a pagan. They were mocking them, saying Christ wasn't real. God refers to us as family, as ambassadors, as citizens of a, of a kingdom, of our home country, heaven. So understanding that, even though we have turned being a Christian meaning to be like Christ, if that be your definition, then you ought to be like him in every way. And that means you won't be carnal, because in no way was Jesus carnal. Matter of fact, Jesus himself said, I do, yeah, what I see my Father think. Are y'all with me? Are y'all with me tonight? Are y'all with me? Oh my God, I feel this thing, man. Listen, this carnality— and I know I took a while on that, and I'm really just an introduction, but I, and I got to get out of here. Listen, carnality is an enemy to God, and it is also an enemy to God's vision, because God is the source of all vision. Listen, carnality— and I posted something to this end today— carnality will cause us, if we're not careful, to build a cemetery in our lives. Hear me. And we'll end up in that cemetery we build inside of our life burying the vision of God. Because it'll get buried under all of our carnal dreams and desires. And when we go to the grave, it goes with us because we spent most of our life trying to fulfill something that wasn't God. And we erect this cemetery and we— watch this— and we bury vision. And that never was God's plan. And that never— hear me— was God's will for your life. Hear me good, saints. It never was his plan for you to move in carnality. He wants to give you a real vision, man. Here's the second hindrance, the second enemy, I believe, to vision. So carnality, number one. Number two, your last success or your past success. Your past is a dangerous thing, man. We have in the body of Christ something I call spiritual necrophiliacs. A necrophiliac is a very perverted human being that sleeps with dead bodies. Yeah, they revisit dead bodies and have intercourse with dead bodies. Ridiculous, crazy, nasty. But there are people in this world that do that craziness. But I want to tell you something, it's just as terrible to be a spiritual necrophiliac where you live through your past success. Oh my God, oh my God. Again, progress cannot happen when you consistently revisit the past. I always say you cannot enlarge and your progress breaks down when you are preoccupied with history versus being preoccupied with destiny. I said it again. You cannot enlarge, you cannot fulfill vision, and your progress breaks down when you're more preoccupied— hear me— with what you've done versus what you have to do. Let me say it another way. You cannot progress, you cannot fulfill vision, and your progress breaks down. You cannot progress, you cannot fulfill vision, and your progress breaks down when— listen to this— you're more concerned about what God said versus what God is saying. In other words, when you're so preoccupied with the past, your last success, and you rest in that success you can never move on to what's ahead. Ah, 'cause you're still rejoicing over what you've done. Paul said, forgetting those things which are behind. You know what that is? That's past failures and successes. Yeah, you testify about them and keep moving, but you don't rest in it. I heard you, I know you saying, I gotta testify. Yeah, you do. Testify, keep moving. 'Cause you'll never accomplish anything past what you did in the past If you are preoccupied with history, you're going to miss destiny. Point blank, end of story. And you cannot ascertain destiny if you do not have vision. Your destiny is housed inside of the vision you see. And if you're preoccupied with history, you're never gonna get to destiny. I got to get out of here, y'all. So let's understand the source of vision. And I want you to write these things down. I said this last week, I said it again. God is the source of all vision. The reason God is the source of all vision, because God is the source of your life and he's the source of purpose. In Jeremiah 1:5, before he formed you in the belly, the Bible declares he knew you. So he's the source. He ordained you. Hallelujah. He sanctified you, set you aside for a particular task. So he's a God full of purpose, full of power, and he has everything you need to fulfill vision. He is the source of vision. Number 2, write it down. Glory to God. God has placed his eternal purpose and his eternal vision in your heart. He did that again in Jeremiah 1:5. Before you even got here, he put inside of you vision. It's up to you again to have the discipline to see what's in you. You're trying to go to a prophet— hear me— and get vision. Listen to me. You need to go to your Genesis. Get on your face and go to your Genesis and get the vision that comes from God. And when you do this, when the prophet prophesy, he only gives you a second witness to the vision you saw when you went to God for yourself. I'm not talking about acting like you saw it, I'm talking about seeing it. I'm talking about really hearing it. I'm talking about having clarity. I'm not talking about guessing at it, but I'm talking about for real experiencing real vision, real revelation that comes from God. Oh boy, I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go. Go to Ecclesiastes 3, verse number 11. Let's read. The Bible said he has made everything beautiful in its time. Oh boy, he has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. So God is already completed everything about you because he's the source of all vision. He put it in your heart. Oh boy, oh boy, watch this. Write this down. Number 3: you were given a burden inside of you. Yeah, because he made it beautiful in his time. He set it like a watchmaker sets a watch, a good watch like a Rolex. It has automatic movement. Your life has a movement built into it. When you come into the earth, you have to align with that movement and catch up to what God has already done. Many times moments are déjà vu, are actually moments where you're in your realm of your spirit, you're replaying things that are going to occur in the future or have already occurred in the past that you maybe not even— weren't even here for, but you were sitting there saying, man, I've been there before, I've seen that, because you had a moment where you caught up to eternity. And I believe our life should be lived in that manner where we're always in sync with God's eternal vision, his eternal purpose for our life. And that burden to do it is already innately built in us. Listen, here's the other thing. You are the exact age you need to be. He said it makes it beautiful in its time. So you were born in the right time to fulfill your vision. You're not a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes. He don't sponsor junk. I used to see a t-shirt say, God don't sponsor no junk. He don't make no mistake. He don't have no flops. Yes, I'm telling you right now, there is no oops. No matter what your mom and daddy was trying not to do, you are supposed to be here. I, I'm supposed to be here. You were born in the right time. I'm telling you right now, you're in the right time for your vision to come forth. That's why you got to get clarity. That's why you got to spend time with the source. So, osh kita mande, bruni ando, u uska tamanshe. Yeah, God, I hear you. That's why you got to discipline yourself and lay before God until he gives you clarity. About your purpose, about your reason for being alive. Lord have mercy, I gotta go. Number 5, your purpose— write it down— is already complete in God. As a matter of fact, you write this down. Number 6, before God made you, he completed you. I'll say that again, before God made you, he completed you. Let's read Isaiah 46:10. I gotta go. The Bible says, I make known the end from the beginning. 'From ancient times, what is still to come? I say my purpose will stand and I will do what I please.' So God has already completed everything about you. He's not doing anything else. It's complete. This is why you got to see the vision so you can live according to what he completed. There's a Greek word called photizo, which is another word for revelation or vision. Here we go. Oh my God. Where God actually has photography, photographs, motion picture, or motion revelation of your life. You got to spend enough time and be disciplined enough. We're on that. That's the undercurrent of this teaching where you can allow the source to show you the movie. So he can give you a preview of your life, so he can give you plans that pertain to the direction he wants you to go in. I'm about— oh, I'm almost done. Listen, this verse says that I know the end from the beginning. I declare the end from the beginning. So the fact that you were born And the fact that you have started is proof that you're already completed. I'll say that again. The fact that you started is proof that God already completed everything about you. So what you stressing out over? Something that's already done. The responsibility on you is to spend enough time with the Lord to tap into what he's already finished. I gotta go. Can I tell you something? You were designed according to this text because he said, I'm gonna do what I please. This purpose is going to stand. You were designed and built to last throughout eternity. Your purpose will transition with you. Watch this. You'll leave legacy in the earth for others to walk out the purpose that's on Uriah and Zee, briske lamundi asata, to walk out the purpose that's on your life. And watch this, when Jesus returns and the kingdom is established, your purpose will be alive in that kingdom. Oh boy, because your purpose is already connected to a kingdom. Can I tell you something? Oh, you know, people who operate in familiar spirits, they like to use this term, but they really don't know what they're saying. The reality is though, there is no death. There never was for the believer. Because I want to tell you something, there is death for those without vision. The wages of sin is death. Wait a minute, not just adultery, fornication, lying, cheating. Sin, harmēsia in Greek. The wages of missing the mark is death. Ah, Lord, I love you, Jesus. Satan, the Lord rebuke you. The blood be against you. Hallelujah. Sheba briske tabambo roshku rabahandi debose. Yeske tenama isku rame ansaya. Thank you, Lord. You gotta spend some time with the Lord. Yeah. So that life is your portion at all times and in all places. Ah, God. Listen, and I'm closing. I'm giving you a few facts about vision. Write them down. Vision persists because it comes from God. Vision persists no matter what the odds. So when you get a real vision from God, because he's the source, no matter what comes against it, no matter what happens, vision is going to keep going. It never stops. Listen, a vision is something that you're not just interested in merely. You have a passion for it. See, stuff you just have interest— you have interest in, you'll do it a little while, then you'll stop. But when you really have vision, you have a passion for it. It placates you, it stimulates you, so you go after it daily. And that's innately what's built inside of a God vision is this inspiration and supernatural energy to keep going in spite of what happens. Oh my God. And here's my last one, and I'm closing. Vision— I, I'm not really through, but I'm gonna stop because I feel the Lord here— is unselfish. Boy, vision is unselfish. Vision never thinks of itself only. In terms of I'm building this for me. I'm going to build this big company or this big church, or I'm going to do these great things so that I can look good and sit on the pedestal, drive great cars, build mansions. Listen, I'm not preaching against none of that. That's, you know, God wants you to have the best of everything. I believe it. That's how I live. Glory to the name of God. But he doesn't do that for you. He does it so one, you can be a light to others to show them what they can do. To teach them how to do it. And then secondly, watch this, he does it so you can have resources. And this is really number one in priority. These are not in order, but secondly, I'm just saying it second. The reality is he gives you great vision so you can help him build a great kingdom. Any leader that's selfish, will never stir up the personal vision in you. And he is a blind leader that really doesn't have vision. If you're following people who cannot clearly see who you are as it relates, number one, to their vision, and number two, as it relates to your personal vision in the kingdom, you might want to question following them. And yes, there are leaders like that. Jesus, the greatest leader of all time— and I'm closing with this— he said, 'How can the blind lead the blind?' Now, the most powerful thing about this text is, is that Jesus suggests that the blind can actually lead, be a leader and lead the blind. It's happening all over the world. Here's a reality: he's not talking about blind in physical sight. He's talking about how can those without vision lead others without vision. So personal vision often emerges when you are connected to another corporate vision. But if you're not connected to the right corporate vision, you're going to constantly be confused about personal vision because authentic personal vision is always going to glorify the source of vision. And when the source of vision being God is present— hear me— he's going to infuse everybody around with vision that will help advance the corporate vision. And ultimately advance the kingdom. I'm done. Let's pray. Father, in Jesus' name, I thank you for this word tonight. I pray, hallelujah, that it will go into every heart and that we will reap it in due season, Lord, if we faint not. And I thank you for the victory now. I thank you for real vision, and I thank you that you're the source of vision. And I pray for every person under the sound of my voice that they will be disciplined enough to seek you, to seek your heart, to seek your mind and not your hand, as you are the source of all things. And we give you praise now in Jesus' name. Amen. Hallelujah. And thanks be to God. Listen, I love you guys tonight. Listen, before you go, if you're in the Atlanta area, I want to invite you to worship with us this Sunday. At Rhoda Church. You don't want to miss part 3 of this message. I'll be teaching it in the sanctuary on Sunday in our new worship space. Glory to the name of God. You want to make sure you're there. 621 King Arnold Street in Hapeville, Georgia. We are a rock's throw, man, from the Atlanta airport. Come out, join us, and I promise you, you will not be disappointed. The word is rich, the worship is powerful. God is is going to be there, and so should you. Listen, I want to challenge every person listening to me, sow a seed into the kingdom tonight. The ways to give are on the screen. If you want to do it via Cash App, there are only two ways you could do it at Rhoda Church. Go to Rhoda Church on your Cash App, it's just that simple, money sign Rhoda Church. You want to do it online, rhodachurch.com/donate. However you choose to do it, we We appreciate your gifts. And even if you desire to give and can't, I pray the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and add no sorrow to you be upon you, that you could be a blessing to the kingdom. Bless those that give even now, God. Give it back to them 1,000 times more, in Jesus' name. Amen. Listen, I want to tell you, as I do each and every week, share the word with with a friend. And remember, your decisions determine your destiny. God bless you.