Vision Month Week 1 | Back to The Future

Opening Story

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Story of mom and I going to the bathroom for the other to throw up.

I thought she was leading...she thought I was leading

The lack of clear leadership resulted in a moment of confusion.

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Open the text

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

The word for vision here is also translated revelation.

This is not just ambition

This is prophetic understanding of the direction that God is taking a group of people.

When the destination is not clarified…the journey cannot be unified.

This applies to home

This applies to career

This applies to family

This applies to romance

Blurry vision creates clear confusion.

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Where has vision been?

Over the last eight months…I have not had clear vision.

You can only lead from where you are.

It’s impossible to lead with vision when you don’t have vision.

Our vision was let’s get through this crisis.

HONOR THOSE WHO LED WELL IN OUR ABSENCE.

Dustin and Caitlin

Britt and Caleb

Lauren and Evan

Cody and Mandi

Roger and Sandi

Chris and Teresa

ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED

It is because of the faithfulness of many that our church was able to survive a season of personal tragedy for our family.

Faithfulness in the present will wain if there isn’t foresight into the future.

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What happens when there is no vision?

People perish…The NKJV says that people cast off restraint.

Never underestimate just how much of a role we play as leaders in keeping chaos from running rampant.

As a result of a lack of vision we have had a season of confusion.

People lay off

People lie

People leave

If you’re here…you didnt’ leave

If you’re lying…please stop…

If you’ve laid off…I hope to entice you to reengage

Because…

Where we are is not where we’re going.

____________ Rested…but blurry

I took sabbatical…came back feeling better…but not necessarily seeing clearer.

I talked with my mentors…I don’t have any vision.

I TOLD THE LORD…I NEED TWO THINGS…I NEED VISION AND WE NEED FINANCES.

There was a downward trend in giving…starting in July of 2024.

Finances are provision

Pro = comes after

provision comes after vision..

We will talk more about provision in weeks to come.

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We gotta go back When God gave me vision for what’s next…He gave me a directive to go back before we go forward…

Sometimes fresh vision is first vision.

That’s why today I’m preaching to you on the concept of back to the future…in order to go forward into what God has for us…we have to go back to what he has already told us.

Then he turned my attention to this passage in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 3:1–6 NKJV

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

This letter is written to a church with a good reputation.

People believe that there is life

People believe that they are Spirit-filled

When John says “but you are dead” you and I interpret that with a pretty narrow understanding. .

We know they aren’t fully dead because he goes on in the next verse to say strengthen what remains and is ready to die.

If it’s ready to die…it isn’t dead.

YOU WORKS ARE NOT PERFECT…That is interpreted complete. In other words…you aren’t where you oughta be…but you’re not done!

YOU’RE NOT DEAD YET!

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What it could actually mean

The actual translation of the greek word for “but you are dead”

Is Nekros which of course can mean dead…but it can also be translated “but that’s not the issue.”

In other words you have a reputation that you are alive…that’s not the issue.

Their issue isn’t lifelessness…it’s lethargy.

_____________ The angel tells the church Be watchful and stretngthen what remains.

Wake up

And invest in what’s there

Because …

What’s present is still capable of something powerful.

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In this passage the church at Sardis is encouraged to do four things…

I will do a quick overview of these four things this week and we will more than likely back to them in the coming weeks.

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1. Remember

The only way to acquire clear vision for the future is to maintain established values in the present.

Sometimes when life gets hard what we value gets lost in what we’re facing.

We have some clear values at this church…It is the DNA that paints who we are!

We are an Authentic, Spirit-filled community.

Authentic: We won’t be fake

Spirit-filled: We won’t function without His presence

Community: We won’t celebrate until isolation is a thing of the past.

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Write it down…it may not be valuable yet…but it will be.

When i prayed for the Lord to give me guidance on what was next…he didn’t give me a fresh word…

He brought something back to my mind from a conference I attended years ago

I had a journal entry from that conference.

Write down what the Lord speaks to you…If you don’t write it down..it’s hard to remember.

The vision for the future was found in my notes from the past.

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2. Reinforce

Hold fast…

Walking in the Word God has given you is not going to be easy.

Circumstances and what’s spoken over you and to you will rarely bear witness with one another.

There is an opportunity in the uncertainty.

Journal entry about never having had the opportunity to trust God like this!

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3. Repent

When you remember what your supposed to be doing…and realize you haven’t been doing it…REPENT.

This doesn’t just mean, say you’re sorry…

It means let the comprehension of your wrong settle to the degree that you change your mind…and change your direction.

Nothing will change if nothing changes…

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4. Redeem

When you realize what you still have left…you understand the value that your carrying.

We started this church with a handful of people in a meeting room

We then had a living room full

The struggles we faced were not simply an attack on me…

It was an attack on this body of believers and the purpose that God has for us.

LOOK AROUND YOU, THERE’S STILL A FEW NAMES.

We’re going to see a multiplicity of new faces in the coming weeks and months.

We’re going to see our teams grow

We’re going to be at two services and then three services

Because when it comes to the purpose of God…

All you have is all you need.

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Jesus said of this church that if they will strengthen what remains, repent and remember, that He will “confess” their “name” before the Father and His angels.

I don’t want to simply convince you of the identity of our church.

I want to lead us in such a way that Jesus is bragging on us to the Father.

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God is not done

We are in a season on relaunch.

We launched this church with 40 people on a launch team.

There are over a hundred people that call Awaken home even after the last eight months.

But it can be easy in seasons of change or minimization or confusion to assume that something is dying.

I know I did.

I became very discouraged with some of the people who we lost

But we went to a friends house in Florida during our sabattical.

I am an ice cream savaant

I love ooey butter cake ice cream by Bluebell

IT’S INCREDIBLY HARD TO FIND!

Kayla had looked each time she went to the store…she had looked at one particular walmart in the town we were in.

I said LORD if you’re not done with us at Awaken…will you let there be some of that ice cream in freezer

THERE WASN’T ANY..BUT I FELT IMPRESSED TO BEND DOWN

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