The Year of Hazon Vision
03 January 2021
God has many beautiful days ahead of life
This year, the Lord will do a new and unprecedented thing
Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I will do a new thing..."
Many changes and transitions happening this year and they are going to be for the good of God's people
This new year, God is not replacing last year's theme but adding on to it. In 2021, still see Him transcend time and space for me
Having theme for the year is important because even though God is outside of time, He works with time
2 words for "time" in Greek:
1) Chronos - linear time
2) Kairos - Good seasons of favor
God works with days, weeks, months and years
Bible tells me => learn to be wise so that we can redeem the time Ephesians 5:15-16
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
God can even restore the years the locusts have eaten Joel 2:25
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Today's sermon is continuation of last week's sermon, How to see many beautiful days.
Last week, the story of Acts 9, this week from Acts 10
Acts 9:43
So it was that he (Simon Peter) stayed many days in Joppa (Beautiful) with Simon, a tanner.
Deuteronomy 6:4a
“Hear, O Israel:"
Hear=>Shama
Deuteronomy 28:1-2
1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken(Shama) diligently (Shama) unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God
Deuteronomy 2:14
And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn to them.
Story about Peter, James and John is important because it is written for us
Story about Paul is written to us
John 1:12 KJV
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Acts 28:1 NIV
Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta (honey).
Acts 20:9-10
9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.
10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.”
Acts 10:1
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
"Caesarea" => Severance. Severed
"Cornelius" => that which pertains to he horn, crown
Latin "crown" => Cornu, same Latin which we get coronavirus
In Hebrew, a horn stands for Kingly authority
1 Samuel 2:10 "He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”
"horn" => cornu (latin), cerne (Hebrew), Karen (English)
Cornelius, a centurion => centurions are usually seen in a positive light in New Testament
The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 referring to the time we are in facing coronavirus pandemic
Matthew 27:54
So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Another Centurion whom Jesus praised for having greater faith than anyone in Israel,
Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus heals a Centurion's servant
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour
While Lord's desire for me to live many beautiful days, not every single day of my life will be beautiful.
The Bible tells me to withstand in the evil day
Ephesians 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
1 evil single day compared to many beautiful days
1 Peter 3:10
For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
It is scriptural for me to believe God for good days
Jobs 36:11
If they obey and serve Him, They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.
"days" and "years" are plural
The Lord wants me to enjoy many days in prosperity and years in pleasures
Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
"follow" => radaph (Hebrew) which means hunt down
Surely goodness and mercy will hunt me down all the days of my life
The Year God wants to give me Hazon Vision - His prophetic vision for my life
1 Samuel 3:1-4
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
"And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." => hazon
And the word of the Lord was rare in those days" => very sad to live in a time when the word of the Lord is rare because His word brings all His blessings from Heaven and Earth
'there was no frequent vision" => Before God does something new and good in my life, he will give me a vision
Without vision, people perish
Proverbs 29:18a KJV
Where there is no vision, the people perish:
Proverbs 29:18a ESV
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint
The word "vision" in Hebrew "Hazon" and it refers to prophetic vision from God Himself that will surely come to pass
Not lack of money or connections that people perish, people perish for the lack of prophetic vision from the Lord
To have hope => have a positive expectation of good in the future
I cannot have that without having a vision from the Lord
What is my vision now?
God wants to restore the visions this coming year so that I see light and not darkness
*God wants to restore the visions in my heart that the enemy has stolen
Whenever God wants to do something good in my life, He first gives me Hazon Vision
When God gives a word, He usually gives it in a form of vision (for eg: Abraham)
Genesis 15:1-2
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
"the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision" => God appeared to Abraham as a shield
"vision" => root word "haze" => a prophetic (accurately predicting) vision from God
This is the kind of vision that touches my heart and makes faith spring forth and fear flee
"Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless" - make I am asking the Lord, Lord what will You give me, seeing I .....?
The Lord wants to give me a new, positive vision for my life
This is the kind of vision the Lord wants me to have in my life
Psalm 1:3 KJV
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
It is so important to build faith images like this for my Spirit
*God gives me Hazon Visio by filling my heart with faith pictures for my future
Luke 6:45
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil [a]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
"out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" => when it comes to faith, alot of focus on speaking forth what I want to see. This verse shows, I am not meant to speak empty words that don't come forth from the heart. I have to change the image in my heart before I speak
God wants to flood my heart with light this year and restore the vision I have lost
This year, God will give me prophetic visions (Positive pictures of my future) and they will come to pass
precedes speaking is what is in the heart because "out of the abundance of heart his mouth speaks"
When I have the Lord's hazon vision in my heart and then speak it forth => that's when the miracle or blessing manifests
What I see in my heart is what I will see manifest in my life
Genesis 13:14-15
14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
"for all the land which you see I give to you" => God's principle : See it first and I will have it
The devil wants to trouble my heart with negative images that cause me to be pessimistic in my outlook. negative images will affect my heart, and once my heart is affected, my whole life is affected
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
=> tells me to guard my heart because out of the heart springs the issue I face of life
Cornelius Story :
Acts 10:1-3
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
'he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God" => how visions are an important way through which God speaks to us
Acts 2:17
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
Vision and dreams are similar => come to me in the form of pictures
this pictures affect my heart and faith
It is important that I guard my heart because out of the treasure of my heart, I will bring forth good things
Luke 6:45 "Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks"
Matthew 16:19 KJV
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
God's hazon vision for me during the coronavirus pandemic:
Reach out to unbelievers with His love
"the ninth hour" => Cornelius received the vision from the Lord at the ninth hour-3pm, referring to the month of September or October
God's heart is for the whole world to be saved,
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus told HIs disciples Mark 16:15
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Acts 10:3-6
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.
5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter.
6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.”
Acts 11:13-14
13 And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,
14 who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’
=> Salvation comes with words
Acts 10:9
The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
"the sixth day" => is mid day, 12pm, time of brightness
I am entering the brightest time eve as the world seems to be covered in darkness
Isaiah 60:1-3
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Acts 10:10-11
10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance
11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.
"heaven opened" => Heaven is now open over me. There was a time heaven was like brass and people's prayers could not reach God
Deuteronomy 28:23a
"And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass"
=> because of the cross , the heaven is open for me today
Acts 10:12-14
12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.
13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
=>When Peter said this (Acts 10:14), he was taking the vision literally, referring to eating only Kosher meat/food. But the animals in the vision were symbolic of people
Acts 10:15-16
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”
16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
"This was done three times" => for Peter "three times" is very meaningful
Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus restored him to ministry with three questions (John 21)
Lord was gently reminding Peter => Don't be rebellious but remember my love and grace for you
The vision Lord wants me to have this year => Don't call anyone common or unclean. Christ died for all sinners. I cannot be saved if I am not a sinner. Only sinner qualify for the Savior
God loves and wants me to reach out to all people
If anyone's heart is crying out for the true God, the Lord will send a message. He will send His word of salvation to that person
2 Corinthians 5:19-20 NIV
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
God has called me to deliver the word of reconciliation to them
When Jesus died on the cross, He put everyone on equal ground - able to receive His great grace and salvation
Matthew 5:4 NASB
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
The Lord's heart of love for people is so much greater than we realise
Matthew 9:36 NIV "... like sheep having no shepherd"
God looked at people and saw them as sheep without the love and care of a shepherd and His heart went out to them
When the Lord gave Peter the parabolic vision (of all the animals being clean and how Peter should eat of them). The Lord was actually saying: "Find your fulfilment, your enjoyment, your emotional nourishment and your inner satisfaction in relationships, and don't just fellowship among people who are believers but also reach out to those who are not. What I have cleansed, don't call unclean. They are set apart in a favourable light just like I was merciful to you, I will be merciful to them"
This year live life loved by the Lord and live life loving others
Forgiveness is beneficial and health-giving to me
I am not created to function with bitterness or resentment but with love
Acts 10:19-20
19 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you.
20 Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
=> Listen to the Spirit speaking to me this year
Acts 10:24
And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends.
=> while we still having church, contact friends and relatives and invite them to listen to the preach Word of God that they might also receive Hazon Vision from God
Acts 10:25-34
25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”
27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.
28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God.
32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’
33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
Acts 10:43-44
43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
=> God did a new, unprecedented thing. Salvation has never happen this way before. No prayer was offered and yet the Holy Spirt fell on them and baptised them
*Ask for and receive God's haze vision and experience His divine wisdom and answers for my life
Genesis 13:15
for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
Genesis 15:5
Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
God told Abraham "so shall your descendants be". Abraham numbered the stars until he lost count, until his heart was filled with this new vision from the Lord. Before God changed my outward circumstances, He had to changed the inner vision I have in my heart
*The outward manifestation of my miracle starts with an inward vision
Before God changes my situation, He gives me a vision
I am meant to walk by faith, not by (physical) sight
To walk by faith, I need to see with Spiritual eyes the vision that the Lord has for me
2 Kings 6:16
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us aremore than those who are with them.”
=> There is so much working for me than against me
Open my spiritual eyes to see that there is much more good than bad happening in my life
1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Prayers everyday: Ephesians 1:16-19 ESV
"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers that the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches if His glorious inheritance in the Saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of His great might. "
Amen
"give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened" => I have Holy Spirit residing in me already, but He does not manifest as the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to everyone. That is why I pray for it. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation operates by having the eyes of my heart enlightened. My heart have eyes that the Lord wants to open. The way He gives me wisdom is by opening the eyes of my heart
God doesn't want the eyes of my heart to see only what is negative
He wants to flood my heart with light because what is in my heart will be reproduce in my life
The vision in my heart will be reproduced in my life
Exodus 31:3
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner ofworkmanship,
When I am filled with the Spirit of wisdom, I will find myself having the answers I need.
In any situation, I will be able to say => "I see it. I know how to deal with this. I know what to do now"
The Lord will cause me to see it in my heart first. This is how the Spirit operates.
Pray Ephesians 1:16-19 over myself and my children everyday. The Lord opens the eyes of my heart floods my heart with light. I will know what is the hope to which He has called me, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the Saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power towards me who believe according to the working of His great might.
Thank you Jesus!
Am