A Great Leader Must Have Vision

And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

Joshua 6:2

Last week, we learned that Joshua and the Children of Israel rose up early to capture the City of Jericho. Before they took the City, The Lord told Joshua to see the victory even before it was attained.

This teaches us another important lesson about leadership; a great leader must have vision, or the ability to see ahead. The Bible says that where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). In other words, people perish where they do not know where they are going.

A vision is a mental sight, i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle to guide you to where you are going. God gives us all visions about what we are created to do and where we should be going. These may take the form of day visions where you perceive something with your spiritual eyes that the natural eye cannot see, or through dreams whilst sleeping.

As believers in Jesus, we walk by faith and not by sight therefore a leader must be able to see beyond the natural circumstances of how things are, and look through the eyes of faith to see what is possible with the help of God.

As 2015 ends and we enter into 2016, if you don’t have a vision or road map for your life, don’t despair. If you will follow these instructions, I believe that God will give you a vision for your life:

How to develop a vision for your life:

1. Repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ, acknowledging that Jesus died to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to come into your life and be Lord over your life;
2. Pray and ask God to give you His vision and purpose for your life;
3. Whatever ideas come into your heart and mind, write it down;
4. Reflect on the ideas that come to you and ask God for direction on how to proceed;
5. Take action on the direction given to you by God. Do something everyday that moves you closer towards your God-given vision.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that before You formed me in the belly You knew me, and before I came forth out the womb You sanctified me and ordained me. Please open the eyes of my heart and reveal Your vision for my life so that I can fulfil Your purpose for my life which was given to me in Christ Jesus before the world began. Amen.

Listen to the Message

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How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

The Importance of Rising Early To Pray

And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times.

Joshua 6:12-15

In this story, the Children of Israel under the leadership of Joshua were about to take their first City in the Promised Land, the City of Jericho. God had given Joshua the battle strategy; the men of war were to march around the city once each day for six days. But the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times, and the priests were to blow the trumpets.

On the first day Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord and they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

But on the seventh day all the people rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!” (Joshua 6:16)

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. The Children of Israel conquered their first city in the Promised Land early in the morning.

As believers in Jesus Christ, this story teaches some very important lessons about why we should rise early:

Why should we rise early?

1. Jesus Christ prayed early in the morning

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, The Son of The Living God, did most of His daily prayer very early in the morning, or that He prayed all night into the morning (Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35). Jesus also taught in the temple early in the morning when He walked the earth (Luke 21:38; John 8:1-2).

2. The Lord visits us every morning

The Bible tells us that God visits humanity every morning, to fellowship with us. The mornings are God’s special time with every man or woman who will get up and meet Him at this time:

What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?

Job 7:17-18

And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Job 7:21

3. It is not just Prayer Time; it is an Appointment with God

God has set aside a daily appointment with anyone who desires a special relationship with Him. If we desire a special relationship then we should seek Him in the morning, just like David the Psalmist did:

O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.

Psalm 63:1-2

4. God’s Significant Works are done by Morning

God raised Jesus Christ from the dead early in the morning (Matthew 28:1-7). Jesus demonstrated His power and glory by walking on the sea early in the morning during the fourth watch (Matthew 14:25) which is between 3am and 6am.

When Moses asked to see His Glory, God gave Moses a requirement to meet with Him early in the morning:

And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

Exodus 34:2

Jacob wrestled with the angel at the break of day, and he obtained power with God and men and was given the new name of ‘Israel’ “for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:24-28).

5. God’s Mercies are new every morning

God’s mercy is His pity and compassion towards men. When we get up early to meet with God, these mercies are showered on us:

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is Thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for revealing to me the importance of rising early. Please help me to remember that You always make an appointment with humanity every morning. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will help me to crucify the flesh that loves to sleep and to be awake in the fourth watch so that I can keep my appointment and meet with You in Jesus name, Amen.

Listen to the Message

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Face-to-Face Appearances from Jesus

For more revelation about the Morning Times, please read ‘Face-to-Face Appearances from Jesus’ by David E. Taylor.

How To Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

 

 

How to discover your life’s purpose through dreams

There are many types of dreams, however my purpose in this article is not to go through them all and focus on interpreting their meaning. The journey I invite you on is to look at what I call Significant or Great dreams or Epic dreams.

Such significant dreams – where you see yourself doing something big, something spectacular – are very much linked to purpose. I believe they are a message from God about the reason why you were born, and they are an indication of what you have been created to do. This verse from the Bible below demonstrates that God speaks to us and gives us His instructions through dreams:

For God may speak in one way, or in another,

Yet man does not perceive it.

In a dream, in a vision of the night,

When deep sleep falls upon men,

While slumbering on their beds,

Then He opens the ears of men,

And seals their instruction.

Job 33:14-16

If you have had such epic dreams, how do you go about understanding what it means and how to move forward to make sure it comes true? I would suggest you take the following steps, which I myself have tried and tested:

1. Write down your dreams 

First of all, write down the dream or dreams that you have dreamt which indicates your future path. The Bible encourages us to write the vision:

Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision

And make it plain on tablets,

That he may run who reads it.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:2-3

When Daniel had a dream he wrote it down:

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.

Daniel 7:1

2. Acknowledge God

Dreams and their meaning are given by God. Therefore, once you have written down the dream, acknowledge that it is God who gave you this dream and thank Him for it.

3. Ask God for interpretation 

Now that you have acknowledged that it is God that gave you the dream(s), ask God to tell you what the dream(s) mean(s). He is the one who gave you the dream, therefore He is your best guide to understanding the dream. To do this I suggest you simply go humbly to God and ask Him what the dream meant. Do this every night for 30 days before you sleep until the answer comes to you. You simply say something like this:

Father God, please tell me, what does this dream …. mean?

 4. Keep a record of the answers

For the duration of that 30 days, have a notebook and pen next to your bed, so that if an answer or anything of significance comes to you while you sleep you can write it down upon waking. The meaning that you seek may come in a day, two weeks, or it may take the full 30 days; don’t give up, it will come. My suggestion of 30 days comes from my own experience; before I knew my purpose, I spent 30 days asking God what the purpose of my life was and He answered me in a dream within a month. Sometimes the answers may come to you as a vision or a thought when you are awake, perhaps doing something mundane such as washing dishes.

5. Think of ideas of how to achieve the dream

Next, take a clean sheet of paper and ask yourself this question:

Based on the answer I got about the dream, how can it be achieved?

Write down any thoughts or ideas that come to mind, for example, if your dream is that you are going to be a best-selling author, sit down with a notepad and ask God, what topic would You want me to write about? Fiction, Non-Fiction? As you sit still, answers will come to you, possible book titles will form. Write these down as they come, along with anything else that manifests from your brainstorming. Try to keep at it until at least 20 ideas are on your list. You may do this exercise and find that inspiration comes to you much later when you are in the middle of something else.

6. Commit your ideas to God

Once you have your great ideas written down, commit them into the hands of God and ask Him for guidance and wisdom on the best way to move forward:

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5

Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

 7. Take action

Next look at the list of ideas and consider what you can take action on immediately and do it. Look at this list every morning for the next 30 days and add more ideas to it as they come. Do something every day that moves you towards the attainment of your dreams. You will be astounded by what you achieve in a short space of time. To help you to track your progress, do record your achievements on a daily basis. Remember to keep praying to God for courage and strength to take these steps.

Get more tips on discovering your purpose through my free ebook ‘How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams’ which is available for download: www.blessingcoaching.com

5 Steps to developing a vision for your life

Do you have a vision for your life?

Vision is vital in life, whether it’s a vision for your spirituality, family, career, business, finances, etc. it is vital that as human beings we have a vision for our lives. The Bible says that where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). In other words, people perish where they do not know where they are going.

A vision is a mental sight, i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle to guide you to where you are going. It is a picture in your mind that you perceive in your heart about the things that you are supposed to be doing with your life here on earth.

God gives us all visions about what we are created to do and where we should be going. These may take the form of day visions where you perceive something with your spiritual eyes that the natural eye cannot see, or through dreams whilst sleeping.

If you don’t have a vision or road map for your life, don’t despair. Follow these instructions and I believe that God will give you a vision for your life:

1. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ, acknowledging that Jesus died to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to come into your life and be Lord over your life;

2. Pray and ask God to give you His vision and purpose for your life;  

3. Whatever ideas come into your mind, write it down;

4. Reflect on the ideas that come to you and ask God for direction on how to proceed;

5. Take action on the direction given to you by God. Do something everyday that moves you closer towards your God-given vision.

My forthcoming book, ‘How To Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams’ will be published shortly. On offer are practical instructions on how to discover your purpose, how to access solutions to problems you are facing or decisions you are struggling to make – all through dreams. Please subscribe now to be the first to receive your copy. Visit my website http://www.blessingcoaching.com for further information.

With love,

Blessing

I saw the same dream twice!

So last week, I explained how I came to discover my life’s purpose through dreams. I shared how I saw myself being ordained as a Pastor by my local Pastor, Bishop Creswell Green. I was so shocked by the dream that I asked the Lord to show me the dream again or to confirm if that dream came from Him.

Two weeks later I had the same dream and knew then that it was from God. You will recall from the Bible that Joseph told Pharaoh that God had showed him the dream twice because it was certain, so the fact that I saw the same dream twice suggested to me that God’s plan for me was also to be fulfilled.

After I woke up from the second dream I accepted my calling and recommitted my life to God and asked Him to guide me. Within a few weeks of this commitment, God started bringing people my way who needed spiritual guidance and I was put in a position where I could teach them the Word of God, encourage them and pray with them. The Lord began to soften my heart and allowed me to go through various challenges so that I could have compassion on those who are also suffering.

There are other significant dreams I have since had about my life’s purpose which you can read about in my forthcoming book ‘How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams’.