VISION

More Than The

Can See

PART THREE

I think it would be fair to say that any and every significant ministry endeavour is birthed out of a vision. As seen in the two previous blog posts on this theme, this vision may be a "supernatural" vision or dream in the literal sense of seeing in picture or "video" form a glimpse of  that which the Lord God is leading an individual or church to pursue with tangible outcomes - or it may be a "vision" that the Holy Spirit births in the heart and mind of a trailblazing forerunner ministry that, although not given in "technicolor", is no less real and compelling from the heart of God!

In this blog post, I would like to look briefly at three different significant ministries, and share something of the vision that each had from the Lord that set them on the path that would define their purpose in God henceforth.

These three ministries are:

1.    LOREN CUNNINGHAM - Founder of YWAM (Youth With A Mission)

2.    REINHARD BONNKE - Founder of Christ For All Nations - German Healing

                                       Evangelist, through whom Africa experienced Mass 

                                       Revival Campaigns resulting in 79 million salvations

3.    RICHARD BERRY     - Founder of Radio Rhema, New Zealand

LOREN CUNNINGHAM

Quoting from the CBN website (Christian Broadcasting Network): Loren Cunningham's life has been devoted  to sharing the Gospel to every nation. He travels continually to 30-40 countries each year, and he has visited every country on earth. His life is the world and reaching young people where their world is with the Good News.

It all started when Loren was a 20 year old Bible college student. He was in the Bahamas on a singing tour. As Loren spent time in prayer, he was leaning back in  his bed when he got a "mental movie." He "saw" waves on a map. These waves then turned into young people going into every continent and sharing the Gospel. Four years later, in 1960, he started Youth With A Mission (YWAM). In the past 60 years, YWAM has become one of the largest Christian mission organizations in the world. Loren believes that every Christian is a missionary.

Young people are trained in Discipleship Training Schools (DTS), a live-in combination of lectures and outreach, while also learning to live and work together in community. Tens of thousands of young, and older people have been involved and still are involved in the ministry of YWAM. They also have a university in Hawaii, as well as a mercy ships ministry, providing medical and other practical aid where needed. 

A PERSONAL NOTE: Although I have not ever done a DTS program, I did have the opportunity to stay at one of the YWAM centres, in Randwick, Sydney for several days back in the early 70's. It was a great joy to experience the warmth of the love and hospitality shown me by the leaders and YWAM students present there at that time. During that time, Loren Cunningham visited Sydney as part of a speaking tour in Australia with Brother Andrew, Founder of Open Doors Ministry. 

 I remember attending one of the meetings in Sydney, and being stirred by the passion for Jesus and for evangelism as Loren Cunningham spoke. I remember him asking the question: "Do you know where the 1980 Olympic Games are going to be held?" The answer: "In Moscow, Russia." He then gave a challenge to those present to consider praying about being a part of a missions thrust to use that opportunity to go behind the Iron Curtain, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ as part of an Olympic Games YWAM outreach team. I recall him saying: "You can leave your cameras home," which I thought was not meant to be a prohibition, but rather a call to see the seriousness of the mission - that it would not be a holiday!

Another quote from him I clearly remember impacting me was: "You don't become a missionary by crossing the sea, but by first seeing the Cross!" Powerful stuff!

Truly, Loren Cunningham, as a trailblazer in ministry, igniting a passion for Jesus in the hearts of thousands of young, as well as older disciples of Jesus, has sought to honour the Great Commission of Jesus, where He told His first disciples:

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:15-18

If you would like to know how you can become a Christian, and discover your purpose for being, one resource I can direct you is: www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia. Click on the "Grow your faith" tab at the top of the page, then click on the "Looking for God?" tab from the dropdown menu.

NEXT TIME: Looking at the Vision for ministry to Africa, given by the Holy Spirit to Reinhard Bonnke - One of God's most effective Evangelists of the 20th and early 21st Centuries.

 

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISIONMore Than TheCan SeePART THREEI think it ...

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISIONMore Than The
Can See
PART THREE
I think it ...: V I S I O N More Than The Can See PART THREE I think it would be fair to say that any and every significant ministry endeavour is birthed ou...

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISION More Than TheCan SeePART TWOThe prophet J...

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISION More Than TheCan See
PART TWO
The prophet J...: V I S I O N   More Than The Can See PART TWO The prophet Joel, one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible, prophesie...

VISION 

More Than The

Can See

PART TWO

The prophet Joel, one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible, prophesied the inauguration of the Christian Church, some 800 years before the birth and subsequent earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Joel 2:28,29 the prophet writes concerning the church age: "And it shall come to pass afterward

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions,

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

In the Book of Acts, in which some of the beginnings of the Christian Church are recorded, in Chapter 2, the apostle Peter quotes the above passage from the prophet Joel with the words: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel..." signifying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as being foretold over 800 years previously by the prophet. God is always true to His Word.

As mentioned in the first part of this blog, there are numerous examples of people in the Old Testament having received supernatural visions and dreams. Such also is the case in the New Testament, with examples such as those received by Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10, and also by the Apostle Paul in Acts 16:9,10 where during Paul's second missionary journey, it says: And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Another aspect of vision can be seen in passages such as recorded in Habakkuk 2:1-3, where the prophet says:

I will stand my watch

And set myself on the rampart, 

And watch to see what He will say to me,

And what I will say when I am corrected. 

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."

Proverbs 29:18 KJV states Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

The NKJV says: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint...

Other translations give an even clearer picture of the meaning of this verse...

"Where is there is no continuous revelation, the people live carelessly"....

"Without a progressive vision, the people dwell carelessly"..."Where there is no vision, the people run wild"...."Without prophecy, the people become demoralized."

It was never God's intention that we, as His children, should live haphazard lives, with the attitude of the old song "Que Sera Sera"....Whatever will be, will be!

As the Good Shepherd (John 10), He promises to lead and guide us into "green pastures." (Psalm 23)

We may not all have supernatural dreams and visions in technicolor, but we can just as surely know the plans and purposes the Lord has laid out for us as we draw close to Him and come into His presence with expectant hearts, trusting Him to give us vision for now and for the future.

The much quoted verses in Jeremiah 29:11-13 are worth mentioning here. Jeremiah was speaking to the people of Judah who had been taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Verse 14 goes on to say: "I will be found of you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."

TO BE CONTINUED

Do you know that God created you so that you might know what an awesome God He is, and how much He loves you? He desires for you to know Him personally as a son or daughter of the Living God, to know the joy of being in His presence, of experiencing His peace in your life, and to know the purpose for which you were created. 

YOU ARE NOT A MISTAKE! No matter who you are or where you live on this planet, God Loves You. Jesus Christ died on the cross for each one of us. We all matter to Him! All Lives Matter! Black, white, yellow, whatever! Jesus died for all, and rose again victorious over death and hell - that we would know His victory in our lives.

Find out more by going online to:www.vision.org.au Click on "Grow your faith" tab at the top of the page, then "Looking for God?" 

Please feel free to comment at the end of this blog post in the Comment box! God Bless!

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISION More Than The Can SeePART ONEWhen we sp...

LIFTING MY VOICE: VISION 
More Than The Can See
PART ONE

When we sp...: V I S I O N   More Than The   Can See PART ONE When we speak about Vision, we can be speaking about a number of different things. The most o...

VISION 

More Than The 

Can See

PART ONE

When we speak about Vision, we can be speaking about a number of different things. The most obvious meaning is that which can be perceived or seen with the human eye. In that regard, we speak about our ability to see clearly, for example, as having clear or perfect vision. A vision specialist doctor or an optometrist uses an eye chart to test visual accuity, such as the one opposite, originally developed by a Dutch ophthalmologist, Hermann Snellen, in 1862. The chart was called, not surprisingly, the Snellen Chart. Variations of this chart are still used today for eye examinations.

In the business world, businesses and other enterprises often formulate a Vision Statement, outlining in clear, unambiguous terms a succinct summary of the goals and aspirations of the organisation, thus presenting the vision for said business or organisation. 

Many churches and Christian ministries present a Statement of Beliefs, as well as a Mission and/or Vision Statement.

In the Bible, the word Vision can also take on several meanings. There are many instances in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible where people had supernatural revelation from God, very often in very visual, as well as often audible experiences. Space does not permit to list all these instances of supernatural visions in the Bible. A good exercise is to look up the word vision, or revelation in a concordance or Bible Dictionary, or on the internet, and see how many times the Lord God has spoken in His Word to individuals on behalf of the nation of Israel quite often - in the Old Testament, and for the benefit of the Church in the New Testament.

A vivid Old Testament example is the call of the prophet, Isaiah, as recorded in Isaiah 6. The chapter begins: 

In the year that King Uzziah died,

 I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,

 high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face,

With two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one cried to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory!"

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

         So I said:

"Woe is me, for I am undone!

Because I am a man of unclean lips, 

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

The chapter continues to recount the call and commissioning of Isaiah to prophesy to the nations of Judah and Israel, and to the surrounding nations - to declare the Lord's displeasure and disobedience to avert disaster. The greatest purpose, as stated in the notes in the New Spirit-Filled Bible was to lay a foundation of hope  and promise for the faithful remnant of God's people. The Book of Isaiah contains a large number of Messianic prophecies - foreseeing the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There can be no doubt, after reading the account in Isaiah 6 that the vision the prophet received was highly visual, as well as involving other senses.

One New Testament of a supernatural vision is that recorded in the Book of Acts, Chapter 10, where the Roman centurion, Cornelius, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always (verses 1-2) - sees an angel in a vision telling him to send men to a town called Joppa to find the apostle Peter, whom Cornelius is assured by the angel, will tell them what they must do. The chapter goes on to recount that Peter himself also receives a supernatural vision from the Lord instructing him to go with the men sent from Cornelius, to tell him and his household the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The result of this meeting was their salvation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Powerful stuff, indeed!!

Proverbs 29:18 KJV states: Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Other versions, including the New King James Version use the word revelation instead of vision.

What is THIS type of vision? How does this apply to Christians, individually and to the Church today? 

These questions and examples of this type of vision will be addressed in the next blog post in this series. God Bless!

If you would like to know more about how you can become a Christian, one resource I can recommend is: www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia, which also includes Vision Christian Radio, which broadcasts to 730 cities, towns and small communities across Australia. Click on the "Grow your faith" tab at the top of the page, and from the dropdown menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless!

LIFTING MY VOICE: WHAT IS TRUTH? Part TwoAs I was contemplating w...

LIFTING MY VOICE: WHAT IS TRUTH? 
Part Two

As I was contemplating w...: WHAT IS TRUTH?   Part Two As I was contemplating what to write in this blog "What Is Truth?", I Googled this question on the inter...

WHAT IS TRUTH? 

Part Two

As I was contemplating what to write in this blog "What Is Truth?", I Googled this question on the internet. I discovered a lengthy Wikipedia article which outlined some of the philosophical theories concerning Truth, and what it means. These include what are known as Substantive Theories, which include:

                                       Correspondence Theory

                                       Coherence Theory

                                       Constructivist Theory

                                       Concensus Theory

                                       Pragmatic Theory.

Then there are Minimalist or Deflationary Theories, including:

                                       Performative Theory of Truth

                                       Redundancy and Related Theories.

There are also what are known as:

                                       Pluralist Theories.

I discovered that, of the above, the Correspondence Theory seems to have the highest level of support in relation to the definition of Truth - in philosophical terms.

I am reminded of the verse in 2Timothy 3:7 where the apostle Paul, speaking of the days in which we are living, describes people who would be "always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

If you who are reading this are on a quest to know ultimate Truth in all its dimensions, may I suggest you take a look in the Bible at the One who is TRUTH HIMSELF, the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus finished His earthly ministry, He told His disciples that He would send them a Helper, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:13 that ".....when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come."

In John 18:36-38, as Jesus stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, who would decide whether He would live or be condemned to be crucified, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him: "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered: "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone is of the truth hears My voice."

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

Pilate asked Jesus one of the most important questions He could have asked of the Son of God: "What is truth?" and he didn't bother to wait for the answer. Like Pilate today many are searching for the meaning of Truth in Philosophy, Religion, Science - even Politics and always coming up short.

The apostle Paul warns in Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

He goes on to say in verses 9 and 10 For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Does it matter what we believe to be the Truth today? Isn't truth relative to the circumstances, culture, socio-political setting in which we find ourselves today? Ah.....we shall have to leave the answers to these questions for another time in the not too distant future.

If you would like to know how you can encounter the TRUTH, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be, as the Bible says "born again" by the Spirit of God, one place I can suggest is: www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia, which also is the online platform for Vision Christian Radio, broadcasting to well over 700 cities, towns, and small communities in every state and territory in Australia. Click on "Grow your faith" at the top of the page, then "Looking for God?" God Bless!

LIFTING MY VOICE: WHAT IS TRUTH? A simple definition of Truth is: ...

LIFTING MY VOICE: WHAT IS TRUTH? 

A simple definition of Truth is: ...: WHAT IS TRUTH?   A simple definition of Truth is: that which conforms to reality, fact or actuality. It could be stated that there are aspec...

WHAT IS TRUTH? 

A simple definition of Truth is: that which conforms to reality, fact or actuality.

It could be stated that there are aspects of truth which are relative to a particular person or place, for example, I could say that it is TRUE that I have blue eyes and that I am left-handed. It is also true that I am an Australian citizen by birth, and that I am a resident of the township of Sorell in Tasmania. It is also true that I am married and have two grown children - and two grandchildren. All these facts are true in relation to me, but most of these facts may not be true for you who are reading this.

When I was a student at Bible College in 1980, I remember being struck by the statement made by one of the college faculty, that ALL TRUTH IS GOD'S TRUTH. Examples of this could be stated as the laws of nature, physics and mathematics which are always true and cannot be changed. Let me clarify this by suggesting that in mathematics 2+2=4 will always be an example of mathematical truth.

Sir Isaac Newton's Universal Law Of Gravitation is another example of God's truth in the natural world proving reliable one hundred percent of the time. Newton postulated that any two objects in the universe attract each other with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. HUH! The simplified version concerning Gravity is: What goes up must come down!

There are other reliable and consistent laws in nature which were designed by the Creator God of the universe. At this point, anyone reading this who believes the universe just came into being as a result of the Big Bang, and out of that, over time everything evolved over millions or billions of years without any intelligent design, may not like my conclusions - but I make no apologies for believing God is the Prime Mover for everything in this universe, including the complex life forms on our own planet Earth.

As it says in Colossians 1:16-20 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell, and to reconcile all things to Himself by Him, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him. I say - whether they are things in earth, or things in heaven.

As evangelist Ray Comfort so rightly says: "Every song has a composer, every book has an author, every car has a maker, every painting has a painter, and every building has a builder. So it isn't irrational to take this simple logic a little further and say that nature must have had a Maker. It would be irrational to believe that it made itself." So, looking at the Big Picture, ALL TRUTH IS GOD'S TRUTH.

As a committed, Bible-believing Christian, I believe the Bible to be the written Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God. We are addressing the question: What is truth? in this blog.

Truth is personified in the eternal Son of the Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who in John 14:6 stated concerning Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me." What a remarkable statement Jesus made in response to a question from Thomas, one of the disciples.

Earlier in this same Gospel of John, Jesus addressing some Jews who believed in Him, said: "If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed,

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:31,32.

Those who have taken Jesus at His word, who have committed their lives to God, availing themselves of the transforming power of the cross of Christ, of His shed blood to cleanse us from sin and to redeem us back to the Father God - these have a powerful testimony of the liberating power of the Holy Spirit to release from bondages of sin and Satan, the arch-Deceiver, whom the Bible calls the father of Lies.

TO BE CONTINUED