by Matt Sorger
The enemy contested Isaac’s increase. When you are about to go to your next level of promotion, you will have to face this spiritual contest head-on. The enemy is not going to roll out the red carpet for you to come in and take over. As Isaac continued to dig wells in his land, the Philistines contested it. The first well was called Esek, meaning contention. The second well was called Sitnah, meaning enmity. But Isaac refused to give up. He knew the land was his. The third well they called Rehoboth, meaning room. God helped Isaac break through the contention and made room for him to be fruitful in the land. As he pressed through and didn’t give up, his fruitfulness increased. And so will yours.
Use Your Secret Weapon Wisely
So, you made it through to the end, and this chapter has not self-destructed! You are well on your way.
As you continue on with your mission to fulfill your future assignments from God, use your secret weapon wisely. Perseverance is your key to overcome the obstacles that may lie ahead. You can do it. I believe you can, and so does God. He’s the best partner in crime fighting there is. Together, you can save the world.
CHAPTER 10
The Power of Vision
Pulling Your Future Into Your Now
AS GOD EMPOWERS you by His grace to deal with the issues of your past and to persevere through every difficult and trying situation, He doesn’t just bring you out of something, but He brings you into something. He brings you out of your past so you can enter into your future. You enter into your destiny through the power of vision. Vision will cause you to move beyond every label someone has put on you, every pain you have had to endure, and every injustice you have had to face. Vision will empower you to accelerate through your now moment into your future purpose and calling.
Get ready to dream big! God wants you to have a vision way bigger than yourself. It should be something impossible for you to achieve on your own. He really wants to be glorified through what He accomplishes in and through your life. The more impossible it is, the more glory He will get.
Michelangelo, an Italian Renaissance painter, among other things, created two of the most influential paintings in the history of Western art. These included scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and images of the Last Judgment on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Michelangelo once said, “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”1 He understood something about having vision that lifted you above your own abilities.
Vision is so vital for you to fully move into all God has for you. The direction you look in will determine your path in life. Some people get stuck in the quagmire of their past. They only focus on the negative things in life. They focus on everything they don’t like and on what everyone else is doing wrong. They focus on their own limitations, weaknesses, and inabilities. Their focus is more on the actions of others, their own natural circumstances, or why they can’t move forward into the place God is wanting to bring them. They always have an excuse for why their life is going in circles repeating the same old patterns.
To really live every day to the fullest, life must be filled with vision, God’s vision. Vision produces a sense of purpose. It is the driving force behind what we do. Without a vision, people perish (Prov. 29:18). Vision causes you to advance forward and accomplish God’s will for your life. Vision is all about how you see your future. All great accomplishments and achievements start with a vision and a dream. Vision will empower you to be a world changer and nation shaker. Vision enables you to see beyond the limitations and empowers you to achieve the impossible.
Vision is having the ability to see what God sees for your life. When you see beyond the obvious, your eyes are open to see the potential of who you can be and what you can accomplish.
Vision Comes in Stages
Many times vision comes in stages. God often reveals His plan to us one step at a time. When I was in college studying to become a doctor, God revealed His will to me that He had called me to vocational ministry, but I had no details. He gave me a vision that would lead my life in a certain direction, but like Abram, I didn’t fully know where I was going. As I obeyed Him each step of the way, His vision continued to unfold.
From that place of revelation God showed me to go to Bible school to be prepared and trained for ministry and to get a strong foundation in God’s Word. After four years of intensive Bible study, God then revealed to me that I would become a pastor on staff at my local church. After four years of pastoring and gaining more knowledge and experience in ministry, God then began to give me a vision for miracles and salvation for the lost. With this vision came a new desire to travel and preach God’s Word and see His power released on the masses. It was this vision that brought direction to my steps and led me right into my future.
Vision Requires Risk
Vision is a great thing to have. But if all you have is vision, then at best what you may have is a glorified daydream. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, said it this way: “Vision without execution is hallucination.”2
Vision cannot remain alone. It must be accompanied by action. The greatest vision killer is procrastination. How many times does God place something in our hearts, only for us to just sit on it? There comes a time in every great visionary’s life that action must be added to their vision. I have always found that when I take steps of faith in response to what God has placed in my heart, my action releases the hand of God to begin to open doors for me that would have otherwise remained shut.
When God spoke to me to launch out into traveling ministry, I had no open doors at all. I just had a vision from God. But God was faithful to confirm His will to me in several significant ways. This gave me the courage I needed to take the necessary risks. I had to make the choice to leave my comfort zone. In order to begin traveling in ministry, I had to lay down my position as an assistant pastor. I had to leave everything behind, including my paycheck. That can be a very scary thing. My vision propelled me forward into my destiny, but along the way I had to be willing to take risks.
I was able to take those risks for several reasons. First, God had clearly spoken to me and confirmed His word through the counsel of several other leaders in my life. So my steps were not in presumption; they were in obedience and faith. I could also take these risks because of my firm confidence and trust in God. I knew God had always taken care of me and that if I was in His will, everything would work out according to His perfect plan.
During my last week of pastoring, I still had no open doors to preach on the road. I was at the hospital doing my last hospital visitation as a pastor. As I was walking through the foyer on my way out to my car, I walked right into another local pastor from the area. I had only met him once three years earlier, but he remembered me. He greeted me and asked, “So, Brother Matt, how are you doing? What’s new?” After a little small talk I shared with him, “Well, pastor, I am traveling on the road now in ministry.” It was my confession of faith. He looked straight at me and said, “I would like for you to come and preach at my church. Please call my secretary, and we will set a date. When are you available?” I said, “Next week.” That was my first open door as an evangelist. God has continued to open doors for me ever since.
I have learned that when one door closes, God always has a better door waiting for you. Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens, but we so often look upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”3 It’s so important that we don’t miss God’s opportunities by focusing too much on what we feel we have lost.
What is so wonderful about vision is that it will empower you to endure the process you have to walk through to get to where God is bringing you. The road is not always easy, and vision will keep you moving when it gets difficult. Even with Jesus, it was for the joy set before Him that He could endure the cross. The vision within His heart for humanity being reconciled back to God gave Him the strength He needed to fulfill God’s pu
rpose for His life. Vision will keep you moving in the right direction and will give you the passion to make needed sacrifices along the way.
Where Are You Looking?
There will be seasons in your life where you have to look back in order to move forward. There will be times you will have to face your past with all of its pain and ugliness, but you can’t stay there forever. God doesn’t want you to get stuck. As God was harnessing His power in my own life and preparing me to be a vessel that would touch the world, I went through some very intense seasons of introspection where God was dealing with some painful issues from my past. But I couldn’t stay there forever. I couldn’t dwell on those negative things forever. This is the difference between a victim and an overcomer. A victim constantly dwells on what’s been done to them and why their life is messed up as a result. An overcomer faces pain head-on, works through it, and then moves on. A victor eventually refocuses their vision not on where they were or even on where they are right now. An overcomer begins to look forward to where they are going and how God is going to gloriously use everything for good in their life.
In Genesis 13:14–15 God instructed Abraham, “Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever.”
Abraham had to look from where he was to where God was bringing him. He had to get his eyes off his present moment, location, and circumstance, and he had to see where he was going. Your destiny is determined by what you can see. My question to you is, what do you see?
Abraham would be reminded every night of his destiny in God. In Genesis 15 God brought Abraham outside and told him to count the stars. He said, “So shall your descendants be” (v. 5). Abraham believed and trusted God’s words. He had a continual reminder that no matter what his present moment looked like, this was where he was going. He would be the father of multitudes. Every time he looked up and saw the stars, he saw his future.
You Multiply What You Look At
We find a phenomenal illustration from the life of Jacob that shows what you focus on will multiply in your life. In Genesis 30:25–43, we read the story of how Jacob is ready to move away from his father-in-law, Laban, and start his own life. But Laban resists his going and asks Jacob what he can pay him. Jacob asks for Laban to give him the speckled and spotted animals from his flock as his wages. Laban agrees, but later that same day he removes all the spotted animals from his flocks so Jacob couldn’t get them.
But God gives Jacob supernatural wisdom. This is what he does. “But Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white in the rods. Then he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred and conceived when they came to drink, the flocks bred and conceived in sight of the rods and brought forth lambs and kids streaked, speckled, and spotted” (Gen. 30:37–39).
The story goes on to say, in Genesis 30:41–43, “And whenever the stronger animals were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed and conceive among the rods. But when the sheep and goats were feeble, he omitted putting the rods there; so the feebler animals were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. Thus the man increased and became exceedingly rich, and had many sheep and goats, and maidservants, menservants, camels, and donkeys.”
The flocks birthed and multiplied what they looked at. When they looked at the speckled tree branches, they gave birth to spotted lambs. The principle is simple. We multiply in our lives what we set our vision on. If we set our eyes on the good promises and purposes of God, that is what will be multiplied in our lives. If we focus on the negative, we will multiply the negative. It really is true. The more you dwell on the negative things in life, the more depressed you become and the more you move in a negative direction. Dwelling on your own weaknesses magnifies them. Dwelling on the wrong things others have done to you magnifies and multiplies offense and anger in your heart. Dwelling too long on your wounded past multiplies a victim mentality and feelings of defeat. As you choose to focus on God’s vision, you will see His promises multiplied in your life.
When I was young, I said to God, “God, tell me the mys tery of the universe.” But God answered, “That knowledge is for Me alone.” So I said, “God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.” Then God said, “Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.”4
—GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
George Washington Carver, a devoted Christian, grew up as a slave in Missouri in 1864. His life exemplifies the power of God-given vision. I remember reading a story about Dr. Carver being locked away for six days and nights in his office. When one of his students inquired about what he was doing, he replied, “We found the answer.” “We?” the student questioned. Then Carver continued to explain that he was never alone in that lab for a moment. God was with him the whole time. God had revealed over three hundred products from within the small peanut, including ink, ice cream, cosmetics, bread, dyes, soap, candy, sausage, oils, and so much more. Carver’s God-given vision for the peanut brought great multiplication and jobs for many in the South during a difficult time. Just like with the patriarch Jacob, God multiplied Carver’s vision.5
Pull Your Future Into Your Now
I have heard a lot of teaching on God’s timing. And for sure, there are some things that are sovereignly set in God’s timetable. But there are other things that aren’t. Many times we settle for less than what God has for us because we believe it’s just not God’s time for us to be blessed. Did you know that your vision can actually pull your future into your now—even something that has a set appointed time by God for your future? Vision not only moves you forward, but it also pulls your future into your now moment.
We see this happen when Jesus is at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. While He is there, they run out of wine. Mary, Jesus’s mother, hears this news and turns to Jesus and says, “They have no more wine.”
Why did Mary bother to tell Jesus this, as if He could do anything about it? Jesus’s response to her is almost comical. “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4, NKJV).
Basically, what Jesus was saying to her was, “Shh. Why are you telling Me this? It’s not yet My time to do a miracle. My power is not supposed to be shown yet.”
Mary’s response is even funnier: “Whatever He says to you, do it” (v. 5, NKJV).
She completely ignored Him, just as a good mom would. Mary had vision that the others did not. She saw what Jesus could do, and she could not contain it. Her vision pulled Jesus right into the manifestation of a miracle, even though it was not God’s chosen time for it.
Mary’s vision pulled something that was set for a future date right into her now moment. That is what vision will do for you. If you see it, you can have it. Vision releases faith in your heart that gives you supernatural access to God’s amazing power, now. Vision can cause you to accelerate God’s timing, bringing your future into your now. Get ready to see what God sees, releasing His power, purpose, and destiny into your life.
PART III
Releasing the Power
CHAPTER 11
The Power of Blessing
The Favor Factor
DURING ONE OF our MSM-hosted conferences, a prophetic minister shared with me that the Lord showed him that money was being stolen from our ministry. I was surprised when he shared this with me because I was not aware of any missing money. I honestly thought that maybe he had missed it. Shortly after that our board of directors made some adjustments to our offering policies as a ministry so that whenever possible, offerings would be given directly to our ministry. It was something placed in their hearts to do. I was never aware of any issues with our offerings. Certainly money was never the reason I went into the ministry. When I first started in ministry, my weekly salary was less than three hund
red dollars a week. I had that salary for years.
But something very unusual happened when we started to receive our own offerings. They doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled! I was amazed. I couldn’t understand why there was such a dramatic increase. Then it dawned on me. Could it be possible that some of the churches I had ministered at were keeping some of the offerings that had come in for our ministry? Maybe. Only God will fully know. I know many of the pastors we have become friends with over the years are men of character and integrity, and I do not believe they would ever do that. But it’s possible that at times our offerings were being skimmed.
Stolen Money
I was ministering at a church where the power of God moved in a mighty way. There was a great blessing of God’s glory and presence released in the meetings. The pastor had shared with me that during the meetings an offering would first be received for the church, and later in the meeting an offering would be received for our ministry. Normally we receive the offerings directly, but the pastor preferred processing them through the church. Since it is my heart to serve, I submitted to the pastor’s preference. I was happy with the arrangements and was glad the church would be able to cover expenses for the meeting out of the first offering. Our heart is to serve and be a blessing in every way possible.
After the meetings were over, the church gave us a check for what came in the offerings for our ministry. When I saw the amount, I thought possibly a mistake had been made or that the offerings just hadn’t been fully processed yet. I knew in my heart that probably much more had actually come in for our ministry. I was hurt and felt like my trust had been betrayed. I never imagined that the pastor would take money out of our offerings, especially since it was announced to the people that everything being given in the offering was for our ministry. My initial reaction was one of hurt and disappointment. Had I not taken control of my soul and brought it under submission to the Holy Spirit, those feelings would have soon turned to offense and possibly anger and resentment. I knew I couldn’t let my heart go there.