Consuming Fire Part 4

God is looking for a people who will embrace His vision so that He can bring revival.

Summary

God has a vision which He made clear to the church through the great commission.  This is the big vision with which every believer needs to connect with.  Bishop Ron completes his four week series on vision by discussing the “when” of vision.  Within the era of the great commission, each believer, every church and every minsitry is called by God to fulfill a function with God’s timeline.  God has given Life Springs Church a prophetic calling from its inception which intersects with the great commission.  That “when” is when God’s people respond in faith and embrace the vision God has implanted in us and enter into what God has.

Outline

1. No task ahead of us is greater than the power that is behind us – We are called to fulfill a vision.
   1. We have God in our midst and He gives us the power to do what He calls us to do.
   2. What He called us to do will require supernatural power and miracles that work through people who are humble and broken.
   3. God has a vision for us, but for us to complete it, it must come from a voluntary heart.
      1. The essence of it all is love, and love must be voluntary.
      2. The imprint God has put in every human being is to give and forgive.
   4. If we are walking outside of love, we need to repent – repentance is asking God to work on us for the rest of our lives.
   5. God has instituted sacraments to keep our hearts from becoming hardened – giving and forgiving are sacraments which, when we abandon them, our hearts become hard.
   6. The Christian life is a walk and a journey…C.S. Lewis “A life that is not worth examining is not worth living.”
   7. Our goal is to be pleasing to God – Humility is a requirement for pleasing God – God resists the proud.
2. Summary of first 4 parts on Vision – about a consuming fire
   1. The reason we keep playing the video on vision is to get people to connect with the vision of the church. If we do not know our past, we do not know where we are going.
   2. First 3:
      1. What is vision – definition: vision is to make things better.
      2. Why Vision – the steps and processes to get vision.
      3. Where is vision – Where we find it
   3. Habakkuk 2 – write the vision down and make it plain so that people can run.
      1. Go up to the rampart and be corrected by God.
      2. Hellen Keller “the only thing worse than being blind is having sight with no vision.”
   4. God has given Life Springs Church the vision of planting churches – we are pressing into this vision.
      1. Some churches have a vision to work in the inner city.
      2. Another is to reach out to bikers – Bishop Ron visited such a church, where he was greeted by a man named “Spike” and met others with names such as crusher….the point is that fulfilling their vision causes them to demonstrate the saving power of Christ.
   5. A vision symbolizes fire because when it is ignited it burns away other things and it changes things.
      1. Jesus is a consuming fire who transforms our lives so that we will never be the same.
      2. If we radically believe in Jesus, we will change.
      3. A vision, when internalized, it keeps us alive and keeps us going.
   6. You never have a vision where everything is aligned at the beginning.
      1. A vision pioneers new things.
      2. A vision requires tenacity to fulfill it.
      3. Embedded in success is failure.
      4. You become a master at something because you do not give up.
   7. In God’s economy we need to be focused both on the vision and on the things that could distract us and take us off course – we often need to renew our hearts in order to stay on target.
   8. A vision is for us to rally around in order to get back on target.
      1. A vision puts us back on track when we have a meltdown.
   9. Little faith will sustain you, great faith will propel you – we need faith to be stewards of God’s vision.
      1. Great faith is a forerunner.
      2. Great faith blazes a trail for others to follow.
   10. Our territory is to steward a revival.
       1. Right here is the center point for God to light the fire of revival.
       2. It is not about numbers but about people who humble themselves before God.
   11. When a vision comes in, insecurities come up. We need to purify ourselves in order to fulfill God’s vision.
   12. GOD IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE AFTER HIS OWN HEART WHO WILL CRY OUT TO HIM.
   13. Bishop Ron is stirring us up to fulfill the vision He put into this church from the beginning.
   14. FAITH IS ALWAYS EXPRESSED IN ACTION
       1. Faith is intrinsically involved in a vision.
       2. There is no such thing as blind faith – faith requires the whole person to fulfill God’s purposes.
   15. PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL TO FULFILLING THE VISION.
       1. We need to cry out to God, for the vision also requires supernatural power.
       2. We should cry out that God would reproduce His character in us, that we would look like Him.
3. When – the fourth part of vision.
   1. There are different definitions of “when” but it is a timeline word.
      1. Eg. When did the Roman Empire come into existence?
      2. Eg. When did Nero become emperor of Rome?
      3. Eg. When did the barbarians come and destroy Rome?
      4. All of these times intersect each other.
   2. When did we get our marching orders as a church?
      1. From the great commission given after the resurrection. – Go make disciples of all nations – that is the primary vision.
         1. Many lives, churches and ministries have intersected with that great timeline.
      2. When did Life Springs get our marching orders that intersect with this great vision? At the very beginning.
      3. A third type of when…when it intersects with those two, it creates a consuming fire = how soon is when we are ready.
   3. This is our time and season where we can respond and fulfill God’s vision for our church.
   4. We need to get before God and tenderize our hearts before Him so He can set us on fire.
   5. If you want to be successful, you need to walk, think and talk like God our Father.