CULTIVATING VISION.
John 9:1–7 [NIV]
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’”
Matthew 25:6-8 [NIV]
4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 9:4-5 [NIV]
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish
Proverbs 29:18 [KJV]
1 As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1 [NIV]
2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9:2 [NIV]
2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.
Proverbs 18:2 [NIV]
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
John 9:3 [NIV]
3 Ways God Gives Vision In The Garden.
1. God Uses Dirt For Destiny.
6 He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
John 9:6 [NIV]
7 The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…
Genesis 2:7 [NIV]
1 I will stand upon my watch, and will watch to see what He will say unto me… 2 And the Lord answered me, and said, “Write the vision, and make it plain…”
Habakkuk 2:1–2 [KJV]
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6:17 [NIV]
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him…
Luke 24:31 [NIV]
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation… 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…
Ephesians 1:17-18 [NIV]
2. Vision Produces A Mission.
7 “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”).
John 9:7 [NIV]
3“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Isaiah 12:3 [NIV]
3 “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”... 15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
1 Samuel 15:3, 15:15 [NIV]
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:22, 23 [NIV]
21 Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
John 20:21 [NKJV]
17“Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
Colossians 4:17 [NKJV]
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…”
Acts 13:36 [NIV]
3. Vision Turns Into a Voice.
25 He replied, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
John 9:25 [NIV]
20 “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20 [NIV]
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”
Mark 5:18-19 [NIV]
29 [The woman at the well said,] “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.”
John 4:29 [NIV]
17 “When they [The Shepherds] had seen Him, they spread the word.”
Luke 2:17 [NIV]
7 So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
John 9:7 [NIV]
11 You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.
Psalm 30:11-12 [NIV]
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved… 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me.”
Judges 16:21-22, 28 [NIV]
