Prophetic Teaching: Vision (Part III)

You’re gonna do WHAT? You must be crazy!!! Help for the mindset of a person with Vision

Acts 10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

Our month long study on the subject of Vision is all balanced upon this third week. We are at the the point of having to solidify our vision so we can begin to live our vision. The study this week will take us through a lot of defining what it is that we have on our hands. A vision is a huge responsibility. It can be consuming. It can make you doubtful. Was it a real vision or were my eyes playing tricks on me? Visionaries are an intense set of people. They spend a lot of time in their own heads. That’s what brings us to the Book of Acts. Here, Peter provides a perfect inside look into the mind of a Visionary.

Acts 10:19 starts out, “While Peter thought…..” Those are three very powerful and important words and they demand our attention and we’re going to look at these words in depth now and throughout the length of this blog. For now, we’re not going to spend a lot of time on Peter’s name. If you are churched enough to be reading this blog, you know about Peter’s name. It means rock or stone. I could link that with the table from Habakkuk and all that ,but the truth is this Peter is US. Put your name there. You are who we’re about to discover in light of Peter’s vision. Now, let’s get into some meat we may not have considered before.

While denotes time. It also denotes effort, as in worthwhile. “While Peter,” in this text means that Peter was using precious time. Has it taken you a while to wrap your mind around what God has shown you? It took Peter a while. This is the same Peter who rebuked Jesus, after all. Why, because it took Peter a while to get it. Verse 16 tells us it took the vision three times to appear to Peter. Each time Peter rebuked it, and each time God rebuked him back. Is God still having to rebuke you because you keep telling him something else? “While Peter,” is for those of us who have taken our own sweet time. Peter hasn’t written his vision. This is the book of Acts. This is Luke’s book. Luke wrote about Peter’s vision. Come on here, Peter didn’t do his own part yet. Remember, while also means effort. All Peter’s work was being done in his head.Yeah, he was still one of those “let me think about it” saints at this point, which leads us to why it took him a while. It was his thought process.

Thought, such a common word now, but it won’t be after this paragraph. Did you know the Greek word used for thought in this verse is used only a total of three times in the whole New Testament? Yep, twice in Matthew and this one in Acts. All the other times the word thought is used in the New Testament, a different word is used. Yet, THIS time called for a special word to be brought in. Remember now God’s dealing with You, Peter. It requires a special word when dealing with visionaries. The Greek word used here is: ejnqumevomai or Enthumeomai.

It means to bring to mind, to revolve in the mind, or to ponder. Easy enough right, but this is the kicker: It’s a compound word! It’s made up of the Greek word enj meaning a fixed position, something instrumental, and the word qumoveb (Thumos) meaning passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith and boiling up and soon subsiding again. It means the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either drives the drinker mad or kills him with its strength.) That same root word means wrath, fierceness, indignation. It is used ten times in the Book of Revelation alone. See where we’re going with this? Peter was a mad somebody. Don’t you know we get more ideas when we’re angry than any other time?!!! Hey, and look at this, Peter dealt with madness AFTER God gave him Vision. We think if we get a glimpse of God we’ll be alright, but it’s not always so. Why? Peter almost lost his mind behind what he saw. Why??? It’s because of what a vision is! Read on and watch this.

“…on the vision…” Let’s define Vision. I know that seems like something we should have done week one, but that was too soon. See, we’re all Gung Ho week one. It’s hard to receive when you’re hopped up on adrenaline. It took three weeks to face the fact that our Vision may not be all inspired by God even if ultimately comes from God. What do I mean? Let’s Lexicon Vision as it relates to this verse. It is from the Greek word Horama; It means that which is seen, a spectacle, a sight divinely granted in an ecstasy or a sleep, a vision. It means our Vision is based on what we’re sleeping on or ecstatic about. Which was Peter’s case? Verse 10 tells us. He was very hungry. It says he would have made ready to eat but he fell into a trance. What’s wrong with that? Nothing except for what happened in verse 9, Peter was supposed to be up there to pray! Peter went up on the housetop, the place where God raptures people from. He went up there to pray and got sidetracked by his appetite. Look at verse 13. God speaks to Peter according to the last thing that Peter was ecstatic about, FOOD. He says kill and eat. Since somebody is about to spiritually die, finish em off with your next bite. Come on Peter, Since you ain’t praying no more, or since your appetite is now what influences your spirit man more than me, kill! Remember this was done three times. Peter had three times to pray and each time the trance broke, Peter went back to thinking about how hungry he was. What have we really hungered for since the trance of the New Year has broken? Does God have to captivate you all over again every Sunday? Remember, we just learned that Peter’s thoughts were motivated by anger. He was mad that his own will kept being interrupted by what he considered unclean and all the while God was trying to to show Peter, US, that we cannot take our unclean thoughts to prayer and have a clean Vision! It’ll produce a hysteria that can drive you crazy. It’s not that so much that Peter was hungry, its that the Bible says he would have eaten something in the place of prayer. Don’t try to substitute or delay spiritual things, even for a little “while.”

God also spoke to Peter about what his being so uncommon that he couldn’t deal with the commonalities that we all share as people. Is your vision only for uncommon people? If it is, then prepare to have a small impact. Great impact comes when everyone can benefit from your vision. Everyone may not have a role, or be a runner, or be intimate at all. You may never meet them in fact, but even the super healthy will eat apples from McDonald’s. The company has so much vision it can give you a 1300 calorie hamburger and still get the money of a vegetarian. What I’m saying is that we, being uncommon, can’t forget about we what we have in common with the next man.

“…the Spirit said unto him,..” This is the stage of the vision most of us perpetually exist in.
Now, we just learned that enj means something instrumental. See, what holds up most visions is the lack of material. Peter considered himself and got mad when he thought about how he was the material God had to work with. Knowing you are an instrumental part of your own vision can make you downright depressed. Remember that “while’ we talked about? Check out verse 17 for more information about that while. Peter doubted a while, he doubted IN himself. Then he started thinking about killing the vision, you know, aborting destiny? That’s why we sometimes call it a “meanwhile.” Mean folks are usually people of vision that nobody can work with or for. Jesus tried to work with Peter, ask Malchus how that went. John had to work with Peter and found that Peter was so hot blooded that he worked naked. Every time Peter blew up, he was at work, or faced with a task or a responsibility, or in a emotional state that he couldn’t control. In other words, he was trying his very best to make something happen. He had a wife to look after, her mother was sick, a fishing business, come on here, Peter was stressed. He worked with his brother Andrew which means they probably inherited the family business, employees to manage while they were away with Christ. It was a lot. He wasn’t well educated. (Acts 4:13) Peter had nothing in him that suggested victory. Remember, Peter means rock. Rocks can be thrown. Peter got thrown quite a few times, remember that cursing thing? In fact, Peter’s fault and his saving grace was his own name; he was rock solid baby. God knew that Peter, did I mention he walked on water, would not crumble. Peter is my hero. He feared being an instrument, but he continually positioned himself to be used. I love it all day. You may be fearful of making a name for yourself. You may be reluctant to put your name out there. You may back up because of the reputation behind your name. I’m hear to tell you there’s greatness in your name!!! It’s not great because of what you’ve done yet, it’s great ‘cause of what other’s haven’t done yet. Ain’t nobody walked on water since Peter! Peter’s problem, the one that plagued him on the same water he walked on, was that he was easily overwhelmed. He is about to discover the solution for being overwhelmed in the midst of Vision. Read on.

“…Behold,…” pay attention, observe to see about something to see i.e. have an interview with, to visit to know. God is saying study this moment. I’m about to let you interview me, ask me questions about how I took my vision and created the world in a week’s time. All your answers are in what I say next, “…three men seek thee.” Three is the first all encompassing numeral. 1 cannot enclose anything, neither can two I I sides encase anything. It is only beginning with the number three that man became capable of holding onto anything. Ask Adam and Eve how well they held on to Eden after they took God out of the equation. The number 3 forms the first true shape in arithmetic, the triangle. It tells all sides of the story. It is representative of what is complete. Three men came seeking Peter. Men, remember those who God called you to? Peter was called to be a fisher of men. He was struggling with the vision and what it meant and how he could do it. He was about to lose it again. He was about to blow it all, not because he didn’t love God, but because he felt inadequate. That’s when God gave him a formula for success. He used the number three and he used who he assigned Peter too.

What was God saying to him? What is God saying to you?

He’s saying the Vision is realized through a series of completed assignments!

Don’t get overwhelmed y’all. Just complete each assignment. Don’t fear being inconsistent. Just complete each assignment. Don’t get antsy about the 6 months from now. Just complete each assignment. I feel worship in the room. I’m in the library and I feel worship in the room. I’m telling you, Pastor Terence said last week “…the vision isn’t for you to get trapped up in timelines, but for you to keep stock of the milestones…” I know that was and still is a word. The milestones are the point where you completed each assignment. Go back and break your vision up into doable assignments. Make it manageable. Leaders, give every man their assignment. Let them complete it before you give them another one. That’s how you’re going to see the full vision be accomplished. Do it with your children. Do it with your work. Do it with yourself. Do it with somebody else. The runners didn’t take off with the whole book. They took what they could retain and ran with that. Complete each assignment this week and come back next week for more.

Hang On Ministry endeavors to complete it’s assignment in your life for 2012!

Teaching by: Minister Laketa McKinney