VISION

When God shows me an opportunity for His work in the world, how can I get others to catch the vision?

God's Response:
I said to them, "You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!" Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversations with the King.
Nehemiah 2:17-18

Our Takeaway:
Spiritual revival often begins with one person's vision. Nehemiah had a vision for rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. He shared it with enthusiasm and inspired Jerusalem's leaders to join him.

It's easy to underestimate people and not challenge them with your dreams for God's work in the world. But when God plants and idea in your mind to accomplish something for Him, share that idea with others and trust the Holy Spirit to impress them with similar thoughts. Don't regard yourself as the only one through whom God is working. Often God uses one person to express the vision and others to turn it into reality.

God's Promise:
It's not important who does the planting , or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
1 Corinthians 3:7-8

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
When God shows us an opportunity for His work in the world, we get others to to catch the vision by walking faithfully and obediently in the good works our Father has prepared before hand. We don't initially concern ourselves with others seeing or not seeing the vision, we first need to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and stay evenly yoked with Him.

It is for God to open the eyes of those around us, He will allow His light to be brightened through us and He will put the neighbors in our path whom need to be involved. Others will see the vision that Christ has sent us by the fruit that He produces when we are obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and as we walk in the light of the well lit path that He has provided us.
Proverb 3:5-6

I love the underlying message that this devotion carries. Be obedient to the Holy Spirit by acknowledging and sharing the good things that God is doing in your life, (Mark 5:19). Be intentional about the gift(s) He has blessed you with; use them by sharing and sharpening each other and by being vocal about how He is speaking to each of us specifically, hence, allowing God to gather and hand select the team He is going to use to put this portion of His Divine plan into action and fulfill His finished work in all our lives - Fellowship and Kingdom building!
Philippians 2:1-30

I'm reminded of a new small group study I am going to be sharing at my church called, Divine Design-Extreme Makeovers by the Master Craftsman. Basically it is about the extreme makeover that God does in our lives by utilizing the spiritual gift(s) that each of us have been blessed. The study teaches that each believer has been created independently and is a unique type of tool or brush used to paint or mold His masterpiece; He has equipped some of us to be His smaller detail brushes and for some, His trimming and cutting-in brushes. Some are called for His broader or wider brush strokes and yet others, for laying out His special patterns, designs and/ or textures - all types of unique brushes and different tools working together, complimenting each other and creating the common vision or masterpiece for Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:10

When we encourage and inspire others, we put teamwork into action to accomplish the common goals we share in our Savior - Jesus Christ! (Proverbs 27:17)