The City of God

God has a personal plan for every believer. A plan to give us a future and a hope. This plan involves the utilisation of the talents and desires He has given us for the benefit of the kingdom and His glory. We all have desires and visions the Lord has laid on our hearts. Some of us have secret desires that we treasure and carry around in our hearts. Sadly, a lot of these desires remain unfulfilled. They remain dreams because we tell ourselves, "It just cannot happen."

 

The Lord tells us that our “young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). He also says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). When God gives us a vision of the plan He has for our lives, it is always bigger than us. God will never give us something we can do ourselves. If your vision does not require any form of support from others and ultimately God, then it probably is not from Him. Secondly, have you noticed that God is not in the business of cheap visions? This is purely to show us that without Him, we can indeed do nothing. Our God is a big God with big visions and He will not share His glory with another. I believe the bigger our visions are the better, for it brings us to a place of utter dependency on God and His Name is glorified the more. God wants His glory back. For far too long man has been glorying in the praise that rightly belongs to the Lord.

 

 A vision is like building a city for God. A city needs strong foundations. In much the same way, a vision must have certain foundations. And as the builder and architect of our visions, God is indeed the only foundation we need. He gives us the desire and the gifts for our visions but, He builds it and He designs it. This means that every step we take towards the fulfilment of that vision must be directed by God. Supposition does not come into the equation and as believers, it is a trait we must avoid. Supposition drives us away from waiting on God and it takes away our trust in Him. And another thing; supposition is not faith.

 

Architects and builders will tell you the necessity of order in building a city. In much the same way, visions must have uniformity with other visions. For example, there is no point in going into partnership with someone whose vision does not tally with yours. That puts limitations on God. Look at Abraham.

 

In Genesis 12, God spoke only to Abram. “Now the Lord had said to Abram, ‘Get out from your country, from your family, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you’ ” (Genesis 12:1, italics mine). Verse 5 says, “So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him and Lot went with him”. I do not know if Abram asked Lot to come or if Lot decided to tag along. Either way, it does not matter. The command was for Abram. The Lord spoke to Abram only, Lot was just excess baggage. Are you carrying excess baggage in fulfilling your vision? Remember that those the Lord calls, He makes provision for. If you are running around trying to find people to help in fulfilling the vision God has given you, stop. That’s right. Stop, go back to the prayer closet and ask the Lord to bring those people you need to you. You will find people coming to you as directed by the Lord. There will be times when you will need to be aggressive in pursuing what is rightly yours but I believe the Holy Spirit will give you discernment to determine such a time. Remember God is the builder and architect not you.

 

The next time God spoke to Abram, it was to show him the vision He had for him. In return, Abram dedicated that place to God. Abram then journeyed into Egypt (never a good sign) and encountered problems. Genesis 13 reveals to us that after leaving Egypt, he went back “to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord” V4. In other words, he went back to the beginning, to the place where it all started and he called upon God. Are you encountering problems? Call upon God. Go back to the place where God first called you. He will reveal the nature of those problems to you, be it the flesh or an attack from the devil. However, you must be ready to receive whatever the Lord reveals to you knowing it is for own good.

 

When Abram’s and Lot’s people began to fight, it revealed several things. In the first place, God gave Abram a vision, a future and a hope. He made it clear that He was the builder and architect. He revealed the vision to Abram. Abram took it upon himself to enter into a partnership with Lot without asking God. Abram acted on supposition. He realised the folly of his ways and said to Lot, “Is not the whole land separate before you? Please separate from me” (Genesis 13:9). Abram noticed what the problem was and acted on it immediately. Notice V14-15, “And the Lord spoke to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are-northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.’” Are you harbouring any Lot-like partnerships? Where are your partnerships taking you? Is there a knitting of the spirits or are you just ambling along on supposition like Abram did?

 

Abram called upon God in Genesis 13:4. However, God did not answer until after Lot had gone. Then and only then did God give Abram the fullness of what He had in store for Him. Lot was not in the plan. He was holding Abram back. They both had different visions. That is why one went eastwards and one went in the opposite direction. Then the Lord told Abram, “Arise, walk in the land through its length and width, for I give it to you” V17. He was told to walk in the fullness of that vision.

 

As believers with visions, it is important to realise that not every one we meet will share our vision. Are you telling all and sundry what God has placed in your heart? Remember His words, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” (Matthew 7:6). There are some people who delight in having their finger in every pie [vision]. Their objective is not to encourage, to exhort and to build but to satisfy their pride and wallet. Such people will not be committed to your vision as they have a dozen others they have not so equally committed themselves to. Ask God to give you discernment against such people.

 

And lastly, every single believer’s vision is a city destined for success. Cities make countries and countries make continents. That is the way we ought to view our visions and that of other believers. When our visions come together, we create continents; the world takes notice and God is glorified.