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Sustaining The Vision

21^st Anniversary of Come As You Are Community Church

 Prayer for the Future

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.[1]

Proverbs 29:18 (ASV)

18 Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Acts 26:12-19 (ASV)

12 Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them that journeyed with me. 14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad. 15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16 But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; 17 delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. 19 Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

Sustain:

“All philosophy lies in two words: Sustain and Abstain” Epictetus quotes (Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, AD 55-c.135)

“Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery. Even if you lose, or are defeated by things, your triumph will always be exemplary. And if no one knows it, then there are places that do. People like you enrich the dreams of the worlds, and it is dreams that create history. People like you are unknowing transformers of things, protected by your own fairy-tale, by love.” Ben Okri quotes (Nigerian author who uses magic realism to convey the social and political chaos in his country, 1959)

Six Components of Visionary Leadership

1.    Self-Mastery

2.    Stewardship

3.    Visionary

4.    Precise Communication

5.    Empowerment

6.    Service

To sustain The Vision: We Must Be…

Saturated In The Heavenly Vision.

To Sustain The Vision: We Must…

Unconditionally Surrender To The Heavenly Vision

Sacrificial Service The Heavenly Vision

Trust In The God Of The Heavenly Vision

Align With Those of The Heavenly Vision

Intellectually Grow With The Heavenly Vision

Nurture Our Spiritual Growth With The Heavenly Vision