In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17
“Many visions and dreams are going to draw derision and ridicule from other people, even those close to us. We need something to help us get past these negative comments and that is our strong belief in what God speaks to us through those visions and dreams.
Guneratnam shared that God specializes in the minority. “It is tough bearing with negative remarks about a big dream you have when there is nobody around to support you, but when you realize that God and you make the majority, everything else just seems much easier to bear.”
Every vision has two elements: breaking and making, and it is vital that we are not hindered by the breaking. He shared three ways to keep our focus on God and fulfill the vision He has for us.
Firstly, ensure the source of the vision is from God. Many times, dreams are borne out of jealousy—we want to emulate someone with a successful career or a powerful ministry. Not only are we wasting time, we are also not fulfilling the vision God has for us.
Next, if God is indeed the source, depend on Him and make Him your resource. If God put a vision in you, He will fulfill it through you. The key to unlocking His resources is to use the resources you already have. God will pour out on us what we are not afraid to pour out on others. God’s giving is based on our surrendering. Guneratnam shared about the boy in Mark 6 who willingly gave up his five loaves and two fishes, enabling Jesus to produce a miracle that fed more than 5,000 people.
The third point is that we should not let our dreams intimidate us. The dreams that God gives are always bigger than our current ability. When his church was seeking to build a larger worship location in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Guneratnam was faced with a stream of obstacles. He realized that sometimes Christians have to make a decision—to either believe that visions and dreams can come to pass or stumble in their faith. One can choose to believe in a limitless God or to believe in the limit of one’s ability.
Guneratnam’s message stirred up the faith in the hearts of every believer in the room.”
Prince Guneratnam in his sermon “Focusing On God’s Vision” posted on City News 11 June 2010.
As I prepare to head to Malaysia, I continue to research famous Malaysian Christians. The late Dr. Prince Guneratnam ranks among contemporary saints. I located these notes from a sermon he delivered.
I appreciated his emphasis on how God accomplishes his visions through breaking and making.
On the breaking side he emphasized surrender. He adds that “God’s giving is based on our surrendering.” He rightly links that the Mark 6 and the feeding of the 5,000. The text pivots on a boy giving Jesus what He has.
This matches what we at GTP teach around the world. To all people to use what they have with God.
I also appreciated that in the making of the vision, his notion that “if God is indeed the source, depend on Him and make Him your resource.” We can be tempted to make things happen ourselves.
How does today’s post speak to you regarding the generous impact God wants you to have?
Has God given you a vision that is far beyond your ability to accomplish? Is it time to surrender through the breaking? Or give Jesus what you have in the making?