the written word
Every individual needs direction in life, hence it is always important to have a written guideline to follow if you want to arrive at your destination. The purpose of vision is to provide this guide for you so that we may always have a point of reference as we journey towards our goal/destination. However an unwritten vision is as good as no vision. The book of Proverbs 29:28 tells us that people are destroyed for lack of vision, which is why Habakkuk 2:2, (New King James Version) Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.
Every serious organisation knows the importance of vision and ensures that their vision is adequately communicated and written down. Look for example at the vision of The RCCG or any other serious church for that matter. Because it is written down and a constant point of reference, everyone runs with it and results in good success. This is because whatever is not set in stone is subject to distortion and manipulation. Case in point: The 10 commandments on stone tablets! Even after Moses broke the first set, God still insisted that he has to rewrite it on another set of stone tablets so that it will be delivered with accuracy.
The devil knows the importance of the accurate Word in your life and that is why he will always want to steal the seed of the Word of God, kill your faith in that Word or completely destroy your focus on the Word. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The first thing satan will attack in your life is the Word, because without the Word, there is no vision. That was his strategy initially with Eve and later with Jesus. He succeeded with Eve because she was a recipient of an unwritten vision. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Gen 3:1-3).
However, he failed with Jesus for He had spent time in the Torah (the written Word at that time). Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-11). In the case of Eve, when satan distorted what God said, she did not have anything written down to refer to and because she did not refer to the source of the instruction, she was easily deceived.
Jesus however constantly referred to the written Word each time the devil tested him. This strategy of the devil has not changed, he is still coming after the Word in your life. The Word of God is what God has said and written down for us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and no more, no less. That is why he gave us the written word to live by, the Real Manna. Interestingly, that was Jesus' very first response to the devil.
Apostle John even said anyone who adds to, or removes from it shall be accursed, (Revelations 22:17-18).
Moses really nailed it down when he said the Word (book of the Law) is our very life itself, (Deut. 32:45-47); he was very right then and still very true today. David said in Psalm 119:11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. If you don’t get the accurate word and hide it in your heart through constant study and meditation, when satan comes, he will try to distort the Word in order to make you sin.
It is the truth that you know that will set you free. Start writing the Word in your heart through regular study and meditation. If you want to succeed in this life, then you have to make very effort to get the undiluted Word of God in your heart and to do it i.e. Run with it. Read and meditate on Joshua 1:8 as often as possible, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
What has God told you about your future? Write it down. It will always be a reference point when it is written. What is God’s vision for your family? Write it down as a father and help your wife and children follow it. It will lead to fruitfulness and success. The same applies in our daily living. Whenever you are given an oral instruction, you must ensure it is written down so that you can carry out the assignment accurately without any distortion.
God bless you.
Every serious organisation knows the importance of vision and ensures that their vision is adequately communicated and written down. Look for example at the vision of The RCCG or any other serious church for that matter. Because it is written down and a constant point of reference, everyone runs with it and results in good success. This is because whatever is not set in stone is subject to distortion and manipulation. Case in point: The 10 commandments on stone tablets! Even after Moses broke the first set, God still insisted that he has to rewrite it on another set of stone tablets so that it will be delivered with accuracy.
The devil knows the importance of the accurate Word in your life and that is why he will always want to steal the seed of the Word of God, kill your faith in that Word or completely destroy your focus on the Word. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The first thing satan will attack in your life is the Word, because without the Word, there is no vision. That was his strategy initially with Eve and later with Jesus. He succeeded with Eve because she was a recipient of an unwritten vision. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Gen 3:1-3).
However, he failed with Jesus for He had spent time in the Torah (the written Word at that time). Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-11). In the case of Eve, when satan distorted what God said, she did not have anything written down to refer to and because she did not refer to the source of the instruction, she was easily deceived.
Jesus however constantly referred to the written Word each time the devil tested him. This strategy of the devil has not changed, he is still coming after the Word in your life. The Word of God is what God has said and written down for us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and no more, no less. That is why he gave us the written word to live by, the Real Manna. Interestingly, that was Jesus' very first response to the devil.
Apostle John even said anyone who adds to, or removes from it shall be accursed, (Revelations 22:17-18).
Moses really nailed it down when he said the Word (book of the Law) is our very life itself, (Deut. 32:45-47); he was very right then and still very true today. David said in Psalm 119:11, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. If you don’t get the accurate word and hide it in your heart through constant study and meditation, when satan comes, he will try to distort the Word in order to make you sin.
It is the truth that you know that will set you free. Start writing the Word in your heart through regular study and meditation. If you want to succeed in this life, then you have to make very effort to get the undiluted Word of God in your heart and to do it i.e. Run with it. Read and meditate on Joshua 1:8 as often as possible, This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
What has God told you about your future? Write it down. It will always be a reference point when it is written. What is God’s vision for your family? Write it down as a father and help your wife and children follow it. It will lead to fruitfulness and success. The same applies in our daily living. Whenever you are given an oral instruction, you must ensure it is written down so that you can carry out the assignment accurately without any distortion.
God bless you.
