God will give you more on your way than he does before you start . That's the process of faith , and many times you got to take a step and then got to give you the next step . Then you take a next step . Many people , unfortunately , they sit back and they just wait . They need everything to be just right before they step out . No , just take a step of faith .
Speaker 2I think that's what stops people from even having visions or pursuing their dreams . It's like you might have a dream to own a business , or you might have a dream to , you know , be healthy , or , you know just maybe lose weight . I mean , there's nothing too small here . Everything is a goal or a dream or a vision , and so you don't know how and you don't have all the answers . So then that stops you from taking the first step and it's like , well , no one knows how , no one has all of the answers , until they get to that end point . And then they can look back and in hindsight say , oh well , oh , all of this came to pass before I accomplished my goal , and so that would be . My encouragement is just that you don't , you're not going to have all of the answers , you're not going to know how . Just take the first step and then the next step and the next step , and eventually you'll get there .
Hey , welcome everybody to Doing Life with Ken and Tabitha . We got a great one for you today . Today's episode is entitled A Compelling Future . Your Best Days Are Ahead of you and I want this to be not just a conversation , because everything we do is a conversation and we want to hear from you guys . If you're new to our podcast , please let us know . Reach out to us . We love to create community . I want it to also be a prophetic declaration , because sometimes people get stuck and it feels to them like their best days are behind them , like I remember my high school days or I remember how it was when I was younger and especially as we age , there's this lie from the enemy . It's like all you have to look forward to is more sickness , more tightness , worse sleep . It's almost like the older you get , the worse life gets , and I kind of want to reverse that and I want to talk about having a compelling future today . So I don't know what does that all mean to you ? A little bit .
Speaker 2Oh man . So where we are in life right now is our kids . We have teenagers now , and so our kids are in that stage where they're not little babies anymore . They don't need us to do everything for them , and really , as a mom , I can be tempted to miss those days Like , oh man , I miss those days when my children were babies . I miss those days when we would cuddle up on the couch together . But it's like , and if I stay there I'll become sad . You know , like our oldest is in college . She's a sophomore now and I was tempted to be really sad when I dropped her off at college for the first time , but I had to remind myself that , no , this is good yeah not your boy .
Speaker 1I was like , let's go . Next chapter Come on , let's go , let's go .
Speaker 2But you know those things . I think we have to remind ourselves , in just different areas of life , that the future is bright . The Bible says that our ladder will be greater than the former , because God is always taking us from one level of glory to another . He gets better and better in our lives .
Speaker 1Somebody needs this episode today .
Speaker 1I would share this one this should be one of our most shared podcasts . It really should be A couple , like you know . So a couple of weeks ago we did a podcast and I was thinking what was it about ? I can't remember what we just did Burnout , burnout , okay , and one of the reasons that people are burnout is because they don't have a compelling future . And you got to go back and listen to that one on burnout . You really do . If you missed that one , go back and listen to that one .
Speaker 1But this one is kind of like the sister or companion episode , because I was just listening to a podcast recently and they said they took a study of people that were battling depression and there was a percentage of them that got completely set free from depression and the only thing that had changed was that they started to believe in a better future ahead . They got a compelling future . It was like a serious study . It was like over a couple of years , they took a handful of people who had been diagnosed depressed , chemical imbalances and all they changed was their perspective of their vision for the future and once they finally believed that better days were to come , the best were still out in front of them , that there was a compelling future . There was a great percentage of them . I mean it was like crazy . It was like 40% of them were completely free from depression just by a compelling future .
Speaker 2Why are you saying that , yeah , having a future , because I feel like I've been there myself , like really . And so I was depressed for 12 years , diagnosed with depression . And so I was depressed for 12 years , diagnosed with depression . But you know , when I got saved , at the time I got saved , I was depressed and I was also having suicidal thoughts . I was really at a low point in my life .
Speaker 2But when I got saved , what happened was that hope came into my heart . It was just like , okay , if Jesus died for me , well then , maybe there's hope for my future , maybe I can do something with my life , maybe I can overcome depression , maybe I can get out of the rut that I'm in . It was that hope , that kind of came into my heart . And then , from that moment , from the moment of salvation , which was the moment that I received hope for the future , I never had another suicidal thought meaning that I wanted to live . I didn't want to end
my life . I didn't want to say , well , what use do I have living ? It was just like , oh , I have hope that there's a bright future for myself . And I think you're talking about that study .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , yeah , I think that this is like and it's almost like if you really study the brain in neurology they talk about negative neural pathways almost like you can create a mindset and a perspective and a worldview where everything's so negative , the worst , and thought negative things . The only way to fix it is that you have to be intentional about thinking that , which is the scripture would call it this , I think it's Philippians , chapter 4 , think on things that are lovely , pure and of good rapport . So what that means to me is to think on the promises of God . Think on healing when I'm sick . Think of joy when I'm depressed . Think of victory when I feel defeated . Think of friendship . When I feel lonely , Think of victory .
Speaker 1when I feel defeated , Think of friendship when , I feel lonely , and there's something that's powerful about meditation , isn't it ? Like Joshua 1 , verse 8 says the book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth , but you shall meditate therein day and night and observe to do everything according to therein and then thou shalt make thy way prosperous , and then you shall have good success .
Speaker 1So , actually , the Bible gives you clues of how to have success and it says that you will make your way prosperous , you will have good success , and it links it back in Joshua 1 and 8 , y'all check it out to meditation , and biblical meditation is different than Eastern meditation . Eastern meditation is where you try to empty your mind and don't think about anything . That's a way to get a demon . Biblical meditation is not emptying your mind . It's filling your mind with the thoughts of God .
Speaker 1I'm on top , never beneath . I'm the head , not the tail . I'm doing my fingers like this , but it's not that . I'm the lender , not the bar . I'm the lender , not the bar . I can do all things through Christ , who strengthens me . And so the trick is that now you are beginning to retrain , not just like what you're saying , and so at first you might not feel like it , but what you're doing is you're causing your heart and your mind , and even your body , even your subconscious , to line up with that which God has promised . It is so powerful and so needed Our ability to see pain but meditate on pleasure and promise Our ability , like when you were going through cancer , to be going through cancer , but to still see that there was going to be a better day that was coming .
Speaker 1That ability , that compelling future is so important to every mom , dad , parent , business owner , ministry person . You have to see tomorrow , today .
Speaker 2Absolutely . And seeing it is intentional , seeing it doesn't just come like oh well , I feel like I'm going to have a brighter future . You have to see it , even though you don't feel it Right . And so , overcoming cancer , overcoming any sickness or disease you know trouble in your relationships , anything like that . It is intentional , even though you don't feel like it , you intentionally choose it , you intentionally choose . I am going to see in my imagination , I'm going to believe in my heart that there is a brighter future for myself .
Speaker 2And so when I was fighting cancer and had no hair on my head and black fingernails and was in pain , I didn't feel like there was a bright future , but I knew it in my heart . I would close my eyes and see myself with long hair again . I would close my eyes and see myself running again and lifting weights again and on the beach again . I had to intentionally do that , even though I didn't feel like it . And it was those things that established new neural pathways like you were talking about , because sometimes we get in habits . We're in the habit of thinking negative . We're in the habit of thinking like oh no , established new neural pathways , like you were talking about , because sometimes we get in habits , like we're in the habit of thinking negative . We're in the habit of thinking like oh no , if it's not one thing , it's another . Oh no , I knew everything was going well . I knew something bad had to happen .
Speaker 1I can't get ends to meet . I can't ever get a break . That's why you never get a break . That's how you think , that's how you speak , that's your outlook .
Speaker 2We have established those neural pathways . Neural pathways are like you know , if you're walking in the sand , someone can go before you and make a trail in the sand and if you follow behind them in their footsteps , you'll begin to make this pathway that it's easier to walk on the pathway than it is to go fighting , you know , through the sand that doesn't have a pathway . That's how our thought patterns are . Sand that doesn't have a pathway . That's how our thought patterns are .
Speaker 2If we always have negative thoughts , it's easier for us to just intrinsically just go to those negative pathways because we've built a path already . It's hard to go on the path , that , the road that has been least traveled , where you have to make new footprints and you have to carve a new path . But that's what we have to do with positive thoughts and we can get to the place every person can get to a place where you begin to automatically , instead of thinking negative thoughts , you think positive thoughts , because you've now formed a new neuro pathway , or a new positive pathway to where you
automatically take that easier path .
Speaker 1I don't know about you . I'm working on that right now .
Speaker 2Me too . I think it's constant yeah it's constant .
Speaker 1There were certain things back in the day that I had to renew my mind . Romans 12 , one talks about renewing your mind and I had to renew my mind . But now , 25 years later , I have new things that I'm renewing my mind in . And so I don't think that this is something that you grow out of . I think this is like a lifelong journey , like , ooh , that's not a good thought . And I would even say , the more I've grown in maybe platform or impact , I've had new levels of thoughts that are negative or wrong , and so I've had to have a new level of diligence and intentionalities .
Speaker 1Oh no , I don't receive that . It's almost like the lies almost become more subtle and more like oh man , do I got to fight that again ? Yeah , you better open up your mouth , cast down imagination , make it obey Christ . That's what the Bible tells us to do . So really , this first part , I guess it comes from Proverbs , where it says as a man thinketh in his heart , so is he .
Speaker 1And we love to study the Bible and the mind and you know God's made us so beautiful spirit , soul , body , and what we've learned . And didn't you learn this some time ago , where that scripture that says as a man thinketh in his heart ? It's almost like you don't think that your heart can think , but actually your heart has more nerves running to the brain than somewhere else .
Speaker 2Yeah , I read an article I don't remember but it was so interesting and they did research on the heart and the brain and we talk about how powerful the brain is , but it was actually comparing the heart the heart speaks to the brain more than the brain speaks to the heart and , as a believer , we hear things that as a man thinks in his heart , so is he ?
Speaker 1And we say , oh , that doesn't sound right , but man , the Bible knows more than what we know .
Speaker 2And out of the heart flows all of the issues of life . So the Bible has a lot to say about the heart , and in fact , it's the heart where we have to keep guard over our heart . You know what I mean , and so I don't know . When it comes to negativity and positivity , we have to be intentional about what we allow into our heart , because what we allow into our heart is therefore going to come out of our heart , right ?
Speaker 1I guess what we're talking about today is vision . That's really what we're talking about when we're talking about a compelling future . We're talking about vision , and I love talking about vision . There's corporate vision , that's the vision that God will give to a church or a group of people , and then there's personal vision , and the personal vision is the vision that we have for our individual lives .
Speaker 1Some people will say goals , but I feel like there are some goals that we have that lead to like the vision . For me , vision is kind of like where I see myself going and I couldn't imagine living a life right now that I didn't have vision . But I feel like the reason that so many people they succumb to depression , sadness , hopelessness and despair is because they've allowed the enemy and the pain of life to steal vision . And what we want to do today is you got to get your vision back . You know how they say get your sexy back . You got to get your vision back again .
Speaker 1You need a compelling future . You need to know that everything that you've been through was creating something in you for a better tomorrow , that your mess is being turned into a message that I mean I can go through all of the alliteration that we use as preachers . But what I'm saying is that God is perfecting things concerning us and what does Jeremiah 29 , 11 , what does it say ? That he knows the thoughts that he has towards us , thoughts of peace , to bring us to an expected end . And why do you think that sometimes vision gets stolen , like especially when you first get saved ? You're like man , I'm going to preach around the world and we're going to build a family together .
Speaker 1You first get married . We're going to have this wonderful life together , and then , all of a sudden , you find yourself in despair and you find yourself in a business that you've been working for 10 years , 12 years , or in a company and it just feels like who you thought you were going to be . You're not that . Then come the thoughts where you're too old . Now you should be further along than where you are . Then you throw in a little bit of competition . Looking at everybody else on social media and you literally begin to spiral down .
Speaker 1Why is that and what do we do to prevent that ?
Speaker 2in your opinion , spiral down . Why is that , and what do we do to prevent that , in your opinion ? Well , I think there's a lot of different reasons . I think , um , first of all , we have a dream , we have a goal , we have a vision , um , and sometimes things don't happen the way we think they're going to happen .
Speaker 1Okay .
Speaker 2And so then we think we've failed , or we think it's never going to happen , because it doesn't mean that you failed , or it doesn't mean that it's not going to happen just because it didn't happen how you thought it was going to happen . The Bible says that man plans but God directs his path , meaning that I have a dream , so I'm going to plan , I'm going to write this dream down , write the vision and make it plain , but then God , while I'm going about accomplishing this dream , vision , goal , god is going to direct my path . And so God might direct me to the east , the west , the north and the south , but eventually I will still meet my goal .
Speaker 1And all the way to your goal is trust .
Speaker 2Trust and faith .
Speaker 1Right Every step of the way .
Speaker 2And it's back to Jeremiah , like you said , because his plans for us are good and not evil , to bring us to the expected end .
Speaker 1But we have to know that , and that's part of us knowing our Father , see , part of it is just knowing his character , that he's not going to lie and that he's good and that he will perform on his word . I think what it is is in the midst between the promise and the manifestation of the promise is character assassination . It's where Satan is did .
Speaker 2God say will God come through .
Speaker 1Is he really going to heal you ?
Speaker 1You know , know he ain't heal everybody else . You know how he let you get cancer while you think this and it's character assassination . And we got to come to the place where no , I know God Shut up devil . He's the God that healeth thee . Same God back then . Same God right now . And we have to strengthen ourself in God's word , know who he is and understand that with every promise there is a process . And so a few things come to mind . I think many times God will show you the end . He just won't show you the journey . And people get weary and well-doing because they didn't know
. They thought God showed them a vision . They thought it was going to take a year . They didn't know it was going to take 30 .
Speaker 1Right , right and then God showed them a vision and they just thought it was going to be easy selling . They didn't know that there was giants already in the land . They thought it was just going to be Jericho , but then they found out that it was Jericho and Ai , and then this city , and then this there was a bunch of giants in the land . They had no clue .
Speaker 1Many times we think that we got a promise from God that we've been healed by the stripes of Jesus . He gives us the desires of our heart . He's perfecting all things concerning us , but then we got hit with a sickness . Something happened to one of our children , something happened at a job , and we allow that setback to cause us . It's almost like you're knocked down , but you're not knocked out .
Speaker 1To me , this is a part of the journey , and what I'm hoping to do with this podcast is to get you ready for the fight . People got to get up for the fight . This is a journey . Like this is not like . I mean , I love athletes because sometimes , like , let's say , LeBron James , you'll say he's been playing in the league for so many years over 20 years and he's only won four championships . That means 16 years . He didn't reach the goal , but it's really about the process and sometimes you know , at the end of his career we'll talk about the four championships , we really will . We'll look back and we say , well , kobe won five and Jordan won six and LeBron won four , or he might get another one , who knows .
Speaker 1But when you're going through the journey , you're thinking about all the times I failed it , I missed it , we didn't even make the playoffs .
Speaker 2And when it comes to your life , I think sometimes we get so fixated on the prize , not knowing that if I don't win it this year , god's teaching me something so that I could win it next year . That's right , and the Bible tells us to build memorials , to remember what God has already done , to bring to your remembrance the goodness of God , to be thankful all the time . So all of those principles , those little nuggets that we do in our daily lives , will help us stay focused on the future . I think also , though I just forgot what I was going to say . I got so excited .
Speaker 1Oh , that's okay . Do you feel like every married couple needs a vision , like a family vision ?
Speaker 2I think so .
Speaker 1I think so .
Speaker 2I think you know , without a vision , you know , how do we know where we're going ? How do we know our goals ? How do we ? You know ? It's like you know . I think a lot of couples are probably suffering because they don't have a vision . We're just going day to day , we're just gritting through day to day . You go to work , I go to work , I take care of the kids . We just wake up it's another day .
Speaker 1What are we going ?
Speaker 2Where are we going ? Where ? Are we going ? What are we doing ?
Speaker 1You feel like we have a vision .
Speaker 2I do .
Speaker 1OK , what's ? What do you feel like our vision ? Is I Okay ? What ?
Speaker 2do you feel like our vision is ? I know at one point we have been strategic and written down a vision .
Speaker 1I don't know if we've visited that We've got to bring it back .
Speaker 2I haven't visited that in years . I wonder how we would mold it and change it a little bit , because it's probably two pages long , Just so you guys know .
Speaker 1When we first wanted to fix our marriage , we went all in and I don't think we had kids back then .
Speaker 1We just had a marriage that was headed for divorce and we decided that we wanted to fix it . And one of the things that we did , we listened to tons of ministry on marriage and we developed a family constitution and the constitution was all the laws of our home and our family . Everyone knows where everybody goes . You come home by a certain time . This is how you communicate . These are just the outlines . Like America has a constitution , we have the Claytor Constitution .
Speaker 1Then we had a three-year , five-year , 10-year goals and it was all written down and , just like our church , we do . Like a prophetic theme . Like this year is the year of communion for our family . We would always either have the same word as the church or we would give our family another prophetic theme . So it would be well , this is going to be our year of discipline and here is our goals this year one year , three year , 15 year goals . Here's the family constitution . We have family meetings with a family meeting outline and we will put it all together in a book and now we haven't done that in a while , but I , you know , I feel like maybe we can bring some of it back . I know you're kind of jumping in and bringing some order back to the house because we got so busy with things .
Speaker 1It might be cool to just have you know , have it like written again , like I think we both know what our vision is , but I think it's good to write the vision , make it plain , to have something we're hoping for .
Speaker 2Absolutely . But you know what I always wanted to do when we were writing the Constitution and the vision and all of that I always wanted to make like a family crest , you know , like a shield , you know with C for plater yeah . And add a cross for salvation and add , like you know , like do , like you know , just , I just wanted to go all out .
Speaker 1Just yeah , don't have a church of God . Pentecostal logo crest .
Speaker 2We should do that .
Speaker 1Logo crest .
Speaker 2Yeah , yeah , we're going to be like .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah , yeah , no , go ahead and do it , yeah , go ahead and do it . Well , you're the artsy one , so we'll leave that to you . Okay , thank you . Yeah , to develop the clader crest .
Speaker 2Come on .
Speaker 1This is , you know , because this is here's the inside information . We kind of run . I say like a business , I mean principles like vision . Okay , submission delegation communication .
Speaker 2Decent and in order .
Speaker 1Meetings . You know what I'm saying , Because that's the only way you can win championships .
Speaker 1There's no , teams that don't meet , that don't practice together , that don't have a playbook . No teams come together and say , what are we here for ? Oh , we're just going to pass the ball a little bit . No , we're here to win a championship . This is the things we need to do to get there . And I think sometimes married people you get married you don't talk , you don't have family meetings , you don't talk about what you like or dislike , you don't make halftime adjustments , people don't know how much money is being spent , you don't know where we're going . And I think that there are some business principles or let's not call them businesses , Maybe that's offensive , let's call them organizational principles that whenever there's more than you single , you don't need that . You can have it all in your heart , but you bring two people together . The only way to keep me me and you on the same page is we need to write the vision we need to make it plain .
Speaker 1We need to come back to look at it , you know , monthly , quarterly . We need to talk about how we're doing . We need to talk about what adjustments we need to make . I don't know . I just feel like that's good wisdom for somebody today .
Speaker 2Yeah , it is . I mean , it's something to take to be proud about and I think back then we were establishing the Claytor family and our values and who we are , that we are proud to be Claytors , you know , proud in the good sense Like we value God , we draw a line in the sand . You know , for God we live and for God we die . I mean we are , you know , just like this is who we are .
Speaker 1We have core values . We have three core values . Do we remember them ?
Speaker 2It's love , love god these are kids you know , this is what we taught a kid honesty and it's definitely .
Speaker 1Uh , what is gratitude ? Gratitude , we just said you know what ? We can't teach our kids a bunch of stuff . But if we can get these three like be honest , just don't lie to us all right , just be honest , be grateful . So now our kids I pick them up from track every single time I pull up in the garage . Thank you for picking me up , thank you for picking me up . We have instilled this gratitude piece like crazy . What was the other one ? Gratitude ?
Speaker 2Loving God .
Speaker 1Loving God , loving God , and so , of course , with the children that's an ongoing process and I'm seeing them develop now and worship and have their own time with God . I actually came into my son's room the other day and I was like I know he's still asleep . I know he's still asleep . It was like 6 am in the morning . I was like he's so quiet . I know he's asleep , so I creep around like I'm gonna catch him asleep . The brother had his Bible and he had his note taker sitting there and I picked them behind him . I was like , bro , that's my son , we got a breakthrough .
Speaker 2That's my son right there We've got a breakthrough . Come on , man , now , tomorrow he's going to be your son when he starts acting up again , but right now he's my son . We're not even going to talk about what he ain't doing right now .
Speaker 1So the Bible says this in Habakkuk 2.2 . He said the Lord answered me write the vision . Make it plain upon tablets so he can run . Who reads it ? Pro upon tablets ? So he can run who reads it ? Proverbs 29 , 18 says where there is no prophetic vision , the people they cast off restraint , but blessed is he who keeps the law . And then Jeremiah 29 , 11 says for I know the plans that I have for you , declares the Lord plans for welfare , not for evil , to give you a future and a hope . What sticks out to you from those few scriptures ?
Speaker 2Wow , I mean , I guess kind of just summing up what we just said that having a vision , having a goal , is so necessary .
And just talking about hope , again , the Bible also says that hope deferred makes the heart sick . It's like you got to have something to believe in , you got to have something to work for , to fight for , to just drive you to want to see another day .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Because , or else you know why be here , right ? You know let's all go be with Jesus , right ? Heaven is a great place right now , yeah .
Speaker 1So I would assume that you believe in having a compelling future Absolutely . Any other reasons why that comes to mind ?
Speaker 2I mean just to enjoy life . You know , god came to give us life and life more abundantly .
Speaker 1Have you ever felt before like you've been working hard but have never Little to show for it ? And almost like why am I doing all this ?
Speaker 2Absolutely .
Speaker 1And what did you do about getting ?
Speaker 2out of those feelings . Yeah , they were temporary feelings . I mean , of course , I felt like that years ago before I knew Jesus . But in my walk with God over the last 20 years it's been . You know , there are times when let's say I'm , you know , busy raising kids and you know nobody says thank you . You know you're cooking breakfast , lunch and dinner , you're folding clothes and you know , doing all of this stuff and you feel unappreciated , you know , invisible . You just yearn for some adult conversation and you're looking around like , oh my gosh , am I ever going to get out of this house ? Like you know , I have to change diapers again all day , every . You know like it just it's all a perspective . You know what I mean . So I got myself out of those moments .
Speaker 2Of course , and how did I get myself out of those moments ? It could have been like , hey , babe , I know you just got home from work , but let's schedule a babysitter , I need it , take me out to dinner . You know , like I just need some time by myself . I had a thing where you know you would come home from work and I'd say , ok , but I put your dinner on the table and you'd be outside with the kids , outside of the bedroom , excuse me . And I'd go into the bedroom and just run a hot bubble bath and sit in the tub for 30 minutes by myself and it just it did my heart good , because in that tub all I did was just build up my faith again , build up my hope again , like , oh no , it's going to be okay . I love my family outside this door . I just needed a second to myself to be grateful for what I had . Some people wish they had kids outside , so it was just all perspective .
Speaker 1What would you say to the person who feels like they've had the wind knocked out of ? Them and they've just lost zeal . They've lost their passion . They've lost their passion for God . They've lost their passion for life a little bit . They've lost their and they're going through the motions I mean they still taking care of the kids , they're doing their responsibility but that zeal is gone . There's something . There's something missing .
Speaker 2I would say number one don't quit . You know you got to keep on moving , but I don't think that's a good enough answer , because you have to change what you're doing to get different results . You know , sometimes that could be . Do you have a mentor in your life ? Do you have someone who's speaking into your life to build you up ? Do you need a counselor ? Do you just need to go talk to somebody to help you have a fresh perspective ? Maybe all you do is work and you don't do anything that you enjoy . I just started doing this myself . I started to like you know what I like to garden . I started to like you know what I like to garden , you know . So I started every Saturday .
Speaker 2I go outside in the morning and I get into the garden and you're laughing at me , but I kind of overdo it , man . I worked so hard last week oh my gosh .
Speaker 1I was so tired .
Speaker 2But just you know . So sometimes you have to do things that you enjoy , do things for you to build yourself up . So I would say , yeah , you have to kind of just get to work on changing what you're currently doing so that you can get different results .
Speaker 1I would say and this is not like I'm- not trying to be oversimplistic , because we can give you a bunch of things to do but you got to dream again .
Speaker 2People of God , you got to dream again .
Speaker 1Businessmen , businesswomen , you got to dream again . Parents , you got to dream again . Come on , you got to dream again . Pastors , leaders , you have to dream again . And I'm always inspired when I look at the life of Joseph . And his brothers , of course , betrayed him because of his dreams , but I just love it that he had a dream .
Speaker 1He had a vision from God that , even though he was thrown into prison , into the pit , the dream kept him alive . He knew that it wasn't his end . You know what I'm saying ? It's just something about the person that I don't care what situation has happened to me right now , I know there's a better day that's coming . I think of like a Nelson Mandela .
Speaker 1Can you imagine being in prison ? What was it ? 27 or 28 years ? Then he comes out and he becomes the president . He must have still had a vision and as long as Satan can't kill your vision , he can't kill you . As long as he can't kill the dream , he can't kill you . And you got to do whatever you got to do just to get a dream again , like a God-sized dream , something that you can't do without the help of the Lord , something that gets you up in the morning , something that gets you going , and even like ministry . Ministry has been a dream of mine and we've been working on it and working on it , and you can also come to where you see that dream come to pass in a level of success , but almost then feel like , okay , is there anything different ? You listen to people like Deion Sanders who say , well , I won a Super Bowl and then I felt like killing myself because , you realize that at the top of that mountain there was going to be another mountain .
Speaker 1Maybe it wasn't everything that you thought that it was , and that's why we just can't have better dreams , bigger dreams . We have to have better dreams . A bigger dream is I'm going to have a bigger house and I'm going to have a bigger business and I'm going to make more money . But what happens when you have a bigger house , you have a bigger business and you make more money . It's not just about having a bigger dream , but you have to have a better dream . A bigger dream is about you . A better dream is about how can I do this so that I can give my life away , how can I reach more people and help more hurting people and change more lives ?
Speaker 1And I really believe that , even though what we do can be really , really difficult , I'm still driven to get reports . Like we love your testimonies when you send them in . That is like I get up for that . Like I say let's go record more podcasts , let's do . I'm tired , but let's go , because I know somebody's going to get help today , somebody's going to get blessed today , somebody's going to get saved today , and when your testimonies come in from around the world . It blesses me and we want to share more and more of them . So make sure , if you're new to our podcast , hit the subscribe button so you can be the first to get the content . Share this but , more importantly , write a review and leave your testimony in the review . But , more importantly , write a review and leave your testimony in the review , not like a review like hey , this is a good podcast , we want to know .
Speaker 1We want to know . What did God speak to you ? What did he show you ? What principles are you picking up ? That's been good for you . Email us and it really , really helps us . And I'm telling you that's a part of my vision , that vision when I say stuff like we want to help a million couples around the world .
Speaker 1I'm up for that . I'm up for that when I say to our church we want to help lead 2 million people to Jesus over the next 20 years . I'm up for that . And I know there's going to be some prisons and I know there's going to be some pits , but when I'm in the prison and pits , the vision and the dream it still sustains me . When the Bible says that there are rewards , that I'm going to get in heaven , I'm up for that . When I know that I'm going to stand before Jesus and hear him say well done and I get a vision of me standing at the feet of my Savior and him looking at me and me looking at him and I get to hear the words well done . I'm up for that . There are some things that I'm going to go through in life but because I have not just a bigger dream but a better dream , I'm willing to go through the journey and the pain , but I'm still motivated to get up and keep on going . And you just got to get your dream back again .
Speaker 2So good .
Speaker 1Yeah , got to get your dream back . So I want to give five simple keys to having a compelling vision and we can just kind of talk about these and this is just a few things . And those of you all who take notes while you're watching , this is just good note taking and you know before you even take notes . I would just ask you in your comments below , just what do you do to like get a dream from God , get vision from God and keep dreams and keep vision , because that's almost a whole nother podcast , because people can get it . But how do you keep it ? I want to hear from you . Put it in the comments if you don't mind . But here's five simple keys to having a compelling
vision . Tell me what you think . Number one is get quiet enough to hear God .
Speaker 1Psalms 46.10 says be still and know that I'm God . So vision begins with stillness , not striving . Turning down noise turns up the clarity of the voice of God . One scripture and I looked at it this morning , proverbs 3 , I think it's 5 through 6 , it says if you trust in the Lord with all your heart , lean not to your own understanding , acknowledge him . One translation says submit to him in all your ways . He'll direct your path . There's just something about coming to the place where I'm submitting my whole life to you , god . Now I need you to show me me in the future , and here's what I believe . I believe that everybody needs a vision or a dream . You know , sometimes I ask one of our kids . I say , well , what do you want to be when you get grow up ? I don't know . That's not good .
Speaker 2I knew you were going to say that . I was like did they tell you something ?
Speaker 1I told this kid . I said listen . I said I'm giving you 30 days to come up with what you're going to major in and what you want to do with your life because I don't know ain't good enough . Yeah , because I don't know is what , honestly , failures ? That's how they think they don't know . They're just kind of going through life case . What will be will be no . What's God saying ? Which direction are you going ? I'm not afraid to pivot and start something and stop something .
Speaker 1I never thought I'd be doing this right , I thought I was going to be in business but God had a different plan for me . But God knows . We need to know every kid needs a vision . Coaches need vision . Leadership needs vision . God knows You're leading a church . You've been there for 15 years and you got 200 people . Get a vision for 500 . What is God saying ? It's not about the numbers but it is about vision .
Speaker 1What is God saying ? What's next ? Number two clarify who you are , not just what you do . So Ephesians 2.10 says that we are God's workmanship , and so vision should flow from your identity , not just activity . So ask yourself this what is God uniquely gifted you to do ? What burdens or passions do you have that stir your heart , that points towards your dream ? Anything there ?
Speaker 2No , that's good .
Speaker 1Number three would be this write it down , make it plain my hope and I would love for you guys to email over . We'll pray over your visions . If you want to email them to us , I would love for you . Just especially if you're married , get together with your spouse and say what's the 12 month vision vision , three-year vision , 10-year vision . Just write it down , make it plain and listen . If you get to the end of the year and you didn't do anything , just bring it to the next year . Don't get down Say where are we going ? How are we going to get there ? Financial vision , financial goals , health goals . We're working on all that ourselves right now . All right . Number four let it be bigger than you .
Speaker 1Matthew 6.33 says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things shall be added to you . I think sometimes we have vision that's just for us and we need a vision that's bigger than us . We need vision that we need God's help on something that can bless people , not just us something that honors God . And number five is to take one step . Don't wait for the full map . God will give you more on your way than he does before you start . That's the process of faith , and many times you got to take a step and then God will give you the next step . Then you take a next step , and it's not many people , unfortunately . They sit back and they just wait .
Speaker 2Absolutely .
Speaker 1They need everything to be just right before they step out , yep .
Speaker 2No just just take a step of faith , right , and I think that's . I think that's what stops people from even having visions or pursuing their dreams , is that they it's like you . You might have a dream to own a business , or you might have a dream to , you know , be healthy , or , you know , just maybe lose weight . I mean , there's nothing too small here . Everything is a goal or a dream or a vision , and so you don't know how and you don't have all the answers . So then that stops you from taking the first step , and it's like , well , no one knows how , no one has all of the answers , until they get to that end point , and then they can look back and in hindsight say , oh well , oh , all of this came to pass before I accomplished my goal , and so that would be . My encouragement is just that you don't , you're not going to have all of the answers , You're not going to know how . Just take the first step and then the next step and the next step , and eventually you'll get there .
Speaker 1Yeah , so good , so good . So our assignment for you guys today is to go before God and get you a God-sized dream , get you a compelling future . It doesn't have to be something big . Maybe it is something big , but something that you're like . It energizes you . I'm up in the morning for this . I'm excited about this . It could just be I'm up in the morning for this . I'm excited about this . It could just be like I'm going to read the Bible this year . A compelling vision .
Speaker 1I want to grow as a money manager , I want to save , I want to pay off some debt this year . Get up and work it and work it , and work it until you see it come to pass , and our prayer for you is that you'll realize that your ladder is greater than the glory of your former .
Speaker 1In your best days , they are really still out in front of you . Hey , we're out of time for today . If you enjoyed this podcast , let us know . You know we have a vision here to help a million couples around the world be closer to God and closer to the people that God has placed in your life , and one way that we can reach those people is by your help . If you could just take a moment right now and just share this episode , comment on this episode , write a review , send us your story . We're building a community and we'll be able to share stories , stories like this one . Somebody wrote in . They said hi , pastor Ken and Tabitha , I've been searching for marriage content and I did not really find any channel . That spoke to me . I'm so glad to have found your channel , and now I've recruited my potential partner to watch y'all . We love your content so much and we both um , we both are young . I guess that's what that says .
Speaker 2God bless you .
Speaker 1Pastors from South Africa , from South Africa .
Speaker 2You can say that they're from South Africa and they use the word y'all . I thought for sure this was going to be a Southern somebody , but yeah , yeah , no , from South Africa .
Speaker 1South Africa , we love you . Somebody wrote in and said thank you , ken and Tabitha , for your passion in teaching what God-honoring , healthy marriages look like . Would I want to live with myself ? Yes , I strive to keep our home calm , grounded , peaceful and authentic . I take being the CEO of our home seriously . Kindness is not weakness . So many people couples get stuck on small stuff . They have it all wrong . You're right , ken . Changing our heart is key Biblically . Love is patient and kind , but so many couples forget this part in the heated moments . It's heart-wrenching . Thank you for reminding us the scripture . It's important and it's powerful . Thank you .
Speaker 2And that was from .
Speaker 1Peace , heart and Light Company man . Thank you so much for writing out to us , letting us know how this is changing your life . If you're new to our podcast , hit the subscribe button or the follow button wherever you're listening or watching at , so you can be the first to get the content as it's released . We drop a new episode every Thursday at 3 pm . If you're ever
in Florida , come and worship with us at Alive Church , orlando , tampa , gainesville , florida . But if you want to really come to the best time of the year , it's at Alive Conference . I know you've been hearing about it . Come on to Orlando in November and we'll give you a November to remember For more information about this year's conference . Y'all okay , you can check out the link In the show notes and we hope to see you there . Just know that we love you . We're praying for you . We'll see you real soon . Peace , peace .