The Vision

A Deeper Insight into the Vision of the Ministry of Jason D. Blakeman Solid Rock School of Theology

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for B.Th. Jason D. Blakeman October 10, 2011

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The Vision Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

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The Vision

Abstract Through the use of the Holy Bible, and prior as well as current ministry experiences, this paper will articulate the personal vision of the authors ministry. This will be demonstrated through description of his actions to spread this vision to various individuals and communities, the outcome of the vision as played out in various individuals lives, and how the personal vision of the authors ministry has affected his own life.

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The Vision

The vision of the ministry that God has called me into is one that has taken many evolutionary steps over the years. As I grow into further Christian maturity, more and more faith begins to be exposed to me and utilized as I spread the vision throughout the world. This vision is the hook, line, and sinker for many who have come to this Faith known as Christianity. It has given many who are lost, broken; self consumed, and condemned, the freedom to pursue that which has been pursuing them all along. The unconditional love of God! Many of them, for the first time are accepted for who they are, without condemnation, and in a love that they have never experienced. The vision gives them their own personal vision of faith, hope, and love, which can only be expressed through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Without this relationship, the vision is a counterfeit without any real fruit. It is in this vision of faith, hope, and love that I myself have found my personal vision which I am now able to cast to others through my ministry and lifestyle. I hold the deepest desire that they will continue to grow in, and spread this vision to the masses so that the experience of faith, hope, and love will abide in them forever. The vision is a necessity if we are to see a positive change in the hearts and minds of the people. Scripture tells us Where there is no vision, the people perish.1 Not only must there be a corporate vision, but there must be a personal vision that drives one to co-operate in the corporate vision. For without either, ones spiritual and physical life becomes stagnant and self consumed, eventually leading to eternal death.

Proverbs 29:18, HOLY BIBLE, King James Version, Cambridge Edition.

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The Vision To understand what my personal vision is, or to understand what anyones personal vision is for that matter, we must first have an understanding of the corporate vision. For it is the very foundation of all visions, and without it, we have not a leg to stand on. The Corporate Vision The corporate vision was authored by God Himself. It was birthed out of Gods love for us all2, and even today, some 2500+ years later, it continues to tear through this world with such violence that it radically alters lives. It slays the flesh with such ferocity that a new birth is necessary to recognize who we really are3 and to maintain life. All throughout scripture we can see allegories of this corporate vision, but never before has it been demonstrated in such a personal way like the death of Jesus Christ. It is in His death and resurrection that we are able to experience for ourselves the reality of this vision in a personal manner. God chose to birth His vision, the corporate vision for humanity, through His manifestation to us in the Person of Jesus Christ4. Out of His love for us, God came to this world in the flesh5 to save us from the death we bring upon ourselves and give us life6! He chose to do this in spite of our issues, habits, faults, and rebellion7.

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John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way John 3:3 Jesus replied, " I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Revelation always births manifestation or it is a lie. Without the manifestation of this vision, we would still be dead in our sins. 5 John 1:14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.
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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 7 Romans 5:8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!

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The Vision This corporate vision that God has graciously allowed us to embrace and be part of provides redemption to anyone8 who sincerely asks. Repeatedly, we see Jesus throughout scripture demonstrating this corporate vision by offering this gift of salvation in spite of who these people were9. It never mattered whether they were Jew or Gentile, upper or lower class, male or female. It was given with equality and at the price of faith. When embraced, and as this corporate vision is experienced, it seeps into your very being where there is no denial of Truth. It shakes your very core and cracks open a well spring that overflows into who you are. While you now live in the abundance of life, your eyes are open to those who are the walking dead. As you live in that abundance, you now have the overflow of that abundance which ushers forth a personal vision to reach and revive the very thing you once were. The walking dead! Personal Vision Now, realizing that the corporate vision of God is what bursts forth personal vision, we see that our personal vision is not our own. It is actually our experience of the overflow. He has given us so much, that we cannot help but give away some of it! This is what ministry actually is. It is not standing behind a pulpit, feeding the homeless, or even street preaching to the lost. These are all good deeds, but this can all be done even as an Atheist without any faith in Jesus whatsoever. We can preach any religion from a pulpit, feed the hungry daily, and streetpreach new age higher consciousness, but none of this is actually ministry. It has no vision.

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Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, Blue collar workers, Matt. 4:19, the afflicted, Matt. 4:24; Mk. 2:11-12; Lk.4:38-40, Women, Matt. 9:20, Adulterers, Jn. 8:11, the wealthy, Jn. 4:46-54, etc.

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The Vision Ministry in itself is pouring out to others the vision that God has poured into you. Without vision, the people will perish. This revelation of the vision and how it relates to ministry has shifted my mind to a new paradigm. The action of ministry must be vision driven. It is astounding to me how many churches and ministries are dying today. In a day and age of technology, it is easier than ever to get our message across in relevant ways faster than ever. With just a click of a button, we can reach millions of people all over the globe. The problem is lack of vision. If we are not casting the vision that God has given us, our ministries will die, and so will the people. There are churches closing their doors as we speak. Personal vision must directly point to the corporate vision. Jesus ministry was a demonstration of the corporate vision. The very purpose of this was to show us how to walk out our personal vision in a way so that our own personal vision points back to the corporate vision. This was in essence the purpose of the Great Commission.10 It gave us the authority to walk out into a dying world, cast our personal vision, so that His corporate vision would be fulfilled. If your personal vision isnt pointing to the corporate vision, then that vision is not of God and needs to be re-evaluated. This is a ploy of the enemy and simply his counterfeit. Personal vision will not only point back to the corporate vision, but will in fact mirror it. All humanity is made in the image of God.11 We are even told to conform to the likeness of Jesus12 so that we may express Him to those who do not know him. The personal vision allows

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Mk 16:15 Then He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 11 Gen. 1:26 "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. 12 2 Cor 3:18; Gal 4:19; Eph 4:13; Col 3:10

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The Vision us to do just that. It allows us to conform to His likeness in a personal way, so that we can express Him to those who do not know him in a way they can understand and relate to. We spoke earlier of the Great commission pointing back to the corporate vision, but its second purpose is to speak manifestation into our personal vision. The vision, whether corporate or personal, must always produce manifestation. When God speaks, it happens.13 If God speaks His vision into your heart, it must manifest at some time or another. If Gods corporate vision did not become manifest, we would be unable to walk out or even possess a personal vision. Mark 16:15-20 15 Then He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; 18 they will pick up snakes; if they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well." Here Jesus is speaking of the manifestation of the vision. We are to go out and cast the vision. As we do so, we should see visible signs of its manifestation. Matthew 7:17-20 states;17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you'll recognize them by their fruit.

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Gen. 1:3;5;9;20;24;26;etc.

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The Vision If we are not seeing its manifestation pointing back to Christ, we need to question the visions origin. Scripture clearly demonstrates that bad fruit can be produced, but it is not of God!

My Personal Vision As I thought about this paradigm shift, things I have learned by teachers who have the vision, and with the issues of todays church, it became apparent to me that I must continue to cast the vision laid on my heart by God. Otherwise, all my actions and efforts in my ministry are in vain and useless. I was called to begin pouring out the vision to the people who were just like me. As I watched a dying church reject the very people who were in desperate need of its love, I thought back to those who Jesus spent the most time with, the un-churched. Who are the Un-churched? Rev. Dr. Mike Bass describes them best saying that God is raising-up those whom the Church (as a rule) has forgotten; cultures not of any sort of Church Culture; a people who are not interested in counterfeit religions (including much of so-called Christianity), but are focused on the faith of, and in, Jesus Christ alone.14 They were not found in the institutionalized church, but outside the walls in everyday society. They did not believe in religion, and just wanted to be loved. They shudder at the word religion, and God has begun demonstrating his vision through them. I know this because I am one of them.

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www.christianfriendsministry.org

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The Vision I developed a strong desire to somehow introduce them to the love of Jesus Christ right where they are in life, just as I was introduced to Him right where I was in life. I began to realize that I was developing a heart for people of all walks of life, and not just those whom I wanted to feel for. My hardened heart of my past was destroyed15. As with Israels restoration, in a mirror image, God gathers us from where we are and begins a period of restoration. He removes our heart of stone and gives us ONE heart of flesh. That one heart is the heart of Jesus! I learned that this is essential for us to be able to follow God. Jesus said in John 13:34 "I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. How can we demonstrate the love of Christ when we ourselves are unable to produce it? The only way that we can demonstrate and offer unconditional love to anyone is to first receive it from Christ Himself. Humanity itself is incapable of producing this type of love. This is the very reason Jesus died on the cross. He loved us unconditionally because we were incapable of purely loving Him. It is only with the heart of Jesus that we are able to do so, and the vision that God gives us opens the door for others to receive His one heart. It was with this softened heart that I was for the first time beginning to experience the overflow of Gods abundance that he has poured into me. I had to begin to pour out what has been given to me. As the vision grew clearer for me, I realized that ministry begins at home. Scripture often spoke of honoring and loving our parents, wives, husbands, children, etc.16 I began to implement the vision into my wife and children. I could see them from where they are. I realized that there
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Ez. 11:19-20 Eph. 6:1-2; 5:22-26; 6:4

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The Vision were some things I needed to let go of and even change in myself17. As I let go of these things my relationships with my children began to be restored to a fullness that we have never had. I noticed often that when I was not operating out of the cover and vision that God has given me, the attitudes and demeanor of my wife and children changed for the worst. However, when I would operate within the cover and vision God has provided me, I would hear comments about being a great husband, father, friend, etc. I even began to see my own changes spill over into other family members. My sister began to express a desire to go to church; she began reading the Bible, and entered into a relationship with Jesus. My mother began to ask questions about God, Jesus, life, and death, opening doors to conversations that we were never able to have in the past. This brought us closer together than ever. The vision has allowed me to minister to my family in a way that was un-invasive and nonthreatening to them while demonstrating irrefutable proof as to the changes that were underway with me due to the implementation of the vision God has given me. It was the light of Jesus18 that I now possessed that ministered to my family. They benefitted from it just as much as I did. We do not need to bible thump and shove fire and brimstone down anothers throat to introduce Jesus to them. We can be driving in our car, at work at our desk, in the grocery store, or even in a public restroom and those who are around us has just had an encounter with the living God!19
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Rom. 12:2 Matt. 5:14-15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 19 Matt. 5:16

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The Vision I would often sit and wonder how God could use me in spite of all of the dirty things I have done in my past. In spite of the rebellion I incited against him previously, He still reaches out to me. He then recalls me to the corporate vision, which in turn springs forth my personal vision. It is in this moment that I begin to take steps out into the world to initiate the vision in action. The Vision in Action As noted previously, ministry is not our action but rather our pouring out of the vision that God has given us. We are free to express this vision in any way that does not contradict scripture. Often when casting the vision, we use the things of the world as ministry to do so. I have met opposition in the past about this and am often asked how that is biblical. My reply is Luke 16:1-13, the parable of the dishonest manager. As Jesus finishes the parable, he commands us to make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous money so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.20 We are specifically told to use the things of the world. In fact, the term unrighteous money is translated into the English language from the Greek word Mammonas21, meaning riches (where it is personified and opposed to God) As an example, to reach out to those who had no interest in the institutionalized church, I began a ministry called the Paranormal Activity Research Association of America (P.A.R.A.A. for short). This particular ministry operated undercover as an organization that helps people find solutions to their haunted homes, possessions, and even haunted family members. We mentioned on our website that we were in fact biblical researchers, but were fortean in our
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Lk. 16:9 Strongs #3126

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The Vision approach. Within one week, we had a handful of cases to include my own familys previously owned home known as the Hell house22 Due to the media coverage we received, we were now giving lectures regularly. This provided us with an opportunity to cast the vision to a wider audience. One of the comments that we would repeatedly hear was that we were the only paranormal team that was not afraid to mention God. We ministered to crowds of 200+ and were able to convey the authority of Jesus to every one of them over these so called haunting. In no time, we were being called to do house blessings, exorcisms, funerals, etc. We began getting more and more TV offers, and many more cases. To keep PARAA as ministry, we turned down the television offers, and continued to seek Gods guidance. We used the media exposure to our advantage. It gave us the ability to reach even more people with the vision that was given to us. Introduce them to Jesus right under their noses. This exposure led us to a very distinct case in Virginia. We received the phone call from this family of non Christians as they put it, and knew they needed help immediately. For about 3 weeks, the husband has been assaulted repeatedly by some unseen force. They could have called someone in their own state; however, they felt they didnt want to call just anyone. They heard about PARAA online. They said they picked us because we were the only ones who would talk about God. They just felt we needed to be the investigators. We made the trip from CT to VA 1 week later. We spent the night, ran our investigation, came to our conclusions, and rid the home and the gentleman of the so called haunting. But during the course of the investigation, the family heard me praying, I was invited to pray with

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A Haunting, Discovery Channel, TV Show: Hell House

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The Vision them. In the morning, I was invited to minister to the whole family of 5. Every one of them entered into a relationship with Jesus and was baptized that day by us. Today, they continue to walk in that faith. This same ministry (PARAA) was used again in 2009. I met a young man who was agnostic and thought that all truth was relevant, and all religions are one. As we sat at the desk in our office at work, he would often ask questions about the paranormal. I decided to invite him out on a training investigation. During the course of the investigation, we had many conversations about various religions and the paranormal, paving the way for his introduction to Jesus. After a review of the evidence of our investigations, it was prevalent that there was some sort of spiritual realm. We had pictures and audio that he had taken, as well as video. This led to further discussions about demons, which then tied into God. Through these experiences this man had also entered into a relationship with Jesus. Two years later, today, he is a college missionary or a Kingdom crusader if you will for our ministry. He continues to contend for the Faith and speak out against the religious mindset. Although the paranormal is littered with the occult, idolized by the media, and deception runs rampant, through this one ministry (PARAA), we were able to see many accept the gift of salvation through Jesus, and able to preach Jesus in an unorthodox way to thousands, many of them uninterested in church or Jesus, yet in a way they could relate to and would listen to. This method has been far more successful to us than knocking door to door telling everyone Jesus loves them. Thats a difficult thing for someone to swallow now a days when so

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The Vision many professing Christians are not walking the walk and only paying lip service to the very faith they claim, which is in fact religion. Casting the vision has opened doors for us to people that we could never have reach otherwise. This is no different than what Jesus did in his ministry. Religion said he could not do these things yet out of love for them and his relationship with them, He ministered.23 Jesus went into the homes of those who believed and didnt believe, into the homes of the rich and the poor, sat with the forbidden people, and helped those in need even when religion said it was not ok to do so. In casting the vision, we have been able to do the same thing Jesus has done. Using things of the world, we are able to go into the homes of those who despise Him, those who dont know Him, and those who have been rejected by the church and demonstrate the reality of who He is. More times than none, this leads to the equipping of those we minister to so that they can share in casting the vision. It is easy for us to see how we can cast the vision that God has lain on our hearts, but how do we equip humanity to cast the vision? This question has led to the other half of our ministry. God demonstrated not only in the New Testament, but also the Old Testament that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.24 Whosoever denotes EVERYONE. No matter what walk of life they are on they have equal access. At the cross, we all stand on a level playing field. A large part in our ministry is to equip others to reach out to humanity, including those whosoever that have been left out by the religious church. Scripture supports this view in
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Matt. 12:10; Mk. 3:2, Jn. 9:1416 Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32

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The Vision many more aspects. The religious leaders of Jesus day were amazed at how God was using Peter and John when they found out that Peter and John were uneducated and untrained men. This in itself was ministry. The very notion of this causes them to have to rethink their position on such matters. They cannot argue with God, yet this is clearly what God is doing. This is the very thing that we seek to do in our ministry. We take people from where they are in life, teach them the corporate vision, and equip them to cast their personal vision so that they can then repeat the cycle. The Kingdom of God is built up through this cycle. This then progressed by offering spiritual cover for those walking out the vision God has lain on their hearts, and a place in which one can grow their personal ministry. This is the very notion of advancing the Kingdom. I remember a time when I myself was just beginning to learn of the corporate vision. I spent hours asking my own mentors question, taking part in bible studies, studying the sermon notes of each sermon, participating in the various activities in my church, going out into secular places and seeing the vision in action. The more I learned, the more I received revelation of my personal vision. The cycle continued as I began to pour into others the overflow of what has been poured into me. I was now the mentor getting asked the questions, conducting the bible studies, presenting sermon notes, and planting the vision into those whom God had called to receive it. Three years later, I am now watching those very people cast the vision into others.

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The Vision Being equipped to carry out the vision that God has given us corporately, as well as individually is essential to its success. Paul mentions this equipping in the book of Hebrews chapter 13:20-21 saying Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesusthe great Shepherd of the sheep with the blood of the everlasting covenant, equip you25 with all that is good to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Being equipped with the vision allows us to carry out the corporate vision, which in turn is doing the will of the Father, pleasing to the Father, and glorifying Jesus Christ all at the same time. The equipping in a sense allows you to walk out a form of worship in action. This is the very place that we want to bring humanity as we work in our ministry. In spreading the vision, the variation in the types of people who are absorbing the information has astounded me. I see young and old, many variations of ethnic groups, different cultures, and social statuses all come together in unity. It ushers forth a restoration of relationship, and therefore demonstrated our Faith in the One as one Church. Unity is at the very heart of the vision as a whole. No matter our differences, we still have a common ground! It destroys the worlds barriers that have been placed between us by society in the form of denominations, culture, socioeconomic status, etc. and acts as a bridge linking that gap. It points us to the strongest and largest bridge ever known to man to cross this gap and into unity. Yet this bridge was built by 2 pieces of wood, and three nails. We know it as the Cross. Through the Cross, we are able to come together even when we dont like one another, and out of love, continue to build up the Kingdom in unison.

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Emphasis my own

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The Vision With all of this in mind, if I had to sum up my personal vision with just one word, it would be the Cross. The mission of my ministry is to point all of humanity, no matter the issues they have, no matter their status in life, no matter where they are in life, and no matter where they come from, to the doorway of the Cross. The cross is the entrance to the Kingdom of life. There is only one way in, and we have been given the light to step into darkness and expose the entrance that has been hidden behind a veil of lies for all to see. We do this with both conventional and unconventional methods. I will continue to let this light shine. I will continue to walk into dark places and help those who are unable to find the entrance to life to see. I will continue to proclaim the Truth of Christ to all who will listen, and will be ready to proclaim His truth to those who are not ready to hear when that time comes for them to hear! I will continue to cast the vision!

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