See Yourself Through Prophetic Vision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUTnyrqhAj0

This week we began in Revelation 7, letting heaven set the tone for everything else. A great multitude from every tribe and nation stands before the throne, and their song isn’t about themselves. They aren’t singing their pain, their problems, or their storyline. They’re crying out, “Salvation belongs to our God,” and giving Him praise, honor, wisdom, gratitude, power, and strength.

That moment matters because what we behold, we become. The world wants your song, but it wants it aimed at darkness. Heaven is teaching us a different direction—fix your eyes on Jesus until your mouth matches what heaven is saying. When worship becomes throne-centered, it realigns our hearts, restores our perspective, and puts us back in truth.

From that place, I felt the Lord pressing me to release a declaration over creativity and the arts in our lives—music, literature, media, everything created, everything consumed. God is the Creator, and when we sanctify what we take in and what we produce, He recreates what it means to create. The Spirit of God filled craftsmen before He filled preachers. God anointed artistry for His house, and if we are His dwelling, He wants to loose a fresh creativity that doesn’t look like the world—creativity that carries His presence.

I believe we’re going to see prophetic expression rise in our worship and our community—writing, songs, poetry, movement, and art that carries the power to rebuild what’s broken. Not performance. Not imitation. A divine expression that comes from consecration and vulnerability, offered to the Lord for His pleasure.

Then we turned our attention to Proverbs 29:18—without revelation people run wild, but the one who listens to instruction will be blessed. Vision isn’t control. Vision is protection. It keeps us aligned, keeps us listening, keeps us living with restraint that produces real freedom. Liberty says, “I can do what I want.” Freedom says, “I can do what God wants.” Self-control isn’t a punishment, it’s a fruit of the Spirit, and it’s one of the main ways the Lord builds a life that’s actually free.

When prophetic vision is absent, people end up leading themselves—by feelings, by impulses, by wounds, by shame, by reaction. And the result is vulnerability. Nakedness. Exposure. That’s why the enemy works so hard to keep people isolated and independent. Nobody fulfills the purposes of God on an island. We were made for community, and we were made to be joined to something bigger than ourselves.

Jesus looked at crowds and didn’t just see “bad people.” He saw sheep without a shepherd. He was moved with compassion because they were harassed and helpless. That’s what a city looks like without prophetic leadership—people groping along like those without eyes, trying to find their way by whatever voice is loudest. And right now, the voices are loud. The world is moving fast. But no computer, no system, no trend can replace the voice of God over a human life.

That’s why I believe we’re in a different season than we think. It’s not just seed-planting time—it’s harvest time. Planting matters, but harvest means bringing people in. Harvest looks like meeting someone new, building relationship with intention, inviting them into your life, your table, your community, and bringing them close until Jesus is closer to them than you are. If our lives are only safe circles of saints, we’re not harvesting—we’re just staying comfortable. Sunday is our celebration, but harvest happens out there through relationship.

To help us see it, we did an illustration with puzzle pieces. Everyone had a piece, but no one could stare at their own piece and understand the full picture. That’s the reality of calling. You have a piece, but you don’t have the whole. Prophetic Vision doesn’t just tell you “who you are,” it shows you what you’re part of. When the full picture is revealed, your piece finally makes sense, and you realize your design is meant to touch other pieces. Your purpose is connected. Your calling is communal. The vision comes together when we bring what we have and place it where it belongs.

I want this church to be known for vision, not personality. Not because you like a preacher. Not because you like a style. But because you’ve attached yourself to what God is building in this city. People don’t change because they were entertained. They change because they caught a vision worth their life.

That’s why I asked us to think forward—what will this house look like in 15 years? What will this city look like in 15 years? Visions don’t “just happen.” They identify a people, and then the people move. If we don’t run with it, we don’t get to blame heaven later. God writes vision, but He still looks for agreement in us—faith, obedience, sacrifice, courage, and a willingness to dream together.

I believe 2026 is a year of harvest. And I’m asking you to dream again—not for personal spotlight, not for a private empire, but for the Kingdom. Dream about what it looks like for the lost to be found, for people without shepherding to find home, for the city to be touched by a prophetic community that lives with courage and joy. If God put something in you years ago, don’t wait for someone else to do it. Move in the direction of it—with someone. Build it in community. Bring your piece to the table.

Holy Spirit, give us Your heart and imagination. Teach us to dream with You, to live with courage, and to bring in the harvest. Let this be a house that sees the picture, loves the people, and runs with Your vision in Jesus’ name. Amen.

At Riverside Church, Jesus is the center of everything we do. We are a prophetic, presence-centered church committed to worship, prayer, and spiritual formation.

Watch more messages at onechurchqc.org/teachings, read our vision at onechurchqc.org/vision, or visit onechurchqc.org to plan your visit.

If you’re seeking a Spirit-led church in the Davenport and Quad Cities region, we invite you to come experience God’s presence with us.