Speak the Vision God Gave us until we’re Released from Dungeon and Receive the Crown

Even if our vision has not been fulfilled, we should speak according to the vision to others, for though it may seem like we’re in a “dungeon” by seeking the Lord, we have faith to speak the vision God gave us until He fulfils it in us and we graduate from the dungeon and receive the crown. Wow!

This is what we see in the story of Joseph and this is what is happening in our Christian life also.

The story of Joseph is truly amazing, for here was a young man who was chosen by God and was given two amazing dreams, but his pathway in life seemed to be filled with suffering and injustice.

Speaking of injustice, Joseph suffered much injustice; he never hated his brothers nor did he do anything to deserve what happened to him, but his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery, then lied to their father about him.

Even though Joseph did everything in the best way possible in the house of Potiphar and God blessed everything he did, he was still put in prison unjustly, because of Potiphar’s wife.

And in prison, even though Joseph remained in the Lord’s presence, he was kept there for many years.

Yes, the Lord’s blessing was with him, for he remained in God’s presence and had His hand on him, but Joseph was still there, in prison.

The chief jailer made Joseph his right-hand man, even giving him all the authority to do what needed to be done in prison; still, Joseph remained in prison.

However, Joseph lived a life under the heavenly vision; he had two dreams from God, and he was emboldened and strengthened into his inner man in all the things he passed through.

We also have a vision today; in the New Testament, we have the vision of God’s New Testament economy concerning Christ and the church.

This heavenly vision should direct us, govern us, and inspire us, and no matter what we go through, the vision should inwardly energise us to follow the Lord and to speak for the Lord.

We simply need to remain in the healthy teaching of God’s New Testament economy and abide in the Lord to have His presence, and His authority will be with us.

The life that Joseph lived under the heavenly vision was the life described by the Lord Jesus in Matt. 5-7; he was a kingdom person, living under God’s rule and taking God as his source and supply. Truly amazing.

Through all the things he passed through, Joseph was prepared to reign as a king.

If we today live according to the heavenly nature in our spirit and according to the constitution of the heavenly kingdom revealed in Matt. 5-7, we will be trained to be co-kings with Christ so that we may rule and reign with Him.

Speaking According to the Vision God Gave Us More than According to its Fulfillment

When Joseph was in prison, he had the faith and the boldness to interpret the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, even though his own dreams were not yet fulfilled (Gen. 40:8).

Joseph was joined in his confinement by the chief cupbearer and the baker, and they both had a dream which really troubled them.

Joseph told them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.

Yes, interpretations of dreams belong to God, but praise the Lord, Joseph was one with God.

He interpreted his own dreams, but his dreams were not yet fulfilled; however, he still had the boldness to speak in faith and interpret others’ dreams.

We need to speak the vision God gave us, even when it seems that God did not fulfil this vision in our life and experience.

In our natural thought, we think that our vision was not yet fulfilled, so we should not speak to others about their vision and dreams given by the Lord.

However, we need to speak the vision God gave us until we’re released from any dungeon or prison and receive the crown.

In Joseph’s story, we see that he was eventually released from prison indirectly through his speaking by faith in interpreting the cupbearer’s dream (41:9-13), and he was ushered to the throne directly through his speaking boldly in interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams (vv. 14-46).

Both his release and his enthronement or authority came through his speaking.

May we be those who speak more according to the vision that God gave us than according to the fulfilment of the vision in our life.

It may seem that our vision has not yet been fulfilled; however, we should still speak of it to others.

The time will come when our vision will be fulfilled; until then, we need to speak the vision God gave us.

We believers in Christ are visionaries; we do not live on earth aimlessly, waiting for the Lord to come and whisk us into the heavens one day….we live according to the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy.

Andrew Murray once said a word like this: the good minister of the Word should always minister more than he has experienced.

This means that we should speak more according to the fulfilment of the vision than according to the fulfilment of the vision.

Thank the Lord for unveiling us to see the vision of God’s eternal economy; now we speak the vision God gave us until we’re released from anything that imprisons us and holds us back.

Our experience may be quite low and the vision may be quite high; if we speak according to the vision God gave us, our experience will be uplifted.

The truth is absolute, and we cannot lower or dilute the truth because it doesn’t seem to be fulfilled or worked out in our experience.

The truth is the truth, regardless of our feelings and our condition.

May we not lower the truth or dilute it but rather, allow the truth to uplift our experience according to its high standard.

We as the church are the pillar and base of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15); the truth is immovable and unshakable.

May we deal with ourselves and accept God’s sovereignty in our situation, and may we maintain the truth and stand with the truth to speak the truth.

May we speak the vision God gave us until we’re fully brought out of anything negative and on the throne to rule and reign with the Lord.

We need to speak the high peak of the divine revelation, not sacrificing the high standard of the truth, until the Lord works it out in us.

We may be short in our experience, but we still speak the vision God gave us.

We should not speak according to our feelings nor should we lower the truth or dilute the vision because of our condition; we should speak according to the heavenly vision.

We believers in Christ are visionaries, seers of God’s eternal economy, and we should speak according to the absoluteness of the truth of His economy (Acts 26:16-19).

Our daily living with all its activities and things needs to be governed by the heavenly vision of God’s eternal economy, and our speaking should be according to the vision God gave us.

Even if our vision has not been fulfilled, we should still speak it to others.

The time will come, praise the Lord, when our vision will be fulfilled.

Others may have their vision, their dream, being fulfilled before us, and we may be part of it; one day, however, the Lord will accomplish this for us.

May we remain faithful to the Lord in His word and according to the vision He gave us, and may we keep speaking the vision until the Lord will fulfil it in us.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us a vision of God’s eternal economy concerning Christ and the church. We exercise our spirit to speak the vision You gave us until You fulfil it in us. Amen, Lord, we stand with the vision and we maintain the truth, for the truth is the truth, no matter what our situation and condition are. We do not stand with our feelings and we do not trust in our current situation and condition; we believe that You will do in us according to the vision God gave us. We exercise to speak not according to our feelings but according to the heavenly vision. Hallelujah, we believers in Christ are visionaries, seers of God’s eternal economy! Amen, Lord, we speak according to the absoluteness of the truth of God’s economy, and we believe that God will do this in us. We do not look at our situation. We do not trust our feelings. We do not lower the truth to match our condition. We exercise our spirit to speak the vision God gave us until He will fulfil it in us!

Speak the Vision God Gave us until we’re Released from the Dungeon and Receive the Crown

Joseph’s story in Genesis is very touching and inspiring; it is especially touching to see that, though his dreams were not fulfilled, he was put in a position of interpreting others’ dreams and seeing them being fulfilled, while his own dreams were not fulfilled.

And even worse, Joseph was in prison when all this happened; he was put in prison unjustly and without cause, and even though he interpreted others’ dreams and they became true, his own dreams were not yet fulfilled. Oh, Lord!

The baker dreamed that the birds came and ate the bread from the basket on his head; this was a prophecy of his death, which happened.

The cupbearer dreamed that there was a vine with grapes which he made into wine for the Pharaoh; this was a prophecy of him being released and restored to his function.

Joseph’s speaking and interpretation was unto death for one and unto life for another (Gen. 41:12-13). Wow.

Similarly in our situation, sometimes our speaking of the vision God gave us and interpreting others’ vision will be unto death, and another time it is unto life.

If we are living out Christ, we will bring either life or death wherever we are (2 Cor. 2:14-16).

We are a fragrance of Christ to God, and this fragrance is scattered wherever we go.

To some, we’re a savour or fragrance out of death unto death, and to others, it is out of death unto life.

We need to speak the vision God gave us no matter what; our speaking will bring others into death, that is, they will remain in death, and will bring others into life, that is, they will receive life.

Our speaking is not political, to please all men; we speak the vision God gave us, and our speaking will be a fragrance unto death for some and unto life for others.

Some may hear our speaking remain in death, signified by the birds of air eating the bread from the baker’s basket, while others will hear our speaking and enjoy life and be filled with life, signified by the vine full of life in the dream of the cupbearer.

We should not seek to be accepted or welcomed by others; we should simply speak the vision God gave us.

While reading the story of Joseph we may wonder why did God keep Joseph in prison for such a long time; since he was a righteous man, why was he in prison, and why was he in prison for such a long time?

We need to realize that, as those who seek the Lord and love Him, having a vision of God’s eternal economy directing us and controlling us, we may be put by God in a “dungeon.”

Those around us may want to respect us and help us, but the result is that we’re in a dungeon.

Our spouse, our children, our boss at work, our teachers, our classmates, our workmates, the saints in the church, and even the elders may have good intentions toward us, but whatever they do serves us to put us in a dungeon.

Sometimes the Lord allows us to be in limiting and confining situations.

We need to remember that without the dungeon we cannot ascend to the throne (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; James 1:12).

May we not be a “dungeon dropout” but rather, stay in the dungeon, speak the vision God gave us, and remain there until we graduate and receive the crown.

If we do not experience adversities, troubles, afflictions, and limitations, our enjoyment of Christ, our experience of Christ, and our growth in life unto maturity will be very much limited.

But as we experience these troubles, hardships, and limitations, we are in the dungeon, even in an oven.

In the church life, there’s a big oven that fits all of us, and in this oven, we enjoy the Lord.

When we’re in the dungeon, we need to enjoy the Lord.

Enjoy the Lord even in the confinement, limitations, and hardships, and speak the vision God gave us until we’re delivered from the dungeon and enthroned.

Joseph remained in the dungeon; he never tried to escape or evade but remained there, and he kept speaking the vision God gave him.

He spoke the vision even before the Pharaoh and he spoke out of the dungeon and on the throne.

The more we enjoy the Lord in our limiting, confining, and imprisoning situations, the more the Lord becomes real to us, and the more precious the vision He gave us becomes.

The more real we are with the Lord, the more real He becomes to us.

May we remain in the dungeon until we graduate and receive the crown so that we may reign with Him.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we seek after You according to the vision that You have given to us. Thank You for Your sovereign arrangement in our environment. Amen, Lord, even though we have hardships, limitations, adversities, and troubles, we want to keep enjoying You and speaking the vision. May we be those who speak the vision God gave us until we are delivered from the dungeon and enthroned to rule with the Lord. Keep us where we are, Lord, and keep us in the enjoyment of Christ. May our being with others be a fragrance of Christ to them, to some from death to life while to others from death to death. Be manifested through us. Be expressed in us, even in the limiting and confining situations we’re in. Amen, Lord Jesus, we do not want to escape the dungeon You put us in; may we remain here, in the hardships and limiting situations, and may we keep enjoying You and speaking the vision You showed us until we graduate and receive the crown!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ed Marks in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 112 and 114, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Enjoyment of Christ and our Growth in Life unto Maturity (2023 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 5, entitled, The Reigning Aspect of the Mature Life Seen in the Life of Joseph.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Our need for the vision, a portion from, The Heavenly Vision, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – 3 Steps to Receive Spiritual Vision from God’s Word, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Forgiveness and the Building Up of the Body of Christ, via, Shepherding Words.
  – 4 Precious and Exceedingly Great Promises from God, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The effects of the vision, a portion from, Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – Christ Growing in Our Heart (4): The Significance of Speaking in the Experience of Jacob and Joseph, via, Living to Him.
  – Joseph having the faith and the boldness to interpret the dreams of his two companions in prison, a portion from, Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 112, by Witness Lee.
  – Release, Authority, and Feeding through Speaking the Dream, via, Church in Los Angeles.
  – Why It’s Important to Confess Your Faith in Christ to Your Friends, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Our eyes have seen the vision: / The goal is now in view, / Christ has defeated Satan, / And sin and death are through. / The way is cut and open, / The paths are all made straight; / We’ve heard the call: Come forward! / We’ve laid aside each weight. (Hymns #1284 stanza 1)
  – To my spirit I’d return, / For ’tis here the Lord I’ll meet; / O how marvellous it is! / He’s within, in me complete. / Fragrance of the risen Christ / Thru my spirit may be spread; / If in spirit I will pray / Christ will be exhibited. (Hymns #769 stanzas 3-4)
  – Strong are the walls around me, / That hold me all the day; / But they who thus have bound me, / Cannot keep God away: / My very dungeon walls are dear, / Because the God I love is here. / They know, who thus oppress me, / ’Tis hard to be alone; / But know not One can bless me, / Who comes through bars and stone; / He makes my dungeon’s darkness bright, / And fills my bosom with delight. (Hymns #724 stanzas 1-2)