The Heavenly Vision, Part 2 — Stephen Kaung

Paul's Testimony of the Heavenly Vision

Will you please turn again to Acts chapter 26. We will read a few more verses this morning. Acts chapter 26. We will read from verse 13 through verse 23. Acts 26 verse 13. This is Paul's testimony. At midday on the way I saw, O King, a light above the brightness of the sun, shining from heaven round about me, and those who were journeying with me.

And when we were all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against God. And I said, Who art thou, Lord?

And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise up and stand on your feet. For for this purpose have I appeared to thee to appoint thee to be a servant and a witness both of what thou hast seen and of what I shall appear to thee in, taking thee out from among the people and the nations to whom I send thee, to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.

Whereupon, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but at first to those both in Damascus and Jerusalem, and to all the regions of Judea and to the nations, announced that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

On account of these things the Jews, having seized me in the temple, attempted to lay hands on and destroy me. Having therefore met with the help which is from God, I have stood firm unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing else than those things which both the prophets and Moses have said should happen.

Namely, whether Christ should suffer, whether he first, through resurrection of the dead, should announce light both to the people and to the nations. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we offer the words that Thou hast given to us back to Thee, and ask Thee, Lord, that Thou wilt bless Thy word, break it, and distribute to us, that we may be filled, that Thou mayst be glorified, and Thy will be done among us on earth as it is in Heaven.

The Heavenly Vision and God's Eternal Purpose

We ask in Thy precious name. Amen. Yesterday morning we shared together on this matter of the heavenly vision. The heavenly vision is not optional. It is mandatory. In other words, as God's people, we must have this heavenly vision, because without this heavenly vision, we perish.

Without this heavenly vision, we pass off all restraints. We become a people without discipline. Without this vision, we will be divided, scattered. There is no unity, there is no cohesion among God's people.

It is this heavenly vision that gives us purpose, meaning. It is this heavenly vision that satisfies God's own heart. And only that vision can satisfy our longing hearts. So, brothers and sisters, it is essential that we, as the redeemed of the Lord, that we do have this vision.

It is the vision that is related to the eternal purpose of God. It is not a small thing. It is a vision of Christ, all and in all. It is a vision of the church as the body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all and in all.

But, God does not give such vision just for us to contemplate, to meditate, and to think about. Very practical. The reason why He gave such vision to His people is because He wants to work out something for His glory.

The Vision Must Become a Vocation

Now, brothers and sisters, we have to see that this heavenly vision is not just something objective. There is that objective aspect of that vision that God has given to us in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

It is something that we need to see with our inner eyes. But, this vision is more than just something objective for us to view it from afar. It is a vision that is also very subjective. That is to say, it is a vision when it is given, it draws us into that vision, it makes us part of that vision, and we cannot help but be involved fully, completely in that vision.

Vision is given for vocation, and if it is not for vocation, then there is no meaning to that vision. So, dear brothers and sisters, we have to come to see that the heavenly vision is given to be our vocation.

We remember the case with Apostle Paul. When he was on the road to Damascus, he was given the heavenly vision. And when this heavenly vision was given, we find that it has to be accepted by faith, and it will result in a commitment, and it will end up with a commission.

It is not something vague, it is not something abstract, it is something most practical, and it is something that touches our very life upon this earth. It revolutionizes our life, it revolutionizes our ministry, it is for a vocation.

Jacob's Vision at Bethel

Probably we have the thought, how glorious it will be if we are given such a vision. And it is true, because this heavenly vision is the glorious thing in the universe. There is nothing more glorious than seeing the purpose of God concerning Christ and concerning His Church.

Because it lifts us up, out of ourselves, out of this world, deliver us from this earth, and make us heaven-bound, and really get us into His glory. That vision is most glorious. But brothers and sisters, at the same time, this heavenly vision is most terrible.

You remember the story of Jacob? He did have a spiritual desire, he did desire spiritual things, even though he was a carnal man. He tried to attain spiritual reality through carnal means, and of course we know he couldn't.

And because of this, he was so disciplined that he had to leave home, wandered in the wilderness, and there you'll find at night, he laid his head upon a stone as his pillow. I think you can hardly describe a more pitiful, tragic scene as this young man, wear out, worn out, and laid his head on the stone and fell to sleep.

But then, at that time, God revealed Himself. He saw a ladder that connected the earth and heaven. And God was on the top of that ladder, and Jacob was lying at the bottom of that ladder, and angels ascending and descending on that ladder, and God said to him, I am the God of your father, I am with you, I will perform all that I have promised to your father Abraham, and to Isaac, and so forth.

Jacob woke up. And do you know what he said? Oh, he said, this is wonderful, this is marvelous. No. Actually, it was a terrible place, because this is the house of God, the gate of heaven. Why is it so terrible?

Terrible because he found himself so unfit, so unworthy, he found himself so far from what the vision was, and he knew it was a terrible thing. If this is to be true, it must be done in his life, brothers and sisters.

And yet, as it was to him, he accepted it, even though he did not understand fully. And we knew how, after that vision, he still bargained with God. God said, I am with you, and he said, if you are with me, God said, I will bless you with all the blessings of Abraham, and he said, God, if you will give me the clothes to wear, and food to eat, and keep me safe, and come home, then I will make you my God.

He still bargained with God, he did not understand fully what that vision was. And yet, brothers and sisters, on the other hand, he did accept it, because he put up that stone to be a pillar, and he poured oil on it, and he said, if God should fulfill all this, I will make this the house of God.

Dear brothers and sisters, on the one hand, he thought it was a terrible thing, because he found himself so far away from that vision, and he knew to make him fit for that vision would take a long road.

And yet, he did commit himself to God, and allow God to work it out in his life. To make him the house, he poured oil on the stone. In other words, symbolically, it means, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it shall be done.

He accepted that vision with faith, imperfect as faith might be, because he did commit himself to God's hand. We find from that day onward, the hand of God was upon that man. For twenty years, God worked in that life, trying to break him down, trying to remake him, but he was such a strong person, it took God twenty years, and with a man of a similar nature, to deal with this man Jacob, until finally God broke him, and transformed him from Jacob to Israel, a prince with God.

Seeing God's Holiness and Human Unworthiness

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever the heavenly vision comes upon a person, the first reaction is, how unfit, unworthy. You remember the prophet Isaiah. He was a prophet. He was prophesying. And how, if you read the first few chapters of Isaiah, you'll find what a strong prophet he was.

How he denounced, how he announced judgment to God's people, as if he was above the people. And yet, in the sixth chapter, when his close friend King Uzziah died, he went into the temple, and in a vision he saw the Lord upon the throne, highly lifted up, and his train filled the temple, and seraphim were there crying out, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory.

And there was a cloud, and there was shaking. Brothers and sisters, this strong prophet cried out, Woe to me, for I am undone. I am a man with unclean lips, dwelling among a people of unclean lips. You know, there is no member of the body of a prophet stronger than the lips, because he is a spokesman of God.

He uses his mouth, his lips. That is his strength. And yet, brothers and sisters, when he saw the Lord on the throne, his strength turned into weakness. He discovered how unclean his lips were. He was not fit to speak.

It is only people who have no vision that feel he is fit to speak for God. If you see God, you dare not speak. You know how unclean your lips are. But thank God, he was cleansed by the fire from the altar.

And from that day onward, you will find, he became the spokesman of God to his people. The same thing happened to the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter one, when the glory of the Lord appeared to Ezekiel, he fell down.

He couldn't stand anymore. The same thing happened to Daniel, the beloved of God. You remember in chapter ten, when the Lord appeared to him in glory, he fell down as one dead. And he said, my glory, my beauty has turned into corruption.

We know Daniel was the beloved of God. He was such a perfect man. In the Bible, a few persons were mentioned without any fault. Not that they had not fault, but it was mentioned. And Daniel was one of them.

And yet, when he saw the Lord, his beauty turned into corruption. Dear brothers and sisters, if we say we have seen the heavenly vision, and yet it only makes us think we are worthy, we are fit, instead of seeing our unworthiness, our total unfitness, I wonder whether we have seen the heavenly vision.

The first reaction that comes to a person who has seen the Lord is to find himself so unworthy, so unfit, he has to fell down as dead. And he has to rely upon the Lord to raise him up from the dead. A vision, obedience.

Obedience to the Heavenly Vision

Do not think a vision is given to make you feel good. Do not think a vision is given just to make you think that you are more spiritual than other people. And that is the reason why you are given this vision.

Remember, whenever the heavenly vision is given, it demands our obedience. Apostle Paul, he could testify not disobedient to the heavenly vision. I wonder why he used double negatives. Why did he not say, King Agrippa, I was obedient to the heavenly vision?

It was much simpler to say that, more positive. But no, he said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Now, I know in Hebrew language, sometimes you know you use double negatives to make it more emphatic.

That is true. But personally, I believe there must be something more. It is not that Paul, he sensed very deeply, out of his experience through many years, that obedience is simply something not in him.

On the contrary, he found that disobedience was in him. In other words, the very nature of the old man is disobedient. From the first man, Adam, he disobeyed God. It seemed that in the very blood there was disobedience.

And we who are the descendants, the seeds of Adam, we discover that within us there is that seed of disobedience. Disobedience is not just occasionally. We discover that disobedience is deeply implanted in our very natural life.

It is easy for us to disobey. It is very difficult for us to obey. Even in this world, you will discover that when a child begins to talk, the first thing for him to do is to say no. It is very difficult for a child to say yes.

Why? Because the very spirit of disobedience is in that natural life. And brothers and sisters, unless we see this, we are not delivered. We have to acknowledge that in our spirit, that is in the fallen man, there is the very spirit of rebellion, the very spirit of disobedience, especially when you come to the things of God.

Some people may be quite obedient outwardly, but it may not be true inwardly. And if you find it is hard to obey, even in the natural sense, how much more difficult you will find to obey God, to obey that heavenly vision.

It is not there. So I do believe that Apostle Paul discovered in his own life. Now, do not think that it is easy for Paul. After seeing such a glorious vision, that obedience became something natural to him.

Not so. If you read Paul's writing, you will find again and again he said, the mind of the flesh did not understand the things of God. He said the carnal mind cannot accept God's will because it is folly to him.

The man of the flesh cannot please God. Brothers and sisters, these are not just words, these are experiences. Out of his own experience he discovered that in him, that is in the flesh, there is no obedience.

And that is the reason why I think he said, I was not disobedient. Naturally he would be disobedient to the heavenly vision. But supernaturally he was not disobedient. Oh, brothers and sisters, the heavenly vision demands obedience.

Remember, in you there is no such thing as obedience. Especially when you come to the heavenly vision. Why? Because with the heavenly vision comes the cross. That converts that vision into vocation. Where is the vision given?

And there is no cross. You become a visionary. But God does not give a vision to make you a visionary. God gives you a vision that it may be a vocation to you. And in order that it be a vocation, you find with the vision comes the cross.

Christ's Cross and Learning Obedience

Therefore, it is terrible. Think of our Lord Jesus, the heavenly vision. But for him to be that heavenly vision, even before the foundation of the world, he was the land slain. It was not easy as we claim.

He had to empty himself. He was God. He was equal with God. All the worship, the adoration, the praises, the service of the angelic hosts, that was his right. And brothers and sisters, in order to complete that vision, he had to empty himself.

Now, it is true he could never empty himself of his deity. Though he became man, he was still God. He could not empty himself of all that surrounded his deity, his honor, his glory, his rights, his authority.

Everything he emptied himself in order to become a man. Brothers and sisters, that is the cross. As a man, how he denied himself. If there is any man that does not need to deny himself, that is our Lord Jesus.

Because even his human self is pure, sinless. And yet he denied himself to the point. He said, I cannot do anything by myself. I cannot say anything by myself. I cannot. Your time is always easy, but my time is not yet come.

You find his whole life a life of the cross. He denied himself to the point that he entered into death. And even the death of the cross. Brothers and sisters, we can never understand fully what he suffered, how much he suffered throughout his life.

We could never fully understand how much suffering he suffered on that Calvary's cross. He not only suffered physically, he suffered mentally. He suffered spiritually. He had to give up everything. He had to lay down his life.

He had to cry out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And yet, brothers and sisters, it is through the things which he suffered that he learned obedience. Our Lord Jesus learned obedience while he was as God.

Obedience was not in the vocabulary of God. God never needs to obey. God commands. Our Lord Jesus, as man, as God-man, he had to learn a new lesson. He had to learn obedience. How? Through the things which he suffered.

How much he suffered. How much he had to deny his holy self. How much he had to lay down his holy life. But from the things which he suffered, he learned obedience, and he became the author of our eternal salvation.

One translation is, and it is more accurate, he became the causer of our eternal salvation. In other words, he learned obedience not for himself. He learned obedience in his life for us, because he is going to give his own life to us.

And in that life there is the spirit of obedience. Brothers and sisters, we can never obey God. We can never obey the heavenly vision by ourselves. But thank God today there is the possibility, there is the potential, because in the very life that we have received from our Lord Jesus, when we believe in him, dear brothers and sisters, in that life there is obedience.

Only by that life, Paul said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly. Do not think that you can obey the heavenly vision. If anybody should think that he or she can obey the heavenly vision, or he or she can even make it work, you deceive yourselves.

You haven't seen the vision, or you have turned away from the vision, and you are building something else. We have to humbly acknowledge, if God should by his mercy give us that heavenly vision, is totally beyond us.

It is something we cannot fulfill. But thank God, by that life, it can. That heavenly vision either makes us or breaks us. When that heavenly vision comes to us, it demands obedience. And yet within us, that is in our flesh, we find there is rebellion.

We find that we just cannot obey. We find that it demands too much. Because it demands our very life. It demands all. We know that it means that we have to deny ourselves, and take up the cross and follow the Lord.

And we find that we cannot do it. And brothers and sisters, if we try to struggle it on our own, it breaks us. But if by the mercy of God, we realize that we cannot make it, but he can, then he will, that he will make us.

Peter's Reluctance and Irrevocable Call

You remember the heavenly vision is such a strange thing. On one hand repels us, and on the other hand, you remember the story of Peter, by his brother Andrew. The Lord looking over. You know, in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, the word, the Lord look at him, in the original, it means the Lord look him over, up and down.

And evidently, you know, when the Lord look at Peter up and down, and look him over, you know, the look of the Lord just penetrate into the very heart of Peter. Peter was a very talkative person. He always spoke first.

He never gave you the chance to speak first. And yet you find when he was brought to the Lord, and the Lord just look him over, and he was speechless. The Lord said, you are Simon, but you shall be Peter.

Firm. I will make you fish or men. And Peter left his boat, and left his net, and followed the Lord. And you remember, Peter began to travel with the Lord, spend time with the Lord. Now, that was in the very early days.

And one day, when our Lord Jesus came to Capernaum, that was Peter's hometown. And you remember what happened? In Luke, chapter 5, you find Peter went fishing. Now, why did he go fishing? He left his fish net, he left his boat, and followed the Lord.

And he followed the Lord for a short period. And now he went back to fishing. But thank God, God did not allow him to catch a single fish. Now, suppose he succeeded. One morning, the Lord borrowed his boat to preach.

And the Lord said, alright, if that's what you want to do, I borrow your fish, I borrow your boat, I'll pay you the price. So the Lord said, go out, launch out, put down the net, you will catch fish to pay for your boat.

If that's the way you want to deal with me, and you'll find full of fishes. What was the reaction of Peter? Peter fell down before the Lord, and said, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. I'm not worthy.

Peter thought he could make it, by the Lord. But he discovered that he was an unfit. He couldn't make it. And because he found he couldn't make it, he felt it was better to slip out early. And that's why he went fishing.

But the Lord revealed his glory to Peter. That the Lord is the creator. The whole universe, the glory of the Lord, in that net full of fishes. What was his reaction? He said, depart from me. I'm a sinful man.

You think you are fit for the Lord? You are fit for the heavenly vision? You are not fit. I am within you. Depart from me, Lord. I'm a sinful man. The vision repels you. And yet, on the other hand, it draws you.

You know, in the heart of Peter, depart from me. But in his very heart, he was crying out. Lord, if you are merciful to me, don't let me go. And then, if you turn to John chapter 6, what a difference.

After the Lord feeding five thousand, with five fishes and two loaves. And people wanted to make the Lord king. The Lord retreated to the other side of the lake. And people followed him. And the Lord said, seek not the things that perish, but the things that are eternal.

I am the bread of life. And when our Lord was saying these things, his disciples said, it is. And many departed. There was the twelve disciples there. And the Lord turned to them and said, you want to go?

If you do. And what Peter said? Peter said, where shall we go? To whom else can we go? We were finished. You have the word of life. You are the holy one of God. We are stuck with you. Brothers and sisters, that is the heavenly vision.

The heavenly vision, you have nowhere else to go. Many times I try to go away, but nowhere. Where shall I go? Dear brothers and sisters, if you still have an alternative, you haven't seen the vision. People who have seen the vision are finished with everything.

They are stuck with Christ forever. There is no other place to go. No other one to go. He has captured us. We are caught forever. This heavenly vision, when it comes to us, there is the temptation. On the one hand, we want to obey.

Abraham and the Temptation to Compromise

And on the other hand, we find, and during that time, brothers and sisters, there is a great temptation to compromise. We try to compromise that vision. With the father of faith, Abraham. Brothers and sisters, when the Lord of glory appeared to him, Paul came to him, depart from your land, homeland, from your kindred, from your father's house, and go to the place of my choice, you find Abraham obeyed.

But how did he obey? He compromised. If you read Genesis chapter 11, you find that it was not Abraham who went out. It was his father, Terah, who brought Abraham out with his wife and with his nephew Lot.

In other words, when God appeared to Abraham, and Abraham desired to obey, but here you will find he compromised. He let his father take the initiative, and he brought out. Came to the land of Haran, in the middle of earth and the promised land.

And there he compromised. And you know when a vision is compromised, God. Those days in Haran, God never appeared to Abraham. Now, brothers and sisters, is this your story? Once upon a time, God did appear to you.

You do have your eyes open. You see Christ. He deserves the first place. You see the church, the fullness of Christ. You are attracted by it. But then you consider your way, you compromise. And the result is, you fell into darkness.

Only by the mercy of God, that God opened the way for Abraham. It's very tragic. God took away Terah, but then God appeared to him again, and said the very same thing. No new vision. No addition. The same old vision.

Why? Because he had not obeyed. He had compromised. Oh, brothers and sisters, what a temptation it is to compromise. And when God's vision is compromised, you find gradually it becomes dimmer and dimmer.

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

Until it becomes something. You may be able to look back and say five years ago, God appeared to me. But you lived in the past. You are not in the present. Nor in the future. Another thing. In 1st Samuel, chapter 15, verse 22.

God spoke through Samuel to Saul. Obedience is better than sacrifice. There is another temptation. Then comes to us. According to the heavenly vision is substituting sacrifice for obedience. We are very clever.

We want to obey. We want to allow the cross to work in our lives. We want to keep our integrity. Therefore, we offer to God sacrifice. This for you, I will do that for you. Sacrifice to you. Let me use an illustration.

Again, our brother Wassermann. You know, he grew up with the Chan family. And from his youth, he fell in love with one of Chan's girls. Charity. Mutual agreement. Understood. That they will become one.

And then brother Lee got saved. And after he got saved, of course, he was very concerned about charity. So he tried to talk to her about the Lord. Tried to lead her to Christ. And if he should succeed, then, you know, the earthly vision and the heavenly vision will go in the same way.

But God did not honor that. You know what brother needed? He bargained with God. Let me have her. I am willing to go anywhere you want me to go. I will serve you. But our God does not seek a bargain. So finally, our brother yielded.

And after he yielded, he changed his clothes. Put on an old gown. Make some paste. And went out to the street. And put up scriptural posters. That is his decoration. Now, he is dead. And the scripture that spoke to him was, To whom do I have in heaven?

To whom do I desire? He could say it. I have no one in heaven but the Lord. But he could not say that before. That he does not desire anybody else. But from that day onward, he was able to follow the vision that God has given to him.

Now, of course, I want to make you happy. Because after many years of separation, God, in his sovereignty, saves Charity. And finally, they become husband and wife. But anyway, brothers and sisters, what I want to emphasize is, Often times, when the heavenly vision comes to us, We try to substitute obedience with sacrifice.

Do you think God wants our sacrifice? Do you think God really wants your service? Do you think your sacrifice can satisfy his heart, If he does not have you? If he does not have your obedience, Obedience is better.

How often when a person sees a vision, Instead of being open to God, The attitude of obedience, And let God work out that vision in his life, And then through his life. When we receive a vision, We hurry it off, And try to work it out.

And brothers and sisters, When you do that, What you create is a monster. What God wants in us is obedience, Not sacrifice. The heavenly vision is very sensitive. Sensitive by means that it can easily be clouded.

It can easily be lost. It can easily be distracted into something else. We find many of God's people who do have a vision in the beginning, But you find they are being distracted into something else. I like to use an example.

Christ at the Center of the Wheel

You know, a wheel. A wheel is a tremendous invention. But in the Bible you find a wheel is also very important. Especially in Ezekiel. You find that wheel, a wheel within the wheel. You know, that heavenly vision is like a wheel.

A wheel speaks of motion. The movement of God. Moving towards a goal. The center of this wheel is Ezekiel. The center of this wheel is Christ. The circumference, rim of this wheel is the church. And then you find all the other things, whether they are truth, or they are experiences, all these things that you find in the Bible, they are the spooks.

They all centered upon Christ, and reach out to the church. Or to put it another way, you find that everything you find in the scripture, everything you find in life, every truth, every experience, are all the spooks.

They had to come out from Christ, the center, and they reached to the church as the rim. And that's the way that the wheel moves. Related to Christ. And everything is coming out. But brothers and sisters, our problem is, instead of seeing the heavenly vision as a wheel, we lose our vision of the center.

The vision of the rim. He is a spook here, a spook there. These spooks represent truth. I'm not talking about false doctrine. Spook represents spiritual experience, not just something mystical. And yet brothers and sisters, whenever a truth, Christ and the church, it becomes a thing by itself.

It becomes a substitute of the heavenly vision. And how many people today are being occupied with these spooks? Not all the spooks. And all you know, all these spooks, they are all balanced. How do you balance these spooks?

Because you have Christ on one end, you have the church on the other end. When a truth or experience is out of the context of Christ and the church, you'll find it either is too short or too long. Spook is either too short or too long, you know what happens.

Either the wheel will break, or you will just jerk around. And that is what is happening today. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to center upon Christ. We need to have the church as the boundary. And then you'll find the church which is the body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all.

Closing Exhortation and Prayer

Sorry, my time is up. I have more to say, but I think remembering the Lord is more important than speaking. I don't want to be like Paul. Fortunately, we are on the ground floor. But I think it is more important to remember the Lord.

And when the glory of the Lord shall appear, we all have to. Dear Heavenly Father, will You please, in Your mercy, reveal that heavenly vision to Thy redeemed people. Will You please, by Thy grace, make us faithful, that we may, with our brother Paul, declare we are not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

Will You please bring that vision to us and bring us into that vision. Will You please glorify and Thy beloved Son. Lord, we offer ourselves to Thee. We are at Thy disposal. Do whatever Thou dost seem fit with us.

We acknowledge that we are totally unfit. But Lord, Thou art able to make us fit to that vision. And for this we are grateful. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus.