The Vision of Paul — Stephen Kaung

Paul’s Testimony Before King Agrippa

It's three times a day I will read in English from 1 to 10, and my brother will read from 11 to 19.

I will read in English from 1 to 10, and my brother will read from 11 to 19.

I will read in English from 1 to 10, and my brother will read from 11 to 19. This is the promise I myself had before I was a priest, to show that the enemies of God, they are not. O King, it is because of this hope that you have given me.

Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises His mercy? I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus Christ Jesus. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem.

In the authority of the PC, I put many of the slaves in prison. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

In the assembly hall, I forced them to say the words of thanks. And I scorned them from the inside out. I even encouraged them to know the sincerity of the outside world. At that time, I took the order from the PC to go to Damascus.

When I was dancing on the street, I saw a red-haired judge who was brighter than the moon. He turned his face to me and said to the people who were against me, We were all lying on the ground. I heard some people talking to me in Hebrew.

Saul, Saul, why did you force me? It is difficult for you to speak in Hebrew. I said, Lord, who are you? You said, I am Jesus you have forced. Jesus Christ. You only came to fight. I specifically asked you to testify.

I want you to testify. Prove to me what you have judged and what I am going to do to you. I also want you to take away the hands of the people and outsiders. I want you to go to them. I want their eyes to be opened.

From the darkness to the light. From Satan to God. And because of my faith, I was able to set the world on fire. Lord, I did not disobey the will of those who came from heaven. May the Lord bless the meeting of the people.

May the Lord bless the meeting of the people. That is not a punishment, that is a human consequence.

That is not a punishment, that is a human consequence. He wants to share with us the vision of Paul. I want to repeat verse 26, chapter 19. Lord, I did not disobey the will of those who came from heaven.

We want to have a message. And now we just ask Thy Holy Spirit to open our understanding.

That through the written word, we may meet the living God.

Through the written word, we may meet the living God. May we see ourselves. May we see who sees us. May we see what you want us to see. And enable us to be obedient. To commit this time into Thy hands.

And trust Thy Holy Spirit to do this. In the name of our Lord.

The Need for a Heavenly Vision in the End Times

Also, Jesus said, The end of all things has drawn nigh. The end of all things has drawn nigh. We are living in the end days. And these are very important days. And these are the days that we need to have the vision.

And these are the days that we must be obedient to the heavenly vision. And that is the reason why we like to hear together on this message of vision. Because without vision, the people will be defeated.

And without vision, the people just desert. And without vision, as the Bible says, the people are dead. So dear brothers and sisters, We are living in the end days. And we need to have the heavenly vision.

Because only that vision will give us the goal. Only that vision will give us the strength to press on. And only that vision enables us to arrive at Jesus. Now last night, we considered together the vision of Peter.

Peter’s Revelation of Christ and the Church

We saw that the Father revealed the Son to Peter. The confession of Peter does not come from us. The confession of Peter does not come from us. It comes from the Heavenly Father. Because our Lord Jesus says very clearly.

You are blessed. Because it is not something revealed to you by man. But it is my Heavenly Father who revealed it to you. So brothers and sisters, we find that the vision of Peter is the foundation. What God has revealed to Peter forms the foundation of our church.

By the revelation of God, we do know that Peter is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And then after that revelation was given, our Lord Jesus continues to give to people another revelation. And that revelation was, the Lord says, you are Peter.

You are a little stone. I will build my church upon this massive rock. And the grace of Hades shall not prevail against it. That massive rock is the Lord Jesus himself. It is the confession of Peter. And it is based upon the revelation of the Heavenly Father.

And then after this initial vision was given to Peter, we find that it was continued on in Matthew chapter 17. Because our Lord Jesus took Peter, John and James to the Mount of Thanksgiving. And there our Lord was transfigured.

His glory just burst out from them. And we know that Moses and Elijah appeared. And they were talking about the exit, the departure of our Lord Jesus. And this leads to the preview of the Kingdom of God.

In the Kingdom of God, our Lord Jesus is the supreme monarch. And we can be used to serve Him. Now the reason why the Lord chose the Kingdom to be, it is because Peter had already received the revelation of Christ and the faith.

He could not understand how could Christ be Christ and the faith be faith. He could not understand that for Jesus to be Christ, He had to go to the cross. And our Lord Jesus said after His resurrection, that Christ must suffer before He enters into glory.

Now Peter could not understand this. And not only concerning Christ, but it is also concerned with the building of the Church. Because things don't and must be built together without seeing the Kingdom.

Unless we who believe in the Lord Jesus put ourselves under the authority of Christ. If we put ourselves under His absolute authority, then we will be able to build up together. And we will be living in the Kingdom today.

Unless we live in the Kingdom today, we will not be able to reign with Him in the coming years. So it is the Kingdom that builds the Church. And it is the Church that brings in the Kingdom. And this is a vision that we need to have.

Peter’s Vision of the Gentile Church

And finally we find the Lord revealed to people another vision. And that is in October. Peter saw a vision. A great white sea coming down from heaven. And near that sea there were waterfalls preaching to him and power of the earth.

And the voice from heaven said to Peter, Rise up, kill and eat. And you remember Peter said, Not so Lord, because I have never eaten anything unclean of heart. And the voice from heaven said, What God has planned, let no man consider as unclean.

And this happened three times. And then you find that white sea was taken back. Now this white sea represents the Church. Because you find it was hanged on both corners. Actually it is an inversion. And there you find Jesus appealed with all the unclean animals.

The origin of the Church is from heaven. But it came down and touched the earth. And it includes all of us who are unclean. Now to the Jews, the Gentiles are all unclean. But in the sight of God, all the Jews and the Gentiles are all unclean.

And yet we are all cleansed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus. We were all sinners paid by sin. That is what you find in the Church. And the command of the Lord is, that we should have fellowship one with another.

Do not consider your brother or sister. We are, who has been cleansed by the blood of our Lord Jesus as unclean. We need to fellowship one with another. And that is expressing the Church life. So when you put these three things together, you find the vision of Jesus.

This is a foundational vision. Now this evening we would like to go a little further. We would like to see the vision of Paul. Because Paul builds the Church. He is a transformation. He will take the materials and make it into a tent.

He is a master builder. And we will see what vision, what human vision. Now brothers and sisters, we all know that before Paul met the Lord on the road to the Master. His name was Paul. And he was called the Pharisee.

Saul’s Religious Zeal and Persecution of Christians

He was born in Passock. And yet, he was born to a Hebrew family. He said he is a Hebrew of Hebrew. Now what do you mean by Hebrew of Hebrew? Now it means that these Jewish people, even though they live in Gentile cities, they still speak Hebrew language in the family.

And Paul was born into such a family. He said he was circumcised on the eighth day. He was of the 12 tribes of Israel. And he was of the tribe of Benjamin. And you know that when the 12 tribes were divided, Benjamin stayed with Judah.

So he was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Hebrew of Hebrew. And he became a Pharisee. Now Pharisee at that time was a sect of Judaism. It is the strictest sect in Judaism. The Pharisees not only studied the Old Testament, but they tried their best to keep the commandments.

They kept the commandments to the minute detail. They kept the petitions of the father. You know, from God gives the word to the Jewish people. And they did not understand. So rabbis were raised up among them.

And these rabbis began to explain the scripture to them. Or to apply the scripture to daily life. And through the ages, more rabbis were raised up. And these rabbis began to explain the explanation of the former rabbis.

And then more rabbis were raised up. And they tried to explain the explanation of their former rabbis who explained the words of the rabbis before them. And you find that from the petition of the father.

And the word of God was generated under the heavy load of the Jews. For example, at the time of our Lord Jesus. You know, you remember on one occasion when our Lord was a disciple of the disciples passing a field.

And the disciples were hungry. And they took the feed. And they rubbed against it. And they ate it. Now immediately the Pharisees said.

That they have disobeyed the law.

Because on the Sabbath they were not supposed to do any work. Now according to the biblical teaching, on the Sabbath if you take the feed, it was lawful. It was not doing work. But if you rub against it, that is work.

So you find that from Paul he became a Pharisee. He kept the secret of the interpretation of the law. And many Pharisees were hypocrites. And they tried to appear that they were very pious before men.

But the life behind was another thing. But Paul was different. Because he said, I live a Pharisee. He lived a true life of a Pharisee. And he was so fervent for the tradition of the Father. When he was young, probably after he was twelve, after he became the son of the Lord, he was sent by his father for passage from Tarsus to Jerusalem.

And he sat at the feet of Gamaliel. And Gamaliel, you know, at that time was the greatest rabbi among the Jews. Because Gamaliel is the grandson of Helios. He was the grandson of Helios. And Helios was one of the two greatest rabbis Judaism ever produced.

And Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel. And so you find that Paul, he knew the law. And he kept the law. He was very zealous for the tradition of the Father. He was very zealous and he was a very pious person.

And he was more advanced than the contemporaries. But at that time, under the tradition of the Father, he looked at Jesus as an imposter. He considered Jesus as an imposter in Judaism. So he was very enthusiastic in persecuting the followers of Jesus.

He had never seen Jesus himself. But he persecuted the disciples of Jesus. He not only persecuted them individually, in Judaism. He persecuted them even to foreign countries. He wanted to destroy Christ and all his disciples.

Stephen’s Martyrdom and Saul’s Hardened Conscience

You know very likely, if you read the book of Acts, you remember the story of the martyrdom of Stephen. And you know Stephen, one of the seven who serves the table in Jerusalem. And he was full of the Holy Spirit.

Full of wisdom. And you find how the synagogues of the Gentile countries, they argue with him. You know there are many synagogues at that time. And some are synagogues of a certain faith. If you are a mechanic, then you can have a synagogue of a mechanic.

And if you come from Silesia, from a Gentile country, and yet you live in Jerusalem, you can have a synagogue of Silesian people. And so you find there are many synagogues at that time. And some are the synagogues of the Jewish Jews, those who were born and lived in the promised land.

And others you find Holy Mystic Jews, who live in Jerusalem. They were born and lived in foreign countries. So they all have their own synagogues. And you find it is the synagogues of the Holy Mystic Jews.

You find that it was those Jews who were born and lived in foreign countries. And they had their synagogue in Jerusalem. They argued with Stephen. And probably Paul was one of those who argued with Stephen.

And they took Stephen to the council. To the council meeting. The supreme council of Judea. And Stephen blessed Stephen. They blessed Stephen in the temple. And tried to change the law. And you remember in Acts chapter 7.

And Stephen is the power of the Holy Spirit. He presented the gospel to the people. And they couldn't oppose it. And they tried to kill him. And you remember those who stung Stephen to death. They laid their toll at the feet of a young man.

And that young man was Saul. Saul was there watching how Stephen was stung to death. And Stephen said I saw the heaven open. I saw the Son of Man standing by the throne of God. And before he died. He prayed that the Lord will not lay the sin upon these people.

Now Saul he watched all these things. And evidently being an honest person. He must be touched in his conscience. He saw something that was real. And he must touch his conscience very deeply. But the system was so strong in this man.

He tried to suppress his conscience. And he tried to persecute the system even more zealously. And the Bible says he lavished victory. In the Bible it says he went into houses. And he freed men and women.

And put them into prison. Now this was not the work of a normal moral person. It shows us he was trying to suppress his conscience. God must have spoken to him. But he tried to silence that inner voice.

By double his persecution of the believers. Now he took documents from the secretaries. And he was going to foreign countries. Trying to see upon the followers of Jesus. While he was on the road to Damascus.

And while he was approaching Damascus. He was a young man. And suddenly a light shone upon him. He was brighter than the known day sun. And that light took him to the ground. And he heard a voice. God.

Why do you persecute? And he was speaking to him in Hebrew language. Now brothers and sisters. The voice says go go. Why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goal. Now brothers and sisters.

Do you understand what it means by kick against the goal? You know in the old days. They tend the field with ox. And you find that they tie the ox to a cloud. And the farmer will guide the ox. Yeah. He will guide the cloud.

Yeah. The ox is under the yoke. And the farmer he will guide the cloud. So that you will find a straight line being cleared on the ground. But the ox will not listen to the master. You know when the ox sees something by the side.

And he will turn his head. So the farmer has in his another hand a sharp instrument called the goat. He will use the goat and touch the leg of the ox. Now of course. Now of course. The farmer does not want to hurt the ox.

So he will touch the ox very gently. To remind the ox. He is a master. But the ox does not understand. So he will kick against the goal. You know when you kick against the goal then it hurts. But the ox has been hurt a few times.

Then he learns the lesson. And he became a winner. And follow the direction of the master. Now that is the background. So the Rhythm Lord says you go. Why do you persecute me? Do you not understand? It is hard to kick against the goal.

You know. God has a purpose. God has a purpose. God has a purpose for everyone. Even before the foundation of the world. God has chosen us in Christ Jesus. And he chose us with a purpose. To fulfill his purpose.

But we do not understand. And we do not know. We think that we are free. We think that we are our own master. We think that we have our own purpose. But brothers and sisters. We do not know that we have our master.

God is our master. Our creator is our master. And he created us with a purpose. That we may do his work. Not our work. We are like an ox. Under the yoke. To plow the ground for our master. That he may have a harvest.

But this is something God did not understand. God thought he was free. He was his own master. And he would do what he thought was his work. The Lord has warned him again and again. Especially at the martyrdom of Jesus.

It is as if the Lord has touched him with the door. And that his conscience was barred. And yet he rebelled against it. And he kicked against it. And the Lord said to him, Go. It is hard to preach against it.

You may do it many times. But eventually. You have to yield to the will of God. Brothers and sisters. Do we understand this? You know, we often think that we are free. We do not know why we are created.

We do not know the purpose of our life. We think that we can do anything we like. And that we live for ourselves. We do our work. We are our own master. But according to the word of God. This is not true.

Because God created us with a purpose. We are here on earth to do his will. And that God's work may be done. But we do not understand it. And one day the Lord will reveal it to us. Now when you look back to your life.

Probably you have gone through many trials. Probably you have gone through many unfortunate things. Maybe many unhappy things. Things that did not agree with your will. Do you ever think that probably these are the goals?

The Lord is reminding you of something. But you rebelled against it. Now how long are you able to do that? So, the reason the Lord said to Saul. Saul, Saul. Why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the Lord.

Saul Submits to Jesus as Lord

For the first time. Saul met his master. Saul, Saul said. Lord. Who are you? I acknowledge that you are my master. I cannot withstand you anymore. But I do not know who you are. And the Lord said. I am Jesus.

Whom thou persecute. You know Paul. Actually never persecuted the Lord himself. What he persecuted. Were the followers of Christ Jesus. Now Saul. Had every reason to argue with the risen Lord. He could argue with the Lord.

He said you are in heaven. How could I persecute you? But he did not argue. Why? Because he had heavenly vision. He saw something. He saw. That those who touch. The followers of Jesus. Touch Jesus himself.

So what is the heavenly vision. He saw. On the road to the master. First. First. He saw that Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the master. He is the head of all things. He is invisible. You have to yield to him.

He is supreme. He recognized that Jesus is Lord. That is the first thing he saw. And the second thing he saw. He saw that those who are followers of Jesus. They are part of the body of Christ. You know the head is in heaven.

But the body is on earth. And this body covers the whole earth. Wherever there are believers. They form the body of Christ. If somebody will touch your arm. Now will you be so suspicious as to say. Why do you touch my arm?

You will say. Why do you touch me? Because when you touch any part of the body. You touch the head. So great is the vision. On the road to the master. In the heavenly vision. So not only saw Jesus is Lord.

He saw that those who are Christ. Are one with Christ. Christ is the head. And all those who believe the Lord Jesus. Is the body of Christ. Christ the head. But he took upon himself a body. You know 2000 years ago.

When the world is in flesh. He took upon himself a body. A fleshly body. From the womb of Mary. And in that body he lived for 33 years. And he spoke. And he taught. And he worked. Now after he was risen from the dead.

And ascended up to heaven. He took upon himself. A mystic body upon this earth. And this mystic body is the Christ. And in this mystic body. He continued to teach and to work. And that's what you find in the beginning of the book of Acts.

You know Luke wrote two books in the New Testament. He wrote the gospel according to Luke. That tells the story of Jesus. Who lived in his fleshly body for 33 years. And then he wrote the book of Acts.

If you read the book of Acts. You will find that what he wrote. Is what Christ has done. Continues to do and to teach. Now he continues to teach and to do. Now he continues to teach and to do in a mystic body.

In the body of Christ. In the church today. And saw on the road of the masters. Saw the whole thing. On the road to the masters. He met a universal man. And that universal man. The head is in heaven. And the body fills the whole earth.

And before that universal man. He had to saw that. Because that universal man. Is invisible. It is invisible. This is what the law says. I will build my church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades are not to veil against it.

This is what saw. Saw on the road to the masters. But dear brothers and sisters. The heavenly vision. Does not end. On the road to the masters. We find that this vision continues on. Into the city of the masters.

Ananias and Saul’s Entrance into the Church

So. After. He said Lord. Who are you? The second question he asked. Was. What should I do Lord? You know before he met the Lord. He was his own master. He knew what he wanted to do. He also directed other people.

To do what he wanted to do. But now. He completely yielded himself. To Jesus as Lord. So he said Lord. What should I do now? I don't know what to do now. Now tell me. What should I do? And you know what the law says?

The law says rise up. Rise up. Go to the masters. And there. It will be told. It will tell you what to do. And when all opened his eyes. He couldn't see. He was blinded by the glory of the Lord. He was blinded by the glory of the Lord.

So people had to lead him to the master. And he lived. On the street. And in the house of Joseph. And for three days. He didn't eat. He was there fasting. And praying. And while he was fasting and praying.

The Lord revealed to another man. In the city of the master. His name was Ananias. You know Ananias appeared. In the bible. Just once. And before. We do not hear his name. And after this. We do not hear him anymore.

Now Ananias. Was a disciple of the Lord. He the master. He was almost unknown. And you know Saul was well known. And he was well known and he persecuted him. But Ananias was an unknown person. And he was just a little disciple.

In the city of the master. But he had a very close relationship with the Lord. So the Lord appeared to him in the vision. And said Ananias. Ananias said Lord here am I. And the Lord said. Go to the street of Satan.

And in the house of Judah. You will find a man by the name of Saul of Tartarus. And you go there. You lay hands on him. And open his eyes. Now Ananias heard about Saul. You know Saul was very famous. Because he persecuted the disciples of Jesus.

In many cities. Because he persecuted the disciples of Jesus. And Ananias also heard. That Saul was coming to the master. To persecute the believers. He came to the master. To see the followers of Jesus.

And brought them to Jerusalem to be judged. And Saul was very famous. And Ananias heard about that. So Ananias said to the Lord. I heard from many. That this man came. To seize the believers. Now how could I go.

If I go to him. Then he will just seize you. He will kill me. But the Lord said. You go. Because he is my chosen one. And thank God. Ananias knew the Lord. Even though he was a little known. Unknown. And yet he knew the Lord.

And he was obedient to the Lord. In spite of himself. In spite of what he had heard about Saul. He obeyed the Lord. He went to that house. And when he entered into that house. And he saw Saul. He laid his hands on Saul.

And he said. Brother. Saul. He said. The Lord who met you on the road.

Open your eyes.

And he immediately. His eyes were open. And he saw. You know the first one. Saul. As his eyes were open. Saul was Ananias. Feel. Now brothers and sisters. On the road to Damascus. Saul met the universal master.

Christ the head. All over the earth. He is that universal master. All the spiritual principles of the church. Were all there. But if our Lord did. On the road to Damascus. When Saul asked the Lord. Lord what do you want me to do?

And the Lord said. Now rise up. Go. To the nations. And preach the gospel. Open the eyes of the blind. And bring many into the kingdom of God. Now if the Lord would tell Saul directly. On the road of Damascus.

You know what Saul will do? Be a man of strong will. Be a man of action. Be an independent person. He will immediately rise up. And begin to preach the gospel. He will travel for all the world. And bring people to the kingdom of God.

But he will be all by himself. Because he will not need anybody else. He will be an independent person. To put it another way. Even though on the road of Damascus. He saw that body. The body is composed of many members.

And all the members are independent. Under the head. But. If the Lord is telling what to do. Directly. You know Saul will be an independent person. He will preach the church. But he will not live the church life.

It would be a theory to him. He will not have to live in the church. And that is the reason why. You will find that the Lord will not tell him what to do. And instead. The Lord will allow a little man.

To tell him what to do. The Lord will tell what he should do to that little man. Let that little man tell him what to do. Now brothers and sisters. Isn't that wonderful? Who is Imam Ali? Imam Ali is a disciple in Damascus.

He was sent by the Lord to Saul. He lay hands on Saul. Now do you know what lay hands means? Lay hands means identification. Lay hands means identification. Saul and Ananias were enemies. Saul was the persecutor.

Ananias was the persecutor. They could not meet each other. Because if they met. Ananias will die in the hands of Saul. But here you find something wonderful happen. These two enemies. They became brothers.

And Ananias. Representing the church in Damascus. He lay hands on Saul. In other words. He brings Saul into the fellowship of the church. The former enemy became a dear brother. So he says Saul brother.

Now I wonder when Saul heard he was called brother. How would he feel in his heart? Probably his heart will be broken. I the persecutor. Find the grace of God. That I should be a brother. That I should be received into the church.

Brotherhood system. There is no title. More perfect. Than the title brother. You know sometimes. We try to call brother. Mr. So-and-so. Or teacher So-and-so. But the dearest title. Is brother. That we are brothers.

One to another. We are received into. The fellowship of the church. Rise up. And be baptized. And be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's what happens to Saul. So instead of being sold. For the pharisee.

The persecutor of the followers of Christ. Only walk and walk. And become tall. Brotherhood system. Towards the end of his life. He could testify before King Agatha. Agatha. I was not disobedient. To the heavenly vision.

Paul’s Life and Ministry Under the Heavenly Vision

It is the heavenly vision. That explains his life. And his ministry. It is the heavenly vision. That is his message. So you know Paul's message. Is Christ and the church. His message is Jesus is Lord.

His message is the church is the body of Christ. And this body is not only spiritual. But also practical. Brother and sister. And you'll find his whole life. Is involved. In the heavenly vision. Not only he has seen the vision.

But the vision became his vocation. Became his very life. He lives under the Lordship of Christ. And he lives in a life of fellowship with Christ. Brother and sister. Even though he suffered much. Because of that heavenly vision.

But he was not disobedient. To the heavenly vision. And he considered it as worthwhile. Now brother and sister. This is the vision of Paul. And that vision kills the church. What the Lord has shown for Paul.

Is to be shown for everyone. We all need to see this in our spirit. There in our spirit. We meet the risen Lord. He is not only the crucified Lord. He is the risen Lord. He is not only the one who humble himself.

He obedient even and forget the death of the cross. But he is now ascended above all. He is given a name that is above everything. To his name every knee shall bow. And every tongue must confess that Jesus is the Lord.

Now this is the heavenly vision. In that heavenly vision. He also sees what the church is. The church is not an organism. The church is an organism. It is the body of Christ. Whoever touches the body.

Touches the head. The church and Christ are one. And that is the reason why. You find in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Verses 12 and 13. Says in one day. You were baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Gentiles.

And you were all made to drink of one spirit. Even though we are many. Yet there is one body. Even though the body is one. There are many members. So also is the Christ. And you find that the body and the head are one.

The church to Paul. Is not a theory. The church to Paul is a reality. He not only preached about the church. He led the life of the church. Dear brothers and sisters. This is the heavenly vision. That God gave to Paul.

And he was given to all of us. So may the Lord help us. That we too will see the heavenly vision. And not only see it. But not disobey it. May the Lord help us. Dear Heavenly Father. We want to thank you.

For giving Paul that heavenly vision. And we want to thank you. That by thy grace. He was not disobeying to that heavenly vision. Dear Heavenly Father. We ask that thou too. Will give us this vision. That we may see Jesus with love.

That we may yield ourselves completely to thee. And allow thee to rule over our hearts. We pray that thou also open our eyes. We see that we are not just individual believers. We are members in the body of Christ.

We not only belong to Jesus. But we belong to one another. We need one another. We encourage one another. We love one another. We fellowship with one another. O Lord, do open our eyes. That we may be obedient to the heavenly vision.