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Scripture Reading: Acts 7:2-3; Isa. 6:1-5; John 12:38, 41; 2 Pet. 1:3, 16-18; Acts 9:3-6; 26:19; Rev. 4:1-3; 21:10
This chapter is on serving the Lord and being a testimony for the Lord. This is too great a thing in the universe. Whether one considers it from the point of view of serving the Lord or from the point of view of being a testimony for the Lord, the matter is not small. Both expressions are tremendous expressions.
We say that we are serving the Lord. But who is this Lord? This is not a small thing. If I could meet the head of a state face to face, I would feel quite extraordinary. But this is only to serve man. We have to see that the Lord is higher and more glorious than any man. We serve the Lord Christ. Many times we have spoken about the service of the Lord in too low a term and have considered it too lightly. Furthermore, to testify for the Lord is not a light matter either.
Our thoughts and concepts have to be delivered from frivolity and degradation. Whenever we talk about serving the Lord, we have to be serious. Whenever we mention service to the Lord, we have to consider it a tremendous matter. We are serving a God who is the Lord of heaven and earth and the One who is the highest of all. We can illustrate it in another way. If the president of our nation were going to see you this morning, perhaps your heart would have beaten much faster when you woke up in the morning. Perhaps in the night you would not sleep too well. There is nervousness, and there is fear. However, when we talk about serving the Lord today, often we are quite insensitive. We have to realize that we are serving the Lord of heaven and earth. If any man says that he is serving the Lord yet has no feeling whatsoever, it proves that such a person has degraded. We have to be watchful concerning this.
Following this, we have to see the glorious vision. Everyone who serves the Lord must have a glorious vision. It is not the seeing that is glorious; rather, it is the object which we see that is glorious. This in turn makes the seeing itself glorious. This is what we mean by a glorious vision.
The word vision refers to something extraordinary, unusual, uncommon, and strange. It also means a scene or a scenery. It is a kind of special seeing. One sees because a scenery is there. A few hundred of you are sitting here. This is a very beautiful scenery. If I had a camera, I would capture this on my film. Hence, a vision is a special kind of seeing. We have to know that to serve God is not an ordinary matter. This is because the Lord is not ordinary. If we do not have any feeling concerning serving the Lord and being a testimony for Him, we are those without a vision.
From the whole Bible we can see that every servant of the Lord begins by being called. This is like our taking up a job and receiving a letter of acceptance. Our calling is similar to this today. It is not the church that is calling you, nor is it the work of the gospel team that is calling you; it is the Lord Himself who has called you. When you are called, you receive the vision. The calling of the Lord is the appearing of the God of glory to you. He does not appear to you without reason. God’s appearing to you is His calling you. It makes you a called one.
Abraham was the first called one in the Bible. Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah were before Abraham, but the Bible does not mention how these five were called. For example, in the case of Abel the book of Genesis only tells us that he experienced God under his parents’ guidance.
Enosh knew God and served Him, and the Bible says that from that time on men began to call upon the name of Jehovah (Gen. 4:26). But the Bible does not say how he was called. The same is true with Enoch and Noah. It is not until we come to Abraham that a new thing is mentioned in the Old Testament, which is that God came to call Abraham. At that time Abraham was in Ur of the Chaldeans (11:31). He was not there serving or worshipping God; rather, he was there worshipping idols. The land of Chaldea was a land of idolatry; it was full of idols. It was also where the tower of Babel was. Hence, the place was filled with idols. Under such a circumstance the God of glory appeared to Abraham. He was the first called one in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament we can see that the apostle Paul was also called by the Lord. His former name was Saul. While he was on his way to Damascus with the letter of the high priest to bind those who called on the name of the Lord, the glory of the Lord appeared to him (Acts 9:2-3). The appearing of the Lord is the glory of the Lord. This appearing captured Paul, and he was called. Abraham in the Old Testament was called while worshipping idols. Paul in the New Testament was called while on his way to bind men calling on the name of the Lord. This is indeed wonderful.
According to our experience, once the Lord appears to us, we are not the same. From then on we are being called. When the Bible mentions the calling of Abraham, the record was brief. It only says that Abraham was then living in Mesopotamia and that the God of glory appeared to him. As far as God is concerned, it is an appearing. As far as we are concerned, it is a vision and a seeing — a very particular seeing, a seeing that we have never experienced before. We have seen mountains, rivers, birds, animals, flowers, and many other things before. But this is different. Suddenly such a One appears to us. This appearing is the calling of God. In other words you are called. If you do not accept this calling, you are rejecting the vision of God.
However, the Bible shows us that when God appeared to man, no one could reject Him. The vision is too wonderful. Some of the idols Abraham was worshipping had faces of demons; others had faces of horses or were birds in a temple. These were the things Abraham worshipped. History tells us that every brick in the tower of Babel had an image on it. While Abraham was worshipping these idols, suddenly a scene appeared to him. This scene was absolutely different from all the idols. This scene was just God Himself. The God of glory appeared with such splendor and majesty that the vision captured Abraham. In this way he was called. It was in this condition of calling that God told Abraham, “Go from your land / And from your relatives / And from your father’s house / To the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). From that time on, Abraham was called. He is the first called one in the Old Testament. In addition to this one there were at least two others who were called. One was Isaiah, and the other was Ezekiel. Both became prophets as a result of their calling.
How does God call us? He calls us by drawing us to Himself through opening Himself up to us. In some places in the world, there are night markets. The merchants there lay out their beautiful bargain goods by bundles and cases before the customers. This gives people a strong impression. Many are attracted by these night markets and shop there. I hope that some among you will see God Himself in a similar way and will be captured by such a glorious vision.
I still remember the experience of the God of glory appearing to me for the first time. That was on the afternoon of the day I was saved. When I walked out of the meeting hall into the street, I felt that everything was different. I stopped by the road and prayed to God, “God! I don’t want anything else anymore. I only want Yourself.” This was the God of glory appearing to me. I hope that in principle you would all have the same experience. Do not be like the Christian missionaries. They serve the Lord as a profession. I hope that everyone serving the Lord in His recovery would have this glorious vision breaking and shining upon him at least once. This is not a matter of any outward seeing. Rather, it is a definite and glorious inward seeing.
After we have this glorious seeing, our entire being will be changed in its concept, attitude, conversation, and thought. We will be thoroughly different. Although we still eat, drink, rest, and work, our whole person will be changed. This is a response to our seeing a vision. Whenever we see a vision, we have a response. For example, when you go to the zoo and see a fierce tiger, you will surely have a response. The vision that you see will make you beside yourself. Your concepts will be changed, and your walk and living will become uncommon.
I still remember the condition I was in when I was called immediately after I was saved. Others began to feel differently about me. Not only did outsiders feel differently about me; even my own family felt that I was different. They thought that I was depressed or that I did not sleep well. They observed that I began to lose interest in everything. Although all of you may not be the same as I was, I do believe that a good number of brothers and sisters have had a similar experience. Others notice that we are different. Perhaps the change does not occur the day we are saved. But three days later, or three months, perhaps even three years later, there is a thorough change. Sooner or later the appearing of God and our spiritual vision will make us different from others. The world can never explain this. They cannot understand it, because they have never seen anything like it.
Furthermore, we know that after seeing such a vision, our whole lifestyle is changed. For example, formerly I may have loved the world very much, but now I gladly relinquish it. Money becomes tasteless. Fashion becomes tasteless, and amusement becomes tasteless. Everything becomes tasteless. But this is not all. The wonderful thing is that, on the positive side, the word of the Lord becomes tasteful, and God becomes attractive. Those who do not understand this may think that we have a mental problem, because our reaction is too different and too extraordinary. However, we know that there is nothing wrong with us. The only thing that happened is that our whole being has had an inward turn. From that day on, for us the world changed its color. It was a genuine change. This world has become absolutely tasteless to us. On the positive side, our life becomes full of meaning, glory, and purpose because of the Lord. This proves that we have seen the glorious vision.
When this God of glory unveils Himself to us, our lives are changed. This can neither be imitated nor denied. For a while you may become somewhat cold, or weak, or maybe slightly backslidden, or depressed. But you cannot forget the vision. Even if you go back to the world and desire the world, the feeling within you will not be the same. You will sense no taste for it. God will raise up an environment to turn you back. He will unveil His glory to you again and will make you consecrate yourself back to this God of glory.
I hope that everyone who is going to participate in the gospel outreach is a man of vision. It must not be that some others are persuading you to join the gospel outreach. Persuasion will work for only three days. I am afraid that after three days it will become useless. It has to be something that touches you within, which is the God of glory unveiling Himself to you and enlightening you, who will give you unspeakable strength for you to go on in serving the Lord step by step.
When I came back to Taiwan a few days ago, I received a call from one of the gospel teams. The brothers and sisters were very excited. They told me that within three weeks they had baptized eighty-two persons. The first Lord’s Day they had twenty-three new ones attending their bread-breaking meeting. This is indeed encouraging. But we have to see that such excitement will ebb quickly if there is not a vision as the underlying support. It is like the weather that we have been experiencing these few days. At times a cold front comes, and the temperature goes down and up erratically. But if you have seen the vision, whether there is a cold front or a warm front, you will not be affected. We have to realize that we have the outreach in the villages because we have seen an inward vision. This glorious vision controls us and gives us the boldness to go on.
At present we very much encourage the brothers and sisters to prophesy in the district meetings on the Lord’s Day. This is to speak for God. However, there is a basic qualification to speak for God, which is that we must first see God. For you to describe my appearance to others without having first seen me is a rather difficult thing to do. Nor could you say much. But while you are sitting here this morning in this meeting, you see my every slightest move, and you will have a lot to say to others about me. Hence, if we want to prophesy and to speak for the Lord, we must first have fellowship with the Lord. We must see Him and know Him before we can speak Him forth.
We also must deeply realize that our outreach is not a kind of work. Rather, it is a going out in ecstasy. If we are not ecstatic, the gospel outreach will not be effective. If we see the vision, our going out for the work will be different. When Isaiah was called by God to speak for Him, he did not go forth to give predictions. Rather, he spoke words of rebuke to others.
The majority of the sixty-six chapters of Isaiah were a speaking for God. The reason Isaiah spoke was that God had granted him the vision. Isaiah saw the God of glory sitting on the throne, and he said, “Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts” (6:5). This is Isaiah’s message. In 1:9 he says, “Unless Jehovah of hosts / Had left to us a surviving few, / We would have been like Sodom, / We would have resembled Gomorrah.” He had truly seen the vision and had come forth to speak for the Lord.
I hope that every one of you who are going to participate in the outreach in the villages would also have such an inward vision. Whenever you see people, there is the burden within to speak, even to speak unceasingly like a “madman.” In the Old Testament every prophet was a “madman.” In the New Testament every apostle was also a “madman.” Every evangelist is all the more a “madman.” I have noticed that the brothers and sisters in the five teams that have gone out are a little bit crazy. I believe that more or less it is because they have been affected by the vision that they have received.
We can take a look again at the story of the calling of Peter, James, and John. While they were fishing, the Lord called them (Matt. 4:18-22). But that call did not affect them too much. One day the three of them followed the Lord Jesus to go up to the mountain. On the mountain the Lord suddenly was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light (Matt. 17:2). Later, Peter tells us in his Epistle that he was an eyewitness of the Lord’s majesty on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is not merely a seeing of the glory of the Lord. It is a beholding of His majesty. Glory is comparatively common. But majesty brings people awe. Peter says that he made known the things to us because he became an eyewitness to the Lord’s majesty. What he made known to us was not cleverly devised myths but was what he had seen with his own eyes (2 Pet. 1:16).
Now we know why Peter and John were so powerful when they preached the gospel and worked for the Lord. The reason is that they had all seen a vision. This vision was their calling. The majesty that they saw became the message that they preached. Hence, if we are to give ourselves to the move of the gospel outreach, we must first see the glorious vision.
When the apostle John was old, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. There he saw scene after scene of visions. The whole book of Revelation from the first chapter to the last is on visions. The last scene is the New Jerusalem (ch. 22). Hence, you can see that what John spoke were the visions that he saw. He was not telling people stories; rather, he was speaking to others every aspect of what he saw. This is the book of Revelation. It is truly an unveiling.
I hope that when you go down to the villages for the outreach, you will speak to others about the vision that you have seen. That will become a revelation to others. This will not be merely some empty teachings. Instead, what you tell others will be a vision that you have seen. This will become others’ revelation. By this they will also be able to see. This is what I mean by the glorious vision.
Second Peter 1:3 says that God “has called us by His own glory and virtue.” In the New Testament every saved person should be one who has received God’s glorious calling. We have all seen His glory, have been attracted by Him, and are under His influence. We can no longer be the same as we were, common worldly persons. We are a special people because the Lord has called us. We do not care about heaven or earth. This glory that we have seen is the meaning of our life. It has also become our goal, our commission, and our burden. We do not care what the circumstance is, nor what others think of us. There is something within us that we cannot deny or disobey. It is the glorious vision. We have to serve God according to this vision throughout our whole life.
