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Scripture Reading: Acts 26:19; Gal. 1:11-12, 16; 2 Tim. 2:21; 3:14-15; Jer. 15:19; Job 42:3-5; Matt. 5:8; 2 Cor. 3:15-18
A person who serves and works for the Lord must be called, and he must have a vision and revelation. Seeing a vision and receiving revelation are necessary matters for all the Lord’s serving ones.
Paul is a pattern of a worker for the Lord in the New Testament, and he often spoke of his service. In Acts 26:19 he said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” This shows that his service and work came from a vision.
In order to serve God, one must have a vision from God. If a household servant works as he pleases and does not listen to the owner of the house, he will not be useful, and it would not be wise to hire such a person. A good servant asks what he needs to do because his work is not related to his own things. A servant should be willing to follow directions. This is a basic point in our service. It is a fearful thing when a brother brings only things that he sees as being good and proper into the service of the Lord.
All the education, teaching, and instruction that Paul received from his youth came from the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law. When he was serving God and persecuting Christians as Saul of Tarsus, his mind and even his whole being were constituted with these items. For Saul, the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law were not merely the content of his education; they were his very being. In his person he represented the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law. Without receiving a heavenly vision, it would not have been possible for Paul to bring anything but the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law into his service to God, because these things constituted his very being.
Consequently, when the Lord called Saul, He flashed a light around him that caused him to fall on the ground (9:3-4). When Saul fell to the ground, the elements of the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law also fell. As soon as the light of God’s New Testament flashed around him, he could not stand; he fell completely. His entire being and all that was constituted into his being also fell. The Old Testament fell, Judaism fell, and the law fell. Everything within him fell.
After Saul fell, he asked two questions. First, he asked, “Who are You, Lord?” (v. 5; 22:8). Saul was not an atheist. He believed in God; we may even say that he believed in God very much. His belief in God was the source of his zeal for persecuting the believers. Although he was very zealous for the God of his forefathers, he did not truly know God. This shows that it is possible to have much biblical knowledge but not know God. Even if Saul could have recited the entire Old Testament, he did not know God. He was zealous for God, and he knew the Scriptures, but he did not know God. In fact, he was even opposing God. Apparently, he was serving God; actually, he was opposing God. The Lord told him that he was kicking against the goads, like an ox that does not submit to its master’s yoke (26:14). Saul’s knowledge of God was so limited that when the light flashed around him and he fell, he did not know who was speaking to him from the heavens. He asked, “Who are You, Lord?” The Lord replied, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you persecute” (22:8). Saul thought that he was persecuting Christians, but the Lord said that he was persecuting Him, because the Lord was living in the Christians whom Saul was persecuting, such as Peter, James, and Stephen. Saul thought that he was persecuting Christians, but the Lord told him that he was persecuting the Lord Himself.
With this realization, Saul immediately asked a second question: “What shall I do, Lord?” (v. 10). The first question relates to knowing the Lord; the second relates to receiving the Lord’s vision. The Lord said, “Rise up and go into Damascus, and there it will be told to you concerning all the things which have been appointed to you to do” (v. 10). From this point forward he began to have a vision. This vision cut him off from his previous service and brought him into the New Testament service. The Old Testament, Judaism, and the law, that is, his religious knowledge from his past, was terminated. This cutting off was signified by the outward blinding of his eyes. From that day forward his outward consideration of the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law was “blinded,” and the one who led others to oppose Christians now needed someone to lead him to Damascus. His outer religious “eyes” became blind, but his inner “eyes” were enlightened through revelation.
Whether we are newly saved or have been saved for many years, and whether we are an elder, a deacon, or a co-worker, our service will be according to God’s standard only if our being has “fallen” to the ground, and our “eyes” have been blinded. Without the blinding of our “eyes,” our past will not be terminated, and our inner “eyes” will not be enlightened to see the vision of God and receive the revelation of God.
This is the problem among Christians today. Many Christians are like Saul of Tarsus before the light flashed around him: their outer eyes are open, but their inner “eyes” are blind. There is much chaos in Christianity today, because many people have never been blinded and have never fallen to the ground. They bring religious things, like the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law, into their service. Hence, they cannot receive God’s vision and revelation, and their service is related only to religious things, not to a heavenly vision.
Paul testified to King Agrippa that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision from the day that he met the Lord on his way to Damascus (26:19). Paul’s way of serving God came from a heavenly vision. When he saw this vision, the things of the Old Testament came to an end, and he began to take the New Testament way. This can be seen in relation to the practice of circumcision, which will never be forsaken by the Jews. After receiving a heavenly vision, Paul did not insist on this practice (Gal. 5:2-4, 6, 11). When he said to King Agrippa, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,” the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law no longer governed him. When he abandoned Judaism, he offended the Jews, and the Jews denounced him. However, Paul did not abandon Judaism according to his own will but because he saw a vision. He was bound with chains and made a prisoner because he was obedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 21:33; 26:29). In order to maintain the new, he had to abandon the old. In order to run the new way, he had to turn away from the old way.
In Galatians 1:15-16 Paul says, “It pleased God...to reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles.” Paul received more than an outward vision concerning a way; he received an inward revelation concerning life. When he said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,” he was speaking of the way of his service, and when he spoke of God revealing His Son in him, he was speaking of inward life. He came to know Christ as life in his service to God.
We need a vision for the way of our service and a revelation for the life of our service. Saul’s way of serving God was not sinful, but it was a way that was according to the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law. When the heavenly light flashed around him, he knew that he could no longer take his old way. His old practices had to be abandoned, and he turned completely in his way of serving God. He did not pursue his former course; rather, he stopped. Nevertheless, it was not enough for him to change his outward way; his inner life also needed to change. His old way was unacceptable, and his old life had to be terminated.
Many in Christianity focus on the light that flashed around Paul on his way to Damascus, but few focus on the light of life that he received. Many speak of Paul’s not being disobedient to the heavenly vision, but they miss his word in Galatians 1:16 concerning God revealing His Son in him. Working for the Lord involves more than an outward way or practice; it involves the matter of an inner life as well.
For example, some argue whether baptism should be by immersion or by sprinkling. I often tell people that baptism is not merely a practice; it is a matter that speaks of knowing the Lord inwardly in His death and resurrection. It is pointless if we merely make a change in an outward practice, but our inner life remains unchanged. If we change the broth but not the medicine in the broth, there will be no impact on the person who is sick. There is no value in changing outward things if there is no inward change. We need vision for our outward way and revelation for our inner life. Our way must be heavenly, whereas our life must be Christ.
A friend in the Lord once asked me, “Why does your church not take interest in social issues? It is as if you are floating in the air above the earth.” I replied, “I am a servant of God in order to speak for God; how can I take an interest in social issues? How can I be involved with earthly matters?” A heavenly vision always makes people heavenly. The church is heavenly, and it should not be defiled by earthly things. Social customs and worldly practices are earthly, human matters; they are not matters related to the church. Although the church walks on the earth, she is not earthly; she walks a heavenly way on earth. The life of the church is also heavenly; it is Christ Himself. The church has a heavenly way and the life of Christ.
We must have vision and revelation in order to serve God. The way to serve God comes from the vision, and the life to serve God comes from revelation. Nothing human should be brought into the service to God, that is, nothing from our past, nothing that is Chinese, nothing that is foreign, nothing that is old, and even nothing that is new. No religious system, no person, no human method, no social practice, and no personal ideas are allowed in the service to the Lord. In his service as Saul, Paul brought the things from the Old Testament into his service, the things given by God to his fathers. From a human perspective, there is nothing better than the things that Saul brought into his service. We can bring in things that are Socratic or Confucian in nature, but these things cannot compare to the things of the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law, things that God wanted Saul to abandon. If God did not want these things, how could He have any regard for things that are merely social, worldly, and human? Simply because something reflects a current trend does not mean that it should be brought into the service of the church. The heavenly vision stops the earthly practices and methods of God’s serving ones. The heavenly vision adjusts us.
In contrast, revelation causes us to know Christ inwardly. Men such as Socrates, Confucius, Mencius, and even Bertrand Russell have spoken many words. However, we do not preach the words of men; we preach Christ Himself. Christ is the Word. John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh” (vv. 1, 14). The Word in these verses is not objective but subjective. We are not preaching dead letters, dead teachings, dead creeds, or dead doctrines. We are preaching the living Jesus, the living Christ, that is, the Lord Himself. Our speaking cannot be understood by mere mental exercise or outward Bible reading; rather, God must reveal His Son in us so that we may know the Son of God who is our life. This was the content of Paul’s preaching. The way of his preaching came from a heavenly vision, and the content of his preaching came from revelation. His way was heavenly, and his content was the living Christ Himself.
Some Christian groups show films at their gospel meetings to boost their low attendance, and they advertise in order to increase the number of attendees. Then they show the film after the message so that the attendees have to listen to the message first. This often causes the attendees to murmur about being forced to listen to a message. Some even leave before the film starts. When the film is finally shown, the content of the message is forgotten. When I speak to the brothers about this, I ask, “Why do they do this?” Certainly this practice does not come from a heavenly vision. We should preach the living Lord Himself, and our way of preaching should be heavenly and spiritual. Even if other Christian groups take the worldly way of using films to appeal to people, we should not adopt this practice.
Recently, the brothers and sisters have formed gospel teams and are going out with bass drums to preach the gospel enthusiastically. Nevertheless, within me there is a question: “Is this sounding of bass drums according to a heavenly vision? Can it withstand the shining of the heavenly vision? Is the practice of gathering people through the sounding of a bass drum heavenly or earthly? Is there a heavenly power that is unsettling people and inclining them to hear the gospel, or are we merely summoning a crowd with drums?” Some brothers say, “Drumming is right; on the day of Pentecost men were gathered by a sound out of heaven, as in Acts 2:2.” Yes, they were gathered by sounds, but where did the sound originate from—heaven or earth?
This does not mean that we must never use drums; I am even responsible for starting gospel teams in 1948 in Shanghai and Nanking. Strictly speaking, the only question that matters is whether our way has a heavenly source. I am not against the going out of gospel teams, but we must see a vision and have a revelation in our service. We cannot bring worldly ways, human methods, social practices, or even ancient or modern ways into the service. We must not bring any human ways into the service.
It is not enough to have an outward way; we must also have life inwardly. God wants us to preach outwardly according to His inner life. God does not need us to preach the doctrine of baptism but to preach the reality of baptism, which is the crucified and resurrected Christ who is our life. With a heavenly vision the way to serve God will be clear, and with revelation the content of our service will be proper.
All God’s serving ones must have a vision. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, every serving one of God had a vision. Abel offered sheep based on vision and revelation. Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground, however, was not according to vision or revelation. Many Bible readers feel that God was unfair to Cain. Both brothers brought an offering, but God had regard only for Abel’s offering, not for Cain’s offering (Gen. 4:3-6). When I first read this account, I felt that way, but gradually I realized that Abel offered sheep according to a vision, whereas Cain offered something out of himself. Abel’s offering was based on a vision; God showed him the way, and he made an offering according to God’s way. Thus, his offering was accepted by God (3:21; Heb. 11:4). Cain followed his own way with no regard for God’s heart. Thus, God could not accept his offering. This can be likened to a servant doing something with no regard for his master’s instructions. No master would hire such a servant.
Noah built the ark because he received a vision from God, not because he had a personal dream. In regard to the ark, he did according to all that God commanded him (Gen. 6:13-22). Similarly, Abraham’s decision to leave Ur of the Chaldeans was not initiated by a personal decision but by a vision that he received from God (12:1-4).
The children of Israel were brought out of Egypt by Moses because he was sent by God, who said to him, “I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt” (Exo. 3:10). Later, God established the passover and, through Moses, instructed the children of Israel to prepare the lamb, to put its blood on the doorposts and lintel, and to eat the flesh of the lamb and the unleavened bread with their loins girded, sandals on their feet, and a staff in their hand (12:1-14) so that they could go out from the Egyptians (11:1-8; 14:1-31). All this was according to a vision that God gave to Moses. God commanded him, and he brought the children of Israel out according to God’s command. After bringing the children of Israel into the wilderness, Moses did not presume to set up the tabernacle, altar, Ark, and golden lampstand according to his own pattern. Rather, he received revelation from God during the forty days that he was in God’s presence. Moses built according to this heavenly pattern, and he set up the priesthood according to God’s instruction (24:12, 17-18; 25:1—31:11; 35:1—40:38). This involved service with revelation.
When Joshua succeeded Moses, God said to him, “Arise, and cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel...Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them” (Josh. 1:2, 6). When God revealed, Joshua acted. Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel also were prophets with vision. No prophet served God without vision and revelation.
This was the situation in the Old Testament, but even more it was the situation in the New Testament. The Gospels record the Lord Jesus leading His disciples for three and a half years, giving them vision and revelation so that they would receive heavenly sight. When the Lord died and resurrected, the Spirit of reality guided the disciples further into all the reality (John 16:13). The Epistles of Paul are full of vision and revelation (2 Cor. 12:1; Eph. 3:3-5). This is especially true of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, which was written by the apostle John. Revelation in Greek means “an unveiling of a mystery that has been hidden.” The Lord showed John great revelations through many visions and signs, which became the content of the book of Revelation. Hence, the New Testament, from the Gospels to Revelation, is full of visions and revelations that God gave to man. We must have vision and revelation in order to serve God today.
How can we see a vision? What is the way to receive a revelation? Although the circumstances related to seeing a vision and receiving a revelation are not the same for every person, the principles are the same. Visions come from God; they do not depend upon anything of our self. If God wants us to see, we will see; if God does not let us see, we cannot see. Nevertheless, we still bear some responsibility related to our heart, to our willingness to let go of worthless things, to wait on the Lord, to be pure in heart, and to be open to the Lord.
Although Paul was not seeking visions or revelations, God gave him a revelation (Acts 9:1-6). This was not only the case with Paul but also with Moses. Moses had completely forgotten about the children of Israel when he was shepherding sheep on Mount Horeb. Nevertheless, God came and charged him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt (Exo. 3:1-10). Neither Paul nor Moses was seeking visions, but God gave them visions. It may seem as if they had no heart for God, but when we carefully look at the Old Testament and the New Testament, we can see that both Moses and Paul had a heart for God. Before Moses saw a vision from God, he struck down an Egyptian in an effort to deliver the children of Israel with his own strength. Even though he failed and fled to the wilderness (2:11-15), God remembered Moses’ heart for His people. Although his way was wrong, his heart was acceptable to God. The psalm of Moses says, “The days of our years are seventy years, / Or, if because of strength, eighty years” (Psa. 90:10). According to his own evaluation, his life was over when he was eighty years old. His way and his strength were completely gone. Nevertheless, this was the time when God gave him a vision, and God’s vision was based on the desire that Moses had expressed forty years earlier. Paul’s way was wrong as well; he was like an ox kicking the goads. This, however, did not mean that he did not want to serve God. Although Paul did not know God before he was saved, he had a heart to serve God. In this service he even killed Christians. With even this misguided zeal, God gave Paul a vision. It is hard to find a case in the Bible of someone who had no heart for God suddenly receiving a vision. At a minimum, a person needs to have some heart for God in order to receive a vision.
Second, in order to see a vision, one must forsake the worthless and choose the precious (2 Tim. 2:21; Jer. 15:19). Everything of God is precious; everything that is not of God is worthless. God’s children today cannot see visions or receive revelations, because they regard worthless things as precious. Some brothers and sisters have been in the church for nearly two decades, but their knowledge of the Lord is the same as it was twenty years ago because they treasure what is in their hands, whether it be material riches, business, or family matters, or even the spiritual lessons they learned years ago.
It is odd that they do not hold on to the precious but to the worthless. Even when they listen to messages, they do not receive the precious things. This is like eating the rind of a watermelon rather than the flesh of the watermelon. Some people cannot hear the central, precious word but only the superficial word. For example, a brother once asked me, “If Jacob had four wives, why do we say that a man should have only one wife?” I do not like to reply to these kinds of questions. Such questions are not even “rinds”; they are like mud on a watermelon rind. I wanted to say, “David murdered someone, took his wife, and committed adultery. Should we learn from this?”
I have seen many brothers and sisters who firmly hold on to what they have, but their unwillingness to let go prevents them from seeing visions. People who let go will see visions just like Paul, who dropped the Old Testament, Judaism, and the law. Only such persons can receive visions.
We must have a heart and be willing to let go of the worthless things. We must drop whatever we have from the past. God told Abraham to offer up Isaac, even though Isaac had been given to him from God (Gen. 22:2). This shows that even having Isaac was not equal to having God. If Abraham had refused to give up Isaac, he would have been regarding the worthless, and he would have forsaken God.
I would ask the elders if they regard the brothers and sisters in the church as their own children? Such a regard is right, because without such a heart, the elders are, at most, “stepfathers.” Every responsible brother in the church should regard the brothers and sisters as their biological children. However, if God asks the elders to leave their locality and go elsewhere, would they be willing to part from the saints? Even this should be regarded as a forsaking of the worthless for the precious. The church is precious, but in comparison to God, what is more precious? Whenever we hold firmly on to something other than God, we are finished. We do not even need to speak of holding on to matters such as the world, money, fame, or fortune. Once we hold on to something other than God, we are finished, and we will receive no vision.
If a brother bearing responsibility in the church cannot give up his opinions and cannot get along with the other brothers, he is finished. When I was in mainland China, brothers and sisters often said to me, “Brother Lee, you have a problem. You hardly ever listen to other people’s reasonings. The more they reason, the less you listen.” I said, “You are right, but only in one respect. I do not mind listening to other people, but a person who likes to reason cannot receive any help. Hence, when a person holds on to his reasonings, there is nothing to be gained from listening.” A person cannot be full of light when he holds on to something worthless and refuses to let go of it. Even if he is one hundred percent correct, he should not hold on to his correct reasonings. We should choose the precious and drop the worthless in every matter and on every point.
When I say, “Do not contend” and “Do not reason,” I do not mean that we should be polite in order to keep the peace with others; I mean that we need to see the treasure, which is God Himself. When we give no room to anything within us other than the Lord, we will be full of light. Everything other than God is worthless; only God is valuable. If we hold on to the precious, we will be full of light and vision.
We also need to learn to wait on God. Daniel 10 tells us that Daniel waited on God for three full weeks (vv. 2-3). Then the messenger of God came to tell him the things to come, to show him visions.
Our heart also needs to be pure. The pure in heart see God (Matt. 5:8). We must desire God and nothing other than God.
Finally, our heart needs to turn to the Lord. Second Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Once our heart is turned to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Once the veil is taken away, our face is open toward the Lord. The Lord is the vision, the revelation, itself. Our seeing of the Lord is our seeing of the vision. If we are not open to the Lord, we cannot see the vision. In summary, we need to have a heart for God, to let go of the worthless things, to wait on the Lord, to be pure in heart, and to be open to the Lord. Then the Lord will shine His light at a time when nothing is covering us inwardly.
Not everyone who serves God in the same age sees a vision directly. The Bible shows that Paul received a direct vision, but Timothy’s vision was received through Paul. There is no record in the Bible of Timothy receiving a direct vision himself. Everything that Timothy saw came through Paul. Hence Paul says, “Continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from which ones you have learned them and that from a babe you have known the sacred writings” (2 Tim. 3:14-15). This means that Timothy received a vision from Paul and through the Bible. Hence, not everyone who serves God in this age will receive a direct vision. In any case, we all must see the same vision and receive it according to the same principles.
