We need to see the heavenly vision, be converted from everything else to Christ, be filled with Christ and be energised and burdened by the vision to carry out God’s plan, serving the Lord with a vision.
In the book of Acts we see how the Lord appeared to Paul to bring him into the stream of the Lord’s work, so that Paul might be a minister and a witness both of the things in which he has seen the Lord and in the things in which the Lord would appear to him (see Acts 26:16; cf. 1:8; 23:11; 20:20, 31).
This what we are today – we are those to whom the Lord has appeared, and we have been called and commissioned by the Lord to be His witnesses and ministers, testifying to others the things in which the Lord has appeared to us.
We need to see the Lord day by day, contact Him in a personal way and read His word prayerfully, so that we may see Him and witness what we have seen and heard.
We need to actually see and hear the Lord, for we cannot testify to others what we have not actually seen.
Paul was our pattern in this respect; even though at the beginning he was persecuting the church, for he knew only an incarnated, crucified, and buried Christ, when the Lord appeared to him, he testified of the resurrected Christ whom he has seen.
Also, Paul taught publicly and from house to house, admonishing all the saints one by one with tears.
We need to contact the Lord every day and be infused with Him, have His fresh speaking, and be filled with His word, and then we need to contact the saints by visiting them in their homes; this will cherish and nourish them, fostering their growth in life and boosting their going on with the Lord in the church life.
The Lord Jesus Himself visited the homes – He went to the home of Lazarus, where his sisters Mary and Martha were, and the issue of the life visitation and flowing is that there was a house of feasting.
This situation in the house is very similar to the situation in a home meeting, where we see the Lord Jesus in His resurrection being testified (as Lazarus did), the Lord Jesus being loved by His loving seekers (as Mary did), and the Lord Jesus being expressed through our service (as Martha did).
We should all be those who serve the Lord, love Him, and testify of His resurrection life. And our service should be with a vision, which becomes our burden.
We need to see the heavenly vision, have the Lord’s burden, be open vessels to contain the Lord, and be filled with Him, so that when we serve others, we would minister Christ and witness of what we have seen and heard of Him.
Seeing the Heavenly Vision of God as our content, Christ as the Mystery of God, and the Church as the Mystery of Christ
On the road to Damascus the Lord appeared to Saul, a zealous Jewish man who was on his way to arrest many of those who were of “the Way”, those who proclaimed that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.
The Lord appeared to Saul and knocked him down, and then He called him. Sometimes the Lord has to come and knock us down, and then as we are down, He comes and calls us to rise up and be His witnesses.
Saul was knocked down, he saw and heard the resurrected Christ as the Head of the Body, and he was converted from anything else to Christ. Before this time, he persecuted Christ and His believers, and after this experience, he pursued Christ and met with His followers, so that he may gain Christ.
We need to see the heavenly vision, which is the fact that we are vessels to contain God as our content, Christ is the mystery of God, and the church as the Body of Christ is the mystery of Christ.
Man is a mystery – man is not only unlike the other creatures or animals, but he was made in the image of God so that man would contain God as his content and be filled with God so that he may express God.
But who is God? God is so wonderful, so glorious, so righteous, and so holy, but He is a mystery, and Christ as the mystery of God came to embody God and express Him.
Now all that God is, He is in Christ, for Christ not only expressed and represented God, but He embodied God and in Him all the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell bodily. For us to see God and know God, we need to come to Christ.
But where is Christ today, and how can we see and know Christ? Well, the church today is the mystery of Christ, for whatever Christ is, He is in the church and to the church as His Body.
The church is the Body of Christ, the fulness and enlargement of Christ, and for us to know God and Christ, we need to be in the church.
This is the central vision which we must see and be governed by, God as our content, Christ see the mystery of God and the church we the Body of Christ being the mystery of Christ. This is a great mystery – Christ and the church.
When we see this mystery, when we realise that we are not merely instruments in God’s hands or tools He can use but vessels which He can fill, we will thank and praise the Lord, and we will give ourselves to be filled and saturated with Christ.
We are made to contain God be filled with God, and express the processed and consummated Triune God both individually and corporately.
May we see this heavenly vision, the central vision, and may we be the Lord’s witnesses, bearing witness to what He is, what He has shown us, and the things in which He will appear to us.
May we not be disobedient to the heavenly vision of man as a vessel to contain God, of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ.
Lord Jesus, show us the heavenly vision of man as a vessel to contain God, of Christ as the mystery of God and the church as the mystery of Christ. Amen, Lord, may we realise that we are vessels to contain, be filled with, and express the processed and consummated Triune God. May we realise that Christ is the mystery of God and the church is the mystery of Christ, and that there’s a great mystery in Christ and the church. Amen, Lord, may such a central vision govern us, and may we not be disobedient to the heavenly vision!
Seeing the Heavenly Vision and being Energised and Burdened to Carry out God’s Plan
Once we have seen a vision of God’s plan and have been converted from everything else to Christ Himself, there will be something within us that will energise us to carry out God’s plan.
When we see the heavenly vision, this vision becomes our burden. We should never serve the Lord without a burden.
If we read Isa. 1:1, 2:1, 13:1, and 15:1 we see that Isaiah saw the word of the Lord, the vision of the Lord, and the burden of the Lord. The word of the Lord becomes the vision of the Lord in us, and this vision becomes our burden, which is the burden of the Lord.
When we see the heavenly vision of man being a vessel, Christ as the mystery of God, and the church as the mystery of Christ, we will be converted from anything else unto Christ Himself.
He will be our center and our life, and He will be our only focus. When we read the Bible, Christ will be our focus, and if He in us wants us to do something, we will do it.
The vision we see will become our burden as we live and labor in the continuation of the book of Acts (Gal. 1:15-16; Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 15:10).
In Acts 26:18 we have the full gospel; here we see that we are to open people’s eyes, turn them from darkness to light, turn them from the authority of Satan to God, help them receive forgiveness of sins, help them be sanctified by faith, that they may have a common portion among the saints and be in the church life.
How can we help others see? First we must see the vision and the heavenly things; we need to see the heavenly vision and be energised and burdened by the Lord with His burden to fulfill His plan.
We must see the things concerning Christ not by being taught only but by having Christ appear to us. We need the Lord’s appearing day by day in His word and in prayer.
When we have the Lord’s appearing, we will be energised and burdened to preach the gospel – not the low, traditional gospel which still leaves people in darkness, but the shining, high gospel which opens their eyes and turns them from darkness to light!
We shouldn’t preach religion to people but cooperate with the Lord to witness Him and open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness and Satan to light and to God!
As they turn, the will be released from the evil power of darkness and will come into the kingdom of God; here they receive forgiveness of sins and a portion among those who are being sanctified.
All those who are saved by the Lord and forgiven by Him are saints, and all the saints have a portion, which is Christ Himself (Col. 1:12). Hallelujah, Christ is our portion, and we all share a portion in Him!
We have a portion both individually and corporately together with all the saints – the all-inclusive Christ as the reality of the good land. Amen!
Once we have seen the vision of God’s plan and have been turned from everything to Christ, there will be something within us energising us to carry out God’s plan; this vision becomes our burden as we live and labor in the continuation of the book of Acts.
Lord Jesus, grant us to see a vision of God’s plan and be converted from everything else to Christ Himself, so that we may be energised within to carry out God’s plan. Amen, Lord, may we see the heavenly vision and be energised and burdened to carry out God’s plan by preaching the gospel for the propagation of Christ. Lord, save us from serving You without a vision, without a burden. Convert us from everything to Christ so that we may focus on Christ, see Christ, witness Christ, and bring others to Christ! Amen, Lord, we want to cooperate with You to open people’s eyes, turn them from darkness to light, turn them from the authority of Satan to God, help them receive forgiveness of sins, help them be sanctified by faith, that they may have a common portion among the saints and be in the church life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1975-1976, vol. 3, “Young People’s Training,” ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 9, The Divine Commission according to the Heavenly Vision for the Continuation of the Book of Acts in the Unique Flow of the Divine Stream.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Earthen vessel I was made, / Christ in me the treasure laid; / His container I must be, / As the content He in me. / In His image I was made, / Fit that Christ should all pervade; / Thus the vessel God did form / With the content uniform. (Hymns #548)
# Christ is the mystery of God; / God is invisible, unshown, / His image man hath never seen, / But Christ the Son hath made Him known. / The Church the myst’ry is of Christ, / For He is now to man unshown; / No man on earth may see Him now, / But thru the Church He is made known. (Hymns #818)
# Oh, may a clear, controlling vision of / The Lord’s economy direct my heart, / And burn in me until my spirit’s wholly set afire! / With spirit strong and active we’ll press on / To consummate God’s goal— / New Jerusalem, Hallelujah! (Song on God has called us for His purpose)
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