Bringing the Vision Down to Earth

Paul's vision on the road to Damascus has an earthly aspect associated with the local church.

Gonzalo Sepúlveda

"Whereupon, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19).

From Paul's experience, we will see something of the earthly part of the heavenly vision, what it is, what happens and what effect it produces because this heavenly vision was seen on the earth, by a man. We will be referring to the man who saw this heavenly vision, Saul of Tarsus, who later became the apostle Paul.

A contrast in the life of Saul

"...who before was a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent overbearing man : but mercy was shewn me because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief... Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first" (1 Tim. 1:13, 15). He defines himself as the first of sinners. He says that before he had been a blasphemer - a blasphemer is someone who curses God-, persecutor and an insolent man.

"I indeed myself thought that I ought to do much against the name of Jesus the Nazaraean. Which also I did in Jerusalem, and myself shut up in prisons many of the saints, having received the authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote. And often punishing them in all the synagogues, I compelled them to blaspheme. And, being exceedingly furious against them, I persecuted them even to cities out of our own land" (Acts 26:9-11: this man was a real enemy of the Lord!

In Stephen's terrible death, remember that the young man Saul was holding onto the clothes of those who stoned him. It must have been an impacting moment. "And Saul was consenting to his being killed. And on that day there arose a great persecution against the assembly which was in Jerusalem, and all were scattered into the countries of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. And pious men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into the houses one after another, and dragging off both men and women delivered them up to prison" (Acts 8:1-3). He was a man who was determined to destroy the church.

"But Saul, still breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest and asked of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (9:1-2). He was breathing out threats! He had such a passion for what he was doing; this was the terrible profile of Saul of Tarsus.

Let's now briefly look at the contrast: "I therefore thus run, as not uncertainly; so I combat, as not beating the air. But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest after having preached to others I should be myself rejected" (1 Cor. 9:26-27).

"But I make no account of my life as dear to myself, so that I finish my course, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the glad tidings of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

"But Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13).

"...my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you: and I should wish to be present with you now, and change my voice, for I am perplexed as to you" (Gal. 4:19-20).

"but what things were gain to me these I counted, on account of Christ, loss. But surely I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all, and count them to be filth, that I may gain Christ; and that I may be found in him ... Not that I have already obtained the prize , or am already perfected; but I pursue, if also I may get possession of it , seeing that also I have been taken possession of by Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:7-9, 12).

Having seen this immense contrast, does not it seem to us that we are speaking about two different people? What happened to this man that we might see such a radical change in him? If one day a radical, absolute change had ever occurred, from darkness to light, truly it was that which happened to this man.

This was not a Christian of half measures; after being an absolute enemy, he became the fiercest defender of the very Word that he had earlier persecuted. This man was absolutely destroyed, absolutely transformed. He became another man. Oh brothers, this is God's will for all of us. The Lord found us in a certain condition, but he now wants to find us otherwise; he wants us to be absolutely different.

The cause of the change: the heavenly vision

What happened? Brothers, this fact is important for us, because it is what made it possible for this man to become another. We are here, assembled in the name of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is among us to renew things. Now, in the year 2005, some of the actors of that scene are here. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Where is the Holy Spirit today? In us. Where is the Lord? In our heart. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are here. In such a way that the principal actors are present here today, which means that this vision is not history, but a reality, and we enter into the reality of this spiritual vision.

I do not want history, brothers, I love Christ today. I do not want ancient history; I need a living Christ today, here, with us. So, let's depend on the Spirit to hear this word, so that we all think about what happened. The church was suffering; many brothers were dying. There was a terrible man attacking to the church. The church was sighing. What more could the brothers do? How could they resist this, how could they stop Paul? Most assuredly they cried out and prayed. They could do nothing else; but there was Someone who could do a great deal.

So the Lord drew near. Glory to the Lord! Before dying, Stephen said: "Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". The Lord was above, at the right hand of God. And in chapter 9, he himself was on the way to Damascus. The Lord came to defend his church. The Lord came from his throne, and personally intervened. And Saul, this furious man who was breathing out threats, met an absolutely irresistible authority. The light from heaven surrounded him, more than the radiance of the sun at midday. The light blinded him, and he fell to the ground. "Saul, Saul: why dost thou persecute me?".

Brothers, let's think about this word for a moment. Saul was killing men, women and innocent children, and was an enemy of Jesus' name. According to our reasoning, Saul would have to have died here. But the Lord, with great tenderness, says to him: "Why dost thou persecute me?".

Saul fell to the ground. "it is hard for thee to kick against goads". "You are kicking against a goad that might destroy you". But He did not destroy him; He spoke to him. Saul trembled. He must have thought: "In one more second, I'll be gone". He had consented in Stephen's death. And Stephen said: "Lo, I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". And now Saul saw the One who was at the right hand of God, and was now speaking with him. So he trembled, fearfully. "who art thou, Lord?". "I am Jesus".

"What shall I do Lord?". He was a man of action. And the Lord says to him that he should wait. "Rise up and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do". Saul remained absolutely annulled. I can imagine the uncertainty of those that were with him. Their leader, their commander, such a sure, strong, fierce man, was now blind and having to be taken them by the arm to the city. He was like that for three days; three days and three nights. Those three days speak to us of death: this man died; the heavenly vision killed him.

Brother, do you want to have the heavenly vision? It will cost you your life. Three days dead, without seeing anything. This was the compassion of the Lord, so that there were no distractions that might make him lose the glory of this vision. The only thing that was appearing in his mind was the presence of the Lord, his radiance, this encounter with the glorious authority of the Lord, and those words: "You are going to go to the gentiles; you are an elect vessel; rise up, get on your feet ...". Those words turned him inside out. "What was going to happen? Where will I go? What comes next?". This was how Saul would have felt.

In Damascus the vision is completed

But the Lord continued working. A disciple, Ananias, was living in the city. He was not an apostle; he was a disciple. It does not say any more about him than that; simply that he was a disciple. But observe, brothers, what is fulfilled in Ananias.

Saul was blind, overwhelmed by the vision. The Lord showed him, in that darkness, that a man called Ananias would come. There was no form of communication: these two persons did not know each other; they didn't even know where the other was. The Lord spoke to both; one in a dream, and the other in a vision.

He said: "Ananias". And Ananias says: "Here I am". What does that mean? That Ananias and the Lord already knew each other; there was intimacy between them. The Lord gave him instructions about Saul, about laying his hands on him so that he might recover his sight. Observe Ananias' reaction. Ananias is not a ' mere follower of orders ', he was not a mere servant. Ananias was close to the Lord. So he asked him respectfully. "Lord, I have heard that this man has done evil; he has authority, etc.

The Lord does not get angry; he listens to his friend, to his servant with whom he has intimacy; he listens to his reasons, and explains the situation to him. He says: "do not worry, this is an elect vessel for me". The discussion finished; Ananias understood, obeyed, went, and met Saul. If we think about the meeting of these two men it's quite astonishing. Saul was coming to Damascus to kill the Christians, and he now meets one. He is supposed to be his enemy. And the enemy comes, and says to him: "brother", and lays his hands on him. How glorious!

A servant of the Lord was saying to us, a few months ago, that if Saul of Tarsus had achieved what he had come to do, he would have placed his hands on Ananias, to kill him. But it was Ananias who placed his hands on Saul, and blessed him! He recovered his sight and was filled with the Holy Spirit, and what's more is called "Brother," including him in the church and is identified with him.

Acts 22:13. This is where Saul tells this incident in the first person, and he says: "(Ananias) came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I looked up on him". "I recovered my sight and looked at him". He looked at him. The first thing that he saw after having been blinded from his encounter with the Lord of glory, was a brother!

Saul did not have John's privilege of seeing the Lord's eyes as a flame of fire nor the radiance of his face. Saul only saw a great light and heard the voice, but now he saw a face. How familiar that face looked! It was the face of a brother. He saw Christ on the way to Damascus. He saw half of the heavenly vision on the way to Damascus, face down on the ground. However, he saw the second part of the heavenly vision in Damascus. In the street called straight, in Judas' house, the vision was completed. On the way, he saw a heavenly man; in the house in Damascus, he saw an earthly man. Christ was found on the way to Damascus, and now Christ was in the face of this brother.

Saul saw a heavenly vision; he saw a heavenly man. He saw the Head on the way to Damascus, and he saw the Body in the city of Damascus. Then the vision was completed. Christ is the head, the church is the body.

The heavenly vision is Christ, glorious and almighty in the heavenly heights; but this is only half of the vision. Another half is what grasped him within, that which touched him so deep inside, and which made him travel to so many places and to fill the world with the gospel, working harder than all.

Paul not only saw the Lord in the heavens above: he also saw the Lord in Ananias, and Ananias represents the local church in Damascus. In Ananias, he recognized the sweetness of that voice, and in this face he saw his Lord: Christ formed in Ananias. He was a man who had intimacy and talked with the Lord. The Lord was able to use Ananias to do something that was transcendental in the course of God's work in these days.

Oh, brothers, may the Lord allow us to recover that during these days. May the Lord speak to you, a disciple. He is not only going to speak to the elders and to the workers; the Lord wants to speak to you; he wants to have intimacy with you, brother. The Lord wants to name you, and that you might say: "Here I am". And then the Lord will be able to send you to touch somebody, and go there in his name and be used by him, even if you are afraid of that person. The invisible becomes visible through men: the church.

How near the Lord is to us! He is not only on the throne, above; he is in Damascus. He is there, defending his church, revealing himself to a man, so that through this man, we also might see that heavenly vision. Brother: is the heavenly vision also going to be part of your life from here on?

To be a hearer of the Word is easy; to be disobedient to it is also easy. That's why, Paul says: "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision". It is easy to be disobedient, in spite of what we have seen. It is not enough to understand the heavenly vision. It is not enough to locate it in the Bible. Our dear brother Stephen Kaung said: "To see the heavenly vision is not sufficient; it must become our vocation".

Dear brothers, the Lord wants to have gain out of us. Some of us have been in the race for several years. How much of this vision has been increasing in us; a little more of Christ, another step onward, going forward toward what's ahead, and the truth of God, the person of the Lord capturing us within, taking us toward the glory to glory into his very image?

Dear brothers: how much will we have been disobedient to God's vision? God has showed us something, and we have insisted on doing other things, and have taken this lightly, as though it were not a treasure. Dear brothers, Saul had this heavenly vision; he saw the Head and he saw the body. He said: "Lord, what shall I do?". He hoped for some direct instructions from the Lord Jesus, but he was told, "Wait, go to where I tell you and I will tell you what you have to do".

There is a form of Christianity that says: "I take orders from the Lord alone. The Lord speaks to me; the Lord and I and nobody else. I belong to the Lord, not to you". When you listen to that, just sit down and wait, because a few days will go by when this so-called 'spiritual' person will have problems because the Lord has body and He is the Head. Men are not the heads. He is the head. Saul learned this great lesson. I am afraid that we have not all learnt it yet.

We only want to obey the Lord; but in the heavenly vision, Saul learned that he had to obey Ananias. The great apostle, who was going to be sent to the gentiles and to the ends of the earth had to learn a great lesson of humility: to surrender to a stranger. Saul later laid his hands on many people.

Many people were healed and many people were filled with the Holy Spirit by his intervening. But on that day, the little brother laid his hands on Saul, and he had to submit himself to the instructions of Ananias, who said to him: "arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name". They were orders given through the Body. Will we submit ourselves to the body?

The vision has two parts

Oh, brothers, the heavenly vision has two parts. The first part of the vision is the immovable Lord in the heavens, the glorious Lord on-high. "…seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you" (2 Corinthians 13:3). What do we believe? That Christ is only powerful in the heights above? Indisputably, the Lord is almighty in the heavens. The Lord has dominion in the heavens and in the earth. Christ is the head of all principality and authority. Brothers, if this is all your vision and mine, then we have only half of the heavenly vision.

Christ is powerful in us! Look at how there is a fire burning in your heart. "Do not quench the Spirit". The Spirit is in us, Christ is in us. Brothers, Christ is not weak, Christ is powerful in us. In yourself, you will never be powerful; in ourselves, we will always be a vessel of clay. But Christ is powerful in us and is going to be destroying everything that does not belong to him, and this will finally become the glorious church: a church that has a glorious vision of their Lord in the heavens, but also a Lord who is being powerfully formed in us.

Paul was absolutely transformed, he was grasped within when he saw this glory, in which the Lord was not only going to live in the heavens, but he was also going to live within. And he verified that in the local church of Damascus. May Christ be touched in the church everywhere. For that to happen, brother, you and I have to be broken.

The heavenly vision cost Paul's whole life; it cost him the scorn of the Jews. When he was speaking, they said: "it is not convenient that this man live". Nevertheless, he did not consider his own life as precious, because it was captivated; it was taken hold of from within. It was as though there were a sturdy cable inside him, so when the Lord tugged on the cable he would be pulled over. "I want to show you something more, I want to have you closer to me; closer, closer, until you reign with me eternally".

We have been grasped from within. Dear brothers, Jesus died for us on the cross, apart from us (in his own flesh). He was buried, resurrected and ascended, and today is above, in the heavens. But he said: "I will come to you" because the Holy Spirit now lives in us. He saved us once and for all, externally. Brothers, do not be content just with the truth of a Christ who saved us externally, of a Christ who is external and above us in heaven. Yes, he is above, but the second part says that he is here (in our hearts).

Christ is here. He was revealing this on the way to Damascus; but today he is restoring his church. The Lord is here; he is so close. He is here with us, inside us. Let us not be disobedient to this heavenly vision, until the Lord has obtained what he wants: a glorious church. May the vision not only be about seeing; may our seeing be transformed into being. May we be what we preach, a living testimony for the Lord. Glory to God!