The reason I am up here is because the brother who was scheduled to be up here was somehow unscheduled—an ambient schedule. So let us bow our heads and look to the Lord for our time together.
Lord, we ask for Your help, because we know that without You there is nothing. Without You, we can do nothing; we can hear nothing.
As we wait before You, proposing to be in tune with You and fixing our gaze on the Lord Jesus, we look to You corporately to hear something from Your heart to our hearts. Cover this time, Lord, with Your blood and with Your presence. We give ourselves to You, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Let us turn first to Hebrews 11. I will read verses 1 through 3, then verse 6, verse 13, and verses 24 through 27.
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.
For therein the elders had witness borne to them.
By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.
And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.
And one more portion: 2 Corinthians 4:18.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
This past month, a group of our brothers and sisters—mostly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, with a few from North America, two from Australia, and a few from Singapore—went together on a tour through Jordan, Israel, and part of Egypt.
Before I went, I prayed much before the Lord, asking what I could learn of Him. I simply waited before Him and sought to be open to the lessons the Lord would teach me. Since we came home, I have been reflecting on the trip and meditating on the Word. That is what I really learned on this trip. So I would like to share a little of what I personally learned, hoping it may be a help and encouragement to you, brothers and sisters.
During our trip to Israel, we saw many wonderful sites—sites we saw, walked through, and touched. They are of great historical significance, at least on a human level.
We were told that, at present, about two million tourists enter Israel each year. Tourism is one of Israel’s largest industries. A great number of the tourists are evangelicals—not only Americans and Canadians, but people from Western countries and, particularly, from the Far East.
While we were there, we met several groups of Korean believers visiting Israel. We could not speak to one another, but they could say, “Hallelujah,” to us, and we could say, “Hallelujah,” to them. We knew we were fellow believers.
We saw many beautiful historical sites, and the Lord seemed to be speaking to me—at least to my heart. All these sacred places, one day, are going to disappear. They are all going to go.
And the Lord said, “Can we see the unseen? Not merely see the unseen, but see Him Who is unseen.” There is a great difference between seeing the unseen and seeing Him Who is unseen.
So all along the trip, I was praying, “Lord, can I see You beyond these things that are perishing, these things that are temporal?”
As we approach the end of this age, we all know that it is that which is spiritual that matters. That which is spiritual is real. That which is spiritual counts. But Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4 that spiritual things are unseen, while the things that can be seen are temporal.
One of the problems with believers is that somehow we are still not completely delivered from the things that we can see and touch. We are still very much governed by them because we feel secure about them. We have control over them. The unseen is beyond us; we have no control and no assurance.
Spiritual life is a life of faith. A real spiritual way is a way of faith. A real spiritual work is a work of faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to God must believe that He is.
He is the great I AM. He is everything. He is. Because He is, all others are not. No one else is, but He alone is. And we can only come to know Him by faith.
Several things on this trip struck me greatly. We visited sites that are called holy sites: places where the Lord Jesus was born, where He changed water into wine, where He fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. We went to Bethlehem and Nazareth. We saw what was identified as Joseph’s carpentry shop.
But, brothers and sisters, when I walked into some of these sites, initially I found them quite depressing—quite oppressive. At these various places they have built shrines and edifices, and much of what was there seemed as pagan as some of the temples I saw in Taiwan. There was no difference.
Yet Christians walk into these places and think that there they can meet the Lord again. Some seem to think that if they have been to those places, they will never be the same again—as though the places had some magic to change their lives.
Brothers and sisters, it is just a show. It is just a show. Man, as he is in himself, is so capable of creating his own god and worshiping the work of his own hands.
Do we believers think that we are now free from that? We are being tempted every day to create something with our hands and to worship what we have created. The Lord warned me how easy it is to make something sacred into something idolatrous. We all have that potential.
Now, that is more on the negative side. Let me turn to something more positive.
What amazed me most was why God, in His wisdom, chose to send His Son to this particular geographical spot in the world called the Middle East, or Israel.
When you look at it with your physical eyes, and objectively, strictly speaking, it is not a very attractive place. People go there to see the so-called sacred sites, not because of the beauty of the land. There are prettier places in our country than in Israel.
Israel is very dry. Everywhere you go, you see rocks and rocks.
When you look at the River Jordan—yes, at its source beneath Mount Hermon, at Caesarea Philippi—the water is clear as crystal, rushing up through the rocks. But downstream, it is narrow and not all that clear. In fact, the James River is much better than the River Jordan in many ways.
No wonder Naaman the Syrian, in 2 Kings 5, questioned why he should dip seven times in the Jordan to be cleansed of his disease. He said that there were better rivers in Damascus than those in Israel. And it was true.
You remember Nathanael’s comment: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” If you go to Nazareth, you understand why he said that. It is a very insignificant, humble, small place—the last place you would think a great man could come from.
This shows how contrary God’s way is to ours. The reason the Lord Jesus was born there, lived there for thirty-three years, and died there was nothing other than divine appointment. It was the appointed place for the Son to be born, because He was God’s appointed Man. The place was God-appointed; the time of His birth was God-appointed. God knows what He is doing.
A few of us who were on that trip came to this conclusion: the only explanation for that land cannot be on a human level. It can only be on a spiritual level, because humanly there is no explanation for what has taken place in that land.
Galatians 4 says that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. God initiated it. God was behind it, not man.
And in John 1, we see that He came unto His own. He came to a specific nation, a people appointed for Him to accomplish His will.
The Lord was speaking to me that, as we live in these last days, we must have the sense that we are divinely appointed—to be at a divinely appointed place, at a divinely appointed time, for His purpose.
Brothers and sisters, why do you happen to be in Richmond, or in South Jersey? Is it because of a job? Is it because it is a good place to raise a family? Is this all we think about? Or even if we say that we are here because we have a wonderful church, do we have the inner sense that we are here by divine appointment?
This is God’s appointed place for you at this particular time—not for you and me to do what we want, but to do His will.
This came back to me strongly: why did He choose that place for His Son to be born at that particular time and in that particular place? It was not attractive. We looked at Peter’s home. It was humble, built of stone—nothing impressive. You and I would never choose to be born or live in such a place. But God sovereignly chose it as the place for His Son to be put, to live, and to accomplish all that He had planned.
God’s way is totally contrary to our way of thinking.
So I came back simply wanting to remind my brothers and sisters that wherever we are, we are there by divine appointment. The place where we are is His appointed place, and the time in which we are is by His appointment, for no other reason than for us to do His will.
This is the first thing I want to share. Even though you may never have the opportunity to go to Israel, this spiritual principle holds.
When I was in London, I had opportunity to fellowship with a group of Chinese brothers and sisters, mostly from Hong Kong, with some from Malaysia and Singapore. Many of them had come out of Hong Kong because they feared the year 1997, when Communist China would take over Hong Kong. For the safety of their families and their future, they came out.
I shared this burden with them: if we came out of Hong Kong and went to England or Canada merely because we could have a better living or a better future for our children, then our thinking is no different from that of the people of the world.
But we are a different people.
Brothers and sisters, it is very important that we be reminded again and again, because it is so easy for us to settle down and live our own lives. God says, “No.” We plan all things for ourselves, and God’s purpose is set aside.
We need to remind one another that wherever we find ourselves, it is not by chance. It is by divine appointment. The place where we are is an appointed place, and the time is for Him to do something—to accomplish something in us and through us, to the glory of His name.
The second thing I want to share is this. When you read the Old Testament, several forests are mentioned in Scripture. For example, when Absalom rebelled against his father David, he was in the forest of Ephraim. The forest was so thick that his hair was caught in the branches, and later he perished.
But today, if you go to Israel, you discover that they do not have many trees. One of the things they are trying to do is replant the forests. Those who join tours are sometimes asked to plant a tree somewhere in Israel, for sixty dollars, to help reforest and beautify the country.
The impression I received was that once we leave the Lord, we are in a state of ruin and desolation. Once we leave the Lord, we are in serious trouble.
God told Israel that when they entered the land and enjoyed everything, they would forget Him. And once they forgot Him, judgment would begin and curses would come upon them.
We can have things so good that we forget about God. That is a great danger. Blessing is good, but blessing without seeing Him Who is unseen puts us in great trouble.
One thing I noticed in Israel was stone. It is a land of stone. You see it everywhere. You close your eyes, and you still see stone. Buildings are made of stone; everything is stone—beautiful stone.
That drew my attention to Peter. In John 1, when the disciples encountered the Lord Jesus, the Lord looked at Simon and said, “Thou shalt be called Cephas,” which means Peter—a stone.
Those who come into contact with the Lord Jesus will never be the same again.
The Lord was telling Peter, “After this encounter, Peter, you will never be the same again. You are Simon, but you shall be called Peter. Something is going to happen to you.”
Peter followed Jesus for a period, then went back fishing, and then was called again to follow Jesus. But when we come to Matthew 16, the church is mentioned for the first time by the very lips of the Lord Jesus.
The place where He revealed this truth was Caesarea Philippi, near the headwaters of the Jordan, where the water is clear and pure. The Lord brought His disciples back to His original thought for His people. He asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The Lord told him that this revelation had not come through flesh and blood, but from His Father.
Let us turn to Matthew 16:18.
And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
In John 1, the Lord said, “You shall be called Peter.” But here in Matthew 16, He said, “You are Peter.” Before the Lord spoke those words, Peter had made that confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord answered him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Who is in heaven.”
The Lord spoke this passage to me in a fresh way. Throughout our whole life, the Lord is changing us from stones into living stones—transforming us, changing us. He said, “I will build My church.”
But somehow we do not always sense the real spiritual building that is going on. We may still sense spiritual ruin and desolation. There are stones here and there, but not much building together. There is no cohesion, no coming together.
As I looked at Israel, particularly around Jerusalem, the buildings were beautiful stone buildings. Yet on the outskirts, there were stones everywhere, scattered about. And the word that came to me was this: brothers and sisters, without revelation there is no true transformation.
We often want to be transformed. We long to be transformed, but somehow we find ourselves not being transformed. We want to be changed, but we cannot change ourselves. I feel this is because we lack revelation—seeing Him as He is.
Transformation is to become like Him. Without seeing Him, transformed into what? Changed into what? We must first see Him, because Christ is the pattern. He is our model. He is our goal.
We all look at ourselves and become sick of what we are. We want to be transformed. But we must see Him Who is unseen. Then transformation can truly take place.
So I encourage you, brothers and sisters: if you desire to be transformed, fix your eyes on the Lord Jesus. Seeing Him Who is unseen, transformation will begin.
Revelation leads to transformation, and upon transformation there is true building work. We need to be reminded again and again of these basic things. We need to ask the Spirit to help us be faithful, especially in these last days.
There are many things that will trap us and divert our attention from the Lord Jesus. What we saw in Israel is an example. Many believers think those places are truly sacred places. That is why they make pilgrimages there, at great cost, hoping that those things will somehow transform their lives.
But Hebrews tells us that it is by seeing Him Who is unseen that our lives are transformed. What is unseen is eternal; what is seen is temporal. So, brothers and sisters, what is our focus? We must see not merely the unseen, but Him Who is unseen. That comes by revelation, and then there will be transformation.
When Peter heard the Lord say, “You shall be called Peter,” I wonder how he felt. He may have thought, “He did not say that to Andrew. He did not say it to anyone else. He said it to me. I must be something special.”
Our problem is that we think we are rather special. But when I looked at Israel, stones were everywhere. There was no ground for Peter to think he was something special. Peter by himself was no different from all the other stones.
It is when a stone puts itself into the hands of the Master that it becomes a precious stone.
As I looked at the fields in Israel, I realized that if a stone is not a building stone, it becomes a stumbling block. When a field is full of stones, the ground becomes unproductive. You cannot plant anything or grow anything. The stones get in the way.
And honestly, if we are not in the Master’s hands for Him to do His good work, if we simply lie there, we become stumbling blocks to others and become spiritually unfruitful.
How essential it is for us to be committed people—totally yielded to Him, for Him to do what He wants to do.
The third point I want to share is very precious. We took a side trip to Mount Sinai. I am sorry to say that I did not have the courage to climb to the top, though our brother Joseph climbed partway—quite close to the top.
We were at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. About thirty of them took a midnight bus to St. Catherine’s Monastery, preparing for a two o’clock climb so that they could see the sunrise.
I knew that I was physically tired and not really able to do it, so we stayed behind and joined them the next day. The journey from where we stayed to the foot of Mount Sinai and the monastery was perhaps a two-and-a-half or three-hour drive through wilderness—rocks, mountains, more rocks, and very little vegetation.
Just before we arrived, a sister sitting close to us asked me, “Brother, what is your thought after seeing all this? What is your deepest impression after seeing all these sites?”
I paused for a few seconds, because that is not the kind of question you answer hastily. I thought about it and responded, “Sister, humanly speaking, no one in his right mind would choose this way.”
It is desert. There is nothing there to sustain life. First, there is no water. There is nothing that can produce life-sustaining food—nothing by which we could survive. It is a place of absolute desolation.
Yet somehow, in the sovereignty of God, He chose that route for His chosen people when they came out of Egypt: the way of Sinai, a way of faith, a spiritual way—not man’s choosing, but God’s choosing.
Brothers and sisters, God’s way is the only way. It is hard for the natural man to accept. Yet God’s way is the best way. It defies our reasoning.
We know we can say that God’s way is the right way, but when we face it, we shake our heads. “It is impossible. If God is loving and caring, how could He choose this way for us?”
Again, this is faith: seeing Him Who is unseen, seeing the end and not merely the immediate.
When we came to the foot of the mountain, we heard reports from those who had climbed it. They said it was horrible—terrifying. The first part of the climb was more manageable, but the second part was nearly unbearable. They had to climb in darkness with flashlights. It was almost an impossible wall. Near the top there were icy spots, and the rocks gave no secure foothold.
After I heard the brothers’ report, I said, “Lord, what do You want to say to us? What is the spiritual significance behind this climb? How could Moses get up there?”
Moses went up there thousands of years ago. It must have been even more primitive and rough than it is today. Today that path has been walked for centuries, so there should be some natural path. Yet even that path was full of great danger.
The only thing I could think, brothers and sisters, is that God called Moses. And when He called, He made it possible.
Without His call, none of us would make it. It is impossible. There is no way. But when He calls someone, and that person responds, He somehow makes it possible.
The same is true with us. When we are called, we will make it, because He will see us through.
The Lord has been saying to me that all of us heard that call once. We followed for a few steps, then we heard other calls. That one call we no longer heard—or we grew tired of it, and we stopped. We rested. No progress.
My concern these past few weeks has been that we need to keep hearing that call. We need to plead with the Lord that He will call us again and again. If we hear that call, we will make it.
It is an impossible way. This does not speak only of individual life; it particularly speaks to us corporately.
We are together by divine appointment. We are one in Christ Jesus. If He has placed us together, this is an appointed place for us. We have no choice. Where can we go? Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” Christ is the appointed place, and the Body of Christ is also an appointed place.
Initially, we come in and love the fellowship. We enjoy it immensely. But when the building process begins, it becomes a different story. We seek an escape. But where can we go? We come back. We stay.
When we look at it, it may seem impossible. Yet the Lord is teaching us again that without faith it is impossible to finish.
Faith always encounters the impossible. Faith always faces the unknown. Faith always looks at situations that seem hopeless. Things always appear impossible when we live by sight.
But Hebrews says that without faith it is impossible to please God. He who comes to God must believe that He is. Everything may seem impossible and hopeless, but He is our hope. In Him, all things are possible.
We can let go of everything, but we need to hang on to Him, and all will be well.
As we move toward the end of the age, many brothers and sisters find that things are becoming tougher—more impossible. What can we do?
In Hebrews 11, we read of those who died in faith without having received the promises, yet having seen them, welcomed them from a distance, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
That may sound negative: they died without receiving the promises. But they had seen them. That is the secret.
What is not seen is eternal; what is seen is temporal. So, brothers and sisters, cheer up. In spite of what we see around us, in ourselves, and in our midst, thank God that He is building His church. There is no question about it. Our God cannot fail. He is true to His Word, and He is doing it.
We may not see it, but He is still doing it.
As we move toward the end of the age, some of us will grow older. This country is a young person’s country—a country of youth, vitality, and fashion. When older people become a little old, there are all kinds of facilities where they can be put away, in a very comfortable manner. You hear all the advertisements for the elderly.
I do not say this merely for myself, though I am getting older. But I have come to a deeper appreciation of the aged saints.
External beauty may be fading away. Instead of being considered an asset, they may be thought of as a liability. It is not easy. It is not easy.
But when you see the unseen, I tell you, some of these aged saints have something very beautiful beyond the physical. Through all these years, there has been much deposit in them, and we cannot do without it.
Praise the Lord—see the unseen.
Sometimes when you see young people, you may hear that someone was a naughty boy when he was young. If you only look at what is seen, you may say, “Oh, that boy is hopeless. Give him up. Wash your hands of him.”
But can we see the unseen? In spite of what we see, can we see by faith and welcome what the Lord will yet do in that life?
Faith triumphs. Faith is real. Faith is spirituality. Only faith can please God. The walk is faith, the life is faith, and the work is faith.
Particularly, I want to say a little about the work that is before us. It is so easy, when we engage in much work, to want to see things happen. We want to count our success.
If it is your own work, perhaps you have the right to do so. But if it is the work of the Lord, let Him do the counting. We are nothing, because we are part of His work. Let us count what He is doing, and praise the Lord.
This trip to Israel, though very taxing, was very rewarding because of the fellowship of the saints. There were about one hundred and fifty living stones. We lived together for about three weeks. We broke bread three times: once in Tiberias, once in Jerusalem, and once near the Garden Tomb.
To me, it was a rare testimony. I believe Israel will never be the same again, because those who were there in Israel were truly the Lord’s. When they went to that land, they bore the testimony of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps this is one way the Lord will open the eyes of His earthly chosen people.
The Lord allowed me to learn and be reminded of a few spiritual principles. They are very real.
Brothers and sisters, we are all still prone to live by sight. We are prone to create something with our own hands and become occupied with it. May the Lord deliver us from this.
We are all living stones, but if we are not in His hands, we become hindrances and stumbling blocks to others. It is only in His hands that He can change us and build us together.
The Lord’s way is always impossible—impossible to the natural man. Even the carnal man cannot live by this way. Only a truly spiritual man can live by it.
The Lord is teaching all of us, I believe, this way of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. We all want to please Him, and the only way is to live a life of faith, to walk in the way of faith, and to be engaged in the work of faith.
To Him be all the glory. Thank God, He is doing it. We are simply to follow Him.
Father, we thank You for our time together. We pray that You will continue to speak Your heart. You know what we are in ourselves. We cannot change ourselves; only You can change us.
Lord, we pray that You will grant us to see something of You, because we long to be like You. You can change us into Your likeness. May we see the Lord Jesus in an ever-increasing measure, and may You draw us to Yourself, that we may all follow You. Amen.