The Great Vision

The Great Vision

This Sunday, we were privileged to visit Georgetown Baptist in Penang, where critical developments had happened in recent times. In a few short months, the famous Penang church was hit with two massive blows, with her great Senior Pastor Lim Soon Hock announcing that he would be leaving, and shortly after, Pastor Prem passed away to be with the Lord. Georgetown Baptist’s Youth Pastor, Ng Kok Ann was asked to assume the role of Senior Pastor, and it was on this day, that he gave his inaugural sermon as the Spiritual leader of the church.

Taken from Isaiah Chapter 6, Pastor Ng gave us a brief background of the time Isaiah was living in as he saw the mighty vision.

It was the year King Uzziah died…… King Uzziah had been a great king, a mighty leader, who had led Judah to great victories over their enemies and brought about a wonderful time of economic prosperity and political stability. The people looked up in hope to King Uzziah, and as the esteemed leader, they were devastated when he died. There was great uncertainty in the air over what would become of Judah.  

Ironically, Georgetown Baptist was facing a very similar situation, and many in the congregation were perhaps wondering what would become of the church…..

Coming back to the passage, Pastor Ng drew us back to the passage:-

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
       "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
       the whole earth is full of his glory."

 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

In this great vision, Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted! Judah’s earthly king Uzziah may had died, but far above all kings and powers – the Lord Almighty was still the True Great King, and He will never die….  

We may be disappointed by men, and we may lose people we respect and look up to, but we must always remember in our hearts that God is king! He is in complete control of any situation we may be in, and He is great and mighty!

Pastor Ng also shared how he longed for the day when the worship in the church would reach such an intense level that the doors and windows would also shake by the wind of the Holy Spirit

 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Brought into the presence of the holiness of God, Isaiah became instantly aware of his own weaknesses and shortcomings. Our human righteousness is like filthy rags before the Lord. Pastor Ng also shared how he felt inadequate to take up the role of Senior Pastor being acutely aware of his own shortcomings.

 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

The touch of a live coal on Isaiah’s lips, the softest part of the human body would have been extremely painful, but it cleansed him of his sin. It is God who forgives our sin, by the blood of Jesus Christ, and makes us clean. We are unworthy to be of service to God because of our sins, but by His grace, He makes us worthy as He credits the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us.

Pastor Ng shared how when he first decided to go into full-time, his head was ready, but his heart was not ready. Then one day, while driving to work, he felt the Lord ask him “Do you love me?”, and he replied, “Yes, I do”. Then he felt the Lord ask him “Do you really love me?”, and he broke down and had to pull to the side as his tears kept streaming down. Having felt the touch and presence of the Lord, Pastor Ng was now ready……

 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
      And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

The Lord is not looking for great, clever, strong, smart or rich people. He is looking for willing people. Reverend Cho Young-gi, the famous Korean Pastor of a church of 800,000 was asked what was the secret of his success. He only replied in four words: I hear, I obey”. Isaiah heard the call, and he obeyed. Pastor Ng heard the call, and he obeyed. The challenge is for us to hear the call, and obey!

 9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
       " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
       be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'
 10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
       make their ears dull
       and close their eyes.
       Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
       hear with their ears,
       understand with their hearts,
       and turn and be healed."
 11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
      And he answered:
       "Until the cities lie ruined
       and without inhabitant,
       until the houses are left deserted
       and the fields ruined and ravaged,
 12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
       and the land is utterly forsaken.

Isaiah was called to go and preach to a people who would not listen to him, who would choose not to understand what he was saying, and He asked the Lord how long. The Lord told him that they would remain as such until the land was utterly forsaken and all the people sent away into captivity. This did not actually happen until many years after Isaiah’s death.

We are called to serve God, even if we do not get the results or recognition we want or expect. The point is not about being successful or prosperous in our own eyes, the point is about obeying God!

 13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
       it will again be laid waste.
       But as the terebinth and oak
       leave stumps when they are cut down,
       so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

Finally, the Lord shows Isaiah a ray of hope. Even though the land will be laid waste, there will still be a remnant, and from that remnant, God will raise up a holy people, who will honor Him.

Although our service to God may not seem to yield any results in our lifetime or even the next, in the end, it will still bear fruit, for God will make everything beautiful in His time.

In closing, Pastor Ng challenged us to be willing, like Isaiah, to serve Him in whatever capacity he may call us, and do our best to glorify Him.

May the Lord help each one of us indeed be humble, willing servants, open to hear the voice and call of God, and fulfill the purposes He has prepared for us. And may the Lord bless Georgetown Baptist Church, and help her fulfill Pastor Ng’s vision of being God’s Best Church, and her great mission and call in Discipling the City.

God bless,

Jason