I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven
and of earth, do grant, Lord, thy blessing upon our gathering
this evening. May we truly be worshipping thee
in spirit and in truth. singing Thy worthy praise with
our hearts and with our understanding. O Lord, may we feel Thy presence,
soften our hard hearts, draw us out after Thee, and deliver
us from the power and dominion of sin. We ask through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn 23, Tune Martyrdom 182 This evening I wish to read from
two portions of God's holy word. Both are in the Gospels. Firstly,
the Gospel according to John chapter 19, and we'll read from
verse 16 to 25. We're joining with one of our
free Bibles, that is page 1004. The Gospel according to John
chapter 19 and commencing reading at verse 16. Then delivered he him therefore
unto them to be crucified. That is, Pilate delivered Jesus. And they took Jesus and led him
away. And he bearing his cross went
forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called
in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other
with him on either side one and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate
wrote a title and put it on the cross. and the writing was, Jesus
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read, Many
of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh
to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin. Then said the chief priests of
the Jews to Pilate, Write not the king of the Jews, but that
he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have
written, I have written. Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts
to every soldier apart, and also his coat. Now the coat was without
seam, woven from the top throughout. They said, therefore, among themselves,
let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,
that the scripture might be fulfilled with Seth. They parted my raiment
among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things
therefore the soldiers did. Now let us turn to the Gospel
according to Luke. Luke chapter 24, and we'll read
from verse 33 to 53. It's page 975 in the Ruby Bible. Luke chapter 24 from verse 33
and reading through to the end of the chapter. It starts with
those that had walked to Emmaus and Jesus had met with them and
revealed himself to them. It's those who referred to as
we begin the reading at verse 33. And they rose up the same
hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered
together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is
risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what
things were done in the way, and how he was known of them
in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace
be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them,
Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had
thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not
for joy and wondered, he said unto them, Have you here any
meat? And they gave him a piece of
a broiled fish and of an honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before
them. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law
of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it behove Christ, you suffer,
and you rise from the dead the third day. and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things. And behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out
as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them. And it came to pass, while he
blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy. And we're continually in the
temple praising and blessing God. Amen. May the Lord bless the reading
of his word. What an effect a real understanding
of what had been done had on them, that joy and that worship
in the temple. Well, let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
O Lord, we thank Thee for Thy Word and for the real effect
that is recorded on the disciples, Lord, not just something they
saw or heard, but that which should so affect them, so touch
them. We pray, Lord, that we might
be also given that clear understanding, and that thy word might have
the same effect upon us. O leave us not hard, cold, unmoved
in the reading of thy word, in the singing of the worthy hymns,
and the proclamation of the gospel. O leave us not unmoved as we
come to the throne of thy grace, when we realize that thou, the
God of heaven and of earth, He kindly sends to hear the voice
of a man. O Lord, do have mercy upon us
and do grant us faith and faith increase. Lord, we would pray
with the disciples. Lord, increase our faith. And
Lord, we do pray to be delivered from the many things that plague
our souls. Lord, we feel very much to be
in the flesh and have that daily warfare. And Lord, we thank Thee
where it is a warfare and that we are not just going along with
it. Lord, sometimes we fear that
that is the case. Our weak resistance, says the
hymn writer, are our vain. And Lord, we confess before Thee
our need of Thee to come with Thy power and to, as we have
read, give repentance and give remission of sins. O Lord, save
us from ourselves and do grant really godly sorrow, a real change,
Lord, do turn us again and again, as oft as we turn from Thee,
turn us back again. O Lord, leave us not like a deceitful
bow, but do grant, Lord, that we might have Thy power upon
us, to not only bring us into the way, but keep us in the way. O leave us not hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin, or through the world that is about
us. Leave us not hardened, by sin that is left unconfessed,
unrepented of, but do grant that softening warmth of grace. And
Lord, as we gather on a weak evening, as we do, O Lord, may
it be used of Thee to refresh and strengthen our souls. and
as we anticipate thy day, that thy blessing might be upon our
gatherings around thy word, here and elsewhere. O Lord, we pray
for those that are in bereavement, those that shall meet tomorrow
for the funeral at Tenderton. Do comfort them and do help them,
be with them in their path. And O Lord, be with others also
in bereavement at this time. We pray for the sick, do grant
thy kind healing hand. Be with those that are in the
hospital, our dear friends in Holland. We commit our sister
in faith unto thee there. And Lord, do continue to heal
her. We thank thee for the great answers
to prayer thus far. And may thou lengthen her days
and bless her through this time and bless many others. many others
that are taking interest in her case, do bless thy word to them. And O Lord, we do lay our petition
then for thy day and for next week, our thanksgiving services,
to be with thy dear servant, engaged to come, may he come
and be amongst us, and it be a good day and thy blessing be
upon thy word. You bless that already, attended
to this week at the services at Matfield and at Tenderton,
and Lord do grant that thy word, though it be silent on the preacher's
tongue now, that he might yet be doing a work in hearts and
bring forth fruit to thine honour and glory. You pray for those
round about us in this town, those that pass as we Commence
the services, Lord, let them not pass, but constrain them
to come in. And Lord, do bless the young
people at the Cranbrook Grammar, Lord, many of them that will
have received Bibles. We do pray that there is work
in their hearts and may we see the fruit and effect of it of
those that want to come and worship and hear thy word and learn of
thee and shall come in here. into the house of God. O Lord,
we do pray that thou is bless and be with that following generation. Lord, that there might be yet
another generation to serve thee. We believe that we'll always
have this. But O Lord, we see such a decline. And in these last 20 or so years
especially, O Lord, do be pleased to pour out thy spirit upon this
dark, benighted land. O leave us not under thy solemn
judgements. We pray concerning the proposed
assisted dying bill going through Parliament. Lord, do be pleased
to overthrow it, to put in the hearts of those of our representatives
that they cannot sanction such a thing. O Lord, we mourn that
it even should be put forth in a Christian country, that there
should be a defying thee, a taking away of human life, a disregard
of thy word, a seemingly a bill to be brought in to help the
vulnerable and yet shall be used as a great thing against them. O Lord, we do pray that then
that thou hast overturned and give special wisdom and help
to those that may speak in our parliaments. We thank thee that
there are Christians there and we pray for help for them to
have the fear of man taken away and that they might clearly speak
for thee. We mourn that the leaders of
the established church Do not use the arguments from thy word
against it. O Lord, we pray that thou hast
mercy upon our land and that thy truth be set forth. O Lord,
help us in all things to have recourse to thy word. Deliver
us from our own thoughts. May we drink into thy mind. and thy will. We pray for our
dear friends those in Bethesda and Pilgrim Home and dear aged
friends in their own homes. Pray for those at Pilgrim Home
that are unwell at this time. Do grant healing to them that
again you might feel able to go and visit them. And O Lord,
do be pleased to bless the building work being done at Swayze for
Bethesda, may it be yet used for a generation to come and
help for thy people. Be with other causes that worship
tonight. May thy blessing be upon thy
word. We pray that thou would shine
upon us and build us up and strengthen us here in Cranbrook, And Lord,
begin in our own souls. May we know thy strengthening,
reviving hand. Lord, may we go forth and have
thy word hot in our hearts that we might be able to speak with
conviction to those about us. Lord, we do pray that those who
see the notices concerning the services next week might be constrained
to come and join us here. O Lord, forgive and pardon our
many sins. We pray for repentance. We pray
for the softening work of thy spirit. We plead thy precious
blood shed upon Calvary. We plead thy covenant ordered
in all things ensured. We plead thy precious promises,
I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. Lord, we do plead for thy
mercy that is never deserved, cannot be deserved. But thy word
says that thy mercy endureth forever. Oh Lord, we do make
plea then. that Thou who has shown to us
many tokens for good, might remember those tokens that Thou Thyself
has given us. And Lord, do bless us with Thy
word made life and power to our souls tonight. O Lord, leave
us not, but to go on our way rejoicing like the dear disciples,
them were the disciples glad. see thee this evening, Lord,
who grant us eyes to see, hearts to understand and behold. Lord, may there be that effect
felt upon us. Lord, the hymn writer says, my
heart will move at thy command. And we believe there are some
of us here or online that do testify that that has been the
case. Our hearts have moved and we
know that when thy power is put forth, they will move. O Lord,
do grant unto us then that we might be a people influenced
by grace, drawn by thy power, and brought at last to be with
thee in heaven. We give thee thanks for every
temporal blessing and for every spiritual blessing. Thou art
good and gracious and long-suffering, and we thank Thee for Thy goodness. Remember those who have petitioned
Thee for help this evening. Remember us when we cry and feel
the unbelief in our hearts and feel the sin in our lives. But,
Lord, appear for us for Thy great namesake and leave us not at
a distance. Leave us not unfruitful servants,
leave us not as cumbers of the ground, but make us salt and
make us light. Make us truly to be a prepared
people for a prepared place. We ask, Lord, these mercies through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We would announce that, God willing,
next Thursday evening. The service is not at 7 o'clock,
but we have our Thanksgiving services which are held at 3.30pm
and 6.30pm when the pastor at Red Hill, Mr Stephen Hyde, is
expected to preach here. That is our Thanksgiving harvest,
Thanksgiving services next Thursday. The collection on that occasion
is for our Free Bible Fund. Hymn 50, Tune St. Augustine 3 Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Gospel according to John,
chapter 19, and reading from our text, verse 18. Where they crucified him and
two other with him, on either side one and Jesus in the midst. and it is particularly the last
words, Jesus in the midst, that is upon my spirit. John 19 verse
18. We have the solemn scene here
of the crucifixion. We have two thieves, each side,
and there being two on each side, was very significant as he was
foretold to be numbered amongst the transgressors and he made
intercession for the transgressors. One of those thieves was lost,
the other one was saved. Both cast in his teeth at first
unbelieving words But one was wrought upon, one rebuked his
fellow, when his fellow said, if thou be Christ, save thyself
and us, come down from the cross. But the other said, dost thou
not fear God, seeing that thou art in the same condemnation?
We indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds.
But this man hath done nothing amiss. And then he turned to
the Lord and he said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom. And our Lord's response was,
verily, verily, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. a sacred place, a place where
the Lord was in the midst, but a place of division, even with
the Lord right there, one saved, one lost, but Jesus in the midst. And it is vital for us in our
lives that the Lord Jesus Christ is central is in the midst, he's
not relegated to the sidelines, just to be a little part of our
lives, just to be something that we remember him at Christmas
or Easter, or even perhaps twice on the Lord's Day, and maybe
even added to that once in the week as well, or twice in the
week. But all the rest of the time, it's as if he did not exist
in our lives. May he be central. The Apostle
Paul says that for me to live is Christ. And our Lord stated
that if we are to bring forth fruit, that fruit must come from
him and from a constant deriving of life from him. When we come to the Word of God,
the central theme is the Lord Jesus Christ. From beginning
to end, he is the subject, he is the one that is set forth,
the whole reason why the Word is written. These are written
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that in believing
ye might have life through his name. John declares that at the
end. of his gospel, at the beginning
of his gospel. He says, in the beginning was
the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The
written and the incarnate word, the same. We may ask ourselves
then, of what position is the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives,
when we read the word of God, when we gather for worship, Is
he in the midst? Is he central? Well, I wanted
to look this evening at seven places in the Word of God where
our Lord is statedly, whether in type or whether in person,
set forth to be in the midst. And may we be given faith to
see him, see him through the lattice of the word of God, see
him where he is in the midst. The first is in the garden of
Eden. Yes, we would always try and
go where we first read of a doctrine, read of a teaching. And so in
Genesis chapter 2, we have stated in verse 9, that out of the ground
made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst
of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And is that tree of life which
is the Lord Jesus Christ. It was that after man fell that
the cherubims were placed at the entrance of the garden and
east of the Garden of Eden, flaming sword which turned every way
to keep the way of the Tree of Life. We are not able to help
ourselves to that tree of life, it is guarded, and Paul states
it very clearly that what wisdom God has given to man, and he's
given wonderful wisdom to man, he has not given him the ability
to of himself find out God. That must be given and imparted. None can know of the Lord except
it be revealed to him. None come unto me, says our Lord,
except the Father which sent me, draw him. And I would draw
your attention to the other end of the Word of God, in the Revelation,
Revelation chapter 2 and verse 7, where we read, He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches,
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God. And so we have in the
first book in Genesis, the tree of life, in the last, the tree
of life. And that tree of life is the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, when he spoke to those
at Athens, Mars Hill, he says, in him we live and move and have
our being. In him is life. And how the apostle, as he sets
forth our Lord in the gospel, as he opens it up, he sets forth
that all things were made by him, without him, was not anything
made that wasn't made. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men." So there, central in the Garden of Eden,
central in that New Jerusalem, central in the Church of God,
we have the Tree of Life, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Poor soul, when we feel ourselves
so lifeless, so cold, so dead, so hard, where do we go for life? Where do we look for life? Where can we go except to the
Lord? He against whom we have sinned. He who has borne our sins in
his own body on the tree. May we remember how he has set
forth in the midst the tree of life. I give unto them eternal
life, they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of mine hand." Really it is a central thing. Whenever
we feel lifeless and cold spiritually, that we need that life, that
fresh life from our Lord Jesus Christ. No duties, no increased
diligence on our part, nothing at all, but to look for it again
from the Lord. Our Lord said, while he was on
earth, he rebuked those round about him and he said, ye will
not come unto me that ye might have life. May that never be
said of us, but that it be known to those round about us, and
we have a clear conscience of this, that whenever we feel lifeless,
then it is to the Lord we must look for life, for fresh life
to be poured upon us again. The second in the midst is that
of our text at Calvary. where the Lord was putting away
the sins of his people. There he is pictured, as we stated
at the outset, in between two things, but the Lord in the midst,
the Lord standing in between. Our Lord says in John 3 that
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. that whosoever believeth upon
him should not perish, but have eternal life. And I, if I be
lifted up above the earth, will draw all men unto me. And here he is, lifted up, crucified,
made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And it is, our attention is drawn
not to those round about him, but he who was in the midst. The other two thieves, they were
dying because they were sinners. We all must die because we have
sinned. But our Lord was not dying because
he had sinned. He did not have to die himself. There was no cause of death in
him, and even Pilate testified of that. Our Lord said, no man
taketh my life from me, I lay it down of myself. You might
say, well, did he have a choice? Didn't they take him, crucify
him, bind him, bring him to the judgment hall? Was there not
a time before that they tried to take him more than once and
he passed by the midst of them and went his way? When he testified
that it was not yet, the hour that he was to be lifted up.
The hymn writer says, not a single shaft can hit till the God of
love sees fit. That applies to us, but also
with our Lord. There's an appointed time for
us to die. There's appointed time when he
should lay down his life. And he laid it down of himself. He said in the garden when they
tried to use a sword when Peter sought to stop his arrest. Put
up thy sword within its sheath. Thinkest thou not that I could
pray my father he'd presently give me 12 legion of angels,
72,000 angels, but how then should the scriptures be fulfilled?
Before that he prayed, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thy will be done. It was the will of God. For this
cause he came into the world, and there he is, central. And when we remember this scene,
we remember his bloodshed, we remember it at the Lord's table
that he has instituted, then we remember him who died for
our sins. Everyone around that table, those
are the Lord's people. Their sins were put away at the
same place, at the same time, by the same man, through the
same precious blood that was shared by him that was in the
midst. And he is to be remembered in
that way. Ye do show forth my death till
I come. Maybe when we remember Calvary,
remember that there is our Lord in the midst of transgressors,
Dear friends, when we feel our sins, when we feel our transgressions,
when we feel our sinnership, how do we react when Jesus is
in the midst? Do we own our transgressions?
Do we confess that we indeed endured justly because of our
sins? But do we view the Lord as the
spotless, innocent, one bearing our sins in our place? What is
our petition to Him? Hymn writer says, sinners can
say none but they, how precious is the Saviour. Whatever may
be our lot, however much under the chastening hand of God we
might be suffering, however much we might feel the hand of the
Lord even has gone against us. May we always remember this scene,
put ourselves in the place of the thieves and especially the
one that viewed the Lord as he truly was. May we view that spotless
one suffering for our sin. May it then still our rebellious
heart calm our murmurings, put prayer into our prayerless hearts,
and that we look away from self, away from the world, and to him
that is in the midst. This man receiveth sinners, and
eateth and drinketh with them, And we might say with this text,
this man suffered in the midst of sinners and made intercession
for them. The third place, and we go back
to the Old Testament for this one, is in the midst of Jordan. In Joshua chapter 3, verse 17,
He read how the ark of God, which was the type of our Lord Jesus
Christ, his presence in the midst of the assemblies of the children
of Israel. But when it came to Jordan, which
separated between the wilderness journey and the promised land,
Jordan, which signifies death, Jordan that all of the children
of Israel must pass through, and you and I, must pass through
death. Only Enoch and Elijah has ever
passed the other way to be received up into heaven. At the end, those
that remain on the earth, they shall be like Enoch. They shall
be changed. They shall meet the Lord in the
air. But for most of us, it will be that we must die. Sin entered
into the world and death by sin. We must needs die. and so he must go through death. But when we see the Lord Jesus
Christ, typified by the Ark of the Covenant, and there he is,
going through death, and he is standing, being held on the shoulders
of the Levites, the Ark stayed in the midst of Jordan until
all the children of Israel were passed over. This is what our
Lord is referring to when he says, I will come again and receive
you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also. This is what Stephen experienced
when he was being stoned. He looked up, he testified of
seeing the Lord standing at the right hand of the Father to receive
him. It is the Lord passing through
death for us, sanctifying the grave, leaving a sweet savour. We said with Stephen, he fell
on sleep. The people of God, in one sense,
do not die. They pass away. They pass from
this time state. They're like Job. He says, all
the appointed days of my time will I wait till my change comes. the change that is wrought. At
death there is a parting of soul and body. You and I, all our
days, from the time we were born to this day, our soul is joined
to our body. But at death it shall cease to
be joined, shall be separated. The apostle says that we that
are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened Not that we should
be unclothed upon, but clothed upon with our body, our tabernacle,
which is from heaven. As we have borne the image of
the earthy, so we shall bear the image of the heavenly. There
is a terrestrial body, there is a celestial body. But at death, what a dividing,
what a separating. but to view the Lord go through
it, and after he'd been through it, then to appear to his dear
disciples. Just while we are thinking of
death and of that solemn change, the Lord has given in this life,
in nature, some beautiful examples of what that change shall be
like in the people of God. In the plant life, we have the
Daffodil bulb, and all the bulbs really. But if we just use the
daffodil as the example, because we have it as a bulb that is
planted in the earth, as a dried up, dead bulb. No color, no softness, no life
looking at all. But it's buried, and it must
be buried. It won't spring forth unless
it is buried. But in springtime, up it comes.
It doesn't come up to be a bluebell or something like that. It comes
up exactly answerable to the bulb that it was. But how different. The green stem, then the beautiful
flower, all from the same. You know, the apostle says, it
doth not appear what we shall be. But we know that we shall
be like him, we shall see him as he is. What a beautiful picture. Then we see another one. We see
that in the insect kingdom of the caterpillar. And the caterpillar,
we used to see them very much in Australia. You'd go along
to the gum trees and you'd see these great big long caterpillars. They'd be two or three inches
long. eating, munching the leaves. There'd be no good quarter of
an inch diameter. They'd be big caterpillars. And then you'd see them, those
trees, and there'd be a cocoon that would be three or four inches
long, hanging off one of the branches. Again, looking all
dead, all hard. No indication there was any life
there. But as that time, that cocoon
breaks open, and out comes a beautiful butterfly. Or out comes a beautiful
moth. All the different varieties that
there was. And you say, what resemblance
there is from that butterfly to the caterpillar, to the chrysalis,
And here it's all one, it all comes from the same. And the
Lord has given us these things to actually, to look at. As if
he'd say to us, you look at this. This is what you're like. You
need to be planted in the earth. You need to die to be in this
cocoon. But then you should be raised
again. And the apostle is saying, we're not going to just be a
bodiless spirit. As we have borne the image of
the earthly, so we shall bear the image of the heavenly. Not that we should be unclothed,
but clothed upon. Dear Job, he says, though after
my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God,
whom I shall see for myself and not another. He shall be Job. Identify not as another person,
but Job himself shall see God. And we have the Lord then, standing
in the midst of Jordan, in the midst of death, that terror of
the human race, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And for our help as we enter
that as we have it set before us, we have Jesus. in the midst,
and in the Word of God, these beautiful illustrations of what
shall happen for the people of God. We are just poor. What a solemn thing to not be
one of God's people, to not know the Lord, to not be trusting
in Him and in His blood to put away our sin, not be clothed
in His righteousness, to be of those who would have nothing
to do with the Lord, to be like the dying thief who could only
want to enjoy the things of this time, and we're not looking for
eternal things. If we're in that state and that
condition, after death, there is a judgment. And after judgment,
there is a second death. There is hell, there's hellfire,
there's eternal separation, the judgment of God. the wrath of
God poured out upon us. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the Most High God. It is vital for us to be
saved, that the Lord Jesus Christ in our life, in our hope of glory,
in our seeking forgiveness and pardon, in passing through death,
is central, is everything to us. We must ask the question
then, what is the Lord Jesus Christ to us here? Because if
he is nothing, then we have an awful, a fiery doom awaiting
us, not just for a short period, but for eternity. May we tremble
at such a thought, such a reality, such a teaching as the Word clearly
sets before us. We want to look then, in the
fourth place, to the upper room. We want to go back to the portion
that we read in Luke, in Luke 24. And I read that chapter because,
of course, it sets forth after Christ's death, then his resurrection
and his appearing unto the dear disciples. we read how that they
were in the upper room for fear of the Jews. In Luke 24 verse
36, sorry, the later on from, sorry, yes it is verse 36, looking
at the wrong chapter there. And as they thus spank, so what
was said before was clearly, the Lord is risen indeed and
hath appeared. As they thus spake, Jesus himself
stood in the midst of them and saith unto them, peace be unto
you. So here is again, the Lord Jesus
Christ standing in the midst. In spite of their fears, in spite
of the doors being shut, In spite of the fact that they'd gone
through most of the day disbelieving all of the witnesses that saw
him rise. In another place we read how
he upbraided them for their unbelief, because they did not believe
those that had seen. But in spite of all of that,
he comes and he is. in the midst. What encouragement
in the midst of all our fears and all what we may be ashamed
of and all of our unbelief to think that the Lord still does
that for his people. When the Lord rose again he only
appeared to those that were his. He didn't appear to all men and
he only appeared when he chose and how he chose, not at their
time or their place. but places appointed by God. And so every visit when the Lord
comes and again he is in the midst, that's a sweet token that
we are the Lord's. That is a sweet encouragement.
When we look at these dear disciples, those who've gone before us,
what they were, men just like us, full of fears, Full of unbelief,
so slow to believe. And yet the Lord came to them.
May that be encouragement, the Lord will come to us. They weren't
even asking in one sense, were they? And yet the Lord still
came. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. That is realized
here. That is fulfilled here. but it's
not the last time it will be fulfilled. It'll be fulfilled
again and again. I believe it has in my life. Those are dear brethren and sisters
in faith that I've known, I've seen, when the Lord has visited
them again and he's come in their midst. You know, when the Lord
visits, he will be central for his people. Then all of those
other things that clamoured for attention, Valid as they may
seem to be, needful as they seem to be, they also take second
place. They're all relegated. Jesus
is all. He takes over the heart. He is
in the midst. So may we remember that as poor
sinners, poor disciples of the Lord, poor fearful disciples. The Lord comes and in the upper
room, in the midst. But then in the fifth place,
in the midst of the Church of God, I want to go back to the
Revelation. In the opening chapters in the
Revelation, we have a illustration. We are told about seven golden
candlesticks. In verse 12 of chapter one, I
turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned,
I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, that's the Lord Jesus
Christ, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about
the paps with a golden girdle, his head and his hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame
of fire, and his feet like undefined brass, as if they burned in a
furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he
had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his
strength." says how that he fell at his feet as dead but that
he laid his hand upon him saying fear not I am the first and the
last I am he that liveth and was dead behold I am alive forevermore
and have the keys of hell and of death and he's charged then
to write those things the things which thou hast seen the things
which are the things which shall be hereafter And then the last
verse in that first chapter explains what the candlestick was and
what the stars were. The mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels,
that is, the pastors of the seven churches. and the seven candlesticks
which thou sawest are the seven churches." What a picture. Jesus
in the midst of those churches. The opening verse of chapter
two, unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things
saith he that holdeth the seven stars, holdeth the pastors in
his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks, walketh in the midst of the churches. And it's
specified for each of this for those representative seven churches. Every church of God. We have
the picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of the church.
What is the church? The church of God is souls. It
is those whom he has redeemed, those of which he is the head
of, those of which he is with, and with the pastors of those
local churches. It's a great privilege to assemble,
to gather, and to have in view this picture of Jesus in the
midst, and as a pastor, that the Lord holds us in his hand,
we speak what he would have us to speak, and we be his servants
to bring forth his word. May we be kept close to him and
faithful. Then we have in the sixth place,
those that are gathered together in his name. I know there are
some that would say all this only applies to one situation,
that is the church gathered for discipline in Matthew 18 verse
20. We have in verse 19, again I
say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching
anything, that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of
my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." If we
were to go back to Deuteronomy, go back to the Old Testament,
we'd have the requirement that one should not be put to death
except by the mouth of two or three witnesses. In the New Testament,
we are told not to receive an accusation against an elder except
it be by two witnesses. And here is a disciplinary situation
where two or three at least are to be gathered together to minister
that discipline. And there the Lord brings in
himself in the midst. But that verse 20, it doesn't
say that this is the only occasion. In fact, the way it is written,
is that we're at any type of a gathering. And some will say,
oh, does that mean then if we don't have more than two, we
don't have the Lord with us? We can't just pray on our own.
Of course it doesn't mean that. But with the gathering of the
people of God, the gathering as a church, the gathering in
my name, that is the criteria here. There am I in the midst,
and the beginning of that verse is, for where two or three are
gathered together in my name. And it is an encouragement, and
it is a valid encouragement, for all as we do meet together,
every assembly of the Lord's people, whether it be for prayer
or for teaching. We are not gathered in any other's
name. We're gathering in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that way, we are told
very clearly, there am I in the midst of them. And of course,
this links very closely to what we have just said concerning
the Church of God, the Lord is in the midst of the Church. But here it is put in a different
way, a gathering in his name, and it is very encouraging. With the church there's no numbers
mentioned at all, but in this there is a specific number, even
two or three. What an encouragement for us,
Jesus in the midst. But then lastly is in the midst
of the throne, and we go back to Revelation and chapter 5,
verse 5, where we have the sealed book
that is brought forth, and the question asked in verse 2, who
is worthy to open the book and to lose the seals thereof? And
no man was found in heaven or in earth to open the book, not
even under the earth, nowhere. And then there is One set forth,
one of the elders saith unto me, weep not. Behold, the lion
of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open
the book and to loose the seals thereof. Where is he? Where is he? Verse six tells
us, and I beheld him low in the midst of the throne. and of the
four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as
it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. He is the one then that came
and took the book. He is the one that opens the
book. He is the one that unfolds providence,
that shows all the will and purposes of God. And we have again the
picture or the statement in Revelation 7 and verse 17, the end of that
chapter. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them into
living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. This is said of those that were
arrayed in white robes, and it asked, whence came they? I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. He said unto me, These are they
which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters. God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, shall write through the scriptures these
seven times. It is Jesus in the midst from
the garden of Eden crown of God, a people that had
sinned and yet given the promise of the Saviour, and a people
that have been brought safe to heaven, and there is their Saviour
in the midst of them. This is a blessed theme, is a
blessed message and expectation for the people of God. Jesus
in the midst. may be true of our lives, may
be true in our assemblies in the Church of God, in our homes,
may it be said, the Lord is there. And there is the central guest,
the one thing needful, the one given the highest honour and
glory. May the Lord bless this word.
and we be partakers of the blessings that flow forth from him, like
the dying thief who made petition, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. The Lord add his blessing. Amen. Hymn 771, Tune Rimmington 395, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.