at the end of verse 6, and at
the end of verse 8. At the end of verse 6, and they
went, both of them, together. And they went, both of them,
together. And then again at the end of
verse 8, so they went, both of them, together. Both of them,
together. Well, I trust many of us here
this morning are familiar with this story of Abraham and Isaac
and that great sacrifice to God. We can say, you know, that every
picture tells a story. And here we have, as it were,
a rapid snapshot of these two climbing that mountain, Mount
Moriah, in what would later be, of course, Jerusalem, a great
center of worship and the knowledge of God. As yet, it's just a barren
mountain. Nobody lives there, and yet they
make their lonely way up that mountainside. Now, as we take
consideration, first of all, at Old Testament saints, by way
of introduction, before we come on to our main burden this morning.
You know, Old Testament saints are often a pattern to us, and
that's an obvious application, isn't it? Because these people
lived so long ago, and they are examples to us how to walk in
our present day. Sometimes they're a very good
pattern, and sometimes, of course, they're not a very good pattern
at all. And we see how they all come short of the glory of God,
even the best among them. We're looking especially at Abraham
this morning, what a man of God he was, and yet how Even he fell
at times in the most shameful and appalling way, trying to
set his wife off as his sister, in crave and fear. Yes, we all
fail. We all shamefully fail at times. Because as our opening
praise this morning confessed, that's what we are by nature.
But by the grace of God, he was what he was. And in many ways,
Abraham is a great and positive example to us. as also is Isaac. Now we're not looking at examples
so much today, we're going to take a rather different slant
on it but just by way of instruction we have Abraham and the great
example of Abraham is he is a man of faith. He believes. And what a precious thing faith
is. Because first of all, God has got to give it. It's not
in us by nature. But we need that faith, that
saving faith to bring us through. But we have that first of all,
don't we? That he is that man of faith. And there are many
wonderful examples of Abraham's faith that's set before us in
the word of God. Like precious faith, says Peter. It's something so unspeakably
precious. We could never contrive it, we
could never manufacture it. but God gives it. By grace are
ye saved, says Paul, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. So, you know, we're so dependent,
aren't we, upon that living faith. But it is that saving faith. And in the end it will overcome
everything. And we need it in order to overcome.
When I was only very, very young in the ministry, my first pastorate
many years ago now, and I'd scarcely begun that pastorate, and a call
came at the door for me to go and visit a dying woman, not
of our particular congregation, but I felt overawed by this. I was so inexperienced. What
am I going to say? How am I going to handle this
situation? You know, I felt so unequal to
it. Well, I went along as requested,
and I was ushered in through the door and up a flight of stairs
and there was this lady lying in a bed and in the last stage
of disease her face was ashen but there was such a sweet smile
on her face as I walked through the door and I hardly had to
say anything because her face beamed up at me and she said
these words, this is the victory but overcometh the world, even
our faith. And that said it all. Of course I prayed with her,
but I didn't have to say much else, because she was already
there. And that's the victory. Faith
is the victory. And Abraham had this precious faith in his heart,
planted by the Lord. You know, you can trace his course,
can't you? We'll talk briefly about Isaac in a moment because
Isaac's in the picture as well. You'll see by the time we've
done today that Isaac is very much in the picture. But Abraham,
first of all. You know how it began with him?
The call of God. Here he was, settled in Ur of
the Chaldees, very much at home in that environment, that heathen
city. And the Lord says, up you get,
off you go. And Abraham followed the word of the Lord. Because
faith is obedient. That's a vital quality of faith.
The word of God talks about the obedience of faith. And faith
obeys. It obeys the almighty call. And
off Abraham went and he hadn't got a clue where he was going.
Not a clue. He'd got no idea at all. The
Lord would show it to him. But that's what faith does. Faith
obeys and hears and responds to that almighty call. Friends,
we've read that moving passage this morning in the 15th chapter
of Genesis. And here's Abraham all these
years later. The Lord has made wonderful promises to him that
Such promises that nobody else has ever heard or received. God says, I'm going to bless
the whole world through you, and all the families of the earth
will be blessed. It's through you, Abraham, that
I'm going to bring salvation to the world, ultimately. One
thing that's absolutely vital, it says, of your seed, it's going
to be your own son. That's how it's going to come
about. Well of course, you know, here's Abraham and he gets older
and older and older. There's no sign of any son. Older
he gets. And of course we've had that
scene, haven't we? I like to imagine it in chapter 15. Here's
Abraham and he's sat in his tent. You know, a nice big, big, big
tent. Not a tiny thing you put up in
the back garden, but it's where he lives. And here it's probably,
well it is certainly night time. he's here in his tent and he's
stewing away, how we get sometimes don't we, stewing away. The Lord
has said wonderful things to him, fear not Abram, I am thy
shield and thy exceeding great reward, Abram I'm all yours.
What a thing for Almighty God to say to us, not just simply
you belong to me but I belong to you and what a wonderful promise
that is but you see the state of Abram's mind, Lord, what wilt
thou give me, seeing I go childless? That the very thing that you've
promised has not been realized. That vital promise, that vital
saving promise has not been fulfilled. I'm an old man, Lord, and still
I've got no son. And what does God say to him
then? I'm paraphrasing it a bit, but
you know, I'm not deviating from scripture. I can imagine the
Lord saying, now come on, Abram, You know how sometimes when you're
in a wrong mood and a wrong state and a loved one comes alongside
and you know, shivers you out of the mood. I think it's what
the Lord does with Abram. He says, come on Abram, come
outside, let's go for a walk, let's go for a walk. Can two
walk together except they be agreed? And here you see the
Lord with Abram, Abram's the friend of God. And even when
you're a bit out of sorts with your friend, you still go with
him. Come abroad. Come outside, Abraham. Come for a walk. And then we
come to that moment when the Lord says, in effect, Abram,
look up, look up. Well, there's no light pollution
there, is there? In our big cities, dead of night,
you know, we hardly see the stars, but they're in the wide open
air in the wild countryside. And the Lord says, look up, Abram,
look up. And you look up and you see the great vault of heaven,
millions of stars. Tremendous sight. It's awesome
isn't it? I don't know whether you've felt like that sometimes
if you've been out in the open country and you look up and you
feel so small and awed by the greatness of those millions of
stars. And the Lord says to him, Abram,
look up. Abram, that's going to be your
family. That's how big your family's
going to be. What a thing to say. What a thing
to say. That's how big it's going to be. And then friends, we read
of a wonderful moment. It was such a precious moment
that, you know, you can hardly describe that moment. But it
was a precious moment in Abraham's heart. Because nothing was said.
Nothing was said now. But it simply says that Abraham
believed God. He believed God. It was a precious
moment of faith. And God sealed it with righteousness.
Doesn't mean that Abraham was righteous, but God counted it
to him for righteousness. Because he believed, he believed
his friend. And you see, that's the sort
of thing that's calling us upon this morning. To trust your friend. Just to trust him. Even though
every, no rhyme or reason can explain what his ways are. You trust him because Because
he's your friend. Simple as that. And that's precious. Because friends, that's the faith
that works by love. And that's the only faith that
will do. Faith works by love, says Paul. It won't operate in
any other way. And it operated in poor Abraham's
heart. Because he loved his friend,
he loved him. And because he loved him, he
believed him. He trusted in him. So I won't
say much more to that because that's not our main brief this
morning but you see the point is Abraham is a great example
and he's a great example to us of living faith, that precious
vital thing we all need and we know how lifeless we are if we're
not exercising that faith. And so we have that thought,
don't we? Now what about Isaac? You know, often Isaac gets pushed
out of the picture, doesn't he? Because he's not a very dramatic
character, is he? You know, he doesn't, as it were,
he's no trailblazer in the sense, in the way that his father was.
Or even when we look at the wonderings of Jacob and others, Isaac seems
to be sometimes marginalised because, you know, you can't,
perhaps you can't say an awful lot about him. But one thing
you can say about him is this, and what comes out especially
in this chapter, as the outstanding hallmark of Abram is faith, the
outstanding hallmark of his son is faithfulness. Isaac is absolutely
faithful to his father's vision, all the way through his life.
You go all the way through Isaac's life. Yeah, not very dramatic,
not very impressive you might say, after the manner of men.
But nevertheless, he's completely and utterly faithful to his father's
vision. And it's not a mindless thing,
as we shall see. It's certainly not mindless,
you know, just following it because dad says so. Because Isaac is
thoroughly engaged and involved with his father's vision. He
intelligently responds to the will of his father. And so, Isaac
is faithful. It is required in Stuart's that
a man be found faithful. And so there is the outstanding
quality of Isaac in the course of his life. And no, he's not
perfect. We know that. His judgment could
be wrong, but nevertheless, he was faithful. It's not simply
the God of Abraham, but it's the God of Isaac as well. For in Isaac shall thy seed be
called. But as I said this morning, we're
not simply looking or particularly looking at the Old Testament
saints as a pattern, but rather as a picture. A picture of something
far greater than themselves. And we've got to take that thought
on board this morning because it's so important. Because as
we see the various types and shadows in the Old Testament,
we're looking at the players in that drama, but really sometimes
they represent something far greater than they are themselves.
And that's what I want to see from these words, especially
this morning. So they went, both of them, together. And that's
dynamic, that's powerful, what's going on. Because we're not just
simply looking at two men of God walking together. We have
a picture here of the fellowship in the Godhead of the Father
and the Son. And so much hangs upon that,
and we're meant to get into that. In the New Testament, we're shown
in many ways how we're to get into it and how it's to be a
dynamism. in our own hearts and lives.
The Father loveth the Son. There is a dynamic union, through
the Holy Spirit, of Father and Son. And that's the picture that
we're looking at here. So they went, both of them, together. Completely together. Now, we're
asking then, what's depicted here? First of all, we're noticing
this, that we're looking into, first of all, a fellowship. A
fellowship. The second thing to notice is
that it is also fatherly. It is fatherly. Thirdly, it is
also filial. That word aid of memory, it's to do with
being like a son, a true son. Filial. Then fourthly, it is
fervent. on the part, on Isaac's part,
it's fervent, and upon Abraham's part, then finally it is also
fruitful. Fruitful. All those things concerning
what we're looking at here. So they went, both of them, together. We're looking at a fellowship.
A deep and enduring togetherness. A oneness. Not a confusion. You know, when we look at the
unity of the persons in the Godhead, we're not, you know, well, some
of you cook, you know, and you mix things in a bowl, the ingredients,
you mix them all together, and it's all just a mixture. No, we're not to confuse the
persons of the Godhead. But they are one in a blessed
unity. And that's not just a contemplation
because it will have powerful practical implications for you
and me in our Christian life and experience. But the three
are one. There is that perfect unity between
them. Fatherly, fatherly. But before
we go to that, fellowship. In Amos, we read this, don't
we? Can two walk together except they be agreed? And I want us
to look at this oneness here expressed by Abraham and Isaac. You see, first of all, as I've
said, it is fatherly. You know how the Lord speaks
to Abraham here? Verse 2, Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, whom thou lovest. And we read
in the gospel, the father loveth the son. Oh, how the father loves
the son. This is my beloved son, in whom
I am well pleased. The father delights in the dear
son of God. So then, but the point first
of all is this, is that there is a complete fellowship, a oneness
in the persons of the Godhead. This isn't just theoretical,
we're not just, you know, sort of admiring something speculatively
because it's going to have a practical implication in a few moments
time in our thoughts. But what does John say about
the word? As he opens that glorious gospel
that he's written, In the beginning was the Word. That's the first
statement, isn't it? That's his foundational statement.
It's the eternal being of the Son of God. Yes, he is the beginning,
but it doesn't mean that he had a beginning because he was always
there. In the beginning was the Word. Now what's the second thing
that John says about the Word? You might think, well the second
thing he's going to say is that the word was God. But that's
not the second thing he says. Yeah, that's the third thing
he says. Of course the word was God. But look at the middle statement
of that verse. And the word was with God. With God. And that means quite
literally to be face to face with. That is to reflect all
that God is. that here is this perfect unity
in these persons in the Godhead. Absolutely perfect. There is
this oneness there between them. We've also said that that fellowship
is fatherly And we made that very clear, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. But you notice how these things
unfold here in the drama of Abraham and Isaac because Isaac is completely
responsive. it might mystify us, you might
think, well, there might be a bit of tension here, understandable
tension between the two, because here they are going to make an
act of worship at the top of this mountain, and Isaac asks
a very intelligent question, doesn't he? Verse 7, he says,
My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb
for a burnt offering? Now that was a reasonable question
to ask, wasn't it? Don't you think so? We've got all the other
bits and pieces, all the other parts of the inventory are there,
we've got the fire, we've got the wood, we've got the knife,
we've got this, that and the other, everything's there, but
where is the lamb? And of course we have that tremendous
answer of Abraham, even then, this poor dear man is exercising
the faith in this impossible situation because that very thing
that he's been given, Seems now the Lord's gonna take it all
away. But he still goes on, doesn't he? Dear old man still goes on
in obedience, in obedience to God. And he says God will provide
himself a land. That's all he says. Because Abraham
in going up that mountain is looking to the Lord for that
supply. But look at Isaac now. You might
think, well Isaac might start to kick, he might start to jib
at all this. There might be some sort of tension.
And quite understandable, you know, he's your father with a
knife and he's gonna make an end of your life. But the beauty
of the situation is this, is that Isaac is completely submissive
to his father's will. Doesn't jib at all. So they went,
both of them, together. They were together in it. In
perfect harmony. And unity of purpose. That's
what's so extraordinary about this scene. And we're meant to
see this. You know, even believers fall
out at times, don't they? And like Amos said, can two walk
together except they be agreed? And you have disagreements that
come, and you know, there's tension, and uncertainty, And all happens
when a relationship is put on strain. You know, you have relationships
with those that you love in the church, but sometimes those relationships
are strained for one reason or another. And so you're not as
together as you should be. That's why we've all got to watch
in church fellowship that we, you know, that we don't become
divided by things, especially secondary things or selfish things. But the beauty of this fellowship
is this, is that so they went, both of them together. They were
completely at one, of one mind and heart, and it's a blessed
thing when a church can know something of that. This blessed
unanimity, not a blind subservience, but a sweet intelligent working
together and a oneness of mind, is father and son. and they're
in it together. Whatever's going to happen, they're
in it together. Now look at that blessed picture
of God the Father and God the Son, that unity of purpose, that
absolute unity of purpose in what Christ came to do, to make
his own soul an offering for sin and to suffer unspeakable
things, things far more terrible than being killed with a knife.
that the Lord Jesus would undertake in the father's good pleasure
because the father loved his poor worthless children his poor
election of grace he loved them so much that he would send his
son into unspeakable horrors to bring them back to himself.
Oh what a dynamic, what a blessed unity this is of God the father
and God the son in that purpose. and set before us here in the
word of God. He says, doesn't he, in the psalm,
lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me, this
is what the son says in prophecy, lo I come to do thy will, yea
thy law is within my heart. Oh what a oneness of purpose
and plan there is in the Godhead in our salvation. And what a
beautiful picture it is. Well, we hardly need to say that
it is also fervent. Fervent on the part of the Lord
Jesus. His eyes, and he's willingly,
not mindlessly, but he's willingly going along with the purpose. He doesn't even, he doesn't even
strain at the leash. is one with his father's plan
and purpose. It is fervent, fervent, and it's
so clearly set before us here. And when we think what he endured,
what the Lord went through, friends, it's all love, isn't it? What
a love there is in the Godhead. God is love, says John, full
stop. And that means in himself he's
love. What a blessed unity there is in the Godhead. And here we
see it displayed when that love flows out to poor sinners in
what the Lord went through. The other evening I had to speak
on Moses and that text in Deuteronomy. At Pimlico the other day we were
on that subject of how Moses said the Lord would raise up
a prophet like himself. And you can compare Moses and
Christ. Often you see them in antithesis,
but you can see them in this other way as well, because there
will be a prophet to come like Moses. But then you go through,
you tick off the various points, and you can see how Moses goes
so far, and he can't go any further. There's a limitation to Moses.
He comes, as it were, to the land of promise. He can't take
the people in. He can lead them right up to
the border of their land, but he can't take them in. You need
Joshua, Joshua Jesus, to take us in, into the land of promise. And there's so many comparisons
there. Moses is great, Maisie is great, and yet he comes short
of the glory of Christ. And I think one area where he
comes most short is this, in terms of leading us into salvation. because the law can't save us.
The law is just and good but its power is it can't do anything
to save us from our sin. But Christ can. What a wonder. Because he goes much further,
infinitely further than Moses. Moses can't bring you to Gethsemane. Moses can't bring you to Calvary.
But Christ does. He endures such things that we
can scarce conceive of when he suffers in our stead. Quote of
those words already, well-known scriptures, you know, he hath
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him, because there was no
sin in him. But now he is identified with
our sin. Look at all the black catalogue
of your crimes and mine. And he's taken them all upon
himself. As Peter says, who his own self bore our sins in his
own body on the tree. How much more precise or defining
can you get? That's where our sins were. Do
you believe that? That's where all your sins were. It's something that we can scarce
take in. You know, you can shed a light
upon something that the Lord Jesus said in Gethsemane. You know, to the disciples, Peter,
James, and John. My soul is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death. Moses couldn't die for you. Moses
couldn't go that far for you. But here's one who did. Unto
death. You know, you can paraphrase
that. The Lord is actually saying that this fight, and what a struggle
he had, this fight is killing me. That's not just a metaphor. Literally, it was killing him.
Now don't misunderstand me, friends. He laid down his life. No man
could take it from him. We know that. That's true. But
it's true at the same time, without contradicting, is that he was
killed. Ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and
slain. Though it was his to lay down
by sovereign authority, no man could take it from him unwillingly,
but it's still true to say he was killed. And sometimes the
pressure becomes so great upon a person's life that the struggle
is killing them. And that's quite literally so
for the Lord Jesus because we know, don't we, that after his
death the soldier with a spear pierces his side and now there's
no gushing flood of blood but there are two trickles, tiny
trickles separately of water and of blood. And you know that
matter was very reverently looked into in the early part of the
20th century I think by an outstanding Christian doctor and he examined
the evidence medically and he said, you know what, he said
the Lord died of a broken heart, quite literally, he died of a
broken heart, because he said there must have been a massive
rupture in the inner chamber of his heart. That's what he
died of. We say it reverently, and it
was a very reverent investigation, but that's what we may deduce
from that. And he could say, this fight
is killing me. You know, sometimes people come
into such terrible affliction that it finishes them off. Quite
literally, it finishes them off. The late C.H. Spurgeon, of course,
in the late 1880s, he was still only just over 50 years of age,
getting into his mid-50s, but he was enduring the terrible
fight of the downgrade controversy, and he had many bitter enemies,
and it was getting the better of him, in his constitution,
naturally, in his constitution. his physical well-being and emotional
integrity. Somebody met him on a station
platform somewhere in South London and I could see on his face that
he was wracked with agony and he said to them this, this fight
is killing me. Of course quite literally it
was. because he died, he was 57 when he died, he was, you
know, he was completely worn out in his frame. But coming
back to solemn and serious things, far more so, here is the blessed
and awful and terrible death of the Lord Jesus because he
loved his people so much that he died the death of death. He
went so much further than Moses could ever take you. He's gone
all the way, all the way to hell and back to bring his people
back to God. He wept, he bled, he died for
you. What more, ye saints, could Jesus
do? He's done all. He's done all.
And full salvation is in it. And may we know what it is to
humbly rejoice in that. One more thing about what we're
looking at. It's all so fruitful, isn't it?
That's the amazing thing. It's fruitful. I mean, you look
at the end of chapter 22, or towards not the complete end,
but towards the end of chapter 22, and we have this. because thou hast done this thing
and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, verse 17, that
in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply
thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which
is upon the seashore, and so on, and in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Friends, the blessing that comes from, the fruit, the wonderful
fruit that comes from it, it's incredible, isn't it? We have
that thought, don't we? You know, you can see, oh, if
you ever go through Psalm 22, now the first part of Psalm 22
is terrible, isn't it? It's awful. But you come to the
end of Psalm 22, and you see this vast expanse of people rescued
from eternal ruin. And you have those words in Hebrews,
don't you? Behold I, and all the children
which the Lord my God hath given me, a multitude which no man
can number. How wonderfully fruitful. Oh,
how great was that death and how fruitful it is in the last
issue. A multitude which no man can
number. That's the fruit. He shall see
the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. Shall be satisfied. Things that are hidden from our
eyes now but will be seen hereafter. No wonder they sing forever in
heaven, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, and it's a theme they'll never get over, and they'll
sing it forever and ever. And they'll remember what the
Lord did for them, forever, ever after. So you have that tremendous
thought. This is the fruit of this fellowship,
because fellowship is something fruitful. Whenever you get fellowship,
even on a low natural level, it's fruitful. When two walk
together, they inspire, they move, and they help each other. What must it be then, in that
fellowship in the blessed Trinity? And oh, how sweet this union
was of father and son. Now friends we're meant to look
at this relationship, we're meant to look at it, in our closing
minutes here this morning, to look at it and then secondly
to learn from it, to learn from it, not just simply to instruct
our minds but to embrace the meaning of it in our hearts and
lives as we come to our conclusion here this morning. First of all
we're meant to look at it and that means to absorb it, Read
again this story and get the feel and the flavour of this
lovely relationship. You know, not all love stories
are between a man and a woman. It is a love story of father
and son. And it's precious and it's pure.
And it's something for us to dwell upon. Because it will do
us good. You know, we spend so much of
our time thinking about things that aren't doing us any good. They're not feeding our souls,
they're dragging our minds down into the dirt of this world and,
you know, though we're not to bury our heads in the sand, God
forbid, but we're to live in these things. Look what Paul
says to the Philippians in chapter 4 and verse 8. There's plenty
of wonderful advice in chapter 4 of Philippians, tremendous
advice. you know, but one particular
piece of advice is this in verse 8, finally brethren, finally
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,
Where does your mind live? Where does it live? Not just
on a Sunday in chapel, where does your mind live? I know you
live somewhere, you've got a particular address and a postcode, yeah
we know all that, but that doesn't matter. Where does your mind,
where does your heart live? Isaac Watts could say concerning
the Lord, beneath his smiles, my heart has lived. and part
of heaven possessed. Can you say that? What a wonderful
thing if you can say that. What a beautiful expression that
is, one of the favorite expressions of the late Mr. George Rose,
that particular verse it was. Beneath his smiles my heart has
lived and part of heaven possessed. I'll bless his name for mercy's
past and trust him for the rest. Finally brethren whatsoever thing.
So that's something we're looking at. It's amazing how dynamic
the father-son relationship is because it's reflecting the father-son
relationship that we read of in the Godhead. Now we know,
of course, that the Lord Jesus never stepped out of line, and
in a sense, Isaac was a very, very good son, and he didn't
step out of line. But even where there was a stepping
out of line, where there's reconciliation, there's a wonderful issue. Look
at the story that Jesus told in Luke chapter 15 of the prodigal
son. We've gone right away. And look
at the wonder of that reconciliation of father and son. This my son
was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found. And we read they began to be,
well the Avey has it, they began to be merry and that doesn't
mean, you know, a carnal frolic, it doesn't mean, you know, a
wild part, it doesn't mean anything like that because it's an old
word that means really in effect they began to be happy, they
began to be happy. They'd only just started. You
know, you haven't seen anything yet, you've only just started
to be happy. And they began to be merry. You see what happens
as a result of fellowship. Can you see what happens? That's
why it's a wonderful thing when it blossoms in church life. Real
fellowship. Because it produces wonderful
things. Wonderful things. You know, you
can't begin to calculate its limits. And then, finally, we're
to learn from it. We're not just admiring something
that we can't get into. Now, you know, sometimes you
How can I put it, you know, you might see footage or film of
somewhere lovely and beautiful and you think, oh, wouldn't it
be nice to be there, but I can never get there, I can never
afford to go there, or, you know, there's no way I could go there.
So you're admiring something, but you can't really get into
it. and there are things like that
that we encounter. But this is wholly different,
isn't it? You look at the whole, what we call the Upper Room Discourse
in John's Gospel, chapters 13 to 17 inclusive, and the great
burden of the Lord Jesus there is to bring the disciples into
that fellowship. And, you know, it's only afterwards,
of course, they didn't take it in at the time, it was only afterwards
the Holy Spirit brought those things to John's remembrance
and he writes them down in the Gospel, probably many years later.
But you go through all of that extended discourse and look at
his prayer at the end of it all, that they may be one as we are
one. Think about that prayer for a
moment. The Lord Jesus is addressing his Father, that they may be
one, as we are one. That's part of his prayer. And you know those words of the
Lord Jesus in John chapter 15, and this is where it has a direct
bearing upon us because we are invited into that fellowship.
What a wonderful thing, isn't it? We've got two friends, on
a purely earthly level for a moment. There are two friends, and they're
really good friends. They enjoy their friendship together. And you come along, and they
don't say, oh, go away, you're not part of this. They say, come
and join our fellowship. Come and share in our friendship,
because friendship is for more than two. Come and join in the
friendship, and let's do things together. On a purely natural
level, that's amazing, that's great, isn't it? You don't feel
shut out. And that's exactly what the Lord
Jesus says in chapter 15 and verse 9 of John's Gospel. As
the Father has loved me. As the Father has loved me. And
we can't say enough about that, can we? Oh, how the Father's
loved the Son. And how wonderful that fellowship
has been, as the Father has loved me. Even so, even so, have I
loved you. He says, I'm going to share the
Father's love for me with you. Now, to me, that's wonderful.
That's absolutely amazing. that me, a poor, wretched, sinner,
worthless before God by nature, is brought into the fellowship
of that love in the Father and the Son. That's absolutely amazing. That's beyond telling, isn't
it? And you know, this was the desire of John. You get old John
now and he's an old man now. It's amazing, isn't it, how the
Lord preserved him all those years later. He's nearly 90 years
of age, and he's still very much with it. And we have those words,
don't we? 1 John chapter 1. How it begins so similarly to
the Gospel. But look at verse 3. That which we have seen and
heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
us. And then he develops it like
this, and truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and with
His Son, Jesus Christ. Quite simply, John's great desire
there is that others might enjoy that same fellowship and the
sweet benefits and the fruits of it. That which we have seen
and heard, declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship
with us. Not simply enter into fellowship
on a human level, albeit a spiritual one. but that you might enter
into that fellowship that we find in the Godhead. How worthless
we are, how unworthy we are of such a glorious honor. But let
us embrace the sweet invitation that we have there, that we are
welcome to come to Jesus Christ. That's the beauty of the gospel.
There's nothing to buy, there's nothing to pay. It's freely given. And not only so, but we're invited
into the fellowship of the Godhead. This is life eternal, that they
may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou
sent. And John welcomes us in to that
fellowship. And it's a tremendous thought,
isn't it? There are so many examples of father-son relationships in
the Word of God, relationships that were so fruitful and so
productive. And not to leave the girls out
completely, because what about Jephthah and his daughter? That's
another story we can't go into now. But there was another incredible,
beautiful union of father and daughter. But anyway, there we
are. We can see so many examples of it as we turn through the
Word of God. But we must leave it there for
now this morning. We have those wonderful words,
which are so expressive. Oh, if we could take a snapshot,
if we could go back all those centuries and just take a quick
picture of father and son walking up that mountain together, it
would speak volumes, wouldn't it? And they went, both of them,
together. May we know what it is to enter
into that fellowship and walk with them. May God bless his
word to us. Amen. In our closing hymn in worship
this morning, hymn 416 to the tune of Golan 699. Hymn 416. Let us love and sing
and wonder. Let us praise the Saviour's name. He has hushed the Lord's loud
thunder. He has quenched Mount Sinai's
flame. He has washed us in his blood,
he has brought us home to God. Let us love the Lord who brought
us, pitied us when enemies, called us by his grace and taught us,
gave us ears and gave us eyes. He has washed us in his blood,
he has brought us home to God. In 416. Let us love and sing among them,
Let what Christ the Savior spake. He had taught the Lord and the King, He has watched us in this world,
He has taught us to do good. O come, let us adore Him, Christ
the Lord. Let us take our first meditation,
and listen to Heaven's plan. Jesus is risen! He has washed us in his blood,
He has put us on the right. When thou shalt find the grace
and the peace, Thy love to the world is full, When the rich and the poor part thou dost,
? He has purchased in his power
? ? He has put at the table ? ? Let us break and join our brothers
? ? Our brothers today ? ? He has washed us in his blood
? ? He has put us under God's watch ? ? His will makes me gracious
taker ? ? Alleluia, home and heaven ? ?
Thanks be for the host of heaven ? ? For just those that sought
the earth ? ? Alleluia, home and heaven ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Heavenly Father, and the
communion and fellowship of God the Holy Spirit rest and abide
with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.