March 28, 2025 • 39 mins
This is Part ONE of a FOUR message series by John Brereton delivered over 40 years ago.
We find, when we look at this wonderful subject, that in order to begin any consideration of it, we must go back to the Old Testament. This is because the concept of the Lord’s gathering a people to His name where He might enjoy their company around Himself — where worship, prayer, godly order and discipline might be exercised — is found in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament.
I believe when we consider a subject like “The Ground of Gathering” and how the Lord would have us to meet together collectively, there is always a danger of its becoming an intellectual exercise and not that which engages the heart’s affections.
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Mark (00:00):
As a young man in my mid- twenties, I found this series of
four meetings by John Breretonon the"Divine Ground of
Gathering" to be very helpful inbringing forth principles in
scripture that start in the bookof Genesis and follow all the
way into the New Testament.
The following address is thefirst of the series of four
meetings.
John B (00:20):
It was suggested, brethren, that we might have a
number of meetings on thesubject that is often referred
to as the ground of gathering.
We find when we look at thiswonderful subject that to begin
any consideration of it, we mustneed to go back into the Old
Testament.
(00:40):
Because the concept of the Lordgathering a people to his name,
where he might enjoy theircompany around Himself, where
worship, prayer, godly order anddiscipline might be exercised,
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is found in the Old Testamentjust as well as it is found in
the New.
In considering this subject, Ihad a particular exercise
because, brethren, I believe,when we consider a subject like
the ground of gathering, how theLord would have us to meet
together collectively and where-there is always a danger of it
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becoming an intellectualexercise and not that which
engages the heart's affection.
Well, I believe in my own soulthat God has very I thought
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tonight for our first meetingthat we might look at the twenty
second chapter of Genesis.
We'll begin reading with verseone.
And it came to pass, after thesethings, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him,Abraham, and he said, Behold,
here I am.
(02:15):
And he said, Take now thy son,thine only son Isaac, whom thou
lovest, and get thee into theland of Moriah, and offer him
there for a burnt offering uponone of the mountains, which I
will tell thee of.
And Abraham rose up early in themorning, and saddled his ass,
(02:38):
and took two of his young menwith him, and Isaac his son, and
claved the wood for the burntoffering, and rose up and went
unto the place of which God hadtold him.
Then on the third day, Abrahamlifted up his eyes, and saw the
place far off.
(02:59):
And Abraham said unto his youngmen, Abide ye here with the ass,
and I and the lad will goyonder, and worship, and come
again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of theburnt offering, and laid it upon
Isaac his son, and he took thefire in his hand, and a knife.
(03:21):
And they went, both of them,together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham hisfather, and said, My father.
And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold the fire andthe wood, but where is the lamb
for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, Godwill provide himself a lamb for
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a burnt offering.
So they went, both of them,together.
And they came to the place whichGod had told him of.
And Abraham built an altarthere, and laid the wood in
order, and bound Isaac his son,and laid him on the altar upon
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the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth hishand, and took the knife to slay
his son.
And the angel of the Lord calledunto him out of heaven and said
Abraham.
And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine handupon the lad.
(04:28):
Neither do thou anything untohim, for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hastnot withheld thy son, thine only
son, from Me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes,and looked, and behold behind
him a ram caught in a thicket byhis horn.
(04:52):
And Abraham went and took theram, and offered him up for a
burnt offering.
In the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name ofthat place, Jehovah Jira.
As it is said to this day, inthe Mount of the Lord,"it shall
be seen." And the angel of theLord called unto Abraham out of
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heaven the second time and said,By Myself, have I sworn saith
the Lord?
For because thou hast done thisthing, and hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son, that inblessing I will bless thee, and
in multiplying I will multiplythy seed as the stars of the
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heaven and as the sand which isupon the seashore and thy seed
shall possess the gate of hisenemies.
And in thy seed shall all thenations of the earth be blessed
because thou hast obeyed Myvoice.
So Abraham returned unto hisyoung men and they rose up and
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went together to Beersheba andAbraham dwelt at Beersheba.
I believe it's the book ofEcclesiastes that makes
reference to the"three- foldcord" that is not easily broken.
And brethren, I believe we findin this chapter, in a most
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remarkable way, how God haswoven a three fold cord.
And I believe if we have thethree aspects, the three strands
of the cord before us, as welook at the subject of the
ground of gathering, we willfind that it is not simply a
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matter of knowledge.
It isn't simply a matter ofknowing the place, but there is
a matter of faith to walk in thepath that God marks out.
What I would like to do tonight,for the time we have before us,
is to really go through thischapter three times and to
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follow each one of the cords asthe Lord gives us to see them.
The first and most preciouschord that we have brought
before us in this chapter isthat of the Father and the Son.
We find that in the first verse,God did try, or tempt Abraham.
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And in the second verse, hesaid, take now thy son, thine
only son, Isaac, whom thoulovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah, and offer him.
Offer him there for a burntoffering.
Oh, beloved brethren, how Godthe Father was revealing, in
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this account of Abraham andIsaac, that wondrous revelation
of grace that was to be madeknown so many centuries later,
when here in this world, afather and a son would go to an
altar of sacrifice together, andthere the father would see his
(08:19):
son offered up as a sacrificefor sin.
And so He speaks of thy son,thine only son, Isaac, whom thou
lovest.
Oh, God knew the love thatAbraham had for his son, but it
was just a pale reflection ofthe love that the father had for
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his son.
That love, beloved brethren,that existed from a past
eternity.
When the word of God speaks ofthe Lord Jesus as the Son.
It isn't with any thought ofinferiority to the Father.
It isn't that his stature is anyless, His power any less.
(09:03):
But it brings before our heartsa relationship, an affection
that exists between the Fatherand His son.
And so when we read the Fathersent the Son to be the Savior of
the world, how much more,beloved brethren, that is than
if it simply had said that theFather sent Jesus.
(09:26):
It was His Son.
And here Isaac- the type of theSon is to be offered up as a
sacrifice.
We find in the third verse, itsays Abraham rose up early in
the morning and saddled his assand took two of his young men
with him, and Isaac his son, andclaved the wood for the burnt
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offering.
Claved the wood.
I believe, beloved brethren, thethought in the wood is the
humanity of the Lord JesusChrist.
Do you remember how the ark wasmade of wood, but then it was
covered with gold?
We have that spotless humanitypictured before us in the wood.
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And it was the Father who clavedthe wood.
So the Word of God says," A bodyhast Thou prepared Me." A body
was prepared so that the Soncould come, and that here He
could die- die for you and diefor me.
The sixth verse.
And Abraham took the wood of theburnt offering, and laid it upon
(10:32):
Isaac, his son, and he took thefire in his hand and a knife,
and they went both of themtogether.
He laid the wood upon Isaac, hisson.
All beloved brethren, that tookplace in Bethlehem's manger.
When the wood was laid uponGod's eternal Son, and He came
(10:57):
forth, born of a woman, a Babehere, who had been given the
body, prepared for Him, the woodlaid upon Him, in order that He
might be the sacrifice for sin.
He took the fire in his hand,and a knife, and they went both
of them together.
(11:18):
And so it is, beloved brethren,that when we look at Calvary, we
see there that it was the Fatherand the Son who went together to
Calvary.
The Lord Jesus could say of Hisdisciples that they would
forsake Him and He would be leftalone.
But then He says in John'sGospel, But I am not alone, for
(11:38):
the Father is with Me.
The Father is with Me.
They went, both of them,together.
But there was the fire, thejudgment, beloved brethren, that
was to fall upon the sacrifice.
It was to be a burnt offering.
God's judgment against sin,pictured in the fire.
The knife, the son was to beoffered up in sacrifice.
(12:02):
The seventh verse.
Isaac spake unto Abraham hisfather and said, My father.
And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold the fire andthe wood but where is the lamb
for the burnt Oh, brethren, Ibelieve, at least for my own
soul, that's particularly sweet.
The Lord Jesus makes no mentionof the knife.
(12:25):
The type, Isaac-- he makes nomention of the knife.
Just the fire and the wood.
Why is that?
As we have said, The wood is Hishumanity, the body that was
prepared for Him in order thatHe might die.
The fire, God's judgment, it wasto fall upon the sun.
(12:50):
But the knife, the Lord Jesus intype, if I could say it this
way, brethren, He takes nonotice of the knife.
Because John's gospel tells usthat He was going to lay down
His life.
He as the son was not going toneed anyone to take his life
from Him.
(13:10):
He had power to lay it down.
And he was to offer himselfwithout spot God.
Then we find the question isasked, but where is the lamb for
the burnt offering?
And that answer that so many ofus enjoy, have enjoyed so many
times.
My son God will provide Himselfa lamb for a burnt offering.
(13:34):
So they went, both of them,together.
Now brethren, I believe it'sparticularly lovely to notice
how over and over again herereference is made to the burnt.
That offering that speaksparticularly of the fragrance of
the sacrifice to God.
(13:54):
How the sacrifice was offeredwholly to God.
Consumed entirely upon thealtar.
It says here that God willprovide.
I suggest, brethren, thatperhaps at times we read this
verse as if what it said wasthat God will Himself provide.
(14:16):
But I believe in my own soulthat the emphasis, what the
Spirit of God is bringing beforeus is that God provides for
Himself the lamb, with the burntoffering.
The burnt offering is for God.
And God provides the sacrificethat is for Himself.
(14:36):
God will provide Himself a lambfor a burnt offering.
So they went, both of themtogether.
And they came to the place whichGod had told him of.
And Abraham built an altarthere, laid the wood in order,
bound Isaac his son, and laidhim on the altar upon the wood.
(14:57):
The time had come for theosun tobe offered up in sacrifice.
Beloved brethren, that time camenearly 2, 000 years ago now.
When God's own son, togetherwith His Father, came to
Calvary.
Came to that moment when theLord Jesus Himself could say,
(15:18):
"Now is the Son of Manglorified." The hour is come.
The hour is come.
But in the account that's givento us here, there is a
substitute provided for Isaac.
This is particularly lovely inconnection with a different type
that we will look at, perhaps ina few minutes.
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But we do find that there is asubstitute provided.
For Isaac, and the substitute isa ram.
Now, beloved brethren, the ramand the word of God is
particularly used in connectionwith consecration.
With a picture of particulardevotedness.
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And so when we drop down to the13th verse, it says, And Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked,and behold, behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horn.
And Abraham went and took theram and offered him up for a
burnt offering in the stead ofhis son.
(16:24):
Abraham, and he saw asubstitute.
Oh, beloved brethren, what awonderful intervention of God
for Abraham.
But there was no one, there wasno one to take the place of
God's Son.
He's not only pictured to us inIsaac, as far as the
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relationship in affectionbetween the Father and the Son.
But God's Son is pictured to usin the ram that was caught in a
thicket by his horn.
The ram of consecration.
That One, beloved brethren, Whowas held to Calvary's cross by
(17:11):
the very devotedness of Hisconsecration to the will and
purpose of God.
To think that this one wascaught, the ram was caught in a
thicket by his horn, the verysymbol of his power.
And so it was that the LordJesus at Calvary's cross, it was
(17:34):
the very devoted ness of Hisheart, the very strength of His
love that held Him there, butthere was also a thicket.
Caught in a thicket by hishorns.
And beloved brethren, I don'thave to look any further than my
own heart to find what thatthicket was.
(17:56):
My sins in all their awfulnessupon the blessed Savior at
Calvary.
Your sins and mine, this veryone, held there by the very
strength of His love.
But your sins and mine were uponHim at Calvary, if we belong to
Christ.
(18:17):
And so we find that the ram wasoffered up in the stead.
And so it is, beloved brethren,Calvary's work is finished.
And we look back now and we seea finished work.
Our hearts go out to One whodied for us at Calvary.
(18:37):
And as we pick up the thought,the thread, all the way through
the Word of God, of beinggathered by the Spirit of God,
according to the Word of God.
I trust it will ever be beforeus through these meetings, the
Lord should tarry that the Onewho speaks to our hearts is the
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One who was caught in a thicketby His horns, and who was
offered up in your stead and inmine.
There's a remarkable thing inthe 19th verse of our chapter.
It says, So Abraham returnedunto his young men.
No mention is made of Isaacreturning.
(19:22):
Now, we know from the accountthat Isaac was not offered up.
I know, at least I believe, Ishould say, that Isaac returned
with Abraham.
But God is bringing a picture, atype, before your heart and
mine.
And so in the type, Abrahamreturns alone.
The son has been offered up-intype- in that ram that died on
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the altar as the sacrifice.
The burnt offering for God.
I'd like you to turn back now tothe 21st chapter of Genesis for
a moment, and the 12th verse.
And God said unto Abraham, Letit not be grievous in thy sight,
because of the lad, and becauseof thy bondwoman.
(20:09):
In all that Sarah hath said untothee, hearken unto her voice.
For in Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
For in Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
Now if you will keep the place,please, in Genesis chapter 22.
And turn over to Hebrews chapter11 for a moment.
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Hebrews chapter 11.
And verse 17.
By faith Abraham, when he wastried, offered up Isaac.
And he that had received thepromises offered up his only
begotten son, of whom it wassaid that in Isaac shall thy
(20:51):
seed be called, accounting thatGod was able to raise Him up
even from the dead, from whencealso He received Him in a
figure.
Now, brethren, the second chordthat we find through this lovely
chapter is the outline in typeof the man of faith.
(21:11):
Abraham was a man of faith.
In Hebrews chapter 11 we have anumber of individuals mentioned
and what characterized those whoare mentioned there is that they
live by faith.
The faith that is mentioned inHebrews chapter 11 and that is
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brought before us here in thecase of Abraham is not so much
the faith that saves, but it isthe faith by which we live.
The faith that trusts God, thatrelies on His promises and acts
upon them.
And so we find in Genesischapter 21 that Abraham was
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given a promise.
The promise was in Isaac, shallthy seed be called.
That was a promise.
Abraham was to see grandchildrenand great grandchildren through
Isaac.
He was going to see a nationthat God had promised to him
raised up.
(22:17):
It would be through Isaac.
And now we come to the 22ndchapter and the second verse,
and God says to Abraham, Takenow thy son, thy only son,
Isaac, whom thou love us and getthee into the lamb of Mariah and
offer him therefore, a burntoffering upon one of the
mountains, which I will tellthee of.
(22:38):
And Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
Now Abraham go and offer upIsaac as a sacrifice, as a burnt
offering.
Did Abraham believe God'spromise?
The answer, brethren, is notfound directly in Genesis
chapter 22.
It is found in what he did.
But in Hebrews chapter 11, it isfound in what he fought.
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In Genesis chapter 22, the manof faith shows that he believed
God.
He rises up early in the morningand takes Isaac, his son.
Amen.
And they proceed to thatmountain that God showed him.
And there he binds his son toput him upon the altar, the
sacrifice.
(23:22):
And then we find that faith isanswered.
And as we've already noticed,there is a substitute for Isaac.
And the result is that Isaac isdelivered.
He doesn't have to die.
The man of faith believed thepromise and acted upon it.
(23:43):
And beloved brethren, acting infaith took him to the place
where he saw the ram caught in athicket by his horn.
He believed God and he took hisdirection from God.
The difficulties were overcomeby faith, and he ends up by
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calling the name of the place,"Jehovah Jireh", the Lord will
provide.
He had seen it.
O beloved brethren, if we'regoing to be in the place of the
Lord's choosing, if we're goingto be where the Lord would have
us to be according to His word,there must be first of all the
(24:30):
response of the heart thatresponds to that love told out
at Calvary.
There must then be faith to actupon God's promises.
Because, beloved brethren, to bein the place of the Lord's
choosing will not be easy, butit will indeed be blessed.
(24:51):
In Hebrews chapter 11 we're toldthat Abraham accounted that God
was able to raise him from thedead.
If I could put it this way,Abraham fought in his heart.
God has given me a promise.
Now if God wants me to kill myown son, I'll do it.
Because I have a promise fromGod, and if necessary, God can
(25:13):
raise him up from the dead.
You and I have been givenpromises too, beloved brethren.
We have been given promises! Andfaith lays hold of God's
promises and acts accordingly.
So we see in this chapter, thelovely picture of the man of
faith.
Believes God, acts accordingly,and lives to say, the Lord will
(25:37):
provide.
And now, beloved brethren, Iwould like to use the time we
have left to look at the thirdchord that's brought before us
in this chapter.
And that is the most lovely wayin which Abraham is led to the
one mountain- to the onemountain- where there was a ram
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caught in a thicket by hishorns.
You notice it says in the firstverse, God did tempt or try
Abraham.
That is, he was testing Abraham.
And said unto him, Abraham, andhe said, Behold, here I am.
If I could put it this way,brethren, we first of all see
Abraham's response to the firsttest.
(26:23):
The Lord wants to speak to him.
Does Abraham want to listen?
Beloved brethren, it may seemstrange to some here but I'm
sure I'm not the only one whohave met dear children of God,
who love the Lord Jesusearnestly, sincerely.
But when you seek to bringbefore them the truth, of the
(26:45):
one body, Christ, of beinggathered to the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and to His namealone, acting on the truth of
the One Body.
They very quickly give you tounderstand that they really
don't want to hear.
The man of faith says, here amI.
And he said, Take now thy son,thine only son Isaac, whom thou
(27:08):
lovest, and get thee into theland of Moriah, and offer him
there for a burnt offering uponone of the mountains that I will
tell thee of.
Brethren, how many mountainswere there in the land of
Moriah?
I have no idea.
But I do know that God had onemountain in mind where Abraham
(27:32):
was to go.
And beloved brethren, to me it'sbeen infinitely precious in
meditating upon this chapter torealize in my own soul that if
Abraham had gone to any othermountain, he would not have
found the ram caught in athicket by his horns.
There was one that the Lordwanted to take him to.
(27:53):
But there was a cost involved.
There was a cost.
Was Abraham prepared to pay thecost?
It meant offering up that whichwas very dear and very precious
to himself.
That which he loved.
That which he loved.
Brethren, this happens withGod's dear children.
(28:16):
As He seeks to lead them to thatmountaintop where they can view
the ram and in worship offer Himup.
Very often it means a sacrificethat can be very hard.
Sometimes it can mean beingseparated from loved ones,
separated from parents who don'tsee it the way you do.
(28:40):
Separated from brothers andsisters, sometimes from children
who don't see it the way you do.
The question that was put toAbraham here in type was,
there's a place, but will youpay the cost?
And Abraham's answer was that herose up early.
In the morning, and saddled hisass, and took two of his young
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men with him, and Isaac his son,claved the wood for the burnt
offering, and rose up, and wentunto the place of which God had
told him.
Oh, brethren, he wanted to bethere.
He wanted to be there.
He was willing to go.
He was earnestly willing to go,and he was willing to pay the
cost.
(29:21):
And so he goes to the place, buthe hasn't seen it yet.
And then we find in the fourthverse, on the third day, Abraham
lifted up his eyes, and saw theplace of afar off.
Lifted up his eyes.
Oh, beloved brethren, howprecious that is.
We will find it mentioned againlater on in this chapter.
(29:42):
The lifting up of the eyes, butto see the place, to see that
place, it was a mountaintop.
It was on a mountain, andAbraham had to get his eyes up.
He looked around, all he wouldsee was the plain, but there was
a mountain.
A place where the Lord wouldhave him to be.
And it tells us that it was onthe third day.
(30:04):
I believe we will notice, as welook at this subject further,
perhaps another night.
How often this subject of thethird day, of three days, comes
up in connection with the Lord'sordering to the place where he
would have us to be.
I'm sure that the thought in thethird day is to bring before us
(30:27):
the death and resurrection ofthe Lord Jesus Christ.
Because surely, brethren, it'sonly as we know that precious
truth that Jesus died for.ThatHe rose from the dead.
That Calvary's work is finished.
That we are seen dead and risenwith Him.
That we are going to be able toview the place where the Lord
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wants us to be.
Abraham said unto his young man,Abide ye here with the ass, and
I and the lad will go yonder andworship, and come again to you.
The young men had no moreacceptance at that place where
the Lord was leading Abrahamthan the dumb ass did.
(31:13):
Brethren, I believe the thoughtin the young men perhaps would
bring before us the thought ofthe energy of the flesh.
That youthful characteristicthat gives us to feel that
perhaps there's so many thingswe can do when we're young.
We're young and strong andhealthy and able to accomplish
so much.
(31:34):
In going to this place, there isno place there for the flesh.
It has to be left with the dumbass, the unclean animal.
It has no more value, no moreright to be there at the place
where the Lord was leadingAbraham and the dumb, unclean
(31:54):
ass.
The young men are left behind.
I sometimes think with our dearyoung people that this is one of
the things that is a snare tothem from going any further.
Dear young people, you're goingto have to leave many things
behind, too, if you're going toenjoy the precious privilege of
being at the place of the Lord'schoosing for you.
(32:16):
Sometimes, matter of fact, quiteoften, dear young people come to
the point where they feel thatthey really do see the place
where the Lord would have themto be but they don't want to
leave the young men.
They don't want to leave theiryouthful companions and those
things that the flesh entersinto.
(32:38):
They don't want to leave thosethings behind.
Put them in the place of theunclean ass.
They want to hold on to theyoung men, and so they don't go
any further.
And beloved brethren, that's atragedy.
Abraham, the man of faith,leaves the young men behind, and
then we find in the ninth verse,and they came to the place which
(33:01):
God had told him of.
Oh, beloved brethren, what aprivilege.
Abraham had journeyed.
He had been willing to pay thecost by God's grace, and he had
been brought, finally.
The young man left behind, theass left behind, he had come to
(33:21):
the place which God had told himof.
Now, beloved brethren, I submitto you that this chapter has not
been written simply as anoutline of the history of
Abraham.
The word of God says the thingsthat were written for a time
were written for our learningthat we through patience and
(33:44):
comfort of the scriptures mighthave hope.
And here we have our mostgraphic lesson.
The young men left behind, theass left behind.
The man of faith comes to theplace, led step by step, all his
direction from God.
(34:04):
And he comes to the place thatGod had told him of.
The 13th verse.
And Abraham lifted up his eyesand looked.
And behold, behind him a ramcaught in a thicket by his horn.
Oh, beloved brethren, how manymountains.
I believe I mentioned thisearlier.
But how many mountains, do youthink, had a ram caught in a
(34:28):
thicket by its horns on thatday?
You think all the mountains ofMoriah were thus equipped?
I don't believe so.
God had led the man of faith tothe place where the ram was
caught in the thicket by hishorn.
But to see the ram, Abraham hadto lift up his eyes and looked
(34:51):
and behold behind him.
Behind.
Brethren, I suggest to yourheart and to mine that we can
actually be in the very placewhere God would have us to be
and yet fail to see the RAMcaught in a thicket by his horns
(35:13):
because we don't lift up oureyes.
We find that our eyes and ourhearts and our minds are taken
up with the things around us.
We find that we, at times,perhaps, are more taken up with
the failures of our brethren.
More taken up with somethingthat was said or not said.
(35:34):
Something that was done or notdone.
More taken up with numbers, withwitness, with failure.
And brethren, you will never seethe ram if your eyes are looking
around.
But when our eyes are lifted upin the place where the Lord
would lead us to be, there wecan see the ram.
(35:58):
We can see the one who is thesacrifice for sin.
We can see that very lovelyPerson, our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the very midst, in that veryplace, where God would lead His
(36:20):
people, where he led Abraham intype.
Now he also had to look behindhim.
He had to look away from thethings that the heart and mind
are normally taken up with.
And to turn away from them.
But brethren, there was the ram.
And my beloved brethren, Isuggest to your heart and mine,
(36:41):
that God is still by His HolySpirit, leading His people to
where with eyes lifted up, onthe mountain that He tells of in
His word, we can see the Ram.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the onewho, out of the very devotedness
of His heart to God, went toCalvary and endured all that
(37:04):
Calvary meant to His holy soul.
I suggest to you too, my belovedbrethren, that in this third
type being led of God to theplace, the ram is brought before
us again, caught in the thicketby his horns.
(37:25):
Beloved brethren, wherever Godhas His people gathered
together, by His Holy Spirit, tothe name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord Jesus is thereaccording to His promise.
A promise that perhaps we willlook at another night.
(37:45):
But the fact remains He is thereaccording to His promise.
But what holds Him there is thestrength of His love, His horn.
It's the very strength of Hislove for his people that holds
Him there.
Because, beloved brethren, and Iknow that if the presence of the
(38:06):
Lord Jesus amongst the two orthree gathered to His name
depended upon theirfaithfulness, He would not be
there tonight.
If it depended upon thefaithfulness of the creature,
there would be no such testimonyin this world today.
But beloved brethren, I believethere is such a testimony.
(38:26):
And there amongst the two orthree gathered where the Lord
Jesus would have us to be.
We will find He is there, heldby the very strength of His own
love for us.
And beloved brethren, if we liftup our eyes, we will see Him.
We will see Him, and we willhave the privilege, by God's
(38:47):
grace, of offering Him up, onceagain, in worship.
Oh, beloved brethren, Calvary'swork will never be repeated.
The Lord Jesus is never going todie again for sin, but here In
this room on Lord's Day morning,if the Lord should tarry, many
(39:07):
of us, I trust, will have theprivilege of presenting before
God afresh that wonderful, BurntOffering, the merits, the worth,
the value of His own belovedSon, as by God's grace, by God's
grace, we will have theprivilege of being where the Ram
(39:33):
is caught in the thicket by Hishorns.
As a young man in my mid- twenties, I found this series of
four meetings by John Breretonon the"Divine Ground of
Gathering" to be very helpful inbringing forth principles in
scripture that start in the bookof Genesis and follow all the
way into the New Testament.
The following address is thefirst of the series of four
meetings.
John B (00:20):
It was suggested, brethren, that we might have a
number of meetings on thesubject that is often referred
to as the ground of gathering.
We find when we look at thiswonderful subject that to begin
any consideration of it, we mustneed to go back into the Old
Testament.
(00:40):
Because the concept of the Lordgathering a people to his name,
where he might enjoy theircompany around Himself, where
worship, prayer, godly order anddiscipline might be exercised,
(01:03):
is found in the Old Testamentjust as well as it is found in
the New.
In considering this subject, Ihad a particular exercise
because, brethren, I believe,when we consider a subject like
the ground of gathering, how theLord would have us to meet
together collectively and where-there is always a danger of it
(01:27):
becoming an intellectualexercise and not that which
engages the heart's affection.
Well, I believe in my own soulthat God has very I thought
(01:55):
tonight for our first meetingthat we might look at the twenty
second chapter of Genesis.
We'll begin reading with verseone.
And it came to pass, after thesethings, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him,Abraham, and he said, Behold,
here I am.
(02:15):
And he said, Take now thy son,thine only son Isaac, whom thou
lovest, and get thee into theland of Moriah, and offer him
there for a burnt offering uponone of the mountains, which I
will tell thee of.
And Abraham rose up early in themorning, and saddled his ass,
(02:38):
and took two of his young menwith him, and Isaac his son, and
claved the wood for the burntoffering, and rose up and went
unto the place of which God hadtold him.
Then on the third day, Abrahamlifted up his eyes, and saw the
place far off.
(02:59):
And Abraham said unto his youngmen, Abide ye here with the ass,
and I and the lad will goyonder, and worship, and come
again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of theburnt offering, and laid it upon
Isaac his son, and he took thefire in his hand, and a knife.
(03:21):
And they went, both of them,together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham hisfather, and said, My father.
And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold the fire andthe wood, but where is the lamb
for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, Godwill provide himself a lamb for
(03:45):
a burnt offering.
So they went, both of them,together.
And they came to the place whichGod had told him of.
And Abraham built an altarthere, and laid the wood in
order, and bound Isaac his son,and laid him on the altar upon
(04:07):
the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth hishand, and took the knife to slay
his son.
And the angel of the Lord calledunto him out of heaven and said
Abraham.
And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine handupon the lad.
(04:28):
Neither do thou anything untohim, for now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou hastnot withheld thy son, thine only
son, from Me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes,and looked, and behold behind
him a ram caught in a thicket byhis horn.
(04:52):
And Abraham went and took theram, and offered him up for a
burnt offering.
In the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name ofthat place, Jehovah Jira.
As it is said to this day, inthe Mount of the Lord,"it shall
be seen." And the angel of theLord called unto Abraham out of
(05:16):
heaven the second time and said,By Myself, have I sworn saith
the Lord?
For because thou hast done thisthing, and hast not withheld thy
son, thine only son, that inblessing I will bless thee, and
in multiplying I will multiplythy seed as the stars of the
(05:40):
heaven and as the sand which isupon the seashore and thy seed
shall possess the gate of hisenemies.
And in thy seed shall all thenations of the earth be blessed
because thou hast obeyed Myvoice.
So Abraham returned unto hisyoung men and they rose up and
(06:01):
went together to Beersheba andAbraham dwelt at Beersheba.
I believe it's the book ofEcclesiastes that makes
reference to the"three- foldcord" that is not easily broken.
And brethren, I believe we findin this chapter, in a most
(06:24):
remarkable way, how God haswoven a three fold cord.
And I believe if we have thethree aspects, the three strands
of the cord before us, as welook at the subject of the
ground of gathering, we willfind that it is not simply a
(06:45):
matter of knowledge.
It isn't simply a matter ofknowing the place, but there is
a matter of faith to walk in thepath that God marks out.
What I would like to do tonight,for the time we have before us,
is to really go through thischapter three times and to
(07:05):
follow each one of the cords asthe Lord gives us to see them.
The first and most preciouschord that we have brought
before us in this chapter isthat of the Father and the Son.
We find that in the first verse,God did try, or tempt Abraham.
(07:31):
And in the second verse, hesaid, take now thy son, thine
only son, Isaac, whom thoulovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah, and offer him.
Offer him there for a burntoffering.
Oh, beloved brethren, how Godthe Father was revealing, in
(07:56):
this account of Abraham andIsaac, that wondrous revelation
of grace that was to be madeknown so many centuries later,
when here in this world, afather and a son would go to an
altar of sacrifice together, andthere the father would see his
(08:19):
son offered up as a sacrificefor sin.
And so He speaks of thy son,thine only son, Isaac, whom thou
lovest.
Oh, God knew the love thatAbraham had for his son, but it
was just a pale reflection ofthe love that the father had for
(08:42):
his son.
That love, beloved brethren,that existed from a past
eternity.
When the word of God speaks ofthe Lord Jesus as the Son.
It isn't with any thought ofinferiority to the Father.
It isn't that his stature is anyless, His power any less.
(09:03):
But it brings before our heartsa relationship, an affection
that exists between the Fatherand His son.
And so when we read the Fathersent the Son to be the Savior of
the world, how much more,beloved brethren, that is than
if it simply had said that theFather sent Jesus.
(09:26):
It was His Son.
And here Isaac- the type of theSon is to be offered up as a
sacrifice.
We find in the third verse, itsays Abraham rose up early in
the morning and saddled his assand took two of his young men
with him, and Isaac his son, andclaved the wood for the burnt
(09:47):
offering.
Claved the wood.
I believe, beloved brethren, thethought in the wood is the
humanity of the Lord JesusChrist.
Do you remember how the ark wasmade of wood, but then it was
covered with gold?
We have that spotless humanitypictured before us in the wood.
(10:09):
And it was the Father who clavedthe wood.
So the Word of God says," A bodyhast Thou prepared Me." A body
was prepared so that the Soncould come, and that here He
could die- die for you and diefor me.
The sixth verse.
And Abraham took the wood of theburnt offering, and laid it upon
(10:32):
Isaac, his son, and he took thefire in his hand and a knife,
and they went both of themtogether.
He laid the wood upon Isaac, hisson.
All beloved brethren, that tookplace in Bethlehem's manger.
When the wood was laid uponGod's eternal Son, and He came
(10:57):
forth, born of a woman, a Babehere, who had been given the
body, prepared for Him, the woodlaid upon Him, in order that He
might be the sacrifice for sin.
He took the fire in his hand,and a knife, and they went both
of them together.
(11:18):
And so it is, beloved brethren,that when we look at Calvary, we
see there that it was the Fatherand the Son who went together to
Calvary.
The Lord Jesus could say of Hisdisciples that they would
forsake Him and He would be leftalone.
But then He says in John'sGospel, But I am not alone, for
(11:38):
the Father is with Me.
The Father is with Me.
They went, both of them,together.
But there was the fire, thejudgment, beloved brethren, that
was to fall upon the sacrifice.
It was to be a burnt offering.
God's judgment against sin,pictured in the fire.
The knife, the son was to beoffered up in sacrifice.
(12:02):
The seventh verse.
Isaac spake unto Abraham hisfather and said, My father.
And he said, Here am I, my son.
And he said, Behold the fire andthe wood but where is the lamb
for the burnt Oh, brethren, Ibelieve, at least for my own
soul, that's particularly sweet.
The Lord Jesus makes no mentionof the knife.
(12:25):
The type, Isaac-- he makes nomention of the knife.
Just the fire and the wood.
Why is that?
As we have said, The wood is Hishumanity, the body that was
prepared for Him in order thatHe might die.
The fire, God's judgment, it wasto fall upon the sun.
(12:50):
But the knife, the Lord Jesus intype, if I could say it this
way, brethren, He takes nonotice of the knife.
Because John's gospel tells usthat He was going to lay down
His life.
He as the son was not going toneed anyone to take his life
from Him.
(13:10):
He had power to lay it down.
And he was to offer himselfwithout spot God.
Then we find the question isasked, but where is the lamb for
the burnt offering?
And that answer that so many ofus enjoy, have enjoyed so many
times.
My son God will provide Himselfa lamb for a burnt offering.
(13:34):
So they went, both of them,together.
Now brethren, I believe it'sparticularly lovely to notice
how over and over again herereference is made to the burnt.
That offering that speaksparticularly of the fragrance of
the sacrifice to God.
(13:54):
How the sacrifice was offeredwholly to God.
Consumed entirely upon thealtar.
It says here that God willprovide.
I suggest, brethren, thatperhaps at times we read this
verse as if what it said wasthat God will Himself provide.
(14:16):
But I believe in my own soulthat the emphasis, what the
Spirit of God is bringing beforeus is that God provides for
Himself the lamb, with the burntoffering.
The burnt offering is for God.
And God provides the sacrificethat is for Himself.
(14:36):
God will provide Himself a lambfor a burnt offering.
So they went, both of themtogether.
And they came to the place whichGod had told him of.
And Abraham built an altarthere, laid the wood in order,
bound Isaac his son, and laidhim on the altar upon the wood.
(14:57):
The time had come for theosun tobe offered up in sacrifice.
Beloved brethren, that time camenearly 2, 000 years ago now.
When God's own son, togetherwith His Father, came to
Calvary.
Came to that moment when theLord Jesus Himself could say,
(15:18):
"Now is the Son of Manglorified." The hour is come.
The hour is come.
But in the account that's givento us here, there is a
substitute provided for Isaac.
This is particularly lovely inconnection with a different type
that we will look at, perhaps ina few minutes.
(15:39):
But we do find that there is asubstitute provided.
For Isaac, and the substitute isa ram.
Now, beloved brethren, the ramand the word of God is
particularly used in connectionwith consecration.
With a picture of particulardevotedness.
(16:00):
And so when we drop down to the13th verse, it says, And Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked,and behold, behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horn.
And Abraham went and took theram and offered him up for a
burnt offering in the stead ofhis son.
(16:24):
Abraham, and he saw asubstitute.
Oh, beloved brethren, what awonderful intervention of God
for Abraham.
But there was no one, there wasno one to take the place of
God's Son.
He's not only pictured to us inIsaac, as far as the
(16:47):
relationship in affectionbetween the Father and the Son.
But God's Son is pictured to usin the ram that was caught in a
thicket by his horn.
The ram of consecration.
That One, beloved brethren, Whowas held to Calvary's cross by
(17:11):
the very devotedness of Hisconsecration to the will and
purpose of God.
To think that this one wascaught, the ram was caught in a
thicket by his horn, the verysymbol of his power.
And so it was that the LordJesus at Calvary's cross, it was
(17:34):
the very devoted ness of Hisheart, the very strength of His
love that held Him there, butthere was also a thicket.
Caught in a thicket by hishorns.
And beloved brethren, I don'thave to look any further than my
own heart to find what thatthicket was.
(17:56):
My sins in all their awfulnessupon the blessed Savior at
Calvary.
Your sins and mine, this veryone, held there by the very
strength of His love.
But your sins and mine were uponHim at Calvary, if we belong to
Christ.
(18:17):
And so we find that the ram wasoffered up in the stead.
And so it is, beloved brethren,Calvary's work is finished.
And we look back now and we seea finished work.
Our hearts go out to One whodied for us at Calvary.
(18:37):
And as we pick up the thought,the thread, all the way through
the Word of God, of beinggathered by the Spirit of God,
according to the Word of God.
I trust it will ever be beforeus through these meetings, the
Lord should tarry that the Onewho speaks to our hearts is the
(18:59):
One who was caught in a thicketby His horns, and who was
offered up in your stead and inmine.
There's a remarkable thing inthe 19th verse of our chapter.
It says, So Abraham returnedunto his young men.
No mention is made of Isaacreturning.
(19:22):
Now, we know from the accountthat Isaac was not offered up.
I know, at least I believe, Ishould say, that Isaac returned
with Abraham.
But God is bringing a picture, atype, before your heart and
mine.
And so in the type, Abrahamreturns alone.
The son has been offered up-intype- in that ram that died on
(19:48):
the altar as the sacrifice.
The burnt offering for God.
I'd like you to turn back now tothe 21st chapter of Genesis for
a moment, and the 12th verse.
And God said unto Abraham, Letit not be grievous in thy sight,
because of the lad, and becauseof thy bondwoman.
(20:09):
In all that Sarah hath said untothee, hearken unto her voice.
For in Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
For in Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
Now if you will keep the place,please, in Genesis chapter 22.
And turn over to Hebrews chapter11 for a moment.
(20:29):
Hebrews chapter 11.
And verse 17.
By faith Abraham, when he wastried, offered up Isaac.
And he that had received thepromises offered up his only
begotten son, of whom it wassaid that in Isaac shall thy
(20:51):
seed be called, accounting thatGod was able to raise Him up
even from the dead, from whencealso He received Him in a
figure.
Now, brethren, the second chordthat we find through this lovely
chapter is the outline in typeof the man of faith.
(21:11):
Abraham was a man of faith.
In Hebrews chapter 11 we have anumber of individuals mentioned
and what characterized those whoare mentioned there is that they
live by faith.
The faith that is mentioned inHebrews chapter 11 and that is
(21:32):
brought before us here in thecase of Abraham is not so much
the faith that saves, but it isthe faith by which we live.
The faith that trusts God, thatrelies on His promises and acts
upon them.
And so we find in Genesischapter 21 that Abraham was
(21:57):
given a promise.
The promise was in Isaac, shallthy seed be called.
That was a promise.
Abraham was to see grandchildrenand great grandchildren through
Isaac.
He was going to see a nationthat God had promised to him
raised up.
(22:17):
It would be through Isaac.
And now we come to the 22ndchapter and the second verse,
and God says to Abraham, Takenow thy son, thy only son,
Isaac, whom thou love us and getthee into the lamb of Mariah and
offer him therefore, a burntoffering upon one of the
mountains, which I will tellthee of.
(22:38):
And Isaac shall thy seed becalled.
Now Abraham go and offer upIsaac as a sacrifice, as a burnt
offering.
Did Abraham believe God'spromise?
The answer, brethren, is notfound directly in Genesis
chapter 22.
It is found in what he did.
But in Hebrews chapter 11, it isfound in what he fought.
(23:01):
In Genesis chapter 22, the manof faith shows that he believed
God.
He rises up early in the morningand takes Isaac, his son.
Amen.
And they proceed to thatmountain that God showed him.
And there he binds his son toput him upon the altar, the
sacrifice.
(23:22):
And then we find that faith isanswered.
And as we've already noticed,there is a substitute for Isaac.
And the result is that Isaac isdelivered.
He doesn't have to die.
The man of faith believed thepromise and acted upon it.
(23:43):
And beloved brethren, acting infaith took him to the place
where he saw the ram caught in athicket by his horn.
He believed God and he took hisdirection from God.
The difficulties were overcomeby faith, and he ends up by
(24:06):
calling the name of the place,"Jehovah Jireh", the Lord will
provide.
He had seen it.
O beloved brethren, if we'regoing to be in the place of the
Lord's choosing, if we're goingto be where the Lord would have
us to be according to His word,there must be first of all the
(24:30):
response of the heart thatresponds to that love told out
at Calvary.
There must then be faith to actupon God's promises.
Because, beloved brethren, to bein the place of the Lord's
choosing will not be easy, butit will indeed be blessed.
(24:51):
In Hebrews chapter 11 we're toldthat Abraham accounted that God
was able to raise him from thedead.
If I could put it this way,Abraham fought in his heart.
God has given me a promise.
Now if God wants me to kill myown son, I'll do it.
Because I have a promise fromGod, and if necessary, God can
(25:13):
raise him up from the dead.
You and I have been givenpromises too, beloved brethren.
We have been given promises! Andfaith lays hold of God's
promises and acts accordingly.
So we see in this chapter, thelovely picture of the man of
faith.
Believes God, acts accordingly,and lives to say, the Lord will
(25:37):
provide.
And now, beloved brethren, Iwould like to use the time we
have left to look at the thirdchord that's brought before us
in this chapter.
And that is the most lovely wayin which Abraham is led to the
one mountain- to the onemountain- where there was a ram
(26:01):
caught in a thicket by hishorns.
You notice it says in the firstverse, God did tempt or try
Abraham.
That is, he was testing Abraham.
And said unto him, Abraham, andhe said, Behold, here I am.
If I could put it this way,brethren, we first of all see
Abraham's response to the firsttest.
(26:23):
The Lord wants to speak to him.
Does Abraham want to listen?
Beloved brethren, it may seemstrange to some here but I'm
sure I'm not the only one whohave met dear children of God,
who love the Lord Jesusearnestly, sincerely.
But when you seek to bringbefore them the truth, of the
(26:45):
one body, Christ, of beinggathered to the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and to His namealone, acting on the truth of
the One Body.
They very quickly give you tounderstand that they really
don't want to hear.
The man of faith says, here amI.
And he said, Take now thy son,thine only son Isaac, whom thou
(27:08):
lovest, and get thee into theland of Moriah, and offer him
there for a burnt offering uponone of the mountains that I will
tell thee of.
Brethren, how many mountainswere there in the land of
Moriah?
I have no idea.
But I do know that God had onemountain in mind where Abraham
(27:32):
was to go.
And beloved brethren, to me it'sbeen infinitely precious in
meditating upon this chapter torealize in my own soul that if
Abraham had gone to any othermountain, he would not have
found the ram caught in athicket by his horns.
There was one that the Lordwanted to take him to.
(27:53):
But there was a cost involved.
There was a cost.
Was Abraham prepared to pay thecost?
It meant offering up that whichwas very dear and very precious
to himself.
That which he loved.
That which he loved.
Brethren, this happens withGod's dear children.
(28:16):
As He seeks to lead them to thatmountaintop where they can view
the ram and in worship offer Himup.
Very often it means a sacrificethat can be very hard.
Sometimes it can mean beingseparated from loved ones,
separated from parents who don'tsee it the way you do.
(28:40):
Separated from brothers andsisters, sometimes from children
who don't see it the way you do.
The question that was put toAbraham here in type was,
there's a place, but will youpay the cost?
And Abraham's answer was that herose up early.
In the morning, and saddled hisass, and took two of his young
(29:00):
men with him, and Isaac his son,claved the wood for the burnt
offering, and rose up, and wentunto the place of which God had
told him.
Oh, brethren, he wanted to bethere.
He wanted to be there.
He was willing to go.
He was earnestly willing to go,and he was willing to pay the
cost.
(29:21):
And so he goes to the place, buthe hasn't seen it yet.
And then we find in the fourthverse, on the third day, Abraham
lifted up his eyes, and saw theplace of afar off.
Lifted up his eyes.
Oh, beloved brethren, howprecious that is.
We will find it mentioned againlater on in this chapter.
(29:42):
The lifting up of the eyes, butto see the place, to see that
place, it was a mountaintop.
It was on a mountain, andAbraham had to get his eyes up.
He looked around, all he wouldsee was the plain, but there was
a mountain.
A place where the Lord wouldhave him to be.
And it tells us that it was onthe third day.
(30:04):
I believe we will notice, as welook at this subject further,
perhaps another night.
How often this subject of thethird day, of three days, comes
up in connection with the Lord'sordering to the place where he
would have us to be.
I'm sure that the thought in thethird day is to bring before us
(30:27):
the death and resurrection ofthe Lord Jesus Christ.
Because surely, brethren, it'sonly as we know that precious
truth that Jesus died for.ThatHe rose from the dead.
That Calvary's work is finished.
That we are seen dead and risenwith Him.
That we are going to be able toview the place where the Lord
(30:51):
wants us to be.
Abraham said unto his young man,Abide ye here with the ass, and
I and the lad will go yonder andworship, and come again to you.
The young men had no moreacceptance at that place where
the Lord was leading Abrahamthan the dumb ass did.
(31:13):
Brethren, I believe the thoughtin the young men perhaps would
bring before us the thought ofthe energy of the flesh.
That youthful characteristicthat gives us to feel that
perhaps there's so many thingswe can do when we're young.
We're young and strong andhealthy and able to accomplish
so much.
(31:34):
In going to this place, there isno place there for the flesh.
It has to be left with the dumbass, the unclean animal.
It has no more value, no moreright to be there at the place
where the Lord was leadingAbraham and the dumb, unclean
(31:54):
ass.
The young men are left behind.
I sometimes think with our dearyoung people that this is one of
the things that is a snare tothem from going any further.
Dear young people, you're goingto have to leave many things
behind, too, if you're going toenjoy the precious privilege of
being at the place of the Lord'schoosing for you.
(32:16):
Sometimes, matter of fact, quiteoften, dear young people come to
the point where they feel thatthey really do see the place
where the Lord would have themto be but they don't want to
leave the young men.
They don't want to leave theiryouthful companions and those
things that the flesh entersinto.
(32:38):
They don't want to leave thosethings behind.
Put them in the place of theunclean ass.
They want to hold on to theyoung men, and so they don't go
any further.
And beloved brethren, that's atragedy.
Abraham, the man of faith,leaves the young men behind, and
then we find in the ninth verse,and they came to the place which
(33:01):
God had told him of.
Oh, beloved brethren, what aprivilege.
Abraham had journeyed.
He had been willing to pay thecost by God's grace, and he had
been brought, finally.
The young man left behind, theass left behind, he had come to
(33:21):
the place which God had told himof.
Now, beloved brethren, I submitto you that this chapter has not
been written simply as anoutline of the history of
Abraham.
The word of God says the thingsthat were written for a time
were written for our learningthat we through patience and
(33:44):
comfort of the scriptures mighthave hope.
And here we have our mostgraphic lesson.
The young men left behind, theass left behind.
The man of faith comes to theplace, led step by step, all his
direction from God.
(34:04):
And he comes to the place thatGod had told him of.
The 13th verse.
And Abraham lifted up his eyesand looked.
And behold, behind him a ramcaught in a thicket by his horn.
Oh, beloved brethren, how manymountains.
I believe I mentioned thisearlier.
But how many mountains, do youthink, had a ram caught in a
(34:28):
thicket by its horns on thatday?
You think all the mountains ofMoriah were thus equipped?
I don't believe so.
God had led the man of faith tothe place where the ram was
caught in the thicket by hishorn.
But to see the ram, Abraham hadto lift up his eyes and looked
(34:51):
and behold behind him.
Behind.
Brethren, I suggest to yourheart and to mine that we can
actually be in the very placewhere God would have us to be
and yet fail to see the RAMcaught in a thicket by his horns
(35:13):
because we don't lift up oureyes.
We find that our eyes and ourhearts and our minds are taken
up with the things around us.
We find that we, at times,perhaps, are more taken up with
the failures of our brethren.
More taken up with somethingthat was said or not said.
(35:34):
Something that was done or notdone.
More taken up with numbers, withwitness, with failure.
And brethren, you will never seethe ram if your eyes are looking
around.
But when our eyes are lifted upin the place where the Lord
would lead us to be, there wecan see the ram.
(35:58):
We can see the one who is thesacrifice for sin.
We can see that very lovelyPerson, our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the very midst, in that veryplace, where God would lead His
(36:20):
people, where he led Abraham intype.
Now he also had to look behindhim.
He had to look away from thethings that the heart and mind
are normally taken up with.
And to turn away from them.
But brethren, there was the ram.
And my beloved brethren, Isuggest to your heart and mine,
(36:41):
that God is still by His HolySpirit, leading His people to
where with eyes lifted up, onthe mountain that He tells of in
His word, we can see the Ram.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the onewho, out of the very devotedness
of His heart to God, went toCalvary and endured all that
(37:04):
Calvary meant to His holy soul.
I suggest to you too, my belovedbrethren, that in this third
type being led of God to theplace, the ram is brought before
us again, caught in the thicketby his horns.
(37:25):
Beloved brethren, wherever Godhas His people gathered
together, by His Holy Spirit, tothe name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord Jesus is thereaccording to His promise.
A promise that perhaps we willlook at another night.
(37:45):
But the fact remains He is thereaccording to His promise.
But what holds Him there is thestrength of His love, His horn.
It's the very strength of Hislove for his people that holds
Him there.
Because, beloved brethren, and Iknow that if the presence of the
(38:06):
Lord Jesus amongst the two orthree gathered to His name
depended upon theirfaithfulness, He would not be
there tonight.
If it depended upon thefaithfulness of the creature,
there would be no such testimonyin this world today.
But beloved brethren, I believethere is such a testimony.
(38:26):
And there amongst the two orthree gathered where the Lord
Jesus would have us to be.
We will find He is there, heldby the very strength of His own
love for us.
And beloved brethren, if we liftup our eyes, we will see Him.
We will see Him, and we willhave the privilege, by God's
(38:47):
grace, of offering Him up, onceagain, in worship.
Oh, beloved brethren, Calvary'swork will never be repeated.
The Lord Jesus is never going todie again for sin, but here In
this room on Lord's Day morning,if the Lord should tarry, many
(39:07):
of us, I trust, will have theprivilege of presenting before
God afresh that wonderful, BurntOffering, the merits, the worth,
the value of His own belovedSon, as by God's grace, by God's
grace, we will have theprivilege of being where the Ram
(39:33):
is caught in the thicket by Hishorns.
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