May 10, 2025 • 30 mins
John Brereton continues this Part 3 (first half of meeting) of 4 addresses from the late 1970's on these truths found from 'cover to cover' in the scriptures regarding as to how, where and Whom to meet unto.
Romans 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
We find here the God-given authority to turn to that which was written aforetime — to that which was written before the Book of Romans was written — indeed to go back to the earliest parts of the Word of God, because we are told that they have been “written for our learning.” When we minimize or turn away from the truth contained in pictures and principles found in the Old Testament, we are turning away from that which was written for our learning.
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Episode Transcript
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Mark (00:00):
We now come to the third in a series of four meeting
delivered in the late 1970's byJohn Brereton, who went to be
with the Lord Jesus shortly afew years after at the young age
of 49.
In this third meeting we pick upthe transistion that our brother
John is making on the divineground of gathering that God
would desire to meet with mansince the early pages of Genesis
(00:22):
and now we see His Son JesusChrist here in the pages of the
gospels in the New Testamentdisclosing more of God's
thoughts of what this divineground of gathering would be
with Him.
This is the first half of thisthird meeting.
The second half of the meetingshould be in the link below.
I would like to pick up thesubject that we were talking
about this afternoon by turningto the fourth chapter of John's
(00:47):
Gospel.
We have followed over a periodof approximately 1, 000 years
through the Old Testament, thattestimony that God established
at Jerusalem that wascharacterized by the Lord's name
being there.
By it being a place for worship,by it being a place where
(01:16):
binding decisions could berendered for God's people, and
where prayer could be madecollectively in connection with
what God had raised up atJerusalem.
We found how this testimony wasmaintained in spite of weakness
(01:38):
and failure.
That those who were there atJerusalem in Ezra's time offered
a sacrifice on behalf of allIsrael, holding out before God
that they still recognized thatthey were one nation made up of
12 tribes.
(02:00):
And then we found how that some500 years later at Jerusalem,
there was still a feeble companywho recognized that God's center
was there.
We see Mary and Joseph going upto Jerusalem to present Jesus
before the Lord.
(02:21):
We find Simeon, Anna, we findZacharias and Elizabeth, and we
found, lastly, at the close ofthe meeting this afternoon, that
in that little picture that isgiven to us in connection with
the Lord Jesus at 12 years ofage, that in departing from
(02:42):
Jerusalem, God's center, theyleft the Lord behind.
And only by returning toJerusalem could they once again
be found where the Lord was inthe midst.
But brethren, that Old Testamenthistory that is given to us of
(03:04):
God for our learning, that weread and meditate upon, I trust,
with profit, finds a conclusionin one sense here in the fourth
chapter of John's Gospel.
The twentieth verse,"Our fathersworshipped in this mountain, and
(03:25):
ye say that in Jerusalem is theplace where men ought to
worship.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman,believe me, the hour cometh when
ye shall neither in thismountain nor yet in Jerusalem
worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what.
We know what we worship, forsalvation is of the Jews.
(03:47):
But the hour cometh, and now is,when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit andin truth, for the Father seeketh
such to worship Him." Now,beloved brethren, we find here
that God has not given up Hisdesire for worshippers.
(04:11):
It specifically tells us" forthe Father seeketh such to
worship Him.
But it was no longer to be atJerusalem.
The hour cometh, and now is,when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit andin truth.
(04:36):
And in the 21st verse, the LordJesus says,"The hour cometh when
ye shall neither in thismountain nor yet at Jerusalem."
And so we find that having gonethrough the many passages
referred to in the OldTestament, and of having
(04:57):
gathered, I trust, manyprinciples that will be of vital
importance in instructing us indirecting our search in the New
Testament.
The fact remains that Jerusalem-as the center- where the Lord's
name was placed, where thepeople were to go as worshipers,
(05:23):
where prayer was to be directedto and at, where binding
decisions were to be sought, wasno longer to prevail.
Jerusalem was to be set aside.
And the hour came, and now is,when it was not to be a
Jerusalem.
(05:45):
But God was going to introducethat which would supersede
Jerusalem.
Where many of the very sameprinciples that we've already
noticed will apply.
Where God would still have apeople that He would gather
(06:05):
around Himself in the person ofthe Son.
Where the Lord Jesus would havethose who would be the joy of
His heart gathered aroundHimself.
But not at a geographical placelike Jerusalem.
(06:26):
Could we turn now to Matthewchapter 16.
Matthew chapter 16 and verse 13.
When Jesus came into the coastsof Caesarea Philippi,"He asked
His disciples saying, Whom domen say that I, the Son of Man,
am?
And they said, Some say thatthou art John the Baptist, some
(06:49):
Elias, and others Jeremias, orone of the prophets." He saith
unto them, But whom say ye thatI am?
And Simon Peter answered andsaid, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said untohim, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona.
(07:10):
For flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee thatthou art Peter.
And upon this rock I will buildmy church.
And the gates of hell shall notprevail against it.
(07:32):
Before I go into what I have onmy heart in connection with this
passage, I would like to clearup, if I may, the thought,
perhaps, in some minds here,concerning the expression"The
church." Now, beloved brethren,the word church simply means
(07:54):
"assembly." It does not everrefer to a building.
It does not ever refer to somepeculiar denomination of
professing believers.
It is the assembly.
(08:17):
In some instances in the word ofGod, it is the assembly made up
of every believer on the face ofthe earth- the body of Christ-
the assembly.
In other instances, it refers tothe local expression of that
(08:40):
company.
That is the local assembly.
We read about the churches orassemblies in Galatia, for
instance.
And this refers to those localgatherings of the children of
God gathered scripturallyaccording to the mind of God who
(09:05):
act in their local gathering onbehalf of the one body of
Christ.
Not so very long ago, a man thatmany of us know here met
ordained minister whom he knewwas a child of God, and this man
(09:25):
asked our brother, he said,"whatchurch do you belong to?" And
the answer that he gave, Ithought, was an exceedingly wise
one.
"He said, brother, I belong tothe same church that you do."
And after the man got over hisinitial surprise.
(09:45):
He all of a sudden said,"Oh, Isee what you mean.
You're talking about the churchin the broad sense." And our
brother's answer to that was, hesaid,"No, I'm talking about the
church in the only sense inwhich the Word of God talks of
the church." And when the LordJesus speaks here and says,"Upon
(10:09):
this rock I will build mychurch." That refers to the
assembly made up of everybeliever in the Lord Jesus
Christ on the face of thisearth.
He was about to build somethingnew that had never existed in
(10:35):
the world before- the assembly.
Now we find here in Matthewchapter 16 that which
corresponds in the New Testamentto what we found in Genesis
chapter 22 in the Old Testament.
(10:56):
We find brought before us herein the most lovely way- the
Father and the Son.
We find Peter confessing Jesusas the Christ, the son of the
living God.
(11:17):
We find the Lord Jesusconfessing the Father.
He says"flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto you, but my
Father, which is in heaven." Andso as in Genesis 22, we had the
father and the son, so here wehave the Father and the Son.
(11:42):
In Genesis chapter 22, we hadthe man of faith in the person
of Abraham, who acted on thatwhich had been revealed to him.
He acted on the revelation inIsaac, shall thy seed be called.
Here we have the man of faith inPeter, who acts upon the
(12:05):
revelation that was made to him.
The revelation,"Thou art theChrist, the Son of the Living
God." And lastly, in Genesischapter 22, we found that God
had a place.
(12:27):
God was about to establish uponthat Mount Moriah, that which
would bear His name and where Hewould have His people to go.
And here we find that the LordJesus speaks of that which He is
(12:49):
soon to establish.
"I will build my church." Andbeloved brethren, when we go
back into the Old Testament, wefind that God has written for
our learning, that which webring into the New Testament and
see confirmed.
(13:11):
That God still makes known to usthe Father and the Son, and the
wondrous relationship that ledthem both to Calvary, to see the
Son offered up in sacrifice.
We see in the New Testament,it's still a matter of faith,
(13:32):
acting on the revelation thatGod has given.
And we see, too, that there isto be again raised up of God,
built by the Lord Jesus Christ,His church here in this world.
(13:55):
Now, he tells us in Matthew,chapter 18, something further
concerning this church orassembly, Matthew chapter 18 and
verse 15,"Moreover, if thybrother shall trespass against
(14:17):
thee, go and tell him his faultbetween thee and him alone.
If he shall hear thee, thou hastgained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee,thou take, then take with thee
one or two more, that in themouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established.
(14:38):
And if he shall neglect to hearthem, tell it unto the church.
But if he neglect to hear thechurch, let him be unto thee as
an heathen man and a publican.
Verily I say unto you,whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth.
shall be bound in heaven, andwhatsoever ye shall loose on
(15:03):
earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, I say unto you, that iftwo of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that theyshall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father, which is inheaven.
For where two or three aregathered together, in My name,
(15:27):
there am I in the midst ofthem." Now, you recall how back
in the 16th chapter ofDeuteronomy, we were told that
in the event of sin beingintroduced amongst God's people,
that at the mouth of two orthree witnesses, it was to be
(15:50):
dealt with and the one who wasguilty was to be expelled.
He was, in the case of Israel,to be stoned.
We find here in Matthew chapter18 that again, the principle
applies in the mouth of two orthree witnesses shall every word
(16:12):
be established.
We found back in Deuteronomychapter 17 that in the event of
difficulties, questions thatthey could not answer they were
to go to the place where theLord had said His name, and
there they would be given thatdecision, that was to be binding
(16:36):
upon them, and they were to actaccordingly.
Here we find that the Word ofGod says,"Whatsoever ye shall
bind in earth shall be bound inheaven, and whatsoever ye shall
loose on earth shall be loosedin heaven." The same principle.
(16:56):
The same direction.
The same order.
Now it was to be the assemblythat was to render that
government, that direction, thatdecision, which was then to be
binding because it was ratifiedin heaven.
(17:18):
Lastly, we noticed in 1 Kingschapter 8, how that prayer was
connected with the temple thatwas built at Jerusalem.
And when prayer was directedtowards God's center at
Jerusalem, they were tocollectively recognize, even in
(17:43):
prayer, that God's center wasthere.
Now we find, again, prayerconnected with the assembly.
For it says, That if two of youshall agree on earth as touching
anything that they shall ask, itshall be done for them of my
(18:04):
Father which is in heaven.
Lastly, we notice how inconnection with that place
established by God, the name ofthe Lord was there.
He chose it to place His namethere.
Now we find the word of Godagain picks up this account in
(18:27):
the New Testament.
"And it says where two or threeare gathered together in, or as
I'm sure many know, a betterrendering is unto My name-
nothing has changed- unto Myname." Prayer still connected.
(18:48):
Binding decisions stillconnected.
And above all, worship where Hisown are brought together.
But, no temple.
No temple.
No physical building.
Nothing that the eye can pointto and see physically.
(19:12):
But a promise.
A promise, beloved brethren,given by the Lord Jesus Himself,
that where two or three are thusgathered together unto His name,
there am I in the midst of them.
(19:35):
No building, no choir, noordained priesthood.
No fancy services, but thepromised presence of the Lord
Jesus Christ in the midst.
Now, let's go back for a momentin our thought to what we had in
(19:56):
the Old Testament.
We found there that God hadchosen Jerusalem.
And Israel was forbidden-expressly forbidden, to do that
which was right in their owneyes.
Instead, they were givenspecific directions.
(20:20):
That they were to recognize whatthe Lord did, what He chose,
where He chose to put His name.
Now He tells us that His name isagain to be identified with that
place where two or three are tobe gathered together.
(20:45):
We notice, too, that it doesn'tmake any reference here to
simply gathering themselvestogether.
Abraham, in Genesis chapter 22,was given specific direction and
he was led, as God took him, ledhim to that place.
Here we're told, are gathered.
(21:06):
Are gathered together unto Hisname.
Now let us go back again toIsrael's history for a moment.
Jeroboam, he didn't like theidea of one center at Jerusalem,
so he established his own.
He established his own center.
And he invited the children ofIsrael to go to the centers that
(21:28):
he had established.
Now, beloved brethren, God givesus to see over and over again,
as we noticed this afternoon,that those centers that Jeroboam
established not only did nothave His approval when they were
established, but a hundred yearslater they still didn't have His
(21:51):
approval.
The passage of time had changednothing.
God's center was at Jerusalem.
And now we're told but God,again, has a center, not a
geographical place, but, belovedbrethren, nevertheless, a center
where two or three are gatheredtogether unto My name there am I
(22:21):
in the midst of them.
Oh, beloved brethren, what doesit mean to be gathered to His
name?
Obviously, the first thing is itsets aside every other name,
doesn't it?
To refuse to come together inany other name, to be identified
by any other name.
(22:41):
But the precious name, Jesus, tocome together, gathered by the
Spirit of God, to the name ofthe Lord Jesus, laying hold of
His promise by faith, there amI, in the midst of them.
When Abraham followed thedirection, led along step by
(23:07):
step, the leading of God, inGenesis chapter 22.
He was led to where he found theram caught in a thicket by his
horn.
Here we're told we too, led bythe Spirit of God, gathered to
(23:30):
the name of the Lord JesusChrist, we too will find that He
is there in the midst of the twoor three thus gathered.
Now I would like you to turnover to Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2.
And when the day of Pentecostwas fully come, they were all
(23:55):
with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a soundfrom heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled allthe house where they were
sitting.
And there appeared unto themcloven tongues, like as of fire,
(24:17):
and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled withthe Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as theSpirit gave them utterance.
Now if you go on to verse 41.
Then they that gladly receivedHis word were baptized.
(24:39):
And the same day there wereadded unto them.
About 3, 000 souls, and theycontinued steadfastly in the
Apostles doctrine and fellowshipand in breaking of bread and in
prayer.
(24:59):
We find now that which the LordJesus had spoken of in Matthew
chapter 16 is now anaccomplished.
Fact.
Again, the parallel in the OldTestament to my own soul is
marvelous.
That which the Lord had spokenof in Genesis chapter 22 found
(25:24):
its fulfillment when Solomon hadbuilt his temple.
And there was a place where theLord had set His name.
Matthew chapter 16 tells us thatHe's going to build His church.
Matthew chapter 18 tells usthose things which would
(25:47):
characterize it.
And now Acts chapter 2 revealsto us that it has taken place.
The Spirit of God has come.
That rushing mighty wind, thethimble, that the Spirit of God
(26:07):
had come into the world to liveas a divine Person upon the
earth.
And the result was, as we'llnotice in a few moments, that on
that day was created somethingthat had never existed on the
earth before.
The body of Christ- made up ofall the believers, indwelt by
(26:34):
the Spirit of God.
And these ones went out andpreached the gospel that day,
and 3, 000 souls were saved.
Again, it has struck my own soulhow God again brings before us
this number 3.
3, 000 souls this time that weresaved.
(26:59):
And it says, and the same daythere were added unto them about
3,000 souls.
Now, what were they going to do?
These 3,000 souls, why am mybeloved brethren?
The word of God brings beforeus?
(27:19):
The three things that theycontinued in the apostles
doctrine and fellowship.
That is that truth and actingdirecting that they had received
from the apostles.
The breaking of bread.
That wondrous, preciousinstitution that the Lord had
(27:42):
established while He was here onearth, where His own would
remember Him in His death forthem, and in prayers.
Oh, again, it has struck one'sown soul to see how God again
brings before us, in theapostles doctrine and
fellowship, that order that wasto characterize the people of
(28:05):
God, the breaking of bread, theworship.
And the prayers- again connectedwith the assembly, they
continued steadfastly.
Now brethren, what did theyjoin?
What organization did they join?
(28:28):
If you drop down to the 46thverse, And they, continuing
daily with one accord in thetemple and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat theirmeat with gladness and
singleness of heart praising Godand having favor with all the
people.
And the Lord added to the churchdaily, such as should be saved.
(28:51):
Oh, my friends, who did theadding?
Who added them to the church orthe assembly?
Why, the Lord did.
That day there were 3, 000added.
They had nothing to join.
They had already been joined bythe Lord.
(29:11):
They didn't have to add theirnumber and scribe their number
on some register.
They had already been added tothat which God had raised up.
Brethren, we see the mostsimple, precious outline of the
truth here at the verybeginning.
Those who were saved.
(29:35):
Who were added to the church-added to the assembly.
They simply went on together inthose three things that were to
be the characteristics of wherethe Lord had placed His name.
(29:57):
Prayer, worship, and godlyorder.
This concludes the first half ofthis 3rd meeting and the link to
the 2nd half of this meetingwill be down in the description.
May the Lord sustain, teach andguide us in His earthly pathway
here below.
We now come to the third in a series of four meeting
delivered in the late 1970's byJohn Brereton, who went to be
with the Lord Jesus shortly afew years after at the young age
of 49.
In this third meeting we pick upthe transistion that our brother
John is making on the divineground of gathering that God
would desire to meet with mansince the early pages of Genesis
(00:22):
and now we see His Son JesusChrist here in the pages of the
gospels in the New Testamentdisclosing more of God's
thoughts of what this divineground of gathering would be
with Him.
This is the first half of thisthird meeting.
The second half of the meetingshould be in the link below.
I would like to pick up thesubject that we were talking
about this afternoon by turningto the fourth chapter of John's
(00:47):
Gospel.
We have followed over a periodof approximately 1, 000 years
through the Old Testament, thattestimony that God established
at Jerusalem that wascharacterized by the Lord's name
being there.
By it being a place for worship,by it being a place where
(01:16):
binding decisions could berendered for God's people, and
where prayer could be madecollectively in connection with
what God had raised up atJerusalem.
We found how this testimony wasmaintained in spite of weakness
(01:38):
and failure.
That those who were there atJerusalem in Ezra's time offered
a sacrifice on behalf of allIsrael, holding out before God
that they still recognized thatthey were one nation made up of
12 tribes.
(02:00):
And then we found how that some500 years later at Jerusalem,
there was still a feeble companywho recognized that God's center
was there.
We see Mary and Joseph going upto Jerusalem to present Jesus
before the Lord.
(02:21):
We find Simeon, Anna, we findZacharias and Elizabeth, and we
found, lastly, at the close ofthe meeting this afternoon, that
in that little picture that isgiven to us in connection with
the Lord Jesus at 12 years ofage, that in departing from
(02:42):
Jerusalem, God's center, theyleft the Lord behind.
And only by returning toJerusalem could they once again
be found where the Lord was inthe midst.
But brethren, that Old Testamenthistory that is given to us of
(03:04):
God for our learning, that weread and meditate upon, I trust,
with profit, finds a conclusionin one sense here in the fourth
chapter of John's Gospel.
The twentieth verse,"Our fathersworshipped in this mountain, and
(03:25):
ye say that in Jerusalem is theplace where men ought to
worship.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman,believe me, the hour cometh when
ye shall neither in thismountain nor yet in Jerusalem
worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what.
We know what we worship, forsalvation is of the Jews.
(03:47):
But the hour cometh, and now is,when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit andin truth, for the Father seeketh
such to worship Him." Now,beloved brethren, we find here
that God has not given up Hisdesire for worshippers.
(04:11):
It specifically tells us" forthe Father seeketh such to
worship Him.
But it was no longer to be atJerusalem.
The hour cometh, and now is,when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit andin truth.
(04:36):
And in the 21st verse, the LordJesus says,"The hour cometh when
ye shall neither in thismountain nor yet at Jerusalem."
And so we find that having gonethrough the many passages
referred to in the OldTestament, and of having
(04:57):
gathered, I trust, manyprinciples that will be of vital
importance in instructing us indirecting our search in the New
Testament.
The fact remains that Jerusalem-as the center- where the Lord's
name was placed, where thepeople were to go as worshipers,
(05:23):
where prayer was to be directedto and at, where binding
decisions were to be sought, wasno longer to prevail.
Jerusalem was to be set aside.
And the hour came, and now is,when it was not to be a
Jerusalem.
(05:45):
But God was going to introducethat which would supersede
Jerusalem.
Where many of the very sameprinciples that we've already
noticed will apply.
Where God would still have apeople that He would gather
(06:05):
around Himself in the person ofthe Son.
Where the Lord Jesus would havethose who would be the joy of
His heart gathered aroundHimself.
But not at a geographical placelike Jerusalem.
(06:26):
Could we turn now to Matthewchapter 16.
Matthew chapter 16 and verse 13.
When Jesus came into the coastsof Caesarea Philippi,"He asked
His disciples saying, Whom domen say that I, the Son of Man,
am?
And they said, Some say thatthou art John the Baptist, some
(06:49):
Elias, and others Jeremias, orone of the prophets." He saith
unto them, But whom say ye thatI am?
And Simon Peter answered andsaid, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said untohim, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona.
(07:10):
For flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee thatthou art Peter.
And upon this rock I will buildmy church.
And the gates of hell shall notprevail against it.
(07:32):
Before I go into what I have onmy heart in connection with this
passage, I would like to clearup, if I may, the thought,
perhaps, in some minds here,concerning the expression"The
church." Now, beloved brethren,the word church simply means
(07:54):
"assembly." It does not everrefer to a building.
It does not ever refer to somepeculiar denomination of
professing believers.
It is the assembly.
(08:17):
In some instances in the word ofGod, it is the assembly made up
of every believer on the face ofthe earth- the body of Christ-
the assembly.
In other instances, it refers tothe local expression of that
(08:40):
company.
That is the local assembly.
We read about the churches orassemblies in Galatia, for
instance.
And this refers to those localgatherings of the children of
God gathered scripturallyaccording to the mind of God who
(09:05):
act in their local gathering onbehalf of the one body of
Christ.
Not so very long ago, a man thatmany of us know here met
ordained minister whom he knewwas a child of God, and this man
(09:25):
asked our brother, he said,"whatchurch do you belong to?" And
the answer that he gave, Ithought, was an exceedingly wise
one.
"He said, brother, I belong tothe same church that you do."
And after the man got over hisinitial surprise.
(09:45):
He all of a sudden said,"Oh, Isee what you mean.
You're talking about the churchin the broad sense." And our
brother's answer to that was, hesaid,"No, I'm talking about the
church in the only sense inwhich the Word of God talks of
the church." And when the LordJesus speaks here and says,"Upon
(10:09):
this rock I will build mychurch." That refers to the
assembly made up of everybeliever in the Lord Jesus
Christ on the face of thisearth.
He was about to build somethingnew that had never existed in
(10:35):
the world before- the assembly.
Now we find here in Matthewchapter 16 that which
corresponds in the New Testamentto what we found in Genesis
chapter 22 in the Old Testament.
(10:56):
We find brought before us herein the most lovely way- the
Father and the Son.
We find Peter confessing Jesusas the Christ, the son of the
living God.
(11:17):
We find the Lord Jesusconfessing the Father.
He says"flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto you, but my
Father, which is in heaven." Andso as in Genesis 22, we had the
father and the son, so here wehave the Father and the Son.
(11:42):
In Genesis chapter 22, we hadthe man of faith in the person
of Abraham, who acted on thatwhich had been revealed to him.
He acted on the revelation inIsaac, shall thy seed be called.
Here we have the man of faith inPeter, who acts upon the
(12:05):
revelation that was made to him.
The revelation,"Thou art theChrist, the Son of the Living
God." And lastly, in Genesischapter 22, we found that God
had a place.
(12:27):
God was about to establish uponthat Mount Moriah, that which
would bear His name and where Hewould have His people to go.
And here we find that the LordJesus speaks of that which He is
(12:49):
soon to establish.
"I will build my church." Andbeloved brethren, when we go
back into the Old Testament, wefind that God has written for
our learning, that which webring into the New Testament and
see confirmed.
(13:11):
That God still makes known to usthe Father and the Son, and the
wondrous relationship that ledthem both to Calvary, to see the
Son offered up in sacrifice.
We see in the New Testament,it's still a matter of faith,
(13:32):
acting on the revelation thatGod has given.
And we see, too, that there isto be again raised up of God,
built by the Lord Jesus Christ,His church here in this world.
(13:55):
Now, he tells us in Matthew,chapter 18, something further
concerning this church orassembly, Matthew chapter 18 and
verse 15,"Moreover, if thybrother shall trespass against
(14:17):
thee, go and tell him his faultbetween thee and him alone.
If he shall hear thee, thou hastgained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee,thou take, then take with thee
one or two more, that in themouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established.
(14:38):
And if he shall neglect to hearthem, tell it unto the church.
But if he neglect to hear thechurch, let him be unto thee as
an heathen man and a publican.
Verily I say unto you,whatsoever ye shall bind on
earth.
shall be bound in heaven, andwhatsoever ye shall loose on
(15:03):
earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, I say unto you, that iftwo of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that theyshall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father, which is inheaven.
For where two or three aregathered together, in My name,
(15:27):
there am I in the midst ofthem." Now, you recall how back
in the 16th chapter ofDeuteronomy, we were told that
in the event of sin beingintroduced amongst God's people,
that at the mouth of two orthree witnesses, it was to be
(15:50):
dealt with and the one who wasguilty was to be expelled.
He was, in the case of Israel,to be stoned.
We find here in Matthew chapter18 that again, the principle
applies in the mouth of two orthree witnesses shall every word
(16:12):
be established.
We found back in Deuteronomychapter 17 that in the event of
difficulties, questions thatthey could not answer they were
to go to the place where theLord had said His name, and
there they would be given thatdecision, that was to be binding
(16:36):
upon them, and they were to actaccordingly.
Here we find that the Word ofGod says,"Whatsoever ye shall
bind in earth shall be bound inheaven, and whatsoever ye shall
loose on earth shall be loosedin heaven." The same principle.
(16:56):
The same direction.
The same order.
Now it was to be the assemblythat was to render that
government, that direction, thatdecision, which was then to be
binding because it was ratifiedin heaven.
(17:18):
Lastly, we noticed in 1 Kingschapter 8, how that prayer was
connected with the temple thatwas built at Jerusalem.
And when prayer was directedtowards God's center at
Jerusalem, they were tocollectively recognize, even in
(17:43):
prayer, that God's center wasthere.
Now we find, again, prayerconnected with the assembly.
For it says, That if two of youshall agree on earth as touching
anything that they shall ask, itshall be done for them of my
(18:04):
Father which is in heaven.
Lastly, we notice how inconnection with that place
established by God, the name ofthe Lord was there.
He chose it to place His namethere.
Now we find the word of Godagain picks up this account in
(18:27):
the New Testament.
"And it says where two or threeare gathered together in, or as
I'm sure many know, a betterrendering is unto My name-
nothing has changed- unto Myname." Prayer still connected.
(18:48):
Binding decisions stillconnected.
And above all, worship where Hisown are brought together.
But, no temple.
No temple.
No physical building.
Nothing that the eye can pointto and see physically.
(19:12):
But a promise.
A promise, beloved brethren,given by the Lord Jesus Himself,
that where two or three are thusgathered together unto His name,
there am I in the midst of them.
(19:35):
No building, no choir, noordained priesthood.
No fancy services, but thepromised presence of the Lord
Jesus Christ in the midst.
Now, let's go back for a momentin our thought to what we had in
(19:56):
the Old Testament.
We found there that God hadchosen Jerusalem.
And Israel was forbidden-expressly forbidden, to do that
which was right in their owneyes.
Instead, they were givenspecific directions.
(20:20):
That they were to recognize whatthe Lord did, what He chose,
where He chose to put His name.
Now He tells us that His name isagain to be identified with that
place where two or three are tobe gathered together.
(20:45):
We notice, too, that it doesn'tmake any reference here to
simply gathering themselvestogether.
Abraham, in Genesis chapter 22,was given specific direction and
he was led, as God took him, ledhim to that place.
Here we're told, are gathered.
(21:06):
Are gathered together unto Hisname.
Now let us go back again toIsrael's history for a moment.
Jeroboam, he didn't like theidea of one center at Jerusalem,
so he established his own.
He established his own center.
And he invited the children ofIsrael to go to the centers that
(21:28):
he had established.
Now, beloved brethren, God givesus to see over and over again,
as we noticed this afternoon,that those centers that Jeroboam
established not only did nothave His approval when they were
established, but a hundred yearslater they still didn't have His
(21:51):
approval.
The passage of time had changednothing.
God's center was at Jerusalem.
And now we're told but God,again, has a center, not a
geographical place, but, belovedbrethren, nevertheless, a center
where two or three are gatheredtogether unto My name there am I
(22:21):
in the midst of them.
Oh, beloved brethren, what doesit mean to be gathered to His
name?
Obviously, the first thing is itsets aside every other name,
doesn't it?
To refuse to come together inany other name, to be identified
by any other name.
(22:41):
But the precious name, Jesus, tocome together, gathered by the
Spirit of God, to the name ofthe Lord Jesus, laying hold of
His promise by faith, there amI, in the midst of them.
When Abraham followed thedirection, led along step by
(23:07):
step, the leading of God, inGenesis chapter 22.
He was led to where he found theram caught in a thicket by his
horn.
Here we're told we too, led bythe Spirit of God, gathered to
(23:30):
the name of the Lord JesusChrist, we too will find that He
is there in the midst of the twoor three thus gathered.
Now I would like you to turnover to Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2.
And when the day of Pentecostwas fully come, they were all
(23:55):
with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a soundfrom heaven, as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled allthe house where they were
sitting.
And there appeared unto themcloven tongues, like as of fire,
(24:17):
and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled withthe Holy Ghost, and began to
speak with other tongues, as theSpirit gave them utterance.
Now if you go on to verse 41.
Then they that gladly receivedHis word were baptized.
(24:39):
And the same day there wereadded unto them.
About 3, 000 souls, and theycontinued steadfastly in the
Apostles doctrine and fellowshipand in breaking of bread and in
prayer.
(24:59):
We find now that which the LordJesus had spoken of in Matthew
chapter 16 is now anaccomplished.
Fact.
Again, the parallel in the OldTestament to my own soul is
marvelous.
That which the Lord had spokenof in Genesis chapter 22 found
(25:24):
its fulfillment when Solomon hadbuilt his temple.
And there was a place where theLord had set His name.
Matthew chapter 16 tells us thatHe's going to build His church.
Matthew chapter 18 tells usthose things which would
(25:47):
characterize it.
And now Acts chapter 2 revealsto us that it has taken place.
The Spirit of God has come.
That rushing mighty wind, thethimble, that the Spirit of God
(26:07):
had come into the world to liveas a divine Person upon the
earth.
And the result was, as we'llnotice in a few moments, that on
that day was created somethingthat had never existed on the
earth before.
The body of Christ- made up ofall the believers, indwelt by
(26:34):
the Spirit of God.
And these ones went out andpreached the gospel that day,
and 3, 000 souls were saved.
Again, it has struck my own soulhow God again brings before us
this number 3.
3, 000 souls this time that weresaved.
(26:59):
And it says, and the same daythere were added unto them about
3,000 souls.
Now, what were they going to do?
These 3,000 souls, why am mybeloved brethren?
The word of God brings beforeus?
(27:19):
The three things that theycontinued in the apostles
doctrine and fellowship.
That is that truth and actingdirecting that they had received
from the apostles.
The breaking of bread.
That wondrous, preciousinstitution that the Lord had
(27:42):
established while He was here onearth, where His own would
remember Him in His death forthem, and in prayers.
Oh, again, it has struck one'sown soul to see how God again
brings before us, in theapostles doctrine and
fellowship, that order that wasto characterize the people of
(28:05):
God, the breaking of bread, theworship.
And the prayers- again connectedwith the assembly, they
continued steadfastly.
Now brethren, what did theyjoin?
What organization did they join?
(28:28):
If you drop down to the 46thverse, And they, continuing
daily with one accord in thetemple and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat theirmeat with gladness and
singleness of heart praising Godand having favor with all the
people.
And the Lord added to the churchdaily, such as should be saved.
(28:51):
Oh, my friends, who did theadding?
Who added them to the church orthe assembly?
Why, the Lord did.
That day there were 3, 000added.
They had nothing to join.
They had already been joined bythe Lord.
(29:11):
They didn't have to add theirnumber and scribe their number
on some register.
They had already been added tothat which God had raised up.
Brethren, we see the mostsimple, precious outline of the
truth here at the verybeginning.
Those who were saved.
(29:35):
Who were added to the church-added to the assembly.
They simply went on together inthose three things that were to
be the characteristics of wherethe Lord had placed His name.
(29:57):
Prayer, worship, and godlyorder.
This concludes the first half ofthis 3rd meeting and the link to
the 2nd half of this meetingwill be down in the description.
May the Lord sustain, teach andguide us in His earthly pathway
here below.
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