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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/john-orr/god-in-the-midst/
Turn, please, to Genesis chapter 2. Now what I have on my mind, I've been thinking about all week, and it fits in very nicely with what our brethren before have brought before us. Genesis chapter 2 and verse number 8.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and is good for food, the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
What I want to do briefly this afternoon is trace from Genesis through Revelation the thought of God being in the midst. We heard some very excellent ministry this morning about what we are gathered to and to whom we are gathered unto.
I'm going to go briefly through what we have in the Old Testament, because what my thoughts are centered upon this morning is primarily what our brother Frank Sona spoke about, and that is the gathering of his people in a local assembly.
And it'll culminate in chapter 18 of Matthew and verse 20. But here at the very beginning of time, it was God's desire to dwell with man. God created man in his own image, and he placed man in a garden, a place that was absolutely pristine, a place where man really had it all provided for him, food, care, and everything that God desired for man, God had provided for him in that garden.
But in the midst of that garden, there was the tree of life. I would suggest to you that that would remind men of the immortal life that comes from God, because also in that garden there was planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
And with that tree, man could display his obedience to God in fulfilling that which God had demanded, and that was not to eat of that tree. And so here God created man with a free will, a will to obey God, a will to honor God, a will to worship God, a will to speak with God, and a desire to be with him.
And in that state, man would have lived in all innocency, and yet we know the failure that entered in. And so there we see God desiring that men would be obedient unto him, and that obedience will come right through to what we have even today as far as God's assembly is concerned, the obedience that we need to show to our God.
And we know that men failed. Speaking with a brother once, I said, you know, isn't it interesting that God didn't create us all as robots, that every single one of us behaved in an exact manner as the other, but no, God gave us a free will?
And how much pleasure can it bring to God when a child of God obeys him out of the appreciation in his heart for his son? And yet here we see was God's desire to dwell in the midst of them. We also read in chapter 3 that God walked in the cool of the day.
So I have to believe up until the time of man's fall that there was a constant communion with this man that God had created, that he so desired to be in fellowship with, and God desired to be in the midst with them.
Turn over to Exodus chapter 25. We're going to go through these quickly until we come to Matthew. Exodus chapter 25, and we'll read one verse. We know that this is God giving Moses instructions on building of the tabernacle.
In chapter 25, we have the ark, and the table, and the furniture, and the candlestick, and everything that is to go into this ark for the purpose of worshiping God. What do we read in verse number 8 of chapter 25?
And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. God had an earthly people. God had those that he had set aside for himself. He had called them to follow him, to worship him, to obey him.
And God's desire was this. Set me up a sanctuary that I might dwell among them. We know the history of the children of Israel, don't we? And in many ways, it's very sad. I heard a brother once at the Sault Ste. Marie conference many years ago.
He got up and spoke about the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of the children of Israel. And his point was this. He went over the many times that God blessed them immensely. And it wasn't very long after that, in each one of those blessings, that they came in and they murmured against God.
And yet, God's desire was, I want to dwell amongst them. We know that God brought many plagues upon them. Many death was caused by their lack of disobedience. But yet, the fact still remains, it was God's desire with his earthly people to dwell amongst them.
We're going to come to the New Testament in Matthew, and we're going to understand, and we know it very clearly. It is God's intention still today with his local assembly. And so, we hear we have God dwelling amongst them to lead them, to guide them, to direct them, to protect them.
I think of the pillar of fire by night that God provided to provide that warmth in the wilderness. And that cloud by day as they would travel, not only for direction, but likely for the protection from the noonday heat.
Oh, how God was good to them. Yet, in all of their failure, they murmured against God. And yet, God's desire was to dwell amongst those people. Turn to Daniel, the book of Daniel, and chapter 3, Daniel chapter 3, and verse number 24.
You know the story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Verse 24, the Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, Did not ye cast three men bound in the midst of the fire?
They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men walking in the midst of the fire. And the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. Here, we don't have God in the midst of his people, but we have God in the midst of trial.
Brother Al was speaking about trials that entered into the lives of believers. Brethren and sisters, you are not meant to go through that trial alone. You are not meant to suffer in that trial alone. But we have a God that wants to go through that trial with you.
Here, we have three brave men that we're going to honor God. And we're not going to bow to the whims of the king, be willing to be cast into the fiery furnace. We have a God. The Lord Jesus Christ, it says, is the Son of God.
In the midst of that trial, in the midst of that burning furnace, was none other than the Lord Jesus. There might be some here today, and you're going through deep trials. And maybe you look into yourself, like Brother Al said, sometimes we do, and we wonder, how can we hold up against this?
Brethren and sisters, I want to tell you that there's a God in heaven that wants to go through that trial with you. I will say this, my wife and I went through a very deep trial about a few months ago.
She nearly died. I want to tell you, I have never felt so close to God during that time when my wife lay unconscious. God will command. God desires to walk through those flames, as it were, brethren and sisters, with you.
I know some of I look around today, and I know within your heart you're suffering. I will know within your lives there are things that you are going through that have caused you deep distress. Lay hold upon God.
He went with Shadrach, Meshach into the fire. He wants to go into the fire with you and bring you through it gloriously. He desires the best for you. John 19. John chapter 19. We know this one well. John 19, verse number 16.
Then delivered he him, therefore, unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. And he buried the cross, went forth onto a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other with him on either side one and Jesus in the midst.
In his hour of deepest woe, in his hour of greatest suffering, in his hour when he went under the load of our sin to pay it in full, we read about the Lord Jesus Christ being in the midst. On either side one, there are these men who had committed crimes and were dying for their own sin.
Thank God there was one that was a sinner saved by grace. But both of these men deserve it on that center cross in the midst of Calvary, at the full gaze of a wandering world, there in the midst as the crowds would mock him and those that loved him would stand there in horror on our Lord Jesus Christ.
And there he died and paid a ransom for our sin. We've traced this through from Genesis up here to the Gospel of John. And we see this, that it is his desire, not only in the garden of Eden, in the midst of the garden to show his power, his glory, and his love for that man that he had created.
We see him in the children of Israel desiring to be in the midst of that nation that so had despised him on so many occasions. We see him in the midst of a fiery trial. Now we see him, and I say it reverently, in the midst of his most fiery trial when at the cross he bore our sin in his own body on the tree.
This leads me then to what we have in Matthew chapter 18. We know the verse well. We appreciate it. Matthew chapter 18 and verse number 24, where two or three are gathered together, in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
So just as God had an earthly people years ago, that he desired to set up a sanctuary that he could dwell in, that he could be amongst them, that he could lead them, he could guide them, here in this dispensation of grace, God has a place as well that he wants to be in the midst of.
And that place is a local assembly that our brother Frank has so ably brought out today and aspects of the breaking of bread, a place where God has seen fit in the person of his Son to place his name.
Frank has so accurately said, there is no place like it on earth. I know, and two or three men and women come to mind, that are saved individuals. And I can enjoy the most beautiful conversations about salvation, about Christianity, but they know nothing, even though we've talked about it.
They have no appreciation for the fact that they can be gathered solely to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, brethren and sisters, where you and I gather, whether it be here in Blue River, whether it be in Waukesha or other assemblies, many are here from Iowa, no matter what the location is.
And the place where you gather with the people of God, centered around Christ, the place where he has placed his name, it is the only place on earth where he collectively gathers with his people. These individuals that I know that have very little appreciation for gathering solely to the name of Christ, they have a deep appreciation for Christ.
They may have a life of honor and service for Christ that puts me to shame, and yet they know nothing, really, of the importance of gathering where he has placed his name. And that is an assembly of God's dear people that have gathered in like manner.
As I think about gathering unto his name today, I want to think about a few things. Do we really appreciate the fact that the way we gather, in simplicity, gathering unto his name, where he is the focus, with no hired individual to lead the gathering, with none of the fanfare of the religious world that is involved, that we come together to our meetings just simply to center our thoughts and our appreciation around him?
You know, we had a couple in recently in Waukesha. They just come in one day, and their comment was this. We've been to a number of places. We have never seen any place that every activity is so Christ-centered.
Brethren and sisters, that's what we've been called into. That's what we have been brought into as a result of our salvation, as a result of being baptized, and a result of seeing the truth of gathering unto his name.
We have been brought into a privilege that most of this world know nothing about, and that is we gather to the place where our blessed Lord desires to meet with his people here upon earth. He meets with them in Waukesha.
He meets with them here in Blue River. He meets with them in a number of assemblies in Iowa and across Wisconsin. But every one of those places seek to adhere to the word of God and the doctrines contained therein regarding the local gathering.
We have this promise that where they are, I will be in the midst of them. I ask you, as I was looking at this this week, I asked myself, do I appreciate that with the full extent and appreciation of my heart that I am gathered to the place where God has seen fit to place his name?
I think if I did, it would cause me to be far more exercised than I maybe am. Brethren, I want to talk for a moment of those who are in assembly fellowship, you brethren. And because we gather, and because we come to a place where we can gather onto his name, and we seek to gather and look at the word of God and to gather the way he would desire us to gather.
And Frank has touched on it this morning. And one of those privileges of being gathered to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is to have the privilege of coming to the breaking of bread. And I agree wholeheartedly with what he said this morning, as I know you do as well.
But in me coming on a Lord's Day morning, do I come prepared? Do I come prepared to open my mouth, whether it be giving out of a hymn or expressing my appreciation to God for his Son in worship? I want to tell you, brethren, and I'm looking at myself as well, because I'm as guilty as any.
Sometime we come on a Lord's Day morning, and there's such gaps. There's such long waiting periods. Do I realize who? I'm asking myself this, because it really spoke to me this week. Do I ask myself, do I know who I'm coming to meet with?
Do I know who I'm gathered to? Let me tell you something. I'm sure we're all sick and tired of all the political ads you see along the road and the phone calls you get. I've probably gotten 30 phone calls in the last three weeks and text messages.
We see that you're not registered to vote. Get it registered so you can vote. And people knocking on your door and trying to convince you of this, why they're so enthusiastic about the one person or the other.
Are we that enthusiastic about coming to meet with our Lord, the one who has died for us, the one who gave his life for us? I speak to my own heart. As I think about times that I have come on a Sunday morning, and there I sit, and there other brethren sit, I'm going to tell you the Lord is never absent from a gathering.
The Lord is never late for the breaking of bread. The Lord is never late or absent from the prayer meeting. I'm not finding fault. There's legitimate reasons why those things happen. But do I appreciate it so that I come on a Lord's Day morning or a Wednesday prayer meeting prepared to take part?
I'm speaking primarily of our brethren right now. Listen, tomorrow morning we're going to gather to break bread. Some of us will be here. Some of us will be back at our home assemblies. Are you going to come prepared, brethren, to lift up your voice to God and tell Him how much you appreciate His Son?
Brethren, that's what He wants to hear from you. My dear mother-in-law, she passed away at 101 many years ago. When she was late into her 90s, we were there to visit her one day and come on a Monday.
She had just been to the breaking bread before. She said, I don't know why sometimes we have so many dumb priests. I know exactly what she meant. Not that they were unintelligent, but dumb as far as not opening their mouth to speak.
She says, doesn't the brother know there are those of us, of our sisters, wouldn't love to get up and thank God for His Son. It really struck me. Brethren, we have sisters that likely could get up and give far greater appreciation and thanks to God than maybe I could.
And yet at times, I sit there silent. Why should I come, brethren, to express to Him my appreciation? Why? Because He is in the midst. I want to speak to some of our younger brethren this morning. If you were in assembly this afternoon, sorry, if you were in assembly fellowship, I remember the first time as probably a teenager of about 14 I got up to give God thanks at the breaking of bread.
My knees were banging so hard together, they hurt. And I got up and stood there for about 15 seconds, and I sat down. Can I tell you something? There was a godly sister in that crowd that her amen was larger than the brethren's for the giving of thanks for a young boy.
I want to encourage our younger brethren. You're going to likely, some of you are going to be here tomorrow morning. And what I'm about to say is in no respect for my preaching brethren. In fact, what I'm going to say, I know they appreciate and they agree with.
The breaking of bread is not a preacher's meeting. My dear young brethren, if you've had an appreciation this week of Christ and something that has been laid upon your heart regarding His person, regarding His work, regarding His deity, whatever it may be, get up tomorrow morning and give it to God.
He would desire to hear it. A number of years ago, we were at the Portage La Prairie Conference. I've never experienced anything like it before, and I don't think anything since. At that breaking of bread, there were probably, I think, over 18 brethren got up and gave thanks, and a little over an hour.
There was a whole row of young men, one by one by one by one by one. Each one of those young men got up and just briefly gave God thanks for His Son. Many of us know Brother Harold Paisley. He got up at the end of meeting.
He said, brethren, I have never witnessed anything like this in my life. If God has laid something on your heart, brethren, my younger brethren especially, give it to Him. Praise God for His Son. Why?
Because He's in the midst. Sisters, I'm not going to let you off the hook. You might say, brethren can get up and give thanks. They can get up and audibly worship. They can get up and give out a hymn.
And I look at some of these hymns, and I'd love to have them sung. Again, my dear mother-in-law, and I'm sorry for the private. We were there visiting one time again. She says, upon my heart all this week has been one certain hymn.
I have sung it. I have sung it. I have read it. I have sung it. And I have prayed that God will give some brother the exercise to give out that hymn on the Lord's Day morning. You know the first hymn given out that Sunday?
Was the very hymn that she asked God to lay upon a brother's heart. Sister, this is what you can do. You can lay hold upon God. You can lay hold upon Him. But also in coming as the brethren are responsible, and each one of us sometimes, unfortunately, we're so lazy and just sit there.
You can come as well and silently offer to God an appreciation for His Son. We can't hear it, but God can. As we come together on a Sunday morning, we realize we are coming together for Him. We are coming together to honor His Son.
And it is God that desires to hear this. And whether it's audibly by our brethren or silently by our sisters, God gets the glory. God gets the honor. What about the gospel meeting? He desires to be there as well with us.
You might say as a dear sister, our brethren can preach. Our brethren have the privilege of this. What can I do? In the assembly we were in Waterloo years ago, a few of our brethren are going to know who I speak about.
A dear lady by the name of Gladys Snyderman, perhaps one of the most godly women I've ever known. The brethren would come to the prayer meeting on Sunday evening, 20, 25 minutes early. Guess who was there in her seat with her eyes closed, praying?
Gladys. Guess who was there in her seat praying? When brethren would be upon the platform, pouring out their heart to sinners that they needed to be saved, it was Gladys. In my late teens, Gladys passed away.
And one day, after gospel meeting late in the evening, I was standing back there by myself, waiting for my parents to come to go. And my father and a number of the brethren were in the corner and they were talking.
And I overheard this. One brother said, brethren, I don't feel the power in the gospel since Gladys has quit. The power of a godly woman laying hold upon God for the salvation of precious souls. So sisters, I encourage you.
You are far more important in God's assembly than what you may realize, especially our younger ones. God has placed you there for a reason, to honor Him. And in whatever way possible, as a dear sister, you can please Him and you can do it for His glory.
But there's one more. In Revelation chapter 5, and with this I'll sit down. While He has met with His people here upon earth in the Old Testament, while He has met in the fiery furnace of trial with each one of us, while He has met in this day of grace in a corporate way in which those who have gathered unto His name.
Brethren and sisters, He is going to be in the midst eternally. Revelation 5 and verse 6. And behold, and I beheld, and lo in the midst of the throne of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain.
So brethren and sisters, let us remember. Let us appreciate. Let us honor Him. It is His desire to be with us. It is His desire to meet with us. Let us do everything in our power to glorify the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you're an assembly fellowship, you are in one of the most privileged positions here upon earth to be gathered to the name of the one who has died for you.