THE LORD WITH HIS OWN
F. C. Mutton
Daniel 3: 14–18, 20–25; John 14: 15–20; 1 Corinthians 14: 24, 25
I was reading in the past week some ministry at Valence in 1939 by Mr. Taylor (N.S. Vol. 74, p.381) in which he read from John 6, where the Lord came near to the disciples, walking on the sea to them. He spoke of the way the Lord draws near to His own. The difficulties were very great; the Lord had been on the mountain by Himself, no doubt in prayer. But it says—
“And Jesus had not come to them, and the sea was agitated by a strong wind blowing”
(John 6: 18). No doubt it was hard work rowing; the Lord knew all about this. It was dark and it was rough, and He drew near to His own. They saw Him walking on the sea and coming near the ship, and He said, “It is I; be not afraid. They were willing therefore to receive him into the ship”. That ministry has affected me, because that is our current experience. The night is dark and the rowing may be difficult; the wind is against us; but everything is known to the Lord and He draws near to us. I am sure we can say we are willing to receive Him. He constantly comes to us, saying, “It is I; be not afraid”. So one has been thinking of the Lord being with His own.
In Daniel He was with these three faithful men. The whole power of the Chaldeans was against them. Nebuchadnezzar was full of rage and fury; all his power was against these faithful men. But what a fine statement they make—“Be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image that thou hast set up”. It makes one think of Paul saying, “I make no account of my life as dear to myself”, Acts 20: 24. These men did not hold their lives dear. Their faithfulness to God was absolute. They say to the king, “We will not serve thy gods”. May this spirit be with us, that we do not serve Satan, or the world, or the law of sin, but are committed to the will of God. It seemed outwardly that God was not with these three men, because they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. God allowed things to go so far. It reminds us of the martyrs—how many there have been. How heaven honours them! And we honour them. What a place they will have in the kingdom! And many are in the furnace now. We have thought of some in New Zealand; there is indeed a furnace there of suffering for the truth.
But then they were not three but four in the midst of the fire—“Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt;
and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God”. How touching this is, illustrating how the Lord Jesus goes through the sufferings with His faithful ones. This is a remarkable statement—‘Lo, I see four men loose’. They are no longer bound; the bonds had been loosed and they were walking in the midst of the fire. How pleasing this is to the Lord: all Satan’s power is against them, but they are walking in dignity, and they have the company of one “like a son of God”. We might say, in applying this scripture, that it suggests walking in the truth, working out the truth of the assembly. This applies in this place where we are today.
Then we think of our brethren, for example, in eastern Europe, with so much against them, but walking in the truth, walking in liberty and dignity, and the Lord is with them. How the Lord would delight to give them His company!
These three men were brought through in a complete way, in absolute triumph and victory
“these men, upon whose bodies the fire had had no power, nor was the hair of their head singed, , neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them” (Daniel 3: 27). It would give us a sense of victory. There is what Satan cannot touch or damage. The Lord said, “Hades’ gates shall not prevail against it”, Matthew 16: 18. May we be comforted by this, that the Lord is with us, and God is with us. Paul says, “If God be for us, who against us?”, Romans 8: 31. And speaking from experience, he says elsewhere, “At my first defence no man stood with me, but all deserted me ... But the Lord stood with me, and gave me power”, 2 Timothy 4: 16, 17. The Lord looked at that lonely man and saw everyone leave him alone. It is as if the Lord would say, ‘I will stand with him’. So Paul says, “But the Lord stood with me, and gave me power”. What an experience for Paul; all alone, but the Lord with him. That experience is available to us.
In John 14 it is the inward side, the wonderful setting out of how divine Persons are with the saints, those who keep His commandments; firstly, “another Comforter”, with us for ever, and then the Lord: says, “I am coming to you”. How He loves to come; the saints are attractive to Him. It says in chapter 20 of this gospel, “Jesus came and stood in the midst”
(John 20: 19); that company attracted Him. The disciples were there, the doors shut, and Jesus came. Thank God, we experience this, particularly at the Supper, but also in our other comings together. We experience the truth of these words, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”. How precious this is, that we can leave behind the world and the opposition and be lifted up in the company of the Lord. He goes on to say, “Yet a little and the world sees me no longer; but ye see me; because I live ye also shall live”. He presents Himself to us.
As we read the Scriptures the Spirit brings Christ before us and He gives us the experience of life in Himself, experience of the realm in which He is. “In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”; He is in the Father; what a place is His in the Father’s affections. But we are in Him, so that we have entrance into that home of love, where the Father’s love to Christ is known, whilst the Lord Jesus loves to speak to us of the Father. How precious these things are! The Lord says, “In that day ...”, that is this day, the time of His absence, but the time of the experience of His presence as He draws near to those He loves. We could say, speaking carefully, He cannot remain away where conditions are right.
Finally, in 1 Corinthians 14, it is God coming among us by means of His word. This section is about prophecy. This should come into every occasion, the living, present word of God, and yet not only His word, but God Himself. So here someone comes in, an unbeliever or a simple person, and what
he reports is that “God is indeed amongst you”. It is a most remarkable thing. Paul goes on to speak in detail of a particular occasion which God honours and comes into. It makes us very reverent and very careful, but how blessed it is, how comforting, how encouraging, that “God is indeed amongst you”. It is like the mercy-seat in the tabernacle. God said, “There will I meet with thee, and will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat”, Exodus 25: 22. God loves to be thus among His people, that they should know His presence and hear His living word. It is said, “When Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, then he heard the voice speaking to him from off the mercy-seat”, Numbers 7: 89. This is one of our greatest privileges, the presence of God and the word of God; “God is indeed amongst you”.
Thus God comforts and encourages His beloved people, and it is the same whether we be many or few.
Address at Valence
5 July 1980