THE REALITY OF THE LORD'S PERSON

Sam C Lock

John 14: 1

I had a simple impression, beloved brethren, in relation to the importance of the reality of the Lord's Person, and His keenness and desire that we each, in ourselves as individuals, appreciate the reality of who He is as a Person.

The last couple of years has been somewhat disruptive to the lives, livelihoods and lifestyles of many people the world over. We had older brothers with us back home in the UK saying that it was quite humbling for the world of mankind that they had reached such a level with their institutions, their technologies, and their governments, and that there were certain things that were considered to be fundamentally unshakable; and yet, with something that was so small that it had to be seen under a microscope, God allowed that entire system to be shaken to the core. Financial institutions did not know what to do; they stopped trading; businesses were closed down; these giant titans in industry were not able to do business. People could not go anywhere; the world almost came to a halt, and people did not know quite where to put their faith.

I suppose for the believer it was an interesting time; there were many things that were to be learned in reality; things that we might read in Scripture were to be learned in reality: such as the experience of dependence. I believe that it was similar for many here, but it got to the point where when the first lock-down came and it was illegal for some of us to go to work.  The bills did not stop, of course; we still had mortgages to pay and needed to eat, but we were not allowed to earn money; that was a bit of a worry. There was a matter that I myself found particularly testing, and I did all that I could to resolve the matter, but it was out of my hands. It was very stressful and I prayed a bit and decided to read my Bible and just try and find some peace, and some divine teaching. And my Bible opened, and this was literally the first scripture that came to mind: “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe on God, believe also on me.”

I think there is a desire on the Lord's part, in the day and age in which we live, that we should not be distracted by the lifestyles that we can live, by what we can achieve in our careers, but that we should have this foundational truth in our hearts that the Lord is a real Person. He is not just real because we have been told He is real, not just real because we have learned that He is real in the sense of an intellectual understanding, but He is real because we have experienced Him. We have experienced Him drawing alongside us when we are low or desperate; we have experienced Him when He helps us through matters that are beyond our capabilities to resolve. I was speaking with a brother and sister last night about their experience of trying to get married in the midst of this pandemic, and there are others here that also have that experience. It is interesting talking about such things, where you look at them and you think it is hopeless, and yet somehow it just works out. That is the Lord seeking to make Himself known in a real way, in a way that will stay with you, in a way that when perhaps you doubt and you need a sense of certainty – you can carry these experiences in your heart with the One that you call your Lord and Christ as a real Person. And He is there for you and He listens to you.

I believe there is a matter of exercise. It says, “ye believe on God, believe also on me.” Well, do you? Is that your experience? Do you believe on God? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? We have the liberty to ask that the reality of the Lord's Person be made known to us. I think it is perfectly natural, albeit maybe not the best thing, but we are in a natural condition where perhaps sometimes we doubt. Speaking practically, I know I did. At a certain point in my life, I found that there were so many religions in the world; how did I know that the Person that I was told that I should worship was the real One? It was just a practical exercise that as a young man I wanted to know. And the Lord in His graciousness gave me the liberty to go before Him and say, 'I would like to know if You are real'. And He answered that desire. It might seem a little bit impertinent, for a human being to go before the Lord of glory and say, 'Are You a real Person?'. But in His gentleness and graciousness He revealed Himself in a very personal way to me that I will never forget. And it confirmed in my heart that it is a real Person that I follow.

This is important. This is a foundational thing that every believer must have in their soul. We can do what is right and we can commit ourselves to doing the right thing, following the Scriptures, dedicating ourselves to maintaining the principles. And there is a certain amount of blessing in that; but, speaking very carefully, if the Lord is not a real Person to you, then when things get hard and trials come, there is a possibility that perhaps the effort to do the right thing might just seem a little bit too much. But if the Lord is real to you then you will always have that in your soul, and you will do what is right because of how real your love for Him is.

If your family asked something of you, you would not ordinarily think, 'I am not sure that I am willing do that for my family because I am just not convinced as to the realty of their person and the love they have for me'. Your family loves you and you love them. Even for a dear friend, what you have with them is valuable to you because they are a real person to you, and their friendship is a tangible thing. And so you would move heaven and earth, so to speak, to do what is required to look after your family, to care for them, protect them. Well, when the Lord asks things of you, when the Lord perhaps asks a sacrifice of you, it is not necessarily the sense of it being the right thing to do that makes you do it. It is because He is a real Person to you and, therefore, the gratitude that He would express to you is a real thing also.

And so it is this that stabilises us, especially in the world in which we live, when there is so much uncertainty. It says, “Let not your heart be troubled”. These are intimate things.  Looking at the brethren universally, there are many things that have troubled them, not just in their minds but in their hearts. They feel great stresses and pressures; there are those who have endured things in their health, or in their jobs, or in their families – a lot of suffering. The Lord knows that we feel these things. Well, this word is, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe on God, believe also on me.” it is the reality of the Lord's Person: He is there. I think we can see this also with the two on the way to Emmaüs when the Lord draws alongside them and asks them what is bothering them, Luke 24: 15. He already knew; He was the Lord of glory. He already knew what troubled their heart, but He cared for them and He loved them enough that He would say, 'What is bothering you?'. And He would listen, and then He would teach them, and show them, and redirect them.

Nothing ever happens without reason. So why has the Lord allowed there to be so much uncertainty and instability to come into the world at large? I think it is so that this scripture can become true in us: “Let not your heart be troubled”. The Lord is a real Person and He would seek to reveal Himself as a real Person and develop that relationship with you so that you are intimately linked. Look at the life of Paul the apostle when he was Saul, the riches and the place of position that he had in society. He was a highly esteemed man among his peers; and he gave all of that up. And then what he had to endure as a result of giving up his natural position. We were recently reading about when he was in prison, the physical scars that he had on his body. Why? Why would somebody go through all of that? It was because the Lord was a real Person to him, and he knew that he was doing the right thing, not in a legal sense, but because the Person that loved him was telling him that it was the right thing to do. It was comforting for him, in his physical pain, comforting him in his trials, telling him that one day all of it would come to an end, and He would come to call him to be with Himself: that should be our portion.

Well may it be so for the Lord's Name's sake.

Word in a Ministry Meeting

Calgary

7 July 2022