Hanging there He was more deeply concerned about creating the possibility of Communion for men than anything else. He knew that the whole reason for His incarnation and life would climax in that most dreadful moment of forsakenness. It had been known to Him before the foundation of the world. He had faced and undergone it in anticipation then, but the actual manifestation of it lay yet ahead. By the sovereign choice of Jehovah, He was designated the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world, and the immensity of the result of His consent lay weighty upon Him from that point onward — as heavily as when, millennia later He lay sweating in Gethsemane adjacent to Golgotha.
Similarly, when God defined and Moses wrote down the many different sacrifices required by law for the multiplicity of sin's atonements, it all loomed up again in His heart and brought nearer the awful day. It had been ever with Him; there had never been any respite from it, always He was the slaughtered Lamb, the slain lion, the dove destroyed as if it was the dragon. Yet nothing withheld Him from the eternal purpose, and one day, having humbled Himself into a man, at Father's request He went lower still, right out alone into the long-foretold and oft-prefigured death.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.