That's good singing, and we thank our brother David for leading us to this point in our service. We're going to turn for opening hymn to 151. When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, when the morning breaks eternal, bright, and fair, when the sea of diverse shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. And we'll stand and sing this. And if you're saved, you sing it with all your heart. And we look forward to that day when we stand in glory with the redeemed. So let's worship God. stand and sing. On a bright and glad this morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of His resurrection share, when His chosen ones shall gather together, their hope beyond the skies, and their oldest call of God, their happy lair. When their oldest call of God from the dawn to the setting sun. Let me talk of all this wondrous love and care. Then when all of life is over and my work on earth is done, and the rose is called a blunder, I'll be there. When the rose is called a blunder, when the rose is called a blunder, Amen. I trust that that is your testimony. You're saved by the grace of God and you're trusting in the finished work of Christ. And if not, then even tonight, you will call upon the Lord and know his salvation. So we're going to unite our hearts together in prayer. Let's each of us come before the Lord, each of God's children, seeking for the blessing of God tonight. Our gracious Lord and our eternal Father, we bow humbly and reverently before thee. We would still ourselves in thy presence as we approach the throne of grace and mercy. We come, Lord, believing that thou art, and thou art the rewarder of them that diligently seek thee. We call him pleading nothing other than the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for his life, his death, his resurrection. We thank you for the precious blood that he shed, and we thank you for the wonderful revelation in this scripture that the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelleth in him, and we are complete in him tonight. Lord, we rejoice in a complete standing before thee. Lord, we rejoice in a finished work, and we rejoice that we're saved for time and for eternity. Lord, we pray that thou wilt bless thy church. We pray in these days, Lord, that thou wilt revive thy church. And we ask you, Lord, that thou wilt build thy church according to the promise of thy precious word. We thank thee for each head bowed in thy presence tonight. Thank you for God's people. We thank you, Lord, for those who are saved and trusting in the finished work of Christ. We thank you for the day and hour we were called by grace out of nature's darkness into the light of the gospel. Thank you, Lord, for that moment we were brought to see our need of a savior. And for that moment, Lord, we were given the gifts of faith and repentance. We rejoice today the burden was rolled away. Our names were record it in the Lamb's Book of Life, and we pray, Lord, that you will give us hearts full of thankfulness, and as we would listen to a testimony tonight, we will rejoice in what the Lord has done and is doing in these days. We do ask thee, Lord, that you will bless your people. We know so many, Lord, have needs that are unknown to the majority of this congregation, but we pray, Lord, you'll minister to us, and through the word of God that is brought tonight, there'll be a word and season for thy children. Lord, encourage us in these days, help us to keep our eyes focused on our Savior, and help us to live lives that bring glory and honor to Christ. We pray, Lord, for any who are cold at heart tonight, and Lord, while they're in the house of God, they're far from the Lord spiritually, and we just pray, Lord, that you will speak to their heart. We pray, Lord, that they will pray even the words of Psalm 51, that, Lord, you will restore unto them the joy of thy salvation. Lord, we pray you'll bring sinners or backsliders to an end of themselves. And, Lord, cause them, Lord, to desire to be back in fellowship with thee. We think of this sinner tonight. And, Lord, those in nature's darkness, We think of those, especially, who can sit in gospel meetings and not be troubled about their soul. Think of those, Lord, who have come and gone, perhaps for decades, from this house. And Lord, they're not saved tonight. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will do the work that we cannot do. It's not by might nor by power, it's by my spirit, saith the Lord. And therefore, Lord, we pray that thou will open the hearts and thou will make the rebellious sinner willing and thou will cause those who are stubborn in their sin to surrender to the Lord. Oh, Father, we pray that a work will be done that will last for eternity in this place. We thank you for our brother in our midst tonight. We thank you, Lord, for his work and his own congregation there in Tyndale. We thank you for his work in the Bible College as a principal. I pray you'll bless him, Lord, in the days that lie ahead. I pray you'll continue to use our brother within our denomination for the advancement of thy kingdom. We do remember our Bible College tonight. We thank you for those who are there training for the work of the Lord, and yet we look around our denomination, we realise there's a need, and as we've often prayed, Lord, in these meetings, Lord, raise up labourers for the harvest field. Lord, call those whom thou wouldst choose, and Lord, call them into full-time service. We pray in this congregation, we pray in other congregations, Lord, move in these days, and be pleased, Lord, to provide workers and laborers for the work of the Lord. Member of missionaries tonight, bless them where they are, Lord. Encourage them and meet them in their need, Lord. Perhaps some are feeling discouraged. Perhaps some are feeling the distance. We pray, Lord, that you will be pleased to minister to their hearts tonight. And everywhere where the gospel is faithfully preached, where Christ is exalted, where the book is open and the blood is set forth, is the only means of cleansing. We pray, Lord, that thou wilt be pleased to move and to bless and add to your church such as should be saved. So bless us now, we pray. We look to thee for the blessing, Lord, unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. So, Lord, come and work among us, we pray, and use us tonight, bless us tonight, and may we leave rejoicing that the Lord has visited his vine this evening, for we ask it in Jesus' precious and worthy name. Amen, amen. Hymn 205, not have I gotten, but what I received. Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed. Boasting excluded, pride I abase. I am only a sinner saved by grace. I love this hymn. And you know, whenever you stand and look at what Christ has done for you, and whenever we realize what price was paid, and we only can realize it in some measure, not till we get to heaven when we know fully, It brings humility to our hearts. There's no room for pride. It's all of Christ. And we thank the Lord for what he has done, and therefore we sing this gladly. I'm only a sinner, but praise God, I'm saved by his grace. So let's sing this, this lovely testimony hymn, and let's give praise to the Lord. I'm great, I'm only a sinner. Only as we learn, saved by grace. Holy Esther, save my grace. Holy Esther, save my grace. This is my story, to God be the glory. I'm holy, Esther, save my grace. of Zion's high. Still it ran o'er deep, weary was face, but now thine is still earth. this is my story I'm I'm only a sinner saved by my God. Amen. I could ask you to take your copy of God's Word tonight and we're turning to Psalm number six. As we read through these Psalms in our morning and evening services, we trust the Lord will bless us and encourage us Psalm number six, and it's one of those psalms where the psalmist comes in need. He comes pleading before the Lord. He's weary. Verse three asks the question, oh Lord, how long? How long? And then by the end of the psalm, he's able to say in verse nine, the Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord will receive my prayer. And that's so often what happens. We come in weariness. We come pleading before the Lord. We come in all of our need. And as we pray and leave that burden with the Lord, then the Lord deals with our heart. And we leave praising Him and worshiping Him, knowing that He is good. Yet as for God, His way is perfect. And therefore it's a privilege to come as God's people to pray. So we read this Psalm, this prayer of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed. But thou, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver my soul. O save me for thy mercy's sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave, who shall give thee thanks. I am weary with my groanings. All the night make I my bed to swim. I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief. It waxeth old because of all my enemies. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. For the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication. The Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed. Let them return and be ashamed suddenly. Amen. And we know God a lot of blessing to the public reading of his precious word. We do want to welcome all to our service this evening. We welcome you in the saviour's name to our regular congregation. We thank you for being in the house for the Lord this evening for those visiting with us tonight. We welcome you in the saviour's precious name. We welcome the reverend Marcus Leckie and his family there tonight. We thank you for joining with us and pray the Lord will bless you here and we welcome Reverend Timothy Nelson and his wife tonight and we thank them for being with us and our brother will come in a few moments time to testify and to speak to our hearts and we're looking forward to that tonight. I also welcome those watching online and we thank you for joining with us and we pray the Lord will bless you as you tune into this service from wherever you are. I want to make just a few announcements then for the rest of tonight and the incoming week in the will of the Lord. Please do remember those in the choir that we're meeting tonight after the service in preparation for Easter. and we do encourage you to be a part of that and to come along to the complex after the meeting tonight. Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. is our Parents and Tots, and then at 8 p.m. is our Bible study and prayer meeting. Wednesday at 10 past seven is our Children's meeting. At 8 p.m. then, the Presbyterian meeting is taking place in Mockerfelt this week, and we would remind our session of that. Next Saturday evening at 8pm we're having a special rally organised by our youth fellowship but it's open to all. And Dr. Ian Brown is coming along to speak about the Christian's use of social media, the internet, mobile phones, and all of those things. And technology advances so quickly and so fast. And there's things that are being used today I have never heard of, apps being used today that I'm not aware of. And certainly, he's coming to make us aware of some of the dangers that there are out there, how to use it with discernment, and how to use it and maintain our testimony. And that's very, very important. We encourage our young people to come along. We encourage all parents to come along. We encourage all to come along who have a mobile phone, who are on the internet, who are on social media. And our brother will come and bring us principles from the word of God and how to use those things in a manner that will glorify God. So we do remind you of that. That's open to all. It'll be in the complex next Saturday evening. And we pray the Lord will bless our brother as he comes to speak on that subject. Next Lord's Day morning then, our Sunday school is starting 15 minutes earlier at 10.30 because we are starting the practices for Children's Day. ask our parents to bring the children along those few minutes earlier. 11 a.m. then our Bible classes, 12 noon family worship, and at 7 p.m. the gospel evening service. We do want to remember those who have been bereaved in our area over this past week. We remember the Currie family on the passing of Morris, the Porter family on the passing of Vaughan, remembering his aunt and uncle, David and Helen Arle, in our own congregation. And then we also remember the family of George Caldwell. And I know there's a number of connections in our congregation, but we pray for all that the Lord will comfort and sustain, even after his sudden passing, and that the Lord will be pleased to comfort his dear family circle. Our prayer request for this week, we have the Boyle family serving the Lord in Mexico City, and Noel Shields and his work as an evangelist under our mission board. The retiree missionary offering for February has gone up since I have announced it this morning, and that's a good way for things to go, and it has gone to £4,342, and we want to thank you for your generous giving to the work of the Lord for the missionaries. As I mentioned this morning, we are commencing, in the will of the Lord, a door-to-door outreach ministry. Please see our brother Alistair if you would be interested in being involved in that. We will be meeting with those involved after Easter for some training and for giving you some further information about that. But do see our brother Alistair in the meantime. We would deeply appreciate that. Again, a great advance announcement, but we want to make it for the workers for Vacation Bible School in the summer, Monday the 11th to Friday the 15th of August, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you'd like to be involved in that, whether through teaching, whether through cleaning, whether through supervision, working in the kitchen, whatever it is, come and see me, give me your name, and we will get a group together, and we will make some plans in after Easter with those who have volunteered to serve in that way. And then again, remember, three weeks today is Easter Sunday. As I said this morning, I want you to pray about those whom the Lord would have you invite. We will have invitations here next Lord's Day morning for you to take and to give personally to people. But start now. Start praying and seeing who the Lord would lay in your heart to invite to the services. The gospel will be clearly, simply presented at both services. And we want to use this as an opportunity to get unsaved and under the sound of the word of God. Do continue to remember our sister Emma. She started her treatment this week and we know that the family have deeply appreciated the prayers of God's people thus far and we continue to pray for her and for her family at this time and pray that the Lord will bless her and give her grace as she goes through this time of treatment. These are all our announcements and make them subject to the will of the Lord. We want to sing just one more hymn and then we will hand over to our brother, Mr. Nelson. We want to sing 197. 197, tell me the old, old story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his glory. his love. We'll sing verse 1, 2 and verse number 4. We'll leave out verse 3. So verses 1, 2 and 4 as we worship the Lord and we'll stand again to sing. Let's stand to sing. ♪ But Jesus and Mary were one ♪ ♪ Tell me the story of them ♪ ♪ For I forget so soon ♪ ♪ The early dew of morning ♪ ♪ Has passed away at noon ♪ ♪ Tell me all the story of them ♪ of Jesus and His love. Tell me the same old story when you have close to me, that this world's empty glory is God's repeating. I'm going to ask you to turn in God's Word this evening to the first epistle of Peter, 1 Peter chapter 3, please. I thank Mr. McKee for his kind words of welcome tonight and for the invitation to come along and to be a part of this Lord's Day evening meeting. Good to be here and to have the opportunity of joining with folk in Maherafelt again. I see many that are known to me and have been known to me over the years and good to see you and other friends who are gathered here as well. Even Mr. Leckie, it's even good to see Mr. Leckie. Could you not have gone somewhere else? But it's always good to renew fellowship with him as well. And we think of Mr. Lecke and Mr. McKee. And Mr. McKee has mentioned the work of the college. And of course, I always encourage you to be mindful of that work and to pray for it. And these two brethren have become very helpful to us in the work of the college and very useful and valued members of our lecturing staff over the past number of years and it's good to have been able to bring them on board and to rejoice in the Lord and what he has done through them and we thank them tonight for their faithful labor in the Lord. Please pray for the college. We're very thankful for the progress that has been made over the last four months or so. The building is well up now and they're moving to put on slates next week in the will of God so Progress has been made and we're thankful for that and for the weather which has been favorable over this winter season. And we do rejoice in the Lord's help and the Lord's provision. We thank you for your practical support as a congregation here for the work of the college. That's important. It's vital. And for your prayers as well. We appreciate that very much indeed. And do take it upon your heart into the future. So it's good to be here and we trust the Lord will meet with us. as we gather here tonight. So 1 Peter chapter 3, and I'd like to read from the verse 8 in this chapter. 1 Peter 3 and the verse 8. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, But contrary-wise, blessing, knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But, and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. We will end at verse 16. We trust and pray that the Lord will bless the reading of his own word to every heart tonight. Shall we have a moment's prayer? Just look to the Lord for help now. Father in heaven, we return the thanks for the opportunity to gather here in thy name. We bless thee and praise thee for the privilege of being here. And we do come to commit our way unto thee. We ask thy blessing upon all that will be done now and upon every word that will be spoken. We remember the statement made by thy servant of old when he said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And we identify with those words this evening. So enable us to make much of Christ and to magnify the Savior in these closing moments. And if it be so that there are any in our gathering tonight who do not know Christ, we pray that by thy spirit they may be drawn and the light of the glorious gospel of Christ will dawn upon their souls. Hear our prayers. Speak to me and speak through me. Use me according to thy will. We ask it in the Savior's name. Amen. Many of you will know this evening that the story of the Apostle Paul's conversion is recorded for us in Acts chapter nine. And what a story it is. The account of how God transformed the life of the greatest Christian who ever lived. It is right that such a story should be told and retold. Hence, when we turn to the book of Acts, we discover, for instance, in chapter 22, that Paul is found addressing the multitude at Jerusalem. And of course, in the context of that meeting, he gives his testimony. A little later on, in chapter 26, he is before King Agrippa and Festus, the Roman governor. What does he do on that occasion? He testifies once more to the grace of God in his life. There is an abbreviated version of this as he begins to write to the churches of Galatia in the opening chapter of Galatians, and then a summary again when he writes to those at Philippi. in Philippians chapter 3. Now, my friends, I say to you this evening, my story is not near to that of Paul. By comparison, it is extremely ordinary. But it is a story I am compelled to tell according to Scripture and according to the challenge, the exhortation that we have read from 1 Peter 3 and the verse 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Be ready, Peter says. When you are asked, if you are a believer, be ready always. to give an account for what the Lord has done in your life and for the hope that he has bestowed upon you. And that's simply what I want to do in the time that remains this evening. I was born into a home which had not the Lord Jesus Christ. My parental home had no experience of the gospel of Christ. Nonetheless, it was a good home. It was a decent home. It was a home where there was some measure of respect for the things of God. My parents attended the Presbyterian church and they sent me along to Sabbath school. I was shown that Sunday, the Lord's day was different. I was taught that there is a difference between things that are right and things that are wrong. And I look back on those years, and I recollect the sacrifices that my parents made so that I was raised in a good home. And I cannot say that I ever wanted for anything. We were not wealthy, but everything we needed, we had. And that was very much due to the diligence and to the sacrifice of my parents. My father has long since gone to glory. My mother is still alive, and last Lord's Day, she celebrated her 97th birthday. So I'm thankful for my parents, and I do rejoice in being born into such a home. I have so much to be thankful for. And may I just say a word to the young people who are here in the gathering tonight. It's good to see you all, by the way. You could be in no better place than in the Lord's house on the evening of the Lord's day. But I say this to you, never despise good parents. My mother and father were not Christians, but they cared enough to raise us in the right way, send us along to meetings and to do their very best for us. And if you have good parents, And if you have Christian parents, then be thankful for that. It's a great privilege. When you're young, sometimes you don't always see that. It's easy to rebel against your parents, to think that they don't understand where you are, they're being too hard on you, and they don't have the same understanding of life as you have. And we've all been there. We've all been there. If you have good parents, please listen to them. They are concerned for you, especially in this world in which we live. And it's important that you give them their place and that you honor them as best you possibly can. But I do say this to you, of course, good parents, even Christian parents, do not and cannot save souls. They can't save your soul. They might have a concern for you. They might pray for you. They might do their utmost to see that you are raised under gospel influence and Christian grace, but they cannot save you. And the only way in which you will ever be saved is by coming to the Lord Jesus Christ personally and receiving him as your savior and Lord. While I was born, in the town of Banbridge in County Down. I grew up, really, in Lurgan, County Armagh. Family moved there in my early years. And in the town of Lurgan, we went along to one of two large Presbyterian churches in the town. Now, the church that we attended had a minister who was saved. And there's no question about that. He knew the Lord. But I don't think he was renowned as an out-and-out preacher of the gospel. And so there was not really a thrust there. There was not really a regular challenge in the preaching of the Word. But nevertheless, I had at least an acquaintance with God's word. And in fact, it was under the ministry of this man that my mother was converted and then later my father also. I should say that my father came to the Savior after a very serious illness. An illness which so disabled him that it put an end to his working life. And indeed there was a time when we wondered if he was going to survive at all. Maybe there's a lesson in that too. Sometimes God has to deal with man in a very severe way in order to bring him to his senses spiritually. It may be the loss of a loved one. It may be the ruin of a business. Maybe some deep personal tragedy or as in the case of my father, it may mean being brought low on a sick bed. Such a thing often serves as a very clear warning. I'm looking around me in this meeting tonight and I see the faces of many who are not known to me. I don't know your circumstances. I don't know your situation. I don't know who may be in this meeting this evening as an unbeliever. And I certainly don't know whether or not the Lord has put His hand out and touched your life in such a way and you are going through deep waters. And it may be that the Lord is bringing you that way to challenge you. Maybe the Lord has spoken to you in the past. Maybe you've heard the gospel. Maybe you have been brought up under saving influence. Maybe you've been raised in this church and yet still tonight you're not converted. And so it may be that the Lord has had to resort to such measures, bring you into the valley so that you might stop and consider your ways. My dear friend, that is an indication of the Lord's mercy. He has not left you to go on in your own way He's speaking to you. Maybe he's speaking to you again this evening. Well, of course, being a regular attender at Sunday school and in church services as well, I would have to say that as a boy growing up and into teenage years, I always had some considerable interest in religious matters and the things of God, though I was not a Christian. I certainly considered myself to be a good person, I didn't engage in any of the practices that we commonly associate with a sinful lifestyle. So even as a teenager, I wasn't drinking, I wasn't smoking, I wasn't doing any of these things that were considered wrong by many in society. But I have to say that I did have a great passion. My great passion was football. And as I was growing up, I supported the local team. And I supported them with all my heart. And I mean that. If they lost, which was about three times out of four, my heart was down in the dumps. And I took it all very personally. It was a passion thing with me. I traveled around the country to watch them. I don't know if there's ever been a more frustrating experience in my life, but that's how it was. And I was there. I gave myself to that, even though the atmosphere in football grounds at that time, wasn't everything you would wish it to be. And there were things there that I knew were wrong, but nevertheless, I went along and I supported the team with all my heart. I still retained links with the church, of course, and went along to the services and so on. And so in my teenage years, little bit into my teenage years, there was a gospel crusade, which came along to the town of Lurgan. It was supported by many of the local churches, held in a tent, very large tent, which was raised in the grounds of the local high school. And I asked a school friend if he would like to go. This was big news in the town at that time, and he agreed, and he encouraged me to go early to that campaign. And so we went. By the way, that was crucial for the friend to whom I spoke was actually a Christian. And may I say to you, child of God, in the meeting tonight, as a believer, It's important that you do everything in your power to bring others to the Lord. You need to pray for souls. You need to strive to get them under the gospel, bring them to the meetings, encourage them to come. May I say, bring them, bring them. The minister has referred to special meetings at the Easter time. And I think we're at that time now in society where It's not just the case that we hand out invitations or we ask people to come and invite them along. We've almost got to bring them. Get out there and bring them. Bring them along and get them under the sound of the gospel. We've got to make sacrifices to do that. And this is the calling of all believers, not just the preacher or the elder. Because there are those in this community that will not be reached by the preacher or the elders, but they might be reached by you. So think about that. Think about your neighbors, your friends, and folk around you. Well, we went to the campaign. We went along in the first week. And that night, that very first night, I heard preaching the like of which I had never heard before, the evangelist, who was an Englishman brought over for the occasion. He spoke on that verse in Romans 9, 27. It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment. And he talked about death. He talked about judgment. He talked about hell. He talked about heaven. And at last, I suppose I could say I had someone to open the scriptures to me and show me clearly and powerfully the truth of the gospel. And I do not hesitate to say that as I sat under the sound of the ministry on that evening, the fear of God gripped my soul. I'd never known anything like this before. And I realized that if my life ended that night, I was not ready to meet God. Despite the fact I considered myself a good person, and I didn't get involved in a lot of the things that other teenagers were involved in, and I was a churchgoer and all of that, I was not ready to meet God. As was the fashion in that kind of evangelistic event, the appeal was made for people to go forward and to go to the front. Well, I didn't do that. I didn't have the courage to do that. I didn't walk the aisle. I went out of the tent. I started out for home. We didn't live too far away from the location of the mission, and we were walking. And I set out for home, but I could not leave that place. And I had to go back. And together with my younger sister, We made our way into the tent again and we were spoken to by a man who that very night pointed us to the Savior. I was 15 years old. May I say a word about that man? I didn't know him. I never found out his name. To my knowledge, I never met him after that evening. I expect he has long since passed away. But he was faithful. He was true to the gospel. He pointed me to Christ. And I say to you, dear believer, in this gathering tonight, you don't need to be famous. You don't need to have a high profile. You don't need to be standing in a pulpit to do a work for God. There's a work for every believer to do. Very often that work may be behind the scenes where no eye will see it and where only eternity will reveal it. But I tell you this, God values every contribution and he will reward all who are faithful. I promise you, believer tonight, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. And if you serve him with all your heart, no matter who sees, the Lord sees. And he is no man's debtor. Well, that's how I came to Christ. I remember the next day. I remember well how I felt. And I remember that part of the journey that we had to make at that time, I was going to school in another town. And we traveled part of the way on a bicycle. And we rode and left our bicycles, my sister and I, at another home. And then we got a bus. And we traveled on to school. And I can remember riding down on the bicycle past where that gospel tent was raised. just going past at that very next morning, and I almost felt as if there was no bicycle, as if I was just sailing along there, so happy and so filled with the joy of the Lord as a result of what had taken place the previous evening. And those were joyful days, blessed days, because only Christ can satisfy the need of the sinner. Now, that's not to say that many other things will promise you satisfaction, friend, in the meeting tonight. They will promise you the world. They'll promise you everything, contentment and excitement and joy and peace and all of the rest. But at the end of the day, they're only promises. And a promise has only value if it's fulfilled, if it's delivered on. and the world cannot deliver. And it leaves you with your sin untouched and your expectations unfulfilled. There's a little chorus, maybe you know it. It says, if you want joy, real joy, let Jesus come into your heart. There's only true joy found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so those early days were happy days. They were blessed days and I'm thankful for them, As you will well understand, that life with the Lord is like everything worth having. It needs to be worked at. It needs to be worked at. Young believer must give attention to study of the scriptures and prayer and fellowship with other believers and witness and service and all of those things. And I look back on my life and it may be that I didn't receive very much encouragement from the church I attended then, That is not to say that there were no failures in my own personal walk with God, there were. And I was not everything I should have been as the weeks and the months went by. And I say to you, dear believer, progress in the Christian life does not come automatically. It must be developed by sincere and sustained effort. It's like the garden, we all like our gardens to look beautiful and everything in order. But if we leave the garden to itself, we'll understand very quickly that it will be overrun by unwanted intruders. And in our lives, there will be sin and neglect and half-heartedness. If we don't go forward in the Christian life then, in a very real sense, we are going back. And I did that for a time. but God graciously drew me back to himself. Backslider is always in a sense living in second best and there's no happiness in that life. Believer in this meeting tonight, if you've got away from the Lord, if you're not as close to your savior as once you were, then you'll understand very well what I'm saying tonight. Because there's no happiness, there's no contentment in that. maybe you need to get back to the Lord, back to the place where once you were. I remember even as a young Christian still having a passion for football and those early days I still went along to the matches and though I have to say I was somewhat uncomfortable on occasions just being there and in those surroundings and listening to what was being said or shouted and the whole atmosphere of those gatherings. And then I remember a believer saying to me one day, if the Savior came and he found you at that football match, would you be happy? Would you be happy to meet him there? And I tried to dismiss those words out of my mind, out of my heart, but I couldn't do it. And I knew that for me, for me, continuing to go along to those games and being in that atmosphere and listening to things that were said and things that were done, that was a hindrance to me. And so I resolved that I would step away from that. And I can honestly say that I have never wished that I was at a football game since then. Now, I still sometimes watch games on television. I know what's going on in football generally. but I've never been back to the game, never been in that situation. And if we're going to be successful in the life to which the Lord calls us, then we've got to give up anything that will hold us back. And if we have any sense that what we're doing will dishonor the Lord, then we've got to step away from that. That's the only thing we can do. I'm not saying that it is the same for every believer. It may be that there are things that are a hindrance to you, different things. And what hinders me may not necessarily hinder you, but you've got to be clear about this and be clear with the Lord. Well, I went on in my teenage years and subsequently I was brought to attend meetings in the Free Presbyterian Church, In due course, I came at a membership of the Lurgan congregation. Some of my closest friends at school were Free Presbyterians. And of course, they were never reluctant to promote the Free Presbyterian view of things. And me being a Presbyterian, I suppose I was something of a target. And they would certainly have reminded me of certain things that were going on. And there were issues that were then evident, and very much to the fore in the Presbyterian church, things that I was already uncomfortable with. And I was challenged. And I came to understand that some of these things that were being said before me by my friends were much more than just narrow denominational issues. These were Bible principles. And I came to see that and understand that. And I do want to pay tribute to one brother who was in the same year as me at school. And I think back to those days and I think about how he spoke to me and witnessed to me about these things. And it's really more about the manner rather than the substance of his witness because It was the gracious manner in which he dealt with me and brought these things to my attention. He wasn't in any way in himself a hindrance. He did it in a very gracious way. There was a gentleness in his approach. He was not antagonistic. He was not abrasive. He was not confrontational. He simply set the matters before me. And that was really due to his influence, most of all, that I came to a point where I stepped away from the Presbyterian Church and joined the Free Presbyterian Church. I should say that that friend is now one of our ministers as well, Brother of the Reverend Ian Harris, the minister in Annalong. We were at school together for a couple of years, and I greatly value our brother's influence and his fellowship to this day. So quickly got involved in the life and work of the congregation in Lurgan amongst the children and amongst the young people. And I would say to you as a young believer, encourage you to get involved. There are opportunities there. Mr. McKee has mentioned opportunities that will be available to you to get involved. And I would encourage you as a young believer to do that early. If there's an opportunity for you, then you grasp that opportunity. and you do what you can to serve the Lord in the days that lie ahead. I came to the end of school days and I drifted into higher education. I left school without any clear indication as to what the future would hold. If you'd asked me, what are you going to do? What are you going to end up doing? I would probably have said, well, I'll probably be a teacher. Sorry brother, but there was no real conviction about that. I didn't feel that that was a passion or a calling or anything like that. I kind of just drifted and I went to university and I spent a very, very unsettled first year at university because the Lord was dealing with me. And as that year went on, it became clear to me that the Lord had a purpose for me that was not in teaching, but in the ministry of the gospel. And it came to a point where I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that that's how the Lord was leading me. And so I was so convinced and so convicted about that that I decided, having done one year at university, that was enough. I'd leave it behind. And I'd go and apply for study in our theological hall. I remember a conversation I had with Dr. Douglass at that time. And there I was, a young man, 19 years of age or thereabouts, very enthusiastic, feeling the Lord had called me and coming to offer myself to the church. And I have to say, I wasn't terribly impressed by Dr. Douglass's response. And there I was. I'm ready. And he seemed a bit reluctant about it all. And he said to me, well, you know, the Lord has opened the door for you to study where you are. And maybe you better think twice about giving up this opportunity, which the Lord has provided for you. And I went away from that interview a little bit disheartened. But when you sit down and when you think it through, understanding what Dr. Douglass was saying. He said, the Lord has opened that door for you. It may be that the Lord has a purpose for you that will be realized as you continue in your studies and you redeem that opportunity. And so rather reluctantly, I continued on for another three years. And of course, I came to reflect on what Dr. Douglass said. He was absolutely right. And there were three years of opportunity given for me to get involved in the work of God, to preach the word. When I eventually came to enter our college, I had preached around many congregations. I had a lot of invaluable experience and the Lord used those years to ground me in many things and to prove to me that he had a plan and a purpose for my life. I do say, young people, Indeed, everyone here in the meeting tonight, it's so important to know and to implement the will of God for your life. Make that a matter of priority. Don't be just like I was, drifting, drifting along without ever seriously stopping to get before the Lord and say, Lord, what do you want me to do with my life? Is there a young person in this meeting tonight? And maybe you have never seriously asked that question. You never got before the Lord and prayed, Lord, do you have a purpose for my life, a purpose that I can't see? You have a purpose that would involve me in ministry or take me away from this land to serve in missionary work or whatever. Now, you might have your plans. You might have your ambitions. You might have it all mapped out. I've met young people who were able to tell me what they're going to do in the next three years, where they're going to be in five years, where they're going to be in 10 years, all of that. But doesn't that shut the Lord out? Doesn't that shut the Lord out? So important to know what the Lord's mind and will is for you. You've got to seek the Lord about that matter. Be honest, be sincere, be willing for what the Lord has for you. We are often quoting those words from Proverbs. Proverbs chapter three. And how many times have you heard these words quoted? Proverbs 3.5 says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not onto thine own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. That's a wonderful promise, you know. He shall direct thy paths. There's a prelude to that. You might say, there's a series of preludes to it. We've got to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. We've got to lean not to our own understanding. How many people in the world today, and the only thing that matters in their lives is their own understanding. And Solomon says, don't lean on that. In all thy ways acknowledge him. Now that's comprehensive, isn't it? In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Young person in the meeting tonight, give serious consideration and contemplation to this matter. And so, four more years at college, four years at university, and then another four years at college. Well, it goes on and on, and I could talk about teaching in college for more than 27 years now. I have been a perpetual student, never stops. But I should say that between those two periods of study early on, between four years at university and four years at college, I had enough space to acquire a wife. And I managed to squeeze that in just between the end of one course and the beginning of another. When God made a wife for Adam, he described her as an helpmate. The Bible says, whoso findeth a wife, findeth a good thing. And I am so thankful this evening for a wise and supportive helper alongside me, one who has always been there, one who has given support and encouragement One who has on occasion talked sense to me when I needed to have sense talk to me. And what a hiding I'm going to get when I go home this evening, I tell you. I am for it. I can tell you that. But I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for that and for children who know the Lord and who are serving the Lord and grandchildren. I'm thankful for them as well. The Lord has been good. The Lord has been gracious. And so another four years, another four years of Bible college. And the Lord brought us through that at the end of my period in Bible college was combined with a couple of years. Those were the years when we were involved in placements for the end of our college year. And I served for two years, but more than two years down in County Fermanagh in our church in Keshe. And then at the end of my time, Just a month or two after finishing, the Lord called me to the congregation in Rosh Harkin. And I spent the first 12 and a half years of my ministry there. And of course there have been other churches and other places to serve right to this present time to the work in Tyndale where I have been for the last three and a half years. And I sometimes think back and think that the Lord The Lord's gracious because He gives you things that maybe you thought of doing and you'd You sort of ruled them out. The Lord called to ministry and you think that that's the end of any ambition you had to go in any other direction or any other thought. And I had once thought of teaching and now I've been teaching for 27 odd years. So I didn't escape that entirely. And I, if you pushed me into a corner in those early years, as I came to the end of school, you said, what would you really like to be? What would you really like to be? I'd have said a journalist. I'd love to have been a journalist, really. Oh, I never really shared that with anyone. But I spent 10 years editing the Let the Bible Speak quarterly magazine and another five or six years editing our own Free Presbyterian Vision magazine. So the Lord gives you all of these things on top of the burden that you're already trying to bear in ministry. But my life this evening, my testimony this evening is an affirmation of God's grace. Paul said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And I am entirely this evening what I am, by the grace of God. I remember when the Lord called me to the work of the ministry, he used some verses. from the Old Testament prophecy of Jeremiah. And these verses have stayed with me right throughout the years. And whenever I'm asked about how the Lord called me, I inevitably go back to these verses because at that time, it was as if these verses jumped out of the page and they applied directly to my circumstances. Because you see by nature, I'm somewhat shy. And in those early days at school and even in the early days at university, I never would have hardly opened my mouth in public. And I would have been back there in the corner just quietly being there doing whatever was asked of me. But I wasn't in any sense contemplating any kind of public ministry. And so my response to the Lord was rather like Jeremiah's response. And you have that in Jeremiah chapter one. In verse four, we read, the word of the Lord came onto me saying, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou came as forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak for I am a child. In a sense, that's what I was saying to the Lord. I cannot speak. I can't do this. And it continues, the Lord said unto me, say not I am a child for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. I say to you again, my friends tonight, I am what I am by the grace of God. This is all the Lord is doing. If I have accomplished anything, if I have done anything, it's entirely by the grace of God. It's not about me at all. And I don't want you to think that tonight. It's entirely by the grace of God. I close tonight by reminding you of those words that the preacher used on the night of my conversion. He said, it's appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the judgment. We're all going to die. There are some in this meeting tonight, and I may never see you again. That's just how it is. We're all going to die. Maybe next week, next year, 10 years, 20 years, whatever, but we're all going to die. And after death, there's a judgment. And we have got to be ready for that. And the only way in which we can be ready is if we have a saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that will only happen if we receive him personally. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. So the question is this, have you received Christ? Have you believed on his name? And this is about you. Not about your family connections, not about the friend who's sitting beside you. It's not about your Sunday school teacher. It's about you. Have you received Christ? Are you ready? I pray you are. And if you are, I pray that by God's grace, you will live your life to his glory. Thank you so much for listening. May the Lord bless you. Thank you brother for a testimony tonight and for his ministry and what a challenge to God's people in various times throughout that message. May the Lord give us grace to be found faithful, to find witnessing, to find winning souls for Christ and may we have the joy of even this week being part of that people who are working for the Lord, but there are those who are not saved tonight. Our brother has left the challenge. We want to close with this hymn that, once again, would urge you to come to Christ. 231 says, O mourner in Zion, how blessed art thou, for Jesus is waiting to comfort thee now. Fear not to rely on the word of thy God. Step out on the promise. Get under the blood. There's refuge there, there's cleansing there, there's peace with God. And may tonight you step out on the promise of God, whosoever shall call, upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. May even this night come to Christ. We'll stand and sing this hymn together, and then we'll remain standing for prayer. Oh Lord, you're in Zion, a blessed art thou for Jesus is born. Stand by, God, I promise, Stand by, God, I promise, First he rejoiced, for him he shall be filled. Do you hear that sweet voice impriding you now to abide? Who sighed for a heart from iniquity free? Oh, who died for a heart from iniquity free? ♪ Come all ye faithful, come all ye faithful ♪ Stand by, promise, promise, that Christ thy child to be. The blood of His Son cleanseth us from all sin. It cleanseth me not. Alleluia. Let's bow our heads, close our eyes. We're here before the Lord. If the Lord's been dealing with your heart, then don't harden your heart tonight. Don't neglect that, but do what he calls you to do. Come to him, trust in him, repent of your sin, call on his name. If a brother or I can be of any help to you, we've always said we can't save you, but we can show you the one who can. Please feel free to make that known at the door, and we would love to appoint you to Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee and we praise Thee for the privilege of being in the house of God tonight. Sing these wonderful hymns of Zion to read the scriptures and to hear, Lord, about Thy work in our brother's life and to be challenged, Lord, tonight, both saved and unsaved in the presence of the Lord. We believe, Lord, that Thou art here to bless us. We believe Thou art speaking and we pray, Lord, As we've heard thy voice tonight, we'll not leave disobediently, but O Lord, whatever thou would say to us, give us grace to do it. I pray, Lord, that you'll continue to speak on the hearts. Our brother spoke tonight, and he wasn't able to leave the premises. He wasn't able to leave the location. O Lord, make that be the case tonight for some dear sinner, till they get onto the blood. We thank thee that there is a Savior who's ready. and mighty to save. Therefore, draw sinners to him tonight. I will be careful to give thee all the praise, the honor, and the glory as I dispel thy church. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.