We're keeping the theme of the precious blood, redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever. Praise God, this is not a salvation that's part-time. Praise God, tonight it's a salvation that's forever, because we've been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. This is our opening hymn. We're gonna stand together while we sing. We're singing well, but let's really pull out all the stops, as Dr. Kieran used to always say on this, our opening hymn, and sing it to God's glory. Let's all stand while we sing, please. Let's all stand and sing. Now I come to proclaim Him, Raging by the blood of the Lamb, Raging through His infinite mercy, This silent forever I am, Raging, Raging, Raging by the blood of the Lamb, Redeemed, his child and forever I am. Now ladies only on verse two, ladies only. Redeemed and so happy in Jesus, now I've reached my rapture at death. I know that the light of his presence I think of my blessed Redeemer, I think of Him all the day. His love is the theme of my soul. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed. I know there is a God that is waiting in yonder right mansion for me, and sent with the spirits made perfect at all times. Let's unite our hearts together in prayer as we still ourselves in God's presence. I'm going to ask our brother, Reverend Joyce Muffet. We're delighted that Joyce is with us. I'm going to ask him to come and to lead us to the throne of grace. In prayer let's still ourselves in God's presence, praying that he might come tonight in a special way and do a work of grace in all our hearts. Let's come before the Lord tonight. Heavenly Father, we bow in thy most holy presence. O Lord, we rejoice tonight that indeed there is victory in Jesus. Lord, we thank thee for the victory of Calvary. O Lord, the world looks at Calvary and sees a scene of pity. Lord, we rejoice that tonight Calvary is a scene of victory. It's a scene of glory. Lord, we thank thee that there at the cross, Satan was defeated and Jesus reigns. And Lord, as we meet together today, as the world thinks of the coronation, we rejoice as children of God that we serve a higher throne and we serve a higher King. Oh, Heavenly Father, King Charles might reign over a country, but Lord, we serve the God who reigns over creation. And Lord, we thank Thee tonight that Thou art the God still upon the throne. And Lord, we thank Thee, Thou art a sovereign God, Thou art a supreme God, and yet we rejoice tonight, Thou art a saving God. And Lord, as we meet together here for this gospel service, for this dedication service, Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst go forth in salvation tonight and save precious souls and precious lives to save them. Lord, we thank Thee for the safe arrival of little Heidi. We thank Thee for the joy she is to her family, nor we pray for this little one, but early in life she will come to know Jesus Christ as her own and personal Savior. Heavenly Father, we pray You'd unite that family in the Savior. We pray it for all the boys and girls that are here tonight. We pray it for the adults too. Heavenly Father, we plead with Thee. draw near tonight and save many precious souls. Lord, we pray for our brother Alfie. Thank Thee for him. Thank Thee for the day and hour that You saved him and You made him Your own. And Lord, as he would stand and testify of Thy grace in his life, Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst touch our hearts. We think of those in Revelation who were won by the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony. Lord, bless the word of our brother's testimony tonight and draw us to that fountain filled with blood. and drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Lord, bless this church here in Ballymoney. Bless the witness of this church. Lord, bless your pastor here. Lord, give him strength and help and encouragement for his labors. Lord, we pray as we worship together tonight that our worship would be acceptable in the sight of God. Lord, we rejoice tonight for the powerful reigning Christ. We thank thee that Thou art mighty and strong to save. And Lord, we thank Thee that there's no sinner can sin themselves beyond the love of God. Lord, we pray that tonight souls will be saved and won for Christ, that we may not glory in a testimony, that we may not glory in a singer, that we may not glory in a family or a pastor, but that we may glory in our mighty savior oh lord drawn here and blessed tonight bless kirsten as she comes to minister in song or give her help give her grace we pray that even through her ministry we'd be led once again to calvary and the lord some soul would leave this place tonight saying redeemed redeemed i'm redeemed by the blood of the lamb lord bless us tonight we pray drawn here and do us good we ask in jesus name amen amen Thank you very much, Joshua. Good to see everyone tonight. This is family night, and we're looking forward to the testimony. We're looking forward to our sisters singing as well. But this is also the dedication service of Heidi, Heidi Eve Park. And we always give opportunity to the family to choose a hymn. And so our dedication hymn tonight is 687. There's a friend for little children above the bright blue sky, a friend who never changes, whose love will never die. And we're going to sing the first three verses together, and then I'm going to ask Andrew and Rebecca and their children to come forward and meet me at the front for the dedication, and we'll sing the other verses thereafter. Let's stand to sing, There's a Friend for Little Children. A friend who never changes, whose love will never die. Online are friends by nature, who change with changing years. This friend is always worthy, the precious thing There's a place for little children Above the bright blue sky. from sin and danger free, where every little pilgrim shall rest eternally. There is a home for little children above the bright blue sky, where Jesus O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Congregation may be seated. Delighted to see everyone tonight, and Robert and Alma, we're especially glad to see you, along with Susan and I. We rejoice, obviously, tonight in the birth of little Heidi. Andrew and Rebecca, Always welcome, Cassia and Susie as well, and little Heidi tonight. You know, Heidi's a beautiful name. Very often we give our families biblical names, and if I'm preaching, I'll try and preach on that particular name that is given to the child. But, you know, I'm saved a long time, and I've looked and looked and looked, and I can't find Heidi anywhere in the Scriptures, but she is Heidi Eve. And Eve was the mother of all living, and so we have Eve there. But Heidi is a beautiful name. It reminds me of a little girl. There was a story written about her almost 150 years ago, and she lived with her grandfather in the Swiss Alps. All right, so there is a story there that some of you, I suspect, have read. But for us, Heidi is our darling granddaughter, and for Susan and I, our ninth grandchild, and the Lord is good. Do you know her name means nobility or of noble birth? As far as I know, they're not from nobility. I'm not sure about your ancestry, Robert or Alma, I had a sister who did a dissertation for her university degree, and she looked into the family tree, and I think Willie John McBride is related to us, okay, the rugby player, but he's not from nobility. And Field Marshal Montgomery, somewhere there, is supposed to be in our ancestry, but not really any nobility. But I want to say to you tonight that in a very real sense, a very spiritual sense, Heidi does come from nobility. because Andrew and Rebecca are children of the King. Thinking about the coronation of Charles this weekend, well, we've been preaching yesterday and today all about the great King, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and you are the children of Christ, washed and redeemed and saved by grace. And so, in this sense, there is nobility for her family. I know it'll be the desire of Andrew and Rebecca to bring up their little one and their whole family, to really come to know the King, to know the Savior in due process of time. Nothing is more important than that. Nothing more important for Heidi, not her education. Want to give the best education that we can for our children. Want them to study and do their best as far as their ability is concerned. And it's not fortune or wealth. That's not important really in this world and the whole scheme of things eternally. And it's not to have success in this life or fame and not even to have good health. We all want good health and we want Heidi to grow up strong and healthy, but the most important thing is that Heidi comes to know Christ and is saved by God's grace. Tonight we will dedicate Heidi to the Lord with the prayer in our hearts that she will come to know the Lord Jesus as her Savior early in life. And we're calling upon the congregation, because this is a public thing, the parents are coming to stand here tonight publicly to present their child before the Lord and really before this congregation for you to pray for Heidi. to pray for the children of this church as they grow up in a world that is becoming more estranged to the things of God than ever, that she will be protected and kept and all of her children will be. And so there's two passages of Scripture that we read. One is from the Old Testament from 1 Samuel 1, and the other from the New Testament from Mark chapter 10. And we read these passages of Scripture at every dedication because the first one is giving to us the example of a mother and father who brought their child to, it says the temple, it was actually the tabernacle in Shiloh, and presented young Samuel there before the Lord. And that's what the parents are doing tonight. And then in the New Testament, the beautiful scene of the Lord Jesus taking the children up in His arms, putting His hands upon them and blessing them, and that's what we want tonight, for the Lord to take this little one. So, let's hear God's Word. Wherefore, it came to pass, when the time was come about, after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord. And the man, Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. But Hannah went not up, for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and there abide forever. And Elkanah, her husband, said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good. Tarry until thou have weaned him. Only the Lord establishes word. So the woman abode and gave her son suck until she weaned him. And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her with three bollocks and one ephah of flour and a bottle of wine and brought him onto the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young." Mark chapter 10. And verse 13 to 16, And they brought young children to him that he should touch them, and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and bless them. I'm going to ask the congregation to stand, please. Dear the parents of this child, acknowledge and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Do you promise, depending upon divine grace, to bring up your child in the fear and the admonition of God? Following the example of Scripture and the invitation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I dedicate thee, Heidi Eve Park, to the Lord in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace. We want to bow together in prayer. And you know, she's just getting to that stage where she wants to let us know she's here. But we'll do the best. We've had a little bit of experience, so if I have to hand her back to you, Rebecca, we'll do that. But let's pray together. Almighty God and gracious heavenly Father, we come to this place tonight, this house of God, in a very simple way to dedicate unto the Lord this little girl. We thank you for bringing Heidi into the world, for preserving mother and child when the time of birth came. We thank you for bringing her into a Christian home, where both mom and dad know and love the Savior, and have in their hearts the very best for their little ones, to bring them up in the fear and admonition of God. We thank you for the example that we have in Scripture of a mother, a godly mother who had wept and prayed for a child. And when Samuel was born, brought him to the house of God and presented him publicly to the Lord. And this is what we do tonight. And for that invitation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, when on earth, when the disciples would shoo the parents away, He rebuked them, and he said, suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, but of such is the kingdom of God. And Lord, on that day, you took the children up in your arms, you put your hands upon them, and you blessed them. And we are asking thee in Jesus' name tonight that you'll do that now, that you'll take Heidi in your arms, that you'll put your gracious, divine, omnipotent hands upon her, and that you will bless the child. Bless her with health and strength. We do desire these things for our children. Bless her in life generally and in the future and all that she will become by the grace of God. But Lord, most of all, bless her with God's salvation, that she will come early in life to understand her need of a Savior, to know her right hand from her left, to know that she is a sinner before God in need of salvation, and may she flee to the arms of the Savior and trust in Him for redemption and salvation. Lord, bless this congregation also. We pray that you will Help this church to take the children upon their hearts and pray earnestly for them. We pray for the upcoming generation here in Sunday school, in children's meetings, and generally in the town. Have mercy upon them, we pray. We commit them into your gracious hands. These things we ask for the Savior's sake. Amen. And just there at the end, we had to hand her over. We're going to sing the other verses off the hymn from verse four. There's a crown for little children above the bright blue sky. Thank you. God bless you. shall wear it high and proud, that crown of righteous glory, which he will with me stow, on all who know the Savior and walk with him. All these are the final words. There's a room for eagle children above the brightest star. May we be seated. Kirsten, it's a delight to have you tonight. We're going to ask you to come and minister in song. Thank you. He left the splendor of heaven Knowing his destiny Was the lonely hill of Golgotha there to lay down his life for me. If that isn't love, the ocean is dry. There's no stars in the sky And the sparrow can't fly If that isn't love Then heaven's a myth. There's no feeling like this. If that isn't love. Even in death he remembered The thief hanging by his side And he spoke with love and compassion Then he took him to paradise, if that isn't love. The ocean is strong. There's no stars in the sky And the sparrow can't fly If that isn't love ♪ Then heaven's a myth ♪ For there's no feeling like this ♪ If that isn't love What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give. He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom, my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace. To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus, for my life is wholly bound to His. Oh, how strange and divine I can sing, all is mine, yet not I, but through Christ in me. The night is dark, but I am not forsaken, for by my side the Savior, He will stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing, for in my need His power is displayed. To this I hold, my shepherd will defend me. Through the deepest valley he will lead. Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven The future sure, the price it has been paid For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon And he was raised to overthrow the grave To this I hold, my sin has been defeated. Jesus, now and ever, is my plea. Oh, the chains are released, I can sing. I am free, yet not I, but through Christ in me. With every breath I long to follow Jesus For He has said that He will bring me home And day by day I know He will renew me Until I stand with joy before His throne To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus. All the glory evermore is Him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not I, but through Christ in me. When my race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not I, but through Christ in me. Thank you, Kirsten, for coming tonight, ministering in song. May the Lord bless those messages tonight to every heart. I'll make the announcements as quickly as I can. Good to see everyone. We welcome you in the Savior's name. If you're visiting with a few visitors, we're always glad to see you. We're glad to have Mrs. Lyle, Catherine Lyle, that is Pastor Dennis Lyle's wife. The pastor is down speaking to the Ukrainian church tonight, and she has come to listen to the English-speaking church this evening, so we welcome her especially. Refreshments will be served. Stay behind and enjoy something to eat in a time of fellowship. There's no Hebron Tots tomorrow morning because of the bank holiday, but it will resume the next Monday. Tuesday night there's a special baptism service here at 8 o'clock. We'll be glad to see you. Refreshments will be served afterwards, and ladies, we're asking you to help out with this. Thursday night is the midweek service, and as we said this morning, there's a special emphasis on our youth. I don't need to go into the details tonight, but this is a very special night. We're trying to encourage our young people to be at the prayer meeting. We're trying to encourage them to participate in prayer. I will have a message for you, a special message. I haven't prepared it yet, but I will have a message for you on Thursday night, and to all the church, as we think of our young people. Friday is Youth Fellowship, 8 o'clock. One of our deacons, Mr. Stephen Fletcher, who has recently returned from Kenya, will be speaking to the young people on Friday. In the center of the town on Saturday, we have our open air at 11 o'clock. Next Lord's Day, the prayer meeting, 8 o'clock in the morning, Sunday school 1030, the Bible class quarter to 11, worship service 12 noon, the gospel meeting at 7, preceded by the time of prayer. There's a new release of a CD. The Reverend Fred Greenfield is the singer, and the price is 10 pounds. The title is, My God is Real. And if you want a copy of this, see Mervyn. And we did show some slides this morning. I'm going to show one tonight. Robert, this is the work going on in Uganda. Robert and a team from Macrofeld went out to help do the new shower and toilet block at Emmanuel Christian School. So it's been quite a big undertaking. They led the foundation, got the walls up a certain height, and now the locals are taking over, and good progress is being made. We bring our tithes and our offerings in just now. Remember, it's let the Bible speak envelopes and missionary covenant today. I once was a stranger is the hymn 324. I once was a stranger to grace and to God. I knew not my danger and felt not my load. Though friends spoke on rapture of Christ in the tree, Jehovah said, Kenya was nothing to me. Let's sing down the verses as the offering is received, keeping our seats, please. I once was a stranger to grace and to love. I knew not my name. at you, O Christ of the King. Jehovah's savior was coming to thee. My tears from the daughters of Zion The final verse, He treadeth the valley. He treadeth the valley, His watchword shall rally my faltering breath. Far then, from my fever, my heart sets me free. This is the final piece to sing and then immediately after that our brother Alfie Stewart from Macra Felt is going to give his testimony. We've looked forward to this meeting and Alfie you're welcome in the Saviour's name and just a moment or two you're free to come and tell us what the Lord has done for you. Thank you. Feel at home. Amen. This last piece that I'm going to sing tonight is a piece actually that I wrote back in September, and I feel that maybe I should just explain. It's based on the verse in Numbers chapter 23 verse 19, and that verse says, God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Had he said and shall he not do it? Or had he spoken and shall he not make it good? And you know, maybe tonight you're here and God has given you a promise and you're holding on to that promise, waiting and waiting for it to come to fruition. And it's easy when we look back on our lives and we can trace God's hand and say, yes, he was faithful there and he came through here. But sometimes in the midst of the waiting, that's the really hard part. And I guess as well, Apart from you waiting on a promise. Maybe you're sitting here tonight, and you're the answer to a promise Maybe there's somebody sitting in there holding a promise waiting on you coming through for the Lord waiting on you being restored I pray tonight that this song will be an encouragement and a blessing to you Are you waiting on a loved one coming home? Are you shedding endless tears before the throne? Are you wondering when the breakthrough it will be? Are you holding to a promise that you've yet to see? Shall he not do it? Shall he not make it good? If he has said it, you can trust his word. He's not a man that he should lie. Hold that promise, it's drawing nigh. You might have to wait. He's not running late. He'll deliver on your promise in his time. Are you fighting off the enemy of fear? Are you wrestling with the doubts when they appear? Are you wondering when the stronghold will come down? Are you longing to see those chains become unbound? Shall he not do it? Shall he not make it good if he has said it? You can trust his word, he's not a man that he should lie. Hold that promise, it's drawing nigh. You might have to wait. He's not running late. He'll deliver on your promise in his time. Shall he not do it? Shall he not make it good? If he has said it, you can trust his word. He's not a man that he should lie. Hold that promise, it's drawing nigh. You might have to wait. He's not running late. He'll deliver on your promise in his time. You might have to wait. He's not running late. He'll deliver on your promise in his time. Folks, I just want to thank the Reverend Park for his kind invitation to come along to testify. And it's always nice when you look down from this point to a congregation and you can see a few friendly faces, familiar faces. May not be friendly, of course. And also, I'm sure there's family here as well tonight, but I can't see them. I should have worn my glasses, to be quite honest with you. But just thinking before we start, the Reverend Park queried about Robert and Alma's nobility. Uh, from this day forward, I'm going to be calling him the Duchess, the Duke and Duchess of Ballaronan. I want to think about it. He's a second elder in our church recently who has a granddaughter called Heidi. So, the two of them are after the same title, I think. So, Robert, from this day forward, Alma, the Duke and Duchess, certainly for me anyway. You'll not thank me for that. Folks, it's good to be here to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, to what the Lord has done for me, and how the Lord has blessed, he has saved, he has kept, And he's been everything to me, a wretched old sinner. And I want to take us just to one portion of Scripture tonight. In Psalm 34, you'll be familiar with Psalm 34, the first few verses. We're going to read in verse one, Psalm 34. And I pray that this word of testimony, the Lord will use it to touch the souls of those who yet know not the Savior. And I pray, too, that this word of testimony will be a real encouragement to God's people. We live in a day where we need encouragement, each and every one of us. Let's begin to read the first verse of Psalm 34. It says there, in God's Word, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They looked on to Him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed. This pure man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him." Well, folks, I am Originally from Makara, County Londonderry. A lot of you folks will be familiar with that part of the country. Grew up in a home in Makara with six children. Three boys came first, three girls. Grew up in a home that was not a Christian home. Mom and dad were never found in the house of God. other than for a funeral or for a wedding. So there's an indication of how little connection we had as kids with our church. We did have a connection. It was through youth clubs. It was through Boy's Brigade or Boy Scouts. And I only thought about this in recent years that we were occasionally, very occasionally, sent to Sunday school, but we had the choice as children whether we had to go or not or wanted to go or not. And very often, as was the case, you didn't go. And so little time did I spend in Sunday school that I cannot recall to this day the name of anybody that taught me in Sunday school. So that's a clear indication of how little time that I would have spent in Sunday school. But in saying all that, and growing up in a home that was not a Christian home, I certainly heard of the gospel as a boy. I heard of the gospel from various influences in my life. And I always say this in my testimony, I was blessed from I was a little boy through to the Lord saved me as a young man with godly influences. And in the providence of God, there were so many. And I'm going to relate some of those influences to you to encourage you, to encourage the young person, to encourage the grandparent, to encourage the friend or the neighbor. if you're a believer. First godly influence I can remember as a boy was my grandmother. I can remember in the mid-70s, we would frequent my grandmother's home very, very often, as was the case in those days. I have a very, very large family circle. And I stress that. I have something in the region of 50 to 60 first cousins. That's quite a lot of people. And a lot of those cousins, aunts and uncles, lived in the same neighborhood in Makara. Very often we were found in our granny's house, Sunday evening, Saturday evening. And I recall, and whenever I was a little boy, I may have been six, seven, eight years of age, my granny, there was a change in her life, and the change was simply this, she had got saved. She had come to trust the Lord and her Savior. How did I know that? Because she told her grandchildren, she told her sons and daughters, and she told whoever could hear her that she loved the Lord. She began to sing hymns. So there was a clear influence in my life from a very early age. I heard of my need of Christ from my grandmother. Another influence, and before I move on, let that be an encouragement to grandparents in the meeting tonight. You have grandchildren who are not saved. Just keep praying, keep telling them about the Savior, keep telling them about their need of Christ. I thank God for that godly grandmother who went home to be with the Lord many years ago, never forgot her testimony, never forgot her witness to me. Young person, young Christian in the meeting tonight, I had the blessed joy, I didn't realize it then, as a young man or a young boy, young teenager, young man, of having a Christian friend. That Christian friend shared a passion for football like me. And he lived just outside the town, and very often he'd come into the town to play five-a-side football games. But this young man came from a Christian home, complete contrast to the home that I come from. But this young man was never ashamed of his stance in the Lord Jesus Christ, of his trust and his faith in Christ. He was different. I ran around in that neighborhood with about 12 or 13 lads who were the same age as me, a year younger, a year older, and all came from similar backgrounds to me. Unsaved, ungodly homes, with no mention of Christ, really, to be honest. But here was this young man in the midst of our football matches and everything else, and he had a clear testimony. Everything about the lad's language, everything about his behavior, everything about his demeanor, spoke of Christ. And I thank God from that day, as a boy, to this day, he's a friend. I mean, you'll hear more about him later on, but young person, young Christian in the meeting, be encouraged. You can be that light. You can be that witness, because that was the case in my life. And I marvel at it when I look back, folks. I marvel at the providence of God with those godly influences and thank God for them. And another one was clearly a wonderful testimony right in the middle of our housing estate. If I could paint a picture of our housing estate in Makara, as I said to you earlier, there were six children in our home. And right next door to us, there was 12 kids next door. And on and on it went, around five, six, eight children. The housing estate was just teeming with wains, as I would say. It was unbelievable. I always say, too, that growing up in Brown Drive, as the housing estate was called in Makarrah, there was a lot of fun and a lot of fighting. I have very fond memories of that housing estate. But right in the middle of that housing estate, there was this Christian family. Mom and dad, again, like our home, six children, all saved. And what a witness and what a testimony that was to us as kids. That family used to invite us to little Sunday afternoon meetings in Makara. A little Elam church had meetings every Sunday afternoon. They invited us along. Of course, we went. Our intentions were never always good. But there again, I was without excuse with regards here in the gospel. I heard from an early age about my need to be saved. I heard from an early age about Christ. I heard about the blood of Christ that was shed for me. I was blessed. Even though I didn't come from a Christian home, time and time and time again, I heard of my need of the Savior. And I would say to you, families, or even as an individual, wherever you may be, wherever your situation may be, in the workplace, whatever, never be discouraged. Speak for Christ. Tell Him of your Savior. Witness is never lost. The Lord has promised that His Word will not return unto him void, and such is the case, such was the case in my life. Thank God for, in His providence, He provided me with a wealth of godly influences in my life. But sad to say, I wasn't interested in the things of God. I admired the young man who was my friend. I loved going to his home. His home was a godly home in comparison to the home that I knew. But you'll find out later on about how that young fella and how his family prayed for Alfie, prayed for Alfie Stewart. But on I went to my sin. If I think of my teenage years, I want to think again about godly influences. Teenager at school, let's just say this, my teenage years and years as a young man were simply reckless, riotous. I've said this often in my testimony, if I was to sum up my life as a teenager or even as a young man, it's simply this, if you think about what the Word of God tells us about the prodigal son and his time away in the far country, it simply says this, that he wasted his substance with riotous living. When I think about those years as a boy growing up in Mackinac, and Mackinac was very much like a lot of towns in the 70s, mid-70s. late 70s, early 80s, very much became a polarized town with the Troubles. And yes, if you can imagine, the older folks will know what I'm talking about when I say about how the town center used to be barricaded off, and at nighttime, that town center became our playground, for many of us. A playground of fun, but a playground of sin, I must add as well. When the town center becomes your playground and there's no police about, sad to say, we were rebellious and reckless young fellas as teenagers and young men. But let me say this, in the midst of all that rebellion, in the midst of all that sin, in the midst of all that ruinous and riotous living, God was still speaking to me. I must say that you could not have got me into church. I recall on occasions people inviting me maybe to a mission. friends that I'd come to know maybe as I began to go out into their working environment. But the one thing, you could not have got me into church, you could not have got me to sit in a place like this. I felt as if I was going to be trapped, cornered, whatever it might be, no interest at all in the things of God. But strangely, and this is an encouragement to every believer in the meeting tonight, especially those who are involved in outreach work, especially those who have a love for souls, especially those who are endeavoring to reach those that are lost. You could not have got me to a gospel meeting, but I loved reading gospel tracts. That's strange. I was an avid reader as a boy and as a young man. I read much. I deferred books left, right, and center. I deferred much of the world's filth. Of course, that must be said. But I was never afraid to take a gospel track. And I know there are people in our meeting, I always say this in my testimony, there are people in our meeting tonight who are involved in outreach work and there are many, many discouragements in the outreach work. Many times you get gospel tracks discarded, torn up in your face, you get argued with. But believe me, I was one of those fellas. who would have quite happily crossed the street, hard to believe, and taken a gospel track, put it in my back pocket. No way was I willing to discuss the contents of the gospel track, take it and read it. And all the while the Lord, filling my heart full of His truth, loved the stories of how God had saved boys, girls, men, women, all the stories fascinated me. God in His mercy was speaking to me. Be encouraged, brothers and sisters in Christ, if you're involved in outreach work. Be encouraged to go on. Be encouraged to keep serving. Be encouraged that God will save. The Lord will search the hearts of men and women and boys and girls like me, sinners, who thought or did have no time for the things of God. But on I went. I will say this, if I move on to When I left school, I left school in 1981 with no real desires or really no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I remember it was a time of great economical trouble and depression in the country. But I had an older brother. And I have to tell you this because I didn't know it at the time, but looking back over your life, you realize the hand of God in your life. And I know there are many people who, like myself, have been saved for many years, can look back over your life and you say, yes, that was the Lord. And I had no real aims. I did okay at school. I'm not boasting when I said that I was head boy at school, but that was nothing to do with what I did in the classroom. That was all to do with what I did in the sports field. Sad to say. I was a half-decent student, and half-decent's been very kind to myself. I couldn't wait to get out of school. But when I got out of school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. My older brother was in the forces. He was sending back stories to home about how good a time he was having in Africa, Central America, Europe. And I, along with a friend, a very close friend at the time, were set on going to the army. The winter of 81, 82 was all about getting ready to go to the army. doing the tests, physical tests, doing everything that was required to go. And I remember clearly sitting in England across the table from a major or a captain, can't remember what rank he was, and he gave me a date, and the date was three weeks away. And I remember, yes, this is it, I'm going, couldn't wait to get away. But in an instant, he changed that date to about three months later. My initial disappointment was soon changed because I remember clearly my words were simply this, I'll have a good time to myself over the summer in Makara. I'll enjoy myself before I go away. Enjoy myself was simply meaning a life of sin. But immediately I got home from England, the desire completely left me, and I could not understand it. winter of months of preparation, and I can't express to you enough how enthusiastic, how determined I was to go this new life in the army. And I couldn't understand it. My best friend, who was on course to go to another regiment, couldn't believe it. He tried to change my mind. He called me every name imaginable. He wasn't very kind. He couldn't understand why I wasn't going. I couldn't understand why I wasn't going. All I knew was the desire had gone. Of course, it was the Lord. But I didn't know that then. So immediately, I set about looking about a job, a permanent job, because the army was finished. No desire left me. It meant I got a job in Maccafelt. It meant I had to get a lift with an individual to go to the job in Maccafelt from Macara. And that individual was a Christian, a Christian man, who'd been a neighbor of mine for years. I ended up working beside a Christian man day after day. That was in 1982, the summer of 1982. And in the same sort of late summer, I was to meet the young lady I was going to marry. And she came from a home that her mother was a Christian. So you see the hand of God. took the army, took that whole desire away from me, and planted me right in the midst of believers. But still, still, I foolishly walked the road of sin. I remember, too, that September, October 1982 was the time I, as a young footballer, got the break to go and play with a semi-professional club in Belfast, Glen Torn Football Club. The menfolk who are of my age and older will remember the 1982 Northern Ireland played in the World Cup. Now, I'm touching this because, again, the hand of the Lord was in this. And in 1982 in the World Cup, and it was brought up again this week again in the news, there's a player called Johnny Jameson who played at Glentorn Football Club. And Johnny refused to be part of a squad in the 1982 World Cup simply because there was going to be a match played on the Lord's Day. And it caused a lot of furore at the time. But I remember thinking to myself, he was completely engrossed in the World Cup. He's a headcase, he's not wise, but I quickly forgot about him. Because the World Cup was going on, didn't matter. But little was I to know that I was going to be sharing the same changing rooms at his club just a few weeks or months later. So there again, I was in the company of a believer, of a Christian. Now, those of you who don't know what a football changing room's like, it's a mixture of a lot of weird and wonderful characters. All fit footballers, of course, but every character different. And as I observed As a young country boy going to play football in Belfast, it was intimidating, it was frightening. It was a case of sink or swim, and me being the passionate footballer that I was, I soon forged my way and was getting on okay. But all the while, I observed this Christian who had refused to play in the World Cup, listened to him, watched him, and he was different. There was something about this man that was different from everybody else, and it was simply this. He was a child of God. He was a believer. He had a joy. He had something about his life. He had something about him that nobody else had. He quickly befriended me, and little did I know, he began to pray for me. I was to learn it, as you'll find out very shortly, when I got saved. But in those years from 1982 on, things went well as a young semi-professional footballer. Success abounded as an individual at the club I was playing at. But let me say this, those years. I can only think of them as, whilst everything was going well, whilst I was in a job that I was happy with and that allowed me to pursue my football career, I was going with a girl who I knew I was going to marry. And I was playing semi-professional football, playing in Europe at times, winning trophies, getting the applause of fans. That was my passion. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't need anything else in life. That was it. And my life continued on in a very reckless manner, no time for God. My tongue was a blasphemous tongue. Oh yes, I could say the right things in the company of Christians, but I was a sinner, a wretched sinner with no time for God, other than the gospel tracks, amazingly. hardly ever, if ever, went through the doors of a church. But with all that success, folks, I bring you on just four or five years to 1987, the year I got married, but it was also the year that the Lord was to save me. And if I take you to the springtime, late winter, springtime of 1987, I remember the Lord taking a dealing with me. I couldn't understand why I was troubled. At that time, there was a lot of, the older folks will remember, murder and mayhem in our country. Locally, there had been murders that were particularly disturbing to me as an individual. Death became a reality. I couldn't understand it. I was, for the first time ever, concerned greatly about eternity. Now, I bring along, when I'm testifying, this little Gideon's New Testament. A lot of you folks will be familiar with this. I was in possession of this. I always referred to this. I got this in 1977, first year at school. Kept it when you were, I was the sort of boy, if somebody gave me something, I never gave it away. I kept it, I harbored it. It was worth keeping. And I never looked at this little New Testament. Hardly looked at it. 10 years later, when the Lord began to deal with me, speak to me about eternal matters. And I couldn't understand this. I couldn't understand. I began to read the little New Testament. There was a portion at the front of it that says, where do you find help when afraid? Where do you find help when in sorrow? Where do you find help when feeling alone? And outside of work in Macrafelt, I was sitting many a morning, half an hour early before start time, which was really unusual for me. searching the Scriptures. And why was that? Because under conviction of sin, the Lord had taken all manner of rest or comfort from my life. Any peace that I thought I had was gone. I was a troubled soul over my sin. Sins not just as a man or a teenager, but sins as a boy. Troubled, troubled. I looked at my workmates, I looked at my teammates, and I couldn't understand, why am I troubled? At that time, of course, the older folks will remember too, we've just come out of a worldwide pandemic, but in 1987, the older folks will remember there was the whole AIDS epidemic. And people were perishing. Not instantly, but agonizingly. And that troubled me. Why? Because I was a sinner who had lived for the world. and for the flesh. And you folks who are saved will know that conviction of sin is no easy thing. I was greatly troubled. I looked to my colleagues at work and I, why am I troubled? Why is he not troubled? But the Lord was simply dealing with me. The Word of God tells us, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And I love that verse. There's no ifs, buts, or maybes in that, shall be saved. I didn't know much about Scripture, but I knew enough to know that if I called upon the Lord, that He would save me. And I remember one day, folks, I remember one day at work, troubled, troubled, troubled, finding a quiet place, and the simplest place and in the simplest manner, just simply crying unto the Lord, God save me. No fancy words. And sinner in this meeting tonight, you could be sitting beside someone who knows you so well. Nobody knew what was going on in my heart. Nobody but the Lord. Not my teammates. I remember a teammate of mine, we were driving to Belfast one day, he looked in the mirror, and he seen me in the backseat. He says, son, there's something wrong with you. What is it? Of course, I wasn't going to tell. The battle was raging in my heart about my sin, but I called on the Lord, and he saved me. Praise his name, and he did save me. I remember the young lad I told you about earlier on who had been a great witness to me, I remember going to church, and I'm pretty sure that I knew where he'd be, I knew what church he'd be at, and I'm pretty sure when he saw me walking through the doors of that church that Sunday morning, he could have fainted. But I sat beside him and I told him, I said, I've got news for you. And he says, what is it? I says, I've got saved. And folks, he simply said these words, he says, Alfie, we've been praying for you for years. And by that he meant his family. His family, as I said earlier, his home was a home I frequented, a godly family. And I want to encourage you with that, just to keep praying. God answers prayers. And I could see tears in his eyes. I remember going to football training. And I wanted to seek out Johnny Jemison. And I sought him out. And strangely enough, he must have thought I was a bit of a hanger on that night because I got close to him and I never left his side because I had news for him. And the news was something like this. And I told him as we were warming up, running around the oval football pitch in East Belfast, I said, Johnny, I've got news for you. I said, I've put my trust in the Lord. I've got to see it. And Johnny was it. very effervescent, bubbly, loud character, full of the joys of the Lord. And he let out this almighty hallelujah. And if you can imagine, that was like in the midst of hardened footballers. And they took one look at the pair of us. And he says again, he says, Alfie, I've been praying for you from the day and hour you come in through the door. And that was five years earlier. And God had answered his prayers. Folks, keep on praying. Keep on believing. There was an early lesson for Alfie Stewart in the power of prayer, to pray for your family, to pray for your friends, to pray for those who are out of Christ. And folks in the meeting tonight, if you're out of Christ, there are people praying for you. They've been praying for years, and they'll continue to pray. I remember a friend of mine saying one time, I presented him with the Bible, and he took the Bible. I had no time for the things of God, and we had a bit of a discussion, and I said to him, I says, one thing, friend, you cannot stop me doing is pray for you, and I'm going to pray for you. I'm gonna continue to pray for you. So pray on, brothers and sisters. God is answering prayer. But you know, as a footballer, There were difficult times. There were times you had to kneel your collars to the mass, very much so. Time doesn't allow me tonight to go into it. But there was an opportunity, very, very publicly, to kneel your collars to the mass and say, I belong to the Lord. I'm saved. No half measures, no such thing. There's a term that bandied about at the time about being a committed Christian. I remember correcting somebody, no, I'm saved. I'm washed in the blood, I'm a Christian. And thank God for those opportunities. But folks, I must hasten on. I thank God that myself and Lorraine, my wife then, were blessed with two children. I thank God I had the joy of seeing both my children come to Christ at an early age. I thank God that I had the joy of leading Lorraine, my wife, some years after me, to faith in Christ. I had the joy of seeing my older brother, my younger brother, coming to Christ, my mother, my sister. So God did answer prayer. And I thank God for household salvation, because if I move on, I must say this. It was in my head, and it's in my heart now. As a young Christian, as a young Christian, I remember, because I didn't really have a church background, I struggled as to know where to worship, where will I settle, what will I do? And I went through a difficult few months with regards, where does God want me? Where do I settle? Where do I worship? And I remember being asked by a friend of mine to go to our church in Mackerfeld, and I remember thinking to myself, oh no, no, I'm not going there. But I did, because I can tell you this, I remember as a young fella, driving from Mackerhead to Mackerfeld, going by our church in Mackerfeld, and this is mighty. And the Lord can make fools of us at times, because I remember driving by our church and saying, and I knew nobody in the church, I knew nothing about what was preached in the church, but many a time, uttering to myself, what a bunch of headcases. But when the Lord saved me, he took me into the middle of the headcases. Praise his name. That's true. I knew nothing about it. I was a fool in my unsaved state. Foolish in the extreme. But thank God for household salvation. Thank God for a family that knew and loved the Lord. Because, folks, the word of God tells us clearly that man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. We all know that. The days that are bright, days that are hard, days that are really hard, days that are difficult and tough. And we were to know that as a family. In 2008, my father was diagnosed with cancer. The day I got terminal cancer, the day I got the call from my brother, it was late September in 2008, and it was simply the call consisted of, yes, Alfie, it's what we feared. And I remember just five minutes later, 15 minutes later, getting a phone call from my wife, Lorraine, and the phone call was simply this, what's the news on your dad? And I said to her, I says, Lorraine, it's what we expected. It's not good. And I rather foolishly said to her over the phone, and this was late September, 2008, I says, it's going to be a long, hard road to Christmas. I had foolishly put a time frame on my dad's life. He was to live for another year. Because within three weeks of me uttering those words to Lorraine over the phone, God took her to be with himself very, very suddenly. My son was making his own pathway in Irish League football. I was in Belfast. My wife was driving my son's car. He'd just got his car that week. He'd just started his job that week, his first job. And they said, we're driving to Ballymena. And I tell this story simply because it reminds us folks of the brevity of life. And as they were traveling in the car, my daughter Alana in the backseat, Aaron in the passenger seat, and Lorraine driving the car, in a moment from all the laughter and the normal fun of a family traveling in the car, Lorraine uttered to her children, I feel faint. And with that, she had gone home to be with the Lord. We, as a family, were thrust into an awful time of grief and agony and pain, that I know when I'm speaking that there are many in the congregation who know what that's like. And folks, I'll say this, that it's only in those great times of sorrow and great times of grief and great times of trouble in this whole life of ours when we really learn to trust in the Lord. And I was to learn that this wonderful book, this Bible, is full of many and mighty promises from God. And you know, whenever I think about it, that time of trouble, I had many, many, have many, many godly friends. But there are times in our life when our backs are to the wall, when it's only us and the Lord. I had great worries and great fears as a father of two teenage children, but I learned an adversity to trust in the Lord. to lean on those precious, precious promises. And when the Lord promises in His Word, and it's just one example of many, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, and He doesn't. And the Lord drew very, very close. And there's a remainder too, when the Lord saved me, it was simply between me and the Lord. All of the fans who applauded you week in, week out, all of the friends that you had accumulated over years, all of them could do nothing for me. It was only the Lord could save me. And in a time of great tragedy and in a time of great sorrow and fear and grief, it was only the Lord. And there are people here, you know what I'm talking about. But thank God. He answered prayers in the midst of all that. I watched my children. I remember the Reverend McCrae sitting in a house one Saturday night. Shortly after, the two of us sitting talking, and the two kids come in, and they went off to youth fellowship. And he looked at me, and in a simple word, he says, praise the Lord. They didn't question the Lord. They didn't doubt the Lord. We just trusted the Lord. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Job said, blessed be the name of the Lord. And I thank the Lord for his great grace through, yes, years, yes, and even to this day, yes, times can be hard, even though I've since remarried, to a lady, Ruth Ann, who herself has known great tragedy in her life. Friends, we learn in life just to lean on the everlasting arms. And I thank God for those lessons. Sometimes we don't like the lessons, but lessons. Friends, we're on our way home. I want to finish. I know time is hastening on. There's so much more I could tell you. There's so much more I'd love to share with you. But I'm going to share this because I share it very, very often in my testimony. It's just simply words from a little daily reading. I wrote down a few years ago, and with this I promise I'm finished. As God sends a storm that we may realize that the anger of our soul, Christ, is steadfast and sure. He knows that when the waves have subsided and our moorings have proven sure that we shall sail forth, we will go forth, and we did. toward that desired haven, and that desired haven, friends, is heaven, our home. We have loved ones in the glory. We are going there. Those of us who know the Lord, we're going home. And with a new confidence and assurance, we shall acquire steadfastness and increased courage if, if, let me stress that, if we have taken refuge in the eternal God. Dear unsaved person, you need to take refuge in the Lord. We do not know what tomorrow brings. We do not know what tonight brings. We find that when all else failed us, and in times in our life, those things that we depend on, those things that we trust in, those things that we rely on, they will fail us. But Christ never. All else fails us, and underneath we're still the everlasting arms." And we found that to be true, the everlasting arms of God. Praise His name. For we walk by faith, friends, and not by sight. It seems that God chooses the hour of extremity to teach us most surely the greatest lesson of all Scriptures, and it is this, we walk by faith. no matter what our situation, no matter what the trial, trust in the Lord. God would have us in the time of storm, as well as when the seas are calm or the skies are blue, to trust Him, to trust Him alone, and to trust Him implicitly. Nothing or no one else. He would have us commit our way unto Him and lean not onto our own understanding, how often we do it. We lean on our own understanding, and it fails us. He would have us believe that all things work together, all things work together for good to them that love God. People ask me when Lorraine went home to be with the Lord, are you angry? No. How could I be angry with the Lord who had saved her? How could I be angry with the Lord knowing that she was with him? Yes, our hearts were broken, Yes, life was really difficult, but we had much to thank the Lord for. All things work together for good to them that love God. He would have us to rely on His wisdom and discretion that we can add an amen to Job's tribute. And I finish with this. Job's tribute was simply this, though He slay me, yet I will trust Him. I mentioned earlier, folks, that man that is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. I can think of no greater trouble to be in than to be sitting in a gospel meeting, to hear of your need of Christ, to hear that Christ died for you, to hear that the offer of salvation, to hear the wonderful gospel news that Jesus saves, and to face eternity without Him. When Lorraine left our home that morning, healthy as could be, the skies were blue. I was told what to make for tea, because I would be home first. But life had changed. And your life could change before midnight. I don't know how, but please think of Christ. Consider the Lord. Consider your need of Christ, unsaved one. You're in trouble if you're out of Christ. I thank you for your attentiveness. I thank you, brother, for the opportunity. I'm going to just close in a wee word of prayer, if that's okay. Blessed by everyone. Heavenly Father, we do thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. We do thank you, Lord, for the stillness in the meeting. We do thank you, Lord, for the liberty of which you've given. We do thank you, Lord, for your goodness and your mercies to us. Lord, we do pray for those folks, Lord, who have been in the meeting tonight and have heard of how you have answered prayer. Lord, we've seen it time and time again, but Lord, in the midst of our discouragements, Lord, remind us, teach us afresh. Lord, that you're in control. Lord, you long to hear us cry. For any unsaved in the meeting tonight, Lord, break their hearts over their sin. Lord, humble them. Bring them gently to thyself, Lord. We pray for God's people. Pray you'll encourage them. Pray you'll lift them up, Lord. These are dark days, and we need thee. We need to walk closer, ever closer to thee. Help us, Lord. Lord, if the cry is, we believe, Lord, help thy unbelief. God, our Father, we pray. Let none depart tonight without Christ, we pray. in the Savior's name, amen. come to the organ and piano, and they'll play what we would have sung tonight. So think of the words if you know the hymn, I am coming to the cross, and that's where you need to get to me. You come to the cross tonight if you're not saved. I'm going to ask Alfie to come to the door, shake you with a hand. There's a cup of tea. Remember that, please. Thank you. so so So,