It is a great pleasure to have the Reverend, sorry, the Reverend Dr. Paul Ferguson and his wife Cheryl, and we've got Sarah and Samuel. They've come all the way from Singapore to be in our church this evening. Isn't that wonderful? So Tommy will be asking you to ready to check for their travel home again. Not. You're very welcome, it's good to have you. The family are gonna come and minister in song. They're gonna sing a very well-known song. Gary's gonna put it on that screen for them. Redeemed, how I love to reclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. And then Paul is gonna come and share testimony and just tell you a little bit about what God is doing and why they're in Singapore. So I'll ask the family to come right away. You're very welcome and it's lovely to have you with us. May God bless you as you minister to us here today. Thank you very much. ♪ Redeemed how I love to proclaim it ♪ Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ Redeemed through his infinite mercy ♪ His child and forever I am ♪ Redeemed, redeemed ♪ Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb ♪ Redeemed Redeemed, His child and forever I am. Redeemed and so happy in Jesus, no language my rapture can tell. I know that the light of His presence with me doth continually dwell. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am. ♪ I shall see in his beauty ♪ The king in whose law I delight ♪ Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps ♪ And giveth me songs in the night ♪ Redeemed, redeemed ♪ Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am. I know there's a crown that is waiting In yonder bright mansions for me And soon with the spirits made perfect At one with the Lord I shall be Relieved! Relieved! Renewed by the blood of the Lamb! Renewed! Don't normally get applauded when I sing, but that's the first time. Very delighted to be here in Abbots Cross Congregational Church. I've never been here before. I've never even been to White Abbey or Gray Abbey. until about a week or two ago when I met your pastor. But my aunt was saved in this church 50 years ago, and she's still going on well with the Lord. My children have Chinese names. Sarah is given the Chinese name Mei En, which means beautiful grace of God. And when Samuel was born, we called him Jah-un, which means more grace or abundant grace of God in our lives. So we're very delighted to be here. I'm going to share a testimony tonight. My wife isn't because I think we'd be here all night if both of us were to do it, but maybe in the future you may hear from her. Let's turn to Matthew chapter one. strange portion maybe you think to read to share a testimony of the goodness of God in the person's life, but I want us to read Matthew chapter one, and it says in verse one, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob. Jacob begat Judas and his brethren. Judas begat Phares and Sarah of Timor. Phares begat Ezrom and Ezrom begat Aram. And Aram begat Aminadab and Aminadab begat Naason. And Naason begat Samun. Samun begat Boaz of Rahab. Boaz begat Obed of Ruth and Obed begat Jesse. Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begat Rehoboam, and Rehoboam begat Abah, and Abah begat Asa, and Asa begat Josaphat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Oseas, and Oseas begat Jotham. Jotham begat Akaz, and Akaz begat Ezekias. Zikias begat Manases, Manases begat Amun, and Amun begat Josias, or Josias, and Josias begat Jeconias and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon. But after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim begat Azor, and Azor begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Akim, and Akim begat Eliud. Eliud begat Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Matan, and Matan begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary. of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Now you may say, why are we reading all these lists of names? Maybe you're even saying, why are we wasting time reading these types of portions of God's Word? Well, God never puts anything in the Bible by mistake. Not a single letter or word is there by coincidence. or by chance. And as you read all these names, they should be a very powerful reminder to you that God cares about individuals. God knows their names. God is interested in their names. But more than that, as you read all these lists of names, you see the connection between one and the other. And it's a reminder to us that God not just cares about individuals, he cares about families. And not just about families, but generations of how God is working through generation after generation. But before we turn to look at just one individual here, I want us to bow in prayer. and ask God's help upon us. Our Father, we thank Thee for this Thy Word. We thank Thee for the opportunity to tell of the grace of God, not just in my life, but in many lives. We pray as we hear Thy Word this evening that You would speak to every heart, that we would hear the still small voice of God in this place, Abbots Cross, May those who are outside of Christ be drawn to the cross. We ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Often you see when a person is asked to give a word of testimony, there's a tendency to focus on the individual and talk about all that God has done in your life And the whole testimony is almost geared around that subject. And I understand that. I don't have a problem with that. But often testimonies, I think, miss the connection between not just one life, but many lives. And when I think of how God dealt in my life and see of me, it is a reminder to me that my life was connected to many other lives. Now, the salvation of God in our home, and I use that term in the broad sense, our home, our family, began before I was even born, because it began with the salvation of my father. My father grew up in County Fermanagh, not far from where your minister comes from, and he was similar to him. He grew up in a Church of Ireland background, There were seven children in the family. None of them were Christians. My grandparents were not saved. They were good people in an outward sense. They paid their taxes. They brought their children up as best they could. They went to church. But they went to a church where there was no gospel preached, sad to say, in that church. And although they went Sunday by Sunday and sat in their pew, there was really nothing that they heard that was of any use for their souls. But there was a family in the district, again, a family that the name may be familiar to some of you, the Gowan family. They were a Christian family. And they had a great burden for my grandparents, and for my father and his siblings. And they would pray and they would seek to influence them by their example and by their testimony to them. When my father left home and went to work in Belfast, the Gowan brothers, who were of the same age as him, would invite him along to gospel meetings. He would went along to Great Victoria Street Baptist Church and he would have heard Pastor Willie Mullen preach. And then they invited him along to the Martyrs Memorial on the Ravenhill Road, or the old, what before was the Martyrs Memorial Church, it was called the Old Ravenhill Church. And there he was asked to a gospel mission. My father was not saved, and he grew up in the Church of Ireland, and they didn't sing in the Church of Ireland, so when he came to the service, he stood at the front, it was packed, four or 500 people, And he just stood up along with his friend who was a police officer who was even taller than he was, and he didn't sing either. Everybody was singing but them. And the evangelist who was there, an American evangelist, stopped the service and he looked at them and he says, can you two not sing? Well, he was highly embarrassed of being chosen like this. But the amazing thing was this. God spoke to him that night. And through the sermon that was preached, he was wonderfully converted by the grace of God. And as soon as he was saved, he began to pray for his siblings and his parents, sought to witness to them. And not far where they lived, there was a new church started in a place called Lisbon, not a very big place. Some of you will know where it is. And a man called the Reverend Ivan Foster started a new church work down there in Elizabeth Law. And my father joined that new gospel preaching church because he didn't know really any other church that preached the gospel. He became a part of that. My mom got saved and joined that church as well. And they met there, got married. But then one by one, Five of his six siblings were saved through the witness of that church. And in the end, my grandparents were saved through the witness of that church. And now my father has five children. They are all saved. And then he has 11 grandchildren. And some of them already are saved by the grace of God. Now I mention all this to simply make the point. God works through not just individuals when he saves a person, he saves families. And then through families, he starts to save generations. And now in our family, we have four generations of Christians that have come to faith all because of a godly family, the Gowan family, began to witness to my father in the late 1960s and pray for him. And I want to make this simple point to you this evening. Don't give up on people because all it takes is one soul to be saved in Grey Abbey, in White Abbey, in Newton Abbey, And that one soul, God can do a whole multitude of things. And God can save whole family circles through the witness of that person. And then generations of Christians can begin to emerge through the salvation of that one person. And this evening I read Matthew chapter one, because there's a lady's name that jumps out to me as I read this chapter. She didn't grow up like my parents. She didn't grow up in a Christian background or a believing background. In fact, she grew up in a pagan background. Her name is Rahab. Rahab didn't have a Bible. She didn't have a Sunday school to go to. She didn't have a church to go to. She fell into deep sin of idolatry and immorality in a place called Jericho. And yet the grace of God reached the most unlikely convert in the Middle East. A woman, a pagan woman, a fallen pagan woman, a harlot. And the Bible tells us not only was this woman saved, but she was totally changed by the grace of God. And God deliberately took her name. You noticed as you read Matthew chapter one that it speaks of all the fathers. This one begat this one, begat this one, begat this one. And when you get to Rahab in verse five of Matthew chapter one, the Holy Spirit wants you to now see something. And he says, and Salmon begat Boaz. And then it says this of Rahab. God wants you to know that he cares about that one soul. But he also wants you to know that not only does he save Rahab, he made her a godly woman, the wife, and the mother, and then a grandmother. And from her line emerged a godly line, because as you trace your finger down the chapter, you come to a guy In verse six, called David. Wow, what an honor. For the fallen woman from Jericho, the pagan woman from Jericho, that God's grace could just take her life and clean her up inside and outside. And from her descendants would come not just a great king, but the Bible says Israel's greatest king. a man called King David. But the story doesn't end there, never does. Because if you keep on going down to the chapter to verse 16 where we finished our reading. You couldn't get a higher tribute to the grace of God working in the life of an individual because verse 16, it says, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. See what God did through Rahab when he saved her? He began to work through generations and he paid Rahab's salvation the ultimate tribute. because he ended the story with Rahab's greatest descendant. He's not King David, although a greater man as he was, but with the Lord Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. Now, after my father was saved, I mentioned that he began to witness to his family. One by one, like Rahab's family, they started to get saved. And I was brought up in that atmosphere. Both my parents were first-generation Christians. My father then became a Free Presbyterian minister. I was brought up in a home of five children, where every morning and every night my father would teach us the Word of God. Before we went to school, he would insist, even if we were late, that he had to do a Bible study with us. We had to go to all the services, the San Disco. We moved from place to place. They say today you shouldn't move children around schools. Well, we didn't believe in that because we went from school to school to school. I was born in Oma. Then we moved to Portadown. Then we moved up to Portlanone, up there in North Antrim. Then we moved to England for four and a half years. Then we moved to a place called Adramsea in Fermanagh for a while. Then we moved to Kilkeel for 15 years. And then we moved back to England. So we went all over the place. We were spiritual gypsies in that sense. We went from place to place. And we as children would grow up in that atmosphere. But when I was living in Portlanone, just five years of age, I don't remember the Sunday, the date of it. I don't remember what prompted me to do this particular prayer, but I do remember this at just four or five years of age, coming under conviction of my need of a Savior, of my sin, going to my own bedroom and kneeling down and asking the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive me my sins, to wash me whiter than the snow, and come and into my life and take control of my life. And here I am, 48 years of age, looking back almost 43 years later, and I still look back and say, that was the time that I believed that God saved me and changed me. Now after I left home, to bring the story back to my life, I went to university in England, and I qualified as a solicitor, And I was working there happily up near Manchester for a number of years. But God began to speak to me about serving him in other places. And I attended a conference, a conference that I didn't intend to go to, but at the last minute I went to. And there was a man there from Singapore. a man that God had used in his church in the previous year. Almost 200 people had been converted in a move of God in Singapore. And he came to talk about it and the power of God. And he said at the end of the week of meetings, he said, if there's anybody here who would be willing to come to the Philippines and help me and my coworkers for just five weeks, come and see me at the end. And providentially, I had just qualified as a solicitor. Don't ask me afterwards for any advice, because I couldn't give you any advice. But I just qualified, and they had given us six weeks unpaid leave before we started. And I said, well, I could go. I went to see him, and another man went to see him, young man, and the two of us went out to the Philippines. We began to share the gospel around the university campuses there in the Philippines. And on the way back from there, I stopped off in Singapore. And there's where I met my wife. If you're wondering how I met my wife, that's where I met my wife nearly 20 years ago. I went back to UK, began working for another few years. And this pastor kept writing to me, and he said, would you come to China? I have a work in China, and I would need people to go and teach in the university as missionaries. And he said, you would be perfect with your background. So I said, OK. Cheryl and I, by this stage, had decided to get married. We got married, and then the year later, we moved to China. in a place called Changchun, way up near the Russian border, a very, very cold place. If you think it's cold here in the winter, it's nothing like the coldness of the winters in the northeast of China, minus 30 degrees Celsius. We were there for a year. God began to work amongst the students that we were serving in that place, but at the end of the year, we had to go back to Singapore because Cheryl was about to give birth to our first child, and our contract was up. And I began to preach. I was asked to speak in a number of churches, and the church we were members and attending at that time said, we believe that you have the gifts of a preacher. You shouldn't just be a missionary. You should go to seminary in the States and become a minister of the gospel. And I agreed to go and I went off to the United States then for two years to study for a doctorate in church history. When I came back from America, we came back to Singapore, an opening came up for us to teach and serve in a Bible college there and then help out in a church there. And then just about eight years ago, a group of people came to me and asked, would we start a church in Singapore, an independent church. And I agreed. I said, if you can find 50 people who are willing to form a new church like Abraham prayed for 50 righteous souls in Sodom, I says, I'll stay. Well, to my surprise, 24 hours later, they came back and said, we have found 50 people who are willing to sign up and start a new church. And that's the church that we now serve amongst. It's called Cornerstone Church in Singapore. The name Cornerstone, we chose because we wanted the name to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible says he is the chief cornerstone. That's how the name Cornerstone Church began. That church has been going for about eight years now. For the first three years or so, we met in a warehouse in the west of Singapore. And then the last four years, we met in the center of Singapore. And a group of Filipinos came to join us from the Philippines who were working in Singapore. And together, we had services right at the heart of Singapore, at the top of a shopping mall. And every Sunday, thousands of people would come into the shopping mall, mostly Filipinos. And we would invite them in. We had three services on a Sunday. And God began to save and change. And over the last three years or so, before the pandemic, we were able to see at least 50 of them baptized and joined the church there in Singapore. And together we have a few hundred people, two to 300 who would meet with us there. week by week under the sound of the word of God. Pray for us that as we serve the Lord there, God would continue to work and do a greater work in Singapore. I suppose I should say, where is Singapore? Because many of you are looking at me as if I have two heads when I say Singapore. I always use this analogy. Singapore is less than half the size of one of the counties of Northern Ireland. If you were to take County Fermanagh and cut it in half, Singapore would be smaller in size than County Fermanagh. And yet it has six million people living in that little island. It's an island city. It's also a city state. In 1965, it was a British colony. It got us independence in 1965. And it was one of the poorest countries of that area. Philippines was a richer country in GDP. Myanmar, Ghana was richer. It has no natural resources. We don't even have water to drink. It has to be pumped in from Malaysia. And today, 60-odd years later, Singapore is one of the richest, if not the richest country in the world. It has over one trillion pounds in reserves. Its government has worked incredibly hard with its people to raise the standard of literacy, education, quality of life. It has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. It has the best education system in the world in terms of ranking. But it's a place where economically, socially, it has prospered, but more important, spiritually it has prospered. In 1965, there was around a million people in Singapore, and there were less than 1% Christians in Singapore. Today, there are close to 6 million people. And Christians account between 15 to 20% of the population. So God has done many wonderful things in the nation of Singapore. Of course it brings us challenges because of the pace of life and the hectic schedule. Buildings, over here you can buy a building for a few hundred thousand pounds. A building the size of this would cost Just to get a 30-year lease from the government, 30 years, it would cost somewhere in the region of 30 million pounds just to get a building. Never mind, you wouldn't get the car park. You would just get three or four feet beyond the walls of this building. It would cost you at least 30 to 40 million pounds just to get permission to build for 30 years on a plot of land. So it brings challenges, difficulties. We meet in a place, a convention center that's owned by a church. And there are seven churches in the complex. And when we go to church, we see all the other churches going to their church right beside one another. And all the rooms are soundproofed so that none of us affect one another. And that's the challenges that we have to work amongst. Now, my time has gone. because I know it's a hot evening. I think it's worse than Singapore here. We say in Singapore there are only two seasons, hot and hotter. because it never drops below 25 degrees Celsius in Singapore. It stays hot and humid all year round. Well, you're giving it a good run for it here tonight. I find it very strange since I come back here for this period of time because when I was a boy, if you went into a place like Belfast and everybody was wearing masks, you'd run the other way. And now you have to see them in church with masks on. and the temperature gets to this, it's baking. We don't know how to cope with it. But this is normal for us in Singapore. A few other things I want to leave with you as I close. God works, let's go back to the story of Rahab. God works through the life of individuals. And sometimes these individuals seem very unlikely individuals for God to work through. I imagine if you had asked Joshua and Caleb and Moses, who is the one most likely to be converted in this whole area that we're in at this moment? Not one of them would have said Rahab. They may have thought maybe some of the closer nations to Israel, maybe the Edomites or the Moabites because they had some connection, but not Jericho, not a Canaanite woman, not a prostitute, not a woman who had grown up in idolatry like Rahab had and had fallen into great sin, but she was the one that God had his eye on. And she was the most unlikely person to be converted, and yet she was converted by the grace of God. But not only that, not only was she converted, but she's placed in the ancestry of King David and the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a reminder to all of us here this evening that the ground is level at the foot of the cross, isn't it? The ground is level. When it says, for God so loved the world, it doesn't mean some of the world, it means all the world. The rich and the poor, the black and the white, all lives matter in the work of God. And I'm speaking to a local church here this evening. And this is where God has put you. This is the community that God has put you in. And you have to lift up your eyes and say, in that little estate at Rathcool, there's a Rahab. There's a Rahab. And next door to that estate at Rathcool, there's probably a Samson and a Barak and a Gideon. And it's your job, your job, to go find them. It's your job to be the fishers. of men. I can tell you this, if you start to see Rahab's and Gideon's and Samson's converted and come into these pews, you'll start to see God do something wonderful in your church and in your life. You'll start to see not only individuals saved, you'll start to see families saved. By the grace of God, you'll start to see generations emerge. of Christian homes that will be a blessing for years after you even leave this world. God will start to work and move. When I was a boy, just eight, nine years of age, and I've told this to quite a few places I've been recently, we moved to a place called Kilkeel. Some of you have probably never been to Kilkeel. Kilkeel people call themselves the Kingdom of Mourn. They're tough people. They're not weak people like Belfast people, okay? Kilkeel people are tough. They're fishermen, farmers, builders. They work hard for a living. They're craftsmen. And the Kilkeel people, when I went there, they began, in the church we were in, to pray for three men. I remember it very clearly. I was only young, nine, 10 years of age. When I went back there last time, to my surprise, I suppose I shouldn't say to my surprise, the three men that they were praying for were sitting in the church. All of them saved, all of them walking with God, and all three of them were now elders in that church. their children, their wives sitting beside them, families touched by the grace of God. And that's what you've got to pray for. That's what you've got to aim for as a church here in Abbots Cross, that your name will be famous not for Abbots, but for the cross. And I write that the cross of God, the cross of Jesus Christ, will truly be lifted up in this community. And people will come here, and they will be touched by the power of God. I trust what we've said. I've had to rush through this evening a whole lot of things. I hope it's not too confusing. But I trust it has spoken to you, at least in some areas. And as a church, you haven't come this evening to be simply entertained by my story. but you have been touched and challenged to go out into this community and the estates and the areas around you and seek the lost, for who knows what God can do through one life. Just recently, one of the Gowan family passed away. And as I was preaching in our church in Singapore, I said to the people, you know, that man was the man that reached my father with the gospel. And through my father being reached with the gospel, I was reached with the gospel. And through my preaching of the gospel in Singapore, some of you have been reached and saved. by the gospel. You see what I'm saying? God works one by one by one by one. May God challenge you to work for the master before the night cometh when no man can work. Let us pray. Father, we thank thee for this thy word. We pray for thy servant, Reverend Gelander, as he comes now, that thy power would be upon him. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I said this morning, we're gonna have a little epilogue this evening, and I'm gonna keep my word to you. And if you've got the scriptures, thank you, Paul, and thank you, Cheryl, and thank you, Sarah, and thank you, Samuel, for ministering to us. And it's great to hear how God works in lives and homes and in families, and very much is in line with what I was saying this morning, that we need to all, each one, be available to the Lord. Song of Solomon, please, just four verses. and we are not going to keep you over long. It's been good to hear God's word to our hearts already and I know it's a hot evening. I was warm sitting there and there's a door there and there's a window behind me and if you're sitting somewhere in the middle you're not getting much of a breeze. So if you've got a portion of the scriptures We're just gonna read the first four verses of Song of Solomon, chapter three, and we'll stand together just to give you a change of position. So let's stand for the reading of God's word, and this is God's word, and so let's give it the respect that it's due. And while you're standing, we're giving Rebecca and Gary a standing ovation now because they're getting married this Thursday. And they're the reason that I haven't gone to my, I was supposed to go this past Thursday but I said I'd wait until they get married and then be able to make sure they get married and commit marriage on Thursday. So all the best to Gary and Rebecca. We are really praying for you and we're just thrilled that God has led you thus far and it's great to have you as part of our church family here. Let's read together God's word, Song of Solomon, chapter three, and the first four verses, please. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now and go about the city in the streets and in the broad ways. I will seek him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me, to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little while that I passed from then, but I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house and into the chamber of her that conceived me. Amen. You may be seated. May God bless this reading of his word, dear heart. I am taken with that little phrase. Just very, very briefly, I have found him. I have found him. And the first thing that comes to my mind is that when we think in the context of the gospel, Jesus, I've heard people say, I found the Lord, or I found the Lord in this meeting, or I found the Lord in that meeting. Well, I have to say that I never knew that Jesus was ever lost. Jesus was never lost. You were the one that was lost. You found him, but he found you. And I like to say that, I'm sure you've often heard me say, where there's a seeking soul, there's a seeking saviour. But I understand what people are saying when they say, I found him. It's almost like through the process of life, through the circumstances of life, it's like this Shulamite woman, and I'm not doing a, by the way, an exegesis of this passage, we'll do that again some other time. I just want to take that little phrase, I found him, and pose a question to you to see have you truly found him, to make sure you've truly found him. I understand what people say when they say that I found him. You see, through the process of life and through the circumstances and through our searching and seeking, and I know that people are seeking for life and the Shulamite woman searched for him through the townsmen, which could be religious individuals. It could be the head of the church or leaders of the church. Many people seek the Lord in various and different ways. But I'm interested what it also says in John chapter one and verse 45. Philip says, Nathanael said, we have found him. But that's a wee bit of a lie because it says in verse 43, Jesus found Philip. revelation. I understand, I understand when people say that somehow, suddenly, they realize that Jesus was who he is. It came by revelation who have believed our report and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed. So, God reveals Christ to us. He pulls back the veil and we see him and it's almost as if we found him but he found us. Now, my question is, when you found him, when you say that, or What did you find? I want to post three little things to you as we bring this meeting to a conclusion. They found in Christ, we find in Christ, access to the Father. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but by me. The psalmist said in the Psalms, God is my light and God is my salvation. My salvation is in God. He is the source of my life. I see so many people and they're dull and dead and boring and it's as if they have all the troubles of the world on their shoulders When you find Christ, you find light, and you find life, and you find the meaning and the purpose for living. Whenever you give the, you've heard me say this before, whenever you give your wife a bunch of flowers that have been nicely cut and manicured, and you hand them to her, and, oh, thank you, darling, for those lovely bunch of flowers. All he's giving you is a bunch of dead flowers, because they're cut off from the source. God is the source of our life. We might look good from the outside, but I want to tell you, you haven't got life until you've got God. In finding Christ, they found access to the Father. Here's the second thing that I'm going to say to you. In finding Christ, we discover the affection of the Father. I want to say to you that I believe God gets bad press these days. The world wheels out God when they want somebody to poke fun at. They wheel him out whenever they want someone to blame, someone to make fun of. That's how the world thinks of him. You know, sometimes people think of God as been a wooly-haired old gentleman sitting in the clouds, totally whiling away the hours while he's disaffected and disinterested in the affairs of men. And I say to such people, if you want to know the care that God has for you, that he ought not to be the cause and the source of our mocking, but our God is the one who allowed and sent his son to be the sin bearer for our sins, that we might be free. If you want to know how much God loves you today, then all you need to do is look at Calvary. Calvary tells us how much God loves us. In discovering Christ, you discover the affections of the Father. See how he loved him. Discover the affections of the Father. Discover the access to the Father. And I ask you, have you discovered the access to our Heavenly Father? Do you know that fellowship, that communion with God? Do you know something of that life and interaction between your Heavenly Father as you come around the table with your family and you meet with God? And as we, the song sings and we've often sang it, he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me that I am his own and the joys we share as we tie there in another who's ever known access to the Father. sin. But up until that point, access was cut off because our sins have separated between us and our God. And have hid his face from us. And he cannot hear. There's a way back to God through the dark paths of sin. There's a door that is open to all who go in at Calvary's Cross. That's where we begin. When we come as sinners to Jesus. Oh, I They found the one, or he found them, should I say, the one to be the absolute truth, the way and the life. But they find access to the Father, they find the affections of the Father, that he's not a woolly-haired old gentleman sitting in the clouds, totally disinterested in the affairs of men, but he's intensely interested in your life. And way back in the islands of eternity, Jesus Christ was a lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and that's how much he loves us. And the last thing, not only do you find access to the Father, not only do you discover the affections of the Father, but I want you to know you enter into the assets of the Father. Let me read to you from Ephesians 1, verses 18 and 19. Here's what it says. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Oh, I want to tell you, the night that I was saved, my life God exploded into life. I was sitting in darkness. I knew nothing of God. I was like like some of those that Paul has described where where we didn't. I wasn't a I wasn't a church of Ireland. I went to Paul. It was a it was a Presbyterian but in that church, there was no gospel preached. We were whitewashed, whitewashed. We had a nice old gentleman that everybody loved but he never preached the Sitting in abject spiritual darkness, knew nothing of Christ, knew no reason as to why Christ died on the cross, knew absolutely nothing about the debt he paid, knew nothing about anything to do with sin and salvation and the retribution that's awaiting those who die without Christ. Sitting in darkness. And all of a sudden, whenever Christ entered in there, lives were exploded into life. And as if, it was as if we had a, well we definitely, it wasn't as if we had a, an absolute spiritual miracle in our souls. You hath he quickened, says Paul in Ephesians two, who were dead in trespasses and sin. If you ever say talk to a dead man, do you ever talk back to you? You'd have some fun, wouldn't you? the eyes of your understanding being lightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. I was in an open air drive-in service this afternoon at half past three And I was asked to share testimony in that drive-in service, not too far from Ballonderry. And I said, whenever I went to school, I had no shoes. I can remember going to school without shoes. I remember going to school with borrowed clothes. I don't want you to feel sorry for me because I'm not like that anymore. My wife makes sure I'm well-dressed. I put on my happy tie today, isn't it nice? I want you to feel bright and breathe. Some people love to be morbid and are sad because they're not sad, if you know what I mean. Well, I was telling those people that I went to school without shoes. I can remember going barefoot to school. I know that you might think they don't live in a day like that, but that was my day. Borrowed clothes without lunch. We were as poor as poor could be. Poorer than even a free Presbyterian church mouse, or a congregational mouse. We had nothing. I had nothing of this world's goods. We had nothing of intellectual ability because we never hardly went to school, and the only good thing about school was the school holidays. Nothing. Nothing intellectually, nothing materially, and nothing spiritually. Nothing of any worth of value in me is no good thing. You know when you come to Christ, we get the assets of the Father. There are a number of assets I won't take time to talk about, but all I want to say to you is this. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling. Naked come I to Thee for dress, helpless look to Thee for grace. Foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Saviour, or I die. Oh, I want to tell you the glory that it was to know that I'm accepted in the Beloved. and all the riches are mine by Christ Jesus. Might not have much many of this world's goods, but when you have him, you have everything. And he even gives us his righteousness, his righteousness. We get grace, peace, power, freedom from slavery, joy in God, love for all the saints, no more defeat, no more spiritual poverty, free from guilt and shame, rebellion, and what deliverance we have in Christ. The riches of his righteousness, what does that mean? Holiness of life and heart. Godliness, purity. I used to condemn myself for the things that I used to be involved in, even though I wasn't converted. I condemned, did you really do those things? And to know that cleansing and freedom in Christ. No more children of wrath, but children of God. No more under condemnation, but now forgiven. No more pawns of the devil, but now servants of the Most High. No more paupers, but now kings and priests unto God. No more under the law, but governed by grace. No more identified as sinners, but identified as saints. No more powerless and empty, but enriched by His fullness. What riches are ours, the half has not been told. And here's my point. When you found him, and you understand what I mean by that, when you found him, did you find access to the Father? When you found him, did you discover the affections of the Father? I struggled with that as a young fellow, young believer, because of my upbringing, which I'm not going to go into. I knew the love of a mother. I think my father forgot when he brought us into the world that we existed, if we weren't receiving the worst of his tongue. I found it difficult to understand the affections of a father, but I learned them at the level ground at the foot of the cross. This is how much my Father loves me. And by the way, can I say, as I borrow another couple of minutes, by the way, can I say that my Heavenly Father is not waiting for to catch me or to give me a divine clip on the ear. He's merciful and gracious, forgiving and loving. and cares for my very well-being. He may rebuke me and chasten me and challenge me, but he'll do it in his own way, but he'll always do it lovingly. I discovered the affections of my Heavenly Father. Oh, and I discovered the assets. What assets are his in Christ? The half has not been told. Let's pray together in prayer, and we'll sing our last song. Our Father, we thank you for testimony that has been shared, for song that has been sang. We thank you most of all for Christ. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord. What it is to be reconnected to our Heavenly Father. What it is to know Him. What it is to be loved by Him, to be in fellowship with Him. What it is to know that He's got my world in His hands, He's got my life, He's got my present, He's got my past, and He's got my future. My Heavenly Father has a safe pair of hands. What it is to understand the affection that He loved me with an everlasting love. He loved me before the world ever began. He loved me, as Paul said, way before ever he was born, God had put in plan and in motion those things that would enable him to hear the gospel and bring him to Christ. Lord, thank you that you love us, even though we don't understand what love is. Father, it would be my prayer, as I'm sure it's the prayer of everybody here, that they would somehow discover the affectionate love of the Father. He doesn't save us because He finds something lovely in us. He saves us because He knows what He can make of our lives. Thank you, Father, that we might feel empty and we might feel guilty, we might feel worthless and without purpose in life. But oh God, thank you that we can discover in Christ the assets of the Father. No more condemnation, but wonderful illumination of a wonderful God who gives us the very righteousness of his Son. Father, we pray. you'd impact hearts by these great truths. For Christ's sake. Amen. We're going to sing our last song and it will be in the book. 406, if you're using the book, but it's on the PowerPoint. What kind of love is this that gave itself for me? I am the guilty one, yet I go free. We'll remain seated. Sorry, we can't get you standing, but remain seated. We'll sing together, please, this great song. Thank you. Yet I go free What kind of love is this? What kind of love is this? What kind of love is this? That died in agony Oh have a To be his side Such is his love No eye has ever seen No ear has ever heard What kind of love is this? Let's pray together as we come in our time to the Lord. Do please consider the things that you've heard this evening and remember that you can become the link in a chain that will see many others one to the Master. If you don't really know the access to the Father, if you haven't really gained and understood the affections of the Father, and you feel worthless and empty because you haven't experienced the assets of the Father, then tonight would be a wonderful night to do so. Father, part us in thy fear with thy blessing. May we hear, may we understand, may we know nothing other than Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead and living in our hearts. We ask your blessing upon the Ferguson family on holiday and As they set up home or travel backwards and forwards and here and there, we pray that you'll clearly lead and guide in the next step for their lives. And for us as a congregation, may we see out and around us, as we thought this morning, a mission field on our doorstep, just waiting to be found, to be introduced to, to be reached through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen. Just one further little instruction, because I can see the people up in the balcony almost passing out with heat, I'm going to let the balcony out again first. So if people in the main body of the church, if you can wait, then I'm going to rush out there and I'll meet the folks coming out. I won't be shaking hands or giving you a holy hug, but I'll say hello as you leave on the way home. Thank you so much. May God bless you. Yeah, it's very warm in this corner.