... want to find out a little about the youth council committee?
Psalm 86:5
But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
I was brought up just outside the village of Maghaberry. I am thankful to God that I was raised by parents who loved and cared for me, but it saddens me to say that it was a home without Christ.
My parents attended the local Church of Ireland, and up until my mid teens, I was faithfully sent along to the regular church services, the Sunday School and the Church Lads Brigade. Even though I attended church regularly I can never recollect hearing about my need to be saved. I do remember vainly reciting prayers and creeds each week from the prayer book and through this I had a certain head knowledge that I was a sinner before a Holy God and needed forgiveness of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ. But that's all it was...a head knowledge. I did not believe in my heart that these things were true. The church I grew up in as a child was a place of dead religion where there was virtually no Gospel light. I do not believe that any of my ministers or Sunday School teachers were saved but only the Lord truly knows the heart.
When I was sixteen years old I was invited by a school friend to a Methodist church youth club. Each Friday night, after a time of recreation, a different speaker would come along and give an epilogue. Week after week the way of life was clearly set before me at the youth club.
One Friday night in May 1991, an American evangelist was preaching on the dangers of rock music. I remember going home from the youth club that night under conviction of my sin. I realized that if I didn't get right with the Lord, and died in my sin, my soul would be lost in hell forever.
2Th 1:8 ... them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 ... shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
That night I leant by my bedside and in faith and with a repentant heart accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. The burden of my sins was immediately taken away and I had peace with God.
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
Shortly after I was saved I left the Church of Ireland and started attending the Methodist church. After a while I was invited to become a leader in the youth club that had been instrumental in pointing me to Christ.
I wish I could say that after I got saved I grew in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ...but this was not the case. Although I was saved, Christ was not at the centre of my life. I made many life changing decisions in my late teens and early twenties without seeking the will of the Lord through prayer and in the study of His Word. As a young believer this was a sure recipe for disaster.
After graduating from university, I accepted a job with a construction firm in England. Away from home and away from any Godly influence in my life it wasn't long before I started to backslide and walk in the ways of the world. I became miserable in my sin and I lost the peace with God I once had. I forgot and lost the wonder of the Cross - the manner in which I was cleansed from my sin. I had forsaken the things of God and I had ruined my testimony. These feelings of guilt and shame intensified when I was at home on my own therefore I tried to bury myself in my work, but I could not escape my sin or flee from God.
The Psalmist says:
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
The Lord eventually brought me to a point where I realized it was futile trying to run away from Him. I needed to run back to Him and seek His forgiveness if I ever was going to experience true happiness again.
In the Spring of 2005 I left my job in England, and moved back to Northern Ireland. I began to re-immerse myself in the youth work of the Methodist church but it was not long before I became uneasy about the ways in which the church was trying to reach the lost with the Gospel. I was particularly uncomfortable with how the church employed worldly music to lure the young people into the youth club.
The Lord spoke repeatedly to me through:
1Co 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
There are professing Christians who will tell you if you're going to reach the world you have to use the world's means. That's not what the bible tells me. The bible says:
1Co 1:21 ...it pleases God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
The Word of God clearly sets forth that preaching is the most singularly blessed means by which we are to evangelize the lost. The Devil subtly tries to lure Christians away from the preaching of the Gospel and tells them that they can reach the lost through worldly means. The Devil is a liar! He is trying to promote an uncertain message; a message of confusion.
The stand I took for the Lord on this matter resulted in me leaving the Methodist church. It was a very distressing time for me. I wasn't very popular among my closest friends. There was a lot of hurt caused from the fallout, but I'm thankful that God cannot lie and keeps his promises.
For He told me in:
1Sa 2:30 for them that honour me I will honour.
In the Spring of 2006 the Lord led me to Lisburn Free Presbyterian Church. There, I've been tremendously blessed under the ministry of Dr John Douglas and Rev Thomas Martin. I count it an honour to serve the Lord in whatever little way I can in the church. On Tuesday nights I assist the outreach team on the doors around Lisburn and I also serve on the committee of the senior youth fellowship. I've been privileged to help out as a leader on the Annual Youth Council Camps to Scotland in 2007 and Armagh in 2008. Recently the Lord has led me into the work of the Youth Council where I now serve as committee secretary. I have also had opportunities to participate in short term mission work in the Philippines, China & Vietnam.
I am grateful to God for His grace and mercy to me. I'm thankful that the Lord never forsook me, even when I forsook Him.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Maybe you do not know Christ as your Saviour. You maybe feel you're without hope. I urge you to come and...
Jn 1:29 ... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,
And found in Thee alone,
The peace, the joy I sought so long,
The bliss till now unknown.
Refrain:
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
There's love, and life, and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee.
I am Stephen Gardiner from Killylea, Co Armagh. I had the honour of being brought up in a Christian Home and as a child was faithfully taken to Armagh Baptist Church, Sunday School and Children's Meetings. I also had the privilege of going on summer camps organized by Baptist Youth, Scripture Union and CEF.
With all this Christian teaching I knew and believed the truths of the Bible but couldn't put my faith and trust in the Lord. When I was about fifteen years old I lost all interest in church - I still attended but I slept through most of the services. When I was sixteen my church had a Youth Mission and it was then that I realized how much God had done for me. The words of the chorus, "I will serve Thee because I love Thee" really spoke to me and so I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and I put my trust in Him.
Challenged by the words of this chorus and CEF's Motto, "Saved to Serve" I got involved in helping Acre Gospel Mission. God has done so much for me and He has given me the opportunities to serve Him. I thank God for helping, providing, protecting and directing me thus far.
Rom 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose"
I thank God I was brought up in a Christian home where my parents were saved. From a young age I was sent along to Sunday school to the Thursday night children's meeting. I learnt a great deal from these meetings and I am pleased that what I was taught has stuck with me to this day.
I had known my need of salvation from an early and at the age of six the Lord spoke to me. My mum and I leaned on the side of my bed and she pointed me to the Lord and I accepted Christ as my Saviour.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 Thess 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am glad that God really is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. When I have been down hearted or discouraged I can pray to him and know that he answers prayer. Matthew 21:22 "And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive". What a promise that is and an encouragement it is to me.
A few years ago I was having doubts about my Salvation and the devil had me concerned and wondering was I really saved. One night I went along to a Gospel Mission in Ballyclare where Mr Kyle Paisley was the preacher. I don't remember much of the sermon but God spoke to me and I couldn't leave the building. I went in to speak to Mr Paisley and he turned me to John 6:37. "For all that the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." From that night, 14 November 2005, I had that blessed assurance that Jesus was mine and God continues to give me grace to go on as I serve HIM.
I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as part of the committee on the Youth Council and I trust the Lord will continue to bless the youth of the Free Presbyterian Church for His honour and glory.
Hello, I'm David Bennett from Annalong and I am 22 years old. It was about six years ago at the age of sixteen that I came under deep conviction of my sin. At that time there was a mission on in Mourne Free Presbyterian Church where Dr John Douglas was the preacher. After one of the Sunday evening services I stayed behind to speak to Rev Mercer and after some good and wise counsel I repented of my sin and asked the Lord into my heart and to save my soul. Praise the Lord that night he did!
Since then the Lord has richly blessed me and led me to Annalong Free Presbyterian Church. The Lord has blessed me there and I count it a great honour and privilege to serve the Him on the Youth Fellowship Committee in and on the Youth Council Committee as the South Down Area Representative.
My name is George Hanna and I am a member of Rasharkin Free Presbyterian Church and a committee member of the Youth Council. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you how the Lord saved me and has kept me.
I had the privilege of being born into a Christian home but this privilege in itself was not sufficient to secure salvation. After all, the Bible says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". The Bible also tells us in -
2nd Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus"
...and I can say that this is true of my life, for I was faithfully taught the way of salvation at home and by faithful Sunday School teachers and ministers.
In September 1984, aged 9, the Lord convicted me of my sin, I saw my need of salvation, repented of my sin and asked the Lord to save me.
I can testify to the fact that all through my life the Lord has kept me, helped me, guided me and given me many opportunities to serve Him and on many occasions I have proved:
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths".
I trust this short word of testimony has been a blessing to you and if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your own and personal Saviour I would encourage you to come to Him today just as Paul encouraged the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved".
I would like to commence this short word of testimony by giving thanks to Almighty God for saving me and presenting me with the opportunity of sharing with you something of what the Lord has done for me.
My name is Ivan Bailie and I am a member of J Kyle Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in Ballymena. I had the marvellous privilege of being born into a Christian home and being taught from my earliest days my need of a Saviour. My mother and father showed me from the Word of God and passages such as:
Isaiah 51 v 5 "...I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me".
Through the faithful ministry of my parents and Sunday School teachers I was taught many Biblical texts which were a continual reminder to me of my fallen sinful state before God.
It was as a child of seven, at an evening Gospel meeting in a little Mission Hall in Ballymena, that the Lord dealt with my heart and the general call of the Gospel became effectual to me. Being convicted of my sin, the Lord gave me the grace to cry out to Him for mercy, and that night I passed from death unto life.
Since then, I have known God's preserving hand upon every aspect of my life and I thank Him for each opportunity to serve Him in the Gospel. Through the rough times and the smooth times I have certainly proved Him to be that friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
God's Word declares in:
Titus 3 v 5 - "Not by works of righteous which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost".
This passage of scripture simply reminds us that none of us can do anything to merit God's favour in Salvation, but rather we are totally dependant upon the unmerited favour of God to the Salvation of the soul.
Dear friend, I wonder do you know Christ as your Saviour? I wonder what you are depending upon for life eternal? I would urge you in the words of Isaiah 53 v 6 to "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near."
Amen
Genesis 28:15-16 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
I was born in 1986 in the small fishing village of Portavogie, Co. Down. My parents were saved when I was a child and so from an early age I heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. At six years of age, after a Sunday evening service, I was convicted of my sin and asked Jesus into my heart.
Sadly in my teenage years I was unfaithful to my Saviour and spent those years wandering in the things of this world, but like Jacob above, the LORD had saved me and would never leave me as I had Him, because he has promised 'for I will not leave thee'.
I can thank God today that in a youth fellowship meeting in Portavogie, when I was 19 years old, He awaked me out of my spiritual sleep and He continually keeps me day by day. I had neglected my walk with God and so gotten away from Him but He has always been with me because He is a God of love.
We all fail the LORD daily but He has promised His grace towards us. Just like the promise of verse 15 to Jacob, I am thankful that the LORD did 'keep me in all places' even when I turned away from Him. I count it a privilege that the LORD has given me the opportunity to serve Him in the work of the Youth Council.
I thank the Lord that I have a testimony to give to the saving and keeping power of the Lord Jesus. My testimony can be summed up in one verse of scripture:
Psalm 34 v 6 "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
I had one of the greatest privileges that anyone could have - I was born into Christian home where both of my parents were saved and born again. Just because my parents were saved didn't mean that I was saved. From a very early age I was taught that I was a sinner, in fact I can honestly say that I cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't know that I was a sinner and that I needed to be saved.
I was faithfully sent along to all the meetings in the church, Sunday school, children's meeting and youth fellowship. It was at the age of six that the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to me and I was convicted of my sin and my need of the Saviour. On 22nd April 1977, after a children's meeting in Tandragee Free Presbyterian Church, I stayed behind to seek counselling. That night Miss Margaret Russell took me into a side room and turned me to God's Word and showed me clearly that I was a sinner and that I needed to repent and turn from my sin. That night I bowed my head and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and I asked Him into my heart. I can remember going home that night rejoicing that I had been saved.
I thank God for his hand upon me from that night until today, when you get saved the Lord does not leave you to your own devices but he leads and guides you each step of the way. I thank the Lord for giving me Christian friends throughout my teenage years, as it is very important as a Christian to keep company with those of like precious faith. I also thank the Lord for blessing me with a wife, Alison who knows the Lord as her Saviour, and for blessing us with twin boys Nathan and Andrew who have both professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.
I finish this brief testimony with a word of appeal to you if you are not saved, I leave with you the words of invitation of the Lord Jesus:
Matthew 11 v 28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
I was born into a very loving and caring Christian home where with four brothers and four sisters we were taught in the ways of God. My parents not only instructed us from God's Word, but lived Godly themselves therefore setting us a great example. My childhood days were simple but very memorable not having much of what young people have today we made our own fun and spent much time together as a family.
It was during these early days that I can confidently say that the Word of God was implanted within my heart and at the age of 11 near the end of a two week gospel campaign in a little mission hall not far from our home I give my heart to Jesus Christ.
I remember walking home that night as if it was yesterday, singing at the top of my voice some of the choruses we had been taught at the mission; knowing full well that I was saved.
"Heaven above is softer blue, earth around is sweeter green
Something lives in every hue, Christless eyes have never seen"
Being just a "new born babe" in Christ I enjoyed the rest of the summer under the influence of home and those others who had got saved in the mission; but going to secondary school was a whole new world for me. Like so many others I was afraid and I failed to confess Christ or say I was a Christian.
It wasn't very long until I just blended in like the others - living a hypocritical life - "a saint at home and church and a devil at school". This continued until I started employment and with the "world at my feet" the sky was the limit. I just lived in the pleasures of the world.
It was after one on these such "nights of pleasure" that God used my Mother's brokenness and tears to convict me as to my wayward living and under the preaching of the Gospel I repented of my backsliding and sin and God in His great mercy received me back into the fold of God.
I thank god for His Great Love, Mercy and Grace in my life and for the way He has lead me thus far.
Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him".
I am very thankful to God and count it a great privilege that I was born into a Christian home where both parents sought to bring my elder brother and myself up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I was brought up in small area known as Lenaderg, just outside the town of Banbridge.
As a family we attended Tandragee Free Presbyterian church where I was taught the great need for repentance of sins and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour.
Alongside the teaching I received at the Sabbath School and the Wednesday night children's meeting I was sent to a local Sabbath School in Lenaderg every Sunday afternoon. I was, to say the least, steeped in the things of God. After the children's meeting in the autumn of 1986, at the age of 5, I with the aid of my mother at my bedside repented of my sins and trusted Christ.
Life as a child was care free and full of happiness. However there are events in our lives which can turn our happiness into sadness: all of our lives are subject to the rule of our sovereign God and in His sovereignty He called my mother home to glory in November 1989 after a battle with cancer. This event drastically changed our family life in so many ways. My brother and I really missed the influence of a Mother in our home. God knew this and a number of years after my Mother's death my father met and married a wonderful Godly lady to whom I am deeply indebted. I also gained a step sister both of which are proof that God cares for and provides for his people. After all:
"we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" Romans 8 v 28.
I have failed my Lord many many times in my life of which I regret and will regret all the days of my life. However I rejoice in the words of:
Psalm 32 v 1 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
I spent a number of years in a backslidden state in which bad company and the allurements of this world, with its bright and dazzling lights, entrapped me. During this time I can honestly say I was like a troubled sea; unsettled and deeply unhappy. In the Lord's will in June 2001 I attended an after-church-meeting in Banbridge Free Presbyterian Church when the text of scripture that night pierced my soul like a knife. It was in 1 Samuel 10 v 19 where it reads "And ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto Him, Nay..." The Holy Spirit convicted me of my backsliding and rejection of God and revealed to me the error of my ways. He reminded me that true and everlasting happiness and satisfaction could not be found in the world but only in Christ. That night He graciously drew me back to Himself.
After a spell of uncertainty in my life regarding my future and the job I was to do, the Lord, through his word in Psalm 32 v 8, promised me "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." After this the Lord clearly revealed to me that I was to:
"walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called..." Ephesians 4 v 1.
I can't stress enough how faithful God has been in keeping His promise to me.
The Lord is faithful concerning all the details in our lives and in His providence He led me to the girl I was to marry. After several years of dating the Lord led us to the same passage of scripture in our separate readings (Genesis 24) and clearly showed to us that we were to be married. Sarah and I were happily married on the 15th of July 2008.
I wish to urge anyone who is not saved to trust in Christ: a full life can only be realised in Him. God says in His Word "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3 v 23. Also remember that "man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." (Shorter Catechism Question 1) This can only be done by trusting in God's sacrifice for sin: His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Young believer in Christ: seek out God's will for your life and desire a deeper understanding of the faith we espouse to:
"looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12 v 2.
