The characteristics of the early church

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 19 APRIL 2026 – MR JASON CRUISE

ACTS 2 – THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY CHURCH

 

If you and I were to walk down the street tomorrow morning, Monday morning, maybe down the street here in Coleraine or down the street in Limavady where I come from and we were to ask the question on the street tomorrow morning, what is the church? What is the church? It is highly likely that the person we would ask that question to would most likely point to some great ornate building and proceed to tell you and I how this is a prime example of the church. But I want us to think this morning about what the biblical answer to this question is today. What is the church? Biblically speaking this morning, there is the church universal. That is what you and I become part of the moment that you and I come and put our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus. That moment that you and I become a Christian and we come to the Lord Jesus acknowledging our sin and our great need and we put our faith and our trust in him, we are then become part of the church universal. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. Paul tells us there in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20 down to verse 23, "He raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” The apostle Paul goes on to tell us there in Colossians chapter 1 verse 18, "And he that is Christ is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." The head of the church is not some ruling cleric. It's not some governing body. It is not some earthly king. It is not someone who wears their flowing robes decked in all the religious regalia. No, my dear brethren and sisters this morning, the head of the church is Jesus Christ and Christ alone. You and I make up the church universal. In Peter's first epistle there in 1 Peter in chapter 2 and verse 5, writing to believers, Peter says, "Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. You and I make up the church universal. And the head of the church today is indeed Christ and Christ alone. Vance Havner the American preacher once said these words. “We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it but by the combustion within it, of lives ignited by the spirit of God.” You and I today are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit today dwells within you and I. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” You are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. I wonder tomorrow as we go in to a new week, maybe as we head to work tomorrow morning, Monday morning, or as we head to the shop tomorrow, or as we meet our friends, will those that I come into contact within the workplace, will those that perhaps you will come into contact with in the shop or in the street or over the garden fence, know that the Holy Spirit dwells within you? Are you and I aware that we are indeed ambassadors for Christ in the world in which we live? Paul says there speaking to the Philippians in chapter 2 verses 14 to 16 “do all things without murmurings and disputings that ye may be blameless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as lights in the world holding forth the word of life.” Always keep it in your mind that you and I are ambassadors for Christ. And those that live around about us, they may not read God's word today. They may not consider God's word tomorrow, but they are reading you and I as Christians. You and I, as is often said, we're like walking Bibles. And people are looking on at you, looking on at your conversation and your behaviour. I hope that your behaviour and mine is befitting of the name of a Christian. We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. he closer that you and I get in our walk with God, the more we will realize that we are reliant upon the Spirit of God. You and I could achieve absolutely nothing for God without the help of the Holy Spirit. No matter what you and I would set out to do for the Lord, if we were to set out relying upon our own strength, we would soon find out that it is futile and that we can indeed achieve nothing on our own merit or on our own strength. There's a church, the universal church, but then of course there is the local church and there are many local churches. Paul mentions there in 1 Corinthians 11. He speaks about the churches of God. In Romans 16 verse 16, he speaks about the churches of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 14, he mentions the churches of the saints. Notice it is churches plural. There are many local churches there in certain areas where the believers gather together to worship and to praise the Lord and to seek to win souls for him and to see the people built up in their most holy faith and to see them grow and to see God's kingdom extended. That was the desire that these believers in the early church at Jerusalem had. That should remind you and I of God's grace. Because there in Jerusalem, the very place where God's son, the Lord Jesus, was rejected, the very place where he was scorned, where he was mocked, where he was beaten, and ultimately where he was crucified, was the very place that God set up the first local church. That speaks to you and I today of God's grace, that even there in that area those people would be given a second chance. How thankful we are as believers that God gave us the second chance. We are thankful today that you and I worship the God of the second chance, the third chance, the fourth chance, the fifth chance. Maybe you have fallen away from the Lord and maybe your walk with God today is not what it once was. Can I assure you this morning that we worship and adore and serve the God of the second chance? And can I today press it upon you that if you were to come to him in repentance, if you were to come to him again acknowledging your wrongdoing, that you can indeed come back into full fellowship with the Lord again.

 

I want us here this morning to see the characteristics that were there and those believers in that early church in Jerusalem. The first thing that we see about the people there in Jerusalem is that that church was gospel orientated and it was Christ centred. Look again at verses 23 and 24 "Him being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should beholden of it." At the very centre of Peter's message that day was the finished work of Christ. In verse 23, he mentions the crucifixion of Christ. And in verse 24, he mentions the resurrection of Christ. Central to the message of those believers was indeed the message of the gospel. And as a church, that should be your message and indeed mine. To those that we come into contact with day and daily, whether down the street or indeed in the workplace. This was the message that these early believers had. Warren Wiersbe once said, "The early church had none of the things that we think are essential for success today." He said, "They had no fancy buildings, they had no money, they had no political influence, and they had no social status. Yet that local church won a multitude of people for Christ. They won a multitude of souls for the Saviour.” You see these believers here at Jerusalem in the early church, they were people who indeed were on fire for God. And the message that they had is the same message that you have today for the people in Coleraine. And it's the same message indeed that is for the people in Limavady. It's the same message for the people across our province today. That there is a God in heaven who loves them and that at his right hand is one who died upon the centre cross for their sin and rose again for their justification. Think of the message that God gave to Ezekiel for the people. Ezekiel chapter 2 verse number 7, the Lord says, "And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear." God had made Ezekiel a watchman over the house of Israel and the people would either accept or reject the words of Ezekiel. That is the same for you and I today. We simply have to take the message. It is God who does the convicting and it is God indeed who does the saving. Look at verses 41 and 42 "Then they gladly received his word, were baptized, and the same day were there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers.” Notice those two little words that we read there in verse 42 “continued steadfastly.” Those two little words in the Greek Lexicon mean to give constant attention to or to be physically engaged with or to be strong towards. These believers here in that early church gave constant attention to the doctrine of the apostles. They gave constant attention to the teaching that had been given to the apostles and was now being handed down to them.

These believers were not only gospel orientated and Christ centred, but these believers had a great hunger for the word of God. We read in Matthew 28 verses 18 down to 20 “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” The believers at Jerusalem had a great hunger for the word of God and they had a great hunger to be taught from the word of God and to teach the word of God. I had a conversation with a believer just recently and he said that one of the things that saddened him today in the church was that there is little to no desire to learn the word of God. He said if it was announced from the pulpit that in the incoming week there's going to be a week of ministry meetings or a week of Bible teaching, there would be people in the church who would almost cause a riot - that we are going to have to come out to church every night this week to be taught from the Bible and I have this to do on Monday night and I have that to do on Wednesday night and have that to do on Thursday night and here I'm going to have to forget about all that and come to church every night this week to be taught from the Bible. He said the one thing that saddened him was that there is no desire to learn from the word of God. I know that's not like you in Coleraine this morning and I know it's a lot like the people in Limavady today but sadly it is the story across our province just now. There's no desire to learn from the word of God and to be taught from the scriptures. The Apostle Paul speaking to young Timothy, said in 2 Timothy chapter 2, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." You see, Paul knew that if Timothy is going to achieve anything for the Lord, he's going to have to know the word of God. If he's going to achieve anything for the Lord, he's going to have to know the word. He's going to have to be a man that is firmly grounded in the apostles doctrine. That's just the same for you and I. If you and I are going to see anything achieved or done for God, we're going to have to know the word of God. And so, I would urge you, as I urge myself, to cultivate within yourself a greater hunger for the word of God. In the original Greek, the word for fellowship that is used is the word “koinonia”. Koinonia doesn't mean to meet around a cup of tea. No what it really means is to be in unity one with another and to be in partnership. These people were in partnership one with another to see a work done for God. I trust that could be said of you and I. In the original Greek, it also means to contribute. Those believers in the fellowship where they met together in that little assembly of believers sought to contribute to the life of the assembly. I have friends today and they would say that as soon as you would ask for help in the church, there are so many and they would shy away and say, "Well, so and so helped with it last year, they'll help this year.” Or “so and so helped last month, she'll help this month." But really and truthfully, you and I should contribute to the life of the assembly. One older believer who used to attend the church in Limavady where I worship, now dead and gone to glory, used to tell the story about the two men in the boat. He used to talk about the fellows in the boat and say, "If there's no one rowing, the ship won't go anywhere." He said, "We must be rowing together." In Acts chapter 2 verse 42 the writer goes on to tell us here about the breaking of bread and prayers. There is some difference in the opinion of that breaking of bread in verse 42. Some commentators would believe that it is in reference to communal meals where they met together to eat but most commentators and I would agree with them think that this is the act of remembrance where these people were indeed remembering the finished work of Christ upon the cross. These people had a great respect. They had a great adoration and affection and admiration for the person and the work of Christ. They wanted to simply meet together to remember what he had done for them in the darkness there upon the cross. These men and women were indeed steadfast in their faith and steadfast in their service for the Lord. They, like you and I this morning, were linked to a man in the glory. That's the same for you and I today. The one who sits at God's very own right hand. the son of God became the son of man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God. What great love God had for you and for I that he was willing to send his son to suffer in your place and mine. Maybe you don't really know that God loves you. Could I just take a moment to remind you that we read there in John chapter 3 verse 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.” The Lord can meet you at the very point of your need. Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "The Lord could never save me. The Lord wouldn't love a person like me." We are thankful the Lord Jesus says, "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." At God's right hand today, there is one who suffered, bled, and died in your place in the darkness upon the centre cross there at that place called Calvary. These believers in the early church at Jerusalem, knew that their very existence was all because of Calvary. They knew that the very existence of that little assembly there at Jerusalem was all because of what took place there in the darkness upon the centre cross for them. We read that these men continued steadfastly in prayers. These were men and women of prayer. We thought earlier about George Muller, a man of prayer and we thought about Elijah, a man of prayer. These were people who knew the power of prayer. They knew the value of prayer and they knew the great need for prayer. If you and I are going to see a work done for God, we are going to have to be men and women of prayer. I often tell the story about the steam engine. The man who tried to move the heavy load with the steam engine without first of all lighting the fire. It was never going to go anywhere, was never going to achieve anything. And you and I could achieve nothing for God in and of ourselves, relying upon any merit of our own. We must put our faith and trust in God and we must be men and women of prayer. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17, "Pray without ceasing."  I wonder are you and I like David the psalmist this morning. David says in Psalm 109 verse 4, "But I give myself unto prayer." Could that be said of the speaker this morning, that I give myself onto prayer. Look at verse 47 "Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” We see the result. 

These people they were gospel orientated people.

These people they were Christ centred people.

They were sound on their doctrine

They were thankful for what Christ had done for them at the place called Calvary

They were steadfast in their life of prayer.

 And the result was that God moved in a mighty way. “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” We could say of these believers that they worshipped the Lord daily, they walked with the Lord daily. They were witnesses for the Lord daily. I trust that that can be said of you this morning and that it can be said of me today. That these characteristics that we find in the believers there in the early church can be found in you and I today because I believe if they are that God will bless in a mighty way and that you and I will see souls saved in this day and age in which we live and that we will see people built up in their most holy faith and that we will see the kingdom of God extended and God glorified. These men and women in the early church, they were immovable. They were firm. They were steadfast in their faith and in their service for God. They had an appreciation, an adoration, an admiration, and an affection for the person and the work of Christ. If those characteristics are found in me today, if they are found in you today, I firmly believe that the Lord will bless in a mighty and a real way and that we will see souls sought and won for the Savior in these days in which we live.

 

A sinner's prayer

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2026 pm – MR HENRY CASKEY

LUKE 23 VERSE 39 to 43

THE PRAYER OF A DYING MAN

 

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged reeled on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us? But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dust thou fear God, saying, Thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing of us. And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt thou be with me in paradise."

I want us to take a look tonight at this particular scene that we have before us. Returning again to this scene that just outside the city walls of Jerusalem, just on that hill called Golgotha. And what I want to think about this evening is the words of this of this thief. Two malefactors, two thieves that were hanging on either side of the Lord Jesus Christ on this particular day. One thief was accusing the Lord and ridiculing and criticizing whilst the other was beginning to consider and to think things through. That's what I want to look at this evening. The prayer of a dying man. Sometimes we hear it said there's no such thing as the sinner's prayer. And I suppose in a degree I fully understand with that sentiment that there's no such thing as the sinner's prayer. But here we see this man hanging on at the side of the Lord Jesus Christ on a cross and he was a sinner. And we see him open his mouth and he utters a prayer. So it's a sinner's prayer. It's maybe not the sinner's prayer, but it's a sinner's prayer. And that's what I want to look at this evening. I want to think of this man. Think about some other sinners prayers. You remember how the Pharisee and the publican went up to the house of God and there they began to pray. Do you remember how the Pharisee went in and he got as near to the front of that congregation as he possibly could and he started to pray within himself. He prayed about how many good things he did. He wasn't like this old publican that just wandered in through the door by that old publican. He just opened up his mouth. He lifted up his voice. He says, "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." And that man went down to his house justified. I think of the prodigal. You remember how he had spent all his money and riotous living. He went out into the world and he lived a great life and he had plenty of friends and fun and so many things going for him until he ran out of his money and then he ran out of friends and money. He thought to himself he would go back and see his father and he went back and do you remember what he prayed? He says, "I've sinned against heaven and before you." You see, dear friends, this evening, this is so important this evening, the words of this dying man. He says, "Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And what was the result of that prayer? The Lord Jesus Christ spoke those words. He says, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." He gave that dying man the assurance that he was on his way to heaven and to home. And isn't it wonderful tonight to have that assurance, to know tonight that we're on our way to heaven and home. The apostle Paul put it so well. He says when he would pass away that it would be absent from the body and present with the Lord. What assurance he had. The Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What a wonderful assurance we can have this evening. The prayer of a dying man. He was standing on the word of God. He was standing on that word that the Lord said. He never doubted it. The Lord says, "Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." And that man never doubted it. He realized that when he would close his eyes in death, that he would go into the presence of God for all eternity. Ebenezer Erskine was a an old Scottish preacher. He lived way back in the 1700’s. He died about somewhere about 1740 or 1750. But on his deathbed, one of his friends came to see him. And as he was lying upon his bed, one of the friends said to him, he says, "What are you doing with your soul?" And the old preacher said, "What I've always done for this past 40 years, I'm resting on God's word.”

I want to take a look at this prayer tonight. First of all, I want to say tonight that this prayer was a priority. This prayer was a priority tonight. He says, "Lord, "Remember me." You know, this is the most important prayer that this man ever prayed. These are the most important words that this man ever uttered from his lips. You see, this was a matter of great urgency tonight. Soon he knew that he would close his eyes in death. Soon he knew that he would be transported into another world. Here was a man who was believing now in a lost sinner's hell. And here's a man who was believing in a paradise to be gained. And isn't it wonderful tonight to know that there is a heaven tonight to be gained, that there is a hell to be shunned. Here was a man and he was hanging in the balance, ebbing out into eternity. Soon the last breath would be taken. Soon his eyes would close in death and he would be ushered out into another world. He didn't know when that would happen. He didn't know what time he had left, but he wanted to be certain when that would happen. The apostle Paul sitting in that old prison house said to young Timothy, "The day of my departure is at hand." He didn't know when it would happen. And there he was sitting in that prison cell, waiting for the steps of the executioner to come down to put the key into that lock of his cell and open it up and take him out and put him to death. He didn't know when that would happen, but he says, "I am now ready." Isn't that wonderful? Are you ready tonight? Are you ready for that day whenever you Will be ushered out into eternity? In Luke's gospel chapter 16, we read there of two men. One was a beggar man and the other was a rich man. The beggar man was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. He was carried into the very glories of heaven. The other man was a rich man. And the Bible says that he died. The Bible says that he was buried. And it says that in hell he lifted up his eyes. That old beggar man who lay at the gates of the rich man whose sores were licked day and daily by the very dogs that ran past. He was a man who made preparation for that day when he would leave that scene of time and he was ushered into eternity. The other man didn't. The other man left it and he left it too late and in hell he opened up his eyes. I wonder about us tonight. What's the priority tonight? You see this sinner man who is hanging upon this cross realized there was a great priority. There was a great urgency. He knew that he was going out into eternity, but he wanted to know for sure that he would be safe, that he would be in heaven. Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, was given a letter on one particular occasion. That letter was marked urgent. He took it as he climbed up into his chariot. He was going to a Senate meeting and he took the letter from the hands of the man who gave it to him and tucked it into the belt that he had and he never opened it. Although it was marked urgent, he never opened it. And when he got to the Senate, he was met by 20 or 30 senators there who were very very jealous of him and who hated him and didn't want to see him gaining any more power than he already had. They attacked him there and then he was stabbed and he was stabbed some 23 times and put to death. When they took the letter from him, it was a letter from the hand of a man and his wife who were warning him not to go to the Senate on that particular day because they had heard that this was about to happen to him. But you see, he didn't heed the warning. He had no priority whatsoever. He didn't take that letter on board whatsoever. The Bible speaks of a man that made a great supper and then he sent the invitations. He sent the servants out around the area with the invitations come for all things are now ready. He had prepared everything. He just wanted to prepare this supper for the people around about. He wanted to throw open the doors and invite everyone that would come along. Then you remember how the people all began to make excuses. The first and he says, "Well, you know, I have bought a little bit of ground and I have to go and inspect it. I have to see what it's like. You will have to excuse me." And the other man, he received the invitation as well. And he said "Well, you know I have bought some oxen and I have to go now and prove them. I have to test them out to see to see what they're like. I don't have time. Excuse me from going." And the third man, he says "I've married a wife. I cannot come." You see, they all began to make excuse. The invitation wasn't treated with the priority that it should have been. I think of Felix as he listened to the apostle Paul. Paul was pleading with him and with that whole congregation. He says, “Paul, When I have a convenient time, I will listen to you again."  The time that was convenient was right there and then when the Apostle Paul was speaking to him, but he thought he had another day. How many people tonight will go out of gospel meetings tonight knowing that this was the night that they should have been saved, that God has spoken directly to them and shown to them their great need, a need of a Saviour, the need of salvation, that they have been born in sin and shapen iniquity and hell will be their home forever and ever. They are getting up out of a meeting and leaving and going out into the open air again probably saying in their heart of hearts, "Well, I'll come back next week. I will make it right next week." The thief here realized the time was running out and he says, "I have to set my priorities." It didn't matter to that thief on that particular evening about anything else. This was his priority. He says, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." This prayer, of course, was a priority.

This prayer was prompt. You see, the thief realized that this was the time to call out. It was a prompt decision. And he seized the opportunity. Isn't that what Isaiah the prophet could say back in Isaiah chapter 55? He says, "Seek ye the Lord when he may be found. Call upon him while he is near.” God is drawing near in this assembly tonight. God is drawing near in assemblies up and down the length and breadth of our land. God is speaking to the hearts of men and women tonight. And somehow there's no priority. Somehow there's no promptness. Somehow there's no reality that this is the day of salvation. Isaiah the prophet could say as God was drawing near to him "Come now and let us reason together." God was speaking to the nation. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. And though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Think of that little church at Ephesus and the warnings that were given. The Lord Jesus Christ was pictured standing at the door. That little church felt that they had everything that they would ever need. They were rich, they needed nothing. They had the very best of a congregation, the very best of preachers and the very best of a building but the Lord Jesus Christ was on the outside and there was no promptness. They didn't realize that they were poor, wretched, naked, blind and they didn't realize that the one that they needed was on the outside of the door. The one that they needed was waiting for an invitation to come in. The Lord Jesus Christ stands at our heart's door. He wants to come into our life. He wants us to open the door and allow him to come in. He wants us tonight to trust him for what he has done on the cross of Calvary. He was there dying for you and me. Every sin of this old world was laid upon his body. Do you remember Zacchaeus? He climbed up into the sycamore tree just to see the Lord as he passed through Jericho. There he was sitting up in that sycamore tree and the Lord came and he passed by where he was and he looked up into the tree. He said “Zacchaeus make haste and come down." He probably come down that tree far quicker than he went up it. The Lord said "Make haste and come down." And the Lord says to men and women sitting in gospel meetings around the province tonight, "Make haste and come to the cross. Make haste tonight and make me your Saviour and Lord." Remember that woman with the issue of blood how prompt she was. For 12 years, she suffered. For 12 years, she tried every doctor, every physician, but none could help her. As a matter of fact, the Bible says about her condition, she just grew worse day by day. And then one day she heard about Jesus. He was coming down the very street where she was. She said, "If I may but just touch the hem of his garment, I've got to do it now because in a short time, he's not going to be here. I've got to do it now and I've got to push through and I've got to touch the hem of his garment." And so she did. And she touched the hem of his garment and there she felt the very power of God in her life and that she was fully and totally cleared of that situation. The story, I'm sure you have heard it on many occasion, but it just fits so well tonight. The story of DL Moody back in the great fire of Chicago - 8th of October 1871. He preached a sermon that night on that text of scripture where Pilate says, "What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?" D L Moody that night told his congregation of some 2,000 people “I want you to go home tonight and I want you to really think about this question what you're going to do with Jesus and I want you to make up your mind. They were all ushered out and of course the great fire consumed the city that very night and a lot of the congregation that were there that night all perished in the fire. And D L Moody vowed from that day from that day till he would go out into eternity that he would never again allow men and women to go out without pleading with them to come to Christ or their precious souls would be lost and lost forever. Here was a prayer that was prompted.  I have spoken on the doorsteps to many people as well as those who have waited behind in gospel meetings and they have said to me, "Well I know I need to be saved. I know that I'll never get into heaven without being saved. I know that I need the Savior tonight." They have got the priority, but there's no promptness. There's no reaching out while Jesus is there. And now is the accepted time. And now is the day of salvation.

This prayer was personal. What is this man praying for? He says, "Lord, remember me." This man was now counting the cost. He was weighing up his options, his sin, his wrongdoings. They were a burden to him now. There was a burden that was bearing upon him. And he knew that he was a sinner. He realized that with all of his heart.  No doubt going through his mind was every wrong action. No doubt at this particular time on that cross, he was weighing up all the sins that he had ever committed. The times when he ran with perhaps the other thief, the times when he ran with the crowd, the times when he robbed, he stole, he plundered, and so many different things. And all this was going through his mind. And he knew that he could not take these into heaven with him. He realized something needed to be done. And he realized that here was the man that could do it on the middle cross. His name was Jesus. This is the very reason that he come into the world. This old thief was starting to think for himself. He's going out now and he's going into his own kingdom. And I want to be with him, but I can't be with him unless my life is dealt with. These sins are dealt with, that they're underneath the blood. And he cried out. He says, "Lord, will you remember me?" And Jesus says, "Today, you shall be with me in paradise." Oh, the ridiculing, the slander and the mockery of the other thief. But now listen to the language of this man. You see, these two thieves, they railed on Jesus, both of them. There was no difference in them whatsoever until this moment in time. And here was this this thief. He said "Dost thou not fear God?" He is shouting over the other thief. This other thief, he's cursing the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, "Save yourself. Save us if you're who you should be or who you say you are. Get us down off the cross and save us." And this old thief on the other side said, "Hold your peace. Do you not consider the condemnation that we are in? We are both condemned together. It's our sinful lives that have condemned us to this fate today. But this man, this man has done nothing amiss.” He said, "We indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing amiss." Here was a man who realized that he was a sinner. He was gone out into a lost eternity. This man is now owning up to his sin. You know, we can't get saved until we acknowledge that we have sinned. We can't get saved until we own our sin. In a sense it mattered not what the other thief was saying to this man. It mattered not what the Roman centurion was saying at the bottom of the cross. It mattered not what the soldiers were doing as they drew lots for the garments of Christ. It didn't matter. The most important person on that particular day was this old thief on the cross. He said, "Remember me." This is personal." In second Samuel, we read the story of when Nathan comes to David. David had sinned against Bathsheba. He had taken Bathsheba and got her husband sent off into the heat of the battle and had him killed. And then God sent Nathan to David. He said to David "I want to tell you a story, a story about two men. One was a very rich man. He had property. He had land. He had flocks. He had herds. The other man was just a simple man. He didn't have very much going for him. He only had the one little lamb. That's all he had.” And Nathan said, "A visitor came to the rich man's house. And instead of him going into his own flock and taking a lamb out of it, he sent his servants down to the poor man. He said, "Go down and get that lamb. I want you to make a feast for this visitor." And when David heard that, he was furious. He said "This man is wrong. This man's done wrong. This man will have to be punished." Nathan looked at him and said "Thou art the man.” David realized that day he had sinned and he bowed his head at the table where Nathan was sitting. "I have sinned against the Lord." You and I have broken God's laws. You and I have sinned against the Lord tonight. And yet, he has died upon the old rugged cross of Calvary that he might reconcile us, that he might save us, that he might forgive us our sins. But until we acknowledge that we have sinned and that I have sinned, then we cannot be saved. Pilate standing before the Lord Jesus Christ, looked at him and he knew what the religious leaders said about the Lord Jesus. He knew what the crowd was saying, but he owned up to it. "What shall I do?" You see, this is personal tonight. Salvation's personal tonight. Salvation is for you tonight. Salvation is for me tonight. I have got to own up to my sin. I have got to acknowledge that Christ died on the cross for a lost mankind. But I have got to acknowledge tonight that he paid the price for me tonight before I'm saved. Have you done that tonight?

The prayer was precise. There was no beating about the bush here. This man knew what he needed to do. The old thief, he realized at this point in time that salvation was of the Lord and there were no fancy words. “Lord, remember me when thou comest into the kingdom.” God waits tonight to hear your prayer. A precise prayer for salvation. This man realized that. It dawned upon his soul that death was coming. There was no time to beat about the bush. Death was coming. Isn't that what the scriptures tell us? “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.” Many are sitting tonight putting salvation off. None of us are here forever. David the king could say that there is a step between me and death. Here was a man and he realized that he was a sinner.

Lastly, the prayer was positive. This man's prayer was positive. Why? Because Jesus said, "Thou shalt be with me in paradise." I'm sure that old thief breathed a sigh of relief that day. I'm sure he thought to himself, "Calvary surely does cover it all. All the wrongs that I have done, all the misdeeds that I have carried out, I am forgiven. And I'm on my way to heaven and to home." What a day it was for this old thief. What a day for you tonight in this gospel meeting just to come to Christ. There's one who has taken your place on the cross of Calvary. One tonight that approves of it all. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. Every sin was laid upon him and he has paid the debt and he wants to open the door of heaven for you this evening hour and he waits for you to come. Imagine the Lord is waiting, arms outstretched, waiting for you to make your way to him to hear those words today. “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.”

 

A man's walk with God

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2026 am – MR HENRY CASKEY

READING: 2 KINGS CHAPTER 4 VERSES 8 TO 11

A MAN’S WALK WITH GOD

 

And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where it was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, "Behold, now I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray, thee, on the wall. Let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick. And it shall be when he cometh to us that he shall turn in thither, and it fell on a day that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there.

 

Here we meet with this young prophet by the name of Elisha. And if I wanted to put a heading upon it this morning, it would have to be a man's walk with God. How important that is that that we're not setting out just merely to please man this morning, but that our life might please the eternal God. And what God can do with our lives as we pass people by here and there this morning. this young man, Elisha has stepped into the shoes of Elijah the prophet. He has taken up the mantle that Elijah has carried for so long. He was going to be God's man now in this situation. And isn't it wonderful this morning as we come into the house of God that we might pray that I would be God's man, that I would be God's woman this morning in whatever situation we find as we go into this new and incoming week.

 

In First Kings chapter 19, we find the scene that's set before us. It's an open field. Elisha has just arose that morning. He's the son of a wealthy farmer and he yolks up the oxen and the plough when he goes out to the field to the open field and he's about to do a day's work. But this was a normal day for Elisha. This was just something that he had got used to. It was a sort of routine for him. But this was a particular day in which God was going to meet with them because God had higher plans for him and God had a different purpose for his life. No longer was he going to walk behind the plough, but now he was going to walk with God. And he was going to be God's man in every situation. And you know, this morning, let's not just get into the routine this morning. Let's not just merely be in a routine this morning of getting up on the Lord's day and getting dressed and going through the motions and going along to church and sitting in the pews and singing the hymns. But let's come this morning with that expectancy that somehow this morning this is going to be a different day. And that God will meet with us this morning. God will meet with me this morning. That God has a higher plan to lift you to this morning. That God has another purpose in your life this morning. And that's what he wants to come to you with. Why? There's a Elisha and he's ploughing in the field. He's walking behind the plough and that yolk of oxen. Maybe out of the tail of the eye, he sees this man coming across the field to where he was and he recognizes him as a mighty prophet, Elijah and he takes that mantle off him and he throws it upon Elisha. That was the call of God upon him. Maybe this morning God is expecting you to step into another's shoes this morning. Maybe God is expecting you this morning to take up that different mantle this morning because God has a purpose for you this morning. Elisha’s life will never be the same again.

The thought that's been on my mind this morning of this man Elisha is the work that God has called him to do. Here's Elisha and he's passing by Samaria. He's on his way to Samaria. He's coming through Shunem. That's the direct travel that he's on. And as he comes to this part of world, he meets with a couple of rich friends and they always bring him in and they always entertain him. But I want us to take a little note here on this particular visit, on this particular day that Elisha comes. And the first thing that I want to think about here this morning is there is the impression that Elisha makes. I want to think about your impression this morning and my impression this morning. You see, verse 8 tells us here that this was a journey that he regularly made. Elisha had passed this way on a number of occasions and each occasion he came into this home and met with these people because it tells us in verse number eight “It fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem where was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread and so it was that as oft as he passed by he turned in thither to eat bread” and then in verse number nine “And she said unto her husband behold now I perceive that this is a holy man of God which passes by us continually.” So she could see this man passing by continually. This was a routine for him. And as they made contact, this woman realized there was something about this man. This is a holy man of God. What an impression for Elisha to make in this home. Here's a dear lady sitting here. She has made him his tea. She's made him as comfortable as she can. And she looks at him and then she says to her husband, "This is a holy man of God and he's passing by us continually." Now, I'm sure this woman and this man was well acquainted with other people who professed a religion. There were the prophets of Baal that were numerous around on that particular occasion. But there was something different about this man. All the prophets of Baal, they might have had their religion. They might have had their chant and they might have had their talk. But Elisha, there was something different about him. There was something that was special about him. There would have been leaders in the Jewish nation at that time. And of course they prided themselves in their religious character. But Elisha was different. This is a man of God. This is a holy man of God. This woman knew that there was a difference. Peter tells us in the church age that there'll be false teachers. There will be those who will stand behind pulpits and oh yes, they'll have a message. And oh yes, they'll be able to put it across so very, very well. But they're false teachers. And dear friends, that's where you and I have to be so careful. We have to be so careful there because if we get away from the cross, if we get away from who the Lord Jesus Christ is, if we get away from what the Lord Jesus Christ desires to do in our lives, then we've got a false religion. Isn't that what John tells us? John warns us about that in 1 John chapter 4 and verse one. Here's what he says. “Beloved, he says, Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits." You see, that's what we've got to do today. Don’t believe every spirit, but we've got to try the spirits and see if they be of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. And you know, as I thought on Elisha's visit to this home this particular occasion, I thought of my own travels this week. And I thought of the people that I had been in communication with this week. And I thought of the homes that I had been in this week and maybe even the hospital wards that I've been in this week. And I thought to myself, I wonder what sort of an impression I have left. What sort of an impression have you left this week? As you went to that neighbour as you often do. You sit down and you have a cup of tea with them or whatever. You take that neighbour as paper, a loaf of bread or whatever it is. I wonder what sort of an impression that you've left in that home. Would they be saying this morning, “you know there's something different about that man.? There's something different about that woman.” That's a saved man. That's a saved woman. That's a man of God. That's a woman of God this morning. Is that the sort of an impression that you and I could leave this morning in in the shops that we were in, in the petrol forecourt? Is that the impression that they got in the workplace? Is that the sort of impression that we have left? You see in in the next chapter in 2 Kings chapter 6 chapter 5 we are introduced to a maid. We do not know her name. We read how she came to be in this mans house. It tells us here in verse number one of chapter 5, it introduces us to Namaan. It says “Naaman captain of the host of the king of Syria. He was a great man with his master and he was honorable because by him the Lord had given deliverance onto Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour. But he was a leper.” And then we're introduced to somebody else in verse number two. “And the Syrians had gone out by companies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid.” And where was she placed? She was placed in Namaan's house because it says she waited on Namaan's wife. Now Namaan was a leper. But this maid must have made a mighty impression. There she is perhaps just down in the kitchen and maybe she's washing up the dishes. Maybe she's setting the table. Maybe she's called upon to make the beds. Maybe she cleaning the house. But she must have made an impression. Naaman's wife is watching her every day. She was brought as a slave. Can you imagine for a moment or two what she must have gone through? There she was down in Jerusalem whenever the Syrian forces come in and they snatched her away from her home, away from her mother and father, away from her families and took her away to Syria and placed her in this strange home.  And yet we don't read anything about her complaining or anything when she got there. We just read about the impression that she left because she must have made a great impression because when she said to Namaan’s wife "My master Namaan if he was down with the prophet in Samaria, he would be healed of his leprosy." And what did Namaan's wife do? She went and told Namaan. And Naaman's wife believed what this girl said. That must have been some impression that she left for Namaan's wife to say, “you know, I believe this maid.” And she came to Namaan. She tells Namaan what the maid had said and she was listened to. Maybe above all his counsellors, maybe above all his advisers, above all his doctors and all these mighty men. One little girl is believed and Namaan goes down. Of course he went to the wrong place. You know the story behind Namaan. But he went eventually to the prophet and he was gloriously healed. What an impression. What impression have you left this morning? Or have I left this morning? I think of Lot. Do you remember Lot? He lived down in in Sodom. He went down into Sodom. And what a move that was for a young man, a young man from a godly background going down to live in Sodom. Do you remember what it says? The testimony of the people of Sodom. It says in Genesis 13 and verse 13, it says, "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before Jehovah, exceedingly so." Such sinners as they were in Sodom. And yet Lot was prepared to go down and live in Sodom and bring his we family down into Sodom and live in a place like that. Then God was going to judge Sodom. Do you remember? Do you remember how he sent his angels down? He was going to judge Sodom. And then we have a picture of Abraham praying for Sodom. He prayed "Lord, if there are 50 righteous souls in Sodom will you not destroy it?" And the Lord says, "No, I'll not destroy it." And he pleaded and prayed right down to 10 souls and then judgment fell because God couldn't even find 10 souls and judgment fell upon Sodom. Lot was warned before that. The Lord told Lot “take your family and get out of Sodom because I'm going to judge it. The wickedness and the sinfulness of this city has arisen even into the very heavens. And I'm going to destroy it." Do you remember what Lot did? Genesis 19 verse 14, "And Lot went out, and he spoke with his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, get up and get out of this place, for Jehovah will destroy this city." There was the warning for his sons-in-law to listen to Lot. Now, Lot had been living down in here and these sons-in-law had married his daughters and everything was going so very, very well. And the reaction was this. “But he seemed as one that mocked to his son-in-laws.” They had watched his life, how he was happy to live there and now the warning was flee. What is this man talking about? That's the impression he made. He didn't leave much an impression for good. What's the impression that we have this week? Was it a good impression? Was it was it sympathetic? Was it encouraging? Was it something that spoke of the Savior that I worship and praise? What have we posted this week on social media? Was it encouraging? Was it sympathizing? Was it glorifying to God? Did it give God his place? Did it give God his honour? Did it lift up the Savior? Did it draw men and women closer to the Savior? The impression that someone got from that little remark that you made at the petrol pumps, at the filling station, or online, whatever the case may be. People are watching. Isn't that what Peter talks about in his book? He says that when the husband's not saved, the wife can make such an impression. I suppose that can go both ways.

I want you to notice the inspiration that comes because Elijah comes into this home and he sits down and he has his tea and he talks to this man and woman and the woman acknowledges that this man has made such an impression on them. She says “this is a holy man of God.” There's an inspiration now because his life now inspires this woman. It inspires her in her thought life and in her heart life because now she's saying to her husband "Let's do something for him. Let's make him a little place where he can turn into. Let's make him a little place at the end of our house that he can come in. He can rest on a bed. He can sit down in a chair. There will be a desk there that he can write at. There will be a candlestick there that he can see and so many different things for him.” See, she was inspired to do something. Elishia had come into her home and he had left such an impression upon her life that she wants to do something now. Not so much for Elisha but for the Lord because he's a man of God. Isn't it good to leave an impression that inspires others to do something for the Lord? But you know, don't be disheartened either, because sometimes we set that example and sometimes we leave a good impression and sometimes it might take time for it to come to fruition. I think of Joseph who at the age of 17 left his father's house. Just to go and see his brothers and to take them some food and they had turned against him and they hated him. They sold him as a slave down into Egypt. He left his father's house at 17 and for 13 years he never saw his father's face again. In all of his hardships that young man left a great impression no matter who he met. When he went into Potiphar's house he realized that this was a different man. The Lord was with this man and everything that Potiphar had, he put it into the hands of Joseph. He says, "You handle it." And even whenever Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison, yet the jailer looked at him and says, "The Lord's with this man." He knew there was something different about him. He was making that impression. And in that prison house where Joseph was being detained, you remember there were two men who were cast in. One day, Joseph was walking past and he saw the two men and they were sitting in the corner and their heads were down. And Joseph went over. He was concerned about them. Are we concerned about others this morning? Is that the impression that we leave this morning? Are we concerned? Are we concerned about that son, that daughter? Are we concerned about that neighbour, that friend? Joseph went over and he says, "Why are you so sad?" And then they began to tell him about the dreams that they had that night. But they couldn't understand them. And Joseph, he just said, "Well, tell me your dreams." And so they started to tell them. One was a baker. The other was a butler. The baker had the dream about the bread on his head and the birds coming down and eating it. The butler had the dream about standing with the grapes in his hands and squeezing into the cup. And Joseph says to the butler, “you are going to be reinstated into Pharaoh's house again.” To the baker, he says, “I'm sorry you are going to be beheaded.” And that's what happened. But you remember Joseph when that butler was leaving Joseph behind. Joseph came to him and he says, "Will you remember me?” And the butler went off and maybe with all the best intentions, he forgot about it. It wasn't until one day Pharaoh had that dream and nobody could interpret it. His advisors and counsellors were brought in but nobody could tell him this dream. And this was about two years later. And the butler says “I remember the impression that that young man made upon my life.” Maybe this morning you're walking alongside someone. Maybe you're living beside someone and they're watching your life day and daily. They're watching your actions and your transactions. And somehow you think to yourself, “well, you know, I'm not really doing a great job here. I haven't much of an impression.” You don't know. It took a couple years for that butler to remember the actions of Joseph. You may have had an impression this week on someone. Maybe you've had a good conversation with someone. Maybe you've had a good chat with someone, but yet there doesn't seem to be much response, but you could have inspired someone. You could have inspired someone in their thought life. Their thoughts are not going to be the same. Now, just as this woman says to her husband "Let's make something for him." Sometimes it takes a little time. Isn't that what happened with Daniel? Daniel made a great impression.  He wouldn't eat the king's meat nor drink the king's wine. He says, "I don't want that." He made a great impression on the eunuch. He said, "Try us and see." And the eunuch tried them. He realized that Daniel's and his friends countenance was far better than all those who ate the king's meat. But remember one night when Belshazzer was having a great party there in Daniel chapter 5. You remember he had this great party with a thousand of his lords and they were drinking and then later on in the night there was the handwriting on the wall. The counselors and advisers were brought in and asked what it meant. Nobody could tell. The king was sitting trembling. He was in fear, but nobody could tell him what this dream or what this writing was all about. Then his grandmother come in and said "I remember the days in your grandfather's reign there was a young man called Daniel.” The testimony she bore for him in that ungodly atmosphere? In that ungodly place, in that drunken place that night whenever that party was going on that dear lady came in and the testimony she bore “In whom is the spirit of the holy gods?” She knew there was something different about this man. But that impression wasn't made for many years after it.

There's the involvement here that is pursued. This led the woman to act. The impression that was left, the inspiration that was given led this woman to act. Maybe you have been with someone this week and it's been a great impression and you didn't even know it. And maybe now they're going to get involved. This lady knew she did all that she could. She had made this little room for him. She put a table in for him. She put a bed in the room for him. She put a candlestick in for him. It's a place where you can come in and rest. She did what she could. She wasn't expected to do any more. And you know you are not expected to do any more than what God asked you to do. That's all. But you can make that impression. You can inspire somebody today. Why not give it that effort?  And you can leave that impression and that inspiration. Do you remember the impression that Paul and Silas made in that old prison house in Philippi? Do you remember how they sang praises after being mercilessly beating and being put into stock and an old prison cell. The old jailer at midnight when everything was falling apart, he ran down to those two men to ask "What must I do to be saved?" He knew there was something different about them. They had something that he hadn't got. You see, there was that impression even as he beat them earlier on, an impression that was left, an inspiration. I need to be doing something with my life, an involvement. He says, "What must I do to be saved?" He was ready to call out. Let's trust and pray the Lord will bless the word to our hearts.

 

Everything is possible with God

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 29 MARCH 2026 – Mr Stephen Cargin

 

My opening text will be from Mark chapter 10 verse 27. A familiar passage and a familiar verse.  The title of what I want to share with you this morning is everything is possible with God.  Everything is possible with God. How do I know this? Let's just read our opening verse.  Mark 10 verse 27. I'll read it from the amplified version.  It says, "Looking at them, Jesus said, with people, as far as it depends on them, it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." The Complete Jewish Bible brings it out like this. “Yeshua looked at them and said, "Humanly it is impossible, but not with God. With God everything is possible."

 

I think we're in a very serious mess as a society. We're in a very serious position, probably like none of us have ever experienced before. And as I was preparing for the message, I was just doing some prayer and some study and I came across one of my father's old books in his library which I have been privileged to inherit and I found this quotation from Canon Duncan in a book that was printed in 1910 and it's on the story of Oh God Our Help and Ages Past the old hymn. And Canon Duncan writes this “Moses is generally regarded as the author of the 19th psalm of which this hymn is a paraphrase. Moses in trustful confidence felt this experience worketh hope and the sure and certain hope that the God of the past would be the God of the future. the same yesterday, today and forever. And he was their God.” What a great reminder. And the first verse of that great hymn by Isaac Watts says this, "Oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home." And what a what a timeless reminder that is. I'll read it again. “O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home.”  And as the writer expands on this, he says this, listen carefully to what he's saying here. “One of the most ancient hieroglyphics represents God as an eye upon a scepter to denote that God sees and rules all. And the most wonderful thing in history is the way in which God has looked after his people. And he had made all things work together for their good.” Pagan Rome might use her imperial power to prescribe Christian worship and scatter the Christians. But Rome herself became for centuries the centre of Christian influence and her armies as missionaries to spread the gospel throughout the world. England in the Middle Ages might become the stronghold of Popery and the bonfire for consuming the scriptures and the saints of God. But listen to what he says here. This is printed in 1910. “But England Reformed has become the storehouse of Christian truth, the training school for God's missionaries and the printing press for the Bible to evangelize the world and bring millions of people home to God.”  Is that the case today, friends? Is that is that the England of the United Kingdom of today? He goes on to say this. “As the city of refuge was a place of security for the poor refugee, so has our God been for those who served and trust him trusted him. The great Armada might set sail to destroy our freedom and worship, but the breath of God would scatter it as matchwood along the seashore.” Two things I was reminded of as I read that. I read that with sorrow. That's not the UK and the England that we are part of today. But that Armada that sailed around the west coast and up around the north of Ireland and down the east coast going down, God destroyed that Armada on these very coasts. Some of that shipwreck is right off the causeway reefs there Many don't realize what happened in that Armada as it was destroyed. The Spanish Armada was rented by the king of Spain from Jewish merchants who owned those ships, who crewed those ships and the soldiers were put on board. Many people don't realize this. When those ships floundered off the coast of Ireland, many of the crew members survived and came ashore. Many historians have researched the history of the Jews who came to Ireland are able to say that those crew people came ashore and there's photographs that they call them the dark Irish Melungeon Jews dotted around the coasts of Ireland. They were the survivors of the Spanish Armada. They came ashore here and they brought their families to live in Ireland. It's a Jewish history that most people don't realize that we enjoy. But what of this this country that we're part of, friends? Should we be concerned? I think we should. The census, the last census that I got the figures from in 2021. Those who identified as Christians in England and Wales, only 46.2% Christian. England is no longer a Christian country. 37.2% had no religion. Of Scotland, 39% identified as Christian. In Northern Ireland, we were privileged. 79.7% identified as Christian. We have a heritage, friends, that we cannot afford to squander. The Republic event of Ireland identified 69.1% Catholic and other Christians. But the story is worse, friends. Abortion figures in the United Kingdom. In the last 10 years, we have averaged in England, Scotland, and Wales 215 to 2130,000 abortions annually, equating to between two to 2.3 million abortions, surpassing the population of Northern Ireland. How does God feel about that? Should we be surprised that we're in the mess we're in when we murder those unborn, those with the destiny that God has ordained? In Northern Ireland since 2020, when abortion became legal, we've aborted just over 11,000 babies, many of whom are aborted in our own hospital. and the Republic of Ireland since abortion became law in 2019. Between 2019 and 24, over 50,000 babies were aborted in the Republic of Ireland. Violent crime rates continue to grow across the UK, a third higher than a decade ago with 1,200 violent crimes for 100,000 people. Public order offenses have tripled since 19 or since 2012. Domestic abuse, police incidents and crimes. In 2024, there were 1.35 million alone. Anti-semitism, which to me demonstrates the heart of a nation when we decide to hate and attack God's chosen people. 2020 where there were 600 incidents. In 2023 that grew to 4,296  These are only official statistics provided by the Jewish agency. What does that tell us about the heart of our nation? Church closures across the United Kingdom in the last 10 years. How many churches have closed in the UK in the last 10 years? It's estimated between 2 to 3,500 churches have closed. There's headline news about one of those churches been bought over by the Islamic Centre, a reformed Presbyterian church. Should we be alarmed? Should we be concerned by this? Is there a reason for this? in Wales. In the last decade, about 25% of historical churches and chapels have closed. I think we're in a serious mess. The church isn't disrepute. It's a disgrace. It's weak. It's selfish. It lacks unity. We lack the power of prayer. It's sinful. It's dying. It's an apostasy. We abuse people in the churches in this own country of ours. It's hard to find a prayer meeting these days. The power of prayer is gone. I realize this is a hard message this morning. This is what God has put on my heart. And I believe that we don't wake up, folks, before it's too late. Perhaps if we believe what Jesus said as he looked at the disciples and he said intently. Imagine that look that Jesus looked at them and this is the story of the young ruler. Humanly speaking, it's impossible. But with God, all things, everything is possible. Folks, it is if we would only believe. Revivals have broke out across the world when small groups of people sought God. And I'm going to look at some of those this morning. You know, the church has become satisfied with its slumber, its sleep. We've lost sight of the lost, the broken, the hurting, and the hungry. We are no longer concerned for what breaks God's heart. I ask you a question. When's the last time you saw a preacher in a pulpit trembling at God's word? When's the last time you or I trembled at God's word? When we realize what we have been given, what this word means, and the power of this word, but the awesome responsibility that we have as God's people to fulfil what he's called us to do. Age is no matter in this. My dad used to remind me, you never retire in God's work. You just refire. Bible doesn't talk about retirement. Where's the fear of God in the church today? We've lost sight of God. I believe we've turned our back on his word, his ways, his presence. We've compromised. He's called us to be holy people, to be godly people, to be set apart. Are we? I believe that we need a fresh acquaintance of God. A fresh conviction of our sins. We need to seek God. Let us look at what the psalmist said in Psalm 139. This is the prayer the psalmist prayed. And I believe this is a prayer that we should seek to be praying. He says this in verse 23, "Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Again, the Complete Jewish Bible says this, "Examine me, God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts. See if there's in me any hurtful way and lead me along the eternal way. Do you know in Scandinavian countries that word “search” means ransack. They interpret that word as ransack. “Ransack me, oh God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path.” When you read it with that, it'll ransack me. Allow the Lord to ransack us. You know, when you go into a house to search it for something you've lost, you ransack it. You'll not leave anything uncovered. Would we allow God to ransack us and uncover our thoughts and our sins and those things that we have hidden? Would we? There's an old negro spiritual that says this, "My not my brother nor my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." I came across this quotation from Charles Finny, one of the great old preachers who experienced revivals "A revival of religion may be expected when Christians begin to confess their sins to one another. At other times, they confess it in a general manner as if they are only half as earnest. They may do it in eloquent language, but it does not mean anything. But when there is an ingenious breaking down and a pouring out of the heart and a confession of sin, the floodgates will soon burst open and salvation will flow over the place.” Isn't that a powerful reminder, folks? Can we learn about revival? I believe we can. I've been doing some research and I've always had an interest in the revival and I'm blessed with many books and so forth on the subject. I came across this the other day. The biblical foundation of revival, is found in 2 Chronicles 7 and 14. And it says this, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins. I'll heal their land." There's a pattern of biblical revival, of spiritual revival that we find. When you look and research revivals across the world. People humbled themselves.  There was prayer with fervency. They sought God's face and they turned from their wicked ways. The Moravian revival in 1727 took place in a place called Herrnhut in Germany. The Moravians had been persecuted for centuries and they moved to Germany to get refuge. They found a guy by the name of Count Zinzendorf who was a man of God of his time at the time. And he was actively wanting to use his wealth and his position to be a blessing. And he gave these Moravians a safe place to build their homes. And they set up a community in this part of Germany. And this man blessed them. He was a man of God. But the town or the area they set up and they built their own houses and so forth was called Herrnhut. But there was a lot of division started in in Herrnhut and the churches and communities got into disunity and they fell out with each other and there was gossip and there was the division and the Moravians were really concerned by this. The pastor of the local church was called Pastor Joan Andreas Roth put in place by this count. And the Moravians called them both together and they called it the beast of the apocalypse, the false prophet because of how the people were behaving. On the 12th of May 1727, Zinzendorf addressed the congregation at Herrnhut and spoke for three hours on the blessedness of Christian unity. Let's look at our own town for an example. Coleraine's our hometown. Is there unity in the churches in this town? Is there unity in the body in this town? No, there's not. Being honest about it. There are so many fractions and broken churches and so forth. And we learn from this, folks. Conviction took the town that summer and everyone began seeking God for revival. As men, women, and children confessed their sin to one another, prayed together, and found new strength and seeking God. Their hearts were knit together, afresh, and the community experienced a golden summer. That wasn't enough, however. Listen to this. The people of Herrnhut wanted power to take the message of Christ to the ends of the earth. What a vision from one town to take the message to the ends of the earth. This became a constant subject of prayer to the point that on the 5th of August 1727, Zinzendorf and 14 other Moravian brethren spent an entire night seeking and interceding for God's power to fall on their community. On the 10th of August, Pastor Roth was so overcome with the presence of the Holy Spirit in an afternoon service in Herrnhut that he threw himself to the ground to repent before God. The meeting continued through the night as others did likewise, crying out to God and weeping and repentance until around midnight when the congregation burst forth in praise, worship, and singing. Zinzendorf and Roth then felt they could have a joint meeting between Benzondorf and Herrnhut that Wednesday night, a neighboring town on August the 13th to share about what was God was doing in Herrnhut. The count visited every home in the village urging the inhabitants to attend. Imagine the count doing this. Could you imagine some of our royal family doing that? Once the meeting began, the Holy Spirit took over the congregation again fell into the repentance for their sins. And at one point, Count Zinzendorf took the podium to voice a remorseful confession on behalf of the entire community for the division that had they had seen in the previous years and to call for a rededication to the principles upon which the town had been founded. Once that had been voiced, the Holy Spirit fell on the congregation. Count Zinzendorf later described it as a day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was its Pentecost. The congregation began praying for groups still under persecution, for unity in their community and for the body of Christ the world over and to increasingly intercede that the word of God would spread mightily around the world. Listen to this. And just two weeks later, on the 27th of August, 24 men, and 24 women covenanted together to begin praying around the clock. They agreed that one man and one woman in different places would pray in 24 one-hour shifts that would fill each hour of the day, every day of the week, and every day of the prayer. Now, listen to this. They would pray for whatever God put on their hearts, but all mostly for revival and the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every corner of the earth. It was a prayer vigil that would last for the next 100 years and would be the womb for which revival was born. Could you imagine if we would do this? Could you imagine? There are other great examples that I'll share with you some of those examples because we can learn from this. The Welsh revival, Evan Roberts, the coal miner, consumed by prayer. Evan Roberts at the age of 26, a coal miner became consumed by prayer. hunger for God and his testimony revealed the intensity of spiritual pursuit. And he said this, "I was led to pray for the Holy Spirit to descend. The spirit answered and filled me." Roberts would awake at 1:00 a.m. each morning praying for four hours until dawn, interceding for wheels and crying out for revival. When revival came, Roberts preached a simple four-point message. Confess all the known sins. Remove anything doubtful in your life. Be utterly obedient to the Holy Spirit and publicly confess Christ as Savior. This straightforward call to holiness and obedience became the framework of one of the most of history's most powerful revival with over a 100,000 conversions in Wales. It's that powerful. The Korean revival demonstrates the power of transparent repentance and confession before God. A church elder confessed to stealing $100 before 1,500 people. His confession broke the ice and others began confessing their sins. What followed was described as agonized private prayer throughout the congregation. The intensity of conviction and repentance created an atmosphere where God's presence was undeniable and the revival transformed Korean Christianity and established prayer as a cornerstone in the Korean church. The Hebrides revival that many of us will be familiar with. On the island of Lewis, two sisters Peggy and Christine Smith prayed fervently in their cottage for revival. They invited the Reverend Duncan Campbell to come. Widespread conviction fell throughout that island. Duncan Campbell arrived on the dock to be met by one of the church ministers and two of his elders. The

elders approached Duncan Campbell and said this, "Reverend Campbell with all due respect, how well do you know your God?" These people had been seeking God for repentance, for revival, but in repentance, they had a such a fear of God. When they met Reverend Campbell, that's the first question he was asked. And those of you who have heard this story will know that during a prayer meeting in a barn, one young man who hadn't been saved that long, but it says that he was a young man who was filled with the spirit of God. And he reminded God of Isaiah 44 verse 3. And he said this, "Oh God, you made a promise to pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. And Lord, it's not happening. Lord, I know that I am thirsty." Shortly after he prayed that prayer, the Holy Spirit fell and the doors and the windows of that little barn and that that farmhouse, people came knocking, seeking God. Because a group of Christians came together and prayed and sought God and repented of their sins. The Presbytery at that time had written to all the churches calling them to a time of repentance and the Holy Spirit fell in revival in Lewis. As one of the stories that Duncan Campbell told were hundreds in Lewis who were seeking God. Where did they go to? They went to the police station. Why did they go to the police station? Because it said that the constable was a man who feared God. He was a God-fearing man. They went to the police station to find God in a constable who was said to be a God-fearing man. Isn't that incredible folks? The Shandong revival in the 1930s in China. In China's Shandong province, prayer groups had been seeking revival since 1925. Her persistent intercession finally broke through. Chinese churches united under the prayer. Listen to this. “Lord, revive the church, beginning with me.” Revival meetings continued for four days and nights of prayer and confession. And the spirit of repentance and brokenness was profound. An observer described the prayer culture that emerged. The spirit of prayer was outstanding. People loved to pray. Prayer was meetings lasted two to three hours. Fervent, sometimes tearful, always as if talking to the Father with confidence that he was listening. The revival stained the Chinese church through the coming decades of persecution and demonstrated that prayer creates an unshakable foundation across centuries of revival, continents, cultures, genuine revival of these characteristics. Persistent fervent prayer often for months or years before breakthrough. deep humility and brokenness before God. Public confession of sin and genuine repentance, unity among believers across denominational lines, and complete dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than human programs. That prayer from the Shangdong revival challenged me. Lord, revive thy church beginning with me. Would we dare to pray that? Lord revive thy church beginning with me?” Murray that well-known speaker said this. Believers must be brought into conviction of the shame and evil of their carnal state. God brings believers into what may be called a second conviction. Conviction of a need of deliverance from the power of sin.” Duncan Campbell himself speaking on the topic of why no revival said this. “Sin in the church is a main and the only hindrance for revival and comments. It's no good praying for revival unless we're rightly related to God. We must ask ourselves is my heart pure and my hands clean.” Leonard Ravenhill wrote a number of great books on revival. One called Why revival tarries said this. “We appease sin but not oppose it.” James 5 verse 16 says this. “Confess to one another, therefore, your faults, your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins, and pray also for one another that you may be healed and restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. Listen, the earnest, heartfelt, continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. Confession and prayer of the earnest man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.” Jeremiah said this in Jeremiah 29:13, "Then you will seek me, inquire for and require me as a vital necessity, and find me when you search me with all your heart.” Would we be willing to seek and search God in these days with all our heart for this town, for this province, for this nation, for this island of ours? Would we folks? Matthew 5 verse 6 in the complete Jewish Bible says this. “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” That's a promise folks. Would we hunger and thirst for righteousness and achieve this promise and be filled? Another old book that I found in my father's library written by J. Edwin Orr who quite often Billy Graham would have quoted. He travelled around the world looking at different revivals to gain a knowledge and he captured those in some of his writings and this is what he said. “The Holy Spirit is the author of revival both individual and collective. It is his ministry that brings a believer to a sense of need. That brings a church to repentance. That brings a whole community to hunger of heart. And yet the Holy Spirit is comparatively speaking the unknown quantity and personality of the Godhead.” According to Christ himself, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment. Many believers mistakenly rely upon their conscience alone rather than upon the conscience enlightened by the word of God and quickened by the spirit of God. The work of the Holy Spirit therefore is to show the sinner how far he has fallen short to show him also the standard of righteousness in Christ and to warn him of inevitable judgment. It is noteworthy that the Holy Spirit performs a parallel work in the life of the Christian, convincing him of carnality which is falling short, spurring him to practical sanctification, which is approaching the righteousness of Christ for everyday living and warning him of the judgment seat of Christ where he may lose his rewards. Is that not sobering? We will come to the judgment seat of Christ. We will give an account and we can lose our rewards. Don't believe me that read what God's word says.

J Edwin Orr goes on to say this. “It is the Holy Spirit that the Christian must look if he is ever to find the place of revival for his own soul. Spiritual blessing for the believer is depending upon the confession of sins and the restitution of wrongs. But confession in turn is dependent upon conviction. And with conviction comes the searching of the heart by the Holy Spirit. That book's titled Full Surrender. We need a move of the Holy Spirit. What happened in Kells down the road in 1859? A group of believers prayed, sought God on behalf of this province of ours and the Holy Spirit fell. People were convicted of sin in the town hall here around the centre of Coleraine. Some of you might know that in Ballyhome Road 2 to 3,000 people gathered a night for weeks and an old evangelist was in holiday in Portrush and God used that man preached for weeks to two to 3,000 people on the Ballyhome road. At the same time, people were convicted of sin in this town center. Why? Because the Holy Spirit came in response to men and women who were faithful to pray. John 7:38-39 says this, "He who believes in me, who cleaves to and trusts and relies on me. As the scriptures has said, from his innermost being shall flow continuously springs of living water." Do you realize that? “He who believes in me, who cleaves to and trusts and relies on me, as the scriptures said, from his innermost being shall flow continuously springs of living water.” Is that our experience? Is that what we experience? Those continuous springs of flow of living water that we've been promised when people see us and meet us, they see the light of Jesus, the light of the Lord in our lives. And Jesus said in verse 39, "But he was speaking here of the Spirit whom those who believed, trusted, had faith in him afterward to receive. For the Holy Spirit had not been given because Christ Jesus was not yet glorified, raised to glory.” We need a move of the Holy Spirit." I was challenged as I was reading about Pentecost, as I was preparing this message. Acts 1 verses 4 and 5 says this “once when he was eating with them he commanded them ‘do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised. As I told you before, John baptized with water but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” I hadn't seen this before. You see, he told them to wait. They weren't to leave Jerusalem. These were the believers that he was speaking to. Wait for the Holy Spirit. Wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Complete Jewish Bible brings it in a lovely translation here. It says “At one of those these gatherings he instructed them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father promised which you heard about from me for Yeshua. But in a few days you will be immersed in the ruach hakadesh, the Holy Spirit.” Would we wait for the Holy Spirit? Would we wait to be filled with the spirit, for the spirit to move? Luke 24 verse 49 “Now, I'm sending forth upon you what my Father promised. So stay here in the city until you've been equipped with power from above.” Another call to the church to stay and wait for the spirit. “Now I am sending forth upon you my what my Father promised. So stay here in the city until you've been equipped with the power from above. I look around the churches in this land of ours. Where is the Holy Spirit? Where is the power of the Holy Spirit that we have seen and I've shared with you from these revivals and moves of God throughout centuries. There's no power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because we have tried to control the Holy Spirit. The old song, “we've done it our way.” We think we know better than the Holy Spirit. You know, when you look at churches in Africa there are moves of the Holy Spirit, they don't come to church for an hour. They come to church and they spend all day in church. Why? Because the Holy Spirit moves. Listen to what was happening in those revivals. They were praying for hours and days and weeks. That church, that prayer meet went on for a hundred years. They say that of St. Patrick. St. Patrick raised up disciples and it went on for centuries where they prayed. Friends, are we challenged by this message today? I ask you, what has the Holy Spirit been saying to us today? What action do we need to take as a body of believers? If the Holy Spirit's been speaking to us,  should we neglect that call? Should we neglect that challenge? We will meet him face to face. I've been really challenged recently about my period of time in life. My parents have both passed on. My cousin and myself are the same age and we were chatting in our house a couple of weeks ago and he said, "You know, we are our parents' generation now." We will meet the Lord face to face. I believe sooner than most people probably realize, but there is a window of opportunity for the believers, God's people. We have a such an inheritance, a heritage in Northern Ireland. What a privilege. 79% of people say they're Christians. What that means is another story. But we have a great heritage here. And if we would realize who we are in Christ, that out of our innermost being will flow streams of living water. And he wants, the Holy Spirit, I believe, wants to move. And those who are available and those who are passionate and will see and hunger for the lost and to see God move in this land, he will. He has. History has shown it. His word, his promises are the same yesterday and today. I remind us of that opening verse that I said at the beginning - Mark 10 verse 27. Jesus looked at them intently. Look at that. Imagine that. Jesus looked at them intently. He looked at them intently. This is one of those moments where the Holy Spirit is looking at us this morning intently. And he says this, “humanly speaking, it's impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God. Everything is possible with God. What do we want to see God doing in this nation? I know I want to see God moving in in in my family, saving my family and my grandchildren. But I want my life to count. the days that God has left that I have left. I don't want to miss the opportunity. I want to make meet him face to face and I want him to hear him said, "Stephen, you've been a good and faithful servant." Can we say that? Will he say that to us? Or will he take all our rewards away from us because we've neglected what we could have done? Age is no barrier. You might say to me, "I'm too old." No, none of us are too old. We can pray. The greatest weapon that we have is prayer. Would we be prepared as I finish like the Shandong revival in China to pray that prayer, “Lord, revive thy church beginning with me?” Revival in Northern Ireland and Coleraine starts with us, with you and me. Why? Because we're called for such a time as this. We were purposed to live and dwell for such a time as this. And the Holy Spirit lives and dwells within us, folks. and he wants to move and reign and have his way. Revival starts with us. When we would search ourselves, confess our sins, seek God, turn from our wicked ways, humble ourselves, and pray. What's he saying? I'll heal your land. I believe God wants to heal this land. A land that's saturated in blood and hatred for centuries. But he wants to heal this land. I believe that this land could be a beacon throughout the world. This church, I believe, can be a beacon in this n in this town and in this province. Why? Because we would seek God as he calls us to do. Things can happen. Why? Humanly speaking, it's impossible. Not with God, everything is possible. Would we come to the God of impossibilities today? Can I challenge you? Would you be like those believers in China in 1930 and their prayer was, "Lord, revive thy church beginning with me. Revive thy church beginning with me." I will close with that young man that stood in Lewis and reminded God of his promise. God is a promise keeping God. If he didn't, what hope are we for our salvation? But he is. He doesn't change. And this was the promise that he prayed. “For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty. And streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and my blessings on your descendants. And they will spring up among the grass like willows by the streams of water. This is a promise of God. This is a promise, an eternal promise for us. “I will pour my out water on him who is thirsty.” Who's thirsty?