On the 10th of May, 1982, I was born into this world. The blessing that I had, I was born into a loving Christian home. I am the youngest of three boys, and we all can say that we were all brought up in the love of God. We have a father and mother who loves us and would do anything for us. Having been brought up in a Christian environment, church life was normal. Because my dad is an elder in our Lurgan church and my mother is a Sunday school teacher and children's worker. We were brought to church on a Sunday morning and then Sunday school in the afternoon and then back to church that night. And then on a Wednesday night, we went to the Beeline children's meeting. Looking back now, I thank God for the upbringing that I had. And they're very good memories that I can recall. Growing up, boys will be boys. And if my brothers or I had an accent, my dad would pray for us right away. And that always stood out to me. So today, when my boys have an accent, I would do the same. From an early age, we were told that we were born into this world sinners, and to go to heaven when we die, that we must be born again. Sunday school and church had a great impact on me, and a lot of happy memories that I can recall. Being taught the Word of God, and when you're young, it has a great impact on a young person's life, which money cannot buy. My dad and mum owned a fruit and vegetable shop in Lurgan, which I enjoyed working, and we also lived in Lurgan in the Mournview area. As I was getting older, I was going to different schools. I went to Dixon Primary School, and then Lurgan Junior High School, and then Craigavon Senior High. And to be honest, I hated school. I couldn't wait to get out of it. So at the age of 16, I left school and started to serve my time as a bricklayer. At this time, I started to have more money in my pocket, and I started to dislike church and have an interest in seeking the things of this world. So I had my first bottle of beer, and then I drank as often as I could, first without my parents knowing about it, but as time went on, I just didn't care about My parents didn't care what I thought. I was just going out with my mates to have a good time. You know, the world promised you a good time and that's what I lived for. What was that good time? It was drink, partying, fighting. I was such a fool. It's good to see a lot of young people here tonight. And young people tonight, if you're thinking about going down that road in life, Please stop and take a look down that road. What does alcohol do? It wrecks lives. You know, I thank God I never touched drugs and I didn't gamble much. There's a verse I always would say in my testimony in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 1. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. As my life went on, I counted myself a Loyalist, so I joined different Loyalist bands, but the one I loved was the Parnier Flute Band. It was based in Lurgan. The Parnier Flute Band carried the battle standards of the Ulster Volunteer Force. I always loved that motto, For God and Ulster. I really enjoyed being in the band, But the sad thing about many bands is the drink culture. There's another verse in Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12, and it reads, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof, the ways of death. I was going down this road of death as fast as I could, which I didn't care. See, I was dead in trespasses and in sins, and I was walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. So I was under Satan's control. And as time went on in my life, I got deeper and deeper involved in the things of this world. The wild holidays, all the partying and sin that I was involved in. I can say that I caused my parents a lot of grief, a lot of heartache over them years. I caused my parents' house to be raided by the police, and I got into many situations that involved the police. I'm not saying all this to say, look how bad I was. I'm saying this because that's where sin leads you to. I do not want to glorify sin. You know, I was fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And as that verse goes on to say, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. You might be thinking now, I was a wild man, and yes, I was. You might be thinking now, yes, but I'm not a sinner like you. But the Bible makes it very clear that we're all born in sin. In Romans 3 verse 23, I'm sure you've heard it many a time, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You might be a clean living sinner, but you're still a sinner. And you're on that road to that place the Bible calls hell. That's why you need Christ to save you. A good thing happened to me that I met my wife, Anne. And after some time of going out with each other, we decided to move in together. So we rented a house out in the Mournview area. We can say that we lived very wild lives in those days. We partied every weekend. I called it my party house, which it was. After a while, we were expecting our first child, Kyle, and we decided to buy a house in the Warrenstown area. Just after Kyle was born, I would have received death threats against my life. The police would have came round to my house to tell me my life was in danger. I remember sitting with my son Kyle, and he was in the Moses basket. He wasn't very old. And I was hiding him behind the chimney breast in my house because I was afraid of someone shooting through the window and hitting him. We had to think about security, bulletproof windows, security cameras, even a bulletproof vest That was a lifestyle I had. As we read in verse 4 of Ephesians 2, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. God is rich in mercy and I can tell you that in my life. And throughout my life I've always had a godly influence. I have thanked God for praying parents and also different Christians who came into my path. I remember the Reverend David Sinton, who has gone to be home with the Lord. I remember him coming on to the building site where he worked to speak to me. And he told me his testimony and how he became a Christian. And he spoke to me in a real nice way. And I even went to his church one night And I can say that he had a love for me, the sinner. Then I went to work with a bricklayer called Jim Russell. He was a member of our Lurgan church. He too is at home with the Lord. And I can say Jim was a good Christian man. And he spoke to me in a real nice way. I remember one Monday morning going into work and I said to Jim that I put all the drink I had in the bin And I asked him, are you proud of me? And he answered me by saying, Sam, you'll be back on it at the weekend. You need the Lord to save you. And he was right. I was back on it that weekend. Less than a year after our son Kyle was born, we had our second son, David. And shortly after that, we got married in Lisbon Free Presbyterian Church. I was always soft towards the gospel because I knew it was the truth. And I really believed in, for God, an ulcer. I knew the gospel, but I didn't want to live it. I wanted to live my life the way I wanted to. I remember going into the Coach Nightclub in Bambridge, and a man gave me a gospel track. And in it, it says, would you be ready to face God, compare yourself with Ten Commandments? That track had a great impact on me. As I went down them Ten Commandments, I knew I was a great sinner. At the time in my life, my life was a mess. My wife and I weren't getting on too good, and sin was bringing misery, a lot of misery. As time went on, the things of this world were not giving me the same pleasures that they once gave me. I didn't have the same satisfaction I once had. And as God had it, I wanted to work with a Christian builder. And there was another Christian man called Stephen who was there. He worked for him. And he invited me to the gospel mission in Ballindarie where the Reverend Thomas Martin was preaching. At that time, I didn't go to church much because every time I went to church, I always came out of the meeting feeling convicted, knowing that I wasn't saved. That's one thing about our churches. It doesn't matter which free Presbyterian church you go into, you will hear the gospel being preached. That is something to thank God for. But I went to that mission and brought my muller with me that night. Reverend Martin spoke on Genesis 6, verse 3, where it reads, the Lord said, my spirit shall not always strive with man. I came out of that meeting under deep conviction. On the way home that night, I stopped at a pedal station. I was walking round and round. I couldn't think about anything else, only the state I was before God. I was thinking that I'm not ready to die, and the fear of death came over me very powerfully. I knew where I was going. I was going straight to hell. I knew the Lord was speaking to me. That night, I was fighting to keep tears away. I can say my sin was in front of me. I was so miserable with my life. The way I felt my life was going was one of two places. I was going to find myself in prison, or even worse, dead. As I got home from the meeting that night, my state of mind was that I needed to be saved. Start to think that way, there's a battle that goes on in your mind. Satan puts all sorts of things in your mind. Maybe your past sins, or the sins that you're involved in now. The devil might say, how can you get saved? You've made such a mess of your life. Or he might be saying, someday you can get saved, but not now. Just before you die, you can get saved. Don't listen to the lies of Satan. As the battle was going up in my mind, I remember really wanting to be saved. But sadly, that night, you could say the devil won. But I will tell you how that night I got some sort of peace, some sort of relief. I remember walking up and down my hallway at home, knowing that I needed to be saved, needed to repent of my sins. But as I was walking from the hallway to the kitchen, I could see all my cameras in the kitchen and I was waiting for the Reverend Thomas Martin to come to lead me to the Lord. See, in my mind, if God wanted to save me, he would send Thomas to my house and then I would give my life to the Lord. He would lead me to Christ. But Thomas didn't come, and that's how I got my peace. The Lord mustn't want me. Of course, Thomas didn't know how I was feeling. But do you see? The devil would try everything and anything to stop you coming to know the Lord. When I was growing up, I really loved my granny. We were very close. She was a Christian. On the 22nd of July, 2008, I was with her in the nursing home when she had died, and I watched her take her final breath. Her death hit me very hard. And you know when death comes to your family, it puts life into perspective. It gets you thinking about the afterlife, what comes after death. But again, when you start to think that way, The old serpent, the devil, comes in with all his lies. I recall one night a close family friend was speaking to me. He's a Christian and would have invited me to church and spoke to me about the things of God. He knew how I was living. And before he left me that night, he said to me, Sam's sick and you shall find. I prayed to God that night I says, Lord, show me a way. If you're God, show me a way. See, I was crying out for peace with God. The world was not giving me the peace I needed. And as time went on, I thank God that he was still convicting me. And on Saturday, the 13th of September, 2008, my life was going to change forever. It was a Saturday night, so I had to have a drink. Every Saturday night, that was my routine, always to have a drink. But that night, I can say my head was in a mess. The conviction that night was so strong. I just wanted to get drunk, to forget all about God. So I phoned up my mates, I booked a taxi, and then I went to the off-licence to buy a bottle of whiskey. And then we ended up in the Bonneville nightclub in Bonbridge. In the Bonneville, I was so miserable. And when we got the taxi home, I got out of the taxi and I was walking up to my house. I needed to talk to someone about God. So I phoned my mother up to talk to her about God. It was probably about two o'clock or so in the morning. And after talking to her about God, And then I reached my house and then I sat on my garden wall at the front of my house and the Lord spoke to me. It was by the Word of God in John 14 verse 6. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And I can say there was no flashing lights. It wasn't an audible voice. It was word of God that I learnt as a child. The Lord had answered my prayer and shown me the way. So I went in to my house, I went into my living room, I got down on my knees and I cried on to the Lord to save me and he did. The Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The first person I had to tell was my wife. So I went into her bedroom to tell my wife, but I wanted to get the Bible out of my cupboard. I always kept the Bible at the bottom of my cupboard. But Anne wasn't sleeping, but I thought she was sleeping. But she thought that I got into a fight again. And to tell the truth, she was expecting something else to come out of that cupboard. It certainly wasn't the Bible that she expected. So I went over to her and I said to her that I got saved. But to be honest, she thought it was a drink talking. But my next stop was my parents' house. So I took my Bible, I went outside, and I remember putting my Bible up in the air and feeling the burden of sin lifted. It's what a feeling to have the burden of sin to be lifted, feeling free. So I went round and told my parents that I got saved. There was a lot of rejoicing in that house that night. You know, that night I had to give my life to the Lord. In my heart it was my last opportunity. Again, the Lord says, my spirit shall not always strive with man. The question can be asked, is God's Holy Spirit striving with you? And if it is, do not resist. because it could be your last opportunity. The Holy Spirit speaks to you. I can tell you in my life what a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart. Verse 2 of the hymn says, I have ceased from my wanderings and going astray since Jesus came into my heart. And my sins, which were many, are all washed away since Jesus him into my heart. Now I want to tell you of these changes the Lord has made in my life. I am a new creature in Christ. I'm ready for heaven. Maybe you think if you become a Christian, you will have a boring life. But I can tell you, you really start to live when you get saved. But I do not want to mislead you here tonight. Just because you're a Christian It does not mean that all your problems will go away. But through the problems, the Lord will be with thee. Because his promise is you never, never, never leave you nor forsake you. My wife was pleased that I was a Christian now because there was no more death threats. There's no more bar fights. I wasn't getting arrested anymore. But the devil was starting to use her against me. She wouldn't come to church with me and I used to bring the boys to church myself and she was going out more and more at the weekends and that wasn't an easy time for me. But I prayed for my wife and after two years of praying for my wife the Lord answered my prayer. Again that has made a big change. in our home. We are in Christ together. God has made a big change in both our lives. We are both members of Lurgan Free Presbyterian Church and we have been blessed with three boys which two of them are saved and we pray for Noah our youngest. He too will be saved young in life. This change is real. It is so good to be saved, to know that every sin that you have done is forgiven. As Achaia said in the book of Isaiah chapter 38 verse 17, for God has cast all my sins behind his back. What a wonderful thing to know that God has cast all my sins behind his back. I can tell you that I'm not some super Christian because I'm not. I do let the Lord down and remember no Christian is perfect. I love my saviour, my redeemer. He is my advocate, my father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. Dear Christian, rejoice tonight as far as the east is from the west, so far as he removes your transgressions from you. I thank the Lord when He saved me, he gave me a desire for the unsaved, and my friends, especially in the loyalist circles that I moved around in. So the Lord gave me a desire to run gospel missions in Orange Halls, where the Lord did move in their meetings by saving precious souls, and we just continue to praise God for that. In September 2014, My health went downhill. I ended up in hospital two times. God's hand was upon me. God has done miracles in my life. One such time I was at work and I got hit in the head with a three ton mini digger bucket, which by the grace of God I'm standing here today. I can tell you life has been hard in the last two years or over two years now. And I have took a condition called fibromyalgia, which can be a life changing condition. What is fibromyalgia? It is a long term condition that causes pain all over your body. People with fibromyalgia may also have extreme tiredness, muscle stiffness, problems sleeping and memory and concentration problems and headaches and much much more. It is estimated that one in 20 people has the condition and it is a hidden condition. If you look at someone which has a broken wrist or broken leg you can see it but a person with fibromyalgia you don't see it. But I can tell you that it is a hard condition to deal with but I thank God for his love and his grace that he has given me for helping me through this. I've had lots and lots of tests done on me to see if there was anything else wrong. And with all these tests being done, there's a lot of worry, not just for me, but also my family. My second son, David, was asked to write down in school their Christmas wish list last year. And he put down, I wish my daddy was well. and I can say it brought tears to my eyes. For me, this is a terrible condition to deal with and people with fibromyalgia can back me up in that. I have pain all over my body from head to toe. I wake up in the morning and I feel that some people's been hitting me with baseball bats all night. All my body muscles are sore. For me, I can say a lot of things in my life has been stripped away from me but I thank God that he has never left me nor forsook me. I can tell you if I didn't have my faith in God I would be in a very very dark place and I can understand why so many people with fibromyalgia has depression. I have to tell you I get my hope from the Bible. which is the Word of God. God knows all that I'm going through. And many a time the pain gets very severe, and the tablets seem not to work at all. And all that I can do is cry unto the Lord, and he hears and answers prayer. I believe I'm closer to the Lord than ever. I do get my comfort from the Bible. In Psalm 32, verse 8, it reads, I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye. Sometimes in life you just don't understand, why this, Lord? Why am I going through this? That's why, Christian, we have to read the Bible. And when we do, the Lord speaks to us with comfort. Trust in Him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. In November last year, I was asked to give my testimony in my church in Lurgan. And just when I was asked, I just had broken my wrist. And then a few days later, I was rushed into hospital, thinking I was taking a stroke. As I got to Craibhain Hospital, I was worried because I went to take a drink of water and it spilled all over my face, and my face began to look a mess. But as the nurse was taking blood for me, God spoke to me through his word. In Psalm 46, verse 1, God is our refuge and strength. He is a present help in trouble. And the peace of God came in And I was happy and contented, knowing that God was in control. And that's what the Word of God does. It gives you comfort. Later, they diagnosed me with Bell's palsy, which the left-hand side of my face dropped and my tongue was numb and my left ear was sensitive to loud noises. Then for a few weeks, I had to drink using a straw. and I couldn't smile and also I couldn't eat properly. I remember coming home, going up my stairs into my bedroom and crying on to the Lord. I can honestly tell you that the bed was wet with my tears. Some things are hard to understand because since my illness I've had to stop giving my testimony in meetings and preaching also. because I just didn't have my health to do it. That was hard to understand but the Lord has answered my prayer and regarding the Bell's palsy and my face is back to normal. God has answered a lot of my prayers even in giving me strength to be here tonight. In James chapter 5 verse 13 it reads, Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The Lord led me to call for the elders of my church to pray over me and to anoint me with oil And I can still remember the prayers that night for me. And the Lord has answered some of them prayers in a powerful way. Yes, I know I'm not healed from fibromyalgia, also got AME, but I think I have to accept that it might not be God's will to heal me from these conditions. Or it might not be God's will to heal me right now. But we have to accept the Lord's way is perfect. My hope for the future is that I love to do more for the Lord. I am a committee man in our church in Lurgan. For a while now, I haven't been able to do my duties. So I'd love to get back to that. And lately it has been passed that I can help our brother Chris Killen as he deals with people with addictions. But so far my health hasn't allowed me to help him much. But you could remember my family and I in your prayers knowing that God answers prayers. Maybe in your own family tonight there is trouble. Your son or daughter has gone deep, deep in the sins of this world, and it causes heartache, tears. My advice to you is what my parents did. They prayed, and their prayers were answered in the Lord's time. In Colossians chapter 4, verse 2, it reads, Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving. When the Lord Jesus Christ was on this earth, just before he went to the cross, he said to his disciples in John 14 verse 27, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Before I stop, I want to give you an illustration. Imagine you're walking towards a cliff's edge. But as you're walking towards the edge, you cannot stop. You're getting closer and closer to that edge. You have to do something quick so you have an axe in your hand to put it into the ground to stop you from going over the edge. And a name which is on that axe is called Good Works. You put it into the ground but it comes out again. It doesn't hold. You see another axe and it's called Do The Best You Can. You try that and that doesn't hold either. You try another one called Religion. You put that one into the ground and that doesn't work. But there's one more that is there. But you're not sure to go for that one because that one is called being born again. What does it mean to be born again? You could ask. It's simply believing that God sent his only begotten son into this world to die on the cross for your sins. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered more than any man has ever suffered. The Bible says that he was marred more than any man. That means he was unrecognisable. He gave himself an offering for sin. Why did he do it? To reconcile you to God. See, the Bible says your sins have separated you from God. You are God's enemy because of sin. And only by repenting of your sin, saying sorry to God, and by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour, the Bible puts it well, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So what would your answer be? What axe would you choose? That cliff? represents a place called hell or the lake of fire where all the unbelieving goes. In the book of Revelation chapter 20 verse 15 it reads, on whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. There is a decision that you have to make tonight if you're not saved. I'm going to tell you one more thing in closing. I had a good friend, and when I got saved, I used to give him gospel tracts, which he took. He always joked with me that I got him into a certain lifestyle, and then I left him because I got saved. But he came to our church in Lurgan one night with me, and I truly believe the Lord spoke to him that night But as we were in the car park, I can still remember him saying to me, Sam, I'm just not finished with the drink just yet. He loved the drink. I remember meeting his mother one night when we were out shopping, and she said to me, I want you to pray for my son. He loves the drink too much. And he said he would. A while after that, one Saturday morning, I received a phone call that my good friend, and he was a good friend, was found dead. He was 28 years old. He had a heart condition. But all that I could think of was them words, and he said to me, Sam, I'm not finished with the drink just yet. Please do not put this off tonight. Please think of where you will spend eternity. You need to be saved. And tonight you need to be saved. Not some other night. Because this could be your last chance to be saved tonight. And it's not some scare tactic. It's the truth. It's fact. You mightn't be here tomorrow. Now is accepted time. Behold now. is a day of salvation. Tonight, consider is my name written in the book of life. He redeemed my life from destruction. And I know, I know he can save you too. I'm praying that God will give you the grace to come to him tonight. I thank you for listening. Amen.