Again, I welcome Mr. Callum Webster to the pulpit here. He's going to come now and bring to us the Lord's Word and speak to you what the Lord has laid in his heart. May the Lord bless you, brother, and be with you as you bring God's truth tonight. Well, thank you very much for the invitation to share with you this evening. It's a privilege to be with you tonight in Ballymena Free Church. It's great to see and be with you in the time of prayer before the meeting. It was such an encouragement to hear so many praying for our nation, praying also for the MacArthur family and Asher Speaking Company. We, as you will know, and I will share some of that with you later on in our service, but it is a matter very dear to our hearts in the week that lies ahead. And we do value the prayer that you make on our behalf. The Institute is engaged in a spiritual battlefield and we can't do the work that we undertake without the prayers of God's people. So such an encouragement it was to hear your prayers for that short time. before this evening service. We want to look together at the Word of God, and we have two readings tonight. The first of them from chapter 16 of the book of Acts. The first of them from Acts chapter 16, and I want to read from verse 16 to the end of the chapter. Acts chapter 16, reading from verse 16 to the end of the chapter. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her master's much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers. and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stalks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent to the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privily? Nay, verily, but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they confronted them, comforted them, and departed. And amen. There ends our reading from Acts 16. I also want to read four verses from 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. And I wish to read the opening four verses. And I want to consider the 1 Timothy 2 passage once we have read it. 1 Timothy. Chapter 2, verses 1 through to 4. I exhort, therefore, that first of all supplications prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." Well, there ends our reading, and just before we consider this passage, let's unite our hearts together in prayer. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we come this evening before the God who is reigning over this world and over this universe, the God who has enthroned in the heavens, even the very heaven of heavens. And Lord, we come this evening recognizing we come to one who is far greater than us, one who is beyond human comprehension and understanding, the God who fashioned us of the dust of the earth, the God who hath the very hairs upon our heads numbered, the God in whose hand is our next breath, and our next heartbeat. And, Lord, we recognize tonight, as the Scriptures would remind us, all of us have sinned and fallen far short of the glory of God. We fail Thee in so many ways and in so many respects, and we can come only this evening, as the publican did, and cry out, God, be merciful unto me, the sinner. And we rejoice that there is a way of salvation. We rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. And we give thanks as thy word tells us of him, that he is the brightness of the Father's glory, the express image of his person, the one who upholdeth all things by the word of his power. And we give thanks that he hath purged our sins. Those of us that are believers, he has paid in full the debt that was ours, and he has finished that work for us, and he liveth forever to make intercession on our behalf. And we come this evening not because of anything we have done, but we come because of the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks for the transaction that has been done, our sin laid upon Him and His righteousness accredited to our account. And we pray for help tonight as we would consider Thy Word, as we would seek to apply its truth to each one of our hearts. Lord, speak to us, give us attentive ears, give liberty in speaking and listening ear to ear. And we pray that in all that is said, in all that is done, that the worthy name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be uplifted. We give thanks, He has promised, that if he be lifted up, he would draw men unto himself. And so we pray this evening that Christ would be glorified and would be uplifted here in this meeting house and throughout our province, throughout our United Kingdom, throughout these islands. O Lord, make way, draw many into thy kingdom tonight, for we ask in his precious name. Amen. I want to speak first of all tonight from these verses in 1 Timothy chapter 2, because here in this passage the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is writing about something he clearly regards as extremely significant. That's why he urges us to consider it in verse 1, first of all, that is, of utmost importance. And the subject of the apostle Paul's enthusiasm is the subject of prayer, prayer for all men or prayer for everyone in general, but prayer for kings and for all that are in authority in particular. And since the Word of God considers prayer for earthly governments to be such an urgent duty of Christian believers, we stand to learn important truths by considering this passage in greater detail. So first of all, we are called to pray for kings and for all that are in authority. And for those first century believers receiving that letter, this must have sounded like an extraordinary instruction. They were living in the Roman Empire, and at that time there was no Christian ruler anywhere in the world. The Roman emperor of the day was Nero, who was an anti-Christian despot. He was throwing believers to the lions, putting them in prison, torturing them, executing them. And this is who they are called to pray for. And throughout Church history, at various times and in various places, Christian believers have had good reason to fear their governments. But nevertheless, note the kind of prayer we are urged to bring before God in these verses. It is not simply a general appeal that God would judge the pagan rulers and replace them with some kind of recognizably Christian government. Whether the political authorities were hostile to the church, or whether they were benevolent toward us, or whether their attitude fell somewhere in between the two, the urgent instruction of Scripture is that Christians offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks on their behalf. And the passage goes on to explain why it is so important to pray for those in authority. It's important in verse 2 that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. The preservation of peace and stability, the upholding of the rule of law and order is a key purpose of civil government. The Bible reminds us of that in Romans chapter 13. The powers that be are ordained of God. They bear the sword to avenge the evil doer. And a good government will make laws that result in a free and a stable society. Christians within those societies will be free to worship God and free to live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty. So is the motive, is the reason, is the rationale to pray for those in authority basically a selfish one? Should we be praying for those ruling over us so that we can have an easy time of it? Well, by no means. In case we missed the ultimate point, it is spelled out for us in verses 3 and 4 where we read, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge. of the truth. So, ultimately, the matter of praying for those in authority is a matter of evangelism and the freedom to share the gospel in public. The full and the widespread proclamation of the gospel, which we read in these verses is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, depends largely on the freedom of individual Christians to live quiet and peaceable lives. Now, sometimes we in the West in the 21st century, we can get into our minds romantic notions that religious persecution would be a wonderful catalyst for gospel outreach. And certainly, there have been occasions in history when the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of the church. But those occasions are remarkable precisely because they are the exception. If we were to go this evening to our brethren in North Korea, or in Vietnam, or in Saudi Arabia, and we were to ask them how easy they find it to share the gospel in their countries, I expect that many of them would give their right arm in order to have a government that allowed them to live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty, and they would give their right arm in order to have a government that would allow them to share the gospel in public. The full and the widespread proclaiming of the gospel, which is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, depends largely on the freedom of individual believers to live quiet and peaceable lives. So, how does that relate to us here today as believers in Northern Ireland, in Ballymena, in the United Kingdom, in the Western world in 2015? Well, here in this nation, God has been very gracious to us. We have enjoyed a long period of generally speaking good government in these islands by the Bible's definition. For decades, indeed for centuries, the governing authorities in the United Kingdom have maintained political stability. They have refrained from interfering in the affairs of churches. They have permitted individual Christians to practice the Bible's teaching in their day-to-day lives, and they have allowed virtually unrestricted the proclamation of the gospel. our parliament and our law courts have laid down many precious liberties and freedoms which remain even to this day. Today in 2015 in this country there is still no law against sharing the gospel in public. Today, in 2015, in this country, churches still have complete freedom to decide who they will or will not admit into membership. They have liberty to govern their own affairs. You know, in some nations of our world there are state-registered churches where the government controls what is preached. What doctrines are practiced? Who is admitted into membership? But here in the United Kingdom, thankfully that does not happen, and the church has great liberty. Today in this country, Bibles can still be placed in many hospital bedsides and in many hotel rooms. And today in this country, street evangelists can still freely preach the gospel on the street corner and freely distribute gospel tracts, evangelistic literature, door-to-door, house-to-house in the housing estates and towns and villages of our nation. And we should thank God for this Christian heritage. We should seek to take advantage of every opportunity that it presents us with to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we cannot take it for granted. If you read the newspapers, if you follow current affairs and developments in our nation, you must surely be aware that there is an active atheist attack upon our culture at the present time. There are people in positions of influence in government departments, in public bodies, in education, and in the media. people who would gladly abandon our Christian heritage. And of course, they don't say that that's what they're trying to do. They're more devious than that. They're more sly. They use buzzwords. They use smooth-sounding arguments. They talk about promoting equality or diversity or human rights. But in reality, when you scratch beneath the surface, when you read the small print, what these people are trying to do is to take away the liberties that currently allow Christians to live godly lives and take away the liberties that currently allow us to share the gospel. in public. No doubt you may be aware of some individual examples within the last five years in the United Kingdom. A nurse has been suspended from her job simply for offering to pray for a sick patient. And a school receptionist has been investigated for gross misconduct after she sent a private prayer email request to a small group of friends in her church asking them to pray about a situation her daughter was facing in the classroom. And you might be aware of legislation that is bringing about cases like these, equality and human rights legislation that is impacting upon the liberty of believers. Well, these developments, they are matters for concern. But not for despair, we do still have gospel freedom in this nation, but the threats to it are subtle, they're persistent, they're like the waves gradually coming up a seashore. And the prayers that we bring before God for those in authority over us must include an awareness of those threats. But, and this conclusion will underline everything else I share with you this evening, it is surely true that whatever it is right to pray for, it is also right to work for. It was C. H. Spurgeon, the famous Baptist pastor in 19th century London who once said these words, he said, �Some praying takes the form of action, and an act may be a kind of consolidated practical And bear in mind, too, that perhaps the most basic liberty we have as believers living in a democracy is the liberty to use democratic means to defend liberty. In other words, the most effective way of preserving existing gospel freedoms is to use them. And the apostle Paul provides us with a biblical precedent for that. The same apostle who in 1 Timothy 2 writes urging prayer for those in authority for the sake of gospel freedom, that same apostle defends gospel freedom by reminding the governing authorities of his legal entitlements. I'm referring, of course, to the events described in chapter 16 of the book of Acts that we read earlier on. And you probably know some parts of that passage well. You know about Paul and Silas in the prison cell, them praying and singing praises unto God at midnight, and the earthquake, and the chains that bind them falling loose, and the doors swinging wide open, and the Philippian jailer through a turn of events in God's providence. coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And those are the events we know well in Acts chapter 16. But what about some of the other details? Why were they in the prison cell? Well, the magistrates in Philippi, in response to what is really an anti-Christian lobbying campaign going on in that city, have Paul and Silas flogged and thrown into prison without ever having faced any trial. But Paul and Silas are Roman citizens. They declare themselves to be Romans in that chapter. They are Roman citizens, and their punishment was outrageous. The idea that the magistrates could flog and imprison them without giving them proper legal trial is outrageous. And at the end of Acts 16, when the magistrates are confronted with that information, when they realize that these men are Roman citizens and they've flogged them and imprisoned them without due trial, they try to release them privily, that is, discreetly, quietly. But the apostle Paul has none of it. He insists that the magistrates come down to the prison cell and escort them out in person. And this action serves as a warning to the Philippian magistrates. They can't simply flog and jail Christians because they do not like them. Preaching the gospel was not illegal in the city of Philippi, and after that forceful reminder from the Apostle Paul, they would be much less inclined to deal heavy-handedly with believers in the future. So it was for the benefit of the church in that city. So let's make sure we take on board those lessons from the Word of God, both from the life of the Apostle Paul in terms of praying for those in authority and his example of defending gospel freedom in the book of Acts. These have laid down for us a series of principles which remain strikingly relevant even today in 2015. First of all, religious liberty is very precious because it allows us to openly live out our faith and to publicly proclaim the gospel. Secondly, governing authorities have the power to protect or to restrict our gospel freedoms. Thirdly, we should therefore urgently pray for those in positions of authority in our nation. And fourthly, our prayers should be accompanied by courageous action which uses the gospel freedoms we already have and which challenges all threats to them. And it's my prayer that at the end of our service together this evening, each one of us will have a better idea about some of the things we can be praying for and some of the things we can be acting upon. And we trust that the Lord will be pleased to use our prayers and our actions as His ordained means of preserving gospel freedom here in the United Kingdom for the honor of His name and for the glory of His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And tonight, those of you who know the Christian Institute work know that we exist to defend gospel freedom and liberty of conscience here in this United Kingdom, that the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified. I'm conscious tonight there may be varying positions among you. Some of you may be well informed about the Christian Institute work. Some of you may know a little about it. Some of you, it may be very new. You may only have heard the name before. So let me give you a very brief description of our work before I report on some of the cases. I want to tell you tonight that the Christian Institute is a Christian charity. It was established in 1991. We have a headquarters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the northeast of England. It is an unashamedly evangelical organization by constitution and we exist to uphold the truths of the Bible on current moral issues within the public arena. So things like, areas like the sanctity of marriage, we're seeing an awful lot of attacks on marriage in public policy and in government legislation seeking to undermine it, seeking to create alternative marriage arrangements and set them on a par with it, seeking to disadvantage married couples in the tax system. We work on areas such as the sanctity of human life, issues such as abortion and euthanasia. We look at things, matters such as drugs legislation. There are campaigns underway to liberalize drugs laws. We look at alcohol licensing legislation, we look at sex education materials used with children in schools, and many other areas where the teachings of Scripture, biblical principles, are under challenge in the public square in our nation. Things that Perhaps were issues only in very extreme cases forty, thirty years ago, but issues which are facing believers in workplaces and in schools and in colleges more and more. Our children, our grandchildren are affected by those things and our Christian faith is under attack. in those areas, and the Institute seeks to present and help and equip Christians to respond to those matters. So how do we go about that work? Well, we conduct research. We have a number of staff employed as researchers who go through the government schedules, the parliamentary agendas who look at medical and scientific reports, who look at legal documents, and they gather all those facts, figures, statistics, and collate all of this research. And then we provide a news service on our website. Every day, staff are employed to go through the media outlets, the newspapers, the television news from across the British Isles picking out stories that have been in the news that day that may have relevance to Christian believers for one reason or another, and then we publish those news items on our website. So it's like a Christian version of the BBC News website. Every day, every working day, stories are updated from across the country. And we like to believe it's news without the secular spin. You go on the BBC website, there are many news items, but often they are written from a very secular perspective. But we like to present news without the secular spin to inform Christian people of those issues, so if you go on our website you will see those news items reported. They're not necessarily issues that we are directly dealing with, but they are issues that have an interest for believers for one reason or another. And then we produce briefings and publications to inform Christian people and churches of the key issues of the day. And this evening, I have brought with me some publications which are available in the table in the foyer. I have, for instance, this briefing on the issue of assisted suicide. There is pressure to legalize euthanasia in our United Kingdom. People are taking cases to court. People in very tragic circumstances are taking cases to court to try and challenge the law. which expressly prohibits doctors or anybody else assisting another to commit suicide, and they want to overturn that in law in our nation. And this briefing explains the biblical position on euthanasia and helps give you some practical, detailed arguments. So if any unbelieving friends ask you, why as a Christian do you believe what you do about euthanasia, there's something that might help you articulate an answer. I have this one on the genetic modification of babies. Again, the Westminster Parliament earlier this year legalized the genetic modification of babies, and this again sets out the dangers associated with that. I have a flyer regarding our legal defense work. We help Christians who are in difficulty because of their faith, because of their stand for biblical truth, and this flyer, this short flyer, tells you more about that. I have a general newsletter which covers a number of the cases we're involved in. It has the picture of Daniel MacArthur of Asher's Bakery on the front. And I have this DVD on the issue of abortion. Now, this issue has been in the news in our province even earlier this year. There is pressure to liberalize our legislation here which protects our unborn neighbor and to allow for abortion. The media spin on this issue has presented some very tragic, some very heart-rending cases, and I don't diminish the heartache and the pain that people are facing in those circumstances. But the impression being given by the BBC and by a number of our newspapers is that abortion is the solution in these situations. Well, the Christian Institute has prepared this DVD. It contains interviews with 11 different people in our province whose lives have been touched by sanctity of life issues. There are parents interviewed who had children with very tragic conditions, which meant their lifespan was maybe only a few days or a few weeks, and they share their circumstances and how, yes, there was great tragedy and great sorrow, and yet at the same time there was a consolation and a closure there which they would not have received had they gone down the abortion route. There's adults share their story, adults living with profound disability today whose mothers were recommended to have an abortion when they were expectant and yet they tell their story and how they live life to the full and how they bring blessing and joy to others despite the great disabilities they face. And one or two other cases, so it's not a graphic DVD, it does not show pictures of abortion or anything like that, but it is eleven different people in our province sharing their stories and sharing why they did not choose the abortion route and the blessing received in those situations. So again copies of that are available on the table in the foyer. It has already been said tonight that I am a Scotsman by birth, I did grow up on Dundee, or near Dundee, on the east coast of Scotland. But it's my joy and delight to live in Northern Ireland, a place of great blessing. And Scotsmen are known for something. They're known for being tight with the purse strings. And the good news this evening is that all of the literature there is free of charge. So tonight, you Ballymena people have been offered free literature from a Scotsman. That might never happen again. So do make sure you avail of that free offer at the end of our service and take the literature and take for friends who may be interested in those matters as well. So we produce briefings and publications to inform Christian people of the day, the issues of the day. We help people write to those in authority. The Institute provides materials to help people write to MPs, to write to MLAs, to submit responses to public consultations that are held. nationally and within our province. We present a Bible-based perspective on the media from time to time. We're asked to make comment on radio phone-in shows, give comment to newspaper journalists, and sometimes we do television interviews as well. And we would brief politicians and others in decision-making roles, those who are making laws and policies that Christians must abide by in their day-to-day lives and And what about the scale of the work? Well, the Christian Institute has been blessed with over 40 staff members, all of whom are committed Christian believers. Most of the staff are based at our headquarters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the northeast of England. Well, there is a small office in Belfast where two of us work to represent the organization in the province. There's a small office in Glasgow where two people work representing the organization in Scotland, and there is a small office in London where two people work close to Westminster. And we have our website christian.org.uk which provides that news service I mentioned. It also has audio lectures and apologetics available for download. There are a number of resources available on that website. For instance, we have a database on that website with the voting records of all of the MPs in our nation, so if you want to see how MPs have voted on issues of biblical concern like marriage, like abortion, like euthanasia, you can go on that website and you can see how MPs have voted on those issues. So, that's the work in a nutshell, so to speak. But one of the growing areas of the work is the issue of defense of religious liberty. You see, today we are living in a collapsing culture, a culture that is shredding many of the Christian values that have blessed our nation for centuries. There is a growing disregard for the Word of God, and there's an increasingly aggressive opposition to Christian thinking and even to individual believers themselves. And it's in the face of this background that ten years ago the Christian Institute first became involved in defending religious liberty cases, in supporting individual Christians who are being unlawfully harassed and discriminated against because of their faith. And the Institute has a legal team, a legally trained team, who help defend Christians in these situations, and of course There are a number of cases running, I want to tell you about a few of them just now, but one that is most pertinent to us here in Ballymena is the case of Asher's Baking Company down the road in Newton Abbey. Most of you will probably know that last summer Asher's Baking Company were approached by a customer who came into their shop and asked them to design and decorate and ice a campaign cake in support of same-sex marriage. And when the MacArthur family reviewed that order, they could see it conflicted with their sincerely held biblical beliefs about marriage. They politely declined the order. They refunded the customer his deposit. They thought nothing more of it. And six weeks later, they received a letter from the Equality Commission threatening them with legal action and accusing them of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Well, the MacArthur family and the shop assistants did not know the sexual lifestyle of the customer. That was not even a question they asked him. The issue was the message on the cake that they were being asked to design and decorate on ice, which so clearly conflicted with their conscience and with their biblical beliefs. The Equality Commission continued to pursue legal action against them, and the case went to the county court in Belfast at the end of March. It was a two-and-a-half-day hearing. The Equality Commission presented the case on behalf of the customer, the Christian Institute, and our legal team. It defended Asher's Baking Company. The judge presided over that case, and the judge, Judge Brownlee, is to give her verdict on Tuesday, God willing. So I know you were praying in the meeting tonight, and that was so encouraging. Please continue to pray in the run-up to Tuesday. Pray that the Lord would overrule, that there would be a fair and a just ruling, a ruling that will protect liberty of conscience for believers. Pray for the MacArthur family. They have presented such a gracious response in the face of that great provocation. And we thank God for his work in their lives and for enabling them. to testify to the Lord Jesus Christ even in the midst of this great trial. Pray for the media coverage too. You know, during the court hearing there was widespread media coverage and the majority of it was fair. We don't always get a fair representation in the media as Christian believers, but during the court hearing at the end of March the media coverage was generally quite fair and favorable. Pray that that may likewise be so in the aftermath of Tuesday's decision. Pray for the Institute staff, myself and my colleagues and the legal team, that God would give us wisdom, that he would help us and enable us in responding to those matters. So that's Asher's Baking Company. Let me tell you about a couple of other cases the Institute has had the privilege of defending. The next case I want to tell you about involves a Christian lady from Gateshead in County Durham. This lady was a foster carer, she cannot be named for legal reasons, but she was a foster carer looking after many children out of the local authority care system until adoptive parents were found. So adept was she at this work and providing this care that she gave up her other employment to become a full-time foster carer. And the local social services department placed many children through her care. And just a couple of years ago, a 16-year-old girl from an Islamic background was placed with this lady. And while she was staying with this lady, the 16-year-old girl became interested in Christian things and asked to go to church. Now, the social workers forbade the foster carer to take the girl to church. So each Lord's Day in the morning, the foster carer went off to church in her car, and the girl walked to the same church, and they met up at church together. But social workers forbade her to take the girl. And during her time under the sign of the Word of God, that girl was gloriously saved, and she put her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior and the one who had paid the penalty for her sins. And what an encouragement that was to see. And the girl then went forward for baptism at the church. And as soon as social services heard about the baptism, they went berserk. They took the girl out of this lady's home and placed her back in local authority care. They ruled that the foster carer had allowed inappropriate behavior to take place, and they struck her off the foster register, which meant she was not allowed to foster children again. And foster care was her only real source of regular income. She was unable to do that, so she was left in a terrible situation. But the lady got in touch with the Christian Institute. Our legal team were able to defend her in a tribunal, and thankfully After that legal process, the tribunal ruled that Gateshead Social Services had acted unlawfully. The lady has now been restored to the foster register and she is allowed to foster again. So we give thanks to God for his overruling in that case. And one third case. I could be here for a series of about 10 weeks and share with you every case we have been dealing with. But one third case I'll mention tonight is a case from the northwest of England. It's the case of a man called Jamie Murray, who was the owner of a Christian cafe, Salt and Light Coffee House in Blackpool. And the cafe had links to a local church. And gospel tracts were on display within the cafe. There was a flat-screen television on the wall of the cafe on which the verses of the New Testament were played continuously in the background. And many Christian people used the cafe because they wanted to support such a work and a witness in their town. But one day there was a lady having refreshment in the cafe, and she saw the verses of Scripture on the flat-screen television and was offended by them. and when she left the cafe she telephoned Lancashire Police and claimed that offensive material was on display in the Salt and Light Coffee House. And so Lancashire police went to the Salton Lake Coffee House without even reviewing the material or looking at it. They told Mr. Murray, the cafe owner, that he was in breach of public order legislation in England for displaying those materials and told him to take down the materials and they warned him that they would be watching him. Well, Mr. Murray was very upset by this incident, as any of us would be if we were in those circumstances, and he contacted the Christian Institute for help. Our legal team were able to work with him to look at what the law actually said, and as we examined it, and we examined what was on display, we could see that the materials were not in breach of any public order legislation. We assisted Mr. Murray in writing to Lancashire Police, explaining what the law actually said and explaining the materials that had been on display. And thankfully, eventually, Lancashire Police responded by dropping their complaint. So we do give thanks to God for that good outcome. It is not against public order laws, even in England, to display verses of scripture in businesses and in public buildings. And we thank God for that because we want to keep the liberty to display his word in public places. Well, you may be saying those cases are concerning, but what as Christian believers can we do in response to those issues and in answer to the call to pray for those in authority? Well, I want to leave you with three practical points of things each one of us can do about those issues. And the first practical point I want to leave you tonight is a very obvious one. It is simply, be informed. being informed or being aware of what's going on is the first step to being an effective Christian influence. If you want to influence the community around you, the nation around you, the society around you, you've got to be aware of what's happening in that nation, in that society, and in that community. And there are many different ways to be informed. We can read the newspapers every day. We can follow debates in Parliament, on television, on the radio, on the internet. But most of us don't have the time to go through that level of detail. So there are easier ways to stay informed through organizations like the Christian Institute. And hopefully tonight, most of you got one of these cards, maybe in your pew or on your way in. If you want to be kept informed by us, then you can simply fill in your details on the card or one of the cards. There's more in the foyer. And there's a gray basket exactly like this on the literature table. Pop your card into the basket and you can join our mailing list. And again, the mailing list is free. People may give if they wish to, but they're not under any requirement to give a subscription. So you've been offered two free things by a Scotsman tonight. And we don't bombard people with material either. We're not sending out literature or prayer news to you every other day. We only write to you as issues arise. We ask you what to pray for. We ask you what to write in response. Being informed is vital. because it makes everything else we do so much more effective. And I know tonight there are a few folks in the congregation already receive our mailings, you're already on our list, and I'm sure you will testify that it is informative and it is helpful. But for any who are not, just put your details on the card and pop it in the grey basket. The second practical point is prayer and in fact prayer is the most important practical thing we can do about those issues but the only reason it was not the first of my practical points is because if you haven't been informed about it how can you be praying about it but once you've been informed The next thing you must do is to pray. We have looked already this evening. The Scriptures command us as believers to pray for kings and for all that are in authority. Why? That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness. and honesty. We're told to pray for our rulers so that freedom to follow God's Word and our biblical conscience in our businesses and in public square is preserved. We're told to pray that there would be freedom to proclaim the gospel publicly up and down our land. Those things are being challenged in our nation, in the courts, in the media, and in the political arena. So, as Christians, Let's get on with praying. Let's pray more for our rulers. Let it be a spur to us to pray for those in authority that the gospel may spread in our nation and that believers may have freedom to live according to his law in their business. Thirdly, and finally, I want to make a practical point in relation to the media. I don't know how many of you listen to these radio phone-in shows we have here in Northern Ireland. You know what they're like, the Nolan Show, Talk Back, you know the cut of them. If you suffer from low blood pressure, then switch them on and you'll be cured very quickly without recourse to medication. If you suffer from high blood pressure, then take the tablets first. But you know, joking aside, you know what they are like. They are usually attacking a Christian position. They're trying to undermine what the Bible has to say. They're trying to get Christians who phone in to lose their tempers on air. And maybe, like me, you have listened to one of these debates and you've asked yourself a question. Have you ever asked yourself, why isn't there a Christian phoning in and presenting the Christian case in a reasoned way? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Well, you know, there is an answer to it. Pick up the phone yourself. You might be the only believer listening to that debate at that time. You might be the only believer who can make reasoned comment on the issue at that moment. And my top tip to you is this, don't be nervous about the radio presenter. Before you phone in, jot down three points you want to make about the subject, phone in, and regardless of what questions you're asked, you just give those three points and repeat them. We hear politicians do it, so why shouldn't we as members of the public? And we don't know who listens to the radio in the privacy of their own home. So if we were to phone in and say two or three sentences on air, somebody listening could be convicted of their sin through what we've said. Somebody listening could be appointed to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior through what we've said. And we'll never make that person this side of eternity. But by God's grace, in His providence and mercy, our comment or two could be used in bringing someone to salvation. The opportunities are endless if we will use them for His glory and for His honor. Well, thank you this evening for allowing me to share with you. It's been a privilege to share the Word of God and the call to pray for our rulers and to defend gospel freedom and to share with you a report on the Institute's work and the cases we are involved in. Before we come to our closing hymn, let's unite our hearts in prayer. Again, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we again draw nigh unto thy presence, and we come indeed to the One who is sovereign over this world and over this universe, the God who is the King of the nations, the One indeed who raises up kings and who removes them, who changes the times and the seasons, the One who is enthroned in the heavens, and the One who is sovereign in the affairs of men. None can stay thy hand or say what doest thou. And Lord, we rejoice our ultimate destiny is not in the hands of our media or of our politicians or of our armed forces. Our ultimate destiny is in the hands of the living God. And Lord, we sometimes see the turmoil of those around us as we see uncertainty and insecurity in our land. Lord, how that would perplex us. It would distress us in many ways. But Lord, we recognize that there is a line drawn. that may not be passed, and even the actions of evil men can be used to advance thy kingdom and thy purposes and thy will. Lord, the very wrath of man redounds unto thy praise, and Lord, thou art the God who can take terrible situations and use them for thy purposes. We know nothing beyond thy will will happen, and thy will must and will prevail, and we rest in that certainty, although at times it is difficult for us to comprehend, and so we pray for thy help. We pray for our nation in these days as a new government has been elected at Westminster. Lord, we pray for those who serve in that parliament. Lord, draw nigh unto them, those that be believers. We pray that thou would strengthen them, that thou would protect them, thou would watch over them, keep them walking humbly in thy service, make thy word their final guide and their final rule as legislation is made and debated. We pray for those, those many who as yet are strangers to Christ in that place. Lord, be pleased to bring them under godly influence. Be pleased to speak unto their hearts and conscience. Lord, we cannot create an anxious thought, but we know that the Spirit of our God can. And so we pray, be pleased to work among the new MPs. Speak to them. Convict them of sin, of righteousness, of judgment to come. Draw many to the Savior and even the ungodly. Influence them by thy word, Lord, the God who was able to use even pagan King Cyrus to advance thy purposes, for the benefit of thy people. And so we pray, be pleased to do something similar in our nation. We pray for our province. And Lord, we see attacks upon biblical truth, even in the public square here. Lord, we think of those who would seek to redefine marriage in our province, to take it away from the man-woman union. And Lord, we pray that thou in mercy would frustrate their plans. Lord, they have attempted four times in Stormont in the last three years. And Lord, we pray that thou would put them to flight. Lord, we think of the protection of the unborn child and, Lord, how we see children aborted and destroyed for such needless and wicked reasons. And, Lord, we pray, as one of old did, O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy. Lord, we pray that abortion would not be liberalized in our province, that men and women would see the blessing of human life in all its frailty, Lord, that they would turn and we would repent as a society of what we have done in the United Kingdom. Lord, we pray for ourselves. Help us to live godly lives in our businesses and in our communities and in our callings. Lord, we fail, we fall short in so many respects. Lord, have mercy upon us. Forgive us and cleanse us and pardon us through Christ's precious blood. And we remember the week that lies ahead. We remember again the MacArthur family. Lord, comfort them, calm them in their soul and in their spirit. Lord, take away any nerves they have, and may they know that there is a higher judge than the county court, a higher judge than the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission. There is the judge of all the earth. And Lord, thou wilt do right and thou wilt do just. And we pray because we give thanks that they are vindicated in this matter before thee. But Lord, we pray that they may know earthly vindication too. And Lord, we pray for those who have taken the case. Lord, speak unto them. We don't want or will their destruction, but Lord, we pray that thou would be merciful to them as thou hast been merciful to us. Lord, turn their hearts and convict them and draw them from sin to the Savior. Lord, we can say, and such were some of us if it wasn't for the grace of God. Lord, we would be doing the same things. And so we pray, be merciful to them also. We pray for the media coverage. We pray that it would be favorable, it would be widespread, it would be fair. We pray the ruling would be just and would protect liberty of thy people. We pray for the Institute and the legal team. Watch over us all. Protect us in our walk with thee. keep us from sin and from falling and enable us and guard us and shield us from all of the enemies snares and attacks for we pray these things we pray for the witness of this meeting house here lord in this city of balamina lord we pray that they may know many saved in the days that lie ahead that they would know thy kingdom advanced even in this corner of the vineyard bless the pastor in all of us preaching and ministry of thy word and each member as they would minister and be witnesses for Christ in their own neighborhoods and communities. Lord, be pleased to bless that thy kingdom may advance and that Christ would be glorified, for in his precious name we ask it. Amen.