Testimony of Rev. Alan Smylie

Let me just announce as well that the Free Presbyterian

Church Mission Board have a prayer update for May.

And if you would like a copy, please find one on the porch as

you leave. OK?

We are delighted to have the Reverend Smiley and Mrs Smiley

with us this evening and we've been looking forward to him

coming. And we're going to ask them now

to come and minister to us. Thank you brother.

I'd like to thank Reverend McLaughlin for the words of

welcome, and it's a joy to be here tonight.

It's always a joy to share our testimony to the saving grace of

God and what the Lord has done in our lives over the years.

And we thank God for all of that.

We give the glory to him and we pray that God will meet with us

and bless us and as you pray for us in the work of God that we're

still engaged in, we pray for you that God will bless you here

and your God's servant here and his wife and and the church here

and carried off. We're reading together some

verses from Second Timothy chapter 3 and Paul, of course,

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

his writing to Timothy here and he's speaking to him about those

things that are essential as far as his ministry was concerned.

And then of course he reflects upon his own life and and his

own testimony. And you'll notice here what he

says in Second Timothy 3 and verse 10.

We break into the chapter, but that was fully known.

My doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering,

charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions which came unto me

at Antioch, at I Cunningham, at Lystra, what persecutions I

endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Yeah, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall

suffer persecution, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and

worse, deceiving and being deceived.

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and has

been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that

from a child thou hast known in the Holy Scriptures which are

able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is

in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by

inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for a

proof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness,

that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished onto

all good works. Amen.

That we know that God will bless the reading of His inspired,

inerrant, and infallible word to all our hearts.

This bow for a moment of prayer, please.

Our gracious God and eternal Heavenly Father, we thank Thee

for this meetinghouse tonight in which we're gathered.

We thank You for all that that was done here through the years.

And we thank You for Thy servant and his faithfulness in the

preaching of Thy word and for those who have stood by the

stuff here in this place. And we pray that that will give

encouragement and blessing not only now, but into the days

ahead, that many souls will be brought into your Kingdom.

Bless us now as we turn to Thy word, as we think about all the

Lord hath done for us, and we never will cease to praise him.

And we pray that tonight, oh God, the word of testimony will

reach some heart or hearts in this meeting or listening into

this service. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

I want to base my testimony here upon verse 15 of Second Timothy

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, and that from a child of us known, the Holy Scriptures

which are able to make the wise unto salvation through faith

which is in Christ Jesus. And as we think about these

words, we think about the period here from a child.

And of course, that's something that comes in to my testimony

very clearly, as you will hear as we go through it.

And then, of course, the great privilege of the Scriptures,

hearing the Scriptures. And again, that will come in to

the testimony, the Holy Scriptures, knowing the Holy

Scriptures, the knowledge of God's Word, and then the power

which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith

which is in Christ Jesus. Well, I was born in County

Fermanagh, right on the border of Fermanagh and County Cavan.

Kleena, Newtown, Butler, County Fermanagh.

That's the town land in which I was born, a few 100 yards from

the border, the youngest child of five.

In fact, there would have been 7 if all had lived but three girls

and two boys in the family. Five in total remain.

I was the youngest of course, of that.

I was the only one in fact that was born in in County Fermanagh.

The rest were all born in County Down because my father actually

worked on a farm out between Saintfield and Balna Hinch

there, Patterson's farm. And he, he worked there for many

years. And my mother and father lived

up the lane actually beside the mission hall and was on that

road. And I don't know if it's still

there. I haven't been on that road for

a while, but I do remember preaching in that hall on one

occasion when I was ministering in Ballygahn at the mission

hall. I used to have to park up in a,

a farmer's yard, I think to get off that dangerous corner on the

road there. But that's where most of my

family were brought up. But then when my grandparents

passed away, the farm, that part of the farm came my mother's way

in County Fermanagh. And so the family moved to

County Fermanagh and my father took up the farm there and

farmed during that period. And so I was born on the farm.

I was born actually at home there at Klina, Newtown Butler.

But as I've said in the preface there I had the greatest of all

privileges, being brought up in a Christian home and from a

child knowing the Holy Scriptures.

I can remember my father from my earliest days coming in from

milking, and before we went to school, he opened the scripture

on the kitchen table and he taught us from the Word of God.

He read the Scriptures and he prayed with us before the next

sister to me, an older sister, went off to school.

And so I was acquainted with God's Word from my earliest

days. We went and attended Ballyhoe

Bridge Presbyterian Church. Now you may not have the

faintest idea where that is, but I could drive you there tonight.

I know exactly where it is, and in fact, many times my brother

is 12 years older than me. He used to bring me on the bar

of the bicycle to Sunday school in that church.

Sometimes the car wouldn't start and so we had to either hoof it,

as you would say, or go on the bicycle and well, health and

safety didn't come into play then, but I went on the bar, the

bicycle. My brother took me to Sunday

school. Now sadly, in that church, I

never heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The lady who taught me in Sunday school, she usually arrived

about half an hour late and and even when she did come, she was

a lovely lady, but she wasn't seeing.

And I was taught nothing of the gospel other than what I learned

from the child's catechism and of course learned at home.

I can never remember the Word being preached from the pulpit,

except maybe on the odd occasion when the visiting preacher came

and preached the gospel. But my mother and father were

faithful in bringing us to various gospel missions that

were held throughout the area. And there were many missions

that were held. And I can remember being brought

to those missions. In fact, I can't always remember

coming home because I usually fell asleep in the car.

But I was brought to those missions and I heard the word of

God. I heard the message of the

gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I was taught the

Scriptures, I was brought up in the things of God.

I was taught the way of salvation.

My father took ill in his late 40s.

He developed a rare heart condition.

And so my brother had gone off at this stage to Bible college

to train in the 5th Mission Bible College and I was 9 year

old at the time. So I was going to take over the

farm. My sisters of course were, one

was still at school and the others were away working in

Belfast. And so the farm had to be sold

and it was sold in the mid 60s and we came to Belfast.

We came to the Ravenhill Rd in Belfast, bought a three Storey

house there and my father and mother used that house as a

boarding house, bed and breakfast, that type of thing.

People coming into work in Belfast found a place to stay

over and got meals there and that's how they made their

living, that's how they survived.

And so from being a little lad brought up on the farm until I

was 9 year old in County Fermanagh and then moving to the

Ravenhill Rd in Belfast, it was quite a culture shock wasn't it?

From County Fermanagh to Belfast that's how it was.

But we can see in all of this the working of God because

again, I was brought under the sound of the gospel of the Lord

Jesus Christ. We eventually went to Ravenhill

Presbyterian Church, was a very evangelical church, and the

minister, a faithful preacher of the gospel, Doctor Fetch A

Scotchman, and he preached the word of God.

And there in that church I heard again the gospel of the Lord

Jesus Christ. In that Sunday school I attended

in Ravenhill Presbyterian Church, there was one particular

man who taught us in Sunday School, a man who emigrated to

Australia. Mr Beatty was his name, a godly

man. I can remember him, the tears

running down his face as he taught us the gospel and pleaded

with us to come to Christ. I must admit he was teaching a

class of brats, cheeky brats, and I was one of them.

We tortured that man every Sunday.

We tortured, but he persisted and he brought before us the

gospel of Christ and he told us the way of salvation.

And I can still recall that. And also a man later on in

Sunday school who taught me the Shorter Catechism, a man called

Harry McKinney. I believe it certainly Harry.

I don't know what has become of Mr Beatty, but I would presume

with the passage of time he moved to Australia.

He has passed on to glory as well.

But certainly Harry McKinney in recent years I used to see him

the odd time in Belfast again, a faithful man of God who taught

us the the way of salvation and taught us the Shorter Catechism.

But as yet I had not come to Christ.

I was taught the word of God. I I knew the gospel from my

mother's knee, from my father, from my brother, but I wasn't

seen. And then when we moved to the

Ravenhill Rd in Belfast, I fathered a great love for Doctor

Paisley. And he used to bring me to hear

Doctor Paisley on a Sunday night in the Ulster Hall.

We used to walk down Park Rd, if you know that area of Belfast,

down Park Rd onto the Armour Rd, down the lower Armour into

Bedford St. I don't think you'd walk down

that way now very safely anyway. But we used to walk on a Sunday

night. Now that was a good 45 minute

walk. And then when we got to the

Ulster Hall, at that particular time you could hardly get into

the Ulster Hall, such was the crowd.

I can remember going to services there and we had to stand the

whole service. They were standing 3 deep, every

seat was taken. And I can remember the most

powerful preaching of the gospel from the lips of Doctor Paisley

as he preached the word of God. And they can remember many souls

coming out in the in the gospel invitation and people passing by

and into the enquiry rooms to get saved.

God was working, God was moving, God was answering prayer.

Yet I wasn't saved. They hadn't come to Christ.

You see, going to church doesn't make you a Christian.

Reading the Bible doesn't make you a Christian.

Going to Sunday school and learning the catechism doesn't

make you a Christian. All of these are commendable

things. But I wasn't seeing.

And after standing for an hour before the service and standing

for an hour and a half through the service, we walked all the

way home again, up the up Bedford St and up the Armour

Road and up into Park Road and back into 153 Ravenhill Rd.

That's where we live. But you know, my father was a

faithful man of prayer and he used to pray for us as a family.

And I can remember listening to his prayers.

He he always prayed out loud. I can remember naming me before

the throne of grace and prayer, naming every member of the

family that wasn't saved before the throne of grace and prayer,

but yet I wasn't a Christian. And then he went to every

mission that could possibly get to.

My father was a great man for attending missions and mission

halls, and there was a particular mission in the

Christian Workers Union Hall in Lisburn Market Street.

It's still there. And I attended that mission.

Reverend Sam Workman was the evangelist.

And night after night we attend. I think we must have attended

every night of that mission. And in those days the missions

were not just Monday to Friday, but Saturday night as well, and

Sunday night and after church meeting at half 8.

And it was one of those meetings that God really spoke to me.

God spoke to my heart and brought me to realise my need of

God's salvation. 15th of January 1969.

I came home from that meeting that particular night and my own

bedside. 153 Raven Hill Rd. I came to Christ and trusted the

Saviour. Hallelujah.

That was the transformation that took place in my life as a young

lad of 11 years old, brought up in the gospel, taught the things

of God and I came to Christ that night.

Of course, from being in a country school and going to a

school in Belfast again was Rosetta Primary School.

And then now at this particular age into Park Preyed secondary

School and Park Preyed secondary school was known in Belfast as

one of the toughest schools. We're now into the time of the

Troubles and it was a tough school and I must admit those

early years were difficult. I find it difficult to

transition from a primary school to a secondary school and

meeting people that I'd never saw before.

But it's wonderful how God works.

And you know, I was looking for Christian company and the Lord

provided that Christian company. As a man who still in the

martyrs to this day. He's one of the elders there,

Gary Parkes, I met him at church in Martyrs started to sit beside

him and his dad on a Sunday morning.

And obviously he was the one who looked out for me at school.

It's very important you see that young people get the right

company. You choose your friends wisely.

Canon unto the sound of God's Word is vitally important, of

course, but also outside of that in the world.

And we remain friends until this day.

It was a great help to me in my Christian life, in my early

Christian experience after I'd become a Christian.

And so I was still attending Ravenhill Presbyterian Church at

that time, a good church in many ways.

But in 1969, just a lot of months after, I could see if the

Martyrs Memorial Church opened. I used to walk past it every

day, and I saw this building going up.

As I made my way to school, I could see this building being

built. My father got tickets for the

opening. Now you didn't have to pay for

the tickets, but you had to have a ticket for the opening, such

was the number of people that wanted to go.

And I couldn't get a ticket for the afternoon.

But my father somehow got me a ticket for the evening service.

There were two services and I went to the evening service of

the opening of that church and just when I heard Doctor Paisley

preach again, and I'd heard him in the past and saw the crowds

of people gathered and my interests were stirred in going

to that church. I used to go to Ravenhill in the

morning, was in the Boys Brigade and of course the Boys Brigade

Bible class was on. And if you didn't go to the Boys

Brigade Bible class, well, you didn't get on the football team.

So I always had to, such was my love of football.

I still like it to this day, but it's not an idol.

But it's it's still like a game of football.

And so I had to get to the Bible class in order to get my name

down for the football team on the next Saturday.

But then I used to slip out of the Bible class and up to the

martyrs Sunday morning. My dad used to say why were you

not church this morning, didn't see you at church this morning.

I said it was up at the martyrs and he was fine with that

because he knew that it was under the ministry of Doctor

Paisley and a great respect and love for the preaching of Doctor

Paisley. And of course, as I became more

linked into the church in Ravenhill Martyrs Memorial, I

began to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus

Christ. You see, it's one thing to be

saved, it's one thing to have been born again of the Spirit of

God, and that's absolutely essential.

But it's another thing to grow in grace and in the knowledge of

the Lord Jesus Christ to go on with God.

And so of course, I began to grow in grace, began to attend

the services, the prayer meetings.

I can still remember those prayer meetings of powerful

prayer meetings when when heaven came down, remember those

midweek prayer meetings on Wednesday night, hundreds of

people gathering and, and people, maybe sometimes two or

three people getting up at the one time to pray.

Such was the spirit of prayer. Youth Fellowship became

involved. I remember Reverend David

Priestley became friends with him and he took me on door to

door work. We used to go out and round the

doors. I became involved in door to

door outreach, open air work, youth fellowship work, Sunday

school work. I remember going to the Sunday

School Bible class and I was, I must have been just 16 at the

time. I remember feeding this hand on

my shoulder. It was one of the elders and

martyrs, Bob Gunning, great man of God.

And he said to me, Alan, did you ever think about teaching a

Sunday school class? I said, no, I haven't thought

about that. He said, well, would you pray

about it? I said, well, I'll be prepared

to pray about it. The next week the hand was on my

shoulder again. He said, Alan, have you prayed

about it? I said, well, yes, I'm praying

about it. He said I've got a class for

you, got a class for you. So that was my entrance into

teaching children involvement in the Lord's work, a further step

into the work of God. It was again the Lord teaching

me that not only have you to become a Christian, but you have

to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it's not only about

salvation, it's about service for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so I became involved in this service, Youth fellowship, door

to door outreach, now Sunday school work.

And so the Lord was showing me through all of this that this

was a church for me. I heard about all that was going

on and the churches at that particular time and the World

Council of Churches and the compromise and the ecumenical

movement and all of these things.

And of course, my father was very unhappy with the

Presbyterian Church. He was an elder and he was

unhappy with how things were going.

And eventually I saw that I needed to separate from this

denomination the Irish Presbyterian Church and to join

the Free Presbyterian Church. And that's what I did.

You see, it's important young people and people in general

tonight that if you're truly saved and you find a church that

is true to Christ and true to the word of God, that you not

only become involved in that church, but do you become a

member of that church. You think of Saul of Tarsus when

he was wonderfully saved on the Damascus Rd.

But then he joined the Fellowship of Believers, he

joined the church. He didn't just float around.

He became identified with a local church that's so

important, and I saw that, and I can remember still when I, along

with many others at that particular time, became members

on that particular day at the Lord's Table in Martyrs

Memorial. I still remember the crowd of

people that were there who were joining the same day as I was

joined, becoming members of the church.

Of course there was salvation, there was service in the local

church, but I can remember God challenging me.

This is a young lad, a young teenager, just finding my feet

as far as Christian service was concerned, becoming involved in

the prayer meetings of the church.

And that's another vital part of growing in the Christian life.

And I became involved in the prayer meetings.

I can remember those late night prayer meetings at Martyrs,

Friday night, late night prayer meetings.

David Priestley, Reverend David Priestley, as he is now, of

course, late Reverend Almarat, many others.

In fact, these guys used to all come up to my house on a Friday

night, about 3:00 on a Saturday morning in fact, and he kept

down for the night. 153 Ravenhill Rd after being at the

prayer meeting, half night of prayer martyrs.

I can remember those nights when God came down and God visited

the power of the praying of our brethren and others who joined

with us in those seasons of prayer.

You see salvation, service and supplications all has to be

linked together. It's all part and parcel.

We think about the call to the ministry.

As I said, I was being challenged about serving God in

a full time capacity. I just started work in the civil

service and of course opportunities to go on in that

particular career and but I can remember hearing Doctor Cairns

preach on the will of God. I was sitting in the martyrs.

The church hall. In fact down at Glentoran St,

the old church building used to be used as a church hall.

I remember sitting on the stairs at a youth rally.

Used to have a youth rally on the 1st Saturday of every year,

first Saturday night of every year, the beginning of each

year. And he preached on the will of

God. And that night I could take you

if I don't know what that building's like now, but I can

remember the exact place and that staircase where I was and

responding to that challenge that night that Doctor Cairns

put out about the will of God and serving the Lord Jesus

Christ and entering the ministry and entering full time service

for Christ. There was I-17 years of age

willing and saying that night in my heart before God, here am I

send me, here am I send me. I'm not sure how much my family

understood. All was going through my mind

and working in my heart at that time, but I knew that God had

called me. I knew that this was the work

that God had called me into the ministry of the Free

Presbyterian Church. I remember going to Doctor

Paisley and telling him, and I can still remember that night

and fear and trembling. I went into the little vestry

there in the Ministers room, the Martyrs Memorial, and he said to

me, If God has called you to be a preacher, don't stoop to be a

king. I can always remember that.

Then he got down on his knees and he put his hand on my

shoulder and he prayed for me. I can never forget the

experience I had that night and just the prayer that Doctor

Paisley offered. And then of course as Doctor

Paisley, those of you who know me just immediately said where

are you applying? We need ministers.

And so we, the application came forward, of course in 1974.

We were called to the Presbytery September 1974.

And those particular days you had to preach before the

presbytery and there was, I don't know how many of us, there

must have been 6 or 7 or 8 preached that particular night.

So it was about midnight when I got on, maybe they were sleeping

when they decided to give me the go ahead to come into the

Theological hall as it was then. But we started to train in 1974

and then of course went through that course until 1978, four

years of study and those were great days.

We we had some tremendous times of fellowship.

In fact, I think at that particular time there were 21 in

the class, 21 men who were training for ministry here.

I think Reverend John Hannah, he was training for a missionary

work, but apart from him there was 20 of us who were training

for the work here in Northern Ireland.

Some great times of fellowship, some difficult times for me, who

wouldn't be the the brightest of sparks, but we got through

tremendous times of opportunity. God was working at that time

throughout our country and there were tremendous opportunities of

preaching every week and souls were getting saved.

I can remember even in martyrs itself, there were scores of

people saved. Every Sunday night God came

down. The Spirit of God was moving.

Can remember Doctor Paisley preaching the most powerful

sermons and and people coming down the aisles and seeking the

Lord for salvation. We were in the midst of revival,

if we'd only had known it. And God worked in a mighty way,

in the most powerful manner. The Spirit of God was poured out

and the opportunity of serving as a assistant to Doctor Douglas

for a while in Lisburn during the time I was in college and

then as a student minister. In those days, student ministers

were put into some of the congregations that were starting

up and draw war was starting up and I was put in there for a

period of 18 to 20 months. Eventually, upon training days

were finished, I was called to the church in Karagari in County

Maniton, 1979, and shortly after that I'd met my wife some time

before that and we were married in 1979 and Vivian joined me

there in the ministry there in Corrigari.

And then of course in subsequent years to that.

I became minister of John Knox Free Presbyterian Church.

That time it was in Clifton Park Ave, but the IRA burned the

building down or severely damaged it.

Anyway, we moved down to the Shankill Road and then built a

new church there eventually, and I served in that congregation

for some 24 years. And then in 2004, I felt the

call of God to take up the ministry in, in Ballygun and

served there for almost 18 years until my retirement in 2022.

You know, I, I thank God for all of the opportunities that God

has given me as far as the ministry of the gospel is

concerned, the doors that have opened to preach the word of God

and the doors that are still opening.

People talk about retirement. I, I haven't found it yet.

I haven't found it yet. I'm still as busy as ever.

In fact, my wife talks about are you slowing down and I'm

thinking doesn't look like it. Every Sunday morning at 9:00 I'm

preaching in Maghaberry Prison. This morning I was in Randall,

started at 11:30 preaching there.

Tonight I'm here and carried off.

Next week I'm in Claher Valley, all over the place.

Newtownards is intermoderated, that's the other thing.

Couple of days a week I'm involved in prison ministry in

Maghaberry, in Hyde Bank Wood, young offenders in ladies

prison. So really don't have much time

for retirement as of yet. Great opportunities to still

serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to work in his vineyard to

preach the glorious gospel of Christ.

But you know, I couldn't have done all this without the Lord's

help. Having obtained the help of God,

I continue unto this day. It's all about Alan Smiley.

I am a nobody. It's about Christ, it's about

what we do for him and his glory that we seek.

And I also must say this, and I couldn't have done all this

without my wife's help, without her by my side.

Vivian, who's been a source of great strength to me and help to

me in my ministry. Minister's wives are often

overlooked, undervalued maybe in many cases, but I thank God for

my wife and 2013. We had probably the darkest

period in her life when she was diagnosed with cancer, and I can

remember those dark days very vividly.

But the Lord graciously intervened.

Vivian is here tonight having known the healing touch of God.

2013, It's now 2026. I was never good at maths, but I

think that's 13 years that the Lord has been gracious to her

and spared her and brought her to this time.

We thank God for the opportunities that God has given

to us. We thank God for our college.

I've been involved in that in the building of a new college as

far as the training of our ministers is concerned.

And just in March there that new building was opened.

But there's a need for young men and young women to say, as I did

way back in 1974, here am I sent me for young people to say I'm

going to that college. I'm going to be training for

ministry or training for work among children or work that I,

Chris Killen needs desperately workers to come alongside him

and his wife in the ministry of to those that are addicted.

There's such a great need at this point in time.

I only know of one young man who has applied for this year.

Now we're not despising the day of all things, we rejoice in

that. But we need many more and pray

that God will send forth labourers into his harvest

field. But if you're not a Christian

tonight, you've never been saved.

And perhaps from a child you've known the Holy Scriptures,

you've known the this word of God that is able to make you

wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

But you have never known God's so great salvation.

Is God calling you tonight, calling you from your sin?

Calling you from the darkness of this world, calling you into the

glorious light of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If that is so, I pray that you will come to Christ even now a

prisoner in the prison this morning he said to me this, he

said I was out on parole. I was visiting my sister is from

a Catholic background and he said this man does profess faith

in Christ. He said I I spoke to her about

her need of salvation. She said I want to confess my

sins now get me the priest. He said you don't need the

priest, you can confess your sins to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And my dear friend, tonight you don't need a minister.

We have our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.

You have direct access to him. Will you call upon him tonight?

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall they see

it. I trust that what has been of

the Lord in this testimony will be a blessing to your heart

tonight. Thank you.

Well, we do thank the Lord for what the Reverend Smiley has

shared with us this evening by way of testimony.

And we thank the Lord for him. And I have learned a lot of

interesting things that I didn't even know about our dear

brother. You'll have opportunity around

the cup of tea to have a little chat with him after as we

conclude the service. Let me just before we come to

our him asked you that question. Are you saved tonight?

Do you know and love Christ? Is he your Lord and Saviour?

Been a time when you called upon him.

Lord, save me, I perish. Are you separated tonight unto

the gospel? Have you a real, genuine love

for Christ in the things of God? Are you supplicating God's

throne for God's will for your life?

And are you serving the Lord in the place where he has you?

Those are very challenging questions, but I pray tonight

that the Spirit of God will apply them even as you've

listened to the Lord's servant. We're going to sing in closing

some verses of 325.