Testimony of Rev. Stanley Barnes

Just before I sit down, I want to mention a couple of things.

I'm looking over the congregation here and I see a

young couple amongst us and they have just recently got engaged.

And that's a wonderful thing, tremendous encouragement.

And we want to say congratulations to Campbell and

to Catherine. At this time.

I also want to mention that we still have two of Doctor Barnes

books. Never a dull moment out there in

the main foyer. They're £10 each.

The money, the proceeds, goes to the Deborah House project in

Romania. I have really enjoyed reading

the book. I learnt.

A lot of things that I didn't know about the Lord's servant,

I'll not start telling you. He, he'll tell you himself.

It's really, really tremendous. And we have two books left.

But great if we had them sold tonight.

And then you can enjoy the reading and then the proceeds.

Then we'll go to the Deborah House Project.

Could I just say one final thing?

Could I ask you to pray tonight for a man called Hugh?

He's in the hospital. The Lord knows all about Hugh.

And we'd ask you to remember Hugh in your prayer that the

Lord would touch him and meet his need to his glory.

Thank you. I'll hand over to Doctor Barnes.

I'd. Like to read together with you,

please just some verses from John chapter 3, third chapter of

John 3 · chapter mention

John chapter 3. And it's in this chapter we have

John 3 · chapter mention

the conversation of our Lord with the Nicodemus, A ruler who

came to Jesus by night. And we want to just read a few

verses beginning at verse 14 place.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even

so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in

him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have

everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into

the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him

might be saved. He that believeth in him is not

condemn, but he that believeth not is condemned already because

he had not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Ending the reading there, 1st 18 And we know God will bless the

reading of His Word to all of our hearts.

Do want to say a word of thanks to our brother for the

opportunity of coming along and sharing a word of testimony

tonight. David is one of those very

persuasive people and when he asked you to do something, he

doesn't give up. And they asked me to give a

testimony, even though I've retired from preaching.

When you reach 83, well, it's time to slow down.

Other things take place, but it is the joy to be able to come

and to share with you. Or I came to know the Lord Jesus

as my own impersonal Saviour. I was born in the city of

Belfast in a street called Rosalind St, not far from the

Emmanuel Mission Hall and I believe in the prevalence of God

and the hand of God and all our lives.

Things don't just happen by chance, but behind it all

there's a servant, A sovereign God who works all things out for

our good and for his glory. I was born into a family.

There was 7 boys, seven brothers and there was one girl winning

the sister who was the oldest and if ever there was a

Christian, it was my sister when I I always remember her just as

a Christian girl who loved the Bible and loved the Lord's

people. And we were sent along to the

Emmanuel Hall to learn the word of God in the way of salvation.

I meant to say one of the things about being brought up in a

large family is that you have hand me down now.

I don't think the young people today will feel that the same.

There's more prosperity today than ever before.

But you got hand me downs and especially in a large family of

boys. My sister was the eldest.

And you know, I have to say the hand me downs didn't really suit

me because my sister's dress has never really seemed to fit or

were the right sword for me. But well, that's life there in a

large family. We were sent along to the

Emmanuel Sunday School. The missioner was Pastor

Proctor, a man sent from God, God, a great teacher of the word

of God and preacher of the gospel.

And we went to the Sunday school and there we taught, were taught

the Scriptures in the way of salvation.

We also would go along to the children's meeting on a

Wednesday night and and they had a big children's meeting,

probably would fill this hall, if not more of boys and girls

gathered in under the sound of the word of God.

Now I have to confess as a young boy, I love to pick up things

that I found in the street as a piece of cord or a piece of wire

or something like that. And one day I picked up what you

call a washer. I'm not talking about the

dishwasher, dear. Talking about a re round piece

of metal with a hole in the middle.

And I put it into my pocket and I never thought any more about

it. And the time came when the

children's meeting came and Mr. Phillips, who was the Sunday

School Superintendent and also the leader of the children's

mission, he spoke with a whistle in his voice.

Did you ever meet somebody to God?

And he would say, now poison scared, sit up in your seats.

And I used to be fascinated by Mr. Phillips and his free

whistle. And the time came for the

offering and of course I put my hand in my pocket and the only

thing I had was the washer, the last of the big spenders, and I

slipped it into the basket and I felt very pleased with myself.

Somebody will get a surprise when they see that.

Never did I realise the surprise was going to come my way.

And the following week Mr. Phillips came to the offering

and they held the washer up and they said no, and he whistled

his way through it. And someone put this in the

offering last week and God saw who it was.

I thought it was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I was waiting on a lightning coming through the doors and the

windows and I was going to be judged there and then.

And it really shook me. And I can tell you never again

that I ever put a washer into the offering basket.

But I thank God for the Emmanuel mission because it was there

that I was to come to know Christ as my Saviour.

Now the year 1859 was the year of the great revival in Ulster

and over 100,000 souls that was estimated was swept into the

Kingdom of God by God's sovereign power and revival

blessing. And in the year 1959 was 100th

anniversary of the great revival and they invited great preachers

from all around the world to come and preach and fill the

pulpits an Ulster and to preach the word of God.

Doctor Martyn Lloyd Jones, Dr Appleman, a converted Jewish

lawyer, and Oswald Smith, another great name fellow the

pulpits throughout our province. Now in the mission hall there

was a young band, converted bandleader Johnny Bassanio, and

he was a great trumpet player. And Johnny Bassani was asked for

they do a mission and he had never done a mission on his own

before, but he was asked for they come to the manual mission

and would he do a mission there. I have to say that it was a

breath of revival. People were flocking to get into

the meetings and to hear the word of God, and souls were

being saved. And I had no intention of going

to the mission, even though my sister had asked me in different

times. And one night I decided I would

go to the pitcher house and across the road and one day a

mate's house, Jim Barnes, and asked Missus Barnes, Jim in

insistently. He's gone out.

I don't know where he's gone, but he's away anyway.

And I thought to myself, well, I don't like going to the pictures

of the cinema by myself. Then I remembered the mission

and I believe it was the sovereignty of God just brought

it to remembrance. And I said to myself, I'll go to

the mission, I'll get a seat at the back.

I'll be last then, and I'll be first out of the meeting.

But God had other plans for my life that night and every person

in the meeting tonight. God has got a plan and a purpose

for your life. And don't miss the will of God,

for the greatest tragedy that can happen to anyone is to live

a life outside the will of God. And that night I sat in the

meeting and I was thrilled because the the boy Johnny

Bassan, who came from taxes and they had that taxes drawl, you

know the way they speak. And I thought he was just like

John Wayne. John Wayne was one of my

favourites in the movies. See, I think John Wayne and my

father won the war between them. I don't tell anybody else that,

but I, I was so taken up with John Wayne and the fascination

of this young preachers voice. And I enjoyed the playing of a

trumpet. The singing was bright, and then

he got up to preach and he preached the glorious gospel of

our Lord Jesus Christ like I'd never heard it before.

And I knew that God so loved the world.

But that night I discovered God's love is personal, that the

Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.

And I was sitting in that meeting challenged by the Word

of God, the story of the cross and the message of the gospel.

And then the evangelist said we're going to sing a hymn.

It's one of my favourite hymns, just as I am without one plea,

but that thy blood was shed for me.

And as they were singing that hymn, this evangelist didn't

make it easy. He said if you would like to

accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, I wanted to

get out of your seat and walk to the front, confessing your need

of Christ. And there was a war within my

heart, a real battle and a struggle as I thought on one

hand of the cross and the Christ had done for me and on the other

hand there was a devil and the pleasures of sin and there was a

battle between the two. But I thank God for overcoming

grace. And that night I walked to the

front and I was willing to confess my need of salvation and

the wonderful thing and the lovely thing was this, that we

Mr. Phillips, who led the Sunday school work, came over to be.

He was appointed as one of the councillors and they said stand

there, come over here. And I sat down in one of the old

forms that I'd set, and Sunday school days, and he opened up

God's Word, John 3 and 16. And he put it this way.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

that if Stanley Barnes would believe in him, he would not

perish, but have everlasting life.

He said, Whosoever means you, put your name in and claim

Christ as your Saviour. And he prayed a very simple

prayer, and they asked me to pray that prayer as my own, and

I followed him in prayer. And that night I asked the Lord

Jesus to come into my heart and to be my Saviour.

And the Lord was true to his word.

That night the Lord came into my heart, and I was a new creature

in Christ. All things that began to pass

away and all things began to be new.

Now the problem was I had to go back into work.

I was serving my apprenticeship and I really hear this United

Cooperative Bakery Society, UCBS sounds like a degree from

Queen's University. But it was the most one of the

biggest bakeries in Belfast. It was just at the bottom of our

street and Ravenhill Ave and I had I had the opportunity of

going and serving my time as apprentice Baker.

Now I never tell people that too often for bakers don't do too

good in the Bible. First Baker you read about in

the story of Joseph that took him out and hung them.

Now I'm sure they'll not do that tonight.

Don't see any hangman here tonight, but I had to go back

into the bakery and there confess Christ as my Saviour and

I didn't have to give up my own sea of companions once I knew I

was saved. They give me up because with

nothing in common. And I used to love to play cards

poker and I can still remember how to play it and so on and

remember break time. Used to run down to get her

break and get her mug filled with Tanner sandwiches and then

over to the card schools and we would play poker now in the

bakery. It was difficult to live for

Christ. But if you nail your colours to

the Mass, the Lord will honour you and bless you.

And I nailed my colours to the Mass that I was a Christian and

the Baker said to me, my apprentice friends and they said

you know you'll only last a week at being good 11, you'll only

last a week. You'll send the back with us

again. And then they give me a

fortnight, give me a month, Hallelujah.

They eventually gave me up all together because do you know

why? God had given me eternal life,

Life more abundant, and come that you might have life, and

that you might have it more abundantly, And I found a

greater and a happier life of being a Christian.

And I've been on both sides of the road, the good side and the

bad side of the broad road. And I can tell you Christ never

fails to satisfy and to keep. And you know, the Lord and the

bakery taught us many wonderful lessons.

I was working along with another fellow in the machine and the

break time came and for some reason we went to the main

switch and pulled the switch down and didn't use the normal

switch that we did. And let's put the power off

completely for the machine and make him back again from a break

and push the button and there wasn't a move but forgotten

about pulling the part switched down and we sent for Jimmy Lyle.

He was the foreman and he wore a wee white coat down to here and

he could get nowhere. Looked at it and looked at it

could get nowhere. Then the sun for Harry Bale and

he was one of the higher managers and he came with his

long my coat and he looked like salmon that couldn't find out

was wrong. Then the sun for Sammy the

mechanic and either he could fix anything with a wee sledgehammer

and a better wire, he could tie it together.

Sammy came and he was beat. I was standing there and

suddenly I looked up at the parsh, which I said, Oh my God,

but forgot to pull the parsh which and there's no power.

Nothing wrong with Jane. And you know, beloved, the Lord

taught me a big lesson there that I've kept before me all my

life. You see, they had the machinery,

but they had no power. And what needs to happen in the

Church today afresh is that we need to get connected to the

power of the Holy Spirit. Ye shall receive power after

that. The Holy Spirit has come upon

you and the Church today. Individual believers, we need to

get connected with the power of God the Holy Ghost, and that's

one of the reasons why God blessed the church.

I believe in the early days, Doctor Douglas and another

brother, Doctor Paisley, had an all night of prayer and they

were looking to God for a mighty baptism of the Spirit of God.

And they prayed to the early hours of the morning, and then

they knew for a truth that God had filled them with the power

of the Holy Ghost, and they went forth to turn the world upside

down. And while Doctor Paisley was a

man of great talents and ability and oratory theology, yet the

secret of his power throughout the whole of his life was the

power of God, the Holy Ghost, the child of God.

God hasn't left you to struggle through the Christian life and

to live a defeated life, but you should wait till you're endued

with a power You're commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit

and the quench not the Spirit and you quench the Holy Spirit

by not being filled with the Spirit.

And so God taught us a wonderful lesson even there and the bakery

concerning living a Christian life and things were going well.

Ought to say this just in passing.

When it was a boy of about 10 or 11 roughly, the workmen were out

lifting the big cobblestones. Remember the streets were

cobblestones and around our district they were lifting them

all and they were making them and the plain streets.

And I remember we were carrying on and this fella lifted when he

threw it towards my direction and I didn't get out of the road

in time. I just smacked me in the hip and

boy what a crunch, what a smack and I went down.

Little did I realise the fact that was going to have in my

life and I could hardly walk, was troubled with pain.

Cut a Long story short and you'll see the reason why I tell

you this. Cut a Long story short, my

mother took me to the doctor's and went to the Children's

Hospital. Professor Weathers and the

couldn't diagnose what was wrong and then somebody said to my

father take him to Ritchie, the football trainer.

And he's a great man of bones and works for the football

teams. And he scooted his job and my

father took me. And I can remember him carrying

me and his back from the car up into the hallway and into the

room where Richie was. And he examined me very

thoroughly. And then he wrote a little

letter and he said, give that to Professor Weathers.

And when I went back to the Children's Hospital to meet

Professor Weathers, a given father given the letter that

Ritchie had written. And he looked at it and he read

it and he examined me again. And then he did a strange thing.

He came out and there was some lady sitting in the front row of

the seat. And he said, ladies, would you

fecate those seats and leave them?

This boy has to lie down immediately and not move and I

wondered what was happening and I laid down and not moved and it

turned out I had a chipped hip bone.

A pertheous hip disease sat in and I was being crippled with

this injury. Now I went in the hospital to

put me in plaster Paris from here right down to my toes and

boys knitting needles were down trying to scratch it and all the

rest of it and it was very uncomfortable and I was like

that lying in the Children's Hospital and got home eventually

after several weeks. Then the had to wear first of

all had to be pushed about in a wheelchair and I hated that.

My brothers though, fellas that would take me down to the park

and I've been just sitting there and they've been playing Cowboys

and Indians and running like ages through the bushes and I

couldn't move. Remember one day I got so fed up

I got out of the wheelchair and I got behind it and I started to

push at home and they came up London St and some women came

over and said some you shouldn't be doing this, get into the

chair, we'll push you back home and I wouldn't do it.

Talk about thick, thickest 2 plants but not as useful.

And I got home and eventually after the wheelchair had the

worst steel calibre of my leg for a long time, limp about with

this boot them with this calibre.

And this was to have a a bad effect on my life, not only

physically but educationally. You see, I didn't do much

schooling those days and I thought it was brilliant one

getting old school all these days.

But then when the Lord called me into service, I hadn't a clue.

And when the Bible sky schooler said the doctor Paisley cut a

Long story short, I feel the Lord is calling me into service

and he says, well, you know, a lot of young people have gone to

the Wack Mystery training College in Glasgow and why don't

you try there? And so I applied and I say this

honestly before God. I prayed that they would turn me

down, actually hoped on my heart of hearts that they would turn

me down. Then I could say I was willing

to obey God, but they turned me down.

And the story, because I knew I had no education.

Then I went to over there for two years, some other fellows

from Ulster. Now, remember, we got English

classes and Miss McDonald, she's a lovely Scottish lady.

And she looked at me and said, Stanley, Mr Barnes, could you

tell us the various kinds of nouns?

You know them all by heart, don't you?

I'm going to ask tonight. You know them all by heart.

And I hadn't a clue. And I said, well, there's low

down, go down and showdown. And I thought being humorous

would Get Me Out of this situation.

Will you talk about a showdown? After the class?

She tore stripes in me. Ask me, did I not pray at the

beginning of the class that God would bless us and help us?

And was she wasting her time? And she really tore strips off

me. Hardly spoke to her for a week

after. But anyway, through it all I had

one prayer. Lord, nail my hand to the plough

with Calvary love the Lord help me never to turn back.

And by the grace of God, God has answered that prayer.

Then cut a Long story short again had to go into a

theological hall and when I finished Bible schooling leave

part of the Testament out there. But anyway, Doctor Paisley said

the everything of becoming the minister of the Free

Presbyterian Church, studying for the ministry, and I toyed

with it and I said, well, I've had thought about it.

Well, I said you should apply and see what happens.

And I applied and was accepted along with Fred Greenfield, Ivan

Foster, Frank McClellan, what a bunch together.

And we were all starched. Willie McRae, We were all

students together in the theological Hall.

And that was a a different experience because the Bible

school well was more complicated and deeper studies and theology

and so on in the theological hall.

But you know the Lord and his mercy and his grace once again

helped. We were able to get through the

exams and eventually I was called, asked to be placed at

Mount Marion C2, Sandra Foreman. Sandra used to play the, I'm

going to say the mouth organ, the organ and Mt Miriam.

It's lovely to see her and Dorothy in the meeting tonight,

but we've got through the exams and I got placed in Mt Miriam

and it was there that I had my Waterloo.

Like Napoleon, I spied this young girl sitting in the

meeting. She was a Sunday school teacher,

and that was Ina Keefe. And the strange thing was this

on a Tuesday, this fella said to me, another student, he says,

you know, there's a girl who goes to your church called Ina

Keefe. The thing they asked her out.

I said she wouldn't, she wouldn't be interested in you.

Totally different person and I put the dampers on and that

Tuesday night, going home from the prayer meeting, I said then

would you mind if I walk your home?

Oh said, not at all, just delighted.

It's not at all. And from that time on we've been

walking together and thank God for a Christian wife who stood

with us right through it all the ups and downs of the Christian

life in the ministry. And if you think the ministry is

an easy job, everybody thinks they're your boss.

I don't know fellas said to me one day, don't forget we pay £3

a week under your church. Just a nasty old piece of work

that's boiled. Felt like giving them a rebate.

But anyway, through all the difficulties of the work the

Lord brought us through and I couldn't look back.

And I can say, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

And every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

And I'm looking forward to that great day when Christ shall come

again. And Sunday school we had a

teacher who said, I'll give you a shelling.

Have you learned several verses at the beginning of John's

gospel? And I did it as a wee boy, not

that I wanted to learn the Scriptures, but a Bob or a

shelling in those stairs with big money there we boy and I got

the shelling. But you know when I was in the

pubs for when the dancers for fellas.

And I used to sit there and wonder and think of what would

happen if Jesus Christ came and found me in this place drinking.

And even when I went to bed at night I used to pray.

Lord, don't let me die, for I'm not saved.

But I'm so glad that situation was reversed, transfixed, and

there came a time when I came to ask Christ to be my Saviour.

And I can recommend them to you tonight as the friend that

sticketh closer than her brother.

The Christian life is not an easy life.

There's a cross to carry. But as Samuel Rutherford, the

Old Covenanter, said, Christ is always there to carry the heavy

end of the cross. Can I just close with this?

I think there's supper tonight. Don't want it to be your

breakfast, but the Dale Moody the evangelist on one occasion

in Chicago was having one of his great gospel campaigns.

And Moody old was made a public appeal for souls that were

saved. And it's estimated that through

his mentions that he saw over 1,000,000 people converted and

brought their Christ. Incredible ministry.

And one lady made an appeal and there was no response.

And they've been preaching in the words what then shall I do

with Jesus, which is called the Christ.

And he said again the second time, what will you do with

Jesus, which is called the Christ?

Will you accept them? No response.

And then unusual for him, he made the appeal the third time.

And he said, what then shall I do with Jesus, which is called

the Christ? What are you going to do, you

unsafe person? This old man stood up, a man who

had lived in sin in his face and is counted and bore the fairy

marks of sin. And he jumped to his feet and he

stepped out into the eye. And he said, Mr Moody, Mr Moody,

I'll take Jesus home with me. I'll take Jesus home with me.

And that night the old man got saved.

And I'm glad that night in the Emmanuel mission, like that man,

I said, I'll take Jesus home with me.

And the Lord has been with us every step of the journey.

And if you put your trust in him, young or old, thank God

you'll find him. All sufficient for every trial

of life. I trust tonight, if you're here

and you're not saved, I just come and accept the Saviour.

Speak to us even on the minister of the church after the service

and if you are see him, don't be 1/2 hearted Christian.

Be not only saved but surrendered, Be not only

converted but consecrated and take up your cross and follow

the Saviour. Why?

I trust the God will answer prayer.

You've been very patient tonight and thank you for coming.

And I do trust that that simple word of testimony will be a

means of blessing to you this evening.

Thank you so much.