Sermon

Friends and Family Night: Testimony of Pastor Victor Maxwell

Carryduff Free Presbyterian Church

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  1. Now, we are delayed at the half, pachter Pastor Vector, my actual

  2. weather. So I'm going to ask them to come

  3. and minister at two years as the Lord gives them help.

  4. Yes, thank you very much for the very kind invitation and the

  5. welcome here. This evening, a joy to return to

  6. carry do free Presbyterian church.

  7. And I want to thank the Reverend McLaughlin for the opportunity

  8. and indeed the enduring friendship over many years.

  9. I have a I have a Bible reading this evening in first Timothy

    1 Timothy 1 chapter mention

  10. chapter 1. First Timothy chapter 1, and

    1 Timothy 1 chapter mention

  11. we're reading at verse 12 of that chapter First Timothy

    1 Timothy 1 chapter mention

  12. chapter 1 and verse 12, And this is the word of the Lord and I

  13. thank Christ Jesus. Our lord, who hath enabled me

  14. for that. He counted me faithful, putting

  15. me into the ministry who was before a blasphemer and a

  16. persecutor and injurious, but I obtained Mercy because I did it.

  17. Ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was exceeding

  18. abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

  19. This is a faithful saying And worthy of all acceptation.

  20. That Christ Jesus came into the world to save Sinners of whom.

  21. I am chief I bet for this cause have obtained Mercy that in me,

  22. first. Jesus Christ might Shew forth

  23. all long suffering for a pattern to them, which shewed Hereafter

  24. believe on him to life Everlasting.

  25. No, on to the king, Eternal Immortal invisible.

  26. The only wise God be honor and Glory forever and ever.

  27. Amen. And amen.

  28. May God bless to us the reading of his secret word.

  29. It's a joy and a pleasure this evening to be invited to share a

  30. personal word of testimony. We're looking back of many years

  31. and it does remind me of the story of a man whose wife had

  32. become ill and wanting to do something to encourage her.

  33. He decided that he would pick her favorite bread.

  34. He had never done this life before but he got an idea of

  35. what he would put together. So, he went to the shop and he

  36. bought the flower and the Margaery The everything else and

  37. bought a packet of yeast, when it came to picking at the

  38. needing it all together. He wasn't sure how much yeast he

  39. should put in. So we put it all in and as he

  40. got the door ready and got into the tendon soon, it was in the

  41. oven. And as it was picking he went

  42. upstairs to his wife and said well only speaking something,

  43. just without the smell of the baking bread was wafting through

  44. the house and she I said you didn't you're not being me, that

  45. will if he says, I am, the only thing is only I didn't know how

  46. much he stupid in. So a put it all in, all she

  47. said, Jamie at that's terrible. And just what the doctor was on

  48. a Almighty buying don't stirs and he opened run downstairs,

  49. and when he was downstairs, she showed it Jimmy.

  50. Can you not keep it in the oven? It showed it back, honey.

  51. I can't keep it in the kitchen. I say that this evening because

  52. Looking back on 67 years as a Christian, it's hard to keep it

  53. all in and no word to start to tell the story.

  54. But let me start at the beginning.

  55. I was born on the Donegal Road. In Belfast was born unto a

  56. Christian home, but a good home. My father was a football referee

  57. in the manager of Ross's Miller water Factory in this center of

  58. the city. He took us to church every

  59. Sunday morning at Richfield Presbyterian church.

  60. And then the church Hall was only.

  61. About 50 yards from our home and we were at Sunday school and

  62. Christian. And ever since I was a Nipper,

  63. as we say, I came to the life points, a BB and even other

  64. nights, we went down to the GB, but that was for other reasons.

  65. And so church was my life, dr. John Gervin was the city

  66. missioner at the little City Mission hall, just down the road

  67. from us. And we were there every Thursday

  68. night and if you'd missed a night of John, Evans children's

  69. meeting, he was riding a bicycle.

  70. The next day, with a scowl on the Spheres, that with the fear

  71. of God. And as, and we never missed the

  72. children's meanings. For all of that, coming up

  73. through all those days of Sunday, school learning the

  74. gospel. I didn't become a Christian.

  75. I say this this evening. I thank God for a Sunday school

  76. teacher. Who was faithful to his name was

  77. Billy Hamilton. Billy could never stood on a

  78. platform like this to speak, but He taught five boys in his

  79. class, taught them, the scriptures Faithfully every week

  80. and told us. They catechism Faithfully every

  81. week. I do that Sunday school class or

  82. five, boys Trevor. Sorry, John mcquoid went to

  83. Ethiopia as a missionary and today, he is a Brethren,

  84. evangelist travel Coburn, became a presbyterian Minister, Joe

  85. McCartney or more assume one of those two went to The submission

  86. early and then I went to Brazil as a missionary and Eddie

  87. hoisted behind stayed behind to pray for the other four.

  88. He went back a nose, there's Billy Hampton.

  89. Could never see what God would do with a Sunday school class

  90. and I say that to encourage Sunday school teachers.

  91. When I came through school, I went to the landfill and

  92. Intermediate School just not too far from our home.

  93. But I remember while at school, I was deeply impressed by the

  94. death of Two boys, one almost called Bobby McIntyre.

  95. Bobby didn't turn up school one day.

  96. And as modern fact, he didn't turn up for that week.

  97. Nor was he there for the following week?

  98. And then we heard that Bobby was so very ill.

  99. Very soon, we heard you died. He was only 13 years of age at

  100. that time, but we heard that Bob had become a Christian and had

  101. gone home to be with the Lord Jesus.

  102. I was impressed with that Having learned the scriptures Etc but

  103. also that seam here on ride day, that's the day.

  104. When students had a lot of fun around the city, another young

  105. boy a 13 year old boy from our class hopping on the back of the

  106. truck. Fell off the truck on the

  107. library. Loved on Eagle Road and was run

  108. over by a bus. He also was killed but alas it

  109. was new testimony that he had become a Christian and even a 13

  110. years of age. I would lie awake at night.

  111. Wondering if that had been me. Where would I be in eternity?

  112. We would I like Bobby Hamilton go home to heaven and spend have

  113. eternity there or would it be that I would have knew such

  114. testimony. And with such hope however, I

  115. left school back in those days fourteen-year-old boys got into

  116. short out of short Chargers in the long trousers.

  117. I think we used to call it. We slid down the banister at 14

  118. years of age. We went to work.

  119. I got a job as a telegram boy at the post office in Belfast at 16

  120. years of age. We got a motorcycle motorcycle

  121. the old PSA Bantam 125 Bantam and all around the city of

  122. Belfast. Us delivering telegrams with

  123. speed among the telegram boys who was a boy called Sammy

  124. punderson and he sent me one Sunday this instead of going to

  125. Ritchie tonight. Why don't you come with me to

  126. live with her Road? There's a preacher over there

  127. and I guarantee that you'll not fall asleep in his Services

  128. speaking of the dr. Ian Paisley and my granny just

  129. lived a stone's throw from NPC structure nervously only stones

  130. at his church, but she lived immediately at the back of his

  131. church. So, I was glad to go to the

  132. Raven Hill Road when dr. P sleep, reach the other

  133. platform, wider than this pulpit.

  134. And as he preached, he paraded up and down the platform,

  135. sometimes, shaking the doors. I'd say this as he told of men

  136. and women, pleading it again to heaven, but they had rejected

  137. Christ. Sometimes he came down the

  138. aisle. Pleading with people to come to

  139. the Savior, I sat up in the gallery and as he preached, I

  140. trembled I tumbled, because I knew, I needed to become a

  141. Christian. I knew I needed to perceive but

  142. I was afraid as dr. Pierce, he preached.

  143. I said this this evening. I can't remember anything.

  144. He preached. But as he was preaching, all

  145. that Billy huh? On the top, me and son to

  146. school. Came back to me, Kim.

  147. Back them to my mind. I was a sinner.

  148. I needed to save Bobby McIntyre, died, and gone to heaven.

  149. And when the appeal was made, I I so wanted to become a

  150. Christian. I wanted to pick my The, but I

  151. was paralyzed with fear. The Bible says, the fear of man

  152. brings a snare and that fear was a snare to me.

  153. I was afraid because I was afraid, I'd never be able to

  154. keep it as I only thought and then I was afraid of what people

  155. would say. As a telegram boy, there were 70

  156. telegram boys, all the Eads between 16 and 18 years of age.

  157. I can imagine going into work in the State to tell them, I become

  158. a Christian why they would make fun of me if I would to do that

  159. and so paralyzed without fear. I, I didn't respond, I left the

  160. service, but I went back the next Sunday night and the

  161. following Sunday night five, Sunday nights until the 20th of

  162. October 1956 again sitting in the gallery again wrestling in

  163. my heart, wanting to become a Christian but still resisting.

  164. The Holy Spirit striving in my heart or assisting in the This

  165. was over. I was coming down the stairs

  166. with my friend Sammy. How much Sami Patterson?

  167. When I spied a girl that had gone to school with Lily,

  168. Campbell has? We knew her then Lily.

  169. I was surprised to see her. She was as white as a ghost

  170. since leaving school, she had spent two years in.

  171. Foster Green Hospital Gerard tuberculosis and absolutely

  172. surprised to see her. I said, Lily, what are you doing

  173. here? And she answered Victor, what

  174. are you doing here? Are you a Christian.

  175. Without question, I was stunned. I shook my head and said, no

  176. Lily, I'm not a Christian and she said to me, would you not

  177. like to become a Christian? My friend on that moment.

  178. I was faced with making the decision in my heart.

  179. I so wanted to but still gripped with fear.

  180. But from somewhere within me, I found the greatest to say, yes,

  181. I'd love to become a Christian. And so that night beside doctor,

  182. a lie, I knelt and the all inquiry your room and ask the

  183. Lord Jesus Christ. Into my heart and looking back

  184. on that night so many years ago and I still say today.

  185. Oh happy day. That fixed my choice on the My

  186. Savior. And my god well me this glowing

  187. heart Rejoice to tell it's ruptures all abroad.

  188. I didn't know on that night that the rest of my life will be

  189. taken up with speaking of the raptures and the joy of the

  190. Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, I had to go home and

  191. tell my parents, I would become a Christian.

  192. Even my mother used to say to me, Victor your heads full of

  193. nutrients, you'll get over it soon.

  194. Well thank god. 67 years later, I've still never got over the

  195. joy of coming to Jesus Christ. However I had to go to work the

  196. next day and face. 70 telegram, boys, all of them teenagers and

  197. tell them, I had become a Christian.

  198. As a matter of fact, when I want to work, the next day at 6:30 in

  199. the morning, I got there. I didn't need to tell 70

  200. telegram, boys are you I told two or three them, within 10

  201. minutes, all of them knew about it.

  202. Did they make fun? Of course, amid fun.

  203. Max a common thing for a single few choruses.

  204. Give us a preach Maxell and so went on, but others came and

  205. shook my hand and said, God bless you.

  206. I wish it was me over the course of the next five years, had the

  207. joy of pointing those. Some of those telegram boys, to

  208. personal faith in Christ. Some of them went in the

  209. Christian work to become missionaries, others became many

  210. Esters of gospel. And I say this to all young

  211. people are safely not only to important to seek the Lord while

  212. he may be found, but almost take your stand and confess him.

  213. The Bible says, if Thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the

  214. Lord, Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised

  215. him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved.

  216. Never be afraid to take your stand for Jesus Christ.

  217. After I was converted one day, I was delivering meal on the

  218. Woodstock, Road on the street called, own myth Street, as you

  219. went up the streets in those days.

  220. Most most doors are most houses and the window had net curtains

  221. and a brass pot with a plant. That's a lot of people had that

  222. way, but in a me street While most sizes were like that, I

  223. came to her house that had new curtains and a new plant, we

  224. were pushed her star in the window for God's.

  225. Loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

  226. I am the way, the truth and the life.

  227. Listen, to the sermons of d.l. Moody are a tardy.

  228. I thought the house was different and when I knocked the

  229. door, the man who opened the door, he certainly was

  230. different. He had the broadest brightest

  231. smile I've ever seen in my life, he introduced himself as Ernie

  232. Allen. The founder of Revival movement

  233. and every home, Chris, in when he heard that, I was a Christian

  234. why I immediately had me in the door.

  235. And very soon. I was recruited to go testifying

  236. with him and singing the choirs he was holding gospel missions.

  237. Bringing missionaries are evangelist from United States.

  238. Of course it was the beginning of every home Crusade and in

  239. those days we were attending Don, Martin free Presbyterian

  240. church and Ernie. Give me a kiss full of

  241. literature to do every home in the Murray.

  242. Wrapping all the doors spreading the gospel of Christ.

  243. Those were great tears. Looking Back Now even though

  244. Things ended with fear and trembling it was in 1958 or 59

  245. in July of that year. The group of us young people

  246. decided on a July day to go up the mountain Coast, the beauties

  247. of the Antrim Coastal, l'ouverture head.

  248. There are nine of us fellows and girls and when we got to portray

  249. shall not beautiful, July day, we went in swimming swimming in

  250. the blue, pull the Blue Pools and natural formation of rocks.

  251. That are height. I tied, it's quite deep and

  252. forms quite a pull. I think the called the blue pool

  253. because that's the color, you turn them when they get into the

  254. water, the North Atlantic up there.

  255. But we were having the time of our lives diving swimming.

  256. Jumping fellows girls. But there was one girl, a girl

  257. from Jamaica, she didn't turn blue.

  258. She went to sort of color of gray.

  259. She couldn't swim, as she sat on the water holding onto the

  260. steps, into the pool and The girl said to me, Victor take

  261. Dorothy across the pool. She can't swim.

  262. Well, I had a problem. Then I still have a problem

  263. often others. I find it difficult to say, no.

  264. So I decided I'll take Dorothy across the pool.

  265. I'd seen people do it, ice floating on my back and holding

  266. hers. I got across, but when we got

  267. halfway across the pool, Dorothy, panicked and grabbed me

  268. by the throat. And before long both of us were

  269. on to the water. She still grabbing onto me when

  270. we Boyd up again. In by this time, people were

  271. jumping in and yelling. They G Dorothy.

  272. But I went down the second time and then buoyed up again and

  273. people were trying to get me, but I went on the third time and

  274. letting years of uh I thought my life was just about over someone

  275. from below me came in with a strong arm, push me up onto the

  276. Rocks away from the shore on the ocean side of the the pool.

  277. They tried to get the water out of my paw.

  278. Bring up me and very soon. They, they threw a life belt

  279. over and but this time, quite a crowd had gathered at the, at

  280. the poolside, the through the lifebelt over, and they put me

  281. across the water and got me out on amongst the cried.

  282. There was dr. Love from the Victoria Hall and

  283. he gave me artificial respiration as he pumped them

  284. along. Zhanna, I think just about half

  285. of the Atlantic was pumped out of my lungs that day and very

  286. soon, the Bluebell of the ambulance was on The scene and I

  287. was rushed off the Korean hospital.

  288. I was in Korean hospital for 34 days and during these those

  289. three or four days, God, really spoke to my heart. 18 years of

  290. is some of you perhaps her daddy inch and I thought to myself, my

  291. life was almost over. I was a Christian, I had, I had

  292. Assurance Blessed Assurance of heaven but but what about my

  293. life And on that hospital bed, I surrendered all of my life to

  294. Jesus Christ, whatever you want me to be whatever you want me to

  295. go whatever you want me to do. Lord, I I surrender all to Jesus

  296. Christ, my life came on to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

  297. It was during that time that God began to speak to me about

  298. missions. In those days, we were attending

  299. missionary permanency a creeper. Meaning the work permitting, the

  300. you A meeting we were writing to make sure he's writing mystery

  301. books. Challenged about Mysteries until

  302. I felt God was calling me to be a missionary.

  303. And I remember, when I felt as I went behind, one, Sunday night

  304. to speak to the minister of the Murray.

  305. And he said, to me, Victor go home until the Lord, exactly

  306. what you've told me and ask God to speak to you out of this

  307. world, don't open the Bible or random, take your Bible reading

  308. and ask God to speak to you. You out of the leading.

  309. A remember that Sunday night, no one was home.

  310. And before the bed with an Open Bible, I prayed Lord.

  311. If it's you that speaking to me. If you want me to be a

  312. missionary, then speak to me through your word.

  313. John chapter 6 is the story of the feeding of the 5000.

    John 6 chapter mention

  314. And after it was over the Lord, Jesus Christ.

  315. Constraint his disciples to get into a ship and to go to the

  316. other side. He went to the mountain to pray.

  317. You probably All the story in the midst of the storm and the

  318. dead of the night, the most distant part from Shore, those

  319. disciples were hit with a terrible storm.

  320. The waves on Darla are breaking over the bow of the ship.

  321. And the Bible says that they feared for their lives.

  322. When Jesus came walking to them on the water.

  323. They were afraid that they'd seen a spirit and they cried

  324. out. Now, I'm reading asking the Lord

  325. Lord. Are you calling me?

  326. Is this, your voice and verse 20?

  327. Came with words, that touched my heart impact.

  328. At my arm, Jesus said, it is, I be not afraid.

  329. It is, I be not afraid. I say that's more than 60 years

  330. ago, and I, I still need that verse every day.

  331. Just to know the Jesus is guiding, and he's going before

  332. us and he's repeatedly saying it is.

  333. I be not afraid. I say that this evening.

  334. I'm Audrey Sears. So I can't tell you how she run

  335. after me, but that wouldn't Is the truth, I run after Audrey

  336. and very soon. Both of us shared this Vision

  337. that God was calling us to the mission field.

  338. We started to go together, but only went off to the Bible

  339. College of wheels and Swansea. While I went to the Bible

  340. College of the work, in Glasgow, after two years at work, I went

  341. to the mystery School of Medicine in London.

  342. And so, although we went together for five years, we sell

  343. them saw each other, I would write the letters and kiss the

  344. envelope and send it to Audrey. And that was about, The hate of

  345. our courtship back. In those days at a Bible

  346. College, I was deeply challenged because my mom and dad and

  347. brother, they weren't Christians and the little God was calling

  348. us to go overseas so far away to preach the gospel yet at home.

  349. They weren't Christians. And so, I began to pray that God

  350. would touch their hearts before we would leave for the mission

  351. thing. While it Bible College, we got

  352. an invitation that is the college students who went out

  353. and missions every year. An invitation came in from

  354. Newton period of Baptist Church to do a mission.

  355. That was April 1963. I led a team of young fellows,

  356. five of us and we had a Gospel Mission, two weeks.

  357. God, blessed and not Mission many.

  358. Precious Souls were saved and many young people.

  359. As a result of that mission were called to the mission field.

  360. And today, some of them are still in Christian work.

  361. God, so blessed. The meetings that we were asked

  362. to do an extra week. And I remember preaching on the

  363. last night of that Gospel Mission after three weeks, I

  364. preached in Jeremiah eaten 20, the Harvest is past the summer

  365. has ended and you are not saved. Thank God, that night, one man

  366. was saved. It was my father, he trusted

  367. Christ as Savior and not brought a big chance tomorrow home very

  368. soon. My mother trusted the Lord.

  369. And in that same year my my brother owned of the ministry of

  370. dr. Pierce Lee also came to Christ.

  371. I tell you this keep on praying for your family.

  372. God does answer prayer. Audrey, and I'd applied to Accra

  373. Gospel. Mission.

  374. We knew the missionaries and we felt God was calling us to

  375. Brazil and applying in 1964, we were accepted married on the

  376. 30th of January 65 to silt'e. Brazil within two weeks looking

  377. back. It was too soon, but the ship

  378. was the lead for several weeks and on the 5th of April, 1965.

  379. We left for Brazil, big crowd down at the Docks, the seals of

  380. and we were Selling with Fred or 90 days, you can get to Brazil

  381. to quickly. You can get there in 18 hours,

  382. but in those days to get to Brazil, it took our boat six

  383. weeks to get to Brazil. I mean, we were traveling from

  384. Liverpool to Cork cork to Lisbon, Lisbon to Barbados,

  385. Barbados to Trinidad, Trinidad, to the mouth of the Amazon.

  386. And then from the mouth of the Amazon, the seam ship took us

  387. four thousand miles upriver, To the city of manaus and having

  388. left on the 5th of April, we got to Munoz on the 16th of may I

  389. say on that because back on Tuesday is used to get my hair

  390. cut every two weeks, short back and sides as we called it.

  391. But having been at sea for six weeks, I desperately needed a

  392. haircut. And so, in the city of Muñoz,

  393. which is a city in those days of 200,000 people, I spied in the

  394. center of the city. A barber shop and I went in the

  395. man. Showed me the church.

  396. I said Tony didn't know how to he tried to talk to me, but he

  397. couldn't speak back and so he began to cut my hair.

  398. Has he talked and talked and cutting cutting?

  399. And I realize it was getting too short and I didn't know how to

  400. tell him that's enough. But I do remember seeing at the

  401. traffic lights. The sign read said, Paris PA Ari

  402. stop. So I said to the barber party.

  403. He looked at me. It's only then that he began to

  404. cut. I mean Sparks coming out of the

  405. scissors over the top of my head and he left me with a little

  406. tuft of hair in the front of what was known as a military

  407. haircut in Brazil, or what I learned afterwards.

  408. The word party signs, like a word a party, which means take a

  409. little more off. You don't tell a barber.

  410. That the word you say to the barber, you have arrived.

  411. That's what you would say to the barber, but Apparently, well, he

  412. took a lot more off and left me with at taught me.

  413. I needed to learn this language and so Audrey.

  414. And I began language study are calling Bill Woods.

  415. Of course fell into difficulty. Also, he, he was a short while

  416. and poker to Accra. He needed to buy batteries for

  417. his radio but he didn't know how to speak yet.

  418. So he asked Molly Harvey, if she would write out to the man, have

  419. you any batteries? And so the man, rather liked the

  420. word for battery is Pelias. When moliro's indict, do you use

  421. in your tank? Pillion that is do you have any

  422. batteries the word peculiar? Well, Pelion means daughter.

  423. Ah, sorry. Sorry Pelion means battery but

  424. the P look like an f. And so when he got to the shop

  425. instead of asking for pillars, he said to the man, do you have

  426. any figures that is? Do you have any daughters?

  427. And the man said, yes, I do. Bill says, I like to buy five of

  428. them, please do so. Maybe it's for that reason.

  429. He's never been married, but the didn't get the five daughters

  430. that night and so it is that we went to study in the town of La

  431. Brea. La Brea had been a hard place.

  432. Its were pharaohs, wife had died and only 29 years of age.

  433. We learned the language. We started our language study in

  434. August and by the month of November, Fred help me on my

  435. feet preaching, haltingly in Portuguese.

  436. And the month of December, we moved to connote Ahmad.

  437. The Joint Bill Woods color Tama had been was, is a very pure on

  438. a very remote time. A Spanish priest dominated, the

  439. tone phrase, the door. He was his name, he dominated

  440. the tone, but God moved into that tine and a great way and

  441. people were being converted. Our next door neighbor, seen her

  442. a oh, fras you and his wife, Amelia they both got see if he'd

  443. been a murderer, one of the hardest men and time people

  444. feared him but I did enjoy of leading a oh fras you to Christ.

  445. Then God, moves through that whole family until five of the

  446. sons and daughters trusted. Christ.

  447. The Savior. So many people were being

  448. converted in kind of Tama that the priest who owned, the only

  449. School in time. He made the order that those who

  450. are leaving the Catholic Church to go to the Evangelical Church,

  451. their children can't come to school anymore.

  452. So, there were many boys, and girls weren't allowed to go to

  453. school, because their mom and dad had been converted, so Bill

  454. woods. And I we started the school.

  455. We built the School. Bill had worked in an office and

  456. had been in the post office. We've never built anything in

  457. our lives before. So we built a lean-to school.

  458. It needed to lean on something we could have done with the

  459. Reverend McLaughlin nerves Joyner.

  460. We built a link to school needed to lean in something or it will

  461. fall and down with us building. But when we had finished with 90

  462. boys and girls in that school, not only learning their Reading

  463. Writing arithmetic. But also learning the scriptures

  464. and thank God. Many of those boys and girls.

  465. Today have been missionaries and pastors serving God in various

  466. parts of Brazil. Also, when not timed, there was

  467. a lot of danger in the time. The particular time an epidemic

  468. hit the town of what was known as black fever in our time.

  469. There were no doctors or nurses of no clinics.

  470. And I guess, because I had been to the mystery school of

  471. medicine. I learned enough to be

  472. dangerous, And so, I was responsible and atoned for

  473. extracting teeth and treating sickness.

  474. Sometimes suturing wounds, remember how the amputeeot a

  475. part of a man's ear and one of the occasion, and unjust call

  476. for four different things. But this terrible epidemic, hit

  477. our time and it hit children between the ages of 3, 4 up to

  478. 16 years of age. It swept through the tone and

  479. not only did we tried to treat many of those children but they

  480. generally died after five days. As we know of one family who

  481. lost six children within three months, three of them died in

  482. the same week and tune were buried in the same day, I still

  483. remember carrying some of the moment, arms trying to treat

  484. them. It was a terrible time.

  485. Everyone Wednesday night prayer, meeting time.

  486. Audrey was on, hisle were in the city of Muñoz and I was on my

  487. own and Connor tell Mom, we were to have a permanent teachers

  488. meeting before permitting and when it finished at Seven and it

  489. was permitting. And as I was going into the

  490. permitting, the lady said, to me Pastor Victor.

  491. There's a girl up River and she's very ill.

  492. Could you go tonight and see here?

  493. Now, we had electric light in our time, it gets dark every

  494. night at 6:00 in the Amazon all year round.

  495. We had generally learnt only give us electric light from

  496. 6:00, to 9:00 every night, and after 9:00 the lights went out.

  497. That's why we had our permitting from 7:30 to 8:30.

  498. In. When per meeting was over, I got

  499. a young man from the town you want, but she stood to come with

  500. me on our mission boat and we traveled for another upriver to

  501. treat this little girl. We saw the family, we give some

  502. treatment, we prayed with the family and we headed back down

  503. river during our absence. We didn't know what was taking

  504. place in the time but the local tax collector who had left the

  505. city in the left his family rather in the city of manaus.

  506. He was incarnate talmud that checked.

  507. The taxes and he did something that he shouldn't have been

  508. doing. He took his guitar and he went

  509. out, said under the window. The open window of a young girl

  510. who was lying in a hammock and he began to certainly at her, he

  511. was a married man, this was a young woman and so an Indian in

  512. the town seeing what the tax collector was doing.

  513. He went with his torch and Charlotte in the tax collectors

  514. eyes and said what you're doing is not right, you've come from

  515. manaus, you shouldn't be here and an argument of Look and the

  516. tax collector, took his guitar and broken over the Indians head

  517. and round for the house. As I said, it's no dark.

  518. It's dark after 9:00 and the tax collector smaller than me, but

  519. he was not unlike me. We arrived back in the town at

  520. midnight and when I got back into the tiny left, you won't,

  521. but she stood his house and then came to our house which was only

  522. about less than 100 yards from the river.

  523. It came up, we didn't have keys on a doorway open the door and

  524. then / do wooden block in the back of the door.

  525. And after midnight is going to make myself a cup of tea when

  526. suddenly gone, far started, bow long and I fell to my knees and

  527. I thought they were shooting into his arms kimmons room.

  528. So I looked in there was new and I thought they're shooting in

  529. our room went there by this time I got back up on my feet and

  530. suddenly, they're hitting the door.

  531. Pastor. Victor come quickly convict

  532. quickly. What had happened was the Indian

  533. When the tax collector, broke the guitar, over his bed.

  534. He over his head, rather he went, and he got his gun and Kim

  535. hunting for the tax collector, who was not unlike me at

  536. midnight. And the grace of God, while he

  537. was coming down to me and street.

  538. I was going up the main street, but because I don't need to go

  539. about 50 to 100 yards up. I got into the house.

  540. When he passed the door, when he passed our door, there were two

  541. men standing talking and he went for them with the gun.

  542. One of the men, jumped into the river.

  543. The other got the gun and both of them wrestle to outside our

  544. house. When the gun went off, it didn't

  545. hit either of them but the Indian angry that he had lost.

  546. His shot, took his place, Sheriff.

  547. That is his fish knife about this length and got it and just

  548. pull it up from the base of the neck, right up into the Temple

  549. of the man. Seems one was his name that

  550. carried amount of the boat, he lived on a boat and now they're

  551. heading up my door. I remember they said he's been

  552. shot come quickly. And so I grabbed my little

  553. medical buying went down to the boat.

  554. He was lying as if he was just about dead.

  555. His wife was hysterical and to try and stop the bleeding.

  556. Ding should tick on the bag of coffee powder, a kilo of coffee

  557. boat and poured it into the wound.

  558. But through the coffee powder, you could see the archery

  559. pumping out the blood and spheres and sought.

  560. No, almost 1:00 in the morning. I began to clean out all the

  561. granules of coffee from the wound and then suture tied up

  562. the the artery and then closed and sold over.

  563. Sutured has his Fierce and and we worked a bit. 3:30 4:00 in

  564. the morning. And in the mercy of God, Synergy

  565. amongst life was spared. But the impact of attending that

  566. man talks the whole of the time and God began to move in that

  567. time, I don't have time to tell you this evening of individual

  568. testimonies other than this, thank God for the mighty power

  569. of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I always remember and remember

  570. an old Brigadier General Frost speaking to us a bible college

  571. and saying, remember boys wherever you go.

  572. All the world, the conscience of men and women is on the site of

  573. the Gospel. There is a truth in the gospel

  574. that will touch their hearts and they will respond and that's how

  575. it was. I see my time is gone but I wish

  576. I had time to tell you about book or do archery and and what

  577. God did in bukit to ARCA. I remember one night and poker

  578. directory preaching in the opener.

  579. And we saw lives transformed and poker to artery preaching.

  580. The opener one, Saturday night. And after I had it was in the

  581. times Square and quite a crowd and serenaded gathered our

  582. church. And Kim was only 100 yards away

  583. from the Town Square. And after I had preached, I want

  584. mingling amongst the crowd giving up gospel tracts.

  585. And this man said to me, he said, pastor Victor, I'd love to

  586. become a Christian. I'm going to church tomorrow

  587. morning and I'm going to become a Christian.

  588. I said, but you can do it tonight.

  589. Why don't you come down to the church with me now, and you

  590. accept Christ tonight? No, no.

  591. He says out. Do it tomorrow morning Fred or

  592. soon, join me and Fred try to persuade him, come to Christ

  593. tonight. And then he said, serves I've

  594. booked a room. I've bought in the drink.

  595. I've invited people for a faster tonight and I can't cancel it.

  596. I need to blur, but I'll be at church tomorrow morning and I

  597. will trust Christ as Savior. He left us sadly at that dance.

  598. At first that night young people under the age of 18 tried to get

  599. Christ and tried to get in on the fight developments in fists

  600. were flying and feet were kicking and blood was flowing

  601. and and the local police simple. Police came on the police and

  602. and took away a number of the people including our friend who

  603. wanted to be saved. He was put in an old wooden

  604. prison overnight and at Daybreak the next morning. 5:30 they took

  605. him and frog. Marched them up them in street

  606. or polka darker. Incidentally book a Darkness

  607. like a white West. I never fights and murders the

  608. Lord in that time, they frog. Marched them up the street and

  609. Down the River Bank on to a Dugout canoe to go to the other

  610. side of the river, a curry to a place called Santa Maria.

  611. It's all Forest jungle as they got into a canoe, the brothers

  612. of the young man, they were going for XI Wang.

  613. Zhi dais was his name when they saw the police coming.

  614. They showed it to their brothers, you won't run Fleet of

  615. the forest here. Come the police.

  616. The police were crossing. The river was our friend

  617. tomorrow. Nice Sunday morning.

  618. I'll get saved. As they cross the river, Jumanji

  619. dais instead of flowing a fleeing rather to the forest.

  620. He went to the wall. Took down his gun and came to

  621. the window of that simple. Jungle home made of bamboo wood,

  622. are not the window. Took careful, aim and bounce

  623. shot. The bullet whistled through the

  624. air and hit the Temple of our friends.

  625. Who said tomorrow, I'll get saved tomorrow, I'll become a

  626. Christian. We'd reason with them and try to

  627. persuade tomorrow, we're not bullet hit the Temple of his

  628. head. He fell into the Muddy Waters of

  629. the river, actually, and we never found his body.

  630. Again, we find his food inside a shoe, the pyrenean fish and

  631. eating the body. My friend, it reminds me that

  632. when God speaks, it's important to respond when God speaks at

  633. some part and to come to Christ, I wish I could tell you about

  634. Tara walk our way back. 1968 when Sharon his with us here.

  635. Tonight was only a baby Audrey and I and Sean went to visit

  636. Arawak our friends. Dr. Thomas mulcair has just

  637. arrived in the time. They were still learning

  638. Portuguese and when we got to the town of A visit.

  639. We saw the time was open to the gospel.

  640. No missionaries had ever been to terrible cough before and so, to

  641. take the opportunity, we decided to have children meaning stone

  642. at the side of the river. And so we took songul graphs and

  643. started a meeting alone that day of, but 40 boys and girls came

  644. along and trust and listen to the gospel.

  645. Next day, over a hundred people, men and women were all gathered

  646. round and throughout all of that week.

  647. I had to leave Audrey and Shannon, and because had to go

  648. away back to the poker drive three.

  649. But two hours by Aeroplane away vast distances out there, and

  650. only stayed on for three months. So it was from August, through

  651. November and she did studies for the women did studies on the

  652. life of the Virgin, Mary Catholic woman, attracting them

  653. to the gospel. I want back in November.

  654. Sean had got whooping, cough, I got word.

  655. So I went back in November and we're not I saw the response to

  656. the women and the situation the time we felt we needed to do

  657. something now. I made benches for a week.

  658. I worked at making bank. I've never had benches my life

  659. before but I made Dentures for people to sit on Tom and got an

  660. old house that he bought we wait watch the inside of it and put

  661. electric light and it and on the think it was the 16th of

  662. November. We opened that house for a week

  663. of meetings on the Sunday night that Catholic Novena at six

  664. Walk, the people were coming out at 7:00 and they had come down

  665. past where we had the old house and I was almost like a

  666. policeman on point students. The people can donate just kept

  667. directing them into the house and very soon, you will hoist

  668. was fool. We had a week of gospel

  669. meetings. I preached every night.

  670. Some nights were my back to the world, children sitting around

  671. my feet, every bench taken on holding, thank the Lord.

  672. And during that week, 16 people trusted Christ.

  673. Amongst them was a girl called iolanda 16 years of age.

  674. He landed got saved in the middle of that week and she went

  675. home home. Her home was a shock over a

  676. swamp, holds. The new roof, it was only pound

  677. leaves boards. Missing from the wooden walls,

  678. bamboo floor and a very / home as she came from.

  679. And to tell her mother that she had become a Christian was quite

  680. embarrassing because her mother was a prostitute Dona Maria,

  681. espanol. She told her mother should

  682. become a Christian and said, Mama like you to come to the

  683. meetings. Maria was too embarrassed to

  684. come but we were praying for her.

  685. And after a month, Maria came to the meetings, she came to the

  686. meetings and listen to the gospel and one night at the

  687. gospel meeting Ethel gathers, Leonard, the personal faith in

  688. Jesus Christ. When she got saved, Ethel said,

  689. Tom she can't go back to be a prostitute.

  690. We've got to get her a job. And we had a small Hospital in

  691. Sarawak are Samsung. Gomes, was the name of the

  692. hospital? I was the administrator.

  693. Tom goddess was a surgeon and they the local doctor doing

  694. everything there. You got to get a job.

  695. So Tom gave her job as a Washerwoman at the hospital.

  696. Hot worked out in the open sun, over aluminium Parts, balling

  697. the Linens in the whites and for two years she did that but every

  698. night at the Bible, These surrounding buildings, permanent

  699. Maria was there, her life was transformed, a prostitute saved

  700. by the grace of God. After two years, she got an

  701. easier job as a cook in her kitchen.

  702. Now this wasn't a fancy hospital.

  703. I mean the boards were rotting and holes in the walls.

  704. It was a wooden hospital and as I say 13 beds in the hospital.

  705. So Maria got a job as a cook. It wasn't a fancy kitchen,

  706. either every night I went down with Tom for the rod.

  707. Ryan, Ward rind, at 9:00, on we take guns with us.

  708. Take guns. Because when we opened the

  709. store, the rats spread everywhere.

  710. And so, we were dead. I take time to shoot at the rats

  711. in the store of rice and beans. After two years as a as a as a

  712. cook, Tom came home one day and said we need a nurse now,

  713. they're not nurses from the city or ulcer hospital.

  714. We had to trim the nurse taught them, how to count the pulse,

  715. taught them how to take blood pressure, give him an orange and

  716. train them, how to give injections.

  717. And so simple things and when when Tom came and said, we need

  718. a nurse, as I said, what about Marie?

  719. Maria Maria can't kind as a says I'll teach you to come.

  720. And so for the next month, every night, Ethel taught Maria, had a

  721. cone and she used to do all my boys tears and then she hit her

  722. head and say what comes after? What comes after C, 445.

  723. And within a month, she had learned to kind, she became a

  724. nun. No, she wouldn't.

  725. You wouldn't want her your hospital.

  726. Remember the day I did the anesthetic when Tom To day

  727. operations and this man had been operated on.

  728. He had a snake bite and he had got better and Tom was doing a

  729. skin graft. And so when the operation was

  730. over we took him to the ward. And Tom says keep an eye on him

  731. that when he comes out to down the set, he doesn't touch the

  732. wound so I watch them for 10-15 minutes and then Tom said, time

  733. for next operation Victor let's go.

  734. I said what about the man? Give Maria to look after.

  735. Now Maria was about my height and quite strong and I said

  736. Maria You watch him. Make sure he doesn't touch the

  737. wound. So Maria stood over him with

  738. folded arms and Tom build a dam in order to and I call him, I

  739. said, Tom watched Maria. Maria stream with folded arms

  740. and every time the monster heard and will lifted his head Marie,

  741. just quoted him back out. You weren't, you wouldn't want.

  742. That sort of a nurse. That was Maria.

  743. One day. A man had come into the

  744. hospital. He had been shot in the legs six

  745. months ago, For fear of the evil eye, they hid them in the

  746. forest. So the people wouldn't see him.

  747. And during 6 months when you're in the forest, this is when

  748. you're sick and not part of Brazil, you don't get washed

  749. water mustn't, go near the body. So this man for six months was

  750. hidden and water hadn't touched his body.

  751. But the wound was getting worse and almost a way above skin had

  752. formed between the bowl of the leg and the thigh.

  753. And so they brought them about six days Downriver to tired of

  754. ikana. We put him in the hospital and

  755. first law of her Hospital is, you've got to give them a wash a

  756. bath. I was in the hospital that

  757. afternoon and Kim by the wooden Ward were, the man was was

  758. sitting on a stool in his birthday suit and Maria was

  759. taking these five-gallon cans of water and just pouring over the

  760. head, and Paramount was like a doughnut run, and then should

  761. take another one. She had emptied out over his

  762. head, I got over the road, I wasn't going to say anything or

  763. interfere but not night at 9:00 during the war drained.

  764. When I got down there with Tom The / Mound was sitting on top

  765. of the bed shivering, it's in the topics.

  766. It's all. And Tom said, what's wrong with

  767. you? Oh she said that nurse today.

  768. Nearly nearly drawing me and she couldn't get the dirt off.

  769. So should take brillo pads and she did blow apart from head to

  770. toe. You wouldn't want Maria to be a

  771. nurse one day. Tom came home and said, we need

  772. a midwife. As I said, what about Maria?

  773. Maria? Do you know what Maria's like,

  774. Ethel. God, our way of Maria became a

  775. midwife. As a matter of fact, she

  776. developed to be the best Midwife and tine and when all of us

  777. left, Tara worker 1986 Maria was the best Midwife and tone.

  778. And after we left, she said up, she had now got a proper home

  779. and Jesus into her home, she built an antenatal Clinic, it

  780. was there that the rich people better off, people have time

  781. Center and wives, and daughters for the confinement of their

  782. Children in the antenatal clinic Maria.

  783. After some years, he retired. When she was 66 years of age, he

  784. retired and on antenatal Clinic, became a prayer room, every

  785. Thursday morning did meet and where babies were born.

  786. No women, young girls were born again, tremendous Testament.

  787. Some years ago, Maria passed away.

  788. And I guess it's nice seven years ago I was back in Tera

  789. Baca, I've been back since but back about seven years ago,

  790. doing a week of meetings in the time and because we have another

  791. daughter who was born in that time, Tara Wacha.

  792. I went to look down with the old hospital was.

  793. And here there's a brand new hospital And as I looked at and

  794. murdered above it is this word, all speak towel familiar.

  795. That is Family Hospital dead. She can't do all that is

  796. dedicated to organizing in honor of Maria Espanol.

  797. Maria espanol, Mira spins. We called, she's a woman who had

  798. been a prostitute in the time had trusted Christ as Savior.

  799. Her life is transformed and became a beacon of light and not

  800. own my friend, that's what the gospel can do.

  801. Better still the church today and total because an autonomous

  802. Church sends missionaries and pastors.

  803. Most of the best Pastors in the Accra.

  804. Came from the church and Tara vodka.

  805. But today and not Church Maria, espanyol's grandson Wagner is

  806. the pastor of that church. That's what the gospel can do.

  807. My friend, our time is gone and I've indulged too much but let

  808. me just say this the Apostle Paul looking Back on his life,

  809. he thanked God for the ministry that was given to him.

  810. And I thank Christ Jesus. Our lord, who has kind of me

  811. fearful, putting me into the ministry.

  812. Thank God for the ministry of the Gospel.

  813. My friend were liberating for eternity Sunday school teacher,

  814. keep on serving Jesus. Thank God for the ministry but

  815. Paul not only thank God for the ministry that was given to him.

  816. Thank God for the miracle that happened in them.

  817. He said to me who was a blasphemer A persecutor

  818. injurious to the Church of cry while he says, I was a chief of

  819. sinners. But I am to Mercy because I did

  820. it, ignorantly unknown, belief and faith and love and all the

  821. ingredients of the Gospel deserve the love of God, the

  822. mercy of God, the grace of God. Thank God.

  823. If you're a Christian tonight, my friend, you are a miracle.

  824. If you're not a Christian that Miracle can happen to you.

  825. Tonight said the Apostle Paul. Thank God for the ministry.

  826. Thank God for the miracle happened in me.

  827. Thank God for the message. This is a faithful saying and

  828. Worthy. Worthy of all acceptation that

  829. Christ Jesus came into the world to save Sinners.

  830. That's the message that we have for the world.

  831. Martin Luther said, if we could compact a Bible into one phrase,

  832. that would be the three years Christ.

  833. Jesus came into the world to save.

  834. Sinners, my friend EQ for you. The ministry of the Gospel.

  835. Thank God for the miracle that happened in us for the message

  836. given to us. Now Paul sings The Melody.

  837. Now on to the king Eternal Immortal invisible to the only

  838. wise God be honor and Glory forever and ever.

  839. Amen. And we say Amen this evening.

  840. Thank you for listening. I trust the young people

  841. committed to the martyrs, don't speak too much.

  842. That's just still our hearts before the Lord, our heavenly

  843. father. How we thank you tonight, for

  844. your enemies in Greece, and each individual life.

  845. Each of us can say once we were blind.

  846. But now we're so we can see. We have been transformed out of

  847. the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of

  848. God's dear son and for this. Dear Lord, this evening we thank

  849. thee from the bottom of our hearts.

  850. Our Father, we do pray for friends and our meeting who

  851. knows Not Christ as Savior Lord, we pray that you will give to

  852. them the grease tonight to do what they need to do.

  853. To do what they will be glad to have done when they stand before

  854. the integrate eternity. Help them to come to Christ as

  855. night. So accept our thanks in Jesus

  856. name. Amen.

  857. Maybe we could just sing two verses of our him. 279 Pass Me.

  858. Not O Gentle Savior hear my humble cry while on others.

  859. Thou Wert calling do not pass me by.

  860. If you're young people, you need to leave immediately do feel

  861. free to leave as we sing the first.

  862. And last verses of this him to 79, Let's turn sick from our

  863. hearts.