PART 4 of 6 – In the fourth of a series of 6 messages on “Questions about the assembly”, Tom Bentley (1924-2011) answers the question, “Is the local assembly democratic?” After looking at various forms of “church government” used in Christendom today, Mr Bentley spells out divine order as it relates to scriptural local assembly government and leadership. Readings: Acts 20:25-28, 1 Thess 5:12-14, 1 Tim 3:1-4, Heb 13:7, 17, 24, 1 Pet 5:1-4 (Message preached in Whitehouse Gospel Hall, Northern Ireland, in Aug 1989)

Messages in this series:

The post Is the Local Assembly Democratic? (57 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Desmond Gilpin (1943-2021) grew up in Bangor, Co Down, with a knowledge of the Bible and the gospel: but until he was 35 years old, that was all he had. He says people thought he was saved, though he had never been born again. On 5th March 1979 he came to a crisis point, where he could no longer continue pretending. Desmond finally found peace at 4.00am through faith in Christ and His finished work.

The post 35 Years old. 4 in the morning. Saved. (19 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Many people are not saved because, consciously or unconsciously, they are waiting for some kind of feeling. Until they get this feeling, they think they can’t know they are saved. Peter Orasuk (1948-2005) preaches helpfully on this topic from the story of a man in the Bible who trusted his feelings instead of a spoken word. What are you going to go with: your feelings, or God’s word? Readings: Gen 27:5-10, 18-23, John 5:24.

The post Are you waiting for a feeling? (19 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Sandy Higgins’s ancestors came to the USA from Italy and Ireland. There, for the first time, they heard the gospel, and some were converted. That meant that Sandy was brought up in a godly home, where the gospel was preached. But hearing the gospel all of his life seemed to make salvation difficult for Sandy. While in medical training one day, the thought struck him “If you are not saved, what is all this worth?” Sandy went through 6 weeks of conviction following that awakening, and was finally saved on 23rd Dec 1965 through Hebrews 9:28. (Testimony given at the Larne Conference, Sept 1990)

(Photo above: downtown Philadelphia, USA).

The post “If you are not saved, what is all this worth?” (19 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

PART 3 of 6 – In the third of a series of 6 messages on “Questions about the assembly”, Tom Bentley (1924-2011) answers the question, “Is the local assembly autonomous?” The opposite of autonomy is confederation; which is what sadly can be seen in various parts of the world as assemblies centralise to form confederacies and denominations. Mr Bentley ably teaches the vital principle of autonomy under 3 headings: the truth of, the tests of, and the testimony of autonomy. Readings: 2 Cor 8:1-5, Gal 1:1-4, 2 Thess 1:3-5, Rev 1:10-11, 2:1 (Recorded at Whitehouse Gospel Hall, Northern Ireland, in Aug 1989)

Messages in this series:

The post Is the Local Assembly Autonomous? (63 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Jeffrey Harrison (1909-1990) grew up in a strict home in a slum area of north west England. Shoplifting, fighting, gambling and mischief of all kinds marked the teenage years of young Harrison. Said his mother, “You’ll either end up in jail or on the gallows.” But the Holy Spirit worked in his life, convicting him of his sin and of his danger of perishing in hell. When he got a job on the railways, a godly Christian colleague took him to his first gospel meeting and he was saved that very night. Thereafter, his family made life very difficult for him, but God preserved him. Soon after WW2 he launched forth in full time preaching and teaching. Working with a Gospel Tent and a caravan in the country of Norfolk, he saw numerous souls saved and a few assemblies established. Moving to Merseyside in 1960 he began to travel widely expounding the scriptures and was a blessing to many. This recording was made in 1982, 54 years after he was saved. Reading: Psa 34:1-8.

The post “You’ll either end in jail or on the gallows” (41 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Lou Swaan (1930-2017) was known for his warm-hearted gospel fervour. Lou moved to Canada in 1948 from the Netherlands and was saved in Vancouver at the age of 21. He found his way to a local assembly by conviction from the truth of Scripture. Answering the call of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of Andrew Bergsma to take the gospel to the Netherlands, Lou headed back to the land of his birth in 1948. There, with the Bergsmas, Lou and his wife Trudy laboured in Tents and rented buildings and God blessed their efforts in souls saved and assemblies established. The Swaans were in fellowship for many years with the believers meeting in Dedemsvaart Gospel Hall. In this report given in Larne in 1981, Lou tells of what God was doing at that time. Reading: Eph 3:8-10.

The post Lou Swaan – Preaching Christ in the Netherlands (24 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Joe Turkington (1918-1982) was saved as a boy of 10. Later, while a member of the Baptist Church, he met Mr John McCann in the factory where the two men worked. Through Mr McCann, Joe Turkington learnt New Testament assembly truth and came into fellowship with the believers meeting in Lurgan Gospel Hall. In 1947 he was commended to serve the Lord in Venezuela. Along with his wife, Miss Ruth Saword, Joe Turkington laboured and toiled in Venezuela with dedication and zeal, seeing the Lord’s hand in souls being saved and numerous assemblies being planted. He was called home in his 60’s, sadly not surviving heart surgery. At his large funeral, Mr Albert McShane commented, “There was not a lazy bone in his body”. In this report, given at the Belfast Easter Conference 3 months before his death, Mr Turkington gives an account of the work of the Lord in Venezuela, the land that he loved, and on which he left an indelible mark.

The post Joe Turkington – Venezuela Report (22 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

Do you give up easily when someone refuses to come to a gospel meeting? Marco Gebara was asked 6 times, and refused each time! But God was at work, and even when his Christian friend gave up, Marco volunteered to go without being asked a 7th time! He intended to go once and never return…but the Lord had other plans. At the Lurgan conference in 2016, interpreted from Portuguese by Tom Meekin, Marco told his testimony. Marco and Janice Gebara now serve the Lord in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil (Photo above: Sao Paulo, Brazil)

The post “I refused 6 invitations to a gospel meeting” (6 mins) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.

John Thompson (1921-2008) was saved on 22nd February 1937. He joined the Police as a young man and, on being promoted to sergeant in 1945, moved to Rosslea in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. What happened over the next few years was nothing less than a remarkable work of the Spirit of God. Sergeant Thompson witnessed to his colleagues, resulting in four R.U.C. constables getting saved. First John Rowe, then Norman Workman, and finally, on the same night – 17th May 1949 – Ernest Gribben and William Nesbitt. Mr Gribben and Mr Nesbitt heard the gospel over a period of time in a small hut in Rosslea in meetings held each Sunday and arranged by a Mr William Deering. Then, when the newly converted 25-year-old Harold Paisley came to preach in a series of gospel meetings in nearby Mullahara (with the encouragement of a Dr Thomas Hagan), constables Gribben and Nesbitt were converted. They were subsequently baptised by Mr Paisley in the River Finn. John Thompson went on to be a full time evangelist, commended in 1951. Mr Nesbitt the same, in 1958. Mr Gribben was for many years an esteemed elder in the assembly in Newtownbreda. In 2001 a meeting was arranged by the believers from Plantation Gospel Hall, and held in the Friends’ School, Lisburn, to commemorate Mr Thompson’s 50 years in the Lord’s work, supported by his godly wife Ena. During the course of that meeting (in which numerous speakers took part), Mr Gribben (1920-2004) and Mr Nesbitt (1927-2017) told of their conversions in Rosslea 50 years earlier. Mr Thompson also told his testimony. Those three messages, in that order, are featured on this historic recording.

The post Revival at Rosslea – When God Saved 4 Policemen (60 min) first appeared on Gospel Hall Audio.