About Ivan Foster

Ivan Foster retired as a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in November 2008. He had formed a number of Free Presbyterian congregations in the west of Ulster and pastored two of them, Lisbellaw/Bethel congregation from 1967-1976 and Kilskeery congregation from 1978 until his retirement. He has preached quite extensively in Canada and the USA, having links with the formation of the church in Newtown Square, Pa. The congregation outgrew its premises and relocated to nearby Malvern, during the pastorate of Rev John Greer. He lives with Ann his wife, whom he married on 8th March 1968, in Kilskeery, a village in which his paternal great-grandmother was born and where his paternal forebears resided for three previous generations at least. He has continued to preach in Kilskeery Independent Christian School, (pioneered by Mrs Ann Foster from its foundation in 1979 until her retirement as Principal in 2008) at the school assemblies twice a week, though now as he is about to reach his 80th birthday, he has reduced that to once a week, though he continues to write articles for ‘The Burning Bush’ as the Lord gives opportunity. He also preaches occasionally at Sabbath services.

Ivan has written 1329 articles so far, you can find them below.

May 2024

Audio sermons

Click here to listen to all the sermons on this website!

KICS assembly talks. Current series: “KICS Studies – Faith, Mighty Faith”

  • No new talks have been posted yet this month. Please check back later!
  • See all the talks in this series here.
  • See all the KICS assembly talks listed here.

Recently Featured Sermons

Children & discipline pt 1
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Sun Nov 30, 2003
featured on Sun May 5, 2024

Husband's love pt 3
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Sun Nov 23, 2003
featured on Sun Apr 28, 2024

Husband's love pt 2
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Sun Nov 16, 2003
featured on Sun Apr 21, 2024

Husband's love pt 1
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Sun Nov 9, 2003
featured on Sun Apr 14, 2024

Click here to view previous featured sermons

Recently Preached Sermons

Funeral Tribute to Mrs. Evelyn Nesbitt
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Mon Oct 16, 2023

The fulness God would have us enjoy
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Wed Sep 20, 2023

Praying for the Lord's return
preached by Rev. David McMillan on Sun Sep 17, 2023

View all recently preached sermons

Older Sermons Recently Added

Funeral service for Miss Edna Weir
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Mon May 12, 2003

Rev. Ivan Foster - My Testimony
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Tue Nov 11, 2008

The day when it is God's turn to answer
preached by Rev. Ivan Foster on Sun Jan 15, 1995

View all recently added sermons

Watch Kilskeery Free Presbyterian services live online here


 

The blessings that follow patient waiting on God

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD,”  Psalm 40:1-3.

The word ‘patiently’ in the verse is one that refers to a ‘looking with expectancy and a lying quietly waiting’. Prayer often entails a ‘waiting’. Over against that, we must remember that the Lord has said: “before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear,” Isaiah 65:24. The commentator, John Gill has rightly said of these words: “That is, their desires shall be anticipated, God will see their needs, and He will impart to them the blessings which they need. He will not wait to be applied to for the blessing. How many such blessings do all His people receive at the hand of God! How ready is He to anticipate our needs! How watchful is He of our necessities; and how rich His benevolence in providing for us!”

General Rule

I think that we can say that such speedy answers are the exception to the general rule. “Waiting” is a time of preparation for the believer. Their desire for God’s blessing is heightened during the waiting. An awareness of their need is pressed in upon those praying and they are made to recognise their own helplessness and utter dependence on God’s mercy.

Swift answers come to those who are in a right state of heart and mind to receive mercy.

This is illustrated in the account of the death and resurrection of Lazarus, John 13:3-7. “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.”

That two day wait was for a purpose. There was a readying of Martha and Mary.

The verses I have quoted from Isaiah 65 come from a passage which relates to the future changes that God will bring about amongst His ancient people, Israel. At the end of this age, the remnant of Israel, humbled, broken and distressed by the events they endured during the ‘great tribulation’, will be visited by the grace of God and in a miraculous manner, they will be converted.

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn,” Zechariah 12:10.

And again, “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children,” Isaiah 66:8.

It is in this context that prayer is so swiftly answered. Those seeking the Lord’s blessing are so brought into union with the Lord and at one with God that they are thinking as one mind!

As the thought of a request is formed the answer to it is on its way.

Peter

I think the events featuring Peter walking on the stormy sea illustrates this. “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:30-31. Peter’s sinking down into the sea instantly brought him to a place of the awareness of his helplessness and danger and he cried with an unusual urgency and ‘immediately’ the Lord answered his prayer.

But to return to our subject: the blessings of patiently waiting on God.

I. THE LORD INCLINES TOWARD THE ONE PRAYING

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me . . .”.

The word means the Lord stretches out and bows down to hear the prayers of His people.

1. How faint and feeble are our prayers. The Lord underscores this by inclining toward us in order to hear our weak cries. As the approach of death robs a person of a strong voice so sin strangles our ability to ‘cry aloud’ in prayer. Sometimes our prayers are reduced to mere groanings. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered,” Romans 8:26. So weak are we that it is only by the help of the Holy Spirit that we are able even to groan!

2. The Lord is most attentive to hear our prayers. It is said of Samuel that “The LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground,” 1 Samuel 3:19. That is a reference to Samuel’s preaching. I believe that in like manner the Lord will not allow one word of our poor prayers to fall to the ground and lie unheard!

3. How precious to the Lord is even the weakest cry of the saint. Can we not see an eager response by the Lord and a reaching down so as not to miss one word of His child’s cry for help! In another place David prayed: “Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy,” Psalm 86:1. How often the Lord shows His love to us by hearing our feeblest cry!

 II. THE LORD HEARS OUR PRAYERS

“He inclined unto me and heard my cry.” Click to read more…

Posted on 2024-05-01 a 1:00 am

DRUGS — the dominant curse of the latter days of this age!

Photo by Colin Davis on Unsplash

“ . . . . thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived,” Revelation 18:23.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime issued a report in 2023 on the subject of drugs.

Here are some extracts from that report.

“New data put the global estimate of people who inject drugs in 2021 at 13.2 million, 18 per cent higher than previously estimated. Globally, over 296 million people used drugs in 2021, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous decade. The number of people who suffer from drug use disorders, meanwhile, has skyrocketed to 39.5 million, a 45 per cent increase over 10 years.

The Report features a special chapter on drug trafficking and crimes that affect the environment in the Amazon Basin, as well as sections on clinical trials involving psychedelics and medical use of cannabis; drug use in humanitarian settings; innovations in drug treatment and other services; and drugs and conflict.

The World Drug Report 2023 also highlights how social and economic inequalities drive – and are driven by – drug challenges; the environmental devastation and human rights abuses caused by illicit drug economies; and the rising dominance of synthetic drugs.

The demand for treating drug-related disorders remains largely unmet, according to the report. Only one in five people suffering from drug-related disorders were in treatment for drug use in 2021, with widening disparities in access to treatment across regions.

Illicit drug economies (are) accelerating conflicts, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation.

The drug economy in the Amazon Basin is exacerbating additional criminal activities – such as illegal logging, illegal mining, illegal land occupation, wildlife trafficking and more – damaging the environment of the world’s largest rainforest. Indigenous peoples and other minorities are suffering the consequences of this crime convergence, including displacement, mercury poisoning, and exposure to violence, among others. Environmental defenders are sometimes specifically targeted by traffickers and armed groups.

While the war in Ukraine has displaced traditional cocaine and heroin routes, there are signs that the conflict could trigger an expansion of the manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs, given the existing know-how and the large markets for synthetic drugs developing in the region.

In the Sahel, (hot semi-arid climate that stretches across the southernmost latitudes of North Africa – Editor) the illicit drug trade finances non-state armed and insurgency groups, while in Haiti, drug traffickers take advantage of porous borders to bolster their businesses, fuellSing the country’s multiplying crises.”

Long before men realised the growing curse that drug addiction was becoming, the Lord told us that such substance abuse would become an ‘industry’ in the last days, the means of deceiving and blinding the inhabitants of the earth to the eternal truth of God and the everlasting damnation that the rejection of the gospel will bring.

In our text above we have mention made of ‘merchants’, ‘great men’, ‘sorceries’ and ‘deception’. (more…)

Godly fathers’ desire for their daughters or POLISHED NOT PAINTED!

Polished granite stones, photo by L R on Unsplash

“That our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace,” Psalm 144:12.

Here in the island of Ireland, we are all familiar with granite. It is seen in large displays such as our Mountains of Mourne and in  the Irish Republic there is the extensive range of the Wicklow mountains. Smaller samples of this stone are seen in graveyards, marking the graves of the departed.

It is described as ‘an igneous rock consisting mainly of quartz, mica and feldspar. It is extremely durable, as it is not easily chipped or damaged by heat. Hundreds of colours can be found naturally, which makes granite a perfect design element to homes or businesses.’

Frequently it is used in the making of an ornamental stone to mark the building of a church and it is ‘ceremonially’ laid by a guest at a ‘stone-laying’ service, so familiar to Free Presbyterians.

The stone referred to in our text is not named but if we think of a granite stone we will easily understand the spiritual point that is to be observed in this verse.

Consider:

I. POLISHING BRINGS OUT THE INWARD BEAUTY OF GRANITE

This father is requesting of the Lord that daughters might experience the moving of His grace in her life whereby she may show forth a beauty that He alone can produce in a life. “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness,” 1 Chronicles 16:29. This world does not consider ‘holiness’ beautiful but the Lord does. It is that ‘beauty’ this father desires in daughters.

1. Not all rocks or stones can be polished. Were some rocks subjected to polishing they would merely crumble away. There is no richness in their composition that can be brought forth by polishing.

2. There are rocks which can be polished. Not all men and women consist of that which may be polished and made beautiful. By nature we are merely ‘clay’. But the marvellous grace of God transforms a sinner who believes the gospel and he/she becomes a ‘new creation’. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” 2 Corinthians 5:17. From the ‘clay of depravity’ the sinner is transformed and becomes one of the precious stones built into the spiritual temple of God. (more…)