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A tribute to Miss Edna Weir, 1937 – 2003.

Given by Rev. Ivan Foster at her funeral service in Bethel Free Presbyterian Church, 12th May 2003.

“I truly count it a privilege to pay this tribute to Edna and to exalt the grace of God in her life. Edna was a dear Christian, beloved of many, especially in this area of our land. I must state that anything I say about Edna will, in truth, fall far short of an adequate tribute to her labours in the cause of Christ, the main reason for that being that few know the full extent of her labours for Christ, and the degree of dedication and love that reigned in her heart.

Edna was converted when she was 17 under the ministry of Rev. Tom Butler in Darling Street Methodist Church, Enniskillen. She was immediately involved

in Sunday School work both in Lisbellaw Methodist Church and in Gola Methodist Hall. She felt the call of God to prepare herself for the work of God and attended Emmaus Bible College in Hollywood in the mid-sixties.

Upon returning home to Lisbellaw, she joined Lisbellaw Free Presbyterian Church. It was typical of Edna that once she saw an issue that required her to take a stand for the Saviour, then she, irrespective of the price that had to be paid or the reproach borne, would obey her Saviour. She felt that there was a departure from the old ways of the gospel taking place and that she should stand with those who were resisting such trends and seeking to preach the old gospel message.

It was about 1971 that she took charge of the children’s work in our Lisbellaw church. She, along with her faithful helper, her sister Barbara, diligently rounded up the children of the area and brought them to the meetings. Many of you here today were among those she reached. It was in the mid-70s apparently on the way to the opening of Coragarry Free Presbyterian Church, when a bus party travelled up from Bethel, that I asked Edna if she would consider taking on the work of a full-time evangelist in the congregation. As a result of her readiness to take on the work, at very little remuneration it should be said, Bethel Children’s Crusade was born. (more…)

(This message was given at the first meeting of 2000 of the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony in London.)

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

When it comes to the study of prophecy, this subject is a very elementary one, yet it is a subject to which many give little thought. Many Christians have a general view of the return of Christ, that it is going to happen, but they are not well versed on what the Bible has to say about that glorious event. That ought not to be. It is a subject with which God’s people should be well acquainted.

It is clear from the Word of God that the Christians in the days of the apostles were very well taught about the return of Christ. Indeed, when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he said he needed hardly to write on this subject as they knew about it perfectly (1 Thessalonians 5:2). It could be thought that those early believers would have had to learn so many subjects; that they were to be taught in doctrine of which they never had the slightest knowledge before the gospel came to them. Paul would have had to deal with the doctrine of God, His Person, His power, the mystery of the Trinity, and the inspiration of God’s Word. Although there was so much to teach, the apostle found time to tell those early believers about the second coming of the Lord and of the end times. Many ministers today would speak as if Paul had so much else to proclaim, that teaching about the return of Christ and the doctrine of eschatology could be left to a later generation.

If Paul felt it necessary to explain prophetic facts 2000 years ago, it seems logical that there is an even greater necessity upon God’s servants at the present time to deal with this important subject. There never has been a generation nearer to the Lord’s return than the present one. We are closer to the end times than anyone has been, and you do not have to be a genius to work out that if there is one generation that has ever walked the face of this earth that ought to know about the return of Christ, what it means, and what circumstances will be prevailing when He comes, it is this generation. But I would venture to suggest that there might never have been a generation of God’s people so ignorant of these matters as the present one. Satan is the author of ignorance. He hath blinded minds, and the ignorance that prevails so widely today is of the devil.

God’s people should know that if the devil does not want them to see a thing, it certainly is something they should understand. And if the devil would seek to keep us from giving thought to what the Bible says about the return of Christ, you can be sure that it is an important subject to study. (more…)

(Part 2 of a 2 part study which seeks to refute the notion that the glories spoken of in this chapter refer to the ‘church’ and not to those clearly identified by the Lord in the chapter as the nation of Israel)

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee,” Isaiah 60:1.

I recently read with joy Isaiah chapter 60 as part of my daily Bible reading, though I confess that the notes at the beginning of the chapter in my Bible added by men, I found disconcerting and vexing to say the least. These notes are very common in most copies of the Authorised Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

The notes summarise the contents of Isaiah chapter 60 in the following fashion:

1. The glorious access of the Gentiles into the church. 15 The blessings of the church after affliction.

I wish to show in this study that this summary is very wrong. I continue with more reasons why it is wrong to see the ‘church’ rather than ‘Israel’ as the recipient of the glories spoken of in this chapter.

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1. Furthermore, There Are References To Past Troubles And Tribulations In This Chapter Which Can Refer Only To Israel

“And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee,” Isaiah 60:10.

“The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations,” Isaiah 60:14-15.

“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise,” Isaiah 60:18.

The authors of the notes at the beginning of the chapter would have us believe that from verse 15 to the end of the chapter  the Lord is speaking of “The blessings of the church after affliction”.

Now the Lord does chasten His church, of that we have no doubt. Paul says in his epistle to the Hebrews, 12:5-11. “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (more…)