“Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes,” Ezekiel 21:6.
“For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season,” 2 Corinthians 7:8.
I was greatly encouraged by two chapters which were part of my daily reading on the morning of Thursday, 19th September.
The first was Ezekiel chapter 21 and the other was 2 Corinthians chapter 7.
The atmosphere amongst the people of God in 2025 is very different from that which I encountered as a new convert to Christ in 1964!
Back then I was brought, by the wonderful mercy of God, under the preaching of one who was a man filled with the Holy Spirit and preaching forth God’s Word in faithfulness and with power — he was Ian Paisley!
Joel chapter 2
Shortly after I started attending Ravenhill Free Presbyterian Church, Dr Paisley began a series of message from Joel chapter 2. It was all about the preparation necessary in order to pray effectually for revival.
I can still recall those meetings, especially his dealing with the verses 15-25.
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.”
Even now as I read those words, I sense again something of the joyous anticipation of God’s answering of prayer.
There was brokenness and a rending of hearts in the special seasons of prayer. I particularly recall a Sabbath afternoon time of prayer in a little hall on My Lady’s Road, borrowed because our church was occupied with the Sabbath School. I could never set forth the sense of God’s presence, especially when a sister, Mrs Balmer, began singing, ‘The Comforter Has Come’.
Those days of sighing and brokenness were the prelude to a real season of revival blessing in many parts of Ulster. Hundreds of souls were saved and new congregations formed and the impact of the witness for Christ and against the ecumenical apostasy was felt far beyond what might have been expected of a witness mounted by but a few thousand believers.
As I say, I recalled those days as I read the two chapters I have mentioned.
I. PLEASE NOTE THE MESSAGE PREACHED BY EZEKIEL IN THE DAY OF REBELLION!
1. It was a dark and heavy word.
“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree,”Ezekiel 21:9-10.
Dear friends, such is the inevitable and unavoidable outcome of a departure from God and an abandoning of His message!
I believe now for many years, that the first signs of a departure from the “old paths” is taking place within the Free Presbyterian Church.
That departure has not reached the stage of open denial of the cardinal truths of the gospel, but there are signs that some are on the path that will take them to such a dreadful denial!
Firstly, there is a disdainful attitude, especially amongst some younger ministers and members, though not exclusively so, toward the separated stand taken by our founders in 1951.
It would appear that Presbytery has approved Free Presbyterian ministers cooperating with those who claim to be ‘evangelical’ within the denominations we have long claimed are apostate, to conduct ‘joint mission’. That is a denial of the oath they swore at their ordination on the part of those who conduct such missions.
Part of that oath stated: ‘Will you maintain with all the strength God shall give you the position on Biblical separation from apostasy as taken by the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951 at the time of its secession from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland?
As God helps you will you expose and resist the continued apostasy from Christ manifested within Irish Presbyterianism, Methodism, Episcopalianism and other visible church bodies; exhorting God’s people to obey the teaching and commandment of 1 Timothy 6: 3-5?’
I cannot see how any who took this oath can maintain that they are faithful to it and are maintaining, ‘with all the strength God shall give you the position on Biblical separation from apostasy as taken by the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951 at the time of its secession from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland?’
By cooperating with those ministers or evangelists, who are in disobedience by their membership of an apostate denomination, there is not an ‘exposing and opposing’ of the apostasy but an ‘endorsing’ of the defiance of God by the man who is still in that apostasy, and with whom they are sharing in a mission!
That is a departure from the stand taken in 1951 and that departure has advanced into other areas of error.
Recent
Recently a mission was organised and invitations circulated, (I received two in the post) in which there was an urging of people to attend and not to worry about any ‘dress code’ — just come as you are!
To me that is an encouraging of an attitude toward the place where the Word of God is to be preached that is not in keeping with the Scriptures.
No one who turns up at a Free Presbyterian gospel meeting in what might be considered ‘inappropriate apparel’ will ever be turned away. I always recall Pastor Willie Mullan tell of how he turned up at a gospel mission when he was living as a tramp and would not have been dressed as one would be expected when attending a gospel meeting. However, a young lady came over and sat beside him in an effort to make him feel accepted and comfortable.
That is what any Christian’s attitude ought to be should any today come to one of our services.
However, I do not think it right to encourage people to think that there is no need for a reverent attitude and a proper dressing of ourselves, in keeping with the worship of God, be it in a church building, a tent or a hall!
Joseph
Joseph went from the prison cell into the presence of Pharaoh, a heathen monarch, after he first “shaved himself, and changed his raiment,” Genesis 41:14.
It does matter how we appear in the place of worship, even though today there are those professing to be Christians, who think they can present themselves in God’s house looking as if they were off to a gymnasium or a circus!
It is very obvious that there has been an adopting of the stance and the terminology of the ‘Neo-evangelical’ by some who think that such will be more attractive to the sinner than the use of the language of the Bible. Words such as ‘sin’, ‘repentance’, ‘hell and judgment’ are dropped and replaced by
statements explaining that the meetings they are inviting sinners to are to spell out what life is ‘all about’!
The Lord Jesus introduced Himself and began His earthly mission thus: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Matthew 4:17.
It was the exact same introduction used by John the Baptist, Matthew 3:1-2.
Why cannot men today follow in the Saviour’s footsteps and wisely copy Him?
2. To preach the message that the Lord required of Ezekiel demanded a grieved and broken heart.
“Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes,” Ezekiel 21:6.
Today, it is believed by many preachers that their God-given task is to make people ‘feel better’! For this reason they act in the pulpit as a circus ringmaster or a ‘bingo game caller’!
How different was the demeanor demanded of the servant of God, Ezekiel.
’Sighing and bitterness of heart’ were in keeping with the word Ezekiel was required to deliver. The task of God’s servants is not to lift the spirits of men but to warn them that their behaviour and lifestyle will bring upon them the eternal wrath of God.
In Ezekiel’s day, the rebellion of the nation of Israel was such that he was to tell them that they faced utter temporal ruin as well as eternal damnation.
“Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more,” Ezekiel 21:2-5.
The rejection of the gospel, and the replacing it with the evil notions of men, will bring terrible retribution. That is what Ulster needs to be told today! That is what the Free Presbyterian Church was raised to say!
Sadly, that responsibility has been abandoned by some in their folly and ignorance. I must say that I feel that much of the blame lies with senior ministers in the past who failed to impart and impress upon the hearts of the upcoming generation in their day, the truth of God regarding the approaching times, spoken of by the prophets and apostles, that would mark the end of this age.
Here are two such warnings.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained” 1 Timothy 4:1-6.
That is what a ‘good minister’ should be doing today, not adjusting the message of God to suit the world!
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Peter 3:3-12.
Please note that Peter says that in the last days God’s people should not be ‘ignorant’ of the certainty of the return of Christ but live “in all holy conversation and godliness” and earnestly “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God.”
Is that the disposition of God’s people generally today? Do our pulpits ring out with the glorious message that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.”
Sadly, I think that the many intimations I receive by email from dear Christians, that they rarely hear anything about what the Bible says of the return of Christ, is all too true!
If the return of Christ is mentioned, it is but a simple statement of the truth that He is returning to this world, BUT there is little or no expounding of the many declarations by the prophets regarding that glorious day!
Duty
It is the duty of God’s servants to set before a rebellious and defiant generation the dreadful consequences of their attitudes and actions. “Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations,” Ezekiel 7:8.
That can only be done in a spirit of grief and brokenness of heart!
3. Such a demeanour will arouse questioning.
“Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD,” Ezekiel 21:6-7.
Preaching God’s message as the Lord would have it preached today will arouse questions and ridicule. Names will be called and the behaviour, conduct and words of the faithful preacher will be consider foolish and deserving of mockery!
When Paul preached on Mars Hill of the “day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead,” Acts 17:31, the response was mockery!
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter,” Acts 17:32.
They had no more interest in hearing any more at that time!
Maybe that is why many preachers fail to deal with the vital and tragic issues of today and the approaching time when the Lord will “judge the world in righteousness”!
I believe it true to say that few believed the message of Ezekiel and the judgment he spoke of until it fell on the nation.
I turn to the second chapter I read that day, 2 Corinthians 7.
It begins with a reference to the cleansing power of the Word of God.
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” verse 1.
The Saviour spoke to His disciples of the sanctifying power of His Word. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you,” John 15:3. He also prayed to His Heavenly Father that He might cleanse His people by that Word.
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth,” John 17:15-17.
The preaching of the Word of God and obedience of it, is the means used by God, whereby Christians, while in this world, are kept from its evil influences.
Where a people, professing faith in Christ, show a conformity to this world, then it is because God’s Word is not being preached or it is not being obeyed or both!
There is therein a solemn warning to the Free Presbyterian Church
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
Saturday, 20th September 2025