Magherafelt Free Presbyterian Church

Testimony - Mark Linton

Psalms 86 v 10 – 13 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

Truly I can say that God has delivered me from the lowest hell. For I was born a sinner but God has delivered my soul from the grasp of the devil and has set my feet upon the rock Christ Jesus. I was brought up in a Christian home. My Mum and Dad were both Christians. I was sent along to Sabbath School, children’s meetings, Church. So from an early age I knew that there was a Heaven and Hell. I knew about the broad road leading to Hell and about the narrow road leading to Heaven. I knew that I was on the broad road leading to Hell and I knew the only way to get unto the narrow road was to ask the Lord Jesus into my heart, to wash away my sins to cleanse me in the Blood which had been shed on Calvary all those years ago.

God’s word tells us in Romans 3 v 23 For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. And the sins that were in my life, even though I was young, were taking me on a path that would eventually lead to Hell. When I was at primary school my friends thought that I was a Christian because of the way I acted, because of the way that I behaved but man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.

It was through the faithful preaching of my minister, Rev William McCrea that I was told about my need of a Saviour. I was told about God sending his only begotten Son to this earth to die for me and if I believed in Him I would not perish but have everlasting life. I can remember many Sunday nights being under conviction of sin. The Spirit of God was working in my life, calling me to the Saviour but still I rejected the free gift of Salvation. Gods word clearly states that My Spirit shall not always strive with man. And there will come a day that He will stop calling you. Behold now is the accepted time behold now is the day of Salvation. With a broken spirit and tears in my eyes I eventually but my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ on the 25th August 1991. 1John 1 v 9 says If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The only way to be cleansed from all sin is by the Blood of the Lamb. 1 John 1v7 the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

From that moment in my life I knew that I was saved. That I was now on the narrow road leading to Heaven, that God was my Heavenly Father and that He would take care of me. I can remember the real joy that was in my heart. Around this time I was entering 2nd year at grammar school and I must confess that I failed to tell others that I was a Christian. I was too embarrassed to tell others cause I knew that they would laugh at me. But as time went on God gave me the courage to start to take a stand for the things of God.

I am so thankful to God that through out my school years I never tasted drink or cigarettes and I never had the desire to go to discos. I knew that they were wrong and I knew God did not want me to participate in them. It was all by Gods grace that I never participated in them. 1 Chor 15 v 10 says “there go I but for the Grace of God”. We as Gods children should be different from the world. We are in this world but not part of this world. Looking back on my life I can clearly see the leading of God in my life. From early on in grammar school I was interested in Electrical Engineering. So I followed that path to University where I started my degree in Electronic Systems. I can remember before leaving for University praying for Christian flat mates. But this was not to be. I shared a flat with four Roman Catholics most of them smoked and drinked. But I thank God that he gave me the courage to tell them that I was a Christian. And they respected me for that. Instead God gave me a Christian friend in my class.

It was through out my first year at university that I started to go to the Student meetings in Tyndale Free Presbyterian Church. Here I met other Christian young people. I am so thankful to God for leading me to this small church. The times of fellowship among the people in that church were great and I made many true friends. God started to challenge me about what I was doing for Him. God’s word commands us to go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, Mark 16 v 15. The Lord led me to the outreach work in Shasbury Square in Belfast on a Thursday night amongst the young people. It was here that I was taught how to do street evangelism, how to talk to people and share with them the Word of God.

We cannot to anything for God if He is not in it. It would be vain for me, or any of us if we carried on a work that God was not in. We as Gods children are out to give God all the Glory and praise. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 4 v 2 “Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season”. Where ever we go we should be telling others about Gods salvation. The Bible makes it very clear “Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God”.