"A yarn with my mates led me to Christ"

My background was like so many in my age group, not coming from a christian home, but with loving parents who ensured that I and my two brothers went to Sunday School. Personally speaking, what I received from faithful Sunday School teachers left me in no doubt of my sinful condition and of my need of a Saviour, but like so many I sought to put this truth out of my mind and followed the path of having a “good time” with my mates whom I was very close to in friendship, and during that period we really enjoyed the worlds pleasures together, but around the 11th of November 1959 on a Sunday evening, we were having a yarn together, suddenly one of them asked the surprising question, “Who believes in God”?

Three of us (and I was one of them) said they did and two said they did not. During the course of the discussion one of my mates made a statement which immediately aroused curiousity on my part. He said that a yellow race would rule the world one day , and you could read about it in the book of Revelation. Shortly after this my eyes it on a New Testament in my house, and that night I started reading to find out who this yellow race was.

Soon all thoughts of the above left my mind as I came to Revelation Ch. 6 verse 15 to 17 I was deeply convicted by the Holy Spirit of the need to get saved from the wrath to come. I needed spiritual help, so I went back to the church of my old Sunday School days. It was on a Wednesday night and I could not wait until the meeting was over and asked to speak with the minister, who, on hearing what I had to say quietly and wisely encouraged me to turn to Christ and ask him to save me. I praise God I went out of that church with peace in my heart and assured that the Lord had saved me.

I eventually went to each of those mates and testified to them, of what Christ had done for me, and that I had got saved as a result of the conversation we had together. When I got married five years later Isa and I went to Lisburn to live. We were involved in a work up there and after a number of years we came back to Belfast and sought out an Evangelical Church. We started attending the Iron Hall and our three daughters and son attended the Sunday School and Young Peoples Fellowship.

I have enjoyed the fellowship with the saints of the Iron Hall and I have been blessed with the Monday night Bible study with the late then Pastor Jack Mitchell, Denis Lyle and our current pastor David Legge all of whom I have appreciated very much for their dedicated ministry. At present, between the Iron Hall Gospel Male Voice Choir and going out with the outreach teams I have received plenty of opportunities to reach out to the lost.

I would like to finish with the words of a hymn which was in 'The Word' booklet I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus since I found in Him a friend so strong and true. I would tell you how he changed my life completely. He did something that no other friend could do. "No one ever cared for me like Jesus There’s no other friend so kind as He, no one else could take the sin and darkness from me O how much He cared for me." Praise the Lord!

Billy Mitchell

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb: For the great day of his wrath has come; and who shall be able to stand." Revelation 6:15-17

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