Gary Hall
I was raised as a Roman Catholic and intended to become a priest after I left school, but the Lord had other plans for me. In 1973, at the age of 17, I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour at the headquarters of the Liverpool City Mission. This immediately caused problems regarding my family. My mother and father were against what they called my "change of religion". The situation came to a climax when I arrive home one evening from a Christian friend's house only to be met by my father on the doorstep with the words, "You don't live here anymore". So at the age of 18 I would have been homeless but for the kindness of friends. One cannot rely on the goodness of others for too long, so I decided to move into a local boarding house. What I saw and experienced there cannot be written here. Eventually, after spending time living rough and in the Salvation Army hostel, I found my own apartment. I had fallen away from the Lord for two years at this time. My thoughts went back to my childhood desire to become a Roman Catholic priest. I made enquiries and found that the only real option for me was to become a monk in the Franciscan Order. The Saturday before I was due to leave for the monastery in Guildford, Surrey, I pleaded with the Lord, asking, "Lord, is it your will that I should become a monk like St. Francis?" That evening I attended a tent meeting in a local park. A preacher from Northern Ireland, Derrick Bingham, was teaching from the book of Nehemiah. During the service the preacher turned to my direction (there were about 500 people present) and said, God does not want you to become a monk like St. Francis of Assisi." Here was my answer from the Lord. From that moment I made a complete break from the Catholic Church and have come to see it as the biggest cult that this world knows. In 1979 I joined a church, The Mission, in the neighbourhood where I was living. From the moment I walked through the door of that small building I knew that I was home. The godly lifestyle and inspired teaching of Pastor Charles Bolton (promoted to glory 12 December 2003) and his wife brought me back to my first love for Christ. The church had no young people, but I never once felt that I was out of place. These people obviously loved the Lord. In my desire to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ I began to give leaflets out in Liverpool City Centre. Many a Saturday afternoon was spent witnessing to those willing to stop and listen. On one Saturday in late Autumn 1979 I was approached by a girl with an Irish accent. She asked if I was a Christian and where the church I attended was located. The next morning the same girl was found at The Mission. To cut a short story shorter, six months later on March 29 1980, we were married by Pastor Bolton at The Mission. Margaret, my wife, also comes from a Catholic background, but was soundly converted to Christ and from the errors of Rome whilst visiting relatives in New York in the summer of 1979. (You may find her personal testimony one day on these pages.) In 1986 Pastor Bolton retired from the ministry at The Mission. The leadership of the church was handed over to me. To be very honest I did not fully understand what this would entail, but the Lord has been good and has led me each step of the way. Through the Lord's power we have been used to reach many hundreds of people, though our fellowship is actually small in number. In 1988 we changed the name of the church to Living Word. I am convinced that God is about to pour out His Spirit in revival one last time before the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ (see my article on Revival on this site). This revival will not come via the charismatic movement, it will not come from Toronto or Pensacola, it will not come from the ecumenical movement or the so-called Churches Together - these movements are bankrupt of the truth and the Spirit of God. This final revival will come as a result of the true believers in Christ Jesus getting right with Him. The revival will include a return to the Authorised King James Bible. My great desire is to see people coming to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord, to see backsliders returning, and to see the church of Christ revived. Though I have many failings I love the Lord Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I am willing to serve Him wherever and whenever He sees fit. The word of God is the delight of my life for I'm still amazed after all these years just how fresh and new The Holy Bible is each day!
View all articles by Gary HallDavid's Delight
“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:1-11).
Introduction
This is a psalm of delight. We find no trials or tribulations in this song. David is simply delighting, first of all, in the Lord. “O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee” (:2). In other words, he is saying, "I have no good thing apart from God, You are everything I need." “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25).
God’s people
Then David delights in the Lord's people. “But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight” (:3). This could be a missing element in the majority of churches and one of the reasons for bitterness and strife. "To live above with saints we love will certainly be glory. To live below with saints we know, that's another story" (Anon). “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me” (Psalm 101:6) ... “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psalm 119:63). The apostle John informs us that we cannot truly claim to love and worship God if we hate our fellow believers, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments” (1 John 5:1-2).
When we delight in the Lord, and then we will start delighting in His people. John Wesley wrote, “
Though we cannot enrich God, yet we must bestow God's gifts for the use of his children.” We cannot delight in God’s people if we do not fellowship with them. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).
God’s provision
David also delights in God's provision. “The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage” (:5-6). God gave us our portion the moment we came to Christ for salvation. “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19) … “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over” (Psalm 23:1-5).
God, in His providence, knows where to draw the line. We find an illustration of what David means here when we read of how the Lord gave each tribe of Israel an allotted place in the Promised Land. “He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents” (Psalm 78:55). Problems arise when people do not know where His boundaries are. They want to keep moving the line of what is acceptable in the Christian life. How can we expect to be blessed by God if we refuse to follow His rule?
God’s pleasures
David also finds delight in God's pleasures. “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (:11). If we want life and joy then we should follow David’s secret, that is, walk daily on God's path, live in His presence and live for His pleasures. “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures” (Psalm 36:7-8) ... “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures” (Job 36:11). "
Our pleasures here are transient and momentary; but those at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore. For they are the pleasures of immortal souls, in the enjoyment of an eternal God" (John Wesley). “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6).
Conclusion
You have much to delight in. We can delight in God's people, God’s providence and God’s pleasures. If we delight in the things of God then we will find that we delight in God Himself. “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:26).
