Thomas and Durham Baptism

You say he's gone, this God of ours who died. To bring us freedom. Hearts filled with hate, you crucified the sun.

But you could not take his life. For as the sun dies in the evening. And then will rise again at dawn.

So he took our darkness with him. And then arose, so we'll sing his Easter song. He's alive, he's alive, he's alive.

He's alive, he's here, he's risen. La la la, la la la, praise his name. He's alive, he's here, he's Lord.

One morning we went and we found that the stone was rolled away. An empty tomb and the dawn of a really beautiful day. Deep inside was a shining light, a light that shines out still.

Don't let them deceive you when they say that they stole his body away. We've really met him, in fact we've talked with him today. He's not restricted to human form, his spirit is everywhere.

You say he's gone, this God of ours who died to bring us freedom. Eyes blind and closed, you still go stumbling on. Because you will not take his light.

For as the sun dies in the evening, and then will rise again at dawn. So we'll give our darkness to him, and then arise to his resurrection morn. He's alive, he's alive, he's alive.

He's alive, he's here, he's risen. La la la, la la la, praise his name. He's alive, he's here, he's Lord.

He's alive, he's alive, he's alive. He's alive, he's here, he's risen. La la la, la la la, praise his name.

He's alive, he's here, he's Lord. You're alive, you're alive, you're alive. You're alive, you are here, you are risen.

La la la, la la la, praise his name. He's alive, he's here, he's Lord. The first reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter 20.

This morning we were focusing our attention on the scene at the tomb in the garden in the early morning, when Jesus appeared to Mary and to the other women. Now our attention is focused on the disciples, and on one in particular, Thomas. He was not present on that first occasion in the evening when the Lord appeared to the disciples, and so he doubted their story.

John, chapter 20, verse 24. Now Thomas, called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came, so the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.

A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here.

See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.

Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Our second reading is also written by the Apostle John, but this time it is taken from his first letter, chapter 1 and verses 1 to 4, in which the Apostle tells us of the living reality of Jesus. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the word of life. The life appeared.

We have seen it and testified to it. And we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us.

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. Just one of four baptismal services taking place in this town today.

So that's rather wonderful, isn't it? All over this town people are coming to meet the risen Lord Jesus. And it's been my privilege over this last week to spend a little time, well quite a lot of time actually, with the four candidates. And I'm glad to introduce them to you now.

And they're going to tell you just how they came to this point of wanting to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not that when they go down into the water they're not Christians and when they come up out of the water that they are. They became Christians in the true sense when they put their trust and their whole confidence in the Lord Jesus.

But now they want to obey him. Because when he came back from the dead, one of the things that he told his disciples to do was to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them and baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So they are being obedient and so are we in carrying out this command of the Lord Jesus.

Now I'm glad to introduce the four of them. We're going to have two testimonies now and two later. Today I'm sure I won't need to be greasing any vocal cords.

So I'm looking forward to hearing what the four have to say. And Steve Applegate is going to be the first just to tell us what the Lord has done for him and what the Lord means to him now. Good evening, everybody.

I'd like to tell you a bit about my past. Well, that's not strictly correct because a lot of it I'd rather hadn't have happened. But it needs to be brought out into the open.

I grew up in a totally Christian environment and from the ages of 6 to 12, I lived in Nigeria, luxuriating in tropical warmth because my parents had been called by the devil by God to serve there as missionaries. So don't believe everything that you see on TV, especially if Julian Pettifer writes it. I took Jesus as my saviour when I was about 7 years old but told no one.

Coming back to England was something of a culture shock to me and we moved to Norfolk soon after and not long after that, it wasn't... it was not long before my lack of Christian conviction came to the front and I started joining in with the school children and using the same sort of language as they did, laughing at the same sort of jokes. Had to be careful not to slip up in front of mum and dad which was a bit of a problem. Anyway, this was really living.

Who needs God? I can get by without him. He's only for old fogies. That was big boob number one.

I left school with a very undistinguished record and started work. Here I met the girl who would become my wife and before long I severed all associations with the church. This wasn't her fault, I hasten to add, although obviously it was a catalyst.

This is another mistake. Socialising consisted of mainly going to pubs and rock concerts. Inevitably some of the friendships that were formed in this lifestyle led me into the drug scene.

My wife is totally opposed to drugs, but I knew best. So I ended up getting stoned secretly. Take the dog out for a long walk, pop into a friend's house for a smoke.

Eventually I started not to care whether she knew or not although after the children came along I made sure that they didn't see what was going on. After all, I didn't smoke cigarettes so what was Daddy smoking? Children have tongues. I did notice, however, that I was not really able to enjoy what I was doing so how was it that other people seemed to be able to? In December 1984 I was made redundant from the job in which I'd been for four and a half years.

I was approached by an ex-school friend, if I can use that term fairly loosely, regarding entering a partnership in a subcontract engineering business. I sunk my money and time into it and borrowed money from various sources to put into the concern. Success at last, you say? Well, no.

Things didn't work out and mortgage and loan repayments started to mount up and it didn't work. One night I'd actually managed to get home from work because we used to work rather long days and I'd popped out in the evening going out for a drink and a smoke and I got home after my wife had gone to bed. I lay there trying to sleep but I was hyperventilating.

Suddenly a light seemed to burn into my brain. It was coming from above the bedroom door. In the middle of it was a face and it was calling me gently, Steve, Steve, Steve.

I tried to block it out, tried to shut my eyes to it, bury my face in the pillow to no avail. Eventually I prayed and that vision went. In the morning I put it down to a drug induced hallucination and put it out of my mind, never mentioned it to anybody.

But looking back, I know that God was trying to get through to me at that time. And from that point the battle for my soul began in earnest. But I wasn't going to get in without a fight.

By now my wife and I were two completely different people from the ones we used to be and a divorce was inevitable. Despite having almost completely given up drugs by this time the business was going downhill rapidly and I felt that it was time to get out. I started a relationship with another woman and we decided that we were ideally suited to each other.

We made our way to Worthing and bought a large flat down here. You love a happy ending, don't you? Well, that's not it, I'm afraid. It soon became clear to me that this was another mistake on my part so here I was at the crossroads.

On the one side there was, shall we say, wine, women and song and the freedom to do exactly as I might like. On the other hand is God who is creeping into my thoughts unbidden at all the times. I know this is because my parents and my sister and many of their friends are praying very hard for me and have been for many, many years.

He wasn't just knocking to come into my heart He was hammering the doors down by now. So taking a broad look at my life to date the first option didn't hold much future and it seemed that I would be giving up very little to gain something far greater. So about a year ago and all alone I asked Jesus to forgive me for putting Him out of my life for all the sins that I had done and to help me to redirect my life into His ways.

Now that at last I had begun to listen and talk with Him and to ask for His help and guidance I very soon noticed that prayers were being answered. He took control of my tongue so that I could converse without the use of expletives. He put me into the job which now pays my salary.

He pointed me to my lovely little flat which I know as home and then He guided me to the tab. I had been asking Him to show me where to go to meet with Christians. God pushed me into the tab on Sunday evening the 14th of January.

I had this irresistible desire to come in. Then I picked up notes and news and it informed me that a gentleman whose name was familiar to me from some 18 years ago had been on the door that morning. I'd come in here expecting to know absolutely no one but it was soon obvious that God knew exactly what He was doing when He put me in here.

Praise His name things have been looking up ever since There are still difficulties to face up to namely financial and the lack of female companion but God has filled me with contentment and taken away the worries. Knowing that He is always by my side gives me a sense of inner peace. I've experienced the emptiness of a life without God.

I've tried filling that space with empty and meaningless things but however you look at it zero plus zero always equals zero. Now I'm appreciating life as God intends it to be lived and what a difference that makes. God's word is true.

He promised that He would never leave me or forsake me and I know that He has kept this promise despite all that I've done against Him. I've committed my life to Him and as part of this commitment I want to obey Him by being baptised. Thank you God.

Now we're going to have Val Simmons who has been with us now for a year or two but we're very much looking forward to hearing what the Lord has done for her. Five years actually. Oh five, sorry.

It's been a very difficult thing for me writing my testimony I had to write it because I was afraid being a rather talkative person I might get garrulous and bore you all to tears. But I did find it extremely difficult recalling events of the past which I had repented of and forgotten and it was just very painful but an exercise I wouldn't have missed for the world really. Anyway I'll read to you what I've written.

I must just say one thing. Mick Jenkins actually did say suggested at the house group on Wednesday that we might have to baptise me in bits to have a chapter at a time every week. Anyway it's taken me a long time to reach this point as my life has been a history of rebellion and disobedience to God.

It's also taken me a long time to realise that God actually loves me. I knew intellectually that He loved me and had forgiven me and I had many instances of His love and mercy towards me but I didn't know it in my heart until very recently. It was difficult to accept because I could not forgive myself.

I felt I did not deserve His love. To go back to the beginning I was brought up in a Christian home for which I am now grateful. At the time there didn't seem to be a great deal of love but quite a lot of criticism and reproof.

I never felt good enough and I didn't feel I belonged in the family. Even as a child I felt God to be some kind of reproving parent and expected to be struck down by a thunderbolt from heaven. I was christened and then confirmed in the Church of England at the age of 14.

Being evacuated away from my family during the war and attending 13 different schools as I moved around added to my sense of rejection and by that time I didn't trust anybody. For most of my teens and twenties I was searching for love. I got engaged to be married twice but I was not able to give or receive love because I didn't trust love.

When I did at last fall in love we were not able to get married because both sets of parents were against it as he had long years of study ahead of him. It was in the days when we actually listened to our parents. The parting resulted in my having a nervous breakdown and a wall came up in my heart.

Loving was definitely something to be avoided. It left me agoraphobic which means I was afraid to go out of the house. It involves fear of travelling on trains and buses and fear of being left alone.

I finally married David who was Jewish but brought up in the Church of England. I was not in love with him but he seemed like the rock of Gibraltar in my shattered world. He arrived into marriage with four enormous old Bibles but we never prayed together or even talked about religion.

We talked about money a great deal which became our God over 22 years of a very unhappy marriage. I knew the moment I'd married him I'd made a terrible mistake but believing marriage was for keeps and I never found out. I stopped going to church for all but Christmas and Easter.

During our marriage I was still agoraphobic but improved when I decided to go into psychoanalysis. However I was not completely cured by that and fear still dominated my life. Finally David and I were divorced in 1970 Oh sorry I haven't gone on.

Finally we were divorced in 1979 but not before I had two wonderful daughters. After my divorce I went into Jungian analysis. Through this I was gradually introduced to New Age theology and the occult.

Again I improved but was still left with the fear of travelling long distances on my own. After my divorce I went back to reading my Bible and I started with the Gospels but I got bogged down in Romans. I understand it now but this was before I came here.

I went to the spiritualist church also and learnt yoga before I went to church. I remember a vicar once saying to me you can't be a Christian on your own. It is the sum total of the bricks that make the building and he was right.

On one occasion my daughters and I were going to use a Ouija board when suddenly I felt that the room was full of angels and a voice said to me you don't need this. So I said to my daughters we're not going to do it. In 1982 we moved to Sussex and I had the first names of people to contact all involved in New Age and I gradually noticed some very odd people coming into my shop who started talking to me people involved in witchcraft, spiritualism, astral travel etc.

I sensed the presence of evil. At the same time I was going downhill. I had to close the shop.

I lost all my money and my house and we were virtually bankrupt. In the same way that being a Christian draws the right people into your life being involved in the things I was in draws the right influences into your life. I know that very clearly now.

However during all these years I felt very protected and I now know that the Lord was always there keeping me on a loose rein and waiting. Every time at crisis points in my life that I prayed the Lord always made it clear to me what I should do but I never followed it. Looking back I realised if I had listened and followed he would have led me on the right path but I was too headstrong and if you have a heart then lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.

I knew it intellectually but I didn't put it into practice. Eventually in 1984 I was at the end of myself and I turned to the Lord in desperation and I fell on my knees and said simply help me. It was no sudden moment of conversion more a sense of peace, of homecoming.

After that everything changed. The Lord took control of my life. It was Christmas day and the vicar spoke to me afterwards and came round on several occasions to counsel me.

He told me later that at that first meeting the Lord had said to him you must get to know that woman better. Soon afterwards he brought round a friend of his a woman who has since become a friend of mine. She said I go to Worthing Tabernacle.

I said is that that funny looking closed up church where it looks as if nothing happens. She invited me to the Wednesday lunch at one where I heard the pastor speak and Jesus said to the man do you want to be healed. I felt I was there.

I was riveted to my chair. I'd never heard anyone speak about the Bible in this way before. So on the Sunday I came to the service and on the Monday my friend invited me to the Bible class.

All this took place in one week. When the Lord moves he doesn't waste time. I was catapulted into the tab.

That was five years ago. Dick Gamage was our teacher with Anne his wife assisting. He opened it up for us.

Anything I had studied before paled. I'd learned quite a bit intellectually but Dick and then Ted Davey who taught us for the next two years gave us the heart of the Bible. The Bible classes were the best thing I've ever done in my life.

The Lord has disciplined me gently but firmly like a good parent. I love the Lord because he never stopped loving me. He was faithful to me all those years when I was not faithful to him and I'm being baptized I'm afraid there's a little bit more.

The Lord has led me through various spiritual hiccups to this moment growing all the time. He's given me warm loving Christian friends and in particular I want to thank Erica Chilver, Beth Clark and Irene Phillips who prayed with me and for me and whose faithfulness to the Lord has been the best possible witness to me. Financially I was still in difficulties but the Lord led us to an unfurnished house to rent and normally very difficult to get as we still had our furniture and five friends came with carpets out of their attics to fit the five rooms and curtains exactly the number we needed.

I knew the Lord's hand was in this. From there after eight months he led us to a small flat to buy to start again with the help of first Ginny my younger daughter and later Melanie my older daughter when she returned to Worthing. When he led me to the flat I said to the Lord I can't afford it but I knew he wanted me to go ahead in trust and faith so even though I didn't have enough deposit I gave to money I needed.

It was quite amazing. There was a time one Christmas when I didn't know how I was going to pay the New Year bills and get through Christmas and Ted Davy prayed with me and to my amazement over 400 pounds came in from different friends some non-Christian. The Lord always provides exactly what I need no more no less.

Once I started to walk with the Lord and really to listen to him I had to learn trust especially when he said to me I thought I had lost everything but there was more to come and I realized now he had to break me and start again. Isaiah 41 verse 10 says so do not fear for I am with you do not be dismayed for I am your Lord I will strengthen you and help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I was having difficulties getting a job at my age then our pastor told me they had a vacancy at Herald House and I started in the advertising department and after three months he made me advertisement sales manager for Christian Woman magazine of which my daughter Melanie has now become editor.

I still had not been baptized because I felt as I had been confirmed in the Church of England that was sufficient but I knew in my heart of hearts that I probably would one day and I knew the Lord would tell me when. Then a few weeks ago at the last baptism service we sang as I gazed into his loveliness in the light of you nothing is more important than being right with the Lord. Then at the end we sang the king of love my shepherd is but I couldn't sing the fourth verse perverse and foolish oft I strayed but yet in love he sought me and on his shoulder gently laid and home rejoicing brought me.

I turned to my neighbor and said I'm going to be baptized and Hebrews 4 15 says let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Praise the Lord. Thank you Steve.

You know I never cease to be amazed at the way God calls people from all different walks and circumstances. It's truly wonderful. Let's sing to the glory of God.

It's number 47 in our white supplement. I serve our risen Savior. He's in the world today and I know that he is living whatever men may say I see his hand of mercy I hear his voice of cheer and just the time I need him he's always near.

Number 47 and we'll stand and sing. We'll uplift the offering at the same time. I serve our risen Savior he's in the world today and I know that he is living whatever men may say I see his hand of mercy I hear his voice of cheer and just the time I need him he's always near.

He lives each hour of my life and I know that he is living It's not easy for these four to come up and say what God means to them. Any easier than it would be for you to get up and speak in front of 600 people or so. But they're coming to tell you what the Lord's done for them because if he's done it for them he can do it for you too.

So let's hear from Judy Everett who is our next candidate. Can you see me? For those that know me I brought plenty of tissues so if I start blubbing you'll have to wait. Well it's a bit difficult to put 35 years into 5 minutes and they've got a gun behind here so if we overrun too much.

When I first told my family I was going to be baptised the first reaction was one of humour. My son's reaction was they're going to need a block and tackle mum. They'll have a scuba diver in there won't they to help me out.

But joking apart my life has changed so much since the Lord has touched me. I'm not saying I'm touched I just feel the Lord has touched me and made my life so different. I mean for the years I've been going into churches and I'm drawn to churches I think they're beautiful places and I used to cry when I was in there and it was suggested that I was allergic to churches because every time I went in there I cried but I know that that was the Lord trying to get through to me.

But really two years ago things in my life started to fall apart. We were quite comfortable we had enough money to live on and we weren't hard up in the future thinking about the little bungalow we'd like and things like that. And then my husband became epileptic and that was a terrible shock to us.

He was in Codd a good job he was a fireman and that's one thing you can't have is epilepsy when you're a fireman. So that cut our income in half. We were very worried and it was a shock.

I mean I'd been brought up in Codd a good home but my parents didn't like each other very much and my childhood wasn't one of the happiest of loving parents. They loved me but they didn't love each other. And then the third thing happened we were burgled and all my precious possessions were taken.

My engagement ring within a fortnight my life had turned upside down. I didn't know what I was going to do. I knew there was something wrong that there was something missing out of my life but I couldn't couldn't put a word to it or I wouldn't admit that it was Jesus.

At that time I was actually working as a part-time hairdresser going round and I had to go out and get a job. It had been years since I'd had my two sons and I got a job. It wasn't the most uplifting but it was a job and I was grateful for it and then someone asked me if I wanted a job a different job and I said yes that would be great I'd love it and nothing else was said so I sort of forgot about it and then one day about four o'clock in the afternoon and it was a gentleman on the phone and he said to me would I like to come up for an interview and I went up to this place and it was Herald House it's a Christian publishing company and at this time I still felt that somebody was driving my life towards a particular point and I still wouldn't admit it was the Lord and after the interview and I've hastened to add to move them around with forklift trucks not the way they do now and with a bit of deliberation Herald House offered me a job and I knew this job had been given to me but I still didn't come to the Lord and one of the first things I had to type was a piece from Psalm 139 where can I go from your spirit where can I flee from your presence if I go up to the heavens you are there if I rise on the wings of the dawn if I settle on the far side of the sea even there your hand will guide me your right hand will hold me fast and I still didn't come to the Lord what a fool anyway on Tuesday June the 27th there was a Billy Graham meeting over there I think it was a Denton lounge the assembly rooms and I hadn't been intending to go I didn't know where she was going or would I like to go with her and I had to go somewhere first on the way home I was driving along the road and all of a sudden I went hot from head to toe and I burst into tears and it's a bit dangerous when you drive in a car I stopped at the traffic lights and this young gentleman looked in at me a bit amazed I was really sobbing and he still chokes me that he bothers and as I say that's what thank yous are for anyway I went to Billy Graham and we sat in the middle of a row and when Billy started to talk I listened and I looked and I heard him but I couldn't tell you to this day what he said to me he spoke to my heart I heard every word he said and I was transfixed but I couldn't tell you what he said and when he got to the end and he asked those who wanted to accept the Lord into their heart to come forward I started to rise and I turned to my two friends and they looked at me as if I was going mad coming and they just looked back and I thought there's this voice in my head saying get up and I was going no way no way I'm not going down there and then the voice said get up I've waited quite long enough get down the front I'm fed up with waiting and I felt physically lifted and I climbed over these poor little old ladies that were between me and the side and I don't know because I'm only five foot and I flew down the front and I stood there and I cried all the way through the prayers but I knew then that I'd accepted the Lord into my heart now what he's done for me he could do for everybody he's given me confidence he's given me things that I never thought I'd have he's filled in that hole in my heart that was missing he's given me patience which was sadly needed and I asked my husband what has changed what is different in me and he said you don't shout at me so much so I can say what the Lord has done for me he's given me love he's given me courage he's given me strength things have been hard they haven't been easy my family would tell you that we've been through a rough time but he's been there for me he's been there for my sons who've also come to know the Lord he's been wonderful and I can only say thank you Lord thank you for being there for me thank you Lord I love you well thank you Judy for being so honest that was lovely Des Collier is now going to come and tell us what the Lord has done please turn your cassette over at this point for the continuation thank you