Ian Paisley has passed
From the BBC
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more than a little bit surprised nobody here has any comments to make about the passing of the lion of Ulster. Brother Paisley was a Calvinist most of us Baptists could do business with.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
When I first heard of of Dr. Paisley’s passing I was overwhelmed with memories. The first time I heard him preach was at a Bible Conference at BJU. The sermon was “Consider Your Ways” from Haggai
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=6723.
The response caused the Alumni Meeting (which was going on at the same time) to dismiss so people who had responded could be dealt with. Over the years I had the opportunity to get to know him personally and found that while he was bold in the pulpit he was humble, kind, generous, and had a delightful sense of humor. While he preached the Gospel publicly to many, it was wonderful to see him engage people in one-on-one evangelism. He had a burden for souls that I’ve seen in few man. I still recall him giving an invitation and then quietly stepping out of the pulpit to talk personally with a person sitting a pew who was under conviction.
As to his politics, we need to remember that separation of church and state is is not an basic tenet of English politics. The desire of Northern Ireland to stay as a part of the British Empire had been established in the 1920’s and IRA terrorism was real and an attempt to undo the status quo. I was always intrigued when I’d meet people from Ulster who were either Roman Catholic or unsaved and had little use for Paisley’s “religion” but loved “The Doc” as their representative.
And I’ll always remember his way with words, especially those wonderful benedictions.
“To this end I take the promised Holy Ghost, the blessed power of Pentecost, to fill me to the uttermost! I take! Thank God He undertakes for me!” (From the hymn “I Clasp the Hand of Love Divine”.)
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
I fondly remember the benediction as well. As I recall, he had a very ponderous and slow way of speaking, but a powerful voice and powerful presence. I loved that he was always crystal clear about where he stood. Agree or disagree, you never had to guess.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I only discovered him a year or two ago but since then I have done some reading about him and listened to a few of his sermons. One thing that I thought was amazing about him was his willingness to speak of the gospel even in a political setting or with the media. It’s such a rare treat to see a politician unashamedly proclaim Christ as he did.
[Ron Bean]When I first heard of of Dr. Paisley’s passing I was overwhelmed with memories. The first time I heard him preach was at a Bible Conference at BJU. The sermon was “Consider Your Ways” from Haggai
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=6723.
The response caused the Alumni Meeting (which was going on at the same time) to dismiss so people who had responded could be dealt with.
A tremendous message and a very moving service. Not the first time I heard him, but probably the most memorable of several powerful messages. I bought the tape and listened to it frequently. The sermon had five points, I think he only made it through the first two: Commence the Climb, Collect the Commodity… the subject was revival.
Interesting that you should recall the same service as I did.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Double post
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
The following from the Wikipedia article on Paisley: Hume tells the story of the occasion when he said to Ian Paisley, “Ian, if the word ‘no’ were to be removed from the English language, you’d be speechless, wouldn’t you!” Paisley replied, “No, I wouldn’t!”
Missionary in Brazil, author of "The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max" Online at: http://www.comingstobrazil.com http://cadernoteologico.wordpress.com
[Ron Bean] “To this end I take the promised Holy Ghost, the blessed power of Pentecost, to fill me to the uttermost! I take! Thank God He undertakes for me!” (From the hymn “I Clasp the Hand of Love Divine”.As I have prayed for my children’s salvation, not long ago, Ian Paisley’s voice came to me—him saying that word “uttermonst,” and since then, I have been praying that God would save them “to the uttermost!”
Dr. Paisley was a great man of God who will be missed. I was always blessed when hearing him preach. He had a clear unction from the Lord and a deep love for Christ. I remember hearing him say a few times “If you hear in the press that Ian Paisley is dead, don’t believe a word of it. I’ll be more alive than ever… I’ll be singing as I never sang before.” I’m sure he and Dr. Bob Jones, Jr. are singing together right now. :)
Thoughts change with ease, deeds hardly are undone;
Be those well weighed, ere these are once begun.
Heard on one side, scarce any suit hath flaws,
A hasty judgment long repentance draws.
- Anonymous
And more importantly considering Ulster, the RCC and the government of the Republic of Ireland only began to become untangled in the last ten or so years.
[Ron Bean]SNIP
As to his politics, we need to remember that separation of church and state is is not an basic tenet of English politics. The desire of Northern Ireland to stay as a part of the British Empire had been established in the 1920’s and IRA terrorism was real and an attempt to undo the status quo. I was always intrigued when I’d meet people from Ulster who were either Roman Catholic or unsaved and had little use for Paisley’s “religion” but loved “The Doc” as their representative. SNIP
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
I think it is hard for us Americans to fully grasp the political situation where he was. The influence of the catholic church in Ireland was alot different than the influence here in America. We cringe a little at his confrontational approach, but it was needed to save Ulster.
As I perused youtube for some of his famous political speeches I came across this sermon. Very powerful.
I will never forget that sermon on the coats of Joseph. The coat of a SON, SLAVE, SOVEREIGN, etc. And I said to my friend leaving, “How long do you think it took him to prepare that sermon?” And my wise friend said, “He’s been working on it his whole life.”
C. Matthew Recker
I thank God for the privilege of hearing Ian Paisley many times. He was an unusually powerful preacher. One of my favorite memories is a message he preached at BJU, sometime in the ‘60’s. He made reference to “the blessed Gospel,” and then said something like this, “And when I say the blessed gospel, I mean Total Depravity (short elaboration), Unconditional Election (more short elaboration), Limited Atonement…”, and so forth right on through the TULIP. Dr. Bob Jones, Jr., was sitting behind him on the platform. You could almost hear the audience holding it’s breath, wondering if Dr. Jones would interrupt, or make a statement at the end. He did not. I’m sure Ian Paisley was the only Calvinist who could have done that at BJU at that time. It was a topic of conversation on campus for weeks after.
G. N. Barkman
This is the sermon that Greg Barkman is referring to.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=6849
It was preached at BJU as part of a four part series on the Reformers and is Paisley at his best. Paisley demonstrated to Dr. Bob Jr. that Calvinists were not the “evil” that his Methodist-Arminian ancestors had portrayed them to be. The Free Presbyterians and Calvinists like Brian Green were regulars during DBJr’s life. They have disappeared since his departure.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
Brian Green was at Bible Conference just a couple of years ago, actually did a tribute to Paisley in one of the services.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
This is my personal tribute to a man that has touched the lives of thousands of people around the world. “The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.” (Prov. 10:7)
https://oldfaith.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/ian-paisley5.pdf
My Blog: www.oldfaith.wordpress.com
Church Sermons: Cornerstone Sermon Audio
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