MY TESTIMONY
Attracted to the Lord Through Hymns
When I was about ten or eleven, I recall walking past an older lady who sang a certain hymn in such a strong way while smiling at me that it seemed she was singing it directly to me.
Much of the time while growing up I was in poor health. One Sunday morning when I was about 17, I'd been sick for about a month. Over the radio came the hymn "He Leadeth Me". This hymn made a very lasting impression on me.
Finally coming to the Lord while in the U.S. Navy
In 1944 I was stationed at Navy Pier in Chicago while going to the Electronics Technician's Mate Training School. One of my classmates invited me to go to a gospel meeting. The man up front pleaded so fervently, that I came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. A brother in Christ there gave to me a copy of Psalms + New Testament, which I still have, with the date entered—September 3, 1944.
The next Sunday, I went to the biggest "church" I could find in downtown Chicago. The preacher gave a talk on politics. I knew that I was saved, but that's all I knew. The Lord did save me from the worst of worldly and sinful things but I received no care or guidance. On Sundays, I would occasionally "go to church" somewhere, but not often, and when I did, the result was quite "flat".
A Dormant Christian for Nineteen Years
Time went by, and I was aboard the U.S.S. Topeka bound for the Pacific War Zone during World War II with not one friend on board. Then I began to read the New Testament. Though I didn't understand it I was strongly attracted to Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, especially Matthew 6:19-21. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
The years went by. I went to college, got married, and began raising a family. In the 1950's and 60's we lived in Connecticut. Our children kept coming along every couple of years. I was concerned about how the children were to be brought up. Yet all I had seen of Christianity was not very attractive to me, except for what I had read in the Bible.
In 1957 we moved to a small town in northwestern Connecticut. One of my main considerations was that one of the two churches in that tiny town preached the gospel so I felt that this would provide a better environment to raise our children. The minister of the gospel-preaching church called on us twice to try to get us to come, but we never did. Instead, I regularly walked up to the other church, taking the children along to Sunday school.
Revived
In 1963 this church hired someone who preached the gospel and I was revived.
First Contacts with the Local Church.
Somehow I got a copy of The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee. I was deeply impressed with one incident: Watchman Nee was on a streetcar in Shanghai, and encountered another Christian who asked him, "Who are you affiliated with?" Brother Nee answered, "I'm affiliated with you." In fact I have used this answer since in similar circumstances.
Visit by Witness Lee with others in the Local Churches
In the beginning of December 1969 Witness Lee came and shared with us. He and others in the local churches came and spent three days with us. He shared that when the Lord was incarnated, He came to earth living a human life here for 33˝ years, was crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended and became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b) so that He could enter into us as life. He shared that we were made of a body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and that by calling on the Lord, His Spirit enters our spirit (Acts 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:17). He also shared about prayerfully reading the Word as a way to eat the Lord's Word (Matthew 4:4; Jeremiah 15:16), and that we become what we eat.
As Witness Lee and the others were leaving, it was mentioned that there would be a three-day conference in Erie, PA, beginning December 25, 1969. Three of us brothers attended.
Erie Conference, December 1969
The three of us drove together out to Erie and attended the conference at a rented facility about 10 miles out of town. There my heart was forever gained for the Lord.
Participating in a local church
For me, participating in the local church in our city was pure joy. All our children enjoyed meeting in the local church. Our most enjoyable times were when we gave hospitality to believers who came for conferences. Other times of great enjoyment and fellowship included when some of us brothers helped families move their belongings from moving vans into houses they had just bought. We also often had believers over for the evening meals; we had made so many friends in the local church
This joy has never left.
Gifford Neill
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