Bernard and Hazel Hull

Hazel and I have been involved in the Lord’s work “full time” as they say, for forty years now.You see and learn a lot in that period of time and make profound discoveries of God and His grace.Along with this rich store of the knowledge of God is the increasing realization of your own dreadful fallibility, sinfulness and weakness.Thus is the heart humbled and rightly so.We could not long endure self discovery unless it were in the context of the Lord making Himself known.

We have had years of residence in the UK, then Australia and Canada and now back again to the UK.So many travels too, the Lord has carried us to far off places and those that are near and all to serve the Lord in His beloved churches.Yes, He loves His churches and puts that same love in our hearts also.

 

Many enquire of us “ what is your ministry”, seeking for means of defining and fitting us into some convenient category often with a Biblical basis.“Are you an apostle, a teacher, give us some account of yourself?”However, it is not easy to give some neat definition.There are several words which express something of our desire at least, to ‘serve’ would be one, to ‘befriend’ would be another.Add to this the thought of ‘feeding God’s flock with His choice food wherever He sends us”, and we are getting close to an approximate description ofwho we are and what we are about.

 

Of course, it is what we are to God that really matters.What does He call us?Are we His sons and does He find pleasure in us and is He more pleased than He was a decade ago?He called Abraham His ‘friend’.Is God’s friendship over our tent?Reflection on these things bringsa measure of encouragement and assurance mingled with a godly fear.

 

There is a poem by the pastor- poet George Herbert that captures something of my heart in particular and has been with me for years.I’ll give you the whole poem, you will catch its sentiment but perhaps you too can ponder these words as I have.

 

            How fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean
            Are Thy returns!  E’en as flowers in spring;
            To which, beside their own demean
            The late-past frost tributes of pleasures bring.
            Grief melts away, like snow in May, 
            As if there were no such cold thing. 

            Who would have thought my shrivel’d heart
            Could have recovered greennesse?  It was gone
            Quite underground: as flowers depart
            To see their mother-root, when they have blown;
            Where they together
            All the hard weather
            Dead to the world, keep house unknown.

            These are Thy wonders, Lord of power,
            Killing and quickening, bring down to hell
            And up to heaven in an houre;
            Making the chiming of a passing- bell.
            We say amisse
            This or that is:
            Thy word is all, if we could spell.

            O that I once past changing were,
            Fast in Thy paradise, where no flower can wither!
            Many a spring I shoot up fair,
            Off’ring at heav’n, growing and growing thither:
            Nor doth my flower
            Want a spring-showre
            My sinnes and I joining together.

            But while I grow in a straight line,
            Still upwards bent, as if heav’n were mine own
            Thy anger comes, and I decline:
            What frost to that?  What pole is not the zone, 
            Where all things burn
            Then Thou dost turn,
            And the least frown of Thine is shown?
 
            And now in age I bud again,
            After so many deaths I live and write;
            I once more smell the dew and rain,
            And relish versing: O my onely light,
            It cannot be
            That I am he
            On whom Thy tempests fell at night. 
            
            These are Thy wonders, Lord of love,
            To make us see we are but flowers that glide;
            Which when we once can find and prove, 
            Thou hast a garden for us, where to hide.
            Who would be more
            Swelling through store
            Forfeit their Paradise by their pride.  

 

Recently we have made our home base in the UK, nearby to Reading in Berkshire.The Lord has been bountiful towards us and great are His blessings. We are with a church called Whiteknights International Church.There are friends there and in many other parts of the world among whom we go as the Lord leads us.We press on trusting that the latter glory shall exceed that which we have formerly known and that all the while there shall be the Lord’s increase both in us and through us.A final thought, taken from the fly leaf of my Bible.“Lord, fill me with Thy grace daily, that I may be a fountain of sweet water’.

 

Amen.

 

Bernard Hull.

Comments 6
  1. hi pastor Bernard and Hazel,
    Glad to find you here. Is really long time we haven’t seen you already. We miss you.
    May the Lord bless you.

  2. Dear Pastor Bernard,
    I just heard about you from pastor Sotos that you are in Cyprus .
    It is now more than 12 years I saw you when I was in Cyprus.Still my wife reminds me about your encouraging words “Don’t let the light of your face to be disappeared”so on.(after the meeting your wife Hazel told us)It was encouraging the chat we had as young unmarried couple. Now we are blessed with two kids. I here your sermons through internet sometimes.
    With Love
    Sujith,Jenita
    Sri Lanka .

  3. Hello Bernard, it’s been a while since we spoke in fact when you were living near Twyford. We have been listening to your series on Youtube about Revelation. I have to say that tears trickeled down my face when you made reference to G.W.North , “they don’t want to listen to me anymore”. He and brothers like yourself spoke and still speak words of life to the hungry and we love the Lord as fruit from those days.
    We left Bracknell nearly 3 years ago now and live in Chard, Somerset. Allan Wilson I know has been to Phil Frost’s fellowship and spoken with you. It is our desire to do the same as the church here in Chard is sadly a dry place, lot’s of noise but no substance. It is our intention too to have meetings amongst ourselves with likeminded ones, we are waiting on God to know where and when. The Lord bless you and Hazel, lots of love Geoff and Margaret Wilson.

  4. Dear Brother Bernard,

    greetings in the most highly exalted Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

    I stopped by to say hello and express my gratitude to the Lord for bringing the fellowship with you in my life at this juncture of my life. I have just crossed over my 75th year. May the Lord bless you. Hope to talk to you in some way may be a phone call.

    Yours in the eternal loving bonds of our Lord Jesus Christ,

    Joel

  5. Hi brother we do not know you at all. My husband went into surgery to have a large tumor removed from his rectum on February 7, 2022. They could not remove it because of it’s size, they have to use chemo to shrink it. Upon waking up out of surgery he said to me “look up this name, Bernard Hull.” I thought maybe he knew you or heard your name somewhere. He did not. We then found that you were a minister. My husband I are pastors as well. We have enjoyed your youtube ministry. We were very encouraged by your ministry. I think we are like minded hearts. Blessings to you and your wife.
    Seymour & Jurena Cook

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