Battle Log

Wednesday, 25 July, 2018

Posted 26 July 2018, 12:09 AM by Matthew Andersen. Permalink

This afternoon in Brisbane City, God kindly provided cloud cover. As the team arrived the sun was bearing down but within a few minutes and for the rest of the afternoon the team was graced with cooler temperatures, due to the clouds.

One team member commented at the end of the afternoon how it had been a valuable and encouraging outreach. Another shared that it had been a really tough slog of reliance upon God and pressing on despite tiredness and discouragement. Thankfully God uses each and every conversation to bring about His glory, even those which are a little more cluncky.

Two young men interacted with the team at different times, one named Bepool and the other Jack. The thing these men had in common was all they knew about Christianity was the name, "Jesus". By the end of each conversation they both had a firm understanding of the Gospel and were left with the choice.

​Bepool didn't really know what Heaven and Hell were, who God was or what sin is. He was happy to admit that he was not good, in fact that he had done a lot of wrong things in his life. Upon hearing about God's justice for sin he acknowledged that he deserves Hell. At this moment Bepool paused, the reality of what he was hearing seemed to sink in. He felt the weight of what he was learning. Thankfully, by the end of the twenty minute conversation he also understood that God, who is love, has come into this world to redeem, sinful humanity. 

He was excited to hear this news and was happy to learn more about Jesus. Sadly, finding a way to stay in contact was forgotten but one can be sure the sovereign God is in control of the outcome of this conversation.

When approached Jack was keen to chat. He was open about being a "bad" person and even shared that he was a liar and thief, even without being prompted! He had some little quarms with there being a God but they were minor. It even seemed that wasn't really on his mind by the end of the conversation.

Jack over the course of the conversation came to understand the basics of Christianity and most importantly learnt the beauty of God's plan to save the human race through, His Son, Jesus Christ. This conversation travelled all throughout the Bible and ultimately ended with Jack being grateful for the conversation. He even said, "I am so glad we've had this conversation, I now understand Christianity".

Sadly, although Jack understood the Gospel and had no real arguments, he said he most likely wasn't that interested at this stage.

With one final challenge, it was explained that God changes the desires of those who come to Him, through Christ. Christians don't have to "stop doing all the fun things because they're wrong". Instead, they no longer want to do wrong things because they have new affections and have found their satisfaction in God Himself, rather than trying to find it in the pleasures of this world.

Jack understood and went on his way, taking a tract.

Please be praying for Bepool and Jack as they remember and ponder the Gospel they heard this afternoon. Please also keep the different members of the team in prayer as they prepare to head out.