Battle Log

Thursday was cold and wet, and so I decided to stay home and focus on outreach online.

I had one outstanding gospel conversation.

It was preceded by a good & long gospel conversation, where the young man I was talking to seemed to grasp the gospel, and said there was nothing stopping him from trusting that Jesus had paid his hell fine.  Praise God for that opportunity!

It had been a long day of outreach, and I was going to take a breather before moving into my next conversation.  But Omegle was on automatic “reroll” and before I had a chance to stop it I was connected to a new stranger.  I usually get a few skips before getting into another conversation, but this guy wanted to talk about “what happens after life”.  So I was straight into another conversation.

The guy said he was Catholic, so he believed in heaven, hell, and purgatory.  So I asked him what we have to do to go to heaven.  He said, “you have to be a good person”.  And then he explicitly added: “it’s got nothing to do with Jesus” (or words to that effect).  My eyebrows raised - I had never heard that response before, I could tell I was going to enjoy this conversation, because the correct answer is the exact opposite!

So I gave him the good person test.  He was floored - he instantly understood the logic of what I was saying.  And so I then proceeded to explain the gospel.  I ended by saying, “so, if Jesus has paid our hell fine, where does that mean you go when you die?”.  He was stunned.  He said, “heaven”.  So I asked, “so, what is the reason why we go to heaven?”  He just stared at me and said, “are you some kind of super philosopher?”  I denied that I was, but I was overjoyed at seeing him understanding and it causing such a visibly positive response.  We don’t need miracles, healings, or super apologetics… the gospel is the power of God for salvation! (Romans 1:16)  He now understood that it was not our good deeds that get us to heaven, but Jesus’ death on the cross that pays our hell fine, getting us to heaven - the exact opposite of what he initially thought.

I continued by explaining:

• That it is only by our faith in what Jesus has done for us that we are saved.
• Used checking questions to make sure he understood.
• Explained the correct place of good deeds - something that will follow salvation.

I challenged him to respond to the gospel.

I then asked him if he knew anyone who wasn’t currently trusting that Jesus had paid their hell fine.  He said yes, and mentioned a girl he knew who was an atheist.  He said, “but she is a really good person…”  But then he caught himself - I could see him mentally reprocessing the law and gospel conversation we had just had.  I asked, “where will that person go when they die?”  He looked at me and said, “to hell”.  So I said, “so what can you do about that?”  He said, “I need to tell her about Jesus”.

I left him some follow up details, including a link to needGod.net before we parted ways.

I sat back and rejoiced in praise of God and his amazing gospel and the privilege I have to share it with others.  I’ve got no idea if this guy will respond to the gospel - all I can do is leave him in God’s hands - it’s God’s job to change hearts.

In contrast to the previous Friday, today’s outreach was calm.

The gospel + abortion outreach (with a team of four) went along with no major incidents.

It was great to see the food carts back in Cathedral Square!  I really enjoyed open air preaching.  I had two hecklers engage me (at separate times) and I instantly involved them in what I was saying.  To my encouragement, they both backed down and left me alone!  I continued to proclaim the glorious gospel in peace!

Roger and I then spent the afternoon at the corner of Cashel and Colombo sharing the gospel - no incidents! ;)  Roger had conversation after conversation, and at one point asked if I had a Bible he could give away.  Praise God.  I had some great chats too.  After the outreach, we enjoyed a KFC snack box (rather than a hot chocolate / coffee).  It’s great to see KFC back in the central city, may the earthquake recovery continue bringing more people to hear the gospel!

I finished Friday’s outreach by joining the Aussie team online.

Our efforts are feeble, but God shows himself strong through them.  All glory to God alone for any fruit.
 

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