Battle Log

Wednesday, 21 October, 2020

Posted 21 October 2020, 5:04 PM by Glen Richards. Permalink

On Wednesday, my first decent gospel interaction was at the corner of Cashel and High.

I approached a middle aged guy who was open to talk about deep things.  We talked about how we know God exists, and why there must be hell.  I was just taking him through the law when his wife (I assume) approached.  She had been shopping, he had been waiting.  She looked pretty shocked that he was talking to me.  I tried to include her in the conversation, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with it!  She said she was heading off, and was surprised when they guy didn’t follow - he wanted to talk about the deep things of life!  She walked off.  I didn’t want to come between them, and so I told him there was really good news in the tract I had given him - I summarised it briefly just before he turned to leave.

I turned in the other direction, and there was a young guy sitting just across from me.  So I striked up a conversation.  He was tentatively keen to chat.  He wanted to go to heaven when he died, but it was deeply rooted in him that his goodness would get him there.  I would explain the good news, and it seemed to deflect off - checking questions confirming.  As I was labouring with him, we were suddenly interrupted by two drunks!  I recognised one of them well - the last time I talked to him he seemed to be grasping the gospel well.  I was very sad to see him in such a state now.

The drunks didn’t scare off the young guy I was originally talking to, and I was able to keep labouring with him.  But he just didn’t seem to be grasping the gospel!  Amazingly, the drunk guy would answer correctly for him when I’d ask something like: “So what’s the reason why we can go to heaven?”  The young guy finally moved on, tract in hand.

I was then able to focus back on my drunk friend.  His other friend seemed to have ditched him.  He was making a real fool of himself, lying on the footpath and making people walk around him.  I took some photos of him, and he wanted to see them.  I said I’d show them to him if he came and sit next to me - it worked!  We sat and talked for a while, during the conversation he would show me ripped up bits of Bible pages he had in his pockets.

I really want to help this guy more, I’ll be praying for him, and hope to see him again real soon - hopefully in a sober state and able to reason properly.

Further down High Street I encountered an older gentleman who was keen to chat.  He was friendly and talkative, but deeply, deeply resistant to any kind of reason or logic.  I felt defeated and useless.  In the end I let him talk and listened to him, before gently ending the conversation and parting ways.

On Tuesday I was in Riccarton as usual and Roger joined me.  At the start of the outreach I was pondering on why people bother stopping to talk to me at all - it’s amazing, to me, that they do.  Sure enough, it was an outreach with good opportunities to engage people with the gospel.  With one guy, I was able to get all the way through the flip chart - it was a great chat, he was very open.

But the highlight conversation was a follow up with a guy that it turns out Andy had been talking to on Friday in the city!  Previously involved in gangs and crime, it seems he has turned a new leaf and is now a Christian.  But sadly, and amazingly, he seems to be subtly trusting his righteousness to get to heaven - even quoting Muhammad Ali!  I worked with him on this, him being both open and resistant at the same time.  Time will tell where he’s really at.  I hope to see him again.

I was online both days as well.  The highlight conversation was with a very intelligent young man who was agnostic.  The conversation went for nearly thirty minutes.  I was despairing that he wouldn’t open up (they usually don’t).  But to my surprise he did open up slightly.  I could tell he was challenged and needed to follow up on what I’d been telling him.  And, I was able to touch on the law and the gospel multiple times!

All glory to God.  Lord, keep us going, day by day, by your grace.  Help us to trust in you in the face of opposition and hardness.