Battle Log

Page 120

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Saturday had a hint of spring in it that was refreshing.  I set my flipchart up in Cathedral Square and proceeded to hand out tracts in the warmth of the sun.

The outreach started slowly, but during the slow period I did have an opportunity to hand a tract to a guy delivering pizza on a bike (pictured).  You’ll notice the interesting slogan.  He works for “Hell” pizza.  I said to him that I’d love to work for the company, because I have the antidote to Hell: the Gospel.  I’d deliver a tract with every pizza sold.  He laughed.  I hope he reads the tract - Hell is not a laughing matter.

I did manage to have some solid Gospel conversations.

Three teen boys were keen to try the good person test.  To my initial questions: “Do you think you are a good person?, do you think you’ll go to heaven when you die?”, one of them answered: “heaven”, the next: “purgatory”, the last “hell”!  Going from there I was able to take them through the law, and then explain the good news of the Gospel.  They seemed to understand - it was an encouraging conversation.

My last conversation was with a young man who had tried out being a Mormon for three years, even getting baptised, before deciding it wasn’t for him.  He had also been involved with gangs, and other bad influences, and so had recently moved to Christchurch for a fresh start.  I took this guy through the law and the Gospel.  But he didn’t seem moved by it at all.  I asked a checking question to see if he had understood, and sadly his response of works being required for salvation showed that he hadn’t.  I had to explain the Gospel about four times, but sadly, I don’t really think he was really interested. :(

Sunday saw a team of four at the corner of Cashel and Colombo.  There were lots of people out and about, maybe attracted by the winter respite?  Some good flipchart (pictured) and walk up Gospel conversations were had.
 

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Although there was morning fog, there was no rain so the regular Gospel + abortion outreach was able to go ahead today.  A team of six.

As always, our stand for life outside the hospital, where abortions in Christchurch are performed, is polorising.  We had some support: cars tooting and those in them waving; some people smiling or giving a thumbs up as they walked past.  We also have opposition: people winding down their car windows to yell at us; some walking past who shake their heads in disgust; we even had a cyclist voice his opinion - yelling directly in Andy’s ear as he sped past.

As per the photo’s, we had opportunities for interaction: talking to people about the sin of murder, abortion, and the hope of forgiveness found only in Jesus.

Sadly, near the end of the outreach, a young lady walked past who said “You guys are trash”.  I looked straight at her, and words of response passed through my mind - but I decided not to let them pass out my mouth.  She must have been irritated that we didn’t respond, so she threw her nearly empty can of drink at us.  It went just past my head, and I got sprayed with some of the liquid.  She kept walking, but I noticed that she had her phone up and was obviously recording the incident (no idea why).

I went and got the can, and put it in the trash (pictured).  It’s not good for the environment to litter after all.

Nothing brings out the depravity of man, like the issue of abortion.  Oh how desperately the hope found in the Gospel is needed!

After the Gospel + abortion outreach, we moved into the city to start our afternoon outreach - which began with open air preaching in Cathedral Square.  Andy preached first, and immediately one of our regular hecklers turned up in opposition, who tried to drown out what Andy was saying pretty much the whole time.  Thankfully Ari, one of the city wizards, turned up and took the attention of the heckler away so Andy could preach in peace.  The preaching did attract some attention from passers by, and tracts were distributed.  I had a wonderful follow up conversation with a young man who had sat down to listen.

A team of four then gathered in Cashel Mall for an afternoon of flip chart outreach.

One conversation deeply impacted me.

Two young ladies were attracted by the flip chart and walked up to it wanting to give it a try.  I ended up starting the conversation by establishing the basis for truth, which led to some deep discussion.  One of the girls was more quiet than the other, but suddenly she wanted to ask a question.  It was related to an essay she was writing, and the question was about God and suffering.  So we discussed this, and I also gave her a leaflet: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

I was able to bring the conversation to the law, and talk about the serious nature of sin.  I was then able to share about the amazing grace of Jesus paying the fine for sin, so God’s justice could be served, and yet he could offer us mercy.  I explained that we are justified by faith alone, and not by works.  Salvation is a gift!  At this point, the quieter girl’s face was beaming.  They seemed to be understanding the gospel, and they were maybe picking up on some of my passion.

But this caused me to think about the cost of following Jesus (a paradox).  And so I explained that the other side of the coin of faith is repentance: a change of mind, will and emotions, away from sin and to God that will lead to good works.  If we place our faith in Christ, we will also repent - we will have a heart change, and we will no longer want to live our lives our way, but God’s way.  We won’t become perfect, but our desires will change that lead to a change of actions.

I highlighted this, but talking about abortion - that we will come to understand that life is precious from the pre-born to the elderly.  And instantly, the demeanor of these girls changed.  They were not willing to give up their pro choice position on this, and started to argue with me.  I then decided to double highlight my point by turning to the subject of homosexuality.  I explained that I don’t hate homosexuals, I actually genuinely love them, but that God’s position was that it was sinful.  We would need to change our minds on this issue.  Well, it turned out these two girls were gay (I had no idea).

The cost of the gift of Jesus was great indeed.  They understood the logic, they saw Christ’s love, through me.  But they rejected Him, and walked away.  I called out to them, and asked if they would accept one more thing from me.  They stopped and turned, and I was able to give them “After Life” tracts each.

We parted on good terms, but I felt devastated.  As I write this, I feel devastated.  I know salvation is of the Lord.  I know the Gospel is the power of God to salvation.  I know I need to leave results in God’s hands.  But oh, God, please, please: have mercy.  This is my heart cry.  Reader, Is it not your cry too?  I look at my life, at my sin.  I know what I deserve.  God’s justice in hell for eternity.  And I’m not getting what I deserve because of Jesus’ sacrifice for me.  We must go and share of this hope.  We must pray - for in the futility of prayer God moves.  The Bible tells us so.  Oh God, please receive glory in saving sinners by Your great sacrifice on the cross, rather than through giving people the justice they deserve in hell.  But not my will, but your will be done.  God, please change the hearts of these two girls - for your glory.

This report is way longer than it should be, and I need to get back on the streets.  But Andy and I also headed out to the Eastgate and Northlands bus stops on Thursday afternoon.  Many Gospel conversations were had, as always.  We leave all results in God’s hands.  All glory to Him.
 

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On Friday night a team of eight made their way to the Gold Coast from various locations to share with people what God has done to save sinners.

Over the course of the evening many conversations were had and many people came to hear and understand the simple message of salvation, to the point that they could answer questions about it correctly!

One such conversation was with Hayden and Liz a couple from America who had some Christian background but little to no knowledge of the gospel and together they had basically rejected God for their own ideas of how they wanted to live. Over the conversation that came to see that their arguments against God were nothing more than an attempt to justify their desire for autonomy and they came to understand that they were in serious trouble, heading for a day of judgement when they will face God's perfect law and be found guilty.

Thankfully, there is a solution and they came to hear what God, in that He Himself came, as a man, lived a perfect life and died took the punishment sin deserves on a cross, offering forgiveness to be received by faith. Hayden and Liz were able to understand this and even in their own words able to explain the way to Heaven. Then the addition of how and why a Christian should live was raised and it wasn't too long until they have a basic and working understanding of the good news and how it will impact the lives of those who trust in Christ.

It was exciting to see them understand and the work of transformation is left in God's hands. Hayden had headed into "spirituality", using tarot cards and talking to spirits and Liz was just living however she thought was best with nothing specific in mind. They were both reminded of the seriousness of this decision, shown the folly of rejecting Christ and were challenged this day to choose who they would trust.

Over the course of the night a range of other conversations took place including at least six others who heard the good news and said that they would consider it, with varying levels of interested.

Please be praying that God would be working in the hearts of Hayden and Liz to draw them away from their sin driven pursuits to a saving relationship with their Creator!

Why not set aside some time next Friday and come on down?

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On Tuesday I turned up at my usual spot in Riccarton feeling a bit discouraged.  I’d just come from letterbox dropping in the rain, and I guess the weather was impacting my mood.  I was wondering if this would be my first outreach where no one took a tract from me or stopped for a chat.

After setting up my flip chart, I noticed a screwed up and wet Gospel tract in the dirt.  It was obviously one that I had given out the week before.  It had been sitting there ignored for a week.  “Great”, I thought, “I’m starting this outreach on negative one tract handed out”.  I picked it up and put it in the bin.

Well, as I always say, the outreach will be effective as the ultimate objective is obeying the Great Commission and bringing God glory and worship in that (even if the net result is negative one tract handed out).  So I turned to prayer, and resolved myself to look like a fool for two hours in worship of our saviour: Jesus.

But God decided to receive worship in more than just my obedience to “go”.  The rain was held back for most of the outreach, and tract after tract was handed out, and conversation after conversation was had.  In an hour and a half, I’d had seven conversations!

The first one was with a lady who was wearing a top that had the word “Supernatural” on it (some tv show?) - that provided a perfect conversation starter, and she ended up staying to hear the law and the Gospel in full and left with a follow up tract.

A young lady stopped keen for a chat about spiritual things.  She had a Christian background, but was bisexual.  So on top of sharing the law and the Gospel, we talked about sexuaility.  I made it clear that I don’t hate homosexuals, but that homosexuality is a sin - that can be forgiven by the blood of Christ!

God sent a pentecostal Christian lady to give me some wonderful encouragement.

The last half an hour of the outreach saw the rain come, but there was still plenty of opportunities to hand out tracts to people moving past.

Wednesday finally saw a break in the weather, although there was some light drizzle as I was letterbox dropping early in the morning.

I headed into the city, and was very encouraged to have Jermaine join me.  We ended up setting up our flip charts near the Bridge of Remembrance.  We started with some prayer, but it was interrupted as a construction worker wanted to know what the good person test was!  Jermaine took him through it, and I ended up getting into a very long (but good) conversation with an intellectual couple.  Throughout the conversation I was able to touch on all the major concepts of the law and the Gospel.

After lunch, we headed to Ara.  But before we got there, I had yet another encouraging conversation on High Street outside the Vodafone building.

It was great to see the students back!  My first conversation was a follow up.

I then approached a group of four students (two girls and two guys).  The girls were not interested, but the guys were.  One of those guys really wanted to talk, and stayed to listen even after his friends had left to go back to class.  After I shared the Gospel, that Jesus died on the cross in payment of our sin debt, and rose again to prove it and give us hope, I was very encouraged to hear him say, “I didn’t know that part - thanks for explaining it” (or something like that).  He accepted a Bible, with a contact card set to the book of Mark.  I hope to hear from him.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Cathedral Square where I had many conversations with groups of teens (I’m not sure why they weren’t in school), and an interesting conversation with a JW lady who was very open - and even accepted a Gospel tract from me.

It was wonderful to be able to extend the outreach by half an hour because of these conversations - very encouraging.

Be encouraged to get involved!  The opportunities to share the Gospel are limitless, in spite of circumstances, when you make yourself available to be used by God.  Soli Deo Gloria!
 

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A lively start to our witnessing today: while the flip chart was being set up, Lee-Anne and Railee engaged two aging Hindu men in a chat. They alleged that the Christians, Jews, and Muslims were the cause of all the wars. They did take tracts though; praise the Lord.

Later in the afternoon, the ladies had a gospel presentation to three Muslim men. At the conclusion M. was going to add Jesus to his 'god list', B. was sticking with Allah, and M. the confessedly former truck thief received a Bible.

Paul had 2 good flip chart presentations. The last one was with John, a lawyer who was very attentive. He received a gospel of John.

Ryan had a chat with a younger and an older Buddhist. The latter was full of weak excuses  to not submit to the Lord Jesus Christ but Kip grasped the meaning and the offer (Please pray he gets discipled).

There was a young woman, S., who had come to mourn her first child, a still born. From a smattering of RI knowledge, she thought there was something after death. She parted, after letting me pray with her, with some gospel knowledge and a gospel of John. No wonder Jesus wept at His friend, Lazarus, death!

Another day experiencing God's enabling grace in witnessing. What a privilege to work with other Christians in the Great Commission work. Praise God for He alone is worthy to be praised.

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Friday night and Saturday saw the Christchurch (NZ) team at the Stand for the Gospel conference where the main speaker was Joel Beeke.  Because of this (and the heavy constant rain all day!) there were no outreaches on Saturday.  But it was wonderful to be challenged and encouraged from the word of God and to enjoy a time of fellowship.

I was surprised to learn that people actually read these battle logs that I write!  So I was very encouraged by that.  Thank you! :)

Sunday afternoon saw a team of four (including a newbie!) head out for the usual outreach to Cashel Mall.  There was rain in the morning, but there was respite by the time we headed out, allowing us to minister the Gospel without the need to find shelter!  The sun even decided to come out for a short period.  :)

I started the outreach talking to a young Chinese man who was finishing a holiday and flying home in the evening.  Sadly, just as the conversation was warming up, the rest of his family came out of a shop and he had to move on.  But he took a Gospel tract to (hopefully) read on his flight!

I then approached an older man with a Gospel tract and was surprised when he responded with hostility.  He was a Catholic who wasn’t happy with us rebel Protestants!  I tried to calm him so I could start to reason with him, but he wasn’t open to it.  He initially wouldn’t shake hands with me, but in the end he did (but he said it doesn’t mean anything!).  He kept the tract I had initially given him.

Meanwhile, Tim and Sophie were busy handing out tracts, and ended up having conversation after conversation (see all the pictures in this report, with others on the cutting room floor!).  Praise God for that.

I ended up having a follow up conversation with the two young men.  It turns out one of them was doing an essay for school trying to make sense of the Israel Folau controversy.  It was a wonderful opportunity to talk about how we know things to be true which challenged his postmodern worldview.  The young man ended up taking a copy of God and Sexuailty by Ray Comfort to read.

This is the last outreach for Sophie for a season, she is about to embark on an exciting adventure to Israel.  We will miss you Sophie, and we’ll be praying for you!  Have a safe, and blessed trip!  :)

After the outreach had ended, and as I was loading my flip chart into my car, I encountered a man whom I’ve spoken to a number of times before, but is resistant to the Gospel.  He was drunk, but I still took the time to reason with him about the seriousness of sin, and the grace of Jesus.  This Gospel is the power of God for salvation!
 

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Thursday saw the Christchurch (NZ) team back at the bus stops: Northlands and Eastgate.  A team of three - it was great to have Kim of OAC joining Andy and I.  These bus stops are an immense harvest field with pretty much constant opportunity to chat with people who are keen to talk about what comes after life.

Starting at Northlands, my first conversation was with a young man who had just hopped off a bus and was walking past.  He accepted a tract, and the question “do you ever think about what comes after life?” piqued his interest.  He was open to listen, and did so intently as I shared the law and the Gospel.  I then asked if he had any questions, and he slowly but thoughtfully responded with, “no, I’m just thinking it over”.

Another conversation was with a young man who was volunteering at a church, but was not sure about the existence of God (which I found fascinating).  As per Romans 1, I explained how we know God exists - through creation, in the things that have been made - and then presented the law and the Gospel to him.

At this point I touched base with Andy, and he had just had an exciting Gospel conversation with a man who had been reading Christopher Hitchens on his Kindle when Andy had approached him.  Already thinking on such philosophy, Andy was able to provide another perspective!

Moving to Eastgate, as I arrived an older man was walking past.  It turns out he was a retired physicist who sure liked to talk!  Sadly, he was completely closed to a reasoned conversation about God and the Gospel, and decided to disengage early.

But I had a very encouraging conversation with a man from the Philippines, who was Catholic.  He said that of all his time in New Zealand, I was the first to talk to him about the things of God - how sad is that!  He was open to a Gospel conversation and seemed challenged.

My last conversation at Eastgate was a long one.  I handed a tract to a young lady who I expected to not be interested.  To my surprise, she was very interested, and had many questions to ask.  It turned out that someone had given her a Bible (King James) five years earlier (outside her school), and she had clearly been reading it.  She seemed to understand the serious nature of her sins, and didn’t think she would be good enough to go to heaven and deserved hell (which is absolutely true, and very refreshing to hear).  She understood the justice of God, but not His mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So it was my privilege to recap the law, and share the amazing Gospel with her - how we could be justified before God, through faith alone (not works) in Christ.  After this, she had question after question.  She seemed to know she needed to be connected to a church and had only recently started to investigate this.  I’m glad, as assuming she understands the Gospel and places her trust in Christ, she needs discipling!  She gladly accepted a New King James Bible, and other literature.  And what most encouraged me, was that she expressed a deep desire to talk to others about the things of God.  She was excited at the idea of joining us out on the streets!  But I said she needed to get committed to a local church first.  She knows how to get in contact with us - I deliberately left the ball in her court in that regard - I pray that she does.

Friday saw forecast rain hit with a vengeance.  Standing, exposed, in the cold rain outside the hospital holding signs is miserable.  So, sadly, we decided to cancel the Gospel + abortion outreach this week.  Instead, while I was letterboxing, Andy had a fruitful time of ministry outside the bus exchange (under the shelter of the large extended roof).

A team of three gathered in the afternoon for flip charting and walk up conversations in sheltered spots.  All glory to God, we were able to have many opportunities to share the love of Christ, in spite of the rain.

A group of girls walked past me and took no interest in my attempt to start a conversation with a Gospel tract.  It often happens!  But then I turned around and noticed that the girls had all stopped and gathered around Roger’s flip chart (pictured)!  Roger is obviously a much better evangelist than I am.  ;)

My highlight conversation of the afternoon was with a young man I first encountered during the summer mission.  I’ve had at least three other solid follow up conversations with him since then (including today) and I regularly pray for him.  He is blind to the serious nature of sin, and is absolutely unwilling to turn from his sin that he loves.  He is stubbornly holding to the idea that there is nothing after death.  This reminds me (not that I need it) that I can’t convince anyone with logic or reason, but that salvation is of the Lord.  Even though we both strongly disagree with each other, we enjoy engaging.  And we parted ways with a hug.  I will continue to pray for him.
 

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Every week is just as good as the last because when its God's work it's always good.

The one that was most memorable was a man I have talked with before. He was walking past and looked at the tract said um no, then he turned back and said oh ,ok I'll take it. Then a while later he was walking back and stopped. At first I hadn't remembered what he had believed and I said I know your face and we've chatted before and he said yes I'm an atheist. I got his name again and we chatted.

It was good he said that he wants to be a person that keeps learning, so he wants to be teachable. He talked about the climate change and said I would not agree with him. But on what he was saying I did agree with him that we have a responsibility to care for the earth God has given us. But again went to the fallen state of the world talked about Adam and Eve the consequences of sin, our broken relationship and the curse of sin on humankind and creation. I remember this man from last time and God is really doing a stirring work in his heart. He was challenged again about the truth of the Bible message.

Pray or him and all those we have had the privilege to share the truth in love.  Again we continue to have other Christians stop to encourage us and we are able to encourage them as well. All praise honour and Glory to our Sovereign triune God.

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Last week a young girl came up and asked for a Bible. It is always so wonderful to have people wanting to receive a Bible. Also its great to be able to ask some questions and encourage them in the Gospel. God is doing all of the work in the heart. We are just like a sign post pointing to the salvation message that we have joyfully received by God's Mercy and Grace. It's all for His purposes and Glory.

When asked if the Bible was for herself, she told me she had read and studied it in the past and that she wanted to investigate it more. I shared the most important message is to be made right with God. To have God's Spirit and a new heart. First we need to hear the bad news and Gods Word and work is needed to admit we are sinners in great need for God's Grace (I like to use the song  “Amazing Grace”) and talk about how it says a wretch like me ... and how blind sin makes us. Then when we see our problem it helps us. God’s grace gives us ears to hear the sound of God’s call and to see our greatest need as He opens the heart to believe and appreciate the good news of Jesus!!!

She was asked some questions, we talked about the condition each person is in because of our sin. There is nothing we can do because we are spiritually dead only Jesus can save us. I wrote down some Scriptures gave her a couple of tracts and asked her to read them and if she needed any help that we are here on Fridays. She had to go, it was a wonderful conversation.

Rick listened and talked to a man who had been through some not very nice things, poor man is also new in town.  We were able to give him information where he could get help with food if he needed to. He was taken through the flip chart and given tracts. He was admitting his sin and heard the message of salvation as a gift not works. 

We had a few young kids with parents take tracts this last couple of weeks of school holidays. Sometimes the parents take the tract read a few lines then pass it to their child.

We were giving out the tract "The intelligence test" also other tracts and booklets continue to be handed out praise God.

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On Wednesday in Brisbane City the events going on the the square were gone, meaning there were a whole heap more people sitting down around the area! There were also seven team members out meaning seven people could hear the gospel at one time! Over the course of the afternoon many people were approached and had conversations of varying lengths.

The first lengthy conversation took place with Liam, who had just gotten out of prison for attempted murder. You would think that he would have thought he was a bad person and deserving of Hell but you'd be wrong. Liam thought that as long as he improves his life from here on in God would welcome him into Heaven on the final day because he is generally a decent guy. Throughout the conversation he came to understand the simple message of the gospel, that faith in what Christ has done is enough for someone to get to Heaven but it turned out that he didn't want to give up living his own way.

He said, "I would prefer to keep stealing to provide for my family and go to Hell than to trust in Christ and not be able to provide". It was an attempt to be noble but it was pointed out that there are a myriad of other ways in which you can survive with a family and it came out that there were certain things that He spent his money on that were not only sinful but illegal. Liam wanted sin more than he wanted God. He walked away knowing what Christ says the way to Heaven is and took a tract. Please be praying that God would humble him and give him a desire to trust in Christ.

A more exciting conversation was with Andrew and Zara. Andrew was in his late fifties and Zara was his eight year old daughter. Andrew at first professed to be atheistic but it turned out that he rejection of God wasn't evidence based but upon the fact that he desired to live his own way. Andrew was shown some simple apologetics for how we know God exists and he said they made sense. He was shown his guilt through God's law and came to understand that if he kept living his own way and died God would have to send him to Hell. At this point Zara came over and joined in the conversation and the pair came to understand the simple message to the gospel, that the solution to sin isn't living better but trusting in Christ to pay for it.

It was wonderful to see that Zara, who attends a Catholic school, came to understand the gospel and Andrew, after attending many years at a Lutheran Church did as well. They were challenged strongly to trust along in Christ for their forgiveness and were given a gospel of John and a tract to read together.

The afternoon was filled with some other chats, including a catch up with a man who had been struggling last time. Over the afternoon though, a range of people came to understand what Jesus says the way to Heaven is and were challenged to count the cost and to trust in Christ.

Please keep those who heard in your prayers and even considering finding a time when you're free to come on out!

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