Battle Log

Page 209

Page 1 . . . 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 . . . 282

There was a heavy Police presence in Woodridge yesterday, which was quite good as it made the area much more peaceful. Sadly, when the Police aren't around there is normally quite a bit of violence, abuse and public drunkenness.

The Police seem to be a bit of a 'band-aid' solution to the problem. However, it must be noted that real community change will not come from laws and legislation, but rather it will only come when Christ is submitted to as Lord.

Our desire for Woodridge is to see Jesus lifted high, and the community transformed by the Gospel. To help achieve these ends we engage in literature distribution and personal witness. Our Free Bible table had a bit of interest yesterday.

I was able to speak to one lady and her son who had just arrived from somewhere in Africa. They were professing Believers, but didn't know where to go to church. I was able to point them to a solid Baptist church just around the corner from where they were living.

During this time, other members of the team were also engaging in conversations with people. One of our team members had a chat to a Muslim girl who had many questions and seemed to be quite interested in Christianity.

One of the wonderful things about ministering in Woodridge is that we often get to see the same people over and over again. Each week we get to build on the foundation which was previously laid. Yesterday, we saw people that we've spoken to in the past, and again we were able to point them to Jesus.

Please pray that the Lord Jesus will rule and reign over this community.

SDG!

---

God saw fit to bring in a lot of labourers last night for our weekly outreach in Brisbane city. We had about 20 people on the team, which was great because it was busier night than usual.

The team was in constant conversations with people about Christ throughout the night, as quite a lot of people were happy to stop and listen, take tracts or come up to the free Bibles table to take a Bible.

At one stage of the night an angry man walked by and yelled out some profanities at the person who was preaching at the time, and the preacher responded with a "God bless you". An hour later the man returned with a soften heart and wanted to know about God. He stayed around talking with the team for quite a long time, thinking through the message of the gospel. Praise be to God! Please pray for him.

Another man that we spoke to was Matt. He initially thought he was a really great guy and said he has never ever told a lie before. But as we talked about some of God's other commandments, he had to admit he had failed too.

He was absolutely shocked to hear that sex before marriage is a sin, and that to look at someone with lust whom you're not married to is a sin as well. We explained the gospel to him and called him to repent and believe. He said that he considered the cost of coming to Christ is so high, as he said he loves his sin. He then had to go somewhere but said he would return later in the night.

About half an hour later he came back and we got to talk further. He was beginning to see the urgency of coming to faith in Christ. Please pray for Matt.

We're simply unworthy servants and so to God be all the glory!

 

---

It was a great night of evangelism yesterday at the Gold Coast. A good number of people on the team preached, including someone who has only preached in the open air once before.

God drew in people to listen to what was being said and some people stayed listening for the entire time.

At one stage, there was a man who called out that he didn't believe in God. So I gave him a simple apologetic - that just as we know builders have a builder, so must this universe have had a creator. He said that that made sense, and he quickly backed down from his atheism.

I asked him whether he was a good person and he said "Yes". So I started going through the commandments of God to see how good he really was. He admitted his sin but thought Hell was just going to be a party. I explained that the party in Hell has been cancelled due to fire.

By this time, quite a lot of people had gathered to hear the discussion going on. The man then had his friends drag him away, but I was able to keep the discussion going with someone else who was standing next to him listening and he was willing to interact.

I explained the gospel to the crowd and then this man started bringing up objections like "How can I believe in something I can't see?" I asked him, "Did you see World War 1?" He said "No, but we have accounts of those who did." I said, "Exactly, in the same way we have the historical accounts of those who saw Jesus." He conceded the point.

After a couple more of his objections, I asked him, "Is the real reason you don't want to repent and trust in Jesus because you want to keep on sinning?" He said, "Yes." This didn't really surprise me as Jesus says in John 3 that people love darkness rather than light.

So I explained the futility and foolishness of living in sin to him. I also said, "What good is cup of pleasure in exchange for an ocean of pain?"

You could tell he was thinking about what was being said. He said he didn't have a Bible. So I encouraged him to go over to the Bible table and take one. He then did so. Please pray for this man.

Over the past few weeks whenever we have had our Gold Coast outreach there has been showers of rain. We prayed that for tonight it would not rain till we finished our outreach for the night at 10pm.

And there wasn't a drop of rain until exactly as the clock struck 10pm, then it started pouring down rain. Praise God for his answer to prayer, which meant a lot of people could hear the gospel.

---

We had a productive afternoon in Sunnybank. Despite the very hot weather, we were able to share the Gospel with quite a number of people.

One of the biggest challenges with minister in this community is that the majority of people speak Chinese (and I don't!). To overcome this problem we set up a Free Bible and Literature table with material in their language. It is always encouraging to see people take God's Word in their own language.

Another challenge in this area is that the Mormons focus heavily on trying to deceive the Chinese speakers. Many of the LDS missionaries are trained to speak the language. Due to this, we make ever effort to reach the missionaries with the Gospel. This afternoon, I was able to have a good conversation with two 'elders.' We chatted about the history of the LDS, their claim of Joseph Smith being a prophet and also the Gospel. Using the Scripture we were able to show them that a Prophet must be 100% accurate (Joseph Smith wasn't) and that salvation isn't something we can earn (as the LDS claim).

It is always interesting that when an LDS missionary gets into a position where they can't answer, they use the excuse of, "I have an appointment; I have to go to." This is a common excuse at Sunnybank. Normally, the elder will leave, walk about fifty metres, then go back to talking to other people. It is clear that they have no problems with breaking the ninth commandment.

Please pray that the Lord would convert the Mormons and also the people of this community.

SDG!

---

Glory to God that the gospel went out in Brisbane city.

We had a smaller team at the start, as some of our regulars couldn't make it. So we prayed together at the start for more labourers and also that the council would leave us alone.

God answered our prayers. Not long later, He brought in some more team members and even brought in two new people who have never evangelised with us before! Praise be to Him!

We saw the council hovering around, glaring at us for a while, but in God's providence they did not come up to us at all or fine us!

The fines we have received in previous weeks/months are currently on hold, being reviewed by a different department of the council. Please pray that whoever is reviewing them would realise we are there lawfully and drop the fines. We have been evangelising in Queen St Mall now for over 10 years.

The team had some really good conversations with people, with many saying that they will seriously consider the message. The gospel also went out clearly and boldly through the preaching.

All glory to God!

 

---

We had a well spent morning putting about 2,000 gospel tracts into letterboxes in the Wynnum/Manly area (QLD).

We started off with bacon and eggs for breakfast and then split into pairs to distribute the 'This was your life' tracts into letterboxes.

The weather was very pleasant, being mostly cloudy, and at times God brought in some light rain to cool us down.

We praise God that the gospel message could go into 2,000 more homes this morning. Please pray for all those who read the tract.

We aim to do this again later in the year, we hope you can come along then too.

To God be the glory!

---

We had a great outreach on Wednesday afternoon in Brisbane city. Despite the opposition we have been getting in recent months, we see that there are plenty of people open to hearing about God.

Throughout the afternoon, the team was in gospel conversations with people, and a few team members preached, while God drew in people to listen.

One conversation we had was with a high school student named Emily. She said "I am a nice person", hoping that that would get her to Heaven. After talking to her about sin, the coming judgement, the cross, repentance and faith, she thought for a moment and said, "I will do that now, you have now convinced me".

I asked her a few checking questions to see whether she had understood the message of grace - that forgiveness is not something you can earn, it's a free gift available through trusting in Christ. She had. Please pray for her, she has a Bible already.

Straight after that conversation, I talked with another high school student named Olivia. The conversation went very similar and she too was open to the gospel. Afterwards she said, "I learnt something today. Wow thank you, I did not think I would learn this today".

She didn't have a Bible, so we gave her a gospel of John to start reading. Please also pray for her.

All glory to God that His word is going out and impacting people!

---

It was a rather hot and sunny afternoon of outreach in Sunnybank. I haven't been out witnessing here since before Christmas, so it was great to return to our regular location.

Sunnybank is a centre for Mormon missionaries. Within minutes of arriving two "Sisters" approached us to begin a conversation. One of them was from the US and the other from China. We chatted for awhile about the way of salvation, and how to return to Heavenly Father. They gave the standard LDS replies, and they told me that they are trying as hard as they can to keep the commandments.

Under the LDS system, in order to be forgiven you have to trust in Jesus and then do works. One of the many works is keeping the commandments. I asked the Sisters if they were keeping the commandments, they replied that they were trying. I then put a question to them, I said, "If I said to you, I tried to climb a mountain. Would that imply that I succeed or that I had failed?" They both answered that it would show that I had failed. I then asked them, "If you say you are trying to keep the commandments, does that imply you are succeeding or failing?" The point was made. They realised that they were failing in their efforts to earn salvation.

Once this point was made, I took them to Galatians 3:10 where the Apostle Paul says, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."

I asked them, "If you are trying to keep the law, what does the Bible say about you if you don't keep all the law?" They acknowledged that they would be cursed.

From there I took them to Galatians 3:11-14: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

There on the side of the road in Sunnybank, I stressed to the LDS Sisters that salvation isn't through law-keeping, but rather it is only through Jesus Christ who became a curse for us. I explained justification by faith alone to them, and their response was to say, "We have an appointment we must attend." With that they walked off.

Shortly after this, two Mormon Elders came by. We had the exact same conversation, and again we got the same response. It is amazing that whenever a LDS missionary can't deal with Scripture that they have an "appointment" they have to go to. One cannot help but wonder if they are breaking the ninth commandment!

For the rest of the day the LDS avoided us, but we were able to chat to many other people about the Good News.

Please pray for those that we ministered to today. Also, please pray that the Lord would deliver the Mormons from their works righteous system.

SDG!

---

It was a windy, yet, productive outreach in Woodridge today. We arrived at just after 2pm and began by setting up the "Free Bible and Literature Table." We then proceeded to hand out tracts and talk to people. At one point the Police came by; they were quite friendly and chatted to us. They even helped us pick up all our resources when a strong gust of wind flipped our table.

I was able to chat to one man whom we've spoken to several times before. He was looking for any excuse to justify his unbelief. We chatted for sometime, and he admitted that he was more concerned about his children and his children's children than he was about his own soul.

I quoted to him from Deuteronomy 6 about the responsibilities of parents. I stressed to him that if he was truly concerned about his children then he would be seeking to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. He admitted that this was true.

After talking to him, I was able to chat to a man who had just finished talking to Mako. This man wanted to know how he could be sure that God exists. I pointed out to him that he already knew that God exists (Romans 1) and then proceeded to use the cosmological argument to confirm this knowledge. The many very readily agreed that God does exist.

During this time, Ryan and Pastor Luther were talking to two people from Iran. Both of them have arrived in this country as refugees. It was great to have a local Pastor with us as we ministered, as he was able to get their contact details and will be meeting with them tomorrow.

It was great to get back out to share the Gospel in Woodridge. Please pray that the light would dispel the darkness in this community.

SDG!

 

---

It was a rather hot day at Wellington Point on Sunday arvo so it was good to be under the shade of a tree. It’s always good to pray and fellowship with the team members as we hand out tracts and share the good news of the gospel with the people of the area out and about enjoying the day.

I had a talk with Ian, a middle aged aussie bloke and his asian partner and upon going through a few of the ten commandments I asked if they have ever told a lie. They agreed and the lady said that she lied to her mother and then pointed to Ian and said that he lied to her. Not wanting them to start an argument with each other, I quickly went on to another commandment to show them that they and all of us are guilty of breaking God’s laws. 

I explained that we will have to stand before the judgement seat of God one day and give an account of the way we lived while on our journey in this short thing called life! This couple had someone waiting for them but before they went I shared the Gospel and challenged them to investigate this message for they do not know if they will have tomorrow!!

When I had finished the chat with that couple, Ryan told us that a young man had contacted him during the week and said that he lived in Wellington Point and asked if it would it be alright if he could come and meet us and join us in sharing the gospel. Well of course we said no (only joking). 

Ryan told us that he was coming that arvo. He (Tai) arrived and we got acquainted with him, gave him some tracts and showed him tips on handing the tracts out. He also got to listen to Ryan witness to a couple of teenage boys. These two boys were cousins of two other teenagers Ryan had shared the gospel with only ten minutes before. They were of the Indian Sikh religion and had never heard this message before and told their two cousins to check out what Ryan was sharing!!! Wow praise God. Please pray for the young boys that our Lord would bring them to saving faith in Him.

The ladies joined us shortly after they had witnessed to a number of people at the jetty. We introduced them to Tai and they got to encouraged Tai in his decision to come out and share the gospel with us. We prayed and thanked our Lord for His abundant mercy and grace poured out upon us daily and that His word will not return void but will accomplish what He sent it to do.

Bless His Holy name.

---

Page 1 . . . 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 . . . 282

---