Battle Log

It is not often the reports are put up for the evening outreaches but Monday night was so joyfully filled with conversations that it is hard not to share.

The first conversation was with Eddie. He had a Christian-ish background and as a result had a warped understanding of justification. He kept thinking that people are made right before God on the basis of their goodness. Meaning entrance into Heaven is entirely dependent upon how one has lived. He came to see that if that was the standard no one would enter Heaven and in fact every single one of us deserves Hell and after a thirty minute discussion Eddie for the first time in his entire life was able to comprehend and articulate that the one condition to be right before God is the trust that Jesus paid for his sin on the cross and the reason that those who have trusted in Jesus will want to obey Him is out of thankfulness to God for what He has done.

Eddie was left to consider his response to this message, knowing that seriousness of either decision.

Next Gerald was chatted with. Last night some of the team had tried to chat but ended up leaving very quickly because of the language barrier. Tonight, over the course of around forty-five minutes, with the help of Gerald friend and translator Thomas, after nine cycles through the gospel, Gerald finally got it! Gerald and Thomas are from France, so their only real exposure to the Bible and what it says is found in the Catholic church and its traditions. This meant that they had to unlearn before they could learn.

But with some patience, despite a number of times considering giving up, after the conversation at length Gerald with a big smile on his face came to realise the difference between what he had believe and what Christ proclaims. He was asked, "At the beginning what were you saying the way to Heaven is?" to which he responded, "Stop doing the wrong thing, repent (by which he meant ask for forgiveness and regret what you've done), pray and ... many other things".

Then he was asked, "After this conversation, what is the way to Heaven, "Believe that Jesus paid for my sin on the cross". It was a long slog but at the end it was totally worth it. He too took a gospel of John and was encouraged to start reading it.

Then came Felipe, a Colombian man who similarly had Catholic heritage. Over a twenty minute conversation, despite a slight language barrier Felipe got it. He was quicker to understand than the other two and was so thankful for the conversation. He said at the end of it, he was going to have to consider it tonight!

The last conversation of the evening was Steve. He is an early sixties Australian man who was on his way home from the Casino. This was a most unusual conversation because most older gentlemen want nothing to do with any discussion about death but there seemed something on Steve's mind and it looked as if he actually wanted to talk about it. Steve had a few unusual struggles, he saw God's law and his guilt and actually thought that he was too bad to be saved. Thankfully he was dissuaded of that with a look at the awesomeness of Christ.

But then Steve got caught up on the fact that he wasn't sure he was able to stop doing all these wrong things in order to become a Christian. It took the majority of the conversation for him to understand that the changed life is a product of salvation not a prerequisite for it and it was exciting to see, when after being asked almost ten checking questions, to which he was unable to give the correct answer as to how someone is saved he finally, after another analogy, said, when asked, "How do you get to Heaven?", "Oh it's easy like you said, just trust that Jesus has paid for your sin on the cross".

From there the work was able to be done to show how his life will change and why it will change and to answer some of his other worries. Steve was left with the gospel in his head, the encouragement to dig out his Bible and read John's gospel and the serious decision before him, to trust in Christ alone for his salvation or to continue to reject Him.

Please be praying for those four, firstly thanking God for such a wonderful evening of outreach but secondly that these four men would remember the gospel and trust in Christ alone!

    

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On Saturday night in Brisbane City, once again the team assembled to share with those who would listen what God has done to save sinners.

The evening started with a conversation with a man who thought that he was already trusting in Jesus. Yet sadly he seemed blind to the fact that every time he was asked the way to Heaven he referred to himself and his own goodness. He ended up leaving quite quickly without comprehending that he was in desperate trouble.

This backed onto a conversation with a Muslim who was so blind to the truth. He was proclaiming things about Jesus that were factually and historically inaccurate and declared that in his life he had NEVER done anything willfully sinful. He was called out on his lies and shown the desperate position that he is in before God. He was told the story of the chief who as a man of his word took the punishment his son deserved and was shown how God acted in a similar way, except instead of taking the place of His son, He took the place of His enemies.

This man wanted nothing to do with Jesus and was self-assured in his own righteousness. It was a sad conversation as a blind man sprinted toward Hell, thinking he would be welcomed into Heaven.

Along came two PNG men, Gilbert and Fred who thought that they too were headed to Heaven. Except when asked what the way is they declared, "Trust in Jesus and obey Him". Over the next fifteen minutes, for the first time in their life they came to understand that the way to Heaven is simply to trust in Christ's death on the cross to pay for their sin and the obedience will result from gratefulness to God for what He has done.

They were both moved as they came to understand it and were so thankful for the conversation. After they had responded back, sharing the correct answer of how to get to Heaven, they were asked when they would starting trusting only in Jesus to pay for their sin and with smiles on their faces said, "today". They were encouraged to read Romans 3-5 to cement their new understanding. What a joy it is to see people come to know the good news for the first time!

A later conversation was with a man named Rafael who was Italian and saw the wickedness and hypocrisy of the Catholic church but sadly had used this as his excuse to reject God. He was shown that it was unwise to reject God and His offer of forgiveness on the basis of people who claim to represent Him. He came to see his sin and that he is heading for Hell but Rafael didn't want the gospel.

He preferred to saying, "I can't know if it is true", rather than dealing with himself as a sinner and coming to God on His terms.

Please be praying for those who heard the good news tonight, that God would be working in their hearts to draw them to Himself.

     

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On Wednesday in Brisbane City the team was a bit lighter on at first as a few regulars were sick but God provided another team member who had the day off work to come on down and she even bought a friend with her! Over the course of the afternoon the six on the team were able to have many conversations bringing the knowledge of the truth to the ears of those who had never heard it before!

An early conversation was with a Korean lady Suben. She is from Korea, living in Austria but was visiting Australia for a month! God had bought her around the globe to give her and opportunity to hear and understand the offer of forgiveness for sinners. Suben thought she would be okay on judgement day at first but with the revelation of God's law she came to understand the serious predicament she faced. This caused her at first to start saying that she wasn't sure that God existed anymore (in an attempt to avoid her guilt by removing the law giver). She was shown that this didn't make sense as we know God exists and then was shown the proper solution to guilt, payment.

She heard of what Jesus has done to save sinners and the simple means of accepting that gift of forgiveness by trusting that Jesus has died for her sin on the cross. She came to understand this simple message and that those who trust in Jesus will be thankful and therefore desire to turn from sin and to live for Christ! She was given a gospel of John and was encouraged to read it in the next week and was encouraged to fish her Bible out of storage when she gets home!

Please keep Suben in your prayers that God would continue to challenge her and cause her not to rest until she has trusted in Christ.

Another exciting conversation was with a Zane a young guy who turned up with a friend interested to go through the flip chart and came away understanding the gospel message, seeing that he knows that God exists and having this day to deal with the information he now has and making the choice to respond in faith or rejection.

A conversation late in the afternoon was had with Naim, a Muslim. He said, "I want you to show me where Jesus says, 'I am God, worship me'". He said he would instantly trust in Jesus if this was shown to him! This question was acknowledged as important but it was pointed out to Naim that it would be foolish just to show him Jesus' claims to be divine without explaining what Jesus actually had to say. So Naim was taken through the gospel, shown his guilt, that he deserves Hell and if he received justice for how he lived God would send him to Hell.

Then he was shown that if there is someone perfect to take his place, to pay for his sin he can walk free. It was acknowledged that only God is perfect and therefore whoever pays for sin must be God. He was shown what Jesus did to pay for sin, dying on a cross, taking the wrath of God and therefore that Jesus must be God. He came to understand the simple message that this is a gift to be accepted by trusting in Christ and that those who trust will respond on obedience out of gratitude.

Naim was then given a gospel of John and was asked to read John 1:1-3 and 14 and he went silent. He was then pointed to John 8:48-59 and again he had not much to say. He was shown that Jesus' claim to be "I AM" were claims to be God and Naim was given the gospel of John and encouraged to read it this week to see what else Jesus says about Himself in this regard.

Please be praying for Naim that he would take the gospel he has heard, the word of God in his pocket and that God would work on his heart causing him to trust in Christ alone for his salvation, rather than in himself and the words of a man.

If you ever have a day off, why not see if there is an outreach on you can make it to and spend a few hours declaring the glories of your God and King to the people of this world who are heading to Hell?

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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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On Wednesday afternoon in Brisbane there was a team of seven out, due to some people being on holidays and being able to spare the time where they'd usually be at other commitments. This allowed for many conversations to take place over the course of the afternoon.

An early conversation took place with Kaychill, a young man who near the team was busking and during a break he was approached and asked what he thought would happen to him after he dies. He said his mother is Catholic and that he therefore thinks there is a Heaven and Hell and he said he'd probably be headed to Heaven. Over the course of the afternoon over three conversations he came to understand the beauty of the simple gospel, where God remains just and yet sinners are forgiven.

He at first was trying to defend himself from being a sinner, hoping that God would still let him into Heaven but he was challenged to be honest about his life as God won't be over looking our sin, as it must be punished. Then he was quickly shown the good news but went back to busking.

In the next conversation he came to understand the good news, that trust in Christ's death on the cross is enough to make a sinner right before God. He said it was the first time he'd ever heard that and said that he would trust in Christ today! He was encouraged to start reading his Bible and to start attending a local Christian Church.

Later in the afternoon there was a sad conversation with a middle aged man. He seemed open at first and was asked what he thinks will happen to us after we die. He said, "I'm not convinced there is anything". When asked what had lead him to that conclusion he said, "Because there is no evidence to the contrary". He was then asked if there was a God and he said, "Absolutely not!" When asked how the universe got here then he said, "It all came from nothing". When challenged on that, he was asked, "What evidence do you have that it all came from nothing?" He again simply said, "There is no evidence that it was created." At this point he was asked, "What about the seat you're sitting on, how did it get here?"

He seemed to understand instantly. Of course things with a beginning have a Creator. Upon this realisation he said, "Go away stop talking to me!" He was left with a final challenge, "If your entire worldview can be dismantled to the point that you have no answers in just a few questions, maybe you should reconsider it". He said he didn't want to and just wanted to live his own way, so he was left to consider it all.

The afternoon then finished with a wonderful chat with Larko and Tamati, two Kiwi young men. They thought it was likely that God exists and said therefore that they would be in trouble before God. In the end they came to understand the good news and said that they would strongly consider it and were thankful for the chat.

Please keep these people in your prayer as they head away from this afternoon considering what God has said the way to Heaven.

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On Sunday night there was a team of thirteen who came out to proclaim the glories of our God and King! What an exciting evening it was out in the city. With some newer team members coming on out to be helped and equipped in how they can better share the gospel, it was an evening filled with conversations.

There was an early conversation with a couple who stopped to chat. They at first said they didn't think there is a God but then saw how we know He exists and acknowledged that it made sense. Then the implications of God's existence came with the law and God's need to punish evil. They saw that like other they too had disobeyed God and were deserving of Hell. But at this moment the guy grabbed his girlfriends arm and left, stopping them from hearing the good news about how sinners can be forgiven.

Later there was a conversation with Simon a man who had some religious background but over the course of the conversation came to see the predicament he was in currently. He saw that if he died as he currently stood he would end up in Hell eternally. Upon realising this Simon wanted to know the solution so the simple message of hope was shared. It was a privilege to see that he had understood it and actually said that he wanted to trust in Christ today!

On the street when people understand the good news and profess a desire to trust in Christ today the next step is to almost try and convince them not to. It is often hard find the balance between excitement and taking every little thing as a sign that someone is now a Christian and knowing the serious call of the Bible to repent, to stop living ones own way, to take up ones cross and deny themselves daily and many other things.

So Simon was strongly challenged, shown the serious cost of trusting in Christ and at the end of it all he was checked one final time that he still knew the simple message of justification by faith and he took a tract and went on his way.

The final conversation of the evening was weird. Dom and Emily were people who were trusting alone in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, they knew they're not good and don't deserve forgiveness. They understood that there is no works required to receive salvation and understood that good works will result from all those who have trusted in Christ's death on the cross to pay for their sin. The surprise, not that they understood Christianity but that in all of this they attended a Catholic church.

This young couple attend a local church, whose official confessions say the very opposite of everything that they believe. Simply through their study of God's word they had theologically arrived in the right place, despite attending church that teaches the opposite. What a testament to God's commitment to those who are His! After this was all established Dom and Emily were challenged in their attendance to such a church.

They were encouraged to read more of God's word regarding baptism, communion, church leadership, confession and many other things and compare it to what they were being taught and on the basis of seeing the difference in scripture with their church then seek out a church whose aim is to preach God's word, not the traditions of men.

Please keep those who heard the good news in your prayers. Specifically for Simon that his profession of faith would be possession of faith and for Dom and Emily that they would end up at a Church where the Pastor seeks to preach the truth.

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On Saturday the first conversation was with Banjo. At first he started talking about reincarnation but this was just brushed over and he was shown God's existence, his guilt, his current destiny in Hell and the only hope for sinners. Banjo said, "This is the first time I've ever heard this message". He also noted that it had opened his mind and he was challenged to consider it. He was able to tell the way to Heaven to the team and said he was interested in reading his Bible and was going to start attending a local Church! What an exciting beginning to the evening!

Soon there was a conversation with a Muslim man, Matham. He was doing the usual spiel of trying to tell us everything about Islam and in doing so was stopping himself from hearing the good news. A new direction was taken as he was asked, "Do you know what Jesus says is the way to Heaven?" He didn't. So the opportunity was taken to show him through the flip chart, letting it do the talking and also to keep the conversation on track.

Matham got to the end of the conversation and was able to articulate back, according to Jesus, how someone gets to Heaven. He was challenged to consider it strongly and he headed off.

Soon three young adults, Chad, Karlie and David, approached and they were asked where they'd go after they die but they didn't have much idea. Over the course of the conversation Chad remained defiant against God's offer of forgiveness and Karlie didn't say much but David seemed moved. He said he wanted to consider it, he was going to have to think about this more and gladly took some resources.

There was then an interesting conversation with Declan and Reece. Declan declared that he was sure he'd be good enough for Heaven and was strongly defending himself. Then the law was revealed and he was absolutely silenced. Reece on the other hand who was less self-assured to begin with, was also condemned by the law but then came to hear the good news of the gospel. He came to comprehend it simply and understand it very quickly.

In the end the pair were challenged to count the cost, to not just take this in as information but to trust in Christ alone for their salvation and to start living in obedience to God.

There were a scattering of other conversations. A very arrogant man approached the table and had no intention to listen just to berate and disrespect. There was an American lady who'd had quite a lot to drink therefore struggled to pay attention and follow the conversation but was given a gospel tract. There was also Daniel and Arki a couple who heard the gospel but didn't seem to understand despite best efforts and ended up leaving with tracts.

Please keep all those who heard the good news in your prayer and why not consider this weekend coming on out to share the good news of what Christ has done to save sinners?

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On Wednesday in Brisbane City there was a range of encouraging conversations. Many people stopped by and wanted a go on the flip chart.

The first conversation of the afternoon took a very long time. It started with two ladies one of whom had spoken to the team before. But it ended up with a guy named Daniel and a girl named Ally. They had very little understanding of Christianity even though they had attended Catholic schools.

The conversation started with establishing comprehension of the gospel and why it is the only option of salvation and Daniel and Ally came to understand it. It was exciting to see them able to explain it back and answer questions that challenged them in what they had just been taught.

At the end of the chat they said they were thankful for the conversation and were keen to look into it and they both took a gospel of John and said they would read it.

It was an exciting conversation because they realised the seriousness of the discussion. They didn't just leave thinking it was a nice message or foolishly rejecting Jesus because they love sin. They left knowing that their response to this Jesus would determine their eternal destiny and were going to way up their choices. Please be praying that God graciously shows them the desperate wickedness of their hearts and causes them to trust in Christ!

A conversation late in the afternoon took place with Evie a lady who struggled to understand. She was really hungry and had to head off to eat some food but before that point she was able to see her current eternal destiny, that she was headed to Hell.

Sadly she was struggling to concentrate and therefore was unable to understand the gospel but she took a tract and said she'd read it.

Over the course of the afternoon the six team members had the opportunity to speak to around twenty people who heard of the good news about Christ, many of whom also were able to understand the simple response of faith that saves and therefore the good works that will follow out of gratefulness.

Please raise up these people and conversations in your prayer that God may use this to draw those who are His unto Himself.

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On Sunday evening, God had sent rain to this earth, to sustain and help with the growth of the plants. This meant though that the seats were wet and people weren't too keen to sit down on the seats so the team spread around a little further to converse with people a little further apart. This was useful though as there were nine team members out sharing the good news of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

An early conversation took place with Gilliami a Portuguese speaking, professing Christian but as usual he thought it would be his obedience that would be gaining him a place in Heaven. He was show God's standard of perfect and God's law and it didn't take him long to see that he wouldn't be receiving a place in Heaven if he was being judged on his own life. But then when talking about the sacrifice of Christ he kept trying to use this good works as leverage to gain for himself Jesus' sacrifice. He really struggled to understand that it is faith alone in Jesus' sacrifice that causes one to be right before God. He was encouraged to spend time this very night, reading Romans 3-5.

There were a scattering of conversations throughout the rest of the night but the even finished with three very encouraging conversations in a row. The first was with Dani who had some Christian background but basically just lived her own way. She was shown the problem, of sin and the punishment it deserves and was lead through the beauty and simple message of salvation. Getting to the end she said she half trusts in Jesus and it was explained that sort of belief will not save. You need to be relying upon what Jesus did to pay for your sin, otherwise you will not be saved. She came to understand this and said she would have to think about it tonight. She had a Bible at home and therefore was encouraged to read the gospel of John tonight!

Next was a conversation with Eric. He'd been speaking to another team member but wanted some extra clarification. Eric was a Taiwanese "Christian" who was worried about his salvation because he was trusting in his own actions to help him get to Heaven. No wonder he was extremely worried. He was taken through the gospel another time and was challenged with some questions to clarify and after a few goes through the gospel, checking each time if he had understood he finally seemed to get it on the third attempt. This was good news and he was then encouraged to start reading John's gospel, the letter to the Romans and to attend a local Church so that he may be built up and strengthened in the gospel.

The final conversation of the night was with Grant. Who similarly had been talking to another team member and professing to be a Christian. He was a little grey on the gospel thinking it was received on the basis of asking but came to understand that it was on the basis of trusting in Christ. The beauty of this conversation was that just two days earlier he had been discussing with his friend this very topic but they had decided to conclude that there is nothing after death.

This conversation, just two nights later came at the right time. God prepared it beforehand, so that it was still fresh and not really settled. Grant professed that today he would trust in Christ and he too was encouraged to start reading his Bible and to attend a local Church.

Please be praying for those tonight who heard. For the four professing Christians that they each came to understand the gospel properly and will all subsequently trust in Christ this very night! Please keep them in your prayer as they hopefully start their Christian journey of a life lived in obedience to God out of gratefulness to Him for what He has done.

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On Saturday night in Brisbane City it was exciting to see so many team members out with the intention of telling people what Jesus has done to save sinners.

An early conversation took place with Mark and Claudia. They said they weren't really worried about the afterlife but they said they also didn't know what was coming. They were shown that they should very seriously consider it. Firstly because it could happen at any time. Secondly they were shown God's law and realised that if they were to be judged based on how they live because God is good, they'd be heading for Hell. They were shown the seriousness but their friends arrived and they decided to head off instead of continuing to chat.

This was followed by a conversation with Christian and Jordi. They saw God's existence and were shown the bad news that because God is good they, as lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderous, adulterers at heart are heading for eternal punishment in Hell. They saw this and then said, "We're in a hurry, can you quickly explain to us the solution". They were shown the gospel and with some clarification questions and checking questions they showed that they'd understood justification by faith alone and that true faith will always be followed by obedience to God. They both took tracts, were thankful for the chat and headed off.

There was a precious moment during the night when a young lady and her son were walking past and the son wanted to know what the flip chart was about. In God's providence, as a result the boys mother was taken through the flip chart and she came to understand the simple message of the gospel. She was encouraged this very day to trust in Christ and to rely on His perfect life and sacrificial death as the only reason she'd be going to Heaven. She was thankful for the conversation, took a gospel of John and was encouraged to start reading.

Two late conversations in the evening took place. The first with Sophie who walked up to the flip chart and had a few spare minutes before work and so she was taken through the simple gospel presentation. She saw that goodness isn't judged based on comparison to others, that by God's law everyone stands condemned and therefore are headed to Hell. She then was asked what could be done and she said she wasn't sure but she came to hear the good news, seeing the imagery of the flip chart showing how Christ has stepped in and taken the punishment for sin of those who believe.

She heard clarification on the simple message that sinners are made right before God, simply by trusting that Jesus has paid for their sin on the cross and then came to understand that in response to this gift of forgiveness they will turn from their sin and instead live in obedience to God. She too was challenged with her comprehension of the message she'd just heard with some simple questions which by God's providence, due to the time limit she got right straight away! Praise God for such an exciting yet short conversation.

This was then followed by a conversation with two Muslims. This wasn't the only conversation during the night of this nature but it was hard work. The reason it is so hard is that Muslims are taught to try and convert others to Islam rather than listening to what is being said. Most of the time, instead of engaging with the challenges being placed before them as to what they are saying, they simply repeat it or say it louder. This isn't always the case and there are some very patient, humble and interested Muslims. Sadly, more often than not this isn't the case. In this specific scenario Khaled and Abdullah just wanted to talk.

The solution that worked in this scenario to enable the gospel to be shared was that, it was explained to them that the team understood Islam and what it proposes. They were given a simple yet accurate explanation of Islam to which they agreed but when they were asked what Jesus says is the way to Heaven they could not answer. On the back of this then, the opportunity was taken to show them what Jesus has actually said.

They like usual were taken through God's law, humanities sinfulness, the position sin leaves us and therefore that the only way for God to remain just and humanity to be anything other than eternally damned is for God to do something to pay for sin. They were shown what Christ did and how they can receive it by trusting that He has paid for their sin on that cross. They were able to repeat back the simple message and how it is received but they ultimately rejected it because they were sure it would be their own goodness that would get them to Heaven.

Over all, it was an encouraging night as usual. With a 100% success rate because God's word went out. Please be praying for those who heard the good news that they wouldn't just comprehend it but that they would trust in Christ alone for their salvation.

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