Battle Log

The team (of there) from up North were with Andy and I again on Saturday - in Cashel Mall.  There was some kind of Santa thing going on and there were lots of people out and about.  We had some Christmas tracts - and they were all distributed in the morning.

But it was actually a surprisingly slow outreach.  People were focused on what they were doing!  In spite of this, I was able to have two solid gospel conversations in the morning.

The first was very interesting.  A young guy in a hurry whizzed past, but stopped to take a Christmas tract.  I didn’t think he’d stop, but I asked what he thought happened after life.  To my surprise he did stop.  He had a Hindu background and ended up staying for a long chat.  What was interesting was that I had other people stop and take interest in the conversation (I was using the flip chat).  Suddenly, one of the bystanders - a Christian - got involved.  He was lovely, and very well meaning, but he had actually jumped in just as I was explaining the gospel and steered the conversation down a bit of a rabbit trial.  I was able to gently take back control of the conversation and get it back to the gospel.  I was then able to work some objections the guy had - I actually learnt some things about Hinduism in the process.  The guy grasped the gospel well, but wasn’t ready to respond - yet I challenged him to do so.

The other chat was also very interesting.  This time it was because the lady of the couple struggled to let go of the idea of her good deeds saving her.  She was very attentive and engaged.  But just didn’t grasp justification by grace alone through faith alone.  Checking questions came to the rescue, so I continued to re-explain.  She’d indicate that she understood, but another checking question and she would revert back to good works.  Sadly, I’m not confident she was grasping it by the end.  The guy with her was.  Gladly, salvation is not dependent on me.  May God use what I said, and may she have other opportunities to engage with the gospel.

After lunch, we spent another couple of hours in outreach.  Emma had a fantastic conversation with two kids (pictured).  I also had a long chat with two young Catholics who came to understand the gospel.

We finished up in Cathedral Square.  I managed to engage with a young couple.  The guy was giving pretty good answers to my initial questions: “believe in God” and then again later in the conversation after I’d been through the law and the gospel.  I sensed that this guy had maybe been to a Christian camp, or been involved with a church - so I asked him about it.  He looked at me and said, “Your name is Glen, right?”.  I was shocked.  It turns out I had talked to him before!  Oh Lord, save people, for your glory.  I can’t.  I leave them in your hands.  Lord, please help me to get better at explaining your gospel and representing you well.  I need your help Lord!

On Sunday Andy and I had a couple of new church members join us in Cashel Mall for a couple of hours of outreach.  One spent the time joining Andy to listen in on his gospel conversations.  The other did a fantastic job handing out Christmas Tracts.  Near the end of the outreach I fell into a great conversation with a young lady who had just received a pile of Hare Krishna books.  The two church members were able to listen into this long chat (a friend of the young lady joined in as well.)  After the conversation we were able to debrief and I got some fantastic feedback on how the young lady was misunderstanding something I was saying - and I didn’t even realise!  The church member giving me the feedback had said she had wanted to jump in quite a few times!  Now that I do so much evangelism on my own - I’m aware that I now find it hard to involve and encourage others.  We talked about this.  I gave the church member permission to jump in next time!  It was so encouraging seeing the insight that others have that I don’t necessarily have.  I want to encourage all Christians to get involved with the great commission - I can’t do this on my own, together we can do this. :)
 

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Thursday morning I was online with the Aussie team.  I had seven solid gospel conversations - glory to God.

An interesting chat with a lady who was very interested in the question: “What happens after life?”.  I was able to share the law and the gospel.  And she rejected it.  As I was talking she typed: “I still don't believe in him tho”.  I asked why, and her excuse was that it was all confusing.  So I asked what part was confusing, and she said, “I don’t know man… It just doesn’t add up”.  But then she said, “but your explanation was very well made, I have to admit that”.  Something was missing.  But I persisted by re-explaining the gospel - her response showed that she was gaining clarity.  She then asked me more about hell.  Thank you Lord for the opportunity to share with her, I leave her in your hands.

Later I had a good chat with a young Catholic guy who loved his religion.  He came to grasp the gospel - but he didn’t want to give up his religion.  He was left counting the cost of the gift.

I then joined Andy at Eastgate.

I had an encouraging short encounter with a lady who accepted a Christmas tract from me, I gave her a brief explanation of the gospel emphasising justification by grace alone through faith alone.  She interrupted the flow to tell me a bit about herself - she is currently going to a church, but had come from a background of drugs and alcohol.  She said that she often feels confused, but that my simple explanation had really helped her - she thanked me.  She needed to move on.  Thank you Lord for the brief opportunity!

Andy had a long chat with a lady (pictured) who is getting mixed up by the cult: World Mission Society Church of God.  Andy has learned some really good background information on this cult and so was able to have a good gospel conversation with her.  Oh Lord, rescue her!

We moved to Northlands, I was able to have a long follow up chat with a young Muslim girl among many other gospel chats.

On Friday it was great to have a team of three join us from up north!

We started the day with the gospel + abortion outreach outside Christchurch hospital.  In contrast to last week, where we had a lovely counter protester that we were able to engage with, this week we had one very nasty counter protester.  Rude, insulting, abusive even.  As I write this on Saturday, I’m still feeling the sting of her cutting words - and I didn’t cop the worst of it.  Her words and actions were a glimpse of her world view.  At one point she was attacking the older members of our team saying they were less evolved (probably meaning social evolution).  Later she was abusing my Mother who refused to respond.  The girl ended up by saying my Mum was meaningless.  And this girl ended up stirring up the hatred in two other of the counter protesters.  It was a really tuff outreach.  I lost my cool at one point, and had to work hard to gain it back and continue to ignore the insults.  Later I had an opportunity to tell of my care & love for one who had just told me she hated me.  We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  But, in spite of this - or more likely - because of this, many many opportunities for conversation with members of the public occurred.  I had two great opportunities to engage with people - one of them I was able share the gospel with (he understood the logic, but sadly resisted it).  Andy and Emma were very busy in conversations with people.  Andy ended up staying to well after the outreach was over in conversation with one guy.  We are encouraged to continue to stand against this modern day holocast of abortion and bring the hope of true forgiveness - even for murder - found in the sacrifice of Jesus.

We headed to Cathedral Square where I and a number of others preached before we headed to Cashel mall where the team was busy in one to one conversations.  The weather turned to rain thirty minutes before I was scheduled to finish, so we decided to head for a coffee early.

I made up the time while I was online in the evening.  It was one of the best periods of online outreach I’ve ever had.  Seven solid gospel conversations.

I had a 25 minute chat with a Muslim from the UK (based on accent) who was resistant, but actually came to grasp the gospel.  He then started counting the cost - it was too high for him (for now).  Lord, he is in your hands.

I then had one of the best conversations I think I’ve ever had.  40 minutes.  The guy I was talking to was so open, I wasn’t having to fight, and I could just teach.  He came to grasp the gospel and there was nothing stopping him from accepting it.  He had many good questions.  I leave him in the hands of the Lord, but with pointing him to the Bible and a local church.  He has a friend who is getting mixed up with a cult, I think some of his questions were so he could help his friend.

I then moved straight into a 15 minute chat (almost as good) with a young Christian guy who wasn’t a Christian.  He was not expecting someone to be talking about the gospel - but it seemed to be just the right time for him to hear it.

Oh Lord, please give us strength to continue sharing your gospel with people.  Help us do this in love, in spite of the opposition and hatred we face.  Save people for your glory Lord.  We leave these people spoken to in your hands.
 

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Roger got free treats again!  If I heard him correctly, he gave some tracts to a family that went into SoYo (frozen yogurt place) - the kids came out with some for him!  How nice. :)

This was at the Riccarton outreach on Tuesday afternoon.

When I turned up, there was a guy sitting down eating pizza.  I approached, and I was surprised how keen he was to talk!  He drilled me with question after question.  With him taking the lead like this, I was able to share the gospel with him.  Unfortunately his (late) lunch break came to an end and he had to go, but he had a Christmas tract with a way to get in touch.

Throughout the outreach I had many opportunities to talk to people about the gospel and hand out tracts.  All of whom had some religious instruction but were misunderstanding justification by grace through faith.  The last guy I was talking to was Coptic Orthodox (and who also didn’t understand justification) he seemed to appreciate the good news!

Earlier I was online.  I started with a difficult chat with a girl who dug in and refused to let go of her self-righteousness!  But then moved into a chat with a very cheeky guy who was very upfront about the reality of his deserving of hell (although it was hard to gauge his seriousness).  He seemed to be impacted (even deeply, but I couldn’t work out if he was playing with me or not) by the logic I was sharing - he came to hear the gospel.

Next up I had a guy who claimed to recognise me!  He is a Muslim from Saudi Arabia.  He said I skipped him last time and pleaded with me not to skip - I was happy to talk.  But after fifteen minutes with this guy I could see why he was skipped previously, hard as rocks, not open to reasonable and logical dialogue.  I skipped him.

The weather forecast wasn’t good for Wednesday, so I decided to join the Aussie team online again.  But beforehand I spent a few hours studying the book of Romans - so good!

My very first chat was with a lady from Brazil.  I could tell English was her second language - but she did a great job tracking with me as I explained the law and the gospel to her.  She seemed to grasp the good news.

Next up was a couple of guys who were fairly resistant.  But the main one warmed up to what I was saying.  He came to grasp the gospel before I left him to mull on it.  Lord save them!  Then it was a couple of younger kids who also came to grasp with the gospel.

The next chat was excellent.  Initially I thought the guy would bolt early - he seemed to be an Atheist.  But he also warmed up and really engaged.  It was like he was getting information for the first time ever.  He grasped the gospel, and then launched into questions.  Unfortunately the video link was not so good, so I had to revert to text chat - but he hung in there.  He had a link to needGod.net as well.  Sadly the video link eventually died.  He is in God’s hands.

By this stage I was live streaming, and I fell into a great chat with a guy who really liked to talk.  There was a girl sitting next to him using her phone.  I was just about to get to the gospel with this guy, when the girl found the live stream on her phone!  Sadly, he ended the chat.

My final chat was with a guy who loved my opening question (what do you think happens after life?)  But didn’t like the logic I gave him.  I started working through the gospel with him, and he resisted strongly - avoiding my questions.  I wrestled with him for a while but decided to leave him to it - he wasn’t open to the gospel at this stage.

So grateful for all the opportunities I have to share the hope of eternal life with people.  Thank you so much for your prayer and support - I REALLY appreciate it!  God bless.
 

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During the weekend I was with the team in Brissie for online outreach.

My first chat was with a Catholic guy.  It was an odd conversation - he seemed to be following along with the logic of the gospel, but he didn’t seem to be taking it seriously.  Early on he picked up on what I was doing, and mentioned Ray Comfort of Living Waters.  He was distracted, and he would start asking me about my family.  I ended up ending the conversation.

A couple of conversions later and I was connected to a young man from Egypt.  His English wasn’t the best, so we ended up switching to Arabic - me via Google Translate.  It took me some time to get him engaged.  What did the trick was asking him if he believed in God.  He was shocked and offended that I would ask the question at all.  It turns out he is Muslim.  I continued to work through explaining the law and the gospel.  He would read everything I said to his Mum (which was great) - I could listen to them talking to each other to formulate responses.  The guy started getting more and more agitated, but I decided not to back down - he needed the truth.  The conversation ended with me saying I loved him and wanted God’s mercy for him, while he was telling me he hated me!

I was beamed into a stationary car with two Catholic lads.  I was able to work through the law and the gospel quickly.  I was explaining grace, when one of them smirked and disconnected.

Next God brought me to a guy who was getting drunk.  He had friends with him.  They heard the gospel.

Next up I was beamed into the bedroom of a kid who was slow in grasping what I was explaining.  I was determined to slow down and labour with him.  He eventually came to an understanding of the gospel.  He was going through some struggles, I pointed him to the Bible and a local church.  It was a great chat.

On Sunday I was paired with Ryan again.  So good to be sharpened by his feedback, and to listen to his gospel conversations.

Andy was online on Friday, and he was telling me about an hour long conversation he had on Friday.  After the first checking question her answer was: good work.  After the second checking question it was: trust Jesus, but you have to pay him back.  After the third checking question it was: trust Jesus, it’s too good to be true! :)  Andy pointed her to the scriptures to verify what he was saying.  She said, “it’s all right, you have convinced me, but I will look up the scriptures”.  Praise God, Lord save her.
 

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Thursday morning I was online.  I often get called grandpa on initial connect, but with the highlight conversation, where I was connected with a couple of Brits, I got called Gary Barlow (a musician in the UK) - I take that as a compliment!  Once they heard my voice, they said I was an Australian - two compliments in a row!  This chat started well and continued that way!  They came to hear and, slowly, grasp the gospel over the period of about ten minutes.

In the afternoon, Andy and I were at Northlands bus stops and then Eastgate bus stops.

The highlight at Northlands was my very first chat.  I approached a young Asian couple.  The girl responded to my approach, and she said she had a long chat with one of us before.  I checked to see if she understood the gospel - it was close.

The guy then became engaged and took over the conversation.  To my surprise, he had a good grasp of the gospel.  It turns out he grew up in a church environment.  By the end of the conversation (when their bus came) he had admitted that he wasn’t a Christian.  His reason: “I want to live my life my own way”.  I touched on the consequence of such a position: justice, punishment, hell.  As he walked off, I said: “you should be terrified”.

At Eastgate, the highlight was a catch up with a young man who we both talked to the week prior (and whom I’ve talked to a number of times previously - both at Eastgate and Northlands).  He is responding very positively to the gospel.  He is now saying that he believes that Jesus died on the cross for his sin.  He reached out via needGod.net and in our initial email exchange I worked to dissuade him getting him to consider the reality of the cost of the gift of Jesus.  I’m glad to say it hasn’t worked so far.  He brought his young son to meet us.  We ended up sitting down at a local coffee shop to talk more.  He has downloaded a Bible onto his phone.  And he continues to initiate contact.  He works Sunday, but he is looking at re-organising his shifts so he can attend a church meeting.  I see so much apostasy and rejection, I’m not getting my hopes up.  But oh to see true conversion!

Friday started with another busy gospel + abortion outreach.  Six of us, and three counter protesters.  The counter protesters like to stand in front of us (pictured).

One of Jehovah's Witnesses that I regularly talk to at Northlands walked past early in the outreach.  We had a brief but great catch up chat.  To my surprise he accepted a “Life is Precious” tract.

Later, Andy got into a long chat with a guy who considered himself “neutral” on the abortion issue.  While that was happening, I noticed three guys across the road, who were obviously very interested in the protest (they were walking back and forth while staring at us).  Eventually, I decided to cross the road to go and have a chat.  They didn’t have strong opinions about the abortion issue - one was religious, one was on the fence, and the other didn’t believe in God.  I was able to share the gospel with all three, before heading back to the main group.

By this stage there was much tension in the air.  A group who were pro choice were having a go at us, while a lady, not part of our group, who is pro life, was responding angrily to them!  I walked over to engage the pro life lady, and thank her for her support, but that we were trying to run a peaceful protest and that it’s best to ignore them in this situation.  She smiled and took my advice.

But then I noticed the three guys across the street were shouting at our counter protesters (and the counter protesters were shouting back).  I signalled to the three guys not to do that, but one of the counter protesters accused me of trying to stop conversation.  I told them conversation was something I was very keen for, just not if it’s yelling across the street.  To my surprise they took my point.  The shouting stopped, and one of the counter protesters went across to talk directly.  Praise God.

Meanwhile, Andy’s conversation was still rolling.  Andy was doing a great job, staying calm even with intense disagreement.  But unfortunately the guy he was talking to was becoming angrier and angrier.  Andy had to disengage the conversation.

A moment of peace finally reigned when one of the new counter protesters decided she wanted to engage me in debate, she was very pleasant and respectful, and I could tell it was going to be a genuine discussion, so I obliged.  We talked about “Black Lives Matter”, and then moved into discussion about abortion.  I was able to touch on the gospel.  It was a wonderful, respectful two way conversation - and the other counter protesters got involved as well.  I was amazed and very grateful for the positive dialogue - even though we still strongly disagree with each other.

The outreach ended with Andy having another opportunity to engage with a lady who was pro choice - it looked to be a very good dialogue as well.  We parted on good terms with the counter protesters - they accepted my goodbye.  In the quieter periods of the outreach I was praying for them, and I will continue to pray for them.  God, bless them!

We moved to Cathedral Square for some open air preaching.  There was a group there who seemed to be advocating for some kind of political change.  I got into a great conversation with one of them who said she was a Christian.  Sadly, the group had to move on, which cut short our conversation.

A number of guys preached, while others handed out tracts, and still others engaged people in one to one conversation.

Later, in Cashel Mall, I had a wonderful conversation with a guy who had talked to someone at Northlands a year ago about the gospel.  He was very open to talk about it again.  He said there was nothing stopping him from responding - even after he considered the cost.  I left the ball in his court - he knows how to get in touch.

I finished the day of outreach online.  The highlight conversation was with a lady with a Catholic background, leaning Atheist who believed in Science.  Going from there, I explained how we know God exists, through the law, and on to the gospel.  She said she had learned more from me in a couple of minutes than she ever had in religion class (glory to God alone).  And yet, there was still a resistance to what I was saying.  She disconnected suddenly.  Lord, I leave her, and all those we talked to over these two days in your hands.
 

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On Tuesday I had some good chats with Muslims online.

The first was with a guy from Saudi Arabia, but currently living in the UK.  He heard the law and I started to explain the gospel.  My first question was “If someone takes 100% of your hell punishment, how much is left for you?”  And he got stuck on that for a long time.  He couldn’t bring himself to answer the question.  He would throw up diversions - I would politely listen, and then bring him right back to the question.  Eventually he answered the question correctly: none.  I explained that Jesus is offering to pay his hell fine, but not surprisingly he was resistant and disconnected.

The next guy got hung up on the same thing!  He got frustrated and bailed with “I’m [a] good [person].  Your message is wrong”.

But to finish off, I had a great chat with a guy [not a Muslim this time] who came to grasp the gospel.

In the afternoon, I was in Riccarton with Roger.  As usual, we had a busy couple of hours talking to people about Jesus (as pictured).

The weather wasn’t looking good on Wednesday, so I decided to spend the time in online outreach.

To start with I had a string of resistant people where I didn’t get far with.

Although one of those people responded positively to the building / builder analogy - it seemed to open up a line of thinking they hadn’t considered before.  I led her down that line of thinking to the reality of an afterlife.  She sat back and considered and then she said, “you know, you’ve given me an existential crisis…” and she disconnected.  Sadly, She didn’t hear the gospel, but she is in God’s hands.

Another kid followed the logic flawlessly - even heard the gospel, but bailed soon after.

But to finish up, I had two golden conversations.  The first was with two ladies who were being silly.  I thought the conversation was going to be like the previous ones, but I persisted.  To my surprise, they sobered, and really started engaging.  My guess is that they had Christian backgrounds but had never really understood the gospel.  By the end they acknowledged that the conversation had really helped them in their understanding.  I pointed them back to their Bibles.

The last conversation was text based and I’ve decided to include it, lightly edited.  The highlight is that they asked: “What if I’m bi[sexual]”, and at the end of the conversation they said: “I’m 100% sure I'm going to heaven now, ty [thank you]”.  Praise God

You: hi
Stranger: hi
You: what do you think happens after life? :)
Stranger: we either go to heaven or hell or we just stay dead
You: ok, so what do you have to do to go to heaven?
Stranger: hmm
Stranger: believe in jesus
You: Interesting answer. Why does believing in Jesus get us to heaven?
Stranger: because he crucified himself to pay for our sins
Stranger: thats what my mom told me =w=
You: Your mum gave you a good answer! Do you believe Jesus did that for you?
Stranger: yessir
You: So, out of 100, how sure are you that you are going to heaven?
Stranger: maybe like 97%
You: ok... so why 3% doubt?
Stranger: idk in the back of my head i just keep thinking "what is there is no god and everything was just a lie"
You: ok, let me address that.
You: Where did the universe come from?
Stranger: honestly idk =w=
You: ok, look at it like this...
You: Have you met the people who made your house?
You: Assuming you haven't - what is the proof that they exist?
You: The proof is your house - right?
Stranger: yep
You: It's the same with the universe... you haven't seen the maker, but we know the maker exists - the proof is the universe we can see.
You: And we have a conscience - and as the maker made us, the conscience came from the Maker... so God cares about right and wrong.
You: Do you agree with me that people get away with murder in this life sometimes?
Stranger: yes
You: So, logically, there must be an afterlife - with a hell.
You: And a heaven too - a place where God is.
You: But we have a problem.
You: We have done bad too...
You: ever lied?
Stranger: yes
Stranger: everyone has lol
Stranger: hey i have a question,
Stranger: what if im bi
You: Great question.
You: Who makes the rules of the universe?
Stranger: god?
You: Right.
You: Now, Jesus said, if you just look at someone to lust for them, it's like committing adultery with them in your heart.
You: God's standard for sex is perfect purity. And we all fail.
You: But sex is a good thing, within the bounds of marriage, between a man and a women. That's the way the rule maker made the rules.
You: So if you believe Jesus made you, and saved you when he died on the cross - you will want to honour him by obeying his rules... BUT.... it's not keeping the rules that saves you.... it's a gift Jesus paid on your behalf... you accept it by trusting (or believing)
You: What ya thinking? :)
You: needGod.net
Stranger: so i get to go to heaven?
You: If you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
You: If you were in a burning building...
You: and a fireman came and rescued you...
You: how would you feel towards the fireman?
Stranger: i would love them
You: right, would you turn and punch them in the face?
You: of course you wouldn't. :)
You: It's the same with Jesus. He will change our heart and mind, when we trust that he died for us. We will have new desires. We will want to obey the one we love: Jesus.
Stranger: oooohh okayy
You: There is a bi person, and they trust that Jesus died on the cross for them... then...
You: 5 minutes later, they sin again...
You: Then they die, would it be heaven or hell?
Stranger: heaven
You: Right, why?
Stranger: because jesus died on the cross and got crucified for us
Stranger: to pay for our sins
You: Exactly.
You: But the bi person won't want to sin any more, because they love the one that made them and saved them. :)
Stranger: yes
You: Has this chat helped you? Do you have other questions?
Stranger: nope'
Stranger: im 100% sure im going to heaven now
Stranger: ty lol
You: Praise God :)
You: Do you have a Bible?
You: "ESV Bible" in the app store, or at ESV.org
You: it's free
You: start in John - in the second half of the Bible
You: to find a good church in your area: 9marks.org/church-search/
You: needGod.net
Stranger: okay
You: Thanks for the chat. :)
You: My name is Glen, I'm from New Zealand
You: If you have questions: insta: needGod.net7
Stranger: okay
Stranger: thanks glen have a nice rest of your day or night
Stranger: bye
Stranger has disconnected.
 

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Sunday afternoon was hot, Andy & I found a shaded spot to set up the flip chart on Cashel Mall.  There weren't as many people out as had been on Friday, and my “Merry Christmas” while handing out Christmas tracts didn’t work as well as it had on Friday - oh well.  Andy and I took turns on the flip chart, while the other would venture out into the sunshine to start conversations with passers by.

As the pictures testify to, we had a busy outreach.  I had many conversations.  Some were resistant, some were informed - all heard the gospel.

My favourite conversation was probably the last one, it was with two guys from a prestigious high school with a Christian background.  They believed in heaven… and hell, but they were good people so they would be ok… or so they thought!  They heard the law and the gospel.  Their thinking was tinged post modern (“It’s okay, my standards are different”) - so I was able to address that with them.  I challenged them to read John 3, and Romans 3, 4, & 5 - and they both left with Christmas tracts.

I mentioned a follow up conversation I had, during the gospel + abortion outreach on Friday, with a guy I’ve been talking to for over two years who now has cancer.  I saw him again today.  He is still resistant to the gospel.  Today I noticed him focusing on himself in everything he said, so I decided to challenge him on this - “It’s not about you or me, it’s about God”.  I also checked to see if he could still articulate the gospel - he could, but it hasn’t clicked.  I’ll keep praying for him, and leave him in God's hands.  God, give me wisdom if you allow me to talk to him again!

On Saturday, I was with the Aussie team for three hours of online outreach.  I had about fifteen conversations, some longer, some shorter.  Glory to God.

Thank you for praying for Operation 513 and the outreach teams.  We need God’s help desperately.
 

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A very busy couple of days of outreach.  Hot weather.

On Thursday morning I was in the City with John and Matty before joining Andy at the Eastgate and Northlands bus stops in the afternoon.

The stand out conversation at the bus stops occurred just after a guy refused a gospel tract.  I turned and another guy was walking past, so I offered it to him - he took it and I was able to ask him what he thought happened after life.  It caused him to stop and engage.  He wasn’t sure if there was a God, so I used the building / builder analogy - before I had even finished explaining, he understood what I was saying, and he had an ah ha moment (not the last one of the conversation).  Most people I talk to consider themselves good people, but he was rare in that he admitted he would be going to hell right off the bat.  I confirmed this by explaining God’s law.  I then had the joy of sharing the gospel with this guy, where the real ah ha clicked!  So wonderful.  He understood that the gift of Jesus would change him.  He had the tract I gave him (with a way for him to get in touch), and I told him how he could easily get a Bible for free.  He turned and continued walking - Lord, I leave him in your hands, only you can change him!

The gospel + abortion occured on Friday morning.  It was a public holiday in Christchurch, so there weren’t as many people about.  But due to counter protesters, we had a very busy outreach.  You can read about it here.

There were a lot of open air preachers in the Square at lunch time.  At least four of us preached.  I went first.  One of our regular hecklers became vocal - I tried to engage him without much success.

I also had some great one to one conversations in the Square.  The highlight was with a lady - there was a guy and another lady with her.  The guy refused my tract and walked off, but the lady accepted it and I was able to get a conversation going - her friend stayed to listen.  When she grasped the gospel, she also had an ah ha moment.  She said she had never had it explained that way and it made sense.  I challenged her, that now she understood the gospel, that she must urgently respond to it, as we don’t know when we will die.

We moved to Cashel Mall - it was very busy due to the holiday.  Some West Indies cricket players were there.  I had two opportunities to try to engage them - they pretty much ignored me.  I tried.

I was handing out Christmas tracts.  All I did was say, “Merry Christmas” to people and offer them a tract as they walked past.  I was surprised how willing people were to take them compared to the regular tracts I hand out.  You can get these tracts for free on the NZ web store.  Get some, find a public spot and start handing them out with a “Merry Christmas” - it couldn’t be an easier or friendlier way to share the gospel!

My tracting lead to a wonderful conversation with two ladies who lived the “lier” page on my flip chart so much, one of them took a photo of it.  They came to realise their good deeds would not get them to heaven, but that it was the gift of God - but I had to labour with them.  They came to understand the correct place of good works in the equation.  It was a lovely chat.

I finished the day of outreach with two hours online.  I hadn’t been online since Tuesday (the start of my week) and it was so good to be with the team again.

I ended up having one last conversation before calling it a day, and it ended up being the highlight conversation of this whole report!  It was a short chat with an ex-Mormon kid.  The gospel blew his mind (his words).  He said that from today he was trusting that Jesus died on the cross for his sins, and he said he would start reading the Book of Mormon again!  I was able to explain that what I was explaining was not Mormonism!  And he could see that, I pointed him to the book of John in the Bible, I specifically pointed him to John 3, and Romans 3, 4, & 5.  Lord, don’t let the seed be plucked away, save him for your glory!
 

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A very interesting two days of outreach.  More street outreach then usual.  The Canterbury A&P show would have been on this week - if not for cancellation due to Covid-19.  A couple of evangelists from the top of the South Island came to join me in outreach anyway.  So good to be able to work with them today!

On Tuesday I spent some time online before heading to Riccarton.

I had a wonderful chat with a Muslim man from Algeria in North Africa.  He was open enough for me to be able to share the grace of Jesus through faith alone - but he was deeply resistant to it, the idea was so foreign to his thinking.  But he was nice about it, and I was able to gently labour with him.  He would talk for a while, and then I would bring him back to the serious reality of our sin and the only hope for forgiveness.  Slowly it started to dawn on him.  I think he started to grasp what I was saying, but he was still resistant.  He started gently attacking the concept of the Trinity as illogical.  We parted on good terms - him with a link to needGod.net.

I also had a long chat with a guy who was quite self focused.  He’d had Christian instruction in his life, but didn’t understand the gospel.  So I was able to share it.  He also left with a link to needGod.net and encouragement to start reading his Bible again.

Roger joined me in Riccarton.

I was into gospel conversations pretty much straight away.  I had three highlights, with: a Christian, an Atheistic Philosopher, and a Hindu.

Two teen girls went past, one wanted a tract and so approached, the other decided to take one too.  When asked: “what do you think happens after life?”, the second girl said, “heaven, of course, I’m a Christian”.  Amused, I asked her what she had to do to go to heaven, and she said, “be a good person”.  So I explained God’s law to show them that we weren’t good.  And then explained the gospel.  It clicked very quickly for her.  She seemed a bit sheepish.  She said she would discuss this with her youth group.  I encouraged her to do so!

The philosopher (studying at the university) had a religious background, but had moved away from it.  We talked about knowledge, how we know God exists, theodicy, and how we know right from wrong.  Amazingly, I was even able to touch on the gospel.  But he really wasn’t open. I could see him gently digging in and I could see it just being a mental battle.  He was blind to how he used himself as the judge of things over and over, and he didn’t even realise it till I gently pointed it out.  It was a good conversation, but I decided to end it with a handshake that he accepted.

The last conversation, with the Hindu, was fascinating.  He was extremely open to the conversation, but he was the most resistant to the idea of salvation as a gift of anyone I’ve ever talked to.  Over and over I would explain, and then ask a question to see if he was starting to grasp - and over and over he would revert straight back to the idea that his goodness would get him to heaven!  At one point I put my hands on his shoulders and looked him directly in the eyes as I pointed out that he’d done it again!  But it was a pleasant conversation, and I didn’t mind labouring with him till he finally seemed to grasp and hold the gospel in his mind.  But still, he just wanted to add it to his patheon.  The final page on the chart challenged him on the cost of accepting the gift, and when he realised he would have to let go of Hinduism to trust that Jesus had died on the cross for his sins - he admitted it would be difficult.  I was able to explain why it was worth it!

John and Matty were with me on Wednesday.  With a change to my schedule, we were in the city in the morning, and I took them to Riccarton in the afternoon.

We all had some great opportunities to share Christ.

In the morning I had two great walk up opportunities.  And I had a great chat with a lady who was intrigued with the flip chart and wanted to go through it.  No real resistance, she tracked with me through to the end.  After explaining the cost, she said she wanted to accept the gift.  So I pointed her to the Bible and left the ball in her court to get in touch.

In the afternoon, I left John and Matty with their flip charts and walked down to the bus stops to see who would be open for a chat.  I stopped at a road crossing, and waited to cross.  Two girls came and stood behind me.  We crossed, once we got to the other side, I knew it would be a bit awkward, but I turned to offer them tracts.  One of them was so glad I did!  She had talked to me a year ago and wanted to talk again.  She remembered that I’d shared the law, and then I’d shared some good news.  I asked her what the good news was, and she couldn’t remember.  So I took the fresh opportunity to go over the law and the gospel again.  They even skipped a bus so the conversation could continue.

Meanwhile on his flip chart, Matty had a very long chat with a lesbian couple.  I then set up my flip chart and I had a great chat with a couple of guys who were Bhudist.  They came to grasp the gospel and were challenged to count the cost of accepting it.

Glory to God alone.
 

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I spent my weekend outreach time online with the team.  I was intending to be in the city on Sunday afternoon, but there was heavy rain - so online it is!

First up was a conversation with a lady who came to grasp the gospel.  I then talked with a young man from Sydney - he loved the logic I was giving him and also came to grasp the gospel.

I then had a long conversation with two Catholics.  The guy on camera wasn’t really taking things seriously, but the one off camera was quite devout and staunch.  It was quite hard dealing with them both at the same time.  I decided to focus on the guy on camera, and directed my questions to him specifically.  He slowly started sobering up.  The guy off camera was very much still listening though - interjecting from time to time.  In this way, they both came to grasp the gospel and came to really appreciate the conversation.  I was patient in dealing with the devout guy as he worked through things like why purgatory is not necessary.  They both thanked me at the end.

Next up was a chat with a young lady - the first thing she said was: “how old are you?”.  I ignored it and asked her what she thought happened after life.  She forgot her question and was engaged.  She came to hear the gospel.  Praise God.

God then brought me into the presence of three guys with Christian / Catholic backgrounds.  It was a short, ten minute, conversation where they came to grasp the gospel for the first time.  “Thank you for this”.  “Appreciate it man”.  “God bless, honestly, God bless you - I really appreciate it”.  “Thank you”.  Lord save them!

A guy with a Hindu background who didn’t believe in God, but did believe in “energy” mixed with scientific knowledge.  He ended up asking questions of his own philosophy - so I just said, “how do you explain that without God?”  He just said, “true” - and opened up from there.  He heard the law and the gospel.  He was genuinely impressed - it made sense.  But then he started slipping back to his “energy” thinking again.  I cut him off and brought him back to the gospel.  By the end of the conversation, he seemed to be counting the cost of accepting the gift.  He is in God’s hands.

Sunday was online training outreach.  I was paired with Ryan on the livestream.  Over the last two weeks I’d been practicing the things I had learned when I was paired with him last time.  We had a wonderful two hours of outreach, watching people come to grasp the gospel - even professing faith in Christ!  Glory to God.

One chat that stands out in my mind was one with a young man who started talking about (sinful) stuff you don’t want to hear!  Ryan promptly cut him off and moved the conversation forward.  He came to grasp the gospel, and then said he was trusting Jesus' sacrifice from now on!  He then started asking baby Christian questions!  Like: how do I know how God wants me to behave?  Ryan pointed him to a Bible, and he immediately pulled out his phone and downloaded one, Ryan was able to direct him to the book of John, which he found.

Latter I was connected to a young Muslim who insisted that in “his” religion: x, y, z.  I addressed the fact that there is only one truth, and then marched on with the gospel - he heard about Jesus and then disconnected.  We leave him in God’s hands.

Ryan chatted with a girl with a Christian background who had never grasped the gospel.  The penny dropped - “oh, that’s actually so cool”.  She had someone with her, and Ryan was able to include them in the conversation too, and make sure they understood the gospel.

The whole livestream can be reviewed here.

All glory to God.  Grant us the strength to keep running this marathon in honour of you.
 

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