Battle Log

Page 7

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Saturday, 7 November, 2009

As I walked into the city I noticed that many of the walkways were free from pedestrians, and it seemed that there was a hush over Brisbane. There wasn’t many people out partying, nor were there many people out in the restaurants. At first I couldn’t think why this would be, but it soon became clear when I was told that University exams were being held that week.

As we set up for the night, people began to gather around a conversation soon developed. I was approached by two men of middle eastern appearance who started to throw questions at me in regards to “How do I know Christianity is right out of all the religions?” I did a quick apologetic, but they weren’t interested in answers. But, I did however, manage to present the gospel of Christ to them. One of them claimed to be Roman Catholic, so that assured him of favour with God. I replied that no man made religion can get anyone favour with God. He then asked me, “How do I find favour with God?” It was then I was able to talk about how Christ satisfied the wrath of God, and by repentance and faith we can enter into relationship with our Creator. At this stage he had to leave, but did promise to come back later. He took a tract and then left.

By now all the Bible table stuff had been set up, so I stood to preach. I began by talking about how in life, everything is captured in some way, be it CCTV or personal records, but then I swung and spoke about how God captures everything we do, and how He calls us to account. A few young people stopped to heckle, one of them was drunk and drugged out of his skull and one young female was talking in obscene language about sex. I engaged them and presented Christ to them. The beauty of their heckling was that it drew a crowd to hear the gospel.

My preaching lasted for about 40 minutes. After that Blake got up to preach. He did a good job, and then it came time for David Gee to preach. He went for about 30 minutes but then his voice gave way. But not a drama as we had Ryan to finish the night off.

Throughout the night we were able to have many great conversations and hand out many tracts. Also, it was great to see so many people getting witnessed to then have them walk away with a Bible. Please pray that God would grant repentance and faith to all those who heard the good news tonight.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Saturday, 14 November, 2009

Today was a bad day on paper for evangelism as 80mile an hour winds, rain and severe weather warning predicted for Exeter today, but God worked out things for his good. The train was 1 hr delayed with stoppages, but we managed to speak to a 20yr old Scottish guy in the navy. I went through the good person test with him on the back of a million pound note and he was very open and responsive and thought a lot about what we said. He understood that if this was true it was very important to contemplate and understood the implications it would have for family and friends. He took 4 different tracts and thanked me and I could see that braving the wet weather was worth it just for that conversation. We got to Exeter to meet Shirley and her daughter Esther, and we both preached without a mic standing on a bench with the wind howling past and blowing over our coffee and sign. We were both aprehensive as no one really acknowledged us much apart from people walking past saying "who gives a $@?!* about God! The gospel hardens or softens peoples hearts so know it was doing it's work! We gave out some tracts then had lunch, and as weather pretty bad we had lunch then left. At train station a group of about 12-15 teenagers were at station waiting, so I started a conversation with them and took one guy called Dave through food person test in front of his mates and reasoned with him about sin, righteousness and judgement to come. They all seemed to understand and all took several tracts each. The gu I spoke with most Dave came back before the train left to thank us and seemed to see the enourmity of eternl life and where we would all spend it. I was really encouraged especially as he wAs in front of his mates. Was a real good day and worth braving the weather for, hope and pray to see some of these guys in heaven one day!

Saturday, 7 November, 2009

On saturday 7th November, about 7 of us met up in Plymouth city centre to do a short outreach and to give out tracts to passers by. Again we could not go out Friday night again due to the bad weather.

On saturday, Wayne had his p.a and microphone, and so we took it in turns to do open air preaching to the crowds that walked by.

After about 20 minutes, a PCSO approached us saying that she had received complaints from shops in the city centre about the level of our noise, and if we could turn the volume down. We acknowledged her but stated that the noise was way below the guidelines given by the council of 40 decibells, we were under 10 at a guess. We also stated that it was not so much the noise that offended people, but what we were speaking about.

After more preaching in that spot, we moved on up further into the city centre and started again. Opposite where we were speaking was a balloon seller who sometimes gives us grief as he has a Jehovas witness background and likes to heckle us, which can sometimes be good to draw onlookers. However this time when I was speaking, he was seemingly enraged and marched back across to me with his balloons, giving me abuse about what I was saying and pulling my rememberance day poppy from my jacket.

Just after this happened and my friend Wayne was speaking to him, the same PCSO who had approached us earlier came back, saying that we had turned the volume up, that about 12 shops had complained again, and that we could either turn the volume down again, stop using the p.a, or she would have to give us an anti social behaviour order, banning us from preaching in the city centre. We all spoke with her again, saying that people didnt complain about a group of Indians that sometimes play in the centre with panpipes selling cds, or about the guy who plays the bagpipes, or the fair or anything else that was much louder that went on.

She said she would be meeting with the council on Monday to discuss what we had said, and Wayne also said he would contact the Christian Institute about what our rights were more clearly. Quite a few people stopped to listen that day, and may tracts were handed out, so pray that people heard the gospel and were convicted of their sin and saw their need for a Saviour!

Romans 10v14- Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of God.

Links to the videos that are on youtube of the day are below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBns0XlUWCE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8FU7RzctAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhVCS8iqIH0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhoahkpmhS0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V35mr18WGRA

Saturday, 31 October, 2009

 We didnt go out on Friday 30th due to bad weather, though 4 of us went to Truro for halloween from 11-3pm on 31st October.

My friend Phil volunteered to be a 'corpse' with a sheet drapped over him, and I preached for about 15 minutes outside the Cathedral against Halloween, death and people participating in demonic activities, and shared how Jesus came to give us life and save us from hell. Quite a few people stopped to listen, as I explained about death, causes of accidental death, and that no matter how rich or poor, happy or sad, tall or short, young or old that we would all one day give an account to God of our lives, and that the righteousness we need is in Jesus Christ alone.

We then managed to hand out a few tracts to people, before Shirley preached without a microphone to the apathetic locals who continued to walk past. We then stopped for lunch, and went to another part of Truro to preach. Again Phil volunteered to be a dead body, and I basically preached the same message, about the shortness of life, how if we believed in the Devil we must surely have to believe in a God as well, and explained how eternity is so much more important to think about and consider than the problems we have in this life.

Again the passers by and those seated eating their lunch were pretty quiet, although one lady spoke to me that her father had died quite recently and that death was not a nice thing to think about. A couple of young women had also stopped to listen, and I managed to give them some tracts and a new testament to read, after talking to them about death and the afterlife, which they received well.

Truro is always a hard place to go, with very little response normally, though they need to hear the gospel like everyone else does, and so were venturing to Exeter on saturday 15th which we always enjoy going to, and hopefully the Friday nights to the University, weather permitting, now we are leading up to Christmas, as we have more of a springboard to preach about.

Saturday, 24 October, 2009

This week Josh was back from his 8 week long outreach in the USA and was happy to be part of the Brisbane outreach again. We met in the newly opened King George Square in the elevated part to read the Bible, to pray and to have fellowship. At 9pm, we walked to Queen St Mall and started setting up the Bible table.

Blake preached first up, and he had a few hecklers ask him questions and he was able to provide responses to them. He faithfully preached the gospel for about half an hour before stepping down.

Then Josh got up to preach. Wayne was delighted to be able to heckle Josh, something he had been missing for the past two months. Josh argued that evolution does lead to racism and Nazism. But Wayne disagreed and said Darwin never talked about different races. So I brought up a picture of the cover of Darwin's Origin of Species on my phone and showed it to Josh. For the book's full title is: "The Origin of Species by means of natural selection on the Preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life". Wayne was completely unaware of the full title.

Wayne then asked Josh, "Do you celebrate Christmas?" Josh said, "Yes". Wayne then pointed out that some other pagan deity as well has their birthday being on the 25th December, and so Wayne concluded that Christians copied from this other religion. So Josh responded by saying that no where in the Bible does it say that Jesus was born on the 25th of December, that day was chosen as a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus because it was a day set aside in the Roman world to celebrate a pagan deity. Since Christians did not worship this other god, they instead celebrated the birth of Jesus on that day. Wayne kept trying to insist that it's part of Christian doctrine that Jesus was born on the 25th of December, and tried pointing to the Catholic Catechism. So Josh reminded him that evangelicals do not subscribe to the Catholic Catechism, only the Bible.

After Josh finished preaching, I discussed with Wayne for a little bit and asked him whether he thought that just because there may be similarities between Christianity and another religion, does that make Christianity wrong? He said it did because it means it was copied. So I pointed out that firstly, having similarities with something does not necessarily imply that it was copied. And secondly, that argumentation actually commits the genetic fallacy - which is, dismissing a belief as being wrong because of the origins of that belief. Even if Christianity did have its origins by copying from other religions, it does not mean that the beliefs of Christianity are wrong. He didn't seem to understand that at first and so I gave him a few examples - such as if someone said today: "America will never be at peace, for look at who founded it", then that person would be committing the genetic fallacy. As who founded the nation is irrelevant as to whether America can be at peace at some stage in the future. After giving a few examples, he seemed to understand it.

To God be the glory!

Saturday, 24 October, 2009

This weekend, the SuperGP cars were supposed to race on the streets of Surfers Paradise. They didn't end up coming and so only the V8 Supercars raced. However, there were still lots of people about and so Blake and I expected a busy day. After reading John 15 and praying together, we began our outreach. There were not many people around the area where we usually preach, so we decided to walk closer to the where the race was taking place to see if there were any places to preach there. There wasn't really, as the car noises would drown the preaching out. So we just made a circuit back to the esplanade, handing out tracts on the way.

By this time, more people were around the area where we usually preach, but unfortunately there was a guy sitting on the concrete block that we usually preach from. So we decided to continue handing out tracts while we wait for the man to move along. He didn't, even after waiting half an hour. So Blake and I then prayed that God would free up the preaching spot, and then read again some of the verses in John 15 regarding God answering prayer. And within 10 seconds of us doing this, the man moved off the preaching spot! Praise be to God!

I then began preaching and within minutes a large crowd had gathered. When I mentioned that getting drunk is a sin, a lot of the people were outraged at that thought. I also mentioned that Jesus said lust is adultery at the heart. And a lot of the males listening called out that that is the reason why they come to the Gold Coast, to do exactly that. I warned everyone that our sin makes us deserving of Hell, but that is why Jesus came to die on the cross to pay for that sin. But a person must repent and trust in Christ's death on the cross as the only reason that they'll be going to Heaven, in order to be saved.

Throughout the course of the preaching I did there that day: Twice an angry fellow ripped the Bible I was holding out of my hands and was going to run away with it until his friends stopped him. Another fellow at one point pushed me off the preaching block I was standing on. But the crowd was on my side, saying that I have the right to do this. And another guy that was sitting next to preaching spot drinking alcohol who tied my shoelaces together while I was preaching. But all these things did was to attract a larger and larger crowd. A crowd of about 100 was listening for about the two hours I preached for, with many of them asking all sorts of questions. And by the end, there were still lots of people listening wanting to hear more, but I got down from the preaching spot (as it was now approaching 5pm (2 hours longer than normal) and we had to make our way to Brisbane city for the outreach there that night) and so we simply handed out tracts to them all.

I had a chat with one fellow afterwards that had been listening and he thought he was going to Heaven, but on the basis of his works. So I explained the gospel to him, and asked him, "If God was to ask you the question: Why should I let you into Heaven, what would you say?" His response showed he still did not understand grace. So I explained it again to him and asked him the same question. This time he understood the gospel and said, "It's only because of Jesus' death on the cross I will go to Heaven!" The man was overjoyed that he now understood the gospel and started believing it. Please keep him in prayer, his name is Fred.

Even though there were just two of us today, God saw fit to allow the gospel to go out. Please pray that God will raise up more laborers to enter His harvest, for the harvest is truly plentiful. If you live nearby and are keen to get involved in this outreach, please do contact me.

To God be the glory!

Saturday, 17 October, 2009

To begin the night off, I got into a conversation with two gentlemen - one a Hindu and the other a Sikh. Firstly, I brought them through some of the 10 Commandments to show them that they aren't good people in the sight of God, in order that I could tell them of the great news of Christ's death on the cross and what that means. I explained the atonement, that Jesus' perfect life and His death on the cross can satisfy God's wrath on our behalf, and so God can declare us righteous in His sight. The guys seemed to like the idea and agreed with it. But so often with people who hold to religions that are popular in the East, they simply add Jesus onto their existing religion. So I explained that Jesus said that He is the only way to Heaven, meaning that every other religion is wrong. They were shocked at this thought, for although they say they believe in Jesus too, it is always that they don't believe in the real Jesus whose life and sayings are recorded in the Bible. They thanked me for the conversations and said they would read the Bible and think about this important matter.

The first preacher up was Blake, he faithfully proclaimed the message of the gospel and some people stopped to listen.

This evening, Wayne (the friendly atheist debater) and his son were in again, ready to do some heckling to support their viewpoint. And so when Andrew got up to preach Wayne and Andrew had a long debate in the open-air over "What is true, Christianity or Atheism?" During this time, a pretty large crowd of people had gathered, and various people asked Andrew all sorts of questions.

Wayne's son didn't have a chance to ask any of the questions during that time that he had been thinking up, so when I preached, he asked away. He asked questions like: 'How can God create a world knowing that people would sin?'. We also had a big discussion on evolution and he was wondering how there are different skin colours. So I explained about genes and also natural selection, how things more suited to their environment will survive and reproduce, and so things adapt to their surroundings. Christians believe in natural selection, just not evolution (animals changing from one kind to another).

To God be the glory for another great night!

Saturday, 17 October, 2009

I thought it might just be me at the coast today, but as I was walking towards Cavil Avenue after parking my car, Blake beeped at me. I was very glad Blake was able to join me today, as it definitely is better witnessing and preaching having another person with you. As I was waiting for Blake to arrive on the esplanade, I handed some tracts to a large group of young people. They wanted to know what it was about and so I asked them whether they thought they were going to go to Heaven. Most said yes, some jokingly said no. The reason why most of them thought they were going to Heaven was because they considered themselves to be good people. So I let them know of the standard that God will judge them after they die and they admitted that they actually deserve Hell. Some of the group were very concerned about this fact, while others remarked that they love sin too much to even consider stopping it. So I shared the news of the cross with the group and talking about how someone can be forgiven if they repent and trust in the death of Jesus alone for their forgiveness.

At this point, another whole group of young people joined in listening to the conversation taking place as they were obviously friends of the people I was talking to. So I explained the message again to everyone to solidify it in their minds.

Just before I got up to preach, a young guy came up and chatted to me and we starting talking about things of eternity. At first he seemed open to the message, however he at random points would just have outbursts of anger and throw the things he was holding around. Possibly something demonic as when I was preaching he so vehemently opposed the Word of God that he got very angry, but when the Word of God was not being spoken about, he would be fine.

Still before I got up to preach, a young girl came and chatted to me, saying that she got 'saved' at age 7 but left Church at age 13. She was now about 15 and realised that she should return, but admitted she just loves sin so much. So I explained how it is so important to receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers as soon as possible for death could happen at any moment and Hell is a very bad place. Then I explained, "But Jesus died to save you from that only if you repent (hate sin instead of loving it, and thus you'll start turning from it) and trust in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross."

An analogy that I like to use to show that it is foolish to choose sin over salvation is this: "Imagine that you are in a house, and you are doing a very fun activity inside. Then you notice the house is getting warmer and there is smoke around, and so you conclude that the house is on fire. Now what would you do: Just sit there because you are doing something so fun, and then you'll get burnt up and die? Or would you run out the house? Obviously run out of the house. In the same way, that is like your life. For it is as if the flames of Hell are coming closer and closer towards you, for the amount of time you have got left to live is getting shorter and shorter. So would you say: 'I would rather keep on sinning' and then you will receive an eternity in Hell? Or would you flee from the flames of Hell by trusting in the death of Jesus, and you will also receive an eternity in Heaven? Which is the better the option?"

I then got up to preach and there was a bunch of hecklers who I was able to engage in a discussion with to draw a larger crowd. These guys were mostly atheistic and some were possibly drunk, but it drew in a rather large crowd to hear the gospel message being preached for 45 minutes.

After having a bite to eat, Blake got up to preach and he preached a brilliant sermon. He started off by getting everyone's attention by telling them there is something they need to hear that is urgent. He preached for 45 minutes and the group of young people that I chatted to at the start of the day had returned and sat and listened to most of what Blake had to say.

To God be the glory!

Saturday, 10 October, 2009

At 7:30pm we met in King George Square for prayer, Bible reading and fellowship. Once the clock struck 9, we walked to Queen St Mall, and started setting up the 'Free Bibles' table. I got up to preach first, and a number of people heckled as I preached the message of reconciliation with God by the death of Jesus, which every person must believe in and repent to be saved. None of the hecklers stayed for a long period of time, however. But other people did stop to listen to the message being preached.

After I got down from the preaching spot, I offered a tract to a man that was walking past eating a burger. Upon hearing that there was a Christian message inside, the man got outraged. He started spitting on me and so I pulled back, hoping that the guy would just move along. Then he started yelling at a whole group of us. A newer team member then went forward and started preaching about the atonement of Jesus. The angry man did not like hearing about Jesus and started spitting on him as well. At this point, Andrew stood on the soap box and tried to engage the man in some sort of discussion. The man wasn't at all keen, and instead was just hurling abuse at Andrew. A few moments later, the angry drunk man decided to throw the burger he was eating in the face of the first person who started preaching at close range. At this point, we called the police and arrived pretty quickly and arrested the man.

But while this was all happening, a massive crowd had gathered and Andrew was able to preach the message of the gospel to them all. Week after week, whatever the devil tries to do to stop the preaching simply results in more people hearing the gospel.

To close the night off, Blake stood on the soap box and faithfully preached the gospel. Just after this, Andrew and I had a conversation with some guys who had been studying philosophy and their studies unfortunately had lead to some of them denying that we can know anything of history. We tried reasoning with them, and made sure we shared the gospel wit them. Please pray that God will convert them.

To God be the glory!

Friday, 16 October, 2009

The numbers of the group are still low, people attend when they can and on the outreaches we do on weekends, but this Friday night there were just 3 of us again- Phillip, Rachelle my fiancee and me.

Again we met at the top Mcdonalds in Plymouth city centre to chat and then ventured across to the University.

Weather was not great but still lots of students around to chat to.

Rachelle stood handing out tracts near me, some from Nigel Williams freetractsource site, Phil went across the road again top the bars, while I approached people with my million pound notes which always seem to be a favourite.

A group of about 7 skaters had been handed some tracts by Rachelle, and as they walked past I led them in some conversations as to what they were. We chatted for about 15-20 minutes, and although a few listened and didnt respond, 2 or 3 also responded back with some normal debates about proof of the existence of God andabout morality etc. They all shook hands and all took tracts, one of the guys seemed notablely moved and was good that maybe it had sunk in, when they all heard the gospel and some analogies about the shortness of life, my accident and the consequences of sin.

Another chat at the very end of the night went real well with 3 lads. @ had previously been in the forces, andthis came to my attention when going through the commandments and God seeing hatred as murder. They both looked at each other a bit sheepishly and so I explained to them that in the Bible killing and manslaughter/ murder were different and some accounts of this.

Again when I showed them my scars and accident story, this tied in with the importance of getting right with God and sharing the gospel with their friends and family etc. Again they took some tracts and shook hands with them and was a good evening.

Even though there was only 3 people again, the conversations were really positive and hopefully will bear fruit with their friends at University