Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Capalaba (QLD) Team
• Page 10

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Capalaba Team (QLD)

Meets 2-5pm every Monday afternoon (except public holidays) at the bus station between the two shopping centres (next to Noeleen Street).

Contact Ryan Hemelaar for more information.

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     By His grace, another day of witnessing of our God who is great without/beyond/above measure, Ps. 145:3. How did He answer our prayers this day? 

- a young lady, Maddy, whose grandparents are Christians has now reached the point where she needs to count the cost and submit to the Lord Jesus Christ as her Redeemer. May God deal with her in mercy if it so pleases Him.

- a Chinese teen boy was given a tract and taken through the bus/builder analogy, then through to the consequences of Adam's sin before his bus arrived. May God stir his spirit to become a seeker after Truth.

- an older man who was so inconsistent that he did not even realize his view of reincarnation was internally flawed. May he be challenged by the truth of God's good news and forsake in true repentance his self-love.

- 2 teen boys that I gave tracts to and began to converse with until Jamie, a professed atheist, took out his phone and rang someone. I left them with a challenge. Soon thereafter, Ryan met them and took Jamie through the builer/building analogy that he admitted made sense but then wanted to still call himself an atheist. Ryan used the analogy that if one did not believe in gravity but one day went to a science class where he saw an experiment showing gravity had a repeatable effect and he became convinced that gravity was real, he would have stop to saying he was an unbeliever in gravity. Likewise he should not call himself an atheist any more. Going through the law and the gospel, Sam who had thought that he was good now understands he is not good enough to get into heaven. May they both hear more of the truth that they desperately need to trust themselves to for the remission of their sins and the gift of eternal life - with the God of all grace! Hallelujah.

- a young lass, Ruby who initially believed in some impersonal higher power who cares for us. We started from the agreed position that if there is a God, then we cannot treat Him like a scientific experiment  Then  while we are flesh and blood and have no knowledge of what a spirit can or cannot do, from His Self revelation we learn that He is a Spirit, tri-Personal, and Jesus is God in the flesh so that he who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. I concentrated on the pure selflessness of Jesus coming and dying in the place of His people while we were still God's enemies  and how as a Christian one can begin to learn how to live for God's glory, in part, by becoming more selfless in loving our wife or husband, as the case may be. We parted amicably with my expressed wish to her that she would come to know God and how delightful it is to know and love Him - 1 Jn. 4:7!

Without your prayers, how could we continue to tell out the wonders of His good news. Thank you. Grace be with you each and every one.

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A windy day, reminding us of the Holy Spirit's work, Jn. 3:8 "The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." What will God do through our witness today to:

• A young man who had never thought about life after death. He received a tract after hearing the builder/builder analogy that a Personal intelligent God created the cosmos.
   
• A young mother feeding her baby said she was a Christian but could not talk while feeding her baby. Later she called me back and it turned out that she was attending the LDS, with her friends, even though she did not accept their demand that she go to the Brisbane temple and get baptized for the dead. She seemed to understand salvation by grace and claimed that was her position. After clarifying the one biblical reference to 'baptism for the dead' and that being mentioned in the Bible does not make it a command of God, I explained to her that she needed to exit the LDS. She will need fervent prayer to do it and hopefully bring her friends out as well. I recommended a local Christian Church for her to shift to.
   
• Katy was taken by Ryan all the way to where she needs to count the cost without delay and commit fully to the Lord Jesus Christ.
   
• Ryan talked with an atheist who later admitted he deserved to go to hell.
   
• Another atheist he talked with ended up blaming God for the 'bad' things in the world.

Both these heard the gospel. May God do His sovereign work work in their lives. We thank Him for the privilege of serving Him; for equipping us to tell His gospel without fear or favor; and for wisdom when not to engage someone in conversation whom God had not prepared for today's ministry. To Him alone be glory and praise.

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Isn't this aspect of our risen Lord's work fascinating? While I was engaging a couple with a baby, John, a regular user of this bus station and whom I could never understand, approached Ryan and stated that he reckoned no one would get to heaven because no one is perfect. (He had been given tracts before today). He initially would not accept the sinlessness of Jesus. I had concluded my meeting, and could concentrate prayer towards this situation. Ryan made the issue clear and stressed the urgency of it for none of us know when our time to expire will be.

Then Ryan called me over to add a few subsidiary Biblical facts including the prophecy of God's Messiah being born of a virgin, or sinless and so Jesus came to us precisely as God had said through His prophets. John has been invited to a local church which has wheelchair access and given the details if he needs any assistance. Pray the Lord reveal Himself to John and grants him the gifts of repentance and faith.

Now, back to the mother, Tony, and her baby and partner: Ryan had previously met them and gone through the law and gospel. I did so again as he perused the Jesus tract. Tony claimed to belong to Jesus and asked me what was the difference between us and the JWs. I started by explaining how they said that Jesus was less than divine. This means that He is incapable of saving anyone.

After this, he wandered away and Tony told me that he was atheistical. Then she asked me about the Mormons and I told her that their 'Jesus' was a sham who, they said did good to become a god. She agreed. Please pray that her commitment to Jesus would extend into every area of her life and for her partner's salvation, as well as the baby.

Grace is amazing as is our God of multi-faceted grace, 1 Peter 5:10. Thank you for your partnership in gospel work. There is room for another worker from 3:30 to 5p.m. Can you come?

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"Count your blessings, name them one by one..." give God the glory for what He has done today, e.g.

     - Sylvester, raised in a Christian home, fell into atheism for a time, and now saying 'Sorry' to his family and was unsure about God's existence. After he responded well to the builder analogy, Ryan took him through the law and gospel. Sadly he wants to sort things out with his family before he considers Christ. Pray that God would give him a sense of urgency - he is on the brink of the pit and eternal punishment. 

     - Teressa attends a church but some of her prayers are off-centre although she claimed to trust Christ alone. Pray the Lord would correct her thinking so that she takes the gospel as it is in the Bible.

     - Jessu is a young man living by the 'golden rule' although he knew practically nothing of God's revealed will in the 66 books of the Holy Scriptures. After giving him an apologetic for why it is reasonable to accept the Bible as God's Word, going through the builder analogy, then going through the law and gospel, he said that it made sense. Pray that he downloads a Bible onto his phone and checks out the claims of Christ to be his Lord and Saviour, as he stated that this was his intention as his bus arrived.

So, in a small but important way (important because it is God's work) the good news is sent forth again. Thank you for praying and praise God that  His greatness is unlimited - Ps. 145:3 and so praise is His due and His alone. 

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The Lord's work is glorious because He is, e.g. Acts 13:48 "... and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."  Thanks for those praying for His work this day:

     - Some who had previously refused to take tracts, today took a tract. Pray that they, or others in their households, read the tract through and God stirs their spirit to seek Him out.

     - Josh now appreciates intellectually the gospel; pray the Lord draws him to commit fully to being Jesus disciple.

     - Alisha likewise; it seemed that she began to accept the facts of salvation but needs a sense of urgency. to respond in repentance and faith.

     - Lily now appreciates the faith somewhat better understanding how trusting Christ, perfect Substitute, gives her acceptance with God that removes any fear of Judgment Day - 1 Jn. 4:16-18

And some people were 'good' regardless of what God says, and others were very imaginative in their excuses but we pray that God might be merciful to some...Thank God that in spite of our inadequacies, He equips us for the battle and He always has the victory - to Him be the glory and praise, now and for ever, Amen.  

 

 

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Rom. 3:23 When one sins, he robs God of the glory due to Him! Everyone has broken the 8th commandment how many times?

After praying, we engaged in conversation those whom God led us to:

- Ethan, a 'good' young man who was trying to improve his life. He was able to give a clear answer to "Why God should let him into heaven?" after one presentation of the law and gospel. He then indicated his willingness to trust Christ today. Ryan gave him the challenge to show his repentance/faith is genuine by keeping himself 'pure' until he was married (he is presently engaged). Pray for him.

- A young man who blamed God , if He is there, for some traumas in his life. He isn't going to 'follow a book'. I started to tell him why I took the Bible as God's Word, but he was not engaging. We parted on speaking terms. Pray that God speaks to him as he reads t.he tract.

- A teenage girl from Roman Catholic schooling. Admitted she broke 10 commandments. As she reads the tract, may God show her His truth and cause her to be concerned for her stance before the thrice-holy God, Is. 6.

We praise God for everything He does is for the good of His church and thank Him for giving us the privilege of serving Him and accepting our imperfect efforts through the Mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ.     

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A cooler day today but so too seemed to be the general response to God's only Way of sinners becoming reconciled to Him. 

However, God has His own way of presenting the claims of Christ, e.g. a young girl who had previously been given a tract and had had the gospel explained to her, had time to be briefly challenged before her bus came.

There was also another young lass who was very unclear initially but was taken through to the point where she knew she deserved eternal condemnation. As we walked the 10 steps or so to her bus, I was able to point her to the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ and have to be content to pray for others to meet her and complete the gospel message and challenge.

Dave, trained in a Roman Catholic institution, was told that this was the Biblical message that Protestants proclaimed. At the end, he was pleased to be prayed for.

Our pleasure is to serve the only One worth serving and that through the Mediator He has given us  Thank God that He saves a people for Himself, e.g. Rom. 9:25,26. Let us pray that God will be merciful to many at this time in this land He owns (as well as the whole created order).

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On the way to the bus stop where we evangelise, Ryan had a conversation with a J.W. bus driver. I saw this and began praying for him while he tried to get a gospel conversation going, and it prepared me for what lay ahead. However the J.W. was more concerned that it was the last days (which means they believe they have to put in more hours than usual), than wanting to discuss about matters of eternity.

We were then able to pray for God's work and went forth to the few people there - as many as our sovereign Lord had arranged to receive tracts and/or engage in 1:1s, e.g.

     Jamie, a young Christian lady who could not defend the faith. If someone were to ask her ,"Why should God let you into His heaven?", she could not explain her faith. Going through the law and gospel, she responded most joyously. She received a sample of tracts, and was referred to our website, Jamie said that she would teach her friends how to defend the faith. Pray they respond in like enthusiastic manner.

     Lorraine, an expert in creating a 'god' she could handle including Jesus as Mediator, karma and every other belief that she liked from various religions! Pray she reads the tract and God deals savingly with her.

     Dana, a teenager who seemed to grasp the message and Ryan challenged her to count the cost. Jesus has told us what a lukewarm 'Christian' can expect - Rev. 3:16.

As always, what God did but did not reveal to us, is to the praise of His glorious grace. We are thankful that He enables us to serve Him in this manner and we are quick to give Him all the glory and praise.

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The Lord be praised for enabling us to witness for His glory this warmish day.  He provided a rich variety of people, including these people who claimed to be Christians:

- Shaun from PNG background recently moved here and  not attending a local church. He had difficulty explaining his faith but as we went through the law and gospel, he had a sound knowledge of sin and the need for him to repent and trust Christ alone. After going through the law and gospel, he seemed to grasp how justice was satisfied by Jesus and a sinner now trusting in the Son could ask for mercy and receive forgiveness of all his sins from a righteous and merciful Father.  We prayed as his bus arrived to take him home rejoicing. He also was recommended a local church.

- Tanya from a local church. Now seems to understand the doctrine of justification by faith and taking her need to trust Christ alone as a matter for serious thought today.

- James was struggling to express his reason that God would let him into heaven. He seemed to agree with the gospel but further questioning showed his confused ideas of sin and his own worthiness. This was repeated  a few times before his bus arrived.

Pray that churches would shepherd their sheep with life-giving fodder and nurture. Pray also that Christians would be more concerned to do all things to the glory of God, 1 Cor. 10:21; including outreach activities. Lord! Grant us grace to be better servants giving you all thanks and praise. 

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Today we had some re-contacts who had not progressed since the previous time; some disinterested; some tracts given with short encouragements to consider the claims of Christ, but also a few like: 

- Jennifer, a young Mum with child who had not really considered eternal matters before. She heard and understood the gospel and is now considering what it means for herself.

- Zac had no Bible but some knowledge. Now seems to have understood the gospel and admitted it was reasonable. He was challenged to get a Bible and check out the gospel of John and/or Romans in order to verify the facts on the tract and then see us again.

- A few were issued the 'Valentine challenge', i.e. "Is Jesus Christ your first love?"

We are thankful for our faithful God enabling us to glorify Him in this manner and at the same strengthening our faith as we review His marvelous work of prevenient grace so His sheep can respond favorably to the Good Shepherd - Jn. 10:16.

May those who support the ministry of God's gospel through praying (and fasting for those able to), be strengthened in their own walk with the Lord by His grace.

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