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Saturday, 10 September, 2011
Exeter Evangelism outreach.
On Saturday I went to Shirley with her daughtrer Esther, and even though the weather wasnt great, we had a coffee, prayed, and then tried to find somewhere quiet to go.
The weather got worse, and together with other buskers, musicians and busses, we couldnt be heard. We moved to our usual spot, and Shirley started to preach, but then a balloon seller that we knew from Plymouth whom we had had some 'encounters' with in the past deceided to pitch right in front of us and block our sign with his balloons.
We knew this was from the enemy, and so deeided to scout around for another place. We then moved to the Cathedral, and found quite a lot of people sitting eating, outside restaurants and mingling at a fair.
I preached first about the story of a woman dreaming she had someone following her, and the more she tried to run through the woods away from him, the more he got closer. Another man was seemingly trying to help her get away from the man who was persuing her. The dream showed in the end that actually the man chasing her was Jesus, and the man trying to help her escape his persuit was actually the Devil.
I said that many people are like the woman in the dream, and are trying to run away from the very person who is trying to help them, and people are co-operating with the Devil, thinking that sin is ok and the Devil is their friend, when actually the roles are reversed.
A few people walked past and started to listen, including a woman with her 2 children. I then said said that many people thought that they were resting and off work that day, but actually according to the Bible if they were not Christians and trying to be good people getting to Heaven without Jesus, then they were actually working and therefore under Gods law and its requirements, along with the punishment for breaking them- death and Hell.
I tried to show from the book of Hebrews that Jesus was the great high Priest and when on the cross he said 'It is finished, he then sat down, signifying a rest for all those that are in him. I went through the commandments and explained that if we had broken them we were guilty, could not pay for our own sins like other religions tried to do, but only through Jesus could we be madfe right with God.
Afterwards the woman came up and explained she was a Christian and that she enjoyed what was said and encouraged us being out there. She said she had heard of Ray Comfort before and seen some of the DVDs etc, so we gavce them some tracts and encouraged them to go on the Livingwaters website to learn more.
Shirley then preached on the amp, and more people started to stop and listen in the background. 4 Older teenagers stopped to listen, and then proceeded to pull out a yellow toy bear, and wrote 'God is dead' in black pen, and stood there waving it around while Shirley spoke. I then wanted to challenge them to what they were saying, and so started to speak again with the microphone.
The teens managed to engage in cobversation and asked some usual questions about proving Gods existence and about poverty and sickness in the world showing there was no God etc.
I tried to reason with them about where thery though morality came from, and if they thought that rape was actually wrong. Sadly one of the girsl thought it may not always be wrong, andf then said that there was no such thing as absolute truth. She fell into the trap of agreeing with me that she was sure there was no such thing as absolute truth, which is obviously a contradiction in terms. This made me laugh and her mad when I stated this to everyone, which then led to them becoming more agitated, leading more p[eople to come alongside and listen. It turned out this included 2 lesbians, an older man that was bisexual, a man walking past saying the Catholic church had corrupted the Bible and that it didnt say what it used to say and had been chaged down through the years, an angry atheist walking past and shouting, a group of 5 teenagers, a teenage girl asking open and honest questions about her friend being homosexual but not wanting to be and so was that a sin, a woman whose 'Christian' x- boyfriend had gotten her pregnant, left her and now wanted her to have an abortion, as well as questions about the big bang, and 2 other elderly Christians listening and chatting to people.
This led to about 20-25 people gathering around, shouting out, and many questions, discussions and comments being made. It was great, and afterwards led to many tracts being handed out, witnessing, pointing people to the Bible and websites, as well as the 2 elderly Christians help witness to people about the Bible and Hell etc. The big Cathedral behind us was a great springboard to talk about design vs evolution and what was the more scientific, a Creator who is outside of time and all powerful creating things, or things happening by chance, randomly, from nothing, which gave a couple of the teenagers something to think about.
It was fantastic and really left us encouraged that moving to that spot had really opened things up compared to previouysly struggling that morning, and we now know it will be a great place to go again. God directed many people towards our path that day, and we pray people will understand their depth of sin and its consequences and see their need for a Saviour.
Saturday, 3 September, 2011
On Saturday3rd September, Rob and Andrew came down from London and Essex for the weekend for evangelism and fellowship to Plymouth.
We met up in the city centre with Tony, Russ, Shirley and Charles and prayed, before starting to distribute tracts around.
Shirley preached first on why Jesus was the only way to heaven, with a few people walking past making snyde comments. Russel has a big wooden cross which he brings and this gets people looking and commenting a lot. I then preached on why people seem to ignore the gospel call, and outlining the many reasons people may give for rejecting it, and how these do not make sense. I had also mentioned John 8 where Jesus said that those who think they can see are actually blind, but those that acknowledge their blindness will actually be given sight. Many people claim to know the truth and think they are good enough without God, but only those who have been humbled by Gods law and recognise thier own spiritual poverty and sin will actually be saved and will 'see the light'.
Several people walked past and commented, one such man usig some fruitful language. I tried to speak to him directly as he went past and we had a bit of a dialogue as he heckled, which got some peoples attention.
I had a good chat with a man and his son who walked past and read the easils we put up with scripture, who thought that we had come here through chance and society had made the rules of morality and whats right and wrong in life. I tried to reason with him that if the universe was random chaosa, that would mean his thoughts and logic would also be random and disordfered, and so could he actually trust his reasoning in that case? I also mentioned that morality and truth must have an objective origin, or else societies views would all be relevant to the individual involved, andno one could have things such as absolute truth. I used ther case of rape being wrong as an absolute statement, and we discussed why. I then tried to bring it back to his conscience,a nd upon going through some of the 1o commandments he acknowledged that if Gods word was true he would currently be going to Hell.
He seemed to weant to know the good news, and so I shared the gospelo with him and gave them a tract which he took, and was a good conversation.
Later on Charles preached on the megaphone, and a few more people showed their discust.
Everyone had good discussions with people, including 2 new medical students who had stopped to listen. AQfter a 15 minute conversation they seemed to understand and we went quite deep into the gospel and what it meant for the 2 of them if they responded or rejected Jesus' hand of salvation. They seemed to appreciate this and went away with tract6s and somethings to both think about. We had lunch, before Rob preached at the top of the city centre by the mall, which has great acoustics with people walking in and out.
A bit of a battle ensued with Rob and a Big issue seller, with him making some unhelpful comments while Rob was preachin, with him getting louder and louder, with a few people stopping in the distance and listening, again with tracts being given out. Andrew then managed to witness to him at the end and have a good conversation with him, and actually siad he was a pleasant man!
It was a great day of fellowship, conversations and lots of Op 513 million pound note tracts and Nigel Williams great thoughtful tracts and million euro notes went out, which concluded with prayer at the end.
WE felt the message was proclaimed lovingly, truthfully, but also with a message of urgency, which may look to people at times as religious fanatacism, but if people truly knew their plight, noting less would surely be expected.
In the words of Shai Linne, and 2 Corinthians 5 v 21, the gospel is amazing, as 'like a stuntmant, Jesus Christ stood in our place'
Saturday, 23 July, 2011
Saturday 23rd July 2011- Plymouth outreach team
It was a LOVELY hot day today in the city of Plymouth, and around 6 of the men in our Church met that morning for our monthly mens breakfast and fellowship, before we all met up again in the city centre to be a witness and preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the many onlookers and passers by that fill the streets each weekend.
There were 6 of us that met and first gathered for prayer, including our Pastor which was great. We prayed and committed the outreach to the Lord and that many would hear and understand the message of life and message of warning that was to be given.
Tony preached first with the mic and amp about the choice that people would have to make about their eternities, as many people walked past apathetically again (as per what usually happens), and a few people stopped in the distances to hear exactly what was being said. I then preached about the deaths that had happened that morning in Norway, the 84 shootings and deaths by the explosion, and how if you had asked those same people just 24hrs earlier, they too, like most others, would have just assumed they would die when they were an old person in their 70's-80's. People are so hard hearted and dull to their own eternities, which is why its such a miracle God can awaken people out of their slumber to weigh in the balance the eternal value of their soul.
Charles preached next on the megaphone we had, whilst our pastor chatted to a man who had walked past whose father was in the ministry of some sorts, and so had heard things before. He apparently claimed that Jesus had sinned in his life, though when questioned further into exactly what sins he had supposedly committed, he acknowledged that there were in fact none that he could list! My pastor said he was actually quite open to the gospel and took a tract after being chatted with further, and apparently went away quite positive about what was said.
Later on I saw a gentleman leaning next to a tree whilst texting on his phone, subconsciously listening to what was being preached about by Russel on the mic. When he started to leave, I offered him a tract about the big bang theory, and asked his views on how he thought it had started. He didnt want to chat at first, but then decieded to stop and so we had a discussion about science, atoms, protons and the chance of life originating by itself, as it turned out he was studying Physics at Liverpool University.
We then moved on to how true science completely agrees with the Bible, inclusing the differences between micro (Scientific, proveable and Biblical) vs macro (man made, unproveable theory and speculation) evolution, and the evidences in the fossil records, geology and the geologic column that all supported the Bibles views, and actually contradicted Darwins tree of life.
We then moved onto the good person test, and it turns out Dan (as he was claled) was actually quite up on his views of Christianity and the afterlife, as it turned out that he had a friend at University who used to chat and share with him and his friends about questions of origins of life and Christianity etc (good friend!) which he had therefore thought about in the past.
It turned out that Dan went from being quite firm in his beliefs on science in the beginning, to actually understanding at the end of the conversation and some discussions about design and creation showing a designer, to very open and thoughtful about where he would actually spend eternity. He even agreed that reasons he didnt want to believe in God was because of sin, and this of course agrees totally with what the Bible says in the book of Romans that men supress the truth in unrighteousness, and love the darkness because their deeds are evil.
He acknowledged at the end of the conversation that if died that day in his sins, he would justly deserve to go to Hell, and then understood that he needed to repent from his sins (including currently being in a sexual relationship with hsi girlfriend) and put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of his sins. I also explained that if the shoe was on the other foot, and he was a Christian, and I wasnt, and he knew what I knew and didnt tell me, what would I think of him if I died in my sins? he said I would probably think he should deserve to go to Hell too for not telling him about how he could get to heaven! How true he was!
It ended with a firm handshake from Dan and some gospel tracts to read, and was great as Ryan, a man in our Church who is quite new to the faith and has been coming to the Way of the Master evangelism course nights, was there listening in to the conversation,a nd so he got a chance to hear some of the conversation and the way Dan was taken through the goos person test which he said was encouraging.
We all had a great outreach that day with other ggood conversations and tracts going out. Later on in town I saw 4 teenage girls in the city centre who had stopped to take part in a Scientology 'stress test'. After they had left and were walking away, I managed to aprehend them and asked them if they knew anything about what Scientology was actually about and what it taught? They were quite shocked to hear some of the truthsabout it being a cult, El Ron Hubbards views on the occult and science fiction, and the great con it was in conveniently making people people part with their money for its literature. I then explained that I was a Christian and that the reason there are problems in life is not because of the so called 'thetans' in them- wandering alien spirits without a body to inhabit, but because of them breaking Gods 10 commandments, they were enlightened into what would actually cure them- the free gift of the gospel! They were quite thoughtful, and perhaps a bit shocked into everything that they were told, but I felt at least they were told some truth and not left with the lie of scientology ringing in their ears.
A good day of evangelism all round- we prayed that people would come to the saving knowledge of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and that eyes and ears and hearts would be opened to what was said that day.
Monday, 18 July, 2011
Im sorry for the lack of updates to our evangelism outreaches over the last few months, we have been out on the streets of Plymouth almost every saturday for the last few months, and have had some great conversations and interesting happenings.
This saturday the 16th July, 8 of us met in the city centre to Pray and read the Bible before we started, and all that attend have been attending a Way of the Master Evangelism training I have been going through every wednesday fortnight, as well as watching the 'Go Stand Speak' DVD and other gospel presentations, so people are becoming more enthusiastic and encouraged to come out on the streets and either just hand out tracts or start to try and witness to others.
After praying I preached first on the amp and mic, and just feld led to ask people what their excuses were for not wanting to find out what happened to them when they died, as surely everyone wants to live forever? So If someone has the abilility to predict their own death and resurrection, and then it come true completely, isnt that person worth listening to, for even we cant predict the date of our own death.
My friend Charles later preached using the megaphone we have, and a man walked past and shouted out that Jesus didnt exist. Oh my, what a statement to make! He obviously didnt have a clue!
While our pastor Wayne preached on the mic, Giselle, a lady from our fellowship chatted to a man who started to listen to what was said, called Jonathan. It later turned out he was fascinated by what was being said, and came to our Bible study on Monday night, and found what was said that night about Sin, Transgression and Iniquity to be truly eye opening, and so is coming back again which is great.
A Christian lady stopped to encourage us and said it was good to hear us all preaching Gods truth out on the streets which was great to hear, and many tracts were handed out again, and young people spoken with and others stopping in the distance to hear what was said.
WE have an easil with various scriptures and information to preach about or for people to read, and this Saturday we will have some new ones about prophecies in the OT and how they were fulfilled by Jesus in the NT, the probabilities of these happening, and therefore the trust we can put in Jesus for being who he says he is, which should be good.
We all prayed afterwards for the seeds that had been sown and the conversations that we had, that people would come to faith in Gods time and be saved from the wrath to come.
We only have a small church of about 25, but out of that, about a third all come out for evangelism, which is very encouraging. Will update more frequently from now on!
For Gods glory!
Saturday, 12 March, 2011
We have been going out Evangelising most Saturdays since Christmas in the city centre, though Friday nights at Plymouth University have been hampered by the wind, rain and cold, limiting our chances to get people to stop and chat. However on Friday night the weather was good enough to go out to Plymouth University with Russ and his wife Sharee, Dewi, my housemate and myself. We went to McDonalds to grab an drink and to pray, and then headed across. Along the night we met some very interesting characters, people who had been drinking a lot, a little or not at all, and were glad to be out relatively early to catch people before they were drinking.
A couple of conversations were great, paticularly with a group of 4 first year students, and a guy who was a ticket rep and had not been drinking. He went from first stating he was an Atheist (though not arrogantly), to acknowledging he needed saving from his sin. Dewi, Sharee and |Russ repoirted good conversations and lots of Evolution tracts handed out and million Euro notes. One guy was seen taking a tract, walking down the street reading it, and then stopping and standing still reading it, and so we hoped he really understood and acknowledged what the gospel was. We all rejoiced relaying back the conversations we had that night and stopped to pray for the tracts and conversations we had. On Saturday I travelled to Exeter to meet Shirley, her daughter and another lady called Alison, and we went to a Christian homeless shelter to pray and then went to the city centre.
We started handing out tracts and speaking to people, and Shirley preached first. I remember having 3 great conversations with a 17yr guy called Alex who was in the army, and a 22yr old guy called Sam who was in the Para-troopers. Both were great to talk to, with Sam being a Catholic. However I think both found the 5th question hard about not-murdering as they had to deal with this in their line of work, and so we discussed the difference between murder and killing in cold blood. Both were left with something to think about which was great. I set up the good person test board, and spoke to a group of bored looking teenagers about the possibility of doing the test. They agreed, and a bit of a crowd gathered which was great. We discussed the usual questions that people ask, such as 'who created God' and disporving the evidence of evolution. Another woman walked past and said that it was not right we were telling people what to believe, but I was not sure if she was a Christian or not.
A guy who was a post-modernist wound me up with his talk, about thinking sin was due to society and was what people made of it, however he also said that he thought it wrong that people tried to put their views and opinions on others. I then aksed him if he thought his opinion and view was the right one, and so if he believed it was wrong to think any particular view was wrong, that was a view in itself, and so was wrong to force his opinions on me! I left before getting myself anymore twisted up in his way of thinking. Lots of tracts went out and great conversations, and was a great day, great to go back out on a Friday evening to the University again. In 1 weeks time I am off to Liberia with Avanti ministries with another Evangelist to work in Prisons, schools and hospitals and to help other pastors learn about evangelism the biblical way which is great.
Saturday, 22 January, 2011
On Saturday 22nd Jan it was our first proper outreach for the New year with my new Church. Although I have been involved in their Church housegroup and evangelism for a couple of years now, I still attended another Church but felt it right to come along side fellow evangelists and work together more effectively as a unit.
A man who we have had 'discussions' with about his wrong view of doctrine and questionable Bible teachers he thinks are gifted from God (Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn) came to cause trouble amongst us before we started, and got quite irate with Russel and his wife, threatening them verbally for things that had occurred in the past, so for about 1hr the pastor of our Church who was out with us, Wayne, had to try and dissolve the situation and draw him aside so we could carry on preaching, inbetween him trying to uphold and defend Joyce Meyers wrong scripture use of 'Little Gods'!
We met up and prayed and handed out tracts, and Sue and Russel both preached with amplification. There were lots of people in the city centre today but a gap seemed to appear near us as people walked past!
I had come later from work and stood up to preach on part of Isaiah 55, a good solid text to encourage people to seek God while the time is at hand. A couple of people verbalised their opinions, but later on we all managed to get into some good conversations.
Russel had a good chat with a teenager who used to attend Church but no longer did, and after I had preached a young hardened Atheist had been listening so I approached him to see if he had changed his views on anything. Unsuprisingly he still was very irate, challenging many basic views on the existence of God, that morality was made up from society and that although we had evolved from Primates, it would be wrong for him to be put in a Zoo (when I posed the question to him) and that he as an Atheist didnt need to follow the 'survival of the fittest' views others may have as he was a nice Atheist.
He is only about 16, and has thought a lot about what he thinks, and when I stopped the conversation he was annoyed as he wanted to carry on 'arguing'.
Lots of tracts were given out, and Charles who was baptized a few weeks ago and joined the Church was seen to be very encouraged to witness to people one to one which is great after watching saome WOTM DVD's. We hope to be out on Saturday lunch times now weekly in the city centre, and are having an Evangelists dinner next month to chat, share, fellowship and plan the year ahead and focus on the gospel and why we are doing what we are doing which should be great.
Saturday, 11 December, 2010
Today I met with some friends who meet monthly to do an outrerach in the city centre, one man from the OAM, and there was about 7 of us out all together for 1.5hrs today.
Again the city centre was packed full of Christmas shoppers, and many tracts were able to be given out.
Pete preached twice with his OAM magnetic board, and Russel and Alf also preached, with a couple of people stopping long enough to listen and to be given a Christmas goispel tract top take away with them to read.
I had a good conversation with s young man called Adam, 2 students called James & Jordan, and 4 17yr old lads who worked down the marina.
All of the conversations seemed positive, with varying degrees of interest to start with, but by the end all took tracts and were eager to read through them and think what was said and to understand the true meaning of Christmas (without the pagan roots).
This Thursday I am travelling to Essex for an Avanti Minsitries fellowship day and Christmas meal in the evening, and also hope to meet up with fellow Operation 513 evangelist Andrew Noble and attend an evengelistic youth meeting with members from 'Tough Talk' doing a demonstration and testimony there which should be great.
Saturday, 13 November, 2010
On Saturday 13th November we headed to Exeter again to do an outreach, and were 5 of us in total today again. We prayed, and then worked out where we were going to speak.
There was a band playing in the square where we normally preached, and so we managed to speak inbetween their breaks which worked out well. Most people had their heasds down Christmas shopping, bgut a few stopped to listen, and quite a few Christians stopped and listened or passed by and encouraged us which was great. A Big issue seller walked past and shouted out that we were stupid believing in God, and so I managed to chase her down and ask her gently why she didnt believe. I could see from her dress and attitude she was sleeping rough, and so managed to have a conversation with her, and she said that both her parents were dead, she had been abused as a child and had no family now.
These things that had happened to her had led her to turn away from God, but food always does the trick, and a pasty and some tracts for her to read seeemd to go down well. She later came back in the afternoon and said thanks which was great.
We had coffee, then stood handing out tracts to people, and quite a few were taken which was great. I gave some tracts to some teenagers, before walking off to hand more out. When I came back, I saw the same tract being put in the bin by one of the kids., So I approached them and we had a good 15 minute conversation about what the tract said and their reasons for disbelieving in God and believing the lie of Evolution. I managed to share my testimony and show them the scars on my leg, and at the end of the conversation, the same guy who put the tract in the bin, shook my hand, and they all took some mpn's to read which was great again.
Shirley had a good conversation with some people who were seeking for truth after she preached, and Russel my friend managed to share with another big issue seller who looked very down and sad, and again food and tracts to read goes together well.
We didnt stay as long as normal that day, but had some good conversations, and saw some other Christians from another Church out evangelising as well which was good encouragement.
Saturday, 23 October, 2010
On Saturday 23/10, a group of us went to Taunton for the day and met with others there- about 7 in total.
On the way there it was terrential rain and wind and was really bad driving conditions- we all felt like going back as thought it would not be worth going.
However when we got there and met the others, the rain had stopped and the sun cam out so we were encouraged. We all bundled into my van and prayed before we went out which was great.
Mike preached, and as he was going through various sins from 1 Corinthians 6 v 9, he mentioned homosexuality. Just as he did, 2 guys came past hand in hand, extremely angry and vocal at what he was saying. Mike was very calm and tried to reason with them about what the Bible said, and about other sins, so he was not just picking on homosexuals. They stormed off, and was very unusal as they didnt look 'gay' but just like 2 local lads in tracksuit bottoms and a hat etc, so caused a few people to stop and listen.
Shirley preached, and Amanda preached for the first time which was great, along with Mikes wife Rachel.
We all had various discussions with people, including an old woman who was about 80 who didnt believe in hell, a group of 5 yr9 pupils who started to debate about homosexuality and atheism (they seemed to know a lot for their age- 14), and other people walking p-ast that we were able to hand out tracts to.
My friends saw Nick Knowles, a celebrity who is on various BBC1 DIY shows, and stopped him and took a picture and gave him a tract. What was amazing was that he was on his way to buy flowers for a sick friend who was dying, and the tract my friend happened to give him before he even knew was entitled 'If you were to die todasy, do you know if you would go to Heaven or Hell?" and so was very appropriate for the situation.
After lunch I set up the WOTM board and easil with the intelligence and good person tests on, and a group of 3 teenagers were walking past, and I managed to get them to stop and do it, which encouraged a few other people to stop and listen as well which was great. We went through the Law, judgment and Hell, before explaining what God did so people didnt have to go to Hell, and explained the gospel to them while others around listened. They said they would think about things and took some tracts which was great. Another man called Janathan had also stopped to listen who was in his 40's, and he said what was said was encouraging to him and made sense and that he would like a Bible for himself, and some tracts for both his parents who were elderly to read, which was very encouraging.
It was a great day, and after the weather we had on the way up, turned out to be a nice day with lots of tracts handed out and lots of good conversations with people who may not necessarily at first glance look as though they may be interested, but obviously shows us that everyone needs to hear and its not up to us to judge how people necessarily respond.
On Sunday morning on the way to Church, my van broke down and I had to phone up the RAC to come and jump start it, and as a result missed Church. I also kissed the call to say they had arrived, and so had to phone them again to book in another mechanic. I was waiting in my van, a bit annoyed It was taking so long, and that I had missed Church etc.
Before the RAC man came though, while in my van a man walkjed past with hi9s dog, and stopped to read some of the new stickers on the sides. He walked around, taking a good look and reading them all, and didnt notice I was inside as has tinted windows at the back. I could hear him curse a bit under his breath, and just as he was about to go inside his house I opened the van doors and asked him what he thought of them, which gave him a bit of a startle.
WE then had a GREAT 15 minute chat about the problem with Religion and works vs Christianity and salvation by Repentance and Faith, about the existence of God, evolution and what would happen to someone when they died. It was really good and he took a couple of tracts and thanked me for chatting, so was perfect timing just as he left the RAC man came.
If Gods using me in divine appointments means having to call the RAC man out a few times, it will be worth it!
While in Town yesterday, I offered a mpn to 2 lads sitting outside a shop, and foiund they were very open to chatting. While in conversation with them, their 2 friends came past and stopped and joined in, and so went through with them again whayt they had missed. They all took tracts after hearing the gospel, seeing the scars on my legs (again) and said what was said made sense and they would think about what was said which was encouraging.
Sunday, 10 October, 2010
On Friday night I went out by myself to the Plymouth University, and prayed that I would have just one good converataion with someone who wasnt drunk that night.
I offered a mpn to Harry, an 18yr old lad from who actually attended aChurch youth club and knew my sister, and hadnt spoken to him in a long time. He said that ages ago he had a mpn, and had read it, but although he had attended soul survivor etc before, he wouldnt say he was a Christian as he was still confused about issues. He was joining the army soon as well and so had a lot to think about.
We had a great chat abou truth and where it came from, about the need for salvation and how people in different religions try to obtain it, and how Jesusis the only way. I also tried to talk about the knowledge that we all have of God, but the reasons that people supress the truth in unrighteousness because of sin, pride and unbelief. We chatted for about 20 minutes and he took lots of tracts to read and said it made sense so I went home pleased that night God had answered my prayer!
On Saturday 9th October, about 9 of us went to Exeter to preach and hand out tracts/ witness to people. About 4 of us preached on various subjects relating to the gospel- I spoke on Isaiah 55.
4 girls were sitting down sort of listening, and so I approached them offering a mpn (again- it works!) We went through the Law, Hell, then what God had done so we didnt need to go to Hell. They seemed to understand, and one girl who was 16 said she attended church herself. I asked if she was born again, and, she said she had been christened before. I tried to explain that christening cant save you and what being born again meant, and they all took some tracts to read afterwards.
When my friend Wayne was preaching, 4 teenagers walked past scoffing and using Gods name out of term. So I offered them a mpn, asked them what they believed, and showed them the scars on my leg and went through 5/10 commandments. When they understood that if they were to die that day, they would end up in Hell, they seemed a bit more sober minded. So I then said goodbye to them and left them with a tract and said to read it, without giving them the good news outright. I wanted them to ead it only if they were really concerned about it, as they seemed a bit loud mouthed and brash at first, but one of them definatly seemed thoughtful about what had been discussed.
That evening again I decided to go out to the Univerity again to witness, and again prayed for good conversations with people who were not drunk.
I came across 4 lads outside the mall, and after a bit of a chase to get them to stop with the MPN I offered them, we had a good conversation after they liked the intelligence test questions which thy got 3/6 right! They had only had one drink in the 4 pubs they had been to so far that night, so God answered my prayer again. One of them said he didnt believe in God, and said he was an atheist. So I tried to reason with him that beliefs dont matter, whats true does, and if God exists then he iexists whether he believed in him or not. He was annoyed and so walked off, while his friends stayed, and even they acknowledged something had ruffled his feathers.
We had a great chat and got onto the subject of when would be the righttime to get right with God. I tried to explain that people often seek to get their life ot of the way, and then have a death bed repentance. I again showed them the scars on my leg and told them the story of my accident, and they agreed that life was short. They were extremely amicable and we had a good 15-20 minute conversation. They each took a couple of tracts and one for their friend, so was great. They were all linked with the fishing industry in some way, and so hopefully one day they too might become fishers of men!
I went up to the University and there were LOADS of students going from the student union out to the many pubs and bars across the city. I managed to attract the interest of 2 lads, one of which had been brought up a christian and his parents were missionaries in Romania for a while he said, but now he said he didnt believe. Whilst in the conversation, 3 of their friends who had previously walked past and refused a mpn, stopped and joined in the conversation.
Again the same arguement came up that one of them didnt believe in God, and so it didnt matter. I tried to reason that if I believed the sun was square, blue and cold, it didnt make my beliefs right, nor if I believed 1+1=3. They acknowledged that, and we somehow got into a big discussion about proofs for the existence of God. I tried to reason that we all knew there was a God, but again because of sin and pride etc, tried to push the thoughts out of our minds of an all powerful God being in control of the Universe.
We went through the 10 commandents, but this led to a discussio aboiut where truth and morality comes from and whose to say whats right or not. They again had not been drinking much and so we had a good chat that either energy of God was eternal, and that the first 2 laws of thermo-dynamics showed energy was not eternal, and that God has always existed. They all took tracts, but as they left one wanted to stay to chat more. He said it made sense, and so we went through why he needed salvation, that Jesus came to die on the cross to forgive sin, no matter how bad we had been, and so we could enter heaven through repentance and faith, so all the glory goes t him. I also tried to explain that Christians were not good people that God picked out to save, but that Christians were not always so and each had a story to tell about their life before they were saved.
We discussed that if I had this message to share which would have eternal consequences, then me not telling people would be like walking past a burning house ands not stopping to help, or at best just tapping on the door and whispering thrugh the letter box. He acknowledged that if someone did that they would be evil for not stoppin to tell the people inside. He also stated that a few weeks before his student house had actually caught fire with smoke billowing out of the windows, and s the analogy was even more real for him than I knew! I encouraged him to get right with God tha night, as there was surely no sin in his life worth giving up eternal life for, and mentioned he could go and discuss thinmgs further with the University chaplin whom I knew.
He was very thankful and took tracts and shook my hand, and again left me full of joy knowing that God had used me for his plans and purposes that night, and that his gospel had gone out, so I prayed that they would take time to read the tracts the next day whn sober and really think about what the Bible verses said. I am thinking of visiting the chaplincy to see if there are any students in the C/U there who may be interested in joining me on a Friday evening, so will pray and see what happens.
