Battle Log

Tuesday 11 June 2019

Posted 13 June 2019, 5:53 PM by David Gee. Permalink

The cold weather has continued this last couple of weeks and while it means that some people stay away (mercifully it seems that we have warm weather opponents down here), there have been some great discussions and debates.

Time and again I am struck by the reality that appearances can be deceiving. I am often surprised by the people that respond to the outreach in Hobart CBD. Some that are very young will ably argue their case with grace and wisdom, whilst others who are twice their age and their so-called elders and betters cannot even manage rational discussion for 5 minutes. But likewise, there is zeal and passion to spare in some folks much older than I, when it is hard to get much more than a “meh” out of some 25-year-olds. People that look rough around the edges and very belligerent walk close by to murmur “keep preaching brother”, yet someone in a high-priced suit will spew foul language and threaten violence if the Gospel is preached any longer.

God is good and patient with me as always and continues to teach me to take people as they are and behave not based on how they appear. And likewise, He is teaching me to pray for people consistently, I have watched numerous blessed examples of people changed by the Gospel from violently opposed to loving and following the savior.

Some of the discussions we have had this last week:

Mr C. is a Buddhist and looking to go to Nepal to meditate, study and seek enlightenment for the next couple of months. He and I have discussed issues of faith and particularly the Bible many times before. It was good to see him again and have a chance to speak with him again. We both talked about the perspective of our respective faiths and there was a little debating back and forth. At the end I wished him a safe journey and hope that he is found by Christ on his journey of discovery.

Miss M. grew up in a theologically liberal Church and we talked for more than an hour about what the Bible has to say, what my Church teaches, what her family’s Church taught and what each represents. It was wonderful to be able to talk at length with someone who was obviously thinking deeply about these things. I encouraged her into the three most important Christian disciplines: Prayer, Bible study, and attending a faithful Church.

Mr Blue Coat came up whilst I was preaching and began to debate the Bible and science. There were many points back and forth; during the debate I attempted to show that atheists just like Christians believe the following: the universe was created from nothing (big bang), life’s beginnings are an inexplicable miracle (abiogenesis), that there is structure and purpose in the world, and that there is morality and dignity inherent in all people. Having shown this (only in part I’m sure) I then pointed out that having no cause for any of these makes atheism a much less rational and more credulous option than Christianity that has a transcendent supernatural moral personal cause for all this. I urged him to consider these things and the almost shocking lack of support for atheism. I urged Mr Blue Coat and the others who had gathered to listen to put their trust in Jesus Christ who orders all of life and transforms our search for meaning, origin, and destiny.

Mr C. came after I had finished preaching and asked a perennial question, why do you do this? It is a question that I have answered before. It leads me to think of the thousands running headlong into hell, of the debauched dancing in the darkness as the demons gather, of the thoughtless sleeping as their spiritual house burns around them, of the rebels raging against the only one who truly loves, of sinners with soul cancer and no knowledge of the cure.

I think of these and the fact that many of them would never darken the door of a church. Then I ask, how can you not speak the gospel every chance you get?

Praise to Jesus Christ our Saviour who calls us out of darkness!

View previous Hobart (TAS) report (24 May 2019)

Hobart

Hobart Team (TAS)

Elizabeth Street Mall.