Battle Log

Sunday 2 May 2021

Posted 16 May 2021, 6:29 PM by Matthew Andersen. Permalink

Due to the daily online evangelism the team in Brisbane only hits the streets on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. But these are some of the most exciting times for the week. The reason being, there is great joy in having conversations with people in real life that you can’t experience online! An added bonus is that each Sunday night from 7:30-9:30pm the team actually pairs up for training. The team goes out taking turns having conversations and seeking to make the gospel known but also to encourage one another in how to make it clearer when they share the gospel!

Some weeks there is a large team out and this week was one of them! A team of eighteen made it out and this was exciting! The first conversation of the evening was with a lady named Sandy who had had a bit to do with the Jehovah’s Witnesses but thankfully was no longer with them but sadly had decided that she was going to fashion a god that suited her own ideas. It was a careful conversation seeking to gently talk through the law and the gospel that she would have the chance to understand why Christ came but sadly she got stuck on the idea that God would dispense justice, any at all! She was left with a tract and was encouraged to read the gospel of John.

Another chat was with a young man named Merica, yes really! He had no push back. He’d had some Christian background and initially hoped that he would be good enough to enter heaven. He listened intently to the law and saw that he was guilty and on his way to Hell and on that basis came to hear of the only hope being found in Christ, who lived perfectly and took the punishment sin deserves on the cross! He heard of this but struggled to believe that it was really a gift, he wanted to do something to contribute to his entry into Heaven. It was stressed that this couldn’t be the case, not only because without Christ all one can do it sin and secondly to think you can contribute to Christ is to not be trusting in Him at all! He took a tract and said he would check it out!

Lastly was a chat with a couple who also were professing Christians but were a bit confused on the gospel and actually by professing were living together despite not being married. They were shown the seriousness of God’s authority and the reality of those who live in defiance against Him but were trying to fall back onto their request for forgiveness. It was shown that salvation was a free gift received by faith and it was pointed out that all those who are saved will be drastically changed and will seek to honour God in all that they do. This was a challenge that left them quite uncomfortable but they said they were thankful for the conversation and were also challenged to read John’s gospel for themselves.

Please be praying for these four that they would see that God is good and must punish evil, that the gospel is good news and that God will come in and save them and transform their lives that they may bear witness to Him!
Also, if you’re interested in learning to engage others in the gospel, why not plan to come out one Sunday night, the team would love to have you!