Battle Log
Sunday 9 July 2023
Posted 9 July 2023, 7:28 AM by Glen Richards. Permalink
Winter continues! But we had a break in the wet weather for outreach on Tuesday (Riccarton with Roger) and Friday (City with Roger, Martin, and Andy). The weekend was very wet again, so I just worked online.
But, the two outreaches were phenomenal. Busy, no lack of opportunity! I came away from Tuesday’s outreach in joy! Part of me is happy there are so few Christians out joining me, that just leaves more opportunity for me! But, of course that’s not right. There is more than enough opportunity to share the gospel with the lost - come join us! You are missing out in this joy.
So, the highlight conversation from Tuesday was the last one. Two young lads went past. I didn’t think they would be interested, but they surprised me by stopping. There was an openness (respectful engagement), but at the same time a resistance (not willing to submit to the God they know is real).
I used the flip chart, but only sparingly, the conversation was basically me explaining the law and the gospel, and them hitting me with all the questions they had. I can’t be sure how long the chat went for, but I’d say 45 minutes? As they left, I noticed it was dusk, and it was cold. Outreach time was over!
I learnt something interesting from the conversation. At the start, I could tell these guys weren’t dumb, and so I said, “I’m not going to argue from what I don’t know, instead, I’m only going to rely on what I do know - no god of the gaps.” They were happy with that. But by the end of the conversation, as one of them was fighting to keep the wraps on their suppression of God tied down, drifted into what we don’t know: “But, in the future, we could learn something that proves there is no god”. I instantly went back and said, “hold on, I told you at the start that I won’t argue from what I don’t know, but only from what I do know. You are now appealing to what you don’t know”. It was an accidental set up, but it was powerful, it hit home, and he struggled to keep his composure (but to his credit, he did).
I pleaded with them both to repent. And they both took tracts, “everything I’ve said can be summarised into this little 8 page cartoon”. That’s how simple the message of the gospel is.
Earlier I had some interaction with 3 youth’s. The young lady was very sharp intellectually, but I don’t think she realised it. Her rebellion against God was sophisticated, and yet simple minded. I instinctively knew that it wasn’t wise to engage her further, as it would just lead to intense heat and no fruit. I let them go, after a simple gospel explanation, and with tracts each.
Earlier in the day, while online, I connected with a lady from the USA. I had a 19 minute conversation with her, in which she came to tears. She professed faith in God early in the chat, but it was clear that she didn’t really understand the gospel. You have to be gentle in these situations, because if you are too direct “you aren’t really a Christian”, then they just get offended and walk away. So, I laboured with her to try to get her to see what I saw for herself. Eventually she did flare up in protest, but I didn’t back down, and I made it clear I wasn’t backing down out of care for her. As we continued to talk, I was surprised to see tears start coming down her face. She opened up, and revealed her struggle: she is in a church that teaches baptism in the Spirit and tongues for salvation. She doesn’t ‘feel’ the Spirit, and so she concludes she is not saved as a result. I was able to bring the balm of the true gospel. She continued to weep. It was a special chat. She thanked me for what I was doing. When I suggested she look for a church that teaches the gospel and the Bible, she was eager to take down the details of how to find one. I was very encouraged.
Later in the week, I had a 1 hour online chat, with a young man and his friend. It was funny, because his response to my question, “what do you think happens after life”, was to say, “You’re on, I want to talk about this… hold on, let me move my mouse so I don’t accidentally skip you”. He was all questions and resistance initially, but I found an opportunity to swing to the law and suddenly I had control of the conversation. I shared the gospel, and then moved straight to my first check question. He instantly got it wrong, and when I pointed that out he understood, “Oh, man, this takes time to correct your thinking”. Actually, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. I continued working through the checks. He kept getting them wrong, but this just caused him to process and correct his thinking. By the end of the chat he was not only articulating the gospel perfectly, but he professed that he was “110% sure that he was going to heaven when he died, because Jesus died on the cross for my sin”. Both he and his friend were grateful for the chat, and were willing to start reading the Bible for themselves and find a local church.
Friday’s outreach in the city was amazing.
I had Martin (from Hamilton way) with me. We arrived at the outreach location, and I instantly spied someone who I thought would be good to chat too. She was! And we ended up talking for exactly 1 hour! She claimed to be open, but very much hated the idea that God was allowed to make rules and tell her how to live.
I went for a wander, and encountered 3 young people at the corner of Colombo and Hereford. I’d apparently talked to 1 of them before (but I don’t remember it), he said, “Faith that Jesus died on the cross for your sin”! Well, he had an understanding, but it was clear he wasn’t doing that - he didn’t want to chat. But 1 of his friends did. I was able to give a short gospel presentation, at the end of which, he asked, “can I give you a hug?” No problem! What a blessing. He really seemed to appreciate the chat, and he left with a gospel of John. And all 3 of them left with tracts.
I got another hug later on, from a streetie, also whom I don’t remember - but he knew my name! He even remembered the gospel too. We talked for a while, I’ll work on remembering his name, and hope to see him again.
Well, I’m out of time to write further. Thank you for praying for this ministry, and please, come join me out in the harvest! It’s such a joy to labour in it.
View previous Christchurch (NZ) report (2 July 2023)
Christchurch (NZ) Team
Weekly outreaches:
Tue 3:30pm - 5:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Fri 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (Bridge of Remembrance)
Sat 12:30pm - 2:30pm - Riccarton (corner of Riccarton Rd and Rotherham St)
Sun 1:30pm - 3:30pm - City (corner of Colombo St and Cashel St) - only 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays of the month.
Contact Glen Richards or Andy Barlow for more information.