Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Page 118

On Wednesday in Brisbane City the team was a bit lighter on at first as a few regulars were sick but God provided another team member who had the day off work to come on down and she even bought a friend with her! Over the course of the afternoon the six on the team were able to have many conversations bringing the knowledge of the truth to the ears of those who had never heard it before!

An early conversation was with a Korean lady Suben. She is from Korea, living in Austria but was visiting Australia for a month! God had bought her around the globe to give her and opportunity to hear and understand the offer of forgiveness for sinners. Suben thought she would be okay on judgement day at first but with the revelation of God's law she came to understand the serious predicament she faced. This caused her at first to start saying that she wasn't sure that God existed anymore (in an attempt to avoid her guilt by removing the law giver). She was shown that this didn't make sense as we know God exists and then was shown the proper solution to guilt, payment.

She heard of what Jesus has done to save sinners and the simple means of accepting that gift of forgiveness by trusting that Jesus has died for her sin on the cross. She came to understand this simple message and that those who trust in Jesus will be thankful and therefore desire to turn from sin and to live for Christ! She was given a gospel of John and was encouraged to read it in the next week and was encouraged to fish her Bible out of storage when she gets home!

Please keep Suben in your prayers that God would continue to challenge her and cause her not to rest until she has trusted in Christ.

Another exciting conversation was with a Zane a young guy who turned up with a friend interested to go through the flip chart and came away understanding the gospel message, seeing that he knows that God exists and having this day to deal with the information he now has and making the choice to respond in faith or rejection.

A conversation late in the afternoon was had with Naim, a Muslim. He said, "I want you to show me where Jesus says, 'I am God, worship me'". He said he would instantly trust in Jesus if this was shown to him! This question was acknowledged as important but it was pointed out to Naim that it would be foolish just to show him Jesus' claims to be divine without explaining what Jesus actually had to say. So Naim was taken through the gospel, shown his guilt, that he deserves Hell and if he received justice for how he lived God would send him to Hell.

Then he was shown that if there is someone perfect to take his place, to pay for his sin he can walk free. It was acknowledged that only God is perfect and therefore whoever pays for sin must be God. He was shown what Jesus did to pay for sin, dying on a cross, taking the wrath of God and therefore that Jesus must be God. He came to understand the simple message that this is a gift to be accepted by trusting in Christ and that those who trust will respond on obedience out of gratitude.

Naim was then given a gospel of John and was asked to read John 1:1-3 and 14 and he went silent. He was then pointed to John 8:48-59 and again he had not much to say. He was shown that Jesus' claim to be "I AM" were claims to be God and Naim was given the gospel of John and encouraged to read it this week to see what else Jesus says about Himself in this regard.

Please be praying for Naim that he would take the gospel he has heard, the word of God in his pocket and that God would work on his heart causing him to trust in Christ alone for his salvation, rather than in himself and the words of a man.

If you ever have a day off, why not see if there is an outreach on you can make it to and spend a few hours declaring the glories of your God and King to the people of this world who are heading to Hell?

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

As per schedule, on Thursday, I was at the bus stops outside Northlands & Eastgate malls.

Two conversations outside Northlands stand out for mention - they were both follow ups.

After an initial burst of conversations, I had approached everyone that I could see, so I was waiting for buses to arrive bringing new people to talk to.  As I was waiting and praying, a girl walked past - so I offered her a tract.  She looked up, and to my surprise, she recognised me and knew my name!  It turns out that I had had a long Gospel conversation with her in the central city earlier in the year.  And she had obviously been thinking about it, as she was keen to talk about it more now - and she remembered key concepts that I had obviously shared the first time.  She had grown up in a Christian home, but as a first year bio-chem student at Uni, she was questioning everything she had been taught.  So we talked about evolution and creation for a while.  Her bus arrived, cutting our conversation short - but she left with an After Life tract.

The second conversation was with an exchange high school student (from Germany).  The last time we talked, he had expressed a postmodern worldview and wasn’t interested in God.  This time he walked past and remembered me, but stopped keen to continue the conversation.  He pretended to walk away when I moved the conversation to the subject of God claiming that he wanted to talk about anything else.  But he stayed around long enough to miss two buses (as he revealed later) to talk about this very subject!  Again, the conversation focused on evolution and creation and, to my surprise, he accepted a leaflet on this subject produced by Creation Ministries International.  At the end of the conversation, he asked me if I would be here every Thursday, he is keen to keep talking.  He knows how to get in touch with me!

Friday started with the Gospel + abortion outreach.  It was very encouraging to have seven Christians turn up to stand for life, and share the Gospel - including a newbie for this outreach.  The team had some opposition, yet much support (as usual).  And as per the pictures, some good dialogue was had with various members of the public.  No major “incidents” this time!  We are thankful to God for that.  We pray that God would continue to use this effort for His glory.

Later, two gathered for preaching in Cathedral Square.  Marty preached in spite of some distracting live music in the background, and a new tactic from our main heckler.  He had brought out a chalk board and had written some out of context Bible verses on it.  The preaching led to a follow up conversation with a Christian couple who stopped to listen and support.  And the chalk board led to a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel with another couple that was confused by it!  We are very grateful to God for the hecklers that he sends our way.  :)

The afternoon saw a team of three on the corner of Cashel and Colombo, handing out tracts and having Gospel conversations via the flip chart.  Roger has a wonderful ability to get people to stop for a chat, that wouldn’t give me the time of day!  He had many fish on his line today, including one guy who seemed deeply impacted by the message - very encouraging.

Sadly, the evening outreach was cut short by a forecasted change in the weather - rain and wind.  But before it came, one solid Gospel conversation was had, and tracts were handed out.

I thank God for the many opportunities we have to share of his love in the Gospel!
 

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On Tuesday afternoon in Woodridge there was a team of five that made it out to spread the seed of the good news that sinners can be made right before God. Over the course of the afternoon many conversations were had and as a result there were many people who went home for the first time in their life understanding what Jesus has done to save sinners and how simply by trusting in Him they can be forgiven!

The afternoon started off with an exciting chat. A young lady who spoke with the team over the course of almost an hour came to understand the simple message of salvation. She had a Mormon background and struggled to understand primarily how someone is made right before God. She had the right words but was defining them and using them in a way that was saying that there are things sinners are required to do as prerequisites to receiving God's forgiveness. She mentioned baptism, stopping sinning, asking for forgiveness and a few other things.

Over the course of the conversation she came to understand that these actions of obedience are done out of gratefulness for salvation, rather than selfishness to try and earn it. When she got it she exclaimed, "That makes so much sense!". She then had others issues that will have to be addressed in the future, regarding the triune nature of God, the deity of Christ and the person-hood of the Holy Spirit. Please be praying with Miraculous, that God would do just that and cause her to trust in Christ alone for her salvation!

There is a specific man who was spoken to back in early January, named Zem. He is an almost 62 yr old Albanian man who has tried to commit suicide four times and yet God has kept him alive. He says he has no reason to live and is planning on trying again and yet despite having nothing to live for and knowing that he is headed for Hell, he does not even want to hear what Jesus has done to save him! This is an awfully sad situation to be faced with as he says it won't be long before he tries again.

Please desperately be praying for this man that God will use whatever it takes to get his attention and to enable him an opportunity to hear the message of how a sinner can be forgiven!

One late conversation in the afternoon took place with Jane. She had spoken to the team at Sunnybank around a month back and at that stage was struggling with assurance of salvation because she believed that there are things that she must do in order to get to Heaven. In that conversation she came to understand that trusting that Jesus paid for her sin on the cross was the one condition to receive salvation.

In this conversation she stated that she thought God was trying to get her attention. She hadn't read her Bible in a few weeks and that was where the conversation was directed. She was reminded of what the Bible is, why it is important to spend time in it and some simple tips to help her get into the habit of reading it each day. Jane was very thankful for the follow up conversation and said she looks forward to the next time she gets to speak with the team!

Praise God for such a wonderful afternoon of outreach, please keep the team and those they spoke to in your prayers!

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Tuesday I normally spend four hours on the streets, and Wednesday seven hours.  But forecast rain for Wednesday led me to switch the outreaches for those two days.  And I’m glad I did, as the forecast was accurate!

Tuesday ended up being a warm day for outreach in the city, including time in Cathedral Square and outside Ara.

But before setting up my flip chart, I felt to do a bit of a wander first.  I was going to go and talk to Sunny - the hat stall vendor on Cashel Mall, but he wasn’t there for some reason.  So I decided to head for the Bridge of Remembrance, and I considered setting up my flip chart there - but decided against it.  So I started heading back to Cathedral Square via Oxford Terrace - attempting to hand out tracts as I went.  But then I noticed a guy sitting alone across the other side of the river (pictured).  I wrestled with the idea of going across to chat with him, eventually deciding to give it a try - and I’m so glad I did.

The young man was from Italy and had a Catholic background.  He was on a working holiday, currently relaxing in holiday mode and so was very happy to chat.  The conversation soon moved to spiritual things, which he was open to, and we ended up having a long discussion, where I had the opportunity to clearly explain the Gospel.  I was able to ask a checking question afterwards to confirm if he had understood, and it’s clear he hadn’t - as he instantly said that his good would outweigh his bad on judgement day.  I guess some things are deeply ingrained and take time to unlearn.  So I explained the Gospel again, and checked again to see if he now understood.  It was dawning on him: we are not saved by our good works, but by our repentant faith in Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross.  It’s exhilarating watching people process new information and start to understand it.  But it’s one thing to understand, it’s another to actually follow through.  I had no choice but to leave that in God’s hands.

After lunch, I headed down High Street to Ara.  On the way, there was a group of girls sitting on the seats outside the Vodafone building.  I was able to start a conversation with them and they were very open to the Gospel, and seemed to be impacted.  They all took tracts and thanked me.

Outside Ara, the highlight conversation was a follow up with some students I’d talked to a week or so before.  But this time they had more friends with them who I had not shared the Gospel with before, but were very open to hear it and discuss it.  Again I used checking questions to confirm if they had understood, and again the default response was that good works would save them on judgement day (one of them was a Catholic, so I see a recurring theme here!).  So after going through the Gospel a second time, I could see some light dawning on their minds.  It was so wonderful to see them understanding the good news of Jesus and justification by faith alone!

I was also able to follow up with the guys I’d talked to previously.  One who had seemed very open, and had even accepted a Bible, had quickly become “closed” and given the Bible away to one of his friends.  But as I talked to him again today, he quickly opened back up (a bit), and started asking good questions.  At one point, he revealed his frustration at God for not letting him live his life his own way!  This is at the heart of all men - rebellion against God.  I’m really encouraged by this conversation with this young man.  I hope to see him again.

Wednesday saw the forecast rain come with a vengeance, and it included wind (see picture) and bitter cold.  But in spite of this, I was still able to have Gospel conversations in Riccarton.  Two of them were stellar:

The first was with two young ladies - one of whom was not interested, as she had already done the flip chart at the Canterbury A&P Show.  But the other was a deep thinker, and really wanted to try the good person test.  I used the building analogy to show how we know God exists.  But they politely fought against it.  I stuck to my guns - as it’s logical, and I knew they knew it was too.  I chimed in with some gentle presuppositional apologetics too.  Showing them that without God, we can’t prove anything (He gives us a basis for logic, reason, knowledge and truth - which in turn gives us a basis for science).  The rain and cold didn’t slow the conversation down at all.  Eventually, an important question was asked.  They wanted to know what I thought about homosexuality.  It turns out they are in a relationship.  So I proceeded to lovingly, yet faithfully address the question.  We parted on very good terms.  The deep thinker gladly took a copy of “God and Sexuality” by Ray Comfort.

The other one was with a young man near the end of the outreach.  It seems he had some Bible understanding from his growing up years.  He initially said he was a good person and would go to heaven.  He very quickly reversed that position after seeing himself in the mirror of the law.  The Gospel then seemed to make sense to him.  He lives close to where my local church is, and so he accepted a contact card for my church, as well as a tract.  I hope to see him again, and I told him that.
 

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The last two Friday's has been busy due to the winter festival "Jumper and Jazz" in Warwick. Trees are decorated with creative artwork by local Schools, Community groups and businesses. There is music in the streets and lots of activities to attract visitors to the town. So it is good to have opportunities for sharing the Gospel to more people here at Warwick. We had a man stop and inquire about the ministry, who was supportive and a believer. He wanted to know how to order tracts as his wife is chaplain in prison ministry and said she is always looking for material that has a good clear Gospel message. Praise God for the body of Christ how God has people in different places and we can support and encourage one another. 

I had a man who I have spoken to a few times before approach me and he said that I should be handing out ten dollar notes... I grabbed the million dollar tract and gave it to him. He took it, laughed, then said, so where is the rain then. I replied that God will send the rain when He sends it and maybe He is wanting people to wake up and start thinking about what is more important and I also mentioned how God gives us the air we are breathing. We need God's reign in our hearts. He was walking down the street reading the million dollar tract. Pray for E for his salvation.

We had a good chat with a Mormon lady and we challenged her to check out Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" and compare it to the book of Mormon which says “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all that we can do” - 2 Nephi 25:23. Totally the opposite! She said she would check out what we were saying about the teachings of Joseph Smith in the book of Mormon and the difference to what the Word of God says. Please pray that the Lord would open her eyes to the truth and not be deceived anymore by this false religion.

Another gentleman received a tract and was very interested in growing in his relationship with God so as we asked him about his walk and said that he was not with lord for most of his life until a few years ago when he started attending some different churches and found that after church no one really wanted to talk about God so when the Jehovah Witnesses drew him in, he was happy that he found some people who wanted to study God’s word and talk about Him and share Him with others.

He said he is searching for the truth and was open to take some tracts and the booklet Jesus is God. We talked for some time about JW beliefs and what the Bible teaches. Before he left we invited him to come back and see us again and we also challenged him that if he didn’t have the right Jesus that he didn’t have salvation. Please pray for H that our God would help him to see that JW’s are not Christians and He would lead him to a bible believing/teaching church.

All glory to our great God,

Rick & Glenda 

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Bribie Island (QLD) Team

The weather on Bribie Island was ideal, and although it was relatively quiet, many of those walking past took tracts from our team. One lady stopped and took a Gospel of John for her son to read. A Christian couple passed our literature table and took a few tracts and a Gospel of John to pass on to one of their friends. Around 150 tracts were letterboxed on the island. We also had opportunity to have a few Gospel conversations.

  It was a real encouragement to have Mick join us from the Sunshine Coast. Again, a local Christian and his son came along and helped distribute Gospel tracts. Scripture has issued the call to evangelize; we are His witnesses (Acts 1:8) on earth. It is great to see Christians stepping out in obedience and genuine concern for the lost. We must continue to pray that more people from our churches will be convicted of the need to evangelize. Pray for more workers with a desire to share the good news with the lost.

  A group of girls went through the Gospel presentation using the “Good Person Test”, and though they quickly owned to their guilt, it was clear that they knew nothing about the gift of God in Jesus Christ, or what Christ had done to purchase our salvation. They were taken to the cross and Christ's sacrifice. They seemed to understand, but they did not appear to be greatly concerned. They were urged to think seriously about what they had heard. All of them had Bibles at home, and they were encouraged to start reading the book of John. They each took a Gospel tract as they left. Please pray that they would read the tracts, and that God would start a work in their hearts that would lead to their repentance and salvation.

  Two older ladies also went through the Good Person Test while the rest of their group moved on, openly scoffing. Originally they thought, as most people do, that they were good people, and that everyone goes to heaven. They said they tried to remain positive about what came after life, and they did not believe in any hell. As they moved through the Ten Commandments, they realized their guilt before God, and Michael showed them what Scripture teaches about hell, reading the verse from Revelation which tells of those whose place is in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). When they understood the existence of hell, they were rather concerned, but tried to brush it off. They heard the full Gospel, so now we pray that their hearts would be convicted, and that they would turn to Christ.

  Please continue to be in prayer for this outreach as we meet each month to share the Gospel. We appreciate your prayers and support as we work together for the extension of Christ's kingdom. May His Church grow, and His name be glorified.

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Saturday had a hint of spring in it that was refreshing.  I set my flipchart up in Cathedral Square and proceeded to hand out tracts in the warmth of the sun.

The outreach started slowly, but during the slow period I did have an opportunity to hand a tract to a guy delivering pizza on a bike (pictured).  You’ll notice the interesting slogan.  He works for “Hell” pizza.  I said to him that I’d love to work for the company, because I have the antidote to Hell: the Gospel.  I’d deliver a tract with every pizza sold.  He laughed.  I hope he reads the tract - Hell is not a laughing matter.

I did manage to have some solid Gospel conversations.

Three teen boys were keen to try the good person test.  To my initial questions: “Do you think you are a good person?, do you think you’ll go to heaven when you die?”, one of them answered: “heaven”, the next: “purgatory”, the last “hell”!  Going from there I was able to take them through the law, and then explain the good news of the Gospel.  They seemed to understand - it was an encouraging conversation.

My last conversation was with a young man who had tried out being a Mormon for three years, even getting baptised, before deciding it wasn’t for him.  He had also been involved with gangs, and other bad influences, and so had recently moved to Christchurch for a fresh start.  I took this guy through the law and the Gospel.  But he didn’t seem moved by it at all.  I asked a checking question to see if he had understood, and sadly his response of works being required for salvation showed that he hadn’t.  I had to explain the Gospel about four times, but sadly, I don’t really think he was really interested. :(

Sunday saw a team of four at the corner of Cashel and Colombo.  There were lots of people out and about, maybe attracted by the winter respite?  Some good flipchart (pictured) and walk up Gospel conversations were had.
 

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Although there was morning fog, there was no rain so the regular Gospel + abortion outreach was able to go ahead today.  A team of six.

As always, our stand for life outside the hospital, where abortions in Christchurch are performed, is polorising.  We had some support: cars tooting and those in them waving; some people smiling or giving a thumbs up as they walked past.  We also have opposition: people winding down their car windows to yell at us; some walking past who shake their heads in disgust; we even had a cyclist voice his opinion - yelling directly in Andy’s ear as he sped past.

As per the photo’s, we had opportunities for interaction: talking to people about the sin of murder, abortion, and the hope of forgiveness found only in Jesus.

Sadly, near the end of the outreach, a young lady walked past who said “You guys are trash”.  I looked straight at her, and words of response passed through my mind - but I decided not to let them pass out my mouth.  She must have been irritated that we didn’t respond, so she threw her nearly empty can of drink at us.  It went just past my head, and I got sprayed with some of the liquid.  She kept walking, but I noticed that she had her phone up and was obviously recording the incident (no idea why).

I went and got the can, and put it in the trash (pictured).  It’s not good for the environment to litter after all.

Nothing brings out the depravity of man, like the issue of abortion.  Oh how desperately the hope found in the Gospel is needed!

After the Gospel + abortion outreach, we moved into the city to start our afternoon outreach - which began with open air preaching in Cathedral Square.  Andy preached first, and immediately one of our regular hecklers turned up in opposition, who tried to drown out what Andy was saying pretty much the whole time.  Thankfully Ari, one of the city wizards, turned up and took the attention of the heckler away so Andy could preach in peace.  The preaching did attract some attention from passers by, and tracts were distributed.  I had a wonderful follow up conversation with a young man who had sat down to listen.

A team of four then gathered in Cashel Mall for an afternoon of flip chart outreach.

One conversation deeply impacted me.

Two young ladies were attracted by the flip chart and walked up to it wanting to give it a try.  I ended up starting the conversation by establishing the basis for truth, which led to some deep discussion.  One of the girls was more quiet than the other, but suddenly she wanted to ask a question.  It was related to an essay she was writing, and the question was about God and suffering.  So we discussed this, and I also gave her a leaflet: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

I was able to bring the conversation to the law, and talk about the serious nature of sin.  I was then able to share about the amazing grace of Jesus paying the fine for sin, so God’s justice could be served, and yet he could offer us mercy.  I explained that we are justified by faith alone, and not by works.  Salvation is a gift!  At this point, the quieter girl’s face was beaming.  They seemed to be understanding the gospel, and they were maybe picking up on some of my passion.

But this caused me to think about the cost of following Jesus (a paradox).  And so I explained that the other side of the coin of faith is repentance: a change of mind, will and emotions, away from sin and to God that will lead to good works.  If we place our faith in Christ, we will also repent - we will have a heart change, and we will no longer want to live our lives our way, but God’s way.  We won’t become perfect, but our desires will change that lead to a change of actions.

I highlighted this, but talking about abortion - that we will come to understand that life is precious from the pre-born to the elderly.  And instantly, the demeanor of these girls changed.  They were not willing to give up their pro choice position on this, and started to argue with me.  I then decided to double highlight my point by turning to the subject of homosexuality.  I explained that I don’t hate homosexuals, I actually genuinely love them, but that God’s position was that it was sinful.  We would need to change our minds on this issue.  Well, it turned out these two girls were gay (I had no idea).

The cost of the gift of Jesus was great indeed.  They understood the logic, they saw Christ’s love, through me.  But they rejected Him, and walked away.  I called out to them, and asked if they would accept one more thing from me.  They stopped and turned, and I was able to give them “After Life” tracts each.

We parted on good terms, but I felt devastated.  As I write this, I feel devastated.  I know salvation is of the Lord.  I know the Gospel is the power of God to salvation.  I know I need to leave results in God’s hands.  But oh, God, please, please: have mercy.  This is my heart cry.  Reader, Is it not your cry too?  I look at my life, at my sin.  I know what I deserve.  God’s justice in hell for eternity.  And I’m not getting what I deserve because of Jesus’ sacrifice for me.  We must go and share of this hope.  We must pray - for in the futility of prayer God moves.  The Bible tells us so.  Oh God, please receive glory in saving sinners by Your great sacrifice on the cross, rather than through giving people the justice they deserve in hell.  But not my will, but your will be done.  God, please change the hearts of these two girls - for your glory.

This report is way longer than it should be, and I need to get back on the streets.  But Andy and I also headed out to the Eastgate and Northlands bus stops on Thursday afternoon.  Many Gospel conversations were had, as always.  We leave all results in God’s hands.  All glory to Him.
 

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On Friday night a team of eight made their way to the Gold Coast from various locations to share with people what God has done to save sinners.

Over the course of the evening many conversations were had and many people came to hear and understand the simple message of salvation, to the point that they could answer questions about it correctly!

One such conversation was with Hayden and Liz a couple from America who had some Christian background but little to no knowledge of the gospel and together they had basically rejected God for their own ideas of how they wanted to live. Over the conversation that came to see that their arguments against God were nothing more than an attempt to justify their desire for autonomy and they came to understand that they were in serious trouble, heading for a day of judgement when they will face God's perfect law and be found guilty.

Thankfully, there is a solution and they came to hear what God, in that He Himself came, as a man, lived a perfect life and died took the punishment sin deserves on a cross, offering forgiveness to be received by faith. Hayden and Liz were able to understand this and even in their own words able to explain the way to Heaven. Then the addition of how and why a Christian should live was raised and it wasn't too long until they have a basic and working understanding of the good news and how it will impact the lives of those who trust in Christ.

It was exciting to see them understand and the work of transformation is left in God's hands. Hayden had headed into "spirituality", using tarot cards and talking to spirits and Liz was just living however she thought was best with nothing specific in mind. They were both reminded of the seriousness of this decision, shown the folly of rejecting Christ and were challenged this day to choose who they would trust.

Over the course of the night a range of other conversations took place including at least six others who heard the good news and said that they would consider it, with varying levels of interested.

Please be praying that God would be working in the hearts of Hayden and Liz to draw them away from their sin driven pursuits to a saving relationship with their Creator!

Why not set aside some time next Friday and come on down?

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

On Tuesday I turned up at my usual spot in Riccarton feeling a bit discouraged.  I’d just come from letterbox dropping in the rain, and I guess the weather was impacting my mood.  I was wondering if this would be my first outreach where no one took a tract from me or stopped for a chat.

After setting up my flip chart, I noticed a screwed up and wet Gospel tract in the dirt.  It was obviously one that I had given out the week before.  It had been sitting there ignored for a week.  “Great”, I thought, “I’m starting this outreach on negative one tract handed out”.  I picked it up and put it in the bin.

Well, as I always say, the outreach will be effective as the ultimate objective is obeying the Great Commission and bringing God glory and worship in that (even if the net result is negative one tract handed out).  So I turned to prayer, and resolved myself to look like a fool for two hours in worship of our saviour: Jesus.

But God decided to receive worship in more than just my obedience to “go”.  The rain was held back for most of the outreach, and tract after tract was handed out, and conversation after conversation was had.  In an hour and a half, I’d had seven conversations!

The first one was with a lady who was wearing a top that had the word “Supernatural” on it (some tv show?) - that provided a perfect conversation starter, and she ended up staying to hear the law and the Gospel in full and left with a follow up tract.

A young lady stopped keen for a chat about spiritual things.  She had a Christian background, but was bisexual.  So on top of sharing the law and the Gospel, we talked about sexuaility.  I made it clear that I don’t hate homosexuals, but that homosexuality is a sin - that can be forgiven by the blood of Christ!

God sent a pentecostal Christian lady to give me some wonderful encouragement.

The last half an hour of the outreach saw the rain come, but there was still plenty of opportunities to hand out tracts to people moving past.

Wednesday finally saw a break in the weather, although there was some light drizzle as I was letterbox dropping early in the morning.

I headed into the city, and was very encouraged to have Jermaine join me.  We ended up setting up our flip charts near the Bridge of Remembrance.  We started with some prayer, but it was interrupted as a construction worker wanted to know what the good person test was!  Jermaine took him through it, and I ended up getting into a very long (but good) conversation with an intellectual couple.  Throughout the conversation I was able to touch on all the major concepts of the law and the Gospel.

After lunch, we headed to Ara.  But before we got there, I had yet another encouraging conversation on High Street outside the Vodafone building.

It was great to see the students back!  My first conversation was a follow up.

I then approached a group of four students (two girls and two guys).  The girls were not interested, but the guys were.  One of those guys really wanted to talk, and stayed to listen even after his friends had left to go back to class.  After I shared the Gospel, that Jesus died on the cross in payment of our sin debt, and rose again to prove it and give us hope, I was very encouraged to hear him say, “I didn’t know that part - thanks for explaining it” (or something like that).  He accepted a Bible, with a contact card set to the book of Mark.  I hope to hear from him.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Cathedral Square where I had many conversations with groups of teens (I’m not sure why they weren’t in school), and an interesting conversation with a JW lady who was very open - and even accepted a Gospel tract from me.

It was wonderful to be able to extend the outreach by half an hour because of these conversations - very encouraging.

Be encouraged to get involved!  The opportunities to share the Gospel are limitless, in spite of circumstances, when you make yourself available to be used by God.  Soli Deo Gloria!
 

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