Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Page 125

On Sunday night there was a team of thirteen who came out to proclaim the glories of our God and King! What an exciting evening it was out in the city. With some newer team members coming on out to be helped and equipped in how they can better share the gospel, it was an evening filled with conversations.

There was an early conversation with a couple who stopped to chat. They at first said they didn't think there is a God but then saw how we know He exists and acknowledged that it made sense. Then the implications of God's existence came with the law and God's need to punish evil. They saw that like other they too had disobeyed God and were deserving of Hell. But at this moment the guy grabbed his girlfriends arm and left, stopping them from hearing the good news about how sinners can be forgiven.

Later there was a conversation with Simon a man who had some religious background but over the course of the conversation came to see the predicament he was in currently. He saw that if he died as he currently stood he would end up in Hell eternally. Upon realising this Simon wanted to know the solution so the simple message of hope was shared. It was a privilege to see that he had understood it and actually said that he wanted to trust in Christ today!

On the street when people understand the good news and profess a desire to trust in Christ today the next step is to almost try and convince them not to. It is often hard find the balance between excitement and taking every little thing as a sign that someone is now a Christian and knowing the serious call of the Bible to repent, to stop living ones own way, to take up ones cross and deny themselves daily and many other things.

So Simon was strongly challenged, shown the serious cost of trusting in Christ and at the end of it all he was checked one final time that he still knew the simple message of justification by faith and he took a tract and went on his way.

The final conversation of the evening was weird. Dom and Emily were people who were trusting alone in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, they knew they're not good and don't deserve forgiveness. They understood that there is no works required to receive salvation and understood that good works will result from all those who have trusted in Christ's death on the cross to pay for their sin. The surprise, not that they understood Christianity but that in all of this they attended a Catholic church.

This young couple attend a local church, whose official confessions say the very opposite of everything that they believe. Simply through their study of God's word they had theologically arrived in the right place, despite attending church that teaches the opposite. What a testament to God's commitment to those who are His! After this was all established Dom and Emily were challenged in their attendance to such a church.

They were encouraged to read more of God's word regarding baptism, communion, church leadership, confession and many other things and compare it to what they were being taught and on the basis of seeing the difference in scripture with their church then seek out a church whose aim is to preach God's word, not the traditions of men.

Please keep those who heard the good news in your prayers. Specifically for Simon that his profession of faith would be possession of faith and for Dom and Emily that they would end up at a Church where the Pastor seeks to preach the truth.

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On Saturday the first conversation was with Banjo. At first he started talking about reincarnation but this was just brushed over and he was shown God's existence, his guilt, his current destiny in Hell and the only hope for sinners. Banjo said, "This is the first time I've ever heard this message". He also noted that it had opened his mind and he was challenged to consider it. He was able to tell the way to Heaven to the team and said he was interested in reading his Bible and was going to start attending a local Church! What an exciting beginning to the evening!

Soon there was a conversation with a Muslim man, Matham. He was doing the usual spiel of trying to tell us everything about Islam and in doing so was stopping himself from hearing the good news. A new direction was taken as he was asked, "Do you know what Jesus says is the way to Heaven?" He didn't. So the opportunity was taken to show him through the flip chart, letting it do the talking and also to keep the conversation on track.

Matham got to the end of the conversation and was able to articulate back, according to Jesus, how someone gets to Heaven. He was challenged to consider it strongly and he headed off.

Soon three young adults, Chad, Karlie and David, approached and they were asked where they'd go after they die but they didn't have much idea. Over the course of the conversation Chad remained defiant against God's offer of forgiveness and Karlie didn't say much but David seemed moved. He said he wanted to consider it, he was going to have to think about this more and gladly took some resources.

There was then an interesting conversation with Declan and Reece. Declan declared that he was sure he'd be good enough for Heaven and was strongly defending himself. Then the law was revealed and he was absolutely silenced. Reece on the other hand who was less self-assured to begin with, was also condemned by the law but then came to hear the good news of the gospel. He came to comprehend it simply and understand it very quickly.

In the end the pair were challenged to count the cost, to not just take this in as information but to trust in Christ alone for their salvation and to start living in obedience to God.

There were a scattering of other conversations. A very arrogant man approached the table and had no intention to listen just to berate and disrespect. There was an American lady who'd had quite a lot to drink therefore struggled to pay attention and follow the conversation but was given a gospel tract. There was also Daniel and Arki a couple who heard the gospel but didn't seem to understand despite best efforts and ended up leaving with tracts.

Please keep all those who heard the good news in your prayer and why not consider this weekend coming on out to share the good news of what Christ has done to save sinners?

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On Friday night there were a range of people who spoke with the team and it was business as usual. God is his kindness enabled many people to hear and the good news and be able to understand that the gift of forgiveness is received through trusting that Christ has paid for their sin on the cross.

There were two early conversations with Kevin and Victor both of whom had a "Christian" background but had wholesale missed the good news. Kevin was adamant that he would enter Heaven because he had lived a very good life and was offended that he would be challenged on that. Victor on the other hand engaged in conversation for almost twenty minutes but struggled to understand that our good deeds have no part in us being made right before God.

This was then followed by three Muslims ladies approaching the flip chart and they were taking through test and saw that each of them were guilty and deserved God's judgement. This meant that if they faced God today they would be sent to Hell for their sin. They were then asked for the solution but all they could suggest was to try harder and do more good. They came to see that just as doing good things doesn't pay for a speeding fine, it also cannot pay for a Hell punishment. They were then shown God's immense kindness that He came, he took on the form of a man, lived the perfect life required, paid the penalty our sin deserves, died and rose victoriously from the grave on the third day.

The girls were then shown the simple means by which someone receives the free gift of forgiveness and were able to respond back with it. At the end of it all they said they disagreed but they took tracts and gospels of John and were encouraged to read and find out more of who this Jesus is!

A few conversations took place with a Christian thinking about how God's sovereign will intersects with human choice and he was encouraged strongly to evangelise on his plane ride home the following day, knowing that God is in control. He really tried hard to defend his desire to not preach Christ to whoever sat beside him but in the end he seemed encouraged and said he would consider to do so.

There was a quick chat with Cameron who had to run after seeing God's existence because his phone rang. There was another with Ryan who seemed to have some issue comprehending the good news and he too ended up leaving.

But the evening finished an exciting conversation with Renae, Morgan and Mike who approached the flip chart. They seemed at first just to be interested in being a bit silly but this didn't last long. They also would probably be the people you'd stereo type as those who are usually angry at Christians for a range of reasons but the conversation incredible!

The law silenced any objections and left them seeing the reality of their guilt. The seriousness of their current eternal destiny hit home hard as they made no attempt to argue with the fact that they were headed to Hell but simply asked, "What is the solution?"

They three came to very quickly understand the beauty and simplicity of the good news. Then they were challenged to count the cost. Trusting in Christ is free, forgiveness and entry to Heaven is free because of what Christ has done but those who trust in Christ will turn from their sin and live for Christ. They each had areas in their lives in which they were currently living in direct rebellion against God and there were gently challenged on them specifically whilst being given an overall challenge that sin is never worth the consequences of Hell.

When asked when they would trust in Christ the Morgan said, "Today". The others had some different answers but the three were left with the seriousness of their decision and encouraged to read the gospel of John this coming week!

Praise God for such an encouraging evening of conversations, please keep them in prayer over the course of this week!

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Saturday saw a team of one out in the sun in Cathedral Square sharing the Gospel.  Plenty of people were out and about and there were multiple occasions where I was sharing away from my flip chart, and I’d see others walk up to the flip chart showing interest, but there were no Christians available to share the Gospel!  So this is a call to anyone reading this who has an hour or two spare on Saturday mornings, in Christchurch to come and join me on this outreach.  I will happily provide training.  :)

A highlight conversation from the outreach was with a young couple, both of whom had connections to local churches, but had not yet trusted Christ.  One of them believed in reincarnation.

My opening question was: “Do you think there is an after life?”  The guy said, “we are going to talk about that at our next church meeting!” (I assume a youth group).  Them coming across my path seemed more than a coincidence.

So we discussed the after life, and I shared the law and the Gospel with them.  They both took After Life tracts.

The outreach ended just after a guy, that I have shared the Gospel with at least twice before, had an accident, coming off his skateboard in dramatic fashion!  I had just started a flip chart presentation with two tourists from Boston, USA, but when I saw the accident, I had to head over to make sure the guy was ok.  Thankfully he was - but the two tourists had moved on without hearing the Gospel. :(  Yet I had a brief opportunity to follow up with the skateboarder - we actually talked about how death could come suddenly - a bit like the accident he had just had. He said he didn’t have the tract I gave him last time, so I gave him another one - I hope he reads it this time!

Sunday saw a team of three head to Cashel Mall and Cathedral Square for a couple hours of outreach after morning church meetings.

Sophie had some difficult conversations (pictured).  The guys on the bikes didn’t stay long.  And the older lady was very bitter about God and had many unpleasant things to say about Him.  How very sad.

In contrast, Greg had two wonderful conversations (pictured)!

Gospel conversations can be a bit like a box of chocolates - you don’t know what you are going to get!  But God is always glorified when we obey his command to go - no matter what we encounter.

An encouragement came after we had finished the outreach and were walking back to our cars.  We bumped into four uni students who had received “Are you a good person?” tracts earlier in Cathedral Square (they wouldn’t stay to try the flip chart, one of them said, “I’d fail”, to which I responded with “I fail too”).  The encouragement was that they had actually read the tract, and appreciated the simplicity of the message presented in cartoon style.  One of the guys had a question about what blasphemy was, which I was able to briefly respond to before they disappeared into the picture theater.  The silent missionaries went with them.

One month of winter outreach down, two more to survive.  Your prayers are appreciated! :)

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

God uses all things for the good of those who love Him.  Today I can testify to that.  You see, initially, the fact that we lost our free city parking was not good.  I do a lot of outreach in the city, and parking is not cheap!

But here are some of the good things that have come from that.  Firstly, it’s forced us to re-evaluate where we do outreaches for the better.  On Thursday we normally spend two hours in the city, and then two hours at the Eastgate bus stops.  But to save on parking, we decided to two hours at the Northlands bus stops instead of in the city before moving to Eastgate.

So Thursday became a very busy time of outreach, with the bus stops constantly refreshing the people available to talk to.

At Northlands, Andy had a special conversation with a very lonely older man.  He had no family or friends, and he spent his days riding the city buses.  He was overjoyed to have someone approach him to talk - even if it was about the Gospel, but what’s better than that to talk about? :)

Of all the conversations I had in those two hours, one of the highlights would be a conversation with a young high school student.  She denied the logic of creation being evidence of a creator, which wasn’t a good start, but rather than debate, I decided to just move on.  But she also denied that there was a universal conscience.  Again, I parked the debate, and moved on by appealing to the conscience she claimed she didn’t have.  I reasoned with her about the moral law of God.  She listened and seemed to understand, so I shared the precious good news of Christ.  Afresh I had the realisation that it’s the Gospel that is the power of God to salvation, and the law that brings the knowledge of sin.  Apologetics is secondary.

Eastgate was, as always, a wonderful time of ministry.  And we have so many opportunities to follow up with people previously talked to, as well as many fresh faces to share with.

I was very encouraged to re-encounter two young high school students, one of whom shared a testimony of how God was changing his life!  I encouraged them to get in touch with me, and to join me in outreach.

Andy & I also had a long Gospel conversation with the guy who converted to Islam after the Mosque shootings in March.

The second benefit of losing our free city parking is that I’m now doing more outreach on Fridays, and I’m realising that my outreach stamina is greatly improved since moving into full time ministry.  Because I now have to pay for parking, it’s cheaper to pay for all day.  But that means I would have to pay twice if I was to go home between the afternoon and evening outreaches.  So the solution is to just stay out and share the Gospel between outreaches!  This has also led me to discover that the dusk period is great for outreach, as I have the opportunity to reach many people as they leave their jobs to head home.

So last Friday I managed to do ten hours of outreach.  And today I managed eleven!  I admit I was very tired for the afternoon outreach - but I pushed through ok.  I appreciate that I probably won’t be able to maintain this pace long term, but it is very encouraging knowing that God is sustaining me.

It was very encouraging having six people involved with the Gospel + abortion outreach outside the hospital - including two newbies.  Four held signs, and two were free to try to engage people in conversations.

I thought this would be the first outreach with no major attacks from people who disagree with us.  But five minutes before the outreach was scheduled to end, a passionate hospital worker came out to give us a piece of her mind.  I was sad, yet encouraged.

The afternoon outreach started with both Andy & I having opportunity to open air preach.  We then headed to Ara to engage students with the Gospel.  Andy had a wonderful opportunity to minister to a lady who had, sadly, lost her sister two days prior.  Death was at the forefront of her mind.

As I walked from Ara back into the city I had some wonderful follow up conversations with people I had shared with on previous outreaches.

A team of three were involved with the final outreach of the day.  In spite of the cold, many wonderful opportunities were had to share Christ.

I got to see Mr Angry again (he won’t give me his name).  I haven’t found a way to get past his bluster and start having a real conversation with him.  I will add him to my prayer.

As always, thank you for your continued prayer and support of the Christchurch (NZ) team.  All glory to God alone!
 

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

On Tuesday afternoon I was back on Riccarton road with my flip chart.

The first hour of outreach saw some great interaction with high school students.  First, three guys heard the law and the gospel.  Later three girls heard the law and the gospel.

Lastly 2 other guys showed interest.  It turns out one of the team had already shared the Gospel with one of them a few days earlier in a different location.  He had a reasonable understanding and had obviously been thinking about it.  But he said he needed to ‘thank’ Jesus rather than ‘trust’ him for salvation, so I took some time to further explain salvation through faith alone.  They had to get going - but they both took tracts from me (different from the one he had received days earlier).

The last hour was wonderful.  A young man that I shared the Gospel with earlier in the year had contacted me via email, and we have been in communication ever since.  Earlier in the day, I had sent him a brief email in response to his last one.  Well, now he walked past with a friend!

We had a long conversation (that made the outreach go fifteen minutes over time) where we were able to discuss his questions in depth.  The only thing that ended the conversation was the cold and the fact that it was getting dark!  He is a very thoughtful young man.  I did my best to come back to the Gospel as often as I could - as it is the only thing that is the power of God to salvation!

Wednesday saw two outreaches: in Cashel Mall (instead of Cathedral Square - for a change) and outside Ara.  It was wonderful having Graeme join me for the Ara outreach.

In the mall, one conversation that didn’t go so well, rolled into a wonderful conversation with a lady who had been listening from a distance.  She couldn’t stay long, as she needed to get back to work.  But she said her brother had become a Christian and this was causing her to think deeply about the important questions of life.  She had been listening to me present the law in the previous conversation, and she mentioned that it made sense.  She gladly took a Gospel tract.

Later, a busker went past and we ended up having a long conversation.  During that conversation, the funniest thing occurred.  A wonderful older lady walked into the conversation and gave us both Gospel tracts!  I’ve never had that happen before.  I was incredibly encouraged.  Oh for more Christians to do that. :)

Ara continues to be a place for talking to very open hearted young people (pictured).  I’m surprised at how often I’m getting the response “all the time”, to the question: “do you ever think about the afterlife?” and then moving into a wonderful Gospel conversation.  Long may it continue - until the nets are full!
 

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Over the last two Fridays a group of Hobart locals and I have been witnessing at the mid-winter festival of Dark Mofo. There was so much to be grateful for in these last two weeks. Firstly, there is literally a boat load of spiritually seeking people who come to Hobart to attend the festival. Secondly, we have freedom to reach out on the streets of Hobart (despite what some of the security and Dark Mofo staff believe). Lastly and most importantly, God is moving His people to respond to the spiritual darkness this festival.

Over the course of the two weeks we have handed out many tracts, as always it is a joy to see people tucking them into pockets and bags or reading them to their friends as they walk. While there were less given out than in other years, I am sure God multiplies each tract’s impact many-fold. I have heard many times of people picking up tracts that other’s have dropped and reading them. Even so-called trash witnesses that Jesus saves!

Also there have been many people all over Hobart praying for our outreach. Thank you to all of you and your comments of support and encouragement. It means a lot to those who go to know you are on your knees before God on our behalf.

During the evenings there were a number of great conversations that happened. As in all things the Lord gives some people great gifts in certain areas. Both Karl and Gideon are people who can start a conversation within minutes of trying to hand out tracts. It seemed every time I turned around; they were deep in gospel conversation yet again!

I was also blessed with some good conversations over the two nights, two of them particularly stand out to me:

Two young guys: They stopped to ask “what’s this?” when I handed them a “You may not have tomorrow” tract. I explained that it was talking about life after death and God and Jesus. Still not satisfied they wanted to know more so we began to talk through the good person test. One of them said he was a good guy, the other said he was a bad guy and had done evil things. I took them through the law of God to show them what God thinks of their deeds (and mine). All of us had failed to keep God’s law in regard to lies, blasphemy and hatred (which is murder in God’s eyes).

I asked them what would that mean for them if they were to die? They said it would mean hell for them both. At this I encouraged them to consider what Jesus said about hell, the darkness, in the fire, alone, surrounded by the screams and moans of others under judgement. All this was made to seem imminent indeed with the belches of fire from the iron pyramids standing in the dark behind us at the festival entrance. I then walked them through what Jesus has done on the cross and the free offer of salvation for all who trust in Him. Each of them took a tract and I hope that I’ll see them around in Hobart again. Please God, save them from hell and death!

Mr A. : We had a long conversation started with the simple question, “I’m a Christian, but what do you think comes after this life?”. Mr A. shared his perspective on the Bible, God and Jesus. Many of the things he said we differed on but one thing there was quite clear agreement in in our discussion: God is real and there is no excuse that will do away with that reality. I enjoyed talking with Mr A and there were both serious and light hearted moments in the mix. We both share a delight in both Tolkien’s and CS Lewis’s fantasies. Towards the end of the discussion Mr A. commented that the Bible should be more frequently presented in the way that those authors wrote about Biblical truth. There is a lot of truth in that and I pray that God will use those authors to the salvation of Mr A and the many others like him!

And so, in the midst of the darkness, fire, weirdness, and perversity of Dark Mofo there were many things to be grateful for. I pray that some of those that walked away into the night were walking towards the light as God draws them to faith in Christ.

Praise to the Father of lights from whom all blessings flow!

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It’s good to be back in Australia after 4 weeks in America visiting family. We have the privilege to be back and able to continue to share God’s Word on the streets of Warwick through the Operation 513 ministry.

As I started to hand out tracts, a lady approached the table. She was friendly and interested in what I was doing. She had never heard the message of Jesus. As I spoke about the reality of death and Eternity I explained the bad news of us all being sinners. That sin separates us from our creator. Our greatest need is to know and believe in God’s plan to save us from Eternal punishment and to be given Eternal Life, through what Jesus did on the cross. So I talked about the Christmas and Easter message. She said she hoped that was true. I then pointed her to the Bible and how it is God’s Word to lead us to know and have the sure hope by putting her trust in Jesus alone to take away her sins. I gave her the booklet of John and encouraged her to read a little everyday to get to know Jesus. I asked her to let us know how she is doing and any questions or help that we are here on Fridays. Pray for L that she will read the booklet and tracts given to her and come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pray for a young lady C who took a Bible. I didn’t have enough time to know where she was in her understanding of the Gospel as her partner came and pulled her away. She has tracts and the Bible. 

We had a guy walk past us and I handed him a tract and we started a conversation. He said he grew up in a catholic household but walked away from that and is now following his grandparents religion of Judaism (unfortunately from one set of rule keepers to another). I listened for a good length time and asked him what he now believes about salvation, forgiveness, sin, hell, who Jesus is and other foundational questions but all his answers line up with what he is being taught from his teachers of Judaism and after discussing with him over these issues we gave him a booklet (Jesus is God) and challenged him with the reality of standing before God in judgment if he died in his sins and rejected what Jesus has done for those who believe. Please pray that our Lord will convict M of his unbelief and lead him to salvation.

All glory to our God.

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On Thursday in Sunnybank there was a team of eight that came out. It is exciting to see a team that once was so small, regularly being one of the biggest teams! This means that over the course of an afternoon many people come to hear of the good news of Jesus. Others are reminded of it, some are challenged as to why they haven't yet trusted in Christ and others are encouraged to continue on in their faith!

There was a conversation that took place with a young couple, Thomas and Sissy. Sissy said she was an agnostic and Thomas said he was a Christian. When asked why God should let him into Heaven though, he declared, "Because I am good enough". He was shown God's law and his guilt was revealed to which he responded, "God doesn't desire us to be perfect only to try". He was shown two things, both that he hasn't tried rather he has consistently and regularly chosen to disobey and secondly that Jesus is adamant that we must be perfect. Thomas was warned of his current destiny and the pair took tracts as their bus arrived.

A following conversation was with Brett. He said he had a "god" who was purely for personal comfort. There was no judgement, no afterlife just a nice big grandpa in the sky that look over things, so that at the end of each day it could be said, "A great time was had by all".

Not only was Brett's view of the world unrealistic, he had fashioned in his own image a god who doesn't exist. He was shown that God's goodness means He must punish sin and therefore we are all on the chopping block. Anyone being judged based on how they have lived will be found guilty and sent to Hell.

At this point Brett's bus arrived so he took a tract and said he would have a read.

There were a scattering of other conversations that took place, including with Oliver, who at first she that he never thinks about it and then as the chat went on he suddenly changed his tune and said he thinks about it all the time and will be going to Heaven because he attends Church every Sunday.

He was then taken through God's law, starting with asking if he'd ever lied, as he had just minutes earlier and he said he had. He was guilty by God's law but sadly was still thinking his own goodness would be enough for him to enter Heaven.

A final conversation of the afternoon was with Kevin a young man who has spoken to the team before. This week he was reminded of the gospel, which he was able to repeat back and was able to answer questions regarding the way to Heaven correctly and after it all said that he would trust in Jesus today!

It was encouraging to hear and he was shown a good place to read in the Bible and recommended a local Church. At the end of the conversation even after talking about the life change and obedience to God, Kevin was still able to articulate the obedience is a result of faith not a requirement to be forgiven.

Please keep all those who heard the gospel in your prayers, also those who were challenged in simple things such as their own goodness.

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On Wednesday in Brisbane City there was a range of encouraging conversations. Many people stopped by and wanted a go on the flip chart.

The first conversation of the afternoon took a very long time. It started with two ladies one of whom had spoken to the team before. But it ended up with a guy named Daniel and a girl named Ally. They had very little understanding of Christianity even though they had attended Catholic schools.

The conversation started with establishing comprehension of the gospel and why it is the only option of salvation and Daniel and Ally came to understand it. It was exciting to see them able to explain it back and answer questions that challenged them in what they had just been taught.

At the end of the chat they said they were thankful for the conversation and were keen to look into it and they both took a gospel of John and said they would read it.

It was an exciting conversation because they realised the seriousness of the discussion. They didn't just leave thinking it was a nice message or foolishly rejecting Jesus because they love sin. They left knowing that their response to this Jesus would determine their eternal destiny and were going to way up their choices. Please be praying that God graciously shows them the desperate wickedness of their hearts and causes them to trust in Christ!

A conversation late in the afternoon took place with Evie a lady who struggled to understand. She was really hungry and had to head off to eat some food but before that point she was able to see her current eternal destiny, that she was headed to Hell.

Sadly she was struggling to concentrate and therefore was unable to understand the gospel but she took a tract and said she'd read it.

Over the course of the afternoon the six team members had the opportunity to speak to around twenty people who heard of the good news about Christ, many of whom also were able to understand the simple response of faith that saves and therefore the good works that will follow out of gratefulness.

Please raise up these people and conversations in your prayer that God may use this to draw those who are His unto Himself.

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