Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Page 87

On Saturday, the weather was quite warm and constant. By God's faithfulness, we had 5 labourers to share the gospel. 

It was so good to be back to the street again, there was protest in the Bourke st so we had to do one on one evangelism to begin with. We had two new people who joined us for evangelism who were Holly and James it was great to have new people who were passionate about preaching the gospel. Myself, Holly and James went as a team. 

We encountered group of people from Italy who were visiting Australia, when we approached them they graciously allowed us to ask questions about their eternity, as I shared the law they were laughing and chuckling I had 'what happens to you when you die' mini flip chart so it was very handy to share the gospel even more clearly. When gospel was finally shared, some people looked they were interested in this good news but some people kind of laughed and did not take it seriously. I cannot remember all of their names but please pray as you read this report. 

I also met a guy from German who were here in Australia with working holiday visa. I stopped him to share the gospel in the middle of the street but he responded really well and after I shared the gospel he said that he would like to believe in the gospel that Jesus Christ died and rose again. Please pray for him as you read this report. 

 

From Holly:-

Although I intially had a lot of fear and anxiety leading up to Saturdays evangelism, I was also asking God to remove my fear and give me boldness and allow his holy spirit to speak through me. I prayed for divine appointments, and I feel so blessed in knowing that God answered all of my prayers. The highlight of my experience on Saturday was talking to a young man who was intially quite open and responsive to what I was sharing about Jesus. He shared that he was interested in mediation and hinted to the fact that he had also used drugs to reach a state of transcendence. He acknowledged that each person is looking for purpose and meaning in life (which reminded me of how God has put that yearning in our hearts so that he can fill it with himself) We spoke about religion and how he said that most religions are talking about the same God. Somehow the Lord gave me the words to speak to this guy and share that Christianity was much more than a religion, but a relationship, and that other religions are based on striving and good works, but that God sent Jesus his only beloved son to die in our place so that we would not have to. As we wrapped up our conversation I shared that I would be praying for him, and that if he really wanted to know God, God would reveal himself to him.

It is an honour and privilege to know that the Lord used me in sowing a seed in that man's life, and I am praying that it would fall on good soil and that he would encounter Jesus and accept him into his life.

This is an experience I will never forget, and I was greatly encouraged by my fellow brothers in Christ who faithfully come out each Saturday to spread the gospel, being Jesus' hands and feet and taking up the great Commission. God definitely shows up and moves when we take that step of faith despite our fears, and proves himself faithful and loving.

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Outside Christmas outreaches and a few random other events, this is the beginning of Friday nights in Brisbane city. It was an unusual experience, compared to the normal numbers of people on a Saturday, there were many many people out! This meant that the twenty six team members that were there for some or all of the night were able to engage in conversations! Many paired up, others went out on their own but they spread generally over the heart of Brisbane CBD!

The first two conversations were a little tough, two very hard hearted Muslims, who were willing to believe in their inconsistencies as they didn't have to acknowledge that they were morally bankrupt. A man who heard the gospel and said, "I don't want to believe that, I want to live my own way".

Then was an exciting conversation with Camila and Valentina. These two came to have real clarity on the gospel, they came to understand the good news and they were challenged greatly by it acknowledging that this very day (after having professed to be a Christian for much of their lives) that they would be trusting in Christ alone as the reason they were going to Heaven. Then they were encouraged in evangelism. As they were shown the seriousness of someone who is trusting in Jesus and their own goodness as the reason they are going to Heaven, is actually someone who is on their way to Hell. They took this seriously and said that they would start seeking to share the good news with their Spanish speaking friends who had been influenced by the teachings of the Catholic church.

The next conversation was with Ezekiel. He at first had some good things to say but wasn't really clear on the good news. He had the right pieces but had mixed it up a bit, referencing his goodness and actions as the primary reason of his acceptance, not Jesus taking the punishment for his sin. When he came to grasp the gospel he said two things. Firstly he commented that this has really clarified it for him and he was so thankful for the conversation! He was excited that he had had the chat then he said, "Just as I was walking over there (he gestured to 50m away), I paused and asked God to help me. I realised that over these past three months, I had gotten so far from God. I had been in isolation, living my own way, totally distracted from God and so I made a silent plea to Him. I didn't even know what to pray but I asked for his help. Then I paused here and less than 30 seconds later you walked over and started this conversation and I knew it was from God!"

What an encouraging testimony. God is the one who answers prayers, the one who draws people to Himself. He is sovereign over the means and the ends. If Zeke had never prayed that, God couldn't have answered his prayer. If the team wasn't in the city, he would never have been approached. God in His providence, provided the means and the ends and from the outward appearance of the conversation, a very different eternity for Zeke as a result!

It's moments like these that are such a strong reminder as to why evangelism is so critical! Especially that in the public sqaure! Why not schedule a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night to join the team in Brisbane city, that God may use you to draw a lost sinner to Himself?

The finale of the evening was a 6 minute conversation with a young couple who had their minds blown at the building builder analogy, saw the law and their guilt and had said that it made sense to trust that Jesus had paid for their sin this very day, knowing that it would impact how they live in the future (even though Heaven is free).

Please be praying for all those who heard the good news, that they would consider it and that God would stir their hearts a love for Him and a desire for them to share the good news with others themselves!

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Operation 513 Battle Log For Sunnybank on June 17, 2020 from 1300-1500

It was a bright sunny afternoon in contrast to a rain interrupted one in last Wednesday. Johnny and I joined force again in Christ to await for the divine appointments God was going to assigned to us. It anyway was a reasonably full day with continuous opportunity for a chat. God led us to meet with both committed Christians for mutual edification, nominal Christians who need teaching and clarification of assurance of salvation, and of course non-believers who are opened with soften heart ready for Christ, and a few die hard ones who are still determined to reject the offer of free gift of eternal life. In anyway, God is in control with results developing according to His Sovereign Will.

For me , I had seven complete and significant chat with people of different categories as mentioned above: -

1) Vic from Vietnam was a very mature and knowledgeable Christian. Quickly he declared his Christian status and passed my two diagnosis questions. We entered into deeper theological discussion for mutual edification.

2) Robin a Filipino catholic back ground lady but now turned a protestant Christian. She is also quite clear in mind about salvation by grace through faith which is completely different from her up bringing in Catholic Church. But she is humble and show the eagerness to deepen her understanding of the Will of God for her in a most balanced manner.

3) A man by the name of Han 韓from Shandong, mainland China山東，he came for work and has been in Australia for two years 來工作兩年. He initially was reluctant to stop but still allow me to walk and talk across the bridge. I ask if he had heard the gospel before and how di he find it. He said it was his first time hearing gospel but he acknowledged that what I shared was understandable and sensible.完全明白，He sincerely thanks me and promise he will consider after reading the tract later.願考慮接受。

4) An Aussie Man who shows favorite towards Buddhism appeared impartial and willing to talk. I pointed out to him that all sort of religion are not bad in nature as their main objectives are to appeal people to be a good person. Yet Christianity stands out by telling the fact that being a Good Person alone would not resolve the life time issue of sin. Anyhow, some prior bad experience with the Jehovah Witness people made him very critical against all other religions including Christianity. Nevertheless, he still responded positively to my sharing emphasizing that we are still sinners despite we think we are good. And all sinner need the salvation by Christ. He seems to be on the run for some errand, so our conversation had to end.

5) Carol is an Indian lady from Banjam. She has no religion but find the gospel very sensible and appealing and promise she will consider after reading the tract.

6) Nadine an aboriginal lady who was first approach by Johnny. She quickly declared she is a Christian. As usual, I always would use the two diagnosis questions to test for the clarity of their faith. She is good and basically have the right understanding of the gosepl and salvation. We shared a bit more about the AMOS and she was thrilled to hear about it.

7) The last conversation for the day was the longest with a die hard atheist lady by the name Tso曹 from Quangzhou 廣州，死硬無神論. Here initial stand was to shut me down for sharing gospel. But God moved me to keep chatting teo find out her background and identify with her upbringing in the atheist Communist China. Then I changed tactic to share my own testimony that of course involved a lot of past history common to our life dated back to the incident of June 4th and other historical moment in China and Hong Kong. 改用生命見證，She said she definitely will not accept any religion after having gone to churches in China and in HKG. I opined that it only represents God's all knowing plan to keep chasing after her everywhere she goes. I even prophesied that one day, she will receive Christ and be baptized beyond her current anticipation. I certainly will not be there in that future moment but just remember my word I said to her now. 接受我預告的祝福. I believed God has used me to soften her heart after this delightful chat in that sunny afternoon.

 

 

 

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Toowong (QLD) Team

Operation 513 Battle Log for Toowong on June 16, 2020 from 11330 to 1500

Praise and thanks God that a team of five was gathered today for the second week of returning to the street in Toowong. In addition to Johnny the leader and me, Hung, we had Col, Gary and Winnie rejoining force with the Toowong team. And the hustle created by the closure of the Bus stop was removed as it is now reopened so that Winnie can station there to get many good chats. Please refer to her sharing in Chinese below(*). Basically she had three completed conversations with three UQ students Danial, Renee, & Alice by using the "Good Person" flip chart and a few more incomplete approaches being cut short by the arrival of the bus. It was really a good encouragement for her after such a long suspension of ministry.

As for Gary and Col, they teamed up to serve at the foot of the pedestrian bridge also with many valuable pieces of conversation.

Johnny chose to serve alone at the other side of the Toowong Village near the Front Main entrance. He had one good full conversation also using the flip chart. He knew how to wait before God in whatever circumstances.

As for me, I got four divine appointments which I recap as below: -

1) Jade is an UQ student without any religious attachment. She was initially reluctant to chat. But God softened her heart to stop and ending up for a long chat hearing the full gospel. Her attitude towards Christianity was greatly changed knowing it is not just yet another worldly religion appealing people to do good work alone. She now admitted she is not a perfect person with punishable sins that can only be paid for by the sacrificial death of Jesus. She also knew that accepting Jesus is a crucial step for her holistic salvation to first having reconciled with God regaining the lost heavenly citizenship. Then we are just a work in progress to be transformed towards perfection by God through the work of the Holy Spirit in our born again life.

2) Mia is an UQ student from Shandong. She said Col and Gary had talked to her and given her an English tract. I anyway gave her the Chinese tract and accompanied her to walk a long way back to her home near by for a full clarification of the Gospel in Chinese again. It certainly helped her to grasp the full understanding of the gospel without any message lost in translation.

3) Aaron Daniel Hennig is a local Aussie Christian who once had a happy family with a Chinese Wife and a lovely daughter. Yet his wife only was interested to have a baby with him and fled back to China with the baby girl. He tried to keep this sacred marriage going but his wife still sought for unilateral divorce. With such a great set back in life, he once lost himself and become a home less people. Thanks to God that he together with other home less people have been relocated to live in some Government provided apartment near by in Toowong because of the threat of Covid-19. He is able to pick up his life from where he fell and become positive and trusting even more deeply to the Lord. He even shared a poetic message with me that he had written for a Russian lady friend on Face Book who complained about her tough life. At the end, I still managed to check and ensure he has correct understanding of salvation and knows he can go to heaven just because of Jesus Christ,

4) Janna is a young UQ student from Nepal yet having a Chinese looking face. I thought she must be either professing the Hindu or Islamic faith but she surprised me that she is a Christian by birth from a Christian Family back home. She further shocked me when I tested on her assurance of salvation and she gave me the correct answer of 100% certainty. It could be better if she could tell this with a very firm tone. But anyway, God's work in her life as well as her family is never short of miracles.

(*) Winnie's sharing in Chinese
感謝主的带领，今天讓我傳到福音给三人，Danial, Renee, 及Alice. 相片中是大學生，Danial從 Melbourne 過來。Alice 是 South Africa 來澳，而Renee 是本地人。他們都相信神 拯救世人，為我們的罪死在十字架上。願意信靠主。另外有两位因为巴士到，聽了一半，趕着上車。
希望神带领他們到教會，讓他們更加明白到真理。感謝讚美主🙏🙏🙏

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Online Evangelism

Monday afternoon's outreach was an excitement. The team have continued to find new avenues online in which they can share the gospel! Omegle is awesome and the majority of the time is spent there but the discovery has been made that people are stumbling across the live stream and they are getting to hear the good news there as well. People who have been spoken to or disconnected on Omegle have also come searching for the team on other platforms as well! God is very kind to so many!

The main part of the afternoon was taken up with an almost three hour conversation with Desert. He was shown early on how we can be certain that God exists and this was followed by a look at God's law. Then Desert asked a few more personal questions and shared some things about himself. After the next bit of conversation he came to see that we are all guilty and in very serious trouble, that our eternity is destined for Hell, if we're being judged based on our actions. Then he saw the goodness and loving kindness of God the Son that He chose to enter history, taking the form of a man and humbled Himself to the point of death, to take the punishment we deserve.

Desert saw the good news and then talked through the implications to his life as well as how we know it is true and was a patient listener at times as well as being a thoughtful speaker. It was a conversation of great length and great depth and many different topics were covered. At the end it was noted that it had been a pleasure to chat with him and he said, "I know a lot of "Christians" but I feel like you're the first actual Christian that I have met. You seem to be genuinely interested in listening and hearing me and didn't just judge me but were willing to discuss and talk that I could understand. I am really thankful for this conversation and am glad I came on here tonight, even though I wasn't expecting to have a conversation like this".

It was an exciting conversation and well worth the time. Please keep Desert in your prayer as he considereds what God has to say and starts to read the Bible for Himself!

The evening was filled with many other very exciting conversations but two quick summaries will be most encouraging.

The first was with four teenage girls and one of whom we being very rude to begin with. Though they didn't disconnect! Over the course of a twenty minute conversation each of the four of them came to be able to articulate the good news of how someone is forgiven and after talking about the life change that will take place the girl who was initially rude and hostile even apologised for the way she had spoken in the beginning!

The last conversation of the evening was with a man who initially proclaimed to be a demon but after twenty minutes of patience and encouging him to engage seriously opened up and came to discuss it seriously, coming to understand the good news for the first time in his life and was profoundly impacted. He was challenged to respond in faith knowing that it will cause him to have a total life transformation.

Please be praying for these five as well that the gospel would be the fragrance that leads to life rather than the strench of death!

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

An exciting weekend of outreach in Christchurch (NZ).  Crisp but sunny days.

On Saturday I headed into the central city and decided to set up my flip chart close to the bridge of remembrance.  And I stayed in the same spot for four hours.  Initially it was a bit quiet, but as the day progressed, it became very busy.

Three other groups came to set up beside me: Falun Gong (very dedicated to street “evangelism” in Christchurch), Hare Krishna (I’ve shared the gospel with one of the leaders a number of times over the recent years, and we are friendly), and a group protesting the CCP involvement in Hong Kong.  For people walking past, they had to walk the gauntlet!  And I was right in the middle of it.

With patience, I ended up having many wonderful gospel opportunities.

One stand out involved a special conversation with a lovely Muslim lady.  I noticed her walk past me earlier in the outreach.  When she walked past a second time, she decided to take a tract from me, and I was able to start a conversation - she was mildly curious about the good person test.  Sadly, this lovely lady lost her husband just over a year ago in the Mosque shooting!  And she shed some tears in remembrance while she was talking with me.  She received my heartfelt sympathy.  She allowed me to discuss the gospel with her, but she was mildly resistant.

The other conversation that comes to mind was a long (but amicable) debate with a young man who was very intelligent - it turns out he studied physics at university.  Eventually I was able to move past his intellect and start addressing his conscience - the law is a powerful ally indeed!  But he admitted to loving his sin and was suppressing the truth.  It was fascinating watching him do it.  He denied a basis for truth, then made moral judgements, and then claimed he was the standard.  He could see the absurdity, but he didn’t want the alternative.  I eventually shut the conversation down, I was getting a headache concentrating on my discussion with him while filtering out the Hare Krishna’s and the music from the CCP protesters!  We parted on good terms, and he took a tract.

On Sunday I had two opportunities to open air preach!  In the morning I was teaching at my local church (Redemption Church) on 1 Peter 1:3-5, and just as I was coming to the end, a fire alarm went off!  I had to finish off outside without amplification!

It was also our church's monthly outreach Sunday where we wrapped up fellowship a little early so we could get into the city for gospel outreach.  There was a team of nine.  We paired up and spread out and had a wonderful time in flip chart and walk up conversations with people.  Super encouraging!

Andy had two follow up opportunities with people he had talked to on Friday.  Toby and Mark had some great opportunities - including with a group of teen boys (pictured).  Beth and Haley had a great conversation.  And Thomas had a wonderful conversation near the end on the flip chart.

To finish the outreach, we went to Cathedral Square for some open air preaching - my second opportunity! ;)

The team ended up having some wonderful one to one opportunities as well.  I finished the outreach with a couple from Canada who were very eager to talk with me, but resisted the truth I was trying to share.  They ended up disengaging - I left them to it.

Praise God for another week of gospel outreach in Christchurch!  Next week I’m taking a break from the front lines for some R&R - praise God for that.  Looking forward to recharging my batteries with my precious family and then getting back to the harvest fields!  Thank you for your prayer and support!
 

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Saturday night in the city was a thrill of an outreach! The levels of people out are basically back to normal and the result is lots of gospel conversations! The team of fourteen met up, prayed together, and spread out through King George Square and the nearby areas, seeking to engage people with the gospel.

The night was a whirlwind. In fact, after ten conversations, almost without a pause, the night was over! What an exciting three hours!

It all began with a man named Etchie. He is a Pastor's son and yet didn't know the gospel. He came to see how desperate his position is before God and that he was definitely on his way to Hell but when asked for the solution suggestion only "changing his life". He came then to hear the good news and was surprised by it. But was struggling with the challenge as he knew he wanted to hold onto his sin and the pleasure that it brings. He saw that God's rules are for his good and that no pleasure in this world is worth going to Hell for and was left with the sobering reminder, that death could come at any time and only those who trust in Christ alone, as the payment for their sin will enter Heaven.

There were six people who saw God's existence and that they were heading to Hell and then for one reason or another left. First were two guys who were trying to justify their sin and kept being shown how we know God exists and at one point, upon realising how serious this rejection was they left. Next was a "Mormon" girl and her bf who saw the gospel in part but said they preferred to live their own way and last was Jack and Jay, two Aussie guys who were a little intoxicated and ended up leaving without the answer to their biggest problem.

A brief chat with four teens, enabled them to piece together the good news of the gospel for the first time and ended with them being challenged to consider the seriousness of this response. But this was followed by a conversation with three Muslim men.

The first was a professing Christian, who went asked could not explain what Jesus said the way to Heaven was. The next was an immensely proud Muslim who had many words but every time he was scrutinised it was shown that all his bold claims were based on very little. He also kept trying to avoid the most important question, "How can someone who is guilty and deserves Hell not end up there".

He kept attacking the Bible as reliable but was constantly shut down with simple questions about it. The first time he raised it, he was asked if he'd read it? He said no. It was pointed out that it was unwise to criticise something you haven't read. He raised it again, he was asked what language it was written in. Again he didn't know. It was pointed out that it was probably unwise to criticise something he knows very little about. This repeated itself. At one point he said, "I know the Bible more than you". He was asked if he could summarise the main point of the Bible, how a guilty person gets to Heaven and again he had no answer. It was pointed out, that making claims, regarding something he knew nothing about was not a wise idea.

Finally as it came to a head, the trio was shown, that God declare Himself as just and yet they believed that He wouldn't uphold justice. They declare God as merciful and yet they argued that God would "let people off" based on merit. And lastly, they had no answer to how God paid for their sin, so that He could forgive. They were too resistant and would constantly avoid the question and sadly they didn't get to hear the good news.

But the finale was intense. The "leader" declared that Jesus never claims to be God. He was challenged, "If I can be demonstrated where Jesus claims to be God, would you at least listen to what He declares is the way of salvation?" He agreed begrudgingly and then the group listened to John 10:27-33.

The first two verses were read, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

They were asked, "Who gives them eternal life?" (Jesus, and it was pointed out that only God has the power to give eternal life) and "Whose hands are the sheep in?" (Jesus' hands). Then the next verse was read, " My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."

It was re-iterated, "Whose hands are the sheep in?". This time it says, "The Father's hand". The point, Jesus and the Father have the same "hands". They both together have the sheep in their hands because as Jesus says in the next verse, "I and the Father are one". At this moment, their anger was rising but to emphasise the next two verses were read, with the question asked, "How did the hearers of this respond?"

"The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” The final nail in the coffin, "Why did the Jews try to stone Jesus?"

The final verse was read, "The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”"

They had no argument, they had no answer, the only thing the ringleader could get out of the overflow of his heart to his mouth, "That is utter #$^%%#$".

He had nothing. The text was clear, Jesus declares Himself as the one who gives eternal life, one with the Father and they left in anger, cursing the God who gave them life, pursing an idol who cannot save. It was made clear to these men over the course of the discussion that the desperate desire for them was that they would not end up in Hell. Please be praying that would be the case, that they really would consider the fatal flaws of their idol and come to the true and living God who is able to uphold justice, give mercy and forgive sinners based on His own righteous work, in the person of Jesus Christ!

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Thursday and Friday are my two busiest outreach days of the week.  Glory to God, by his strength, we have made it through. :)

Thursday started with some Online evangelism.  I had two fascinating conversations.

The first was with a guy who was happy to discuss the gospel (and related concepts) but who just struggled to understand what I was saying.  I had to step back and take different avenues to try to bring clarity.  And I just had to labour with this guy - which is understandable and fine.  We need to be patient with people.  Eventually, he was able to articulate some facts of the gospel to me, but I’m not sure if it was really taking hold.

The next guy I talked to was playing a computer game at the same time!  So he was distracted by that.  Yet he still engaged with me, and to my amazement, he seemed to grasp what I was saying pretty much instantly - answering my checking questions pretty much flawlessly!

It was an important reminder that the people we share with are complex and very different.  We need to be attuned to them as a person when we are talking to them, and be willing to patiently labour with them on the most important subject anyone will wrestle with: what happens after life.

In the afternoon Andy & I were at the bus stops: Eastgate and Northlands.

I had a hard moment, where I was talking with a young female high school student.  The traffic driving past was busy and backed up.  Suddenly, a lady in a car called out: “Excuse me, are you ok?”  She was talking to the girl, and the implication was obvious.  The girl was as surprised as me and said: “yes, I’m fine?”  I looked at the lady in the car, she glared at me, then drove off.  I was deeply hurt by this, but sadly it comes with the territory.  Thankfully I was able to finish my gospel conversation with the girl.  She smiled and thanked me as she walked off.

Also, I had a follow up conversation with a young male high school student.  He said he had seen a video of me on the Internet (trying to bring the gospel to the issue of abortion outside the hospital).  He seemed supportive (“you have every right to do what you are doing”).  But I also felt sad.  It’s not easy standing up for what is right.

On Friday we were outside the hospital for our usual gospel + abortion outreach.  A team of six which was encouraging.  We had the usual attacks, but nothing serious.  Someone called the Police and they came to have a chat with us.  They confirmed that we weren’t doing anything wrong - which is encouraging.  We will continue to be salt and light in our society in this regard - no matter the opposition.

Marty, Andy and I all open air preached in the Square.

Later some wonderful gospel conversations occurred in Cashel Mall.

I was having a wonderful conversation on the flip chart with two ladies, but then I had three high school kids stand right next to them - obviously wanting to talk to me.  The two ladies ignored them and continued to engage in the gospel conversation we were having.

Once the two ladies had moved on, I was able to talk to the high schoolers.  I’ve talked to at least one of them before.  Sadly, they were there to “take me on”.  They knew about my work standing against abortion (they went to the same high school as the girls who had attacked us outside the hospital two weeks ago), and wanted to argue.  But they weren’t being logical.  I gently tried to bring this up, but one of them just said, “what is logic?”  I refused to really engage them for this reason.  I’m not there to have shouting matches.  I was frustrated, but I just tried to show that I cared for them, and tried to explain why.  Oh God, please use our feeble efforts for your glory.  Change people’s hearts by your gospel, Lord.

Later, Mike and I headed out for the evening outreach.  There were a lot of people out and about - very encouraging.  We had many wonderful gospel opportunities.  We even encountered a Christian who had watched American Gospel on Netflix and was challenged and pondering - praise God.

The highlight from the evening outreach was an engagement with a guy and girl who were out distributing flyers for a strip club.  We had two encounters during the night.  The first was when they interrupted a potential gospel conversation.  Then at the end of the night we got into a direct conversation with them.  My initial reaction was to be snarky - but, praise God, I stopped myself.  Because we got into a wonderful conversation with both of them.  I could tell they were surprised by the way we were talking to them (gently, respectfully, yet faithfully).  We ended up talking for about fifteen minutes on various topics, including the gospel.  One of them said they would get in touch, and the other asked to take some of my tracts to distribute!

So, a wonderful two days of ministry - not without sadness, and many mistakes (Lord, forgive us!).  I can’t wait to be in heaven with our Lord, but till then be encouraged to reach out with the gospel, no matter the cost!
 

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Online Evangelism

Friday's outreach was a cracker! What an exciting outreach filled with conversations. It started with a text chat, then with three incredible video chats and all eight participants came to profess faith!

The text chat was with a guy who said that he was a Christian and then through discussion came to grasp the gospel and was challenged and said, "It all makes sense now!" - He even said that he would start reading his Bible today (unprompted).

The end of that overlapped with a video chat with Jack and Everett. Everett was less sure of himself than Jack. Jack kept saying the answers or whispering them to Everett. But it was pointed out that we don't get to whisper answers to one another on judgement day and it would be better to not know the answer now and have a chance to understand individually then to be caught short on judgement day, not believing because they didn't understand.

Over the course of the conversation the pair came to comprehend the gospel clearly and were saying that, "Today we will believe that Jesus paying for our sin is the only thing that will get us to Heaven". Everett said he wanted to start reading his Bible to know how God wants him to live and they were even encouraged to share with their friends.

Next was a conversation with four Americans! There were professing some level of faith and then had their hopes smashed regarding their own goodness as they were shown God's standard of perfection and His law! They realised they were in desperate trouble and even said, "So no one goes to Heaven then?" Then the good news was proclaimed and it hit home!

They got it, each of them at different stages able to explain the way to Heaven and why a Christian desires to obey God. It was exciting to see that they stuck around, were seriously engaged and then came to hear to good news professing to believe it this very day! On top of that, they were encouraged to take this message and share it onward with their friends as well.

Lastly was a chat with Aaliyah, she to professed to be a Christian and then came to grasp the gospel. Upon understanding it, there was a moment as a final check when she was asked, "What would you say to God if He asked you, "Why should I let you into Heaven?"". Aayliah responded by saying, "I know I deserve Hell but Jesus has taken the punishment that I deserve". It was a beautiful moment and a great display that she really had grasped it!

She was then asking questions about how she could specifically evangelise to her Muslim friend who lived on the other side of the world! It was wonderful to hear her so quickly thinking about how to share the good news and was given some simple resources for this.

What an exciting string of conversations, displaying God's incredible kindness, that people who had intended to waste time of act sinfully had been confronted with the gospel and by all outward signs, had their hearts changed and profess faith in Christ!

Please be praying for those who heard that today would be the day of salvation, they this wouldn't just be knowledge but that they would trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins!

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Christchurch (NZ) Team

Tuesday and Wednesday saw me in Riccarton, the central city, and online.

Riccarton is new to me now.  With the road works complete, I have easy access to bus stops similar to Eastgate and Northlands.  There is much opportunity for the gospel.

I was walking down Riccarton Road and I saw two high schoolers.  As usual, I directly but confidently asked them what they thought happened after life and was quickly into a gospel conversation.  They were engaged and open.  They were from a Catholic high school, so I was very surprised when one of them got the question, “what do you have to do to get to heaven?” right!  It turns out this young man actually has a protestant background.  But they were both still keen to go through the law and the gospel with me.  And they were very appreciative of the conversation.

Later I approached a group of young people and offered them tracts and got into a conversation.  Sadly, it turns out they were all stoned.  I could tell I was wasting my time trying to engage them.  I hope to have an opportunity to talk to them in the future.

I asked a teen couple that were passing what they thought would happen after life.  They smiled and said they had already had a long conversation with me a year ago.  So I asked, “So what do you have to do to get to heaven?”  The guy looked at me blankly for a second, then said, “you have to be a good person.”  Wrong answer sadly.  They didn’t want to stop and stepped into a shop and were gone.

I was able to share with three guys on skateboards.  None of them had had a religious upbringing, and they were happy to engage in gospel conversation.  They seemed to understand the logic, but sadly didn’t seem too interested.

I was able to chat with a Muslim guy who had tragically lost six friends in the mosque shootings last year! :(  He seemed challenged by our brief conversation, but didn’t have the time to stay.  He said he would read the tract I gave him.

I ended the outreach with a thoughtful young man who believed in reincarnation and denied a personal creator.  I challenged him by explaining how he knew there was a personal creator.  He seemed to enjoy the brief conversation, and said he would read the tract.

Wednesday afternoons outreaches started in Cathedral Square.  The Christians I had met the previous week were there again: open air preaching, handing out tracts, and engaging people in conversations.  I listened to some of the preaching and I was very impressed.

I managed to get into a lovely conversation with a rough looking guy.  He had been deeply impacted by the JWs, and he liked to talk, so I had to patiently listen to him.  It was fascinating getting a fresh insight into the implications of this deeply works based religion.

Whenever I got a chance to talk, I tried to move the conversation to the reality of hell, and the good news of Jesus and justification by faith.  At one point, I was explaining how wicked I was - and he stopped me.  “You aren’t wicked.”, he said.  And so I had another opportunity to explain from Matthew 5 the serious nature of sin.  Compared to a murderer - we look good, but compared to God, who sees anger like we look on murder - we look, well: wicked.

I then explained how a wicked person, like me, can go to heaven.  I think it was having an impact.  He took four different copies of gospel tracts from me.

Later, I joined the Aussie team for some online outreach.

Today I had a great run.  My very first conversation (no skips first), was with a young Catholic guy who was hoping he would go to heaven.  He heard the gospel, and proclaimed he would trust that Jesus had paid his hell fine from today - even after considering the cost.  I pointed him to a local church.

I then got into a wonderful conversation with a physicist!  Whoever it was (their camera was off) didn’t want to talk, just type, but they were a very fast typist.  We had a very amicable conversation.  They were a dream Omegle pairing.  I had to be very patient, but I was able to swing the conversation to the law.  But sadly, I became distracted, and that killed the conversation - I wasn’t able to share the gospel.  But I did tell them about needGod.net.

I had a number of other great conversations.  I give God all the glory for a fantastic outreach.
 

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