Battle Log

It was a hot day on Thursday and a cold day on Friday but there was lots of gospel ministry both days.

Andy and I meet at Eastgate for the bus stop outreach on Thursday afternoon - our intention was to head to Northlands half way through.  But we never go there.  Everytime I would finish a conversation, I’d look up and see Andy in a deep chat, so I’d start a new conversation.  I had a couple of highlight conversations.

The first I want to mention was a chat that had started with three guys.  One of them had already received a tract from me earlier and they were discussing it as they came past me again.  I was able to stop them and start a conversation (the other two received tracts as well).  But they were all in different places making the conversation difficult.  Andy came to my rescue and engaged two of them (pictured) leaving me to focus on the other guy.

This other guy was very engaged in the conversation, he heard the law and the gospel and then he started asking good questions.  It felt like he was probing for a weakness in the logic of what I was explaining - was he going to resist and attack?  Or was he genuinely interested?  It turns out it was the latter - although he admitted that his sin was hindering him from accepting the gift of Christ - he knew he would change, and he was counting the cost.  We departed ways - he left his two friends who were now in a deep conversation with Andy.

So I moved down and approached two teens waiting for a bus.  They accepted tracts and were open for a conversation.  And it was a wonderful conversation - although a bit odd.  The first girl would get the answers to my questions right but then forget the answers.  The other girl struggled with the questions - but a conviction came over her.  They were smoking a cigarette and she became very aware that it’s something she shouldn’t be doing.  But she came to an understanding of the gospel.  Interestingly she had a desire to start reading her Bible again.

Near the end of the outreach, I fell into a flow with my gospel sharing.  It was like I was mentally standing back and watching the interaction - amazed at how it was unfolding.  Really, all the glory is Gods!

Two guys stopped and engaged - joking around.  But by the end of the conversation the smiles were gone and they were seriously contemplating what was being discussed.  While I was explaining the gospel, I was using checking questions to make sure the message was being grasped - it wasn’t.  One of them kept reverting to “being a good person” as the reason he was going to heaven.  I would patiently roll back and re-explain.  At the end of the conversation, the other guy said, “look, I’m not going to do this now - not for a few years”.  He wanted the gospel, but he wanted his life his way too.  I challenged him multiple ways on how faulty that logic was.

In the morning, before heading to Eastgate I was sharing the gospel online for a few hours.  My last conversation was amazing.  It was with a girl from Brazil.  She thought her good deeds and keeping the commandments would get her to heaven - and so I took her through the law and then the gospel.  She came to grasp the good news.  She started to cry.  And then she said that the reason why she was crying was because she had been praying to God for help the previous evening, and now God was using me to answer that prayer!  What a privilege and honour to be used by God like this!  I encouraged her to stop trusting in her good deeds to get her to heaven, and to instead trust in Jesus alone.  I then encouraged her to become disciplined in her Bible reading.  She was already a part of a conservative evangelical church (Presbyterian).

Friday had a weather forecast for rain, and there was light rain in the morning - so we cancelled the gospel + abortion outreach.  Andy and I spent time in online gospel ministry instead.

But the rain never really materialised.  We ended up heading into the city for open air preaching and one to one gospel chats.

While Andy preached, I did my usual rounds among the construction workers.  I had already talked to many of them, but I encountered one who I hadn’t.  He came to hear the law and the gospel, and he thanked me - he said he had something to think about.

I then approached two more who were happy to engage.  One of them became disinterested and said he had to go back to work.  His friend needed to go too - but he wanted to stay and hear the gospel.  He had a Christian background but had never understood the central message of Christianity.  He thanked me before he too had to head off.

In Cashel Mall, the highlight conversation I had was a walk up.  The guy smiled as I approached.  It almost felt like he wanted me to come to him.  He was very open and followed the logic of the law and the gospel easily.  At the end I asked if he had questions - he did.  One of them was: “where does confession come into it?”  Before I left him, I challenged him to respond to the gospel.

I also had a sad conversation.  I saw a guy I recognised, and I approached him.  Many years ago we had been part of the same local church.  But sadly, he is an apostate.  Gospel ministry today is very discouraging - not seeing fruit -- and setting rotten fruit.  And yet, God is incontrol of the seasons of life.  We can trust his word, and leave the results in his hands.  Lord, help us to be faithful in spite of what we see!
 

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