Battle Log

It’s good to be back on home turf.  2 street outreaches this week, both in the city.  On Friday afternoon I was with Roger and Andy.  On Sunday afternoon I was with Andy.

 

These outreaches reminded me of the wonderful opportunity for the gospel that we have.  We need to make hay while the sun shines, because we don’t know when God’s patience will run out.  But it’s also a joy!  We are saved by God’s grace – totally underserved.  And now he is willing to involve us in what he is doing.  The sacrifice of Jesus is the ultimate motivation - out of thankfulness of him, let’s get out and tell others about him.  The opportunity is limitless.

 

3 significant conversations come to mind from Friday’s outreach.

 

The first was with a young Filipino guy.  He had just arrived in NZ, and he was cold in his t-shirt and shorts - not used to our cooler climate.  His English wasn’t good, and so I had to slow right down when trying to share the gospel with him.  In fact, in the end, I had to give up.  He wasn’t engaging - maybe too overwhelmed by all the changes in his life.  He needs work, and so I invited him to my church on Sunday (he is staying not far) because I have Filipino friends there that he could make connections with, and who can share the gospel with him in Tagalog!  Sadly he didn’t come, but he has my contact details.  Pray that he would get established in Christchurch, be able to find work, and that I’ll be able to encounter him again - or if not, another Christian who can share the gospel with him.

 

The second was a chat that Roger had.  Roger brought me into the conversation, because the kid he was talking to had been recruited into the cult “World Mission Society Church of God”.  Once he’d heard the true gospel from Roger, he was keen to get out of the cult!  I pointed him to a good church close to him, and also gave him a gospel of John to read for himself, as well as my contact details.

 

The third chat was with a young man from China.  When he realised that I wanted to talk to him about religion, he was interested.  His English wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for me to be able to communicate the gospel.  I got to learn about him too.  He is struggling with his course, and he is concerned he will have to go back to China if he fails, so he is studying hard.  Sadly, at this stage, he wasn’t able to see that his eternal soul is more important than his worldly troubles - as significant as they are!  Yet, he was willing to take a gospel of John, a tract, and my contact details.  I pray that his conscience was pricked enough for him to investigate further.

 

I give these details to show that we are reaching people, real people - people with struggles and trials, people who need to know the truth about God’s wrath and mercy.  This is real and significant and well worth our time to make the effort to make and take the opportunities we get to share the marvellous gospel.

 

Sunday’s outreach was great too.  It was wonderful watching Andy engage multiple groups of kids through the outreach.

 

My most significant chat was the very first one - it was short.  I sat down to get a drink and get some tracts out, when I realised the 2 guys I was sitting next to were a golden opportunity.  I was able to spark up a conversation with 1 of them.  He thought that ‘whatever you believe will happen after you die’ - so I was able to address that.  It turns out he had a Christian background, and so I asked what he thought he had to do to get to heaven.  Answer: be good.  And so, I went to the law - which had its impact.  And then I explained the gospel, in contrast to his false way to heaven of ‘being good’.  It hit home, and his response was to say, “I fully believe that”.  And yet, his earlier words totally contradicted that he did.  Rather than point this out directly, I went to a powerful check question: “before this conversation, what did you think you had to do to get to heaven?”  Answer: “be good”.  “And so”, I said, “if you had died before this chat, where would you have gone, heaven or hell?”.  He was fixated as he thought, and finally responded with “hell”.  And so I pleaded with him to change his mind.  Stop trusting his good deeds to get to heaven, and instead, trust that Jesus is the only reason you are getting there.  He thanked me.  He told me this conversation (only a few minutes long) was very significant.  His friend (from Sri Lanka) and he (Zimbabwe) were working on a ship, and were only in Christchurch for the day.  Opportunity taken!  God is so good!  May that seed produce fruit.  It’s not about our ability.  God can use our feeble efforts in spite of us.  Get out and share the gospel of Jesus!

 

I had other good chats.  But the one that sticks in my mind was the last one, with a young man who was convinced that the ‘building / builder” analogy was a logical fallacy.  I was able, by God’s grace, to show him that the opposite is actually a fallacy!  And then I was able to take him though the law, and the gospel, and a few check questions.  The truth is powerful!  Don’t be put off by intellectual sounding people and vain arguments.  Get out there and serve your king: Jesus.

 

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