Battle Log

Okay, last week's monthly report was a bit crazy, trying to dump all the chats from the last month into a single hour-long report.  So, I’m going to try going back to weekly reports.  This report will cover the street work for the week just completed.

 

I was on the streets of Christchurch four times this week:

 

On Thursday afternoon, Corin joined me at the corner of Riccarton and Rotherham (and Roger and Graeme were also there on Tuesday afternoon).

 

On Friday afternoon, Corin, Andy, Roger, John Langan, and I were in the city.

 

On Saturday lunchtime, Corin joined me again at the corner of Riccarton and Rotherham.

 

And then finally, I went back out to the city this afternoon (Sunday) after my local church's morning gathering.

 

On Thursday, it was a bit slow initially, and then very busy.  I had a long chat with a young Muslim (but it started as a conversation with a group), and Corin was handling the flip chart on her own while that was happening.

 

The young Muslim started by saying he would go to heaven because he had asked for forgiveness.  That obviously doesn’t make sense, so I gently pushed back, which caused him to become very engaged in the conversation.

 

The key issue is that we both agree God is just, and we both agree that God is merciful.  So the question that has to be answered is, how can God be both just and merciful toward us (at the same time) so we can go to heaven?

 

Sadly, the young man kept going back to the same answer over and over: “You simply ask for forgiveness; God can overlook sin if he wants to, because he is God”.  The problem with this answer is that it is merciful, but it’s not just.  And so, the correct answer is: “Jesus died on the cross to satisfy our justice, so that God gives us mercy without compromising his justice”.

 

And the fact that he kept cycling back to his logically incorrect answer is because that’s what he has been told over and over, to the point that he has suppressed the logic we all share.  I had to gently end the conversation, pointing out the dead-end cycle.  May he be challenged enough to be humble and honest about the logic.  The goal is not winning arguments, but lovingly having people face the truth.  May God have mercy on this young man!

 

We finished the outreach with a great chat with a young Filipino with a Christian background, but who didn't fully understand the gospel.  It was interesting because he noticed us as he went past, but he didn’t want to stop to talk. A few minutes later, he came back around the corner to talk!  God must have been tugging at his heart!

 

On Friday, Corin was with me at the corner of Cashel and Colombo.  We set up the flipchart.  Very quickly, we encountered two young, and very encouraging men.  They had a very solid grasp of the gospel, and they were passionate about sharing it.  One of them in particular was especially naturally evangelistic.

 

They stayed with us for a very long time as we got to know each other, and, as we were talking, people kept coming up to the flipchart, interested in what was happening, and so multiple real gospel conversations occurred naturally.

 

It fills my heart with joy to know the Holy Spirit is working independently of me (I mean, it’s obvious, but still), raising labourers for his glory.  I would love to work more with these young men, but that’s not up to me.  May God bless their effort!

 

Saturday was amazing!  So busy!  I set up my flipchart, and was pretty much straight into my first chat.

 

It was with a young man whose father uses a similar flipchart evangelism technique in another part of the country.  But, sadly, this young man was lacking assurance.  And it turns out he was subtly confused about what it means to ‘repent’.  He defined it as ‘turn from sin’, and when I asked him more questions, it seemed that he was defining that as, basically, ‘be good’.  So, we were able to talk this through and get everything in the right place: knowledge of Christ vs trusting Christ vs obedience to Christ.  The first and the last are so important, but don’t save - it’s critical that we get this right in our thinking.  Salvation leads to works, but works are not required for salvation.  The young man took out his phone at one point to take notes!  May he see his sin as serious, but that the grace of God is greater.  May he come to know the true assurance he can have.

 

I had three more great chats.  And then I encountered a young couple.  She has a Christian background, but my gentle check questions concerned me about her understanding of the gospel.  He wasn’t a Christian, but had tried going to a church last Sunday (I think via her prompting).  The conversation was delicate at the start, as I expected them to bolt at any moment, but gradually the conversation warmed, and then I was able to get them to come to the flipchart so we could have a full gospel conversation, which was wonderful, because I could tell they were both learning.  If they truly come to Christ, then I suspect they will have some tough decisions to make out of a desire to be obedient as a result.  But what a precious opportunity to minister.

 

Sunday’s outreach was slow, in spite of the good weather and there being lots of people.  I couldn’t get any bites for a conversation.  So, I decided to go for a wander and approach people for chats as I went.  I got 1 rejection, and then I found myself in Cathedral Square.  There was a young man relaxing, and I felt drawn to him.  I offered a tract, and was welcomed.  It was a very non-standard chat.  He was a little cryptic in his answers, so I decided to take it slow, listen hard, and wait for the right time to comment.  I was able to touch on the law and then focus on the gospel.  At one point, he became emotional as he reflected on his life – again, it was cryptic, he was saying things that hinted at something deeper that he didn’t want to reveal.  It was a good chat, and he received a couple of tracts, but then handed them back.  He said he already understood and that I should give them to someone else.  I’d rather he keep them, but I respected his wishes.  Seed planted?  Only God knows.

 

May he use our feeble efforts for his glory!  Thank you for your prayers!!

 

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