Battle Log

Page 162

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This afternoon there was some cloud cover at Capalaba which kept the afternoon fairly cool. It seemed to keep the bus stop quieter than usual but thankfully there were still enough people around to speak with. 

One conversation was had with a lady named Elise. She had spoken to the team before and had been left to consider the Gospel. Sadly she hadn't surrender to Christ and therefore had chosen to reject it (by her passivity). She was once again reminded of the Gospel's summons, calling her to turn in surrender and faith to Christ. The wrath and love of God was re-iterated and she was one again encouraged to heed God's call on her life.

Another conversation was had with Emily. She was a few years out of school but said that she stopped believing in God after school. This information was referred to a number of times to help her realise that her disbelief in God wasn't intellectual but theological. 

She acknowledged that if God was to judge her by the Ten Commandments she would be guilty and deserve Hell. She even noted that no one would deserve Heaven. When asked how a sinner could be forgiven, she wasn't really sure. The Gospel was explained a number of times until she understood that it was a gift, that God gave to the undeserving not the worthy.

When asked when she would trust in Jesus she said she didn't really want to and reiterated that she didn't believe in Him. She was asked, "Which came first, you living your own way or you rejecting God's existence?" She responded, "I have lived my own way my whole life and I didn't reject God's existence until after I left school."

It was pointed out that this therefore is the order in which the events occurred, it wasn't that she disbelieved in God and then decided she could live her own way, rather, her desire to live sinfully came long before she tried to justify her rebellion through rejecting God's existence. She seemed to agree with this and was left with a final reminder and challenge that our only hope for forgiveness, salvation and right-relationship with God, is to turn in repentance and faith to Jesus.

A final conversation was had with three high school boys, Toby, Andy and Cain. Toby was distracted and quite uninterested, preferring to play on his phone rather than listening. Andy, was trying to argue about any and everything to try and defend his rejection of God and Toby was quietly but attentively listening.

The conversation was a simple and straight forward Gospel conversation, God created us, we rebelled against Him and His law (with specific examples), God hates sinners and cannot let the guilty go unpunished. Yet, God in history has stepped in so humanity can be forgiven. He came, lived perfectly, died sacrificially and rose victoriously so that all who surrender to Him may have life.

Toby was keen to live in sin and wasn't even the slightest bit interested in turning to Christ. Cain, thought only really bad people went to Hell and only really good go to Heaven, the rest just die. Andy thought anything that he could to try and disagree with the Gospel, even if it didn't make sense. The three took tracts and were strongly encouraged to turn from their sinful self-reliance and to find forgiveness in Christ.

Please be praying for Elise, that she would not put off trusting Christ any longer. Please pray for Emily, that she would heed the warnings and find her greatest satisfaction in Christ, rather than the pursuit of the things in this world. Finally, please be praying for Andy that God would humble him, Toby that he would be given a hatred of sin and Cain that he would turn to Christ for salvation.

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With Chris & Gloria coming from Adelaide for the occasion, the Lord had 9 on this team today. We operated a large flip chart on the eastern and another on the western side of the Point, plus the roving evangelists.

Many seemed so intent on celebrating the (commercial) 'fathers' day'. However, the Lord gave us some interesting  chats.

     - John, a young Dad and his lad were taken through the good news message but Dad could not grasp the Way. Later, another one of us was able to share the good news which he still did not get. When told that his answer to "Why should God let you into His heaven?" was incorrect, he wanted to know the right answer. He departed with the correct understanding and we ask the Lord to do His work of grace in him. His son returned at least twice because he had thought of some of his friends who needed to hear God's gospel.

     - Chris, a young woman, agreed with her sinfulness, guilt before God and that she deserved to be sent to hell. She also believed that Christ had suffered the wrath of God for her. However later she stated that she believed that God loved everybody. When she was challenged on the fact that only the Christian enjoys the inseparable love of God, Rom. 8:38,39, she could not define what sort of 'love' He had for those who died in their sins. It seemed to be a result of her R.C. upbringing. May she come to know what faith in Christ alone means.

     - Hayden needs prayer as he counts the cost of committing to Christ.

The list goes on. Let us pray until the last of His elect are brought into the one flock and then our praises will be 'out of this world' on the new creation. To Him alone we give the glory!

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On Friday night as the team headed to the Gold Coast there were some extra team members that joined us. They had flown in from other places (New Zealand and Adelaide).

Hear Glen share about a conversation he and Andy had with some young guys.

Hear Chris share about the blessing the night was and hear Gloria praising God for a conversation she had with a young man, she took through the flip chart!

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This afternoon in Sunnybank the team was out again. Over the past few weeks some new members have joined the team and it has been encouraging to see them grow in their boldness and understanding. Before each outreach the team commits to praying together, presenting our requests before God and asking Him to draw people to us. This afternoon there were a number of conversations that we very exciting!

A few shorter conversations were had with Frank, Zoe, Shaun and Ryan. They each had small issues or reasons that they disbelieved in God but after hearing the simple apologetic that buildings need a builder and therefore the universe needs a Creator they all were happy to engage with the Gospel and took tracts.

One longer conversation was had with Carol. She said she believed there was a God and said as long as she did the right thing God would be okay with that. The rest of the conversation was hard work. Due to the language barrier and many of the words (sin, repentance, faith, grace) being ones that she had never heard before, things had to be explained numerous times in different ways.

This conversation was a test of patience and endurance. It took six different explanations and almost five minutes to explain what sin is. But upon this understanding everything seemed to flow a little easier. Carol, in the end, understood the basics of Christianity and as the Gospel was being explained her bus arrived. Hopefully she understood it and will take the time to read the tract she was given.

Another team member was able to speak with a JW. This man has spoken to the team before and was interested to hear more. As usual this man said that there are only 144,000 in Heaven (misquoting Revelation 7). This opportunity was taken to bring out a Bible and to begin looking at the text of scripture. In the passage, it is clear that the "great multitude" are in the same location as the 144,000.

Continuing on from this some other important points were touched on. Most importantly that Jesus Christ is the Saviour, God in human form and the only hope for humanity.

Finally there was a Chinese lady named Goh. Goh was first asked about what she thought would happen to after she died but said she couldn't stop to talk and had something to do but promised to come back. A little while later she returned and continued to speak with Ann.

She explained that she had only been in the country for three months and had come over to be the bride of an older man. Through this conversation she explained the tough circumstances she is in regarding the situation with her husband.

Through this conversation and the sad circumstances, Ann was able to explain the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. This lady had never heard it but understood it as it was gently and carefully explained. Over a lengthy conversation lasting over an hour Goh came to understand the Gospel and expressed a desire to have Jesus as her Lord and Saviour that very afternoon.

Praise God for the work He is doing in the hearts of those whom He calls! It was a joyful moment as Ann was jumping up and down with excitement and Goh was overjoyed. It was with much rejoicing the that team finished in prayer and headed off to their homes, praising God for His work in Goh!

Who would have thought that God would bring someone halfway across the world, so that they could hear the Gospel and be saved?

 

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These past two weeks have been fruitful in Warwick. Many people continue to approach the Bible table with questions and interest. It keeps showing us God is doing a mighty work. There has been many people, God knows each one. Here a a few to pray for. (We have decided as Warwick is a small town to only refer to people by initials so as to not embarass or dishonour them in anyway). 

I was asked to look after a dog while his owner went into the shop where I'm set up, then got to share the Gospel with his owner C afterwards. It was so nice to help him and then get the opportunity to share Jesus with him Praise God. I asked Permission if I could post a Photo of his doggy on our blog at the table. C said his dog H is well known in Warwick.

Pray for L and his carer A.

N is an elderly gentleman frustrated with the state of the world. He has been encouraged to trust Jesus and he took tracts.

Pray for M that his head knowledge of the Gospel will by God's grace give him new life by the power of the Holy Spirit's work in him. Pray for his brother S and nephews T & F as M helps them in their need. 

D wanted a Bible. She attends a local Church and goes to bible study. I had a short chat with her but she was in a hurry.

Pray for N who is a christian, pray for her daughter C who is a Jehovah Witness.

R who I have talked with before believes the Gospel and is having a operation soon.

Another R who says is starting to read his Bible every night! PRAISE GOD!

D a believer says he will help at the Bible table next week, answered prayer.

B and I talked with two men at the end of the day. They had beliefs that were not biblical. We planted seeds of God's truth.

Many tracts given out as well as Bibles as well conversations with locals and people traveling through. It has been such a blessing. It is a joy to share the Gospel and give tracts to remind them of the truth and to keep pointing them to Jesus and Eternal life and we pray each person be impacted and believe the Word of God to lead them to salvation. God knows each one.

Praise God for giving us the privilege to share in the ministry of reconciliation. All Glory be to God Alone!

Thank you so much for your prayers.

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This afternoon in Brisbane City a total of nine team members out! This enabled great coverage of the square and many people heard the Gospel as a result!

A stand out conversation was with Lachy and Maddi. The first thirty minutes were with Lachy. He was approached with the new tract and asked if he knew where he would go after he died. He went onto say that there are many options and ideas and many of them are probably right. This tied in perfectly with the new tract, so we looked at the first few questions on the front, clearly showing that there is only one right answer for each. 

Then turning inside the next question was considered, "Which religion is right?". Over the next thirty minutes many explanations and examples of why Christianity is the only true religion and why we as humanity desperately need Jesus as Saviour were given. A slow but careful theology was being built. All the while explaining why other ideas are each wrong and disagree with God. This was going well.

Soon afterwards Maddi came along. She had missed a lot of discussion but was slowly bought up to speed. She wasn't hostile but had a lot of ideas that disagreed with God. At one point, while Hell was being explained, the question was asked, "What would you do to avoid being alone?", to which Maddi said, "I would do absolutely anything! In fact most of our lives is based around us doing things so that people will like us and be with us". As Hell was explained as a place of isolation, separated from God and His good gifts, under His eternal punishment, Maddi said, "WOW! That is unfathomably awful, I definitely don't want to go there! When you talk with people you should start there and explain that!"

The conversation flowed over a range of other topics, mostly centered around why Jesus is required for salvation, how sin is as simple as living according to my ideas rather than God and a range of other details. The conversation drew to a close as Lachy and Maddi had to head off to grab some dinner but they remarked, "This has been a very worthwhile discussion! Usually no one ever wants to talk about the deep things of this life and wants to ignore them. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us!"

Please be praying that Lachy and Maddi will have understood the Gospel, will read the tracts they were given and will call out to God, in desperation, for salvation!

Another conversation which flowed on from that was with Ken. He declared to be an atheist/agnostic due to his study and had listened to almost 30 minutes of the prior conversation. Ken declared to have a basically comprehensive understanding of Christianity but sadly when asked three simple questions stated that Christianity was simply a set of rules, Jesus was just the role model and His death was to show us how we should live.

This was very worrying as it seemed that Ken must not really have been listening to the previous conversation as he had missed at least three clear explanations of why Jesus was not just a role model but was the only hope and Saviour for humanity. Ken admitted to having an Anglican background and was not willing to accept the idea that Christianity was salvation on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and sacrifice. He wanted to hold onto the idea that Christianity simply believed that Jesus is a role model and as long as we do good and follow him, we get to Heaven.

Please be praying that Ken's willful ignorance is overridden by God's love and that Ken will come to understand God's offer of salvation, not just intellectually but personally.

A final conversation was had with two young girls, they mostly just shared their own ideas, talked about what they believed and talked about how "science" had created this world and disproved God's existence.

The Gospel was present in the conversation and many attempts to explain it were made. One girl wasn't interested in it whilst the other seemed to understand but wasn't sure. 

Please be praying that these two will read the tracts they were given and seek to know God, rather than simply reject Him so they can live their own way.

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Speakers Corner

We were blessed to worship the Lord at Speakers corner this evening. We were to meet at 17.00, instead of our usual lunchtime meet up. We were unsure about the foot traffic as  the University is on semester break. 

I went along with 2 other brothers Sam & Albert who had not been to SC before, when we arrived, there was hardly anyone there. Just as the preaching started there were waves of people that walked by & groups that stopped to listen and record on their phones.

There was one lady who stopped to make the comment that what we were doing was not helpful as it's too confrontational and it's why everyone hates Christianity. She made the point that we should seek to make relationships with people. The brother she spoke to offered to speak with her more about this but she didn't want to talk further. Please pray for her and her son that was with her. 

As this exchange was happening I was preaching and the son was watching as I preached on Hebrews 4:13. We praise God that she and many others received our Operation 513 gospel tracts this day. By the end of the outreach the brothers were encouraged and are keen to comeback. 

Please pray for those who heard the preaching that they would hear the voice of the good Sheppard.  

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This afternoon at Woodridge the team was made up of six! A significant team and this enabled the opportunity to engage with a larger amount of people.

Some notable conversations included, one with "Bob", a Mormon. Who declared that he was getting to Heaven by his own goodness. Then as the conversation progressed back tracked on that statement and tried to justify just how it worked. The worry was, that he wasn't really sure but wasn't really interested in anything other than his "church" taught. Even when faced with scriptures like Titus 3 and Romans 3, he basically ignored the scripture and declared that it didn't matter.

It was an incredibly sad conversation as a man who really didn't know God or what God has said, declared that he didn't care about it despite trying to hold to the religiousity of Mormonism.

At the end of it all, when asked what his name was, after talking about lying being sin, "Bob" was very quick to declare that was his real name, even though his mate gave away that it wasn't.

Another conversation was had with Saeed. This man is a regular. He is a Muslim but also says he likes the idea of Christianity. He said he was pretty sure they both believed basically the same thing and that even though there were slight differences they were both right. When the numerous differences and basically polar opposite nature was explained, even then Saeed clung to his hope that on the day of judgement God would think he was pretty good and let him in.

He even said, when I stand before God I will argue with him and tell him that I didn't know. To which he was given the answer, firstly, there will be no arguing with God, you will be on your face in dread and secondly, you do know, here we stand to declare to you clearly and simply who God has revealed Himself to be and what He has done and said about the only way to Heaven. Ignorance will never be an excuse on judgement day.

Despite two sad conversations a man named Dylan came past. He spent a lot of the time espousing his own ideas and declaring what he thought but on the end of it all, after some simple Gospel interaction he professed a desire to head along to a Church. A few were recommended in his area, it is our prayer that he goes along and is changed by the work of the Spirit through the preaching of the Word.

Please keep "Bob" and Saeed in prayer also, that they will give up their apathy toward God's serious and important revelation and that they will understand their desperate brokenness, their current eternal destination and call out to God for salvation!

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This afternoon at Capalaba was as usual a mixture between exciting conversations and hardened hearts. 

To start the afternoon off, Paula engaged in a discussion. She didn't really think there was a God but liked the idea of reincarnation. When Buddhism was explained she was actually surprised by what they believe. Then some simple ground work was done regarding this universe. The building, builder analogy was given and the explanation of God as the giver of life and all good gifts was talked through. 

Paula understood and agreed and was happily engaging. She then heard of the problem, that we have taken the things God has given us and used and abused them for ourselves, our ideas, our intentions and this is called sin. We have used our intellgence and our mouth to lie, our body to steal or be sexually immoral, we have abused others and used alcohol and sex to indulge ourselves rather than to rejoice in and serve God. The just penalty we deserve for this rebellion is Hell, the removal of all the gifts under the judgement and punishment of God's wrath.

This all made sense but at this moment Paula's bus arrived! She was given a quick encouragement to read the tract to find out about God's Saviour as she stepped onto her bus.

Another conversation was had with Ali, a Muslim. The team had spoken to him before, he was able to partially articulate the Gospel but was adamant in trying to declare that Christians and Muslims believe the same thing. It was stressed and explained that they are polar opposites. Muslims believe that it is by their good works and effort that they get to Heaven, that therefore in Heaven they are being rewarded and God is serving them. Where as God has declared that He is a just God and therefore the only way a sinner can be forgiven and made righteous is if Jesus provides His perfect life as a sacrifice for us. Therefore, those who get to Heaven, do it only by the work of Jesus and are in Heaven praising and worshipping God for who He is.

They are opposites in almost every way. Sadly Ali's bus arrived but please be praying that God would use this new understanding to begin Ali on the track to life!

A shorter conversation was had with Michelle a Catholic, who didn't really know what Heaven was and wasn't sure she was getting there. The same explanation was given to her as was given to Ali about the opposite nature of Heaven and Salvation. She understood and said she would consider it. Her bus arrived as well and she took a tract as she left.

Finally and most saddening of all was a talk with a very intelligent man who knew an awful lot about the Bible and theology but had one great big blind spot. He argued about the Sabbath, trying to downplay Christ's claim to have "fulfilled" the Law and the Prophets. He spent most of the time while waiting on this issue trying to explain how most Christians had perverted the truth and had "moved" the Sabbath to a Sunday. Even when it was explained that the Sabbath wasn't moved, it was fulfilled in Christ, as our sabbath rest and the Christians simply chose to worship Christ on the first day of the week, this man couldn't understand.

Disappointingly, the Gospel was mostly forgotten in this conversation and with a few moments left before the bus arrived, it was asked, "What do you think is getting you to Heaven?" with which he responded, trust in Jesus' sacrifice and my obedience to him. OH NO! This was a scary moment, a man who on many points of theology and history had great understanding and knowledge had stepped outside orthodoxy with one simple but catacalysmic issue, he thought his entrance into Heaven was based on Christ plus his own works.

With seconds left as the bus pulled up, he was pleaded with to give up this self-righteous, semi-pelagian view and to trust in the Messiah alone to save him. But this man was adamant that he and a very select few of others really believed the truth. It was a sad moment, as this man hopped on the bus and left.

Please be praying for Paula that her understanding of sin and rebellion against God would lead her to find out who Christ is. Please be praying that Ali would for the first time understand why Christians believe what they believe, and turn to Christ for salvation. Please be praying that Michelle will consider the Gospel proclaimed to her and find salvation in Christ.

Lastly please be praying for this very lost man, who for all his intelligence, intellect, arugments and knowledge has completely missed the simple Gospel's message of grace alone.

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Tonight you can hear three different John's share about the conversations they had whilst in Brisbane City tonight.

Rejoice with Johnny as he shares the the pleasure he had in sharing the Gospel with Daniel. And hear how Daniel was interested in attending a local church.

Hear John share about a converastion with three asian gentlemen.

And hear John share about the privilege it is to rely on God and His Gospel when engaging with young men.

May you be encouraged by this and as a result step out, in dependence upon God and declare His glorious Gospel, so that the nations may know, that God is in the business of saving sinners!

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