Battle Log

• Battle Log
• Page 146

West Country (UK) Team

On a cold and very windy Saturday 2nd February, George and Della met in Plymouth city Centre for outreach before others could come. They set up George's Faith mission board with scriptures and tracts and free Bibles and started handing out tracts and some conversations with people before Della had to leave and Ed and myself came later.  

While setting up the Intelligence test board, two teenagers came along and started asking some questions. They were both 16 years old and said they had a - C of E background after attending Primary school and some church attendance, but said they did not really have a strong belief. I was able to share with them some evidences for Gods existence, and using Gods law showed them from their conscience how we all know God exists but because of our sin choose to make excuses about God or make a God in our own image that is ok with our sin. I tried to show them the connection between Christmas and Easter and why Jesus had to die on the cross, even though he was perfect and didn't do anything wrong, but fulfilled Gods law and a righteousness for us so we could stand before God justified as if we had never sinned, even though we had. They took some tracts and said they had a Bible at home each and had something to think about.

After last weeks ruling in New York about Abortion now being allowed up to the third trimester/ 40 weeks, I had a strong desire to want to preach about this absolutely sickening bill that allowed the murder of the unborn, and so brought a poster I had made a while ago but never really used. I read from Psalm 139 and preached for around 20 minutes that life started from conception and that therefore abortion was murder and that over 96% of abortions were for social reasons rather than rape or medical risk to the mother, and so abortions was being used as a means of contraception rather than the baby being given for adoption, and that only God could forgive murder and the gospel was the only way for peoples sins to be washed away, what ever they were, even if people walking past had an abortion in the past they could be forgiven because of what Jesus had done for sinners. I said that any guilt and shame that people tried to cover up through drink or drugs or wrong relationships could not wash away a guilty conscience but only the blood of Jesus could restore their relationship with God.

An angry big issue seller walked past a couple of times and shouted at me saying I had no right to tell women what they should do and that it was their right. He said his friend had an abortion before, but he didn't like the statistic that abortion was mostly for social convenience. He shouted that it was Christians in the crusades who had murdered people, but I corrected him that was Roman Catholics responding to the Muslim invasion and actually it wasn't Christians who murdered people today but Muslims in the name of Islam. This made him even more irate and his swearing at me made quite a lot of people stop to listen. I continued to preach as he walked off.

This led to a couple in mid twenties walking past and stopping to read the intelligence test and a long chat for around 15 minutes as to why Christianity as supposed to other religions, the age of the earth, and life after death according to what the Bible said.

He started off a bit argumentative but eventually we had a good conversation and allowed me to share the gospel with both of them that now worked in Plymouth after coming down from Berkshire. They were both very amicable and took some tracts and understood why we were out that day- not to condemn people but because we cared about peoples eternity and had been forgiven for doing the same sins as others had.

Ed was very good at handing out tracts to people and listened to the preaching to help draw others in. George also preached and had three conversations that were quite good- David who claimed to be a 'confirmed' Christian in the C of E but didn't have a grasp of the Gospel. The Gospel was explained and he was given literature to read. Two young men called Tyler and George had a conversation with Della and George about the purpose of life and the significance of Christ and were given tracts. They also spoke with a young woman called Chloe who was brought up in a Christian home, knew parts of the Bible but had no grasp of the gospel, she had rejected Christianity but yet seemed open because she stopped to ask for a free bible and was spoken to for a while.

It was a very blustery day and the rain just about held off but lots of tracts were handed out and some good conversations with people. We pray some seeds were sown in fertile ground and that God would continue to work on their hearts so they would repent and respond to Gods grace in Christ.

 

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Sunnybank on Thursday was a collection of short, conversations whilst buses came and left.

Caleb a young Christian man from a local Church was encouraged to evangelise as he knew the Gospel.

David a man who thought there was a higher power but didn't want to believe that God would judge, was shown that because God is good He must judge.

Oliver was shown that creation shows us that there must be a Creator and therefore we are accountable to Him for the way we have lived.

Oscar said he didn't know what happened after we died and was happy to listen to the law and Gospel until his bus arrived.

Suri an Indian man tried to hold onto both the idea that there is no God whilst declaring that if God exists he is very good and definitely going to Heaven.

There was also an older gentleman who loved his own ideas, he believed many conspiracy theories, predominantly about how the "evil" Jews controlled the whole world and on this basis because Jesus was a Jew he rejected any offer of salvation that Jesus could provide.

Lastly a young man named Anthony was spoken to, he had a pretty good understanding of the Gospel but was struggling with his assurance. He heard the beautiful implications of the Gospel and why we can have full assurance of our salvation because we are saved on the basis of Christ's perfect work, not anything we can do!

Please be praying for these short and sharp conversations, that God would use them to be another step in the process of bringing them to himself.

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On Wednesday in King George Square, there were many conversations. Some longer than others, some people more receptive and some just unwilling to talk.

There were two business men, sitting on the same bench who at different levels declined to talk. The first said he didn't want to think about his death and briskly walked off almost straight away when asked, "What do you think will happen to you when you die?". The second engaged in a few questions, had his core beliefs challenged simply by being asked the question, "What has convinced you that is true?" to which a number of times he had no answer but to say, "I just feel like it". He too then had to leave quite quickly.

A man spoken with soon after was a Kiwi, named Brendan. He rightly pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of many false Churches, from the Catholic church to the Word of Faith movement he rightly criticised them and was angry that they would so openly misrepresent God and yet people would still follow them.

But the sad part was that Brendan had used this as his justification against believing in God. He had rejected God on the basis of wicked men who claimed to represent Him. It was pointed out that this wasn't a very good reason and he was shown the law, that he too preached a better message then he lived and therefore he needed the Saviour.

The Gospel was explained and Brendan took a tract as he headed back to work. Please be praying that the challenge placed before Brendan would be one that he would consider.

A conversation was had with a business women, Zoe. She at first declared that people love religion because they love answers and so religion is now losing its hold on people because science can give us answers. Then when she was posed with a few questions, she responded that science didn't have the answers to these big questions. Then she went on to say, that she didn't need answers to these things. It was clear that she was grasping at straws and contradicting herself but she couldn't see it.

Then she said that religion is for people who need assurance about an afterlife. She said that people aren't smart enough to comprehend non-existence, therefore we need to believe there is something after we die, that there will be some reason for this life. It was point out to her that the opposite is true. She was hoping that there was nothing, so that she could convince herself there is nothing to worry about, no accountability and therefore she can live however she wants.

Zoe sadly was blinded by her pride and her love of self. She couldn't understand the irony in her comments and was sure what she was saying was consistent. Then she was shown the law and heard the Gospel and said, "you won't change my mind, I just want to live my way". It was a sobering thought that she was willing to ignore things that were directly contradictory about what she believed, simply to try and quieten her conscience to the reality of God's judgement.

Among other conversations the final conversation of the afternoon was with Charissa. She had some sort of Christian background but didn't know the Gospel. Over the discussion she heard many explanations for who God is, why He must be a being, why He cares about justice, how He must punish wickedness and therefore what He has done so that the wicked can be forgiven. She came to understand the Gospel and was strongly encouraged to consider what God had said.

Please be praying for those that heard the Gospel today, or even an introduction to it. Please be praying that God would be working in hearts and lives so that they may come to understand what God has done and to trust in Him!

Praise God that He uses feeble messengers to preach His Gospel and even consider joining us sometime!

An encouragement in this area is that a local Christian business man, comes down during his lunch hour to join the team in sharing the Gospel! During his hour on the street yesterday he had three Gospel conversations! Imagine what God could do through you if you joined the team during your lunch hour!

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Not long after setting up the Bible table, a man who had parked close by stepped out onto the footpath, walked straight up asking nicely “what do you have here?” After saying a few things about the ministry he saw 'free Bibles' on the banner, he said someone he knows would love a Bible.

P ended up sharing how he is helping his niece S who is very sick, he has devoted himself to being her full time carer. The Bible he requested was for his niece, he was saying it will help her. He says that S is a Christian. We agreed that a large print Bible for his niece would be better so we offered to get one to give to her and we will bring it next week.

The focus then was to P as I asked if he believes. P says he has been blessed to grow up with a family who are Christian and it is all he has known. As I started to ask him questions about Eternity and what happens when we die, Rick arrived. We were able to check where P is with God. He thought he was going to heaven because he always helped people. So P wasn’t understanding the Gospel. After going through the law with the flip chart he agreed that he was deserving of hell punishment and what Jesus had done on the cross is what saves us. Any good works we do is not going to save us, we explained to him.

Pray God will use the visual from the flip chart of the hell punishment Jesus bore upon himself, and His perfect blood shed for those who turn to Him for forgiveness of sins to receive His righteousness by faith, trusting in Him alone in what He has done for us on the cross. He showed us his power and victory by rising from the grave. Jesus is alive! it is finished! the work is done. Pray God will give P His grace and a deep Love for Him, and bring him gratitude and thankfulness to receive Jesus. Pray P will open his bible and read God’s Word and get to know and live his life for God’s glory and purposes. He was given tracts also to remind him of the Gospel. So pray he reads his Bible with God’s Spirit to guide him and also for his niece in the difficult time she is going through. Pray he will come back to pick up the Bible we will have for S.

The past 2 weeks we’ve had lots of encouragement in believers checking out the ministry and sharing with us their love for Jesus. Getting to know them better has been great. There has been some from out of town too, and they are encouraged to see the good news going out here at Warwick.

It’s also good to build up and challenge our brothers and sisters in Christ to share Jesus every opportunity we are given. We who are His children are privileged to be a part of His work. Gospel tracts are a good resource to be able to plant the Gospel in many places and situations and they are going places where we don’t go. Let’s spread the great and wonderful news of salvation and use everything God has given us to reach out to the people. We give thanks to God and give Him all the Glory for His Sovereign work.

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As some of the team were heading back onto the streets of Australia for the first time since the Myanmar trip it was very exciting to see how many Burmese people were around!

Woodridge is known for being a hub for peoples from all over the world. What was funny was that, the first four people spoken to by the team were all Burmese! Sadly due to the small amount of English they knew these were short conversations but the team did have some resources in Burmese that they could share!

Other conversations included a man who was raised Catholic but had since started worshiping the Nordic gods. A man who said he had never broken the ten commandments but he had done a lot of sin. A Muslim lady who graciously listened and engaged as the Gospel was shared. A man who stopped and went through the good person test before hopping on his bus.

It was a day that had quite a range of conversations with people from very different ideas. Kurt, the past Catholic was challenged when he said he had changed religions. It was pointed out that in the procedures and rituals there was difference but the heart of what he believed had really changed, it was just easier now. He originally thought he was trying to be good enough to go to Heaven with all the baggage that the Catholics had asked him to uphold. Now he was trying to be good enough to get his reward, simply by trying his best to be good.

It was shown that this is still completely unattainable because we have no ability within ourselves to be good. Kurt seemed to understand this but had to leave before he could hear the Gospel.

Soon Nick walked past, boldly declaring his law keeping. Ironically, he broke the 9th commandment (Don't lie), in declaring that he hadn't broken any of the commandments. It was sad to see someone so assured of his righteousness whilst being dead on the inside. He didn't want to talk and walked off quite quickly.

Sareha a Muslim lady listened and engaged as she heard the Gospel. It was exciting to see that she wasn't dismissive or proud in her response but was willing to discuss, to listen and to engage with what was being said. She heard the Gospel and was left with the challenge to count the cost of trusting in Christ.

Lastly a man named Frederick, who had quite shocking language, stopped to do the flip chart. It was weird. He seemed to have a decent knowledge of Christianity but didn't seem moved by it. He was using quite foul language and admitted to breaking each one of God's laws listed but just seemed unmoved by the Gospel.

Please be praying for these people, that God would use the small encounters today to change their lives from being ones destined for Hell, to being on the way to Heaven! Praise God that He is in the business of saving, even the foulest of sinners!

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Bribie Island (QLD) Team

This was the first Operation 513 Bribie Island outreach. We had an amazing time as Bribie Island was abuzz with Australia Day celebrations. About nine hundred Gospel tracts and seven Bibles were given out, along with several Gospels of John and other books and literature. Many conversations were had and many received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with various responses.

Michael and team started at 2pm and were joined by Shirley from a local church in Caboolture. It was a great encouragement to have support from local churches, and to hear that they have been praying for this particular outreach.

We had a table with free Bibles and literature, and Michael had the Good Person Test flipchart up and running. Many groups of people went through the test and left extremely thoughtful. While doing the Good Person Test with one group, Michael nearly got punched by an angry listener. After the group dispersed, two young people from the same crowd came back and asked to continue the conversation even after all the disturbance and mocking. They left with answers and Bibles.

Another gentleman named David approached and had a serious discussion. His father had passed away during the week. Michael was able to share his testimony of how God used his own father’s death to bring him to faith and trust in Christ. David left with the Gospel and a resolution to attend a church in Caboolture tomorrow morning. Pray that God would convict David and bring him to faith in Christ.

Michael was able to share the Gospel with a local counsellor’s sons, and she received a tract too. Pray also for Zac and Ivan

who heard the Gospel from some of our workers. Also pray for an American ‘couple’ who heard the law and the Gospel and left somewhat convicted.

We finished up around 5:20pm, after a very encouraging time of witnessing. Pray that God would bless the nine hundred people who received tracts this afternoon. Pray also for growth in this work and in the lives of those who have dedicated their time to sharing the Gospel with the lost.

Thank you to all those who prayed for this afternoon’s outreach. We could truly see that God was at work. Praise God for blessing this outreach. May His name be glorified.

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Myanmar (Burma) Short Term Missions

From the Day 10 recap you can hear Andrew and Elaura sharing about wonderful Gospel conversations they had in Myanmar. What made these two conversations different from many others, is that they were not with Buddhists.

Elaura had the chance to speak with an Atheist and his friends and one young man responded very positively to the Gospel message and simple apologetics given.

Andrew on the other hand spoke with a Muslim, who understood the issues with the message of Islam and came to understand the Gospel, to the point where he wanted to know more and was asking questions of his own.

Praise God for such a wonderful opportunity. Praise God that He uses feeble witnesses to share His glory with the people of this world. Praise God that He alone is the one that changes hearts and we are simply called to be faithful!

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Myanmar (Burma) Short Term Missions

From today's video you can hear Harry share about a funny scenario whilst he was handing tracts out to people inside some buses.

Also you can hear Matt share about two moments of providence, where God orchestrated events his glory!

Praise God for such a wonderful day of outreach in Myanmar!

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Myanmar (Burma) Short Term Missions

n this video you can hear Glen explaining what the plan was for the day where the team was able to take it a little easier. What is so beautiful about this, is that because the team was so much in the habit of evangelism, it wasn't a chore or a task to do some outreach but a priviledge. 

The team chose to spend some time talking to people because it had become the natural thing to do. 

There is nothing stopping this from being you. If sharing the Gospel was a regular event in your life, it would never feel like a task, or a rare occasion of surprising faithfulness. Rather, it would be one of joy in normality.

You can also hear Ryan sharing an analogy he used, to help explain to a local University student, why our future adherence to the law will never be able to fix our failure to keep it in the past and therefore how Christ can be the only solution.

Please keep the team in prayer as they seek to head out again this day to declare the Gospel to the people in Myanmar for the second last day of this outreach.

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Myanmar (Burma) Short Term Missions

As the end of the outreach is nearing the team are slowly learning new analogies and honing different skills.

From this video you can hear Ann sharing how in a single day she learnt how to use the flip chart and then was able to have five conversations using it.

You can even hear how one of the conversations went.

Next you can hear Bekky sharing about the parachute analogy and it has been helpful in explaining that we are saved by reliance upon Christ alone.

May this video encourage you in how you can use the flip chart or the parachute analogy to explain to people around you what God has done to save sinners.

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