Hi Everyone

Present today Mike, Di, Peck, Chee Kai, Maree, June, Josh, Meli & Michael. Simeon and Helen met us down at the shops.

I didn’t note down the Bible verse I opened with, but remember it being about the destruction of sinners, and the safety of those who place their faith in God. I sifted through the Psalms later, only to find that there are many like this one!

We have an awesome God, who delivers us out of the crutches of the devil. It is our privilege to share this news with others. We earnestly prayed for God to give us the courage to tell others the best news they could hear. We also prayed that there would be a good uptake to the children’s holiday program through the fliers some were delivering this morning.

Peck, Chee Kai, Josh, Meli, and Michael went out in the Naenae streets, doing a letter box drop of the holiday program fliers, while the rest of us headed down to the shops.

It was a bit busier this morning, the weather was quite nice, so a few more people out and about.

Since it was the usual team, I went off on my own. The tracts were being gobbled up, but not many wanted to stop and talk.

Then I noticed a Pacific Island gentleman sitting, eating some food from the food truck.

Ben – he was a nice man, who I could tell wanted to talk. I asked him about the afterlife and with a mouthful of food, he pointed up. So I asked him why he deserved to go to heaven. He said he does his best in his community to help others, and always tries to do what is right. I told him that he sounds like a nice guy, but does that mean he is good? He asked what that meant, so I asked “Do good people tell lies?” He said no. “Do good people steal things?” He said no. “Do good people use bad language and put people down?” He said no. I asked him if he had done any of these things. He said “Yes I have”. “So do you still think you are a good person Ben?” He thought a while and then said “Maybe not”. So I asked Ben if he is not a good person, where should God send him after he dies. He said he should send him to hell. Then something broke inside Ben, and he started to cry uncontrollably. I asked him if he was OK. Through his tears he said “I never knew how bad the things I did looked to God, and what that meant for me. I don’t think anyone should go to heaven”. It was a vulnerable moment. It would have been easy to destroy him with more truth about how bad he was, so I had to tread carefully. I told him “Ben, there is no perfect person on this earth. I have sinned and deserve to go to hell, just like you. But God did something so that you don’t have to go to hell. Do you know what that was?” He said he didn’t, so I was able to walk him through the good news of the Gospel – that if someone took 100% of his hell punishment, that there would be nothing left for him to take in hell; and that someone was God Himself, who came to earth and gave up His life on the cross. I showed him the picture of Jesus dying in his place, taking his hell punishment; that it required 100% faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins. He cried some more, saying “I didn’t think God would have to die to get me to heaven”. I told him that He chose to do it out of love. We talked some more, and we went through some checking questions, which he was getting right. He said he went to a Roman Catholic Church every Sunday. I asked him if that was the message they taught from the pulpit. He said not really. Without saying leave the church immediately, I tried to urge him that if the priest/pastor cannot relay the true Gospel message, then maybe he should find somewhere else to go. H esaid he would think about it. He was still sniffing. I did something I don’t normally do, and that is pray for him. He said he would love that. I prayed through the Gospel – the good and the bad – to reiterate the message to him again. I prayed that Ben would stop trusting in his goodness, and come to know that the only way to heaven was through faith in Christ. He took my hand with both hands as we shook, and thanked me for the chat.

I walked away shaking my head, and I prayed for Ben again. I asked God why he chose a sinful wretch like me for the privilege of doing this. I did a couple of laps around the shops before coming right. I saw Ben reading the tract I gave him, but I left him to himself.

Alan and Jodie – I met these two waiting for the train replacement bus. They were keen to talk and tell me how good they were because they were volunteers for RDA. The RDA is Riding for the Disabled Association – where horses and other animals are used for sensory purposes to calm the disabled down and get them interacting. I told them how much we appreciate the work they do. Then I asked that even though it is a good thing to do, would they be enough to be granted entry to heaven? They said they didn’t know. So I asked what rules does God set for entry to heaven? Again they started listing the good things they should be doing. So I changed tack, and asked that if God made us and the universe, shouldn’t He be the one who sets the rules about how we live in it? They agreed. So we went through the law together, and discovered they wouldn’t get anywhere near heaven. They were both looking around to make sure the bus wasn’t coming, s I had to move things along quickly. I went through the good news of the Gospel, how Jesus took 100% of their hell punishment, but only if they place 100% faith in Him and not their good works. They both nodded and said they understood. Just then their bus turned up. They both took a couple of tracts each, so praying that God will work wonders in their hearts.

So it was an awesome day out, and regardless of how things turned out with our conversations – if they walked away rejecting or rejoicing – God Himself receives all the glory!

Next month our Outreach will be on the second Saturday, as I will be going to the Schoolies Outreach again this year. More on this later!

Blessings

Craig