Hi Everyone

Present today, Mike & Di. Pastor Jarryd, Peck, and others met us down at the shops.

We had a late start, so just prayed. We prayed for boldness, safety, and openness to tell others the truth.

It was a lovely spring day down at the shops. There was an open day over at the park beside the pool which we thought would attract lots of people. It did, but they stayed in the park area. It didn’t feel right being in the park as it was council run, and we would have been told to move on anyway.

It didn’t deter us, as the warm weather brought out lots of people to the market area.

I did manage to pass out lots of tracts. A few people asked what they were all about, but when I attempted to engage them in conversation, they either said no thanks and tried to give them back, or was met with hostility and/or  colourful language. I had to console myself with the fact that it was nothing to do with me, but that God was in charge of who receives the Gospel or not.

Then I spotted a gentleman sitting in the sun, and sat beside him to engage. It turned out to be my one and only conversation that morning, lasting over an hour. I’ll call him Tom (not his real name).

Tom told me he had often thought about the afterlife – more so recently due to some reflection of his life; sexual abuse as a child, anger at his parents, being prospected by gangs and drifting into a life of drugs and crime, and being in and out of prison. It was easy for Tom to be convicted through the law, as he ticked off all the commandments I named. He said his rap sheet would shock me, and I had no reason to disbelieve him. I asked what God should do with him when he died, and his response was honest: “He should send me straight to hell”. I told him I deserve to be sent to hell also, because I have broken the same commandments. 

This was a hard concept for Tom to understand. He had done so many bad things, much worse than me, so why would God send me to hell alongside him? Great question! I asked him how many laws does he need to break in or for the Police to arrest him? He said just one. I said the same is with God; only with Him the destination is the same regardless of how bad the crime is, as God is perfect and requires perfect law-keeping.

Tom said he was having a hard time understanding. He rolled his sleeve up to reveal a large gang insignia. He told me it was a trigger to the prison guards to do what they want to him. He said they had hit him so many times on the head that he now has early onset dementia, and is also now bi-polar, with anger issues he is trying his best to deal with through counselling. He said was what I was saying didn’t make sense. He was getting louder and louder, saying why was I asking him all these questions. Why didn’t I just leave him alone? He said he deserves hell, that is where he was going and there was nothing I could do about it. He stood up over me, and slapped my cap off my head, saying “Look what you’ve done. I was in control, and now, because of your questions,  I’m angry. Why don’t you just leave me alone?!”. 

There was a long silence, as I waited for a push, or worse still, a punch from Tom. But it never came. So I kept my head low, looked up at Tom, held out my hand and said “Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Tom.” He stood there looking at my hand. Then something amazing happened. He took my hand, squeezed it, and apologised for the way he acted. He said that was an example of what he was working through, the anger just appearing out of nowhere. Then to my surprise, he sat back down to talk again. 

I told him how proud of him I was that he managed to de-escalate the situation by putting what he had learnt from counselling into practice. His face softened, and it seemed like I was talking to the old Tom again.

I needed to slow down with him, and explain things better for him to understand. I asked him if what Hitler did was good or bad. He said it was bad. I asked what God should do with him. He said he should throw him in the hottest part of hell. I asked what exactly the crimes were that justified hell. He said murder for a start. I told Tom if he had ever been angry with someone? He said yes, of course. I said “I have too, Tom, and the Bible states that whoever is angry with his brother is a murderer, because God judges hearts. That’s why yours and my hatred deems us just as bad as Hitler. That doesn’t sound fair to us, but for God’s restraining mercy on us, we would be exactly like him. We have murdered in our hearts with our anger and hatred towards our fellow human beings – so our sentence should be as harsh as his. But that’s not where it ends, Tom. As perfect a judge that God is, He is perfectly merciful to us, and provides us a way of escape so that we can avoid our hell punishment. Do you know what that was?”. He didn’t know, so I was able to tell him how Jesus offers to pay his hell punishment for him. I could see some bells going off in Tom’s head as he put the pieces together. He said “That’s why He died on the cross!”. 

I said yes, that’s true! But it’s not a global truth that means everyone is automatically saved. It’s only for those who accept this truth, and this truth alone, by faith. He said he understood now. So I asked him “Tom, at the beginning of this conversation what did you think was getting you to heaven?” He said he wasn’t going to heaven because of the bad things he had done. And now? He said “I would go to heaven because Jesus paid for my sins”. I explained that this conversation is a turning point in his life, where once he had no hope of escaping hell, to now believing he won’t go to hell if he trusts in what Christ had done for him. I went through some checking questions with Tom, ones that confirm it was by faith in Christ alone that was getting him to heaven. He passed them all! I showed him how to download the Bible on his phone, and where to find the Gospel of John. He said there was a friend that had been asking him to go to his church, so now he will take him up on the offer.

I said to Tom that it was a pleasure talking to him and that if didn’t see him again on earth, if he is trusting that Jesus paid for his sins I would see him again in heaven. He said thank you for taking the time to talk. We had a man hug, and I wished him well.

So, that was my whole morning outreach gone in one conversation! You never know what opportunities God will bring your way. From approaching a total stranger I knew nothing about, to acquiring a good friend named Tom, who now knows the way to heaven. God was glorified today, and for that I am thankful. 

Oh, and also thankful that my head is still on my shoulders!

Blessings

Craig.