Hi Everyone

Present today: Jonny, Isaac, Marie, Peck. Frances met us down at the shops.

I opened with 1 Peter 3:8-17:

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For

“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Two things stick out for me in this verse.

Firstly, that we always zone in on verse 15 with regards to giving a defense and sharing the Gospel, but forget that the context is unity in the church. How can we possibly give a defense to the Gospel if we’re constantly bickering amongst ourselves? What example is that?

Secondly, our focus should be on the Gospel itself, and we should never let anything distract us from this. It is the main reason the church exists, and should always be our primary focus.

We prayed for boldness and unity, so that we can share the best news the world can hear!

The Lord provided another cool, but beautiful winters day for us again. We have truly been blessed with a mild winter so far this year, and are always thankful for this when we go out evangelising!

This is a long weekend for us in NZ, as Friday was Matariki Day, a public holiday celebrating a special day in the Maori calendar. I was expecting there to be lots of cultural events going on, but alas, it was very quiet with only a few stall holders. There were still plenty of people coming and going to interact with, though, so there was no excuse to not share the Gospel!

 The Lord pre-ordained a few people to come across my path, and I had some good chats!

John: He was waiting outside the barbers for his son to finish his haircut. His eyes looked glazed over like he was high on something. I asked him about the afterlife, and he thought he would make it to heaven. A few choice questions later he knew he was headed for hell. The conversation got to the point where I was halfway through explaining how Jesus offered to take his hell punishment for him, and his kids and wife came out of the barber shop. He said he had to go, so I he left with a couple of tracts. I prayed that he manages to retain something of what was spoken, and that he will read the tracts later.

Around by the bus stop there were 4 teenage Filipino boys. They were all sitting staring at their phones. I asked them as a group what happens after we die. Two were interested, and two (un)subtly sidled away. The two left thought they would go to heaven because they were good people. When I took them through the law, one of them had to urgently talk to the other two about something on his phone (cough cough), and left Alfredo to it. But I’m glad he did, because he was quite humble. The other three were still in earshot, so I made sure all of them could hear our conversation. Alfredo was very humble, and understood that God would be angry with him on judgement day. As per usual, he thought changing his ways and asking for forgiveness would suffice to entering heaven. I pointed out how this wouldn’t work. When I told him the only way was if someone took his hell punishment for him, he looked relieved. So did the other three, who were pretending not to listen. After a couple of checking questions, I showed him how to download the Bible on his phone, and find a good church. He thanked me, and I gave all 4 of them tracts to take away. Great chat!

Fred: I was comparing stories with Isaac and Jonny when Fred walked past. I decided to engage him. Fred was a young man, Samoan, he told me. He thought he would go to heaven because he was pretty good. After a few well-directed commandments that seemed to strike home in his heart, he realised he would not be going where he wished. He went very quiet. Then I asked him if someone took 100% of his hell punishment, where would he go? He said to heaven. I explained that it was exactly what Jesus did for him as a gift, and if he accepts the gift by faith, he will go to heaven. He understood. I asked how sure was he that he would go to heaven when he died. He said 85%, so I spent some time getting him to 100%, in believing that it’s only what Jesus has done for him. So I asked the question again, and he said 100%! He said he had a Samoan Bible at home, and I encouraged him to read it every day from the book of John. Just then his phone rang. He said he had to take it, so I gave him a couple of tracts to read. I hoped that God managed to drag him across the line, and if not, would not let him go until he did!

Puma & Reihera. Around by the subway entrance there were three teens laughing together. I asked them about the afterlife. Straight away one of the girls giggled and moved away. I wasn’t offended, and didn’t take it personally. Puma and Reihera both thought they would go to hell. I confirmed it by asking if they had lied, stolen, blasphemed and lusted – and they said yes. They both thought that asking for forgiveness and changing their ways would change God’s mind on judgement day. I explained using the courtroom analogy how that wouldn’t work. They asked how do you make it to heaven, so I told them how someone taking 100% of their hell punishment was the only way. They asked was it Jesus? I said yes, that’s why he died on the cross. We went back and forth for a while, but they got the picture of the only way to heaven. They said they would definitely think about what we discussed, but had to go. They all took tracts, and I left them in God’s hands.

So it was another awesome outreach, with many Gospel seeds planted. We pray that God will bring the increase according to His will!

Blessings,

Craig.