Hi Everyone

Well, after the Lord blessed us with so many conversations, and were able to hand out dozens of gospel tracts yesterday, we were all eager to get going again for day 2!

For the whole day we were in the city of Upper Hutt, concentrating mainly on the Main St shops, but occasionally venturing down the connecting side streets. Below is some of the conversations I noted.

Glen and I decided to pair up and hit the streets together.

JD, Jarryd & Zacharias – We encountered these 3 young guys walking towards us, and decided to engage them. They all had their opinions of the afterlife, and all of them were eager to tell us at once. They had street talk, so it was a bit hard for these old ears to interpret what they were saying fast enough. Glen managed to get them to talk one at a time. They all came to the conclusion that they would not earn eternal life in heaven, although they were trying to suppress it with bravado. Then Zacharias took exception to something Glen said, and stormed off. I can’t remember what it was exactly. We honed in on the other two. Then Zacharias came back to clear something up with Glen. Afterwards Glen told me he had been heavily influenced by cult of the World Mission Society Church of God. Praise God he came to a correct understanding of the Gospel! While Glen was talking with him, I managed to divert the other two away. They softened up quite a bit, and started to take things seriously. They both came to an understanding of where they would go when they die, along with the solution – Christ offering to take their hell punishment. When I asked them what the best time would be to transfer their trust, their bravado kicked back in again. I decided not to push it any further for fear of making them more rebellious. They had heard the Gospel, so we left them in God’s hands.

Then came a couple of chats which I wrote the names down, but have no recollection of the conversations – a Muslim man named Ali, and a group of boys. At least I can still pray for them!

Kane, and work colleagues – Glen and I decided to walk over to the railway station to see who we could find to chat to. On the way Glen noticed a couple of McDonald’s workers having their break outside the restaurant. He engaged Kane, and it turned out to be a great conversation. From memory I think he had some sort of Jewish background. He was eager to chat. His work colleague had no interest in engaging, but we could tell she was taking a keen interest in the conversation. Then another colleague came out. Glen offered her a tract, and she took it inside to give to another work colleague who she thought might be interested. Sometimes Gospel encounters have interesting twists and turns – you might be talking with one person, but God may have someone else in the wings to speak to! Kane was very humble during the chat, so we pray that God will soften his heart.

Nora – outside of the Countdown supermarket she was sitting in the sun. She was from England, and said she was 90. She was very sharp and agile for her age, but she said in no uncertain terms that she had her own religion (some twisted form of Catholicism), and that she didn’t listen to anyone trying to ‘shove theirs down her throat’. God has granted her all these years, but she refuses to give Him glory for them. What a sad eternity she will face.

Sam – outside the main entrance to Countdown he sat. He had lots of cardboard signs explaining his situation, and Bible verses. There was loud worship music playing from his phone. The signs said he was from Ireland,  and due to having his passport and visa stolen, was desperate for money to get copies before his return flight back home via Auckland. He was also mute. Glen tried to have a Gospel conversation with him, but it was very hard going. In the end he ended up giving a Gospel tract, and we had to leave him in God’s hands.

Ram – we finally made it to the railway station and came across Ram. He had a Hindu background, and reincarnation was his destiny after death. Glen came via the justice angle – someone could literally get away with murder and still not be punished for it. He stuck to his guns in that the evil people will come back and have to re-learn the lesson. That is a very lame sense of justice, as we have no memories of a past life, so there is no remorse. He was very polite about it all, and did take a tract from us when he had to leave to meet an appointment.

Then we were invited to Daniel’s house for lunch. Daniel often comes out witnessing with our fellowship, and lives in Upper Hutt. It was a great time of food and fellowship. Thanks Daniel and Sonya for an awesome time!

Andy – after lunch Glen and I were walking the streets and came across Andy. This was an awesome chat! Andy was in a season of ‘information gathering’ – where he was trying to determine which religion was best for him. It transpired that he had nearly died, and had to have brain surgery, as it had grown too large for his skull. This caused him to contemplate his eternal future, so he was ripe for the picking. He listened to our reasoning that most religions tell you that you need to be a better person and strive to be good. All this is in vain, because they can’t offer a way to pay for our hell fine. This concept made sense to Andy, and he listened intently as we explained that God Himself, through Christ, took his hell punishment, but only if we place our trust in Him alone. He nodded and said that made perfect sense. He thanked us for stopping and talking to him, and we stressed that God may have been keeping him alive just for this conversation alone. He did take a couple of tracts, so all we can do is leave him in God’s hands.

Sue – later on Warren and I teamed up, and we came across Sue. She had a lot to say, mainly around ‘you do what’s right for you, and I’ll do what’s right for me’. When we came to the point where she said we need to ask for forgiveness for our sins, she told us that over 30 years ago her brother had been murdered. They caught the guy that did it, and her mother wrote a letter to him in prison forgiving him. She said that we need to forgive others. I had to tread carefully in order to make the point that asking for forgiveness for our sins in and of itself does not guarantee our entry to heaven. I explained that only complete faith in Christ paying her hell debt on the cross was the only way to get to heaven. I’m not sure the penny dropped for her, as she kept going back to forgiveness. She then said she had come through chemotherapy for breast cancer. I told her I was sorry to hear, that and was glad she had come through it well. We spent a lot of time back and forth talking about true forgiveness was. I believe she understood at the end of the conversation what was required of her in regards to her eternal salvation, so could only thank her for her time, wish her well, and leave her in God’s hands.

Bola – near the end of the outreach I was watching Roger and Warren taking someone through the Good Person Test on the flipchart, when Bola, a young Fijian man walked past. I called him over and engaged him with the afterlife question. He said he was 100% sure he was going to heaven because he was a Christian. In the past I would have shook his hand and wished him well. But nowadays this is something that I never take for granted anymore, especially after listening to Ray Comfort’s Hell’s Best Kept Secret, and True and False Conversion. Not just anyone who calls themselves a Christian is one. So I asked him if he was a good person, and he said yes, he was. Uh-oh, that’s not good news. So I took him through the law, and he was indeed a lying, thieving, murderous adulterer just like the rest of us. I asked him again if he was a good person, and he said “Hmmm, maybe not”. I asked him what God should do to him. He said He should throw him in hell. I said yes, because everyone who thinks they are good have a low opinion of their sin, and therefore have no appreciation of what God has done for them. It was a wake up call for Bola – he had been relying on Jesus plus his goodness to get to heaven. We talked more about 100% reliance on what Jesus did, and then everything clicked into place for him. I asked him that if he had died before this conversation, where would he have gone? “I would have gone to hell”. Why? “I thought I was a good person, when I’m not”. And now where would he go? “Heaven.” Why? “Because I don’t deserve it, but Jesus has taken all my sins on the cross. It’s nothing to do with me.” We went over some more checking questions. and it turned out he had indeed had a false conversion. He couldn’t thank me enough, and went away with a “The Way To Heaven” tract, which covers this topic. I have much to thank Ray Comfort for, but most of all showing me that not all who call themselves “Christians” are genuine.

So it was another awesome day out, and we thank God for all the conversations we had, and tracts we handed out. God was good to us today!

Blessings

Craig.