Coffee Van

Coffee Van is one of our main evangelism ministries here on the Gold Coast. We take a van every Thursday and Saturday down to the city and set up a table on the street. We offer free tea's/coffees and food to anyone who passes by. Its a wonderful tool for meeting people in our community and engaging in good conversations. The aim of course is to be the light of Christ in our community and seek opportunity to tell people about Jesus.

Saturday's coffee van is located next to the beach and so we meet a lot of tourists and holiday makers and the atmosphere is very upbeat and lively. This is in stark contrast to what happens on Thursday night, as we set up in a different location where a lot of people are homeless, hopeless and in great need of love. On Thursdays we meet a lot of Alcoholics, drug addicts, people living on the streets, unemployed people and people whose family lives have fallen apart. Very often we find our conversations on a Thursday night tend to go a lot deeper as these people are really seeking comfort and are desperate for a better life.

Its very easy to let yourself get effected by the sad stories of these broken people and in recent weeks I have found that the enemy has attacked me by listening to these stories. Instead of thanking Jesus for the hope that we have in him, I have allowed doubt creep in and wondered why God seems to be so distant. Its very important for me in these times to hold strong to my faith and declare truth even if I don't feel it. Walking in the opposite spirit is something I need to do a lot at coffee van. Very often we see God move in exciting ways when we feel low and chose to walk in the Spirit.

Yesterday I met a gentleman named Stuart and his story was so positive that I came home so encouraged and thanked God for sending him my way. He was an alcoholic and in a desperate situation. He went to the church feeding programme and to AA meetings and he is now 12 years sober. His life has totally changed and he still goes to AA meetings and the feeding programme but he is oozing with joy and has so much peace in his life. I dont know if he has made a full commitment to Christ but says he does pray and his faith is important. Please pray for Stuart. He is a really nice guy and I was so blessed to share a coffee with him yesterday.

One of our team got baptized in the Holy Spirit yesterday and started healing people at coffee van so it was a bit of a crazy evening. Thats a whole other story but please continue to pray for the coffee van ministry that runs here.

Does the Holy Spirit convict us of sins?

Did you ever hear these words preached in church, "When we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin". Ive heard that preached before and let me tell you, its one of the biggest lies of the devil. The Holy spirit does not convict us of sin, but rather he convicts us of the righteousness we received by grace.

Making this distinction is very important. In John chapter 16v7 we read that the Holy Spirit is our Advocate. In the Greek this word is Paraclete and simply translates as "counselor" or "helper". When we sin, he doesn't whisper in our ear that we messed up, but rather he says there is more grace available to us. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8) and so the Holy Spirit cannot possibly convict us of sin! He is not the accuser, he's the helper. The devil is the one who reminds us of our sin and we say its the Holy Spirit!! This is crazy talk. Lets be very careful not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit by confusing his voice with that of the devil!! He is for us, not against us and when we sin he wants to say "you are a child of God, who is made righteous by the gift of Gods grace". That should encourage us to walk and grow in grace and help us to live a life of righteousness. Where sin abounds, grace super-abounds (Romans 5:20). I'm so glad that there is grace and an advocate who helps me in my strengths and weaknesses.