The Kingdom of Light 10/5/2013

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. . . For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6,9)

Once again, by God's gracious provision, our team was able to cover two locations with the preaching of the glorious Gospel. Sharon, Dr. Jack, Steve M., Mark, Dean S., Jeremy, Dean C., and Steven V. met at the usual time and place for prayer and fellowship, before heading down to the plaza.

The two Deans deployed to the corner of San Fernando and Magnolia, across from the entrance to the Town Center mall.

Bible Interpretation

Our friend Roger "the Nemesis" stopped by to further his attempt to "save" us from the Truth. His principal objection to our efforts to share the Truth is that there are many ways to interpret the scripture. And yet, somehow, he is certain that our interpretation of the scriptures is uniquely wrong.

We have covered the subject of hermeneutics in an earlier post. John MacArthur summarized the topic nicely in this video. It's about an hour in length, but well worth the time:

The Coming Darkness

The YouTube link, below, is to Tony Miano's Cross Encounters radio show in which he interviewed a pastor in Scotland who has been arrested twice for proclaiming the Gospel in the open air. It's an hour in length, but very sobering and encouraging. (If you've got some chores to do, since it's radio, you can let it play while you are doing something else. :-)



Here is the video of Josh Williamson being arrested:



What should we learn from this? Based on our experience in Burbank and Noho it is more likely that any issues with law enforcement will center on the perception of disturbing the peace, as evidenced by complaints from individuals and/or businesses. The laws are written so as to give discretion and latitude to the police and are very much subject to interpretation.

Let us not be dissuaded from proclaiming the truth, in whatever form we can legally employ. Let us also not be wedded to a particular method or technology. We need to be creative and adaptable in this respect. Certainly it is better to obey the law and thereby glorify the Lord:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. (Romans 13:1)

Perhaps we must also consider the Lord's direction to the disciples:

And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. (Matthew 10:14)

If we change locale, or method, we will be free to proclaim the Gospel another day, to a new audience. Clearly, we do not need to consider doing so right now, but this is something for us all to prayerfully consider. We may be faced with this kind of challenge very soon. When to comply and when to take a stand? That seems to be the question. If anyone has some thoughts on this issue, I welcome your email.

Please join us!  Saturday, October 12, at BPD parking lot on E. Palm, at Glenoaks Blvd., 6:00pm.  See you there!