Death by Distraction 5/24/2014

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. . .(Ephesians 4:17-18 NKJV)

When we arrived, the beatboxer was in full swing, with a large crowd. At first it seemed wiser to relocate than to set up in our usual spot. Indeed, the street corners are very effective for simple two or three person stop-light proclamation. But sister Lindsay made a good suggestion; rather than try to compete with the superior sound system, we can take turns and focus on our other methods. Indeed, the mall area is the best venue to get the maximum exposure, so it's best to be represented there before branching out to the other spots. 

Dr. Jack's strategy is to mingle with the ready-made crowd and start conversations. Although the beatbox guy seems to take over the mall area, we don't wait for him to finish a set before we distribute tracts and talk one-to-one. 

This image seems to capture the challenge of reaching out to people who are in the very grasp of the enemies distractions.

We took turns proclaiming the Gospel whenever the beat boxer took a break. Can you find FOUR evangelists in this picture?

And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter." So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed . . (Acts 17:32-34)

Pastor Tim and Tina

We were blessed to be joined by Pastor Tim and his wife, Tina.

Pastor Tim and his wife both jumped right in and shared the Gospel, leading by example.

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in  humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

Dr. Jack took a turn on the box, while in the background, Barbara was sharing the Gospel.

The Morning Shift  5/21/2014

Brother Paul joined us at the NoHo Subway Station to proclaim the glorious Gospel to morning commuters as they rushed to work. Many Bibles went out as well as tracts and granola bars.

As always, LAPD was observing activity at the station. This is comforting at times, but recently the Thursday evening team was the subject of police surveillance which included a photo session in which all the team members were photographed by the officer who seems to take particular interest in making sure we are not doing anything wrong. We have learned to turn off our amps when he shows up. He is fond of claiming that it is illegal to use amplification there, however he has yet to site an ordinance. However, we simply continue preaching Whitfield-style and the proclamation proceeds as usual.

Join Us!

As our brother Mark said in his invitation to the whole congregation at last Sunday's service, "What would you do differently if you knew that Jesus was returning this December? Or this Wednesday?"

Please consider joining us on a Saturday evening in Burbank. We'll show you everything you need to know! Check our schedule in the right-hand column.

MARANATHA!!

The Faithfulness of the Long Distance Evangelist 5/17/2014

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. (Matthew 24:44-46 NKJV)

As often happens, on a Saturday night, the enemy was impatiently driving his workers to create as much noise and conflict as they could to confound the proclamation of the glorious Gospel of God. 

At such times we must preach as unto the Lord.

Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. (Psalm 63:3-5 NKJV)

Jack the Contender

Dr. Jack was blessed to be tested by our favorite opponent, Roger. As he approached the heckler mic, Roger was locked and loaded. "If we are to follow the Bible, and the teachings of said Bible, why don't we bring back slavery? That's a good Biblical thing to have."

Jack explained that what is referred to in the Bible as slavery would today be called indentured servitude. Thanks to brother Jeremy for sending this excellent article which goes a long way toward unpacking the issue from a Biblical perspective. One quick correction to make when confronted with the loaded question claiming that the Bible "endorses" slavery, is to point out that the Bible "regulated" slavery in the same way that Moses "allowed" divorce. God hates divorce, but he allows it due to the hardness of men's hearts. In the same way, slavery was provided as a mercy to those nations who were enemies of God whom He had judged to be worthy of death due to their pagan practices of sacrificing children to their false gods, among other transgressions.

After many allegations of lying and cowardice, hurled expletives, and having his mic shut off more than once, Roger went on to tackle the issue of homosexuality.

Jack corrected Roger's assertion that Christians are homophobic by pointing out that the word literally means "fear of man" and that the Bible says we are not to fear men, but rather to fear God.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . .(2 Timothy 1:7)
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

After Jack gave him the Gospel, Roger's reply was: "You really wormed your way out of this one!" 

Police Presence

Due to the high volume sound stylings of the rapper/beat boxer, Burbank PD were summoned to deal with the problem. As often occurs, the rapper reduced his volume level as soon as the officers appeared. For a while we took a break from the box so that our meager output would not be confused with the barrage of noise coming from the rapper. Instead we focused on tracts and one-to-ones, which are actually made easier by the slowed traffic flow due to the crowd. Finally, the rapper wrapped it up, and we resumed our preaching, grateful for the restored peace and quiet.

Brother Richard gave the "Good Person Test" to this young man. Here is a classic video by Living Waters that presents a concise version of the GPT:

Razmik & Living Waters Provide New Armenian Tract

Our brother Razmik has updated us on the progress of the Armenian language Million Dollar Bill tract. After submitting the translation text to Living Waters many weeks ago, Razmik was thrilled to receive a downloadable version of the back of the bill with the Armenian message. However, when he studied the image he realized that the typeface would be almost unreadably small. After contacting them again, Living Waters agreed that it should be changed, and they promised to make another version. However, they said that will probably take a few more months. Meanwhile, we plan to discuss the project with our printing sources and see what the costs will be. Although we may not be able to print in great quantities, we hope to be able to afford enough copies to be able to offer them on our Saturday outreaches. Stay tuned for further developments in this crucial effort.

YembiYembi Video

Here is a link to a wonderful video called, YembiYembi: Unto the Nations, about a missionary couple in New Guinea. Thanks to Razmik for bringing it to our attention. Jeremy made these comments about it:

It helps to see evangelism outside the scope of streets and the "good person test" :)  I think what struck me the most was the reminder that it's (the) power of God's Word to transform people's life and that everything else we do should be about hacking away any barriers to the plain hearing of God's Word.

Well illustrated in the video was that they weren't just randomly hacking away.  Everything they did, whether clearing a landing strip or getting the audio-only language into written form, was always done with a clear focus of the end goal of getting God's Word directly and clearly to the individuals.  Getting everything out of the way so God's Word could do the work.

Reminds me of Paul in 1 Cor 9:16-17,26:

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

Let us always remind ourselves that we run a race not for the sake of simply running it nor for the sake of making lots of "noise" saying lots of fine (even true, important) things - but that we are there to clear the air (open up space) to make known Jesus Christ and Him crucified!  

Apologetics Corner

Yes, brothers and sisters, at times it does seem to be a boxing match in the public marketplace of ideas. Many who hate God and His Word are willing to throw anything and everything, including the kitchen sink, at the "fools" who dare to stand for the truth of the Gospel. In the area of Creation vs. Evolution we need to be as "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16 NKJV) In a humble attempt to offer information which may inform our responses to these challenges we will from time to time offer links to resources that may help us navigate these waters. The bottom line of all such discussions is not to try to "win" an argument but to win souls. The Holy Spirit is best served by the man or woman who walks in love, not returning reviling or anger for the same.

CMI has an important article called: Arguments Creationists Should Not Use. 

They also have a corresponding article which can be very useful in quickly countering straw-man arguments by evolutionists: Arguments Evolutionists Should Not Use.

Indeed, here is a list of 15 Questions For Evolutionists. There is a corresponding tract based on this article. You can download it for free at this link: A Great Way To Spread The News.

Here is a quick analogy that confronts the evolutionary argument that random mutations in the genome can create "new information" and thus new organisms:

"To use a modern analogy, this would be akin to saying that small, random changes in a complex computer program can create radical new software modules, without crashing the system." This comes from a lengthy and valuable article: Can Mutations Create New Information by Dr. Robert W. Carter.

Having cited these resources, let us not get lost on a rabbit-trail of our own making. The purpose for the heckler mic is NOT to provide long answers to big questions, but to reframe skeptical questions from within a biblical worldview and SHARE THE GOSPEL. These "answers" are best presented in the form of a printed article, or a link shared, that presents a reasoned response, followed by an unyielding adherence to a Gospel presentation. Pastor Jack Hughes used a politically incorrect and metaphorical term (which is IMHO unusable in public discourse from the box for obvious reasons). But it is fitting for the effect that it has in the life of the unbeliever. He simply referred to the sharing of the Gospel Truth with the phrase "dropping the bomb." That is, we need to use every response as a delivery package to present the GOSPEL MESSAGE (i.e. "the Bomb"), which is, by the way, that because of man's sinful rebellion against a holy and perfectly righteous God due to our sins against Him, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life on our behalf and to die on a cross as the perfect sinless sacrifice so that we may be reconciled with Him for all eternity. And so the Bible says that we must repent of our sin and turn to follow Christ, and when we trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, He will bless us with a new heart that loves God and hates our sin. Jesus called this being "Born again." (John 3:3)

Here are a few nuggets from The Evidence Bible, (p. 1435, 1768)

Scientific Facts in the Bible - Luke 4:40

For ages, scientists believed in a geocentric view of the universe. The differences between night and day were believed to be caused by the sun revolving around the earth. Today, we know that the earth's rotation on its axis is responsible for the sun's rising and setting. But 4,000 or more years ago, it was written, "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place. . . ? It (the earth) takes on form like clay under a seal" (Job 38:12,14) The Hebrew word for "takes on form" means "to turn," and alludes to the rolling cylindrical seal used to stamp an impression on clay--an accurate analogy of the earth's rotation. 

Hebrews 11:3

Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of invisible atoms. Here, Scripture tells us that the "things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."

Job 26:7

At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant (1500 B.C.), the Bible spoke of the earth's free float in space: "He hangs the earth on nothing."

JOIN US!

Please prayerfully consider joining in this important effort to share the Gospel with a deceived and perishing generation. See the updated schedule in the right-hand column.

MARANATHA!

"I Also Have Sent Them" 5/3/2014

. . these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;

that they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us,

that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:13-21 NKJV)

Join Us!

Our next outreach:  Saturday, May 17th in Burbank.
Maranatha!

Looking For the Blessed Hope 4/26/2014

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He night redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. (Titus 2:11-15 NKJV)

Tonight's team: Mark, Sharon, Dean, Sai, Jack, Barbara, Razmik, Vahagen (& a special guest), Ken, Jeremy, Richard, Steven V.

Many tracts and Bibles were given out.

A tourist, no doubt, this fellow paused to record one of the local landmarks, namely our brother Mark.

Vahagen brought along a special guest, his daughter, who enjoyed watching as her father gave away many "Million Dollar Bill" tracts.

Truth Proclaimed

A heckler's eye view of the preacher.

A crowd is usually a good thing to have, but the greatest benefit is in the many conversations that spring up within the sound of the preacher's voice.

The Holy Spirit was hard at work. Many one-to-one discussions took place.

Encouragement was provided by CBC members Sean and his wife Shelbi. Sean is one of 8 men soon to be installed as Deacons at CBC.

Optical Illusion

Our brother Razmik has developed the skill of presenting the gospel in an entertaining way using the Curved Illusion tracts from Living Waters. Here is a video showing our good friend Tony Miano demonstrating this tract.

A Great Day for Heckling

Dean's first heckler, named Heymon, asked a thoughtful question, describing a hypothetical girl living in Afghanistan. "14 percent literacy rate. The girl grows up in Islam, knowing nothing else, and if she wanted to leave her religion she would be ostracized and probably killed. How is a girl like that supposed to find Christ?"

Answer: Dean quoted Jeremiah 29:13 - "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." The Evidence Bible links this passage to 1 Chronicles 28:9 - "All who seek God with a sincere heart will find Him." Ray's commentary: It is true that children do tend to adopt the religion they learned about from their parents. In all other religions, one automatically becomes a follower by birth, by being baptized as an infant, or by observing certain religious practices. For example, a child is a Jew if born to a Jewish mother, or is considered a Mormon or Muslim if born into a Mormon or Muslim family. But one becomes a Christian only by personally repenting of his sins and placing his trust in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. It is an individual decision, regardless of the religion practiced by the parent. Many people raised in other cultures decide to leave their religion and become Christians. God knows those whose hearts are truly seeking Him, and He ensures that they hear the gospel no matter where they are located. He can reveal Himself to people even in the midst of Hindu, Muslim, or animist cultures, so that they can put their trust in the Savior.

Also, keep in mind that believing something doesn't necessarily make it true. Other religions are not equally true just because people were raised to believe them. Only Christianity is backed up by objective, historical, archaeological, and experiential evidence to verify that it is true. (Evidence Bible p. 554)

Dean recommended a website called MoreThanDreams.org which has produced a series of beautifully made docu-dramas that depict the stories of faithful Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus Christ through dreams and providential circumstances. One of these films is about a man named Khalil. Although we cannot vouch for the veracity of these claims, we found the film to be very well made, and deeply moving. Most importantly, the film seems to be solidly biblical in its use of scripture and its depiction of true repentance. Unlike other popular books and films which claim to depict journeys to heaven, the Bible does include many examples of God communicating truth to believers and unbelievers through dreams. Most notably, Joseph's dreams in Matthew 1:20,21, and Matthew 2:13,19, As well as, Pilate's wife who "suffered many things in a dream because of Him." (Matthew 27:19)

Sometimes a listener will insist on a one-to-one discussion with the person on the box, away from the heckler mic. Ignoring the bold and well-drawn chalk line, as well as the clearly labeled "Got Questions?" heckler mic, this young man, named Thomas, came uncomfortably close as Dean shared the gospel. His question concerned Lucifer and fallen angels. Dean cited Isaiah 14, and Ezekial 28. When Thomas asked about gay marriage, Dean replied: "God designed marriage. We don't have the right to change that. He created life. This is His universe. When we create our own universe then, I guess, we can make our own laws. But we are living in God's universe and He created marriage to be between one man and one woman, period."

Everything worked out okay, as evidenced by this picture taken later.

Steve was blessed with several hecklers who posed some classic questions.

"If God can do anything, can He create a sandwich so vast that He could never finish eating it?"

Answer: This question is an amusing variation on another question: Can God create a rock so heavy that He cannot lift it? The question itself pre-supposes a logical fallacy. Also, there are many things that God cannot do because He cannot do anything that is against His holy nature. He cannot lie. He cannot deny Himself. He does not change in any way, since He is eternal, perfect and perfectly righteous. 

This young man, named Abel, was very concerned about God's fairness and so he asked, "Are little children born with sin and then judged for their sins and cast into hell if they die?"

Answer: This is not as simple a question to answer as one might think. This link provides a helpful article on the "age of accountability." John MacArthur's book, "Safe in the Arms of God" provides a helpful perspective. Basically the answer involves God's mercy, His justice, and His sovereignty. Yes, we are all born under the curse of sin. No, a little child who cannot understand their sinful state before God will not be cast into hell. It is interesting to note that skeptics often question the mercy and love of God for children, while neglecting to question the mercy and love of men with respect to the horror of "civilized" man's practice of abortion.

A young woman named Abbie, asked another classic question: Where did Cain get his wife?

Answer:  Here is a good article from Answers In Genesis, and a shorter one from another great website called Creation.com.

Abortuary Duty 4/22/2014

This morning we were joined by a lady named Pauline who shared her testimony about the regret she still feels today after having had multiple abortions as a young woman. Our prayer for Pauline is that the Lord will continue to give her the courage to speak out, and to stand with others at the entrance to this sad factory of death. This is difficult duty. Yet, as the Apostle Peter said, "But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving an example, that you should follow in His steps. . " (1 Peter 2:20,21 NKJV)

The Morning Shift  4/23/2014

Tony Miano joined Paul, Ken, and Steve at NoHo Metro Station for a blessed morning of Gospel proclamation.

Our friends, the Jehovah's Witnesses, felt the need to call the constables on us, as Tony proclaimed the truth about Jesus Christ's Godhood from the first and second chapters of Hebrews.

But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than your companions." (Hebrews 1:8 NKJV)

Disarmed by the truth, however, there was nothing they could do.

JOIN WITH US!

Please see our schedule of upcoming outreaches in the right hand column.

PLEASE NOTE: CBC Evangelism Team will be on hiatus Saturday, May 10th. There will be no official CBC team activity that day.