And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, an all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.'
"For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23-31)
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Special Announcements -
- Please pray for the Honduras team.
- Save the Date - Glendale Cruise Night new date/time August 29th
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Saturday Outreach
Burbank 7/25/2015
Nothing is more important than our prayer time. We may leave the amps behind and we may be only a few in number, but without the covering of the Holy Spirit our labor is in vain. And on this particular summer evening the Holy Spirit was hard at work drawing people to Himself.
Although they didn't show up in most of our photos, there was a good sized crowd of people in the mall area on this balmy July evening. The Holy Spirit was present with power as many hearts were drawn to the glorious Gospel.
It's always a blessing when Elder Bob has the opportunity to join us.
Bob: The Bible says that God has put His law within our hearts. And you know your conscience. When you do something wrong your conscience bothers you. Our society today wants to get rid of guilt and get rid of shame, because our society teaches us that we are not really responsible for what we do, but that we are victims of what has happened to us, what the world does to us in our lives. And we may have been victimized by some things, but we know right from wrong because God has put that in our conscience.
Bob: King David was the greatest king in the history of Israel. He was a man loved by God, and he was a man who loved God. But let me tell you something you may not know. King David was also a great sinner. He commited adultery with another man's wife, and he actually had that man put to death. This was a great evil and iniquity that the greatest King of Israel did. What this shows us is that everyone is a sinner. The Bible itself says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one. There is none who does good, the Bible says, there is none who understands.
Now, King David, when he sinned, he tried to cover it up. Just like all of us do. We get into a mess, we embarrass ourselves and we don't want people to know so we try to cover it up. And we lie about it. King David did all of those things. And he tried to make sure that nobody knew. But you know what, somebody knew. God knew. And God sent a prophet to David. And he told him a story about an inequity that had happened, and David became very angry, and he said, "That person deserves to die!" And the prophet looked at him and said, "You are that person, David. You have taken another man's wife and you have put that man to death."
Bob: But David understood and confessed his sin. And in Psalm 51 we see David's repentance. What David says there is a real good explanation of what God expects of us that we might be saved, and that we might be redeemed from the sin that we have done. God will hold us responsible for all our sin. But He took care of that sin problem for anyone who will turn to Him. David said: "Have mercy upon me, Oh God, according to Your steadfast love, according to Your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." David knew that only God could cleanse and forgive his sin.
That guilt and that shame that he felt was a good thing. It sent him towards God. Our society today says that we should get rid of guilt and shame. No! Guilt and shame, our conscience, are things that God has given us to tell us to "Stop now, before you go over the cliff!" What a glorious message that God has sent His Son to take care of that sin! And if we repent and believe in His Son, then we will be cleansed of that sin!
While Bob was on the box this man was intently listening to the Gospel presentation. Bob spoke with him and learned that he is a Catholic who struggles with the doctrine of works righteousness that characterizes Catholic belief. This was the beginning of a dialog this man had with several team members throughout the evening.
After Bob spoke, Jack took to the box and the same man listened intently to his presentation. Later, when we moved to escape the increasingly loud performers on the mall, this man followed the team to the corner of Magnolia and San Fernando where we switched into stoplight preaching mode.
For the rest of the evening Jack was busy discussing the need for repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ as opposed to the futility of works righteousness with both of these men. Glory to God that He is drawing people to the message of hope in Christ in these last days.
Dean has a great summary of the Gospel which is well suited to stop-light preaching.
Dean: Folks, we're here to share the Gospel message with you. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and mankind rebelled against God. We've all been born with sinful natures. The bible says no one is good, no not one. In fact, there's your answer for where God is. People ask me, "If God exists why doesn't He come out and talk to us?" It's because of sin. The God of creation is Holy. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty." The Bible says, "No one seeks after God. No not one." God has made it very clear in His word. He said, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart." Now if you are honest with yourself, you're like I was. You aren't searching for God at all. You already know He exists. You don't want to find Him. Because we naturally love our sin more than we love God. Because we know instinctively that He is holy. And we've all sinned against Him. Folks, nothing could be more important than the precious gift that God has given us in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for all those who will repent and believe in His name. Are you one of those few people? Because most people are going off a cliff to their destruction. They'd rather live independent of God, even though they know that He is there, they would rather follow their own path rather than God's path. They love their life more than they love the God who gave them their life, they love their sin more than they love the God who gives them their very breath. My friends that's what sin is. If you die crossing the street tonight without Christ you'll be lost forever. Repent and believe, today is the day of salvation.
Soon after this point a young man approached Dean with a sincere question: "Do you think that we are still under the law?" What followed both on the box and off the box, was an animated discussion of the place that the Law has in the life of a Christian believer.
This young man, whose name is Walter, claimed that he had repented and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but there seemed to be a indication that he was also trusting in his own righteousness by following the Law. He quoted Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (NKJV) He paraphrased vv.18-19: "From the beginning of time to the end of time may none of these laws be broken. Anyone who does not honor these laws will be called least in the kingdom of heaven."
Elder Bob joined the discussion and sagely asked questions of Walter, such as: "So we keep the law . . . so that we can get into heaven?"
To which Walter replied: "Well, we get to heaven by Christ, that I understand."
Bob: "Right, we can't get into heaven by keeping the law because we can't keep the law. So then the sentence would go: 'We try to be obedient and to keep God's commands, because of our great appreciation of what He has done for us in salvation.'"
Walter: "Right, but for instance, I don't eat pork. Now I'm not saying that you are going to hell for eating pork, but as a child of the most high God I follow His commands. I believe that the book says in Leviticus that we are not supposed to eat pork."
Bob: "So then you wouldn't wear any clothes that are made with more than one fabric?" (Deuteronomy 22:9-12)
Walter: "That's something I wasn't aware of."
Bob went on to make several points:
- Many of the laws were established by God to separate the Jewish people from the surrounding nations by means of customs and religious practices.
- God showed Peter that all the animals that He had created were good for food. (Acts 10:9-15, 11:4-10)
- What Jesus did was to establish a new covenant to replace the old. (Luke 22:20)
Here are two more brief articles on this topic:
The Morning Shift - NoHo Station 7/22/2015
Please stand with us on Wednesdays at 6:00 AM at the North Hollywood Metro Station on Lankershim Blvd. It's a great opportunity to share the truth with the thousands of commuters who pass through this area. Please watch for text announcements on Tuesday evenings. Please always RSVP if you plan to join us on Wednesday mornings.
Abortuary Duty 7/25/2015
You can join the effort at the Mission Hills clinic, 10200 Sepulveda Blvd., 91345, every Saturday and Wednesday morning from 8 to 10 am. No experience necessary.
News Items
Article & Video: Planned Parenthood Video -'It was a twin'
Apologetics Corner
Join Us!
Please join us as we proclaim the glorious Gospel to a lost and dying world on the streets of Burbank, Glendale, Hollywood and beyond.
Maranatha!!
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