The Beginning of Wisdom
Dear Christian friends,
A few years ago, I watched a video of the revival that is taking
place in China. In the midst of tremendous persecution, millions
of people are coming to Christ in that nation. These people pray
for hours with great intensity and faith, and are seeing many
miracles, including reports of people being raised from the dead.
Thousands have been imprisoned for their faith, under conditions
that we can hardly imagine, and some are still being martyred.
But the thing that impressed me most about this video was seeing many
of these Christians holding church right out in the street, worshiping
the Lord openly and witnessing boldly to others. How strange! In China,
Christians witness openly and boldly, even though they may go to jail
or die. But in America, Christians are afraid to witness.
Dennis Balcombe, the missionary who made this video, gave the reason
for their boldness. The Chinese Christians fear the Lord. Jesus said,
“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell” Matt. 10:28. The Chinese Christians do not fear the police
who can imprison or kill them because they fear God. American Christians
are uncomfortable with the concept of fearing God. We tend to think
of this as an Old Testament concept.
But the concept of fearing God is as much in the New as the Old Testament.
The Greek term “phobio/phobos” is as strong as the Hebrew word
“yare/yirah.” Three times the word is translated “terror.”
“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”
2 Cor. 5:11. What was Paul talking about here? First, he knew that
those who do not know Christ are headed for the torments of Hell,
so he persuaded them to avoid that horrible fate. Second, he was concerned
about his own fate when he would one day appear before the judgment
seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). In an earlier letter, Paul had written,
“Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity
is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel”
1 Cor. 9:16. And surely he remembered the words of Jesus who said,
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this
adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man
be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father” Mark
8:38. It is Paul who said “I am not ashamed of the gospel”
Rom. 1:16. He warned Timothy that “God has not given us the
spirit of fear…be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony
of the Lord” (2 Tim. 1:7-8) and “preach the word of God
urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and
out, when it is convenient and when it is not” (2 Tim.
4:2,5 LB). Timothy, like many of us, was often fearful of wit
nessing to others, and Paul had to encourage him to witness
boldly and consistently, even when it was not convenient.
A person who is truly saved will show an enduring change in his life
that will be demonstrated by good works (Eph. 2:10). The scriptures
teach that the truly saved person will consistently confess Christ
before men, with his words as well as his life style. “Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
the Father…but whosoever shall deny me before men, him I also deny
before by my Father” Matt. 10:32. The Greek verbs for confess and
deny are aorist and constative, indicating an entire life of confessing or denying, not a single one-time event (such as a sinner’s prayer
or baptism). “If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus…you
shall be saved…with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be
ashamed” Rom. 10:9-11.
When we truly fear God, we will walk in holiness and will boldly witness
to others. We will not fear persecution, imprisonment, death, loss
of reputation, or allow any obstacle to prevent us from reaching as
many people as possible with the gospel. “Fear of man is a dangerous
trap, but to trust in God means safety” Prov. 29:25. God, forgive
us for the many times we have been ashamed of you, and failed to confess
you before men. Put your fear in our hearts, that we will obey you
and persuade others to turn to you!
Ministry News
I am writing this letter before the SOS-San Francisco Outreach. I
hope to send you an SOS outreach report next month. In July, we
witnessed on Friday nights at Fisherman’s Wharf, Polk St. and
Castro St. On Saturday we held two outdoor worship rallies at
Powell and Market, two rallies at Union Square, and one rally in
Berkeley. A team of 12 youth from Idaho, Montana and Canada
joined us one weekend. On July 24, the worship group from Calvary
Chapel, San Mateo led worship at Union Square. A team from Mario
Murillo’s outreach joined us that afternoon.
From July 28-31 we had a ministry booth at Spirit West Coast, a
gathering in Monterey that draws about 25,000 Christians. We
spoke with many people about the SOS outreach, including a few
people who last participated in our outreaches in the early
1980’s. About 80 people signed up to receive our newsletter and
we gave out about 5000 SOS flyers.
Also in July, I began the process of challenging the one hour
limit on permits at Powell and Market. The police argued that the
limit was necessary because people in the area were exposed to
decibel levels it claimed were 97 db. (The police measured the
sound level of an unnamed rock band. We believe the level at our
events is below 80 db.) In response, I pointed out that other
events expose people to decibel levels of over 110 db. Why is
there no effort to limit the permits at these events? I expect
this issue to go to the Board of Appeals.
Surprisingly, the police granted us a four hour permit on Haight
Street. However, they rejected our permit application for Fisher
man’s Wharf. The permit officer told me we could play there
(illegally) without a permit like other groups do but he would
not give me a permit.
Coming Events
Note: All outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 the
day before to confirm outreaches or for more information.
Friday September 10 and 24 7:15 PM. Witnessing in various S.F.
neighborhoods. (Call us meeting location and directions.)
Sat. September 11 and 25. San Francisco Worship Rallies. 12-1 PM
Powell and Market St. 2:30-4:30 PM Union Square (Powell and Geary
St.)
September 17 – 19 New Hope Christian Fellowship Worship Confer
ence. (916) 348-6997.
September 30 – October 2 A Passion for Souls Street Ministry
Conference, Dallas, Texas. Tommy Barnett, Sonny Arguinzoni, Dave Roever, Scott Hinkle and others. (602) 404-9757.
May 1-October 17 Mario Murillo Ministries San Francisco Outreach
(925) 820-5470.
Ministry News and Needs
On Tuesday July 13, Cammie Livingston woke me up at 2 AM. “Larry,
come quick.” I got dressed and saw Eric lying on the bathroom
floor. At first, I didn’t know if he was unconscious or dead. A
few seconds later, he started talking but couldn’t get off the
floor. We called the ambulance and they brought him to the hospi
tal.
Fortunately, it was only a bad back sprain. Eric stayed in bed a
week, but returned to work on Monday. He works for a meet company
and often has to lift heavy boxes. I thought he should stay home
longer, but he said his back was better (but still sore) and said
the other workers would do the lifting for the first few days.
At work, one meat buyer returned fifteen 55 pound boxes of meat.
Eric was left alone to move the boxes. As he did, he believes God
healed his back. He now lifts things very carefully, and does
back exercises every day, but says his back is now better than
ever.
Please pray for Eric and Cammie and their family, as they are a
vital part of our ministry. The task of reaching San Francisco
with the gospel has not ended. We need many more dedicated labor
ers to help us reach the people of this city. Please consider
joining us on a regular basis this coming year. Please urge other
Christians to join us. Please pray also for those who prayed with
us or responded to tracts this past month, including Paul and
Flora (SF), Doug (Austin, TX), and Carmen (Vancouver, BC).
Our Tape of the Month is “Revival in China” by Dennis Balcombe.
Dennis has been a missionary to Hong Kong since 1969 and has been
visiting and ministering to Christians in Communist China since
1979, making over 450 trips to the mainland. During that time,
over 4 million Bibles have been given to Chinese Christians
through his ministry. In this teaching, Rev. Balcombe talks about
the fear of God as it relates to the revival in China.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
