Newsletter July 1990

ISEMA Newsletters

Taking our Cities for God: How to Break Spiritual Strongholds

John Dawson. Creation House Publishers.

John  Dawson is the Los Angeles Director of Youth With a Mission. He  organized  the 1984 Olympic Outreach involving  about  18,000 Christians from over 50 denominations. John has been a friend and advisor to many of us in street ministry.   While many Christians long  for a peaceful life far from city crowds,  John notes  that the story of mankind begins in a garden and ends in a  city.  91% of  Californians and over half of the world’s population lives in urban  areas.  By the year 2010,  75% of the world will  live  in cities. If we are to reach the world, we must reach our cities.

John  has  some  important things to say in this book  about  our priorities as Christians. He writes, “I am committed to political and  social action,  but I realize that electing good  people  to office   is  not  half  as  important  as  gaining  victory  over principalities  through  united prayer.

“The rightly prioritized agenda of a biblical believer should  be personal repentance and holy living, leading to united prayer, to revival  of  the  church,   to  awakening  among  the  lost,   to reformation  of  society and international  missionary  endeavor. This  is the historic path of renewal.  We must consciously  move toward it in each generation” (p. 136).

John  gives an extensive teaching in this book on how to  discern the  spiritual  strongholds of the enemy in your city as well  as the  redemptive purposes of God in establishing  the  city.  John also  shows  us how to develop a strategy for breaking  spiritual strongholds  in our cities and evangelizing them  effectively.  I strongly  recommend  this book to all those who  take  the  Great Commission seriously.

Schools Opened to Bible Groups

by Linda Greenhouse, New York Times (June 5, 1990)

The  Supreme  Court  yesterday  upheld a 1984  federal  law  that requires  public  high schools to allow students’  religious  and political   clubs   to   meet  on  the  same   basis   as   other extracurricular activities….

A  high school need not permit any student activities not related to  the  curriculum,  Justice  Sandra Day O’Connor  said  in  the opinion.  But she said that if it does the school is bound by the Equal Access Act not to discriminate against any student group on the   basis  of  its  religious,   philosophical   or   political viewpoint….

A  group  of Omaha high school students…successfully  sued  the school  district in 1985 after being denied official  recognition for a Christian Bible club….

“There  are  a lot of schools waiting for  this  decision,”  said Virginia Roach,  project director for the National Association of State Boards of Education.

By  a vote of 8 to 1,  the justices yesterday rejected  arguments that  the Equal Access Act breached the constitutionally required separation between church and state….

“There   is  a  crucial  difference  between  government   speech endorsing religion,  which the establishment clause forbids,  and private speech endorsing religion, which the free speech and free exercise  clauses protect,” O’Connor said.  “Those three  clauses are in the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

Editor’s  Note:  This case was argued by Christian  attorney  Jay Sekulow  and  is a landmark case for establishing the  rights  of Christian  students  in  the  public high  schools  to  meet  and proclaim  the  gospel.  Almost  every high  school  permits  some student activities not related to the curriculum,  so it must now permit  Christian  activities as well.  What we need now  is  for Christian  students to take advantage of this freedom and  boldly proclaim the gospel in high schools throughout this nation.

Vietnam

by J. Doug Stringer, Turning Point Ministries

P O Box 925398, Houston TX 77292

Though I myself am not a veteran, I was invited by Roger Helle to go with Vets With a Mission into Thailand and Vietnam.  Vets With a  Mission,  founded by William Kimball,  is a group of Christian Vietnam Vets with a long term plan to minister in  Vietnam.  They are allowed in as a Christian humanitarian organization, so other ministry  must  be done covertly and by our living  witness.  The work has been able to assist and help hundreds of polio  orphans, as well as other children’s centers….

One  of  the highlights for me was getting to meet  and  minister with many underground Christians….Only four of us were  allowed to  go  on  the  first  of  many  visits,   so  as  not  to  draw attention….The  people  looked so hungry for the Gospel  as  we entered a room packed with over a hundred people snuggled tightly together  like  sardines.  They  informed us that they  had  been fasting and praying to God to bring a revival in Vietnam and that God would bring them a Word from the outside.  They believed that God had sent us for this divine appointment.

Some people had come from as far as two hundred kilometers.  They were  so  hungry that they wanted to meet with us every  day  and night. We moved to different locations each day and each time met with many wonderful saints of God. One of the leading underground church  pastors  set up a private meeting with me at  a  secluded restaurant  where he explained to me the spiritual conditions  of the church throughout Vietnam.  Though he had been a Pastor of  a church  of over 3000 people,  he had to go underground along with many  other leaders and ministers because he said that  he  could not  compromise  the  Word of God in accordance  with  government regulations….

The  last service we ministered in,  which lasted over six hours, we  witnessed  a  water baptism….In amazement  we  watched  the pastors  remove  some tile and a covering  on  the  floor,  which exposed a hidden baptismal build into the ground….

As   we   left,   young  people  came  to  see  us  off  at   the airport….They arrived crying and giving us gifts that they  had made,  with little notes. This one young girl would not let go of me.  She kept saying, “Please pray for Vietnam, please pray every day for revival, we pray for you everyday”…. I can never forget their  faces.  Each  of us would feel like weeping each  time  we turned around to look at them….

Looking  back I see that I have come home to America a  different man  than when I left.  “I’ll be back Vietnam and I’m praying for revival!”  (Doug  is  planning  to try to  get  as  many  Bibles, educational materials,  tracts and hymnals to take back to help a newly established underground Bible school.)

Coming Events

July  7-15  Jesus  Loves  You-New  York.  $300   incl. breakfast,  lunch,  housing.  Contact Abounding Grace Ministries, c/o  Living Word Christian Center,  62 Thomas St.,  New York,  NY 10013, (212) 571-2641 (note new address).

Saturday July 21 and August 4.  Outreach  and  Worship Rally.  San  Francisco,  CA. Contact SOS Ministries,  Box  27358, Oakland, CA 94602, (415) 531-5325.

July 20-August 5 Goodwill Games Outreach,  Seattle,  WA. Contact Forerunner Ministries, Box 4066, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315, (714) 886-1171 or Forward Edge, Box 65238, Vancouver, WA 98665.

August  1-5  Milwaukee  Outreach.  Contact  Heart-fire Ministries, Box 14031, West Allis, WI 53214, (414) 785-1671.

August 5-11 Black Hills Motorcycle  Classic,  Sturgis, South Dakota. 500,000 bikers attend, including many Vietnam vets. Contact Alpha-Omega Motorcycle Club,  Box 17,  New Wilmington, PA 16142, (412) 652–8806.

August 17-25 SOS-San Francisco. 11th year.  $45  incl. breakfast,   lunch,  housing.  Contact  SOS  Ministries  (address above).September 27-29 National Street Ministries  Conference, Dallas,  TX. Tommy Barnett,  Winkie Pratney,  Gary Greenwald  and others.  Contact  S.H.O.M.,  Box 380306,  Duncanville,  TX 75138, (214) 331-6902.

Some Final Thoughts

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These  are the words of him who is the First and  the  Last,  who died  and  came to life again.  I know your afflictions and  your poverty–yet you are rich!” Rev. 2:8.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These  are the words of the Amen,  the faithful and true witness, the  ruler of God’s creation.  I know your deeds,  that  you  are neither  cold nor hot.  I wish you either one or the  other!  so, because  you  are lukewarm–neither cold nor hot–I am  about  to spit you out of my mouth.  You say,  `I am rich;  I have acquired wealth  and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched,  pitiful,  poor,  blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear,  so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes,  so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and chasten. So be earnest, and repent” Rev.3:14-19.

What  a contrast we see between the suffering church in  Vietnam, where  there is true revival,  and the largely lukewarm church in America,  where we have great freedom and opportunities to preach the  gospel but care so little about the Great Commission.  I  am happy to hear that the Christians in Vietnam are praying for  us, we  need it.  We are the ones who are truly in poverty.  Pray for revival in America.

Our  Tape  of  the  Month is “The New  Age  Movement”  by  Brooks Alexander and Tal Brooke from the Spiritual Counterfeits Project. The  New Age Movement is growing rapidly in the U.S.  and  around the  world.  We need to understand them in order to counter  this deception and bring the gospel to those who are caught up in  it. Tal  is  the  author  of  seven  books,   including  the  current bestseller When the World Will be as One.  He will be speaking at this  year’s SOS-San Francisco outreach in August.

1990  is half over,  so we are offering 1990 ISEMA memberships at half  price  until the end of the year–$10 for  individuals  and $17.50 for churches and ministries.  For $5 extra you can have  a Street Ministry Directory.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum