SOS Monthly Newsletter - November 2004

Reaching Our Generation

Dear Christian friends,

When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in 1741, he read the sermon in a dull, monotone voice. Despite this, hundreds of people, convulsing under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, committed their lives to Jesus Christ. If I were to read this sermon on a San Francisco street corner today, the reaction would be far different.

Edwards’ sermon is as true today as when it was written. The gospel message has not changed. However, the people we seek to reach for Jesus have changed a lot. Edwards preached this sermon to people who attended church and claimed to be Christians. They said they believed in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, but in fact were unsaved.

Today, especially in the San Francisco area, most people do not attend church, do not claim to be Christians, and do not believe that the Bible is God’s Word. We need to understand the people we are seeking to reach with the gospel, and learn how to communicate God’s Word to them. The concepts of hell, judgment and God’s wrath that Edwards preached about still need to be preached. But many people today have a hard time with these concepts. We should at least try to explain them to people in terms they can understand.

In speaking of God’s judgment, I sometimes use the example of Rodney King. When the police officers that beat King were found not guilty, a lot of people got angry and there were riots in Los Angeles. As humans, we have a sense of justice. We believe that people who do bad things, such as those police officers, ought to be punished for their wrongdoing. When they are not punished, we often get angry. In the same way, God is angry when people like Hitler commit horrible crimes. Hitler committed suicide and was never punished by a human court. But God will punish him for his wrongdoing. However, the same God who will judge Hitler for his sins will also judge each of us for our sins.

If we believe that human judges and juries have not only the right but also the responsibility to punish those who do wrong, how much more does our Creator have that right and responsibility?

Many people also have a problem with the concept of “eternal torment” in Hell. While most people will admit to being sinners, many think eternal torment is an excessive punishment. Our human tendency is to minimize the seriousness of our own sins, especially the sins we have committed against God. The existence of an eternal Hell helps us realize how terrible our sins really are.

Why doesn’t God cause those who reject Christ to cease to exist? If someone like Hitler could be do horrible things, then commit suicide and cease to exist, God would not be just. Also, there are degrees of punishment in Hell (Luke 12:47).

God has given us a free will. However, our decisions have consequences. If I reject an opportunity to live eternally in God’s presence, I will live eternally in His absence. Since every good thing comes from God, separation from God involves separation from all that is good.

If I am distracted while I am backing up my car and drive over my child and kill him, I will spend the rest of my life being tormented by the pain resulting from my foolish act. Similarly, people in Hell will be forever tormented by their foolishness in rejecting Christ and missing out on the wonderful eternal destiny He offered them.

The Great Omission: Two More Excuses for not Preaching the Gospel

Last month, I gave three of the top excuses people have for not witnessing. Here are two more:

4. "I witness at my job and to my friends and family," or "My life is a witness." We should witness in our everyday life, and our life should be a testimony of Jesus Christ. But what about all the unsaved people who don't have friends, relatives, or co-workers who witness to them? As the good shepherd will leave the 99 sheep and go after the one who has gone astray, should we not actively seek after those who are lost, that they would be brought to Christ?

5. "Discouragement from lack of results." Noah preached God`s Word for l00-600 years, but only his family was saved. Jonah had no love in his heart for the people of Ninevah, but the entire city of over 120,000 repented at his warning of judgment. Our job is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, and leave the results to God. "He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap . . . In the morning sow your seed and in the evening do not withhold your hand: for you do not know which shall prosper, either the one or the other, or whether both of them will be good" (Eccl. 11:4,6).

On the Streets

The city was concerned about terrorism, so they did not give us our permit at Union Square for September 11 until the day before the outreach. Last Days Harvest Church from Sacramento ministered there from 3-5 PM. Also, Paul and Noreen Coca and Mark Whitehead ministered at Fisherman’s Wharf from 11 AM – 5 PM.

That afternoon, I was passing out gospel tracts in Union Square. I offered a tract to Diego, but he refused it. I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt with pictures of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao on it. I asked him if he was a Communist. He said he just liked Communist art, but that he was an atheist. Diego is a senior at UC Berkeley who is hoping to attend law school. I told him I was raised as an agnostic, was Jewish and had graduated from Yale. He asked me how I could believe in the Bible. Doesn’t it conflict with modern science? I told him that there was a conflict with evolution, but that it was only a theory that not every biologist agreed with, and that I was not aware of any conflict between the Bible and modern physics.

I told him that, as a Jew, I had been taught that the Old Testament was God’s Word, but not the New Testament. As I studied the Jewish scriptures, I learned that they were filled with detailed prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah, all of which were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. I also told him about some prophecies that are being fulfilled today. I asked if he had heard about the antichrist and the Book of Revelation. He said that he had. I told him that the antichrist would be a world ruler who will set up a system in which nobody can buy or sell something without a mark on their hand or forehead. This prophesy was written 2000 years ago, but only in the past 20 years have we had the technology to keep track of every financial transaction of every person on earth. I pointed to the bar code on the book he was holding and mentioned the company that puts computer chips in pets, in case they get lost. I also mentioned Jesus’ prediction (Mark 13:20) that he would come at a time when the world would be on the verge of total annihilation. In the past, people fought wars for many years and would only destroy a small percentage of their population. Only with the development of the Hydrogen Bomb has humanity had the ability to totally destroy itself.

Diego seemed quite interested and asked me to send him some more information. He gave me his email address. Please pray for him. It is not easy reaching people like Diego. But this is our challenge as we seek to reach people in the U.S. and the Western world for Jesus.

On September 18, we ministered at 24th Street and Mission in San Francisco. This was the first time we had been to this location on Saturday. The band “Sonhouse” drew a crowd with their excellent music. Most people at this location speak Spanish, and none of our team that day spoke Spanish very well. Fortunately, we met several dozen Spanish-speaking Christians that afternoon, many of which had come to this location for the purpose of witnessing. Several of them preached and gave testimonies in Spanish. Others witnessed to those who only spoke Spanish. While most English-speaking Christians are not involved in evangelism, particularly street evangelism, it seems that Spanish-speaking Christians have a very different attitude towards witnessing.

	“Sonhouse” ministers at 24th St. and Mission
	Last Days Harvest ministers at Union Square art show on September 11
	Abundant Life Church youth (right) pass out tracts at Fisherman’s Wharf while Mark sings
	Michael witnesses to Sikh family at Union Square
	Boy reads Spanish tract at 24th St. and Mission

Coming Events

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 531-5325 or 541-9903 (cell phone) to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday November 5, 12, 19, December 3, 10, 17 7:30-10 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods. (Call for location).

Sat. November 6, 20, December 4, 18 12-5 PM San Francisco Outreach. (Call for location).

Sat. November 13, December 11 12:30-4:30 PM Telegraph and Haste St. Berkeley Outreach.

Ministry News and Needs

Again, we want to thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We are still remodeling the downstairs portion of our house. Also, we still have several rooms in our ministry house for mature Christians who want to be involved in evangelism.

We also need more Christians to witness with us on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. One special need we have is for a musician to minister with us on Friday nights. I know there are many gifted Christian musicians in the San Francisco area. Our outreaches would be much more effective if we had music as well as preaching.

Our Tape of the Month is Discipleship – The Art of Building Relationships by Lloyd Zeigler, Director of the Master’s Commission discipleship school in Phoenix. Jesus is looking for disciples -- people who will be not only hearers, but doers of God’s Word.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum