Coming Events
Friday November 8, 15, 22 4 – 7 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Saturday November 9, 16, 23 12 – 4 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY
Dear Christian friends,
In recent months, we have been looking at various examples of preaching in the book of Acts. In Acts 17:1-4, Paul preaches in a synagogue in Thessalonica. Here it says that Paul reasoned with them out of the scriptures “explaining the prophecies about the sufferings of the Messiah and his resurrection, and proving that Jesus is the Messiah.” Later, in Acts 18:28, we learn that Apollos “powerfully refuted all the Jewish arguments in public debate, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.” These two passages show the importance of using the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah in our preaching.
The next example of New Testament preaching is found in Acts 22. Paul was arrested while engaging in a ceremonial cleansing in the Temple in Jerusalem. He had taken a vow and offered a sacrifice seven days later, in accordance with Jewish law. He was accused of telling people to disobey the Jewish law, disrespecting the Temple, and bringing Gentiles into the Temple.
He began by giving a testimony of how he once persecuted Christians, but God spoke to him on the road to Damascus. They listened to him until he related how the Lord said, “I will send you away to the Gentiles.” Then they got extremely angry. The idea of God passing over the Jews and going to the Gentiles was abhorrent to them.
Paul had been warned by the prophet Agabus (Acts 21) that he would be imprisoned if he went to Jerusalem. Nonetheless, Paul was determined to go there. His arrest gave him the opportunity to witness to the crowd that had gathered there, to Felix, to Agrippa and to many others.
While giving his testimony, Paul tried to relate to his audience. He spoke in their language, Aramaic. He emphasized his Jewish upbringing, and how in his zeal to keep the Jewish law he persecuted Christians. However, his testimony was not well received. Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country.”
Often, Jews are more receptive to the testimony of a Gentile. “Through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.” (Romans 11:11). When Jews see Gentile believers living a godly life filled with joy and peace, they often find that desirable.
Unfortunately, many Gentile Christians are intimidated by Jews and afraid to witness to them. Jews often get angry when they hear of a Jew who believes in Jesus. They expect Gentiles to believe in Jesus, so this does not anger them. Similarly, ex-gay Christians are very threatening to homosexuals. Often, homosexuals are more receptive to the witness of a Christian who is not tempted by same-sex desires. But while the testimony of the Jewish believer and the ex-homosexual will not be well received, they must nonetheless be given. Jews need to know that some Jews believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Homosexuals need to know that some homosexuals have found deliverance through Jesus Christ.
On the Streets
On Friday May 3, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. John and I spoke with two Muslim women wearing hijabs. John had given them a “Jesus and the Quran” tract and they gave it back to him. They said, “we can’t take that.” I told them that in the Hadith, it says that Mohammed married Aisha when she was 6 and consummated the marriage when she was 9. They said “that isn’t true” and walked away. Apparently, these women were upset to hear the truth about Mohammed’s life.
The next day, we witnessed at Powell and O’Farrell. It was raining the first hour, so we preached at the building with an awning. Tom, the owner of the building, had blocked most of the sidewalk with a large sign and a ladder that he only used for 10 minutes that day. Still, we found a small place to preach under the awning. Tom called the security guards who called the police when we refused to move. The police talked with Tom. They didn’t talk with us, but walked away. Fortunately, Lt. Hall was not working that day. He has twice threatened to arrest us and confiscate our equipment if he receives a citizen’s arrest for “disturbing the peace.” We are forced to videotape our outreaches here to prove that our outreaches are peaceful if needed in court.
The rain ended in one hour, and we preached across the street. Later that afternoon, Matt (who was visiting from Houston) and Joe (who lives in the Tenderloin) walked in the Tenderloin giving out food and blankets to people. After giving these out, they were able to talk with several groups of people on the streets. They stopped their drug use and listened as they shared the gospel. They also gave out gospels of John and everyone took one.
On Friday May 10, we witnessed outside the Sony Metreon at 4th and Mission St. John and Mike witnessed to Adam, 17, who is homeless. Adam attended City Impact school and Mike knew him. He said he chose not to live with his parents because they were abusive. John asked him about salvation. He didn’t think he had been saved, so John shared the gospel with him. Adam said he didn’t know how to pray, so John led him in a “sinner’s prayer.” Mike encouraged him to connect with Jared, the youth pastor at City Impact. Adam knew Jared.
Alex witnessed to Robert, who was into new age thinking. He thought everything in the Bible was symbolic. Alex shared the gospel with him and later Robert listened to Alex’s preaching.
Andy and I witnessed to David, who said “God helps those who help themselves.” Andy asked, “Where is that found in the Bible?” David looked it up on his phone and realized it wasn’t in the Bible. We both shared the gospel with him and he listened. When he left, he apologized for being drunk. Tats witnessed to Teresa, 40, from Taiwan. She said she was Buddhist. Tats explained the gospel to her and said we can’t be saved by good works. She thought that Christ’s forgiveness gave us a license to sin. Tats shared that Jesus forgave us so we could live a transformed life. She said, “that’s pretty powerful” and said she would think about it.
The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Mike spoke with Freddy, 30, who was in a wheelchair and holding a stack of gospel tracts. He had been shot by San Francisco police when he was 17. He said that Jesus appeared to him in the hospital. Andy also spoke with him and didn’t think he had been born again, so he shared the gospel with him. Andy also spoke with three Franciscan monks. Andy first said that we believe many of the same things. However, he said that salvation is by faith alone, and not by our works. The older monk mentioned James 2, and asked if that means we are saved by faith plus works. Andy responded that James was saying that genuine faith will result in good works. He pointed to Ephesians 2, where it is clear that salvation is by faith alone. The Bible does not contradict itself so we need to reconcile any scriptures that appear on the surface to be contradictory.
On Friday May 17, we witnessed on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. This is the first time we have witnessed at this location. It turned out to be a great spot with hundreds of people walking past us, most leaving work to take the ferry home. Alex, John and Andy witnessed to Jaiden and Sai. Jaiden asked how we can know we’re going to heaven. Alex responded with Matthew 7, that we know a tree by the fruit it bears. Jaiden said he was living life to the best of his ability and believed in God. Alex asked if he fornicates, and Jaiden admitted that he did. Alex said that is bad fruit and 1 Cor. 6:9-10 says that no fornicator will inherit the kingdom of God. Jaiden argued that we all sin and how can we know anything for sure. Alex responded that he’s experienced the purifying power of God’s spirit and that he has been freed from heroin addiction and pornography. The two men listened and shook hands before leaving.
A Final Word
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We still need to print gospel tracts. It will cost about $4000. We really appreciate any help you can give us for this project.
We have three openings in our ministry house. We are looking for spiritually mature young men with a serious desire to evangelize San Francisco.
San Francisco’s rainy season begins soon. On many days, we are not sure whether or not it will be raining. When rain is likely, we witness at Powell and O’Farrell St. There is a large awning over this sidewalk, but the building owner does not like us and the police lieutenant has threatened to arrest us several times, even though we are not breaking any law. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in handling this difficult situation.
I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this next month or witness in your own community.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
