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October 28 – November 5 Love – San Francisco LoveSF247.com 415-637-9438

Friday November 4, 11, 18 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.

Sat. November 12 Fisherman’s Wharf (Jefferson St. near Powell) 11 AM – 4 PM

Sat. November 19 Berkeley Outreach (Shattuck St. near Center) 12:30 – 4:30 PM

WITNESSING TO JUDGES

***Bridgepoint Community Church (Pacifica) ministers at Union Square.***

Dear Christian friends,

In our August and September newsletters, we began discussing evangelistic messages in the Acts of the Apostles. I want to continue that teaching in this newsletter. My purpose is to learn from these New Testament examples things that will help us preach the gospel more effectively in the present day. In Acts 4 and 5, we have two brief messages by Peter to the Jewish leaders. After the lame man was healed in Acts 3, Peter preached to the crowd that had gathered. While they were doing this, however, the Jewish leaders arrested a number of Christians, including Peter and the lame man.

Peter spoke on behalf of those who had been arrested. He said simply, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Like Jesus, Peter and John spoke with authority. Peter and John had a basic education but didn’t have an advanced rabbinic education. The Jewish leaders thought they had gotten rid of Jesus, but his followers were just like him. They decided to let them go, but commanded them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. They let them go “because of the people.” They did not fear God but they feared the people.

Peter and John responded, “We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.” A few months after Jesus’ death, the Sanhedrin made no effort to disprove the basis of Christianity — that Jesus had been raised from the dead. If they had an alternative explanation for the empty tomb, this would have been the ideal time to make their case. However, they had been unable to find his body.

In Acts 5, many sick people were healed in the name of Jesus. The apostles were again arrested, but the angel of the Lord released them. Unable to explain Jesus’ missing body, the Sanhedrin was again confronted with a miracle they could not explain. How did the apostles escape from prison, when nothing in the prison had been disturbed? The apostles were teaching people in the temple, when they were again brought before the high priest and the Sanhedrin. “Did we not command you not to teach in this name? Behold, you have filled Jerusalem with this doctrine and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

Peter and the other apostles responded, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him has God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things, and so also is the Holy Ghost, which God has given to them that obey him.”

“When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.” But Gamaliel advised them to leave them alone. If their teaching were not of God, nothing would come of it. If it were of God, they would not be able to stop it. Gamaliel, grandson of the famous rabbi Hillel, was the leading teacher of that day. Saul of Tarsus was one of his disciples. His counsel prevailed on this occasion. The apostles were beaten, probably with 39 stripes, and released. In speaking to the Jewish leaders, Peter spoke plainly of Christ’s death and resurrection. He said that the name of Jesus Christ was the only name by which we could be saved. He referred to Old Testament scriptures in Acts 4 (Psa. 118:22) and Acts 5 (Deut. 21:22 and Psa. 110:1). He accused the Jewish leaders of being guilty of his death, as indeed they were. He said that with repentance comes forgiveness of sins.

Jesus had predicted that we would be brought before governors and kings for His sake, but that we were not to think about what we would say. The Holy Spirit would give us the words to say at the moment (Matt. 10: 18-20). The Holy Spirit certainly gave great boldness to Peter, who had denied Christ three times a few weeks earlier. This time, he did not fear the Jewish leaders, but witnessed to them very forcefully.

Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for the religious leaders, who were self-righteous and hypocritical. Like Jesus, Peter pointed out that they had rejected the only One who could save them, and were guilty of killing the Messiah (the One at the right hand of the Father), whom God raised from the dead.

The apostles were willing to be imprisoned, beaten, and even die in order to obey our Lord’s command to preach the Gospel. In contrast, most Christians today do not preach the Gospel because they are too busy, because they fear rejection, or because of some other excuse. Should we be surprised to see the great moral decline that has occurred in our nation?

On the Streets

On July 16, we witnessed at UN Plaza. Cal and Allan spoke with Anthony. He had been married with a good job, but after dealing with some health issues, he lost it all and was now homeless. He was clearly angry and afraid, and we ministered to him and prayed with him. Matt and Ben spoke with Ryan, a young student at the art institute. He was raised Christian, but was confused by the various ideologies taught in school. After sharing with him about evidence for Christianity, they exchanged numbers, prayed for him, and he started crying.

On July 23, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Jacob and John witnessed to Alette, a young woman from Egypt. She was raised Muslim, but was looking into other religions. She was receptive to the gospel, and took a Muslim tract and New Testament. Dave witnessed to Yuri, a young Japanese woman who was very receptive to the gospel and asked lots of questions. She took a gospel of John.

The next day, we witnessed at Dolores Park. The Park Department does not allow us to play music, so we preached for four hours. I walked 100 yards from our speakers and could not hear what was being said. Nonetheless, predictably, we received many complaints. One of the complainers was David, who grew up in a Pentecostal family, but was quite angry at God. Cal and Dave ministered to him. Dave witnessed to Mike, 26, who is a heroin addict. He realized his life was a mess and said he was glad we were there. He also witnessed to Phil, 23, who is a youth leader in a Nazarene Church but did not know the gospel and thought his good works would save him. Allan witnessed to Lydia, a Jewish woman who was raised Christian but thought all religions were true.

On August 5, we witnessed on Haight St. We brought a lot of food to give out to the many homeless who congregate at the entrance to Golden Gate Park. Tim Moon played music. Jacob ministered to Jackson, who said he had been saved two weeks before. He also witnessed to Maxi, a bisexual woman who did not believe Jacob’s testimony of deliverance from homosexuality. David witnessed to Sola, who grew up in a Christian home. She said that “God does not love me because I’m bisexual. Christians tried to pray the devil out of me [but it didn’t work].” He also witnessed to Chris, who grew up on the streets of New York. At the age of 12, he was shooting drugs and prostituting himself. He said, “I want God to do something directly for me.” Dave and I also witnessed to Jesse (who is Jewish) and Kara. Both were open to the idea of Jesus being the Messiah.

The next day, we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf. Brandon and Jacob witnessed to a Muslim couple, Ali and Arabia. They spoke for 20 minutes and took a Muslim tract. Jacob also ministered to four Catholic teens from Peru who listened intently to the gospel.

Ministry Needs

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work” (John 9:4). I am writing this newsletter a few weeks before a national election with monumental implications for the future of our country. Despite our nation’s dramatic moral decline, we still have tremendous freedom to worship God and preach the gospel openly in our nation. In many parts of the world, Christians cannot openly worship or preach the gospel. Many are in prison and have been killed for their faith.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we need to thank God for the great blessings He has given us and for our religious freedom. At the same time, we need to pray for those who are today being persecuted for their faith.

I am greatly saddened that so very few Christians take advantage of the great freedom we now have in our country to preach the gospel openly in public places. The day could soon come, even in the USA, when we will be forced to worship secretly and we could be imprisoned or even put to death for speaking openly about Jesus. Many Christians think this will never happen here. I hope they’re right but I’m not so sure. Our nation’s spiritual decline is happening very quickly.