Revival or Judgment?
Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul wrote, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Tim 3:1). These are certainly perilous times we are living in. All around us we see the proliferation of drugs, pornography, crime, abortion, homosexuality, New Age philosophy, atheism, and satanism. In the Christian world we see leaders falling into immorality, false doctrines, commercialism, etc. Many Christians have been left in a state of shock and confusion. Many have lost a sense of clear, Biblical priorities for their lives.
In speaking of the last days, Jesus warned us, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love (agape) of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12), referring here to the agape love of Christians. “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap” (Luke 21:34). Overwhelmed by the tremendous evil around us in these last days, our tendency as Christians will be to occupy ourselves with the pleasures and cares of this life, instead of reaching out in love to those around us who need Jesus. Jesus warned us not to let this happen to us.
Next, Jesus admonishes us to watch–keep our hearts right with God, occupy ourselves with God’s work, and be awaiting His soon return. Recently, I read the biography of Keith Green, No Compromise. Keith had the ability to speak to Christians, stir them out of their apathy and into seeking after God and dedicating themselves to His service. We need more servants of God with this gift. I pray by God’s grace that He will use me in this way, and that He will use this newsletter to stir us all up to spiritual renewal in our lives and to renewed commitment to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord in the short time left before He returns.
SOS-San Francisco
The 11th annual SOS-San Francisco outreach is just around the corner. Again I want to urge you not to miss this important outreach. Not only will San Francisco be changed–YOU WILL BE CHANGED. Come the whole week if you can. The fellowship of dedicated believers, the corporate times of worship and ministry, the opportunities to be used by God to bring others to Jesus, and the joy of seeing sinners come to repentance–all are guaranteed to change your life, to shake you out of apathy into renewed excitement for Jesus and His service.
San Francisco is often compared to Sodom but our prayer is that it will be more like Nineveh. Nineveh was an extremely wicked city, but when Jonah preached the entire city repented. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh, but God found a way to persuade him. I believe that God is calling many of you to labor in His harvest field in San Francisco but, like Jonah, you are resisting Him for various reasons. I hope that God will not need to take such drastic action to get us to obey Him!
If you can’t come the whole week, come for one day, a weekend, or one or more evenings. This year’s outreach will feature a series of messages on “End Times Evangelism.” Among the speakers will be Tal Brooke, chairman of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project and author of seven books including the current best-seller, When the World Will Be as One. Tal will be speaking about the New Age Movement as it relates to Bible prophesy. Worship in our meetings and on the street will be led by our SOS Worship Group, “Forever Grateful,” and New Hope Christian Fellowship, Sacramento. We will also have a special street performance by the “King’s Kids,” from Youth With A Mission, Hawaii, a group of children and teenagers who spread the gospel around the world through their music.
DON’T MISS OUT. SEND IN YOUR SOS-SAN FRANCISCO REGISTRATION FORM TODAY! Free housing is available at Russian Gospel Temple (bring a sleeping bag, and a foam pad if desired). We will be providing breakfast and lunch only from August 20-25. You will be responsible for other meals, but there are many inexpensive places to eat in the Mission District. We have kept the cost of SOS-San Francisco as low as possible–much less than other comparable outreaches. Registration is $20 for the whole week or $5 per day. If you are eating with us, the total cost is $45 for the whole week or $10 for a single day. However, to encourage you to send in your registration form, we will give you a $5 discount on weekly registrations for those of you who mail in your form by August 7–$15 for the week without food, $40 with food. (It’s too late for the free T-shirt, but we will be selling them at the outreach.)
On the Streets
As you can tell from our schedule on the back of this newsletter, we are generally on the streets three times a week–on Wednesday afternoons, Friday nights, and Saturday afternoons. Wednesday afternoon we preach and witness at the entrance to the University of California campus in Berkeley. Here we have the opportunity to reach many of the future leaders of this and other nations for Jesus. We also are encouraging Christian students to be bolder in witnessing, and some have begun their own outreaches.
Satan and his servants have tried to stop our preaching with a variety of tactics. Last Wednesday, I was served with a lawsuit suing me for $2000 in small claims court for “1)senses assault; 2)intelligent insult; 3)uninvited intrusion; 4)nausea and vomit.” I can’t imagine a judge taking such a thing seriously, but it is another effort to make things difficult for us.
On Memorial Day, we were preaching at Market and Powell St. in San Francisco. Suddenly a police officer approached us and took our maximouse amplifier and microphone. We weren’t breaking any law and he didn’t cite us, but he took our amplifier without even giving us a receipt or explanation. It’s hard to believe it could happen in the U.S. It’s been two weeks, and our lawyer is still trying to get the amplifier back. “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). We should not be surprised nor discouraged by such things. Satan is upset by our preaching, but Jesus promised us that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church!
We have been organizing worship rallies at the Powell St. BART station in San Francisco normally on the first and third Saturday of each month. On the first Saturday, we feature special worship or music from a Bay Area church or ministry. On the third Saturday, “Forever Grateful” leads the worship rally. On June 2, the Russian Gospel Temple youth worship group led the rally. They recently recorded a worship tape in Russian for Integrity Hosanna which is being distributed throughout the Soviet Union and are preparing for a tour through Russia. Our outreach was conveniently timed the day before Gorbachev’s visit, and many people gathered around to hear the gospel message, with a Russian flavor.
We have seen a tremendous response to the gospel through these outreaches. They also provide a way for Bay Area churches to get involved in evangelism ministry by bringing the church to the street. If you live in the Bay Area, contact your pastor and ask him if he would like to participate in such an outreach, and if so, have him call me.
Overcoming Fear
“The sluggard says, `There is a lion outside!’ or `I will be murdered in the streets!'” Prov. 22:13. Several evangelists have advised me never to talk about persecution or negative things in our newsletter. They say it will scare people from witnessing. Unfortunately, they are probably right. Many Christians are afraid to witness either to friends or strangers. Yet the scripture says, “The wicked flee when no man pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1). There is no guarantee that we will not be called to suffer or even die for our Lord as millions of martyrs in the past have been so honored. So far, God has spared most U.S. Christians from physical harm. In the 13 year history of SOS Ministries, several thousand Christians have participated in our outreaches and not one has been hurt in any significant way. However, our nation is rapidly turning away from God and all of us need to be prepared to suffer and even die for our Lord.
One of the main purposes of persecution is to purify the church and separate the true Christians from the professing Christians. “Not everyone that says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who dose the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” Matt. 7:21-23. “But the fearful, and unbelieving … will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” Rev. 21:8.
If we fear God, we will not fear men. “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell…Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. Whoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10: 28,31-33).
These are hard words, but I must declare the whole counsel of God. Let us put aside our fear of man, and boldly confess Jesus Christ to a lost world. Whether they listen or whether they reject the message, we must obey our Lord’s commandment to bring His gospel to a world that is headed for eternal Hell.
Our Tape of the Month is “Street Legalities” by Scott Crawford. Scott is Director of “Evangelism for Jesus” Ministry and a member of the SOS Ministries Board of Directors. All of us who are active in evangelism need to know what we can and cannot do under the law. Also, we need wisdom to know when to assert our rights and when to submit even to unlawful demands by police officers. Scott also discusses this issue in this tape. Speaking of legalities, we received a major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court this past month, as it ruled 8-1 that Christians in high schools have the right to have meetings and actively promote their faith in school. Now we need many Christian students who will take advantage of this ruling.
Yes, we will have freedom of speech and freedom of religion in America. Let’s all take advantage of this freedom while we have it. It may not last long. Come to SOS-San Francisco, August 17-25.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
