Thirty Years
The first day of SOS-San Francisco marks the thirtieth anniversary of a pivotal event in U.S. history. On June 26, 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision outlawing prayer in the public schools. The prayer they rejected was not compulsory and went as follows: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee. And we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”
In its 1962 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court placed itself above God, declaring in effect that our nation does not need to rely upon God. They obviously did not fear that God would bring judgment on them and on our nation for their action. As Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way, “the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will….and those who walk in pride He is able to abase” (Daniel 4:32,37).
Soon after this decision, the Court ruled that the Ten Commandments could not be displayed in school. Bibles were purged from school libraries. All mention of God was removed from school textbooks. Teachers were told that they could not mention God’s name (except as a curse word). Eleven years later, the Court declared war on God’s moral law by legalizing the murder of unborn children. The blood of thirty million children is on their hands.
Over the past 30 years, the prayer the Court rejected has turned into a curse on our nation. Instead of God’s blessing, a curse has been on our parents, our teachers and our country. Forty years ago, teachers were asked in a survey about the greatest problems they had with their students. Their answer: talking in class and chewing gum. A recent survey revealed a very different answer: drugs, violence and rape. We have removed the Ten Commandments from our schools. Instead of “Thou shall not kill” we have guns and knives. Instead of “Thou shall not commit adultery” we have promiscuity, teenage pregnancy and AIDS. Children are given condoms and watch pornographic movies in sex education classes. In many schools, they study witchcraft and are taught to visualize spirit guides.
So what shall we do? First, we must repent of our own sins and intercede for our nation. “If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). This scripture is so familiar that we do not think about what it is saying. It is addressed to God’s people, not to unbelievers. We must humble ourselves and pray. We must seek the face of God. We must turn from our wicked ways. Our first priority must be to get our own lives right with God. For too long, we have allowed the leaven of sin into our lives and compromised with the world. As the world has gotten more wicked, we have lowered our standards. God desires to use vessels that are pure and holy before Him. “Blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:9-13).
“MY BOSS WOULD FIRE ME IN A MINUTE IF HE KNEW THAT I’M A CHRISTIAN…LUCKILY, I’VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP IT A SECRET.”
SOS-San Francisco June 26-July 4
I am really excited about this year’s SOS outreach to the people of San Francisco. We are joining with the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship, who are holding their International Convention at the S F Hilton. I just received their convention brochure which says “There are many in the beautiful city of San Francisco who are poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind and oppressed. They need Jesus, they need you.” This convention will not just be a time to get blessed with teaching, worship, and fellowship. It will be a time to reach out to the lost people in this needy city. Their schedule for Friday July 3 reads “The men will meet with Gene M. Ellerbee, FGBMFI Executive Vice-President, at the Embarcadero Center for an outreach street meeting to San Francisco’s business executives at lunch.” Many of these business men will also be joining us for outreaches throughout the week and our rally and march on Saturday July 4. A large youth group from the Convention will also be witnessing with us. Evangelist Donnie Moore and the Power Team from Radical Realities will be joining us for outreaches on July 2 and 4. Donnie did an outreach with us several years ago which drew the largest crowd we’ve ever had. As he started to break huge blocks of ice, thousands of people crowded around the Powell St. BART station. But once he had their attention, he began to preach about Jesus and everyone heard the message. This year, Jerry Brandt will begin the outreach with an evangelism training seminar on Friday night and Saturday morning. Pastor Gilbert Alcala of San Francisco Victory Outreach is organizing a special outreach to the Hispanic community at Dolores Park. We are also planning several days of children’s ministry and feeding the homeless. The Friday outreach at the Embarcadero will feature Gene Ellerbee, one of the top executives at Procter and Gamble. Often in our evangelism, we focus on the “down and out” and neglect the “up and out” but they need Jesus just as much. The presence of several thousand Christian businessmen in the Embarcadero from 60 nations–many of them wearing their native clothing and carrying their nation’s flags–will have quite an impact! On Friday and Saturday nights, we will cancel our regular SOS meetings to join the Full Gospel Convention. Their guest speaker on Friday is Benny Hinn and Saturday is Kenneth Hagin.
After thirteen years, people still ask us “What does SOS stand for?” It is simply the international distress signal–a call for Christians to “preach the Word of God urgently” (2 Tim. 4:1) to the people of San Francisco. God also wants to use this outreach to shake us from our spiritual apathy and lukewarmness and give us a new excitement about serving Jesus. If you’ve never been to an SOS outreach before, let me say that the fellowship with other believers, the times of worship and personal ministry, and the times of outreach all make it an incredible and unforgettable experience.
Outreach Details
We have printed 5000 posters and 40,000 bulletin inserts to let people know about this outreach. But despite all our efforts at publicizing the outreach, many Christians who would want to come to SOS won’t find out about it without your help. There are thousands of churches in the Bay Area alone and we can’t possibly contact all of them. Please help us get this literature to churches, Christian bookstores, and Christian schools in your area. Also, you can give it out at Christian concerts and other events. Talk with your pastor and Christian friends and encourage them to get involved. Set aside the week of June 26-July 4 to attend the SOS outreach and bring a friend. We have enclosed a registration form with this letter. If you register by June 1, you will also receive a free SOS T-shirt. Free housing is available during the outreach. Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. We are planning to serve breakfast and lunch from June 29 to July 4. Meetings are scheduled daily except Sunday at 9 AM and 6 PM (7 PM on Friday and Saturday). This year we will be meeting at the new home of the San Francisco Vineyard at 1098 Harrison St. near 7th St. (We expect the new building to be completed in time, but if it isn’t, we’ll meet at the old Vineyard, 151 10th St. (near Mission) and will put a note on the door at 1098 Harrison St.) So, ask your boss now to give you the week off. If you can’t get the week off, come for as much of the outreach as you can, at night and on weekends. Your life will be transformed, as will the lives of those you touch with the gospel.
DON’T DELAY. SEND IN YOUR SOS REGISTRATION FORM TODAY!
Ministry Opportunity
In our January newsletter, I wrote about a vision I have had for this ministry: “I can envision our house filled with workers who instead of working all day could be out on the streets, witnessing to people and discipling new believers. They could concentrate on a specific neighborhood such as the Haight-Ashbury, build relationships with the people there, start a Bible study in that community, etc. There is so much work to be done, and so few workers. For about $700 per month we could support a full-time evangelism worker.” Well, only about $70 per month was pledged for this purpose, so I figured this vision would not be fulfilled right away. But I believe God has shown me a way it could be fulfilled–at least in part. Men who desire to minister full time could live in this house and work for six months, saving a little each month. Then they could minister full time for four months, with SOS Ministries subsidizing their living costs. Are you interested in getting a taste of full-time evangelism ministry? Call or write us and we will fill you in on the details.
Ministry Needs
Those of you who get this newsletter regularly know that we don’t make pleas for funds. We trust that God will continue to speak to those He wants to give to this ministry. We are very thankful to all of you who pray for us and give to this work. We do want you to know about our financial condition and needs so you can pray for us and, as God leads, help us. Our average income for the past year was $2200 monthly. We received a lot of donations around Christmas, but for the past two months it has dropped to $1000 monthly.
Our expenses are greatest at this time of year as we prepare for the SOS outreach–printing and mailing literature, purchasing New Testaments, getting sound permits, etc. We appreciate whatever you can do to help us with this. Our new SOS Video should be ready by the time you get this newsletter. This 15 minute video shows what an SOS outreach is like, and is a great tool to show to people to get them interested in coming to SOS. But you’ll need to send in your response sheet right away to get it before the outreach. Also, many of you have never read my book You Shall Be My Witnesses: How to Reach your City for Christ. This 140 page book tells the story of SOS Ministries and contains evangelism teachings to help you reach your community for Jesus.
If you’ve already read the book, you may want to get one for a friend. Our Tape of The Month is Evangelical Fervor by Ray Comfort. This teaching was given at last year’s SOS outreach and is an excellent one for getting you stirred up to preach the gospel. A Final Word Recently I was reading The Mantle of the Harlot by Ray Comfort. In it, Ray tells about a captain whose crew admired him immensely as a leader. One day their ship struck an iceberg. Immediately, the captain commanded them to throw out life preservers to the people who were drowning. Instead of obeying, the crew stood around lifting their hands and shouting “Praise you captain…praise you captain.” Can you see how foolish this is?
We need to worship God with our voices, but our words must be accompanied by obedience. Those who love and worship God should also show their love by obeying His commandment to preach the gospel. God bless you all. I do hope you will join us for SOS-San Francisco. Also, I will be speaking at the Bay Area Evangelism Seminar at Evangel Christian Fellowship in San Jose May 28-30. Our next worship rally and outreach will be Sat. May 23 at the Powell St. BART Station from 3-6 PM with the New Life worship group. We have a ministry prayer meeting on the first Saturday of each month at 7 PM. We also do street witnessing every Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Call us for more information about any of these events. Please continue to pray fervently that God will save many during SOS-San Francisco. Our nation truly can turn back to God if we Christians will do our job–repent, seek God’s face, and obey the Great Commission.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
