True Discipleship
“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” Luke 9:51. As he traveled with his disciples, three men offered to follow him. Jesus told the first man that “the son of Man has no place to lay his head.” A second man asked him to first let him bury his father. Jesus responded, “Let the dead bury the dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” A third man said “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus told him “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Was Jesus being unreasonable in His demands? He knew the hearts of tthese three men. He may have known that the first man wouldn’t sacrifice his comfort and security, that the second man’s father wasn’t dead, and that the third man’s family would persuade him not to follow Jesus.
We are a lot like these three men. We all have excuses for not obeying Jesus’ command to follow Him and proclaim the kingdom of God. Some of our excuses sound very convincing. “Let me first bury my father.” “Let me first say good-by to my family.” We are busy with a multitude of legitimate activities—work, school, family, recreation, etc. One day we’ll start obeying our Lord’s command to take the Gospel to the lost. However, right now we’re busy with other things.
Jesus told us that the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. Thousands of people enter eternity every day without knowing Jesus Christ. We know the One Who can save these people from eternal Hell, but we are too busy to tell them about Him. We all have 24 hours each day. We find time for the things that are important to us. Certainly, rescuing lost souls from Hell is important enough to deserve some of our time!
The Greatest Need
The greatest need for every person on this earth is to receive salvation from Jesus Christ. The greatest thing any one of us can do is to present the gospel to someone and give him or her a chance to be saved. Almost every day, we have opportunities to witness to people. We encounter people at work, at school, on the bus or airplane, on the street, at the grocery store, in our neighborhood, etc. We all need to take better advantage of these opportunities and be bolder in our Christian witness.
However, there are many people who do not have any Christian friends or co‑workers to witness to them. They will not be reached for Jesus unless someone makes a special effort to reach them. This is why we need special evangelistic outreaches.
One of the main reasons we do not witness in our everyday lives is that our minds are focused on other things. During an outreach like SOS‑San Francisco, we can focus on one thing ‑‑ reaching people with the gospel.
Another reason we do not witness is because we fear rejection by friends or co‑workers. SOS‑San Francisco provides an opportunity to overcome fear and witness boldly for Jesus, with the encouragement of other Christians.
A third reason we don’t witness is that we don’t know how. SOS ‑San Francisco provides an opportunity to get practical training and experience in personal witnessing.
An “SOS” is an urgent call for help. The people of San Francisco are in great spiritual need. They may not be starving physically, but they are starving spiritually and are headed for eternal torment if they do not trust in Jesus. We have the spiritual food, the Word of God, that can save them from a fate worse than death. How can we withhold God’s Word from those who desperately need it?
Many Christians at one time had a zeal for God and a burden for souls. But today they are caught up in worldly activities and have lost that zeal. I believe that God wants to use this summer’s SOS outreach to restore this fervor in many of His people. Jesus is coming soon! Let’s get our hearts right with God and get busy doing the work He has commanded us to do: investing our lives winning souls for His Kingdom.
SOS – San Francisco
Don’t miss this year’s SOS outreach. We have enclosed a registration form with this newsletter. Meetings are held daily (except Sunday) and 9 AM and 6 PM from July 7-15. Free housing is available at Park Presidio Bible Church (10th Ave. and Cabrillo). Bring a sleeping bag and foam pad. We will be serving breakfast and lunch starting Monday July 10. If you live in the Bay Area and must work, you may join us at night and on weekends. Please call or e‑mail us if you have any questions.
Contemporary Christian music pioneer Chuck Girard will be with us from July 10-12. Chuck ministers at street outreaches and churches around the world. He has long been a friend of this ministry.
We are also blessed to have evangelist Greg Romine speaking this year. Greg is director of a ministry that takes teams of Christians from the US to conduct evangelism crusades throughout the world—in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Last year, they preached to hundreds of thousands of people and saw 46,000 make professions of faith in Christ. Several times a year, the Communist government gives them permits to close the main street in Hong Kong for evangelistic rallies!
See the bulletin insert and schedule enclosed with this newsletter for more outreach details. If you can’t afford the registration fee, come anyway. This outreach is guaranteed to change your life—and the lives of those you will reach for Jesus.
On the Streets
A national magazine recently rated the area around 16th St. and Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission district one of the three “hippest” night spots in the United States. The last time I visited this area, several years ago, the area wasn’t very busy. But we decided to witness there on May 5. The neighborhood probably doesn’t live up to the magazine’s “hype” but it was quite active. Hundreds of San Francisco residents were on the streets, mostly because of the restaurants, clubs and coffee shops nearby. We sang, preached, and gave out tracts. One police officer approached us, saying that he would not cite us unless someone complained. Fortunately, nobody complained.
On Saturday, the Born Again Band ministered at Powell and Market. A large crowd gathered to listen to the music and preaching. Afterwards, the Impact band from Shiloh Christian Fellowship in Oakland played at Union Square. Again, a large crowd gathered to listen to the music. When we started, we felt a few drops of rain. We ended the outreach 30 minutes early because our equipment was getting wet. Still, thousands of people heard the Gospel that afternoon.
Ministry Needs
Once again, I want to thank each of you who is praying for us and supporting us financially. Our two greatest needs, as always, are for prayer warriors and workers in the harvest field. I am blessed when some of you tell me you pray for us daily or weekly. We often see answers to prayers when God protects us from the police or from angry people who hate God. We especially need your prayers during SOS week.
Pray that we will get our permits and have no problems with the police. Pray that God will anoint and direct every aspect of the outreach and will use it to bring many into His kingdom. Pray that God will bring many laborers to help us during SOS week. You may become an answer to this prayer.
Our Tape of the Month is Solomon’s Porch: The Church in Public Places by Richard Paradise. Richard is Director of Proclamation at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Sacramento. He will be speaking at this year’s SOS outreach.
Our web site is now functioning and looks great. Check it out: www.sosmin.com. Please make every effort to join us for this year’s SOS-San Francisco outreach. Bring a friend or two. God bless you all. I look forward to seeing many of you during SOS week.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
