Newsletter & Coming Events – September 2013

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Coming Events

Note: Outreaches are subject to change. Call (510) 282-5629 to confirm outreaches or for more information.

Friday September 13, 20, 27 6 – 9 PM Witnessing in San   Francisco neighborhoods.

Sat. September 14 12 – 5 PM UN Plaza 7th   St. and Market SF.

Sat. September 21 12:30-4:30 PM Berkeley outreach. Telegraph and Haste St.

Sat. September 28 1 – 5 PM Dolores   Park 19th St. and Dolores SF.

Ten Servants

Dear Christian friends,

In Luke chapter 19, Jesus told a parable — known as the “parable of the pounds” — about a nobleman who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom. Before he left, he called ten servants, giving each a pound (about three months’ wages), and telling them to put the money to work until he returns. When the nobleman returned as king, he called the servants to him, to find out what they did with the money.

One had earned ten pounds. He was commended, and given charge of ten cities. Another had earned five pounds. He was also commended, and given charge of five cities. A third servant had hid the money, and returned it to his master. The king was angry. He took away the pound, and gave it to the servant who had earned ten pounds.

“I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?…I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them–bring them here and kill them in front of me.”

In this parable, the nobleman clearly is Jesus. He will ascend into Heaven and later return to earth as King of Kings. Most of the inhabitants of the earth have rejected Him as King and will be cast into Hell. The servants are those who at least profess obedience to Him. The nobleman gave each a task to do — take a pound and invest it. Two of the servants obeyed him and were rewarded. The third disobeyed and was called a “wicked servant.” In a similar parable given in Matthew 25:14-30, the wicked servant shows himself to be a “false believer” and is cast into outer darkness.

This wicked servant clearly had a wrong concept of his master, i.e., God. He saw God as harsh, as unreasonable in his demands, as someone who cannot be pleased. In his great commentary written three centuries ago, Matthew Henry wrote, “He thought that it was reaping where he did not sow; whereas really it was reaping where he had sown. He had no reason to fear his master’s austerity. This was a mere sham, a frivolous groundless excuse for his idleness…If he dared not trade for fear of losing the principal, yet that would be no excuse for his not setting it out to interest, where it would be sure. Whatever may be the pretenses of slothful professors, the true reason of it is a reigning indifference to the interests of Christ and his kingdom. They care not whether religion gets ground or loses ground, so long as they can but live at ease.”

When Jesus left this world, He gave us a task. It was not to make money. It was the Great Commission: to take the gospel to the world, making disciples of all nations. Like the wicked servant, many professing Christians are disobedient to the One they call Lord. Their excuse: “I was afraid.” But the real reason is slothfulness, an “indifference to the interests of Christ.” If you were afraid to invest the money, at least you could have put it in the bank and earned interest. If you were afraid to tell people about Jesus, at least you could have left gospel tracts in phone booths and mailed them with your bills.

Jesus said, “You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8). “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant” (2 Corin. 3:6). Jesus has given us everything we need to be successful in the task He gave us. The question is, do we care about seeing Christ’s kingdom advance? Will we obey Him like the righteous servants, or disobey like the wicked servant?

On the Streets

On June 14 we witnessed at Powell and Market. A woman from Germany filmed an interview with Allan for her sociology thesis: “How can  religious and non-religious people live together in harmony?” Allan used the interview to share the gospel with her. Eddie witnessed to Clinton, a young Catholic. Dave had a lot of good conversations that night. Julian was raised Baptist and was receptive to the gospel. He also witnessed to three young people from Tracy, four from Vallejo  and four from West Virginia. He also witnessed to two young men whose parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses. Larry D. witnessed to Jeff, an alcoholic, and Ryan, who is not saved but knows a lot about Christianity.

On Sat. we witnessed at UN Plaza. Mary and I witnessed to Jeffrey, 35, who had spent eight years in Afghanistan with the military and is now homeless. His brother died in Afghanistan and he knew of 50 soldiers who had committed suicide. He had attended several churches and cultic groups, and was quite confused. Eddie witnessed to Joshua, 20. They read a gospel tract together and he seemed really receptive to the gospel. Dave witnessed to Sam and Norin, Catholics from Nepal.

On June 21 we witnessed at 4th St. and Mission. Dave asked Matt, a Catholic, if he knew where he would go when he died. He said, “Hell.” Dave shared the gospel with him. Mike and Eddie witnessed to Jordan, who was seeking God and had a lot of questions. They gave him a New Testament and he said he would read it and go home and ask God to reveal Himself to him. Mike also witnessed to Sapphire, a homeless woman who was raised in the church. He gave her a New Testament and prayed with her.

Lanza Family Band plays at Union Square.

On Sat. we witnessed first at Fisherman’s Wharf. We met some Romanian Christians, who sang with us. Later, the worship band from Bridgepoint Community Church, Pacifica, ministered with us at Union Square. Dave witnessed to three Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Abdul, Salaam, and Aziz, and had a good conversation with them. He asked them, How do you get forgiven for your sins in Islam? He also witnessed to Matt, a young Filipino who was open to the gospel, and Juan and Sonya. Juan is a Catholic and his girlfriend Sonya called herself an atheist. Larry D. preached and shared his testimony of being delivered from heroin addiction. Afterwards, a Christian named Matthew shared that his son is a heroin addict. Please pray for him.

On July 26 we witnessed at the SF Giants baseball game at AT&T Park. Mike witnessed to 5 young women in their 20’s. Several were Catholic, and they all listened as he spoke with them. Larry D. witnessed to three Jewish men. One said a friend had died in a car crash and wondered where  God was. Dave witnessed to Ricky, who realized his sins were serious and he was headed for Hell. Dave said, “Only two people can pay for your sins, you or Christ.” Dave also ministered to Tanya, who said she was a Christian who suffered from depression and wondered if she would go to Hell if she killed herself.

The next day we witnessed at Fisherman’s Wharf and Union   Square. Eddie witnessed to “B” from India and shared the whole gospel with him for 45 minutes. Dave and Mike witnessed to Ed. Dave felt God was leading him to ask Ed what happened to him when he was ten. He responded, “I got messed up.” (He did not say exactly what happened.) Dave also witnessed to Bina, a man from Mongolia who had never heard the gospel and knew nothing about the Bible. He also spoke with Angel, who is from Iran and whom he has witnessed to several times over the past two years.

The Lanza Family Band played at Union Square. They are an excellent worship group from San   Francisco and, amazingly, were available to play with less than a week’s notice after another group canceled. Dave  witnessed to seven different people who were receptive to the gospel: Luciana, Crystal, Elizabeth, Ismail, Lynn, Sam and E.J. Mike witnessed to Pete, who has bone cancer and is in a wheel chair. I witnessed to Simon and Sasha, both Jewish high school students from France.  I shared with them about the Old Testament prophesies that were fulfilled by Jesus.

Ministry News and Needs

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for the ministry. Please pray for those people we have witnessed to this past month, especially those I mentioned in this newsletter.

We have given out almost all of our children’s tracts and need to print some more. Children cannot understand the adult tracts we give out, so we need special tracts that are written in simple language. These tracts are also good for people who don’t have good reading skills, or who don’t know English very well. I am still waiting for price quotes. I think we need to print about 50,000 to get a good price and think the cost will be about $1100.

Yours in His love,

Larry Rosenbaum