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Coming Events
Friday December 1, 8, 15 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. December 2, 16 5th St. and Market 12 – 4 PM
Sat December 9 Berkeley Outreach Shattuck & Center St 12:30-4:30 PM
Would Peter give a Damn?
by Ray Comfort
From his book Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain…the Darker Side of America www.livingwaters.com
Dear Christian friends,
It was just another day in Downtown Los Angeles in the famed MacArthur Park, commonly known as the “armpit of L.A.”….One poor guy was stabbed to death and his body thrown in the lake. Another was fatally shot in the back in a fight over drugs….I have seen people weeping because they were so hungry, and pregnant women with undernourished babies, pleading for us to give them milk….
For over twelve years I preached the Gospel open‑air style almost every day at “Speaker’s Corner” in Christchurch New Zealand, but I’d never seen the sights I saw almost daily at the “Armpit.” According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, MacArthur Park is the major Columbian cocaine connection for the United States….
Most big cities have their own MacArthur Park ‑ their own “magneticus undesirable”; but how could such misery happen in such a prosperous country as the United States where…there are over 2 million millionaires and…55 billionaires? Simple. Lawlessness and suffering are the direct result of the Christian Church failing to be the influence it should be, one of being the “salt of the earth.”
The major property of salt in Biblical times was one of preservation. MacArthur Park is the fruit of a generation left without a preserved moral code. It is one of free sex, and not quite so free drugs. It’s a generation which has 1.2 million of its teenagers become pregnant each year, and over 33,000 teenagers getting some sort of sexually transmitted disease each day! It is the fruit of a society which has lost respect for all forms of authority, whether it be civil or moral, God or the flag. When that happens, it ultimately loses respect for itself, and is devoured by its own decay.
With a few faithful exceptions, the Church has also failed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick. Instead, we have become self‑indulgent, building big beautiful buildings, with cool clear acoustics and colorful carpets, where as cozy Christians we sit on padded pews while the world sinks further into suffering. Whether I am speaking in a university or on the street, the question on the lips of our young people is, “What about the double standard of the Church?” They seem to know more than the church does about Biblical priority when it comes to taking care of the poor. In the Book of Acts, Peter and John didn’t leave a poor beggar lying on the ground. Peter looked at the man and said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee…” There is no way I can justify the riches of the contemporary Church. But what I can say to the youth of today is that if they were to make Saint Peter the treasurer of the Protestant, and the Catholic Church for that matter, for three minutes, he would write out checks so fast, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and reach the lost, flames would leap off the paper!
I heard of a preacher who effectively ordered the priorities of a church. He stood in the pulpit and said, “Every day 10,000 people die of starvation, and many of you couldn’t give a damn! In fact, many of you are more concerned that I said the word “damn” from the pulpit than you are about 10,000 people a day dying of starvation!”
I am sure that if the church would order its priorities and empty its collection bags out for the MacArthur Parks of America, it may at the same time, even remove the stains of just cynicism and contempt it has brought upon itself in the past few years. And from there, who knows….the world may even take seriously what we have to say.
On the Streets
On August 12, we witnessed at Union Square and 5th and Market. The Shiloh Church choir from Oakland sang. Many people gathered to listen. Kathy ministered to Toy, a Christian from the Dominican Republic, who works as a doorman at the St. Francis Hotel. He hadn’t attended church for three months. Cal witnessed to Ruby, who has been a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) for 32 years. He shared his testimony with her, and she listened. He also warned her about serious errors taught by the JW organization. Dave witnessed to Kelvin, from Taiwan, who attends school here. He was very open, and took four different tracts. Dave also witnessed to Gus, a Muslim from Afghanistan, who was very friendly and took a gospel of John. Dave, Mike, Ken, and Dwayne all prayed for Matt, 22, who is a drug addict but realizes he needs to get right with God.
On Fri. August 18, we witnessed at 4th St. and Mission. Jacob witnessed to Ezekiel, from Argentina, who was raised Catholic but was now Buddhist. He said God was in everything. Jacob asked him if God was in Hitler. He said “yes.” Some teenagers were listening to their conversation, so Jacob asked them if God was in Hitler. They said “of course not.” While DeAnna was preaching, Steve, Dave and Daniel started asking a lot of questions. She repeated the questions over the microphone and gave her response. They asked about the Sabbath, church attendance, and alcohol. At the end, they all took gospel tracts.
The next day, we witnessed at UN Plaza. The band Bueno, which contains several members of the very popular secular Latin rock band Malo, played. Also the Embrace Worship Band from Star of David Ministries played. The excellent music drew a very large crowd. Cal witnessed to Kevin from Canton, China. He approached Cal and asked lots of questions. Cal gave him some evidence for Christianity and got his number for follow-up. Cal and Mike witnessed to Will and Darren, who were very receptive. When they prayed together, Will started to cry. That afternoon, Jacob spoke on the phone with a 26 year old man from Afghanistan who now calls himself Simon Peter. Jacob met him the previous week. Raised Muslim, he came to the US. One day, while he was thinking about Jesus, the Spirit of God came upon him and he realized Jesus is God and he was saved. However, he started attending a Mormon church because of its name, “Church of Jesus Christ.” Jacob warned him about the errors of Mormonism and he realized it was in error. He has attended Christ Bible Church with Jacob the past two weeks.
September 1 was the hottest day ever in San Francisco, with a high temperature of 106 degrees. On Friday Sept. 1, we witnessed at 16th and Mission. As we approached the location, our ministry van started stalling. When we arrived at 16th St., the van stopped and wouldn’t start. We pushed it across the street and found a parking place. Then we held our outreach. Dave witnessed to Kazio, from Brazil, who had been studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) for several weeks. Dave answered his questions and warned him to avoid the JW’s. He said he would. He also witnessed to Isabel, 16, who grew up in the church. Cal witnessed to Robert, who grew up in Utah with Mormons. Jacob witnessed to Alvarado, whom he had seen before. He said he used to be a Christian but had never been born again. Kathy witnessed to Val, 25, who said he was a Christian who hadn’t been to church for a long time and needed to do so. After the outreach, we were able to get home in the van with no problem. The next day, however, we learned there were serious problems with our van.
Ministry News
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support for the ministry.
For the past few years, we have been holding our Berkeley outreaches outside the downtown Berkeley BART station, after the city stopped allowing us to get permits on Telegraph Ave. This has been a good location for us, but the BART station is being renovated and is closed until early next year. We applied for a permit there on September 23. They gave us a permit across the street. It is a good location but they only allow us one musician and one speaker for our PA system.
Christmas is a great opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ as thousands of people come to San Francisco to do their Christmas shopping. Sadly, each year seems to be more about our gifts and less about God’s gift. We need to let them know the real reason for the season. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this month. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
