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Coming Events
Friday June 1, 8, 15, 23, 30 5 – 8 PM Witnessing in San Francisco neighborhoods.
Sat. June 2 5th St. and Market 1 – 5 PM
Sat. June 9 and 16 UN Plaza outreach, 7th St. and Market 12 – 5 PM
Sat. June 23 5th St. and Market 12 – 4 PM
Sat. June 30 Fisherman’s Wharf (Jefferson St. near Mason) 11 AM – 5 PM
The Great Omission – Part II
Seven Excuses for not Preaching the Gospel
Dear Christian friends,
In last month’s newsletter, I gave you four of the main excuses Christians give for not obeying Christ’s great commission. Here are the final three excuses:
5. “Discouragement from lack of results.” Noah preached God`s Word for l00‑600 years, but only his family was saved. Jonah had no love in his heart for the people of Ninevah, but the entire city of over 120,000 repented at his warning of judgment. Our job is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, and leave the results to God. “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap . . . In the morning sow your seed and in the evening do not withhold your hand: for you do not know which shall prosper, either the one or the other, or whether both of them will be good” (Eccl. 11:4,6).
6. “Satan.” Did you ever notice while you are praying, that you suddenly remember something you need to do, or find yourself getting tired and distracted? Satan will do everything he can to keep us from prayer, because he knows the importance of prayer. Similarly, often when we decide to go witnessing, we will think of all kinds of reasons not to go, or something will come up that needs to be done, or we will feel sick. Satan does not want Christians to witness, and he will do everything in his power to distract us.
The best way to combat this is to set aside a regular time for witnessing, and give it the same priority you would give to your job. Are you sick enough, or is this distraction important enough, that you would stay home from work on account of it? Is the salvation of souls as important as earning money? If it isn’t, then we will never find time to preach the gospel.
7. “Lack of burden for the lost and lack of vision of the importance of evangelism.” How do we get a burden for the lost? We need to pray for them. As we do, God will give us a burden to reach them. Also, He will open their hearts to receive God`s Word, and He will equip us to witness to them. If we have a great enough burden for the lost, we will not allow any obstacle to keep us from witnessing. We will not let fear keep us from speaking with someone about the condition of their soul and we will set aside time from the busiest schedule to witness.
The missionary C. T. Studd was challenged to an all‑out dedication to Christ by an article written by an atheist:
“If I firmly believed, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, then religion would mean to me everything . . . I would esteem one soul gained for heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences would never stay my hand, or seal my lips. Earth, its joys and its griefs, would occupy no moment of my thoughts. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, `What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’ ”
How can we expect the unbelieving world or even our own children to take the gospel seriously when we ourselves do not take it seriously? When we as Christians start crying out to God for the salvation of those around us and are willing to make any sacrifice to reach them with God`s Word, we will see unbelievers repenting of their sins and calling on Jesus Christ to save them.
On the Streets
On Fri. Feb. 16, we witnessed at Powell and Market. Dave witnessed to Darwa, a devout Egyptian Muslim who attended SF State College. He asked her if she had been forgiven. She didn’t know, so Dave told her how she could receive forgiveness. Sergio and Mike witnessed to Knox, 29, a professional skateboarder. He was quite receptive to the gospel but is an alcoholic. He had been to City Team, but they told him he first needed to go through detox.
The next day, we witnessed in downtown Berkeley. Mike witnessed to Jay, a high school student who said he didn’t believe in God. Cal witnessed to Trevor, who is a leader of an animal rights group that was demonstrating near us. Cal shared his testimony with him. Dave witnessed to two women, Denise and Mars. He asked them if they were forgiven for their sins. Then he shared the gospel with them. Matt witnessed to Daniel, who studies computer science at UC Berkeley.
On Fri. Feb. 23, we witnessed on Castro St. This street is the headquarters of militant homosexuality. I was surprised, and disturbed, to see hundreds of parents bringing their small children to this street. The Castro Theater was having a “Little Mermaid” sing along. It was cold, and Kathy brought some coats to give out. One angry transsexual man, “Melissa,” became less hostile when he was offered a coat. He had been rejected by his Baptist parents for being homosexual. Matt, Cal and Mike all prayed with Juanito, who said he believed in Jesus but was confused. Mike also witnessed to Justin, who was receptive. He invited him to City Impact. Cal shared his testimony with Enrique, who was also receptive to the gospel. Dave witnessed to Anna, a Catholic who has Christian friends.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Tim Moon played music. Dave witnessed to Ken, from Japan. He had heard the gospel from some Christian friends. Dave and Steve Carothers witnessed to Christian, 21, who spoke with them for 30 minutes. Dave and Dan Beaudoin witnessed to Toby, 18, a young Asian from Sacramento. He was quite interested in the gospel message. Cal witnessed to Ken and Gina. She had been abused and was suicidal. Cal spoke with her about forgiveness. Mike witnessed to Neal, who was raised as an atheist in China. He gave him a New Testament. He also spoke with Francisco. He grew up in Oakland, was raised in a foster home, and had spent time in the penitentiary. Mike and I had both witnessed to him several months earlier but he said he wasn’t ready to follow Jesus. Since that time, he has been saved and is reading the Bible and attending a Korean Church that ministers to the homeless.
On Fri. March 2, we witnessed at 16th and Mission. Mike witnessed to Andy, from China. A friend had given him a Bible, and Mike encouraged him to read the gospel of John. Mike also ministered to Derek, a Christian who had spent 28 years in prison. Dave witnessed to Dominick, a Catholic, who did not understand the gospel, and Kiara, 18, who asked lots of questions. He also witnessed to Kiki, 22, who attended a Christian school and was quite receptive.
The next day, we witnessed at 5th and Market. Dave witnessed to Diego, who had been living on the street here for one month, and Maria, whose brother is a born-again pastor. He witnessed to Shaz, a Muslim from Palestine. He also witnessed to Ken, a Japanese man he had seen the previous week, and his friend Bryce. Dave asked Ken to explain how to be born again to Bryce, and he was able to do so. Cal witnessed to Apollo, 19, a Japanese Buddhist, and Mustafa, a Muslim. Matt witnessed to Mike, from Cameroon, who believes in reincarnation.
SOS-San Francisco
Our 39th annual SOS-San Francisco outreach is scheduled for July 25-28. This year we will be working together with Love-San Francisco, July 21-28. This outreach features 24 hour a day prayer, worship and evangelism.
Ministry Needs
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this ministry. We received our park permits for the year. After getting permits at Dolores Park for 40 years, the Park Department told us we could no longer have permits to use amplification in that park. They continue to give amplification permits to some other groups, however. Dolores Park is the busiest park in the city, with up to 10,000 people in that park. The park attracts many young people who work in the tech industry. Also, we only received three permits at Union Square this year. We believe that other groups are given preference in getting permits here.
We are considering taking legal action about this matter. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in this matter, and that He will provide legal help, if we are to take that step.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
