Teenagers - Ron Rohman

     While I was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven at SW Fifth & Morrison, three teenagers walked by and made hostile and mocking comments toward us.  They walked on up the street.  The young man had hair he had dyed a reddish orange.  One of the young women had also dyed her hair red with streaks of yellow and orange.  They had some tattoos and various body piercings much like the common style amongst teenagers these days.  They were not "gutter punks" in their style – they were clean and well dressed.  They looked like they were from the suburbs out on an outing in downtown Portland to "hang" with other young people.  What we were doing did not seem to be of much interest to them – we were just some older people they could put down.

     Later, while Marty was preaching, they returned to the street corner where I was handing out calendar card tracts.  They began to interact with me by yelling at me something about homosexuality.  They assumed that we did not approve of homosexuality because we were preaching about Jesus Christ.  One dark-haired young woman came at me with a lot of hostility proclaiming homosexuality to be perfectly all right.  She told me that she saw nothing wrong with lesbian sex and that it was even safer sex for her because she could not get pregnant.  Then the young man chimed in and said that homosexual sex was safer for him because he wouldn’t have the fear of getting someone pregnant.

     At this point I asked the young man how old he was.  He said he was fifteen.  Then the dark-haired young woman chimed in that he had not been "involved" yet.  We then talked at length about sexuality and marriage from a Godly, holy perspective.  The red-haired young woman said that she was adopted and raised as a Jew and that she had been taught the Ten Commandments as she grew up.  She said that she believed the Ten Commandments were true when we were talking about murder, stealing, fornication, and marital unfaithfulness.  They all agreed adultery was bad and people shouldn’t do it.  Then they admitted that the homosexuals they knew had all had many different relationships and didn’t really have "monogamous" relationships even though they were trying to convince me homosexual marriage was possible and desirable.

     It was very clear to me that they were well informed on all of the latest arguments.  As I talked with them about my marriage of thirty-two years and pointed to Karen, who was talking with someone else, they replied that I was a heterosexual and obviously "liked girls" and was able to enjoy looking at women.  To this I replied that I enjoy only "one woman" and was not a heterosexual who saw myself in a position to have a sexual relationship with any other woman – just one woman – in a faithful, monogamous, marriage relationship.  The whole conversation became quite detailed as we talked about marriage, children, family, commitment, sexual orientations, faithfulness, adultery, the Ten Commandments, etc.  All hostility was gone.  Deep communication between three fifteen year-old teenagers and someone old enough to be their grandfather was taking place – a bridging of generations, the young and the old.

     As their friends began to find them and try to get them to leave, the dark-haired young woman turned to me and said, "Thank you for talking with us."  The others then said, "Thanks" and I told them, "Thank you for talking with me."  This has left me with a lesson concerning the need for the older to listen to and talk with the younger.  So many young people are wandering around in our culture without deep communication with those who are older – let alone with those who are older and walk with Jesus.  The three all knew the latest arguments and explanations about homosexuality from those promoting the present-day homosexual agenda.  What they didn’t know was God’s point of view and the redemption available to them through Jesus Christ.  Our Father has made a great hunger out there amongst the youth in our land.  He wouldn’t have sent us to them if He hadn’t prepared their hearts.

 Abortion - Karen Rohman

     The Lord has been impressing on Ron and me that judgment is on the land for the shedding of innocent blood.  Abortions are sanctioned all the way up to birth and including partial birth abortions despite all the protests at the clinic doors, high tech pictures of fetuses, and a fetus of a preborn  placed in front of the president’s face.  The prophetic warning came in the 80’s with Operation Rescue, and the blockade of abortion clinics, the movie "The Silent Scream" and the warning is still going on.  This nation is without excuse and it continues to refuse to repent.  A spirit of murder has been released into the nation.  Murder has been sown into the families and their children are rising up and killing their parents, other children and themselves. We have sown to the wind and are beginning to reap the whirlwind.

     I was talking to an eighteen year old boy.  He made a mocking comment about the gospel so I went over and talked with him.  He said he had been told that he would go to hell because he did not go to church.  I said that was not in the Bible.  I said that actually Jesus was here right now knocking at the door of his heart.  All he had to do was to open the door and the Lord would come in and speak to him.  The first thing He would do is convict you of sin.  The blood of Jesus was shed on the cross so we might be forgiven of all the things you have done wrong.  His blood cleanses us of our sin and gives us a new start.  He is always there knocking at the door of our heart wanting to talk with us and walk with us.

     I talked to him about pornography, drugs, heroin and the power of the sexual spirit that wanted to drag his soul down into Hell.  The young man said he did not like us judging people.  I said that we are not judging people but the reality is that judgment is on the land.  I said that we have sown so much murder in this land through abortion that now we are reaping a spirit of murder on the land.  Young people have missing brothers and sisters killed in abortion and the sin of the forefathers is visiting the young.  The young are rising up and killing their parents, other young people, and themselves.  He said that his mother had an abortion and that probably he is missing an older brother.  He also said that he had been tempted to almost shoot a gun out of anger three times to kill someone.  His girl friend came by and whisked him away saying,  "Why are you talking to her?"

Dream - Karen

     I was talking to a young spirit-filled street preacher who had been preaching the gospel on the corner for five years to the Hispanic people.  He was excited and we were talking about dreams.  He shared his dream with me and I thought he might want me to interpret it for him so I was asking the Lord for help.  In his dream he was walking with his girl friend and invited her over to his apartment.  He quickly went to his apartment to clean it up because he is a bachelor and a little messy.  When he got to his apartment there was a robber in the apartment.  He managed to get rid of the robber.  When he went back to his apartment there was a dog in his apartment.  He forced it out of his apartment.  He went back to his apartment and he saw a carpenter fixing up his apartment.  This made him very happy because he wanted the apartment to look nice to his girl friend.

     The Word of the Lord came to him, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing."  He felt God was saying that this girl friend was going to be his wife.  He said he had not been giving his tithe to the Lord and now he was.  He felt this was how he was getting the robber out of his apartment because by not giving to God he was stealing from God.  The last time he had talked to his girl friend, she had not been too friendly.

     I told him to hold all things with an open hand.  God gives and God takes away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.  If  you hold something with a tight closed fist, that thing is an idol and God is a jealous God.  God will take it away.  Even if you get married you have to dedicate your wife to the Lord and give her back to God.

    He said, "Idolatry…"  and thanked me for my counsel.  After he left I got the interpretation of the rest of the dream.  The dog was sexual immorality and the carpenter was Jesus.

Healing of the Nations - Karen

     There is a river that flows out from under the throne of God and there is a tree that grows beside the river and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.  One of the leaves fell into the river and flowed out amongst God’s people.  I am Japanese American and I went to a meeting of Christians from Japan.  A man joined by his fellow workers from Japan knelt before us and asked for forgiveness for the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  The brokenness of the Lord came and forgiveness was given.  There was a woman later who asked in a meek voice, "Please forgive us for the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima."  The brokenness of the Lord came and forgiveness was given. Thank you Lord for the healing of the nations and the broken hearted and for the power to forgive that only you can bring.

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