himself — uninvited he babbled about his sin. Things hid from the world for half a lifetime poured out from his mouth. He knew that he was really wrong when he faced Christ, and men do still. Our work is almost finished when they have come face to face with Him. They only need our help to get their real problem exposed. CZ Speak naturally. *^Too much conversation about religion is conducted in the lan guage o f Canaan. Theology, like other technical studies, has its own technical terms and they cannot always be avoided. Exact ness demands them, as they are demanded on occasion in medi cine or engineering. But when the personal worker is saying a good word for Christ, he would do well to avoid technical terms. Warm, persuasive and natural speech is best. I remember my friend Dr. Sangster who lived in air raid shelters during the war telling of hearing a conversation between one of his own personal workers and a tramp blown into a shelter by the blast o f an explosion. She said to him, “You know it must be ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ to all the prom ises of God. I suspect that you are still living under the old dispen sation. I am not sure that you even understand the difference between natural and effective faith. I wish you could experience the mighty outpouring of the Spirit. You do realize, don’t you, that all your righteousness is as filthy rags, etc., etc. . . .” The tramp said very little. When she was finally talked out, she left him, saying something about in terceding for him at the Throne of Grace. He found himself again and just said, as he picked up his poverty-stricken belongings and walked out into the darkness o f a London air raid, “O-key-doke.” Two worlds had met for a few moments but they had never really touched each other. Speak about the Lord Jesus
Decision is not conversion. It is an act of the human will and not an act of God.
Develop skill in making contact.
There are many ways of mak ing contact, and doing a kindness is one o f them. But as a Christian you cannot serve simply to get people to think as Christians think, and if you cannot do a kindness, you can ask one. That is how the Lord began dealing with the woman of Samaria. He did not give her a lecture on mo rality. He established contact by saying, “Would you mind giving me a drink?” When he met Zac- chaeus He did not address him on the sin of covetousness. He in vited Himself to lunch. There are many ways of making contacts and skill grows with practice. /%Discover the person’s real * ■ need. One o f our senior chaplains in the last war submitted all those under his command to a number of grueling tests. One o f them was that he would take his watch out of his pocket and say “ Imag ine you have a dying man here who has two minutes of con sciousness before he passes out. Let me hear what you would say in that two minutes.” When the moments we have to witness to others are so brief and fleeting and may never be renewed, a word of testimony is perhaps all we can give. But when people open their hearts to us and really invite our help, it is important that we pierce to the very center o f their need. However, this may not be easy as they may deliber ately seek to conceal it, or they may be honestly unaware o f it. It is very common in human na ture to complain about circum stances and frustration and avoid talking about personal sin. The fact is we must learn to strip away every disguise o f the real trouble. There is usually little doubt when it is found in the white light o f God’s holiness, and sin becomes something of which we are conscious. It was not Jesus who talked about sin at the table of Zacchaeus; it was Zacchaeus
point strategy of lUitnessing [ Live at the center yourself. F a i l h e r e , and you have noth ing to give. Fail here, and if you go on talking about Jesus you will give the sweetest thing on earth and in heaven a bad name. To talk about Christ when He is plainly contradicted by your life is a wound to His body. But live at the center, guard your periods o f quiet with God and all your work is made easy; you will not constantly have to try to make contact with others, people will often make contact with you. One of the finest fruits of living near the center yourself is the uncommon discernment you will have of other people’s need. Don’t try to do people good; love them. He who tries to do people good stands knocking at the door, but he who loves finds the door open. You know yourselves how much you resent being stalked by some one intent to do you good. Who is he anyway, you think, to imag ine that he can do me any good? Perhaps I could do him some good! Ah ! but you know very few people can resist genuine Chris tian love. Love people with su pernatural love, the love which does not run along lines of mere affinity, but loves even where it cannot like. This is a gift, of course, and a gift from God. It is His indwelling Spirit given in an swer to constant prayer.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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