establish communications with some of the leading people in town.” But our Lord didn’t start with the mayor and the town council in Samaria. His first missionary was a converted prostitute! Who would think of starting an awakening from that angle! How many church members would even try to win such char acters? How many well-dressed ladies’ church so cieties would personally undertake such a mis sion? We don’t mind raising an offering for a mis sion on Skid Row but we don’t move in such circles. Recently I was asked to suggest the name of some young preacher who would be willing to pastor a mission of that sort. If I had been asked to suggest a pastor for a comfortable church with good sal ary, high status and plenty of fringe benefits, I could have named plenty but I couldn’t think o f one prospect for such a low-bracket project. Who cares much about it anyway? We have no right to blame the disciples for thinking more about their stomachs than the souls o f the Samari tans. Haven’t you seen church members sneak out of church during the invitation in order to get at the head of the cafeteria line? And of course we are too tired today to engage in such extra-cur ricular activities as soul-winning. But we read that Jesus was wearied with His journey when he sat down to rest at Jacob’s well. He could have plead fatigue but the winning of this soul rejuvenated Him. He had meat to eat of which the disciples knew nothing. Doing the will o f God is a powerful stimulant. Nothing would perk up some of our jaded church members like winning a few Samari tans!
W hen our L ord started a spiritual awakening in Samaria, He by-passed His disciples and used a converted woman whose character had been notorious. The twelve disciples were the nucleus of the church that was to be. One would think that they should have been the agents for the evangeliz ing o f Samaria, but no. God may begin the next revival, if we have another revival, without using the gigantic institution we have built up in organ ized Christianity. He may set aside our special ists and experts, our plans and programs, and start with some unconventional means not listed in our catalogs. He has done it so many times in the past that it is almost standard Divine procedure. If we do not wake up and repent in our churches, the Lord may by-pass our vast set-up and begin the next spiritual awakening with some other group across the railroad tracks or some of the small bands now springing up all over the country. He may use the irregular to accomplish His pur pose, leaving us high and dry. The disciples were buying food in Samaria while Jesus was winning this poor wicked woman to faith in Himself. Most Christians are shoppers instead of soul-winners, looking out for themselves. The disciples probably never thought of speaking to a single Samaritan about his soul. It never occurs to most of us to speak to anybody in the super-market about Christ. Then too, the disciples, like all Jews, had no dealings with the Samaritans. What insulated lives we Christians live, drawing the rags of our self-righteousness around us like the Pharisees unwilling to touch the society around us with a forty-foot pole! How few ever try to win the neighbor next door, the fellow-worker in the shop or office, the class-mate at school. At the other extreme, most church members live in Rome and do as Rome does so that they have no testimony for the Lord. Between these two extremes we need Christians Who can deal with the Samaritans as our Lord did, infiltrating our corrupt society as the salt o f the earth. Most of the salt is so adulter ated by this age that it is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot o f men. If the disciples had undertaken to evangelize the Samaritans as we go about such things today they would probably have begun by appointing a committee to make a SURVEY. The SURVEYORS would have returned saying, “They need evan gelizing all right but THE TIME IS NOT RIPE ( ‘Are there not four months until harvest?’ ) This is going to be a long project and we will have to take a CENSUS and put on a study course on methods. We must get the right approach and
The Samaritan awakening began when one woman had a direct encounter with Jesus Christ. She was a first-hander. It was said of Thomas Chalmers that he had an original experience of Jesus Christ. So did this woman and it made a THE FELLOWSHIP OF
missionary of her. She left her waterpot for now she had a well of living water within springing up into everlasting life. She couldn’t keep it to herself; she must share it with her neighbors and they too became first handers: “ Now we believe, not be cause of thy word for we have heard Him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” God has no grandchildren. Too many o f our church people have a handed- down, spoon-fed experience and that sort of re ligion does not produce missionaries at home or abroad. The secret of revival in our churches is not more committees and surveys and study courses but in Fellowships o f First-handers who have met
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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