Christ for themselves and are busy telling their neighbors. God is breaking through in such little bands today. It may be disconcerting to some who want to maintain the status quo and the ferment of this new wine may burst some old wine-skins but if we are too formalistic, fossilized and fireless to do it in the regular way the Holy Spirit will do it a new way. He may begin at the lower end of the social ladder next time as our Lord did in Samaria but after all, not many wise, mighty and noble are called. Has not God chosen the foolish, weak, base and despised — nothings — to bring to nought things that are? There is no room in a Samaritan awakening for flesh to glory in His presence. Years ago, Dr. J. B. Gambrell wrote: “Not since the beginning of the Christian era has anyone heard so much of experts in religion nor have we ever heard so much about the business end of re ligion, nor so much good figuring on how long it will take to convert the world nor such nice cal culations on how many dollars it takes to convert a soul. We are in a day of planning and figuring. . . . Getting myself away from the tumult and reading the New Testament quietly and thinking it over, I am writing it down now deliberately, that all this ‘looking over the situation’ and ‘considering the circumstances’ and figuring on the millennium and parcelling out the world to be converted in a given time, and fitting up nice harness for everybody to work in make me tired. While the experts are tell ing us all about it and organizing everything, some men that don’t seem to know much are holding great meetings and nearly all the people that are converted at all now are converted by non-experts. . . . Before we know it we are going to be snared by human wisdom and human devices. We will get away from the simple method of Christ which is so simple that any people can understand it. . . . This is the way to revival in the church: The Fellowship of First-handers, freshly dedicated Christians and brand-new believers who have met the Living Christ and are ready to tell it every where, not shoppers but soul-winners in Samaria. ARE YOU A FIRST-HANDER? When the Sa maritan woman first witnessed to her townspeople about Jesus, He was to them only a REPORT but when they met Him for themselves He was a REALITY. When the Emmaus disciples first heard that Christ had risen, it was only a REPORT; when He revealed Himself to them, He was a REALITY. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the risen Christ was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, later of over five hundred, of James and all the brethren. Then he added, “And last o f all He was seen of me also.” That made Paul a First-hander! We all hear of our Lord first by report, from parents, Sunday school teachers, pastors, books. The Gospel is a report, good news. But all o f that is not enough. It is like canned goods instead of vegetables from our own garden. It is second-hand. There must be the personal encounter. Are you convinced about Him? Are you commuted to Him? THE FIRST-HANDERS PROPHET calling men to face sin. Church-mem bers need to be asked, “ Is there sin in your life?” “ You cannot be channels of blessing I f your lives are not free from known sin " Come to a fresh first-hand experience o f Jesus Christ for yourself and then go tell others. To the sinner who has never met Christ, let us say, “Your trouble is SIN.” The Samaritan woman tried to side-track our Lord but He held her to the main issue. When she went to tell her townspeople, she said, “ Come, see a man which told me ALL THINGS THAT EVER I DID; is not this the Christ?” It is a mark o f the Christ to make us face our sins but when we face Him we find the answer to our sins.
Are you conscious of Him? We must first come to Him in simple trust and then come after Him in complete obedience. How does He become more real? “ The man who knows my commandments and keeps them is the man who really loves me, and the man who really loves me will himself be loved by My Father, and I too will love him AND MAKE MYSELF REAL TO HIM.” Are you a First-hander? PBI
The world is not going to be converted on a human plan. There is a great controlling divine element in it without which there can be no conversions. After a while we will wake up and find that we have been weaving some very fine theories that will enslave us and play us out.” Evidently Gambrell did not think Samaria would be converted by a conference of experts. How shall we rally a FELLOW SH IP OF FIRST-HANDERS? Conversing with the Samari tan woman, our Lord talked about the water o f life and true worship but she got under conviction when He named the sin in her life: “Go, call thy husband.” She answered, “ Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.” We need today the voice o f the AUGUST, 1968
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker