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 (Manna 61: Church Life)
Leaving Our Comfort Zone to Preach

Leaving Our Comfort Zone to Preach

Albert Chen—Garden Grove, California, USA

It all started when He said, “Give Me a drink.”

He was tired and thirsty.

He was a Jew, and she was a Samaritan.

But these issues did not stop Him, and He went on to preach.

She questioned His credibility and disagreed with Him, saying, “I have my views, and you have yours.” Yet, He patiently explained anyway.

Jesus not only had the courage to speak in an awkward situation, He also crossed social, religious, and cultural boundaries to proclaim the wonderful news of salvation, a “gift of God” that is above human constraints (Jn 4:10).

Once the Samaritan woman realized that He was the Christ who is to bring salvation, she also went out of her way to preach the good news.

From Jesus and the Samaritan woman, we can learn the magnitude of sacrifice and effort we should be willing to make for the sake of the gospel of salvation.

BEING WEARIED FROM HIS JOURNEY

            Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (Jn 4:5)

The sixth hour is equivalent to twelve o’clock noon, which is the heat of the day. Jesus had probably been journeying since daybreak. He was wearied. But even in His tired and thirsty state, He preached before He drank any water. Like Jesus, we should also be willing to offer our energy at all times for the sake of the gospel.

Paul reminds us of this mentality in 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” Perhaps the in-season times are during church seminars, spiritual convocations, or designated evangelical outreaches, when we can anticipate opportunities to preach.

However, even when these seasonal events are not going on, we should be ready. “Out of season” may be a typical day at school, a normal day at work, or a restful day of vacation.

A preacher from Taiwan was once on a plane, flying from one African country to another for missionary work. These flights are usually the chance for preachers to catch up on rest. On the plane, he sat next to an African businessman. Even though he could have slept through the flight, he felt moved to preach to the businessman instead.

At first, the African businessman was surprised as to why this stranger was trying to preach to him. The preacher invited him to a spiritual convocation in the country they were flying to, but the businessman declined, saying he was on a business trip. However, because of the preacher’s insistence, the businessman ended up going.

The businessman received the Holy Spirit at the event. Later, he was baptized and became a fervent worker for God. The preacher’s eagerness to preach at all times resulted in much fruit for the Lord.

We never know whom God might want us to preach to. So we must be ready to preach the word at all times, like Jesus and this preacher. We must be willing to offer our energy for the gospel.

ME? A SAMARITAN WOMAN?

            Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. (Jn 4:9)

Jews generally did not interact with Samaritans. Many believed that because Samaritans were part Gentile, whatever they lay on, sat on, or rode on was ceremonially unclean.

Furthermore, men generally did not discuss theological issues with women. These factors alone were cultural and social boundaries that Jesus had to cross when talking to someone who was both a Samaritan and a woman. However, there were more obstacles.

This woman was sinful—she had five husbands in the past and was currently in a relationship with a man who was not her husband (Jn 4:18). Yet, Jesus didn’t perceive her as undeserving of the gospel.

She was also very persistent in her own beliefs. She unyieldingly pointed out differences between Samaritan worship and Jewish worship (Jn 4:20), and responded to Jesus as if He couldn’t give her any new information, saying, “I know that Messiah is coming…When He comes, He will tell us all things” (Jn 4:25).

Even though it seemed that she was sinful, unworthy, unwilling to change, and not accepting of the gospel, Jesus overlooked these issues and preached to her. Like Jesus, we must also be willing to leave our comfort zone and cross boundaries for the gospel, preaching to those we feel might not accept or deserve the gospel.

During my sophomore year in college, I found myself struggling with this idea. I once had the opportunity to preach to a classmate in the dining hall. She came in and started getting food as I was getting seconds. She hinted that she didn’t have somewhere to sit and suggested that she might sit next to me.

It seemed like an opportunity to preach, but at the same time I felt that it would be awkward to talk about our church with her. I implied that because I was about to leave, she probably shouldn’t sit next to me.

In reality, I didn’t think that she would believe or be interested in the gospel, so I didn’t want to risk having an awkward conversation. I had this prejudice and didn’t try to overcome it.

In fact, I encountered similar situations many times that year. I justified my cowardice and fear of uncomfortable moments by thinking that the people didn’t seem like they would believe or accept the gospel.

However, a brother reminded me that, in his experience, those who initially appeared unreceptive or unpromising often came to believe. Therefore, we must look beyond our prejudices and first impressions of people and preach to all.

Another example is of a non-believing college student who spent a lot of time with True Jesus Church youths who attended the same school. He noticed that these friends would go to church on Friday nights and Saturdays. Sometimes, he could hear them praying when he passed by their rooms.

He was curious about their faith but also very firm on not believing in Christianity, even debating with them about their beliefs. Even though the youths felt he would probably remain a non-believer and reject their invitations to church and Bible studies, they still invited him. Because of their insistence, he actually started going to worship services.

He even began reading the Bible and praying every day, thinking that if nothing happened, he would at least have more proof that they were wrong. However, in one of his daily prayers, he received the Holy Spirit. He started going to church seminars, decided to get baptized, and is now a fervent member in church.

We may have our own prejudices toward people and impressions about whether they might believe or not. But as the testimony shows, overcoming such preconceived ideas may yield beautiful results. Like Jesus, we must be willing to leave our comfort zone and cross boundaries to preach.

THE WOMAN LEFT HER WATERPOT

            The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (Jn 4:28, 29)

Jesus willingly and boldly went out of His way to preach to the Samaritan woman because He understood how wonderful salvation was. Similarly, once the Samaritan woman understood that Jesus was the wonderful Savior, she left her waterpot to preach the gospel in her city.

She abandoned her initial intention to get water and returned home without the water she needed. She didn’t even bring back her waterpot. We must also be willing to sacrifice our personal objectives for the sake of the gospel.

We are often touched by Jesus during church events, Sabbath services, prayers, or personal trials. At these times, we resolve to change for God. However, these experiences do not always lead to change, and we may remain unwilling to sacrifice our self-centered wants and goals to give priority to God. However, we must be like the Samaritan woman, who completely forsook her objective of getting water.

I know of a brother who was moved to preach in South America while attending a church event where he learned that there was a need for holy workers there. When the seminar concluded, he went home and began to fervently prepare himself to serve God in South America.

Instead of enjoying entertainment and video games like he used to, he devoted his free time and vacations to studying Spanish, attending Spanish Bible studies, translating church material into Spanish, and spiritually cultivating himself. After two years of preparation, he went to South America on a missionary trip and returned to the US to encourage and train other brothers and sisters to serve there.

This brother’s fervor and sacrifice for the sake of the gospel is an example to us. Once we experience the wonderful grace and salvation of Jesus, we must also be willing to let go of our personal objectives. We must leave our waterpot and preach.

WE OURSELVES HAVE HEARD HIM

            Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” (Jn 4:42)

Once the Samaritan woman shared her testimony with the people of the city, they urged Jesus to stay with them, and Jesus stayed there for two days (Jn 4:40). The original word for “stayed” is the same word as “abide,” as when Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4).

The abidance of Jesus is what caused the people in the city to say, “We know this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” Today, this abidance is also what fundamentally brings people to believe. Though it is up to us to leave our comfort zone to preach, in the end, people believe “not because of what [we] said,” but because they themselves have experienced Jesus’ abidance.

Therefore, after we have preached and shared our testimony with others, we must bring them to Jesus and encourage them to seek this abidance. Once they experience the abidance of the Savior, they can also cross boundaries, leave their comfort zone, and make sacrifices for the gospel because they, too, believe.

When others understand and experience His gift of salvation, they can also share their own testimonies and bring others to Jesus.


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