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.
