Busy Here and There

God abhors excuses! In the parable enacted by one of the sons of the prophets and re­corded in 1 Kings 20:35-42 lies a severe rebuke against excuse making and irresponsibility by God's servants. God had commissioned His prophet to disguise himself, put ashes on his face, and go and teach King Ahab a tremendous truth.

In order to improve his disguise the prophet asked a man to beat him. When the king saw him he asked the cause of his bruises and the occasion of the mishap. The prophet said a man had been assigned to his trust. It was his duty to keep the man in safe custody. But, said the prophet, "As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone." Thus the prophet indi­cated that he was suffering the dire conse­quences of irresponsibility and excuse making. King Ahab added a pronouncement of judg­ment, "So shall thy judgment be; thyself hath decided it" (verse 40).

Then, as the prophet revealed his identity, he said to Ahab: "Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man . . . therefore thy life shall go for his life."

Herein lies a sobering lesson worthy of con­sideration by the servant of God today. A tre­mendous responsibility rests upon us to lead to the kingdom of God those who have been placed in our care. Negligence will bring serious consequences. But with the pressure of many interests, all apparently justifiable, the worker for God often finds himself "busy here and there." More than one modern son of the prophets within the church, while going about in his merry-go-round of activity, has discovered that the one given to his charge has gone!

The Master-Evangelist has submitted ample evidence to support the fact that while every phase of soul winning is important, seeking the "one lost sheep" is the most important reason for one's existence as a minister.

Although Jesus was busy from the break of day till late in the night, He considered His time was not wasted when He spoke with the woman of Samaria at the well, and with Nic­odemus at the aftermeeting. The reason—a soul was at stake. It made no difference to Him where that one had come from, whether he was influential or lowly; whether he was the result of some interest He Himself had created or whether he had been contacted originally by John the Baptist. Unfortunately, we sometimes place importance on the source of an interest and allow that to determine whether it merits our time and attention.

Paul said: "Every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided?" (1 Cor. 1:12, 13).

There are two great factors that determine a minister's success. First, the pastor should have such a burning passion for souls that he cannot rest till he has exhausted every means in his search for the "one lost sheep." Whether it be a product of his own labors or an interest recommended to him from another source, that one is a prospective candidate for the kingdom of God.

The following story is told of Stephen Grellet, a Frenchman and a graduate of the military college at Lyons. He was a devoted Christian and preacher. One day a distinct impression came to him that he should go to America, visit a certain logging camp, and there preach a sermon. He knew no one there, but he de­termined to follow directions; for, although he could not understand why, he believed that God was speaking to him.

Accordingly, he crossed the Atlantic and journeyed to the logging camp. Upon his ar­rival he found the place deserted and the men moved to another location. But the burden was still on his heart, so he went into the empty mess hall, read his text, and preached his sermon. He thought this was a foolish thing to do, but when he had finished, the burden had gone from his heart. So he journeyed back to his European parish, and took up his regular duties.

Years later, as he was walking across London Bridge, a man rushed out of the crowd, threw his arms around him, and cried, "At last I have found you!"

"But I have never seen you before," protested Grellet.

"Do you remember preaching a sermon in a deserted logging camp in America a number of years ago?"

"Yes, but no one was there! The building was empty."

"You are mistaken! I was there! I had been sent back to get a saw that had been left be­hind when we moved, and I heard someone talking in the mess hall. That seemed strange, so I went over and looked through a crack in the logs and saw you. I stood there and listened to every word you spoke. That sermon was preached just for me, for I was a great sin­ner. I immediately secured a Bible and studied it, and I gave my heart to God. Every day since that time I have been looking for the man who brought me to Christ. Now, thank God, I have found you!"

Dwight L. Moody pursued people in remote corners of the tenement sections of Chicago in order to plead the blood of Christ for them. The book Evangelism keynotes our responsibilities in these words: "Of equal impor­tance with public effort is house-to-house work in the homes of the people. . . When a dis­course is given, precious seed is sown. But if personal effort is not made to cultivate the soil, the seed does not take root."—Page 429.

The minister's activities should be organized and centered around the ones yet to be brought into the kingdom. Any program or daily routine that places soul winning in a secondary position will inevitably result in failure to God and to the soul in question, as well as to the minister himself.

The Voice of Prophecy Bible School, and other Bible schools, are acutely aware of the shift of emphasis away from what should be the main objective of our ministry. We have been reminded of this from time to time through letters from ministers who while sin­cerely busy have written us telling of their at­titudes toward the follow-up of names sent to them.

One such letter says: "I received the interest report on this man a number of months ago, but I was busy going from one program to another, and when I got around to calling on him he had cooled off. In his search for truth he joined another church."

True soul winning allows for active par­ticipation in all the main programs of the church. But there is a challenge to every worker to organize his program to include both direct and indirect soul-winning activities.

Approximately 50 per cent of the names of interested ones that have been sent to ministers by the Voice of Prophecy are never heard of again. The worker fails to contact many of them and no report is sent back to the office. Even­tually it becomes necessary to discard a thou­sand or more of these names each year. We wonder whether they are lost to the kingdom of God.

Each name represents an investment by the Voice of Prophecy of $51.25, plus the amount invested by the conference. What is still more important is the fact that the priceless blood of Jesus was paid for every man, woman, and child.

The following are a few of the many letters that have come to us from people who are seeking further help, but who have never been called upon:

"When I completed the Faith Bible Course, I made my decision to serve the Lord and began to attend the Seventh-day Adventist church. On the card sent me I signed my name indicating that I wished to be baptized. I introduced my­self to the pastor and asked for an appointment. He assured me he would call on me. The weeks passed by, but he never came. As there were other Seventh-day Adventist churches not far away, I decided to try elsewhere. In each of the churches I visited I signed a card indicating my desire to be baptized. To date, not one of these pastors has visited me."

Here is an excerpt from another letter: "While on a business trip to a distant city I tried to locate a Seventh-day Adventist church. In my search I found a Seventh-day Baptist church. As they were worshiping on Sabbath, I met with them. I found the pastor friendly, and he invited me to join them. So I was baptized there, but I am not satisfied. I know this is not the remnant church. I am passing out your literature and enrolling others in your course. I don't know what else to do."

And one more: "A year ago I was very much interested and looked up the Seventh-day Adventist church, which I found twelve miles away. Three different times I began to attend that church and requested the minister to visit me. I was keeping the Sabbath as best I could. My husband was opposed, and he invited a minister of another denomination to our home. He came often, but your minister did not come. I became confused and still more confused. Through the influence of the minister, my husband and I destroyed your lessons and promised we would never read them again. I am still not satisfied with this new church."

Many other tragic but true stories cross our desks every week. Some have written as many as six times, asking what they can do to become a Seventh-day Adventist. "Why is it that no one calls on me?" they ask. "How can I be baptized? Have you no ministers in your church?"

But there is a happier side to this sad commentary on soul winning. Many a pastor has pursued Bible school interests into the highways and byways and has reaped a rich reward. Some of these who place such a high value on soul winning through follow-up of all leads and interests are leading in the number of baptisms in their conferences. They find them­selves just as busy as the others, but have given serious study to organizing their daily program so as to allow time for visitation. Here are some of the methods they have found to be successful:

They keep the interest sheets with them in the car at all times as they travel. When they go into areas where there are those in­terested, they have all the information right at hand and are able to make contacts with the people in connection with their other ministe­rial business for that day.

If a mailing address is insufficient to locate an interested person, they write for an appoint­ment and request information on how to reach the home.

If time will not allow for a personal Bible study after a favorable initial contact, they take with them a qualified layman to give Bible studies, and resume their own visits when the interest matures.