The Tears of a Sould Winner
Psalm 126:5-6
A farmer may weep due to the drudgery of his labour, but after the ground has been tilled, the seed planted and the harvest brought in, the same farmer returns from the same field rejoicing in the fruit he has received.
Let me remind you this evening, Jesus declared this world to be a field, John 4:35. He also indicated that we, His people, are the farmers who are to plant, tend and reap the harvest here. God’s call to you and me is that we be active in spreading His message to a world that is perishing. You and I are to be witnesses and soul winners in this present day.
After we have been delivered from our sins and saved by God’s grace, we should be moved by a burden to see others have what we have been given. We are to take what we have, the Gospel message, the seed, the Word of God and we are to go into a lost world and sow it for the glory of God, trusting Him to take our few seeds and turn them into a mighty harvest for His glory.
I. Attitude of Soul Winning
1. Attitude of Pursuit - Goeth Forth
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
It is all very well to praise God, but after we have praised Him and prayed to Him we must get to work, because work is a blessing and not a curse. God gave Adam and Eve work to do in the Garden of Eden before sin ever entered into the world.
In Scripture the people God has used for special service were those who were busy when He called them.
* Moses was caring for sheep - Ex 3
* Gideon was threshing wheat - Judges 6
* David was tending the family flock - 1 Samuel 16
* Nehemiah was serving the king - Nehemiah 1
* Peter, Andrew, James and John were busy fishing - Luke 5:1-11
* Matthew was in his tax office - Matthew 9:9
The sower is to "go forth" and sow that seed. The verb form there is in the present tense. This speaks of a continual, consistent going and sowing. When Jesus gave His men the Great Commission, He said to them "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations" Matt. 28:19a. That word "Go" has the idea of "as you go." In other words, your testimony is not something you should be able to turn on and off like a light switch, but we are to be constantly going and telling a lost world about Jesus.
"goeth forth" The verb tense points to a continual ministry of bearing the precious seed of the Lord’s Gospel to a perishing world. There has never been a moment, and there never will be a moment, when the message of the Gospel is not needed in the world. The whole idea is that we are to be making disciples "as we go!"
When the Bible says, "Bearing precious seeds," that little phrase has the idea "of leaving a trail of seeds." The idea here is that everywhere we go; we are to be dropping the Gospel seeds! Are you sowing as you go? Are you saturating your community with the seeds of the Gospel message? God help us to do just that!
2. Attitude of Passion - Weepeth
Notice that this farmer goes out to sow and as he sows he is shedding tears, v. 6. Why does he weep? Because he knows that everything depends on the next crop. He has a burden for the harvest and he wants to see the seed multiplied so that his people might live!
Is that a price we are prepared to pay? Are we prepared to weep over lost souls, lost sons, lost neighbours and friends?
Three times in the Gospels we are told that Jesus wept.
a. He wept for His friend - John 11:35
Standing before the tomb, sensing the heartbreak around Him, Jesus wept. Knowing that in a moment He would perform the greatest miracle so far. He would bring back to life a man rotting in the tomb, He wept at the sorrow and anguish that sin and death brought in its path.
b. He wept for His country - Matthew 23:37
He stood on the heights outside the city and wept because Jerusalem and the nation had rejected Him. He could see into the future. He could see the appalling things that would happen within a generation. He wept because a nation that had received so many blessings could be so stubborn and foolish in rejecting Him, the Messiah.
c. He wept for the world - Luke 22:44
He wept for the whole world of lost and ruined human beings. In Gethsemane the tears rolled down mingled with blood, so great was His agony as He thought of a lost world.
The Salvation Army was holding a convention. Morale was at all-time low. The organization had hit rock bottom. They did not know what to do. They sent a telegram to their founding father, William Booth, asking for any advice he could give on how they could get back on their feet.
William Booth sent back a telegram with two words: "Try tears!" When they did, revival came to the Salvation Army. We can talk about revival, preach about revival, pray for revival, but revival never comes until desperation comes, and the sign of desperation will be the tears of our eyes, and the brokenness of our heart
Isaiah said, "For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." Isaiah 66:8. May the Lord give us back our tears over a lost and dying world!
It pleases the Lord when we water with our tears the seed of the Word that we sow, we cannot reap if we do not first sow the seed, and the seed must be watered with our tears and our prayers.
II. Ammunition of Soul Winning - Bearing precious seed
The seed is called "precious." Why? There are several reasons, but the main one is the fact that the seed contains within it life. When it is sown into the ground, and the conditions are just right, that seed will germinate and new life will be the result.
1. Powerful Ammunition
When the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh King Tutankhamen was discovered, among the many treasures in that tomb were some seeds that were over 3,000 years old. Scientists took some of those seeds, planted them and they germinated and grew up into plants. No wonder the Word of God is compared to a seed. There is power in the blood, but there is also power in the book!
2. Penetrating Ammunition
I had repaired our garden path and had patched it with some cement. I was so pleased and a bit proud about my achievement. However it was ALL undone by a plant.
You see there were some seeds under this path and they started to grow and they pushed up through the cement and found the sunlight they had been looking for.
The Gospel seed is penetrating; it will go straight to the heart. Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
3. Preaching Ammunition
A physician went to hear D.L. Moody. Although he had not thought of such a result he was converted. When asked the reason for his change of heart, he said, "I went to hear Mr. Moody with no other idea than to have something to laugh at. I knew he was no scholar, and I felt sure I could find many flaws in his argument. But I found I could not get at the man. He stood there hiding behind the Bible and just fired one Bible text after another at me till they went home to my heart straight as bullets from a rifle. I tell you, Moody’s power is in the way he has his Bible at the tip of his tongue."
III. Award of Soul Winning - Doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him
I want to look at two words in Verse 6:
1. Doubtless
This word implies that the one who goes forth, weeping and bearing the precious seed will receive the harvest he anticipates. Let me remind you that the harvest is the Lord’s Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
God never promises you and me that we will be great soul winners with people getting saved everywhere, and every time we share the Gospel. His promise is that when we go His way, and carry His message, then we are successful. Success is determined by obedience to the Lord.
1Co 3:6-9 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. [7] So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. [8] Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. [9] For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
When we go and tell, we are successful
2. Rejoicing
This word indicated a state of satisfaction. The farmer who had laboured and then reaped the harvest could look upon his labour with satisfaction and with joy.
The same is true for the Christian who witnesses for the glory of the Lord! We have the same satisfaction of knowing that we have shared the Gospel, and obedience to the Lord is always a cause for satisfaction. When we witness, we will hear the "Well done" of God’s approval in the depths of our souls.
If someone gets saved through our testimony or witness, then we have the satisfaction of knowing that there is one more soul who will not have to go to hell. When we see someone come to the Lord, then we know that God has been glorified, Christ has been exalted and the devil has been cheated. All of those are wonderful things that bring satisfaction to the heart of the witness.
If we will go and sow, God will give the increase, 1 Cor. 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.. You won’t see everyone you witness to saved, but God will save some for His glory and there will be souls in Heaven because you took the time to share!
We sow the seed. God takes care of the results.
Conclusion:
Now, this evening, I am speaking to a group of people who have been given much. You have been saved by His grace and are headed to His heaven. I would just remind you that "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required," Luke 12:48. As I close this message, I want to encourage you to do a few things for me.
1. Remember where the Lord found you and what He did for you when He saved you.
2. Seek the Lord for the kind of burden you need for the souls of the lost.
3. Make a decision tonight, that by the help of the Lord, you will leave this church, go out in the field of this world and sow the Gospel seed.
Will you do that tonight? Will you listen to the voice of the Lord as He speaks to your heart about the needs of a lost world? Will you commit to taking up the precious seed of the Gospel and seeing that it is sown into a world that so desperately needs to hear about Jesus? If the Lord has spoken to your heart about this, or any matter, then you come as He calls.
