Years ago, in a small town in Texas, a German mer-chant and his entire family came forward at the close of a service to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. When the pastor asked him to tell his experience, this is what he said. "Yesterday I closed my store early and went for a ride with my family. We were crossing the railroad tracks when a train struck the back of our car. We went home and got out, all frightened. There was just one member of our family, little Mary, a member of your church who was not frightened. We talked about it and Mary said, 'Daddy, if we had been one second later in crossing that track, all the family would have been in Hell now but me.' As soon as Mary said that, I called the family to prayer and asked Mary to lead us to heaven."
It is a blessing after we have gone forth, and have wept and prayed, and sowed the seed of the gospel to see the reaping of souls.
We might not see the reaping of all the people we witness to but if we are faithful and faint not we will see fruit for our labor.
Of course, the real test to reaping a soul is how a person responds to Jesus. Let us consider some things that are involved in a person being reaped for Jesus.
I-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A RECKONING:
Acts 16:29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
1-Out in the American West, a cowboy was driving down a dirt road, his dog riding in the back of the pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer behind. He failed to negotiate a curve and had a terrible accident.
Some time later, a highway patrol officer came on the scene. An animal lover, he saw the horse first. Realizing the serious nature of its injuries, he drew his service revolver and put the animal out of its misery. He walked around the accident and found the dog, also hurt critically. He couldn’t bear to hear it whine in pain, so he ended the dog’s suffering as well.
Finally he located the cowboy – who had suffered multiple injuries – off in the weeds. "Are you okay?" the cop asked. The cowboy took one look at the smoking revolver in the trooper’s hand and quickly replied, "Never felt better!" 1
2-Well the Philippian jailer didn’t feel too good for he was under deep conviction.
3-Salvation always begins in a felt need. I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I can be, I am not by the grace of God what I shall be. Being lost and the consciousness of being lost brings us to the Savior.
4-The Philippian jailer is down on his knees. He is facing execution in disgrace and shame, so much so that he attempts to take his own life with his sharp Roman sword. In abject misery, he asks the question of deepest human need, "What must I do to be saved?"
When a man finds himself needing God, he is near the kingdom, I do not care who he is, what he has done, or his status in life. 2
5-W.A. Criswell tells the following story: I remember eating dinner in a country home in which the family had invited the hired hand, a most untutored, untaught, and ignorant boy. The young fellow sat right across the table from me. I began talking to him and asked him if he knew the Lord, if he was a Christian. He replied: "Sir, I ain't no Christian. I am a lost sinner." 1 replied to the young fellow: "Son, you are near the kingdom, In these days of revival, 1 predict that you will be wonderfully saved. He Was.
II-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A REASONING:
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
1-A lost person needs to realize no matter how deep the stain of their sins, God is able to take it out and make them as clean as freshly fallen snow or white as wool.
2-In England there's a paper factory that makes the finest stationery that's made. One day a man touring the factory asked what it was made from. He was shown a huge pile of old rags. The rag content is what determined the quality of the paper. The man wouldn't believe it. In 6 weeks he received a package of paper from the company with his initials embossed on it. On the 1st page were written the words: "Dirty Rags Transformed." The same is true of the Christian life. 3
3-A minister said that once he had a small white Highland terrier which he kept spotlessly clean by frequent washing, brushing, and powdering. One night a winter storm dropped a fresh blanket of snow on the countryside, and the next morning the whole world seemed to glisten under the splendor of the morning sun. As the clergyman stood gazing out his window, he saw a drab-looking dog walk across the snow. He wondered whose it was -- then suddenly realized it was his own well-groomed terrier! It was as clean as always, but against that dazzling background it appeared dirty.
In much the same way, our corrupt nature is clearly revealed when our lives are measured by the absolute standard of Divine holiness. The Bible says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We make a favorable impression when compared with other men, but none of us can stand up against the pure whiteness of the character of Christ. 4
III-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A RECOGNITION:
Matthew 27:54 Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
1-He was a heathen soldier, believing in many gods, and the scenes of the cross had convinced him that Jesus was more than man.
2-If a person will be saved, they have to recognize the fact that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for their sins.
3-Calvary shows how far men will go in sin, and how far God went for man's salvation.
4-The story is told of a frontier town where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon.
The child who was saved grew up to become a wicked man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The prisoner recognized the judge as the man who, years before, had saved his life; so he begged for mercy. "You saved me once," he said. "Can't you save me again?" But the judge said, "Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged."
In the same way right now, today, Jesus is Savior. But there will come a day--the judgment day--when Jesus will be Judge. 5
IV-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A READINESS:
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
1-The life of man is filled with many experiences. One of those is the striving of the Spirit for his soul. There is a point, when he continually refuses the opportunity to be saved, that the Spirit will cease to strive with him. That is the reason a person when convicted of his sin and the need to be saved should respond to Jesus.
2-Jesse Hendley tells of something that happened when he was holding a tent meeting in Atlanta. A certain woman and her daughter-in-law came to the meeting and were gloriously saved. Then one night the elder woman said to the preacher, "I am going to bring my son to the service tomorrow night and I want you to pray for him to be saved." The young man did come the next night and heard Dr. Hendley pour out his soul for the lost. During the invitation he saw the Holy Spirit shake the young man like the wind shakes the leaves on a tree, but the young man made no response. The next morning the mother called the preacher on the phone and weepingly said, "My son was killed on the job this morning." Apparently God called for the last time, he refused the call and was taken away. Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,..."
3-In September, 1985, the camera-equipped Argo robot submarine of the USA-France expedition photographed and confirmed the wreckage of the luxury liner Titanic resting 13,120 feet down on the Atlantic ocean floor.
In its day, the Titanic was the world's largest ship, weighing 46,328 tons, 882 1/2 ft long with 3 anchors weighing more than 10 tons each. It employed a crew of 400, a hotel staff of 518 and could carry 2,433 passengers. The 159 furnaces burned 650 tons of coal a day. The ship had a complete gymnasium, heated pool, squash court and the first miniature golf course -- all below deck. Its lavish appointments included opulent dining rooms with 24-hour service, orchestra on the promenade deck, palm courts and gilded turkish baths.
Several millionaires were on the passenger list. But, on April 14, 1912, the "unthinkable" happened to the "unsinkable". Near midnight, the great Titanic struck an iceberg, ripping a 300 ft hole through 5 of its 16 watertight compartments. It sank in 2 1/2 hours killing 1,513 people. Why did so many die? Reasons: the crew disregarding the danger of the weather, there were not enough lifeboats on board, and the radio operator of the nearby California was off duty. 6
4-The Bible says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear". When God speaks to a person concerning salvation, they need to hear and response right away before it is too late.
V-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A REPENTANCE: Acts 3:19
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
1-Man is commanded from heaven to repent of his sins and to be converted, to turn back to God. It is not optional He will blot out our sins. He will regenerate our hearts.
Ezekiel 18 says: Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For 1 have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. (vv. 30-32)
2-The obligation mandated to us from heaven is that I turn, that I confess my sins, that I ask God to forgive me, and that I be converted.
3-There are many things in our lives that are optional. When we go to the store to buy a shirt we can choose the color we want. It usually makes no difference what shirt we buy. It is the same when we go out to eat. Shall we eat at a cafeteria or shall we eat at an expensive restaurant? Life is filled with a thousand daily optionals.
There are some choices in life that are not optional. One of then, is this mandate from heaven that I confess my sins and ask God to save me; that I be converted. That is not optional with me.
4-History books describe the terrible flood which destroyed Galveston, Texas in 1900. What happened was this: the federal government sent a warning to Galveston saying, "A great storm is coming; flee for your lives! Find refuge in the mainland; leave!" At that time a long, iron bridge connected the city with the mainland, and a few left the city over that bridge. But the majority of the city went out doors and looked up at the sky. There was not a cloud to be found. The ocean was calm and serene. The people went back to work and about their business.
The federal government sent them warning from the weather bureau not once or twice, but time and again: "There is a great storm Coming! Flee for your lives!" The people went out and looked at the sky which was still blue, and the ocean was calm and peaceful.
Early one morning a woman awakened her husband to tell him the wind was beginning to blow and the rain was beginning to fall. He got up and checked all the windows. The rain became a deluge and the wind became a hurricane. Great tidal waves swept over the island endlessly. For months they picked up dead bodies. The entire city was destroyed.
There are some things in life that are not optional. Our mandate from the Lord to repent is exactly like that. 7
5-Perhaps there is no better definition of repentance than that which is given in our little children's hymnbook— charles spurgeon
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before,
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."
VI-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A RECEIVING:
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
1-This verse of Scripture has been very beautifully described by one saint of God as "the simplest explanation of the plan of salvation encompassed in so brief a statement within the lids of God's Word." The door referred to here is obviously the door to man's heart or the center of his being. The Bible says, "Out of (the heart) are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). Consequently, we find Him knocking at the door of this emotional center called the heart, asking entrance. He does not force His way, but patiently knocks. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him .... "For over 2,000 years our Lord has faithfully, patiently, wonderfully knocked on the door of man's heart. How does He knock?
2-Through His Word. The Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hearth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
3-Through His people. Another method our Lord uses to knock at the door of men's hearts is through His children.
4-The late Dr. Lee Scarborough, the great preacher from Texas, told of the conversion of a well-to-do businessman who came forward at the close of a service. The pastor asked who it was that God used to speak to him about Christ. He had heard the preaching of D.L. Moody, Truett, and many other outstanding ministers, but said, "None of those great preachers moved me. About eight years ago God saved my wife. I have watched her now these eight years as she has been faithful to Jesus Christ in poverty and in riches. Night after night I've watched her kneel beside our bed to pray. I've watched her as she went faithfully to prayer meeting and church services, putting Jesus Christ first in every area of her life. Last night as we retired, when she kneeled to pray, I began to think of the difference between her life and mine. As I lay there, I thought of my life as a little molehill of nothing and her life as a great mountain for God and righteousness. I got up out of bed and for the !
first time in eight years asked her to pray for my soul. Last night, by my bedside, I was lead to Jesus Christ--not by D.L. Moody or George Truett, but by my wife." Yes, there is no question about it. Jesus knocks on the door of men's hearts through His people.
5-Through His Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus made it clear in John 14 that He sent the Holy Spirit to convict the heart of man of "sin, righteousness, and judgment." Many a man who thought he had escaped the preacher and Word of God has been awakened in the middle of the night to toss restlessly on his bed at the conviction of God's Spirit, which is the gentle knocking of Jesus at his heart's door. 8
6-When he knocks we must not turn him away, but trust him, receive him into our heart.
VII-REAPING A SOUL INVOLVES A REVEALING
Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
1-There are many ways I could reveal my getting saved. I could put it on the radio or TV.I could put it in the newspaper. I could put it on my T-Shirt. But the best way to reveal my salvation is to obey the commandment of My Lord and be baptized.
2-A lad in a Baptist family got the notion that he was going to become a preacher. So he would get up on a stump and preach to the chickens or whatever came by. He decided one day that he ought to practice the art of baptism. He looked around for suitable objects for the ceremony. Their old dog had had pups which had grown to a pretty good size. He rounded them up and took them down to the creek and began dunking them under with the appropriate words. He got down to the last one, which was the least sociable. When he picked it up, it growled and bit him, drawing some blood. "Well," he said, "I'll just sprinkle you and let you go to hell." 9
3-Well not being baptized won’t send a person to hell, for not trusting Jesus will send a person to hell. But I believe if it is possible, a person will want to be baptized for this should be the first act of obedience after being saved.
4-After I had baptized a young man, he came out the water, saying, I feel good, preacher, I feel good. Why did he feel good? Because he had done what the Lord had said we should do after getting saved.
Conclusion
O. J. Peterson gives the following testimony: I was raised in Phoenix, Ariz., just four blocks from a Southchurch. My parents were not Church people and had their problems with alcohol and its effects. No one from that other church ever knocked at our door. We were never invited to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, or revival meeting.
As a curious kid, I experimented with alcohol, then drugs. In my teens, I became hooked on drugs. I heard that you could get them easier in California than any where else, so I made my way there.It was there I met Arthur Blessitt. He told me about Jesus, who saved me.
I'm saved. I've been saved from sin. I've being saved from hell. I've been saved from alcohol. I 've been saved from a wasted life. I've been saved from drugs. I've been saved.
When we go forth, and weep, and sow, if we faint not, a reaping will take place like in the life of O. J. Peterson.
1-Peter Blackburn
2-W.A. Criswell
3-Bible Illustrator
4-Bible Illustrator
5-Bible Illustrator
6-USA Today
7-W.A. Criswell
8-Tim LaHaye
9-The Preacher’s Joke Book
