To recap the prior week’s part 1 of the series on evangelism or soul winning, Luke writes how the Lord Jesus Christ appointed seventy-two disciples to evangelize in every city and place where he was going (v 1). Evangelism requires the act of God, the act of every Christian, the act of preparing for Jesus’ second coming, and the act of harvesting (God has already planted before the foundation of the world). In today’s part 2 of the series on evangelism, Luke writes how soul-winning is the work of a few good faithful men of God. There is always a need for more laborers to be part of Jesus’ harvest and ministry.
Soul saving is an act of the few. Throughout Scripture, the Lord prefers those that will totally surrender to him. God has chosen few to be his elect to change the world (Matt. 22:14). And these few have entered through the narrow gate. Genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what differentiates the few from those that have entered through the broad gate. Scripture also reveals that Satan and the demons believe in God, but what sets apart Christians from them is their heart transformation by turning from sin to God. Through regeneration of the Spirit and true conversion, Christians possess a sincere love and passion for the Lord. Christians are the few laborers this text describes whom God uses in evangelism.
Soul saving is an act of prayer. Those that are passionate about evangelism know the importance of prayer. Without prayer, evangelism does not work. There are three things to consider regarding prayer in this text. First, Jesus is the Lord of harvest. Salvation is solely up to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, prayer is a means of supernatural communication to the mighty God who saves. Second, prayer is commanded by Jesus if you’re in the business of saving souls. Christians heed the Lord’s command to pray because it is the work of the Spirit to save. Jesus exemplified the importance of prayer as he unceasingly prayed himself. Jesus could have used many different means to save sinners, but prayer was at the forefront of his evangelism.
When Christians fail to pray, they will inevitably fail at evangelism. Prayerlessness manifests an attitude of arrogance that they can save sinners without God. Conversely, prayer without ceasing shows a man who depends on God to complete his work through them. “What compels [the Christian] to pray when it comes to evangelism is the belief that only God can save the sinner. If [Chrisitans] are convinced that the gospel really is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, [Christians] should be asking the Lord to take the message and use it in the hearts of people” (Tim Bertolet). Moreover, Christians should pray for themselves in that God provides boldness and opportunities to reap good results.
Soul saving is an act of complete obedience. Soul saving must be every believer’s ultimate goal as it comes from the Lord; therefore, all Christians are to obey. In today’s text, the Lord Jesus commands the disciples to “go” (v 3). There are three implications to the word “go”.
Going implies that the disciples’ obedience is demonstrated in going with Jesus Christ as an act of love, worship, and honor to him. Loving, worshipping, and honoring God leads to a life of pleasing him and “will prove to be a holy life when followed on from day to day” (Anthony Norris Groves). Habitually going on in life with the Lord Jesus Christ leads to a life of being above reproach.
Going implies walking or obeying through the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, Christians are unable to obey. How often have people experienced emotional highs attending church retreats, revival nights, and others that seemingly stir up a desire to live for the Lord, but how quickly that desire falls as the emotions dissipate when they come back to their respective homes. In contrast, true born-again Christians are led by the Spirit to live in obedience despite circumstances. God is the one that puts his Spirit and power in the believer to keep his laws (Ez. 36:27; Acts 1:8). Walking by the Spirit will also help the believer not to gratify the flesh because the power of the flesh deters them to do God’s work (Gal. 5:16).
The few laborers armed with prayer and the Spirit are able to accomplish God’s soul-saving work no matter the circumstances. Those that say otherwise are speaking lies. Everyone is living on God’s borrowed time. Christian, passionately ask God to work through you to prayerfully share the gospel of Jesus Christ!
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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