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“Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

John 16:31–33

Dr. Lee Roberson said, “Years ago in Chattanooga we had a little old lady in the church, a Mrs. Gentry. She became ill and was put in the hospital. Her leg had to be amputated. She had been a very active person. Now she came home with only one leg. I said, ‘Mrs. Gentry, you can still use your life. You can use what you have. Don’t turn away from serving God.’ I had her sing on my radio program. I called her the wheelchair singer. She became popular throughout Chattanooga. Mrs. Gentry’s singing brought blessing to people all over that area. Though her body was suffering, she was serving God and rejoicing.”

Things are not always going to go right for us. We are going to have trials and tribulations. Yet we have no reason to be discouraged. We do not have be defeated and give in to despair. The battle has already been fought and won for us by Jesus—He has already overcome the enemy. Our source of peace and joy is not our circumstances but our Saviour. He never leaves or forsakes us, so we need never fear that we have been abandoned. There are always opportunities for us to be a blessing and encouragement to others as we share our joy in dark days. The world does not understand how Christians can have joy because they do not understand the presence of the Holy Spirit who lives within to give us comfort and a cause to rejoice.

“And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.”

Nehemiah 12:42–43

Charles Spurgeon said, “Since man fell in the garden, he has too often sought for his enjoyments where the serpent finds his. It is written, ‘upon thy belly shalt thou go and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life,’ this was the serpent’s doom; and man, with infatuated ambition, has tried to find his delight in his sensual appetites, and to content his soul with earth’s poor dust. But the joys of time cannot satisfy an undying nature. Beloved, we are not left to search for joy; it is brought to our doors by the love of God our Father; joy refined and satisfying, befitting immortal spirits.”

The greatest source of joy that is available is found in God. When the people in Nehemiah’s day first heard the law of God and realized their failure to follow it, they were saddened. But as Ezra and the scribes taught the people what God expected, and they saw how they could obey His commandments, they began to rejoice. In fact their rejoicing was so sincere and intense that it could be heard outside the city of Jerusalem. The more that we focus on God and His Word, the more that we live in a way that produces joy. A Christian who is not rejoicing needs a new appreciation for the nature and character of our Father in Heaven. When we have a clear view of who God is, it changes our worship to become a source of joy and strength.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Philippians 4:6–8

We live in a world with plenty of problems to fill our hearts and minds. We don’t have to spend a great deal of time looking for trouble—it finds us. Yet God does not intend for us to be overcome by these problems. In fact, He has laid out a plan by which we can have joy and control of our thoughts regardless of the circumstances we face. The key to keeping our minds on God’s goodness rather than our problems—the key to maintaining our joy despite what happens around us—is found in prayer. This is not casual or intermittent prayer but rather consistent, focused, and fervent prayer.

Dr. John R. Rice wrote, “Christians should not be full of care or anxious over anything. A Christian is to pray about everything; thus, day by day he continually has his cares and worries dissolved away, and his heart is left in perfect peace all the time! Worry is a blighting sin. It is the very opposite of trust. Yet how many Christians are guilty of this sin! They lose their joy, they dwell in uncertainty, their lives are harried by burdens they ought never to carry and by fears they ought never to entertain. And the secret of ending worry and anxious care is to take things to God every day and pray through with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving.”

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”

Psalm 51:6–8

While he was still in his fifties, the English preacher William Sangster was diagnosed with the terminal illness that would take his life. When he was forced to give up his pulpit, he threw himself into writing books and organizing prayer groups for missions. Eventually, he was completely bedridden and his voice was gone. He could still grasp a pen enough to write. In a letter to his daughter penned just weeks before his death Sangster wrote, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice to shout, ‘He is risen!’—but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”

When we see people who are joyful, the temptation is to think that they must have it easy—that they do not suffer the same kind of problems or carry the same burdens that we do. That is not the case. One ancient philosopher said that if everyone brought their troubles out and put them in a pile for the world to see, each person after reflecting on the burdens others carry would if given the choice take home the same ones they brought with them.

Joy is not the product of circumstance, but a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is the result of walking with our focus on what God is doing rather than what we are experiencing. Physically or emotionally or financially we may be enduring great difficulty and hardship, but we can still have the strength and the joy of the Lord if we walk in the Spirit.

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:35–38

There is a marked contrast between the way Jesus viewed the people who came to hear Him and the way His disciples viewed them. When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was filled with compassion for them and wanted to help them and meet their needs. The disciples instead viewed the crowds who came to Jesus as a source of trouble and frustration. On at least one occasion they even asked Jesus to get rid of the people. “Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat” (Mark 6:36).

When we see a lost world around us, our hearts should not be indifferent to their fate. When David Livingstone was a young man studying to be a doctor, he heard the pioneer missionary, Robert Moffat, describe the need for taking the Gospel to Africa: “There is a vast plain to the north where I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.” That statement gripped Livingstone’s heart and set the course of his life to reach as many of those villages as he could. May we never be content to go to Heaven alone. May we never get to the point of viewing the lost as a frustration, but rather as people in need of the Good News.

“Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Isaiah 6:6–8

As Hudson Taylor’s pioneer missionary work, the China Inland Mission, began to grow, there was a great need for more workers. I read that at one point, a one-legged Scottish school teacher applied to the mission board. Because of his handicap, he was viewed with some skepticism. Taylor asked why a one-legged man was thinking of going to the mission field. The teacher replied, “I do not see the two-legged men going,” and he was immediately accepted for the work and sent to China.

The question of God that Isaiah heard is still being asked in our day. God is looking for Christians who will answer the challenge of taking the gospel to the lost. It would have been easy for God to give this task to angels, but instead, He has called and commanded us to share the gospel message with others. There is a reason we refer to Christ’s final command to His disciples as the Great Commission—it is of utmost importance.

While it is beneficial to learn more and sharpen our ability to present the gospel, the most important thing is that we share the message. We never know whether the opportunity to witness will come again, so we need to be alert to witnessing opportunities and take advantage of each one.

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”

Romans 9:1–3

Every one of the more than seven billion people living on the face of the Earth will spend eternity either in Heaven or in Hell. Over a billion people were born in the fifteen-year period between 1999 and 2014. Each of them must either choose Christ as Saviour or die in their sins—and yet many, many of them have never even heard the gospel. Charles Spurgeon said, “If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.”

The reality is that the mission field is not just far off places where the customs and language are different from our own. The mission field is also our jobs, our neighborhoods, our restaurants, and our families. The people you meet today are headed toward eternity. Our society is obsessed with avoiding the reality that life will end. People spend large amounts of money trying to look and feel young. Companies sell “life” insurance that doesn’t keep you alive and doesn’t pay you if you live. Cemeteries used to be located right by the church so people saw them every Sunday. But no matter how much we try to avoid or deny it, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If we keep this inescapable truth in our minds, we will not find it hard to witness to those we meet.

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:18–20

Those of us who are saved have been given an amazing gift through God’s grace. But we have been given another gift as well—the joy of sharing the gospel with others. What an honor it is to be ambassadors for the Lord of Heaven! We have the opportunity to invite men and women into His family! We should view soulwinning as a great privilege rather than as an obligation. We should joyfully share the gospel with everyone we meet. We should rejoice in the salvation we have received and in turn take the same hope of eternal life to others.

David Livingstone said, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life—these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice.”

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 2:1–4

The first church in Jerusalem was quickly flooded with new converts. Three thousand were saved on the Day of Pentecost. Another five thousand were saved not long after. The greatest characteristic of that church was that the members—both the apostles and the other men and women who had followed Jesus—were constantly witnessing to people. Every time they had the opportunity, they shared the gospel. But their witness was not done in their own strength and power. The Holy Spirit of God gave impetus to their message and brought conviction to those who heard their witness.

Andrew Murray said, “There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service. It is only in a church in which this spirit of revival has at least begun, that there is any hope of radical change in the relation of the majority of our Christian people to mission work.” I think it is helpful to have a plan of approach when you witness to someone, but the most important thing someone who wishes to be an effective soulwinner needs is the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Soulwinning is not a sales technique. It is not our ability and personality that matters. The message is not our message but His. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and draws men and women to salvation.

“And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”
Mark 5:18–20

People who came in contact with Jesus had their lives dramatically transformed. One of the most remarkable transformations was seen in the life of the maniac of Gadera. This demon-possessed man had been driven out of town and was living among the tombs. The demons gave him great strength so that he could not be bound. Yet, after Jesus cast out the demons, the people of the town found him, “sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15).

He expressed a desire to join the followers of Jesus and travel with Him, but instead Jesus gave him a mission—go back to those who had known him before and give witness to the transformation that God’s grace had brought about in his life. Oswald Smith said, “Oh, my friends, we are loaded down with countless Church activities, while the real work of the Church, that of evangelizing the world and winning the lost, is almost entirely neglected.”

I am delighted to be a part of a church where there is a lot going on. There is a spirit of life and activity around Lancaster Baptist that offers people a variety of ways to fellowship, learn, share, and grow. But, while there are many things that are good and helpful, the most important thing is our soulwinning efforts. That is the heart of the church. If that is lost, no program can substitute for it.

“Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.”

Luke 24:45–48

I read that D.L. Moody was once criticized for his methods of evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord. If you know anything about Moody, he was aggressive in seeking people out and asking them if they were saved. Moody’s reply to the critic was gracious. “I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?” The critic replied, “I don’t do it.” Moody retorted, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”

All of us have different responsibilities in life. We have work and family obligations. We have hobbies and interests we pursue. We make commitments of our time, our talents and our resources. Yet, if we are not careful we can become so busy—even with good things—that we lose sight of what is most important. Anything that prevents us from accomplishing our primary mission needs to be reevaluated, because the enemy knows that busyness can derail us just as quickly as laziness can.

There are always choices and tradeoffs that we must make in life. There are simply not enough hours in the day to do everything we might like to do. That makes it imperative that we wisely invest our time in what matters most. There is a reason that all four of the Gospels record the Great Commission—and then for good measure it is repeated at the beginning of Acts. Taking the gospel to those around us is not optional; it is commanded.

“Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven. Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.”

Lamentations 3:48–51

I read about an elderly lady who frequently went to a particular post office branch in her town because the employees there were so friendly. One Christmas season she was standing in a long line to buy some stamps. A man standing in line struck up a conversation with her, and found out why she was there. He reminded her that there was a stamp machine in the lobby she could use to avoid the line. “I know,” she replied, “but the machine won’t ask me about my arthritis!”

Though people today have more ways to communicate and connect than ever before, we live in a society filled with people who are lonely and desperately wanting someone to care about them. Even with billions of people on the planet, most have few true friends. The world has become much more industrialized and process focused, resulting in a lack of meaningful personal relationships.

This longing for someone to genuinely care is an open door to caring Christians who are looking for opportunities to witness. Jude wrote, “And of some have compassion, making a difference” (Jude 1:22). When we look at the life of Christ, we see that His interactions with people were characterized by a genuine concern for their needs. At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus wept for the sorrow and pain of the grieving family even though He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. The lost world around us needs to hear and see a message of compassion and hope.

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Psalm 126:5–6

There is great joy in Heaven and on Earth when someone trusts Christ as Saviour. Yet, the process of reaching someone with the gospel is often long and painful. While there are people who are saved the first time they hear the Good News, it is often the case that lengthy periods of prayer, work, and conversation precede the decision to accept God’s gift of grace. Frequently during those times, those who are witnessing find their hearts breaking. Yes, there is rejoicing when someone is saved, but that may be preceded by sorrow.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Reckon then that to acquire soulwinning power, you will have to go through mental torment and soul distress. You must go into the fire if you are going to pull others out of it, and you will have to dive into the floods if you are going to draw others out of the water.” Sometimes the painful experiences of our lives are the very thing that opens the door for us to present the gospel to someone. It was no doubt painful to be beaten and thrown into jail in Philippi, but as a result Paul and Silas saw the jailer and his whole family saved.

When we look at the task of reaching the lost, we need to do so with an appreciation for the cost that it may entail. This should not come as a surprise, for while salvation comes to us at no cost, it was purchased by Christ at great expense on the cross. Just as He was willing to pay the price for our salvation, we should be willing to pay the price to reach others with the gospel.

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

2 Corinthians 6:1–2

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the USA Today newspaper conducted extensive surveys of those who had been in the World Trade Center towers when the airplanes struck the buildings. In addition, they interviewed family members of people who died in the attack. After more than three hundred interviews, they concluded that the people who survived were the ones who immediately fled the buildings. Many of those who waited to see what was happening perished. The same thing is true in the spiritual realm. Every person to whom we present the gospel has an appointment with eternity and we do not know when that moment will come.

There are some people we will witness to this week who will never again after our meeting have an opportunity to accept Christ as Saviour. This sobering reality should add urgency to our witnessing. A person who rejects the gospel is making a crucial decision with eternal consequences. We should never lose sight of what is at stake. In his final meetings with the leaders of the church at Ephesus, Paul reminded them of the intensity and fervor of his soulwinning efforts in their city. “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). We need to take full advantage of each open door to present the gospel to the lost, and we need to do so with a serious purpose and a fervent and compassionate spirit.

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”

1 Corinthians 3:6–9

Every faithful soulwinner knows what it is like to go home empty handed. We knock on doors without them being opened. We miss contacts and connections with people for whom we have been praying. We present the gospel to someone who seems to be interested, but then decides not to make a decision. We run into a scoffer who ridicules what we are doing. Those are discouraging days. No matter how many years you have been witnessing, the devil will come on those days and tell you that your efforts are in vain and not worth making.

That is a lie! If you allow yourself to believe that a lack of immediate results is an indictment of the method God has given us in His Word to reach the world, you will give up on soulwinning. There are many churches that have abandoned the Bible and gone in a search for something new. But God’s plan has not changed. He still means for us to witness to the lost. We are to go to their homes, talk to them on the job, and use every means available to reach people.

After he was defeated in his presidential re-election bid, John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives where he labored to end slavery. Though he saw no fruit from his efforts during his lifetime, Adams often told his friend, “Duties are ours. Results are God’s.” The same holds true for the soulwinner.

“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.”

Acts 17:1–4

Paul was a greatly used missionary and preacher who won souls and established churches everywhere he went. He seized every opportunity to present the gospel, whether it was speaking in a Jewish synagogue, debating Greek philosophers or meeting with people one on one in their homes. There are accounts of several of Paul’s sermons and presentations of the gospel in the Scripture, and they had a common element—Paul was always talking about Jesus. He never forgot the encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus—that changed his life. There are many ways to present the gospel, but there is only one gospel, and that is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We have no other message because God has no other plan of salvation. Peter put it this way: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The most important thing for a soulwinner is not knowing how to answer every possible objection people raise, although we should learn as much as we can to be effective in our witness. The most important thing is for us to make much of Jesus. He is the heart of our message to a lost and dying world.

“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

2 Corinthians 5:9–11

Before he died in January of 1956, Jim Elliot was virtually unknown. But the circumstances of his death, being martyred along with four other missionaries while working to reach tribes deep in the jungles of Ecuador, quickly made him a household name. Elliot was deeply committed to the cause of reaching people with the gospel. In his journal he wrote, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to a decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” Though the missionaries could have defended themselves with their guns, they chose to lay down their lives. In the following years, other missionaries, including the wives of some of those men, did reach the local people with the gospel and many were saved.

There is a level of commitment and intensity that characterizes fruitful soulwinners. They do not approach the task of sharing the gospel with a casual attitude, but with a recognition of the seriousness of the cause. Not only is the eternal destiny of those to whom we witness at stake, but we will also face a day at the judgment seat of Christ when we will give an account of our faithfulness to proclaim the gospel. Jim Elliot also said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

1 Timothy 1:11–13

The life of Saul of Tarsus underwent a radical transformation after he had an encounter with Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus. After persecuting and murdering believers in Jerusalem, Paul got permission to go more than one hundred miles to hunt down a group of Christians who had fled there for safety. It was while he was on that trip that the man who would become the Apostle Paul was converted. Blinded by the light he saw from Heaven, he was led to Damascus where a Christian named Ananias lived. God told this man to go to Paul and lay hands on him so that his vision would be restored.

Because of the fearsome reputation of Saul, Ananias was somewhat reluctant to carry out this mission. “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Though Saul had been a violent opponent of Christianity, God had a plan for him to become a witness of the gospel. While most of us never reached that level of open opposition to God and His work, we were still enemies of—on the opposing side of—the Lord, and children of the devil when we were saved. Only because of the grace of God was salvation offered to us. And because of that amazing grace, we should be diligent to witness to all those we can reach. The salvation message is too wonderful a treasure for us to hoard it.

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

2 Corinthians 4:1–4

Born in a small village near Paris in 1809, Louis Braille loved to play in his father’s leather working shop. An accident with an awl when he was just three, and a subsequent infection left Braille completely blind by the time he was five. Sent to Paris to attend one of the few schools in the world for blind children, Louis Braille found the system for reading for the blind to be extremely difficult, and the system for writing almost non-existent. By the time he was fifteen, the brilliant young man had adapted a French military code into what we now call the Braille alphabet which blind people could read and write. For the first time, doors of opportunity and understanding were opened to those who could not see.

The Bible often describes the condition of the lost with the metaphor of blindness. A person who is blind needs help from someone else in order to find his way. He is not capable of discerning his surroundings and circumstances. The major difference between physical blindness and spiritual blindness is awareness—a blind man knows he cannot see, but often a lost man does not realize the true state of his soul. The work of the soulwinner is to bring the light and hope of the gospel to the lost.

“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

2 Corinthians 4:5–7

We live in a self-focused world. Most people, sadly even most Christians, care more about their own desires and satisfaction than they do for what God wants and expects. That of course is a problem in any area of life, but there is a particular impact on our soulwinning. The devil will use any technique to get us off track. If he cannot get us to do wrong, he will try to get us to do right, but with the wrong motives or methods. This was the temptation he used to draw the Pharisees away. They were quite devout outwardly, but their motivation was to receive praise and attention from men.

Jesus said, “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2). If we are participating in soulwinning outreaches to be noticed by others, we are going to be ineffective and lacking in God’s power.

We are not the message but the messengers, and the messengers are not the stars of the show. Paul said, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). We should have our focus on Jesus and remember that the purpose of everything we do, including our witnessing, is to bring honor and glory to Him.

“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Acts 1:6–8

The great New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra is almost as well known for his mangled use of the English language as he was for his baseball skill. Asked about a popular eating spot in New York, Berra said, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” On another occasion, he ordered a pizza from room service. The cook asked if he wanted it cut into six slices or eight. “Make it six,” Berra responded. “I don’t think I could eat eight slices.” Here is one more piece of wisdom from Berra: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

When it comes to winning the world, we need to do two things at the same time. According to the last instruction of Jesus, our witness of the gospel is to take place simultaneously both near and far. This is why a healthy local church should be involved in reaching their own Jerusalem, as well as supporting and sending missionaries to the uttermost parts of the earth. In the earliest days of the first church, they did not spread out to witness but remained in Jerusalem. As a result, God sent persecution to scatter the people and get the Good News to other nations. We should not wait until trouble comes to witness both near and far.

“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”

Matthew 4:19–22

There is no doubt about our need to follow Jesus, but sometimes people get off track as to what is required to do so. While there are many things followers of Jesus will and will not do—things that Jesus said are required to walk in His footsteps—the very foundation and beginning of the call of Jesus to those who became His first disciples was to be soulwinners. The first four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John left their fishing nets and began to seek to win others to Christ.

Everywhere He went Jesus talked to people about the gospel. Whether it was a Jewish religious leader like Nicodemus or a despised and immoral Samaritan woman Jesus met sitting by a well, He always told men and women that they needed salvation. He said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5). It is not enough to say we are following Jesus because we are kind to others, because we are faithful to church, or because we give of our resources.

To truly follow Jesus we must copy His example of presenting the gospel to others. He summed up His mission this way: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The matter of soulwinning must be the main thing, both for our churches and for us as individual believers, or we are not obedient followers of Christ.

“And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.”

Matthew 20:31–34

If we truly grasp that people face an eternity either in Heaven or Hell—and that God has chosen and commanded us to take the gospel to them—it will not be hard for us to have the compassion on the lost that Jesus did. When someone rejects the gospel, it should break our hearts. There is no more important matter in all the world.

D. L. Moody told of a man who came to some of his meetings. When he asked him to trust Christ, the man hesitated because he was afraid his friends would mock him. For weeks he came to services without getting saved. Then he got very ill and asked Moody to come and pray for him. Though the doctors did not expect him to recover, he did.

Moody said, “When he got pretty well he was sitting on the front porch, and I sat down by him and said, ‘You will be going now to confess Christ?’ Said he, ‘Mr. Moody, I promised God that I would; but I will wait. If I lose my soul, no one will be to blame but myself.’ Just one week from that very day his wife sent for me. He had had a relapse. I prayed, but it seemed as if my prayer went no higher than my head. In an almost inaudible voice, he whispered, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved,’ and he died.”

“And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,”

Acts 20:18–20

When I came to Lancaster Baptist Church in 1986, there was a handful of people and the church was in real financial trouble. We could have tried to resolve that by focusing on stewardship or a giving campaign, but that didn’t offer much hope for a solution. I hadn’t ever pastored a church before, though I had been on a church staff. There were a lot of things I didn’t know, but the one thing I knew for sure was that the city of Lancaster and our larger community of the Antelope Valley needed the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we started out knocking on doors and brought witness of the gospel to thousands of homes.

With all my heart, I believe that the purpose of the local church is summed up in the commission Christ gave His disciples just before He ascended to Heaven. This last command of Christ should be our highest priority; every facet of church activity should in some way relate to this, the purpose of the church. Acts 5:42 records that the Jerusalem church was indeed fulfilling this purpose: “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” This young church was constantly engaged in making the gospel known to the world. We do not need new methods today. Our great need is for obedience to God’s revealed plan of soulwinning.

“So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Luke 14:21–23

The noted evangelist Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, said that in his study of the New Testament, he had identified forty different people who suffered from some disease and were healed by Jesus. Of that number, only six came to Jesus on their own. The others were either brought to Jesus by friends or family members, or Jesus was brought to where they were to heal them. The same is true today—the vast majority of people who become Christians do not just wander into church to hear the gospel. Instead someone talks to them in their home, on the job, on the street, or somewhere else, and explains to them their need of a Saviour.

We present the gospel in the services at Lancaster Baptist Church because people need to hear it, and people do respond. But the primary means by which the gospel is presented is through personal evangelism. As Christians we have the responsibility to go to others with the Good News rather than sitting back and waiting for them to come to us. For many years as pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church, Dr. Lee Roberson said he wanted them to be a church that “Put the ‘Go’ in the Gospel.” All around us there are people who are living and will die apart from Christ. We need to resolve to commit our lives to reaching them before it is too late.

“One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

John 1:40–42

Andrew is not a major Bible character. Outside of the places where his name is included as part of a list of the disciples, he only appears in three stories. Yet in each of those stories, Andrew is found bringing someone to Jesus. What a wonderful testimony for anyone to have. There is no more important calling that we have as Christians than to share our faith with a lost and dying world. The world has many different standards by which success is measured, but they are all focused on temporal things. God is interested in the eternal, and He calls us to go out with the gospel and win the lost.

J. B. Chapman said, “Young man, young woman, make the most of your life. Go after souls. Go after them the best way you know, but go after them. Do not listen to those who warn you that you will offend and drive away by your persistence. Go after souls. Go after them by public and private testimony. Go after them by service and by prayer. But go after them. Go after them with love and a burdened heart. Go after them by kind deeds. Go after them by song and praise. Go after them when they are bereaved and in sorrow. Go after them when they are especially favored of God and men. But go after them. This soulwinning life is your life—make the most of it.”

Be Ready to Witness

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”

1 Peter 3:15–16

After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Major D. W. Whittle returned home to a successful business career with the Elgin Clock Company. It would not be long before his association with D. L. Moody persuaded him to give up that career for full time evangelistic work. Whittle wrote a number of hymns, including “Showers of Blessing” and “I Know Whom I Have Believed.” Whittle became a greatly used personal soulwinner as well, but that was not always the case.

Whittle told a friend named Howard Pope that at one point while he was still in his business career but had started preaching and singing, a lady came to his office and said, “Major Whittle, my husband was greatly impressed with the services last night, and he promised me that he would come down and see you this morning.” Whittle told her “He just asked the price of brass, and talked around a little.” “That was just an excuse for his coming,” she told him. Whittle responded, “I am sorry to say that all I talked about was just brass too.” In recounting the story later Whittle said, “That was a mistake I never forgot.”

Our church has planned times of soulwinning for people to go out and present the gospel to others. I believe this is important because scheduling soulwinning helps us fulfill this important obligation. But there are many other times when an opportunity may arise, and we need to be alert and take advantage of each one of those.

“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:7–9

Charles Spurgeon came from a long line of preachers. He recounted that once when he had been scheduled to preach in a country church he was delayed by a train breakdown. His grandfather, a retired pastor had begun the sermon in Spurgeon’s absence, preaching from Ephesians 2. When Spurgeon arrived, his grandfather handed over the message in progress and took a seat on the platform. Spurgeon said that as he preached, he could hear his grandfather’s voice: “Now and then he would say, in a gentle tone, ‘Good! Good!’ Once he said, ‘Tell them that again, Charles,’ and of course I did tell them that again.”

The salvation message—that eternity in Heaven is freely offered through God’s grace completely apart from our own merit to all those who will receive it through faith—is one that needs to be told again and again. It needs to be told to those who have never heard it before, both in our own cities and around the world. It needs to be told to those who have heard it but not received it, so that they have an opportunity to be saved before it is too late. It needs to be told to those who have already believed so that they never forget the marvelous grace of God.

In short, the Good News should be at the very center of our lives. It should fill our hearts with gratitude and praise each time we reflect on the gift of salvation we received and it should fill our mouths as we share the wonderful story of grace with those around us.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Luke 13:34–35

D. L. Moody told a story he heard from a pastor friend in the southern part of the United States. The pastor was working in his office preparing a sermon when he felt impressed to visit the son of one of his church members and witness to him. He went to the place where the young man worked, and while he was on a break led him to the Lord. That night when the young man went home, he found the members of his family gathered at the table for the evening meal—all except his father. He went into the living room where his father was and told him of his conversion. The father said, “Son, twenty-four hours ago I became so troubled about your salvation that I vowed before God to fast and pray until you were saved, but I told no one of my purpose.” The father’s sincere prayers from a burdened heart made a difference for his son.

The eternal destiny of our family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers should weigh on us. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. Salvation is the most important matter in the world. But if we treat it casually, those to whom we witness are not likely to take it seriously. There should be an intensity and burden to both our witnessing and our praying for those who are lost. God hears and honors the prayers of those with burdened hearts.

“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

Luke 15:5–7

Charles Spurgeon, said, “Even if I were utterly selfish, and had no care for anything but my own happiness, I would choose if I might, under God, to be a soulwinner; for never did I know perfect, overflowing, unutterable happiness of the purest and most ennobling order till I first heard of one who had sought and found the Saviour through my means. No young mother ever rejoiced over her firstborn child, no warrior was so exultant over a hard-won victory.”

We speak of soul winning as an obligation and a commandment to fulfill, and it is. But soulwinning is so much more than that—it is also a source of great joy. First and foremost, Heaven rejoices when a lost soul is saved. Jesus said, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10). The measure of God’s love for the world seen in the gift of His Son to purchase our redemption makes it easy to understand why Heaven celebrates salvation. It is the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

But there is also great joy on Earth. As a parent, the days when our children were saved were some of the happiest of our lives. Those who have prayed for years for the salvation of a family member know the rejoicing that comes when those prayers are finally answered. We should not miss out on this wonderful source of joy by failing to witness.

“And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”

Acts 8:27–29

Dr. Henry Trumbull was a gifted author and teacher despite having little formal education. He wrote, “I have been for more than twenty-five years an editor of a religious periodical that has a circulation of more than a hundred thousand a week during much of the time. Meanwhile, I have published more than thirty volumes. Yet, looking back upon my work during all these years, I can see more direct result of good through my individual efforts with individuals than I can through all of my spoken words to thousands upon thousands of persons in religious assemblies, or all my written words.”

There are many people today looking for new methods to reach the world with the gospel. I am in favor of taking advantage of the tools that modern technology makes available to us, but the greatest need we have is not new methods but increased obedience to the command God has already given us. If we follow the pattern seen in the first church, we will find that we are reaching people. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).

We never know what the people we win to Christ may accomplish for Him. A Scottish pastor was greatly discouraged because the only convert he had seen in a year of preaching was “wee Bobby Moffat” but Moffat became one of the greatest pioneer missionaries the world has known. Take the time to share the gospel with someone today and allow God to use your witness.

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears;”

2 Timothy 4:1–3

One of the greatest truths of the Christian life is that the Lord is coming back. Knowing that we will one day give an account to Him of what we have done, we should be motivated to serve him. The instruction that Paul gave to Timothy regarding his response to this truth is applicable to all of us. Each of God’s children should be ready to present a clear and compelling case for the gospel at a moment’s notice. We need to recognize that we live in a world that more and more hates the truth. That does not mean that we should give up and retreat but that we should increase our efforts to proclaim the gospel.

We see this pattern in the early church. When leaders like James were martyred, laymen like Stephen and Philip took up the challenge and confronted Jews, Samaritans, and foreigners with the Good News. Because it was the different members of the church who were presenting the gospel everywhere they went, those who opposed the church found it impossible to stamp out the message, no matter what they did to the leaders. While it is possible that in the future we will face great persecution even in America if we are faithful to the truth, the best way to prepare for such an event is to be faithful now. God’s plan is for each member of the church, not just those in leadership roles, to be a witness.

“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Luke 4:17–19

When Cory Weissman, a student at Gettysburg College, took the floor for the final men’s basketball game of the 2012 season, the crowd burst into applause. Cory, a star high school athlete, had suffered a massive stroke four years earlier, and it had taken years of grueling physical therapy for him to able to walk at all. He had no business on the court, but his coach wanted to reward his diligent effort in trying to recover from the stroke.

Cory limped his way up and down the court for a minute or two and then went to the bench. But with just a minute left and his team far ahead, the coach put Cory back into the lineup. The coach of the opposing Washington College team instructed one of his players to foul Cory so that he would have a chance to score. After missing the first free throw, Cory Weissman shot again, scoring the only point of his college career. The Gettysburg assistant athletic director wrote Washington’s coach and said he, “Displayed a measure of compassion that I have never witnessed in over thirty years of involvement in intercollegiate athletics.”

Christians should be the most compassionate of all people, extending grace and hope to those who are hurting. This was the defining characteristic Jesus expressed at the beginning of His ministry, and it should describe us as well.

“And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.”

2 Samuel 9:3–5

When Raymond Dunn was born in 1975, doctors thought he would only live a few days. Born with severe physical defects, Dunn could not speak or see. He did not grow normally, and as a teenager he weighed less than forty pounds. But his family’s determined love and care kept him alive. One of the biggest obstacles was finding something Dunn could eat. He was allergic to almost all foods, except for a special Gerber baby food known as MBF. The problem was that with little demand for the product, Gerber discontinued it in 1985.

The family bought up all they could from around the country, but eventually the supply began to dwindle. After a desperate appeal, Gerber employees volunteered their time and the company donated the materials and allowed the machines to be set up for a special run. Every two years for the rest of Raymond’s life, the company would fire up the production line to turn out a new supply of MBF for the “Gerber Boy” as he came to be called. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” said Dr. Sandra Bartholmey, a Gerber nutritionist. Raymond Dunn lived to be almost twenty years old because of kindness shown to him and his family. If you look around today, you will easily find people who are desperate for a kind and encouraging word—give it to them.

“And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

1 Corinthians 9:20–22

In the days of William Booth, few churches had interest in reaching the outcasts of society who lived in poverty or on the streets. After the Salvation Army was founded and began to see many saved and lives transformed, Booth became a well-known figure in both England and America. At one point he was invited to meet with Queen Victoria. As they talked she asked him what the secret of his success was. Booth replied, “Your Majesty, some men have a passion for money. Some people have a passion for things. I have a passion for people.”

Every one of us gets the same amount of time each day. Though we do not know how long we will live, we do know that we have today. The question is how we will use the gift of time that we have been given. Will we spend the most precious resource that we have on the temporal or on the eternal? The Apostle Paul reminds us that we have a choice in our lives. “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble” (1 Corinthians 3:12). Works that are burned up at the Judgment Seat will not produce rewards. Only if we spend our time and resources on what matters to God will we hear Him say, “Well done.”

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Psalm 103:1–5

Prior to the Civil War, U. S. Grant had a mixed record. An indifferent student, he graduated near the bottom of his class at West Point and resigned from the army under a cloud in 1854. Called back to service when the fighting broke out, Grant established a reputation as a dogged commander who would grind opposing armies into surrender. His refusal to negotiate any terms with the defeated Confederate Army, earned him the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.

Yet after his victory at Fort Donelson, he treated the Confederate commander, Simon Bolivar Buckner, a former classmate of his at West Point, with great dignity and respect. Years before Buckner had helped Grant with a generous loan when Grant could not even afford to return home. Buckner later described their meeting this way: “Under these circumstances I surrendered to General Grant. I had at a previous time befriended him, and it has been justly said that he never forgot an act of kindness.” Grant repaid Buckner the money he had once been loaned so that the defeated general would not be in need.

God expects us to be thankful people. We have been given much through God’s grace, and it is only right and proper that we frequently and joyfully express our gratitude for what He has done. The devil knows that if he can persuade us to take these things for granted, he has planted seeds that will destroy the harvest of thanksgiving in our lives.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”

Luke 17:15–17

In September of 1860, the Lady Elgin left Chicago carrying several hundred people who had come to hear a speech by presidential hopeful Stephen Douglas. In a strong storm, the ship was struck by the Augusta, and badly damaged. The captain attempted to return to shore, but the ship broke up and sank. Only one lifeboat was able to reach land safely and the alarm was sounded. With hundreds of people clinging to wreckage an effort was made to save them.

Edward Spencer, a young man studying for the ministry at Northwestern University dashed out into the rough water and began bringing people back to shore. Again and again he went out, despite warnings from his friends. As his body weakened he made one last trip, rescuing the eighteenth passenger before collapsing. His health never fully recovered. Some years later a reporter doing a retrospective on one of the deadliest shipping accidents in United States history visited Spencer to talk about that morning. He asked if any of those Spencer had saved had returned to thank him. “Not one ever came back,” Spencer replied.

We were dying and headed for Hell when God saved us. Yet too often we fail to stop and acknowledge the incredible gift we have received through His grace. We are tempted to believe the lie of Satan that we deserve all the good things that God bestows on us rather than recognizing them as signs of His love. Thanksgiving is not meant to be a once a year shopping and eating event but instead a daily lifestyle that expresses the true feelings of our hearts.

“Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.”

Psalm 106:43–45

There is an old story of a desperate mother seeking an audience with the Emperor Napoleon to beg for a pardon for her son. As she pleaded for his life, Napoleon reminded her that her son had committed not one but two capital offenses and justice demanded the death penalty. She responded, “But I don’t ask for justice. I plead for mercy.” “In light of what he has done he does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. “Sir,” the woman begged, “It would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask.” “Then he shall have mercy,” the emperor declared, and spared the young man’s life.

Someone said that the difference between grace and mercy is that grace gives you what you don’t deserve and mercy keeps you from getting what you do deserve. God’s mercy is such an amazing blessing, and it is the only hope that we have of making it through life day after day. Jeremiah wrote, “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22).

There is not a single day when we are not completely dependent on the mercy of God. We do not gain salvation by any merit of our own, and we do not succeed in our work for God because of our innate abilities and goodness. Everything that we accomplish, everything that we achieve is a direct result of God’s patience and forbearance that keeps us from utter destruction. When it comes time for us to count our blessings and give thanks, God’s mercy should be at the very top of our list.

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Romans 4:5–8

Every Christian can claim the standing with God that is the inner cry of every heart—whether it is ever openly admitted or not—to be forgiven. Most of the world carries a weight of guilt for which they have no solution. And this guilt is not misplaced, for apart from salvation through Jesus Christ we have no excuse to offer before God for our sinful thoughts, attitudes, and actions. The gift of salvation offers the only hope for this problem.

I have read that outside New York City in a cemetery there is a unique grave marker. On the headstone is carved a single word: Forgiven. There is no name and no dates of birth or death on the stone. There is no ornamentation, and no epitaph offering wisdom or advice. But in that single word is a testimony of hope for the future that is beyond price.

Those of us who have been saved have so much for which to be thankful. Whether we look at the temporal or eternal, through God’s grace a remarkable transformation has taken place. We have freely received the benefits of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, and given the privilege of being called children of God. Jesus told the disciples who were rejoicing in the power He had given them to cast out demons that they had something better than that. He said, “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

“Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”

Job 2:9–10

Years ago I heard a wonderful story from the mission field. A pastor who was visiting India during a harvest festival told of an elderly widow who brought a very large offering of rice—a great deal more than she could afford to give. The visiting pastor confirmed with the leaders of the church that she was impoverished. He asked her about the meaning of her offering. “My son was sick and I promised a large gift to God if he got well,” she replied. “And your son recovered?” he asked. “No,” she said, “He died last week. But I know that he is in God’s care, and for that I am especially thankful.”

People sometimes say, “God has been good to me lately” when things are going well, but in truth God is good to us all the time. He is just as faithful and loving and kind when we are sick as He is when we are well. He is just as gracious and giving when we are struggling to make ends meet as He is when we have extra money in the bank. God’s goodness is not seen in our comfort or our material abundance, but in the extraordinary grace that He freely bestows on us day after day. The Apostle John put it this way, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1). Since nothing can change our standing in His family, we always have reason to give thanks.

“Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

Hebrews 13:13–15

It seems odd to talk of praise as being a sacrifice. In Old Testament days sacrifices were usually something a person had grown or raised. People brought various animal and produce offerings depending on the occasion. Later on money was more commonly given. Yet the Bible refers to praise as an offering in the same terms—the writer of Hebrews here is quoting an expression also used by the prophet Jeremiah to describe the thanksgiving of God’s people. And praise is a sacrifice because when we give thanks, we are acknowledging that God is the source of our blessings rather than taking credit for them ourselves.

A. W. Tozer said, “Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.” The ingratitude of our society has seeped into the church, and we far too often take for granted the good things that God gives to us on a daily basis. Even worse we can develop a sense of entitlement, thinking that we deserve God’s blessings. Praise protects us against such evil thinking.

If we have to search for things for which to be grateful, we truly are not paying attention. God loads us with good things, and we should praise Him for them. Charles Spurgeon said, “When we bless God for mercies, we usually prolong them. When we bless God for miseries, we usually end them. Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace.”

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

Colossians 1:12–14

Any list of our blessings as Christians must begin with our salvation. The grace of God freely provided us the opportunity and privilege to become part of His family. There are so many benefits that accompany our salvation: the restored relationship with God, freedom from guilt regarding the past, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the ability to understand the Scriptures are just a few. But the greatest blessing of all is the one we have not yet received. Salvation offers us the certain hope of eternal life with God in Heaven. This world is not the end—it is merely the doorway. Because God has saved us we know what will happen when we die. We have no need to fear the end of life, for it will be followed by something far better. For the believer, the best is truly yet to come.

Evangelist D. L. Moody put it this way: “Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal—a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”

“Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.”

Philippians 4:14–17

Most people realize the importance of gratitude, so if they are asked, they will say that they are grateful people. Yet we also see that while gratitude is declared, it is often not lived. It is impossible for a person who is truly grateful for all that God has done for him not to respond with a generous spirit. I read an interesting study that was done back in the middle 2000s when the stock market was experiencing a roaring bull market and times were good. The analysis revealed that Americans gave a smaller percentage of their income in 2006 than they had during the worst year of the Great Depression. A person who is not generous when he has a little, will not become generous by getting more.

If we appreciate what God has done for us, it will show in our giving. When Jesus stopped and talked to a despised tax collector in Jericho and brought him the message of salvation, Zacchaeus did not simply repent; he showed that repentance by giving: “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Every believer has been given an incredible gift—through no effort or merit of his own. The response of a thankful heart should be a willingness to give, returning to God a portion of that with which He has blessed us so that others can receive the same message of salvation.

“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalm 100:3–5

Over the years I have heard people talk about their desire for a closer relationship with God. I have heard and read various people offer different steps and possibilities for deepening our fellowship with the Father. The Bible gives us answers to every problem we face in life, so when we turn to the pages of Scripture for guidance, we can be sure we are heading in the right direction. The Psalmist instructs us to come into the presence of God—entering His gates and His courts—with thanksgiving and praise in our mouths. When we are thankful, we are walking in close fellowship with God, for we are offering Him the praise for which we were created.

If we take even a few moments of reflection, we quickly find that we always have much for which to be thankful, regardless of the circumstances we may face. Here are just a few of the truths about my life as a child of God that will never change: I am a child of the King, my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, my sins have been removed from me as far as the east is from the west, I am accepted in the beloved, I am called the friend of God, I am a joint heir with Jesus, and I have an inheritance reserved in Heaven. The truth is that we will never run out of things for which to thank and praise God. A grateful heart finds God always near.

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37–39

During the Second World War Hitler unleashed a bombing campaign against England like nothing the world had ever seen before. The Blitz went on night after night for months. Waves of German bombers dropped thousands of pounds of explosives on English cities. Despite the best efforts of the far outnumbered British air force the bombs continued to fall. Many families sent their children to live with friends or relatives in the country in hopes that they would be safe. Those who remained behind sought cover in bomb shelters.

During the war an English church newspaper published the story of a man and his wife who returned from a night in a bomb shelter to find their home destroyed. The man said, “This morning someone told me that we had lost everything. It’s a lie. Thank God, I’ve still got health and strength to carry on with my job. I still have you, my dear, and the children. Thank God, you’re all safe. Hitler hasn’t smashed my faith in the love and wisdom of God. Houses and buildings may be wrecked and ruined, but you and I can still hold on to things which can never be shaken or destroyed.”

Even if everything we have is lost, like Job we can still give thanks for the faithfulness of God that can never be taken away. If our hearts are fixed on Him, then the gain or loss of possessions will not determine whether or not we are thankful as we should be.

“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

Hebrews 11:39–40

On November 19, 1863, four months after the decisive Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln traveled to Pennsylvania to take part in the ceremony. He dedicated a cemetery there for those who had fallen in battle. In his famed Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said, “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”

Today on Veteran’s Day we honor sacrifices made for the cause of freedom, and it is right that we do so. But we must never forget that as Christians we have an even more wonderful heritage of faith. Through the centuries men and women have stood for what was right regardless of the consequences. Many even gave their lives for their faith rather than deny the Lord. This is our inheritance as Christians. As we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, we are also following the footsteps of those who now are in Heaven as part of the great cloud of witnesses.

Lincoln went on to say, “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” In the same way, you and I must take up the cross and complete our journey of faith until we see Jesus.

“The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.”

1 Samuel 2:7–9

Hannah prayed intensely that God would give her a son, promising that she would dedicate the boy to God’s service. When her prayers were answered and Samuel was born, she poured out her gratitude in a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving to God that was marked by her humble spirit. Gratitude and pride cannot coexist—one will eventually drive out the other.

In his New Year’s sermon in 1876, Charles Spurgeon warned his church about the dangers of pride. He said, “Have I this morning the spirit of humble gratitude? How do I feel? Do I take God’s mercy as a matter of course, and view my own gifts without thankfulness? Then I act like the brutes that perish, but let me pray this morning that humble, lowly gratitude may daily rule my spirit. Such gratitude will make you cheerful, it will make you earnest, it will in fact be an atmosphere in which all Christian graces will grow by the blessing of God’s Spirit.”

We should cultivate regular times to give thanks to God. When we express our gratitude, it is a reminder that God is the source and provider of every good thing in our lives, and He deserves all the praise and glory.

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.”

Psalm 95:1–5

We live in a man-centered world. The motivating spirit of our age is a humanistic, self-focused spirit. This delights Satan, because it is his spirit. The initial rebellion against God described by the prophet Isaiah reveals the roots of what we see around us. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13–14).

As Christians we should stand against the spirit of the age, and one of the keys to doing that is to focus on God rather than on ourselves. God is not a disinterested bystander. He is the creator and controller of the world. Everything that we see was made by Him and belongs to Him. Rather than seeking to satisfy our own appetites and please ourselves, we should be focused on bringing honor and glory to God.

A life lived with this goal will be a life filled with thanksgiving and praise. The greatness, majesty, and power of God, and His wonderful provision for us give us every reason to rejoice. We are not abandoned to the world—we always have God’s provision as our promise. This truth should make us grateful indeed.

“And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

1 Corinthians 4:6–7

If everything we have comes from God, and it does, why are so many people ungrateful? While there are many reasons, I believe one of the biggest problems that leads to ingratitude is a spirit of discontentment. The reality is that we are blessed beyond the wildest dreams of most of the people who have lived throughout history. The conveniences of life, the advances in medical care, and the daily luxuries that we take for granted are incredible blessings. Rather than struggling to find food for survival, most of us are watching what we eat and looking for a better diet plan to lose a little weight.

Yet the temptation is to always want more. Paul wrote this warning to Timothy: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:6–9). When we are grateful for what we have rather than constantly looking for bigger and newer things, we are saying that we trust God to know and do what is best for us. On the other hand, if we are caught up in the spirit of discontentment, we are saying that we know better than God.

“Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;”

2 Corinthians 9:11–13

Charles Spurgeon said, “Maturity in grace makes us willing to part with worldly goods; the green apple needs a sharp twist to separate it from the bough; but the ripe fruit parts readily from the wood. Maturity in grace makes it easier to part with life itself; the unripe pear is scarcely beaten down with much labor, while its mellow companion drops readily into the hand without the slightest shake. Rest assured that love to the things of this life, and cleaving to this present state, are sure indications of immaturity in the divine life.”

A lack of giving is an unmistakable sign of a lack of gratitude. Generous giving is not measured by the amount given, but by the heart and by the circumstances in which it was given. Since everything we have is a gift from God, we have no basis for selfishly clinging to our possessions. Jesus said to the disciples when He sent them out, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

The reality is that we have been richly blessed by God. There are many today who teach that God wants us to be rich and happy. However, the Bible teaches that God wants us to be generous and holy. We can never repay the debt we owe to Him, and we cannot purchase our standing with Him. But a grateful heart should willingly give out of appreciation for all it has received.