Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Notice that the Psalmist compares the work of a soul-winner to that of a farmer. He pictures a farmer with a sack of seed, throwing that seed on the ground believing it will take root and grow. God wants all Christians to be farmers/soul winners. Unfortunately, as I listen to many Christians today, it seems that we have too many soil inspectors and not enough seed-sowers.
Based on the Psalm 126 text, if you want to be a soul-winner there are some things you have to do.
#1 -- GO CONTINUOUSLY
The Psalmist speaks of the soul winner who “continuously goes forth.” (v.6) The first thing you’ve got to do if you are going to be a soul-winner is this—GO! There isn’t a single verse in the Bible that commands a lost person to go to a church building? But, there is verse after verse that commands the church to go out into the world and preach the gospel.
We are to go “continuously,” not just once or twice. Evangelism is not a single event, but a way of life for the Christian. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about being soul-conscious. Don’t get discouraged if you’ve gone and gone and have not seen people come to Christ. Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” There is seedtime and harvest time for the soul-winner.
#2 -- GO CONSISTENTLY:
Now as we go, the Psalmist says we are to “bear seed for sowing.” Literally translated it says, “Leaving a trail of seed.” We have here a picture of a farmer walking up one row and down the other continuously dropping seed. Our job as soul winners for Christ is not to force the harvest, but to simply sow the seed, and let God give the increase he wants. The typical church just leaves too much seed in the barn, and it becomes useless.
Jesus sowed seed continuously and consistently. He went to the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker. To the butcher he would say, “Have you heard of the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world?” To the baker he would say, “Have you ever tasted of the bread of life?” To the candlestick maker he would say, “Let me tell you about the light of the world.”
In case you don’t know what the seed is, Luke makes that clear in Luke 8:11: “The seed is the word of God.” And the seed is guaranteed to accomplish what God intends for it to accomplish. (Isaiah 55:10-11.)
THE SOUL WINNER WEEPING
The farmer here is not only described as working, but also as weeping, or crying. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing…”
Have you ever cried over a lost person? Soul-winning is not just a matter of the head. It is also a matter of the heart? People now days seemingly shed more tears over a lost sporting contest than they do lost souls. It ought to be natural for a Christian to weep over a lost family member, a lost friend, a lost neighbor—a lost world. It’s been said that “We live in a generation of the unbowed head, the un-bended knee, and the unbroken heart.”
I believe if there is one thing that pierces the Lord’s heart with unutterable grief, it is not the world’s iniquity, but the church’s lack of concern for the lost. I’m afraid the modern-day church is filled with technology but empty of tears.
THE SOUL WINNER’S REAPING AND REJOICING
Verse 5 promises, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Verse 6 says that those who sow “shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.” It just might be that the missing jewel in the crown of New Testament Christianity today, is an emotional evangelistic fervor.
THE SOUL WINNER’S REWARD
Verse 6 ends by saying that the soul winner will come “bringing his sheaves with him.” When harvest time came in Bible days, the farmer would cut the grain, tie it in bundles, and lay it in the path to be carried to the threshing floor. God has called us to go into the fields of harvest, reaping the golden grain of lost souls, bundling them up with the chords of God’s grace, and laying them at Jesus’ feet. “We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”
Let Wall Street have the money. Let Broadway have the glitter. Let Hollywood have the fame. Let Washington have the power. But let the church bring in the sheaves.
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