Be Wise. Win Souls.

“He that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).
Be wise. Win souls.

“Those are the best educated ministers, who win the most souls” (Charles Finney) – It is estimated that over 250,000 souls were converted as the result of Finney’s preaching!
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

Paradise Lost! Paradise Regained?

Genesis 3 - From the majestic perfection of God and the privileged responsibility of humanity, we now move to the evil subtlety of Satan. An intruder has sneaked into the privileged place between God, the Creator, and mankind, His creation.

Chapter 2 ends with the absence of shame. Chapter 3 begins with the presence of Satan. The work of Satan, successfully executed, ensures that chapter ends rather differently from chapter 2 – “the Lord God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden” (v. 23).
This was “Paradise Lost”. Was there a way to “Paradise Regained”? There are two answers to this question: “No” and “Yes”. Taking ourselves as the starting-point, the answer is “No”. God will not permit us to take salvation into our own hands (v. 24). Starting with God, the answer is “Yes”. This is the answer of verse 15: Christ (the woman’s descendant will be crucified (the bruising of His heel), but the outcome of this will be the defeat of Satan (the crushing of his head).

The Love Of God - Reaching Us And Changing Us

Acts 2:37-38

At the heart of the Gospel, there is the love of God. This is the story

told by Peter on the Day of Pentecost – the story of God’s

love for us. In love, God offers to us the forgiveness of sins and the

gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). These blessings are undeserved –

we are “far off” (v. 39). As the message of salvation was

proclaimed, the Spirit of love was powerfully at work, creating faith

– “they were cut to the heart and asked, ‘Brothers,

what shall we do?’” (v. 37). The story of salvation calls

for our response. Can we hear this story of salvation without

responding in faith, without earnestly seeking the blessings promised

to us in Christ? – Sadly, there are people who hear the Gospel

many times but are never gripped by the Gospel. We are only gripped by

the Gospel when we allow the Spirit of God to do His work in us,

drawing us to Jesus Christ. This emphasis on the Spirit is important.

Repentance and faith come to us through the work of the Spirit in us.

This is very different from the suggestion that we depend on our own

ability to save ourselves through our own ‘good works’ of

repentance and faith. Peter calls for repentance. When we repent , we

turn from every attempt to save ourselves. It cannot be done. We put

our trust in Christ. He alone can save us. We do not come to God,

demanding that God must accept us because of our repentance.Trusting in

Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.

We receive the power we need to live a new life, centred upon Christ

rather than self. It is the power that comes from knowing that our sins

have been forgiven. It is the Spirit’s power to change us, making

us more like Jesus. What does it mean to be gripped by the Gospel? What

does it mean to have faith in Christ? There are two elements in faith.

First, there is faith in the events, believing that they really

happened. Second, there is trust in what the events reveal. We trust in

the love of God. What is faith? In one sense, faith is personal. In

another sense, faith involves being in community with other believers

– “they were added to their number” (v. 41). In

Peter’s call for baptism, we see this second element of faith. In

baptism, we are taken beyond the purely personal aspect of faith. Our

attention is focused on the community of faith into which we enter. We

are not simply isolated individuals. We belong to the body of Christ,

in fellowship with other believers.

From Pride To Praise

2 Samuel 24:1-25
Here, we see the spirit of pride. David wanted to ‘know the number of the people’ (2). Why? He wanted to feel important - ‘the big man’. He was not giving the glory to the Lord. He was taking it for himself. Did God give up on David - ‘a hopeless case, too full of himself and his own importance’? Of course not! The Lord, whose ‘mercy is great’, drew David back to Himself. David confessed his sin - ‘I have sinned greatly… I have done very foolishly… I have sinned and I have done wickedly’(10,17). David was accepted by the Lord - ‘The Lord your God accepts you’. He was brought from pride to praise (23,25). This is what God has done for us. We are ‘accepted in the Beloved’- ‘to the praise of His glorious grace’ (Ephesians 1:6).

Lord, You are our Creator.

Genesis 1:26-2:3

Lord, You are our Creator. We have been created by You. We have been created for You. What have we done with this great blessing? We have turned away from You. We have gone our own way. We have done our own thing. Have You lost patience with us? Have You given up on us? We often feel like we are a waste of Your time - then we remember Jesus. That's when everything changes - We remember Jesus. He came from where You are. He came to where we are. From where we are to where You are - This is what Jesus does for us.

Keep On Praying. Keep On Believing.

2 Samuel 21:1-22:7

There’s no two ways about it. God’s people were getting it rough. There seemed to be so many problems. Were they to give up hope? - Not a bit of it! Read verse 14 - ‘After that God heeded supplications for the land’. What happened when God heard and answered the prayers of His people? - ‘the plague was averted from Israel’(24:25). Things would have been an awful lot worse, if it was not for the Lord hearing and answering prayer! Keep on praying. Keep on believing that God hears and answers prayer. He is not a tragic victim of circumstances - ‘Poor God. He can do nothing about it all’. Don’t believe that. That’s the lie of the devil. He is still the living God. Things are not out of His control. He is still on the throne. God can, if we will - ‘If my people…’(2 Corinthians 7:14). Pray ‘for the land’! 

Lord, have we pushed You out to the edges of our life? Help us to walk with You in the light of Your Word.

Psalm 119:121-144

‘The entrance of Your words gives light’ (Psalm 119:130). Lord, Your Word brings light into our lives. Sadly, many people ‘love darkness rather than light’. They  refuse to ‘come to the light’. They prefer to remain in the darkness. They refuse to listen to what You are saying to them through Your Word. Then, when things are not going so well for them, they blame You. They say, ‘It’s all Your fault’! Things could have been so different. They could have learned to spend time with You. They could have learned the lessons of faith which are found in Your Word. They could have learned to cope with life’s difficulties. They could have been filled with Your strength. They would not be complaining against You. They would be rejoicing in You. What about us, Lord? How much are we moulded by the world’s way of thinking? Have we pushed You out to the edges of our life? Lord. Lord, You have “called us out of darkness into Your marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:10). Help us to walk with You in the light of Your Word.

May God's Blessing Surround You Each Day ...

God's Word is "a lamp to our feet and a light to our path." He has "wondrous things" to teach us as we pray "Open my eyes that I may see" (Psalm 119:105, 18, 11). "May God's blessing surround you each day, as you trust Him and walk in His way. May His presence within guard and keep you from sin, go in peace, go in joy, go in love." "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your Name give glory, because of Your mercy and Your truth" (Psalm 115:1).

How, Lord, do You revive us according to Your Word?

Psalm 119:25-48

‘Revive me according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:25). How, Lord, do You revive us according to Your Word? You give us Your salvation: ‘Let Your unfailing love come to me, O Lord - Your salvation according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:41). You give us Your strength: ‘My soul is weary with sorrow. Strengthen me according to Your Word’ (28). You give us a change of heart: ‘I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on Your laws... I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free... Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with my whole heart... Turn my heart to Your testimonies...’ (Psalm 119:30,32,34,36). You give us ‘new life’: ‘When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!’ (Psalm 119:40; 2 Corinthians 5:17).  

Lord, You send Your blessing when Your people gather together for worship.

Psalms 133:1-134:3 

Lord, You send ‘Your blessing’ when Your people gather together for worship: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!’ (Psalm 133:1,3). Many people like to think of themselves as ‘believers’, yet they show no interest in worshipping together with Your people. What does Your Word say about this? - ‘Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...’ (Hebrews 10:25). ‘Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the House of the Lord’ (Psalm 133:1; Psalm134:1). Lord, there are some people never miss a Sunday morning service - but they always miss the Sunday evening services! They are missing out on so much of Your blessing. Lord, help us to seek Your blessing on Sunday evenings as well as Sunday mornings (Psalm 134:2)!

Great God, Great Love, Great Faithfulness

Psalm 145:1-21 

‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. We worship You, Lord - our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:1-3). You, Lord, are the God whom we worship. You are so much greater than the worship we bring to You. Our worship is to be a ‘joyful celebration’. We celebrate Your great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’. We rejoice in Your great faithfulness: ‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’. Here on earth, we have only begun to worship You, our great God. Our worship will continue in Your ‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:7-8,13,21).