Psalms 126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him]. {precious...: or, seed basket} Many believe that Ezra wrote this Psalm after the Jews returned to their homeland from captivity, and as he saw the barren land he began to weep over its barreness.
I believe the reason today that many of our Churches are barren is that we don’t have any shedding of tears over the lost.
Oh, we have people who shed tears, but over the wrong things. I heard Junior Hill say while he was preaching in a revival, that a man came up to him crying. He kept saying over and over again, we lost, we lost. Brother Hill asked him, we lost what? The man replied, haven’t you heard, our team lost the ball game.
Jesus said in Luke 7:32, “ye have not wept”. I pray it won’t be said of our generation, that we didn’t weep over lost souls getting saved.
I-A SOUL-WINNER’S WEEPING REVEALS A BURDEN:
Indifference is one of the greatest hindrances in prayer. Our hearts get cold about the eternal destiny of others. We let everything in the world keep us so busy that many Christians neglect time spent in prayer for the lost.
Paul had a burden for the lost. In Romans 9:2 he described the deep desire he had to see his kinsmen saved by saying that he had a "..great heaviness and continual sorrow.." in his heart. In Romans 10:1 Paul went on to say, "..my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." 1
A-A Burden Of Praying Continually:
1-A magazine cartoon has a little fellow kneeling beside his bed for his bedtime prayer and saying with some measure of disgust, "Dear God, Uncle Jim still doesn't have a job; Sis still doesn't have a date for the social; Grandma is still feeling sick - and I'm tired of praying for this family and not getting results."
2-Some are like that little boy, they pray for someone to get saved for a couple of months and this if they are not saved, they give up. Jesus tell us in Luke 18:1 not to give up, but we “ought always pray”.
3-There was this football coach who showed his players several films of games in order to inspire them. In one there was a big guy who hit another player and slammed him to the ground. The player who was hit just lay there, and finally limped off the field. In another film there was that same big guy who hit another player and slammed him to the ground. But this player jumped up. The next play the b ig guy slammed him to the ground again. Again he jumped up. Again and again it happened. He was slammed to the ground and jumped up again. Finally the coach said to his players, "Now which player do we want on our team?" The enthusiastic players responded in unison, "The guy who keeps jumping up!" The coach replied, "NO!, we want that big guy doing all that slamming down!" Well, maybe we can’t be like the big guy in prayer, but we
can be persistent. 2
4-One Sunday in our Church, a man came forward and gave him heart to Christ. The next day I ran into a fellow pastor. He said, I heard about that man at your Church getting saved yesterday. I marked him off our prayer list. We have been praying for him for 7 years. I am glad they hadn’t quit praying for him, but had continued all those years lifting his name before the Lord.
5-A woman telephoned the manager of a large opera house and told him she had lost a valuable diamond pin the night before at the concert. The man asked her to hold the line. A search was made and the brooch was found; but when he got back to the phone, the woman had hung up. He waited for her to call again, and even put a notice in the paper, but he heard nothing further. What a strange and foolish person, we say, but isn't this the way some of us pray? We tell the Lord all about our needs, but then fail to "hold the line." As a result, we miss the joy of answered prayer and the thrill and reward of a persistent faith. 3
B-A Burden Of Praying Christ-Like:
1- Jesus instructs us in his model prayer in Luke 11 about our attitude in prayer. He says in verse 4, that we are to forgive others as we ourselves seek forgiveness.
2-Some Christians won’t pray for some to be saved because they don’t like them. They have a hate against them.
3-But as we follow the example of Jesus on the cross, we notice he prayed for those who were putting him to death on the cross.
4-Richard Weaver, a Christian worker, earned his living in the mines. He had the higher priority, however, of trying to bring his associates in contact with the savior and His soul-restoring Word. While most of the men were indifferent, one became offended by his witness, and finally exclaimed, "I'm sick of your constant preaching. I've a good mind to smack you in the face!" "Go ahead if it will make you feel better," replied Weaver. The man immediately struck him a stinging blow. The Christian did not retaliate but turned the other cheek. Again the unbeliever struck him and then walked away, cursing under his breath. Weaver called after him, "I forgive you, and still pray that the Lord will save you!" The next morning his assailant was waiting for him when he came to work "Oh, Dick," he said, his voice filled with emotion, "do you really forgive me for what I did yesterday?" "Certainly," said Weaver extending his hand. As he told him again the message of salvation, God opened the man's heart, and he received Christ. (Matt. 5:39) 4
C-A Burden Of Praying Correctly:
1-A minister asked a little boy whether he prayed every day. "No, not every day," said the boy, "there are some days I don't WANT anything!"
2-A 20-year-old daughter earnestly prayed before climbing into bed: "Dear God, I don't ask anything for myself, but I do pray for my mother. Please give mother a handsome son-in-law."
3-James 4:3 says, Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.
4-God many times does not give us the thing we ask for, because we ask not for that which is for His Glory but rather for that which we want to satisfy our selfish passions.
5-I believe when we are praying for souls to be saved, they must be our priority in prayer. When we have a burden for them, we should pray for them by name.
6-I heard a story at at a Bible conference by one of the preachers about a Lady who was praying for her husband to be saved. She would call his name every Wednesday night at prayer meeting that he would be saved. One Wednesday night, he showed up with her. The congregation wondered what she would do about calling his name out publicly. When it came time for prayer requests, she lifted his name up for salvation. As they were praying, he slipped out of his seat, and made his way to the altar, and prayed the sinner’s prayer and was saved.
7-When W.C. Fields was on his deathbed, a friend of his dropped by and found him reading the Bible. Suprised to see Fields actually reading the Bible, he couldn't help but ask what he was up to. Fields said, "Looking for loopholes, my friend. Looking for loopholes."
8-I hope you don't believe that there are any loopholes for friends and family members who have not received Jesus Christ. 5
II-A SOUL-WINNER’S WEEPING REVEALS A BROKENESS:
A-Broken Over Self:
1-Notice the brokeness of Isaiah in Isaiah 6:5, Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. {undone: Heb. cut off}
2-First Isaiah trembled, then he knelt in both repentance and humility. When he stood in God's presence Isaiah realized just how unworthy he was to be standing there. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was totally unworthy of even being able to stand in God's presence. His sinful past flashed in his memory and it brought him to his knees in both repentance and humility. Repentance for what he had done, and humbleness for being called by God. 6
3-One of the greatest needs of our day is a deep sense of the holiness of God and awfulness of our sins. We need a broken and contrite heart in the presence of God.
4-A new product called "Disposable Guilt Bags" appeared in the marketplace. It consisted of a set of ten ordinary brown bags on which were printed the following instructions: "Place the bag securely over your mouth, take a deep breath and blow all your guilt out, then dispose of the bag immediately." The wonder of this is that the Associated Press reported that 2500 kits had been quickly sold at $2.50 per kit. Would that we could dispose of our guilt so easily. There is nothing on this earth powerful enough in itself to dispose of our guilt. We cannot fix ourselves, which is what many of us are trying to do. That which makes it possible to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to be healed, that which makes it possible for us to receive our life back again, fresh and clean and new, is the power of God's Grace in the Cross of Jesus Christ.
5-If we are to powerful soul-winners for our Lord, We must have a clean soul.
B-Broken Over Souls:
1-After Isaiah got his life right with God, he is now concerned about others according to Isaiah 6:8 , 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. {Here...: Heb. behold me}
2-A great truth is beautifully illustrated by a personal incident in the ministry of George Sweeting, president of Moody Bible Institute. He said that a woman once came to him in deep distress. "I have been a Christian for 20 years," she told him, "Yet I'm not aware that I've ever led anyone to the Lord, I've memorized many Scripture verses and know how to meet the objections of the unconverted. But no one has made a decision for Christ. Why hasn't God been using me?" Wanting to help this believer, he asked her a question, "Have you ever wept for the unsaved and prayed for their conversion? Perhaps your failure hasn't been so much from a lack of knowledge as from a lack of love! When a person has genuine compassion for the lost, he'll weep over them and yearn for salvation." Sweeting said that the woman went to her room and began to pray earnestly for her sister. Then, with a tender heart, she went to visit her. Putting her arms around her, she said with weeping, "More than anything in this world, I want you to become a Christian!" That evening during the church service her sister publicly received the Savior and asked for His gracious forgiveness. The great transaction was completed, and she was born again. 7
3-There is a story told about a faithful old deacon whose oft repeated prayer expression was, "O Lord, touch the unsaved with Thy finger." One prayer meeting night he was leading in prayer when as he intoned this petition, as he so often did, he abruptly stopped praying. Supposing he had been taken suddenly ill, someone went to him and asked if there was anything wrong, if he were ill. "No," he replied, "I'm not ill. But something seemed to say to me, 'Thou art the finger'." 8
4-There are three comands from Jesus: (1)Come unto me (2)Learn of me (3)Go for me.
5-Jesus said in the Great Commision to go, but before He said it, He had already set the example in His going.
6-Two boys were looking at a sears and Robuck catlog and were in the toy section. A Man said to them, you boys will never have those toys. The boys, replied, yes you ar right, but we can wish for them? (well we can’t wish for souls, we have to be involved.)
III-A SOUL-WINNER’S WEEPING REVEALS A BLESSING:
How many times have you seen a person in a worship service during the invitation come down the aisle and get saved , and you hear the weeping of joy of the one who was responsible for that person coming to Christ? Our weeping turns from a heavy burden to a glorious blessing when we see the lost get saved.
A-A Blessing Of Real Salvation:
1-Some say that Paul was mad, but in reality, Paul had been had. He had being rescued by Jesus on the Damascus road, and saved. He had a real conversion experience, for notice what he says in 2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
2-Robert Falconer tells the story of his witnessing among destitute people in a certain city and of reading them the story of the woman who wiped Jesus' feet with her tears. While he was reading he heard a loud sob and looked up at a young, thin girl whose face was disfigured by smallpox. After he spoke a few words of encouragement to her, she said, "Will He ever come again, the One who forgave the woman? I have heard that He will come again. Will it be soon?" Falconer replied. After sobbing again uncontrollably, she said, "Sir, can't He wait a little while? My hair ain't long enough yet to wipe His feet." The person who sees the greatness of his own forgiveness by God's love will himself in love be forgiving. He forgives in love because his heavenly Father has forgiven in love and he desires to be an imitator of His Father.
B-A Blessing Of Recognizable Salvation:
1-In Acts 4:4,speaking of Peter and John, it says, “they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
2-A Person who has had a real salvation will have a recognizable salvation. They will live it out in front of the world.
3-A holdup man was caught and sent to prison. While there, he came face to face with the claims of the Gospel and was born again by the Spirit of God. His life completely changed, he served the rest of his sentence in an exemplary manner and was released several years later. As he was leaving, the chaplain handed him a letter written by another prisoner. It said, "I came to this place despising both preachers and the Bible. When you told me you were saved, I said to myself, 'There's another one taking the Gospel road just to get an early parole'; but Roy, I've been observing you for a couple of years, and your testimony has rung true. I kept track of you when you were in the yard exercising or working in the shop or eating your meals. You never made a slip. Now I'm a Christian, too, because I watched you! The Savior who saved you has saved me!" Others had tried to convince him through argumentation of the claims of the Lord, but Roy had exhibited a changed life before him -- that made the difference! 9
Conclusion- Evangelist D.L. Moody used to tell about a picture that impressed him greatly. It portrayed a woman grasping a cross with both hands as she was being rescued from a stormy sea. Mr. Moody would then go on to relate how that picture lost much of its impact for him when he saw another painting some time later. The second picture also depicted a woman being rescued from raging waters. But while clinging with one hand to a cross, her other hand was lifting another person out of the waves to safety. That picture dramatically portrays what we who have been rescued from the penalty of our sins should be doing. Recognizing that others around us are lost and perishing, we should not be so selfishly taken up with our own salvation that we forget about them. 10
Illustration: Years ago a young minister was producing such meager results. He decided to visit the scene where years before the saintly Robert Murrary McCheyne died at the age of 30, but not before he had moved Scotland to it depths. The Visitor asked the old sexton at St. Peter’s if he could tell him the secret of the amazing influence of Robert McCheyne. The old mand led the young preacher into the vestry. Sit down there, he said. Now put your elbows on the table. He did so. Yes, that was the way McCheyne used to do it. Now put your face in your hands. Now let the tears flow. That was the way McChene use to do it said the sexton. 11
It is apparent that the winning of souls must be preceded by weeping and praying for souls.
1-Tom Dooley
2-David Hoke
3-Bible Illustrator
4-Bible Illustrator
5-Tom Dooley
6-Billy Strayhorn
7-Bible Illustrator
8-Robert Crouch
9-Bible Illustrator
10-Bible Illustrator
11-Johnny Hunt
