Must I Go Empty-Handed? The Call to Win Souls

Closing a month of teaching on wisdom, this message begins with Ephesians 3:9-10: it is through the church that the manifold wisdom of God is made known, even to principalities and powers, and Proverbs 11:30 adds that he who wins souls is wise. From Mark 16:15-16, Jesus’ command to go into all the world and preach the gospel, it notes that ‘God’ and ‘good’ both begin with ‘go’: like a farmer who must go out to sow or a fisherman who must go to the water, believers cannot win souls sitting at home. Psalm 126:5-6 promises that those who sow in tears, bearing seed with compassion, will return rejoicing with their sheaves. Salvation leads to baptism and discipleship, so that those reached reach others, and everyday places such as work, clubs or the bus are opportunities. Stories show how one person led to Christ can become an evangelist, and how a hymn written after a young convert’s death later reached an alcoholic in England. Singing ‘Must I Go, and Empty-Handed?’, it closes with prayer for a burden for souls before the year ends.