Focal passage: Acts 20:22-35
Charles Spurgeon, the renowned English preacher, once wrote, “Soul-winning is the chief business of the Christian minister; indeed, it should be the main pursuit of every believer.”
Read that quote again. Think about its implications.
If you were to sit down and make a list of all the priorities in your life, would soul-winning be at the top? Do you structure your time and energy around making His name known?
As followers of Jesus, we have a task. We have a responsibility. We have a God-given commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). We are stewards of a message that is life-changing and permanently alters the future of those who trust in the person of that message (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Perhaps no one understood this better than the Apostle Paul.
When speaking to the Ephesian elders in person for the last time (Acts 20:38), Paul said that he “did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
He did not shy away from telling them what was of utmost importance.
Paul understood that it was his duty to “testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), regardless of the earthly consequences. Knowing he would have to make a tremendous personal sacrifice through imprisonment and afflictions (Acts 20:23), he did not waver. He did not dither. He boldly and confidently shared the saving work of Jesus Christ.
In his book, Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, Alvin Reid said that the “only failure in witnessing is the failure to witness.” The majority of Christ followers will go their whole lives without ever leading someone else to the Lord. Why? Because they fail to share.
I challenge you. Don’t be in that category. Make a commitment to pray that God would put people in your path to share Jesus with.
Make a commitment to boldly share when those opportunities arise. Make a commitment to make “soul-winning the main pursuit of your life.”