“And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” (Mr 16:20 AV)
There are several things to point out here. First, they went everywhere. There may have been a barrier that made this difficult. Language and culture being a few. But there was no place off the table. They went everywhere. They didn’t pray about it. They didn’t seek God’s will concerning it. If there were human souls there, the gospel must go there as well. We spend too much time trying to discern God’s will when it is as obvious as the nose on our faces. I believe the church has lost its way. We have ceased to be faithful to a methodical, soul-winning ministry. We have gotten lazy. We are trying to attract a client base rather than going forth everywhere! The book of Acts tells us the 12 started in the epicenter of Jerusalem and went outward from there. There was no strategy other than to go forth everywhere. There was no strategic planning on the most productive of fields. There were no fasting and prayer meeting to determine if the gospel should go to one field as opposed to others. If a field lacked laborers, the prayer was for laborers, not whether the field should be worked or not. The disciples of Christ go everywhere. This means the community in which a church is found must also, by default, be the field the church works. Everywhere. Every door. Every person. No need to pray about it. Just go forth!
Second, the LORD worked with them. What a stress reliever! Too much pressure is placed upon the soul-winner to make things happen. Too much expectation lays at the feet of the witness. He or she expects to say the right thing all the time. He or she expects to have every answer to every question that may arise. He or she places results on his or her own shoulders. The soul-winner relies on their own intelligence, personal skills, and debate strategy to win the Lost to Christ. We tend to be lone rangers. We think it all falls in our lap. We are the ones who have to show results. The truth of the matter is, Christ works with us. He is there. So, too, is the Holy Spirit. It is the ministry of the Spirit that brings conviction of sin. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit that testifies to the truth of the scriptures. Christ, in us, goes with us and works with us. If we only realized the power we have available, we wouldn’t rely so much on what we can do. We would rely on what Christ will do. The 12 went forth. Christ working with them. Even after Christ rose to heaven. Jesus is there. He always is. Where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in the midst. This is why we go two-by-two. God is with us! He is working with us!
Third, note the word is confirmed with signs that followed. Generally, for the twelve, it meant immediately following the preaching. It had to be that way. The New Testament did not exist. So signs verified the preaching of grace and faith. However, now that the word of God is complete, there is no longer a need for signs to verify its truth. This does not mean verification is absent. In fact, what happens after the event of witnessing is just as important as witnessing itself. We can take comfort knowing that even when we leave the presence of the Lost, God is still working. Once the seed is planted and watered, God gives the increase. Things we will never know about happen along the way. The word we preach might be affirmed by another faithful witness. The truth of eternity may come by way of a scare. Guilt may surround the lost soul as they are convicted of their need for Christ. Regardless, affirmation of the truth of God’s word will follow what we have done. There is no need to be discouraged. Just because there seemed to be no movement toward Christ for the time being does not mean it will stay that way. God is always at work striving for the souls of lost people.
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