Soulwinning in 2 Chronicles

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 29 – 31

Second Milers also read – Acts 26 – 28; Psalms 116 – 118; Proverbs 24

“So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria.” – (2 Chronicles 30:6)

As I read the passage for today, there were a lot of thoughts that I wanted to develop. The first one came from chapter 29, where Hezekiah told the Levites:

“My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.” – (2 Chronicles 29:11)

I was challenged by this verse to be diligent in the Lord’s work because God has also chosen me to serve Him and minister unto Him, and His people.

However, when I got to chapter 30, I realized that there was another truth that I just had to write about. In this passage Hezekiah sends letters to the remnant of the northern kingdom of Israel, and invites them to return to the Lord. Most of the people of the northern kingdom had already been taken into captivity into the land of Assyria; but there were yet many people remaining in the land. Hezekiah gave them all an open invitation to return to Jerusalem and participate in the worship of the Lord in His house.

The sad truth, however, is that most of the people rejected the invitation. Many had even mocked and laughed at the messengers. This is a perfect picture of our soul winning today. We go out with a message from the king, yet most people reject that message; and many will even mock us for our beliefs. Yet, as it was in the days of Hezekiah, some will accept the invitation. We must not get distracted by the multitudes that reject, but instead realize that there are some, maybe only a few, that will receive the precious message of the grace of God.

So don’t get discouraged if it seems that most of this world is not receptive to the message of Christ. Keep looking for those few precious trophies of grace that will listen. Remember though, you have to weed through the scorners until you eventually find the ones with the soft and penitent hearts that will embrace the glorious gospel of Christ.

Note – the picture at the top is of Pastor Bob Gray II of Longview Baptist Temple, and a young man that was apparently soft-hearted and receptive to the message of God’s grace. They are out there. We just have to keep looking until we find them.