The Gospel Feet

Soul winning begins with the feet! It would seem proper that soul winning would demand the most brilliant minds, the greatest education, the strongest possible backing of wealth and influence. But not so! Instead, soul winning is made a prosaic matter of the feet! That is the way of God. He has chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save men, instead of by the wisdom of angels or even the wisdom of this world. He has chosen the weak to confound the mighty. So, soul winning is very largely a matter of consecrated feet. 

God certainly demands that we put our feet into soul winning.  When He wanted to make soul winners out of some fishermen, He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  The feet of a soul winner are beautiful in God's sight as the Spirit of God clearly tells us.

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"-Isaiah 52:7

"Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!"
-Nahum 1:15

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"-Romans 10:15

How can one preach except he first goes? Of what use is a mouth with a sweet message, unless the feet carry it? How beautiful are the feet of the soul winner!
 
I can well understand how the dear Saviour Himself washed the feet of the1 disciples. He meant it as a lesson in humility, yet someway He made the feet of a preacher grand and beautiful. The feet of the apostles trudged over the then-known world, carrying the Gospel.
 
Every soul winner ought to read carefully the story of Paul's missionary journeys.  Paul spent more time walking than he did preaching, and his feet got more exercise than his mouth! Paul not only preached publicly but also "from house to house[1]".  I was profoundly impressed one day while reading the book of Acts.

​[1] A.A. 20:20

​"And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene." -Acts 20:13-14  

Paul was minded “to go afoot" from Troas to Assos, a distance, I suppose, of eighteen or twenty miles. I think it likely that on the crowded ship he would have no quiet place in which to meditate and pray, no time to seek the will and power of God. So, he provided that his lesser companions should have the comfort of the ship while he walked.
And to make it more interesting yet, remember, that the same chapter tells us how the night before he had preached until midnight, then brought back to life the young man who fell out of the third-story window, ate a midnight lunch and talked on till daylight! Following that, Paul felt the need to walk a day-long journey to the next preaching place!
 
Oh, the beautiful feet of Paul, they were soul winner's feet! No wonder Paul could say of himself, "in labours more abundant[1]."  We often miss the point, so clearly taught in the Bible, that there is a severe price in toil to be a soul winner.
 
Pearls are found in oysters in the bottom of the sea. Diamonds are found in the dirt far below the surface of the ground in Africa. Just the same, the soul winner's joy is found in the middle of drudgery and toil.  Precious souls are not won without going after them. It takes consecrated feet to be a soul winner! There are too many barefooted Christians. So, if you want to win souls, put your shoes on your feet every day; that means to store Bible verses in your mind and heart.  Those verses are what you take to those whom you seek to win. You must plan your work.  How much easier it is to pray when you win souls!  How much easier it is to resist temptation when your feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace! The only safe place for a Christian is in the line of duty, and that is always on the path of soul winning. It has been said before, in other ways, but, every Christian is a missionary and every non-Christian a mission field. Amen!

[1] II Co. 11:23

Pastor David Sain is the Pastor of Faith Chapel located in Wasilla, Alaska.  You can find out more about him and send support for his ministry at 907outreach.com.


E-mail: saininalaska@gmail.com
​ 

---