We obtain great assurance from answers to prayer in the work of the Lord. We pray and we see God removing obstacles, working in hard hearts, advancing the work, and adding to the church. We must have eyes to see these things for our encouragement. Christ points out to the disciples sources of encouragement which are readily at hand.
We are appointed to the work of witness; it is our commission. We are appointed to pray also. it is a work of danger and difficulty without doubt. We need to be humble and dependent on the Lord, and live according to a reasonable lifestyle. There has to be urgency and dedication. The message is everything: realism with that message, and honesty. We are praying and pressing for true salvation in the lives of many. We need character. We will experience rejection, but we need to maintain distinctiveness and separation from the world to which we witness. Our work has tremendous significance. God is using human instruments, and we will be victorious. We will bear fruit according to the scale decreed by the Lord for our time and place. We must be focused on the fruit, the end, the eternal final consummation, and we must draw great assurance from the things we see as God proves himself among us in this work. It is a tremendous passage of Scripture. As you read it privately, it will bless your soul and urge you forward. The promise of Christ impregnates this entire passage, and we can draw so much strength from it.