BE FERVENT IN SOUL WINNING
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).
Soul winners are precious and influential people in the sight of God. As a child of God nothing should mean more to you than leading those in your world who have not yet known the Lord into salvation. This is something you must take very seriously, more than ever before.
2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
God has committed to you the ministry of reconciliation; not only did He call you into the fellowship of His Son Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:9), He’s also called you to partner with Him in soul winning.
In Romans 12:11 we’re admonished not to be slothful in business, but to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. It’s talking about being fervent in God’s number one business, which is soul winning.
You will experience even more success and progress this year as you engage in soul winning and soul winning activities.
People are God’s greatest assets on earth. Until you start winning people for Jesus, you’re not involved in God’s asset building. The Lord is always reaching out to the unsaved, to touch their lives with His power and glory; but He can only do so through you. Therefore you must always be passionate about soul winning.
To be effective as a soul winner, you must see beyond your present circumstances; you must see beyond every limitation and refuse anything obstructing your view in this great responsibility. Get rid of all distracting influences and fervently serve the Lord as a soul winner. It’s your purpose for being.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”
Keep sharing the Gospel with those in your sphere of contact; it’s the right thing to do, and it’s what God demands.
INVEST YOUR LIFE IN SOUL WINNING
The fruit of the righteous is the tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30).
To underscore the importance the Lord places on the souls of men, the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. It therefore means it's our responsibility as ministers of reconciliation to invest our lives, energy, time, and resources in soul winning.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the world today. It holds God's answer to all the predicaments of humanity. Therefore, as an individual, it's your divine responsibility to take the message of Christ's salvation to those in your world and in the regions beyond. In Romans 1:16 Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone hat believeth; to the jew first, and also to the Greek."
Paul understood the importance of soul winning and considered no sacriice too great for the Gospel. He knew the Gospel was the only way of salvation and He committed his all to preaching it. He said, "...woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16). The Gospel was that important to him.
The prayer of a young Canadian minister of the Gospel many years ago, Oswald J. Smith. He prayed, "O God, I have only one life to live; please don't let me waste it; help me invest it in winning souls." God granted his request and the man lived such an inspiring life of soul winning. This ought to be your heart's desire and prayer as a child of God; you should invest your life and your all in winning souls. It's the most important task you could ever commit yourself to; therefore do it with great passion.
PASSION FOR SOUL WINNING
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
As a child of God, you must be passionate about soul-winning; it must burn in your heart to take the Gospel to the lost. You’re the custodian of the Gospel. It’s therefore your divine responsibility to publish it around the world. When you understand that Jesus is the only way, you’ll stand up for the Gospel.
The Apostle Paul, in Acts 13:38-39 said, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” There’re no options to the Gospel. No wonder David said, “Send us around the world with the news of your saving power…” (Psalms 67:2 TLB).
In David’s day, the Gospel hadn’t been fully made manifest, but he had insight into the revelation of Christ the Messiah. The time hadn’t come and the redemptive work of Christ hadn’t been consummated, but Christ now has come. He has died and has risen, and now lives in our hearts. Halleluiah! No Christian is left out of the instruction to preach the Gospel. It should be your passion!
Fuel your passion for the Gospel. Keep preaching and talking to others about Jesus. Discuss the Gospel continually with those who are also fired up in their spirits for the Gospel and intercede in prayer for the lost who are yet to hear the Word of salvation.
WORKING WITH JESUS
“As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”( 2 Corinthians 6:1 NIV).
Ever read where the Bible says “…The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2). Jesus made this statement, in reference to soul-winning, as He saw His disciples returning from an evangelical trip.
This reveals that He doesn’t want to reach the world by Himself or work independently of His kids; He wants you and me to work together with Him. The responsibility is simple: tell other people about your Lord Jesus Christ and how good He’s been to you!
Read about the woman with the hemorrhage who was healed by the Master, and you’d observe that she almost ran away after receiving her miracle, because she was so scared of being noticed.
However, Jesus wanted her to testify of her healing, so it would remain and so others could hear and have faith as well. Something similar happened earlier when Jesus healed the demon-possessed man at Gadara. This guy, being restored to his senses and so happy, wanted to follow Jesus.
You’d think the Master would have been thrilled to increase his number of His disciples, yet He told him to go back to his friends and relatives to tell them what had happened to him. So the man went on to be a preacher in the Decapolis (Mark 5:20). That’s the principle of the Word of God.
God needs you in His vineyard: He wants you to proclaim what He’s done for you, and share His love and goodness with those in your sphere of contact. He always desires to work with and through you. This was why He made you in the first place; to have dominion over His estate and to act in His place and do the things He would do. So, make yourself available for His use today.