This is our month of divine wisdom. The Bible says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7 KJV. The fact that wisdom is the principal thing demands that that we take a closer look at the behaviors and actions of men that God considers wisdom. For instance the Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”. Psalm 111:10 KJV. So then, what does the fear of the Lord entail? Or when the Bible defines the wise man as one who builds his house on the rock; what does building on the rock mean? And how is that different from building on the sand? In Proverbs 11:30 the Bible says, “…and he that winneth souls is wise.” In this write up, we want to consider the wisdom in soul winning. Why is it imperative for us to win souls?
The first and perhaps most compelling reason why we should all be soul winners is because Jesus himself was a soul winner. The Bible says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”. 1 Timothy 1:15 KJV. And in Luke 19:10 Jesus himself said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus Christ came to save people. Seeking and saving people is and was his mission. First and last, Jesus was a soul winner. Jesus told the first group of disciples whom he chose, “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19. In Luke 5:8-11, Peter and James and John just saw the most outstanding miraculous breakthrough of their lives, and were obviously shaken by it, but Jesus looked at them and said something that sounded like this. Don’t be scared, you think this is big, I will show some bigger things, you shall be catching men henceforth. See how the Bible says it, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. [9] For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: [10] And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. [11] And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” So no matter how successful you might be in your career, it cannot compare with the success that comes with soul winning. In other words, in the sight of God, soul winning is the most productive thing anybody can engage in.
It is pertinent to also mention that the last words of our Lord Jesus Christ was regarding soul winning. The last people who saw him ascend into heaven heard him say, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20 KJV. IN Acts 1:8-9, it obvious that he was literally taken into up and engulfed by the cloud after talking to his disciples about witnessing; “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. [9] And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” So, Jesus was first and foremost a soul winner. He came to save people. That is why he lived, died, and rose again and sent back the Holy Spirit to his followers giving them power to witness.
The word Christian means to be like Christ. He came to save people and to seek out the lost. To be Christians, we must be soul winners like him. Jesus has been born in us and his desire is to continue seeking and saving souls in and through us. The joy of soul wining is huge, it surpasses the joy anyone can get from any kind of material or financial breakthrough. Yet, many Christians have not experienced the joy of witnessing Christ.
Jesus took his message to the people, he went wherever they could be encountered. That is what God wants us to do. We must go where the sinners are. Jesus Christ left the comfort of heaven, squeezed himself through the womb of a woman and lived and ate with sinful men in order to save souls. As christians we should do the same. Let’s leave the comfort of our church building and the honor and respect given to us by church folks, and whatever title we have, to go out to where the sinners are. Let’s go to the parks, football and basketball games to give out tracks and proclaim Jesus. Let’s go the hospitals to pray for those that are sick and find ways of helping them. Let’s visit those in prison with the good news. Jesus wants to reach out to the world through us. If we let him, he will surely bless us. Let’s not forget, since Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, to be like Christ-to be a Christian, is to be first and foremost a winner of souls. After that one may be a pastor, a musician, a singer, a teacher etc,. Soul winning is therefore the wise thing to do. Are you a soul winner? Start from where you are. God is the only one that can actually win a soul. We just have to cooperate with him. Take the next few practical steps to soul winning and you will be amazed at the level of joy, peace, and wisdom that will flood your life:
- Set a goal of the amount of hours in a day or week you want to spend talking to somebody about Jesus.
- Be always ready to testify of Christ, because you cannot tell when the opportunity will arise.
- Always have tracks in your car, purse, or wallet.
- Make it simple, telling people the goodness of God, that Jesus died for our sins, and making them confess Jesus is all you need to do.
- For every ten people you witness to, trust God for at least one soul.
- Reading the tracks ourselves before giving them out inspires faith that it will bless whoever reads them.
To be continued.