Soul-winning is the single most prominent theme of the gospel. Beating rapidly, it is the heartbeat of God the Father, the mission of His Son Jesus Christ, and the divine purpose of the Holy Ghost. When a church is in step with the Godhead, she will cry with the Spirit, "COME!" Shamefully but truthfully speaking, soul-winning is not a priority in many churches that refer to themselves as "fundamental" or "evangelical." It seems that churches are more interested today in banquets, fellowships, youth retreats, ladies' retreats, men's advances, ministers' vacations, and everything else to win souls.
Everything that the Spirit of God has bestowed upon the church has been given for the purpose of first, winning the lost, and second, edifying the body of Christ. The church should strive, contend for, and covet earnestly the best gifts, not so we can boast of our spirituality, but that the lost might be saved. We need divine healing in the churches, not so we can feel better, but that the lost would see the power of God and repent of their sins and come to Jesus. I challenge every reader, in the coming year, to make a conscious effort to win souls. Plan on winning souls.
Soul winning cannot be done on our own. We must have the help of the Holy Ghost, and for this purpose He was given. First, we need a vision and burden of the lost who are perishing. This will only come by fervent prayer. Before we do anything, we need to build an altar and ask God to open our eyes, allowing us to see the fields that are white already to harvest. Secondly, we need boldness. Some men have a burden, but they are afraid to open their mouth. We need boldness to cry out against the sin of our day, and to reach for the lost. Thirdly, after we have attained boldness, we need wisdom. It is not enough just to be willing to speak, but we need to speak the right thing. This, too, only comes by seeking the face of God. No matter how educated you are, there is always someone more educated than you. We must not depend on our own wisdom; we need the wisdom that comes from above. Last, we need to pray for the Holy Ghost to convict the sinner as we witness to them. All of our efforts are in vain if the Lord does not work on the other end.
By soul-winning, I do not mean merely "dropping a word in about the Lord." I mean confronting the sinner with the condition of his lost soul. I mean presenting a clear gospel message to them, and offering to pray with them on the spot, asking them to repent of their sins right there. Soul-winning is not just the pastor's job. It is not contained only in the evangelist that preaches revivals in churches. It is for every believer. It is sad that there are many church members who have been saved for years, and they have not won their first soul to Jesus Christ. It is even sadder that some have had the Holy Ghost for years, and are not responsible for the first soul being saved. I pray that God's people would wake up, and see our responsibility to win souls.
Everything that the Spirit of God has bestowed upon the church has been given for the purpose of first, winning the lost, and second, edifying the body of Christ. The church should strive, contend for, and covet earnestly the best gifts, not so we can boast of our spirituality, but that the lost might be saved. We need divine healing in the churches, not so we can feel better, but that the lost would see the power of God and repent of their sins and come to Jesus. I challenge every reader, in the coming year, to make a conscious effort to win souls. Plan on winning souls.
Soul winning cannot be done on our own. We must have the help of the Holy Ghost, and for this purpose He was given. First, we need a vision and burden of the lost who are perishing. This will only come by fervent prayer. Before we do anything, we need to build an altar and ask God to open our eyes, allowing us to see the fields that are white already to harvest. Secondly, we need boldness. Some men have a burden, but they are afraid to open their mouth. We need boldness to cry out against the sin of our day, and to reach for the lost. Thirdly, after we have attained boldness, we need wisdom. It is not enough just to be willing to speak, but we need to speak the right thing. This, too, only comes by seeking the face of God. No matter how educated you are, there is always someone more educated than you. We must not depend on our own wisdom; we need the wisdom that comes from above. Last, we need to pray for the Holy Ghost to convict the sinner as we witness to them. All of our efforts are in vain if the Lord does not work on the other end.
By soul-winning, I do not mean merely "dropping a word in about the Lord." I mean confronting the sinner with the condition of his lost soul. I mean presenting a clear gospel message to them, and offering to pray with them on the spot, asking them to repent of their sins right there. Soul-winning is not just the pastor's job. It is not contained only in the evangelist that preaches revivals in churches. It is for every believer. It is sad that there are many church members who have been saved for years, and they have not won their first soul to Jesus Christ. It is even sadder that some have had the Holy Ghost for years, and are not responsible for the first soul being saved. I pray that God's people would wake up, and see our responsibility to win souls.
