pastor's Message

TWO KINDS OF SOUL WINNING - PART 2

Last month we found out that the first reason why we should be soul winners is that Jesus Christ himself was a soul winner. But someone might ask, why should we place soul winning, telling others of Jesus Christ, witnessing or proclaiming the Word of God as one the primary concentrations of our life?

We can see THREE confirmations in the scripture to substantiate this principle.

In Luke 15:7 Jesus explained it this way: "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Heaven rejoices when the lost come to God and are saved. This is the first reason for placing evangelism in a primary spot in our lives. There is great joy in heaven when one person turns to Christ. There is an equal amount of joy that the person who shares The Word experiences in his or her life.

Secondly the picture of the Good Shepherd, as described by Jesus, is one of leaving the ninety-nine to attend to the one that is lost. Luke 15:4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” NKJ

So we see that going to (share the Word with) others is so important that the other ninety-nine were temporarily set aside to reach the one. We can realize that the others are not discarded at the expense of the one but we can see they are expected to understand as the Word is ministered to the one.

Now on the other hand when we leave to minister to the one, and we sense that we have completed the task of sharing then we need to turn our attention to the faithful ninety-nine.

Finally, in the parable of The Lost Coin in Luke 15:8-10, Jesus describes the diligence of the woman to find the lost coin. In verse 8 He states "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” (NKJ) Notice that searching carefully means that it was first on the Woman’s mind. It was a priority.

So we should be soul winners because Jesus not only emphasized it but He was a Soul winner Himself. Soul winning was a priority to Jesus and still is.

The second justification for being a disciple is that it tells others of the Good News. We need to recognize that the harvest is so great. What we mean is that the number of people that are not saved is extremely high and the danger of them dying and spending eternity without God is not biblically acceptable.

Jesus said that the harvest (of souls) was ripe for harvesting almost two thousand years ago. How much more plentiful is the harvest presently when the population on the earth has never been so great? The obvious answer is that the harvest if very, very plentiful. The opportunities available to Christians in this time period have never been so good.

We have means to get the Word of God out to the world that the apostles may have only dreamed about.

Matthew 9:36 “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’” NKJ

You might notice that verse 36 indicates that Jesus saw the multitudes. I believe that the apostle Luke under the inspiration of the holy Spirit meant that Jesus ONLY saw the multitudes before him. Jesus at the time he visited earth did not have the technology or means (except for the Gifts of the Spirit in operation) that you and I have today of seeing different parts of the earth without being there physically.

Noting that verse 35 states that Jesus visited the cities and villages, clearly the reference to, “the multitudes” was the people that Jesus saw in those various towns. There is no reference made to the gifts of God in operation that would allow us to conclude otherwise.

So if Jesus, in His earthly walk and in this particular case, was only able to see a limited number of people and was moved with compassion, how much more should we be moved by the great harvest that surrounds us physically and technologically. I trust the answer is MUCH MORE!!!

Jesus said that we are to go out and tell of God’s plan for all people.

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...” NKJ Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’” NKJ

Therefore we are to be soul winners because the need (the harvest) is so great. In fact, the harvest has never in the history of mankind, ever been so BIG!

Look for further reasons why we should be soul winners in the next issue of the Updater.

Lastly we need to always remember to say the following aloud with conviction: “I’m believing to be at the Right Place, at the Right Time saying the Right Thing and the Right Thing to say is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!”