SOUL WINNING - REACHING OUT IN LOVE

 1 Corinthians 9:19- 23: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;  to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;  to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

I have become excessively burdened for the souls of men. I do ask myself lots of questions when I meet people on a daily basis. Many of whom have no idea what lies ahead of them after death. And some of whom make mockery of the very thought of eternity. I  ponder on the lives of people I have personally known that have crossed over, and wonder where they are. And before I sink into despair, scriptures of hope and comfort console me, and stir up within me a burden to reach out to a dying world in love.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.


Soul winning can be cumbersome and burdensome. Some souls have good soiled hearts, but some have rocky hearts. However, God has promised to turn  hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 reads: ''I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.'' Uprooting a plant from a rocky soil will require more energy than uprooting that same plant from a normal good soil.


In order for us to reach many people whom God has so loved that He sent His only begotten Son to save from perishing, we must build ourselves in Love. Love gives! Therefore we must give off our time in prayer, travailing over the the enemy of the souls of those bound in sin. We must give off our knowledge. Paul wrote in Romans 10: 14-15a : How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? 



We must share God's love in deeds, and God's Word in love. We must painstakingly study the Word of God to enable us share the unadulterated Word without fear or favour. We must be sensitive to the Spirit of God so that we may give a timely Word in season, and know what method of evangelism to use for each dying soul. Jesus said He came for the sick - Mark 2: 17 - On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." And the sick as we know have varying illnesses that may require different forms of treatment. One form of treatment that may suit a sick person may be detrimental to another sick individual.

For some souls, we can win them over by simply praying and fasting. For some others, we must become their friends and sow gradually into their lives. Some could reach God through our communication tools like books, videos, etc.  For some, we must endure severe persecution, and from some, ridicule and contempt. Some will despise us, but we must endure all things until we birth them in Christ. We may collide with doubt and blasphemy; be appalled by the sheer disregard for God and the disdain for God's Word. But hey! We must not be provoked by all these, and not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth. We must bear all things painful, believe in the souls we are reaching that they are able to be saved, and hope in God who calls men to repentance of being able to draw them to Himself.

The enemy of this world - the old serpent called the devil has blinded many, so that they cannot see Jesus for who He truly is. However, just as the Book of Acts shows us in Luke 24:13 -35, it is my prayer that anyone we are led by the Spirit of God to reach out to, anyone we are burdened in any way to bring to Jesus will have every veil from the devil removed, and will have the scales on their eyes removed so that they can recognize Jesus for who He really is, and reach out to Him - call out to Him to save them.


Below are excerpts from Luke 24: 13-35  :

 ¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him. 


³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

From the above, we read about how initially these two men could not recognize Jesus because they were restrained, and how eventually their eyes were opened and were able to see Jesus. As we reach out to the lost around us in love, they shall gain back their spiritual eye sight and see God as He is, and be able to identify the way to God - Jesus Christ. May God help us to reach out to a dying world in love.

WHAT IS NEXT?