Are you a Soul Winner
Are you a Soul Winner? Matt. 9:36-38, John 1:35-42 EBC 5/2/10
Have you ever thought much about soul winning? Are you ever thought about the population in Heaven if every Christian lead as many people to the Lord as you do.
Look at our directive- Mark 16:15- preach- imperative tense- a command. Look ath the structure of this sentence- the command isn’t on the GO (God knows we are going) the command is on what do we do when we get there- PREACH. PREACH-to publish, to openly proclaim, to herald.
We read about Edward Kimball, a Sunday school teacher and shoe salesman. He loved the Lord and had a burden of the lost. He led a young fellow to the Lord by the name of D.L. Moody. Now I’m sure few have heard of Edward Kimball, many more have heard of D.L. Moody.
The story says that after evangelizing America, D. L. Moody started on England. There in England Frederick B. Meyer heard his message. One of the illustrations that Moody used did not at first stir Brother Meyer. Then one of his Sunday school teachers came to him and said, "Brother Meyer, the illustration that that preacher gave in our church the other day stirred my girls so much that there has been a lot of weeping, confession and testimony. F. B. Meyer was so affected by the testimony of that teacher and those girls that he got off by himself, and soon it began to grip him in the same manner. His ministry began to open up and spread, and as it did, he was invited to come to America. He came and went to Furman University to preach. One young fellow in the student body had decided to quit the ministry and go back to a secular job. But the message by F. B. Meyer was given with such fervor and flame that the young fellow stepped out, came forward and renewed his vow to his calling. He became the great R. G. Lee. Then F. B. Meyer went on to preach at another location. In that service a young fellow caught fire and began to evangelize. His meetings spread out all over the areas of New England and the mid-Atlantic coast, until they were bulging at the seams. J. Wilbur Chapman, set on fire of God through the preaching of F. B. Meyer, began to stir up the whole northeastern coast. Billy Sunday, influenced by J. Wilbur Chapman, got into the ministry and went to Charlotte, North Carolina. There a group of laymen got so inspired and so stirred up that they organized a committee to invite other evangelists back. One invited was Mordecai Ham from Louisville, Kentucky. He preached in a meeting, and Billy Graham got saved. Billy Graham became a renowned evangelist around the world—all because Edward Kimball—one nobody—won one other nobody and started a series of dominoes falling that ended up with millions saved in Moody’s ministry, hundreds of thousands in Meyer’s ministry, hundreds of thousands more in Chapman’s ministry, hundreds of thousands more in Lee’s ministry, and hundreds of thousands more in Graham’s ministry. All because one fellow won one soul to Christ!
It is certainly possible to change the world via the avenue of simply sharing your faith and inviting another human being to come to Jesus.
I.You must have a personal relationship with Jesus (1:37-40)
A.There is a confidence in salvation (2 Cor. 13:5)
1.When there is a lack of confidence in our own salvation, there will be a lack of desire to tell others about Him.
a. 1 John 5:13-
B. There is a conformation (testimony) of salvation (Mark 5:9-20)
1. The most powerful illustration you can use is what the Lord had done in your life. Think about your life- how has the Lord changed you. What is the Lord doing in your life right now. Andrew was able to share what Christ had done in his life.
II.You must have your priorities in order (1:41)
A.We see the sinners condition – Andrew was burdened for his Bro. Simon. Who do we have a burden for? Do we have a burden for own family, our neighbors, our friends.
1. Eph. 2:1-3-
2. Eph. 2:12-
B. We see the sense of urgency
1. He knows that life is just a vapor. We are not promised another minute of life.
2. He knows that Jesus could return any time for us.
3. He seizes every opportunity to lead others to Jesus. He understands that he needs to take every opportunity the Lord gives. That no one will ever be saved without the Lord’s leading. This window could close at any minute. Time is of the utmost importance.
III.You Must Have a Proper View of Christ (1:41b)
A.His Person
1.John 14:6-
B. His Birth- he was virgin born Isa. 7:14-
C. His Life- he was sinless 2 Cor. 5:21
D. His Death-
E. His Resurrection (Matt. 28:1-6) a dead Savior saves no one
F. His ascension- Acts 1:9-11- Jesus is now at the right hand of God interceding for us to the Father
1. Heb. 7:25
G. His return- Jesus is going to return one day for us.
IV.We Must Have a Passion for Pointing men to Christ
A.Mark 2:1-5-