A.“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.” Prov.11:30 The wisest man who ever lived penned these pregnant, powerful & potent words. He did so under the control, command & constraint of the Holy Spirit Himself. B. The wisdom of winning souls will never be fully revealed till we get to glory, though we see some of that wisdom here & now, if we truly believe the Bible. We know that to “win” a lost soul transforms that person into a soul which will live forever in heaven and change his or her life down here in the meantime. If you desire to be truly “wise” and “winsome” then go out and “win some!”
I. WINNERS WIN SOULS:
A. Winning Suggests Warfare:
1. The reason soul-winning is such a struggle for the believer is because he enters a spiritual battlefield. 2. Any soldier going to battle without proper training & equipment is doomed failure. 3. The Christian soldier needs to put on the spiritual armor of Eph.5 & since he is engaged in spiritual warfare, he must gird himself with prayer.
ILLUS.: Perhaps more souls are won in the prayer room than in the living room. Perhaps more are won in the prayer room than in the church room.
4. The reason for the armor & prayer is because Satan will due his best to wound the warrior w/his fiery darts…but “greater is He that is in you…”
B. Winning Suggests Wrestling:
1. Both metaphors (warfare & wrestling), are used in Scripture.
Eph.6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2. Every time the believer kneels to pray, or reads his Bible, or is filled w/the Spirit or goes soul-winning, he is entering into a battle zone where the stakes are eternal & the contest goes beyond the natural to the spiritual.
ILLUS.: 🏌️♀️This is why it is easier for you to talk to your unsaved loved ones & friends about a ball game or a new car, etc. than their eternal soul. 💪Real wrestlers must be in top physical shape to compete successfully. So too w/spiritual wrestlers. That’s why we are having these session – to prepare you for success in this spiritual battle zone.
C. Winning Suggests Wooing:
1. To leave the warfare & wrestling metaphors, I would like to suggest another that of wooing. 2. To win a mate, you must court or woo that mate.
ILLUS.: To be successful in winning a mate, you woo that person with every possible ploy. 🧡You used flattery, candy, flowers, perfume, went to expensive places, etc. It didn’t happen overnight. In soul-winning you will find that you will have to use natural skills as well as supernatural weapons directed at winning that lost soul. Jesus used such things as a well & water, the birth of a baby, etc. To gain a hearing you must use whatever you can in the natural realm before moving into the spiritual realm.
3. You didn’t win your spouse immediately, & you don’t usually win souls immediately.
II. WAYS TO WIN SOME:
A. Spontaneously:
1. Since we never know when the opportunity will open up, we must be ready give a spontaneous presentation. 2. You should have tracts, soul-winning materials at hand. 3. We need to develop a soul-winning awareness & be “ready always…”
B. Specifically:
1. Here is where you specifically target some. 2. These are they for whom you have prayed, have attempted to witness, and even possibly have made an appt. to speak to (over lunch, after work, in their home, in your home, etc.)
C. Scripturally:
1. Study soul-winning tactics. 2. Know basic Scripture references. 3. Stay focused (the devil will try to get you off the track)!
D. Successfully:
1. Everyone will not respond favorably. 2. God will grant success if you stay at it, to encourage you; perhaps if more of us would become soul-winners, more of our own loved ones would get saved, & if not by us, by other soul-winners! 3. Winning just one is better than winning none!
CONCL.: One day you will see just how wise you were by taking the time & making the effort to win some. Not only will you receive a reward for fruit bearing, but you will see those souls in glory. So, “BE WISE & WINSOME & WIN SOME!”