SOUL WINNING AND EVANGELISM:...........In a Dying and unbelieving World!




EVANGELISM - FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF CHRIST

Introduction
There are no better strategies for evangelism/soul-winning than the ones laid down by our Master JESUS CHRIST. 

Soul-winning is the commission of every believer in Christ, the Lord commanded us to go to the whole world and preach the gospel of life, to let everyone know about Jesus and what He did for us at the cross.  He says people will not believe until they hear the Good News, and they cannot hear the Good News until someone preaches it to them.  Soul-winning require persistence.  We should have passion for souls and go all out to preach, teach and witness Christ to people all year round, praying and following new converts up till they are established in the Lord.

In order to truly understand evangelism/soul-winning, which is one of our assignments from the Lord as believers, we should look to Christ and the finished work of grace. Christ set up a standard of personal evangelism and soul winning, which we should follow in order to be fruitful in our personal and group soul-winning activities.  He preached and taught people in the synagogue and on the way with His disciples for three and a half years, then He established and empowered His disciples to continue the good work after Him.  This is the pattern every Pastor and Evangelist should follow.

It is like sharing the burden of our Lord and Saviour and representing Him on earth. Let not our ministries and churches end with us...NO!  We should establish a structured with the help of the Holy Ghost and train men to continue the work after us.  The Redeem Christian Church in Nigeria has successfully done this, and today, the work of the founding fathers has spread to every region, if not every country on earth.


Shyness of Believers

Many believers find it difficult to talk to people about Jesus Christ, our Lord that saved them and delivered them from the kingdom of darkness unto light.  The main reason for their shyness is not being well prepared. 

There is a group of people who feel they don't know much about God to begin to witness Him to people, yet we can deduce from all these that many believers are either not sure of their salvation or are not appreciative of what the Lord did for us.  It will not be an understatement to say that some believers do not fully understand know Jesus Christ did for us.

Beloved,  It is for this reason, we should commit to raising new and bold evangelists at Church and individual levels.  We should equip them with the things Christ achieved for us at the cross and all the kingdom benefits that await them and their new converts in the Lord.  The best thing that happened to me personally, is knowing Jesus and it is because of Him that I am still alive today.  On the contrary, many souls have died because they did not know Him and so, could not withstand the darts of the enemy.



When you count your own blessings and number them, you will see the reason why you should help friends, relatives, colleagues to see the light of Jesus and be saved from the wrath of the enemy on earth and hellfire to come.

Patterns of Christ

Some of the patterns of Christ was that He would always rise up early in the morning and go to a secret place for prayer.  He would pray down the power of God for the days' assignments and when He comes down from the mountain, He would always be full of power.

He was lead by the Spirit of God, being full of the Spirit of God and the direction and focus of His evangelism activities was in accordance with the will of \God and result oriented.  He would go to places and talk to people His disciples would never have imagined.  An example was his discussion with the woman at the well of waters. His disciples would never have thought He would speak or preach to such a woman, but He did because He was Spirit-filled and needed to break the prejudice between the Jews and their neighbors after all the kingdom of God is for all who believe.


Following after Him

We should follow the footsteps of Christ if we are His and want to achieve the kind of success He achieved.  Prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit is indispensable for every Evangelist and all the people willing to go out to preach the good news to the people.  We should the following qualities:

You Must Be Born Again – You must be born again. Before you begin your life career of soul-winning, you must first fulfill all righteousness which involves the confession of sin, repentance and accepting JESUS CHRIST as your personal Lord and Saviour, then ‘the heavens’ will be opened unto you.

Obtain Power from on High – You cannot win the sinner from the kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of God by your own strength. A spiritual foe requires spiritual weapons for spiritual warfare. Baptism with the HOLY SPIRIT will guarantee you the Power and the Tools (Gifts of the HOLY SPIRIT) for soul winning.

Prayer – Prayer precedes and saturates every soul-winning effort. JESUS would normally pray before any major and minor event.  When you maintain an altar of prayer for souls, pleading for the mercy of God over the sinners and the backslidden, you are more likely to win more souls for Christ.

Living an Exemplary Life.  A believer must shine forth the light of God in him or her for people to see and glorify his father, which is in heaven.  A soul winner should and indeed be a Word-based and Word practicing Christian. Your lifestyle and grace upon your light alone will win souls unto the kingdom of God.

Binding the Strongman: - Soul winning is bringing people out from the camp of the enemy (Satan) unto the marvelous light of Christ.  So, in order to take what belongs to the strong, you must bind the strongman watching over them as well as strongholds the enemy has built-in their heart as fear and impossibilities to weaken or destroy their faith.  

For example, some believers believe that serving God is synonymous with poverty, which is not true.  What is true is that a believer can be rich and should actually be comfortable.  But to be rich in the kingdom is a function of what you know and how obedient you are ready to be with the revealed word of truth.  Are you ready to practice the covenant obligations that make for riches in the kingdom? If yes, you will be rich, otherwise, riches will be difficult in the kingdom.

Study the Word – If you wish to make the LORD’S Last Command your First Concern, then you must read, study and meditate on the Word of GOD. As you go along in your life journey of soul winning, the Word of God will be a lamp unto your feet (steps in soul-winning) and a light unto your path (long term plan to evangelize).

You Must have Joy:  There is no joy like giving the good news to everybody everywhere – winning souls – out where the people are. The soul winner in the office, business place or at home must be a man of joy.  You must radiate the joy of the Lord, His faithfulness and power.  No wonder the bible says it is with joy that we draw from the well of salvation.

Pride - Be Patient
Remember the world pretends about its need for Christ, but inside their hearts, many of them wish they can be so hopeful, calm in hard times and never lose hope in what God can do.  The truthful attitude of believers, their faith, helpful and hospitable attitudes, their kindness and love cannot be contested.  The problem with the world is their pride and human wisdom.

Today, we have seen that human wisdom cannot guarantee peace.  The wisdom of man has not reduced suffering, death from all kinds of disease.  Education without morality has led some people believing they are animals.  Most people that say they want to live their life as they want, end up being used by the devil to deceive others.  They end up being frustrated in life and hopeless, not knowing how to behave honorably.

Benefits of Soul Winning

One of the greatest benefits of soul winning is the anointing and power of God that the evangelism has at his disposal -  As you go, cast out demons, health the sick.

Also, in Mathew 10:1, Jesus called His disciples and gave them power..... Every evangelist has that same power of Jesus Christ to cast out the demons and heal the sick.  If you doubt it, Go out on evangelism and see how the 'heaven will confirm your word and back you up with power.

Action to Take:

In conclusion, I encourage you to begin to witness Christ to people around you as a wise servant of Christ.

Remember that every believer is automatically called into evangelism according to the gospel of Mark 16:15 - 16 which says "Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing the converts in the name of God the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.



FIRE...

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