YOU CAN BE A SOULWINNER!

 

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I’m continuing with the "Pentecostal Witnessing" book, written by Pastor Aubrey Maye, to encourage myself and others to witness to others the wonderful saving power of Jesus Christ. Today’s post is entitled “You Can Be A Soulwinner!” based on Chapter 4. We’re going to just cover the first part of the chapter.

Daniel 12:3 captures well a very important reason to win souls. Daniel wrote, “Those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Which of us don’t want to shine like the heavens and stars?

Pastor Maye wrote that being a Christian gives us the privilege and responsibility of being a witness for Christ. He said we can witness simply telling others what Jesus Christ has done in our own lives. Pastor Maye said simply telling others what Jesus has done for us, “is witnessing in its pure and simple form”, and “it has brought thousands of sinners under conviction of sin.”

He wrote, "With the proper preparation and dedication, we can tell an unsaved person not only what Christ has done for us, but also show from the Scripture what Christ has done for them, and how they can receive the same experience that we have.”

Pastor Maye wrote, “Some people have the idea that to be a personal soulwinner, we have to memorize a great amount of Scripture, but it simply isn’t true." We’ll touch on that briefly later in the post.

THE SOULWINNER’S PERSONAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Personal experience of salvation.
• We must have a vital personal experience of salvation, a deep knowledge that our sins were forgiven and that we have peace with God.
• In Luke 10:17-20 Jesus told his disciples that were rejoicing because of what they had accomplished on their missionary journeys, more important was the fact that their names were written in heaven. Jesus was encouraging them that to have a deep personal experience of salvation leading toward heaven is very much more important than anything else in sharing the gospel.
2. Consecrated and Spirit-filled life.
• Merriam Webster defines consecrated as, “Dedicated to a sacred purpose.” We can’t be half-hearted in what we believe.
• Along with consecration to a sacred purpose, we must rely on the Holy Spirit in us to give us the power to share the gospel.
3. Prayer life.
• A dynamic and powerful prayer life is essential to have the spiritual strength to witness. Pastor Maye said that private devotional prayer and intercessory prayer for the lost are musts for us to be effective soulwinners.
• He said, "Prayer is our lifeline to give us victory over sin, and to give us courage to keep at the task of witnessing.” Prayer also renews our compassion for the lost.
4.  Bible Study. 
• Pastor Maye said it isn’t necessary to commit to memory a great amount of Scripture to be a soulwinner. But it is definitely necessary to diligently study the Bible “to show ourselves approved” as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15.
• Pastor Maye wrote that the Word of God is truly the “sword of the Spirit" for the soulwinner (Ephesians 6:17), and that we must learn to use it skillfully and confidently as our chief weapon to win souls.
5. Love for souls.
• Pastor Maye wrote that a genuine love for lost souls is born out of the above-mentioned prayer life, and the study of God’s Word. 
• He wrote that as we deepen our experience in God, we’ll also deepen our compassion for the unsaved. 
• When we become more like Jesus, it’s only natural that we’ll look on the needs of the lost like Jesus did in Matthew 9:36-38 where Matthew wrote, “When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” ‘

Pastor Maye wrote, “There’s no substitute for real love in the life of a soulwinner.” He went on, “Cold hearts in Christians are prone to make still lips when it comes to witnessing. You can be a soulwinner: But you must first love lost souls.”

Next week we’ll finish Chapter 4, which includes the mental attitudes a soulwinner must have to share Jesus with people. Then we’ll cap off the session with the benefits of engaging in some personal training and developing a planned approach to soulwinning.

See you next time,

Arlen