THE LIFESTYLE OF AN EFFECTIVE SOUL WINNER

The Lifestyle of an Effective Soul-winner

Matthew 5:14-16;  1 Thess. 2. 7 - 12

The life of a soul winner is as important as his message. To be an effective soul winner, therefore, our lives as believers must complement the good news we bring to the people. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ lived such a loving yet unquestionable life that everyone testified about Him as being from God (i.e without any fault or sin (Luke 23.4)). If we must win the lost to the Lord, our lifestyle must be higher in holiness and righteousness than that of the unbelievers and religious church goers in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ said “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). If we cannot get to the Kingdom without a higher standard of living, then we are equally disqualified from service here on earth. The Lord is expecting us as believers to radiate the glory of God with our lifestyle to the people around us so “…that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). We cannot win the lost world to the Lord if our lives are not beckon of light and a good example for them to emulate.

The Personal Life of The Soul-winner  Isaiah 6:1-7; 52:11; Acts 9:1-6,17-21; Acts 6:3; 11:19-26; Exodus 18:21; Proverbs 25:13; 1 Peter 2:9

    

The life of Isaiah as a preacher before he saw the vision of the Lord was a life given to self-opinion and self-centredness. He was a preacher but needed a divine encounter before his service could be acceptable to God. Prior to this time, he could only see woes in the lives of his countrymen and didn’t feel anything was wrong with him. He was indeed very zealous for God. He didn’t know that heaven was looking for a replacement for him until God allowed him to see what was happening in the higher spiritual realm. It was at this time that he saw his true condition and cried out to God for a personal encounter with God that brought a definite life-long transformation to his life. Paul of Tarsus was a zealous religious man with strong persecution against Christians before his encounter with the Lord on his way to Damascus. The encounter brought not only a definite change but a total change of life’s direction. Before we can represent God before man, we need a genuine experience of salvation. We must be men and women of good report. The qualities highlighted by Jethro to Moses are essential in the lives of effective soul-winners. Faithfulness in private and public is very important as well. The soul-winner must live a life of holiness, integrity, honesty, fidelity and truthfulness every day and everywhere.

The Priority of an Effective Soul-winner

     John 9:4; 4:34; Luke 19:10; 1 Corinthians 9:16-17  

The effective soul-winner like His Mentor, the Lord Jesus Christ realizes he exists for a singular purpose of leading the lost souls to the Saviour by all means. There is no sacrifice too much to give to the task and there is no place too far for him to accomplish the task of soul-winning. The Lord Jesus Christ declared His Mission Statement as “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). At another time, He told His disciples about His life’s priority which is above every other earthly need or pressure – “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). The disciples followed suit in making the work of soul-winning their lives priority. Immediately the Lord gave them the Great Commission, we are told that “And they went forth, and preached every where…” (Mark 16:20). After the death of Stephen, many of the disciples left Jerusalem to other lands - “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). We should be ready to burn out like the early church who went everywhere to preach the gospel. We cannot do otherwise if we want to do the will of God and fulfill the mandate of rescuing the perishing.

The Pursuit and Preoccupation of an Effective Soul winner  Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8; 8:4-8

The constant pursuit of an effective soul-winner is the actualization of the Great Commission. The purpose of our existence is to “shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul the apostle declared that he is alive mainly for the purpose of making Christ known to the lost world, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Philip went to   the city of Samaria with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and caused joy in the city. Soul winners employed every opportunity to make Christ known wherever they were found. The soul-winner is committed and fully dedicated to the singular purpose of evangelism.

The admonition of the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is crucial to our effectiveness in the business of soul-winning, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our lifestyle must demonstrate the message we preach if we are to be effective in our soul-winning efforts. PFA.