Fruitful Soul-Winning DEEPER LIFE DECEMBER RETREAT EVANGELISM SEMINAR Developing the Lifestyle of Fruitful Soul-Winning 23 DECEMBER, 2017

Developing the Lifestyle of Fruitful Soul-winning Matthew 28:19-20; John 15:1-7

INTRODUCTION Soul-winning is a metaphor for evangelism or witnessing. Soul-winning is the practice of leading lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their soul. Every believer is expected to be an active soul-winner, an effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). The Lord has promised to give us all that we need to win souls. We need love, zeal, compassion, faith, knowledge, wisdom and power; God gives these attributes abundantly to all who ask in faith (Ephesians 3:16-20; Luke 11:5- 10; James 1:5).

ESSENCE OF SOUL-WINNING Soul-winning is central to the Great Commission (Mat. 28:19-20): The first thing is to warn the sinner of sin and judgment. After the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and its danger and he desires deliverance from sin and Satan’s power, the soul-winner is presents Jesus to him as Saviour. If he believes and calls upon the name of the Lord, he becomes born again (Rom. 10:13). The second part is to teach the convert to observe all things commanded by the Lord. The soul-winner’s work is not complete until the fruit of evangelism is conserved (John 15:16). The new convert requires parental guidance and special feeding on the ‘milk of the word of God’; he needs the personal attention of the soul-winner to have his questions answered.

THE LIFE OF THE SOUL-WINNER Fruitfulness in soul-winning depends on the life of the soul-winner: Assurance of salvation (II Tim. 2:6): Personal experience is indispensable. Vibrant life (John 15:3-5): To be fruitful, the soul-winner must have daily victory over sin, the flesh and world; he needs Christ-like compassion, an effective prayer life, working knowledge of the scriptures, strong conviction about God, the Bible and the necessity of salvation and faith in the benefit of the great and wonderful promises of God. Vision & focus (Pro. 11:30: Eccl. 11:4-6): the soul-winner must be prepared, patient, faithful, committed to the purpose and adaptable to the situation of the sinner.

DISCUSSION

QUESTION 1 What is meant by soul-winning? Matthew 28:19,20 Luke 24:46-48 John 1:40-42 John 4:28-30

QUESTION 2 Why do we need to warn sinners? II Timothy 2:26 Romans 6:23 II Cor. 5:11 Ezekiel 3:17-19

QUESTION 3 Give reasons why soul-winning must take the first priority in the believer’s life? John 9:4 Mark 8:36-37 Psalm 9:17 Matthew 9:36,37 Ezekiel 3:18

QUESTION 4 What qualifies someone to be a soul-winner? Matthew 15:14 II Timothy 2:6 Matthew 5:14-16 Acts 1:8 II Timothy 2:15

QUESTION 5 From the texts below, what are the essential attributes that characterise the lifestyle of a fruitful soul-winner? Romans 10:1; 1:14 John 4:35 James 5:7 Acts 15:36 I Corinthians 9:22

CONCLUSION Soul-winning is the practice of leading lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their soul. Soul-winning is every believer’s responsibility. Soul-winning is at the centre of the Great Commission. The Lord has promised to give us all that we need to become fruitful soul-winner. Fruitful soul-winning personal testimony, vibrant life, vison and focus. The soul-winner is not fruitful until the fruit of evangelism is conserved, matured and multiplied.