Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo on 03 December 2000 11 am English Service
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Introduction: God has blessed GLCC for the past 13 years. We have a good membership, a nice building, strong fellowship groups, effective ministries and sound finances. The natural way to go from here is to become complacent and to sit back and enjoy “the fruit of our labour.” However, as Christians who will enjoy an eternal rest in heaven, we realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to “seek and to save that which is lost” (LUK 19:10). The good church that God has built for us over the last 13 years should therefore serve as a solid base from which we faithfully fulfill His Great Commission for us (MAT 28:18-20).
May God enable use to be a church that continually wins souls and equipts these souls to be soul-winners – and glorify God as we do so . He that winneth souls in wise: The world considers great scholars, powerful rulers and rich tycoons as wise. But Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, tells us that one who wins souls is wise. Note that he does not say that preachers, bible teachers or bible scholars are wise. In other words, a man is not wise unless he occupies himself with the wisest occupation, namely, to “seek and to save that which is lost.” There are several reasons why a soul-winner is wise:
1) Soul-winning work is lasting – If Michelangelo used his talents to create sand-sculptures on the beach instead of marble, none of his masterpieces would be standing today. Every human achievement and reward has to be left behind when we leave this world. But our soul-wining efforts wrought in the souls of man last forever.
2) Soul-winning work glorifies God – All of God’s creation glorifies Him but none glorifies Him as much as a new creature made in the image of God.
3) Soul-winning saves men from hell – There is no nobler occupation than plucking souls from hell and transporting them safely to heaven.
4) Soul-winning is the most satisfying work – Even if we are utterly self-seeking, soul-winning is the best occupation of all because there are few joys to match seeing a soul get saved. The difficulties and agonies of soul-winning cannot be compared to its joys.
5) Soul-winning requires wisdom – He that winneth souls is wise. If a person were not wise, he would be occupied with other matters. Furthermore, if a person were not wise, he would not be an effective soul-winner because effective soul-winning requires much wisdom (which God freely gives to those who desire to be effective, JAM 1:5). The Art of Winning Souls: The word “win” in this verse is used often used in reference to warfare, eg. capturing a city. The commander requires much wisdom and skill to know what weapons to use, where the weak spots in the city-walls are, what speed and intensity of attack to use, etc. Similarly, the effective soul-winner requires to have much wisdom (from God) and skill (from training and practice). The word “win” is also often used in reference to wrestling matches. A wrestler struggles to breakdown the defenses of his opponent. The moment he overcomes one, his opponent uses another to defend himself.
A good wrestler struggles on until he overcomes his opponents’ defenses. When a soul-winner shares the Gospel, there is resistance from Satan, prejudice, love of sin, pride, unbelief, despair, etc. An effective soul-winner does not quit easily because he realizes the nature of his work. Winning “wars” and “wrestling matches” are part of soul-winning work. However, there is another kind of winning that is vital, namely, that of winning a heart. A soul-winners’ skill and diligence will be totally ineffective, if he fails to win the listeners’ heart. We need Christ’s heart of love as we sympathize with his plight, plead with him, are concerned with his eternal destiny and pray for him fervently. Conclusion: God’s purpose for each of us and for our church is that we will win souls and glorify Him.
Every believer has the desire and the ability to be soul-winners because “Christ lives in us” (GAL 2:20). Let us be trained to be effective soul-winners. While we await the opportunity to be trained, let us be good testimonies wherever God has placed Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore by Pastor Dr Paul Choo on 03 December 2000 11 am English Services, give out tracts to those around, share the Gospel as best we know how, invite our friends for Gospel meetings, befriend visitors to church.