HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: PROVERBS 11:30




INTRODUCTION:


  1. The Bible says, "He that winneth souls is wise." Let me tell you from first hand experience that the greatest work in the world is winning souls. You can be the CEO of a huge corporation; you can be the head physician of one of the world’s greatest hospitals; you can be a professor at the world’s finest university – but all that is nothing compared to winning souls.
  2. There is no greater thrill than leading souls to Christ. Parents, there is no greater thrill than leading your children to Christ. Some children (e.g. my wife) have had the privilege of leading their parents to the Lord.
  3. Now our text does not say, "He that talks about winning souls is wise." It does not say, "He that approves of winning souls is wise." And it does not say, "He that likes to watch others win souls is wise."
  4. This reminds me of the time a contractor sent two men out to dig holes for fence posts. One guy was working hard digging away while the other man was lying around and goofing off. The first man said, "Do you have a problem with hard work?" and the second man said, "Not at all. I can sit here and watch you work all day."
  5. Beloved, soulwinning is hard work.

 

I. THE WISDOM OF THE SOULWINNER.

    1. C.H. Spurgeon said "though vainglorious wiseacres may dub them fools," God makes the soulwinners wise.
    2. It takes wisdom to win souls but God gives us the wisdom.
    3. I suppose it would be good to stop at this point and define the word "win." We use the term in various ways. For example, some men of a certain political persuasion may talk of "winning" others to their point of view.
    4. This is similar to what the Bible is teaching here: the Bible says those without Christ are lost. They are blinded by the devil. They have to be won to Christ; otherwise they will spend eternity in hell.
    5. The word "win" is often used in warfare. Now to win a soul is a much more difficult thing than to win a war. The soulwinner must not advance too quickly. On the other hand, he must not proceed too slowly either, lest the unsaved think he is not in earnest.
    6. Spurgeon said: "The Christian soldier must know how to advance by little and little – to sap that prejudice, to undermine that old enmity, to blow into the air that lust, and at the last, to storm the citadel."
    7. The word "win" was commonly used among the ancients to signify a wrestling match. It is hard for us to think of the word in this context because of all the foolishness associated with modern day wrestling. But during a legitimate wrestling match, every muscle and every nerve is developed, and every ounce of energy is being used. The wrestler is watching his opponent carefully. And by the way, we need to remember that our adversary the devil does not like to see souls saved! He is our adversary and he puts up quite a fight. Start winning souls and you will see what I am talking about.
    8. The soulwinner has to struggle with men’s prejudice, with their love for sin, with their unbelief, with their pride, with their self-righteousness. This is harder than any wrestling match and far more important.
    9. The word "win" is also used in this sense: "He won the heart of that young lady." This takes great wisdom also. Ever see a goofy-looking man with a beautiful wife? (Don’t start pointing up here!) That fellow is wise, amen?
    10. I am joking but here is my point: You cannot be a successful soulwinner if you do not love people. We win souls by loving them, and by sympathizing with their sorrow, by letting them know that we care about them, and that we do not want them to go to hell.
    11. Beloved, it is not too late for some of you to start soulwinning. This great privilege is not just for preachers but for all Christians (cf. Dan.12:3).
    12. Uncle John Vassar was a member of A.J. Gordon’s church up in Boston. He asked two ladies if they were born again. They said that their church did not teach that. He pulled out his Bible and soon won them both to Christ. That evening one of the ladies told her husband what happened.
  • "I wish I had been there," the man said.
  • "Why? What would you have done?" asked his wife.
  • "I would have told him to go about his business."
  • "But if you had been there, you would have seen he was about his business." {It ought to be our business also.}

 

II. THE METHODS OF THE SOULWINNER.

    1. The easiest way to start is by just bringing people to church. I promise you that if you bring any unconverted friends or neighbors or relatives here I guarantee you they will hear a Gospel message.
    2. Some people complained to Bro. Saravia about the low attendance upstairs. He told them to go out soulwinning and start inviting people to church.
    3. Another way to win souls: Encourage those who are already attending our services but are not saved yet. This is one of the things that impressed my wife and me about LBC in California.
    4. We always have a bumper crop of visitors that come to church but are still lost. Are you praying for their salvation?
    5. Spurgeon told of a member of his church who used to seek out new faces and ask them if they would be coming back for the evening service. If they planned on coming back, he would invite them over to his house for tea. Quite a few people were saved this way.
    6. "Button-holing" acquaintances, neighbors, and friends is a great way to win souls if done prayerfully and Scripturally (e.g. Sergio).
    7. Do you want to see how an expert soulwinner won souls this way? Read John 4 and see how the Lord won the woman at the well. She then went back and won many others in Samaria.
    8. There are many similar incidents in the Gospels where our Lord spoke one on one with lost souls. You can never tell the impact that one soul can have. How many here have ever heard of Edward Kimball? He led D.L. Moody to Christ.
    9. Beloved, every time you get on the bus or subway; every time you are waiting in line at the store – consider that the person next to you could be a lost soul. Always carry Bible tracts.
    10. Spurgeon said, "A tract is a useful thing, but a living word is better." In other words, use tracts to "break the ice."
    11. Another great way to win souls: house to house visitation.
    12. Another way: write letters to people you know; write letters to the editor of newspapers, etc. Today we have e-mail. Let us use this modern technology for winning souls. Some of you are rather timid, but you can still pick up a pen and paper.
    13. Another way to win souls: a holy, separated life. This is how Livingstone won Stanley to Christ. I was talking to a (RC) business acquaintance Friday afternoon and he commented that several preachers have made an impression upon him.
    14. Also, always remember that prayer is important if souls are to be won to Christ. Pray before the meeting; come out Wednesday night for prayer meeting, etc.
    15. The other night I was showing Bro. and Sis. Pierre our building. I told them it was an old fish market and Bro. Pierre said, "Now you have your Scripture for this building" (cf. Luke 5:10).
    16. Beloved, let’s drop our nets!
    17. Washington Irving was a great writer. He was born in NYC in 1783 and died up in Tarrytown. Most of you are probably familiar with his famous short stories such as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and "Rip Van Winkle." In one of his stories he tells of three men who had read books on fishing. They went to the store and bought the best fishing rods and lines that money could buy.
    18. Then they went fishing. And they fished and fished and fished all day long without a bite. They were getting disgusted when all of a sudden a raggedly-looking, bare-footed little boy came down from the hills with a tree branch in his hand. Hanging from the branch was a piece of string with a bent pin. He put a worm on the pin, dropped his string in the water, and immediately – out came a fish. He did it again – another fish! And a third, and a fourth, and before you know it his basket was full of fish.
    19. The three men were amazed, and asked him how he did it. He said, "I cannot explain it to you but it is easy enough when you know what you’re doing."
    20. It’s the same way when you are fishing for souls. I cannot explain to you how the Holy Spirit convicts men of their sin and draws them to Christ, but I have seen it happen hundreds of times.
    21. So launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught!

 

III. THE VALUE OF A SOUL.

    1. "He that winneth souls is wise." We have spent much time examining what it means to win souls, but we have spent little time considering the value of a soul.
    2. About 100 years ago, during the World’s Fair in Chicago, there was a Tiffany diamond exhibit that was hard to get into. Every day, great crowds of people would gather around this exhibit, making it quite difficult to see anything.
    3. The famous evangelist R.A. Torrey tried unsuccessfully several times but was never able to get a good look at this famous jewel. He would stand on his tip-toes and look over people’s heads. He wrote these words, "What were they looking at? Nothing but a cone of purple velvet revolving upon an axis, and toward the apex of the cone a large, beautiful diamond of almost priceless worth. It was well worth looking at. But I have never recalled that scene but the thought has come to me that the single soul of the raggedest pauper on the streets, of the most degraded woman, of the most ignorant boy or girl on the street is of infinitely more value in God’s sight than ten thousand gems like that."
    4. Amen and amen! All the gold in Fort Knox, all the money on Wall Street, all the priceless gems and jewels from all over this world – none of this can compare to the value of a soul.
    5. To comprehend the value of a soul, we must look to the Lord Jesus Christ and see what He had to say (cf. Matt.10:28-31; 16:26).
    6. Every now and then we hear about some child falling down a well or something, and every man in the town will drop what they’re doing and work all day and night to rescue that child. And we all rejoice when the child is safely returned to his mom and dad.
    7. But beloved, as wonderful as that is, it is nothing compared to seeing some lost soul get saved! We ought to have that same zeal in saving souls from hellfire that firemen have in rescuing souls from a temporary fire.

CONCLUSION:

  1. I have been preaching today on the importance of soulwinning. But perhaps there is some one today who has never been won to Christ.
  2. You can hardly win souls until you get this thing settled yourself.
  3. The Baptists have produced some great preachers and one of them was John Harper from London. Years ago, at a meeting in Ontario, Canada, a man stood up to testify. He said: "Four years ago, when I got on board the Titanic, I was a careless, wicked sinner. Soon the ship went down and I was struggling out in the Atlantic Ocean with hundreds of others. I caught hold of something and clung to it for dear life. All around me I could hear the wailing and crying of those perishing in the ocean.
  4. "Soon there floated by me a man who shouted out, ‘Is your soul saved?’ I replied, ‘No, it is not.’ ‘Then,’ said he, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’ We drifted apart for a few minutes, and then I saw him again. Again he cried out, ‘Is your soul saved?’ and again I had to reply, ‘No, it is not.’ And again John Harper said: ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’ But once again we were separated by the rolling currents. I heard him call out this message to others as they sank beneath the waters into eternity.
  5. It was there and then that I cried out to the Lord Jesus Christ and asked Him to save me. I believed on Him and was saved. In a few minutes I heard John Harper say, ‘I’m going down, I’m going down…but I’m going up.’
  6. The man at the meeting in Ontario said these words as he sat down: "I was John Harper’s last convert."


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