1.     Last week I preached on having a concern for souls.  Bro. McGowan told me he was moved by the story of the old man from J. Wilbur Chapman’s church that went to a friend, and put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Tom!” and then the tears started to roll down his cheeks. 

2.     Then with sobs choking his utterance, he said: “Tom, when your old father died, he gave you and your brother into my guardianship, and I have let you both grow into manhood and never asked you to become a Christian.”

3.     He could not say another word.  He was too choked up.  But the young man got saved.  And J. Wilbur Chapman concluded the story by saying: “PREACHING FAILS, SINGING FAILS, BUT INDIVIDUAL CONCERN DOES NOT FAIL.”

4.     I think a Christian ought to be concerned about souls every waking moment.  There are many famous stories regarding the Titanic.  That big ship hit an iceberg and sank on April 14, 1912.

5.     The ship’s builders boasted that the Titanic was “unsinkable.”  But she did indeed sink and only 712 people survived; 1,496 perished.  One of those who drowned was a preacher named John Harper.  Listen to this true story about the death of John Harper.

6.     At a Bible conference held in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, a man rose and gave the following testimony:  “Four years ago, when I left England on board the Titanic I was a careless, godless sinner.  I was in this condition on the night when the terrible catastrophe took place.  Very soon, with hundreds more, I found myself struggling in the cold, dark waters of the Atlantic.  I caught hold of something and clung to it for dear life. The wail of awful distress from the perishing all around was ringing in my ears, when there floated near by me a man who, too, seemed to be clinging to something.  He called to me: ‘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, then we seemed to be driven together once more.  ‘Is your soul saved?’ again he cried out.  ‘I fear it is not,’ I replied.  ‘Then if you will but believe on the Lord Jesus Christ your soul shall be saved,’ was his further message of intense appeal to me.  But 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. There and then, with two miles of water beneath me, in my desperation I cried unto Christ to save me.  I believed upon Him and I was saved.  In a few minutes I heard this man of God say: ‘I'm going down, I'm going down’ then: ‘No, no, I'm going up.’  That man was John Harper.  I am John Harper’s last convert”

7.     So I hope we all understand a concern for souls is the #1 essential requirement for being an effective soulwinner.  John Harper was more concerned for the souls of men they he was for his own physical safety,

8.     Tonight, I would like to speak on some of the other essentials, and as I did last week I will refer again to the book, THE DIVINE ART OF SOUL-WINNING by J. Oswald Sanders.

I. AN UNWAVERING PURPOSE.

1.     Not all great soulwinners have been pastors, evangelists, or missionaries.  Many have been so-called “laymen” and women.

2.     I referred last week to the woman at the well.  She had a pretty rough background, knew very little Bible truth, was all mixed up in her theology, was living with a man when she was converted, etc.  But as soon as she got saved she went back to her town and started telling others about Jesus.

3.     John 3 and 4 are my two favorite soulwinning chapters.  Our Lord said in John 3:7, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

4.     And He said in John 4:35, “Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

5.     I like to read biographies, especially the biographies of great soulwinners.  Many of these great soulwinners have been famous preachers like DL Moody or Charles Haddon Spurgeon, but some were not preachers at all.

6.     I once read a very interesting book about a man called Uncle John Vassar (1813-1878).  This soulwinning legend was a member of Dr. A. J. Gordon’s church in Boston.  He witnessed to thousands of people, including famous people like President Ulysses S. Grant and Mormon leader Brigham Young.

7.     Mr. Vassar liked to start the conversation going by asking the direct question, “Are you a Christian?”  On one occasion he addressed this question to two ladies.  “Certainly,” they replied.
        “Have you been born again?” he asked.
        “This is Boston,” said the ladies, “and you know we don’t believe in that doctrine here.”
        Uncle John Vassar immediately produced his Bible and showed what God has to say on the subject.  In a short time they were on their knees.  That evening one of the ladies told her husband of her meeting with Uncle John Vassar.
        “I wish I had been there,” said the man.
        “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 that he was going about his business.”

8.     Lord Shaftsbury was a wealthy British nobleman and a member of Parliament.  He was led to Christ through one of his housemaids.  We are reminded of the little Jewish maid (we don’t even know her name), who told her Syrian employer, “Would God my lord (Naaman, the captain of the host in Syria) were with the prophet (Elisha) that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy” (II Kings 5:3).

9.     We need an unwavering purpose.  This is what all great soulwinners have in common.  Whether they are uneducated like DL Moody or highly educated like RA Torrey.  Moody and Torrey were very different in their personalities, their backgrounds, etc. but they both had an unwavering purpose – to win souls.

10. Dr. Lyman Beecher was a great early 19^th century preacher and he was part of the Second Great Awakening here in America. As he lay dying, a preacher friend said to him: “Dr. Beecher, you know a great deal; tell us what is the greatest of all things.” The dying preacher replied: “It is not theology; it is not controversy; IT IS TO SAVE SOULS.”

11. A soulwinner must have an unwavering purpose.

II. A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD OF GOD.

1.     Here is where many Christians fail.  It is imperative that a soulwinner study his Bible.

CONCLUSION:

1.     A burden for souls, an unwavering purpose, a good working knowledge of the Scriptures, and a prayerful dependence on God are all essential to successful soulwinning, but there is one more very essential qualification – the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; I Cor. 2:4).