Five Truths about Soul-Winning
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
How are we going to
win the lost?
How will my loved ones
come to know Jesus?
What can I do to win
my neighbor for the Lord Jesus Christ?
Let’s look into the account in Mark chapter 5, beginning
from verse 22: “And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,
Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought Him
greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee,
come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.”
Jesus responded to the request by going to Jairus’ house. On
His way to his house, however, He was intercepted. There was a woman who had
been suffering from an “issue of blood” for 12 years. The woman had heard of
Jesus, and on learning that he was passing through, she said to herself, “If
only I may touch His clothes, I shall be whole.” Then in that great crowd of company,
she reached out and touched the hem of His garment. Immediately, Jesus stopped
and asked who had touched Him.
When He had found out, He said to the woman, “Daughter, thy
faith hath made thee whole”. Just then, the news came from Jairus’ house,
saying, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the master any further?”
(Mark
On hearing this, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “
Be not afraid, only believe.” “And He suffered no man to follow Him, save
Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And He cometh to the house of the
ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed
greatly, and when He was come in, He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and
weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.” (Mark 5:36-39)
When the people heard this, they ridiculed Jesus and made
fun of Him. However, Jesus put them all out and taking the parents of the
damsel, and those that were with Him, went in where the damsel was lying. Then “He
took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being
interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose,
and walked; for she was the age of 12 years. And they were astonished with
great astonishment. And he charged them strictly that no man should know it;
and commanded that something should be given to her to eat.” (Mark 5:41-43)
In my reading of this portion of scripture, the Holy Spirit showed me the way to win the lost. There are certain truths about the story I needed to know.
·
The first truth that impressed my heart is this:
If I’m going to win the lost, I MUST HAVE FAITH THAT GOD CAN SAVE THEM. There
is no man upon the face of the earth that God cannot save. It does not matter
how sinful he is. Some of us may cross him out, saying, “If he can be saved,
the devil can be saved, too” If you are going to see the lost saved, you must
have faith that God has the power to pick them up and give them salvation.
There is Hope
The father in the story had come
to Jesus, saying that his daughter was then at a point of death. Jesus did not
say, “Oh, it’s hopeless.” Sometimes when the doctor tells you, “It’s a hopeless
case”, you would start funeral preparations-“Oh Pastor, who’s the undertaker?”,
etc. You begin to feel resigned.
Evidently, the father had faith
that Jesus could save his daughter- that was why he came to Jesus and besought
Him. Likewise, you must have faith – faith that Jesus can save your loved ones
or your friends.
The news given to the father was
that his daughter was dead. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that similarly those
who are in sin are dead in their trespasses. We all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. Men and women who are living in
sin are dead towards God. They exist but they are not really living.
Jesus can save any sinner. He can
change and give him purpose and meaning to life. “I have come that they may
have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) You must have positive
faith if you are going to see the lost won to Christ. Don’t lose faith if you
are going to see the lost won to Christ. Don’t lose faith for the salvation of
your loved ones, neighbours,
colleagues and friends.
Persevere
There was a girl in the church I
was pastoring some years ago. She was going out with a pilot in the Singapore
Air Force. He was brilliant, young and a handsome man, full of potential. “ How
can I win him to the Lord, Pastor? She asked for she knew that he was not a
believer, and she wanted him to be saved. She persuaded him to attend services.
He would come but would make fun of the service afterwards. The girl was in
near despair. She felt that he could never
be saved, but I told her, don’t give up; pray and believe that God can save
him.”
She brought him to pay me a visit
one day. There in the sitting-room, I talked to him about Jesus. The Holy Spirit
convicted him of his sins. The young man realized his need and gave his heart
to Jesus Christ.
There was also a woman who had
been a staunch Buddhist for 50 years. Her son would come to our church and he
showed great concern for her salvation. He would tell me how faithful she was
to the temple. “My mother could never be saved, “ he said.
Changed Life
One day it dawned on the mother
that there were changes in her son’s life. She tried to chance him by beating
him with firewood, for he had been mixing with bad company but it had never
worked. What had happened now? She noticed that he would go out, carrying a
little book under his arm. One day, she decided to follow him and find out
where he was going. Thus one Sunday she came to church. She couldn’t be missed because
she was a large woman. I preached with all my heart, gave the altar call and
she responded. She gave her heart to Jesus after 50 years in Buddhism!
After the service, I asked her
what had made her come to Jesus. She replied, “I saw the change in my son’s
life; the Jesus you’ve been talking about is powerful, and I want him to give
me the hope that I need.”
It would have been interesting if
you had been there on the day we were baptizing her. She was at least four
times my size and she was very worried about me.
·
The second truth I saw is: THERE MUST BE A DEEP
CONCERN IF YOU ARE GOING TO WIN THE LOST. You must be concerned enough and the
only way for you to be so is to understand the position of the sinner.
The Bible says a sinner is a
condemned man. If he has not believed in Jesus, he is still in sin and his sin
condemns him before God. John
Friend, that is a serious
condition for him to be in – he’s outside, at the point of death to be
eternally separated from God once he is physically dead. Before that happens,
we must do something about it. Are you concerned enough? The father was. He
came to Jesus when his daughter was at the point of death.
Have a deep concern for your
parents, your colleagues, and your friends. Don’t see them as trees walking,
like one character did in the Bible. See them as people with souls that God has
created. Sin has marred and brought confusion, strife and ugliness, but God can
give peace and hope and life eternal.
·
Thirdly, YOU MUST HAVE THE RIGHT MOTIVE. Many
times our motive in winning someone for Christ is wrong. We do not seek out men
only because they can be a blessing or of tremendous help, financially or
otherwise (much, as the church needs such people). Our motives must be
righteous and pure. People must be reached because they are lost, without hope.
Souls must be won because there is a hell, and hell is as real as heaven.
People have souls and they must be reached for the glory of God.
·
Fourthly, THERE MUST BE EFFORT ON OUR PART. Many
of us expect God to be our errand boy, delivering goods or a salesman to whom
we bring our shopping list, or even a waiter to bring us our food. If we want
to see the lost saved, we must make efforts to do it takes to reach them.
The father in the story was a
ruler of the synagogue. He was a prominent man of his time, and for him to come
to Jesus, he had to humble himself. By making the effort to come to Jesus, he
put legs to his prayers. Likewise, there must be a sacrifice, humility and
commitment. We must be willing to give of ourselves to see our loved ones
saved.
·
Lastly,
LET YOUR ACTION AND YOUR SPEECH CORRESPOND. In other words, you must
live a consistent Christian life. Don’t let them find you saying one thing and
living another. If you are going to talk to them about what Jesus can do, let
your actions be in accord with your speech. And when you live a consistent
Christian life, the power and the glory of God is on your side to touch, to
heal and to save.
The woman who had accepted Christ,
though a Buddhist for 50 years, saw that her son lived the Christian life. She
saw the change that corresponded to what he said about Jesus. We need more
people who will be sermons in shoes. It has been said, “Your actions are so
loud that I can’t hear what you are saying.” Therefore, live as well as speak
for Jesus.
Are You Willing?
Is there someone you know – a loved one, a neighbour, a colleague, and a friend – who needs Christ? Will you be willing to do what it takes to reach him? Will you pray, “Here I am, Lord, use me. I want to live the Christ life and share the gospel with him?”
Issue No.1, December 1985