MATTHEW 4:19

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A SOUL WINNER

 

·        If to be a Christian is worthwhile, then the most ordinary interest in those with whom we come in contact would prompt us to speak to them of Christ.

·        If the New Testament be true—and we know that it is—who has given us the right to place the responsibility for soul-winning on other shoulders than our own?

·        If they who reject Christ are in danger, is it not strange that we, who are so sympathetic when the difficulties are physical or temporal, should apparently be so devoid of interest as to allow our friends and neighbors and kindred to come into our lives and pass out again without a word of invitation to accept Christ, to say nothing of sounding a note of warning because of their peril?

·        If today is the day of salvation, if tomorrow may never come, and if life is equally uncertain, how can we eat, drink and be merry when those who live with us, work with us, walk with us and love us are unprepared for eternity because they are unprepared for time?

·        If Jesus called his disciples to be fishers of men, who gave us the right to be satisfied with making fishing tackle or pointing the way to the fishing banks instead of going ourselves to cast out the net until it be filled?

·        If Jesus himself went seeking the lost, if Paul the Apostle was in agony because his kinsmen, according to the flesh, knew not Christ, why should we not consider it worthwhile to go out after the lost until they are found?

·        If I am to stand at the judgment seat of Christ to render an account for the deeds done in the body, what shall I say to him if my children are missing, if my friends are not saved, or if my employer or employee should miss the way because I have been faithless?

 

·        If I wish to be approved at the last, then let me remember that no intellectual superiority, no eloquence in preaching, no absorption in business, no shrinking temperament or no spirit of timidity can take the place of or be an excuse for my not making an honest, sincere, prayerful effort to win others to Christ. J. Wilbur Chapman, http://www.bible.org/illus/w/w-36.htm#TopOfPage

 

If you did not commit yourself last week to being a soul winner when Pastor Wade Prime spoke here, perhaps this quote by J. Wilbur Chapman has inspired you to do so.

 

I am thrilled that several of you want to bring others to Christ.  I feel that it is my job to help you.  So, over the next few weeks, I want us to consider soul winning.  This week I want us to see how we get started.  And the way we start winning souls may surprise you.

 

We have already read Matthew 4:18-22.

Jesus was walking along the sea of Galilee.

Peter and Andrew were casting a net to fish.

James and John were mending their fishing nets.

Jesus called them all to be his disciples.

And in calling them to discipleship, Jesus was also calling them to be those who share the good news of the Gospel with others, to be soul winners.

 

The key verse that tells us much about soul winning is

Matthew 4:19 - And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

 

In this verse we see:

THERE’S A PRIORITY

THERE’S A PROCESS

THERE’S A PROMISE   

 

THERE’S A PRIORITY

 

Many people who would like to win friends and loved ones to Christ make a grave mistake.

So to speak, they put the cart before the horse.

They think about witnessing or try to witness before they follow the command of Jesus is this verse!

 

The command is “Follow Me”!

Jesus wants followers before he wants witnesses.

A follower is a disciple.  A disciple is a learner.

Although new Christians can certainly witness for the Lord and should, it is the Christian who is a committed disciple of Christ’s that will be the most effective witness.

I believe that truly following Jesus involves several things.

 

·        SALVATION

 

The person who is going to be a soul winner, must be saved himself.  I believe that Peter, Andrew, James and John all had encounters with Jesus in John 1.

 

John 1:35-42 - Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; [36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! [37] And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. [38] Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? [39] He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. [40] One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. [41] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. [42] And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

 

I believe that the other disciple of John the Baptist that followed Jesus was John the Brother of James who wrote the Gospel of John.  I believe that he too, found his brother and brought him to Jesus.   

 

To be someone’s follower, you must believe in that person.

 

It is the Lord Jesus who died for your sins and mine.  He took the punishment for our sins upon Himself.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

The Lord Jesus did not stay dead, but arose from the dead.

It is faith in the Lord Jesus as our only hope for forgiveness and for heaven that gives us eternal life.

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

 

To be a “fisher of men” you must be caught by the Lord Jesus yourself.

To be a true follower of Jesus, you must place your faith in Him for your own salvation.  

   

SALVATION

·        SACRIFICE

 

Following Jesus involves sacrifice.

It means loving Him enough to give your whole life to Him.

Why should you and I love the Lord Jesus?

 

We should love Him because He is God.

John 1:1-2 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God.

 

We should love Him because He is our creator.   

John 1:3 - All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

Most of all, we should love Him because He made the ultimate sacrifice for us, giving His life as a ransom for ours.   

1 Timothy 2:5-6 - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

 

1 John 4:19 - We love him, because he first loved us.

 

How deep is our love for Christ to go?

Our love of Christ is to be one of total sacrifice so that no one else is loved more.   

   

Luke 14:26-27 - If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. [27] And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

 

Your love for the Lord Jesus is to be so strong that love for anyone else pales in comparison. 

   

Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

 

You may wonder why sacrifice is such an important part of following Jesus.

Jesus giving His all was essential for us to be saved. You and I giving our all is essential as we serve the one who saved us.

And you will only be a truly dedicated soul winner, when your life is a sacrifice so that you are willing to go and do whatever He says.   

 

Romans 12:1-2 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

Jesus says “Follow me”.   

 

SALVATION

SACRIFICE

·        SCHOOLING

We already said that a disciple is a learner.

A disciple of Jesus must be taught by and about Jesus.

The early disciples spent lots of time with Jesus.

They ate with Jesus.

They worked with Jesus.

The disciples listened as Jesus taught them and also the multitudes that followed Him.

They saw His miracles.

They saw what he was like in the private times, when the world in general was not watching.

 

How will you learn from Jesus today?

First you need to learn to love and read his Word.

Second you need to learn to communicate with Him.

Jesus calls it abiding.

John 15:7 - If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

 

Third you need to be discipled by Godly followers of the Lord Jesus.   

Ephesians 4:11-12 - And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 

2 Timothy 2:2 - And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

 

I’m looking for faithful men and women who faithfully follow Jesus and allow me to teach them on Sunday Nights and Wednesdays as well as Sunday morning. 

   

SALVATION

SACRIFICE

SCHOOLING

·        SUBMISSION

When Dottie and I were raising our kids, we were looking for submissive children.  I mean children who would submit to adult authority willing and do as they were told.  A submissive person is an obedient person.

 

Jesus said it so simply.

John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.

 

John 14:21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

 

It is the submissive follower of Jesus who will witness to whoever and wherever the Lord sends.   

For almost 50 years this church has been pastored by men of God who obeyed God and came here.

Jesus has people for you to reach, but you will only reach them if you submit to Jesus’ leadership and obey Him.   

 

SALVATION

SACRIFICE

SCHOOLING

SUBMISSION

·        STAYING POWER

A true follower of Jesus is faithful.

He has staying power or sticktuitiveness.

He continues to follow no matter how tough things get or how inconvenient they get.

He continues to follow even when others don’t want to listen to what they have to say.

 

Luke 9:57-62 - And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. [62] And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

 

Jesus says “Follow Me”.

That is to be the Priority of my life.

SALVATION

SACRIFICE

SCHOOLING

SUBMISSION

STAYING POWER

 

And you may be thinking, “The Pastor said he had three points, why has he taken most of the sermon time belaboring this one.

It is simply because the other two points hinge on this one.

   

THERE’S A PRIORITY

THERE’S A PROCESS

 

Jesus says, “Follow me and I will make you.”

 

Who made Paul and Peter great soul winners?

Who made Dwight Moody a great soul winner?

Who made Billy Graham the greatest evangelist of our generation?

 

God did.

Jesus is saying “If you follow me, being saved, living a sacrificial life of love, letting me school you, submitting to me in obedience and sticking with it, I will make you. You will be all that I want you to be.

 

Being effective for Jesus is a process of Jesus making us.

As we mature the more he will be able to use us.

And we have the confidence that he will work through us in the Power of the Holy Ghost.

 

Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

Isaiah 55:10-11 - For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: [11] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

 

If we have are following Jesus, He will not only give us the words to say, but the Holy Spirit’s power behind.  That doesn’t mean that every person we witness to will be saved, but the words we say will have impact.

 

And remember, God uses many people to get his message across. You may be one of many to witness to a person who will eventually be saved.   

 

1 Corinthians 3:6 - I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

 

THERE’S A PRIORITY

THERE’S A PROCESS

THERE’S A PROMISE

   

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus has promised to make us “Fishers of Men”.

We will be able to bring men and women to Jesus Christ as Savior.

What a privilege that is.

Nancy Cornice remembers as a child hearing the tip-tap of a cane on the sidewalk.  It was an old man "bent from the years -- his rough, knotted hand purposefully clutching a cane."  But this old man had a peculiar custom as he roamed the streets of this small town.  When this gentleman saw a child he would stop, reach into his pocket and give the child a picture of Christ.  "He would thrust it into the child's hand and continue on his way, never speaking a word."

 

What this gentleman did certainly doesn't seem like a big deal.  However, this small act of kindness made a world of difference to Nancy.  Over 40 years later, she tells us, she still has the picture he gave her.  The picture is of Jesus surrounded by a flock of sheep, with a river running through the middle of the picture.  On the back of the card in a shaky hand is written, "Psalm 23."

 

It wasn't until Nancy was an adult that she realized what this man was doing.  In his own way he was planting tiny seeds of faith in the children on his street.  It worked for Nancy.  "His faithful commitment," she says, "helped fashion a stone in the foundation of my own faith." Nancy M. Cornish, UPPER ROOM, March-April, 1991, p. 39. Holwick’s illustrations

 

The blind man didn’t appear to do much, but in spite of his handicap, Jesus had made him a fisher of men.

 

THERE’S A PRIORITY

·       SALVATION

·       SACRIFICE

·       SCHOOLING

·       SUBMISSION

·       STAYING POWER

THERE’S A PROCESS

THERE’S A PROMISE