LESSON 47 CHRIST’S CALL TO SOUL-WINNING
Luke 5:1-39
Soul-winning means the preaching of the gospel with the aim of making sinners to repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This is the most important assignment given to all believers. Jesus Christ our Saviour used every means (method) available to win sinners because of the importance He attached to souls. When He was on earth, He went about preaching the gospel and called people to repentance.
In our Bible passage, Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow Him. They obeyed. At another time, He forgave a sinner and healed him, showing that Jesus has concern for our soul and body as well and has power to forgive sin. He also called Levi (a publican) who immediately followed Him.
When one obeys the call of Christ, there is always a change of heart and lifestyle. The sinner no longer remains the same; his devotion is now towards Christ. This was the message Jesus passed on to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were angry with Him because He went to the house of a sinner.
Before He left the world, He handed over this unfinished task to His disciples to continue (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16: 15, 16). He expects His disciples today (born again boys and girls) to do as He did while here on earth. If we fail Him, He will not be happy with us. But if we obey and do the work, He will be happy and bless us.
This task is SO important to Jesus because souls are dying every second and many of them who do not know Him as their Lord and Saviour will spend eternity in hell-fire. Jesus does not want anybody to go to hell-fire. Do you want your friends to go to hell-fire? That is why you must win them to Jesus.
- WHO CAN WIN SOULS? Luke 5:1-11,27-32, John 3:3-5
Aman was travelling from his village to another village. Along the way, he is a well with his co-travelers. The man was in the well and tried very hard to bring out other people in the same well. He could not, because he was in the well himself
Before Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach. He called their first to repent. Thereafter, they were qualified to preach the gospel. If you are still doing bad things like fighting, stealing, cheating in examinations, lying, you cannot win souls because you are like the man in the same well who could not save himself and others. The work of soul-winning is for those who are saved.
Before you can obey this command to win souls, you must first acknowledge yourself as a sinner who cannot save himself. Confess all your sins to God, tell Jesus to forgive you and wash you with His blood: Ask Him to come into your heart as your Lord and Saviour. Now you can go out and win others.
- WHERE AND HOW TO WIN SOULS? Luke 5:18-39; Matthew 28:19,20,2 Timothy 4:1.2
When Jesus was on earth. He travelled long distances to different towns and villages to preach the gospe. Before you can obey this command to win souls, you must first acknowledge yourself as a sinner who cannot save himself. Confess all your sins to God, tell Jesus to forgive you and wash you with His blood:l in order to win souls. Even His disciples travelled far and near to do the same, but we thank God today we may not need to travel far before we can win souls. In our neighborhood, schools, hospitals, streets, markets, orphanages, there are many souls there waiting for us to reach out to them with the gospel. Jesus personally spoke to individuals, groups of people and crowd at different times. He forgave sinners, healed the sick and set the captives free. He has given us authority to do the same as we get involved in the work of soul-winning.
Today, sinners can be reached in different ways we can share tracts, give out Tender Life Magazines or other Christian Magazines and books. We can also send short messages (SMS), posts on Facebook and WhatsApp and pray for sinners to be saved. We can also preach to other children and invite our friends to fellowship. God will help us to win souls in all these ways. Get involved and you shall be blessed for doing that.
- WONDERFUL BENEFITS FOR WINNING SOULS. Luke 5:1-6; 15.10: Matthew 25:21: Daniel 12:3
A songwriter wrote thus
“Obedience brings a blessing (2x)
It always works, it never fails, I’ve found;
Just daring to step out upon the promises of Jesus;
Will always work, it never fails to bring the blessing down”
Truly obedience brings blessings, God will be happy with you as a soul winner and shower a lot of blessings on you:
- Many sinners will repent and be made fit for heaven:
- there will be growth in the Church;
- you will be happy that you have won souls,
- God’s protection, provisions, good health, prosperity and many other blessings shall be your portion. At last, you will have many stars in your crown when you get to heaven. Arise now and enlist into the army of soul-winners.
QUESTIONS:
- Why is soul-winning a very important task?
- Who commands friends of Jesus to win souls?
- Can sinful boys and girls win souls? Yes/No?
- Mention five methods we can use to win souls
- Mention three benefits of obeying Christ s call to win souls,
- Are you a soul-winner?
MEMORY VERSE: “And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men” (Luke 5:10)
LESSON: Friends of Jesus are called to win souls.
THOUGHT: I will win souls for Christ.
ACTIVITY: Search the Scriptures and write out two other passages where Christ commands His disciples to go and win souls.
CONGREGATIONAL SONG: GHS 107-GO AND TELL THEM
CHORUSES:
(1) I will go, o, (2x) I will go and tell them Jesus is alive!
(2) Go and tell them (2x), Jesus died for sinful men.
(3) Isaiah heard the voice of the LORD…
HOMEWORK: Teachers should arrange and go out for evangelism with the children during the week.
BIBLE WORD SEARCH
Find the meaning of these words. You can use your dictionary:
- Commission
- Neighborhood
- Audience
- Soul winning
- Task
