Preaching the gospel that saves souls

Matt 28:18-20 says: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ‘all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’19: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Beloved, every believer and preacher should realise that Christians are called fishers of men. And we are to fish for men for God’s kingdom. Anyone who wishes to achieve this goal must know that although many are preaching the word, it is not all messages that can save souls. All true preachers must aim at saving souls and not aggrandise themselves. We must focus on winning souls.

In that case, such persons must not be empty, but must be filled with God’s spirit. Many preachers, in different places are preaching weak messages, as a result, they preach without converting souls. The more they preach, the more the people seem to continue in their evil ways. The reason for this is that they are full of themselves and do speak the wisdom of men, instead of being filled with Christ.

1Thessalonian 2:3 says: “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor guile.” Many have preached the gospel of self or the gospel of covetousness, which does not save anyone. The gospel that saves souls is the one spoken with God’s kingdom at heart. 1Cor 1:5-6 says: “That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge. 6: Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you.”

1Thess 1:5-10: “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. 6: And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. 7: So that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. 8:

For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. 9: For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 10. And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

In the Bible days, many of the apostles were not very learned or eloquent, yet they preached the gospel and people were converted.

1Cor 15:3-4: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 4: That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

This is the gospel that transforms and saves lives. It is not how eloquent or how much you can speak that saves souls, but the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost that is in the gospel that transforms and saves souls.

Luke 4:18 says: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”

Going forward, we must not join those that preach in deceit, those that preach in self-glory or self-aggrandisement. The message must be filled with God’s power and spirit. We, the preachers, must also be filled with the spirit and power of God; so, let us not try to win souls by our own human strength. Instead of good and polished English without power, let the language be disjointed but let power flow. Your listeners will benefit more from you when your preaching is filled with power than if it is a mere show of eloquence.

For your preaching to be effective, your life style must be without blemish. You must lead a holy lifestyle inside and outside your home. 1Peter 1:15-16 says: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, for it is written be ye holy because I am holy.” However, we are called Ambassadors of Christ on earth; but note it, you cannot be representing Christ if you are still living in sin. So, holiness is important if your preaching must be effective and yield the desired result.

In addition to holy lifestyle, prayerfulness is required because Mark 3: 27 says: “No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his goods.” Once any man gives himself for God’s use, he automatically becomes Satan and his cohorts’ enemy. So, to be effective in your calling, prayer is key; for the devil will not fold his hands and watch you come to his kingdom to deliver a soul. It is not easy for a prayerful person to do this, let alone one who does not pray, or one who prays a little.

For your preaching to save souls, you must first win the battle on your knees before you go into the field to win souls. All the successful preachers or evangelists in the Bible were men and women of prayers. Apostle Peter, Paul, Phillip, John, James, Timothy, Titus, among others, were men of prayers. If you are preaching in prayerlessness, you need to understand that your preaching will not be effective and, therefore, will not produce the desired result. Moreover, you will be exposing yourself to attack when you preach without prayers.

Also, you must be spiritual because soul winning is a spiritual project and it must be handled as such. Rom 8:7 says: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God…” When you preach the gospel in carnality, you will not have God’s favour, rather you will be in enmity with God because a carnal mind cannot please God. So examine yourself and amend your ways so that as you preach in the power of God, souls will be won into His kingdom.

Are you in God’s kingdom, but not engaged in God’s business? Repent now and be involved in it. Mark 16:15 says: “And he said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Obedience is better than sacrifice: obey the Father’s instruction today, and He will bless you. Remember, the heartbeat of God is soul winning.