SOUL WINNING:
WHY
IT IS SO IMPORTANT!
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.
Preface
SOUL
WINNER'S GUIDE
I
believe in mass evangelism because I have witnessed God's power to
save, heal and deliver in this manner around the world. I am also a
strong believer in personal evangelism, reaching one person or one
family at a time!
I was
led into the evangelistic world-wide ministry - by the Holy Spirit -
to win more souls for Christ, because I already was a seasoned
soul-winner! It was the thrilling experience of winning souls to the
Master that set my soul on fire and was the stepping stone for this
great ministry in which God has placed me.
I
believe, it was because I was faithful to Him as a travelling
(commercial) business man among the ungodly and sinful, that He saw
fit to use me on a greater scale.
I
am a preacher today because I was a soul winner then! I
am not a preacher because I received religious education but because
I heard the Voice of God and won precious souls to Christ and
eventually God placed me where I could reach more souls for His
glory. I am not a preacher because I attended Bible College or
Seminary, but because I am a soul winner and have a burden on my
heart for the lost.
Ever
since my conversion, however, I have not stopped in my hunger of
God's Word and so have studied theology and related subjects for more
than 50 years!
D.L.
Moody was one of America's greatest Evangelists.
As a young man he was converted to Christ and began winning souls for
Jesus. He left his job as a shoe salesman in a Department Store in
Chicago and worked among the poor and needy people in that city. His
first church was comprised of 200 street urchins!
D.L.
MOODY made this powerful statement: “Shame
on the Christianity of the 19th
Century. It is a weak and sickly thing. Would to God we had a few men
like Daniel living here today.”
His
philosophy of Ministry could be summed up by this brief statement:
'Ruined
by Sin; Redeemed by the Blood; Regenerated by the Holy Spirit'. Let
us examine and expand on his sermon outline defining the plight of
man because of rebellion and sin, as well his redemption through the
Blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
RUINED
BY SIN:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.”
(Is.
53: 6);
“Wherefore
as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
(Rom.5: 12)
“For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
(Rom.3: 23); “For the wages of SIN is death; but the gift of God is
Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6; 23)
REDEEMED
BY THE BLOOD:
“But
God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then being now justified by
His blood, we are saved from wrath through Him.
“For
if, when we were reconciled to God by the DEATH of His Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:
8,10)
“If
we walk in the Light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us
from all sin.”
(1 John 1:7)
REGENERATED BY THE
HOLY SPIRIT: “Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His
mercy He saved us, by the washing of Regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (Titus 3: 5,6)
"Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit.”
(John 3: 5,6)
“Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5: 17)
Fredrik
Fransen
was called 'The Fire
Prophet'.
He was the leader of the Mission Covenant Church in Norway. He made
this statement: “If a
person has a guitar and has won a soul to Christ, he is qualified to
be an evangelist.”
FREDRIK
FRANSEN: FIRE PROPHET
Fredrik
Fransen was an itinerant Gospel preacher in Norway around the turn of
the 19th Century. At that time it was almost impossible for a
Minister to conduct Gospel meetings outside the Lutheran State
Church. Fredrik Fransen had been invited to stay at the home of an
elderly man while evangelizing the city of Ålesund,
which lies near the Ocean.
His
work came to an abrupt halt when an agitated crowd turned ugly and
threatening. The preacher was told in no uncertain terms that he was
not wanted in that city, and a very large gathering of town’s
people literally chased him out of Ålesund.
He
stopped on the edge of town and faced the mob with these words, "As
you have driven me out of your city, one day all of you will flee
from this city on this very road."
About
a year or so later, a fire started when a cow kicked a torch in the
Ålesund Preserving Company’s factory at 2:00
AM on January 23, 1904.
A gale from the sea propelled the fire forward and almost the entire
City burned to the ground. The fire leaped over the house belonging
to the man who had given the preacher lodging. It
is still preserved as an ‘heritage site’ until today.
As
the fire swept across the city devouring almost everything in its
path, the owner of the house fell to his knees and prayed. His
relatives said: "Hurry,
you old religious nut. Get out and run for your life."
He
answered: "I
didn't start the fire and I'm not leaving." They
said: “We
are all carrying what we can to the top of the mountain. We will take
your furniture, you old fool. You will die." He
answered: "You
are free to take what you want. I didn't start the fire and I'm
staying."
The
fire JUMPED over his house. It raced up the mountainside to the
look-out (a restaurant is there) and burned every one's furniture.
True to the Preacher's words, thousands of people literally ran for
their lives out of Ålesund
down the very road they had chased Fredrik
Fransen.
At
the 100th anniversary of the fire January 23, 2004, I was preaching
in that city and was invited to the Museum at Midnight to hear the
history and enjoy some musical renditions performed by a famous
Orchestra. At midnight several hundred brave souls made a two to
three hour walk about the city to hear the Curator / Historian relate
some facts about the fire 100 years earlier.
Pastor
Haaken Nilsen introduced
me to the Curator and informed him that I could speak Norwegian and
that I knew the history of Fredrik
Fransen.
The Museum’s Curator said that the House had
recently been struck from the tour, and he would be pleased if I
would relate to the crowd the story of FREDRIK FRANSEN and the reason
the fire did not engulf that house.
I
stood on a chair at about 2:00 AM and shared with several hundred
die-hard History buffs the great historical event of the Ålesund
Fire and why it happened, and that God not only loves us but also
judges mankind because of our sins. Everyone there were very
attentive and I prayed for their City and all their loved ones!
WHAT
DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
God
still answers by FIRE! He has not changed His Word or
methodology to please some airy-fairy, arrogant, proud, puny,
so-called intellectual academics who parade themselves as knowing
more than the Holy Spirit and our Lord Jesus Christ!
Yet,
the Church of Jesus Christ has pulled back from the front lines of
battle against the Devil. Fear has taken over from faith and secular
humanism has trumped genuine spirituality. Some of God's servants are
intimidated by the pervading philosophy of political correctness, the
evolutionary theory and the new age teaching.
They
have traded the Truth for a Lie, and bought into the philosophy that
God no longer works miracles and that we must discount the Bible and
put our trust in the arm of the flesh!
Many
preachers have inadvertently been deceived by the phraseology of the
Higher Critics who have cleverly implanted doubts by parsing certain
words in the Bible. They have insidiously driven a wedge between
Almighty God and His Own Word! How can you trust God if you cannot
trust His Word in totality?
Those
men in the interest of their profession as theologians trained in
linguistics - singularly or in concert with colleagues – often make
pronouncements, depending on their own preconceived ideas which
often leads to doubts about the meaning of certain texts.
In
his book God
Has Spoken,
J.I. PACKER writes: “Mesmerized
by the problems of rationalistic criticism, we can no longer hear the
Bible as the Word of God. Liberal Theology, in its pride, has long
insisted that we are wiser than our fathers about the Bible and must
not read it as they did, but must base our approach to it on the
'assured results' of criticism, making due allowance for human
imperfections and errors of it authors.
This insistence has a threefold effect. It produces a new papalism – the infallibility of the scholars, from whom we learn what the 'assured results' are. It raises a doubt about every single biblical passage, as to whether it truly embodies revelation or not. And it destroys the reverent, deceptive, self-distrusting attitude of approach to the Bible without which it cannot be known to be God's Word written' (Article XX).
This insistence has a threefold effect. It produces a new papalism – the infallibility of the scholars, from whom we learn what the 'assured results' are. It raises a doubt about every single biblical passage, as to whether it truly embodies revelation or not. And it destroys the reverent, deceptive, self-distrusting attitude of approach to the Bible without which it cannot be known to be God's Word written' (Article XX).
MARTIN
LUTHER stated: “By God's grace I know Satan very well. If Satan can
turn God's Word upside down and PERVERT the Scriptures, what will he
do with my words or words of others?”
The
Devil (Gr.
liar) is
an accomplished Liar! JESUS called him by three names: Satan which
means adversary,
the Devil which means liar,
and Beelzebub meaning 'the
god of flies'
The
sorry commentary of Christendom today, is not that we have too few
preachers but that we have too many of the wrong kind! Too many over
educated, professional, seminary-made preachers and too few of the
Christ-like, earnest, sincere, God-made preachers!
Too
many of those who love being man appointed and too few of those who
are God anointed! Christendom today, is plagued with professional
men who have the knowledge in their heads but no conviction, burden
or compassion in their hearts. Preachers with degrees behind their
names but no temperature in their hearts!
HOW SAD, INDEED!
O God,
may we have a return to the hard-hitting, where-we-live,
soul-searching preaching of John the Baptist,
who called black, black and white, white.
Let us have a replay of the plain truths presented by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He walked on earth - the love and compassion that filled His heart and showed in His life by the good deeds, miracles, healing and manifold blessings which He showered on those who were in need!
Let us have a replay of the plain truths presented by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as He walked on earth - the love and compassion that filled His heart and showed in His life by the good deeds, miracles, healing and manifold blessings which He showered on those who were in need!
May
we take a clear cut stand against sin and iniquity as He did – not
only a tender pleading for the wayward to come back to the Father
(Luke
15)
but a rebuking, uncompromising and exposing of the religious, self
righteous pharisaical hypocrite. (Matt.
23)
Jesus
let people know where He stood in regards to right and wrong. Let us
follow His footsteps today. May we return to the not-too-polished
but easy-to-understand, forceful, anointed preaching of John
Wesley, Charles Finney and
D.L.
Moody,
calling sin, sin and warning men and women of God's judgment upon
sinners to flee from the wrath to come!
Let us
return to the pure unadulterated Word of God as preached by Billy
Sunday - that great champion of the faith -
as he campaigned against wickedness and
unrighteousness on
every level; not afraid to openly name and condemn the sins of the
people.
Oh, how sick God must be of these weak-kneed,
afraid-to-offend, social, soft-sell preachers who are so educated and
polished that God can't use them, and their flowery message just goes
around the subject and floats somewhere in beautiful oratory above
most people's heads.
DON'T HUMANIZE THE GOSPEL!
We must
not seek to glamorize, allegorize, dispensationalize, rationalize or
humanize the Gospel. Let it be as it is! Tell it the way Jesus told
it and the way Peter, Paul and Philip told it. Tell it and let God do
the rest. He is capable. Hallelujah!
Something
has gone drastically wrong, not only in the Ministry but also among
the average church goer! What has happened in the pulpit has had its
death-dealing effect upon the pew and those who sit in it.
I could
compare it with the chilling blasts of the north wind that tightens
its grip around those who are held in its spell too long. With
devastating results it brings a deep freeze that robs the sense of
awareness, causing the victim to lose consciousness!
In
the same manner, lifeless, monotone sermons, without conviction and
spiritual fervor of many preachers has brought a cold, clammy,
death-like atmosphere into many churches! This milieu causes the
members to be slowly lulled to sleep, in its spiritual deep freeze
and eventually wake up in a lost eternity!
WHAT
WE NEED TODAY IS THE FIRE OF THE HOLY GHOST TO THAW OUT THE FROZEN
CONDITION OF CHURCH MEMBERS AND START A REVIVAL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
YES, THE CHURCH NEEDS TO BE REVIVED AND SET ON FIRE TO DO THE WORK
CHRIST HAS CALLED US TO DO!
The
Church needs a Divine stirring and shaking to awaken us all to the
task which lies before us. The Scripture says: "Awake
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light". (Eph.5: 14) The duty of
every Christian is to be a soul winner for Christ. We must be about
our Father's business.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Time
is running out and tragically, we are losing in our battle against
evil and unrighteousness!
The
Bible says, "Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour". (1 Peter
5:8)
He knows his time is short and therefore, he is doing all he can to thwart our efforts, nullify our work and bring confusion to reign, even among the saints.
He knows his time is short and therefore, he is doing all he can to thwart our efforts, nullify our work and bring confusion to reign, even among the saints.
The
facts are stacking up against us but we do not walk by sight, but by
faith. However, we must accept the facts,
evaluate our situation, find a workable plan and then put it into
force for the glory of God.
The facts are that one out of every five persons in the world is a Muslim and the religion of Islam is spreading with a tremendous speed. Murderous followers of Islam are deceimating the Church in Muslim nations, raping, kidnapping and beheading followers of the Crucified and Risen Jesus of Nazareth.
And many Christians in the West are mostly silent and prayerless, lulled to sleep and taken up with the prosperity doctrine while forgetting the primary message of Christ's Gospel!
The facts are that one out of every five persons in the world is a Muslim and the religion of Islam is spreading with a tremendous speed. Murderous followers of Islam are deceimating the Church in Muslim nations, raping, kidnapping and beheading followers of the Crucified and Risen Jesus of Nazareth.
And many Christians in the West are mostly silent and prayerless, lulled to sleep and taken up with the prosperity doctrine while forgetting the primary message of Christ's Gospel!
The Hindu
population of India
accounts for over one billion people.
Buddhism, Confucianism and
Shintoism cover most of Japan and other Asian
nations, while the New Age Movement
is deceiving millions by their humanistic
sounding and occult
appeals.
According
to experts who study these demographics - because of the population
explosion in the world today, we have more people living on the earth
today than have lived on the earth during all the preceding
generations collectively.
Also,
unless there is an outstanding supernatural revival of Christianity
across the globe, the world will eventually become completely
heathen having been swallowed up by pagan forces.
Oh, what
a responsibility we have to propagate the Gospel, to be fervent in
prayer, diligent in witnessing to others about Christ, grounded in
the concrete teachings of the Word of God and filled with the Holy
Spirit on a constant basis, so that we will shine as bright lights in
this world, dispelling the darkness of evil and sins of every nature
and kind.
What a
privilege is ours in this ever needy generation to do something about
the situation that exists, to put our shoulder to the wheel and by
God's grace, help shape the destiny of our home, our community, our
nation and the world.
Say
not, that it cannot be done! Say not, it is too late and the world
is too wicked. Only believe, have faith in God and then put your
faith to work for Christ. As long as this old world stands and the
Holy Spirit is still here and we are still living in the day of
grace, it is not too late and something can be done to correct the
condition that now exists.
Just
look at the conditions that existed 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ
came to earth with the message of God's love. His own people, the
Jews, rejected Him. (John 1:12) The world cared not for Him and He
was crucified by the angry mob, but God raised Him from the dead
three days later!
Then
after He had poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit upon 120
dedicated, spiritually hungry men and women in the upper room, the
Lord worked with them as they took the message to the world,
confirming His Word which they preached with signs following. (Mark
16:20)
They
turned the world upside down (Acts
17:6) and filled Jerusalem with the
doctrine of Jesus Christ. (Acts
5:28) One hundred and twenty men and
women filled with the Holy Spirit had such an impact upon the world
that everyone knew Jesus Christ was risen from the dead!
In the
dark ages that followed, the Church became perverted and
Roman Catholicism had complete power in the greatest part of the
earth. The Papacy had become so corrupt
and blood thirsty that it would do anything to keep complete control.
Yet in
this situation, one man stood up to Rome's
murderous system, calling the Pope the
Anti-Christ and a liar, burning 'The Papal
Bull' and spearheaded a revival under God
which split Germany down the middle and brought revival to the world.
That
man, MARTIN LUTHER, was
consumed with the Gospel of Christ. He refused to be 'buffaloed and
intimidated' by the powerful "enemies of
the cross" and took a stand for the
truth! Martin
Luther's philosophy
of ministry is evident in this powerful statement: "I
live as though Jesus Christ died yesterday, arose today and is coming
again tomorrow"!
Dear
friend, do not say it is impossible. All things are possible to
those who believe! (Mark 9:23)
The
purpose of this booklet and of this Bible Course is to stir up the
Christian Church to realize the lateness of the hour, the urgency of
our work as Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, the very sad
condition of the backsliding churches and the possibility of reviving
them.
IT IS OUR PRIVILEGE AND DUTY!
We
have the opportunity, privilege and duty to proclaim the Gospel of
Jesus Christ in this midnight hour to the lost of our generation,
praying and believing that they will be saved.
I
prayerfully dedicate this book to the many who will, after reading
it, become inspired of God to become real
souls winners for the Lord Jesus Christ! One
of the wonderful things about the Christ, is His wide appeal to all
mankind!
His
invitation is to all, any and everyone; regardless of colour, race,
culture, sex, age or educational, social and religious background!
Jesus
said, "I
have come to seek and to save the LOST".
(Luke 19:10) Again He stated, "For
the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to SAVE them".
(Luke 9:56)
The
Bible says, "For
God so loved the WORLD
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on
him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the WORLD
through Him might be SAVED."
(John 3:16-17)
St.
Luke stated, "How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, who
went about doing good and HEALING all who were oppressed of the
devil, for God was with him".
(Acts 10:38). St. John declared, "For
this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the
works of the devil".
(1 John 3:8)
The
prophet cried, "Ho,
EVERYONE
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money;
come ye buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk WITHOUT
money and without price".
Isaiah
continues, "Seek
ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
"Let the WICKED
forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our
God, for He will abundantly pardon."
(Is. 55:1,6,7)
God's
Word of reconciliation, reaches out repeatedly to the sinful
nation of Israel and a pagan world: "Come
now, let us reason together saith the Lord. Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red as
crimson, they shall be as white as wool."
(Is. 1:18)
Jesus
said, "If
you have seen Me you have seen the Father. If ye had known Me, ye
should have known My Father also: and from henceforth
ye
know Him, and have seen Him...he that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father."
(John 7: 9)
Again
Jesus said, "I
and My Father are one".
(John 10:30). Then Jesus sent out His disciples to preach the
glorious Word: "Come
unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest."
(Matt. 11:28); "Him
that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out."
(John 6:37)
Although
God chose Israel as His own special nation - through which He would
save the world - to be His special vehicle to bless the world
they rejected Him when He did come.
The
Bible states: “He
came unto His own and His own received Him not, but to as many as
received, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on His Name.” (John
1: 11, 12).
ONWARD
CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!
'Onward
Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War; With the Cross of Jesus Going
on Before'. Let
us follow in the footsteps of that great Christian Leader, General
William Booth and press forward for Jesus Christ while we still can
and are able!
Our
Saviour stated: “Say
not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh Harvest? Behold I
say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest.” (John
4:
35);
“I
must work the works of Him that sent Me, whole it is day: the night
cometh when no man can work.” (John
9; 4). Amen.
