Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Be a Sower



Today’s Bible Reading:
 Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25, Luke 7:11-35, Psalm 68:19-35, Proverbs 11:29-31

Proverbs 11:29-31  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.  Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

      You have been made in the image and likeness of God.  He is a “Three Part Being”: Father, Son & Holy Spirit, and you are a Spirit, you have a Soul and you live in a Body.  God is a Spirit and you are too.  God has the Body of Christ and you have a body too.  Here are a few scriptures proving this, and I have inserted in parentheses what part of the body the scripture is talking about:

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, (Body)  and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents (Soul) of the heart. (Spirit)

1Co_9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I (whole person) have preached to others, I (whole person) myself should be a castaway.

Psa_23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me (Spirit) in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psa_25:1  Unto thee, O LORD, do I (Spirit) lift up my soul.

Psa_42:5  Why art thou (Soul) cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? (Spirit) Hope thou in God: for I (Spirit) shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

      You can see over and over again in the Word, especially in Psalms, the distinction between your Spirit, Soul & Body.  King David speaks to his soul in Psalms 42:5 and many other verses.  He chooses to lift up his soul (25:1).  Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27 says that He as a spirit puts under his body and brings it into subjection.  You can do this too.

See, the Soul is your Mind, Emotions, Intelect etc.  Get your new Strong’s Concordance and find the word Soul that is talked about in our reading in Proverbs 11:30 and you will see that the definition in the Hebrew speaks of the Mind, and many others.  You (Spirit) can control your emotions and appetites!  We all need to work on these things, all of the time, just like pride.

Now back to our reading in Proverbs 11:30 when it talks about “Winning Souls”.  Let’s look at something Jesus said about sharing the Word:

Mat 13:18-23  Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.  20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.  22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

      There are many ways to sow the Word, here are a few: 
1.      One on One – Sharing the Gospel with a complete stranger

2.      Relationship Evangelism – Taking advantage of the trust and history in the relationship to share the Gospel with friends and family.

3.      Mass Communications – Loudspeaker on a street corner, email and blogs.

4.      Lifestyle Evangelism – Neighbors watching your lifestyle.

Remember, don’t depend on this one as your only way to witness.  If you’re not sharing the Word, then they won’t hear it, and if they don’t hear it, they can’t believe it.  This style of evangelism should just happen.

When sharing the Gospel, it is very important that we are able to communicate two things:  (Romans 10:9-10)
1.      Confess Jesus as Lord
2.      Believe that He is alive right now
       
        This is not difficult to understand for most people.  Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and believe that He was raised from the dead and you shall be saved.  A lot of people make it seem difficult with religion and people don’t understand.  So what happens if you share the gospel and they don’t understand? – Immediately Satan comes and steals the Word.  If they do understand, then you have planted seed that will bear fruit.  Doesn’t matter if they choose to be saved right there, that doesn’t determine whether you planted in good ground or not, its just important that you plant!!!  You have won a Soul – The mind, intellect and emotions of the person.  

Now Go Share the Gospel Today!

Pastor Luke Willis

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