This day we will be addressing the topic: the essence of studying The Word
First, it is important you know that studying the word or meditating on the word must be productive (2 Timothy 2:15)
Joshua 1:8 says- “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”.
Daniel 12:3 also says- “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever”.
Proverbs 11:30 – “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; And he that winneth souls is wise”.
Your studying and meditating on the word of God must translate to soul winning i.e it must bring souls to the kingdom
Your Christianity is in futility if it doesn’t bring souls to the kingdom
Psalm 25:14-15a “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; And he will shew them his covenant”
The secret of God are not displayed on the market shelf rather they are hidden, wrapped up and packaged in His covenant
It is mainly for those who are ready to search up diligently through His Word
The secret is for those that fear God and obey His instructions, hence it is written: “if ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land” –Isaiah 1:19.
Do you know that the greatest demand of the bible is obeying the Word of God?
Your obedience to His word determines your spirituality, it is not your gifting that determines your spirituality
According to his divine power has given us all things that pertains unto life and godliness (1 Peter 1:3)
All that pertains to life and godliness is wrapped around knowledge
So seek knowledge always, without knowledge you cannot access all that God has for you in the kingdom
Your approval in the kingdom is determined by your commitment to study the word of God
If you have diligently studied the word you would have known that God is very organized and structured
Structures refers to systems, God operates in systems
In Genesis 1 He made all things and made the earth productive, then he created man i.e after he made everything that will make life comfortable for man, He then created man, and commanded man to have dominion over all things in creation.
Man’s body is made up of systems, so that after eating you don’t begin to think about how to excrete.
The way the body is, that is how the church is…it comprises of different systems e.g evangelism who win the souls, bible study to ensure the souls grow to maturity and then you have the prayer band and others.
Soul winning is pivotal to church growth.
If evangelism unit of the church doesn’t bring in souls, other departments will virtually be on holiday.
The reason God didn’t rapture you when you became born again is so you can will souls.
In Genesis 1, everything God created, by reason of seed and harvest, was created to multiply.
When God desired children that would be called children of God, he gave His only begotten son- John 12:24, John 3:16.
The big question – How did Jesus carry out his evangelism when he was on planet earth?
1. He Sent Them To Their Friends– Jesus said go home to your friends. Who are your friends? The clarion call is this – share the good news with your friends ( share your testimony- how God delivered you from your character defects, saved your marriage, healed you, delivered you from addictions, financial crises, delivered from barrenness etc). Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 4:25
The purpose of God planting the healing and deliverance in you, is for you to bring more souls.
2. The law of hunger– go after people that are hungry for God- Luke 19:5. There is never a vacuum in life. When we become comfortable we feel we don’t need God anymore, we disregard our pastors, we don’t feel the need to come to church.
Invents new methods, new ways of winning souls.
Matt 10:5-10– These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Two instructions are embedded in this scripture:
A. Go to the jews not the gentiles
B. Go with the power of God to heal the sick and deliver the oppressed.
C. Bless people with food, scholarships.
Regarding soul winning (Proverbs 11:30),
The best time you should have done what you needed to do was yesterday, today is too late, and tomorrow is practically impossible.
So go now to win souls!