Portrait of an Effective Soulwinner- Piece #1

The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men—he gathers and receives them for eternity].
                                                                      
                                                                            Proverbs 11:30, AMP


Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' (Matthew 4:19). His purpose is to model us into Himself. Jesus Himself is the Master Soulwinner. And so by closely following Him, we can learn so much about what it takes to be an effective soulwinner. Not only that, but we can also become effective soulwinners. You know, it's one thing to know something about soulwinning but it's a totally different thing to be actively carrying out this glorious ministry.

Our first piece of the jigsaw of the potrait of an effective soulwinner is abiding in the True Vine.

Remember that I said we can be effective in soulwinning when we follow the Master Soulwinner: Jesus Christ. He said, 'I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.' (John15:1) It is important for you to recognize Jesus as your Source from whom you draw grace on a daily basis. Now, the True Vine, Jesus, supplies the needed grace  for you to carry out the ministry of soulwinning. The Holy Spirit is the express representation of Jesus. And He lives in you- He's all that you need and even more!

Jesus went on to say, 'Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.' (John 15:4-5). Let's take the Scripture in portions to understand what He was communicating well. Remember that Jesus is the True Vine and we are the branches. When you were born again, you became a branch in this True Vine. Now you are vitally connected to Jesus Christ. You are united with Him. Glory to God!

But then it does not end there. He commands you to dwell in Him. What does He mean by 'Dwell in Me...'? He means 'stay in Me; remain in Me'. In other words, even though you are connected, you must STAY connected (Read Stay Connected to your Source). You stay connected through fellowship with the Word of God and with the Holy Spirit. That is what results in you being productive as a soulwinner. The extent of your life's impact upon the world is greatly dependent on your private time you spend in fellowship with the Lord. At that place, you receive the breath of God into you. Hallelujah! That breath that enters you is what you impart unto the world around you and you begin to see that men are coming to Christ in large numbers. People begin to address you for solutions to their problems. God begins to work miracles through your life. In his book Power through Prayer, E.M. Bounds records, “Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.” Pastor Chris said, 'If your knees will bend in prayer, you will see the glory of God.'

This is the starting point of your effectiveness as a soulwinner: fellowship with the Lord. Learn to spend time in prayer every day. Pray for the lost around you. Intercession is highly vital in your quest to reach men as God has commanded you. He said, 'Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.' (Psalm 2:8). When you pray, God gives you a Word that will ignite faith in your spirit to exercise dominion in your sphere of contact. Maybe you are contemplating where to start from or how to start. Start by praying- God will impart your spirit with visions that will depict how He wants you to carry out this glorious ministry. As you begin to speak in tongues, your entire spirit, soul and body are saturated with the anointing of the Holy Spirit- you are emboldened. And at that level, when you speak, impact is made- the demons of darkness cannot help but flee. As you preach the Message on the outside, the Holy Ghost would also be ministering to your hearers on the inside. Hallelujah!

Nevertheless, don't be one-sided. Abiding in the Vine doesn't mean you should be having a sweet time with the Lord in your prayer closet day after day without going out there to preach the Gospel. You may pray from dawn till dusk but if you do not step out there to preach the Word, no one will be saved. Reinhard Bonnke likened only praying without preaching to walking with only one leg- you must pray and preach, pray and preach. pray and preach...

Finally, Jesus said our only chance of bearing fruit is by abiding in Him. Without Him, we cannot produce any fruit (win people to Him).

Abide in the True Vine!