"SOUL WINNERS ARE WISE!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

PROVERBS 11:30

1. Soul Winners Are Wise Because Their Work Results In Changed Lives:
   
1. Jesus loves you as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you as you are. Jesus Christ doesn't take away from, He adds to, real life. He changes lives:
1. Paul tells us that: "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4 (NASB).
2. He adds, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB).
2. Perhaps you have seen the sign, "Under new management!" at some business establishment. The implication is, "Things will be run differently and better now!" When a soul is saved, it is "Under new management!" and it results in changed living. Consider a few lives He changed:
1. Mary Magdalene was changed from demoniac to disciple. Mark 16:9. She was under new management.
2. John Mark was changed from a despicable deserter, to a committed comrade. Acts 15:38 and 1 Timothy 4:11. He was under new management.
3. Peter was changed from a craven coward to a powerful proclaimer of the Gospel. Matthew 26 and Acts 2. He was under new management.
4. Onesimus was changed from a runaway slave to a useful servant. Philemon 1:11. He was under new management.
3. When Larry King had heart surgery, he received many letters, but one that moved him more than the others. It read, "Dear Larry, I'm so glad to hear that everything went well with your surgery. I want you to know that God is watching over you every minute, and even though I know you question that, I also know that one day it will be revealed to you. My prayer is that you remain open and God will touch your life as He has mine. Once I was a disbeliever. When I could not fill my life with basketball, I would simply substitute sex, liquid drugs, or material things to feet my internal, shell-like appearance. I was never satisfied. I have finally realized after 40 years that Jesus Christ is in me. He will reveal His truth to you, Larry, because He lives." The letter was signed by Pete Marevich who died the Tuesday after the Monday on which Larry King received the letter. Pete's life was changed; he was under new management. - Larry's life could be changed too.
4. There are many things which change our lives. Some for the good, some for the not so good.
1. Winning the lottery - sometimes that ruins lives and relationships.
2. The death of a loved one introduces irreversible changes.
3. Changing jobs or schools brings change into our lives.
4. Getting married changes lives.
5. Become parents changes lives.

But those are temporary changes. Soul winners introduce a lasting change.

2. Soul Winners Are Wise Because Their Work Lasts For Eternity: 
1. Most of man's efforts, noble and ignoble, are aimed at and linked to this life and world only. 
1. The most majestic of monuments will crumble, just as the twin towers fell in a moment! 
2. The best of banks will fail. FDIC can't prevent that. 
3. The strongest of governments and kingdoms will all pass away. There will be no one world government, and if there were, it would come to an end. 
4. The finest of our medical, scientific advances will perish. With the elimination of old diseases, we witness the emergence of new and deadlier ones. 
2. But the soul winner's work endures for eternity. 
1. As Peter wrote, "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:10-11 (NASB). 
2. "And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:17 (NASB). 
3. The Bible is clear about this: 
1. Jesus alone gives life that is both abundant and eternal. 
2. Jesus alone sets us free from the power and penalty of sin. 
3. Jesus alone brings us into reconciliation and peace with God. 
4. Jesus alone brings us into God's eternal kingdom.
4. The work of man is temporal and is bound to fail. Nikita Khruschev once boasted that he would display the last Soviet Christian on TV by 1965. He has since gone to give account of himself to the Judge of all men - 1965 has come and gone and they are asking for Bibles for schools in Russia. The Soviet Union has been dismembered, but as the Psalmist said, "For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule generation after generation. Psalms 145:13 (NLT).

Soul winners are wise because they do an eternal work. And:

3. Soul Winners Are Wise Because They Put Themselves On God's Side:
1. Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln, "Do you think God is on our side in this conflict?" Abraham wisely said, "I know that God is always on the side of right; my concern is not whether God is on our side but whether or not we are on God's side!"
2. There are many good reasons to be on God's side! It's the joyous side for one thing! It's the winning side, for another thing! And since it is God's purpose to win souls to Himself, those who win souls become His allies, co-workers, and confederates. Soul winners are on God's side.
3. There can be no neutrality here! We are for Him or we are against Him! Jesus said, "Anyone who isn't helping Me opposes Me, and anyone who isn't working with Me is actually working against Me." Luke 11:23 (NLT). We put ourselves on His side when:
1. We obey His command to go make disciples.
2. We invest our time, energy and resources in the work of missions.
3. We buy into things that last instead of squandering our stuff in things that perish.
4. We want to please Him at any cost or inconvenience to ourselves.
4. During the Civil War, an old woman saw a group of Yankee soldiers marching past her house. She grabbed her broom, put it on her shoulder like a rifle, and fell into step with the ranks. When her neighbors asked her why, she said, "I just want everybody to know what side I'm on!"

The world is going one way and God is going another. Which way are you going? The world takes one side, and God takes another, on which side are you? The world does a work that is doomed from the beginning and God does a work that never ends. Which work are you helping? No direction takes you to eternal life but God's direction, no side is the winning side but God's side, no work that lasts except God's work. So, be wise: be a soul winner - go God's way and take someone with you; be on His side and bring others alongside, too; do God's work and see lives changed in the process. What that will demand on your part is a willingness to go where He sends, say what He wants, and to obey what He commands. We have come to the moment of decision and dedication. Will you decide, and will you dedicate yourself, to be a soul winner? Will you go where you can, and pay to send others where you cannot? Will you surrender your life to Jesus to do with as He pleases from now until He calls you home? He calls, He invites, He urges: Surrender your life. Will you do that this morning?

Larry King from "The Toledo Blade, Khruschev from old news articles, old woman from various illustration sources.