(Guidelines for Winning Souls) How to Win a Soul — Denny Kenaston

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold.

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That's a blessing. Why don't we kneel for prayer and begin? Our Heavenly Father, we give you praise, Lord. We praise you and thank you for Jesus who died and is now gone above. We thank you, Father, that you made a way through the Lord Jesus for men to be well in their souls.

We thank you for that, Father. O God, tonight we come to you again at the beginning of this service, and Lord, we desire your blessing to be upon us. We desire, Father, for the anointing of your Spirit to be with each one of us.

Lord, I pray, give us a vision again tonight of what can be done. Lord, what can be done in the kingdom of God? What can be done in the lives of men and women? Father, give us a vision of this. And dear God, we pray tonight that you'll teach us how to win souls, Lord.

We want to win souls. You've given us so many things, Lord. We want to tell others. We want to learn how we can tell them. How they also can have everything well with their soul. Father, we commit the service, the teaching time, the discussion into your hands.

In the name of Jesus, we ask this blessing. Amen. I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus. This evening, we're going to continue on with our lessons on winning souls. And this evening, the lesson will be on how to win a soul.

Faith Comes by Hearing the Word of God

I'd like us to read a few verses in Romans chapter 10. To begin with, Romans 10, verse 13 through 17. How to win a soul. Romans chapter 10, verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

That's quite an awesome statement. If we just take it right where it sits, what an awesome statement. What a motivation to our hearts to go out and tell others. Because whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

That's a good enough motivation right there. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Now, I don't know what the statistics are, but I think if we just took a raise of hands here this evening, I think most hands would say that it was through the word of God lighting upon their heart that faith was born within their heart that they finally saw their need of a Savior.

How many of you would give that testimony by raising your hand? It was through the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. How shall they hear if nobody will go and tell them?

How will they hear the words of God if nobody goes and tells them? But faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And I believe with all my heart tonight that if we would just believe God's word and go in faith and sow the seeds of the word of God, that we would see results in our activities.

Now, I'm not sure this evening how many able-bodied, understanding people we have in this room who could win a soul. I'm not sure. I think I could estimate that there would be maybe 70. Maybe 70 people in this room that could win a soul.

This matter of winning souls, I still have a little throat from the weekend. This matter of winning souls is very important. But it's not such a big task that you can't do it. It's not such a big task.

I'd like you to think about this as we move into teaching this evening how to win a soul. I'd like you to think about this. And some of you have pondered these thoughts, but some of you have not. There are 70 people in this room who could win a soul.

70 people. If the 70 people that are in this room would just win one soul in one year. Just one. Now, that's not too hard to win one. Imagine what it would be like if each person of these 70 souls in this room got burdened that they would win one soul in one year's time and began to pray, and began to seek the Lord, and began to seek after that soul.

Where is my one soul for this year? If every one of us in the room would do that, and then when we got that one soul, we nurtured that soul, and trained, and called them, and prayed for them, and had them in our home, and discipled them for an entire year.

However, if 70 would win one each at the end of the year, that'd be 140. If those 140 would then just go out. I mean, I'm not talking about selling your business tonight. I'm not talking about letting all the hay lay in the field and rot so that you can win a soul.

I'm not talking about that. I'm just talking about winning one soul in one year. We all have enough time for that. Every one of us. Then at the end of the second year, that's 280. Now, if those 280 would just get burdened to win one soul for the whole year, and pray over that soul, and disciple that soul, then at the end of the third year, it's 560.

560? 560? It's 1 ,120. 1 ,120? Winning one soul in one year is 2 ,240. How far shall I go? In six years, that's over 5 ,000 souls. Now, that's not a big task. It's not. You that are in this room today, who know what it's like to win souls, is that a big task to win one in one year?

Just one. I'm not saying that to weight you down. I'm saying that to stir you up tonight. To stir you up. You can win one. How to win souls? Now, there are several ways that we can win a soul to Christ.

At the end of this lesson, I plan to give you several. But we're going to go through one way to win a soul to Jesus. And I'd like to say this in beginning. I'm going to present an ideal situation this evening just for the sake of the instruction.

We're going to assume this evening that we have a soul, an interested soul, and they're sitting in our living room, and they want to learn about how they can receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. We're going to assume that tonight.

I don't know if I go through all of what I'm going to tell you if I was standing out on a street corner somewhere, and I had ten minutes, and that's all I had, to tell somebody how they can be saved. I don't know if I do it all this way.

But we're just going to assume that we have found an individual who's lost, who is seeking the Lord, who wants to know how they can be converted, and you've got them sitting in your living room, all the time you need to just sit down and take them all the way through, step by step by step, and show them all the things they need to know.

What do they need to know in order to become a Christian? There are five basic things that they need to know. Five things. Number one, this person who's sitting in your living room, he needs to know that he is a sinner.

He's got to see that he is a sinner That's number one. Number two, he needs to see that sinners go to hell. How can he ever be saved until he's lost? You need to show him that he's lost. Sinners go to hell.

Number three, he needs to see that Jesus is the sacrifice. Jesus is the way that he may escape hell, escape his sin, escape his self, and be translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

Jesus is the way for him to escape. That's number three. Number four, he needs to know that he must repent. He must repent. He is a sinner. Sinners go to hell. Sinners have offended God. And he needs to repent.

And number five, he needs to believe. He needs to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he'll be saved. Now, I want to say this as we begin. God must make him aware of all five of these things. We can't do a thing for him.

In ourselves, by ourselves, we cannot do a thing for him to see all these things. But, God has chosen by the foolishness of preaching or proclaiming his word to save souls. So what we do is we go forth in faith.

And here we have a soul sitting in our living room who's lost. He needs to hear about Jesus. And God said, I've chosen by the foolishness of preaching to save men and women. So we're going to tell him the things that he needs to learn.

No, and we're going to trust the Spirit of God to make each one of those things come to light in his heart so that he can become converted. So number one, he needs to know that he is a sinner. We're going to take him, we're going to take him to Romans chapter 3.

And you can just turn there very quickly. And we're going to show him that he is a sinner. In Romans chapter 3 and verse 10, the Bible says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Verse 12, they are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. And then also turn down to verse 23 in the same chapter, Romans 3 .23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

These are some verses. These verses are so clear, they don't need much explanation at all. Anybody who has an open heart who will read these verses together with you will be able to acknowledge, yes, it is so.

If they have an open heart, they'll be able to acknowledge, yes, it is so. I am a sinner. But they need to see that they are a sinner. And what I would do is I would sit somebody down and show them these verses.

And after we read several of these verses, I would explain to them how that, well, we probably ought to go to 5 .12 first, Romans 5 .12, where it says, 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.

I would use this verse and the others to show them that they are a sinner. That they were born into this world a sinner because of the fall of Adam and Eve, and sin began and was transferred on through all the generations and here they are today, alive and a sinner.

And then I would begin to ask them questions. Do you realize that you are a sinner? And I'd wait for them to answer. Some people will say, yes. Some people will say, no, no, I'm not a sinner. I love my fellow man.

I go to my church. I give when the offering plate comes by. No, I don't realize I'm a sinner. I'm a good man. But some will say, yes, I realize I'm a sinner. Whichever kind you have, that point needs to be brought clearly home.

That they're a sinner, that they are sinning, and that they are sinning against a holy God. They are sinning against a holy God. And I would use all those kind of words. If you have somebody sitting in your house and they want to know, I'd make it as clear as possible.

You're sinning against a holy God. And I might, even if they have an openness, I might even ask them, can you think of some ways that you have sinned and come short of the glory of God? Can you, sir, today, think of some ways that you have sinned and come short of the glory of God?

He may say, yes, yes I can. What are some of them? What are some ways, sir? In other words, what we're doing in this first point is we're bringing it clearly home to his heart that he is a sinner and that he's sinning against God.

The Wages of Sin and the Reality of Judgment

Point number two. Sinners go to hell. Romans chapter 6, verse 23 is a good verse for that. Also, you can put your finger back on Revelation 21 .8. That's also another very good verse. Romans chapter 6, verse 23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So just watch how these two move together. Sir, do you realize that you're a sinner and that you have sinned against a holy God?

And what are some of these ways that you've sinned against God? And he's responding while we're talking to him. Now he's acknowledging that. So let's go over to Romans chapter 6, verse 23 and say, Sir, look what God says about your sin.

The wages of sin is death. And explain that verse to him. That a wage is something that we have earned. Just like when we go to work somewhere and we work so many hours, we draw a wage for the amount of hours that we have worked.

Well, there's also a wage that God deals out to those who sin. And that wage is death. And it's not just physical death here, but it's spiritual death. It's death in a lake of fire. It's death and hell.

So, first he sees that he is a sinner. He has sinned against God. Now he sees that God is requiring a just punishment upon him for his sin. And that just punishment is death and hell for eternity. Revelation 21 .8.

In Revelation 21 .8,. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

That's a good verse for you to read. That to let them to know that that's where sinners go with fire and brimstone. That, I guess that takes care of everybody that says that hell is just a state of death, doesn't it?

I had someone share that with me on Saturday that hell is just a state of death. No, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Spiritual death.

So, you want to show them that sinners go to hell and then ask them questions like this. Do you see that these verses apply to you? And wait for an affirmative. And when you get an affirmative, then ask him this question.

Sir, based on these verses, where would you go if you died right now? You say, well, now that's a little bit strong right in here. Oh, but you'll need this a little later. He may want to push the whole thing off and think about it.

Then you'll want to refer back to this question that you asked him. You see, we're moving through this plan of salvation and he's seeing from God's Word and God's Spirit is revealing to him. Yes, you are a sinner.

While you're saying, Sir, do you realize you're a sinner? The Holy Spirit is there saying, Yes, you are a sinner. You are a sinner. But you'll go to hell. The Holy Spirit is right there saying, you will go to hell.

You will go to hell. I'm so glad that we are co-laborers with Christ in this matter of winning souls and that we have a voice, the voice of God that speaks in the heart of an individual while we are sharing these things with them.

So, those questions are good to ask. Where would you go if you died right now? Well, if his heart is open and he's looking and facing the things you're sharing with him, he's going to say, I'd go to hell.

I am going to hell. That's what you want him to say. He needs to see that. He needs to be able to acknowledge it and even say it with his mouth. I am going to go to hell. If you're not sure how important that is, let me read these verses to you and just apply them.

We will read them again, but let's just apply them. He shall believe in thy heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Well, we're not to that point yet, but I think it's very important that this sinner confess with his mouth and believe in his heart that he is a sinner and that he is on his way to hell.

Let him confess it with his mouth. I am going to hell. It's very important. Do you believe that? Yes, I do. I'm going to hell. At this point, he wants to hear that there is an answer. He needs to hear that there is an answer to all this.

Christ's Sacrifice as the Way of Salvation

Jesus is the way. He is the way of salvation. Romans chapter 5, verse 6 through 8. These are some good verses that you can read to him at this point. Sir, you don't have to go to hell. I've got good news for you.

You don't have to go to hell. Romans chapter 5, verse 6. For when... For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet for a good man, some would even dare to die.

But God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God commended his love toward us. God expressed his love toward us. How much love did God have for us? So much that he sent his son to die for us while we were yet sinners.

We were an abomination in his sight. We were living in wickedness. But God sent his son. God expressed his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, living in sin, living in absolute contrary to God, God sent his son Jesus to die for us.

That shows how much God loves us. There are some good verses that you can use to show them that Jesus is the sacrifice. He is the one who came and shed his blood and died on the cross for our sins. And I would say at this point that you shouldn't just simply explain a little bit about these verses here, but preach the gospel to this individual.

Preach the gospel to him. Tell him, lift up the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tell him about God's love for sinners. Tell him about the finished work of Christ. Just preach the simple gospel to him.

How that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture and was buried and rose again on the third day. And all who will believe in him can have the gift of eternal life and be freed from the condemnation and the judgment and the wrath that is already upon their lives.

I would say in this third point that it's time for you and if you could just put a little bit of this mentality on and I know that all of you cannot completely understand what I'm saying, but if you could just put on the mentality that you have when you're in New York City, you're standing behind a pulpit, some of you brethren, there's a bunch of people out there, they need to hear the message, you need to do the same thing in your living room.

Just preach the gospel to them and just put their faith in the sacrifice that was already made for them on Calvary. Jesus is the way. And then you need to ask him this question, do you believe if you'd cry out to God that he'd save you?

Do you believe that? That's a good question to ask him. You see, he's seen that he's a sinner, he's seen that sinners go to hell, his judgment is lying upon him, he's made the confession with his mouth that he believes if he died he'd go to hell, and now you've told him there is a way for him to escape the wrath to come and be translated into the kingdom of God's dear son, and now it's good to ask him, sir, do you believe if you cried out to God that he would save you?

And by the way, it's a good thing for you you must believe that this gospel that you're sharing with this person is able to save his soul. You must believe it. By the way, if you do, you're at one of the most exciting points in a soul winner's life you could ever be at.

You're sharing these things with him, he's just opened up his mouth and said yes, I believe if I cried out to God that he'd save me. That's good news. We've given him some good news but we're not done with the sad news.

Repentance as Necessary for Forgiveness

Number four, he must repent. He must repent. Turn to Matthew 4 .17, just look at a couple different verses to show him clearly what God is requiring of him. Matthew 4 .17, from that time Jesus began to preach and to say repent for the kingdom of heaven verse three and verse five Jesus said these words except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.

Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. It's good to bring out to the individual at this time that there's no forgiveness where there's no repentance. You see, if his heart is sincere he wants to be forgiven now.

You've shown him that he's a sinner. You've shown him that he's on his way to hell. But you've shown him the good news that Jesus has made a way for him and if his heart is open and right he wants to be forgiven now.

But we know that he can never be forgiven until he repents because God's forgiveness is based on repentance. Otherwise God could just forgive the whole world without him doing anything. God's forgiveness is based on repentance.

So we must bring home to the individual this matter of repentance. In Acts 26 there's another verse that I wanted to look at which so clearly brings the balance of repentance and faith. Acts 26 .20 Paul speaking But showed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coast of Judea and then to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God in this verse for us to use to show an individual how serious God is about this matter of repentance.

And if I could just bring this point home a little more there are many, many, many spurious conversions because this point is left out. It's left out. If you could just look at it with this point left out you showed him he is a sinner you showed him that sinners go to hell that Jesus is the way of salvation if you skip this point then you say all you need to do is call on the Lord.

Well, who won't do that? No cost involved in that. No. There's a little more to it than that. They must repent. If I could just share my own experience in this matter of repentance when I was in school in Bible school we had to go soul winning every week.

If you went soul winning for two weeks you'd be kicked out of school. You'd get enough demerit that they would kick you out of school in two weeks if you didn't go for at least two hours. So it was a priority for us and we went soul winning every week and we had to make a little report of how many souls we won.

And before I learned this matter of repentance why I was able to fill my activity report out real nice and put down there at the bottom of it seven hours and souls won six and five and eight and seven and oh it really looked good turning my activity report and won eight souls on Saturday.

Well, I got to examining the souls that I was winning because none of them wanted to come to church and none of them hardly would get baptized and I began to question all this. I was young in the faith then and I was just trusting what they were telling us to do like a good Baptist student in school telling us to do but yet I was questioning in my own mind why aren't these people if they're getting converted why aren't they coming to church?

When I got converted I wanted to go to church. If they're converted why aren't they getting baptized? When I got converted I wanted to get baptized. My life changed when I got converted. Why doesn't their life change?

And I began to study the Bible and God opened this up to me and I realized they need to repent. What about repentance? I saw it all the way through the Bible and when I get somebody who's sat down in a living room somewhere and begin to share with them the gospel I come to this point right here and say What do you think sir?

Are you willing to repent? And I don't know how many times but it was many times they'd look me dead in the eye and say No way. No way I'm willing to repent. That's a nice message you have and I'll be glad to call on the Lord but I'm not repenting.

And I had to say five, seven, eight down to one and zero and zero and one and that's the way it went. But one thing that I noticed the ones that I won they'd come to church and the ones that I won they'd go forward and get baptized before they wouldn't.

Repentance. If you want true conversion you've got to have repentance and you see this matter of soul winning it's not easy is it? To sit somebody down it'd be much nicer just to say Hey, Jesus is the Savior wouldn't you like to call on him?

That'd be easy to do but no, we're sitting him down now and we're showing him from God's word that he must be willing to repent and when we get done showing him now we're going to ask him again Sir, are you willing to repent?

Some of these things you mentioned are you willing to repent of them? And explain to him what repentance is. To repent from your sins and to turn to God that's what repentance is in Acts 26 .20 clearly shows that that repentance is not only turning away but it's turning to Sir, are you willing to do that?

And from that point you can go two different directions but this evening we're going to assume that this individual said Yes, I am willing to repent. Very good. Now we're going to go on to point number five.

Faith in Christ and Calling on the Lord

They must believe on the Lord Romans chapter 10 again. If they're willing to repent now they're ready to call on the Lord. Now they're ready to acknowledge that Jesus died for them and call out and let that death and that salvation become theirs.

They're ready. Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and 10 and then down to verse 13 and at this point you need to show them these verses. These are good verses to show them at this point as you've taken them through the others.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth under righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Verse 13. Well, verse 12 would be good to read also the difference between the Jew and the Greek for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. So can you see in your mind where we have this individual.

He's lost. He knows he's lost. He's on his way to hell. He knows he is. He knows that Jesus died for him. He's willing to repent of his sins and now we lay it out to him. Sir, this is what you need to do.

You need to get down. You need to call out to God. You need to get down on your knees and confess your sins to God and cry out to him and ask him to have mercy upon you. It says right here that he is rich unto all that call upon him.

Sir, are you willing to call upon him tonight? Do you believe that he would save you if you'd call upon him tonight in sincerity of heart? Are you ready? Do you believe that he'd do that? And I'd like to emphasize also here it says the Lord Jesus.

They must be willing to make him the Lord but I believe if you got if you got through the repentance this matter of repentance the matter of making him the Lord it's already done. If they're willing to repent there's no problem there but still it needs to be emphasized to him.

Jesus is not only the Savior. He's the Lord. He is the God of Heaven. He is the only wise God. Are you willing. And of course they need to make an affirmative if we're going to go ahead and pray and I might say this we I had an opportunity I think Brother Vernon and I were in the Lancaster knocking on some doors and visiting people and we had a beautiful opportunity to share with a Catholic boy 14 years old in the gospel and we went down through all these things.

And when we got to repentance we went to Jesus Christ and began to explain to him what it meant to make him the Lord. And he had a this boy had a marijuana t-shirt on. I smoke marijuana is what the t-shirt said.

And we told him here's what it means to repent. Here's what it means to make Jesus the Lord of your life. It may mean you'll have to take that t-shirt off. It may mean you'll have to change the friends you have.

Are you willing to do whatever God says. And he said not yet. Not yet. I'm not ready. Okay that's good. You may say oh wouldn't it have been nice to win that one. But look where we brought him. He probably never sat down in a quiet room and had all those things brought into his mind and acknowledged all these truths that we brought him through.

And we brought him right up to the point of salvation. And he says okay if he's not ready then we just let him know go back over the points with him and say but now you realize where you're at. You acknowledge this.

And you know you're a sinner and you know you're on your way to hell. Do you realize that if you step out of here tonight you have no hope of tomorrow you could die tonight. You'd go right to hell. Do you realize that young man.

And we did that with him. And he said yes. I realize it but I need to think about it. He was out here somewhere he was visiting his grandmother. We left him right there. But the point we're making here in point number five is that God is waiting on a response from him.

God is waiting on a response from him. And we're bringing them up to making a decision. They're either going to say yay or they're going to say nay to the gospel message the gospel call that is upon their heart.

Presenting the Gospel and Awaiting a Response

Now we're going to go from here and we're going to stop the lesson this evening right there. That's the presentation of the plan of salvation. We'll have another lesson on drawing the net bringing the soul in.

But from here for this evening we just wanted to go over the presentation of the gospel and how you can take somebody from point A to point B which is acknowledging that they are ready that they need a savior.

And that's where we wanted to go this evening.