Adrian Rogers: The Soul Winner’s Motivations for Evangelism
Adrian Rogers: The Soul Winner’s Motivations for Evangelism
Our achievements in life are primarily obtained by the drive behind them. In this message, Adrian Rogers reveals six mighty motivations for those who want to win souls for Christ.
the mightiest Soul winner that I’ve known anything about or read about is the Apostle Paul and in this uh 2 Corinthians chapter 5 we find out what motivated Paul what drove Paul what impelled Paul what made him the greatest missionary the world has ever known and we’re going to learn from that and if you’ve never been a soul winner I want you to listen today very carefully if you are a soul winner you will be blessed and encouraged by this profound truth simply stated This is Love Worth Finding with Pastor
teacher and author Adrien Rogers take your Bibles please and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and when you found it would you look up here for a moment let me tell you something your achievement in life will be primarily motivated by your motivations uh impelled by your motivations now what motivates you impels you drives you and will cause you to be whatever you end up being I I heard of a little boy one time who a young man really who was going through the woods and he heard a growl and looked behind him and there was a great
grizzly bear and the boy began to run and the bear began to run and the boy said this bear is going to get me and devour me unless I find some some way of Escape but there seemed to be no way of escape and then he saw a tree and there was a limb that went out the limb was 15 ft high he said nobody has ever jumped 15 ft High straight up but I’ve got to do it if I save my life and the bear was right there with his warm moist breath on the nape of that man’s neck and with a prayer this youngster gave a leap as
hard as he could now he missed the limb but he caught it on his way back down that’s motivation I want to speak to you about the soul Winner’s Mighty motivation we’ve been praying for Revival a weeping Revival a sweeping Revival and now we’re asking God for a reaping Revival we want to bring Souls Bound in the golden chains of the gospel and lay them at jesus’ feet the mightiest Soul winner that I’ve known anything about or read about is the Apostle Paul and in this uh 2 Corinthians chapter
5 we find out what motivated Paul what drove Paul what impelled Paul what made him the greatest missionary the world has ever known and we’re going to learn from that and if you’ve never been a soul winner I want you to listen today very carefully if you are a soul winner you will be blessed and encouraged by this now there there’s several things I want you to to learn the very first thing I want you to learn is the soul winners compulsion the soul Winner’s compulsion Paul had a compelling motive that drove him what was Paul’s
compulsion they said Paul why do you work so hard and here here is his answer 2 Corinthians 5:9 wherefore we labor here’s the reason now we work so hard wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him now that doesn’t mean that we work to get to heaven what he saying is I want to be acceptable to God I want God to be pleased with me ladies and gentlemen look up here if you’re not endeavoring to bring Souls to Christ you are not acceptable to God I don’t care how much money you
give I don’t care how Faithfully you attend I don’t care how eloquently you may preach I don’t care how Faithfully you may live I care not how circumspectly you may walk listen if you are not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ you are not acceptable him you’re not pleasing him and no matter whom you may please if you displease God you’re failure and if you please God it really doesn’t matter how many people you displease and the way to please God is to bring souls to the Lord Jesus Christ
that is your compulsion Andrew Murray a great Christian of yesterday year said there are two classes of Christians Soul winners and backsliders now you’re one of the other Paul said you want me to take why I work so hard I am compelled I am compelled to be acceptable to God that’s the first reason the soul Winner’s compulsion number two I want you to see the soul Winner’s compensation look if you will now in verse 10 for we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in
his body according to that Heath done whether it be good or bad there is a day coming when we will be compensated the Bible calls that the Judgment seat of Christ now this not the great white Throne judgment where the unsaved will appear the word judgment seat here is the word Greek word BMA B Ma and what it was was a raised platform in the middle of the Olympic uh field where Runners would come and receive their reward or else they would be disgraced and receive no a war and there would often be a laurel placed on their
head that sooner or later would Wilt and fade away but we are going to be we are going to be compensated as we win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ now what is our compensation going to be just put in your margin there 1 Corinthians 9 verses 24- 26 know ye not that they which run a race run all but one receiveth the prize so run that you may obtain every man that striveth for the Mastery is temperate in all things that is if you’re going to run a race you’ve got to train yourself now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown that is just a wreath around the head but we an Incorruptible therefore so run not as uncertainly uh so fight I not as one that beateth the air Paul says look if you want to get the crown you’ve got to train yourself you have got to discipline yourself you have to run with all of your might and when you box it’s not Shadow Boxing as one who is beating the air this is a fight and it is a real fight have you ever come to the place where you realize that one of these days you’re going to face the Lord and
receive a crown if you’re a soul winner now you don’t you don’t win souls in order to get to heaven you get to Heaven by the grace of God I cannot work my soul to saved that work my Lord has done but I will work like any slave for the love of God’s Dear Son Paul said you want to know what motivates me what is my compulsion to please him what is my uh compensation I am going to the Judgment seat of Christ if you’re enjoying this message from Adrien Rogers and would like to dig a little deeper into today’s
topic download this free companion Bible study use the link above to get yours here’s the third thing that ated Paul the soul win his conviction look if you will not in verse 11 knowing therefore the terror of the lord we persuade men knowing the terror of the Lord but we are made manifest unto God and I trust also made manifest in your conscience I want you to underscore that phrase if you don’t mind writing in your Bible the terror of the lord we persuade men Paul didn’t have a take it or leave it
attitude this is a motivation Paul knew there was a death to die a judgment face and he said knowing the terror of the Lord knowing what it means for a soul to die unredeemed and to die and go to hell the terror of the Lord now let me give you another motivation that the Apostle Paul had the Apostle Paul his motivation was compassion notice the soul when is compassion look if you will now in second Corinthians 5: 13 and 15 for whether we be beside ourselves it is to God now what does that mean beside ourselves uh whether we be
schizoid whether we’ve lost our mind whether we be insane there were people who were saying the Apostle Paul was not mentally stable he is beside himself he says well if so it is to God or whether we be sober it is for your cause for the love of Christ constraineth us that’s another motivation the love of Christ constrain us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead and he that died for all and that he died for all by the way if you’re a fivepoint calvinist how do you explain
this he died for all not for just some then were all dead and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live un themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again Paul’s compassion is driving him he’s speaking of the love of Christ the love of Christ that was shown to him and now the love of Christ that is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost how can you say you love Jesus and not be concerned for Souls that he died for oh listen God loves you but he loves those all around you he wants them to be
saved and Paul is moved with compassion now I want you to notice next the soul winners confidence second Corinthians 5: 16 and 17 wherefore now he’s still talking about what motivates him wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh y though we have known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him no more that is after the flesh therefore If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things have passed away behold all things have become new now here here’s his confidence that if I lead a soul to
Christ if I bring a man to Christ he will be a new creature God will put a new man in that suit without even unbuttoning the coat he becomes brand new in the Lord Jesus Christ now he says henceforth know we no man after the flesh what does he mean he said I don’t look at people so whether they’re big shots or little shots rich or poor educated or uneducated weak or strong famous or non famous that’s all of the flesh I see them as a soul for whom Jesus died friend if you could only see uh that we have this conviction that if any
man is in Christ Jesus this confidence that if any man is in Christ Jesus you know our trouble we see people after the flesh we think you know if I could win somebody important to Christ that would be great but friend all people are important to Christ and you need to stop seeing them according to the flesh the up and out are just as long lost as the down and out but the down andout are just as precious as the up up and out and don’t call any man common if Jesus Christ died for him we need to stop seeing people through the
flesh years ago I heard a story that moved me greatly down in Tampa Florida a man was driving a high powerered boat and he was going under a bridge he hit a bridge pylon was thrown out of the boat and nearly drowned they fished him out of the water and they had him there on the bridge giving artificial respiration to him trying to do what they could do a man stopped he thought that’s interesting I want to see what is happening there it is there’s the boat he hit here now look at the people they’re giving artificial
respiration that’s interesting what an epic this is that I get to see and then they turned the man’s face this way and the man who had been crossing the bridge said my God that’s my brother that man is my brother when he saw the face of his brother he was transformed he said hey call the ambulance listen give him artificial respiration you people pray that’s my brother you know what he did he saw him after the flesh before then he was another man you need to see every man as your potential brother you need to see every woman as
your potential sister you need to have this confidence that if any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creature when we fish for fish we take a fish out of a beautiful life into death but when we fish for men we take men out of a horrible life into heaven into a beautiful life now listen the the sixth thing of these six things that I want to mention to you is what I want to call the soul win’s commission and all things are of God who ha reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ that is he saved us and ha given
to us the ministry of reconciliation you have been called to the ministry say Amen you have been called to the ministry and what is the ministry it’s the ministry of reconciliation to it that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech You by us we pray you in Christ stad that is in Christ Place be ye reconciled to God now we’ve been reconciled and we’ve
been reconciled by Calvary God has brought us to himself but God did not save you simply to sit to sour but to serve we have been reconciled therefore it follows as night follows day that we have been given a Ministry of reconciliation that is to get people reconciled to God and in this verse Paul say says we are appointed ambassadors Heaven’s Ambassador what is an ambassador an ambassador is somebody who represents the person of a king in the court of another I was in Washington I’d been there for a presidential
inauguration I caught a cab and I was dressed fairly nicely cab driver looked back at me and said said uh what do you do I said I am an ambassador he said you are from where I said very important place I said I serve a king a king I said yes I’m his Ambassador I told that cabie about Jesus Christ I want to tell you something friend you are an ambassador you say well I don’t have much education I don’t have any money you are an ambass Ambassador can you get any higher than being an ambassador to the King of Kings you are
somebody you’re not a fifth wheel God has appointed you God has anointed you and if you’re not interested in being an ambassador when you have been appointed an ambassador you are guilty of treason against Heaven’s King uh to refuse is not only to be ineffective it is to be in Revolt if you’re not interested in evangelism to some degree you are in apostasy friends all around us are trying to find what the heart yearns for by sin under mind I have the secret I know where it is found only true Pleasures in Pleasures in Jesus abound
Jesus is all this world needs today blindly they strive for sin darkens their way friend let me tell you something these people stumbling in darkness can walk in light if you will only open the word of God and share with them how to be saved well Pastor I’m not trained well number one you don’t have to be trained you share what Jesus has done for you You’ be surprised how your testimony will have effect and then you need to get trained I want to ask you a question if you received $1,000 Cash for every soul you led to Christ would it
make a difference in your life you think about that if you received $1,000 Cash for every soul that you’re led to Christ it’s really a matter of motivation these are six Mighty motivations I want to start with the first one again that is Paul said look I do this that I might be acceptable to him to please him I’ve read of a concert violinist who stood before a vast audience and played his violin in a masterful way when he finished the concert He Turned and Left the stage the people were still standing applauding
applauding applauding and behind the stage they said go back out there they are applauding for you go back out there they’re all standing he said no they’re not all standing said you see that man on the third row he’s not standing and he is my teacher my friend I don’t care how many people applaud you and Applause you if you don’t please Jesus what difference does it make bow your heads in prayer every head bowed every eye closed would you pray oh God give me compassion for Souls Lord help me to be a soul winner
would you pray that when I was a teen I was in a service in rrest North Carolina at our Retreat Center a man preached on Soul winning he said how many of you will promise this year to win a soul to Jesus Christ I lifted my hand and made a solemn promise to God that I would do it if he would only help me and I began a life of Soul winning I want to ask you now I’m not going to ask for show of hands but how many of you in this building will say oh God I want to win souls to Jesus Christ now if you can’t
win an older person win a younger person if you can’t win your own children win somebody else’s children but say oh God lay some soul upon my heart and win that Soul through me pray it right now pray it pray it pray it and mean it because one day you’re going to stand before the Judgment seat of Christ and your life may go up in smoke like wood and hay and stubble still while heads are bowed I want you to begin to pray about for those round about you who may not know Jesus Christ as your personal savior their personal Savior and
Lord and friend what’s all this soul-winning business about it’s about getting people like you saved to know Jesus to be saved by his power Divine listen carefully now all that is necessary for you to be saved has already been done Jesus suffered bled and died on the cross he paid your sin debt with his shed blood he rose again from the dead to show that he is the Son of God and he wants to save you and he will save you if you trust him now that doesn’t mean just intellectual belief it means put your faith in him
trust him like you trust an airplane when you get on it you may believe it can fly but you don’t trust it do you get on it would you pray a prayer like this if you’d like to be saved dear God I know you love me and I know you want to save me Jesus you died to save me you promised to save me if I would trust you I do trust you right now in this seat this moment I trust you I’m not asking for feeling I don’t look for sign I trust you now to save me forgive my sin cleanse me begin now to make me the person you want me to be thank you
for doing it Jesus then pray this Lord Jesus help me never to be ashamed of you give me the courage and the strength to make this public in your name I pray amen [Music] [Music]