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\u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
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Contents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) \u201cHe Who Wins Souls Is Wise\u201d (R.J. Evans)
2) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mike Johnson)
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-1-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
R.J. Evans<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise\u201d (Proverbs 11:30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every faithful Christian seeks to win souls because he is wise. Without doubt, winning souls is one of the greatest works on earth. Surely, no true disciple of the Lord can ignore the urgent need to seek the salvation of precious lost souls. Our God is in the soul saving business (Jn. 3:16; Matt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16). While on earth, Jesus stated, \u201cfor the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost\u201d (Lk. 19:10). Thus, every Christian should, likewise, be in the soul saving business. No work in this life is more \u201cChrist-like\u201d than teaching the soul saving \u201cgospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek\u201d (Rom. 1:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this short article, let\u2019s observe some important reasons why we ought to be soul winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The value of the soul.<\/strong> The Bible clearly sets forth the value of the soul. In the beginning, God created the soul of man in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27). Jesus said, \u201cFor what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?\u201d (Matt. 16:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The brevity and uncertainty of life.<\/strong> It has been estimated that every time the clock ticks, thirteen people die somewhere in the world. James said, \u201cFor what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away\u201d (Jas. 4:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The certainty of death and the judgment.<\/strong> There is an appointment that all must keep. \u201cAnd as it is appointed for all men to die once, but after this the judgment\u201d (Heb. 9:27).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. The horror of hell. <\/strong> In the word of God, hell is described as a place of \u201couter darkness\u201d (Matt. 25:30); \u201cweeping and gnashing of teeth\u201d (Matt. 25:30); \u201ceverlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (2 Thes. 1:9); \u201clake of fire\u201d (Rev. 20:15); and a \u201clake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death\u201d (Rev. 21:8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. The beauties of heaven.<\/strong> The human, finite mind cannot conceive or fully comprehend all of the eternal beauties of heaven. But to get some idea as to how it will be, please read Revelation 21, where it tells us that there will be no more death, sorrow, tears, crying, or pain in heaven. Read about the \u201cthrone set in heaven\u201d in Revelation 4 & 5. Oh, what a place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Our own salvation depends upon it.<\/strong> Consider carefully the words of Ezekiel: \u201cWhen I say to the wicked, \u2018O wicked man, you shall surely die!\u2019 and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul\u201d (Ezek. 33:8-9). The Apostle Paul was able to tell the Ephesian elders: \u201cTherefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God\u201d (Acts 20:26-27).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In view of all the above, this should surely cause us to appreciate the words of Proverbs 11:30 \u2014 \u201cHE WHO WINS SOULS IS WISE.\u201d We sometimes sing, \u201cI want to be a soul winner for Jesus everyday,\u201d but do we really mean and practice what we sing? We close with the words of another song: \u201cIf the name of the Savior is precious to you, If His care has been constant and tender and true. If the light of His presence has brightened you way\u2026O will you not tell it today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 via article for the church bulletin at the Southside church of Christ, Gonzales, Louisiana, July 10, 2016 -2-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike Johnson<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew 13:31-32 is one of the accounts where \u201cThe Parable of the Mustard Seed\u201d is found, and it tells us about the growth of the kingdom. The passage says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnother parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In verse 32, the mustard seed is said to be the least of all seeds. Those familiar with the mustard seed today are well aware of its small size. However, the mustard seed is not the smallest seed known as there are several kinds of seed which are smaller. It was, however, the smallest seed which would normally be planted in the fields by the Jews. It seems Jesus used the expression (the least of all seeds) in that sense. Also, the phrase \u201csmall as a grain of mustard seed\u201d was a proverbial expression among the Jews. It meant something very small. Jesus used the expression again in Matthew 17:20 when He said, \u201c. . . If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall be removed . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verse 32 points out that the seed grew into a tree, and it was so large the birds came and lodged in the branches of it. Most of us are unfamiliar with mustard plants which grow this large. However, it seems that in the Palestine area these plants could grow much larger than what we are accustomed to. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia points out, \u201cSeveral varieties of mustard have notably small seed, and under favorable conditions grow in a few months into tall herbs 10 to 12 feet.\u201d Barnes, in his commentary on Matthew, quotes from an individual who said, \u201cI have seen this plant on the rich plain of Akkar as tall as the horse and his rider.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The seed started out very small and produced a large plant. The kingdom, or church, is compared to this as it started out with small numbers and grew to a large size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Acts 2, we read of the beginning of the church and its growth. Here Peter preached to people who had actually been involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. He told them they needed to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins (2:38). Many realized their error and obeyed. Acts 2:41 says, \u201cThen they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.\u201d The early Christians faced much persecution, but this did not stop the growth of the Lord\u2019s church. Acts 4:4 shows that it continued to grow as it says, \u201cHowbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.\u201d Only the number of men is recorded. Clearly, however, there were many women who also obeyed the gospel which would have added to this number. We can further see the growth of the church from Acts 5:14 which points out that believers were the more added to the Lord. Acts 6:7 shows the continued growth of the early church as it says, \u201c. . . and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.\u201d After Stephen\u2019s death, the disciples went everywhere preaching the Word (Acts 8:4). The scattering of the church from Jerusalem, because of further persecution, only helped spread the Word even more. Finally, in Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossians, he pointed out that the gospel \u201c. . . was preached to every creature which is under heaven. . . .\u201d The church clearly grew a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be very difficult to say exactly how many people became Christians in the first century. It is obvious, however, the growth was tremendous as Christ indicated it would be in this parable. The growth has continued even until today. Like the mustard seed, the church started out very small but grew to large proportions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Via The Elon Challenger, <\/em>Volume XIII, Number 11, July 2016 1) Hear<\/strong> the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30,31). \u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all the nations\u2026teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Contents: 1) \u201cHe Who Wins Souls Is Wise\u201d (R.J. Evans)2) The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mike Johnson)\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 -1- \u201cHe Who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":724,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722\/revisions\/724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Parable of the Mustard Seed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mustard Seed<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Mustard Tree<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Application<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2) Believe <\/strong>in the deity of Christ <\/strong>(John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent <\/strong>of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith <\/strong>in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized <\/strong>in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith, <\/strong>living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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<\/strong>Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday<\/strong> services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday:<\/strong> 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist\/editor: <\/strong>Tom Edwards (912) 281-9917
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com<\/a>
http:\/\/thomastedwards.com\/go<\/a> (Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but back to March 1990)
http:\/\/ThomasTEdwards.com\/audioser.html<\/a> (audio sermons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"