David Diga Hernandez - 3 Keys to Becoming a Bold Soul Winner

Number one, live righteously. Proverbs 28:1 says, «The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion». It’s not always the case, but it is sometimes the case, and this is why we all must examine our lives, that when there is a lack of boldness, there could be a compromise, or a sin that you’re allowing in your life. Holiness produces boldness, truth produces boldness. Thinking according to the word of God produces boldness. Living according to the word of God produces boldness. So, if you’re intimidated when sharing your faith, could it be that you’re intimidated because you know that there are things in your life that are not right? When you’re shy or fearful about telling someone about the Lord, could this be because the enemy has an attack that he can use against you, by holding your guilt, your sin against you, and making you feel like a hypocrite? It’s possibly the case, but as I said, every single one of us must allow the Lord to examine us. You must say, «Search me God, know my heart, and remove anything that is not of you». The moment you begin to increase righteousness, the moment you begin to cut off compromises, ungodly relationships, situations you should not be putting yourself in, secret sins. The moment you start to cut these things off, you begin to have a sense, a renewed sense of boldness. There’s life and vitality that comes to you spiritually. You begin to become bold like a lion. You see, sometimes the enemy can keep you so busy fighting your sin that he keeps you away from fighting for souls. Because some believers allow compromise in their lives, they become focused on just their battle with the flesh. But can I tell you, that the battle with the flesh is only the beginning? If your only battle in the kingdom of God is with sin or with an old habit, then it’s time to mature and rise above that. It’s time to overcome the flesh. It’s time to overcome the sin nature. It’s time to be rid of those habits and get focused on souls. We can’t focus on souls if we’re focused on our sin. We can’t focus on winning the lost if we ourselves are lost to some habit that is ungodly in our lives. We must turn away from just these battles. Yes, win these battles, yes, overcome, yes, live holy, and then rise above that to get involved in the work of soul-winning. Sometimes the enemy will keep you so distracted with working on yourself that those around you who do not know the gospel will go without hearing the truth. So it’s important that you overcome sin in your life. Why? Because then you’re not dealing with guilt. Then you’re not dealing with this self-confidence issue because you feel like a hypocrite telling others about the gospel. Then you’re not worried about just being focused on overcoming the flesh. Now you step into the place where there’s victory in your personal life, and because there’s victory in your personal life, now you can go and begin sharing the gospel with those around you. This isn’t to say that you have to be perfect to evangelize. This just means that when you’re battling the flesh and when you’re allowing sin to take influence in your life, it’s very difficult to be bold when evangelizing.

Number two, focus on others. Matthew 9:36 says this: «When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd». When the Lord Jesus saw those who were lost, He was moved with compassion. That compassion was overwhelming. That compassion was part of what drove Him to minister the truth. What drove Him to cast out devils and heal the sick. It’s what drove His ministry, that compassion for those who were lost. When was the last time you considered the eternal fate of the lost soul? When was the last time you looked around in a crowded place and said within yourself, «What about their souls»? When was the last time you thought about the eternal destination of your loved ones? You see, the moment we turned the focus from self to souls, the moment we turn the focus from, «How am I going to look if I don’t know all the scriptures? How will I look if I share the gospel? What will they think of me if I tell them I love Jesus? Or I tell them that he saved me»? The moment we turn the focus from those questions to, «What about their soul? What about their eternity? What will it be like for them»? That’s when that boldness begins to rise. Why? Because you forget about yourself. When I first started preaching, I used to be nervous when going to the pulpit, I remember being in back rooms, preparing my notes, shaking and trembling, going, «I hope I don’t mess up,» until the Holy Spirit corrected me. You see, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the reason I was so nervous to preach was because I was more concerned with the people liking me and being impressed with my sermon than I was about ministering to their soul. The moment my focus shifted, the moment I became more concerned about imparting than I was with impressing, that’s when the nervousness went away. Why? Because I wasn’t even thinking about myself anymore. «When your love for souls outweighs your need to be liked, boldness will abound».

Number three, surrender to the Holy Spirit through prayer. Acts 4:31 says this: «After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of gone with boldness». Now, there’s something interesting about the group that’s being described here in this verse. This is the very same group that Jesus breathed upon when He said, «Receive ye the Holy Spirit». This is the same group that was present in Acts 2 at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And this very same group committed themselves to a prayer meeting. And in that prayer meeting, they received a renewed sense of boldness. They had already been preaching the gospel. They had already been praying for the sick. They had already been boldly carrying out ministry, but when they gathered to pray, they received a renewed sense of boldness, a fresh touch of God’s power coming upon their lives. This is why we must consistently pray. Often we imagine that being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit is only like putting water in a cup when it’s actually like putting wind in a sail. There’s a constant flow of refreshing to the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is both a well in that it’s stationary, in that it remains with us, and a river, in that there’s a constant refreshing flow to His power. So, to renew their boldness, to get a fresh sense of boldness, they committed themselves to gathering in prayer. This is why it’s so important that if you want to be a bold evangelist for the kingdom of God, I’m not just talking about fivefold ministry, I’m talking about doing the work of the evangelist, which every believer should do. If you want to be a soul-winner, you must be committed to prayer. Why? Because as you pray, you’re submitting yourself to the will of God. Prayer is less about getting what we want and more about becoming who God wants us to be. Prayer is less about receiving and more about becoming, and as we pray, we are aligning ourselves with God’s will. As we pray, we are submitting the flesh, we are submitting all of those flaws. We are submitting our minds, emotions, our wills, to the will of the Father. We’re surrendering ourselves in prayer, becoming more like Jesus, and therefore becoming more mindful of that which consumes His heart. We come in rhythm with the heartbeat of heaven, which is souls. So by committing yourself to prayer, you become a bold, passionate, fiery soul-winner. And when that passion begins to burn in you, once that fire is ignited, you’ll be like Jeremiah, who said, «I can’t contain the word. I can’t contain the message. It’s like fire in my bones». And it will switch. It will go from hesitating. It will go from trying to find ways to share it, to trying to contain it. You’ll be one who’s constantly talking about Jesus, constantly sharing the gospel, constantly talking to the unsaved about the way of salvation. Why? Because of being committed to prayer.

So, three keys to overcoming fear, shyness and intimidation, and becoming a bold witness. Number one, live righteously. Number two, focus on others. It will ignite God’s compassion in your heart. And number three, surrender to the Holy Spirit through prayer.