Well, a good day to all. I'm David Macrith, and this is the Bible Believers podcast. And this is the first in what I hope will be an extensive series of short Bible studies. Today, I just want to consider Proverbs 1130, which reads in the King James Version, He that winneth souls is wise. He that winneth souls is wise. Why is it wise to be a soul winner if you're a Christian? Well, first of all, because it honors God. The Christian life is about living for God's glory first. And the first thing about sharing the gospel and preaching Christ is that it brings glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. It brings honor to God and it glorifies God. We honor God when we share the gospel, when we go out to be soul winners. Secondly, it reaches the lost. It seems to be a strange thing to have to say, but if we're a soul winner, we're going out to reach the lost. We have a burden, a compassion, a mercy. for those who've never heard that gospel, who need to know Jesus Christ as their saviour. So the second thing about winning souls is that it reaches the lost without hearing the gospel, and they cannot hear it from anybody except the church, then they cannot be saved. And therefore we go out. It's wise to be a soul winner because apart from that, they cannot hear, they cannot believe, they cannot be saved. And we should be brokenhearted for those who are lost And then we should be soul winners because to be a soul winner is to be built up ourselves in the Christian faith. A plant that only grows up in a sheltered environment grows up weak and the first storm knocks it down. But when we are out and we're concerned to win others, to go beyond our comfort zone, to speak of Christ, to live a life that is Christ-honouring and sets forth the gospel, then we grow up in a storm. at times and we have to wrestle, engage in spiritual warfare with the powers of darkness, with the principalities and powers. We also face tough questioning often from people in the streets asking questions and trying to trip us up. And that questioning deepens our knowledge. We go away, we study the answer to the questions and we come back with the answers. We grow in our understanding of the knowledge. We are our witnesses tempered in the heat of spiritual warfare. And then sometimes we face physical or violent or verbal opposition for preaching the gospel. All of this causes us to grow as Christians. So it's wise to be a soul winner because this strengthens our faith. It's also evidence that we are Christians. It's not perfect evidence. There's no perfect evidence but It's evidence that we are Christians, that we have a burden for the lost, a desire to glorify God and a desire to make the Lord Jesus Christ known. And then it's an act of direct obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ to be a soul winner, who said, go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. So therefore it's wise to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. It's wise to go and to seek to do our part and use the gifts God's given us to reach others for the Lord Jesus Christ. And then it furthers the kingdom of God. It seems obvious, but if we are soul winners as Christians, then it furthers the kingdom of God. And we're very interested in seeing the kingdom of God furthered. It should be pure delight to the Christian. It should be pure delight to us, to the believer, to contemplate that the kingdom of God is furthered by our witness. That should be the desire that we would be very much engaged in the battle, in the struggle, in the warfare to make Christ known, to share him among the nations and to use our gifts for his glory. Then it encourages and sets an example for other believers. If a believer is being fervent in evangelism, if he or she is going out speaking to people, making time for evangelism and interceding for the lost and living a life for the glory of God and the furtherance of his kingdom, then that encourages other believers. And then think about the Apostle Paul, his example, when he was in chains in the Philippines, not in the Philippines, in the Philippines, when Paul was in chains, others were emboldened to preach Christ. And we need to be emboldened in our witness. And holy boldness, which comes from the Holy Spirit, is very, very much in need when we are seeking to win souls, which is wise. And then seven, it is absolutely the best use of our lives that everything is placed upon the altar for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a good use of our lives. Many are seeking lands and possessions and money and power. But the best use of our lives isn't any of those things. The best use of our lives is to live for Jesus Christ and for the furtherance of his kingdom here on earth. Best use of our lives is to be place everything on the altar in the service of God. The best use of our lives is to mould our lives around the plan, purpose and commands of God for us that we should serve him. It's wise to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. It's wise to seek to win souls to the salvation that comes from God by faith alone in Jesus Christ. The sands of time are sinking fast. Only what's done for Jesus will last. And then finally it is pleasing to God and comes with its reward. God delights in his people when we speak up for the Lord Jesus Christ and when we go out and we share the gospel and he works in us and through us in that way. It's pleasing to God and therefore it's wise because we delight to know that it is pleasing to God and it comes with its reward. He that winneth souls is wise Maybe a mark of the churches in our day that they are about God's business, seeking to serve God, seeking to make the gospel known, seeking to reach the lost. Maybe a mark of us as individuals also, that that's our delight, that's our life, that's our service, that's our joy, to be soul winners for the Lord Jesus Christ. May God help each of us to use the gifts that he's given us, in the spheres that he's placed us, for his glory. Amen.