SAVE A SOUL by Awotiku Akinlayo David

Understanding people's perception about the phrase ‘Save a Soul’, I discovered that a very low percentage don't know the real meaning. The mindset of the world had been so corrupted that they don’t see the realities of life anymore, instead they misplace or accept the fake, corrupted, pirated, counterfeit and bad ones for the real and genuine one. They get involved in the culture and system of life as regarding the physical aspect of life. Devil had covered them with gross darkness to the extent that they saw the light and intentionally ignore it talk-less to follow it. They have gotten used to Cosmos and this has been spreading fear to all of us under the umbrella of it’s a vision from the Lord. They are so ignorant of the devises of the devil, they can’t discern when the devil appears to them as an angel of light to deceive them, once it looks like light, they won’t bother to find out if it is fake (illusion) or not, they would give in and accept any information that comes their way, hence promoting fear by dispatching them to others. WHAT A PITY?

I was listening to one of those scary and annoying WhatsApp messages recently, the person was explaining a vision, crying uncontrollable saying she saw God and it was a scary vision. Another one is the vision of someone saying he died and God took him straight to hellfire, he was already burning in hell when he said God gave him grace for another chance to come back to life to deliver the message which the Lord has showed him while he was dead. Another person said he went to heaven and God said he should come back to earth despite that he has made heaven already (as if it is by his work). Someone said Jesus took him around heaven, gave him ice-cream (Vanilla Ice-cream, lols), they sat down on a chair looking tired and the chair automatically configured itself to start massaging their body. These are not what God will show anyone in a vision. These stories are counterfeits and unscriptural compared to the original and genuine gospel. There is no such thing as going to heaven and those events happened then come back to earth to proclaim, none of these cases has ever happened in the bible stories. The rich man and Lazarus was a similar case but God never gave the rich man grace to go back to earth though the reason he gave was genuine enough to convince God to allow him but God didn’t instead God told him categorically that He already have many preachers on earth that are proclaiming that good news (and besides, Jesus used the story as a parable, it never happened).

Do you even know what gospel means? It means good news, good news are pleasing to the hearing, it is enjoyable, encouraging, edifying, exalting, issues solutions, infect corrections and gives instructions to the receiver as 2Timothy 3:16 has said.

Therefore all those messages are not from God because they are always promoting fear to the receivers. What annoys me most is after presenting their stories and have created fear, they will end it with appalling statement as: ‘Please forward this message to all your contacts and SAVE A SOUL through it’. I laughed profusely when I see these kind of messages and at the same time my heart weeps for the high level of people’s ignorance at the way they bastardized this powerful phrase ‘SAVE A SOUL’. The darkness covering them is not only a gross one, it has gone beyond what we can qualify with any English that can ever be formulated, it is a high level of gross, thick and grievous darkness.

Another case at which they have distorted the meaning of this phrase is the case of where people got information of some things killing people, example given: ‘don’t pick call from a certain phone number, they are using people for ritual from mere calling and someone just died of it this morning’ or ‘don’t eat or drink a certain thing, don’t take some certain drugs, don’t use some certain cosmetics’ and the likes. I honestly understand the fact that some of these information are real and correct but the conclusive part of the message is ‘Pass this to your friends and relative to SAVE A SOUL’. It is really disheartening to see the rate at which people have limited the efficacy of ‘SAVE A SOUL’. Instead of just saying you should forward so that more people can be aware and take caution, it’s as simple as that.

The primary aim of this article is to address this limitation and bastadization (if there is any English like that) of the phrase SAVE A SOUL, then give a concise explanation of what that phrase really mean and the efficacy of its usefulness in our contemporary life.

SAVE A SOUL is not saving someone from physical death but saving from eternal death. It’s beyond what human reasoning can fathom. It takes the Holy Spirit to help us comprehend and understand correctly what is embedded in the phrase. The only message that is potent enough and qualified enough to save a soul is the gospel of Jesus Christ which involves: proclaiming God’s love upon mankind, explaining how Jesus dealt with the nature of sin (His suffering, death, burial and resurrection), and also not leaving out how we were converted from slaves to divine adopted children of God.

After this you can start explaining how we have received the Holy Spirit and the benefits and potential gifts embedded in the reality of Christians. Another enjoyment therein is the deeper fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit. When we are witnesses to many people across the globe, we are doing the greatest assignment on earth in which God has commit in our hands.

Preaching and winning just one soul for Christ is tantamount to and equivalent to many souls, it’s like a multiplication mathematics equation. Example was the case of Billy Graham, he was the only person that gave his life to Christ the day that man of God had a powerful and mega crusade, you can imagine how many lives that has been won for Christ through him alone when he was on earth, even now that he is dead, many are still surrendering to Christ in the cause of reading his books and listening to his recorded sermons. Therefore when you become a powerful saving instrument for God in bringing a soul to Him, you are indirectly savings souls because the one soul will also save another and more, then we will keep multiplying and replenishing our kinds, this is God’s greatest desire and intention.

Saving soul is not done by scaring people with hellfire, it is not by sending negative messages to people in form of prayers (e.g. your best picture will not be used for you RIP…). This is one of the scary and annoying message I have ever hated in my life. Another one is ‘lord! Don’t let me be implicated, I will not suffer or go to prison because of the sin I never committed’. All those prayers has no meaning to God. Pray such prayers to the First Apostles, they will just rebuke you immediately and misplace you for devil. I trust my Brother Paul, he will categorically shout at you saying: ‘Get behind me, Satan’. A perfect example was the case of Jesus and Peter (Matthew 16:18). Another case was Paul’s to his people in Acts 21:11-14.

Also while Paul was in prison, he sent message that they should pray that he might get boldness to preach even in prison. What if your destiny is attached to preach in the prison and monitor them day and night? What if you are to preach to both the prisoners, the warders and securities not only by your words but by your life and behavior or character? So if God allows implications that will lead you to prison, it doesn’t mean God hates you, it means God wants to specially use you differently in that place, but it might sometimes be for a particular time.

All these are immature mentality, you’ve got to change your thinking sensation, you are a product of what you see, listen to and what you digest. When the bible was saying ‘Guide your heart…’ it didn’t only mean to ordinarily guide your heart from all that propels manifestations of evil alone as in Galatians 5:19-21, it also involves guiding your heart from anything that brings a fearful mindset to your heart.

If you really want to save a soul, stop loading your heart with negative events and traumatic experiences birthing more negative prayers, or else you will be raising fearful Christians, those that became Christian because they don’t want to die young, or because they don’t want wrong implications or sufferings, persecutions and other negative things of this world to happen to them, and basically they don’t want to go to hell. They never understand what it means when God was saying in Roman 8:28 that ‘All things (either good or bad or worse) work together for good to them that love God and are called by His purpose’. God never promise a smooth road or pleasant and enjoyable journey, He only promised a safe landing and enjoyable ending. So if you can’t endure to the end, you can’t enjoy the end. Endurance brings about enjoyment.

I am telling you again by the mercies of God, you are not saving soul by forwarding messages that constitute and promote fear to everyone, instead promote courage, renew strengths, infuse faith and express love, let there be Joy in the Holy Ghost too. Take for instance in John 16:33 – ‘These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’ Jesus’ message here is the type that should really scare us but He provided a perfect solution to it at the same verse. In actual sense there are some correct messages that sometimes bring fear but your spirit is sensitive enough to provide best solution to it immediately. “In Him we live, and move and have our being. He is our refuge, fortress, strength and present help in time of need. He has promised never to leave us for an inch neither will He forsake us.” These are some of the encouraging messages that exhort, edify and impact lives, they make ministry void of fear, make life better and especially the messages are potent enough to prompt the saving of souls.

If you really want to save a soul, stop forwarding scary messages that constitutes fear, instead first go through the training process: start by retreating yourself and dwelling much in the presence of God, be conscious of His presence at all time, be sensitive to the responses of the Holy Spirit at any given time. He is always ready to show and reveal to you what to do, where to go, who to speak with and how to save a soul around you per time. Take your precious time to study and meditate on God’s word so that you can be an approved steward that correctly divides the word of truth. Not neglecting the fellowship of brethren so that you can sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron, you will learn from other people’s experiences while they learn from your own experiences too.

I have made up my mind by God’s grace that what comes may, either good or bad, either implication or divine favour, either failure or success, be it persecution or even unto death, I have chosen to follow Christ, no turning back, no retiring, no expiring date. Mind you, I am not following Christ because I don’t want to go to hell, Nope, as a matter of fact, hellfire is not an option, it’s either I’m in heaven or I will surely go to heaven. I am following Christ because I want to bring more souls to heaven where I’m a citizen of. I am already his son and I will be his son for life, nothing I mean nothing can separate me again from him, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture (as The Message Bible puts it in Romans 8:35), and we are made for each other for life. Hallelujah!

I now carry His spirit within me. I’m an ambassador and His witness. His love I confess and profess because His love is shared abroad in my heart. Love is His nature and His actions. The Gospel of His love is what I study, meditate and preach. I am now into ‘SAVING SOUL BUSINESS’ today. He has never want anyone to perish but to be saved and come to the knowledge of His truth. (1Timothy 2:4)

SAVE A SOUL TODAY BY SPREADING THE GOSPEL.

I love y’all

King Hosanna cares.

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