Salvation of the Soul

Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, "Thus says Ben-Hadad: 'Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.' " And the king of Israel answered and said, "My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours." Then the messengers came back and said, "Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, 'Indeed I have sent to you, saying, "You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children"; 'but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put in their hands and take it.' " So the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, "Notice, please, and see how this man seeks trouble, for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold; and I did not deny him." And all the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent." Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.' " And the messengers departed and brought back word to him. - 1 Kings 20:1-9 
Ahab was willing to be servant to Ben-Hadad as long as his precious possessions were not taken from him.

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " - Matthew 4:8-10 
Having the whole world under him, Satan tempted JESUS with all the kingdoms of the world and their glory to worship him and be his servant. In worship, you surrender your whole self and submit your will to the one you worship. By rebuking Satan vehemently and flatly refusing his offer, our LORD overcame this temptation.

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? "Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." - Mark 8:36-38 
Our soul is saved and free when we worship and serve only GOD our Heavenly Father and the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. - Hebrews 4:12-13  
The word of GOD brings a revelation of the distinction between the very source of life to our spirit through the Holy Spirit - like the marrow, and relationships of the soul in life - like the joints.

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. - Matthew 10:34-39 
JESUS is the word of GOD made flesh. Unlike Satan the LORD requires our soul that is free from our possessions that possess us.

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great commandment. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 22:37-40 
The first and great commandment is to love the LORD our GOD with all our heart. He is our very life.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33 
Our main motive and goal in life should be to see GOD'S Kingdom come. This is what we should seek in life first.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ - Philippians 3:7-8 
This is the victorious life in CHRIST that is great gain!

Fishing and Shepherding

Fishing means catching the fish out of the water.
Shepherding means caring for sheep and lambs, protecting them and leading them to pastures and water to see them fed and refreshed.

Evangelism is like fishing. Worldliness is like the ocean where the fish are. Water is the environment that fish live in, breathe and thrive. When fish are caught out of the water they die. When people are brought into the Kingdom of GOD and are born again, they die to worldliness. There is a transformation in their very breathing system.

Sheep are terrestrial animals and they live and breathe on land. Believers are like flock that need to be protected, fed and led. Pastors are given the responsibility to care for the people who follow them.

JESUS instructed his disciples to be fishers of men and to shepherd the flock.

We are not asked to feed the fish or catch the sheep.
We are to catch the fish and feed the sheep.

Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." - Matthew 4:19  

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." - John 21:15 

Are you effectively fishing? There are many fish to be caught in the world.
Are you feeding the fish or catching them?
Are you providing the worldly environment that they are used to, in the Church and in the youth events, or are you effectively discipling them and seeing transformation in them?

How about your flock? Are you catching sheep or feeding the sheep?
Are you trying to bring people from other Churches to build up numbers in your Church or are you effectively teaching and discipling the people who are following you?

For the LORD JESUS' sake and His Kingdom's sake, let us be fishers of men and be shepherds of our flock.