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Matthew Stuckey here and I want to give you another soul winning tip and in this video I want to talk to you about the importance of developing perception while you are soul winning. And so one thing that many people struggle with when they first start soul winning is perceiving whether or not the person they're talking to is believing, is interested, is staying engaged, is staying focused. It's something that newer soul winners sometimes struggle with because they're often very nervous about preaching the gospel so they're so focused on what they're saying and getting through their presentation that they don't necessarily always pay attention to what the person is actually thinking that they're actually talking to. So point number one when it comes to developing perception you have to ask yourself this question are they understanding or believing what you're saying as you're going through the gospel? Now of course you know we've talked about the importance of asking questions and finding out what is inside their heart but I want you to understand it's not just what they answer it's also how they answer the questions. And so for example if you ask them you know what do you think a person needs to do to be saved and they respond well the Bible says it's just by believing on Jesus Christ. Well that's a very clear answer but what for what if they were to say this you know what do you think you need to be say do to be saved and they say believe? If there's hesitation in the way they answer if the nonverbal communication indicates they're unsure if they're if you sense hesitation in the voice at all even if they give the right answer that indicates that they're not actually sure. And what that would probably indicate is they know what the answer is supposed to be or they know what you want them to say but they're not actually sure of it themselves. And I understand for new soul winners this is difficult because you're paying attention to what they're answering and you're waiting for those answers to move on but it's not just what they answer it's actually how they answer. Is there any hesitation? If you were to ask them do you believe that Jesus Christ is God and they're like yeah. If they pause at all then that indicates usually that you know what they're not actually sure about it they're thinking about it. So you want to really pay attention not just to what they answer not just the words but actually how they answer their nonverbal communication is there any hesitation whatsoever and if there is any hesitation what it probably indicates is that they're not a hundred percent for sure but if you give them a verse or two they might actually switch over. And so you want to pause and you know take some time have a conversation ask questions and pay attention not just to what they're answering but how they're answering. The other thing you need to do is this during the conversation you need to be paying attention to are they still interested in what you're saying. So maybe at the beginning they said they're willing to listen to the gospel but many times as we're preaching the gospel people lose their focus along the way. And of course you know there's there's ways and techniques to try to keep people's attention but it's not a hundred percent perfect. The reality is many people we start preaching the gospel to will lose interest along the way especially in today's world of this video game generation people have very short attention spans and so here are some indications that they are no longer interested in listening to the gospel. If they start looking at their cell phone if you see them start looking at their cell phone or you know looking at their watch that indicates that they're probably losing interest. Another thing is if they make a comment about how they need to go soon or saying well yeah you know I'm really busy or something like that it's kind of their way without being direct to tell you that they no longer have time. Or for example you know they might be using certain body language that would indicate to you they're not interested anymore instead of looking at you and looking at the Bible they're looking around you know they're just kind of distracted and that indicates that they're no longer actually interested. Another key thing is this are they answering questions incorrectly. So I've seen many times where I show people Acts chapter 16 I'm pointing at the Bible what does it say you have to do to be saved and they say be a good person. And it's just like are you not listening to anything I'm saying? I was like where does it say be a good person here? And when they're answering questions just completely incorrectly just very obvious questions that's an indication that they're not actually paying attention and so they're missing the gospel presentation. So what I often do in these situations where people are losing interest because they're not gonna get saved unless they're paying attention. If I'm toward the end of the conversation and I just have a couple minutes left I will try to persuade them to listen and say something like I just have two more verses or I've just three more verses or I'll just be one more minute and you know I know you're busy but I just have one more minute you know if you in and then and then you can go. But if it's during the conversation and they're missing questions and there's still a lot to go through I'll ask them a question like this you know would you like me to show you more verses from the Bible or do you just want to stop and think about what we talked about? And you know what 90% of the time when I ask that question they say yeah I just want to stop and think about what we talked about. Now the reason why I would ask that question is if I sense that they're no longer paying attention. In a normal conversation I wouldn't do that but if I can tell people are not paying attention I'll ask them a question such as that you know do you still want me to show you verses or do you still have a few minutes or are you busy now? And you know most the time then they'll say that they are busy and they don't have time. Now the reason why I would ask that is because I don't want to waste my time. If they're not paying attention they're not going to get saved. Now sometimes they will say that they still have time or they still want to see more verses and if that's the case I really try to get them to focus and say okay this is very important just give me five more minutes you know I know you have a lot going on but the reason why you do this is because if they lose focus and they're no longer interested during the Gospel presentation then they're not going to get saved. So one thing we need to do is develop perception as we're preaching the Gospel if people are understanding what we're saying and also if they're actually interested in what we're saying or if they have lost focus along the way. Anyway thank you and God bless.