Just to reiterate…these blogs about conquering fear can be utilized in all areas of ministry and not just evangelism. There is anxiety in dishing out food to the homeless, needing to councel couples who may be talking about divorce, or even speaking in front of the congregation for the first time. There is fear and anxiety in all types of ministry. Even worrying about giving more can stress us out. But for the purpose of why this blog was written, evangelism is what we will talk about. Just keep in mind not limited to evangelism.
Why Does Satan Use Fear?In a war, it’s important to know your enemy. Who is our enemy in this case…it’s Satan, and his angels. It’s not the people we meet on the street and witness to. It’s not even the person who is yelling at us when we are on the ladder open-air-preaching. These people are victims of the devil. But when we are taking people from Satan’s team to our team, he’s not happy. Since Jesus died on the cross, and rose again, Satan has no more power over death. The only thing he can do is to keep people from coming to the Lord in repentance and faith. So the way Satan can do this is (1) after a person has heard the Word, to take it out of their hearts (Matthew 13:3-4, 18-19), and (2) to keep them from hearing it at all (Romans 10:14-17). For the lack of time and space we will only concentrate on the latter…hindering Christians from sharing their faith.
How Does Satan Use Fear?
Satan is not going to use all his power and make this elaborate spectacle to get you to not share your faith. He’s not going to kill your whole family, send demons into your sister, burn your house to the ground, and put a lot of effort into this. He just wants to hinder your walk the easiest way possible. Frankly…if I saw a demon possessed person…it probably would strengthen my faith. Fear is probably the easiest way to get a person not to witness. Since fear is a tool of the enemy…what does fear do really? Well, let’s take a look at a common fear most of us have…the fear of man.
Proverbs 29:25 –
The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.Another version might say:
“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe”.What does the fear of man look like? It could be the fear of losing favor or friendship with men. Fear of their reviling or persecution. Fear of what people think of you.
Back in biblical times, a snare would be a trap to catch unsuspecting animals for food and can be one of two things. One, a noose of some sort would be hidden by leaves or sand and blended into the surrounding ground so that animals won’t be able to see. When the animal’s foot gets caught, the noose tightens up and the animal cannot get away, and is stuck in one spot. It tries to break free and tires out over time. Not only that, but they are used to keep them in one spot. That’s the key here. Another way can be a hook in the nose or jaw as in fishing. The hook is hidden by a tasty worm, the fish see it, and swallow it not knowing they caught a hook. Then the fisherman reels in the fish and has complete control over the fish and pulls it where he wants it to go where. The fish on the other hand has no control. It tiers out from the fighting and is brought to surface, right to frying pan and then to the dinner table.
So think about us as Christians trying to share our faith. An unsuspecting Christian wants to witness and share his faith. He thinks it’s safe, and has the desire. Not thinking of the spiritual forces surrounding him, he goes in and makes his move. Anxiety grips his heart, and he starts to sweat. The “what ifs” run through his mind and reminders of what happened the last time he tried to give away the gospel. “What if I get made fun of?” “What if I can’t think of what to say?” “What if they get mad at me?” His heart races faster until he says “I can’t do this” and he quits trying. The person walks away, and the opportunity is lost. The snare in this situation was the fear. It kept you from moving forward, and kept you in one spot. Where is that? Its right where Satan wants you and you are tired out from the stress of breaking free. Like a hook in your jaw he just made you go where he wanted and you’re tired out.
When I did open-air-preaching for the first time I was scared to death. I was never gripped with fear like that before. I knew that God wanted me to do it, I just didn’t think it was then. I had the perfect opportunity and I couldn’t back out. It was either now or never in my mind.
Now you may be thinking, “yeah, but how do you know this is Satan at work. I don’t really believe he has any power over what I do.” Well, think on this.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 – (24)
"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, (25) in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may come to know the truth, (26) and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
Notice what is says in verse 26. Escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
Like a hook in your jaw he tells you where to go, and what to do. Now you may not like what I’m about to say…but I’ll say it anyway…and this is what got me. Look in verse 25. Who is Paul talking about…“Those who are in opposition”? Who is this? It’s unbelievers who are in opposition to God’s will. So what am I saying? I’m saying is that when we succumb to fear, we are being led by Satan and acting as though we are unredeemed…as though we are an unbeliever in opposition to God.
I want you to stop and think about this before you go any further. Meditate biblically on that for a little bit and let it sink in. We will never be free from the feelings of anxiety or fear, but we can overcome those to do what God has called us to do.
Next we will talk about how to break free from the snare around our ankles and the hook in our jaw.
