Conquering Fear - What Do We Fear?

In order to really grasp fear, and look it in the eye, we need to realize what we fear, and the situations when fear arises. Though, for sake of time and space I have limited this to sharing your faith. I understand we have fear in many other areas in ministry…but in the end, when we boil everything down, you can use how to conquer fear in other areas of ministry, and the reasons for them.

REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T SHARE THEIR FAITH
I’ve compiled a list of reasons why people don’t share their faith, and fear being the cause of most of them. The other “cause” we will see later.


I Fear I Will Suffer

Well, in my opinion (I speak as a man)…tough. Let’s face it; you will suffer for the gospel. In my “calling” as an evangelist, I have been yelled at, stuff thrown at me, insulted, ridiculed, made fun of, spit on, laughed at, lost friends over, tracts ripped up and tossed in the river, among other things that I’d rather not mention. But I will say this…to date, I have never had so much as a finger touch me. Though people said they wish that they could kill me, I was never punched, kicked, tortured, stabbed, shot, set on fire, drowned, or mauled. I consider myself blessed in that area.

I wish that I could say that people don’t suffer for their faith in America. People do. There are many Christians who are suffering for the gospel because they are trying to live out their faith in a world that is hostile to Christian ideals and principles.

The Bible has many references to Christians suffering persecution. Here are a few:

2 Timothy 3:12 – And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (NASB)

Philippians 1:29-30 – For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.


I think of the fate of some of the apostles themselves.

Philip: Stoned to death, Phygia, A.D. 54
Peter: Crucified upside down, Rome, A.D. 69
Paul: Beheaded, Rome, A.D. 69
Andrew: Crucified, Achaia, A.D. 70
Matthew: Beheaded, Ethiopia, A.D. 70
Thomas: Speared to Death, Calmino, A.D. 70
James (the less): Clubbed to death, Jerusalem, A.D. 63
John: Abandoned, Isle of Patmos, A.D. 63

Think of this…if we are the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of that body, why would the world only crucify the head and not the body? It is a blessing that the body suffer persecution. In 1 Peter 4:14 it says that the Spirit of Glory and God rests upon you. Don’t you want the Spirit of God to rest upon you? I sure do. Suffer today for Him, with Him, and rejoice.


I Fear I Will Be Rejected By Others

Though we may not pay a price regarding our lives, but our livelihood. Fear of losing a job, friends, or even family may get in the way of the One Whom we should serve. But in reality, shouldn’t we be fearful of God Whom we have received as LORD and Savior? When we forsook our sins, and came to the blood stained cross and asked for forgiveness we were like dead men risen again. What did those who were risen from the dead when Jesus walked the earth in human form? They were grateful, for those whom were cured from their disease, risen from the dead, they wanted more of Him. Shouldn’t we be like that too? Shouldn’t we be more like them.

The bible talks about what we may lose if we turn to Christ.

Matthew 10:21-22 – “”And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Matthew 10:34-35 –“Do not think that I came to bring peach on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”

We might have to give up everything for the cause of Christ. For those who do, will only come blessing from the Lord. The Lord will protect and guide us in our times of trouble.


I Fear That God Won’t Be There When I Need Him

I can’t remember a time where God ever let me down with anything I ever brought before Him. The only thing that I would ever even come close to that would be when my sister died when I begged the Lord to save her. But, ultimately, she let herself down. I, among others, shared Christ with her, numerous times, and numerous times she rejected every attempt. So in reality…who let who down? It wasn’t the Lord. He was faithful to send those who knew the gospel to minister to her. But she denied it every time. I cannot blame Him for that.

In the times that I needed His guidance, mercy, love, kindness and wisdom…the Lord provided abundantly what I needed when I needed it. It’s never what I thought “I” needed, but what God knows I need.

In Hebrews 13:5 it is written by God of Himself: I will never leave you nor forsake you. Do you believe that?

God not only teaches through His Word, but also through circumstances. Sometimes we as humans need to be “shown” something that we just can’t learn by reading.


I Fear That I Don’t Know Enough To Share The Gospel With People

Learn. You may be thinking that was a very insensitive answer. But seriously…in America, we have an overwhelming abundance of resources at our disposal…more than what missionaries in other countries have. We have libraries, books, seminars, classes, internet, DVD’s, CD’s, ministries dedicated to teaching evangelism, and other people who know more than we do. But we learn what we need to know with anything else.

Let’s say that your employer asked you to study for an exam, and whether or not you keep that job is based on the score of that test. What do you think you would do? You would study like crazy. Not only that, but you would be studying throughout the year so when it came time to take the exam…you would be more than prepared.

But with a more sensitive answer…you know more than the lost who don’t know really much if anything about the gospel. As a former Roman Catholic from New Jersey, I never knew what the Bible said about anything. In fact, until a couple months of being a believer, I never even heard of John 3:16…never. If someone would have even shared John 3:16 with me, I may have listened, or at least have the desire to read the Bible, and to know what to read. At least some sort of seed would have been planted in my heart. But it wasn’t until I came to Iowa when God really started to work on me.

But if you do get into a bind and don’t know what to say, a good backup plan is to share your testimony. So with that, know your testimony and how you got saved. No one will ever tell you, “Now that’s not what happened!” How could they? Were they there when it happened? And while you are sharing your testimony, in your mind think of something and pray the Holy Spirit gives you wisdom.

God will hold you more accountable because you live in a place where information is freely given. You will not be able to use this when you come before God on the last day.


I Fear That I May Say the Wrong Thing

Who says you will say the right thing either. I mean…who is the one who converts people anyway…you or the Holy Spirit. If you stick with the basics, and relay them to the other person…you really can’t say anything that will be out of line.

Think about this one. Who is Jesus? Ok, why did He come and die on a cross? What will happen to people who don’t receive Him as Lord and Savior? What is John 3:16 and what does that mean? Let’s face it…it’s not rocket science. How could you mess it up and say the wrong thing?


I Fear I Won't Make Any Sense

To the lost, the gospel doesn’t make sense, and that’s not your fault. But the bible says that because of the hardness of their hearts they cannot understand the things of God. But that shouldn’t keep us from sharing it with them either.

When I was a pagan and lost as lost can be, I remember the first time a person shared the gospel with me. I had just moved to Iowa from New Jersey and went to the Iowa State Fair for the first time. Walking around, I found myself at a booth displaying a model of Noah’s Ark. I thought it was the most fascinating thing, and the man who was in charge came over and talked with me for a while. He gave me a gospel tract and asked me some questions about Jesus Christ. I was Roman Catholic at the time, and I couldn’t understand him no matter how hard I tried…even though I was leaning in to the conversation and really hanging on ever word he said. After an hour I was getting impatient, I grabbed him by both shoulders, looked him straight in the eye and said, “I want to understand what you are telling me, but for some reason I can’t. You might as well be speaking Greek.” When I went home I must have read that tract 50 times front to back, and still it didn’t click. 19 Months later I walked into Heartland Christian Fellowship on March 2, 2003 where the Pastor shared the gospel with me, I understood it, and gave my heart and life to the Lord. Why…I don’t really know. Maybe I wasn’t ready until then to receive it. God only knows. But that shouldn’t stop us from at least sharing it with the Lost.



I Fear Because I Don't Know How To Get Started

Isn’t that with everything though? Really…how does anyone know anything? They learn it. It’s the same thing with sharing your faith. When I got saved I didn’t know either…in fact I used to make fun of people who did. But all I had to get me started was the burning desire in my heart to reach out to the lost, and to tell people of the God who lived within me. I hooked up with a man who has been sharing his faith for years, and learned from him. He discipled me in many areas, and from being under a godly man whom God raised up, I am a better Christian because of it.


I Fear I'll Be A Bad Witness

I can see that if you are a new believer, and really don’t know much, and come from a really rough background that fearing you would be a bad witness would be a thing to think about. You might drop an “F bomb” here and there, light up a cigarette and blow it into the person’s face, and may even start yelling at them when they don’t “get it”. No, I really don’t believe that one either. It’s the people who come from really rough backgrounds that turn to the Lord, and He changes them from the inside out, that really speak volumes about what God is doing in their lives. Take the apostle Paul. A man whom the bible said “ravaged the church of God” and Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, and transformed his life.


ARE THESE REALLY REASONS?

By looking at each reason why some of us don’t share our faith…what we find by going over each one is that they are not reasons…but excuses. Each one of these has been proven to be ineffective in keeping us in fear.

Today…cut the noose of the fear of man with the sword of the spirit. Take the first step in conquering your fear.

Backward Chrisitan Soldiers

God forgive us. Please pray for the church in America.

Sung to the tune of "Onward Christian Soldiers".

Backward Christian soldiers, fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight.
Christ, our rightful master stands against the foe,
But forward unto battle we are loathe to go.

Like a mighty tortoise moves the Church of God,
Brothers we are treading where we’ve always trod.
We are much divided many bodies we,
Having many doctrines not much charity.

Crowns and thorns may perish kingdoms rise and wane,
But the Church of Jesus hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never ‘gainst the Church prevail,
We have Christ’s own promise but we think that it will fail.

Sit here then ye people join our useless throng,
Blend with ours your voices in a feeble song.
Blessings, ease, and comfort, ask from Christ the King,
With our modern gospel, we don’t do a thing.

(anonymous)

Conquering Fear - What Fear Really Does....

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.