Overcoming Fear to Share the Gospel, Part 1

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE:
As faithful followers of Christ, we want to share the gospel but may fear experiencing opposition. But here is the good news! We can feel fear and be unhindered in carrying out the Great Commission. Not only can we joyfully share our faith despite feeling fear, but feeling fear is not a sin nor a failure. In this podcast episode, we will learn fundamental principles for overcoming fear and sharing the Christian faith! Our foundational scripture for today's episode is John 15:20.

KEY TOPICS AND CHAPTER MARKERS:
Principle #1:  Spiritual Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real [2:35]
·  Satan uses our imagination to cause fear.
·  Fear is Satan's chief weapon against God's people.
·  Fear can negatively impact our obedience to God.
Principle #2: Prayerfully Resist Allowing Suffering to Become an Obstacle to Sharing the Gospel [7:30]
·  Opposition to the gospel must be expected and accepted.
·  If persecuted, we must lean even more heavily upon God.
·  We must courageously arise to speak God's truth.
Ending Prayer: [17:36]

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED:
John 15:20
Hebrews 11:1
John 20:19
John, Chapters 20-21
Matthew 4:19
Jeremiah 3:14
John 16:33
2 Timothy 4:5, 9-10, 14-18
Matthew 28:19

CALL TO ACTION, EPISODE LINK & CONTACT INFO:
·  Podcast website: https://acvpodcast.buzzsprout.com
·  Email Evangelist Regina: evangelismtrainer@gmail.com
·  Link to website for free Christian tracts (donations appreciated): https://fellowshiptractleague.org/

Transcript

unknown: 0:13

Hi, Jesus friends.

SPEAKER_00: 0:14

Welcome to the Amplifying Christ Voice podcast with your host, Evangelism Trainer, Regina. Matthew 13, 15 tells us that people's hearts are hard and their spiritual ears cannot hear. So I am excited to prayerfully equip and mobilize Christians to share the gospel as the answer to the world's spiritual deafness. In this podcast, you will hear encouraging biblical messages and learn strategies to joyfully and confidently communicate the salvation message. Join me weekly as we discover how to transform our communities and the world through Jesus, the living gospel. 2 Corinthians 5 17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Season one, episode 10, overcoming fear to share the gospel. Our foundational scripture for today's episode is John chapter 15, verse 20. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. As faithful followers of Christ, we want to share the gospel, but may be afraid. We can fear rejection, persecution, having limited theological knowledge, shame over our past histories, self-perceived evangelism failures, not wanting to be viewed as judgmental, among other fears. But here is the good news, friends. We can feel fear and be unhindered in carrying out the Great Commission. Not only can we joyfully share our faith despite feeling fear, but feeling fear is not a sin nor a failure. In this podcast, we will learn fundamental principles for overcoming fear to share the Christian faith. Principle one Spiritual Fear is false evidence appearing real. The first principle to boldly sharing the gospel is recognizing that spiritual fear is simply false evidence appearing real. Fear is a small word, but it often significantly impacts our obedience to God. Most of us have heard of flight, fight, and freeze when there is a genuine physical threat, but Satan often fraudulently hijacks the human fear response, causing us to feel fright when there is no real threat. Our spiritual enemy works through our imagination to falsely tell us that a God-given task is dangerous. The Oxford English Dictionary defines imagination as the faculty or action of forming new ideas or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. God gave us boundless imagination to dream of possibilities, not hold us in bondage to the fear of the unknown. We are to use our imagination to see his scriptural promises, purposes, and plans through the eyes of faith, not fear. So what is faith? According to Hebrews 11, verse 1, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. But false evidence appearing real comes from believing Satan, the father of lies. He implants irrational fears within our thoughts that eventually become strongholds in our minds, paralyzing us from obeying God's will for our lives. Fear is the chief weapon that Satan uses to keep us out of the will of God, including sharing the gospel. Satan even used fear against Jesus' disciples. The same disciples who ministered with Jesus for three years, whom he commissioned to preach the gospel, quivered in fear and hid behind locked doors following his crucifixion. The disciples feared the Jewish leader's retribution if they preached Jesus as the Messiah. John 20, verse 19. But Jesus did not let his disciples remain in a state of fear. He appeared to the disciples three times in John chapters 20 and 21. Each time Jesus encouraged them not to fear and recommissioned them to preach the gospel. He did not rescind the call on their lives to be fishers of men, because they feared or disobeyed his initial call to service. Matthew 4, verse 19. Likewise, amid our fear, Jesus doesn't criticize us but calms the inner storms in our souls, giving us a divine exchange of peace for fear in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Bible instructs us 365 times not to fear. Some say God gave us this reminder for every day of the year. These biblical reminders tell us that illegitimate fear is unhealthy and destructive to God's plans for our lives and our obedience to Him. I remember Satan trying to use fear against me. The Holy Spirit prompted me more than once to minister to a young man sitting in a parked truck at a well-populated store in broad daylight. Initially I thought, what if he thinks I'm a nut? But I continued to sense the Holy Spirit's urging to speak to him. So I approached the truck, introduced myself, and asked him if he had any prayer needs. During our discussion, he told me he had backslidden spiritually and that his pastors recently called to encourage him to return to fellowship as he'd stopped attending church. He believed our encounter was a reaffirmation. He needed to repent of his sins, recommit to God, and renew his fellowship with other believers. I encouragingly reminded him that God is married to the backslider. Jeremiah 3, verse 14. And I prayed with him. He expressed heartfelt gratitude that I stopped to speak with him. What an opportunity I would have missed to be a usable vessel for God's kingdom if I had not exercised faith and obeyed. Principle 2. Prayerfully resist allowing suffering to become an obstacle to sharing the gospel. Jesus tells us in John 15, verse 20, that a servant is not above his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. The Pharisees and Sadducees were religious teachers in Jesus' day, and they were in constant opposition to Christ's ministry. Yet Jesus never wavered from God's mission for him to preach salvation or die on the cross. So why are we surprised and disheartened when people oppose us for sharing our faith? You might argue that Jesus did not become discouraged because he was God's Son. However, throughout the Old and New Testaments, ordinary men and women, just like us, continue to obey God under immense pressure. Think of Esther, Daniel, Joseph, and the apostles Peter and Paul. Their stories are a testament to the fact that hardship is not foreign to the Christian journey. In John 16, verse 33, Jesus reminds us, here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart, because I have overcome the world. In 2 Timothy 4, verse 5, the Apostle Paul clearly identified suffering as a significant reason why some in the New Testament church did not want to share the gospel or even left the Christian faith. Paul told the young evangelist Timothy not to be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Like Timothy, we may fear experiencing suffering if we share the gospel. No one wants to face opposition for telling others the good news of Christ, but friends, it happens. I have experienced opposition for telling others the good news of Christ. Once, while living in New England, a particular religious group that practices its faith on Saturdays called the police on our ministry because we dared to speak and sing the name of Jesus on a Saturday in a public setting for which we had obtained permission. The police found that our ministry was not in violation of the law. It was unsettling to face this type of persecution. But nevertheless, we continue to speak and sing the name of Jesus. In 2 Timothy 4, verses 9 through 10 and 14 through 18, Paul tells us what persecution he endured for faithfully preaching the gospel. Timothy, please come as soon as you can. Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Alexander, the coppersmith, did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said. The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength, so that I might preach the good news in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack, and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. All glory to God for ever and ever. Amen. You see, friends, Paul experienced abandonment by friends and ministry partners, whom he trusted. People intentionally engaged in actions that were destructive to the ministry. Paul experienced legal persecution because he preached the gospel. People he thought were his friends and genuine Christians did not stand with him when he stood before the judge for prosecution. Like Jesus, Paul was deserted by those he trusted. Yet Paul was determined to continue to obey God and preach the gospel. And this should be our attitude and stance when we face opposition in fulfilling the Great Commission. Most of us have not experienced the kind of opposition Paul and the New Testament church believers experienced. Yet we hesitate to share our faith for fear of being ridiculed, ostracized, judged, or treated unkindly. But God is calling his people in this age to rise up, be courageous, and speak his truth. When Paul faced spiritual persecution and human abandonment, he leaned even more on God, saying, The Lord stood with me and gave me strength, so I might preach the good news in its entirety for the Gentiles to hear. The apostle Paul did not shrink back from giving the gospel. He preached the entirety of the gospel, which means he preached about sin and the need to repent. He refused to preach a compromised gospel so that people would not be offended. And we too must not sugarcoat the truth to please people. Being an ambassador of Christ requires that we pour ourselves out for God. We must fight the good fight of faith and finish our race, remaining faithful. Fear and persecution will come as spiritual attacks. But God will strengthen us as He empowered Paul to stand firm to preach the gospel. So in review, the first principle we discussed was spiritual fear, which is false evidence appearing real. Whenever we are attacked with fear when carrying out something God has told us to do, we know that that fear is not from Him, but from Satan. 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. So when we begin to feel fear about carrying out the Great Commission or doing anything God has told us to do, then we know the fear is not from God, but it is from Satan. We need to rebuke or spiritually reject this fear as coming from Satan. We need to speak out of our mouths. I reject this spirit of fear because I know it does not come from God, it comes from Satan. So I reject it in Jesus' name. When a spirit of fear comes, don't let it ruminate in your mind. Actively reject it in the name of Jesus, for there is power in the name of Jesus. The second principle we discussed is prayerfully resisting allowing suffering to become an obstacle to sharing the gospel. Friends, there will be opposition to the gospel. Jesus told us in John 15, verse 20, that there will be persecution. So we need to arm ourselves with the weapons of our spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 18, the apostle Paul says, Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor, so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of this unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor, so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you will be standing firm, stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on peace that comes from the good news, so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for believers everywhere. So friends, this is what we need to do to overcome fear of sharing the gospel. During this week, I urge us to reflect and pray about the following questions. What opposition have we faced when witnessing or sharing our testimonies? How did we handle it? Did we turn to God for strength or were we discouraged? What insights can we learn from the Apostle Paul's response to opposition? His unwavering faith and determination to continue preaching the gospel, despite the hardships he faced, serve as a powerful example for us all. Let's pray. Father, you have encouraged us in your word not to fear. But sometimes, honestly, we feel afraid to share the gospel. Please give us the courage to obey the Great Commission despite our feelings, knowing we have not failed in our God-given mission just because we had feelings of fear. Empower us by your Holy Spirit not to give in to fear, but to exercise our faith, leaning on you for strength, as the Apostle Paul did, to fulfill his ministry. Jesus told us in Matthew 28, verse 19, to share the gospel. And our answer is yes, we will share the gospel. We choose to obey the Great Commission, not our feelings. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for spending time with me today as we explored how to amplify Christ's voice. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review and subscribe, tell your friends about this channel, and join me next week to hear part two of Overcoming Fear to Share the Gospel.