Devotional:
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
— Matthew 10:32-33
What do you think of first when you hear the word “evangelism” or “evangelist”? Billy Graham? Bull horns on street corners and football games? Door to door witnessing? Cheesy tracts?
Evangelism noun
The winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ.
If I had to guess, I would say that if I took a poll of say, one thousand Christians, and asked what their biggest fear was, they’d say something that pointed to evangelism. Sharing my faith with my nonbelieving friends, witnessing to my coworkers, going to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel, telling my story in a baptism video…these all scare most of us. Why is that?
If our lives have been radically changed, why is it so hard to make that known? I think it all comes down to one very powerful emotion: fear. Fear of God, fear of man, and fear of failure, and fear of rejection all drive our ability to evangelize.
Fear of God. We don’t have enough of it.
“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” — Matthew 12:34
What does or doesn’t flow from your mouth is a result of what is in your heart. Scary for most of us. There are times I can recall that make me shudder at the knowledge of that verse. The way we live, the way we speak, the way we act around others is either an indication of our true fear of God or lack of fear of God.
Fear of God gets misconstrued most of the time. Fear of God does not mean you are physically scared of God like you would fear the boogie man, Freddy Krueger or creepy clowns. The fear of God is reverence, humility and knowing that God is bigger than anything you can imagine.
His power and might deserves fear and trembling in His presence because we cannot comprehend, nor do we deserve such a powerful love, grace and mercy that He gives us. That fear of the Lord should draw us closer to Him, not further away.
Christians don’t believe it is their job to evangelize. We think, “That’s the pastor’s role, right? I mean, isn’t that what they signed up for? To live under a bridge, eat out of trashcans and walk around screaming hellfire and brimstone with a bullhorn all day in sack cloth? Man, so glad I decided to be a doctor, realtor, attorney, financial advisor, contractor, or start my own company. Glad I didn’t sign up for that!”
If that’s what you believe (and we have emails to prove that it is, in fact, what many believe), well, I have some scary news for you. You did sign up for it! As soon as you placed your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you became just like Joby and all the other pastors at Eleven22. Actually, the roles of the pastors are to lead all the goobers in the congregation that believe it isn’t their job! Talk about scary! You think your job is hard?
“Andhe gave theapostles, the prophets, theevangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, forbuilding upthe body of Christ…” — Ephesians 4:11-12
Pastors, elders, church leaders will give an account for the souls of their flock according to Hebrews 13. Will the flock that sits under the teaching and shepherding of the leaders of Eleven22 answer the commission of the Lord?
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” — Isaiah 6:8
Ask yourself, am I obeying God as a true disciple of Christ? Is my fear of the Lord enough to witness to _______? What do I need to change about my attitude toward evangelism?
Fear of Man. We have too much of it.
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” — Proverbs 29:25
Why do we care so much about the approval of man? Why do we care what others think about us or say about us? We live our lives this way. We want the promotion, so we try to win our boss’ approval. We want the boyfriend or girlfriend, so we try to win them over with our good looks and charm. We want our parent’s attention, so we act out just to get it, even if it’s not the attention we so desperately crave.
We want the most Instagram followers and likes, so maybe we dress a certain way, filter our faces or do things that we know we shouldn’t just to get the approval of people we don’t even know. Heck, you can literally pay for fake likes or get them for free on certain apps just so people can see how much you are liked.
We have become driven by what the world thinks of us and take it too far when it comes to seeking the approval of man. And for what? Why are these people so important that it requires you to make poor decisions? More importantly, why is it so important that it paralyzes you from sharing the most important thing in your life with them?
Ask yourself, is Jesus enough for me? What am I seeking when I am not seeking Him? Is my fear of man paralyzing me from telling ___________about Jesus?
Fear of Failure. We believe we don’t have what it takes.
The lies of Satan will keep us from doing God’s work. This has been one of my biggest struggles in life. Fear of failure. Satan knows where to attack, and he is very good at it. He strikes where you are vulnerable and for me, it was this. Not a good enough wife, mother, worship leader and even taking the leap to write these devos.
I heard and still hear the whispers telling me I don’t have what it takes. It helps that I have the most encouraging husband in the world, but if I did not have the knowledge of Psalm 139 with the belief that He made me exactly the way I was supposed to be and that He does not make mistakes, I guess someone else would be writing this.
The insecurities creep in all the time, but my faith has become more grounded in knowing that “He has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
“Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” — Isaiah 41:10
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11
Will we fail at things in this world? Yes, but God does not reject us when we fail. Our failures are what makes us lean heavier on Him. When we lean into Him more, we can more clearly hear His call and will for our lives.
Start with telling your testimony to someone. You cannot fail at telling your story. Your salvation cannot be argued with. It is yours and God gets all the glory for it. It is a perfect opportunity to show Christ’s love to others.
Fear of Rejection. No one wants to be rejected because of their faith.
Rejection is a terrible feeling. It can leave us heartbroken, bitter, angry, sad, confused…the list goes on. Fear of rejection is tied to fear of man. No one wants to feel rejected. It has become much too important in our lives. The world says we must accept all things so that we can be accepted by all things.
Being “canceled” is a mark against you in society. A scarlet “c” if you will. But Christians, why do we care about being canceled? If we believe this world is not our home and that Christ has already overcome this world and all things in it, canceled or not, why is our hope in the acceptance of it?
“The Lord is by my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” — Psalm 118:6
We are afraid that if we share the gospel, we may lose the love and respect of our friends, peers, coworkers, family, etc. But where does that fear of rejection come from? It is not from the Lord. In this world, we will be rejected, ridiculed, and probably at some point canceled because we are doing what God has called us to do.
Be encouraged my brothers and sisters and count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)
How can you trust that you have what it takes to share Christ with someone this week?
Who are you thinking of sharing your testimony with as you read this?
What has been keeping you from sharing your faith? Fear of God? Fear of man? Fear of failure? Fear of rejection?
If we believe that God is truly with us, we know that He will make a way and the words and actions that we portray will not go out in vain. Step out and trust God to do the rest. Remember, you are the vessel, not the savior. You are called to be a witness from your backyard barbeque to the ends of the earth.
