Overcoming Fear
Dear Christian friends,
Over the past 20 years, I have asked many Christians why they don’t witness. By far, the main reason they give is “fear.” What are we afraid of? Persecution may soon come to our nation and we should be willing to suffer and even die for our faith. But right now this is unlikely, at least in the U.S. Sometimes, Christians fear physical harm while witnessing on the streets. Again, this is very unlikely. Over the past 20 years, nobody involved in this ministry has ever been hurt in any significant way.
The real fear Christians face is fear of rejection. Whenever we witness–whether to friends, family members, people at work, or strangers–there is a possibility of rejection. No matter how tactfully we present the Gospel, some people will get angry at us and reject us because of our faith. “The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” John 15:20. Jesus was rejected by many people, including the religious leaders. Even His relatives thought He had lost His mind. Ultimately, of course, He was crucified.
It is especially hard to witness to people we have known a long time and never witnessed to before. We fear most being rejected by our friends, co-workers and relatives. While we want to see these people saved and often pray for them, we often hesitate to witness to them because we don’t want to damage our friendships.
Witnessing to strangers is also difficult. Most of us were told as children not to talk to strangers. We often fear that a person will think us weird if we witness to them. Even though it doesn’t really matter what this stranger thinks of us, and even though our message is the most important message they’ll ever hear, we often are afraid to speak with them.
Like others, Christians tend to conform to the standards of those around them. If those in my church don’t do much witnessing, and witnessing is seldom talked about in my church, I may think that I don’t need to witness either. It is also hard to break long- standing habits. If I have been a Christian for many years and have never witnessed to anyone, it is hard to start. If no Christian leader has ever rebuked me for my failure to witness and my pastor does not preach that this is a sin, I may feel justified in not witnessing.
How do we overcome fear? We are all familiar with 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear; because fear has torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.” It is our love for God and for others that enables us to overcome our fears. Because we love God, we want to please Him and keep His commandment to preach the Gospel. It is only natural to want to tell others about the person you love. We also love our friends and family members and want them to be saved. God can give us love even for those we do not know, and a desire that they be saved. If you saw a blind man about to walk off a cliff, you would try to stop him even though he was a stranger.
Often, a new believer will be excited about Jesus and eager to witness, while those who have been saved many years no longer witness and have developed elaborate excuses for not witnessing. We need to return to our first love, to the place where we are excited about our relationship with Jesus and want to let others know about Him. We need to repent of our sins, including the sin of not witnessing, and be renewed into a right relationship with God.
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” II Tim. 1:7-8. Fear of witnessing certainly does not come from God. Satan does not want us to witness and our flesh does not want to receive rejection. We need to believe God’s word and trust that He will give us the power to boldly testify for Jesus Christ. “The fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” Prov. 29:25. If we call upon God and believe His promises to be with us, we will not be afraid of what people think of us or what they might do to us.
One would think that Christians would pay great attention to the last words our Lord spoke before He ascended to Heaven. Instead, we pretty much ignore these words. “You shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth” Acts 1:8. In Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, we often talk about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, but rarely about its primary purpose: to empower us to witness for Jesus Christ. Peter had denied Christ three times, fearing a servant girl. Yet after Pentecost he was boldly preaching the Gospel before thousands of people, defying the Jewish leaders and going to jail for his faith.
In Acts 4, the early believers–commanded not to preach about Jesus and threatened with imprisonment–prayed for boldness. “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak your word. By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness” (v.29-31).
God has provided everything we need to overcome our fear of witnessing. He has given us His perfect love, which casts out fear. The Baptism with the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power to witness for Him. And if we still are afraid, we can ask God for supernatural boldness to preach the Gospel.
Each day, pray that God will give you divine appointments. Be on the lookout for them, and start taking advantage of them. In addition, set aside special times for outreach–going to prisons or nursing homes, witnessing on the streets, witnessing door to door or some such activity. This establishes witnessing as a priority in your life and guarantees that you will witness consistently. As you overcome fear in these witnessing situations, you will find yourself getting bolder witnessing in your everyday life as well.
Start by setting aside a few hours each month for organized outreach. Just as you set aside time to read your Bible, pray and attend church, you need to set aside time to witness. Otherwise, it will get neglected as you get absorbed with other things. Just as we get physically flabby when we don’t exercise, we get spiritually flabby when we don’t exercise our “spiritual muscles” by witnessing regularly. As we resist the devil’s efforts to make us fearful of witnessing and submit to God’s commandment to preach the Gospel, the devil will flee from us in this and other areas of our lives (James 4:7-8).
Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matt. 18:16. The gates of hell are holding captive those who do not know Jesus Christ. God is calling us to smash down these gates and set free those who are captive. For too long we have believed the enemy’s lies and been living in fear. It is time that we believe God’s promises and carry out the task He has given us–to preach the Gospel in all the world.
Chinese New Year Parade Outreach
In last month’s newsletter, I wrote that we shouldn’t allow a little rain to keep us from witnessing on the streets. My roommates were kidding me about this as we drove across the Bay Bridge in a major downpour. When we arrived at Powell and Market, the rain had stopped. We set up our new “EZ-up” canopy and put our sound system inside. The canopy is 10′ by 10′ and provides barely enough room for three musicians and our sound system. Throughout the afternoon, the weather would change from sun to heavy rain. Then the sun would return. We even had some hail.
Paul and Noreen Coca and “Children of the Rock” ministered from 12:30 to 5 PM. Despite the rain, the area was filled with people, many of whom were there for the Parade. About 20 Christians joined us, including a team from Living Hope Christian Church in San Jose. We gave out thousands of English and a few Chinese tracts. It was also Valentine’s Day. One tract we gave out has a red heart on the front and reads “Love takes a change of heart.”
At last year’s Parade, Eric Livingston was arrested and put in jail. This year, we had no problem with the police. One officer even allowed us to drive our van down the barricaded street to pick up our sound system after the outreach. Despite the canopy, most of our equipment got wet. Still, everything works and we were able to hold the outreach in some of the worst weather we have ever seen at a rally. We also were wet and cold. But as we went home, we rejoiced that thousands of people had heard the gospel. Please pray that many of these people will be saved.
Coming Events
EVERY FRIDAY 7 PM. Witnessing in various S.F. neighborhoods. Meet at Vineyard, 7th St. and Harrison, San Francisco. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
Saturday April 11 San Francisco worship rally and outreach. 11 AM-5 PM. Cable Car Turnaround (near the Powell St. BART station). Call (510) 531-5325 for time and meeting location.
Saturday April 18 San Francisco worship rally and outreach. 941 Market St. (near Powell St. BART station). 11 AM – 5 PM. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Saturday April 25 Berkeley outreach. 12-5:30 PM. Call (510) 531- 5325 for more information.
July 31-August 8 SOS-San Francisco/Summer of Love Outreach. Year 19. Call (510) 531-5325 for more information.
Ministry Needs
Once again, I want you to know how much we appreciate your continued prayers and financial support for this ministry. God has been faithful over the past 20 years to meet every need. We refuse to beg for money. But God works through His servants and we are thankful for your obedience to Him. Please continue to pray for our ongoing legal situation, that the criminal complaint against Eric Livingston from last year’s Parade will be dis missed. Also pray for a speedy victory in our lawsuits so that we will have continued freedom to obtain permits and minister with out fear of arrest. Please pray that many Christians will partic ipate in this summer’s SOS outreach (July 31-August 8) and that God will guide us in planning it. Please pray for more workers for our Friday night and Saturday afternoon outreach groups. We still need one Christian to live in our ministry house. This house is not for new believers but for those who are ready for evangelism ministry. We also need a handyman and a roofer to work on our house. Finally, we still need to print several hundred thousand tracts to use this coming year.
Our Tape of the Month is Overcoming Fear in Evangelism by Bill Henderson. Bill is Director of “Word on the Street” Ministry in San Diego and ministers at evangelism outreaches in the U.S. and around the world. God bless you all. I hope many of you will join us for an outreach this month.
Yours in His love,
Larry Rosenbaum
