Overcoming Fear

By Larry Rosenbaum

The Effectiveness of Open Air Evangelism

I believe that SOS Ministries has had a tremendous impact on the people of San Francisco and many others from all over the world. We have printed and given out several million gospel tracts. We have trained thousands of Christians in evangelism, many of whom are now witnessing in their own communities. We have personally witnessed to thousands of people. We often receive calls and letters from people who were saved through this ministry. Countless others we will only learn about in heaven. We know God’s Word does not return void and that if we sow abundantly, we will reap an abundant harvest of souls for our Lord.

Last week, I was reading a biography of John and Charles Wesley. These men, along with Whitefield, preached out of doors several times weekly to as many as 25,000 people at one time, without an amplifier! Most churchgoers regarded them as fanatics for preaching outside the church, as they do today. They also often found themselves in the middle of riots, and were stopped from preaching by the police.

As John S. Simon wrote, “If Methodism had not come into contact with the mob it would never have reached the section of the English people which most needed salvation. The `Religious Societies’, shut up in their rooms, would never have reformed the country. It was necessary that a race of heroic men should arise, who would dare to confront the wildest and most brutal men, and tell them the meaning of sin, and show them the Christ of the Cross and of the Judgment Throne. The incessant assaults of the mob on the Methodist preachers showed that they had reached the masses. With a superb courage…the Methodist preachers went again and again, to the places from which they had been driven by violence, until their persistence wore down the antagonism of their assailants. Then, out of the once furious crowd, men and women were gathered whose hearts the Lord had touched.” (The Revival of Religion in the Eighteenth Century)

Overcoming Fear

Last month, I shared from a book I have been reading on John and Charles Wesley and the 18th Century Revival in England. While we sometimes face opposition to our preaching on the streets, it is nothing compared to the persecution they faced. Here are some excerpts from the book concerning one incident:

“Charles preached for three quarters on an hour the next morning. But the mob soon attacked, at first using a hand-operated pump to cover the Methodists with water. Then they resorted to a larger engine which broke the windows, flooded the rooms and spoiled the goods. We were withdrawn to a small upper-room, in the back part of the house, seeing no way to escape their violence…One brother they dragged away. They threw him into the horse-pond and broke his back.”

Continuing from Charles’ journal: “Now we stood in jeopardy every moment. Such threatening, curses and blasphemies I have never heard….They were now close to us, on every side, and over our heads, untiling the roof. I was diverted by a little girl, who called to me, `Mr. Wesley! Mr. Wesley! creep under the bed: they will kill you. They are pulling down the house.’ Our sister Taylor’s faith was just failing, when a ruffian cried out, `Here they are, behind the curtain!’ At this time we fully expected their appearance, and returned to the furthermost corner of the room…In about an hour after the last general assault the answer of faith came, and God made bare his arm. Soon after three, Mr. Clark knocked at the door, and brought with him the constable. He said, `Sir, if you will promise never to preach here again, the gentleman and I will engage to bring you safely out of town.’ My answer was, `I shall promise no such thing.'”

Finally they were able to leave town on horses, with the mob following. They pulled one brother off his horse, and two bulldogs tore his flesh. He got back on his horse and they rode off, singing the hymn “Worship, and thanks, and blessing.”

Fear of Witnessing

A great many in the church have a fear of witnessing. Our word martyr comes from the Greek word martus meaning witness. Because so many in the early church who witnessed died for their faith, the word witness became associated with death. We are fortunate in America today that we have great freedom to preach the gospel and little danger of physical harm or death for doing so. In twelve years of our outreach in San Francisco involving thousands of Christians, none of us have ever been significantly hurt while witnessing. Yet, it seems that fear of witnessing is even more prevalent here than in places where witnessing often results in death.

It seems to me that our main fear today that keeps us from witnessing is fear of ridicule or rejection. I believe that this is one of the main reasons we do not witness as we know we should–whether at work, to our friends and relatives, to people we meet in everyday life, or in special outreaches.

How do we overcome this fear? The first step is to recognize this as a sin, and come to genuine repentance concerning it. Second, understand that the reason we fear rejection, ridicule, injury or death as a result of obeying God as His witness is because we do not reckon ourselves dead to the world. Finally, we overcome fear of man by trusting in God’s love. Here are a few of the many scriptures relating to this:

“Do not be afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do….Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God; But he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:4-11).

“If any man come to me, and hate not…his own life…he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung” (Phil. 3:8).

“Fear none of those things which you shall suffer; Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried…be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). “And they over came him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Rev. 12:11).

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4: 18-19). “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4).

As we come to know God’s love, and are assured that He is with us and that nothing can come into our life that He does not allow, then we will be freed from the torment of fear and know His peace. “He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5-6).

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 15 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 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” 2 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.

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