OVERCOMING THE FEARS OF EVANGELISM...Winning in the Fields



OVERCOMING THE FEARS OF EVANGELISM


Introduction

When I was new to evangelism, my greatest fear was the fear of failure or fruitlessness.  Going out to witness without winning a single soul.  This fear was real in my life, and so I will do everything I knew how to do.  Things like praying and fasting, studying the Word, memorizing the word and even preaching to myself.

But, over the years, I have come to realize that it is important for us to understand that beyond zeal, we must have the Holy Spirit working in us and helping us.  A man cannot change another, but the word of God presented in the power of the Holy Ghost changes people immediately.

The Word of God is the seed we go out there to sow in the heart of men and so, we should study the word and meditate on it daily because whenever the word is preached properly, miracles happen.  Evangelists are men and women of the Word, and the Word of God is spirit and life.

When we are consistent in studying and meditating on the word, we should pray for the grace to present it properly to people and touch the heart of the hearers and lead them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  You know how it is when the Lord gives you a word of knowledge for someone you are ministering to.  The word comes with instruction on what to do, and the person is lifted that moment.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

That is how it should be when we are witnessing to people.   It is wonderful if the Holy Ghost gives us a word for the person we are preaching to, but if He does not, we should properly present the word of God to the person to the end that his spirit is lifted and hope restored.  

An Evangelist should be skilful to discover some of the problems his prospect is passing through and counsel him/her with the scriptures.  The person of Jesus Christ and His word should be introduced to the sinners.

It will be a disservice to the gospel for a preacher or evangelist to witness to someone who is depressed without being able to discern the problem and counsel him appropriately.  The person you are witnessing should feel some connection with you, he should feel that you understand what he/she is going through and that feeling will encourage him to receive your counsel.

That way, the impact you will make will be like a Pastor and his church members.  When the preaching of the Pastor touches the heart of his members, their soul is lifted up.  They are comforted that God knows their specific life experiences, and their faith rises to a new level.  They believe the Lord has spoken to them and they will easily tell you that's their Church and their Pastor.

These are some of the reasons we need the active help of the Holy Spirit when we step out to evangelize and win souls.  It is for the same reason the Lord told His disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

When you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, you received the power to witness Christ and win souls.  The ability to present the Lord Jesus Christ to the sinner for their salvation comes from the Holy Ghost.  When the unbeliever is sick and needs healing, you introduce the person of Jesus Christ to him or her because Jesus is the Healer and Deliverer.

When the sinner knows the Word of God, and the person of Jesus Christ as the Healer, such a person is empowered to live a victorious life in Christ. The only thing left is for him/her to pray with faith in their heart. 

The Fears of Evangelism

It should not come to us as a surprise that the fear many Christians have with evangelism is based on their feeling of inadequacy. Some people fear they don’t know enough of the Bible to answer unbelievers’ questions and to give a good account of themselves.

Other people are naturally shy and find it difficult to address the crowd of people of speak to strangers.  The truth is that each person's fear is what is hindering him or her, and should be addressed personally by the person prayerfully.  Since there is no challenges we cannot overcome, take steps to addressed your fears.  



The major areas of fear include:
1. Fear of what others will say about them
2. Fear that people they have wronged would confront them in the open
3. Fear that they don't know how to speak to others
4. Fear that people are not interested in the gospel
5. Fear they don't have the time to witness and follow up on converts
6. Fear that their life does not reflect the word they preach to others.
7. Many people are not sure of their own conversion

These fears are valid and true.  The spiritual maturity of People in the church is not at the same level.  Some people have developed their spiritual capacity and can handle meat, while others can only drink milk, so not everyone should preach during evangelism outreaches.  Yet, almost everyone can share tracts and invite people to the Church.  

The people that should preach should be those who are sure of their salvation, and who understand that soul winning is a call to rescue souls from perishing. The moment a believer understands that people in darkness needs to see the light of Christ before they can come out, they will take the command to win souls very serious.

That same knowledge of the urgency of the gospel will motivate the Evangelist to amend his or her ways and be properly positioned to witness to others.  It is important for us to realize that nobody can give what he does not have.  So the Evangelist must work on his spiritual development and come to the place of maturity in the Word and indeed.

Our Calling and its Purpose

Jesus told His disciples to go and preach the good News to all creature without fear of any harm, assuring them He will be with them all the way.  

In Mathew 28:18-20, He said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

God gave this Great Commission to all of his followers, not just a select few like the apostles alone, but to every one of us, me and you to witness His name and what He made possible for us at the cross.  He called us to evangelize, and tell others about the problem of sin, the provision of Jesus Christ at the cross for their redemption.

For, God desires that no one “should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b). His desire is that everyone should have the opportunity to hear the gospel and respond to it, that is why every believer is must do the work of soul winning.

Jesus insisted His disciples should wait for the baptism of the Holy Ghost upon their lives before they start witnessing.  This is a great lesson for the Evangelist, indicating that zeal alone is not enough for soul winning, you need the Holy Ghost.

 
How to Overcome these Fears

Fear comes from the devil to scare us from doing the right things.  But, there are times when the fear is from within our conscience when secret sin is present in our lives. 

Whenever there is fear in the heart, faith jumps out and the work of evangelism cannot be fruitful, so we must kill every iota of fear in the heart.  It is our duty to identify where the fear is coming from.  Is it from the devil to hinder us, or from our conscience, pointing to some secret sins and acts of ungodliness?  We should repent and confess every sin unto God and forsake them.  The following 5 steps will address every fear hindering you from soul winning.

1. Discover where the fear is coming from.

A person living right is bold as a Lion for fear is not from God.  God has given us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control - 2 Timothy 1.  So, when our conscience is pricking us and the devil comes with threats of untimely death, accident or disaster, we should examine our lives rebuke the devil with his threats.  But, if there be unconfessed sins, we should repent and confess them unto God and be rest assured the Lord is with us.

2. Know the Word
Knowing God’s Word is key to overcoming our fears of inadequacy.  If we can study the word daily, memorize it and store them in our spirit man, evangelism will be easier. The Word is active, living, convicting, transforming (Hebrews 4:12). As we meditate on it, the Spirit makes our convictions more solid and our behaviour more sanctified. 

Pursuing biblical literacy will transform our character and boost our confidence in God.  The more truth we hide in our hearts, the more truth we have to sow into the life of others.  We should read the bible and meditate on it daily.  We should memorize as many verses as we can and combine with prayers and see what the Lord will do for us.  Finally, we should obey the Word.

3. Rely on the Holy Spirit
The Lord told the disciples not to proceed without receiving the Holy Spirit.  So everyone that love evangelism and soul-winning should get baptized in the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Spirit is the enabler of the gospel including Evangelism.

The Holy Ghost is God dwelling in us to change and transform us into the believer and child of God whose life can bear fruits.  Through the Spirit we are emboldened and empowered, like the apostles in the Book of Acts, to speak life-saving words to those who are perishing (Acts 4:31, 13:52; 1 Corinthians 2:4). 

 4. Pray Aways
God commanded us to pray always, without season and  “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God” according to  Philippians 4:6.  We should take all cares to the Lord in prayer and lay at His footsteps, including our fears about witnessing.  He has promised to show us new and mighty things we know not, meaning the Lord will show us the way out of such problems.  He promises in Psalm 34:4 to deliver us from all our fears.

While fear is a natural inclination, it should not be allowed to silence your zeal for evangelism, as that will amount to disobedience to the word of God, to go and preach the gospel to all creature.  You should rather pray that His words would be a fire in your mouth and for the boldness to speak boldly the mystery of the gospel be released into your spirit. - Ephesians 6:19-20.

Remember that you are never alone, the Lord promised to be with you all the way through, and so it for generations till now, He is with you.

5. Live a holy and acceptable Life

A holy lifestyle is not negotiable for an Evangelist, a life full of the Word of God will help him or her to fulfil their calling to win souls.  This involves separating from worldliness, deliberate actions to crucify the flesh with all its passion and to obey the word in all things.  It also involves finding word solution to every problem we have, trusting in the Lord and His word.

CONCLUSION

We are living in the end times as promised in the bible.  But, there is a joyful life God has planned for everyone that believes His Son and walks according to His word.  

Jesus is coming back soon.  If you have not received Him as Lord and Saviour, today and now is the acceptable time.  Repent of your sin and ask Jesus into your life, and it shall be well with you.


FIRE...

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