Overcome Your Fear Of Sharing Jesus - Part 3 - Pursuing Intimacy With God
Overcome Your Fear of Sharing Jesus – Part 3
How to Turn Fear Into Confidence
In Part 1 and Part 2 we began to study how you can overcome your fear of sharing Jesus with others. And how you can learn to be confident in this very important kingdom work and mission. A mission that God has called and commanded all Christians to participate in.
We also began looking into God’s unbeatable team of 3. We looked at the first 2 parts of God’s unbeatable team. The powerful word of God. And the action and power of the Holy Spirit.
You can overcome your fear of sharing Jesus with others. And you can learn to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with confidence. And God can use you as His powerful and fruitful witness. To help others to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). And He is mightily at work in the hearts and lives of many lost people in the world today. God is looking for more of His people to faithfully step up and be willing to take the Gospel message to others. One of the biggest obstacles in you having the privilege and joy of joining God in this great Kingdom work He is doing is your fear.
Overcome Your Fear of Sharing Jesus
The Source of Our Confidence – God’s Unbeatable Team of 3
The Powerful Word of God
In Part 1 of this series of articles on how you can share Jesus with confidence, we talked about how we are on God’s unbeatable team of 3. The first part of this unbeatable team of 3 is the powerful Word of God. There is great power in God’s Word and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is the power of God to save people from their sins and the eternal punishment that comes with sin. Knowing that God goes ahead of us (see John 5:17-20) and prepares hearts and the harvest (see Matthew 9:37) helps us to be able to share Jesus with confidence. Also knowing that we are not alone and we are on God’s unbeatable team of 3 will help you to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with confidence.
John 5:17, 19-20 – “In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working. Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.”
Matthew 9:37 – “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
The Power & Action of The Holy Spirit
In Part 2 we talked about the 2nd part of our unbeatable team of 3. The action & power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to touch and open the heart of a sinner.
And to convict the person of their sins. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to open their spiritual eyes and bring them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:17-18).
And to convince the person that he/she is a sinner that needs a Savior. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to reveal spiritual truth, and that Jesus is the only One who can save them from their sins.
Our job is simply to lovingly, faithfully, and obediently share the Gospel message with others. To be the “fisher of men” that Jesus commands all of His people and followers to be in Matthew 4:19.
Another reason you can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with confidence is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does all of the heavy work and takes care of the results.
The 3rd Part of God’s Unbeatable Team of 3
Now we come to the 3rd part of God’s unbeatable team of 3. So far we have the powerful Word of God. And the action & power of the Holy Spirit.
But we still lack one thing to successfully do the 1st part of God’s kingdom work and mission. We still do not have someone to share the Gospel message. We still need a messenger. The 3rd part of the unbeatable team is … Us !
Overcome Your Fear Of Sharing Jesus
# 3 On God’s Unbeatable Team – Us – God’s Faithful Witnesses
We have the honor and the joy of being on God’s unbeatable team. And to join Him in His kingdom mission. Sharing the Gospel message with others is an important part of God’s plan for reaching the lost. We, the church, have the responsibility and privilege to share the Good News of Jesus with others.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
Jesus made it clear that if we are to truly follow Him, we must be “fishers of men”. Matthew 4:19 “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” A “fisher of men” is someone who loves Jesus and shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others in his/her daily life. A faithful follower of Jesus is a fisher of men. He or she is also willing to go to Africa or anywhere else in the world, if God leads. No matter the cost.
A faithful follower of Jesus is ready and willing to obey Jesus and share the Good News wherever they are. There are typically plenty of lost people in your circle of influence in your daily life.
Jesus also commands us in Mark 16:15 – “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” It is pretty clear.
All Christians Are To Be Witnesses
Acts 8:1-4 makes it clear that Jesus was commanding all of His disciples or followers to share the Gospel with others. Not just pastors or missionaries or full time ministry people or church leaders.
“And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles… Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.” – Acts 8:1,4
All of the regular people of the church faithfully shared the Gospel, wherever they went. Not just the apostles or pastors. Even during the great difficulty of persecution against the church, everyone in the church faithfully obeyed Jesus’ command to be fishers of men. And God used them mightily to spread the Gospel to many other places.
Acts 11:19-21 – “Now those who had been scattered (all believers except the Apostles) by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”
The Lord’s hand (God’s presence, glory, power, authority, boldness…) was with them because all of the believers in the early church understood that Jesus commanded and called all Christians to go and share the Gospel with lost people. And they all obeyed, and God was able to do great things because of their obedience.
They clearly understood that Jesus called and commanded all of His followers to go and share the Good News of Jesus. Go everywhere – to all nations. And share Jesus with as many as possible.
The Early Church’s Goal Was To Share With Everyone
When you read about the early church in Acts, and others like Paul, you quickly see that they were trying to reach everyone with the Good News of Jesus. They understood that God wants all people to be saved, and to have a restored relationship with Him.
1 Timothy 2:4 “God wants all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
They clearly understood that Jesus told them to go out and share the Gospel with as many as possible. Because God dearly loves them all. And God wants everyone to at least have a chance to repent and put their faith in Jesus, or reject Him.
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Paul clearly understood this too. And he faithfully followed and obeyed.
1 Corinthians 9:19 “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”
Acts 19:8-10 “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”
Blood On Our Hands ?
Ezekiel Chapter 3 has some very interesting language concerning our responsibility to go and tell sinners about salvation. And about the consequences of rejecting God.
Ezekiel 3:17-19 – “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”
God says that the blood of lost sinners that reject God are on His people, if they do not tell them about salvation and the dangers of rejecting God. But if they do what God commands, and tell them to turn from their wicked ways, then the blood of those who reject God will not be on their hands.
This is very serious and strong language God uses. Perhaps that is just an Old Testament thing. Many people would like to think so.
Will We Be Accountable & Judged For Not Sharing Jesus With Others ?
Is the “blood on your hands” language God uses in Ezekiel 3 just an Old Testament thing, and does not apply to us ?
Paul speaks about the same subject in Acts 18 and Acts 20. Let us see what Paul has to say about “blood on your hands”.
Acts 18:5-6 – “When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it.”
Paul told the Jews that rejected Jesus and were abusive to him that “your blood be on your own heads!”. And “I am innocent of it.” Paul was most likely referring to Ezekiel 3:17-19 when he said this. Paul understood that we are all called and commanded to share Jesus and the Gospel with others. And that we (all of us) are responsible for taking the Gospel to all lost people.
Acts 20:24-27 – “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”
Again Paul refers to the “blood on your hands” language like in Ezekiel 3. In verses 26 and 27 Paul clearly states that he is “innocent of the blood of all”. Because he did not shrink from declaring to them the whole counsel of God. Meaning that Paul faithfully shared Jesus and the Gospel to as many people as he possible could. Despite the dangers and threats he constantly faced. Paul even died because of obeying what Jesus told all of us to do.
Paul also meant that their blood would be on his hands if he did not faithfully and obediently share Jesus and the Gospel with them. And this is not just true of Paul and the Apostles. And it is not just true of pastors, missionaries, and church leaders. This is true for all of us Christians.
Reaching and saving the lost is so important to God that He sent His own son Jesus to suffer and die on a cross. It is so important to God that Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to “Seek FIRST God’s kingdom and His righteousness…” To have as our Top Priority building God’s kingdom (reaching the lost and then making disciples), and having a right relationship and close fellowship with God.
We will be held responsible and accountable if we are not obeying Jesus and sharing the Gospel with others. Christians will all be judged, and this is one of the main things we will be responsible for and judged for.
This does not mean that people can or will lose their salvation because of this. But they will certainly miss out on the great rewards and crowns that will be given to the faithful and obedient followers of Jesus.
Overcome Your Fear Of Sharing Jesus (And Be Confident)
The Holy Spirit And The Faithful Witness
When Jesus revealed the coming of his Holy Spirit to His disciples, He made it clear that both the work of the Holy Spirit and the witness of his followers are essential to His plan.
John 15:26-27- “I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me. Then you will also tell others about me.”
The power of the Holy Spirit makes ALL the difference ! God will make you successful when you faithfully share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He WILL accomplish what He wants to – Isaiah 55:11.
The believer witnesses and faithfully shares the Gospel with others. Then God gives the harvest and produces the results. This brings Glory to God (see John 15:8)
All we have to do is to do our part. Be faithful and share Jesus in love and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And then leave all the results to God.
When we faithfully share the Gospel, God promises that we will always be victorious in Jesus Christ !!! There is no reason that you are not able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with confidence. Most people are afraid to do this. But God will help you to overcome your fear of sharing Jesus.
God Produces The Fruit & Victories
2 Corinthians 2:14 says “Thanks be to God, who always leads us victoriously in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”
The context of the verses before and after this verse shows that Paul was specifically speaking of sharing the Gospel with others. If you will faithfully do your part, which is to share the Gospel with others, then the Holy Spirit will do His part.
And God will make sure that everything He wants to accomplish will be accomplished. God produces the fruit and the results. For His glory and for His name sake. He expects us to do our part. Which is simply be the messenger and share Jesus with others. And then God will do His part.
If we don’t do our part, share Jesus with others, then we are preventing God from doing His part. If we don’t do our part, then many will die without Jesus and forever be separated from God. And they will have to suffer the eternal punishment for their sins.
Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.
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