Middle East - fearless evangelists.
Jer.46:28 - God tells His people, “Fear Not...For I am with you.”
Thats a command and He always enables us for what He commands us to.
What Are your fears?
Top 20 fears combined from multiple lists): 1 Public speaking, 2 social interaction, 3 loneliness and being alone, 4 rejection, 5 failure, 6 embarrassment, 7 what other people think, 8 sickness (specifically cancer), 9 heights, 10 flying, 11 insects (specifically spiders), 12 fear of having a panic attack, 13 claustrophobia, 14 deep water, 15 dogs, 16 vomit, 17 thunder, 18 financial problems, 19 death and 20 the unknown.
Most fear is in my mind, and is usually more destructive than the thing I’m fearing.
French Philosopher Montaigne said, “My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
Pr.22:13 - The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"
Remember FDR’s wise words, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Most of your fears won’t ever happen to you but even if they did, you have so much more (ex.heaven) to look forward to.
Fear encompasses 2 main areas:
Fear of physical harm or danger and also
Insecurities, fear of own incompetence, inabilities and weaknesses.
What has been the result of your fears in your life?
Fear keeps us in bondage.
Fear keeps us from growing.
Fear destroys confidence.
Self-esteem verses Christ esteem - Remember who you are in Him!
Fear keeps us from winning:
Carlos Hathcock was one of the greatest snipers ever (Saving Private Ryan Sniper Scene).
Took and accomplished a mission he was “guaranteed” to die on.
Fear keeps me from being who God made me to be.
Is.57:11 - “whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me...”
Who would you be if you had total victory over fear?
What is fear robbing you of?
My hope is that we would learn to look fear in the eyes and walk through.
Gal.5:1 - “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
God’s plan for you - Pr.28:1 - “The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”
Transition from general fear to fear barriers in our walks with God.
What fears prevent growth with God?
Just a few: Fear of man, Insecurities, Fear totally surrendering to Him, Fear saying or doing the wrong thing, Fear of evangelism.
Spiritual sounding lies created to protect fear of evangelism: Earn right to be heard, they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care, preach the gospel and use word’s if necessary, etc.
The truth: the world won’t like us and that is O.K.
2 Cor.2:16 - To some we’ll be the smell of death, to others life!
Lk.6:22 - Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man (Jesus).
2 Tim.3:12 – “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
But remember - Rom.1:16 - “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...”
I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for snowboarding - God uses all sorts of stuff to grow us.
Snowboarding taught me to take risks.
Hardest trick first.
Action quickly.
The longer you wait the more fear builds.
Same with conquering any fear - the longer you think about it the worse it gets.
Even when there is truly reason to fear remember:
Ps.23:4 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Ps.18:2 - The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Fear is doesn’t just disappear it must be conquered by taking steps of faith.
If you wait for fear to leave before you act, fear will never leave and you will never act - fear must be conquered.
Mark Twain - "Courage isn’t the absence of fear - it is the presence of fear, yet the will to go on"
So how do I go on, how do I act? I conquer fear by...
I conquer fear by Fearing God - that displaces other fear.
Mt.10:28 - Tells us not to fear man, but instead to fear God.
Fearing God means: Honor and awe of God.
Basically Submitting to His Lordship!
1 Jn.4:18 - “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”
Proverbs tells us the fear of the Lord is the source of knowledge and wisdom, it gives strong confidence, it gives and lengthens life, it gives contentment, wealth and honor, it is better than wealth, it teaches us to hate, depart from and avoid evil, neglecting it results in destruction, it comes by accepting His Words, seeking understanding diligently and looking for it as for treasure, we’re told to be zealous for the fear of God and to fear God always. Proverbs tells us that the man who fears the Lord will be blessed and the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Submitting to His Lordship involves dying to my self. So...
I conquer fear by dying to myself.
All through the Word but Paul put it this way in, Phil.3:10 - “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
Dying to self = power of His resurrection (no bondage of fear!).
Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, with a few hundred men, held off 20,000 invading troops after being given the orders to “hold and die.”
He said: `When you know you’re not going to make it, a wonderful thing happens: You stop being cluttered by the feeling that you’re going to save your butt.’’
Rev.12:11 - “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.”
When I fully surrender to Christ and die to my self (my own hopes, dreams, ambitions, desires and even my own life) - there’s nothing left to fear, I’m in His hands.
I conquer fear by Knowing and applying God’s Word.
Jos.1:8-9 - “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
I conquer fear by Praying.
Phil.4:6-7 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Note: don’t wait for peace - take the step, by faith and achieve His peace.
I conquer fear by Taking the step by faith in the power of the Spirit.
Remember the ABCD’S of being filled.
Russ puts it this way - “If faith had a feeling it would probably be fear.”
You will feel the fear but conquer it as you take the step, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Get yourself into a situation where if God doesn’t show up your dead.”
So recapping: Conquer fear by 1 fearing God, submitting to His Lordship, 2 dying to my self, 3 knowing and applying His Word, 4 praying and 5 taking the step, by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.
God has put us in this battle here and now, for a purpose; let’s run to the fight and fight to win guys.
Chesty Puller, the greatest marine ever, and his men were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of chinese troops in the Chosin reservoir.
His response: “We got them right where we want them now, there’s no way they’re gonna get away this time.”
Daniel - thrown to lions in stead of forsaking God.
And God protected him.
Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego thrown into the fire because they wouldn’t bow.
And God was with them and protected them.
Esther who said “if I perish, I perish,” then trusted God.
And God saved the nation of Israel through her courage.
Gideon, defeated the entire army of the Midianites with only 300 men.
Peter and John in Acts 4, Stephen in Acts 7.
Jesus’ disciples boldly “turned the world upside down.”
Today thousands are being martyred for Christ.
Let’s fearlessly turn this world upside down guys.
Remember the difference between fighting to win and fighting to survive.
He is so worthy of my fearlessly led life of service to Him.
Application this semester:
Write out your answers to the following 2 questions and share them with whoever is discipling you:
What fears are keeping you in bondage?
What steps of faith do you need to take?
Finally, be there with us Wednesday 12-2, for evangelism.
