Proverbs chapter number 29. We are studying the topic of witnessing and some of the topics that we've discussed thus far under that heading are the Holy Spirit and witnessing the role of the Holy Spirit in our job to be witnesses. We are co-laborers. We are laborers together with Him. It is a a mutual dependence. It is a holy cooperation and it's a blessing that we are not alone in this great task of world evangelism. We've talked about the Bible. and witnessing. The gospel is the power of God to salvation. The incorruptible seed of God's word brings about the new birth. So it's important that we study the Bible and use the Bible and that we memorize the scripture and that we live it and have a holy testimony as we go out to proclaim the gospel. Our focus this morning is on a very important topic and that is overcoming fear. overcoming fear. I've read a lot of statistics. I'm not sure which one is the most accurate, which number to go with, but I've heard there's anywhere from 90 to 98 percent of people who claim to be believers or claim to be Christians who never do witness or share their faith or tell someone else about Whatever the number is, it's entirely too high. It should be 100% complete participation on the part of every saved and born-again child of God. We ought to be telling others about what Jesus Christ has done for us and what Jesus Christ can do for them. But there are a number of things that keep people from witnessing like we know that we should. I suppose there may be some who aren't aware that it is their personal responsibility. Maybe there's some erroneous thinking that would cause them to believe that's the job of the pastor. the missionary or the full-time staff person at the church, but no, every believer is called to be a witness to the saving grace of God. Maybe there's some who know they ought to and part of them wants to, they just don't really know how. to go about it. I'm not sure what I would say. I'm afraid of the questions that might be asked that I don't know the answer to. I don't know how to get started. Maybe in some cases it's just a lack of information, a lack of training, a lack of knowledge. But I believe that the root cause, the majority of the time that we fail to witness our hindrance is on some level in some way we gave in to fear. I think that would be fair to say this morning. In examining my life, in examining the times that I had an open door that I didn't walk through to share the gospel with somebody, if even just to give someone a gospel tract and I didn't, oftentimes the reason, almost all of the time, the reason that I didn't was fear had slipped in. The fear of man. Fear of what might happen. Fear of what response I might get. Fear of what someone might think. Now, when you say it out loud, those fears are really illogical. Those fears don't make any sense at all. But at the time, in your heart, they're very real. And when you think about how many people there are that claim to be saved and how few of them actually share this wonderful news of the saving grace of God. I mean, the greatest news in all the world. Jesus died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. He gives eternal life to those who trust him. He gives abundant life to those who follow him. Why is it that we keep this to ourselves? Scripture says, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh Come on, you're aware of that internal battle when the Holy Spirit impresses your heart. Maybe for a certain individual, maybe in a certain situation, there's some impression upon your heart. God lays it on your heart to open your mouth, to offer a gospel tract, to go and to be a witness, but there's this conflict that takes place on the inside. because your flesh immediately will tell you all the reasons why it's not a good idea and all of the excuses that completely will validate your failure to do what the Holy Spirit's impressing you to do. Am I the only one that knows what I'm talking about? I think I'm speaking for all of us this morning. Why is it that we're afraid? What exactly is it that we're afraid of? I think if we examine it honestly for just a moment, we would have to admit that basically the answers to those questions all comes back to one word, and it's not a good word. And the word is pride. Ultimately, We're more concerned for ourselves than we are for others. I'm concerned about what that person will think of me. I'm concerned about what that person will say to me. I'm concerned about the fact that I might look stupid or that I might say something really dumb. I'm just concerned about myself. I've dismissed the fact from my mind that most likely that is a soul for whom Jesus died that without trusting him will spend eternity in a devil's hell that God never intended or created them for and that Jesus could save them if they trust him but they can't trust him if they don't hear the gospel and they can't hear the gospel if somebody doesn't take the responsibility to give them the gospel and why not me and why not now? Well I'm afraid. Why? Because I'm proud and very self-centered and very self-absorbed, very self-conscious and I understand we all have different personalities and some are naturally more bold and some are naturally more timid, but we talked about the Holy Spirit in our witnessing and the fullness of the Holy Spirit gives us boldness and courage to say what we wouldn't say and to do what we wouldn't do and to overcome our natural personality. But not if we're, we can't be full of the Spirit if we're full of ourselves. And so I'm more concerned for others or more concerned for self. I'm more concerned for self or more concerned for the cause of Jesus Christ. Fear. Fear. Some form of the word shows up 660 times in the Bible. We're not gonna run all of those this morning. We'll summarize with four principles and make three applications at the end of the lesson. First point is very obvious. Fear is a problem. Fear is a problem. You're in Proverbs 29. It's a very familiar verse. I'm not there yet, but I will be momentarily. Proverbs 29, verse number 25, the Bible says, the fear of man bringeth a snare, a snare, a trap. A snare will immobilize you. A snare is designed to prohibit you from taking action, from making progress, from moving forward. And you will be trapped in your efforts to share the gospel with the world like Jesus commanded if you allow yourself to become ensnared by the fear of man. fear of man. It's just carrying too much what people think of us. What we need to replace it with is the fear of God, where we're more concerned with what the Lord thinks than we are with what people think. The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be saved. So fear, think about fear outside of witnessing. Just think about fear in general. What will fear cause you to do? It'll cause you to freeze. Each one of us has different things that we fear. For me, it's spiders. Not the tiny ones, the gigantic, creepy, hairy ones. The ones that haunt my nightmares. The ones that would kill you if you got within ten feet. Those are the things that I fear. Spiders. I hate spiders. If I see one of those things, I'm probably going to scream like a girl. For my wife, it's snakes. stuff of nightmares she regularly has. I can tell if she's dreaming and snakes are involved every time. Okay? And she sees a snake and she's going to act irrationally. Right? Going to freeze. Fear will cause you to change your course of action. The whole spider thing. Y'all know those huntsman spiders? I mean the great big ones, giant legs, look like they could jump 100 feet and attack your face. You don't know what I'm talking about? Look them up. Huntsman spiders. So over the summer, we take care of our neighbor's property, mow the grass and keep up the pool and stuff like that. And their garage seems to be spider infested. And many times I've gone over the intention of doing something I'm supposed to do, walk in, couple huntsman's, nevermind, I'll do it later. Right? It'll keep you from doing what it is that you're supposed to do, what you intended to do. It'll make you not do what you want to do. And fear, listen, fear is motivating. But in this case, in the wrong way. We've got to address the fear so we can do what's right because the fear of man brings a snare. Fear will keep you from witnessing like you should. Some people in the Bible who are motivated by fear fill these in as we go. The first is Saul in 1 Samuel 15, 24. He disobeyed God because he feared the people. The second is Herod in Matthew 14, 5. He changed his mind. about what he was going to do. He had in his mind to do the right thing, but it was not the popular thing, and so he changed his mind. Why? Because he feared the people. The next is the Pharisees. They had intentions of putting Christ to death much earlier than they did. They did not carry out those intentions, again, because they feared the people. So here is something they were going to do that was wrong, but they didn't do what they were going to do because of fear. But the principle stands, fear kept them from acting in the way that they intended to act. The blind man's parents in John chapter 9. Remember that? This man is blind from his birth. Jesus heals him. They get real mad in the synagogue. They call the parents in and they refuse to stand up and testify on behalf of their son. Why? Because they feared the Jews. That would be a great case study in fear. Job 32.6, Elihu. Elihu was one of Job's friends who came to comfort him. And they failed in that endeavor as soon as they opened their mouths. If you read the book of Job, they spent seven days and they were just with him. And a lot of times, people going through a bad time, that's just what they need. They just need somebody to be with them. And they did a great job for about a week, but then they started talking and Job told them, miserable comforters are ye all. But Elihu was the only one who was correct in the things that he said. The rest of the men were rebuked by God in Job 42, but Elihu had it right. Elihu was just saying, Job, I'm not sure why this is happening, but this I know. God's right. God didn't make a mistake. Elihu stood up for the righteousness of God, but he did not show his opinion until all the other men had spoken because he was the youngest, and Job 32.6 says he was afraid. Now, how often does fear keep us from sharing our opinion, our beliefs, our religion, for lack of a better word. Our system of belief that is based on the Word of God and that leads to eternal life. Fear will keep you from speaking up. Judges 7 verse 6. Soldiers, Soldiers left the battlefield because of fear. And we, this morning, are in a battle for the souls of men. We are called upon to earnestly contend for the faith, but you will not remain in that fight if you are afraid. Joseph of Arimathea. The Bible says he was a secret disciple and how many millions of those have there been ever since? Why was he a secret disciple? The Bible says for fear of the Jews. So, fear is a problem and we always have an excuse for our fears, but we have to start by acknowledging that that is invalid. That does not work. We cannot justify ourselves and allow fear to keep us from doing what it is that we ought. And this, again, is obvious. Come to 2 Timothy chapter one, another familiar passage. Fear is a problem, number one. Fear is not of God. 2 Timothy chapter one. And verse number seven, here's a great verse to commit to memory, to help us combat those fears that we face and experience when we have an open door to witness, when it comes time to witness, when the Holy Spirit impresses our heart to be a witness. Fear immediately wells up within. Here is something that we can take and use to try to quench those fears. 2 Timothy 1, verse seven, for God, hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." That feeling did not come from the Lord. So what was the source? It was either the world or the flesh of the devil, but nobody and no one who's for us. Those all are against us. That fear is not there to help us. There's something in the human psyche where fear is attached to our own survival. There are some things we should be afraid of, some things we should run from, some things that we ought to avoid, and fear helps us do that. It's a positive thing in that way, but when it comes to witnessing and fear rises up, that is not good. That is not natural. It is natural, but it's not of God. It's of the flesh. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. Here's what we have to do with those thoughts. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. in verses three through five, 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse number three. The Bible says, for though we walk in the flesh, We do not war after the flesh, okay? So we're alive and we're in the flesh, but it's not a physical fight. Verse four, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. We don't use swords, machetes, bazookas, machine guns. Those are not standard equipment when you enlist in the Christian army, okay? You don't get a handgun. You don't get a hand grenade. None of that stuff, but weapons for warfare are not carnal. No tanks. The church does not own a tank. It has vans to pick people up and bring them to church. All right? Weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We're in the flesh. We fight against the flesh. It's a spiritual fight. We need spiritual weapons. Verse number five, casting down imaginations. Okay, what is the fight? The fight is in our mind. The fight is our thoughts. Casting down imaginations, every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing to captivity every thought of the obedience of Christ. So I have an opportunity to witness. I'm impressed by the spirit to share the gospel with somebody. And fear immediately wells up. I've got this thought in my mind. What will they do? What will they say? I don't know what to do. I really need to go to the bathroom. Right? all these conflicting thoughts that are against the knowledge of God. They did not come from God. What do I do? I've got to arrest them. I've got to captivate them. I've got to lock them up and examine them in the light of God's word, and then throw them away, cast them aside, and proceed with what is good and what is right, regardless of how my flesh might feel about it. at the moment. I'm not saying that's easy. I am saying that's necessary and I'm saying the Holy Spirit will give you the power to do it. Fear is a problem. Fear is not of God. Point number three, fear is common. Fear is common. We won't turn, but we will quote 1 Corinthians 10, 13. There's no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. This is a common temptation. How common? Let me show you. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. The human author of this epistle, as you know, is the Apostle Paul, arguably the greatest Christian who ever lived, wrote half the New Testament, preached the gospel, established churches all over the world. He was responsible for the founding of the church at Corinth. He is writing to the believers. He had personally won to Jesus Christ and discipled and established in the faith. Now he's sending a letter back to that church and in that letter he says this, 1 Corinthians 2 verse number 1, And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. to the past. The record is in Acts 18 when Paul went to Corinth and he testified, he preached, he witnessed, he boldly opened his mouth and proclaimed the gospel and as a result these people got saved and a church was formed. Verse two, for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Look at verse number three. Again, he's pointing back to the time when he came and the church was founded. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. The apostle Paul went to Corinth, preached, started a church, accomplished great things for God all over the world, but he told them, when I came, I was scared to death. You don't read about that in Acts 18 when the Holy Spirit records the history, but you do read about it in 1 Corinthians 2 when the apostle gives his testimony. He said, I was scared. I was trembling. I had butterflies in my stomach. My knees were knocking together. I was petrified when I came to Corinth and saw the idolatry and the heathenism and all the people and here's a new religion and there's opposition and is it going to go the same way this way as it did in the last town? Am I going to get kicked out? Am I going to get stoned? Are they going to kill me? Are they going to arrest me? Paul was afraid. When you feel fear, that is not a unique thing. That is a common thing. You're not the only one. Everyone feels and experiences that, but Paul learned to get over it. And because he did, God used him in a great way. We too can learn to get over it and be used by God. And a great way. It is surprising to me to open the Bible and read that Paul was scared. That Paul the apostle was afraid. But it's very common. 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7, you know when Paul wrote to churches and he asked them to pray for him, what request did he give? What did he ask for them to pray for on his behalf? He asked that the churches would pray that God would give him boldness. Paul, you need boldness? You're like the boldest Christian ever. He was, but he was scared. And we need that boldness from the Lord. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse number 4. Look at this. Great is my boldness of speech towards you. Great is my glorying of you. I am filled with comfort. I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest. We were troubled on every side. Without were fightings, within were He says it again when he writes to them another time. He points back to the time that he came originally in Acts chapter 18. He said, when I came, I was scared. It's that common. The Apostle Paul was afflicted by it and dealt with it. So fear is a problem. Fear is not of God. Fear is common. Point number four, fear can be overcome. Fear can be overcome. overcome. Look at Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. Start verse number 12. Philippians 1 And verse 12 says, but I would, ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happen unto me have fallen out rather under the furtherance of the gospel. What are we afraid of when we witness? What's going to happen? Now, honestly, the threats that we face are much different than the threats that Paul faced and that the early church faced and that many of our brethren around the world today still face. You have to be afraid of going to jail. You don't have to be afraid of probably getting beaten. You don't have to be afraid of being martyred. You have to be afraid of people getting upset. You have to be afraid of somebody rejecting you, ignoring you, making fun of you, arguing with you. And I'm not saying those aren't real. I'm just saying it kind of pales in comparison to what many of our brethren throughout the history of the church have faced. But Paul said the things that did happen that caused me to be afraid, even when my fears were realized, God used it to further the cause of Christ. He said the things which happened to me have fallen out rather under the furtherance of the gospel. We've just got to trust God with the results. knowing that no matter what happens, even if I stumble, even if I goof up, even if they do make fun of me, even if they do reject me and mock me, somehow, if I'm obedient, God can use it. And He will. Verse 13, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all their places, and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Fear is contagious, but so is boldness. And Paul's boldness rubbed off on others, and it inspired the believers in Philippi, and it helped them to overcome their fears. Now, listen, fear is common. We go out witnessing. We all kind of feel the same thing. But if one person will step up, it'll help the others. You know how that works. And so here were these believers in Philippi, and Paul overcame his fear, and they overcame their fear. And in Philippi, where there was much opposition, read Acts 16, they carried out the work of proclaiming the gospel. Three keys to overcoming fear. We'll end with these quickly this morning. The first is love. The second is trust. The third is courage. Point A is love. Point B is trust. And point C is courage. Let's run the references. 1 John 4. 1 John 4. And verse number 17. 1 John 4. Verse 17. Verse 16, We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, and we have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We are instructed in the Bible, commanded in the Bible, encouraged in the Bible to fear God. That's a healthy fear. That's a reverence, an awe, a respect, an awareness of His justice and the certain consequences for sin. So we fear God and we love God at the same time. Loving God doesn't cast out fear of God, but loving God will cast out the fear of man. Loving others will help us deal with the fear of man. Again, why am I afraid? I'm afraid because I'm concerned about me. But if I could forget about myself and be more concerned about people who are on their way to hell, I'd find myself able to do something about it and tell them about Jesus Christ. So, how do we respond when we begin to feel fear in the face of our duty to be a witness? How about we pray for God to help us to love that person more than we love ourselves. Listen, in that first and second commandment, love God with all your heart, love your neighbor as yourself. Perfect love casteth out fear. And then trust. Look at Psalm 56. Psalm 56, verses three and four. You're gonna need these verses for your kids one day when they're scared of the dark at night. You need to be able to help them with that. These verses help. Psalm 56, how many of you were scared of the dark at night when you were a child? How many of you still sleep with the night light? Psalm 56, verse number three. Don't have to raise your hand. I'm just curious. Psalm 56 verse 3, what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. If I am fearing man, I am not trusting God. Can't do both at the same time. What time I'm afraid, I will trust in thee. In God, I will praise his word. In God, I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." So what Jesus said, Matthew 10, Luke 12, fear not them for you're able to kill the body. I mean, it's the worst that somebody could do. That's great for a saved person. We could go to heaven. Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body. And hell, if I trust the Lord, then I won't fear We need to remember that it is God who has called us to be his witnesses, and that God knows our capabilities. He knows our inabilities. He knows our strengths. He knows our weaknesses. He is aware of our personality and our disposition, and yet he gave each of us this job to do, and he knew what he was doing when he did it, and we can trust him. Hebrews 13, 5 and 6, we'll read it quickly. With this point, Hebrews 13. 5 and 6, trust the Lord. Hebrews 13, 5, let your conversation be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I mean, that's part of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. After he said, go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe what sort of things I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always. even the end of the world, he said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Fear arises, remember God is with you. Trust in him. And then courage, get Deuteronomy 16. Deuteronomy 16, courage is a great word. It's a great virtue. It's a great attribute. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is doing right in spite of your fears. Deuteronomy 16, in verse, there is not a Deuteronomy 16, 30. It's gonna be real difficult to read Deuteronomy 16.30 in the King James Bible. So we move on to Joshua 1.9. Joshua 1.9. Extra points if you can figure out what that reference was supposed to have been. Joshua 1.9, have not I commanded thee, be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. There's the promise, once again, of God's presence. We need to take courage in the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16.30, I'll read it. Fear before him all the earth, the world also shall be stable, that it should not be moved. Man, that is the wrong reference as well. I don't know who made these notes, but Joshua 1 makes sense. Courage. It's not the absence of fear, but it's something we could ask the Lord for. Yes, sir. We can try that, Deuteronomy 31.6. Go ahead and read it if you have it. I like that a lot better than Deuteronomy 16.30. So, love, trust, and then ask God for some boldness, some courage. Listen. I don't think the fear ever completely goes away. But when you give in to the fear, that doesn't make it any easier the next time. Does that make sense? And when we overcome the fear, the fear doesn't go away, but maybe it gets a little easier the next time. Okay? There's a book that many of you've read. It's on the recommended reading list. If you have not, I would encourage you to read. Best book on witnessing probably I've ever read, Will Our Generation Speak? There's an entire chapter on overcoming fear and it's a great chapter. I'd recommend it to you. All right, let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your goodness to us. Lord, for the truth of the gospel, for the power of Jesus Christ to save from sin and forgive and cleanse and justify. and give us everlasting life. Thank you for the hope of heaven, Lord, and thank you for the life that we have to live as your children. Help us, Lord, to represent you well. Help us to overcome the fear of man so that we can do our job and carry out this great commission. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen.