Spiritual battle for evangelism; … and the Super Bowl.
My old pastor said one time that there is a spiritual battle you must overcome if you are going to evangelize. (Call it a satanic conspiracy if you want to sound hip and trendy)
He illustrated it this way. He said to imagine that you had Super Bowl tickets and you could not go to the game. Imagine standing up in a busy restaurant and trying to give those tickets away. It wouldn’t be that big a deal to even stand on a chair if necessary to get attention; and shout out, “Free Super Bowl tickets. Right on the 50 yard line. Here they are. Free. Come get them”.
But imagine standing in that same restaurant, on the same chair, speaking to the same crowd, but instead of tickets, you have a gospel tract or a Bible to give away.
And you are simply saying, “Jesus Christ offers forgiveness, salvation, and freedom from sin, to all who will come to him in repentance and faith.”
Imagining this second scenario, all of a sudden your heart is racing, your palms are sweating, your throat is constricted and your mind is in a panic.
That’s because it’s a spiritual battle. The devil doesn’t want you to open your mouth. And he does a very good job at keeping most people silent. Evangelist Ray Comfort (livingwaters.com) says that in order to overcome your fear of man, you just need to fear God more.
I remember I hadn’t been born again very long when I had a
very shocking dream.
I awoke in utter terror; with my chest
pounding and my heart racing.
In the dream,. I was standing beside a dead body. I didn’t know who it was. I didn’t know what happened to him. I simply knew that he was dead, and that I would be implicated in the death when the authorities got there. I had not killed the person, but somehow I would be blamed and was going to be in a LOT of trouble. In the dream I remember being so afraid because there was no place to hide the body, no place to run, no alibi, and the authorities would soon arrive.
When I awoke, this scripture was powerfully impressed on my mind.
“When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life,; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand…” (Ezek. 3:18-21)
This dream caused me to know I didn’t want to be accountable for the soul of one I should speak to. I knew I wanted to be delivered from the fear of man and be a faithful witness for Jesus. To my discredit, there have been times when I was ashamed of him and didn’t speak up in his name. I have failed miserably on multiple occasions. At those times, I would ask his forgiveness, and ask him to give me wisdom and boldness to faithfully bear his reproach and speak for him in the future.
He has been faithful to give me examples of true witnesses, and many opportunities to practice the spiritual discipline of evangelism. Leaving tracts in public places is relatively easy. Personally giving them to people is another step. Preaching to a crowd is like speaking to someone one on one, you just say it louder so all can hear. For me personally, even the thought of preaching has carried the exact same terror I got when my wife and I bungee jumped from a hot air balloon on our honeymoon. But when you open your mouth in obedience, God gives perfect liberty! Sure there are mockers, but it’s OK. The fear is gone now. The thought of doing it is much worse than actually doing it. Again- it’s a spiritual battle. And I mostly got over the pre-preaching jitters after only about 25 years
I would encourage you to do SOMETHING and ask God help you take the next step. You may not be a full-time evangelist. But whether you are a doctor, plumber, dishwasher, teacher, or garbage collector, God wants to use your mouth to speak truth for him. There are many unique places and situations where the only one God might have to use is YOU. Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19)
#3 1-27-2019