Way Of The Master: Lesson 3 Overcoming Fear
Think of the last time you sensed the need to share the gospel with someone. Did you? Why not? Most likely, you did not witness because you had fear or negative thoughts just before you did it. The sense you feel to witness to someone is from the Holy Spirit and Satan hates that so he tries his best to give you negative thoughts and fear. Remember that next time. These thoughts are not from God. God loves all mankind and wants them to be redeemed.
You are probably familiar with a concept called “friendship evangelism.” This philosophy says you need to be friends with someone and build a strong relationship with them before you can witness to them. How long and strong a relationship do you need before speaking about God?
What happens to your lost friend if they die before you tell them of the need for a Savior? To be brutally honest, they will die and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. The Bible teaches that their blood will be on your hands meaning that you will be guilty of not telling them of the Savior. So, how could you even consider such an approach? We are to redeem the time for we know not when we shall die.
Let me ask you another question. Who are the hardest people to who we witness? Isn’t it our unsaved relatives? Why is this? Perhaps it is because we have a relationship with these closest to us and we risk losing or straining this relationship if we witness to them. We do not like to offend those closest to us.
This is why we need to make it a habit to witness. We should regularly share the gospel with strangers. We need to understand that we can build a relationship with someone in three to four minutes if you truly care about the person’s salvation. Remember, the person to whom you are speaking may not have a tomorrow.
To start the relationship we need to make good use of tracts. Many tracts at livingwaters.com make it easy. Some look like credit cards and million dollar bills. Others are optical allusions. These great icebreakers put people at ease and make it easy to swing the conversation to the spiritual. Witnessing is exhilarating and can change the loves of those around you and even change the world.