Questions To Help Stop The Fear Of Witnessing

Questions To Help Stop The Fear Of Witnessing

Acts 1:4-11

How many have ever tried to witness to someone? But you feel that you failed, that you bombed it and you feel like you just didn’t get the point across. Or how about this, you are talking to someone and you about ready to witness to them, and all of a sudden this giant feeling of fear stops you before you even get started.

Well today we are going to take a look a "Witnessing" and some questions to help us, not be nervous about sharing our faith. In our churches today we do a lot of things and have a lot of programs and we need them. Some of these programs help us to learn more about God’s word, and others just give us the opportunity to fellowship.

But one thing that we are lacking in, in the modern day church is witnessing, and believe me church I’m not standing pointing the finger at any one, because one day I’m going to have to stand before God and answer for all the times that I did not share my faith when I felt led.

Very few churches now a days excel in witnessing! Why? One of the reasons is because some of the people feel that, that is the Pastors job. That he is the only one who is called to be a disciple and to go out and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. But we also are called to share the gospel.

Now the other reason I believe that people don’t witness to the lost is "Fear". Fear holds many back from sharing their faith.

1).We fear the response of people.

2).We are afraid of what people might say to us,

3).We are afraid that someone might ask us a question that we may not be able to answer.

Well guess what! If that happens to you, you have just joined

many others who don’t know the answers to everything. We are only human and we don’t have all the answers to all the questions. Just say I don’t know the answer to that question. Just be honest with them.

Just like the blind man said when questioned by the Pharisees in John 9:25, He said to them, all I know is that once I was blind and now I see. A lot of people out in the world are just like the Pharisees. They want an explanation to what happens to individuals when they are saved.

You may not have the scripture at that time to help you explain your experience, Just be like the blind man, and explain to them what Christ has done in your life.

Or maybe you have the fear of "Lack of Education". You feel you don’t know enough scripture to witness. It doesn’t take a great theologian to share your faith, and what you know God has done for you and for others. "Look at the woman at the well" (Explain) "Many came to know Christ because of her testimony (John 4:39)"

And there are those people that say I can’t do this all alone. Well right there you just got smart. Because your right, you can’t do it with out the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. For example of uneducated men take a look at Peter and John in Acts 4:13. (Read)

In this verse we can see what God can do with uneducated ordinary men. Peter and John were definitely extraordinary men. These men were definitely different, they were no longer ordinary men. These men had no problem with letting the Holy Spirit work through them. This is the key, to let the Holy Spirit work through us. (Read Acts 4:31)

The difference between Ordinary men and Extraordinary men is the "EXTRA". You people here today are not just ordinary people, you are Children of the King and you have the extra and that extra is the Holy Spirit in you. Now it’s up to you how much extra you let the Holy Spirit work through you. "SHOW FLASH LIGHT ILLUSTRATION"

Real quickly today we are going to take a look at three Questions to fight our fears of witnessing (Read Acts 1:4-11)

Here we can see in these verses Jesus’ last moments with his disciples before he ascends to heaven. But as we look at these verses today we have to ask ourselves some questions.

The first question we have to ask ourselves is "What time is it"? (vv.4-7)

As we look at this, remember what had happened to Jesus before this. Jesus walked on the earth with His disciples and performed many miracles, until the day he went to the cross and payed the price for all man kind.

But now Christ has reason from the dead and defeated death. We can see in v.6 the disciples asking Jesus a question. " Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And Jesus replied by saying "It’s not for you to know the time or seasons".