Moving from fear to faith

Five years ago I remember walking up to total strangers and telling them they were sinners and were on their way to a torturous hell. It’s hard to forget. My friend Patrick and I went down to Hollywood on a Friday night and decided to stand in front of a porn shop and offer people warm words of fiery encouragement. No, I’m not kidding, that was the way in which I thought evangelism would best be honoring to God. I assumed cutting to the quick and getting rid of all of the peripheral fluff would be the best thing for the hearer if honesty was to be applied. Needless to say, Patrick and I didn’t receive a very warm welcome. Often I got the middle finger, or a nasty little comment which I would walk away thinking how good it was to suffer for the sake of Christ.

Part of the reason I was so painfully direct was because I was about to fill my diaper and I wanted to get it over with quickly. I was truly frightened at the thought of telling someone about Jesus without knowing them or upsetting them. It was my fear of evangelism which caused me to go on the offensive. I guess it’s kind of like a soldier on the front line that gets tired of waiting for a bullet to hit him or a bomb to blow him up, so he grips his weapon, starts murmuring something about God and country, and with veins bulging runs like a crazed madman towards the enemy. I found rather quickly that though this might be effective in war, it is often devastating to the forward progress of the gospel and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. And, I don’t get a medal for my bravery. So, I worked for the next couple of years trying to develop a style and rhythm of evangelizing the lost in the heart of the city. I discovered rather quickly that God was in fact a sovereign God in salvation, and no matter how slick my shtick, I couldn’t save anyone with my persuasive arguments, emotional appeals, or humorous one- liners. Jesus truly is the author and perfecter or our faith (Hebrews 12:2). This was such a startling discovery because it forced me to realize that my role in evangelizing is not the winning of the soul, it is the proclamation of the good news of Jesus- who He is, what He has done, and how He reigns as King. It is to be an announcement where the focus is on the majestic and awesome activity of our Trinitarian God, not the emotional wooing of an individual to repeat the “sinner’s prayer.” I have come to realize that the “good news” is only good if I tell of the good God, not if I try to get a decision by crafty salesmanship. Needless to say, not only was this devastating to my assumptions about evangelism, it was humbling to know that I get to participate in the work of God gathering His children, and that He gets all the glory, while I get the joy. Unlike my previous actions which focused on duty and method without much joy, this was radically transforming. One of the most beautiful aspects of trusting God for the saving of the hearer, is the freedom of telling the whole Gospel without apology, and without the fear of how a person may react to this news which both cuts the unbeliever and cures those who place their faith in Christ. I became free. Free from worry, free from manipulation, free from super salesmanship, free from doubt, and free from failure. There is no failure when the Gospel of the glory of Christ flows from the lips of those who love Him. All proclamation of our King is effective.

Now, this leads me to why I decided to write each of you that attend Kaleo. I am convinced that one of the most devastating and church stifling fears is the fear of evangelism. I have watched and prayed as many of you have wept for those you love. Family members, spouses, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and all those we pass by daily should be our concern. I won’t jump into an explanation of why they should be our concern, I’ll just assume that they are and now what do we do?

If any of you have become part of the Kaleo family, you realize that we have a passionate concern for the lost. This is why I study as hard as I do to communicate God’s word to you and to those you bring as guests, and this is why Drew and I have spoken much about organic, relational dialogue with those you do life with. It is a jealousy for God’s glory, and it is a consuming fire which burns deep in our souls and gives us the necessary courage and commitment to do all we can to see God work through us as we act as His instruments of grace to those that desperately need Him. In discussing with you ways in which we ought to cultivate relationships with non-believers, I see how easy it is to forget the importance and necessity of bringing those people to hear the announcement of Jesus reign as King, His call to repentance, and His message of forgiveness through faith in His righteousness and blood being shed on our behalf. It is this proclamation which God has chosen to bring faith to hard and broken hearts. If it is our greatest desire to see those we love “call on the name of the Lord,” and we truly believe that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” then what vehicle has God ordained which would transport the Gospel message which brings faith? Paul tells that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:13-17).

Paul tells us the usual way of hearing from God, and of Christ, is by the preaching of the word. This shows us the necessity and importance of the Gospel preaching, and it points out the focus and subject of the preaching, which is Christ! When I preach, I seek to preach the person of Christ, His offices, His grace, His righteousness, His blood, His sacrifice, and His joy which becomes our joy. If I withhold preaching this Christ as He has revealed Himself to us in His word, then I have not preached Christ, and the hearer has not heard from Christ. God has given gifts to His servants to courageously herald Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King. The reason He gives His gifts is to equip the ordinary man with extraordinary ability which ensures that He is glorified in the work of His servant. The mission of God to save sinners through the preaching of the word of Christ through publishers of peace, and messengers of the “good news,” is so important that God chooses His servants carefully just as an earthly King chooses ambassadors, heralds, and messengers for the glory of the his name and expansion of his kingdom.

If we are to believe the mission/vision statement of our church which says that “Kaleo exists to delight in God above all else, to exalt His name among all people, for His glory, through Jesus Christ,” it’s good for us to know how to begin to exalt His name among all people. The way in which the Bible sees this being accomplished most directly is by bringing those that don’t have Christ as their Savior, Lord, and Treasure, to hear Christ being preached. If this is true, then as a church we should begin to see unbelievers in our life. This sounds silly, but I believe one of the ways Satan handicaps us is by blinding us from unbelievers in our life. We develop a blindness and numbness towards people that we know who don’t know Jesus. I believe this initially comes from fear, which kills faith, which causes blindness. This diminished vision directs our eyes from God in faith and draws them to the cares of this world. The only way out of this cycle is by the beautiful gift of repentance, a repentance which is godly and motivates us to turn from our agenda and to adopt Christ’s agenda. This kind of repentance is always coupled with faith because faith is a trusting of something greater than ourselves, namely Christ. Faith clears our vision so that we see unbelievers, expands our heart so that we can love them, and lifts our eyes Godward so that we consider His glory and the fame of His name more beautiful and important than any temporary fear we might feel.

I ask each of you to consider in what ways each of us need to repent of our unbelief. When we hear the word “repent” we often think of it negatively. However, in Scripture, repentance is a gift of God and is to be desired more and more as you grow in your joy and satisfaction in Christ. Let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to forgive us for not seeing the lost as they truly are, for not loving them as we truly should, and for not trusting Him as we could.

As God gives us eyes according to His will, I pray that we would step out in faith and start asking those we know to come and hear God’s word. I have found when I am most honest as say something like- “You know, I’ve known you for 6 months now, and I have never asked you to come with me on Sunday to church. I feel foolish that I have been afraid of asking you to come because I thought you would blow me off, or think I’m silly for asking. Why don’t you come with me Sunday and after we can grab some lunch?” If you love Jesus, they probably already know it and aren’t shocked that you would ask them. As a matter of fact, people are usually amazed that you haven’t asked them. This sounds so frightening to consider, but I assure you, the more you love them, the more you see them for who they are without Christ, the more your heart is compelled to bring them to hear the word of Christ.

I want to challenge our church to start stepping out in faith and asking those that God has entrusted us to know to come and hear about this great God. There are no coincidences with God. Every person you know, God has providentially introduced you to, even if you barely know them. So, since God has brought these people into your life, let’s do all we can to prayerfully see God bring them in to His life.

I would love to hear your success stories, and what you perceive to be failures. Email me and tell me what struggles you’re having with moving from fear to faith so that I can help you by God’s grace to see the lost so that they might see Christ!

Yours truly,

Pastor David

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4