Fear is a hindrance. A dangerous chain that has hindered far too many in the Kingdom of God. We have been called to many forms of sharing the gospel and fear actively wants to stop that. The Greater brand has been given the assignment to annihilate fear’s hold on God’s people so we can go forth and to His will without spiritual, mental, or physical delay. As an apostolic Kingdom full of Spirit-empowered ambassadors, it is crucial that we know how to overcome fear tactics and maintain a culture that is ruthless in obedience and driven by Spirit-filled boldness. If you’ve been asking, “How can I overcome fear of rejection when evangelizing,” get excited.
This blog post will clearly illustrate:
- What fear is
- What is evangelism and why we fear rejection in it
- And most importantly, how to overcome fear
So what is fear spiritually?
Fear is terrifying. That’s kinda its whole thing, isn’t it? It creeps into our minds, threatening terrible things that distract us from who God is and what He’s spoken to us. One of fear’s tactics is to aid or provoke doubt in the believer and make it appear urgent with a perception of danger. Fear is a form of pressure.
Take Peter following Jesus out onto the water. The scripture in Matthew 14 reads as follows:
22 Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The disciples see Jesus walking on water, approaching their boat. In verse 28 we see Peter calling out to Jesus, saying, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” In verse 29 Jesus says, “Come,” giving Peter a command to follow His likeness. The very next verse explicitly says that Peter saw the wind and was afraid. His focus shifted from Jesus and His command, and he began to sink. When he calls out for Jesus and is saved, Jesus addresses Peter’s faith and asks him why he doubted. In the end, Jesus’s dominion over the fear was made clear by His triumph over the wind when it died down in submission to Him.
This is what fear does. It wildly flails its arms to get your attention and tries to exalt things to seem bigger than God’s control over the situation or His faithfulness and compassion toward you. Think honestly. If God loves you perfectly and is greater than anything you could fear, why then wouldn’t He take care of you? (On a completely related note, click here to browse our bold pieces that’ll remind you that fear is absurd and our God is greater even in the midst of the storm.)
Both fear and doubt attempt to make cracks in your door of faith and mercilessly attempt to blow that door down and plunder what has been spiritually stored in you. It first happens in the mind. You see, the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. A mentality of fear is a direct attack on faith. It looms over us like a towering bully, essentially saying that God is not enough for us or even that we are not enough for God. These statements are both incredibly false and misguiding.
The Goal. What is evangelism, and why do we fear rejection in it?
We have been called to evangelism but what does it mean to evangelize? Evangelism is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as, “the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ.”
Evangelism is any process in which you share the gospel of Christ to present an opportunity to make an eternal-life-changing commitment to Christ. Typically it is thought of as going out and publicly telling people about Christ but it can also be done within friend groups, families, and any other place where the Holy Spirit wants to share God’s heart. Psst… by the Spirit’s guidance that can be anywhere.
What evangelism essentially is, is encountering another individual or group of individuals with the intent of sharing with them the ultimate Truth, the Gospel, in hopes that they will turn toward God away from their sins, confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and begin or renew a genuine relationship with Him that’ll lead them to serve Him fully and fulfill His purpose for their lives.
What you wear is also a form of communication and can therefore also be a form of evangelism. That’s why the Greater Clothing Brand provides Holy Spirit anointed, eye catching clothing with a message designed by the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. There have been many times that I’ve gone to Walmart in a Greater Hoodie and been stopped by someone saying that they like my hoodie. These instances are incredible opportunities to ask someone if they believe in God and start asking some further probing questions! The Holy Spirit will certainly guide you as you go.
If you believe in Jesus Christ and have shared Him with someone before then you have evangelized before. And if you have evangelized before, you likely have felt anxiety or fear that the person or persons you were sharing with would reject you. You might have found yourself asking,
- “Why do I fear people?”
- “What am I afraid of?”
- Or “How do I stop being afraid”
When we evangelize, we are leaving our comfort zones to enter someone else’s live. Many times God wants to encounter us right where we are. The idea of being uniquely encountered by God is exciting in a way that words cannot express. We are created to be in relationship with God and so by nature we crave it. When we evangelize, we step out of our own world and into someone else’s. The same reason that it’s uncomfortable is the same reason that it is appreciated. It’s uncommon.
We can become afraid of rejection because we’re extending ourselves. That makes us feel vulnerable. But God knows this and has given us specific instructions for evangelism (which we’ll certainly go over more specifically in another post very soon so join our mailing list not to miss it! And while you’re at it, join our SMS list to get empowering and encouraging text messages too!). Jesus says in Matthew 10:14, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” I believe this action of shaking the dust off your feet is directly tied to removing any offence or rejection that may have been trying to attach itself to you from your experience.
How do I overcome fear?
So, we know what evangelism is and why we fear rejection, so what can we do to overcome the fear of rejection then? It truly is simple. Expect rejection but don’t fear it. I know I have asked the question, “How do I overcome the fear of rejection when evangelizing” in my heart before. Understanding the gospel lets you understand what you’re presenting to someone. That can make it easier. More important, howver, is to let the Holy Spirit guide you. He’ll give you divine boldness and you’ll just need to be willing to be a vessel for the Lord your God. Evangelism is exciting. God wants to reach people and you get the honor to be used by the hand of God.
Jesus says in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” This means that we should expect rejection but not be discouraged or distracted by it. It must not take us off of our post. Our assignment MUST. BE. COMPLETED.
Jesus was literally perfect and the world rejected Him and hated Him to the point of wanting to kill Him. Would you want to fit in with people who align with that unjust mentality? We’re trying to share eternal life and the only way to be redeemed into relationship with God with people. It is reasonable for such a great opportunity to come up in conversation with humility.
Why and how do you share the gospel? Well the same way you would share an unbelievable scholarship. You familiarize yourself with its conditions and bring it up with bold excitement.
- “You’re going to school right? Have you heard about the SMART scholarship?! The benefits are incredible!”
- “Hi how are you?! I see you like these books too! I love them. I’ve read the whole series. I’ve actually been reading another really great book recently that has changed things completely for me. Is it self help? Not quite. Let me ask, do you believe in God?”
And just like that the hardest part is out of the way. The approach. Your “why” is more important than your “why not.” There is no reason to yield to fear when you have a God this big standing behind you.
God is Greater than your concerns. Who can stand against him?
God wants to turn your “why am I afraid” into “why should I be afraid.” Haha one more time here’s a shameless plug for our Fear for What shirts…
To overcome fear of rejection in evangelism, expect rejection and shake it off like dust on your feet. Even if it has to be literally shaking your body when you feel offence and rejection trying to attach to you. Remember how important it is to lead someone to the water to drink when they’re dying of dehydration. Remember too, that you cannot force them to drink. We can, however, pray to our Father in Heaven that He will work on their hearts and lead them to repentance before it is too late.
The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. We pray to our Father in Heaven to send more laborers out into the field and equip them for every good work. We are nothing without God. We are not qualified. With one last exhortation I exhort you to have a violent heart of God’s passion. Do not shy away from God’s will and He will back you with His might. This is the message of GREATER.
Read this thoroughly and be strengthened. Read this with an open heart and God will stir a fire in your spirit for what He has called you to.
One sentence reflects depicts our stories.
“Lord what am I but what you make of me?”
(Joel 3:9-16) Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”
Our God is capable. Our God is perfecting everything concerning us. Go forth. Do His will. For one phrase floods our hearts with vibrant boldness…
“God is GREATER… Who can stand against Him?
- Why do I need to share the gospel?
- How do I share the gospel?
- How does Jesus say to evangelize?