3. It exacerbates our fears of being rejected.
Think back to the first time you asked someone out on a date. If you were like me, your palms were sweaty, your knees were knocking and your stomach had butterflies the size of pterodactyls. What made you so nervous? The fear of being rejected!
In the same way, when you evangelize, you put yourself on the line. You open yourself to the possibility of being rejected. In other words, we become like Jesus in a very real and tangible way. According to Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Jesus was willing to be rejected so that we could accept the free gift of salvation that was purchased with his blood. If we really want to follow in his footsteps, we need to be willing to be rejected as well.
4. It triggers demonic response.
Have you ever pulled a lion’s tail? No seriously, have you? I have! No seriously, I have. It happened 20 years or so ago at the zoo with my wife. There the lion’s tail was, sticking out of the bars, waving hypnotically back and forth … just waiting to be grabbed. It was connected to a large male lion in the big cat section of the zoo. He was sleeping, laying against the metal bars of his cage. I looked around to see if anyone could see me, reached over the concrete barrier and, to my wife’s horror, grabbed that furry tail with all my strength.
Don’t ever do that, by the way.
That lion jumped up, turned around and roared in my face. My wife ran, but I was frozen in fear (and I almost lost control of my bodily functions). I was still leaning over the concrete barrier, paralyzed by the ground-shaking loudness of his angry roar, when it hit me: I was eye-to-eye with the king of the beasts … and he wanted to eat me.
It reminds me of St. Peter’s warning to the early believers of the first-century church: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Who do you think Satan is out to destroy? Those who are pulling his tail! I am convinced that Satan will attack first those who attack him hardest. Christians who are prayerfully, consistently and lovingly sharing their faith are the ones whom Satan hates the most.
How do we overcome his attacks? Through prayer! We remember to clothe ourselves in the strength that God provides which will energize our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-20) and encourage us to to keep evangelizing in spite of the opposition.
5. It makes us realize how much we don’t know.
I can’t tell you how many times somebody I was sharing Jesus with asked me a tough question and I just stood there thinking, “Duhhhhhhhhhhhh.” There’s nothing more frustrating in evangelism than not having an answer to a lost person’s question.
But years ago, the Lord gave me a “get-out-of-jail” free card (so to speak) when it comes to this issue. He helped me realize that I don’t need to know all the answers. After all, He is the One who is all-knowing, not me!
So when someone I’m sharing Jesus with asks me a question that I don’t have the answer to, I’ll say, “Wow! That’s a great question! I have no idea what the answer is, but let’s keep talking!” I’ll then start praying for and searching for the answer. I’ll search the Bible, read books and go to those people in my circle who are “wicked smart” and find those answers. I’ll then go back and re-engage the conversation.
We don’t have to know all the answers because we know the only One who does (God!) And we can learn some of those answers along the way when we engage people evangelistically and are honest enough to admit that we’re still learning.
Yes, evangelism is hard, but it’s also necessary. It’s necessary because people hang in the balance between heaven and hell, between hope and despair, between God’s mercy and His wrath. If we really care about them, we’ll do whatever it takes to get the message of Jesus to them in spite of the challenges.
I pray this article encourages you to engage in the challenging, yet extremely rewarding, work of evangelism in your sphere of influence. And, by the way, once you learn how to share the gospel, it becomes much easier. If you want to learn how to simply and effectively share the gospel, download our free evangelism training app and it will get you started.
Viva LA Cause!
