Over several years I have informally conducted my own poll on why less than 20% of professing Christians have witnessed to the unsaved about the Good News of Jesus Christ and here is a composite of what I have heard;
I don't know the Bible well enough.
I'm not where I should be with the Lord.
What do I do if they ask a question that I don't know how to answer?
God doesn't expect me to be a witness that is for preachers, evangelists and missionaries.
I'm too shy, I couldn't possibly get that personal with a total stranger.
I don't even know where to start.
What if they reject me?
What if they laugh at me?
What if I lose a friend?
What if word gets out at work, will I be taken seriously anymore?
I'm scared, I just can't do it!
One of the excuses written above came from a lady I polled just this past week. She answered and thought about her answer a minute and said. "Well, I see my problem, my focus is on me and not on God!" If you look at all the above excuses all of our reasoning is based on our deficiencies, which are huge, not the power of God! No wonder we are afraid, when we leave God out of the equation it's a wonder we all aren't terrified!
Confession of Jesus Christ as Lord to others is so vital to a believer that it appears as a condition of salvation! Romans 10:9-10; "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation." When was the last time you confessed that Jesus Christ is your Lord?
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32; "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." And again in Luke 12:8 Jesus says; "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, that Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God."
God knows man, He created us, He is well aware that our frame is just dust, yet over and over in Scripture He commands us to do things that overwhelm us, He knows that and He reassures us over and over again of three truths the first is found in today's title verse; the LORD your God is with you wherever you go and the second truth is found in 2 Corinthians 3:4-5; "Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but out adequacy is from God." And thirdly Ephesians 3:20; "With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or even imagine!"
Part two of this message will post on Monday, January 16th.
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