1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, A Bible Study Devotion. “I’m afraid to share the Gospel…”

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, A Bible Study Devotion. “I’m afraid to share the Gospel…”

I’ll start with a question. Are you afraid to share the Gospel? The answer is usually, yes. So the better question is, “Why are you afraid to share the Gospel?” There are several typically answers to this question. “I don’t know what to say, My past would prohibit me from having credibility, I prefer to be a silent witness, I don’t want to ram it down their throat, …I’m scared.” Don’t worry, this response is normal. When I say “don’t worry,” I only mean don’t worry that you are normal; you are. However, I am not saying “don’t bother telling people about Jesus; because you should.

Why should I tell people about Jesus? Let’s say you were going to leave your family for several years and you wanted to tell them something before you left. What would it be? Would it be important to you? Probably. Well Jesus did the same thing. Before he ascended to Heaven he said one last thing. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” Must have been pretty important to him. Notice he did not say, “If you want to, go and preach the Gospel, if you’re not too busy, if you are an expert at the Bible, and especially if you are not scared.”

“Ok, great. I should do it… but how?” If you want to succeed at sharing the Gospel, (and we just established that you should,) there are three things you must remember:

1. God entrusted you to share the Gospel. Look at verse 4. If God trusts you to share the Gospel, why don’t you trust yourself? Look at some of my other posts. Who do you think knows best, you…or God? God says he trusts you to share the Gospel; so trust yourself.

2. Make sure your motives are for God and not for you. This one is critical if you want God’s help. A personal note: I was a youth group leader for 4 years. Many new people came into the group. All of them were given the Gospel message. When it was given out of love and concern for their salvation, they received the message. Other times I went through the routine for my own glory and the approval of the other people in the group. On these times, I didn’t rely on God and drove the new people away from the group. I pray that they received the Gospel from someone more humble than me.

3. Trust that God will give you the words. This is the hardest part, but once you see it in action, you’ll be a changed person. For all of you people that say, “I don’t know what to say,” have faith. God knows what to say, and he will give you the words. Remember, God does not place you in situations that you cannot handle with his help. This is the greatest time to get closer to him. When you are doing His purpose. When you know it is something that you cannot do on your own. This is when you need God. Rely on him, he wants to help you. Remember this phrase that I heard at Promise Keepers. “God doesn’t care about your ability; he only cares about your availability.” Those are powerful words. Have faith in God and step out of your comfort zone. It will be hard, but I guarantee you’ll never forget it.

Do those three actions steps and see what God can do. Pray that God will place you in a situation where you can witness for him. Just remember to do it for God. Verse 6 says, “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.” Verse 4, “we are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”

Written by Chris Vasecka

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