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Overcoming
Adversity & Fear |
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| Dad, I got spit on,” Matt said. I could hear a slight smile in his voice. “I guess your social life isn’t going so well, son,” I said, (my tongue well within my cheek.) I knew what he really meant. He laughed. Spiritual ‘Milchama’ They had recently witnessed at a New Age festival in Israel and shared the Lord with many Israelis there. Matt began, “People are searching, and there were a variety of responses. On the way to the New Age festival outreach at Dor beach…I got to talking with a couple going to the festival on the bus from Tel Aviv, and when they found out I was Messianic, they were very interested. They had many questions and were open to what I had to say. Unfortunately, the lady sitting next to us was not, and at a certain point she stood up and as my ‘new ager’ Israeli friends put it, she began to start a ‘milchama’ (war). Between her spitting on me and cursing us and trying to get the ultra-Orthodox who were sitting a few rows up involved, we were all basically in shock. It was a necessary reminder as we headed to the festival that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare, and that we’re in it.” My heart hurt for my son, but I was also proud that he was willing to suffer rejection for Messiah’s sake. Please pray for Matt’s new friends Ayal and Sarah, and that God will soften the hostile lady’s heart. We’re talking ‘Chutzpah’ Recently my friend Gerry called me. “Sam, will you pray over the Hebrew literature we want to distribute in Williamsburg, Brooklyn?” “Sure, I’m thrilled to pray over the literature, and you too!” Williamsburg is a particularly Orthodox Jewish area where Good News literature in Hebrew would be well understood. So on Saturday at Hope of Israel in Charlotte, we prayed over Maida, as she and her husband Gerry prepared to leave for New York. They would be in NYC that weekend for other reasons but didn’t want to pass up this opportunity to share Messiah where it’s needed most. Upon returning, Gerry and Maida let us know that all of the Hebrew tracts had been strategically distributed. Please pray for the seeds planted. Been There, Done That These accounts remind me of the many times I have been involved in outreach where believers were verbally assaulted and physically attacked for the faith. At one outreach in NYC at City College, I remember Miriam sharing her testimony to the college students gathered there as a group of religious Jews started pelting her with eggs. The “John Wayne” attitude of “they can’t do that to my wife” rose up in me. But immediately the Spirit of God assured my heart that Miriam had been His servant longer than she had been my spouse. As I looked at her testifying to the truth of Yeshua, she glowed, even as I imagine Stephen did in Acts 7. Are We Looking for Trouble? Why do we do it? Do we have a martyr complex? Not at all; in fact, we do all we can to be peacemakers. Though most of our witnessing encounters are quite peaceful, occasionally we receive a negative reaction to the Good News. Many times after a ‘negative’ reaction, that same person can be challenged to see the reason for their hostility. A conversation can then ensue to address the actual spiritual issues the person may have. Of course, we should never seek to deliberately offend or look for trouble. But in following the Lord, if we have to choose between obedient faith and disobedient avoidance of problems, there really is no choice. In the Bible, when a follower of the Lord was tempted to save himself through disobedience, he could only respond, “Should a man like me flee?” (Nehemiah 6:11). We are children of God by His gracious love. How can people saved by such grace live to merely avoid ‘tsuras’ (or troubles). Compassion, Conviction, & Conformity There’s a genuine urgency for the Good News to go out to a lost world, even to the Jew first. All our issues are far overshadowed by the reality of eternal judgment of the lost. This same urgency is what brought Yeshua to the cross, for He came to “seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 10:19). There are many good reasons to share Messiah in light of the fact that there is no other way of salvation. Here are a few: Y Compassion like Messiah for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. “Seeing the crowds He felt compassion, for they were as sheep without a Shepherd” (Matt. 9:26). Y Conviction in Messiah, knowing the Good News is our Great Commission.“Go therefore make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Y Conformed to Messiah, living out His life and love to those lost in sin. “As the Father has sent Me so send I you” (John 20:21). Fear: The Great Paralyzer There are also many reasons why people don’t share Messiah with their Jewish friends and neighbors. The main reason is fear. Sometimes it’s the fear of causing offense, of being perceived as narrow-minded. But if Messiah is the only way to God, isn’t it a worse offense to hold back the only hope for eternal life? As Yeshua said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (Jn. 14:6; Is. 43:10). Or, is it the fear of rejection? Just as Messiah was despised and rejected by men, He told us that “in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good courage. I have overcome the world” (Jn. 6:33; Isa. 53). Is it fear of failure that we will be ‘out-dueled’ with the sword of the Spirit, and that our Jewish friend will know more than we do? Remember, a word spoken in season will not return empty: “My word...shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Is. 55:11). The Power of God Yes, there are many reasons to fear, and they may all seem reasonable, but none of them are from God. When we came to faith in Yeshua, He who gave us the Holy Spirit did not give us a spirit of fear: “For we have not received a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). When we share Yeshua, we do not rely on our own understanding, but upon His power. This is the very power of the Good News itself, as Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the Good News of Messiah for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who will believe, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). We are not motivated by self-interest, but by God’s love which is “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). And we’re not to share in a foolish, careless manner, but with a sound mind, sensibly, even “walking with wisdom when with those outside the faith, making the most of our time. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Col. 4:5,6). It may take a bit of boldness, but mostly just patience and steadfastness. In the end we’re all just planting seeds. At a university outreach in southern California, one Jewish student was so disturbed by the message we were proclaiming that he threatened to kill us if we didn’t stop. But we knew we were within our rights to share in that situation, so we pressed on, trusting in the Lord’s protection. Several years later, I met this same Jewish man again and was amazed to discover that he had become a believer in Messiah. It seems that six months after the outreach he came under strong conviction, and gave his life to Yeshua! All we did was plant a seed; it is “God who gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:7). Breaking The Vicious Cycle This problem of fear is an ongoing cycle for all too many people. From fear, they go to guilt, from guilt to anger, from anger to self-condemnation or rationalization, etc. In the end, it comes down to a simple, but difficult choice between fear and faith. Recently we asked you to pray for Murray, who would not consider the Lord because he said that he was offended by God’s judgment and condemnation upon sin in the Bible. We have since found out, that his unwillingness to trust in Yeshua might also be due in part to the threats of his wife to leave him if he did! But in any case, it’s fear, not faith, that is motivating him. He has to ultimately choose between faith in Yeshua and fear of his wife’s reaction to his faith. So also for many believers: they have to choose between testifying of their faith in Messiah, or succumbing to the fear of other people’s reactions to their faith. It’s not easy, but it always demonstrates the need for His grace to help us trust and faithfully follow Yeshua. Do we fear rejection, pain or loss? Of course! But what we all need to do is ask for Messiah’s encouragement, and for His love to constrain our hearts. Our faith in Yeshua will overshadow the affliction of any fear that can come against us all. So let us continue to pray and proclaim the Good News to all with ears to hear, even to the Jew first!Y |
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