HIGHLIGHTS: How to Overcome Being Ashamed of Jesus Christ Before People.
Most Christians today are ashamed of Jesus Christ. They are literally petrified to approach a stranger, or even a friend or family member for that matter—and preach the gospel of Christ, give their personal testimony, and invite them to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. Being ashamed of Jesus Christ can never be tolerated! Read these words carefully spoken by Jesus Christ.
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous
and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
Simply put, if you claim to be a Christian and are ashamed to tell others about Jesus, you are not going to be a part of the rapture when He returns. Wouldn’t it be a disaster for a Christian to spend all their years in church, doing church stuff, and miss the rapture all because they were ashamed to tell others about Jesus Christ, the Lord? Last week, I explained that Christians are ashamed of Jesus, because Satan harasses them with the “spirit of fear.” Fear has torment and produces a state of being ashamed. (II Timothy 2:7 & I John 4:18) Being “ashamed” is a human expression of reluctance (shy, timid, bashful, to remain silent, or refuse to speak out) to preach the gospel and witness to all men for fear of embarrassment, harassment, or persecution.”
The key to overcoming being ashamed are found in an admonishment that the Apostle Paul gave to his spiritual son Timothy. (II Timothy 1:5-8) I like to take the verses in reverse order to explain how Christians overcome being ashamed of Jesus. First, in verse 8, Paul tells Timothy not to be ashamed of Jesus and His testimony, but to embrace the afflictions that come with preaching the gospel. In other words, persecutions are a necessary part of preaching the gospel
that cannot be avoided. In verse 7, Paul says that God has not given us a spirit of fear—so we know that a spirit of fear is from the devil and cannot be tolerated.
To overcome the spirit of fear, in verse 6, Paul admonishes Timothy, to stir up the gift of God in Him. Timothy, like all believers in Jesus Christ, have received two gifts from God that can absolutely destroy the spirit of fear. One gift is the unfeigned (genuine) faith of Jesus Christ, and the other is the Holy Ghost. In verse 5, Paul instructed Timothy to stir up the gift of faith in him by remembering the testimony of Jesus Christ (His life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension), as well as the personal testimony of who Jesus Christ was in his life. When a Christian earnestly remembers the testimony of Jesus, and personal experiences with Him, it causes the Holy Ghost to witness within the person that everything about Jesus is TRUTH. (John 16: 13-15) This in turn causes Christ to be magnified in the Christian, just as it was in Timothy, and they become bold to proclaim the gospel to all men. When we remember Jesus in this way, the gifts of faith and spirit mix together and become the “spirit of faith, which is motivated by love, and casts out the spirit of fear. (I John 4:18) Thereby, making the Christian a willing partaker of afflictions that accompany preaching the gospel to all men.
So to every Christian I say, you must be filled with the spirit of faith to overcome being ashamed of Jesus Christ. Take time out daily, or as often as needed, and ardently think about the finished work of Jesus on His cross, and all He has done for you. And then, watch the Holy Ghost make you as bold as a lion to go out and win the lost to Christ. You are destined to be a professional reaper of souls for Jesus Christ and fulfill God’s plan for your life. Next week, we will begin talking about the “Gospel Cycle.” You will learn what the gospel message is and six supernatural events that occur, when the gospel of Christ is proclaimed before people.