Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
Fear will torment you and punish you. Part 2.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Crisis Evangelism refers to the fact that during an extreme emergency people will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church.
1PE 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
People who would not normally come to church will be looking for a spiritual support that they would not have previously sought.
Unfortunately, Americans have been conditioned to believe it is the responsibility of government – local, state, and especially Federal – to respond to every crisis in our country.
This is the Church’s opportunity to provide leadership: light in darkness, peace in fear, and order in confusion.
Unless each individual Christian is prepared with a pre-developed will to survive, an understanding of God’s views on catastrophes, and a willingness to share his or her faith, our assistance will be, at best, minimal.
That level of preparation requires an investment of time, resources, and selfless risk, the courage to prepare.
2TI 1:7-8, For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
Webster’s dictionary = fear is “to… expect with alarm.”
As Christians, we are supposed to have a sense of expectancy, but a person who is experiencing fear lays in wait for what seems to be an unavoidable catastrophe.
One of my favorite descriptions of fear is that it is False, Evident, Appearing, and Real.
Statistics have proven that a vast majority of the things we fear never become reality.
In our mind’s eye, the false fears can sometimes seem more real than anything else around us.
2TI 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.