The Fear of Rejection
Because our alliance with Christ will be tested with some sort of persecution or difficult, we must resolve ahead of time to be loyal to him knowing God will provide real-time strength and support.
Luke
The Fear of Violence
Though in our fallen world we are not exempt from violent crimes and deadly persecution that will perennially threaten our well-being, the reliability of God’s good promises can enable us to renounce our fears.
The Fear of God
We must understand the clear and repeated call to fear God, first in view of our need for salvation and then in view of his absolute and ultimate authority over every aspect of our lives.
The Fear of Being Fake
Real Christians must fall into the same pattern as phony Christians, as though we will not face a day when our Father will thoroughly evaluate and call us to account for our actions and words.
Pugnacity
We must understand the reason people respond in a hostile way toward the truth, prayerfully and lovingly warning of the multiplied consequences of rejecting it.
Grandiosity
We must see the fundamental necessity of Christian humility, never promoting Christianity as a means in any way for self-promotion or self-aggrandizement.
Affectation
We must be careful not to win people over to some sort of cultural Christianity that gives an impression of conversion, when in fact, they have not been regenerated from the inside out.
Insularity
We must prepare to expose and respond to our generation’s resistance to the truth – foundational truths of the gospel that God continues to clearly communicate to every generation.
Incredulity
Jesus has more than adequately proven his status as Savior and Lord, so we must be careful not to avoid (or allow the avoidance of) the implications of those realities because of sinful pride.
Diversion
It is easy to replace a devoted and obedient submission to Christ with some lesser arrangement in our minds – something that we hope will insulate us from what following Christ may cost.
Propriety
We must understand the problem of people who are content to ask and receive God’s gracious and generous gifts without the costs, sacrifices, and devotion associated with following Christ.
Cynicism
We must understand some of the motives of those who react cynically and skeptically to the gospel, responding to them with gentleness and respect but never devoid of urgency.
Asking with Confidence in a Good God
Regardless of the answers to our prayers we must remember that God is infinitely good and loving toward his redeemed people, and that above all we have the promise of his Spirit in our lives.
When to Stop Praying
We must remember that prayer is not an effort to overcome God’s unwillingness, but rather we pray persistently in faith to a good and generous God in hopes of advancing his good plans.
The Prayer of a Righteous Person
We can pray the powerful prayers of a righteous person that are spoken of in James 5:16 when we are careful to sincerely confess our sins and wholehearted turn from them.
When Praying About Our Needs
Our praying for everyday needs and desires must be thoughtfully governed by a sense of God’s eternal agenda, remembering that all good things come from his strong and compassionate hand.
Remembering Who We are Talking To
Prayer must be governed and influenced by the mindful and accurate understanding that God is transcendent and perfectly righteous.
The Importance of Prayer
We must see our need to improve our praying and resolve to do so by learning from the pattern and teaching of the fruitful and godly people of the Bible.
Workers Who Keep First Things First
When we serve Christ in evangelism (or in anything) we must always see our service as personally offered to Christ and never allow it to become an end in itself.
The Importance of Costly Cultivation
In our evangelism we must do the difficult and often uncomfortable work of exposing sin by presenting God’s holy laws in the context of expressing true compassion and sacrificial love.
When You're the Farmer of the Year
We should be grateful for the foretaste of God’s power that is manifest through us in our evangelism that changes lives and toward us in our own salvation and personal transformation.
When Your Efforts Don't Yield Fruit
We need to be discerning in our evangelism, knowing when to move on and understand the gravity of the situation when we have to.
Taking Risks to Reap for Christ
Sharing the gospel will feel risky; any pattern of evangelism must be accompanied by a sincere trust in God’s provision as we boldly speak up for Christ and the good news of his kingdom.
Learning to Care About God's Fields
Jesus points out a few obvious yet easily forgotten realities which should drive us back to the urgency and the gravity of the task of preparing people for the arrival of Christ and his kingdom.
I Can't Lord, It Will Damage my Relationships
Following Christ requires clarity regarding who Jesus is and how his Lordship must not be supplanted by any earthly love or loyalty.
I Can't Lord, I Have to Put Family First
While our biological families can be a great blessing to our Christian life, we must be prepared because they can easily pose a challenge to us keeping Christ as the unrivaled Lord of our lives.
I Can’t Lord, It Would be Too Painful
It is easy to fool ourselves (and others) with the words we use to express our loyalty to Christ, what matters is possessing a faith that expresses itself by a willingness to follow him despite the costs.
When You’ve Been Rejected
We must be prepared to incur the kind of rejection Christ and the Apostles regularly encountered, knowing that it is not our job to retaliate but to seek peace and entrust ourselves to a just God.
When You’re Feeling Competitive
God would not have us spend time or energy trying to rank ourselves or our church with others, knowing we are all recipients of grace and that Christ will equitably commend each of us one day.
When Facing the Power of the Enemy
We must tenaciously trust Christ in our trials, difficulties, and illnesses, especially knowing that we will be regularly attacked by the demonic enemies of Christ because of our association with him.