ACTS Guideline: Principles (ABC’s) of Operation

 Seek to understand and practice this for effective outreach.

The Man
Realize who Christ is in you, and who you are in Him. Mt.28.18,19;  Rom.8.37-39;  1Cor.6.9-12,15,17,19,20;  2Cor.5.17-21;  6.16—7.1;  2Cor.13.4;  Eph.1.3,7,16-23;  2.4-10;  Col.2.2-10;  2Pet.1.1-11;  1Jn.2.20,27;  1Jn.4.1-8.  In Christ, you go with total victory, fully equipped. Make sure you are God-conscious rather than devil-conscious, and that you are righteous-conscious rather than sin-conscious. You become this by understanding your identity with Father God.

The Mission
It is to go and use all means at all times to share the gospel with all people.
A good salesman is always cultivating prospects for potential sales. So much more are we to be constantly aware of people’s needs and desires and to be constantly alert to ways to relate the gospel to them to meet those needs and desires. We are to cultivate and develop a constant communion with the Holy Spirit so that as we go through daily life, we are sensitive to His leadership to people who need and who are prepared to receive ministry.

The Method
    In Bible style, witnessing is by love, faith, joy, and power.
    Love is foundational. It can be defined as that state of being of having others interests at heart for their highest and best good. We choose to do and say those things that are for the highest and best good of those to whom we are ministering at the time we are ministering to them. Timing is important.
    Faith is foundational, working together with love. Faith is our choice to be looking to and listening to Father God, through the Word and Spirit, so that we are depending on His guidance in all things, and taking action accordingly.
    Joy is the fruit of the operation of love and faith, which gives us the liberty to realize our authority in Christ, to be relaxed, to be real, and to have the freedom to reap the harvest.
    Power is also the fruit of the operation of love and faith. We are to engage in signs and wonders “power evangelism”, whether on the street or sitting with a friend over a cup of coffee. God said He would confirm His Word with signs following, so as we move in love, faith, and joy to give out the gospel, we can expect God to confirm His Word with signs following. We can move boldly on the basis of God’s faithfulness to His Word.

The Message
--Mt.28.7,10; Mk.16.10,14; Lk.24.6,9,33,34,45-48 “and ye are witnesses of these things”. Jn.20.9-18. Ac.1.22 “witness with us of his resurrection”.
--The following references in the book of Acts are easy to follow. Just take your Bible and start at the first reference, and follow them right on through the whole book. By going through the Word in this way, your faith is built up in what the message is that we are to preach—the crucified, resurrected, ascended Lord Jesus Christ who now rules and reigns over all to give His Spirit to all and to benefit and bless all in every way.
Ac.2.32-36;  3.13,26;  4.2,10,33;  5.29-32,40-42;  8.4,5,12,25,35;  9.20,22,27,29;  10.36,39,42,43;  11.20,21,24;  13.23,30,33,38,39;  14.3,7;  15.6-12;  16.31,32;  17.2-4,18,30-32;  18.5;  20.21,24-27;  23.6,11;  24.14-16,21;  26.6,18,22,23. One final reference to consider is Rom.10.9. Notice the emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus.
--The Gospel itself is a sign and wonder, and the true New Testament Message is never separated from signs and wonders. They are part of the message. We see the life of Jesus filled with signs and wonders, but we also see signs and wonders accompanying the Word given by the early church. There is to be a demonstration of what we preach. This is what sets Christianity apart from all religions. Without a demonstration, Christianity is just another religion in the eyes of the world. Read these references to have your faith and expectation built up for all kinds of signs and wonders to occur as a normal part of the ministry of the gospel.
Jn.14.12-14;   15.7,8;   Ac.1.9-11;   2.4-7, 11-13, 43;   3.1-16;   4.10,29,30;   Ac.5.1-16,19;   8.6-8,13,18,39;   9.1-7,10,12,17,18,33-35,36-42;   10.3,9-20,44-48;   12.5,7,10,21-23;   13.7-12;   14.3,8-10;   15.12;   16.9,16-18,25-26;   19.11,12;   27.24,37;   28.3-5,8-10;   Gal.3.5;   1Cor.2.4,5;   12.7-11;   1Thes.1.5;   Heb.2.4;   Rev.11.11,12;   22.2.
     Always, bottom line of the message, is that you just give the plain, simple Word of God. Our personal opinions are not needed. Our experiences are to be seen only as a result of the Word and Spirit working in our lives, with all the glory going to God. Our display of theological phraseology needs to be laid aside. Religious controversy is to be quieted with “What does the Word say?” We are to see the overall view of the scriptures, the immediate context, and we are to compare parallel passages to see what the Word really says.
    We are to focus on Jesus, and the promise of abundant life that we have in Him through the power of the Holy Spirit within and upon us.
    We are to just preach and teach the Word with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven (1Pet.1.12). It’s that simple.

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