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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