Many successful athletes in the world today use images of victory to help them achieve their goals and win in their areas of competition. As ambassadors for Christ, we can use believing images of victory to experience great success in outreach. We can picture ourselves speaking God’s Word with confidence and boldness, overcoming any hesitation. As born-again believers, God has called us to successfully reconcile men and women to Him (II Corinthians 5:18,19).
Philippians 2:15,16:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words by revelation. Just as Paul had a believing image of the Word of Life being held forth, we can build a believing image of ourselves doing the same. Let’s now go to God’s Word to build our believing image of victory in outreach.
As part of our believing image of victory in outreach, we can see ourselves as bold ambassadors for Christ. We can choose to hold the image of ourselves that is set forth in God’s Word in II Corinthians, chapter 5.
II Corinthians 5:20:
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
One way to prepare ourselves to reconcile others to God is by seeing ourselves as ambassadors—ones with the authority and dignity to represent God in Christ’s stead. We can see ourselves speaking God’s Word in our community and workplace with confidence and boldness. We can see ourselves helping guide someone through The Way of Abundance and Power series—all the way through the Advanced Class! Seeing ourselves as bold ambassadors for Christ is an important step toward victory in outreach.
Another part of our believing image of victory in outreach is to see ourselves speaking the Word boldly, overcoming any temptation to hold back. As recorded in Ephesians, chapter 6, the Apostle Paul believed God to successfully speak as he “ought to speak,” with nothing holding him back. We can certainly believe God for open doors to do our part in making God’s Word available. And we can always picture ourselves opening our mouths and speaking God’s Word boldly.
Ephesians 6:19,20:
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
We are successful in outreach as we do our part to fearlessly speak forth God’s Word. And God is faithful to do His part by bringing the increase in the lives of men and women we speak to.
Let’s now consider two practical keys that will build our believing images of victory and help us operate our ministry of reconciliation. One key is to set specific outreach goals. Rather than passively expecting circumstances to prompt us to speak God’s Word, we actively seek open doors to speak for God and bring deliverance to people by setting specific objectives to achieve. We can develop focused goals to preach God’s Word and minister. For example, we could set the goal to speak God’s Word to three people while at a community event. Let’s always remember that God works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), so we can be successful in setting specific goals that will help us carry out our believing images of victory in outreach. How many people do you plan to speak God’s Word to the next time you are out in your community?
Another practical key that will help us build our believing image of victory in outreach is to further develop our knowledge of God’s Word with a vision of speaking the truths to others. We can prepare ourselves to speak God’s Word. We could consider how to clearly explain a Biblical topic we are studying to a person who has never heard those truths. We can prepare clear examples and summary statements to help communicate spiritual truths to people we will witness to in the future. Preparation builds confidence and boldness. Let’s picture ourselves doing it! We will be surprised by how naturally and boldly we can explain spiritual truths to people because we have prepared.
As born-again believers, let’s enjoy building our believing images of victory in outreach and operating our ministry of reconciliation. We can be successful in outreach as we each see ourselves as an ambassador for Christ, boldly speaking the Word, and as we achieve our outreach goals and share with others those truths we have prepared. Just as great athletes in the world today experience success, we can achieve success in outreach by building believing images of victory!