Prophetic Evangelism?

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EvangelTam Mar 12, 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I wanted to get some different theological understandings and experiences on using prophecy to reach out to the unsaved.

The reason I am asking is because we are doing spiritual reading table at York University in Toronto as a way to reach the lost. We essentially pray and prophesy overthem. From what I am seeing the words are very accurate and touches many people. There have even been testimonies of people coming to Christ as a result of it.

However I am still unsure as to the theology behind it.

The only verses that I can think of are:

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you. 1 Cor 14:24

However I am wondering is this only in the context of a meeting of believers and a prophetic word being given as a specific time? Does this apply to using the gift of prophesy on unbelievers?

I believe that prophesy has a place in building up believers but is it effective or unbelievers? But at the same time I do see it working and changing hearts that were once closed to the gospel to be open.

THe next verses I would refer to is the story of Jesus and the Women at the Well where He tells her everything about her life. I then would thing of the verse where Jesus says"

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

Any other thoughts on/experiences on this?

T

twayneb Mar 13, 2013

First, let me say that I believe the gifts of the Spirit are still in full operation among the body of Christ today, prophecy, word of wisdom, and word of knowledge included. We have a very poignant example of this in Paul's advise to Timothy. Timothy was to use words of prophecy spoken over him to help him war a good warfare. This advice is in accordance with the purposes of prophecy stated in 1Cor.

1Ti 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

Having said that, I am a bit concerned by some of the practices of the prophetic movement such as prophecy rooms, prophecy booths, etc. My concern comes from a few places.

First, there is, among some of these groups, an undue emphasis placed on prophecy. I was in fellowship with a group that often offered "prophetic team ministry" at services and conferences. People would line up and wait for hours, literally, for their turn to receive "words" from those ministering. All who came received one or more words from the team. There was an implicit promised that everyone would receive a word of prophecy, and I cannot think of very many times, if any, that anyone failed to receive a word. I wonder, why are we then not setting up healing tables, or miracle tables, or tongue and interpretation tables, or...you get my point. If we can, as a group, have the gift of prophecy flow this freely, why can we not, as a group, have the gift of healing flow just as freely?

Second, there is an undue expectation that we be spiritual enough to "get a word" for each person. I am convinced that there was often fleshly or soulish intuition that was mistaken for a prophetic word from the Lord.

The third concern deals with scriptural interpretation, and I could be wrong. However, I think the verse that says that God gives to every man severally as He will implies that we cannot operate in a gift of the Spirit any time we wish, on demand. God has, at times, given me a word of knowledge or a prophecy. At such times I knew it was from the Lord and needed to act in obedience and give that word. In all cases it was verified that the word was indeed from God.

Any time we are sincere before the Lord and desire only to do His will, He is longsuffering toward us. In the team ministry I spoke of, I saw some really positive things happen and some people genuinely blessed and changed by what happened. I also saw those whose spiritual well-being seemed to depend upon the next word and the next word and the next. I saw true prophecy come forth. I also saw what, in my opinion, was simply the mind fishing for something to say.

So while the gift of prophecy is real, and is for today, I have some concerns about the methods employed sometimes. I would say, pray about it, study scripture, and see what conclusion God places before you.

I find no place in scripture where the gifts of the Spirit are reserved only to ministry to the saints.

sermonindex Mar 13, 2013

I have been sharing on this site for just over a year concerning this reality of prophetic utterances. I say once again. Most of that which is presented as prophetic today, in many many places, especially this organised presentation of prophetic speech, is not prophetic. It is witchcraft and sorcery. If any believer involved in this organised presentation of prophetic utterance with all of its blasphemous claims were to tell me they were praying for me I would not only go against them I would ask God Himself to deliver me from their prayers. Its the most dangerous move of lies in recent history and it is drawing in any one who is able to speak well "inspirationally" regardless of their own true understanding. It is many hands to the purposes of a few for a wicked outcome.

sermonindex Mar 13, 2013

Just to strike a balance and to answer the original post I would share the following.

Those times which are the most inspirational and blessed over the years have been in the preaching of the Gospel itself. When the Gospel is preached with all reverence and fear of the Lord, the joy and the power of such a presentation always exceeds by comparison that stirring which is felt in the spirit when the thing being spoken is simply directed to and for those who already believe. The reality in my own experience is that even to believers, presenting Christ fully, reverently, with a mind of understanding concerning the holiness and righteousness of God, is both a restraining influence as well as a release and a good effect. It may be to one or to many but the reality is the same. In the end I can hardly detect a distinction between preaching for the benefit of saints or unbelievers. So great is the dirth which is upon the western church that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make a distinction in need. To the unbeliever such preaching produced repentance, to the believer it produces no less an effect, yet the child of God cannot be born again a second time.

The difference may be that of the children of God catching sight of their profound continuous need for God, to walk in a manner pleasing to Him, and a child of the devil comprehending for the first time their utter need for God and Christ and yielding their lives to Him. In this day the child of the devil will have the better portion. For the children of God always resist even after hearing and rebel even after having been set free. We go once again into captivity and we call it freedom and liberty. In truth the wicked man is a more willing servant in the end than the one who thinks they have become something. By their speech and boastings saints stumble themselves and those who hear them. We have forgotten our former condition of being utterly lost without hope.

Prophetic utterances are leading this boasting so that even those who do not know any victory in their lives imagine they can command into being that which belongs to God alone, even the souls and lives of men and women. Those who hear it and believe it are led by the nose into captivity, or else they are taken captive through the air and fall into the same foolish understanding the moment they hear themselves speak. It would be better if we all kept our mouths shut for a season and truly sought God in a testing of such utterances, in a desire to know how to speak in this age. But if we go into cupboards and hidden rooms we are become sorcerers and witches and we will in the end either bear the consequence in our own bodies or else we will have to give an account in the day of visitation.

The Gospel ought to be shouted from every street and every gate in the full visibility of the nations without compromise or fear. Restraining people, whether believers or unbelievers, in prophetic huddles and groups, in cupboards and hidden rooms, is not the Gospel it is a lie of the devil and a work of iniquity. Let those who truly are prophets go and prophetically preach Christ crucified for sin, with an inward restraining purpose of God in their lives and the fruit will be clear enough. Then let no man boast for fear of the Lord.