Prophetic Evangelism

Mark Stibbe

The family service team had decided to do a presentation of the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Only, instead of portraying the father as forgiving and welcoming, they decided to do an ironic reversal and portray him as unforgiving and unwelcoming. So when the prodigal son returned they presented the father saying, ‘What are you doing coming back like this? Go back to where you’ve come from. You’re not welcome here!’ Then, in the concluding part of the service, the team re-presented the parable showing the father as he really is in the story, lavishly and extravagantly merciful.

As the team leader asked me to come and give the blessing, I sensed a very strong impression that the presentation had powerfully impacted someone in the church. I spoke out the following words that just dropped into my heart quite suddenly:

‘There is someone here today who has been living with a deep sense of fatherlessness. You have been looking for your father all you life. Recently you have found him but you were really disappointed. Today, hearing about God the Father, you have realised that this is the Dad you’ve been looking for, and the Lord is saying to you, "It’s time to come home."’

After the service people came forward for prayer. One of the people was a middle-aged lady called Mandy, [who was] not a Christian. She had been abandoned by her dad as a young girl and had been looking for him all her life. Recently she had discovered that he was in the Navy and had gone to meet him, but had felt bitterly rejected. That morning God had indeed been speaking to her about what a loving Father he is. She was powerfully impacted by the prophetic word uttered before the blessing and gave her lie to the Lord Jesus Christ. That morning the ‘father-shaped hole’ in her heart was filled by the power of God’s love as she received forgiveness and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

From section 2 of Prophetic Evangelism, published by Authentic Media 2004