Keys to Effective Evangelism from Jesus’ First Encounter with Peter — Part 3
“Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone).”—John 1:42 (NKJV)
This encounter with Simon Peter is the first evidence of revelatory ministry in Jesus’ life. There’s nothing in Scripture that says that Peter was introduced to Jesus, and yet Jesus called Simon Peter by name and even told him who his father was.
It is significant that Jesus’ first demonstration of revelatory ministry focused on the incredible importance of a person’s name.
When someone’s name is given to you by revelation, it could mean that there is something very significant about that person’s name, which was the case with Peter, or that there is an anointing for ministry to this person in that moment (healing, miracle, salvation, …) and the person’s name is being revealed to you in order to increase their level of faith to receive what God has for them. This was very common among some ministers during the great healing revival of the 1940’s and 50’s. Paul Cain and William Branham moved in this type of revelatory ministry.
There is a powerful video that shows William Branham demonstrating this type of revelation in a meeting in 1954. The video, titled “The Deep Calleth to the Deep,” is available from several sources on the Internet. At about the 41-minute mark, Brother Branham begins to minister to a woman who desperately needs healing. He first speaks to the lady by revelation about the car wreck that led to her physical problems. This raises her faith to a level where she can believe to be healed, and the goiter disappears from the side of her neck.
Next, at about the 44-minute mark, Brother Branham ministers to a very weak woman who has to take hold of the microphone stand to steady herself. He tells her that she has breast cancer, which she already knew of course. This was revealed to him by word of knowledge. He tells her about other health problems that she has, including heart trouble. He recounts to her by revelation how she had almost passed out a few days before while she was sitting on the side of her bed, looking toward the window. After all of this revelation about her, she received some healing, but there was something stubbornly preventing her from receiving complete freedom.
Then Brother Branham told the lady her first and last name by revelation, and even told her the exact street address of her home. It was this accurate revelation of her name and address that raised her faith to the level at which she was able to receive complete healing. After that, Brother Branham simply pronounced her healed, and she went on her way praising God.
This is an amazing video demonstration of the power of revelatory ministry to bring positive change in people’s lives, and there is nothing in this video that you cannot do! All you have to do is learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He leads you into ministry situations.
This type of revelation is a signature of Shawn Bolz’s ministry today. In his courses, he humbly assures the students that he has not always been able to minister in this way. The key for him was consistent, daily practice, practice, and more practice. Eventually he developed his skill in revelatory ministry to a high level of detailed accuracy.
Discipleship Practice: Revelation of People’s Names
Objective: To develop a closer walk with God and skill in hearing His voice as you ask Him for revelation.
How often? When you meet people or encounter a person with a name tag
Revelation of a person’s name can provide an opportunity for deeper ministry.
• When you go to a store or any place where people are wearing name tags, ask God to reveal a person’s name to you before you get close enough to read the name tag.
• When you know that you are about to meet someone, ask God to reveal the person’s name before you are introduced. You can do this! This revelation comes through a simple word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8). The Holy Spirit is very good at this. It is easy for Him to reveal this to you. If you have ever received a word of knowledge before, this is not any harder than that.
• If God reveals the person’s name to you, that usually means He wants to minister to him or her.
o Ask God what the person needs.
o As you talk with the person, they may share a need with you.
o If it is clear to you that the person has a need, ask if you can pray for him or her.
What would happen in our churches if we greeted our visitors by name, before they introduced themselves? They would know that God is really in our midst, and that we know how to hear His voice!
The conversation might go like this …
ALAN: Hello, my name is Alan. Is your name Jim?
JIM: Yes, it is. Have we met before?
ALAN: I don’t think so, but here in this church we’re learning how to hear God’s voice, and I asked God to tell me what your name was before I introduced myself. It’s very nice to meet you. Welcome to our church!
What if you step out in faith and get it wrong? There’s no harm done. You’ve still taken the initiative to welcome a visitor. That’s a good thing!
ALAN: Hello, is your name Jim?
BOB: No, I’m sorry. It’s Bob
ALAN: Oh, I’m sorry, Bob. My name is Alan. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to our church!
Practice is important in order to develop skill and confidence in using the gifts that God has given us through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Before David faced Goliath, God arranged for him to have practice battles with the lion and the bear. By the time David faced Goliath, he was confident that God would bring a victorious result because he had been successful in his practice bouts.
“And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”—1 Samuel 17:37 (ESV)
We all get better with practice. Your pastor did not preach as well as he does now when he first started in ministry. The musicians on your worship team did not come out of the womb playing as well as they do now. Practice is vital to take the gifts that God has given us and to hone them into highly developed skills.
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”—Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)
Discipleship Practice: Who Touched Me?
Objectives: To develop a closer walk with God and skill in hearing His voice as you ask Him for revelation. To learn to receive revelation of a person’s name, which can provide opportunities for deeper ministry.
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Have three or four people stand behind you.
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One person in the group will gently touch your upper back.
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Without looking, ask God to give you the name of the person who touched you.
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Check with the group to see if you heard God accurately.
Variation:
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Have three or four people stand behind you.
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*Before *one person in the group touches your upper back, ask God to give you the name of the person who *will *touch you.
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After God shows you who will touch you, let the group behind you know that you are ready.
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One person in the group will gently touch your upper back.
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Check with the group to see if you heard God accurately.
Once, when I practiced this with some members of the worship team at my church, I was able to receive revelation for each of their names when they touched my back, but then the pastor, who was not in our practice group, snuck up behind me and touched my back. He was hoping to trick me, but I accurately called out his name as the one who had touched me. This startled one of the worship team members, who exclaimed “No way!” But it was “yes way” because I wasn’t focusing on the person touching me. I was listening for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. I just called out the name that He showed me.
This kind of revelation is just a simple word of knowledge. If you have received a word of knowledge before, you can do this. It’s not any harder than receiving a word of knowledge about anything else. Just tune your “receiver” to the Holy Spirit and listen.
Tips for Long-Term Growth
• Deeper levels of revelation come with deeper levels of intimacy with God. Your ministry is simply the fruit of your personal relationship with the Lord. If you want to deepen and expand your ministry, deepen your relationship with the Lord.
• God shares His secrets with people He can trust. As we mature in character and integrity, God can trust us with more of his secrets. (John 15:15)
• Deepen your intimacy with God through focused efforts to seek Him, sacrificing your own pleasure in favor of spending time with Him.
• Practice seeing things from God’s point of view. This is done by correctly applying Scripture to life situations.
• Ask God what He thinks about current events. His views may often be different from media reports—both conservative and liberal.