In Mark 3 Jesus, the personification of Faith, places an impossible demand on the afflicted man. His hand was withered and had never opened before. Jesus commanded the man to do something that was impossible for him, to stretch out his hand. That sounds so simple doesn’t it? For the vast majority of humanity it can be done without thinking, but this man could never do it in his own strength. For him, this was an impossible demand.

It is similar to the man born blind that we find in John 9. Jesus took this blind man, spit on the ground, made clay, rubbed it on his eyes and then commanded him to go, find the Pool of Siloam and then wash his eyes. He was blind to begin with and Jesus covered his eyes even further with mud to seemingly complicate the matter. Faith then made an Impossible Demand – “ I am sending you to find the Pool of Siloam, go and wash your eyes”. Jesus uses the natural to usher in the supernatural revealing the will and power of Father God.

These two stories reveal God’s plan for our lives. He has called us to do the impossible and bring forth a supernatural Kingdom which can only be seen with heavenly vision. How do we accomplish this? We accomplish it by simply obeying the impossible demands of faith. Stretch forth your hand, give Him your inability and yield to Him that which is lacking the most! Allow Him to touch you and cover your eyes and depend on His Word to your heart to step out in a realm which cannot be seen, only to experience a miracle of heavenly vision!

Give to Him what you cannot do. Stretch beyond your ability and Walk in a light you cannot see. These Impossible Demands of Faith, if obeyed, will produce the release of Heaven on earth! He has designed His Kingdom to operate this way. He illustrated it for you and me throughout the New Testament. Ordinary men became Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers of a Kingdom that was not of this earth. They employed the glorious gift of faith to bridge a chasm that was impossible to bridge and they accomplished it by responding to the impossible demands of faith. So we have come to the place where the question begs to be voiced –

“ What has God called YOU to do? ”

Perhaps the answer can be found in a hidden place, right in front of your eyes. In what area of your life are you lacking the most? What failures have you endured in your life? What weakness has plagued you daily? What is the most striking inability you possess? Stretch this out to Him, allow Him to accent the obvious. Allow Him to point out your weaknesses and expect that area of your life to glorify God the most. Give Him what you cannot do, yield over to Him the blindness of your heart and the inabilities to work His Works in the common place of every day life! Yield, Surrender and Obey. Respond to The Impossible Demands of Faith and you will discover that He will come through where you cannot. Yes, it is true, you cannot accomplish what He can – but it is equally true that He will not do it without YOU.

There is an old, old song whose words echo in my heart. “Faith the mighty promise sees and looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities and Shouts – “ It Shall, It Shall Be Done!” Dear saint, we are called to do the impossible and see the invisible simply by hearing that which cannot be heard by natural hearing alone. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God – the Rhema of God … God breathed, God spoken words will demand us to stretch beyond our natural limitations and discover that we are designed to become the people that manifest The Kingdom Of God on earth!

This is an amazing piece of history. Joseph, Mary and their family journeyed to Jerusalem from Nazareth to celebrate the Passover Feast. They were doing the will of LORD, in the timing of the LORD, in the proper place of the LORD. They were doing everything right before the LORD. Yet, when the festivities were finished they gravitated back to a “business as usual” attitude, packed up their belongings and started their journey home. They had business to take care of, jobs to do and in general they were going back to their normal day-to-day activities. How often do we have the exact same attitudes?

Something was about to change their “business as usual” mindset. Jesus was no longer with them. They thought he was with them, he had never been away from them before and therefore they had no reason to believe that he was not with them at this time. He had always been in step with their decisions and their plans, but not now. He had never done anything like this before. The scripture is very clear : “they assumed” that he was with the group of family and friends. They assumed that he was where he always had been before – with them. What they did not know was that he was back in Jerusalem, in His Father’s House. I have heard many sermons on this event; I have preached and taught on this portion of scripture quite a few times myself. The Holy Spirit is emphasizing something very clear to my heart these days. They assumed Jesus was with them when he actually was not with them. He had other business, his Father’s family business, to attend to.

Joseph and Mary lost Jesus by assuming that he was with them. I know that the Lord speaks to each believer and declares, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. It is true. The problem was not that Jesus left them. The problem was that they left him! Jesus lingered in His Father’s House and He was not quick to leave. He possessed more of a desire to enter and remain in his Father’s House than to take up the “business as usual” tendency of humanity. I think it is the “as usual” part that is desperately wrong.

Joseph and Mary left Jesus in Jerusalem. They left the Father’s House to return to their human business and lost track of the presence of The Son. Jesus had Kingdom business to do and it was not rebellion on his part; it was insensitivity and assumption on the part of Joseph and Mary. Please do not be critical of Joseph and Mary. Stop and think, how often do we leave him, assuming that he is with us in our plans and pursuits? How often are our plans and pursuits in opposition to His Kingdom and His Will? We pray, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done” but do we really expect Him to answer that prayer? When He does come to do His will in our lives, how frequently do we gravitate back to a “business as usual” mindset?

To find Jesus it took Joseph and Mary three days of seeking for what they lost in a moment. They were concerned with things below while He had set his affection on things above! When they found Jesus in the Temple and asked why he had lingered behind, his answer was most revealing. Luke 2:49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “You should have known that I would be in my Father’s house.” What wonderful revelation! If you are seeking Jesus, just go to the Father’s House, He is there! How many days, weeks, months or years has it been since you knew Jesus was with you? When is the last time that you enjoyed His Presence in your life? I did not say when you enjoyed His Presence in a celebration service – no, when was the last time that He was WITH YOU?

Ponder these things in your heart and learn the secret of walking with Him, rather than assuming that He is walking with you! Learn the art of submitting to the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit and do not take one step, much less an entire day of steps, without Him! We were created for His pleasure – not for our own pleasure. If you find yourself out of step with Jesus while you are doing the will of God just understand that you have stepped into presumption – turn around, REPENT, seek Him once again. He is worth every heart wrenching moment of seeking, He is worth it all when you find Him! Oh yes, one more thing, if you really want to find Him, I can tell you exactly where He is … He is in The Father’s House doing the Father’s Will as a True Son must. Jesus replied “…but why did you need to search? You should have known that I would be in my Father’s house!”

But there is something that is just as good as what God did in the past in all of those historical places: it is what God is doing today in the Holy Land. I visited Bethlehem Bible College and saw the love of God flowing among the Palestinians. The Shepherd Society, led by Dean of Students Alex Awad, expresses the Father’s love to Palestinian Christians and Muslims who have been steadily impoverished by the loss of ancestral lands, jobs, and freedom of movement. They express this love by providing food coupons, medical aid, job training, and help with utilities. In other words, the Shepherd Society of Bethlehem Bible College (google them if you like) is releasing the love of the King and his kingdom in very practical ways.

But I also heard Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, tell how God had answered the prayers of believers who are carriers of the love of the Father. They told me of miracles that had taken place in their lives when believers prayed for them. This means that God’s kingdom is not only being expressed in practical ways but also in power.

The kingdom of God, which is certainly a kingdom of love above all else, is touching down among the Palestinians. But wait. Doesn’t God love the Jews? Absolutely. God loves the Jews with passion and has a plan for Israel. But God also loves the Palestinians and has a plan for them. Remember, the Lord promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, not just one nation.

What about the terrorists among the Palestinians? It is true that there are some terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza. But so what? Their agenda of hate and death does not change our God given agenda of love and life. Jesus took his message into the heart of darkness. The few Palestinians I know want exactly what most Americans want. They want peace, a good job, and hope for a better life for their children than they have had. And you know who can provide that? You got it–the Prince of Peace. In short, Palestinians need a revelation of Jesus. How will that revelation come? Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the practical expressions of the love of the King of kings. When Jews, Muslims, and Christians have a revelation of the uncommon love that is found only in Jesus Christ, transformation will begin. May God hasten that day as he strengthens those faithful believers who are vessels of this love.

Q. . . “Who is the audience?”
An intercessory ‘target’ or local audience or one relating to someone in the audience.

Q. . . “Where shall we perform it?”
That will be agreed upon just as in Acts of Obedience Evangelism.

Q. . . “How do we know who has what role?”
Trust the leadership; all players must function and flow together.

Q. . . “How do we know we’ve reached the end?”
Maturity and discernment among the cast helps; the director can develop a signal to end it.

Q. . . “And just how are we are going to get there . . . together?”
Practice! Practice! Practice! The best part is that even a practice is a prophetic encounter!

Totally before a “live” audience
Everything up to this point was written before ever actually demonstrating a “Prophetic Drama” before an audience. Since then, we hosted the 2007 Drama Ministry Convention (DMC) wherein twice I conducted a Prophetic Drama “hands-on” workshop. In just one hour we were able to grasp the concept; then go before the Lord, hear him, write down the things we saw and heard; and then organize, cast and perform (act out) what we believe was what the Lord was revealing. In both workshops, the groups caught the concept and experienced an exciting adventure they will not soon forget.

In the final evening service at the DMC, I gathered the leaders from the drama ministries attending the convention to perform a Prophetic Drama; as it seemed important to utilize the most mature drama ministers available. After introducing the group I informed the audience that they were going to observe us as we sought God’s heart and received what He would show us. Then they would view our interpretation of it. I asked the congregation to pray in the Spirit as we did. It was good for them to be engaged in the process . . . not to mention the exponential power of agreement. One-by-one, we each told our designated note taker what we were seeing and hearing as we received from God. As we were still in the prayer mode, we did not address the crowd with the details just yet. We kind of leveled off from downloading and we gathered around the note taker to view the list. There was definitely an air of excitement as we were remaining open to God for further instruction while sifting through thoughts and scenarios coming to mind. I asked if any group member had a scene in mind and two of the women in our group replied, “Yes!”

Finally I began to share with the audience the items from our list as the two ladies told the drama group what they were sensing that the Holy Spirit was showing them.

Remember that the dialog is unplanned and we are careful not to prognosticate the ending so that we remain led by His Spirit. And again by faith, we went forward.

The entries on our list were:
1. A beret
2. Fear
3. Wife worried about her husband overseas
4. Losing the house furniture
5. Words of Comfort

The scene called for a wife phoning her husband and a girlfriend who was there with her. The actors took their places. The scene began with the wife calling to inform her husband, who is overseas, that they were being evicted from their house and had already lost the furniture. He said he had always been sending the money home; but it never seemed to be enough. The wife begs the husband to come home to handle the crisis. Tension escalates. She is distraught and says she wants to quit the marriage. After the call has ended, the husband stands in shock and helpless on one end of the stage as the friend, who is a believer, intervenes on the other side of the stage with the wife, who has become somewhat hysterical. The wife begins to hear words of faith in God and how He is working in their behalf and never leaves us nor forsakes us. She is not easily comforted. Her friend is relentless with encouragement until the wife agrees to seek God in prayer and trust Him. They join hands and bowed to pray. The scene ended.

There was a hush over the crowd as we all believed that this situation is or will be very real. All over the room intercession breaks out as we all pray for God’s presence to come on to that scene wherever it may be occurring. Finally, a burst of applause erupts for such an expression of His love and care for us. Someone and/or somewhere these circumstances are an issue and God is on the scene to bring a victory in making a way where there seems to be no way. We look forward to receiving confirmations as we move forward in this genre of drama ministry.

Confirmation
Actually, we did get a testimony from a couple who attended the DMC final service where our church’s drama ministry, “The Grace Players,” performed the piece which originated in a rehearsal. This is the same work I mentioned earlier which was performed at the Easter event. Rarely do we present the same skit to an audience that has recently seen it; however, it was the right skit for the DMC. Interestingly enough, the couple missed the Easter presentation so it was new to them. They told me that the skit which involves a person who receives a “Word” to give $1000 they don’t have to a missionary, was clearly a message for them. This couple admitted that after getting a windfall sum of money; God had told them to give $1000 to the church. This happened just one week prior to the Easter program. They said that they had been dragging their feet in letting go of the finances until now, but knew that God was reminding them to obey.

Onward by Faith
The parameters of possibility are overwhelming when we think how far-reaching this approach is. There is absolutely no doubt that faith is required! A couple of verses come to mind to encourage you to accept and embrace this courageous endeavor.

• For we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7 ISV)
• Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” (GALATIANS 3:11 ISV)
• For in it God’s righteousness is being revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” (ROMANS 1:17 ISV)
• Remain alert. Keep standing firm in your faith. Keep on being courageous and strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13 ISV)

This article is the third in a three part series. Read Part 1. Read Part 2.

The clues we’d been given in prayer were:
1. Wedding ring in a jewelry store
2. Kids playing in a park
3. Teens on drugs
4. Wife crying over her deceased husband.

Four actors took their agreed places. The scene began with a woman walking along. She saddened as she noticed 2 kids in the park across the street playing. She stepped into a neighborhood jewelry store. When she saw the wedding rings she began to cry. The clerk tried to comfort her after she told him that her fiancé died suddenly having been hit by a drunk driver. He asked if her husband was a Christian and then reminded her that he is alive in God’s presence since he had asked Jesus to be his Lord & savior during his life. Thanking him, she composed herself and walked out to see kids in the park across the street playing & smiles a little this time. A few steps more & she hears teens in the alley. Two girls are doing drugs and she looks across the street and again at the teens. She dons a determined look and approaches them. One stomps away angrily and the other slumps against the wall. The woman encourages the teen that her future is bright and God will meet her where she is and take the addiction away. Now the woman begins to slowly walk the teen out of alley as they bow out.
We began with two actors portraying kids, a clerk and the woman. The 2 teens did not get into the “picture” until the woman began to leave the store. Everyone in the room was blown away by what had just occurred. We shouted praise and clapped for what God had just done in our midst. I spoke out that we had just done an act of obedience and its effect was of great value as intercession.

We had enough time to go once more. So we prayed and God did it again! The next scene was even more incredible. We received totally different clues this time. This scene even had a surprise ending that thrilled us all! Amazing!

The New Life Team was invigorated by this experience as was I. When the Grace Drama Team came in soon after, we shared the excitement with them. Since that day, our church’s drama ministry team has been practicing “Prophetic Drama” in our rehearsals and we presented a particular one which originated in a rehearsal for our congregation at an Easter Celebration. We entitled it, “Kingdom View.” What a great way to build fresh inspired repertoire that is so relative!

This was done in a classroom in a church. “But can it be presented before a live audience?” “YES!” We believe that God will bless a person in the audience or someone they might relate to by revealing a situation that He is intervening in (or is about to intervene in). Our Father in Heaven will comfort them to know that He is aware of their issues; that He is on the scene and will never leave them nor forsake them.

“Do we let the audience witness the process?” “YES!” Because anyone can do Acts of Obedience! That is one underlying message to the body of Christ! Not every person can get up in front of an audience and do it, but they can obey God when He speaks! They can become educated and even inspired by witnessing the process.

This article is the second in a three part series. Part 3 can be found Here.

A Little History
For several years a small group of church-based drama ministries have gathered annually to enjoy a two day “hands-on” Drama Ministry Convention, (DMC), at my home church, Grace International Church located in Willis, Texas. I had lunch one day in 1999 a couple of months before the convention with one of the DMC founding leaders from our region, Cal Stanley, to discuss an idea that I had been mulling over for some time. We both were in leadership in churches where the prophetic gifts were in operation. Our congregations were familiar with prophetic style worship and words of prophecy being given and received. I asked Cal if he thought that there could be a prophetic approach to drama ministry as well. He was definitely challenged by the idea. We mused over it together as we finished our lunch. We agreed to talk to God and listen for what He may reveal to us about it. A week or so later, Cal called me and told me that he was preparing a seminar syllabus to present at the upcoming DMC. He shared his foundational revelation which we referred to as, “Prophetic Drama” that year and sowed a seed of faith in all who attended. Sadly, two months later my comrade-in-arms passed away suddenly. In subsequent years at the DMC, I redistributed his original syllabus and gathered the leadership over our luncheons to continue to press forward in discussion about the lofty idea that he & I shared that first year.

From theory to reality
Throughout the year 2006, our church drama team had increasingly rich times in His presence as we began our rehearsals just praying in the Spirit and responding to whatever we hear or see as we waited on Him. Sometimes the Lord would speak a word of encouragement through one of us. Many times we would find ourselves merely basking is His peace… and sometimes we’d begin to openly repent for things in our lives. Our rapid growth and spiritual maturing can be attributed to this standard we had committed to uphold.

In January of 2007, I began catching a strategy for implementing this notion of “Prophetic Drama”. A wonderful drama ministry that travels, New Life Drama Company, (www.nldc.com ) had come to our church and I asked them to make time during the day to minister to our church’s young drama ministry team. The team arrived a couple of hours early, so I asked them if they would consider hearing a fresh idea in drama presentation. They agreed. I shared the “Prophetic Drama” concept briefly and asked if they would be willing to believe with me and seek God about it. We began to take it to the Lord in prayer.

As we prayed and allowed the Lord to minister to us, I saw it! It was as clear as day. We needed to apply “Acts of Obedience” to a drama ministry presentation format! Voila! I waited for a confirmation and then proceeded to speak out. I explained to the group what “Acts of Obedience” was and how it related to what I saw. They caught it! So we began seeking God to show us what we ought to do.

Acts of Obedience
Not everyone is familiar with “Acts of Obedience”, so I will try to briefly bring you up to speed. Basically, Acts of Obedience is setting time aside to wait on God’s guidance that will lead to a personal touch on whom or what He chooses to bless. It has been a powerful tool for touching our city for God as we apply this “Prophetic” style of evangelism We’re asking God where He wants us to go and how He wants us to bless. We begin by praying in the Spirit to clear our minds of the cares of the day and to tune in to His Spirit. We will ask God to show us who ought to be together for the outing. We concur with one another and separate into the small groups of 3-5 in a group. Each group then gets together to hear from God. We will note any vision or thought that we begin to see and hear. We will trust that He is speaking and we are hearing and seeing. In the evangelism mode, a group will begin to walk out the “clues” God has given us and stay continually in communication with Him. He always reveals more as we take faith steps toward the purposeful divine appointment(s). The results of these excursions has been very diverse; from blessing someone with prayer over critical situations in their lives . . . to giving a financial blessing . . . speaking a word of kindness or encouragement to a person God just wants to love on at that particular moment in their life. Every encounter renders a unique story revealing how God wants to touch people’s lives and use us to do it. And unlike broad spectrum conventional evangelistic approaches, there is a 100% rate of effectiveness. Also, it is much more palatable for people who usually run the other way when the church engages in evangelism by canvassing the neighborhood going door-to-door, requiring them to speak to strangers.

This idea was introduced to us by an awesome ministry friend, Daren Lindley (www.darenlindley.com) in the late 1990’s. Daren has printed a book detailing his experience from conception to reality with tons of testimonies documented from the years he traveled guiding churches in this new approach to sharing the love of Jesus. I’ve noticed a similar event occurring around the USA that is being called “Treasure Hunting.” It is virtually the same thing.

In my ministry travels, I have been continuing the vision as it has become a bit of a lifestyle and it really helps everyday Christians realize that anyone can hear when God speaks. The following is a segment I use when teaching, “Acts of Obedience” as a form of prophetic evangelism.

HOW DO WE DO ACTS OF OBEDIENCE?

Hearing and Obeying!
But it takes a supernatural ingredient, Faith!
The number one element of the Kingdom of God is FAITH!
Without faith it is impossible to please God!
We are not able to follow God by natural sight.
Faith is a necessary component in our obedience.
Faith is trust!

How can I hear God?
Everyone can hear God. In the book of Revelation, we are reminded, “He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying.” “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” God is speaking and we need to be hearing. Declare it! God’s word says that I can hear His voice. Faith comes by hearing. Sometimes we just need to hear ourselves confess that we can do what the Word says we can do.

How does this apply?
So how do we relate “Acts of Obedience” to Drama Ministry? How are we able to apply this to Drama Ministry? In Acts of Obedience, God leads us toward an encounter with a situation that He is intervening in. Our drama team “goes there” by His leading and we act out the scenario as He constantly guides us.

This article is the first in a three part series. Part 2 can be found Here.