Benny Goes to Indonesia 

Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing. That’s right, it’s time for the semi annual Beg-A-Thon on the Daystar network! For the last two weeks Marcus and Joni Lamb have run a combination of live pleadings for cash along with the best of previous year’s appeals. All the big time fund raiser have either been in the studio or appeared on tape. Rod Parsley, John Hagee, and Mike Murdock have shown up in person. Juanita Bynum was shown on videotape prancing around in a white sheet. That performance must be extremely profitable because they’ve aired it during the last three beg-a-thons. But the really big gun showed up for a live showcase on Saturday night.

It was none other than (drum roll please!!) the protestant pope himself, liar and heretic Benny Hinn. This makes perfect sense with the last night of the beg-a-thon going up against the NCAA final four basketball game on CBS. With the husbands watching the ball game this was the perfect opportunity for Hinn and Daystar to creep into houses and lead away silly women laden with sins (1Tim 3:6).

Hinn spent most of the time extolling (as usual) his own greatness and spirituality. His focus was his recent crusade to Indonesia. Hinn, who refers to himself as a Pastor even though he has no church, talked in detail about his meeting with the Muslim President of Indonesia. According to Hinn, he boldly requested that he be allowed to “preach the gospel” to this predominately Muslim nation. Assuring the president that he “would not preach hate” but only the love of God, Hinn claims he was physically embraced and welcomed by this Muslim who then granted his request. Benny explained that he had no choice but to be bold because as he told the audience “these people” (meaning Muslims) are “really very smart you know”. Hinn stated “they can see right through you” if you aren’t being authentic (thus making Muslim politicians a whole lot smarter than the average Benny Hinn partner).

Benny later told about the warm welcome given him by the Muslim Governor of Jakarta. It’s funny how Hinn is such a notorious name dropper, always placing himself in the company of powerful men of the world. One can’t help but notice how different Hinns encounters with the powerful are than say that of Peter or Paul who generally spoke to Kings and Governors only as prisoners in chains rather than as honored guests.

And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. Acts 12:6 

All this build up was just the prelude to the real reason for Benny’s visit and that was of course money. Hinn assured everyone that he just doesn’t have time these days to sit down and talk about money because for him it’s all about souls. God has given him such a burden for souls that he often bursts into tears at the very thought after which he rubbed his face a time or two as if attempting to wipe away tears although none seemed apparent.

Why do you suppose, asked Hinn, that the Muslim president of the largest Muslim country in the world allowed him to come and “preach the gospel”? Why was it that the Muslims of Indonesia so warmly accepted Hinns message that God loves Indonesia. It can’t be, he said because they are crazy. It isn’t because they don’t know what they are doing. It can only be, according to Hinn, that God is opening the door for him to preach “the gospel” in all the world just like he said he would.

Well, I have an answer to Hinns questions that no one seemed to think of at the time. The answer to why Benny is allowed to preach his gospel in Muslim countries just could be that his gospel isn’t the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the gospel that Benny preaches is a false gospel without power. Maybe, just maybe the Muslim president of Indonesia recognizes the fact that Benny Hinn represents no threat at all to Islam and so it’s no problem for him to come and preach whenever he wants.

I saw an example of this type of preaching once as Benny Hinn interviewed Marilyn Hickey. He showed a videotape of Hickey preaching in Pakistan. She preached a nice sweet conciliatory message of love. Contradicting the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:34, she stated that Jesus came to bring peace to the earth. All they needed to do was accept Jesus. She then led them all in a mass recitation of the “sinners prayer” and proclaimed them saved. And it was all a lie!  

At Hinns crusade it was apparently even worse than that. According to Benny, the healings started as soon as he walked on stage. There was no need to preach a message of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus started healing people even before Benny preached a word. Even though Jesus said signs and wonders would follow the preaching of the gospel, I guess Benny is just so special, Jesus does it different today through him. 

None of this is scriptural. Every bit of this betrays a false gospel being preached by false prophets.

What do you suppose would have happened to Hinn if he had told those people they must repent of their worship of Allah? What do you suppose would have happened if he had told them their only hope of heaven was to forsake Islam and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ with all their hearts. I’ll tell you what would have happened. Those Muslims would have tried to kill him. They would have dragged him out of town and stoned him. Isn’t that what happened to Paul, and Peter, and Stephen, and all the other disciples of Christ in the bible?

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 7: 57-59

Do you see what happens when the true gospel is preached?

And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Acts 21:30-31 

Was all Jakarta in an uproar over Hinns visit? Hardly. In fact the Saturday newspaper carried a front page picture of Hinn on the platform under a banner that said God Love Indonesia! (We know this because Benny made a point of telling us.) 

Why is it that these modern day apostles can waltz into any country in the world and preach without any real threat of persecution or physical harm? Particularly in Indonesia where Muslims have been murdering true Christians for years. Christians are being threatened with death and prison in every majority Muslim country in the world but Benny Hinn can show up and all of a sudden every body gets saved.

The religious world loves Benny Hinn because whether they be Muslim, Hindu, Jew, or apostate Christian, Benny Hinn is of the world. The world always loves its own.

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:9 

Would you like to know the marks of a true apostle? Paul wrote about true apostles in 1 Corinthians chapter 4.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. 1 Cor 4:10-13

Hungry, thirsty, naked, reviled, persecuted, defamed, the filth of the world, no certain dwelling place……does this sound anything at all like these modern prophets of profit?

But I praise God that he does have some people in Muslim countries preaching the true gospel. The story of Christian convert Abdur Rahman under sentence of death in Afghanistan testifies to the power of the true gospel. How did this man even hear about the gospel? How was he willing to convert even under the threat of losing his family and even his life? Somewhere, somehow, unknown by most of the modern apostate church, God has planted true apostles who risk their lives to get the truth to the Muslim people.

A remnant is hearing the truth but it isn’t coming from celebrity money preachers like Benny Hinn. It isn’t coming from the big networks like TBN and Daystar who preach a powerless Laodicean gospel. No it’s coming from anonymous saints who have laid down their lives to follow Jesus. Men and women just like you and me. People you’ve probably never heard of who love not their lives unto death. Not the greatest but the least of those among us. That’s who God uses, not those looking to make a name for themselves.

It doesn’t take money to preach the gospel. What it takes is obedience. What it takes is a willingness to say, not my will, but thy will oh Lord.

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Is 6:8

 

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Steve Lumbley 2006  www.apostasywatch.com
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