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It is not often that I find myself watching the God Channel, but last night was one such occasion. I found myself flicking around the channels trying to find something to keep me occupied for a few minutes; and I settled on the God channel to find an address in progress, being delivered by the renowned broadcaster Benny Hinn. I almost could not believe what the man was saying.
In case you didn't see the thing - and I guess there are far more people who didn't than did - in essence, here is the gist of his message ...
Hinn was recounting a time when his TV company was in severe debt (I think he said the actual amount was around $200K). He told of a conversation he had, at that time, with a fellow who had informed him of some subtlety related to the 'Law of Giving' - apparently backed by scripture. As a result of that conversation, Hinn became convinced that God was telling him to give away the remaining funds under his control.
After some apparent soul-searching, Hinn decided that it was indeed God's intention that he should give away a large amount of money; and he began writing $1000 cheques and sending them off to various people. He continued this, despite the incredulity of his staff, until he had given away all 'his' money.
He then spoke about a couple of episodes that took place after he had given away the money. Firstly, he gave away his last few cents in the church offering/collection. Then, he says, he really had no money left at all - not even enough to pay for a meal after church; he apparently was in the habit of paying for his friends, but now was not able to do so.
Then came the turning point in the story: a woman offered to pay the bill when it came. A few days after, he received a cheque in the post with a note saying that God had prompted the sender. Finally, cheque after cheque began to pour in until all of the debt was erased. This, according to Benny Hinn was a miracle that God had worked because he (Hinn) had been faithful to God in giving.
It felt like the setup before some appeal, but now I was hooked! I wanted to know what was coming next. Well, it turns out that he was not quite ready to make his appeal. Instead he went on to speak about how the giving of that specific amount i.e. $1000 took faith. In short, it turned out that he was not asking for any donation - he was asking specifically for a donation of $1000; and he went to to say he was looking for 1000 donations of $1000!
However, he was still not ready to ask people to pick up the phone. He first wanted to emphasise his message. Did you get it? He (Benny Hinn) gave away all his money and God gave him back much more than he had given; now it would be your turn. To give away $1000 requires faith, but God was speaking; and he would do the same for the viewer!
My jaw dropped!
Now, of course this cool $1 Million was not for personal use; it would be used, as he explained, to take the gospel to China. Oh, how I cringed. Taking the gospel to China is one thing, taking this kind of message is quite another.
So today, I am making an appeal to the world on behalf of China - and my appeal is simple and direct. I will not imply that it comes with the authority of God, but it comes from the heart. Here it is ...
For the sake of China, for the sake Christians the world-over, for the sake of television, for the sake of decency for the sake of sanity - DO NOT GIVE THIS MAN YOUR MONEY!Labels: appeal, benny hinn, tv |
