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CfaN Christ for all Nations

Reinhard Bonnke
For $450 a Day


H
ow much are you prepared to pay for the truth? How much would you have paid Jesus to hear what He had to say? How much did Jesus charge those whom He taught?

The suggestion that an evangelist should charge for his services is outrageous! Yet this is what is happening! Many evangelists do this.

They rent large facilities, like an auditorium or lecture rooms, and then hold ‘seminars’ to teach those willing to pay for the privilege. Is it right?


$450 A Day!

Reinhard wrote to his supporters offering only 50 select ‘evangelists’ among them the opportunity to sit at his feet and learn from him for the princely sum of $900. Applicants are understandably vetted and individually selected.

The Face To Face event takes place in Florida, USA, at the CfaN offices, over two days. The cost includes meals and refreshments, but not accommodation, nor travel costs. So, the two day event can prove a very costly opportunity – $450 a day to listen to Reinhard, plus other expenses.

It’s a chance clearly only available to the well-off. The poor need not apply!


What Would Jesus Say?

In the context of giving others Gospel truths, healing, deliverance, and raising the dead, Jesus said:

...Freely [willingly] you have received, freely [willingly] give (Matt 10:8).

JESUS NEVER CHARGED OTHERS FOR HIS SERVICES. He never asked others for money. Is it right that those in His service do what He would never do?!

If an evangelist must charge for his services, is he really fulfilling Jesus’ words above?

Of course, staunch supporters of Reinhard, and other evangelists who charge for seminars, would say that I am being unfair – that it is not a matter of preaching the Gospel, but of training others.

However, Jesus trained His disciples and never asked them for money. Money wasn’t Jesus’ concern. Giving people the truths of God was His concern. So, I’m sorry, but Reinhard and all others who practice this affront, are not supported by Scripture. It is an outrage to demand money from people, or refuse to teach them. Reinhard doesn’t do this at his ‘crusades’ so why do it in the training of other 'torchbearers'?

The simple answer in six words: It’s all a matter of fund-raising.

Admittedly, he has expenses to cover – wages of his staff, the cost of facilities, catering, etc. But, even so, to whom does he look for reimbursement? To God, or to man?

Why can’t he let people donate according to their means, and allow God to bring the people on a spiritual basis (that only God sees), rather than on a physical basis according to who can afford it? Letting finances determine who attends and who doesn’t sends a completely wrong signal to others, and also undermines God’s selection process.

Did Jesus select His disciples on the basis of their fiscal worth? Of course not! It’s outrageous!


We Don’t Charge For MM Literature

Critics will argue that we ‘charge’ money for our literature. So, what’s the difference between that and what Reinhard is doing?

Well, for a start, we DON’T charge others for MM publications. We send them gratis. We certainly remind people of THEIR obligation to support the giver, according to the principle in Matthew 10:10 that a worker is worthy of his ‘keep’. So we indicate the rough production costs of each publication. The suggested donation is often less than we need when postage and other factors are taken into account.

The bulk of MM publications go abroad to third world countries where recipients have little money and cannot reimburse us. So, we operate Midnight Ministries at a thumping loss every year! How do we cope? We trust in God to provide the shortfall.

God prevents us from sinking!

Let me just explain how we operate. It’s the same way Corrie ten Boom relied upon God in faith. She trusted in God to provide for her outreach, and because her motives were pure, He did.

She wasn’t out to make a name for herself. She loved the truth of God and loved Jesus, and so she was willing to sacrifice to take Him to others.

Reinhard did this in his early years in Africa, so why has his modus operandi changed? Because he is concerned to reach many millions more, and looks at things humanly, thinking that money and manpower are the means. As I have explained previously, his agenda is wrong. It is not biblical. And his reliance has thus become compromised also.

God tells us through Zechariah (4:6) that it is not by human or physical factors that God’s Work is done. It’s by His Spirit. And where someone is in God’s will, He provides the means. Where you are not in God’s will, He withholds the means.

That is not always the whole story, but it is the foundation. Trust and obey is the principle.

Paul went without at times because of the failure of the Corinthians and others to support him as they should have done. But Paul never resorted to asking others for money. He reminded them of their responsibilities towards God, towards the truth and towards him. But he and all the disciples would not have adopted commercial fund-raising methods which are secular, not godly.


Miracles Of Provision

MM’s work of God is not a human work. Because we are appointed by Him, He is our mainstay and Provider. To explain more, here is a quote from my article Is The Lord’s Arm Too Short?

You have to be in the will of God to receive from Him. John wrote:

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, what- ever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him (1 Jn 5:14,15).

Quite often you don’t even have to ask!

We have had an angel fill the ink cartridge in our printer when we ran out of ink. We didn’t have to ask. God works sovereignly to achieve His purposes. He knows what you need before you ask Him (Matt 6:8).

Someone brought money to our door after we fulfilled God’s command to send out 500 audio tapes. [The tapes went to members of a cult, whom we knew would not listen nor respond. So it was effectively a waste of money from a human point of view. The man’s donation was the exact cost of the operation!]

When my computer crashed and I had no money to replace it, God spoke to a lady to give us the precise amount to buy a new one. He told her how much! She was shaken that God would speak to her so directly! [I had told no one of my need.]

When we were head-over-heels in debt, God moved various people to donate huge sums of money to completely pay off our debts – on three separate occasions.

We have experienced other miraculous incidents of God’s provision. Why? Because we are in His will, doing His Work, not wanting for ourselves, but for Him.

And God is no respecter of persons. He will provide for you, too, if you learn to stay in His will and do whatever He has in mind for you. It may be very menial. He may have simply called you to tithe from a regular boring job, to care for your family, to love your wife and children, and to share His truths with the few people whom you meet (and whom God shows you to share with). That may be the extent of what He wants you to do as a part of His Work on earth.

But if you do it; if you faithfully fulfil His will, and do your best, He will provide for you, too. He will move heaven and earth, if need be, to make sure you have what you need to obey Him.

Faithfulness is the key. (End of excerpt.)

Recently in the troubles in Kenya, a lady who is translating MM literature into a local language was without food for her family. She hadn’t eaten for two days. She had no money, no food, and nothing but God to rely upon. She didn’t write to me, because her trust is not in me; it is in God. She demonstrated what each person should do in such circumstances. She looked to God, just like Elijah did, and God provided.

He sent an angel with a small bag. The angel had the appearance of a man. He gave her a small amount of food, and a small amount of money in Kenyan shillings, just enough to provide for her family for a few days. Later, God provided through another source for her.


Why A Prophet Is Used

Why isn’t God providing all that Reinhard would like for his outreach? Because he is not in God’s will.

He has blocked the input God sent him through a prophet. He has refused to change his theology where it needs changing. He has refused to accept further truth. He has stubbornly gone along ‘the same old way’ that he has been used to going for decades.

When you block input from a prophet whom God sends, you shun the One who sent him (Luke 10:16).

God has to send a prophet to Reinhard, because he is unable or unwilling to recognise God’s voice on the issues that God is currently presenting to the Church. If people reject the prophet, they reject God. It’s as simple and as disastrous as that! If God could reach him by directly speaking to him about the current issues, He would.

Put yourself in Reinhard’s shoes. You have evangelised for decades. You have fulfilled God’s call on your life to bring salvation to millions in Africa. You have seen countless miracles of healing, deliverance from demons, and other wonders of God behind you. You KNOW that God has backed you up mightily!

Do you think you would listen to God if He tried to speak to you about altering your theology where it is radically out of step? No. You would not think the prompt is from God, but from Satan. You would be so convinced that what you believe is correct, because of all that God has done all along, supporting your work.

So, God has to employ a prophet for the task. Even then, the assignment is difficult, and you would not listen immediately. God then has to cause other things to happen to cause you to listen.

When He delivered Israel from Egypt, at first the Israelites didn’t recognise Moses as His instrument. God had to confirm Moses’ assignment by miraculous power. Also the Egyptian magicians wouldn’t recognise Moses, because they had their own agenda and their own miraculous power, too. Only when Moses’ power was superior to theirs were they forced to concede defeat.

It’s the same with Reinhard and us. He won’t recognise me – the new boy on the scene – someone with no commendation from men, but only from God (2 Cor 10:18). However, when God pours out His power – very soon – and raises people from the dead who have been dead for years, then God-fearing (but errant) people will realise we DO speak for Him; that He HAS appointed me as a prophet to speak for Him.

I have said to detractors, if you think that you are appointed by him as part of the Work of Elijah today in restoring the final foundation of truth for the Bride to accept before Jesus’ coming, then prophesy of names who have been dead for years and raise those people from the dead, then I will believe you. (And I believe there will be others doing this as well as us. But they won’t be the big names who have dominated the evangelistic stage.)

I have heavenly credentials to demonstrate that I speak for God – a Dream Diary of hundreds of night visions; likewise Helena’s; and the affirmation from God to other third parties about MM’s work, that it is of Him. But do people take notice of that? No. Just as Israel took no notice of what God told Moses, or what He said to Elijah. Only when those men ‘produced’ miracles did people sit up and listen.

Each prophet has a job to do in the wilderness first, before he is revealed ‘to the world’. My job has been to write a foundation of doctrinal truth for the Church so that she can be put back on track. I did not seek this task. I didn’t want it. It was assigned and confirmed through dreams from God.[1]


“Heap It Up”

One particular aspect of my commission has been to heap it up.

And one shall say, ‘Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the Way, take the stumblingblock out of the way of My people.’ (Is 57:14.)

God highlighted this text to Helena many years ago, before all MM’s publications and articles, and dreams from God were a reality. With hindsight, we see its fulfilment. God confirms His Word with signs following it. The word above is fulfilled in this instance by what you are reading here, along with all the other publications pointing out God’s standards of holiness.

God is calling His people to repentance again, to change, to reform, to accept this restoration of truth.

More about this commission is explained in the publication More Than A Prophet.

I have been in my ‘hermit’s hole’ for 17 years, writing, as led by the Spirit. In all this time God has provided our needs through a handful of supporters, that’s all. We have no church backing. Churches oppose us. I have no regular income, so God provides.

Elijah was at one time in a cave, supported by God because no one else was there to keep him alive.

You should know that God promised a similar work to that of Elijah’s at the very end (Mal 4:5,6). Elijah called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1). So have we – people have been struck dead. You can read of that in When God’s Judgement Falls, Terror At Midnight, and Don’t Abuse It, Use It! Those three publications contain the accounts of what occurred in Kenya when ‘our’ work was blocked by evil people.

And anyone else who stands in the way of what God is doing will come under God’s judgement in some way. That is why I tried to reach Reinhard, before heaping it up in these articles.


Seeking To Impress Others

Reinhard’s Face to Face invitation flatters him:

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke is a man with an unquenchable passion for souls. Not satisfied with seeing a single city, state or even an entire country won for Jesus, he has pressed forward, through a lifetime of soul-winning and sometimes with meetings of over One and a half Million people in attendance, to pursue a goal of reaching the whole continent of Africa with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In these face-to-face and personal meetings with one of the world's greatest evangelists, you will be challenged, you will be inspired and you will be equipped to cast the Gospel net across nations. Bonnke's cry of 'Africa Will be Saved!' is not just a mission statement, it is an impassioned promise from the very heart of God that extends to all nations and all peoples.

What is it that makes a man give much of his life to win a foreign continent for Jesus? What causes over One Million people to make a decision for Christ at one single altar call? What are the dynamics of the signs-following Gospel that sees the cripples walk, the deaf hear, the dead rise and that has the power to impact an entire city?

If you have a real heart for the lost and are already in pursuit of souls as a full-time evangelist, register now to be part of this historic gathering. It will be a truly unique, vision-casting, goal-setting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those who yearn to do more to win this, and future generations to Christ!

How blinkered!

The person who wrote that has no idea how close we are to the end of this age!! He has no concept of how God works and why God has used Reinhard.

You don’t choose to go into ministry, and then seek out another man to train you. GOD calls you, trains you, in His crucible, for the task. Then He empowers you, enables you, and backs you up.

The write-up above seeks to impress humanly. It is the sort of secular marketing that true believers should not employ. It is using human flattery, human commendation, rather than God’s commendation.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:18 of the need to have the latter.

I know that Reinhard has had that, but it’s not there any longer, because his work needs to scale down and be redirected more towards restoring truth than ‘converting souls’. It’s truth that sets people free (Jn 8:32) not preachers seeking to save multitudes.

It is asserted above that Reinhard is “one of the world’s greatest evangelists”. On whose rating is that appraisal based? Man’s, not God’s.

I explain in Some Pitfalls Of Reinhard Bonnke’s Ministry what God considers greatest. It’s what God said to me one day. It’s most revealing!

Do You Want To Evangelise?

If you want to evangelise, why? Has God called you to it? Do you have His commendation? Or are you merely following the suggestion of others – running off to do what you have been told by your mentors that you should? If it’s the latter, don’t bother; you won’t succeed. Your calling and empowerment has to come from Above, not from below.

I wonder how many young evangelists race off into the unknown purely because that’s what they have been told is expected of them.

Many ‘evangelists’ aspire to a perceived ‘elevated’ position out of vanity. Africans are especially prone to this mistake.

Reinhard never had that wrong aspiration. His love for God and for people was what fuelled him, and guaranteed his success. God used him because of the genuineness of his motives.

Equally genuine evangelists are unlikely to be queuing up to get into Reinhard’s Face to Face meetings. It’s far more likely that the false variety will be lining up to try and acquire their own dose of fame. May God soon cut short this travesty and bring an end to this abuse in His name!

In Guidelines For Evangelists I provide nine directives for how to go about doing what God wants in evangelism. It’s not what most expect. The booklet Witnessing For Christ also gives further instruction.

You cannot go before you are properly taught and prepared. There are some facts in those booklets which Reinhard is unaware of, despite all his numeric success. You should know them.

God gave the following dream to an evangelist in Kenya. It will give you some clues as to what God considers most important and how to succeed. The dream is in bold; my comments [in reply to him] follow.

I saw you in Migori market preaching the gospel. Many people surrounded you to hear what you were talking about.
I will not be there in person. The dream may depict how others will take the message to that location by taking 'our' publications there.

After that you called me to come and help preach the gospel.
That is your calling, too, from Jesus. Notice Matthew 28:19-20 is a commission that involves EVERY disciple who is willing and able, not merely the first ones whom Jesus trained. You are being trained by Him though 'our' publications. If you are not familiar with this truth, read Just What Is The Work? and Witnessing For Christ.

God gave us many people.
The response. God backs up those who 'go' for Him in sincerity and unselfish dedication.

On the day after that, you guided us into a very beautiful room.
This depicts the heavenly reward which Jesus promised us all in John 14:2. This will come later. First we all have to do Jesus' will on earth, as is explained in 'our' publications. They show the way to eternal glory.

When we entered that room, Helena, Tonya and Zenya welcomed all of us with a smile and invited us to sit in beautiful chairs, then they served us with a very nice meal. We were all very glad and ate with gratitude.
This depicts how H, T and Z have all helped by their work and efforts to make this literature available to you, so that you can partake in the spiritual feast that the publications contain for those who will 'eat' what they contain.

You took a very close look at my meal and encouraged me to eat more. Your face was shining when you did this.  
When Moses came down from Mt Sinai, his face shone because he had been in the presence of God. I have been in the presence of God while writing MM publications.
[2] I couldn't write them of and by myself. God moved me in what was written, hence the imagery of my face shining. My taking a close look at your meal symbolises how I have paid attention to detail in some of the particulars of doctrine which I have written about. Those are 'fine details' of the faith – to do with Sabbaths, holy days, new moon celebrations and other aspects summarised briefly in Wielding The Divine Axe – which many other Christians are not aware of.

I was surprised to see you serve a meal to so many people, and I was thankful to God and praised Him.
This depicts the many people who will benefit from what God has had us write. It will not be just a small work. Soon, after the dead are raised, it will be a worldwide work and reach MANY people! Millions!

That is the dream which God gave me three times.
Three depicts finality in God's workings. We are very close to the end of this age in relation to its overall history. There are only a few more years left; very few! It's time to get to work and to work diligently for Jesus! The Kingdom of God awaits.

Malcolm B Heap,  Feb 2008

Further Reading:
Guidelines For Evangelists (£1)   |   Witnessing For Christ (£2)   |   The Festivals of God (£1)   |   Our Sabbath Rest (£3)
The Faith Once Delivered To The Saints (£1)   |   The Controversy Concerning Law and Grace (£2)   |   Apostasy In God’s Church! (£2)
Meetings With Jesus
(£2)   |  
God’s Church – Whose Authority? (£3)   |   GET READY! (£1)   |   Waking The Dead! (£1)   |   MORE THAN A PROPHET (£1)
 

[1]   Explained in the book Dreams and Visions From God (£5.00), although that volume only contains a small number of the dreams God has given to us. The majority are uploaded onto the web, and also published regularly in our Dream Diary Supplements with our regular Newsletters.

[2]   This is substantiated by several independent witnesses to whom God gave separate revelations. Some of these are recounted in the leaflet What God Said About Midnight Ministries (50p) (there are a number more that are not in that leaflet).
 

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www.midnightministries.org.uk