CfaN Christ for all Nations
Reinhard’s Impartation Meetings
A man wrote to me recently from
Kenya,
telling of how God had healed him. He had been very seriously
injured in a crash in 2005. The bus he was travelling in,
overturned.
His spine had been
broken, which left him severely disabled and in much pain.
He had recently
received MM literature, which challenges readers to learn the way of
trusting God and not relying upon men. He wrote:
“I recalled
your book Faith – Raising Our Level Of Expectation. I
have been in deep prayer, striving to apply all high faith
in God to heal me...”
As he
fervently sought God he was given a dream at night:
“Yes it
came to me one night recently, just as a short dream, that a
very soft spoken white man looked graciously at me and said,
‘Take any literature Heap sent and place it on the bed under
your back and trust God to heal you.’
“I told my
wife to bring me a book from the table. She brought them
all. As I moved aside, she spread these MM publications plus
Newsletter. I didn’t say anything but slept slowly [soundly]
on them. This went on for three days. Praise the Lord... I
AM TOTALLY HEALED!
“We are
amazed and overjoyed in the family...
“I have
many words to thank God who works in you... Send me the book
Faith – Raising Our Level Of Expectation. The one I
read went with the owner. Also through your kindness, please
send me Our Sabbath Rest, Who Is The End Time Elijah?,
Apostasy In God’s Church!... plus Newsletter which I
have found to contain very important reports of your
work...” Richard O. O.
God’s Purpose
This wonderful
miracle above is not an isolated occurrence. While God works in many
different ways His wonders to perform, the common denominator is
always to bring glory to HIS name. His name is holy.
There is a
secondary purpose, as you can see in the incident above. It is to
point to where His truth can be found, because it is His truth that
sets people free (Jn
8:32) — not a
man! God’s truth!
Unfortunately, a
devastating transfer has been occurring for decades (and even
longer!) where Jesus has been at work. Men who have gone in His name
have ended up taking much of the glory in His name. It’s not right.
God alone is to be praised. He will share His glory with no one (Is
42:8; 48:11). God is a ‘jealous’ God (Ex 20:3-5) – for good reason!
Where men get
lifted up, He has to bring them down. That is a fact of life and a
scriptural principle.
The loftiness
of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be
brought low. The Lord alone shall be exalted... (Is 2:17, NKJV).
Also:
The idols He
shall utterly abolish (Is 2:18).
Most won’t believe
me when I assert that the big name evangelists have become idols,
but they have. Billy Graham became an idol or icon for many a few
decades ago. And now it’s the turn of people like Morris Cerullo,
Benny Hinn and Reinhard Bonnke and others, who have reached the
masses, to be lifted up.
They may not have
intended it or wanted it, but it is an unfortunate result of their
ministries which have elevated the man on stage like a celebrity.
Because God’s
purpose is the OPPOSITE of elevating humans, He has to destroy such
works before their innate inertia destroys the men God raised up to
take His name to the nations. Unseen, such people have actually
become a stumblingblock.
And one shall
say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! [Pile up all the evidence, showing what is wrong and why it
is wrong.] Prepare the way [as John the Baptist did, so
must Elijah do], take the stumbling- block out of the way of
My people” (Is 57:14).
For thus says
the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is
Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Is 57:15).
You can see that in
Richard O’s testimony above. He suffered for three years, and
his whole family suffered while he was incapacitated through no
fault of his own. There is a sign in the number three.
God also healed him
– very deliberately, only after three days. Why three?
Three depicts
finality. We are very close to the end of this Church Age. Jesus’
coming is only a few years away. There is not much time.
We are now in the
time of ‘Elijah’, prophesied in Malachi 4:5-6. God is restoring long
forgotten truths to His people. The Church can no longer afford to
ignore them or prefer to hold onto deceptions. This is the Final
Restoration. The two threes were just one sign.
God gives signs
following His Word. His Truth is of paramount importance to Him and
to true believers.
God has given many
other miraculous signs and a host of revelations to accompany this
ministry.
God’s Impartation
Another
correspondent (I will call him ‘X’) wrote from Kenya about how they
had received the Spirit’s impartation. I had written to encourage a
lady whose daughter had been killed and dismembered horrifically
when crushed by a lorry. Other tragedies had also personally
befallen her family. I explained God’s love to her, and encouraged
her.
I sent the letter
to X and he translated it into her language. As they met for
fellowship under a tree on the Sabbath (that is an immutable
commandment of God to observe His Sabbath day and keep it holy – see
Exodus 20:8-11 – and remember, the Word of God is inviolable), she
was slain in the Spirit and received a vision. I have omitted the
vision because it was God’s portrayal of things in her life. X
wrote:
“First I
read the letter in English, as I translated it bit by bit
and gave her a copy of the translated letter. When we were
in our Sabbath fellowship, God’s miraculous power fell on
her.
“She fell
down [under the power of the Spirit] under the tree where we
sat. We thought maybe she was shocked, recalling the death
of her beloved daughter and of the animals. But because we
have faith in God, we prayed for her with my wife. By that
time she was roaring, with her mouth full of sputum and
foams. [These are some of the manifestations that sometimes
accompany deliverance from demons.]
“Well, as
we know that faith is the faculty of being absolutely sure
that what you ask for, you will receive, we got an instant
reply from God to our prayers. She was disturbed for 16
minutes, then she lifted up her head and sat on the ground
shaking her head like a drunkard. I prayed for her, as I
held her head, until she became ‘sober’...
“She told
us of the vision she received...
“After that
night, on the Sunday morning, I had a dream that I was
resting on my bed and I saw a dove flying beside me. I
stood, got hold of the dove, and held it to my chest...
[dream truncated.]
“Well, back
to the issue of R [the lady]. She was baptized on 9th March
in the river... It was a wonderful scene... [After being
baptized] she talked in tongues, and straight away we went
to her home for more discussion and a Bible study. On that
Sunday night, she was given another dream [depicting her] as
a small baby, and being spoon-fed by someone she was not
familiar with.
“Second,
while she was sleeping, about 3 am that night [there’s that
number 3 again], she heard a sound like that of a bomb which
said that the next president of America might have a name
that bears the number 666 which is found in Revelation
13...”
I have not
explained that dream here. It will be covered in MM’s next
Newsletter (No 44, May 2008).
The reason I have
included these two examples here is to show that it is GOD who
imparts, WITHOUT the need for man to be present.
Reinhard is
inviting people to come to an “impartation breakfast” on March 29th
(2008), where he will personally pray for and lay hands on people to
receive the impartation of the Spirit.
Let me tell you,
you don’t need to do that! You don’t need a man laying hands on you.
You don’t need a man to pray for you. You need to submit to God,
yield to Him, doing His will, to receive the impartation.
How To Retrogress
People frequently
write to me from
Africa, asking me to come to their country in person. I won’t do
it. I refuse to go in person.
It’s not me they
need. It’s God’s Spirit. And they don’t need me to come or pray for
them, to be able to receive God’s Spirit. His Spirit is holy,
and when you want the holiness of God, He gives you His Spirit. If
you don’t want His holiness, you won’t get His Spirit. It’s as
simple as that.
It doesn’t matter
if you get all the ‘high-powered’ evangelists in the world to pray
over you, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference! The Spirit is not
given by the decree or will of man, but that of God.
It’s wrong of
Reinhard to ask for money for impartation. Freely he received.
Freely he should give. That is Jesus’ recommendation (Matt 10:8).
What message does
it send to people when they see a picture of Reinhard, eyes closed,
hands laid on the shoulders of a man wanting to receive from God,
inviting you to attend his impartation meeting? Does it not send an
unspoken message to your brain that you need Reinhard? That you may
need him to pray over you, for you to receive from God?
Does it not elevate
the man?
When traffic was
brought to a standstill after an accident, in an African country
where Reinhard was travelling, some local people recognised Reinhard
and shouted with delight “Bonnke! Bonnke!” It gave him a platform to
hold a ‘mini-crusade’ on the spot, and several penitent hearts gave
themselves to Jesus on that occasion. As wonderful as the latter
was, what preceded it was not wonderful. I don’t mean the road
crash. I mean the adulation that Reinhard received, where people
looked up to him, almost as a god.
Reinhard is a
celebrity in many African countries. He is invited to meet with
community chiefs and political leaders there. They hold banquets in
his honour.
When Jesus walked
this earth, although He was invited to eat with some rich and famous
people, they didn’t hold banquets in His honour. Reinhard has gone
one step ahead of Jesus. Or has he?
No, he has
retrogressed, and doesn’t see it.
It’s the truth that
sets people free, not a man. So, to those who ask me to come and
preach to them, or teach them, I explain that I am already coming
through the literature I send. And it’s not me they need anyway,
it’s Jesus, who anointed MM literature with His Spirit of revelation
and teaching. As they accept the truth in those publications, they
accept Jesus into their lives, and He sets them free.
That’s why Richard
was healed by lying on top of MM literature. (Don’t think that the
same thing will work for you; it won’t, unless God specifically says
so. It’s not the physical act which brings healing, but your trust
in God.) It was God’s sign. It was His way of pointing to the
importance of what is in the literature. It contains His truths, and
you can relying upon it to bring Jesus into your life, if you will
accept all He says.
That’s the way to
move forward – to look to Jesus, not to a man; to rely upon Jesus,
not rely upon a man; and to put your trust in Jesus, not in a man.
The way to
retrogress is by doing the converse – to look to a man, to rely upon
the man, and put your trust in the man.
How God Imparts
In the New
Testament there are a number of precedents, showing the various ways
God imparts:
1. Sovereignly,
without any involvement of man. God reaches down from heaven and
instigates whatever it is He wants to do. We see this in the birth
of Jesus, and of John the Baptist. They were filled with the Spirit
from birth (Lk 1:15). Also, in how John’s father Zacharias was
struck dumb (Lk 1:20) and later released (Lk 1:64).
2. In transfer by
the laying on of hands (Matt 9:18; Mk 6:5; 16:18; Lk 4:40; 13:13;
Acts 6:6; 8:17).
3. Using a physical
symbolic reminder, such as anointing oil (Jas 5:16).
4. Through prayer.
Both the above would be accompanied by prayer. But there are many
times when prayer alone, without physical contact, achieves results
(Acts 4:31; 9:40; 12:5-7).
5. During preaching
(Acts 10:42-44;
11:15).
6. From a command
(Luke 18:40-43; Acts 9:40).
7. By doing what
God commands (Lk 17:14-19).
8. When Peter’s
shadow passed over the sick persons, they were healed (Acts 5:15).
9. Via anointed
aprons or handkerchiefs from Paul (Acts 19:12).
The last two
methods were unique ways God chose to manifest His power at that
time, to verify and validate the preachers and their message,
which was receiving considerable opposition. God chooses to perform
unique miraculous signs like those – as in Richard’s case above, in
which he was told in a dream to lay on MM literature – to confirm
the ministry of the one He is using, and the value of what is
taught.
In all these
instances, the foundation for the works of God to take place
were the request of a contrite heart and obedient submission to
God’s will.
It is significant
that God varied His methods, for obvious reasons. People tend to
look on the physical ritual and think that the performing of the
ritual is the ‘magic formula’ for receiving from God, when it’s not.
It’s what takes place in your heart that is far more vital.
People can receive
the Holy Spirit without hands being laid on them. I first received
that way. Likewise for healing, deliverance from demons, and any
spiritual need, it is your heart’s response toward God that enables
the Spirit to come in, and allows Him to act on your behalf.
For How Much Longer?
When a person
becomes regarded as the indispensable mediator between you and God –
without whom you cannot receive from Jesus – then Jesus has been
dethroned from His position as the only Mediator between God and man
(1 Tim 2:5).
This is now the
problem with Reinhard’s CfaN ministry. HE has become the lord, the
mediator, and effectively also, the usurper. As I explained in the
article Reinhard Bonnke And Antichrist, the unseen transition
that has taken place has stolen away from God’s ideal, so that
Reinhard now stands as an antichrist before the people. An
antichrist is anyone who stands in place of Christ, not just one who
opposes Him.
Oh, Jesus still
heals people at CfaN’s meetings, delivers from some demons, and
imparts the Holy Spirit to those who are hungry for Him, because
these acts of God are acts of His grace. Wherever preachers preach,
and people want to receive from God, He is there to honour His Word
and fill the hungry (Lk 1:53).
It’s a bit like the
supply and demand of the marketplace. Where people have needs and
are looking to buy, and a seller is there to satisfy that demand,
transactions take place.
Reinhard is
offering what the people want, so he has a willing audience. They
want to hear a man who sounds convincing, animated, exciting. A
boring, lack lustre, dull delivery will go down on a massive
audience like a lead balloon. But Reinhard is an energetic preacher,
and therefore appeals to Africans. He has won their favour. He has
perfected his preaching expertise over four decades.
Plus, he comes with
experience of how God works. He knows that God heals, delivers from
(some) demons, and pours out His Spirit with manifestations where
faith is exercised. If you believe, you receive, and Reinhard knows
that truism, so he ‘exploits’ it – which is very right and good. God
wants to give, so Reinhard encourages faith in believers to receive,
and the transfer can then occur. So, Reinhard is popular.
The fact that God
graces Reinhard’s meetings with signs and wonders, healings,
deliverances, etc., is not proof that God approves of the
methodology. It is proof of God’s boundless love, nothing more.
The revelations God
has given in dreams to MM about Reinhard’s ministry and outreach
testify against him. When God speaks to a prophet, and that input is
ignored or rejected, God then does things to effect change.
Judgement falls. Doors begin to close. Problems and difficulties
arise that get more serious as time goes on. God removes His
blessing and begins to fight against the ones He formerly used (Is
63:10).
So, Reinhard’s
meetings may be somewhat graced by God at present, but for how much
longer?
A Hidden Agenda?
Are not Reinhard’s
‘impartation’ meetings really a ruse to raise some funds for his
outreach? Isn’t that what lies behind most of his activities outside
of his ‘crusade’ meetings?
He’s too engrossed
in his agenda. He does not need to reach the masses by human
means in this age. God has a scheme that Reinhard and all the big
time evangelists are unaware of. This prophet has told him, but no
one listens!
Wouldn’t he be
better to feed people with more of God’s truth from His Word,
instead of the shallow, paltry helpings of trivia that he has
recently written in his articles? They lack so much depth and truth.
They are like the dream I was given of his new booklet, containing
nothing of real depth or worth (see article Reinhard’s New
Booklet).
It’s not enough to
be clever with words, or to try to create interest by human appeal.
That doesn’t feed people.
At the moment there
is little he can impart to others, while he lacks so much further
truth that God wants him to have.
Laodicean Blindness
When God sends a
prophet to you with further truth, if you reject the prophet and
what he brings, you have shut the door on Jesus and left Him outside
where he stands and knocks. This is the prevalent weakness of the
Church in this complacent, laid-back end time (Rev 3:20). Jesus is
standing there right now waiting for the proper meek response.
Meekness is not
weakness. It’s childlike desire to learn; willingness to receive
further truth.
Most of the big
name evangelists are terribly misguided. They have been led up the
garden path by long-held church dogma, by false doctrines with
faulty exegesis, and copying one another.
They have become
elevated and celebrated, when it is Jesus who alone should receive
that glory.
Many of them will
not enter God’s kingdom. They have become too high and mighty.
Then Jesus
called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and
said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted
and become as little children, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:2,3.).
You may have read
that text many times before. Preachers will have preached it in
their sermons countless times, yet failed to truly grasp how they
were going against Jesus’ very words!
Notice the word I
have underlined. When Jesus was emphatic, it was because the message
He was trying to convey was lost on humanity. The disciples, who
were with Him day after day for those three years, didn’t understand
either. They were still fighting amongst themselves about who would
be the greatest.
Those who are great
in this life are not going to be great in the next. What is highly
esteemed among men is NOT highly esteemed by God (Lk 16:15).
Too many of these
‘big names’ are happy with the acclaim they receive. They think it
helps the cause of God’s kingdom. They think their being lifted up
attracts many new folk into the fold. How blind they are!
God’s Work on earth
today is not about numbers. It’s not about celebrities. It’s not
about impressing others. It’s not about gloss and glamour and human
attractions. It’s not about winning souls. It’s not about any of
those human considerations.
It’s about unseen
things. It’s about matters of the heart. It’s about what’s deep down
inside you; what is your spiritual motivation?
Are you willing to
choose the unpopular way; the way that brings hostility, opposition,
persecution, and even death? Too many believers misinterpret Jesus’
words about bringing us life (Jn 10:10). Such people are too shallow
and selfish to grasp them in anything other than a purely physical
context.
The Laodicean
blindness of our time reverses Jesus’ pivotal words, to say this:
...I have come
to destroy the Law and the Prophets. Yes, I have come to remove
the Law’s authority, not to fill it up to the full (reverse of
Matt 5:17).
Notice what Jesus
really emphasises – what is most important to Him:
For ASSUREDLY
[that emphasis again!] I say to you, till heaven and earth
pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the
law till all is fulfilled (Matt
5:18).
Reinhard doesn’t
preach this! He preaches that something was done away from the law –
the Sabbath command. He claims, like all the other misguided big
evangelists and theologians (many of them FALSE!) that you don’t
need to keep the fourth commandment as it was given to Israel, that
you can alter that one and do what is humanly convenient and
expedient.
Those deceivers
will be very small soon...
Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and
teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven (5:19).
That’s not your
popular and accepted teaching today, but it is truth. It is
inviolable, and it will judge you on the Last Day. What blindness
there is now!
If you want real
impartation from God, obey all His commandments; do all He says;
listen to His voice and heed His every word. Then you will be
rejected by most, regarded as the offscouring of the world (1 Cor
4:13), opposed, vilified, persecuted, and you will have acceptance
and reward in heaven (Matt 5:1011).
That’s not your popular gospel, but it’s the full gospel
nonetheless, and Reinhard doesn’t preach it. He cannot impart
fulness while he is not prepared to preach it!
Malcolm B Heap, March 2008
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