It was a lovely evening to have a banquet with Pastor Bennyhinn at the Hilton hotel, London. What amazed me was not the grandeur of the banquet with the well- known Evangelist Bennyhinn, but the practical message he gave about ‘How to preach the Salvation to the lost souls’. I give glory to our Lord for his ministry. I was in awe when I noted that there was neither filming / photography of the event nor any security. The meeting was very simple and so was the man, Bennyhinn! As all of us were having dinner around a big table in the Ballroom, he appeared on the small platform and joked, saying, “You all can continue to have the desert, while I start talking to you!” I was really surprised to see this evangelist who is very popular among the crowd, stood there humbly, giving glory to Jesus all the time. He called some special people from the audience to come to the stage to share their testimonies. Pastors from the Middle East shared how God touched them by appearing in their dreams.
Pastor Bennyhinn shared his personal prayer life. Few days before this meeting, he was called by God in a dream twice to go and pray for 2 days continually. He obeyed and started to pray. As we all know Bennyhinn is a man of God who prays for more than 5 to 6 hrs a day. But still he admitted that his prayers were mainly centered on the needs for his ministry, financial needs, and needs of the world (and also his family). During the continuous prayer, God gently rebuked him and asked, “Do you like the ministry or me? Which is your first?” Then God showed him that he spent more time in praying for the ministry / his family / finance etc, but only less time in seeking his face.
The truth is: God wants people to seek his face and not his hand!
I’ve summed up his message shortly:-
Matt. 24th chapter: 24 Signs of the second coming
1. Deceptions (v.4-5, 11, 24)
2. False Christs (v.5, 23-26)
3. Wars and rumors of wars (v.6-7)
4. Famines (v.7)
5. Pestilences (v.7)
6. Earthquakes (v.7)
7. Anti-semitism (v.9)
8. Offences (v.10)
9. Betrayals (v.9)
10.Hatred (v.10)
11.False prophets (v.11, 24)
12.Lawlessness abounding (v.12)
13.Love of many getting cold (v.12)
14.Increased missionary work (v.14)
15.Abomination of desolation (v.15)
16.New Jewish nation in Judea (v.9, 15-26; Dan.9:27)
17.New Jewish temple (v.15, 26; Dan.8:9-13)
18.Great tribulation of 3 and ½ yrs (v.21; Dan.12:1)
19.Martyrdoms (v.9, 22; Rev.11:7)
20.Flight of Jews from Judea (v.16-21)
21.Increased satanic powers (v.24)
22.Surfeiting (v.38)
23.Sex crimes (v.38)
24.Procrastination and lethargy (v.39)
The main theme to consider is the TIME: We are at the end of the time. Paul the apostle preached the gospel for about 30 yrs. His preaching shook the whole world. So, we need at least 30 yrs to evangelize effectively. But we don’t have that length of time. The time is short! Evangelists like Bennyhinn CANNOT reach your neighbours; not everyone watches Christian channels. It is the responsibility of each and every born-again believer to preach the message of salvation to their neighbours! Bring your neighbour to your home for a tea and at the end present them Bible. Then, continue to pray for their Salvation. There’s no need to be ashamed of the Gospel. It’s time that we all, as a part of the Kingdom of Heaven, act in union to preach the salvation to those lost souls. I pray that the Holy Sprit strengthen us and touch the hearts of all the unbelievers. Amen!
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… God choose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…” I Cor. 1:18, 27
