Background: This is a prophesy from about 2,800 years ago but is still relevant for our society today. To put it in context - the Israelites have strayed from God and only have time for him one day a week. Amos sees hypocrites, false teachings, corruption and materialism in Israel. The problem is that no-one is listening to God, or God’s people such as Amos. No matter how powerful the argument they simply don’t want to know. The people had become complacent in their wealth and felt they could get along fine in life without God. Sound familiar?
In our society it is fine to talk about sex or politics etc. Religion on the other hand is a taboo topic. You don’t go there. Religion is supposed to be a private matter. It is not socially acceptable to talk to others about your beliefs as if they are true, and it is unacceptable to claim anyone else’s religion is false. You can’t speak of a God who intrudes into everyday life, who demands a response, who requires repentance. If you have religious beliefs you must keep them to yourself, in effect society commands that you box God into one part of your (private) life. But the Bible commands us to worship and honour God in everything we do whether that be washing the dishes or driving to work, in the seemingly trivial things and the important things, there is no such thing as a secular activity. Faith in God leads to his influence in every part of your life, everything you do, every decision you make, how you interpret events, your goals, your dreams, your persespective. God refuses to be put in a box! He will not tolerate being shunned into one small part of your life, into 15 minutes of quiet time or church on a Sunday. God wants all of you, all of the time. No exceptions.
The Israelites had suffered droughts, famine, plagues, losses in war and more. But none of this had made them turn back to God. They felt they could recover from these events in their own strength. Financial crisis, natural disasters, war… we don’t turn back to God either. In fact the more typical reaction is to be angry with God for letting it happen, despite ignoring him when things are going well. God is not a God who will sit back and watch the people he created for his glory deny and ignore him. He is a God who intervenes. He will shake the world in an attempt to wake us up.
How do you react to current events? We are in the hands of God. We need to recognise that behind every event there is a Sovereign God. The Israelites never made the connection, they never reflected on events, they didn’t pray about it. Israel had closed its ears to God and they had no fear of him. We can not attribute all the bad things that happen to Satan or reason that God allowed it to happen. No, God made it happen.
‘I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town…I sent rain on one town but withheld it from another…many times I struck your gardens and vineyards…yet you have not returned to me says the Lord.’ v6
Personal grief and suffering does not mean God is angry with us in particular. We may not always understand why events take place but we always have the confidence that he loves us and he is weaving events together for our good and his glory. The ultimate purpose is for Jesus Christ to receive all the glory. Therefore we should take our trials and sufferings to God and ask him to use them for his glory.
God said to the Israelites: ‘Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.’ This is not just a warning but also a promise. 750 years later God came to meet his people in the person of Jesus Christ. He didn’t come with wrath and judgement they deserved but with love and opportunity of salvation and grace and mercy. Will you continue to ignore God even when he has actually come down to earth to meet you face to face? You may choose to but we will all come face to face with the God of the universe when only judgement remains, we have had enough opportunities - God is so rich in grace and mercy! He urges his people: ‘Seek me and live’.
It is time for us to take our fingers out of our ears.
Yay! I have a brief break from crazy revision and exams…well for a couple of hours anyway. My exams are ridiculously close to one another, but on the plus side at least I get them all over. I don’t know how much more of this intensive mugging (Now this word seems more normal to me than ‘revision’ haha) I could take!
Hebrews 4
Verse 1 tells us:
The promise of entering God’s rest still stands
What is this rest?
Well, verse 4 says, ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work’ and verse 10 says, ‘For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.’
So is this rest referring to the 1 out of 6 days of the week that we rest, or an eternal rest?
I think if you look at the context it becomes apparent the writer is referring to an eternal rest. Verse 1 continues, ‘let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it [God's rest]‘ and ‘We have also had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not combine it with faith.’ Here is a warning of unbelief, whereas with the alternative - faith - you can enter heaven i.e. enter God’s rest.
Verse 9 says there ‘remains’ a Sabbath rest for the people of God - when we reach heaven there we will recieve our perfect, full and eternal rest. Our work on earth will be over.
In accordance with this discussion about entering God’s rest/heaven there is a reference to judgement:
‘Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account’ - v13
The great thing is that, as Christians, we can find a rest and a peace in God in this life. But we have work to do before we can enter that eternal rest!
What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?
What good is it to make a sweet sound, but remain proud?
In view of God’s mercy, I offer my all. Take my life - let it be everything, all of me. Here I am, use me for your glory. In everything I say and do let my life honour you. The road I’m on leads nowhere without you. The life I live finds meaning in surrender. I’m seeking first the kingdom of my Lord! Here I am, use me for your glory.
On a serious note, I would like to express my agreement with Denise that boys should not ‘pop their collars’. It doesn’t make you look cool. It looks like you’re trying to be cool therefore rendering you immediately uncool because coolness is all about effortless ease. Trying to be cool is uncool! I think the popped collar craze has got out of control. The other day in Leamington I saw an elderly couple in MacDonalds (weird enough in itself), wearing ‘trendy’ sports gear and the man had his collar up!! End this madness! MAINTAIN YOUR SELF-RESPECT AND DONT ‘POP’ YOUR COLLAR!
1. uncool trend of flipping the collar of said polo/dress shirt up
2. way of trying to look cool like those seen on MTV
3. person who is trying to be uber cool
4. often seen wearing pink to prove their manliness
Visit www.poppedcollarsarelame.com for some sound advice…
It’s easy to get so stressed out by revision and exams that you lose focus and start to panic. That’s certainly happened to me in the past. The most helpful thing is to turn to God for support; he has a much bigger plan for us.
Hebrews 3
Continuing in the theme of chapters 1 and 2, the writer urges us to:
fix your thoughts on Jesus - v1
The more we think on the things of God, the more we see the world in perspective, the more we notice our sinfulness, the more we realise God’s glory. It can be easy to say the right things, do the right things but be the opposite inside. If we fix our thoughts on Jesus we will be genuinely changed, from the inside out.
It’s so great when you are at a Christian conference or meeting and you see people on fire for God, full of enthusiasm and passion and energy. Unfortunately back in the ‘real word’ that can easily fade in just a few days. But in Hebrews 3 we are urged to:
hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first -v14
Don’t become discouraged, don’t lose your zeal. In turn, we are to
encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. -v13
Our Christian friendships are very important, and we should be discussing the things of God with our Christian friends, not just discussing what we would with our non-Christian friends. The whole point is that we share with other Christians our struggles, our problems, our experiences so that we can encourage and help one another ‘hold firmly till the end’.
Jesus commanded: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. - Luke 10:27
Are we truly people of love?
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
If you hadn’t heard already, there is a ‘revival’ in Florida. I am using inverted commas because I think it is important we examine the facts before whole-heartedly embracing this ‘wave of the Holy Spirit’. Here is the claim off the lwc ministries website:
Revival has broken out at Lakeland and each day God is moving powerfully. People are being saved, healings are taking place. Angels are visiting the meetings. Not only are the miracles happening at the meeting but people watching on the webcast are getting healed, people at the meeting are ringing their sick friends on their cell phones and people are getting healed!
But how do we know if this is an authentic revival? I decided to check it out for myself by registering at Godtv.com and watching the meetings. I went into this with a very open mind. In the ones I watched (about 4), There was no scripture reading, no prayer. Which is a worrying start. Instead, Todd was telling the crowd what God was going to do, repeating the same phrases again and again and occasionally twitching, shaking and falling to the floor or laughing uncontrollably (‘drunk’ with the Holy Spirit apparently). Take a look for yourself.
To be honest, I find the sight of this man disturbing. When I see someone on the floor having what looks like some kind of epeleptic fit, my first thought is not ‘This is the glory of God on that man’ - instead it arouses feelings of fear, confusion and distress. Is that really what God’s glory looks like? I’d like to think not. In fact, it seems all too similar to the descriptions we get in the Bible of demon possession. Some will argue, I am afraid of the Holy Spirit. Well, I’m not. But I AM afraid of being fooled into believing someone is a genuine man of God when they are actually a false prophet. I am afraid of embracing something which is not of God, and therefore offensive to him.
What I am about to say will not be taken kindly by some. But I feel compelled to speak out.
Jesus warns: False prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.
- Matthew 24
Thousands (maybe millions?) hail Benny Hinn as a ‘man of God’, annoited with the gifts of healing and prophesy from the holy spirit. I urge you not to be one of them. Today, I stumbled across a fangroup for Benny Hinn with this comment posted:
All of those whose lives have been touched by the great Benny Hinn, his name be praised, join with us now brothers. We shall rise up and destroy all those not faithful to our beloved leader, Benny Hinn.
Sounds like Benny Hinn is the leader of a cult, rather than a leader of the Church of Christ. But let’s not judge the man by his fans…
What has Benny Hinn himself been up to?
Since the late 1980s Benny Hinn has made a number of unfulfilled prophesies:
he claimed that God would destroy America’s homosexual community in 1995 with fire
predicted the death of Fidel Catro andelection of the first female president of the USA before end of 90s.
that Christ would make a personal appearance at a crusade in Kenya in 2001.
On or about April 15th, 2003, Benny Hinn prophesied that a great event involving Israel would occur in the next three months, to be followed by a mighty move of God in the church
appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network in October 1999 to claim that God had given him a vision that thousands of dead people would be ressurected after watching the programme, getting people to place their dead loved ones hands on the TV screens and that TBN would be “an extension of heaven to earth.”
Hinn has also claimed that Adam was a “superbeing” who could fly to the moon andthat God froze the Red Sea with his breath when he parted it - where is he getting this from?! Certainly not the Bible.
Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, “The LORD declares,” when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled.
Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The LORD declares,” though I have not spoken? ’Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD.
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. -Ezekiel 13:6-9
Benny Hinn ‘prophesied’ many times before his visit to Kenya in 2001 that Christ would appear physically with him on the platform, and to believers in their own homes.
I believe, that Jesus, God’s Son, is about to appear physically, in meetings and to believers around the world, to wake us up!He appeared after His resurrection and He is about to appear before His second coming! You know a prophetess sent me a word through my wife, right here, and she said ‘Tell your husband that Jesus is go’n to physically appear in his meetings.’ I am expecting to see, I am telling you that - I feel it’s going to happen. I’m careful in how I am saying it now, because I know the people in Kenya are listening. I know deep in my soul, somethingsupernatural is going to happen in Nairobi Kenya. I feel that. I may very well come back, and we may very well come back with footage of Jesus on the platform! You know that the Lord appeared in Romania recently, and there’s a video of it? Where the Lord appeared in the back of a church and you see him on video walking down the isle? Yeah! Paul do you remember when I came on TBN years ago and showed you a clip of the Lord appearing in our church in Orlando, on the balcony on the wall? That was ‘80, 80 something, ‘86, what - whatever. You know I always wondered why the Lord, why did He do that? Do you know why, now I look back? That was the beginning of the greatest move of God in our church. Because ‘83, ‘84, and ‘85 were horrible years for me, horrible years. Eighty-six the blessings of God began, but they began with a - with this manifestation of the Lord’s face on, on the balcony, that stayed for eight weeks. Eight solid weeks! The Lord has done this in the past, but He is about to do it again, now hear this, I am prophesying this! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is about to appear physically in some churches, and some meetings, and to many of His people, for one reason - to tell you He is about to show up! To Wake Up!”
Again let’s turn to the Bible:
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. - Matthew 24:26
Christ did not appear with Hinn on the platform, or anywhere else for that matter. Hinn didn’t even mention his prophesy whilst at the conference Christ was supposedly going to appear at, and did not explain afterwards why the prophesy was not fulfilled.
The greatest danger that Christians face now, according to Hinn, is disobedience against God by not contributing financially to the coming harvest of God with your seed money! You must be willing to give your all, in order to demonstrate your true obedience. In fact, Benny revealed that God is even now healing those who call in their contributions to TBN. But this is not selling healing for money, he says, it is God blessing those who are truly obedient and worthy to receive his coming unusual anointing! Indeed, God will even be saving people you know as you are calling in your pledge to TBN.The implication is that you will be bypassed by God and miss out on the supernatural anointing to come if you are not totally obedient to God and call in your pledge to TBN now! The Bible tells a very different story:
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. - Acts 8:17-23
Take a look at this video which documents how Benny Hinn uses money donated to his ministry:
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. - 2 Peter 2:1-3
In March 2005, Ministry Watch, an independent evangelical organization which reviews Christian ministries for financial transparency and efficiency and advises potential donors accordingly, issued a Donor Alert stating that “the reported exorbitant spending of the Hinn family reveals that BHM has far more money than it needs to carry out its ministry” and advised Christians to “prayerfully consider withholding contributions to Benny Hinn” while praying for his restoration and repentance.
Benny Hinn encourages us to think of ourselves as ‘mini-Gods’ and claims that money comes with righteousness:
“Christians are “Little Messiah’s and “little gods” on the earth. Thus [Encouraging the audience]…say “I am a God-man….This spirit-man within me is a God-man…” say “I’m born of heaven-a God-man. I’m a God man. I am a sample of Jesus. I’m a super being. Say it! Say it! Who’s a super being? “I walk in the realm of the supernatural.” Say it!…You want to prosper? Money will be falling on you from left, right and centre. God will begin to prosper you, for money always follows righteousness….Say after me, “everything I ever want is in me already.“ - Benny Hinn, TBN, 1990
What heresy!! Christians are NOT ’super-beings’ - we are very much still human. To top it all off Hinn claims we are all equal to God:
When you were born again the Word was made flesh in you You are everything He was and everything He is and ever He shall be …. Don’t say,’ I have.’ Say, ‘ I am, I am, I am, I am, I am.” - Benny Hinn, ”Our Position in Christ #2-The Word Made Flesh” 1991.
I could go on…but I won’t.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears - 2 Tim 4:3
Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Matt 24:11
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. - 1 John4:1
I place a curse on every man and every woman that will stretch his hand against this anointing. I curse that man who dares to speak a word against this ministry.
- Benny Hinn
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. - Matthew 7:22-23
A guy I knew on my course died on Monday. I didn’t know him very well but I’d chatted with him several times and he was in my seminar group. I got a lot more upset than I thought I would about it. There were a lot of rumours going around, some saying he had committed suicide. I found that hard to believe, and now I know that it was accidental. Alcohol poisoning. It has really shocked and shaken me, and I think a lot of other people too. The mood amongst the psychology first years was very sombre today.
It really hit me how fragile life is, how precious every moment is. How so many students don’t even think about death because we take life for granted. Especially on a campus, we are so isolated from the outside world and many dangers, we are young, we don’t expect to die anytime soon. In mission week I spoke to lots of people who said they had never thought seriously about what they believed or what happens after death. I find that attitude extremely hard to comprehend. Surely these are the most important questions in your life? People are so complacent. Life is so comfortable. Maybe after this incident, some people will start to realise we don’t have all the time in the world to get round to dealing with these questions, that our lives can be taken at any time.
God has brought me to a very vulnerable place right now. I have been feeling conflicted and confused over certain doctrines and beliefs, certain interpretations of scripture…I feel troubled because it affects which church I go to whilst at uni…I’m quite upset that after a year I am still not involved in a church. I find churches are too conservative (that’s not even the right word), or too wishy-washy and not focused enough on scripture for my liking. I have debated some issues troubling me over and over with different people, which has led to further frustration and confusion. I don’t want to hear experiences. I want biblical evidence. It is the only thing I can trust. All I can do is pray that God will reveal himself to me and guide me in the right way.
I have also been struggling with some acute temptations which God is helping me battle but it makes me feel weary and fragile.
Last night, I could hear my friends laughing in the room next door and I was laying in my bed feeling upset and broken.
I felt real grief over Jason, and I don’t know why. I didn’t know him that well, I felt silly for being so upset.
I felt physically and mentally exhausted, emotional, and ill. I couldn’t sleep.
I opened my Bible and read this:
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction and my bones grow weak. Psalm 31:9-10
That summed up exactly how I was feeling. I realised how much I have changed in the last few months. Last night was definitely my lowest point since coming to uni, except for in the very first week. And whereas previously I would have felt like God had abandoned me and get even more upset, I now find comfort in trusting the eternal truths of the Bible. I now know God is close even when I can’t feel it. In my distress I felt thankful to God that he had brought me to this place where nothing on earth could satisfy me, there was no-one and nowhere to turn to. Except God, and he was all I wanted, all I needed:
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2
I read some more Psalms:
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope it God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God. Psalm 43:5-6
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. Psalm 61:2-3
I love the Lord for her heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. I was overcome by trouble and sorrow, then I called on the name of the Lord ‘O Lord save me!’ The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116:1-5
It’s been a long time since I have felt this vulnerable and broken. God has blessed me with so many wonderful things at university and I have been happier than I have been in years. Now things are painful, but I still praise God because I know he will bring me through. I know he has a plan for me, and he wants to teach me things and bring me closer to him. I know he is with me, though I feel lost and confused…I still find comfort and peace in him :D I still overflow with praise for him… by the grace of God.
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2
