More Las Vegas and Benny Hinn...(Is this Faith? Part 6)

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At one point, Patricia, 20-years-old, got up and made her way down the stairs, clutching her cruthes. I caught a glimpse of her as she got right up next to the stage …but this was just as Benny Hinn stopped taking people up on the stage. Oooohhh.... I was so disappointed for her.

And suspicious of Benny. He hadn't had anyone up there with an obvious defect, as Patricia had. But then he began prayer for young people, and the throng pushed in. Hinn shouted, "FIRE ON YOU!" and hundreds of kids standing closest to the stage FLEW backwards. Just picking themselves up, he did it again. The kids got up again and pressed to the stage. I was hoping Patricia was okay in the crush, but I could see her head bobbing, hands raised, right next to a gray coat and tie. Big usher. BIG. I was sure he'd keep her safe. Benny started grabbing kids and pulling them up on stage, "FIRE ON YOU!" and they flew across the stage. He began stepping over bodies and grabbing the raised hands of three or four more kids a time, pulling them up on stage. "FIRE ON YOU!" and they all fell down at the same time. The throng on the floor pressed closer, screaming to be touched. I'm sure they saw this and just wanted to feel whatever it was the kids on stage had felt. "FIRE ON YOU!" and six more went flying.

Then he began the cool off. "I'm only one man, and I can't touch everyone. But I have the anointing because I've met the anointer. And you can go home and meet the anointed and get the anointing for yourself. You need daily prayer, and read your bible, and get connected with a fellowship in your town. There are several Las Vegas Pastors up here that love you and welcome you to their churches. There are Bothers and sisters in Christ surrounding you right you right now. This is not a one-time event. This is a daily, on-going process." Then he invited a local pastor to further the invitation and close in prayer, and he left the stage.

I wasn't impressed by this guy, so I was glad to hear him give that closing message. It helped a little, I think.

As people cleared out of the auditorium, we went to the floor where Patricia was still sitting next to the stage. She said she wasn't disappointed. She said it as awesome to be in the full line of fire, there by the stage. But she had already put her brace back on - after having removed it in anticipation - and if she wasn't disappointed, I was sure disappointed for her. Yes, I know this is an ongoing process. And she also said that, yes, he did shake her hand just before he left the stage. She added that there were so many desperate people there...she couldn't expect to get his attention. If she was faking contentment, she was doing a pretty good job.

That, dear Readers, is faith. It really has nothing to do with Benny Hinn. This little girl trusts God, and whatever He has for her, it's okay.

When we left at the airport, we picked up the Las Vegas paper and read their spin on the crusade. In it, the reporter had followed a young Las Vegas family that was praying for healing. The couple, 20 years old, had been in an auto accident the last October. The husband was in a vegetative state. They have a one-year-old daughter. This woman paid an ambulance to bring her husband to the crusade. The reporter followed them through it, and in the end, they left the crusade disappointed. I'm not sorry we didn't push to be in front. As Patricia said, there were so many, many needy people there.

I am impressed by Patricia's faith. When it comes to Hinn, I remain cynical. My eyes weren't just on Hinn or the crowds during the event. I was seeing other things as well. When we filed in the first day, the line of people was directed where to sit and told to fill every seat. Unless you were saving a seat for someone, there was to be no empty seats. We were filed in evenly filling seats from the lower section, and then on to the section above it, and on to the top. After the arena had stopped filling, I noticed that black curtains were being hung in front of the empty seats at the top. This way, when the cameras panned the crowd, the arena had the appearance of being full. Benny, why the need to deceive the television viewers?

I was also thinking about how the lower seats must be populated primarily with A - type personalities. People that got there early and had the gusto to get those seats. They had cellular phones (at a time when not everyone did) and kept in touch with the people they were saving seats for. "You're just getting off work now? Okay, we have a seat for you." "You're in the parking lot? Okay, come through the main entrance and were in section 118". Gusto people, filled with energy, like Patricia. The nosebleed seats were different.

Interestingly, I almost had my coat stolen. I had gone for a pop and Roland was "dozing" like he does. A woman sat on the other side of my coat, and, Roland said (he wasn't as asleep as she thought) that she put her coat on the far side. (NOT on the seat with my coat.) But when she got up, she moved her coat over mine and wrapped my coat under hers. Roland quickly called her on it. You can't con a con man. She initially denied it, and then said, "oh, I'm sorry", handed it back and scurried away. Mind you, this is NOT a special coat. This is a rummage sale special, and there was nothing in the pockets. But she wouldn't have known that. Anyway, it gave me another person to pray for that evening. This woman must have had some real problems to be stealing my ol' coat. She was in real need of healing. I hope she got it.

Some might say that Patricia was just naive and hopeful. After all, with a birth defect such as hers, there is no other hope for healing outside of a miracle from God. Well, I imagine that she is naive and hopeful. But she's not stupid. She does also have fatih in God. And it is God who holds her faith, not in Benny Hinn, because if it were Hinn, she'd have given up in disappointment a long time ago.

More to Come...
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More Las Vegas and Benny Hinn (What is Faith? Not this... Part 5)

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We played hookie during Benny Hinn's morning session.

Friday Noon, we went to one of those cheap buffet lunches on the Las Vegas strip. Coming back, I admit we tarried. Roland took me on the “New York, New York” roller coaster. (Therese tells me I should have kept my eyes open.) And we pulled on some of the "free pulls". And it's hard to get out of those places. They're huge and they turn you around and you don't know where the door is. And walking past the desert vegetation, smelling the desert air, we were reminded of and missed Aunt Charlotte.

Anyway, when Roland told me it was almost 4pm, well, we had to hustle. Our motel shuttle picked up at the Tropicana every hour on the hour, and we didn't have much time. The doors at the Center were already open for the Benny Hinn crusade. So we hustled. Only stopped for a moment at another free pull. But when we arrived at the Tropicana, people standing there told us that we had missed the Howard Johnson shuttle by just a couple minutes. Ohhh. We should have been better with our time. Having tried to get a cab the day before, we knew it could take some waiting. And there would be no chance of calling the surly shuttle driver and asking if he could come back sooner than the hour. He'd made that clear when he dropped us off. And I didn't want to walk the couple miles. I was tired from all the walking we'd already done. But before Roland and I even had a chance to look at each other and admit we messed up, around the corner came the Howard Johnson shuttle. Wow! The driver got out and opened the sliding door. As we climbed into the van, I asked, "what ever possessed you to come back?" But as the words left my mouth, I had to smile. I knew what had possessed him.
One of the other riders said, "I don't know why he turned around. He just went and turned around. You mean you didn't call? I thought maybe you had called."

"No, we didn't call. We'd only been standing there a minute or so." Then, after another thought, that rider (a stranger to us) held up a Bible. "Maybe it had something to do with this then."

We laughed. We were sure it had. It was funny how many people we met there were in Las Vegas for the Crusade. It's kind of neat walking through a lobby and hearing a small huddled group discussing the book of Mark, or walk in the Deli and hear another group discussing miracle healings they'd witnessed. At the airport, there were people in wheelchair's, Bibles clutched on their laps. (Must have been a slow time for the casinos though...oh, whoops, if they were anything like us, the pull tabs were used.)

At any rate. it seems that God has consistently "been there" for us, even when we've stopped and pulled on that "free Pull."

I think of all the different things he's done, and I' feel so awe struck and humbled. And yet, I know how disappointed we get with our own children, and I know how disappointed they get with us. Sometimes I want to throw in the towel...but we keep pushing on and keep hoping they’ll learn soon. Well, I thank that the Lord, at times, is very disappointed in us also, but he keeps plugging away with us anyway; hoping we'll maybe catch on tomorrow.

That second evening at Benny Hinn, as things got going in that crowd of 20,000, I remembered how struck I was by this the night before. I know I've said some pretty negative things so far, but there seemed to be some good, too. Both evenings when he made an altar call I couldn't help but cry. It was awesome to see thousands of people swarming down to the floor with their hands raised high, (when they weren't punching each other) hungry for the Lord. It's so awesome to see all these people rush down the stairs, tears in their eyes, crying for help. I just couldn't help but cry with them, but so happy that they were going to get the help - if not from Benny Hinn, I was sure they would get it from the Lord. They were finally going to be able to rest in the arms of Jesus. This was truly the highlight of both evenings for me. We sat even higher in the nosebleed section on the second night. And it was just fine. We were much more rested when we arrived, because we came three hours later than the day before. We could still hear the message and actually, could see the people swarm to the floor much better from up there.

We had gone to check on a friend, Patricia, before we found our seats, just to tell her we were there. Patricia had a birth defect that made her unable to use her legs, and she got around on cruthces. We expected she would be in the same place and we were right. Go-getter that she is, she was in the best seats again. Not on the floor, because that was reserved for Benny's prayer support, wheelchairs, ...and probably hired actors..., but in the first row above, to the right of the stage, next to the stair well to get down on the floor next to the stage. Full good view of the speakers. So from our seat above - actually, where we could watch the stage from straight on - we could see Patricia and her friends. Patricia had been to these five times before. I asked her if she leaves the events disappointed when her legs aren't healed, and she said, "not at all." She's there for the anointing, for the pleasure of feeling the power of the event.

Having told me that... when the healing prayer began, I was surprised to see Patricia struggle to stand on her crutches and go to the stairwell to get to the floor. I tried to keep my eye on her. It was hard once she got to the floor because of the crush of people that were gathering down there as he took people up on stage one by one...

More to Come...
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Las Vegas and Benny Hinn (Is this Faith? Part 4)

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It was February 2001. The arena staff at the Benny Hinn event had asked that people stay at the bottom of the stairs to wait and not climb up to the pavilion doors to wait, as the crowd could injure each other up there. This seemed right, because when you were at the bottom of the stairs looking up, you couldn't see who is on the pavilion. You would mount the stairs, not being able to assess the crowd, and then would have to push to find a place to stand once you got up there. Others behind you would also be pushing. The result could very well cause injury to those closest to the glass doors.

But people were defiant with the staff. Even angry. They mouthed off to the staff, refused to budge. Some said they had God on their side and therefore a right to be there.

(One man joked, “Christians are like tea bags. When the water gets hot, you can see what’s really in them.”)

Then, when the staff decided not to press the issue with the most rebellious people, these people contently sat by the doors singing praise songs. Give me a break.

And...as much as I enjoy singing, I couldn't enter in. Not with that crowd.

I had to really struggle to get rid of ill feelings and judgement. Get myself back out of that hole. I had to remember that growth is an on-going process and I need to be patient with brothers and sisters in the same way that I want people to be patient with me. The way so many have been patient with us already through the years. So many have given Roland and I Grace, put up with our bad behavior. In fact, I'd decided to try to be a submissive person only five months or so earlier, when we moved up to the Bible college. Now, I looked at these things and realized that God is not likely to Bless me if I'm acting in rebellion and disobedience. But it took awhile for me to realize that. The best I could do for these other people would be to simply pray for them. Pray God's mercy for them that wisdom will come.

And then of course came the thoughts...is it really necessary to come the earliest and then struggle with these feelings that accompany line-ups. The nose bleed section should be close enough to hear Benny in, and then I won't have to hear the stuff immediately prior, which is not only distracting but down right ugly.

So we contently sat in the nose bleed section and prayed together for Roland's healing. We were convinced healing had begun sometime in the last month anyway, and this was simply a reinforcement of work God had already begun in addition to teaching us on the how and why.

Then - when they called for people to come down to the arena floor if they felt they were healing, Roland decided to go. (Well, it was like, if we sit here...are we saying the negative?) So we started moving slowly with the crowd toward the stairs. But when we reached the steps to try to get on the floor, the shoving was so intense that Roland and I were getting separated in the crowd. He reached his hand back, grabbed mine and pulled. In doing that, I pushed past other people. Nice people. I kept looking back to see that my rudeness hadn't discouraged them, and I couldn't see them. I felt bad about that. I didn't want to do that again.

In fact, Roland didn't want to either. Seeing how difficult it would be to get much further, he turned us around and we went back to our seats.

Roland ended up being too tired to attend the next morning’s session. He remained sleeping until 10am. That was understandable, because being in line early the day before had wiped him out. He'd had little chance to rest.

More to Come....
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Las Vegas and Benny Hinn (What is Faith? Part 3)

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Back in the spring of 2001, kind friends gave my husband and I a gift of a trip to the Benny Hinn Crusade in Las Vegas. I didn't really want to go. As I said in a previous post, I tend to be cynical and don't trust faith healers. I believe that the Lord can and will answer our prayers just as assuredly, and maybe even more so, if we're praying by ourselves in our bedroom.

But my husband wanted to go. Well, he was the one that was ill, and if he felt that this was something he wanted to try, I wasn't going to stop him.

Christians respond to difficulties in many ways.

When we arrived at the arena where it was being held, there were thousands of people alreayd in line, waiting for the doors to open. It was humbling to see the different people there, all desperate for healing. He wasn't the only one sick. I guess it suprised me how many people with cancer and/or in wheelchairs where there. For some reason, I had it in my head that my husband would be the most sick.

People were so desperate that they pushed their way in line. Staff asked people to stay at the bottom of the stairs and not climb up to the pavilion doors because the crowd could hurt each other up there. But people mouthed off and refused to leave the pavilion doors. Some said they were there on God’s mission, and that they had a right to be wherever they wanted. One woman prayed curses against the "rules of men."

I was embarrased, to be honest.

I understand wanting to be first, but who are they putting their trust in? Benny Hinn or Jesus? Does being first in line ensure healing? Does pushing a sister or brother in the Lord out of the way ensure healing?

At the bottom of the stairs, one man joked, “Christians are like tea bags. When the water gets hot, you can see what’s in them.”

I liked him.

But in watching the desperation of so many, my husband and I also realized something we hadn't realized before. We weren't desperate. The initial diagnosis and a couple other times were rough, but we weren’t desperate. We KNEW the Lord had the situation well in hand, and we were grateful to God for that.

The next day we decided not to rush to be in line and went to lunch. Coming back, we were slow. When I saw it was almost 4 PM, we started to hurry. Our motel shuttle picked up at the Tropicana every hour on the hour. But when we arrived at the Tropicana, people told us we had missed the shuttle by just a couple minutes.

We knew we should have been better with our time. The shuttle driver made it clear when he dropped us off that he would only be back once an hour. But before we had a chance to admit it was our fault for being slow, around the corner came the shuttle.

The driver got out and opened the sliding door. As we climbed in, we wondered why he had come back.

One of the other riders said, "I don't know why he turned around. He just went and turned around. You mean you didn't call? I thought maybe you’d called."

Then, after another thought, that rider (a stranger to us) held up a Bible. "Maybe it had something to do with this then." We laughed. We were sure it had.

What this incident reminded us of was that God always seems to "be there" for us. Nothing flashy. He's just always "there." Even when we aren't perfect. Apparently, he was still there for us even though we well...oh well, swe topped in that casino we had wandered through and pulled on that "free pull." And he still turned the van around for us. That's pretty amazing, considering how little we deserved it.

We think of all the times he's just been there, caring for us, and we are awe struck and humbled.

More to come....

So-called "Healer" & the Elderly Woman ... (Part 1 Is This Faith?)

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It was the summer of 1999 when our family attended a mountain Bible camp just west of Glacier Park, Montana. An evangelical "faith healer," wild and full of himself, made an altar call. I went up. I am usually cynical. But I had a pinched nerve and no medical insurance, so decided I'd give it a try. I told myself that it wasn't 'him' I was trying though. I determined to open my mind to the Lord and give HIM a chance.

An elderly woman stood in front of me in the line, someone I had known for years as a kind, prayerful woman. The woman had trouble with her hips and needed a walker. When it was her turn to be prayed for, I was close enough to watch and hear everything that was said.

After the healer prayed for the woman, he had two men take hold of her arms and attempt to run her back and forth in front of the stage. They ran her in the direction away from us and appeared to have much of her weight in their arms. She wasn't able to support herself well at all. On their return, the pain in her face was obvious and her need for their support appeared even more so. After a few minutes of this torture, the men brought her back to the healer and she grasped for her walker. The healer then told her, “something inside you is blocking it. You just didn’t have enough faith.”

She was devastated and left the building in tears.

I was shocked. Wouldn’t the fact that this elderly woman went up to the altar for prayer been an indication she had the faith of at least a mustard seed?

Later, I found her and sat down to talk to her. I tried to encourage her, but she was still crying and said, "No, he was right. It was my fault." I felt terrible for her.

Was the healer right? Was the Lord unwilling or unable to heal her because she didn’t have enough faith? I don't believe it. I think he was just a jerk who wants people to believe in and praise him. If he was really about the Lord's business, that woman wouldn't have been crying by herself in the back of the church.

Some of these so called preachers make believe that it's always God's will to heal when they, the preacher, demand it. People that have obvious physical issues and don't get healed are just an embarrassment to them.

What is faith in the real God?

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

How do we get faith?

Galatians 5:22 tells us Faith is a fruit of the spirit. According to Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is the author and finisher of our Faith and Romans 10 states, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Faith begins with a decision to believe the Word, and to begin a walk of obedience. Once making the decision, the Holy Spirit is able to work in our hearts, and make faith grow. We can't "make" ourselves have faith. It's a gift, born and nurtured through the Lord. And boy, that woman sure did have it. Can you imagine making the decision to go up to the altar and allow them to take away your walker? She only did that because she had faith and hope in the Lord. Her only error was in allowing that jerk to place his hands on her and later, when his commands to the Lord for his - not the Lord's - glory weren't met, he abused her by putting doubt in her mind about her own faith.

Is Faith necessary?

Romans 4 says that believing God brings us righteousness and believing on God brings us justification. Galatians 16 also states that by believing in Christ, we are justified by His faith. Belief is necessary for justification.

Mark 16:16 says “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Faith is necessary for salvation

Eph. 6, The Shield of Faith is part of the armor of God. Faith is necessary for our battle with the enemy.

I never returned to that Bible camp because I honestly don't believe our time together in fellowship, prayer and worship is supposed to end with a preacher shaming members of the congregation and causing them to doubt their faith. (That wasn't the only disconcerting event I witnessed at that camp.) But I have attended other, more mature camps in the last ten years and have been very blessed by the ministries.

Oh, by the way, that nerve in my leg is still pinched to this day. However, it doesn't matter. The number and depth of things the Lord has done for and with me and my family over these last years has been unbelievable. My leg is of little importance compared to the amazing things the Lord has done. I do have complete faith in Him to know us, the purposes He has for us, and the best way to accomplish those purposes. I have no faith in faith healers.

More to come...
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