Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke . A Biography

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke is principally known for his Great Gospel Crusades throughout the continent of Africa. The son of a pastor, Reinhard gave his life to the Lord at age nine, and heard the call to the African mission field before he was even a teenager. After attending Bible college in Wales, he became a pastor in Germany for seven years and then went on to start mission work in Africa. It was there, in the small mountain kingdom of Lesotho, that God placed upon his heart the vision of ‘the continent of Africa, washed in the precious Blood of Jesus’ – an entire continent, from Cape Town to Cairo and from Dakar to Djibouti that needed to be reached and to hear the proclamation of the signs-following Gospel. He began holding meetings in a tent that accommodated just 800 people, but, as attendance steadily increased, larger and larger tents had to be purchased, until finally, in 1984, he commissioned the construction of the world’s largest mobile structure – a tent capable of seating 34,000 people! Soon, attendance at his meetings even exceeded the capacity of this huge structure, and he began open-air Gospel Campaigns with an initial gathering of over 150,000 people! Since then, he has conducted city-wide meetings across the continent with as many as 1,600,000 people attending a single gathering using towering sound systems that can be heard for miles.It has now been some thirty-five years since Reinhard Bonnke founded the international ministry of Christ for all Nations (CfaN), which currently has offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Africa, Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong.Since the start of the new millennium, through a host of major events in Africa and other parts of the world, the ministry has recorded some 52 million decisions for Jesus Christ. As part of the discipleship-training program, 189.1 million copies of CfaN literature have been published in 103 languages and printed in 54 countries. Millions of books have been printed and freely ‘seeded’ in nations around the world. All this is in addition to the ‘Reinhard Bonnke School of Fire,’ an online, self-study course, aimed at inspiring others to Holy Spirit Evangelism and leading to either a certificate or university credits. Reinhard Bonnke is also recognized for hosting ‘Fire Conferences’ in many different countries of the world, events that are aimed at equipping church leaders and workers for evangelism; for distributing over 95,500,000 copies of Minus to Plus, a profound salvation message, to homes around the world; and for seeking every opportunity to reach and to save the lost. More recently ‘Bonnke’, as he is known as in Africa, has spent several years developing the ‘Full Flame Film Series,’ a series of eight inspirational films aimed at inspiring and challenging the church to Holy Spirit Evangelism. He is known as one with a burning passion for the Gospel, a vision for Africa and a message for the world. Evangelist Bonnke is married to Anni, father to Kai-Uwe, Gabrielle, and Susie, and grandfather to eight grandchildren.Christ for all NationsApril 22, 2009.

THE KNEE THAT WILLFULLY BOW RECEIVES ADORATION

Are you encouraged in Christ? Are you comforted by love? Do you share with the Spirit? Do you have any tender feelings or compassion ? Make me truly happy; I want you to agree among yourselves and to have the same love . Be united in soul and mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceited pride. Instead, humbly treat others better than yourselves. Look for what is important to others, not just what is important to you. Have the same attitude among you that Christ Jesus had: Though Christ was divine by nature, He did not think that being equal with God was something to hold onto. Instead, he emptied himself, taking on the very nature of a slave. He became like human beings, appearing in human form. He humbled himself. He obeyed, though it meant dying, even dying on a cross! So, God made him the most important. God gave him a name that is above every name. God wanted every knee to bow, when the name of Jesus is mentioned; those in the heavenly world, on earth, and under the earth. And every tongue will confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord'' for the glory of God the Father.( Philippians 2:1-11 )

Darryl C Buffkin: Do people mistake you for Jesus?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 5:08pm
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner.In their rush, with tickets and brief-cases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.He was glad he did.The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight.The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?”She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, “I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, “Mister….” He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes.She continued, “Are you Jesus?”He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: “Are you Jesus?”
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Do people mistake you for Jesus?That’s our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.Let us live like we are worth the price He paid.

UNNECESSARY ITEMS

It has been said that “one person’s junk is another’s treasure.” When David Dudley tried to help his parents clear their house of “unnecessary items” before moving to a smaller home, he found it very difficult. He was often angered by his parents’ refusal to part with things they had not used for decades. Finally, David’s father helped him understand that even the worn-out, useless items were tied to close friends and important events. Clearing the clutter felt like throwing away their very lives.A spiritual parallel to our reluctance to let go of the clutter in our homes may be our inability to clear our hearts of the attitudes that weigh us down.

Expressions of love for God had become ways to impress others.The proof of spiritual maturity is not how “pure” you are but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God’s grace.

To walk with the Holy Ghost, you must be willing to pay the price.

What is that price? You must be willing to walk away from things of the world that would separate you from the Lord. Remember, the Lord will not reveal Himself to an individual who is always in a hurry. Nor will He reveal Himself to an individual who places a time limit on Him. His fellowship is not cheap. Jesus went to the cross of Calvary that we might be able to become God’s redeemed children. A great price was paid for you that you might have fellowship with Him. Going deeper with the Holy Spirit costs even more. Many try to enter into His presence by saying, “I have ten minutes and that is all.”Paying the price means giving your whole self, including your valuable time to Him. We must rid ourselves of all other things that are on our minds when we seek to enter into His presence. God is not looking for a people who rush in and rush out, as if punching a spiritual time clock. He is looking to anoint those individuals who are sensitive to Him and to His desire for unhampered fellowship.

CHRISTIANS CAN LOOK LIKE THEY ARE NOT?

Disappointment is often attached to our encounters with people who don’t measure up to what we had hoped them to be. This is true of Christians as well. Followers of Christ sometimes fail to match the ideals of ...our own faith, or the expectations of a watching world. Still, is it possible to be a Christian, yet not act like it?(Romans 8:19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God).As I study the life of Jesus, one fact consistently surprises me: the group that made Jesus angriest was one that He outwardly resembled. Jesus obeyed the Mosaic Law and quoted leading Pharisees (Mark 9:11-12; 12:28-34). Yet He singled out the Pharisees for His strongest attacks. He called them serpents, a brood of vipers, fools, and hypocrites (Matt. 23:13-33).What provoked such outbursts? The Pharisees devoted their lives to following God, gave away an exact tithe (v.23), obeyed every law in the Torah, and sent out missionaries to gain new converts (v.15). Against the relativists and secularists of the first century, they held firm to traditional values.Yet Jesus’ fierce denunciations of the Pharisees show how seriously He viewed the toxic threat of legalism. Its dangers are elusive, slippery, hard to pin down. I believe these dangers remain a great threat today.Jesus condemned the emphasis on externals: “You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (v.25). Expressions of love for God had become ways to impress others.The proof of spiritual maturity is not how “pure” you are but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God’s grace.

HOW IMPORTANT IS GOOD PERSONAL CHARACTER TO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP?

Some people don't think it is very important. Since leadership requires flexibility, some think that a person with high ideals and deep moral convictions will be less pragmatic or realistic than a person with fewer scruples.In the short term it's undeniable that unscrupulous people sometimes have an advantage. People often find personal accountability and a long-range vision less appealing than immediate advantages and an opportunity to fall in line behind a charismatic leader.1The psalmist eloquently described the temporary success of the wicked ( Psalm 37:35; 73:3 ). Jesus also recognized the short-term advantages of the unprincipled ( Luke 16:8 ). But although unprincipled people in power may gain quick success, they and their followers always reap the consequences of their immorality and opportunism. The Old Testament writers vividly described the results of evil leadership ( Psalm 7:11-16; 9:15; 37:7-15 ; Proverbs 28:10; 29:6 ; Ecclesiastes 10:5-9 ), as did Jesus ( Matthew 6:23; 15:14; 23:15 ; Luke 6:39-40; 11:34 ).In the long term, however, a person of integrity has the advantage. Good character may limit a person's options at times, but wisdom flows from good character (In the long term, however, a person of integrity has the advantage. Good character may limit a person's options at times, but wisdom flows from good character ( Job 28:28 ; Psalm 1:1-4; 111:10 ; Proverbs 3:3-4 ). Furthermore, a good person doesn't have to be naive. Jesus told His disciples to be "as wise as serpents but gentle as doves." Because they live as sheep in the midst of wolves ( Matthew 10:16 ), Christians need to be able to understand the mind of a predator ("wise as a serpent"), while remaining gentle and uncorrupted within ("harmless as a dove"). A truly effective leader -- and especially a Christian leader -- won't be characterized by inflexibility but by his steady, underlying motivation ( Matthew 20:25-28; 23:8-12 ). Dedication to principle and genuine concern for others may on occasion be a short-term disadvantage, but in the long run it will attract loyal followers, create lasting success, and earn the blessing of God (Psalm 37:34 ; Isaiah 40:31 ; Galatians 6:9 ).1. This is why the people of Israel insisted on having a king, against the counsel of the prophet Samuel ( 1 Samuel 8:7-8,19-20 ).

SHOULD I LEAVE MY CHURCH AFTER HEARING THAT A MALE LEADER IS SEXUALLY INVOLVE WITH OTHER MEN?

Bible-believing Christians are being pressured more and more to consider homosexual behavior as acceptable. Some are surprised and troubled to learn not only that their church approves of homosexuality, but also that one of their church leaders is active in the gay lifestyle.Church members who suspect this is happening are in a difficult position. First, they need to avoid spreading rumors, since gossip will only make the situation worse. At the same time, they should take proper steps to verify the assertion. One of those steps would be to talk with a church leader who is in a better position to investigate the matter in an orderly and appropriate manner ( 1 Timothy 5:19 ).If the information is true, a church member's decision to stay or leave depends on the church's response towards the leader's involvement in homosexual behavior. If the church authorities say that homosexuality is okay and that they have no problem with his involvement in the gay lifestyle, the concerned church member likely has no other option but to leave. To stay and support a church that approves of and promotes something that is biblically wrong and personally destructive would be difficult.For someone to leave a church under these circumstances would be difficult, but it doesn't prove the individual's lack of love for “gay” people. God cares for everyone, but He doesn't approve of everything we do. God never condones what goes against His created order, and neither should we.If, however, the church authorities are concerned about the leader's homosexual behavior and take immediate action to address it, then it's possible that a church member could stay in the church without appearing to condone immorality. The leader would be disqualified from church leadership, which is the case involving any form of sexually immoral behavior ( 1 Timothy 3:2 ). But the church member could remain and be part of a church family that lovingly confronts and supports the struggling brother in finding his way out of a confusing struggle and harmful lifestyle.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALMS WHEN I PRAY.

God was there when David faced wild animals as a shepherd boy. He was there when a youthful David stood in Goliath's massive shadow.He was there when David hid from Saul in the cave. God was there as David began leading his band of soldiers away from the prisons of distress, debt and discontentment.David had built a life-long relationship of prayer. As with David, the Lord's will is to bring increase to you. He wants to bless, heal, and deliver. For that to happen, but you must seek Him first.Here are three simple keys to answered prayer that will help you stay focused on God's will in your life: • The first key is to make sure your heart is praying. You do that by letting prayer flow from your innermost being. Let prayer be birthed within you before you speak it.• The second key is found in Ecclesiastes 5:2: "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: