Greetings, beloved. I stand before you today with a heavy heart, but also with a message of profound love and restoration. As many of you may have seen, our dear Brother Benny Hinn has been the target of relentless attacks on the internet. Day by day, these attacks seem to intensify, aiming to destroy him. I’ve been praying for him fervently, feeling deeply for the pain he must be enduring.
The Act of Covering
Let me share a story that profoundly illustrates the power of love and restoration. Once, there was a preacher delivering a sermon about those who had fallen into sin. Among the congregation was a visiting preacher who had been found in sin and was in the process of being restored. Despite his repentance, he bore the weight of immense shame.
At the end of the service, the pastor did something extraordinary. He brought a chair onto the platform and asked the fallen preacher to sit. Acknowledging his sin, the pastor emphasized that they still loved him and that God’s love for him remained unshaken. In a beautiful act of compassion, the pastor took off his coat and draped it over the preacher’s head, symbolically covering him.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the entire congregation followed suit. One by one, they took off their coats and placed them over the preacher. In moments, he was enveloped in a cocoon of love, covered entirely by the coats of his brothers and sisters in Christ. Overwhelmed, he fell to his knees, hidden beneath the collective embrace of his community, weeping with a mixture of sorrow and relief.
The Call to Love and Restore
This story is a powerful testament to the kind of people we should strive to be—those who cover and restore, not expose and destroy. The world may offer many excuses to justify tearing someone down, but as followers of Christ, our calling is different. There is a distinction between exposing a fault and annihilating a person’s spirit. We must choose the path of love and restoration.
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.” Galatians 6:1-3
A Plea for Compassion
I implore you all to join me in covering Brother Benny Hinn with our love and prayers. If you can find his address, send him a card. Let him know that he is in our hearts and prayers. Over the past month, I visited him twice, simply to embrace him, to remind him of the good he has done, and to express my gratitude for the blessings he has brought into my life and many others.
Our Commitment to Love
Let’s take our coats off and cover Brother Benny Hinn, as a symbol of our commitment to love and restoration. Let’s be a community that lifts up, supports, and restores those who have fallen. Amen. Amen.
Dear Brother Benny,
I wanted to say hello and thank you for all the many years you have glorified Jesus on earth and encouraged many of us who have been significantly impacted by the Lord because of your faithfulness. Pastor John Kilpatrick, a spiritual father to me in the Lord, shared from his heart about all that you are currently going through. I wanted to encourage you by sharing with you how important you’ve been to me, and many others.
One example was when I came to see you at the Mobile, AL auditorium. As a minister, you had us set to the side together on some metal bleachers. The lights had gone out in the auditorium right in the middle of our gathering, and with authority, you rebuked those running the auditorium, saying, “Get these lights on!” They turned them right back on.
As you began to minister to others, though I was in the midst of many other ministers and sitting near a young family whose boys did Christian rap and you were going to have them share their music on stage, suddenly, though the bleachers were cold, the fire of God began to be poured out on me. I felt like I was on fire, as God’s purifying fire enveloped me. I looked at those sitting around me, and it was only me. It was so hot that I took my shoes and socks off to put my feet on the metal bleacher to cool off. I even considered taking off some of my clothing (staying dressed but with less clothing) to cool off. I was burning in the glory of God!! It was awesome! God was doing a work in my life and because of your faithfulness to Jesus this encounter was made possible.
That was a special night for me. At that time, I was a pastor of a local church in Pensacola, Florida and I came bringing many members of my church. It was a night where God Himself, by His Spirit, anointed me for His special purposes for that part of my journey.
I was blessed to be at Church of His Presence when you share in April of 2022 the revelation it’s all about Jesus, for He is our High Calling! Where Pastor Kilpatrick said, “That was the greatest message we’ve ever heard.” We were all touched and encouraged.
Thank you for your faithfulness to Jesus.
Sincerely,
Greg Lancaster
Greg Lancaster Ministries