R.T. Kendall's Blog, page 5

New Year’s Letter 2018

New Year’s Letter 2018

“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken” – Psalm 16:8 (ESV).

Dear Friends,

We are so thankful for those of you who pray for us regularly and follow our ministry. I made a vow in 1986 to be a thankful man. God loves gratitude. God hates ingratitude. I have sought to teach gratitude for the last 31years. In the past year the Mayo Clinic issued a statement to the effect that “thankful people live longer”! That said, I am so thankful for each of you.

This has been a wonderful year for us. But I am not over the loss of Dr. Michael Eaton. How kind of God that I could be with him in S Africa just before he died.

For the fifth time, Louise and I will be spending six months with Colin Dye and Kensington Temple in London – from February to August 2018. I will also do a year’s worth of TV programs called “Word and Spirit” – shown on TBN UK.

The highlight of the year – and arguably the greatest achievement of my life – was to stand at the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany – where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses – and preach the Gospel to the world! TBN UK and TBN USA covered the documentary. I pray that 100,000 will be saved through this.

To commemorate Luther’s rediscovery my book Whatever Happened to the Gospel? comes out this month – endorsed by Jack Graham, Bill Johnson, Michael Youssef and John Arnott. How about that – men from various perspectives endorsing this book! My next book – “Popular in Heaven, Famous in Hell” – will come out in August 2018, just in time for my speaking on this theme at The Cove (Billy Graham Training Center) August 20-24. How nice it would be if some of you could come!

Psalm 16:8 has been special to me for many years. My advice: take it literally: set the Lord before you – David did! I myself do this literally every single day. I actually picture the Lord Jesus at my right hand looking directly at me. He is there anyway – looking at you too as if there were no one else in the world! So affirm what is true! It will transform your life. I share more of this in my recent book The Presence of God.

Please pray for us to have greater wisdom, anointing and continued stamina. Pray for TR who handles the books, website and travels with me abroad.

From Louise, TR, Annette, Toby, Timothy, Tyndale, Rex and Melissa,

Deepest thanks and much love.

R T – Philippians 4:6 . . . note: “with thanksgiving”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yuk Factor

The Yuk Factor

I could write a book on this. I have preached on this subject several times over the past twenty years. I have an entire chapter devoted to this subject in one of my books.

I received an interesting email out of the blue a couple days ago from the Rev. Kenneth Borthwick, a minister of the Church of Scotland. I felt compelled to pass it on to you. Kenny is the same Church of Scotland minister to whom I refer in my current book WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GOSPEL? He said that when he watches Christian television in the UK he listens as if through the ears of an unbeliever. He said to his wife Morag: “If I did not know differently, I would believe that Christianity is all about money”.

The Yuk Factor is my phrase to describe how a lot of sophisticated Christians

react when they see certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They often say “Yuk”. I sometimes reckon that the Persons of the Godhead have a meeting in the heavenlies from time to time and ask, “What can We do next to offend sophisticated people and make them say ‘Yuk’?” God loves to offend the mind to reveal the heart! What many of us would say is “ridiculous” and which “cannot possibly be of God” is often what God Himself does intentionally to offend the minds of sophisticated people. God offended Naaman the leper by telling him to dip seven times in the river Jordan (2 Kings 5:10-11). He offended the world by choosing to put His Son on the cross (1 Cor.1:18,23). It was the reaction of people to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:13). The list is endless. God continues to choose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Cor.1:27).

I also have taught over the years that spirituality may be defined as “closing the time gap between sin and repentance”. In other words, How long does it take for you to admit you were wrong? Does it take seconds or years to admit you were indignant about what you saw – but eventually climbed down? The less time it takes, I suggest, the more spiritual we are. This can apply to admitting you were wrong to hold a grudge against someone who hurt you or to be angry toward a move of the Spirit – which you were so sure, at first, could not possibly be of God.

Here is part of what Kenny Borthwick sent to me:

Dear R T: Just listened to you speaking on TBN UK on the Yuck Factor. I have a very developed gift of discernment. Everything to which I have said “Yuck” at significant moments in my life turned out to have been God after all!

I said” Yuck” to hearing the message about salvation as a thirteen year old. Because the camp I heard the gospel at announced that we would all be going for a walk in the hills on the Sabbath. As a Scottish Presbyterian I thought I had come among some sort of cult. Walking in the hills on the Sabbath indeed!

I said “Yuck” to the gifts of the Spirit until Morag was baptized in the Spirit and received a gift of prophecy in the Cessationist congregation we were part of at the time as 20 year olds and I had to think again! The time gap was longer than I would have liked but I closed it, or God closed it, when one night in my own house speaking with a friend on the telephone the Spirit of God overwhelmed me and I found myself saying, “Oh it is real. It is all real. It is real after all!” Morag was sitting outside the door of the room and felt the power that I was experiencing in wave after wave coming through the walls.

I said “Yuck” to the Toronto Blessing, when I first heard of it when I was a minister in the north of Scotland. Our window cleaner told us about what was happening. I smiled, but was furiously angry at the very idea that people thought this was God. However, I noticed my spirit was leaping for joy at the very mention of what was offending my mind so much. The time gap was closed, quite quickly, as I was learning to listen to my spirit when it was speaking contrary to my mind. I was kissed by the Father’s love in an overwhelming life-changing and ministry-altering way. Without that CLAN Gathering would never have been. All the leadership were touched in that same move of God.  

So basically I said “Yuck” to the truth of The Son, then “Yuck” to The Spirit then “Yuck” to The Father!  

Love to Louise and to yourself as another New Year approaches. . . always, Kenny.  

I have taken many hits over the years for decisions I have made – from inviting Arthur Blessitt to Westminster Chapel to preaching at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship where the “Toronto Blessing” originated. I can tell you, I’ve never been sorry. Yes, it hurts a bit when people question your sanity! But the increased anointing is so worth it that I want to say, “Bring on more!” The anointing comes in proportion to our willingness to go outside our “comfort zone”.

2018 will be an interesting year. I wonder what God will do this year to offend you and me?

Ricky and Sharon Skaggs

Ricky and Sharon Skaggs

Louise and I have been living in Hendersonville, Tennessee for almost nine years. A few days after arriving the voice at the other end of my cell phone said, “This is Ricky Skaggs. I’m your new neighbor”. We met for breakfast a week later and became intimate friends in minutes – for three reasons: (1) We are both from Kentucky. In fact Ricky was born in Louisa, Kentucky, some twenty miles from my hometown in Ashland. (2) Our favorite food is Indian – curry. One of his first comments to me was, “I reckon you lived in London long enough to pick up a taste for Indian food”. “It’s my very favorite”, I replied. (3) He is a Spirit-filled believer. Some entertainers happen to be Christians but Ricky, married to Sharon (of the White Family fame) are Christians who happen to be entertainers. Ricky and Sharon are members of the Grand Ole Opry and Ricky is a member of the Gospel Hall of Fame. He has also won 14 Emmys. Jesus Christ is first in their lives. Unashamedly first. Some time after we moved from Florida to Tennessee, I asked Ricky to be on our Board.

October 18 was Tyndale’s (whom we call Ty) first birthday, October 19 was TR’s 51st. We decided to make a special celebration of it. TR and Annette prepared five dishes of Indian food. Ricky brought his mandolin, Sharon brought her guitar. Our oldest grandson (aged almost 9) has been taking guitar lessons. Ricky and Sharon found a key that fit with Toby’s progress and played so all Toby needed to do was strum his guitar and it sounded like he was playing well with them. Our grandson Timothy (aged 5) also joined in. Check out the videos (links below) – even if country/bluegrass music is not your cup of tea! While they were playing I said to Annette, “Can you imagine how many people would like to be here right now?” He who plays for Donald Trump in the White House, who attracts thousands to hear him in Nashville and who is on the road all over America week after week, spent an evening with us as if he had nothing else to do. Louise and I, TR and Annette and grandsons will treasure that evening for a long time.

 

 

Ricky and Sharon Skaggs & Toby Jam

Ricky and Sharon Skaggs & Toby Jam 2

Ricky and Sharon Skaggs & Toby Jam 3

 

Jim Bakker

Jim Bakker

Jim Bakker and I have been friends for years. While I was still at Westminster Chapel he wrote me from prison. He claimed that my book God Meant it for Good “not only changed my life, it saved my life”. After he got out of prison I took him bonefishing. Later I performed the wedding of Jim and his lovely wife Lori. Some will recall that Tammy Faye Bakker divorced him while he was in prison. He and Lori have now been married nineteen years and have a regular TV show that originates in the area of Branson, Missouri.

Many know that Jim Bakker spent five years in prison. Many sadly don’t want to know that he was unjustly imprisoned. There was so much hatred toward him that it was impossible for him to get a fair trial. But a law professor, James Albert of Drake University and the famous attorney Alan Dershowitz – without Jim knowing it – convinced the courts that Jim should never have been imprisoned in the first place. Not that Jim did not make some mistakes; but he did nothing that warranted time in prison. That said, Jim believes that God put him in prison! He has no bitterness and learned to forgive – totally – during this time when his life was changed.

Our paths had not crossed in years. It was wonderful to see him again. He had me on his show with Lori, featuring my current book The Presence of God. Jim kindly thinks this is my second best book!

Jim Bakker has made an amazing come back. He is now 77 years old, and yet he has managed to do an incredible work in a little town near Branson, called Blue Eye, right in the middle of the Ozarks. Approximately 165 families have bought homes in a project called Morningside. It is worth seeing and you can also attend live sessions of Jim’s TV show. Lori has provided a home for pregnant single women who have chosen not to have abortions. Lori herself had five abortions when she was very young. Jim and Lori have adopted several homeless children, some of them Mexicans. I was deeply moved by this ministry.

The God of the Bible is the God of the Second Chance. In fact I have written a book God Gives Second Chances which has blessed not a few people who thought that their failure had disqualified them forever. We serve a gracious God.

Witnessing the Solar Eclipse 21st August 2017

Witnessing the Solar Eclipse 21st August 2017

 

It was worth waiting for: two minutes and forty seconds of darkness in the middle of the day. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

Nashville, Tennessee is best known as the home of country music. But in recent weeks it became known as the best place to see the first solar eclipse in nearly a century. People came to our area from all over the world – including the United Kingdom, even though the “total” eclipse lasted in Nashville itself just over two minutes. However, there was one small part of Nashville where a cloud cover appeared just seconds prior to the total eclipse, so that it could not be seen. Therefore some were very disappointed. “I was gutted”, a man from Manchester, England said. We had decided to share the event with our son, daughter-in-law and grandsons. Our son TR lives in White House, some thirty miles north of Nashville – the exact spot (say the scientists) that the total solar eclipse would last the longest – something like two minutes and forty-two seconds! Many people came from Nashville to the northern part of middle Tennessee to have the extra seconds.

The weather in White House was perfect. Hardly a cloud in the sky. Louise and I arrived at TR’s place just after 12:oo noon, an hour and a half before the total eclipse would occur. Friends had begun to gather. “It has already started”, TR said to us when we arrived. With special glasses to protect one’s eyes I had my first look at the sun as the moon barely passed into its path. In a half hour the moon had edged its way into one third of the sun. The light began to diminish all around us. The temperature began to drop. After an hour and fifteen minutes the sun looked like the crescent of the moon. The temperature fell from 95 degrees to what seemed a pleasant 85. It had begun to get dark. Then came the total eclipse. Amazing. One did not need the special glasses for this incredible moment. You looked right at the moon-covered sun. You gazed. There was the total eclipse plain as day, although it seemed like night! For these two minutes and forty seconds one saw the rim around the moon that let you know the sun was behind it. Around us was the darkness – not black dark but more like a few minutes after sunset when you can still see around you. It was dark enough that the overhead lamp by TR’s garage came on!

We were connected to an app on a cell phone that monitored the entire event, telling us how many minutes, how many seconds were left. As the total eclipse was about to end the voice said, “Five, four, three, two, one” – when the first ray of the sun reappeared – a beam of light brighter than I had ever seen in my life. I had to turn my head away. Special glasses back on! I will never forget that as long as I live. It was almost like participating in history – seeing this live and not from a TV set.

And then the fun was over. The rest was anticlimactic as the next hour and a half saw the temperature rise again and the light reappearing all around us. With my special glasses I had one last look at the sun as the moon made its exodus.

At least two thoughts came to my mind. The first, having seen that dazzling brilliant sun for a split second after the total eclipse – the first time I have ever looked directly at the sun in the middle of the day, I thought of Paul’s testimony. “At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun” (Acts 26:13). Brighter than the sun at midday? Whatever kind of light are we talking about! The only answer is: the glory of God. Its brightness is greater than the light of the sun. After all, the sun is God’s creation. For the light Paul saw was uncreated light. Even the seraphim needed wings to cover their eyes from the glory of the Lord (Isa.6:2). That is the light, by the way, that will give illumination in Heaven throughout eternity. “The city has no need of sun or moon to shine one it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its light is the Lamb” (Rev.21:23).

Second, I thought of these words: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm19:1). By this eclipse I could not help but think of the glory of God and creation. Seeing this eclipse was almost like participating in the heavens! One saw first-hand this exceedingly rare event. It is Jesus Christ who sustains creation; he “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb.1:3). This eclipse demonstrates how big God is. This glimpse into the heavenlies is but a minute fraction of the universe God has made. As newsmen interviewed people from all over the area, the typical comment was, “I was in a state of awe”. Yes. “Awe” was the most common expression. Some said, “breathtaking”. Another  called it “euphoria”.

According to Paul, the plainness of God’s creation is sufficient to condemn. It leaves people “without excuse” (Rom.1:20). Whereas the phenomenon of a solar eclipse is amazing, to me equally astonishing is how people can view all this – seeing the perfect timing, regularity and predictability of God’s creation – and not also confess there must be a God. To surmise that all this is by “chance” – which is the choice atheists make – is a confirmation of Romans 1:21-23: “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things”.

These things said, natural revelation is sufficient to condemn but insufficient to save. We need the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ to be saved (2 Cor.4:4-6).

RT Kendall

 

 

 

 

Physical Exercise

Physical Exercise

“For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” – 2 Timothy 4:8 (KJV).

“For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” – 2 Timothy 4:8 (ESV).

Shortly after our retirement from Westminster Chapel in 2002, the late John Paul Jackson gave me a prophetic word out of the blue. Sitting at the dinner table with my family, he looked at me and said, “R. T., you will live to a ripe old age, but if you don’t get into physical shape you won’t be around to enjoy it”.

I had known John Paul for over ten years, having been introduced to him by Mike Bickel in 1991. His previous words to me had been so accurate that his sudden warning to me about physical exercise sobered me. My friend and publisher Steve Strang had just shared with me a routine for exercising each morning and also urged me to get a trainer. Therefore with this surprising word from John Paul I began to think that God was giving me a wake-up call regarding my own health! Our son T. R. was present and immediately got me a book pertaining to a healthy diet.

I also recalled a conversation with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones many years ago. Whereas I had taken the King James translation, “bodily exercise profiteth little”, to minimize the importance of physical exercise, Dr. Lloyd-Jones insisted that Paul was not showing disdain for physical training but only saying that godliness is more important. In fact Dr. Lloyd-Jones felt that Paul was actually encouraging physical exercise as long as we remember that godliness is more important.

I began using Steve’s suggestions by exercising every morning. I call it “Stronger with Strang”. I lost ten pounds by careful eating. I avoid things such as sugar, white flour and anything containing high fructose syrup. Rightly or wrongly, I weigh myself every morning. John Stott told me he weighed himself every morning. If my weight is up, I cut down eating that day; if it is down, I might have a pizza that day! I have a trainer who comes to our house once or twice a week, depending when we are not on the road. I lift weights, do push-ups and try to walk at least a mile in twenty minutes on the treadmill. I only wish I had started this forty years before, but perhaps this word will encourage others who have waited too long to take their health seriously.

Jesus said that by worrying we cannot add “a single hour” to our span of life (Matt.6:27 – ESV). I take this also to mean we cannot add a single hour to how long we live by exercising. But surely we can improve the quality of our lives by taking care of our bodies. After all, the physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.6:19). Any one who is over weight but loses weight will tell you they immediately feel better by doing this. They will also tell you they feel better when they exercise sensibly and regularly.

I attended a service when the preacher’s subject was “Fat Christians”. I thought, “Oh good. I know a lot of people who should be here today”. But his sermon was about Christians who are over-fed with truth but do not witness to the lost. It was a good sermon, but not many preachers are willing to tackle the issue of over weight Christians today. Flabby, pot-bellied, unhealthy servants of Christ are not exactly a great testimony to the world.

I am 82 as I write these lines. There is no doubt in my mind that I am able to travel as I do – literally all over the world – because I took John Paul’s word seriously. I hate to think what I would be like had I had not listened to that timely word.

I am a Word and Spirit man. This includes bringing in logos and rhema – both of which translate “word” – into my teaching and preaching. These Greek words can be used interchangeably so we must not press the distinction too far. That said, the Word in this particular article pertains to a balanced understanding of 2 Timothy 4:8. The Spirit refers to the prophetic – as in John Paul’s rhema word to me.

We must be open to both.

Martin Luther and Wittenberg today

Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Wittenberg 2017

I have just had an amazing week in Wittenberg, Germany. Accepting a wonderful invitation by the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN UK and TBN USA), I was accompanied by Leon Schoeman, Director of TBN UK, and filmmaker Luke Bradford. I was given an opportunity of a lifetime – a thrill and privilege beyond any offered to me: to preach the Gospel where Martin Luther once stood.

The purpose of this trip was to make a film that will be shown all over the world on October 31st 2017 – to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31st 1517. It was the moment that ended up turning Germany and Europe upside down. The film will be partly a documentary but mostly preaching the Gospel that Luther rediscovered. It seemed to me that the best way we could honor Martin Luther was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That said, this film shows beautiful scenes not only of the landscape and town of Wittenberg today but also of the lovely surroundings of Wartburg Castle where Luther translated the New Testament into German in 1521-1522.

The filming did not come easily. Whereas 200,000 tourists are expected to come to Wittenberg on the anniversary day of the Ninety-five Theses, we still had to work past hundreds of tourists already coming to Wittenberg who wanted to take pictures of the famous Door. In order to succeed in our mission we got up right after dawn and I managed to preach a few minutes as the sun arose before the crowds moved in. We were also given permission for me to speak in the pulpit inside the Castle Church. Luther preached in this church hundreds of times. Whereas the Eucharist had been the center of worship for centuries, Luther’s unfolding of the Gospel, especially as in Romans and Galatians, made preaching popular. People came from all over Germany just to hear the Bible explained to them – an unprecedented phenomenon at the time. The people did not have Bibles in those days nor did they understand the Gospel.

Wartburg Castle is where Luther spent ten months translating the New Testament into German. People bought copies as fast as they could be printed. The irony of today is, we all have Bibles but we don’t read them! Nor do we, sadly, understand the Gospel. Let us all make a commitment to read our Bibles and witness another reformation. This is partly why I have written a book to be published shortly, Whatever Happened to the Gospel?

I may be known as a Calvinist, but Luther is my hero. One difference between Luther and John Calvin is that if you were going to go on a long holiday, you’d rather go with Luther! Luther was fun, crude, never boring and full of life. The three of us determined to have fun on this trip – and not take ourselves too seriously. I think we succeeded to some degree. Do pray for the production of this film. Pray most of all that many thousands will come to know Jesus Christ through this telecast next October 31st.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GOSPEL?

I have just finished writing WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GOSPEL? I am having difficulty securing endorsements (which publishers want in order to help sell the book) for this one. Some of  my closest friends don’t want to touch it – unless they can give a qualified endorsement. On most of my books I welcome a qualified endorsement. But not this one. This book will probably be my legacy, that is what people who have read it are saying. Some of my friends just want me to tone it down – especially when it comes to criticizing certain heretical views. I won’t go into them all now, but will mention three: (1) I speak against “kingdom theology” which is championed by a pastor in California whose emphasis is on healing: (2) my criticism of the views of a famous British scholar who denies justification by faith alone; (3) annihilation. Almost certainly the overwhelming majority of British church leaders believe in annihilation vis-a-vis eternal Hell.

Annihilation is the view that denies conscious eternal punishment in Hell. The idea is that (either at death or the judgment) the person is annihilated – that is, he or she no longer exists. This teaching is a valiant attempt, either consciously or unconsciously, to destigmatize God. They want to make God “look good” and Hell does not make God look good. But God does not need a public relations person. My job is not to make Him look good but to proclaim Him as He is.

I am tempted to write more in this blog, but my book deals with that more thoroughly and carefully. Please pray that my book will have sufficient endorsements that will help the book spread far and wide. One thing I am certain of: I have chosen the right title for a book to honor the teaching of Martin Luther! One more thing: Luther himself would love it!

Dr. Michael Eaton (1942-2017)

Dr. Michael Eaton (1942-2017)

My Great Encourager is now in Heaven. He died in hospital aged 74 in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 9th 2017. We had preached together that week in the Cornerstone Church in Johannesburg. Brilliant as always, he preached for the last time on June 6th, 2017. I followed him a few moments later. He sat on the front row listening to me, but got up during the sermon. I found out he needed to lie down and rest owing to a lot of pain. It turned out to be a heart attack. He died three days later.

Michael and I have been linked together for a long time. We were opposites in many ways (personality, style) but when it came to theology – especially soteriology, we were on the same page. I first met him at Westminster Chapel in 1977. He was between churches, that is, he had resigned the pastorate at Lusaka Baptist Church and was undecided what to do next. He came to Westminster Chapel while I was preaching through Galatians. He later claimed that my view of the Law changed his perspective entirely. I hardly knew him, but a few years later he wrote to say that my view of James 2:14 had changed his life and ministry. He decided to accept the pastorate at Rouxville Baptist Church in Johannesburg and grew a multiracial congregation there – a huge and precarious thing to do at the time.

He was the most learned theologian I have met. His knowledge was incredibly vast – exceeding all I have ever come across. He was a walking encyclopedia, at home with Greek or Hebrew; he preached in Swahili. He read Plato and all the Apostolic Fathers and Church Fathers, the medieval scholastics, knew Luther and Calvin backwards and forwards, read many of the Puritans, the eighteenth century Methodists, the nineteenth century British preachers, the main theologians of the 20th century – including Barth and Brunner, and if it was written last week – Michael probably read it! His mentor was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Michael read all of the Doctor’s books and heard the recordings of most of his sermons.

I was a mentor to Michael in a small way, but he became a mentor to me in a big way. I think I would be accurate to say that he learned Paul’s teaching of justification and the place of the Law largely from my expositions of Galatians. But he surpassed me in all that I ever taught him and the result was, he became my teacher! These things said, he was a great encourager over the years. There were at last five things I had come to see that Michael came along to agree with: (1) James 2:14 “Can faith save him?” – the “him” being the “poor man” of James 2:6; (2) the place of Christ’s death and intercession (Jesus died for all but interceded only for the elect which I actually got from John Calvin); (3) the faith of Christ: pistis chistou = literally Jesus’ very own faith (Rom.3:22, Gal.2:16,20); (4)the meaning of the concept of God swearing an oath (Heb.6:13ff); and (5) Hebrews 6:4-6 referring to saved people who forfeited not salvation but their inheritance. These are five examples of what I stood for – presumably by myself – but which Michael embraced and in turn taught me from these! My book Once Saved, Always Saved became the foundation for what Michael and I have taught all over the world for the past twenty-five years: the concept of reward and inheritance, persistent faith as being different from saving faith.

But here is the point: he became my teacher in all these things. He referred to me as being a miner for gold. I would get the nuggets. But he turned the nuggets into bracelets and watches. I learned more from him than I ever saw by myself. I wrote him on the average of once a month for his view on this or that verse or idea.

I don’t know what I will do without him. I will miss him greatly. More than words can describe.

But my memory of him is this: he was my great encourager. When I felt alone and out there in no man’s land, he would come along side to say “R T you got that right”. Not that we agreed on everything. But almost everything.

I always wanted us to do our own translation of the Bible. I mentioned it to him again only five days before he died. I doubt it would have happened anyway, but it was a nice thought (I thought)!

One sweet memory – our being on television together – will survive. TBN UK came up with a Book Show for me. He was on two one-hour programs. They will be a permanent legacy of our ministry together.

Good-bye old friend. I will see you in Heaven. We will find out then if the Lord really approved of what we taught!

New Year’s Letter 2017

New Year’s Letter 2017

Dear Friends,

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: ‘Who am I, O Lord God, that you have brought me this far?’” – 1 Chronicles 17:16.

I have chosen this Scripture for my 2017 New Year’s Letter for two reasons. First, it is exactly the way I feel as I grow older. I was gripped by this verse just before Thanksgiving Day when my Bible Reading (Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s) included this passage. You have no idea how unworthy I feel and how amazed I am that God has brought us “this far”. I can never forget that I come from the hills of Kentucky when our state was second from the bottom in educational standards. Hence our saying in those days, “Thank God for Arkansas”. Not only that; for the first ten years of our marriage – though always in ministry – I worked as a salesman, mostly selling vacuum cleaners door to door.

My closest friends on both sides of the Atlantic are cautioning me to “slow down”. I am asking: is this warning from the Lord? I don’t know. I am almost overwhelmed that at my age (81) we get more invitations from all over the world than I can fill. Please pray for my wisdom in this connection. I find it so hard to say No.

Who am I that the Lord has brought us this far?

Our third grandson arrived a few weeks ago – continuing the TR pattern. We have Tobias Robert (Toby), Timothy Robert and now Tyndale Robert (whom we call Ty). They live about forty minutes from us. TR travels with me a lot these days, although Louise will be joining me in London from February to July.

Pastor Colin Dye of London’s Kensington Temple has kindly invited us back to be on his staff for the fourth year in a row. We dearly love Colin and Amanda and all the members of KT. I plan to preach on the Life of Elisha. My final Sunday night preaching series at Westminster Chapel was on Elijah (now a book – These are the Days of Elijah). I will also be teaching at the International Bible Institute of London (IBIOL) as well as teaching selected themes from our School of Theology series on Friday nights beginning April 21st).

Melissa works for a hospital in Nashville, doing what she was trained to do (with her Master’s degree in psychology). Rex continues to be blessed in his real estate business. They live some thirty minutes from us.

This year we have finally brought R T Kendall Ministries Inc. officially from Florida to Tennessee. We thank God for our Board Members there who served Louise, T.R. and me faithfully for some fourteen years – Richard Oates, Randy Wall and Charles Carrin. We welcome new Tennessee Board Members: Roger Perry (accountant), Joshua Hankins (attorney) and Ricky Skaggs (country singer recording artist).

When asked how people can pray for us, my reply is: for our continued good health, stamina and all the anointing we can be trusted with!

Perhaps the most surprising development of 2017 is that TBN UK have invited me to speak on a regular basis – on any subject I choose. It is a 30 minute program which they call “Word and Spirit”. It reaches all over the UK, Africa and Europe four times every week!

The second reason I chose the aforementioned Scripture pertains to the verses following 1 Chronicles 17:16. It was when David graciously came to terms with the disappointment that he could not build the temple. David accepted this and thanked God for how good God had already been to him. So I ask: will I have to accept that not all I have hoped for will come to pass in my lifetime? David accepted his disappointment with dignity; if I must – by not seeing all I have hoped for, will I be so gracious? I certainly hope so. So many unfulfilled wishes – and prophetic words from good people – remain unfulfilled. Time will tell.

God bless you all. Thank you for your prayers. Louise, T R, Annette, Toby, Timothy, Ty, Rex and Melissa join me in sending our sincere love.

R T – Psalm 84:11

PS – John Newton (1725-1807) wrote a hymn nearly every week when he was vicar of Olney that came from the verse he would preach on. One week he decided to preach on 1 Chronicles 17:16. Being gripped by the words “this far” (“hitherto” – KJV), he wrote “Amazing Grace”. Verse three of his most famous hymn includes these words:

“Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home”.