R.T. Kendall's Blog, page 6

Donald Trump and Toby

Donald Trump and Toby

Every grandfather probably thinks his grandson is a genius. But Toby is!

Yesterday at lunch when the conversation with our friend Benjamin Chan (see my tweet of 27-11-16) was about the BBQ we were enjoying at Hendersonville’s Center Point BBQ, our seven year old grandson Toby spoke up out of the blue: “Grandpa, is Donald Trump a Christian?” I replied: “I don’t really know for sure”. “Well then, Grandpa, can God use someone who is not really a Christian to do His work?” I replied: “Yes, through God’s common grace”.

Common grace is God’s goodness to all humankind. John Calvin called it “special grace in nature”. We call it “common grace” not because it is ordinary but because it is given commonly to all people of all ages in all places in the whole world. It is a creation gift not a salvation gift. It is what keeps the world from being topsy-turvy. It is why there is a measure of law and order in all countries. It is why we have traffic lights, hospitals, firemen, policemen, nurses and doctors. It is the basis of one’s IQ, their ability for poetry, science, botany, astronomy. It is what gave Albert Einstein what is (perhaps) the highest IQ in history. It is what gives an Arthur Rubenstein an ability to play the piano, Yehudi Menuhin to play the violin, Rachmaninoff to write a concerto. It has nothing to do with whether you are a Christian. Being a Christian is not what gives you your IQ; you would have had the same IQ whether saved or lost.

Common grace is what lay behind Cyrus (Isa.45:1 – probably the same person as Darius in Daniel 6) the surprising decision to let the Jews return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. This to me is a plausible explanation for Donald Trump – that is, if indeed he appoints good Supreme Court justices and does some of the other things he has promised to do.

Perhaps Donald Trump is a Christian. I have heard rumors of this person or that person who led him to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope they are true. But if not, one should have a theological rationale for God using people like him to be used of God in this wicked world of ours.

Yes, Toby, God can use someone who is not a Christian to do His work in the world. And if Donald Trump is truly born again, all the better for us all!

Calvin and Calvinism

Calvin and Calvinism

(For those who covet what I perceive to be a sound theology!)

Those who have followed my ministry for very long will likely know three things about me: (1) I am a Calvinist, (2) my coming to this way of thinking immediately followed my baptism of the Holy Spirit on 31st October 1955 – an event to which I have referred countless times and (3) I do not make an issue of this when I preach. These things said, I have recently felt an urge to write about such lately in some tweets in which I have spoken against the traditional reformed teaching of limited atonement. I have also mentioned that my mentor Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was very uneasy with this teaching and admitted to me, “I only preached it once – when dealing with Romans 5:18 – and I remember being in great difficulty then”.

Why is this important? First, for one’s own assurance of salvation. If Jesus died only for the elect, no person alive can honestly say, “Jesus died for me”. There is simply no way a person can know infallibly that Christ died for him or her if Jesus died for a limited number of people but not all. Those who “conclude” that Jesus died for them because of they see the fruit of sanctification in their lives are the most presumptuous of all! They are basing the assurance of their salvation on their good works – a horrible thing to do, said John Calvin. The truth is, the only way anybody can assuredly say, “Jesus died for me” is if Jesus died for every single person, as taught by verses such as 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 and Hebrews 2:9.

Second, for evangelism. If Jesus died only for the elect, no evangelist can say to people, “Jesus died for you”. The evangelist can merely say, “Christ died for sinners” – but never “you”. The only way a person can be transparently honest and say, “Jesus died for you” is if Christ died indiscriminately (Calvin’s word) for all men and women.

Third, that people might know John Calvin’s own teaching on this matter. If you ask, “Who cares?”, I would answer: there are a lot of people who would be more attracted to the doctrines of grace if they knew they did not have to embrace limited atonement in the package. It is a pity that limited atonement was ever conceived when the plain, natural, unbiased, unprejudiced and obvious reading of the New Testament is that Jesus died for everyone. Those who reply that Jesus died only for the “church” or for the “sheep” would never have thought to argue this were it not for a need to be defensive for the teaching of limited atonement.

What my experience of 31st October 1955 showed me that very same day was that it was a work of the Spirit. This means that what happened to me cannot be worked up or hastened by the flesh. That – to me – also meant predestination and election. Perhaps you would not come to that conclusion, but I did, even though I had not read a single word of any Calvinist in my whole life (being brought up a Nazarene). This led to my reading Romans 9:11-18 without being defensive but just accepting those exceedingly plain words. And yet there was no hint of limited atonement in these verses – only God’s sovereign choice of Jacob and His elect people.

When I discovered for myself that John Calvin did not believe in limited atonement I was both thrilled and sobered. It was a thoughtful process – a story in itself – that led to my being convinced that Calvin really believed this. And yet when Dr. Lloyd-Jones read my Oxford DPhil thesis he chided me for not quoting Calvin more than I did. I remember it as though it were yesterday. He phoned me on a Monday morning. “I was not able to preach this weekend so, having read your thesis, you got me to reading Calvin. I have discovered many statements of Calvin that you did not use”. He started in with one statement after another. I replied, “I know about those”. “But why didn’t you use them?” “It is because the Oxford rules limited me to a maximum of 100,000 words and I had to leave them out”. “This is a pity. You can prove your case to the hilt”, he said. Then he proceeded to quote more, either from Calvin’s Institutes or his commentaries.

Many of my quotations from Calvin in my Oxford thesis are in the footnotes. I knew that my examiners would read the footnotes as carefully as they read the main text and these examiners are the ones who awarded me my doctorate. But most people don’t read the footnotes. I also wish I had somehow been able to put more of Calvin’s many statements in my thesis, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones discovered. My only regret now is that I did not put all of Calvin’s statements in the main text. But I have never been so clear about anything in my life as I am about Calvin’s view of the atonement of Christ – and, for that matter, the Apostle Paul’s view!*

*For those who want to read further see my Calvin and English Calvinism to 1648 (Oxford University Press, since republished by Pater Noster). Now out of print. We have a limited number available.

Here are my recent tweets again in case you missed any…

RT Kendall

Limited atonement is the theory that Jesus died on the cross for the elect alone – not everybody.

The five points of Calvinism are easily understood by TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, and Irresistible grace, Perseverance of the saints.

When I say I am a four and a half point Calvinist people think it is a joke. It is not a joke; I don’t accept limited atonement.

I got my teaching on the atonement from John Calvin himself – not from the Synod of Dort (origin of TULIP).

Calvin taught that Jesus died indiscriminately for all people.

Calvin taught that although Jesus died for all people, He made intercession for the elect only. That is four and a half point Calvinism.

TULIP Calvinists cannot say Jesus died for you or even Jesus died for me; they can only say Jesus died for sinners.

I can say Jesus died for me, Jesus died for you. Why important? It makes a complete difference in evangelism and one’s personal assurance of salvation.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones told me how he struggled having to defend limited atonement.

“I only did it once – my exposition of Romans 5:18; I was in real difficulty.”

Mrs. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said to me, łI have never believed in limited atonement and never will. The Doctor sat there and smiled.

The limited atonement people make a big deal of Jesus dying for many (Isa.53:12; Rom.5:19): the many being the elect but not all. Calvin: many means all.

 

 

 

 

Ocean Grove, New Jersey

Ocean Grove, New Jersey

TR and I are in Ocean Grove, New Jersey today. I had never been here before, nor had I heard of it (ashamed to say). It is historically a Christian community. The Camp Meeting Association was founded here in 1869, mostly by Methodists. Those were the days when both camp meetings and the Methodists flourished. Ocean Grove is a one square mile little town, 20,000 here in the summer, 3,500 in the winter. Many of the streets have biblical names.

There is an association with old-fashioned hymns here. Fanny Crosby used to come here all the time and wrote a poem about Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Thomas Chrisholm wrote “Great is Thy Faithfulness” here. Eliza Hewitt and Emily Wilson wrote “When we all get to Heaven” here. One of the little streets running right into the Great Auditorium is called Pilgrim Pathway. The second verse of “When we all get to Heaven” begins with the words “While we walk this pilgrim pathway”.

Great preachers have been here – William Booth, Billy Sunday, D. L. Moody, Billy Graham, D. James Kennedy. Seven presidents have spoken in the Great Auditorium including Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon. Musicians and singers performing here include Enrico Caruso and Marian Anderson This building was built to seat 10,000, but now seats 6,500 although some 1,600 were present today when I preached there.

See the photo with TR and me in front of the Great Auditorium. Note the photo by the street Pilgrim Pathway. The other photo is with Dr. Dale Whilden, the present chairman of the Camp Meeting Association. It has been fun to be here. Just thought all 13 of my followers would like to know!

RT

July 13, 2016

July 13, 2016

Dear friends:

As some of you will know, I write an open letter to my friends and followers twice a year: on New Year’s Day and my birthday. Today I am 81. I often think of the funny line: “If I knew I would have lived this long I would have taken better care of myself!”. But it’s true in my case. And yet God graciously gave me a wake-up call shortly after we retired – when I was 67. The late John Paul Jackson (I still grieve with tears when I try to cope with his death) said to me out of the blue one evening: “R. T., you will live to a ripe old age, but if you don’t get in shape physically you won’t be around to enjoy it”. I took him seriously. I began the next day with exercises Steve Strang taught me; T.R. bought me a book called The Abs Diet which I pretty much followed (and still do); I began walking on the treadmill a mile a day in twenty minutes; I have a trainer who comes to me once or twice a week (making me lift weights). I used to think that the word in the KJV, “Bodily exercise profiteth little” was a put-down of exercising. It was my mentor Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said this was not a put-down on physical exercise but it meant that by comparison godliness is more important. Modern versions are helpful: “Physical training is of some value” (NIV); “bodily training is of some value” (ESV). I never dreamed at the age of 81 I would be traveling the world as I do. I give God all the praise for this.

We just finished our third six-month period with Kensington Temple, London. Pastor Colin Dye has given London back to us. He has kindly asked us to return next year. It is fun but also hard work. In addition to preaching at KT and teaching at the International Bible Institute Of London Colin suggested we revive our old School of Theology series on Fridays which I did for many years at Westminster Chapel. When in London Louise and I love walking the streets, this being something one seldom does in America. Over half of our adult life was spent in the UK. It is like being back home. So many doors have opened to us as a result. The greatest surprise was from TBN UK. I never dreamed this would happen but I have been given a weekly slot – actually appearing on TV four times a week in the UK, all over Africa and Europe. The new UK director Leon Schoeman calls the program WORD AND SPIRIT, a name he believe spells out my ministry.

Louise enjoys good health with me. But she travels less with me in the USA as she prefers to be with the grandsons, so T. R. mostly will accompany me all over America plus places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and India.

My book Pigeon Religion came out in April of this year. It seeks to show the difference between the authentic (the dove) and counterfeit (the pigeon) Holy Spirit. Many have told me they think it is my best book! My book on the Midnight Cry (which the publisher chose to call Is Your Heart Ready for the Midnight Cry?) comes out November 1st . I am now writing a book on the presence of God, something that Pastor Grant Brewster of Bainbridge Island, Washington has been asking me to do for over ten years. It will probably be called In His Presence.

People ask me all the time, “What is God doing in the world today?” My reply: “Not a lot” (in my opinion). There are exceptions. God is using Alpha in the UK, He is using people like Rolland and Heidi Baker in Mozambique (where I visited in June). But by and large the most apt description of the church today, speaking generally, is: asleep. This includes high profile leaders who espouse everything from open theism to hyper-grace, annihilationism to universalism. This is what my book on the Midnight Cry is partly about. I would like my forthcoming book to be a mini wake-up call before the Big One comes – when it will be too late for the foolish virgins to enjoy the next great move of God, as Jesus put it in Matthew 25:1-13.

May I insert this question: which to you is more important – getting more of God or getting more from God? Please think about that. It is to me a litmus test as to where one is in his or her spiritual relationship with God. Sadly the number is increasing in those who only want more from God, that is, how to get Him to do things for us – versus getting more of Him – that we might know Him and His ways (Exod.33:13; Phil.3:10). Please think about this. Do you see the difference?

You and I know that the world situation is worsening with every passing day. A year ago we would not have thought it could be this bad. I can tell you, it will be even worse a year from now. The only hope – in my view: the Midnight Cry. Please read this book Are You Ready for the Midnight Cry? when it comes out and pray for its wide distribution.

Thank you for your prayers for a greater anointing of the Holy Spirit on me – and for my continued good health, clear thinking, stamina and mobility – and the same for all our family. Grandchild number three is coming in October.

God bless you all. From Louise, T. R., Annette, Toby, Timothy, Rex and Melissa,

Warmest love, deepest thanks and appreciation.

RT – John 5:44

Mozambique

Mozambique

Recently I was privileged to visit the African country of Mozambique for the first time. I flew from London to Johannesburg over night and preached at the Cornerstone Church there Sunday morning and Doxa Deo in Pretoria Sunday night. I then flew into Pemba, Mozambique where I was greeted by Rolland and Heidi Baker plus a group of Mozambican children (see the photo).

Rolland and Heidi have been in Mozambique for twenty-one years. They run what is called Iris Ministries. They have founded 13,000 churches. They feed 5,000 poor people daily, educate 3,000 daily (grades 1 to 12), train 200 Mozambique people for ministry daily and also train students from all over the world who come to learn how to minister to and pray for people in the bush. They live by faith day by day and sometimes wonder if there will be food for the day. There is a least one story of God multiplying food. A dinner was prepared for only twelve people. Eighty people showed up – hungry! Without preparing extra food (which they did not have) everyone was filled. Ninety-eight percent of the converts in Mozambique are ex-Muslims, the rest being former animists. While there I spoke to 300 young people from 29 countries. I also met with some 30 people (mostly young – in their 20s and 30s) who are on the staff. This time was in a sense the highlight of my visit as I listened to their testimonies. A young lady from northwest Tennessee, who happened to be sitting next to me on my left, told me that while in the bush a few days before she prayed for a mute child who began to speak for the first time (to the amazement of the mother who never heard a sound come from the child). The Tennessee girl afterwards saw another woman behind a mud hurt – distressed in great consternation and grief. She went to see what was wrong. It turned out this woman was sobbing because her four year old boy had died of malaria some two hours before. They were wrapping the child in sheets, waiting for an imam to arrive to bury the child. The Tennessee girl began praying for the dead child. The child was stiff from rigor mortis. After several minutes of praying she noticed the child’s fingers, then hands, beginning to move, then the arms. The child was raised from the dead before her eyes. When the Tennessee girl went to the mud hut the next day she saw the little boy running around. Those who witnessed this came to Christ. This is how most of Heidi and Rolland’s converts are saved; they see the miracles and instantly abandon their false teaching. A young man who was a graduate in theology from Durham, England, sitting next to me on my right, told me he prayed for three different blind people who were healed before his eyes. He added that they for some reason have almost a complete success rate with deaf people being healed. He implied that they are always glad to see a deaf person because they know they will be healed.

I felt cheated that I could not go to the bush while there. They refer to the bush and the “bush bush” – which means it is very deep into the jungle. This is where the miracles take place, not on the premises of the schools and places to sleep. I could only be there for three days – or wait until next year (my schedule is completely filled). So I saw no miracles first hand. But there is no doubt in my mind that these young people were not making up these stories: mute people speaking, Muslims coming to Christ, witch doctors coming to Jesus, blind and deaf people being healed. But only in the bush. I vowed to go to the bush if I have the opportunity to return.

The Iris Ministries board met while I was there. I was privileged to speak to them for over an hour on my “life verse” (John 5:44). I also gave my testimony and related how I came to believe in the doctrines of sovereign grace. Rolland, who has an earned doctrine in theology (as does Heidi) was particularly gratified by what I said. We are on the same page theologically. I also took questions and did my best to answer them honestly. The discussion somehow led to the subject of open theism – a very dangerous teaching that many prominent Charismatics and Pentecostals are taking on board. While I was there I cautioned everyone as lovingly and firmly as I could. All seemed deeply appreciative that I was there for this time. They want me to return, but I want to go back only if I can go to the bush!

I first met Rolland and Heidi on a Caribbean cruise some ten years ago along with Carol and John Arnott who invited me to do the Bible talks on the ship. Heidi came to all my talks, always sitting on the front row, and I got to know her a bit. She told me of her miraculous healing at Toronto and how being prayed for at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship changed her life. A New York City church that had supported her dropped her for going to Toronto. And yet her ministry never really took off until after Toronto. She and Rolland live completely by faith and are now supported by people from all over the world. If you ask me, this is the best vindication of the “Toronto Blessing” I have come across.

Letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu

29th December 2015

Dear Prime Minister,

I pray for you every day.

Like many Evangelicals in America, I admire you greatly. We believe you have come to where you are for “such a time as this”, as Mordecai said to Esther. I have listened to many of your speeches, recalling what you said to the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio years ago and, more recently, to the United Nations. You always speak with irresistible logic, eloquence and passion. For example:

For in every generation, there were those who rose up to destroy our people.

In antiquity, we faced destruction from the ancient empires of Babylon and Rome.

In the Middle Ages, we faced inquisition and expulsion.

In modern times, we faced pogroms and the Holocaust.

Yet the Jewish people persevered.

I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but a nation-state of a people nearly 4,000 years old.

Those seemingly invincible empires have long gone.

But Israel lives.

The people of Israel live.

Even in our darkest hours, we never gave up hope of rebuilding our eternal capital Jerusalem.

I humbly and lovingly ask you to consider what I say below, even if you have heard this 1,000 times.

I fear that many of my American friends – and yours – are not saying to you what needs to be said. I call it the Elephant in the Room when it comes to the hope of Israel.

Do forgive me for quoting from the Christian Bible: the Apostle Paul says in Romans 11 says that the veil on Israel will be lifted if Israel turns to the Lord. The promise is conditional on Israel turning from their unbelief:

“God is both kind and severe. He is severe to those who disobeyed, but kind to you [Gentiles] if you continue to trust his kindness. . . And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the [olive] tree” (Romans 11:22-23 – New Living Translation).

The promise still remains: when Israel turns to the Lord, the veil will be taken away.

Jeremiah was accused of treason when he prophesied that Jerusalem would be taken. The people of Israel said “not possible”. But Jeremiah was right. In much the same way there are those who believe that it is not possible for Israel to be finally destroyed. I pray this does not happen, but, Prime Minister, it could happen.

In a word: until the nation of Israel repents over their rejection of Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior, the situation for Israel will not get better. The only solution: for Israel to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the fulfillment of the ancient promises concerning Israel’s Messiah. When this is done, God will fight for you as He did with ancient Israel.

I plan to be in Israel in May 2016 and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you face to face for half an hour.

God bless you, Prime Minister.

Warm wishes and fervent prayers for your wisdom and safety,

The Rev. Dr. R. T. Kendall.

New Years Letter 2016

New Years Letter 2016

“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” – Habakkuk 3:2.

My deepest ambition for 2016 is to help make the God of the Bible famous. He is famous in a sense, it is true; He is the most hated person on the planet. When the Beatles made the claim in the 1960s that they were “more popular than Jesus” they were no doubt correct. When the Midnight Cry comes things will change. Not that all humankind will adore the true God. But they will certainly know about Him. Coming ahead is the combination of unprecedented wrath from God joined by amazing mercy. The fear of the Lord is going to return to the church and also to the world.

As we welcome the New Year in, I think that I am possibly the most sobered of any time in recent years. Generally, the situation in the entire world has never looked so dire. The outlook has never been so bleak. But should this surprise us? If we are in the very last days – as I have been claiming for a long time, nothing should surprise us.

Particularly, this has been a sobering year for me. Two very close friends have been taken to Heaven. First, John Paul Jackson, and, second, Dr. Billy T. Ball. The death of Billy is no surprise; he was 88. The death of John Paul at 65 is something I am still struggling to come to terms with. What is interesting to me is that these two men had in common an unusual prophetic gift. But from two angles. John Paul based a lot of his prophecies on what I would call the rhema word, Billy Ball was entirely a logos word man. Many of their prophecies coalesced but both agreed on the premise that the Midnight Cry of Matthew 25:6 precedes the actual Second Coming of Jesus by a period of time during which the church is awakened which in turn will precipitate a revival that spreads around the entire world.

But there were two other things John Paul and Billy Ball had in common: they each believed they would be major figures on the national, if not world, scene in the last days. Depending how you define “major”, I would have thought that both of these men died feeling unfulfilled. They were used of God in their day, yes, but not to the extent they hoped for.

I am having to come to terms with how good, honorable and respectable men could get it so wrong when it came to their own expectations. And yet the great Jonathan Edwards sincerely thought that what he was witnessing in his day was precisely what we now call “last day ministries”.

I am on record for believing that the Midnight Cry – not the Second Coming – will take place while I am alive. We will certainly see!

I will have two books coming out in 2016: Pigeon Religion – which purports to show the counterfeit vis-à-vis the genuine Holy Spirit; and The Midnight Cry – my interpretation of the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt.25:1-13).

I am extremely grateful to God for good health and stamina. 2015 has by far been the busiest and most challenging year of my life. 2016 will likely be equal to this, such beginning with a ministry for the third year in a row at Kensington Temple, London (late January to early July). But I have promised Louise I will cut down a lot.

God bless you all. I would be so honored if you would put us on your prayer list. Will you? Louise, TR, Annette, Toby and Timothy and Melissa and Rex join me in wishing you a wonderful year to come.

“In wrath remember mercy”.

Warmest greetings.

R T Psalm 84:11*

* For some reason I began using a new verse alongside my name, having used Romans 8:28 for so long.

 

How Much do You Read your Bible?

How Much do You Read your Bible?

This is the most important Blog I have written in many years. I pray with all my heart that this will be read and spread to ordinary Christians all over the world. I cannot come close in emphasizing how important this particular Blog is.

A melancholy fact: most Christians do not have a Bible reading plan. Most Christians do not read their Bibles regularly. Some Christians do not read their Bibles very much at all. And…some church leaders do not read their Bibles. I happen to know more than I care to reveal – how many famous Christians and leaders have not read the Bible through at all!

I am aiming this Blog at ordinary Christians. My followers are not clergymen or church leaders but laymen – ordinary Christians.

Mrs. Martyn Lloyd-Jones made a gripping observation about C. S. Lewis’ book Screwtape Letters, a brilliant satire that includes among other things how the devil tempts new Christians. She lamented that one huge thing Lewis left out – that should have been put in – was how the devil wants to keep people from reading their Bibles. I do agree; it would have been so helpful had Lewis put that in.

I am convinced that the devil will do anything to keep people from reading their Bibles.

Has the devil succeeded with you? How much do you read your Bible?

This Blog was inspired by a recent trauma I had in Bimini, Bahamas. Perhaps trauma is too strong a word. But what happened was this. I took a brief vacation to do some bonefishing – my only vacation for 2015. When I turned to read my Bible, lo and behold, I had not packed my Bible or diary (which includes my prayer list)! I was sobered. I never leave home without my Bible, but somehow I let that happen. The thought of not getting to read my Bible for three or four days was almost horrifying. I thought: what do people do who don’t have their Bibles?

Then I remembered something I heard only a few days ago when I was in Singapore. That there is a church where people are not encouraged to read their Bibles – at home or at church – but only wait for God to give a “revelation”. Like a vision. Or rhema word of knowledge. That’s it. The thought of reading the Bible or hearing an expository sermon does not come on to their radar screen! I was flabbergasted when I heard that.

Do listen to me dear reader. Once we give up the conviction that the Bible is the only infallible Word of God, we open ourselves to a strange world out there that may include the Holy Spirit but also if not equally the realm of the demonic. Do not be surprised: Satan “masquerades” as an angel of light (2 Cor.11:14). The devil will work overtime to keeping Christians from reading the Bible. He would love you to close it and just wait on God.

Whereas the Bible was not given to replace the miraculous or even revelation, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say, but “to correct abuses”, too many people don’t know their Bibles well enough to know what the Word of God says. And what the abuses might be. The Bible is the Final and Ultimate Revelation of Truth; no vision, word of knowledge or insight will ever – ever – contradict what the Bible has said. The first test of any vision or prophetic word is to run it by Scripture. If it is not upheld by the infallible Word of God, reject it – no matter how much you may respect the person who gives you a word.

I am grateful in particular for two things in my life. First, my parents taught me to read my Bible daily. This is what they did. The thought of not reading at least a chapter a day in the Bible was out of the question. Second, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – my chief mentor – introduced me to Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Bible Reading plan many years ago. As a consequence I think I can say I have read the entire Bible through some forty times and the New Testament eighty times. A Bible Reading Plan “keeps you in the Word”, Dr. Lloyd-Jones used to say to me.

Many preachers only consult their Bibles when they need a sermon. I persuaded a very close friend – a high profile prophetically gifted man – to start reading his Bible. Two years ago he began a plan and read the Bible through for the first time in his life! He could not thank me enough. He was (amazingly) amazed over how much it meant to him!

Why had he not been doing this sooner? You tell me.

How much do you read your Bible?

I urge you to go on line and find a One Year Bible Reading Plan, one that will help you to read the Bible through in a year. I urge you to begin today in this plan and never, never, never, never stop it.

The very thought that the devil does not want you to do this should galvanize every true Christian to want to fall on their knees – to pray more and read the Bible more.

Here’s the thing. Read the Bible – logos, Holy Scripture – and you will be thrilled to discover how often God gives you a rhema word. A rhema word basically means the unfolding of God’s secret will, when He speaks directly to you. God does this. But I can predict: chase after a rhema word all the time and you will probably receive nothing from God; chase after Holy Scripture and He will give you rhema words whenever you need such.

I have said little in this Blog about personal prayer time. Please see my book Did You Think to Pray? In it I stress time with God. Children spell love T I M E. How much time do you spend in prayer? I recommend thirty minutes a day for every layman; sixty minutes a day (minimum) for every church leader. The average church leader in Britain and the USA spends four minutes a day in quiet time. And you wonder why the church is powerless?

Please read your Bible through this year. The Bible is the Holy Spirit’s greatest product. He wrote it (2 Tim.3:15; 2 Peter 1:21). If you want to get on good terms with the Holy Spirit, then read His Word!

One can go through Seminary (preparing for the ministry) nowadays and never get to know their Bibles. They read about the Bible. Many young people going into the ministry have not read their Bibles through and then they read only about the Bible without the foggiest idea what the Bible says.

One very, very famous Christian said that if he had his life to live over he would spend more time reading the Bible than reading books about the Bible.

It is my heart-felt cry to God that many people will read this Blog and take it seriously. You will never be sorry. Also, you will never be the same again.

 

RT

Sixty Years ago Today

Sixty Years ago Today

On October 31st 1955 I had the greatest spiritual experience of my life. Driving in my car from Palmer, Tennessee (where I was pastor) to Trevecca Nazarene College in Nashville (where I was a student) I had what I might call a “Damascus Road” experience. As I drove there appeared the Lord Jesus Christ at my right – interceding for me to the Father. I never felt so loved. But I could not tell what Jesus was saying, only that He was putting His whole authority on the line with the Father in my behalf. I burst into tears as I drove – on old U. S. 41 between Monteagle and Manchester, Tennessee.

Two Scriptures had come to my mind as I was praying: 1 Peter 5:7 (“Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you”) and Matthew 11:30 (“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light”). Before the vision of Jesus appeared I was laboring in prayer, asking the Lord to enable me to cast all my care upon Him so I could say that my yoke was “easy”. I had felt a deep burden on me to pray. Normally I would play the radio all the way on a trip from Palmer to Nashville but that morning I wanted only to pray.

The next thing I remember – over an hour later – was hearing Jesus say clearly to the Father, “He wants it”. The Father replied, “He can have it”. In that very moment there came a peace into my heart – with warmth – that is impossible to explain. It was not merely the absence of anxiety but the presence of rest in my soul. A moment later I saw the face of Jesus looking at me. This lasted for less than a minute. Then I was at Trevecca and went to my first class at 8:00 am.

What happened to me that day? What was “it”? I heard Jesus say, “He wants it” and the reply came back, “He can have it?” Over the last sixty years I have asked what was – what is – “it”?

I have come up with several answers: peace – that’s for sure. The “it” was peace. I immediately connected it at the time to the “rest” described in Hebrews 4:9-10. The “it” was certainly “full assurance” (Gr. plerophoria) of my salvation. I knew beyond any doubt that I was eternally saved. The “it” was the earnest of my inheritance. It was surely the baptism of the Holy Spirit (although I did not speak in tongues at that time). When I get to Heaven I will inquire further what “it” is!

The calm peaceful presence in my heart transformed me. Things did not bother me. What people said about me had minimal effect on me. I did not get easily upset. The person of Jesus was so real to me.

A month later I had my first vision. Among other things, it indicated I would have a wide ministry but outside my old denomination. Three months later as I was driving from Kentucky into the Tennessee border I felt a well inside that wanted to come out; the only way to let it out was to utter unintelligible sounds. I did it. I kept this to myself; speaking in tongues is more offensive to Nazarenes than Calvinism. I told only two or three people over the following twenty years, one of whom was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He affirmed to me that what happened was real.

But there was more. My theology changed immediately after that experience of October 31, 1955. I knew I could not lose my salvation. Before the day was over I was acutely aware of the sovereignty of God. This led me to believe in predestination. For a while I wondered if I was the first since the Apostle Paul to experience anything like this!

Seeing Jesus at the right hand of God made me see how real the resurrection of Jesus was. I was amazed to discover that He really is a man. I was attracted to the verse that there is one mediator between God and men, “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim.2:5). One of the most overwhelming realizations was that Jesus is my elder brother. Also, his death on the cross became real. Furthermore, the literalness of the Second Coming was real. The Bible began to speak to me as it never had. I saw things in the Scriptures I had never seen before. I was attracted to Romans 9:15, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious”.

“You are going off into Calvinism”, my professor Dr. W. M. Greathouse said to me. And what is that? “We don’t believe that”, he said. I replied, Then we are wrong”.

I have never put down in writing (until today) a summary of doctrinal convictions that immediately followed this experience. I emphasize: what immediately followed – as in hours and days – not what I came to embrace many years later (which would build on what I state below):

How literally true the resurrection of the person of Jesus is.
How true it is that Jesus is truly a man.
The fact of Jesus interceding for us at the Father’s right hand.
The historicity of the crucifixion of Jesus.
The full assurance of my salvation = my unconditional eternal security.
The utter reality of the Second Coming: so real as if it already happened.
A sense of sin inside, although I was possibly as sinless as one could be.

I remained a Nazarene a good while, but I eventually left my old denomination. I am grateful for my background. “That is what has saved you”, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones used to say to me. By that he meant that my Nazarene background (he seemed to know a lot about it) is what preserved me from being a cold “perfectly orthodox, perfectly useless” Reformed minister. Those are his words.

However, I’m afraid Nazarenes today are quite different from the days in which I was influenced by them. A few days ago I had lunch with several Trevecca professors (retired). Not one of them appeared to believe that the sun standing still in Joshua’s day was literally true. One of them unashamedly espouses “open theism” – the notion that God does not know the end from the beginning; indeed, God does not know the future and looks to us for wisdom what to do next! I left that lunch sobered. But thankful.

It is the experience of October 31, 1955 that has preserved me from liberalism. I think I was the only one at the table that day who believes in the infallibility of the Bible. Some orthodox people poke fun at the idea that “a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument”. Cold, dead orthodoxy often depends on argument or reason to support Scripture. But I have both – thanks to the Holy Spirit unveiling truth in the Word of God. I can defend what I believe; I would go to the stake for what I believe. This is why we need the Word and the Spirit together.

Thank you, Lord, for what You did for me sixty years ago. I hate to think what I would have become without Your coming to me as you did. I might well have become a liberal while staying in my old denomination.

 

RT

Childhood Conversions

Childhood Conversions

How old does one have to be in order to have a true conversion to Jesus Christ? Who knows for sure? Jonathan Edwards was four years old when he was converted. I myself was six and three-fourths (I was converted on April 5, 1942 and my seventh birthday was the following July 13th). I was baptized when I was ten.

I write this blog because today is a happy day in our family. Our grandson Toby came to the Lord today – almost the same age as I was; he will be seven next February.

This was totally unexpected. I was preaching my sermon “Total Forgiveness” at a church in Gallatin, Tennessee. During the sermon I took time out to explain the Gospel and – although I had no plans to do this – I decided spontaneously to invite people to stand if they prayed the “sinners prayer” which I had led them in:

Lord Jesus Christ, I need you. I want you. I am sorry for my sins. Wash my sins away by Your blood. I welcome Your Holy Spirit into my heart. As best as I know how, I give you my life. Amen.

Seated on the front row, Toby turned his grandmother Louise and said, “Grandma, I just prayed that prayer. I felt something come all over me inside. Can I stand too?” She said, “Of course you can”. He apparently thought this was only for older people. When I saw him standing I was overjoyed. I had no idea how carefully he was listening to me. It did not cross my mind that he would do that. After he sat down he asked his grandmother, “What just happened to me, Grandma?” She said, “You have just become a Christian”. His face lit up. “I have heard that word before and now I know what it means”, he said. He kept rubbing his chest with a big smile. I called Toby to the platform. I mentioned that the day before – October 3rd – was his brother Timothy’s third birthday, but today – October 4th – is Toby’s spiritual birthday.

When I was pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire, England, our son T. R. walked forward at the age of nine. I had not noticed that he walked forward during the invitation. I was about to close the service when someone shouted out, “Look who just walked forward!” I looked and there was T. R. looking up at me, smiling. I baptized him in the Headington Baptist Church in Oxford a few weeks later – in the winter of 1976. I distinctly remember how cold the water was; the temperature must have been barely above freezing! Our daughter Melissa was converted years later aged eleven – in May 1982 under the preaching of Arthur Blessitt – at Westminster Chapel. I baptized her in a much warmer baptistry at the Chapel several months later.

I will never forget a story a couple at Westminster Chapel told me. Many years before their son at the age of ten asked to be baptized. They said to him, “You’re too young”, and refused to honor his request. As the young man grew older he stopped going to church. Years and years later he was out in the world and quite unreachable. His mother and dad severely, bitterly regretted their decision to discourage their son from being baptized. I am not saying that their decision is the cause of him deserting the church. I am only saying that his parents would give a thousand worlds had they not discouraged him at that time.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the heaven belongs to such as these”, said Jesus (Matt.19:14).

I would never push for child conversions. Their minds are too easily influenced; I would not trust a child’s conversion who was put under pressure by a parent or preacher. That said, I would never discourage a child from making a profession of faith if on their own without any prompting they sought the Lord.

This week I received a letter from a prisoner. He wrote to tell me that I had baptized him at my former church in Florida many years before. As best as I can figure out, he would have been around ten years old. He is now in prison and will be there for a while. He wanted me to know that God has been dealing with him in the last year or so and he earnestly wanted me to help him.

Question: was this young man converted many years ago when he was a child – or was it a false profession? You tell me. There are at least two possibilities. First, he may not been truly converted or he would have persevered in faith and never have gone to prison. Or, second, he was truly converted but somehow got off the rails and landed in huge trouble. That could happen to any true Christian. It could be that the Hound of Heaven had been pursuing this man over the years and finally brought him back to the Lord.

We have a gracious God.

I have been praying for our grandsons Toby and Timothy daily since they were born. My prayer has been that these boys would grow up to be “men after God’s own heart”. I have good reason to believe that God has begun to answer that prayer.

 

RT