Category: Letters

                                                                                    13 July 2019

Dear friends,

            “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” – Psalm 84:11.

I am 84 today and Psalm 84 comes to mind—especially verse 11. If I told you how often I think of and apply this verse, you would think I am surely exaggerating! But I actually think of Psalm 84:11 every day – at least six days out of any week. Why? It is because I believe these words to be true: that God only wants what is best for us and He will not withholdwhat is good for us if we seek to please Him.

Thank you for your prayers. I am continually overwhelmed that you pray for us and also when I learn of someone who prays for us whom I have never met. Such a word moves me no end. If the Apostle Paul would ask for prayer, so can I.

I pray this every day: “Hear the prayers of those who pray for us and answer their prayers for themselves”. That is my prayer for you every day.

Louise and I have been invited back to London next year, but we are praying to know for sure if this is God’s will.

For some reason God has opened doors for me in the Far East – Shanghai, Hong Kong, Korea and – so it would seem – Japan and Singapore. I am wanted in Beijing, but we are not sure what God’s will is regarding this. I will speak at the Feast of Tabernacles in Israel in October of this year. Please pray that I will be a blessing to those who attend.  Nashville will be our base from 31 July.

I am exceedingly grateful to God for the open doors and His enabling grace at my age. My next book is Word and Spirit– available in October. I am now finishing up For an Audience of One which will come out next year. Our son TR, who handles my website and sale of books, continues to travel with me to most places. 

God bless you all. Again, thank you for your prayers. From Louise, TR and Annette, Toby, Timothy and Tyndale, Rex and Melissa.

All our love.

RT 

The Hebrides Revival (1949-1952)

Recently (7-9 June 2019) I had the privilege of speaking in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Rev. Kenny Borthwick, a Church of Scotland minister, was the other speaker. We were invited by the Rev. Tommy MacNeil, minister of the Martin’s Memorial Church in Stornoway. This year is the 70^thanniversary of the beginning of the Hebrides Revival. The purpose of the Hebrides Revival Conference was to thank God for that wonderful era.  Of course people prayed that God might be pleased to do it again. And God may yet do it again! I certainly hope so.

The “epicenter” of this Revival seventy years ago was in Barvas, some twelve miles from Stornoway. One can easily find material from Google and in some books that have described this phenomenon. I myself had read as much as I could about the Revival before I went there.

The main person associated with the Hebrides Revival was Rev. Duncan Campbell (1898-1972). But Duncan Campbell did not bring the Revival; it was already in progress when he arrived. By “revival” I do not mean a planned, orchestrated series of meetings. In America we hastily use the word “revival”; the word “mission” is preferable. Why? Because true revival is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. So it was in the Hebrides in 1949 and the next couple of years. The Holy Spirit was the Architect and Sustainer of this extraordinary event. 

I first heard of  the Hebrides Revival from Dr. John Sutherland Logan, the Scotsman whom God used on 24^thNovember 1954 to help me see I was called to preach. I later began to hear of second hand reports of the unusual phenomena that accompanied this outbreak of the Holy Spirit. It was Dr. Logan who told me how Duncan Campbell, seated on the platform ready to speak in Northern Ireland, suddenly felt an impulse to leave at once and go to  Harris, also a part of the Hebrides. He left the platform immediately without addressing the congregation and took a boat to Harris. Without telling them he was coming, he landed at Harris where people were waiting for him as if it had been planned. Revival then broke out in Harris.

Here are some observations that gripped me while I was in Stornoway last weekend, having  asked all the questions  I could think of.

1.The preaching during the Hebrides  Revival was in Gaelic. Those converted in homes after the services included those who spoke English; that is when non-Gaelic speakers were saved.

2. The town of Stornoway – the capital  of the Isle of  Lewis – was completely bypassed. The Revival came only to small towns or villages in the Hebrides. The reason for this was thought to be that the ministers in Stornoway opposed the Revival.

3. The Hebrides Revival was all about people being saved – converted. There is no doubt that Christians were “renewed” – yes. But the stress was on the need for people to be saved.

4. The pervading assumption in people’s minds was their final destiny – Heaven or Hell. Duncan Campbell used a phrase, “hell deserving sinners” – the sort of expression one doesn’t hear often these days. Most people nowadays feel that they are entitled, or that God owes them something.

5. According to Duncan Campbell, the preaching was expository.I find this interesting. I wish it were not so, but I suspect that much preaching one hears today is motivational rather than biblical.

6. People did not want to go home when a  service was over. The people would either linger at church or often go into nearby homes for further fellowship and singing. Conversions would often take place in homes as well as in church. People typically left for their own homes at 2 o’clock in the morning. Or later.

7. The Hebrides Revival in many ways was a young people’s phenomenon. Many teenagers and those under the age of forty were converted. There are four known persons from Barvas still living that were saved during the Hebrides Revival. I met them all. They were mostly teenagers when they were converted.

8. Many people walked several miles to reach the church, some twelve miles each way, and never got blisters on their feet or felt tired.

9. People would be saved not just in a church building but when walking in the country side. There was  a great sense  of the fear of God  all over the area. Spontaneous conversions  happened everywhere. One well-known story that came out of the Hebrides Revival was when a mother and her twenty-one year old son were walking on a  country road. Suddenly her son William was overcome with emotion and began to  cry. She said to him, “Oh Willie, at last you have come home”. I met that  man last weekend and spent time with him – the Rev.  William MacLeod, now 92, a retired minister in the Church of Scotland.

10. Unusual  manifestations would appear spontaneously. Much has been written on these, so I will not spend a lot of time here – e.g., lights appearing to show people the way home in the dark, a home shaken as if from an earthquake (dishes and silverware falling off the table) while people were praying and worshiping or over two hundred people meeting in one place spontaneously at the police station in the  middle of the night and didn’t know why they were there – but then began to pray and worship God. The only explanation given: the constable was a God-fearing man and that is why people found themselves going to that spot – each not knowing another was also coming. Some walked many miles.

11.People functioning with little or no sleep. It was common for services –  or in people’s homes after the meetings – to go into the night and morning hours. Some would get home at 5 o’clock in the morning and go off to  work at 7 a.m. and work all day without getting tired! Imagine that. However did they do it? This sort of thing – as so much as can be read about  this Revival – defies a natural explanation, especially when you consider that this movement of the Spirit lasted three to four years.

12. The  opposition to the Hebrides Revival came  not from the world but from Christians. The people who opposed the manifestations generally missed out on this move of the Spirit. Duncan Campbell had become a part of the Faith Mission, an organization influenced partly by John Wesley’s teaching. It was regarded by some staunch Calvinists as being Arminian. Although Duncan Campbell remained a minister of the United Free Church of Scotland – never abandoning his robust view of the sovereignty of God, some regarded him as Arminian – which he wasn’t.

 Today Louise and I visited Paul’s prison in Rome. This, according to archaeologists, is where Paul wrote Colossians – which I am preaching from these days – plus 1 and 2 Timothy, Ephesians and Philippians).  This is a small cold, damp, dark dungeon with no illumination except from a hole in the ceiling (from which he was lowered and through which he got food). It is where Paul was kept as he waited for his final summons, having written: 

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim.4:6-8).

We were blessed to have about ten minutes there alone, and then other tourists began showing up.

Having preached the previous Sunday on “Mysterious Reasons for Suffering” from Colossians 1:24 at Kensington Temple, I was filled with awe. Knowing how much the Apostle Paul suffered – and how little I have suffered, I felt so unworthy. I tried to pray, but felt speechless. I could only lean on Jesus’ intercession to the Father knowing He prays according to the Father’s will (John 5:19), and I thus live by Jesus’ faith  (Gal.2:20). 

As I say in my sermon on Colossians 1:24, there are two levels of suffering: (1) persecution for His Name (highest level); (2) any kind of suffering (physical pain, financial reverse, health issues, personal hurt, vindication withheld – whatever). We should count it pure joy if we fall into either category; that is, accept any measure of suffering with both hands (James 1:2). Just maybe, before it’s over, you and I will have our tiny bit of suffering upgraded to the Big League of suffering.

But are we ready for it? I pray so.

Three Important Men in My life

As Lyndon Bowring drove us back to London from our Prayer Retreat in Oxford today I suddenly realized that the three men in the car with me – Lyndon, Clive Calver and Rob Parsons – are the three most influential British men in my life since Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones died in 1981. I feel compelled to write about them now.

Clive Calver. In 1983, during the time he was president of the Evangelical Alliance, Clive came to my vestry at Westminster Chapel. I had never met him before. He came during the time of our greatest trial while at Westminster. In 1982 I had invited Arthur Blessitt, the man who has carried a cross around the world (and holds the Guinness Book of Records for the longest walk in history), to preach for me. Arthur preached for us six Sunday nights in a row during April and May 1982. He turned us upside down. It also led to six of the twelve deacons turning against my ministry. Arthur’s visit also led to doors being closedto me all over Britain. I was truly in No Man’s Land. Virtually no one in the Reformed world – of which Westminster Chapel has been a major part – wanted to have anything to do with me.

As president of the Evangelical Alliance, Clive became one of the most extraordinary leaders of change in Evangelical England in the past fifty years. He turned the Evangelical Alliance around and gave it a profile it never had. He became a founder of Spring Harvest – an annual Christian festival that brought many Evangelicals and Charismatics together. Clive came to see me with an invitation to preach at a gathering called  “Leadership 84”. I accepted the invitation. It opened a new world to me – Anglicans, Evangelicals, Charismatics and Pentecostals. It was a world that I knew little about. This also led to Clive inviting me the following year to the previously mentioned Spring Harvest. I did the Bible Readings (as they are called in Britain – meaning Bible teaching) – seventeen years in a row. I became known all over Britain as a result. Whereas the Reformed world dropped me, I began receiving invitations from different denominations from all over Britain plus outside Britain. I can’t imagine where I would be today without Clive’s influence. 

Clive was invited to be the president of World Relief in the USA. I was privileged to be one of two people to give references (the other being a member of parliament) before he was given the position.  Clive was later called to be the senior pastor of the Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, Connecticut. I preached for him there several times in recent years. He and his wife Ruth are now retired and live in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

Lyndon Bowring.I first met Lyndon in 1985. He is Chairman of CARE, a Christian organization that seeks to bring laws and public policy in harmony with biblical principles. They have dealt with social issues such as pornography and abortion. Lyndon introduced me to Dr. James Dobson, who has since endorsed a number of my books and has had me as a guest on his radio show numerous times. Dr. Dobson put my book Total Forgiveness on the map. 

Lyndon sat next to me on the platform when I first preached at Spring Harvest. A deeper friendship developed rapidly from that time. He was a major influence in helping me adapt to people quite different from congregations at Westminster Chapel. I had been used to bringing exegetical sermons to theologically-minded people. Those who attended Spring Harvest were vastly different. I doubt whether I would have been invited to Spring Harvest seventeen years in a row had not I listened to Lyndon’s shrewd, gentle suggestions how to adjust to a different sort of people. When I was invited to speak at Keswick in 1992 Lyndon’s input made a huge difference. During this time Lyndon introduced me to Wyn Lewis, pastor of Kensington Temple. Wyn arranged for my first meeting with Paul Cain. Lyndon was with me at that lunch. He introduced me to Colin Dye who succeeded Wyn at KT. Colin arranged for me to meet Rodney Howard-Browne. Lyndon was with me at that breakfast. The reason I go to KT for six months every year is traceable to Lyndon. He introduced me to Alan and Julia Bell, whose counseling enabled Louise and me to go through a difficult time in our marriage. Alan and Lyndon were with me when I first met Yasser Arafat. The three of us made at least a dozen trips to Israel.

Lyndon is the brother I never had, the best friend I have ever had, a man who  knows me better than anyone outside my family. He and Celia became like family to Louise and me. For the past several years I have shared virtually all sermon notes with Lyndon in advance of almost every sermon preached at KT. He is amazingly apt in making suggestions I would not have thought of – only making my preaching better, more interesting and more relevant.  And this is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to his influence and friendship. God has providentially put Lyndon at my side during our darkest hours, most critical times of decision and that influence continues to this day.

Rob Parsons.As Lyndon and I were walking in Down Street one afternoon, we ran into Rob Parsons, the chairman of Care for the Family and also the most popular Christian writer in the UK. I had never met him, but was flattered that Rob said he had just finished reading my book Once Saved, Always Saved. It is hard to say whether Lyndon or Rob is the “James Dobson of England” as both of them focus on marriage and the family.Apart from being an English teacher Rob was trained in law. He has since spoken to thousands of lawyers in seminars all over the UK and is one of the ablest speakers in the United Kingdom. A few days after Tony Blair became prime minister, I wrote to Mr. Blairto assure him of my prayers, then added a PS – “Enclosed is a book called The Sixty Minute Fatherby Rob Parsons”. The prime minister wrote back the next day. He did not mention my praying for him but thanked me for sending Rob’s book! Rob and Diane live in Cardiff, Wales.

When I finished my manuscript on The AnointingI sent it to Rob with the view that he might write the Foreword. He agreed and then volunteered to help me tweak certain sentences and paragraphs. He made this book twice as interesting. But there is more – much more. Rob has since kindly read almost every book I have written – helping me with his ingenious suggestions. I honestly feel like a fraud when people compliment me for my books. For example, my books such as In Pursuit of His Glory,Thorn in the Flesh,Total Forgiveness and Totally Forgiving Ourselves. After he read the latter book he phoned me to say, “R. T., I know what your next book should be – if you have the courage…Totally Forgiving God”.People have criticized me for the title but no one (that I know of) has criticized the contents. Rob also read the manuscript of Holy Fire and suggested the griping opening sentences of that book. I could go on and on. In a word: Rob Parson’s influence on my writing has been incalculable.

So here I was today, driving from our Prayer Retreat in Oxford, with these three men. And I have hardly come close to conveying how God has used these men in my life over the past thirty-five years. Thank You Lord.

Paul Cain (1929-2019)

Paul Cain was the most unusual prophetic person I ever met. His gift was extraordinary. I was honored to meet him and to know him. John Wimber wanted us to meet. Paul said that when he heard my name he was anxious to meet me more than anybody he ever knew. He even said I would be the brother he never had.

We got off to a good start. It began with lunch with Paul, Lyndon Bowring and me (see photo above). Paul gave me a prophetic word that was so relevant that I knew I should affirm him. I immediately invited him to speak at Westminster Chapel. He was well received from the beginning. In those early days he and his assistant Reed Grafke had become like family. We laughed and laughed a lot together. We spent hours and hours together in London and in Florida where they would visit our family on our fishing holidays. We spent days bonefishing over two summers in the Florida Keys. He was present when I first spoke at the Toronto Airport Fellowship – the night I was literally unable to string two sentences together intelligibly in front of two thousand people; that is, until I changed my text to Hebrews 13:13. I have written about this embarrassing experience elsewhere.

He later asked to become a member of the Chapel, saying that he wanted this “more than anything I have wanted in my life”. We broke the rules and made him a member. If I could turn the clock back, I would not have allowed this. After he was made a member he stopped returning my phone calls. His attitude toward me changed. I could not understand what was going on. This gave me as much pain as the pleasure he previously gave me by his prophecies.

Hearing Paul Cain stories was like reading accounts from both Elijah and Elisha. The extraordinary words of knowledge and prophetic utterances – often in puns – that he gave to people defy a natural explanation. No doubt other people who knew him will recount the amazing stories. It is only a matter of time that a book about him will come out.

There is no way to verify the story that his mother had cancer throughout her body when she was pregnant with Paul – that she was visited by an angel and was miraculously healed by the time Paul was born. What is undoubted is that from an early age Paul was given a supernatural gift of healing and words of knowledge. In the early 1950s he was a “boy wonder” – a healing evangelist that paralleled the early era of Oral Roberts. He said that the “healing anointing” that was present in several people in those days lifted but his prophetic gift continued on. He also became a recluse after that for many years.

I refer to him in the opening statement of my book The Anointing – that I had been influenced largely by him and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, strange as that may seem. But it is true. A conversation with him in a restaurant in Victoria Street, London, began the Word and Spirit ministry that I have sought to carry on. I said to him, “Paul, you need my theology; I need your power”. He said, “You have a deal”. Our first Word and Spirit Conference was held at Wembley Conference Centre in October 1992. But what many people remember was not anything Paul said but my address about Ishmael and Isaac. It was largely rejected, but Colin Dye, pastor of Kensington Temple, accepted it.

Paul was however a blessing to Westminster Chapel. He gave us timely words that were greatly needed. Nearly all he prophesied came true; almost all his words of knowledge were astonishingly accurate. You can read more about this in The Anointing and In Pursuit of His Glory – an autobiographical account of my twenty-five years in Westminster Chapel which includes a whole chapter on Paul Cain.

“Thank God for the least thing”, he would say when you were praying for someone’s healing. By that he meant we should not be ashamed to pray for a common cold as well as cancer when many cynics are critical. “The more God uses me the less I am able to enjoy it”, he used to say. I know what he means by that, having just finished preaching in Korea during a fifteen hour jet lag with little sleep. Arthur Blessitt used to say the same thing: “the tireder I am the more God uses me”. I could write a lot about Paul’s ministry to the Chapel, to my family and friends. One thing I will share is, when Rodney Howard-Browne preached for me Paul said I would lose some people (twenty members resigned in twenty-one days as it turned out), “but they will be replaced by pure gold”. He was right.

Paul Cain was not an intellectual but he was very intelligent. Dr. Lloyd-Jones used to make a distinction between being intellectual and being intelligent. “A cockney taxi driver will often be intelligent whereas an Oxford professor will be intellectual but often not be intelligent” (e.g. lacking in common sense). Paul was conscious of having little or no education. He was sensitive to any criticism, would worry more about one person in the audience against him than a thousand that were for him.

I wrote a book Is God for the Homosexual?It was widely accepted by the gay community in London for my sympathy toward one’s sexual proclivity but not for the fact I said the Bible teaches total abstinence from sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage. In researching this book I learned a lot. One thing was that a person often becomes gay by the absence of a father and the smother-love of the mother. Paul Cain’s background was precisely that. And yet I had no idea he was gay. Knowing how he related to his father should have made me see the obvious, but I simply did not see any evidence of it.

This was almost certainly why he avoided me in those years he would not return my calls. When I finally caught up with him years later – with my friend Jack Taylor – I said to him, “Paul, you are supposed to be accountable to me. But I have no idea who you are accountable to. I would lovingly warn you, if you do not listen, you are going to be yesterday’s man”. He wept. He seemed grateful. But I knew the next day he was staying aloof from me. Two years later Jack Taylor said to me, “Have you heard the news about Paul?” “No, what do you mean?” Jack then told me of his moral failure. It was the worst news I think I ever received in my lifetime.

The gifts of God are without repentance, that is, irrevocable (Rom.11:29). Paul’s gift pretty much continued on in his old age, although the last time I heard him he mostly reminisced and had minimal fresh prophetic words.

I am not Paul’s judge. God will bring to light what is absolutely true (1 Cor.4:5). But if I am totally honest, it seems to me that Paul was an example of one who blew away his inheritance. He will be saved but by fire (1 Cor.3:15).

I loved him, liked him, admired him, do not regret knowing him. I kept praying for him daily. Louise and I prayed for years that he would finish well and achieve more at the end of his life – like Samson – than in the whole of his life. Our prayers were not answered. He went to heaven under a dark, dark cloud.

My son TR suggested I put this on my website – for one reason: that those who keep up with me will truly pray for me. Every year I say, “This is the busiest I have ever been”, saying to myself, “It could not get busier”. But it gets busier. I am 84.

January. On 5^th January I fly to England – to preach for J John’s Evangelism Conference – three one hour addresses to 400 people, including evangelists in UK. On 8^th January I fly to Dallas – where I meet TR. Then TR and I fly to Seoul, Korea. I preach twice Sunday 12^th January to English speaking people. Monday to Friday I speak at the Onnuri Church (Presbyterian, 71,000 members) at 5:00 am each morning for 45 minutes each with translation. Then on Sunday 19^th January I speak twice to the Onnuri Church. Then Mon-Wed (Jan 20-22) seven times (90 min each with translation) to the Onnuri staff of 400. On Thursday 23^rd Jan we fly to Nashville, rest on 24^th January. We fly to Houston on 25^th Jan to speak three times to the First Baptist Church, Pasadena, Tx. on Sunday. We fly back to Nashville on Monday 27^th Jan, then fly Tues 29^th Jan to speak to Minister’s Conference in Alexandria, Louisiana Tues and Wed. TR will return to his family, I will help Louise pack for England.

1^st February fly to London, arriving the next morning 2^nd Feb. We will discover where in London we live for six months. See Itinerary for preaching at Kensington Temple from February to July. I will also be filming 72 TV programs (called Word and Spirit) for TBN UK.

In March TR will join me; I will preach in Doha, Qatar (Middle East) 11^th to 14^th March. 

In April I will speak at Solomon’s Porch in Hong Kong – Wed over Easter Sunday am. On April 25^th I will speak at my former church – Westminster Chapel. 

During May, June and July – apart from preaching duties at Kensington Temple, I will be preaching at eight mid-week services in behalf of CARE. Lyndon Bowring (Executive Chairman of CARE) will chair the meetings, Graham Kendrick (Song Writer) will be leading worship. 

We return to Nashville on 29^th July. Two days later we drive from Hendersonville, Tn. (our home) to Asheville, North Carolina. I will then speak thirteen times (one hour each) on the Sermon on the Mount – August 3-7. I will be thrilled if some of you can join us! 

I will stop now, only to say we will be in Shanghai, China, Pretoria, South Africa and several places in the USA until December. Pray that I will be led of the Holy Spirit in accepting invitations between August and December.

Thank you for your prayers. I need them more than ever and am so grateful to you.

Why pray to the Father?

There are sincere Christians around who struggle in prayer when it comes to the issue: to Whom should we pray? To God the Father, God the Son or God the Holy Spirit?

Does it matter? Perhaps not. The thief on the cross addressed Jesus: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And Stephen, among the first seven deacons and the church’s first martyr, addressed our Lord Jesus just before he died: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).

What about praying to the Holy Spirit? There is nothing wrong with this; after all, the Holy Spirit is God as much as the Father and the Son. Hymns modern and ancient have sung directly to the Holy Spirit:

“Holy Spirit, we welcome you” – Chris Bowater (b.1947).

“Holy Spirit, truth divine, dawn upon this soul of mine” – Samuel Longfellow (1819-1892).

These things said, I want to make the case for praying—generally speaking—to God the Father. Keep in mind that there is no rivalry in the Trinity; the persons of the Trinity heap praise on each other. The Father doesn’t mind that we pray to His Son or to the Spirit; the Holy Spirit doesn’t mind that we pray to the Father or to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why then pray to the Father?

Seven reasons for addressing our prayers to the Father

First, Jesus directed us to do so – at least twice – as in the Lord’s Prayer.

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matt.6:9).

“When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name’” (Luke 11:2).

Second, Jesus always directed His own prayers to the Father. For example,

“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise” (Matt.11:25).

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you”(John 17:1).

The only time Jesus called Him Godwas when He was dying on the cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt.27:46). This was the moment when all our sins were transferred to Jesus: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor.5:21). It is called propitiation – when Jesus turned the Father’s wrath away.

Third, the Apostle Paul let us know that he prayed to the Father:

“I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph.3:14-15).

Fourth, the Father is omniscient—that is, He knows the future as perfectly as He knows the past and present. Jesus admitted that He did not know the day of His Second Coming (Matt.24:36). Whether He—along with the Holy Spirit—knows the future as perfectly as the Father is an understandable deduction we might make (cf.Matt.28:18). But the Scriptures do not directly address this.

Fifth, to affirm the God of the Bible – the Father. To show we are not ashamed of Him.Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Was this statement merely an act of humility?  I don’t think so. I believe it is true – for more reasons than I will attempt to unravel here. At the same time we must never forget that the Word – logos –was in the beginning with God and the Word was God and nothing was made without the Lord Jesus (John 1:1-2; Col.1:16-17). Jesus is God as though He were not man and yet He was man as though He were not God; He was and is the God-man. But there must be a good reason Jesus said, “The Father is greater than I”. And Paul makes an interesting eschatological statement: “When all things are subject to him [Jesus], then the Son himself will be subjected to him [the Father] who put all things in subjection under him, that God [the Father] may be all in all” (1 Cor.15:28). I am not able to explain all that this means. But I have felt for a long time that the least mentioned and the least honored and most neglected person of the Godhead among some Christians in our generation is God the Father. Many books are written about our Lord Jesus Christ, and an incalculable number of books are written about the Holy Spirit (I myself have written at least three books on the Holy Spirit). It is my opinion that Jesus Himself would applaud books written about His Father – the least understood and most hated person of the Trinity. The world does not generally send vicious attacks upon Jesus but rather God the Father for allowing suffering.

Sixth, only a Christian can refer to God as Father. The Muslim can’t. Think about that. No Muslim considers Allah as Father—ever! But you and I can. Even the liberals who refer to God as Father of all men and women because of their universalism bring no glory to God for doing this. You and I have the high and inestimable privilege of calling God Father. Only the believer in Jesus Christ can rightly do this.

Seventh, when you get to know God as He is in Himself, you will be overwhelmed with worship. Moses requested, “Teach my your ways . . .” (Exod.33:13). Too many of us pray in order to get something from God. Try this, getting to Know Him as He is in Himself. You may find yourself saying, “I am so grateful to have a God like this”. You will find yourself saying, “God, I love your for being just the way you are. I would not change you even if I could”. Yes.

What a mighty God we have!

Finally, if it is not of great consequence whether to pray to the Father, to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit, why make a case for praying to the Father? I answer: I want to be as biblical as I can be. I want to be God-centered and Christ-centered in my theology and in my preaching.

July 13, 2018

Dear Friends:

“Thus far has the Lord helped us” – 1 Samuel 7:12.

Today – my 83^rdbirthday – finds me with TR in Nelspruit, South Africa. It has been an interesting week. When something unusual or exciting takes place it is easy to exaggerate at the time (like saying “that’s the best meal I ever ate” when you will probably say it again!). So I will be cautious.

TR and I spent the first three days of this week in Pemba, Mozambique with Rolland and Heidi Baker and some of their team. Some of you may recall that I was in Mozambique two years ago, but was disappointed that I did not go to the bush – where the miracles seem to happen. However, I was invited back. The way was paid for. But I mainly wanted to go to the bush – as did TR. After the visas were granted and our round trip booked, we were told that it would not be possible to go to the bush. Not only that; many of the Iris team were being sent away, visitors to Iris were not being allowed – and the only choice was to go to Nelspruit, South Africa. It was there I would be able to speak to some 240 students who had hoped to be in Pemba. We were of course very disappointed, but decided do go to Pemba anyway – even if we were not allowed in (the tickets were paid for). We decided to make the most of it, assuming we would be spending all the time in Nelspruit. There are too many details to cover in this letter. But in a word: (1) it was a miracle that we were allowed into Pemba; (2) to our utter surprise we were allowed to go to the bush. It was sort of an island to which there were no roads. The only access was by a one- hour boat ride with a dozen others which then had to moor several hundred yards off shore. We then waded in mud and water and walked for over a mile to find a village that the Bakers did not know existed until recently. The village was behind the mangroves and out of sight from Pemba or the sea. We waded through the mud and found the village. It had a population of 920, so the chief of the tribe told me. We had visits with different groups of the locals. All of them live in grass huts. I was allowed to go inside one of them. It was dark inside. I could barely see the beds. There is no electricity. No toilet facilities. No water; one walks six hours to get water. Our second visit was with the tribal chief of the village. To everyone’s amazement, he listened to the Gospel as I was being translated; another 30 or 40 people gathered around and listened. When I asked him if he would like to receive Jesus Christ he said Yes. Keep in mind he has been a person of another faith all his life as are the overwhelming majority of the people of Mozambique. I gave him a prayer to pray aloud in front of the others. He did so. Other who stood around and listened also prayed the prayer.

Heidi had visited the village four times in the recent past. Her request to build a church building was rejected by the same chief four times. He finally allowed permission for them to build a multi purpose building that would provide a tank to collect water for the whole village too. This no doubt softened him. Whatever, she was thrilled when the chief prayed aloud to receive Christ. I must tell you I emphasized Jesus’ death on the cross and shedding of His blood. This is contrary to the belief of the people on this island.

But there is more. The reason we went to the island was to dedicate the church building. We therefore went into the building for which this permission had been granted. There are no seats yet, but room for possibly 100 people. The people stood, dozens and dozens of children sat on the floor. I prayed then that this church would be dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, praying for the sprinkling of His blood upon all the people and the premises.

However, I should mention something that happened before we prayed. I was asked to pray for a man with elephantitis. I felt so sorry for him. It was the first time I met anybody with this disease. I prayed twice, but God did not seem to answer my prayer. I was disappointed. However, two feet away from me Heidi began praying for a mother who was a deaf mute. The mother was holding her baby. She had never heard anything in her life nor had she ever been able to speak a word. When Heidi prayed for her she asked the lady to say “Jesus”. The reply was loud and clear: “Jesus!” She then began to make sounds which no one around had heard her make before. I saw and heard this with my own eyes.

There were many other important things that happened while in the area – e.g., my speaking to two hundred Mozambiquan men through a translator who were there to learn the Bible. I presented the Gospel. I would estimate that well over a hundred prayed the prayer aloud, then stood to show they were unashamed of what they had just prayed.

You might also like to know that Rolland and I bonded theologically during this time. He and I have a lot in common except this self-effacing husband of the adored Heidi has a lot more humility than I have. The fruit of our friendship may become evident down the road.

I write an open letter like this twice a year, but I did not think I would be writing as I have in this letter. I will now write about other things.

It has not only been an interesting week but also an interesting year so far. Since writing on my birthday twelve months ago today God has continued to open doors in different parts of the world. I am amazed that I still have the strength to travel as I do. I do watch my weight and exercise (including 20 or more push-ups daily). Most of all I am thankful that there are those out there who still invite me to preach. I am honored and very humbled. I give God ALL of the honor, glory and praise.

My book Popular in Heaven, Famous in Hell is out next month. I have begun my next book – An Audience of One. Based upon my life verse – John 5:44 (“How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”), this book can be summed up in the words of Sam Hailes, editor of the UK magazine Christianity.Referring to Billy Graham he wrote: “He may have preached to millions but Billy Graham lived for an audience of one”  (Christianity April 2018). I would deeply appreciate your prayers as I continue to write this book.

We return to Nashville August 1^st. We have a very heavy autumn – including Qatar and Shanghai. We have been invited to Korea and Beijing for 2019.

Your prayers for each of us mean more than I could ever say. I hope a number of you would put us on your daily prayer list. I know that’s asking a lot! But I’m asking!

God bless each of you who read this.

Warmest appreciation and thanks.

RT and Louise, TR, Annette, Toby, Timothy and Tyndale, Melissa and Rex.

A Tastes of Mozambique