Kendall - Popular in Heaven Famous in Hell

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POPULAR IN HEAVEN, FAMOUS IN HELL by R. T. Kendall

Published by Charisma House

Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Group

600 Rinehart Road

Lake Mary, Florida 32746

www.charismahouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. New International Version and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2018 by R. T. Kendall

All rights reserved

Visit the authors website at www.rtkendallministries.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kendall, R. T., 1935- author.

Title: Popular in heaven, famous in hell / R.T. Kendall.

Description: Lake Mary, Florida : Charisma House, 2018. | Includes

bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018013375 (print) | LCCN 2018032272 (ebook) | ISBN

9781629995526 (ebook) | ISBN 9781629995519 (trade paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life.

Classification: LCC BV4501.3 (ebook) | LCC BV4501.3 .K456 2018 (print) | DDC

248.4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018013375

An application to register this book for cataloging has been submitted to the Library of Congress.

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-62999-551-9

E-book ISBN: 978-1-62999-552-6

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

To Bill and Shirley

Only one life, twill soon be past;

Only whats done for Christ will last.

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.

Some want to live within the sound

Of church or chapel bell;

I want to run a rescue shop,

Within a yard of hell.

C. T. STUDD (18621931)

CONTENTS

IF YOU ARE wanting easy solutions or something to make you comfortable in your Christian life, then put this book down! This book is dangerous for those who want to remain in their comfort zones. It will shake you to your foundation! It did me.

Dr. R. T. Kendall is one of my five top favorite preachers/ teachers. Why? you might ask, especially when you learn I met him only a little over a year ago. Ill tell you why. I heard him preach on the subject of How to Forgive Yourself Totallysomething that has been difficult for me and a subject I returned to time and again. I listened to him as he shared his own struggle with the issue. I was captured by his transparency and the ease with which he approached the subject. Not that it was easy, but he put me at ease because I sensed in him a fellow pilgrim, someone who knew what it was like to carry a burden for which it seemed impossible to forgive yourself.

Dr. Kendall, or R. T., as he insists I call him, has wonderful scholarly credentials (Oxford) and great experiences (Westminster Chapel in London)top drawer as some might say. But he is eminently practical. He lives where you and I doin the trenches of life. And he is honest about real-life struggles. He doesnt just slap a Bible verse over an issue or give platitudes. No. He takes us straight into the Word of God, making us hungry for more. He ushers us into the very throne room to get the wisdom we crave for living life. He makes complicated theological truths understandable for you and me. He puts the hay down where the cows can get it! Yet he never compromises the transcendence of God.

The book you hold in your hand is an important primer for living the Christian lifeone that honors God. Its not just for a new Christian but for old ones, like me, who have been travelling the road for a long time but need a good swift kick to move us on. It will become a classic youll want to read and reread. This book will challenge you to be popular in heaven and famous in hell. I pray to be like that.

RUTH GRAHAM

RUTH GRAHAM MINISTRIES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, IN EVERY PEW SITS A BROKEN HEART

THIS BOOK ARRIVED in my life at exactly the right moment. Perhaps I might not have been so keen to open it if Id known how hard it was going to hit me! So be warned if you are looking for a kindly God to keep you healthy and make life easy, comfortable, and prosperousdont bother to open it. Yet I can promise you, if you do dare, you will come away with a far bigger God than youve ever encountered before.

It was thirty years ago when I first met R. T. We were on a conference platform in Bristol, England; he was the celebrity speaker, and I was just there to give a short warm-up testimony. I was speechless with awe as he towered over my wheelchair. I had spent countless hours listening to his teaching tapes after becoming disabled by encephalitis.

A few years later when God healed me completely and lastingly through the prayers of a new Christian, R. T. was hugely supportive. The story of my sudden healing upset a lot of prominent Christians who felt that miracles only happened in Bible times, and I was labeled a fraud in leading Christian newspapers. I was bewildered because I knew for certain God had done something for me that no human could do. R. T.s very public support and encouragement meant a great deal to me, and his book Total Forgiveness showed me what to do with all my critics!

Ever since then Ive been working for the Lord in the healing ministryand so has the girl who prayed for me back in 1990. But life in ministry is never easy, and the year that led up to R. T.s request for me to write this foreword has been exceptionally difficult. I think I had hit what he describes in the book as a betrayal barrier. I felt God had let me down by allowing several things to happen in my life and work. If He really loved me as passionately and intimately as I thought, Then how could He allow life to be so tough? Unanswered prayers and thwarted hopes were making me secretly resentful and full of grumbles and complaints. Surely after years of working for Him I deserved better treatment than this.

As I read this book, I realized that every single one of Gods servants has faced a similar faith crisis and had to choose to go on trusting God even when He felt distant, disinterested, and unable to keep His promises.

R. T. took me right up above the world and let me see both hell and heaven from Gods perspective. It was gloriously soul expanding!