[00:00:00] The Word of God commands, Know them who labor among you.
[00:00:05] And while I'm speaking today about Dr. E.W. Kenyon, he's a man I never knew in this life, but through his many books I feel I've always known him.
[00:00:15] It's been my joy that my publisher, Whitaker House, has published four books that are co-authored by Dr. Kenyon and myself.
[00:00:25] In each of these four books it's been like teamwork and it's been a wonderful delight to know that I could team with such an awesome man of God.
[00:00:34] So I want to share some reactions of leaders in the Lord's work, people who work with Dr. Kenyon in this life.
[00:00:44] And we'll start with a pastor named Carl Olson and what he's written about Dr. Kenyon.
[00:00:51] He said, I came in contact with the ministry of Dr. Kenyon by hearing him over the radio.
[00:00:57] It was my privilege to be directly or indirectly under his ministry for some 10 years.
[00:01:03] Dr. Kenyon had a long and fruitful ministry over 50 years and he will live on in the hearts of those who knew him and the literature which he labored so hard to leave in the hands of posterity.
[00:01:15] I'm sure that the Lord welcomed his coming as one of the great generals in the faith.
[00:01:20] Paul wrote to Timothy, fight the good fight of faith and again, be a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ and well done thou good and faithful servant.
[00:01:32] Enter thou into the joy of the Lord.
[00:01:34] Dr. Kenyon was known as a teacher of teachers.
[00:01:37] Over the air he was known as a faith builder.
[00:01:40] And through his ministry of the word, men and women were made pleasing to God.
[00:01:45] What a challenge that that was to every Christian worker.
[00:01:49] For many a young minister was given a start, inspiration, encouragement through the friendly advice and counsel of Dr. Kenyon.
[00:01:57] He knew the secret of a successful ministry.
[00:02:01] He was an early riser.
[00:02:03] And through his communion with the Lord, he was able to help and build others up.
[00:02:07] He had love and encouragement for all.
[00:02:09] The only enemy he recognized was the devil and his helpers.
[00:02:13] But he knew how to deal with them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:02:18] Dr. Kenyon knew the secret of divine love.
[00:02:21] He loved men and women into the kingdom of God and then built the word into them so they could stand victoriously.
[00:02:28] It was Dr. Kenyon who said, I would rather die than be a failure.
[00:02:33] You are a success because you're tied up with God, God's omnipotence.
[00:02:39] God never made a failure.
[00:02:41] And you have the life of God.
[00:02:42] You have his ability and his strength.
[00:02:46] And Pastor Olson goes on to say,
[00:02:49] Dr. Kenyon was a master of words.
[00:02:51] To me, he was the most forceful and powerful speaker that I ever witnessed behind the pulpit.
[00:02:56] His messages from the word of God were always fresh and packed with divine dynamite.
[00:03:01] He was a pioneer in radio work on the West Coast.
[00:03:06] His ministry has had a far-reaching effect on the Church of Jesus Christ.
[00:03:11] Thousands here in the Northwest and millions the world over through his writings have felt the impact of this man's ministry.
[00:03:19] Today, I can truly say he was a great ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:03:25] Dr. Kenyon was a faithful minister of the gospel.
[00:03:29] He was never known to be late for an appointment or service.
[00:03:34] His faith-building messages from the word were unique and definitely for these last days.
[00:03:41] We who were personally acquainted with Dr. Kenyon appreciate the word more and more, which he opened to us.
[00:03:47] Well, I thought those comments by Pastor Olson were very appropriate.
[00:03:54] And he said that Dr. Kenyon was known as a teacher of teachers.
[00:03:58] He was also known as a faith builder.
[00:04:01] He said Mr. Kenyon knew the secret of his successful ministry, that he was an early riser.
[00:04:06] Another quotation was that Dr. Kenyon said,
[00:04:10] I'd rather die than be a failure.
[00:04:12] You're a success because you're tied up with omnipotence.
[00:04:15] God never made a failure.
[00:04:17] You have the life of God.
[00:04:19] You have his ability and his strength.
[00:04:21] And when I read these words by Pastor Carl Olson, I'm simply sharing what many people have experienced.
[00:04:30] For he made this statement that millions the world over through Dr. Kenyon's writings have felt the impact of this man's ministry.
[00:04:39] Truly, he was a great ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:04:43] What a tribute.
[00:04:45] And I praise God for that.
[00:04:47] But one more unique quality of Dr. Kenyon are these words.
[00:04:52] Dr. Kenyon was never known to be late for an appointment or service.
[00:04:56] What an apt tribute to this man of God.
[00:05:00] And something I feel that you and I would love to share, that same type of virtue.
[00:05:06] Well, I praise God personally.
[00:05:10] When I talk about paying tribute to a man of God,
[00:05:13] it was in 1952, I was ministering with Evangelist William Freeman.
[00:05:20] I was out in the state of California.
[00:05:23] And there was a lady evangelist named Daisy Will Banks,
[00:05:26] gave me a copy of the book,
[00:05:28] The Wonderful Name of Jesus,
[00:05:30] written by A.W. Kenyon.
[00:05:33] Well, that was my first introduction to his writings
[00:05:36] because the Holy Spirit had given me a personal revelation
[00:05:39] of the power and authority of the name of Jesus
[00:05:42] the previous year in my life.
[00:05:44] It was with great anticipation I began to read this book,
[00:05:48] The Wonderful Name of Jesus.
[00:05:51] When I say I read it, I literally devoured it.
[00:05:54] Day after day, I'd read, meditate,
[00:05:56] and then put into practice
[00:05:57] the authority of the name of Jesus.
[00:06:00] Almost every waking minute,
[00:06:02] I was devoted to personally worshipping Jesus
[00:06:05] and the wonder of his name.
[00:06:07] And after I read the book,
[00:06:09] I wrote to Dr. Kenyon at the address inside
[00:06:12] to inquire if he had written other books.
[00:06:15] For some time, I had no reply to his letter.
[00:06:18] I then tried to call long distance to Seattle, Washington,
[00:06:21] which was the city of his address.
[00:06:23] The operator informed me there was no listing for A.W. Kenyon.
[00:06:27] So I decided that would likely be my only contact
[00:06:30] with his ministry was this book
[00:06:32] that had so set my soul on fire.
[00:06:35] However, within about two weeks,
[00:06:38] a letter did come from the Kenyon Gospel Publishing Society
[00:06:41] with a new address in Fullerton, California.
[00:06:45] The letter was from Dr. Kenyon's daughter, Ruth.
[00:06:48] She advised me her father had been promoted to heaven,
[00:06:51] that she was carrying on his ministry.
[00:06:54] She then told me about many of the books he had written,
[00:06:57] how I placed an order for all of them, one by one.
[00:07:00] I continued reading these tremendous books
[00:07:03] in all of my young ministry.
[00:07:05] I had been an eager reader
[00:07:07] of most of the leading evangelical and full gospel authors,
[00:07:10] but suddenly I was aware
[00:07:12] that my ministry was being influenced
[00:07:14] in an overwhelming manner
[00:07:16] by the teachings of Dr. Kenyon.
[00:07:18] The way he expressed the word
[00:07:20] and presented the word was such revelation
[00:07:22] of the Holy Spirit,
[00:07:24] the clarity of his thoughts,
[00:07:26] his challenges to act upon the word.
[00:07:28] These were revolutionary
[00:07:30] beyond any writings I'd ever read.
[00:07:32] And then in 1956,
[00:07:34] I was again in California
[00:07:36] for evangelistic meetings.
[00:07:38] I made a trip to Fullerton
[00:07:40] to visit Ruth Kenyon and her mother,
[00:07:42] the wife of Dr. Kenyon.
[00:07:44] Our fellowship was so sweet.
[00:07:46] I've cherished the memory
[00:07:47] of that initial personal meeting
[00:07:49] with the Kenyans.
[00:07:50] We talked for hours
[00:07:51] about how Dr. Kenyon gave himself
[00:07:53] day and night
[00:07:54] to the study of the word,
[00:07:56] how he constantly walked in the spirit
[00:07:58] and the treasure of truth
[00:08:00] he left behind.
[00:08:02] Well, frankly,
[00:08:03] in every corner of the world
[00:08:04] I've traveled,
[00:08:05] I've met those whose lives
[00:08:07] have been transformed
[00:08:08] by the writings of E.W. Kenyon.
[00:08:11] I'm so glad that I was privileged
[00:08:12] to come into contact
[00:08:14] with his ministry
[00:08:15] and I continue to enjoy
[00:08:17] rich fellowship with Ruth
[00:08:18] as long as she was alive
[00:08:19] and then through his team members
[00:08:22] that keep the ministry going
[00:08:24] down in Linwood, Washington.
[00:08:26] The Kenyon ministry
[00:08:28] is very much alive.
[00:08:30] Tens of thousands of books
[00:08:31] are sent every month
[00:08:33] around the world
[00:08:34] to people who purchase them
[00:08:36] in many languages.
[00:08:37] So I praise God
[00:08:38] for what I have experienced
[00:08:41] personally about Dr. E.W. Kenyon,
[00:08:45] my personal hero, I could say.
[00:08:47] And when I met with Ruth
[00:08:50] on different occasions,
[00:08:52] when they moved back
[00:08:54] to Linwood from California,
[00:08:57] she would tell me
[00:08:58] in more detail
[00:08:59] about the day
[00:09:01] that Dr. Kenyon
[00:09:02] went to be with the Lord.
[00:09:03] She said he wasn't sick,
[00:09:06] but he decided
[00:09:08] that he would go take a nap
[00:09:09] and then he called Ruth
[00:09:11] in to share
[00:09:12] among his final words.
[00:09:14] I think it's remarkable
[00:09:16] that the man knew
[00:09:17] the day of his departure
[00:09:18] and so it was.
[00:09:20] I'll tell you more about that
[00:09:21] because it's a beautiful account
[00:09:23] about a man
[00:09:24] who heard the very day
[00:09:27] he was going to be
[00:09:27] with the Lord forever.
[00:09:29] And, you know,
[00:09:31] as I share about these dear people
[00:09:33] who have been instrumental
[00:09:35] in being used by God,
[00:09:37] I really praise the Lord
[00:09:39] that there are those
[00:09:40] who have esteemed Dr. Kenyon
[00:09:42] in a similar way that I have.
[00:09:45] Well, let me just give
[00:09:46] another word from
[00:09:47] one of his associate pastors,
[00:09:50] a man named Jack Mitchell.
[00:09:53] Jack titled his tribute,
[00:09:55] There Came a Man Sent from God.
[00:09:58] And he wrote
[00:10:00] in this particular tribute
[00:10:02] about Dr. Kenyon,
[00:10:04] how the influence
[00:10:05] he'd had in his life.
[00:10:07] And I just want to
[00:10:07] take a few moments
[00:10:09] to share that
[00:10:09] and you can be built up further,
[00:10:14] I think,
[00:10:14] by anticipation
[00:10:16] of how the Lord
[00:10:17] used a man of God.
[00:10:19] He titles,
[00:10:20] There Came a Man Sent from God.
[00:10:22] In 1931,
[00:10:24] a stranger came to us
[00:10:25] here in the great
[00:10:26] Pacific Northwest
[00:10:28] bringing a message of love.
[00:10:30] He preached the message
[00:10:31] of the one who loved us
[00:10:32] and gave himself up
[00:10:33] to die for us
[00:10:34] that we might come
[00:10:35] into the family
[00:10:36] of the great Father God.
[00:10:38] He brought the message
[00:10:39] of redemption,
[00:10:39] of healing,
[00:10:40] and of righteousness.
[00:10:41] And through his ministry,
[00:10:43] reality came to our hearts.
[00:10:45] For years,
[00:10:46] his early morning broadcast
[00:10:48] over the radio
[00:10:49] enriched the lives
[00:10:50] of multitudes.
[00:10:51] Many heard his cheering
[00:10:53] good morning
[00:10:54] to the radio announcer
[00:10:55] and then good morning
[00:10:57] friends to Radio Land,
[00:10:58] so happy to be with you again.
[00:11:01] Many who had never
[00:11:02] attended church
[00:11:03] were reached for Christ
[00:11:04] through hearing his broadcast.
[00:11:06] When I was visiting
[00:11:07] a small farm in the south,
[00:11:09] I heard the testimony
[00:11:10] of a farmer and his wife.
[00:11:11] They said they stopped
[00:11:13] their morning chores
[00:11:14] each day to listen
[00:11:16] to Dr. Kenyon's broadcast.
[00:11:19] Their hearts were drawn
[00:11:20] by the message of love
[00:11:22] and finally they were won
[00:11:23] to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:11:25] So words could not express
[00:11:26] what those messages
[00:11:28] from the heart of the Father
[00:11:29] meant to them
[00:11:30] and gratitude fills
[00:11:32] the hearts of many people
[00:11:35] who receive similar blessing
[00:11:36] of salvation,
[00:11:37] deliverance,
[00:11:38] and thank God
[00:11:39] for what the Lord has done.
[00:11:40] Well, Dr. Kenyon
[00:11:42] went to be with the Lord
[00:11:43] to enjoy the glories
[00:11:44] of heaven
[00:11:45] and he left behind
[00:11:46] vast God-given treasures,
[00:11:48] spiritual blessings
[00:11:49] for us to enjoy
[00:11:50] while he's there
[00:11:52] in the sure reward
[00:11:53] that waits
[00:11:53] a faithful minister.
[00:11:55] I count it
[00:11:56] a rare privilege
[00:11:57] to have known him
[00:11:58] and to have had
[00:11:58] the joy of his fellowship.
[00:12:00] Well, I want to just
[00:12:02] take a moment
[00:12:02] to say that
[00:12:03] you have been inspired.
[00:12:05] I'm sure if you've read
[00:12:06] Dr. Kenyon's books,
[00:12:07] I mean,
[00:12:09] they are absolutely
[00:12:09] life-changers
[00:12:10] and to have more information
[00:12:12] about ordering these books,
[00:12:14] you can write to me
[00:12:15] and we'll give you
[00:12:16] that information.
[00:12:18] And now,
[00:12:19] I want to pray for you,
[00:12:21] for you that have a hunger
[00:12:23] in your heart
[00:12:23] to be used by God.
[00:12:25] I hope you'll embrace
[00:12:26] this truth.
[00:12:27] Father,
[00:12:28] bless every listening friend
[00:12:30] with a hunger and desire
[00:12:31] to fulfill your purpose
[00:12:33] for them.
[00:12:33] In Jesus' name,
[00:12:34] Amen.
[00:12:36] And now,
[00:12:37] my beloved friend,
[00:12:38] join me as we say
[00:12:39] praise the Lord.
[00:12:41] Amen.
[00:12:42] Let's say it
[00:12:42] ten delightful times.
[00:12:45] Praise the Lord.
[00:12:46] Amen.
[00:12:47] Praise the Lord.
[00:12:49] Amen.
[00:12:50] Praise the Lord.
[00:12:51] Amen.
[00:12:53] Praise the Lord.
[00:12:54] Amen.
[00:12:55] Praise the Lord.
[00:12:57] Amen.
[00:12:58] Praise the Lord.
[00:13:00] Amen.
[00:13:01] Praise the Lord.
[00:13:02] Amen.
[00:13:03] Praise the Lord. Amen.
[00:13:07] Praise the Lord. Amen.
[00:13:10] Praise the Lord. Amen.