Sharing-Time — Leonard Ravenhill

Pentecostal Identity and Preaching to Preachers

I preach to a bunch of Pentecostal preachers, I like preaching to preachers, they get so mad. I said, the old Pentecostal preachers, Amen, brother, yeah, well, great, real Pentecostal, all speak in tongues, I didn't ask you, I asked you, is it Pentecostal?

The New Testament Pattern of a Living Pentecostal Church

Pentecostal church, you go every day, you break bread every day, you pray every day, people are saved every day, that's a New Testament church. Did you ever start a Sunday morning service like this, let's sing the second, no, no, just a minute, Jack, Jack, how are you, fine, oh, did you do, yes, I did, you're a liar, hey deacons, carry him out, you can't prove they went to church twice on Sunday from the New Testament, meetings last so long you couldn't have gone twice.

Long Church Meetings and the Boredom of the Gospel

This man told a lie to the preacher, I'm glad the Lord put it in there, I like it, he must have known my weakness, because it says that this man's wife went three hours after and the meeting was still on.

Man, if you came to our Sunday morning service at 11 and went home at 12, look for the preacher two hours after, he'd be watching the goats play the rams on TV or something, pray for three hours, good night, what do you think we are?

Oh, we can go to an opera for three hours, we can watch a long film for three hours, but church is so boring. You know, you've got to credit the preachers of our generation, we're the only ones that have ever made the gospel dull.

Judgment, Holiness, and the Cost of Pentecost

It agonized us in church, that's why they started putting foam rubber on the seats, you notice there? We're going to put footstools in next. Can you imagine going to church and the preacher killed a man and then the wife came in and says, Sarah, did you do this?

He says, yes we did, he says, carry her out. Now that's Pentecost as much as tongue. Wouldn't it be exciting to go to church when the preacher says, I've got a little on my mind, I'm just going to kill a few members before we start this morning.

As I tell one preacher, I say, don't lift your hands up like he, and say, you lied to the Holy Ghost, don't do that, you might lose 95 of your congregation any Sunday. You better spot them by name and say, I'm a nice Sapphira.

See, Pentecost, all joy bells, isn't it? It's all sunshine, no shadow, all blessings, no cursings, all blessings, no burdens, all fun, no travail. I don't marvel at God's patience with the world, it's blind and dumb and deaf and dead.

I marvel at God's patience with this church. As I've said again, the whole balance of the New Testament after Matthew and Mark and Luke and John, the whole balance is to the church. Paul said he prayed night and day.

Praying for the Church's Weak Faith

I'd like to have heard him pray, wouldn't you? Good night, it must have been something. He must have prayed up a storm or down a storm or something. He says, I prayed all night and day. Praying what? For a church, not for the lost.

Not that the Roman Empire would collapse or Caesar would die or some other thing. He said, I'm praying for the church. But Thessalonica, night and day praying exceedingly that I may see your face and supply that which is lacking in your faith.

He didn't say they had no faith, he said it was a weak faith, it wasn't getting anywhere. See, faith, you've got to develop faith. You know, my muscles are hard to find. I never chopped down trees and lifted barbells and everything, so my muscles, I think they're there.

I've not seen them for years, but anyhow, I have no muscle. Why? I didn't develop them. Same with your faith. He doesn't accuse them of sin. He says, I'm praying night and day exceedingly. Read 1 Thessalonians 3.

Praying night and day exceedingly I may see your face and I by the grace of God in my ministry will supply that which is lacking in your faith. He starts the 2nd epistle, the 1st chapter, verse 3, and he says, I rejoice that your faith grows exceedingly.

Man, that must be something when it can pray health into a church's faith. Only healing we think about is somebody with a withered arm or some other physical thing. We've got more spiritual cripples in our church than physical cripples.

Spiritual Poverty and the Need for Intercessory Prayer

Our churches are full of empty people. And we people that look at us, none of them are blind anyhow. They're spiritually lame. They can't reproduce their kind. Oh, the church is terribly sick. And the only way it'll come back to health is by prayer and fasting and seeking God's faith.

And not just praying the pretty prayers we've prayed, but praying prayers such as again, the woman that says, give me children or I die. Which as you know, I guess, was translated years after to the great Scottish man of prayer, John Knox.

When he prayed, give me Scotland or I die. And the Queen said, I would rather know an army was invading my country than that John Knox was praying. Isn't that a compliment? When you feel one man's prayer is more than the invading of an army, there's nothing America needs.

Prayer, National Burden, and Spiritual Authority

Some people find it hard to take, you know, because I've got an English tongue. They're always saying this about America. One lady came to me, she's blonde and beautiful. The beauty went down the sink and the blonde went on the rack at night.

But she looked straight at me and she said, you know, I can't put up with some things you say. Oh, I don't like them. I said, well, I don't like some things I say, but I say them because God wants me to say them.

Well, I tell you, she said, I don't like it. She said, see, I'm a pure-blooded American. I looked straight at her. I said, what reservation are you from? She didn't like me. I said, you're no more American than I am.

I came a bit later than you came. My grandfather didn't happen to be on the Queen, on the Speedwell or the Mayflower or something, but I'm as much, I pay the same taxes. I'll be prepared to tell you at the judgment seat, I guess I've prayed 10 times as much for America as you have and wept over it more than you've ever known.

You live in America because you have to. I live in America because I want to. You were here by the accident of birth. I was here because God told me to come. I consulted with Norman Grubb one day. He said, Len, you go to America.

I believe that's where you should go. And I took guidance through Norman Grubb, one of the greatest men I think I've ever met. He is one of the most outstanding men. I've known Norman Grubb since, well, quite a few years, 40 odd.

The Universal Ministry of Prayer

He's a very wonderful man. You see, every ministry isn't open to us, but the greatest ministry of all is open to a washerwoman. It doesn't matter whether you pray in Chinese or English, pray in tongues if you want.

Doesn't give it any more validity as far as I'm concerned. You see, you get to the place again. This woman prayed. She never said a word. There is a praying which is way down there in the spirit and it's groanings which you can't explain, you can't interpret it, but he interprets it.

Weeping, Travail, and the Birth of Revival

Weeping. She wept. Well, in case you've forgotten, so did the apostle Paul. He said he wept over a people. So did Jesus. Every revival has been birthed in weeping, in brokenness, in tears, in travail.

And it's sure not easy. But as a good book says, the woman that brings the child to birth, maybe an hour after it's born, she's the most excited woman in the world. She forgets all about the pains of hell that got all of her and all the sorrow and all the time she couldn't eat and all the hours she hasn't slept.

She says, here, you know, that's exactly what Hannah did. This man mistook her. One day she went into the temple and she took a baby and he looked at her and she says, for this child I prayed and the Lord granted me my request.

You know, in other words, say, you forget it. I don't care whether you criticize me or not. I got my prayer answered. Here's the baby. As I said yesterday, I'm right through with this. I believe we're heading for the greatest tribulation, surely.

Expecting Pentecostal Revival and Christ's Return

But I believe too that we're heading for a Pentecost that will out Pentecost, Pentecost. A visitation that's going to shake every nation under heaven. And before we look to the sky and say, even so, come Lord Jesus.

I pray that for the church. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The church is his body. We are his hands. We are his feet. We are his eyes. We are his compassion to a lost world. Isn't it wonderful that though the disciples heard the greatest man in the world preach the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, they never said, Lord, teach us to preach.

Isn't it amazing that they saw him do all the miracles that he did and they never said, Lord, teach us to do miracles. They even heard Jesus sing. They never said, Lord, Jesus, teach us to sing. They did say, Lord, teach us to pray.

Prayer for the Persecuted Church and Spiritual Receptivity

Father, we thank you this afternoon for the privilege of again being together. We are reminded, I am constantly, that much of the world is in turmoil. That there are more enslaved nations than free nations.

Fellowships like this that were conducted by John Soong and Watchman Lee and other men have been dissolved and destroyed in the terrible rage of communism in China. We will pray for the dear saints of God in that country this afternoon.

We will pray for those in Russia. We will pray for them in other countries where there's bondage. We pray that you'll teach us what it means when you say, Lord, teach us to work while it is day, the night cometh.

Lord, I'm not concerned these people listen to me or obey me. I am concerned that they obey the truth you give, that they obey the illumination of the word, that after these days, this day particularly, their worship life will be different, their prayer life will be different.

We thank you again. The river of God is full of water. That giving does not impoverish thee and withholding does not enrich thee. What you have given us this morning and again this afternoon in blessing, we pray that you will not just increase but do something even greater in our night fellowship.

Praying for Revival and Divine Presence

Rend the heavens come upon us. Give us revelation that we'll never forget from here to eternity. And then in eternity we'll praise thee for all that has been done. We do pray for Tony and Buddy and others here that direct this work.

You'll give them a supernatural anointing. They'll not be satisfied to reach a plateau and settle there, but Lord, you'll make this agape land a wonder to the whole world. That you will put a pillar of fire over it, that we'll have no explanation except it's a sign that God is in residence.

I think so often when we pass Buckingham Palace, we look at the flagstaff. And if the Queen is in residence, the flag flies. And if she isn't there, it's gone. Grant, O Lord, that your symbol, which is a pillar of fire, will rest over this organization.

And not only here, but every branch of outreach. Lord God, how amazing. It could be this very day you're going to make history in this house. It could be today that the birth pangs for revival come upon us.

It could be today that you write that something new was initiated by your divine spirit. We confess, Lord, we're jealous for your glory. We long to see you rend the heavens and come down. So, Grant, we'll not dissipate this afternoon in any idle talk of foolishness.

Bring us in a condition of receptivity tonight. Bring us all with a quiet spirit, a hungry spirit. Because you said, blessed are they who hunger and thirst. They should be filled. They should be satisfied.

And we give you praise in Jesus' name.