Selah — Leonard Ravenhill

The Book of Remembrance and the Testing of Our Works

In Malachi, it says that God has a book of remembrance. And I think it would do you good before you go to bed every night this week to ask God. What did you put in your book this today from my life? Even as a believer with all your works, they're either wood or hay or stubble or silver or gold or precious stone.

Earthly Investments and Eternal Consequences

Now let's visualize we give a man over here ten thousand dollars and he invests it in wood. The next man is given ten thousand he invests it in hay. The next man has ten thousand. The man over here are ten thousand invested in gold wouldn't get much at five hundred dollars an ounce.

Would he and the next man at silver? He wouldn't get too much at four twelve dollars an ounce and the other man in precious stone. But when the fire goes straight what you have all you have is that wood going down until you've got ashes.

Maybe up to your ankles and that's all that is left a man's life all his ministry. It showed you see the difference between the wood and the hay and the stubble and the silver and the gold and the precious stones.

Wood hay and stubble are above the ground. They catch the eye. Silver and gold and precious stones are below the ground. Nobody sees them. There's a lot of public ministry in that day. That's gonna go down in ashes my brother.

Devotion, Speech, and the Record of Life

Every penny you earn since you became the property of Jesus Christ. You're given a count of before God your life is wood. The fire's gonna come hay. The fire's gonna come to it stubble. The fire's gonna come to it.

But what is your life is silver and gold and precious stones. What is gold a sign of gold? I believe there is a sign of our devotion to God. You wouldn't get much gold for ten thousand dollars today. What happens when you burn gold.

Nothing? All you do is change it from solid to liquid, but you don't reduce it. What's your devotional life this morning? Would you like Gabriel to hand me the book of your devotional life for the last month and read it to this fine audience?

The gold is gonna be tried to our devotional life the silver. What is the silver. The book of Proverbs says the tongue of the just is a choice silver. Yeah, every other word you've spoken even since you were saved.

God has a kind of you know. He doesn't need a tape recorder, but he has an eternal record of it. You know the gossip the slander the criticism the prejudice. Can you think of all those awesome work? Can you think of all the word we've preached?

To thousands of people over the years and we're going to answer it and the fire is going to be put to them. Well, will they be hay and stubble or all will they abide the fire. The fire should try every believers work.

Prayer Life as the Measure of Spiritual Stature

Silver gold precious stone. Well, what are the precious stones? When I read that I think of the. I think of the breastplate that was on the priest and he went into the holy Place to pray with a breastplate on him.

I've said it many times. I say it again this morning, but no man is greater than his prayer life. I don't care about his organization and it's Let me live with a man a while and share his prayer life.

And I'll tell you what how tall I think he is or how majestic I think he is in God. I think again of a statement. Dr. Tozer made to me once he said lend you know. He said we'll hardly get our feet out of time into eternity.

Shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ

I'm gaze on eternity of what we bow our heads in shame and humiliation and say my god. Look at all the riches there were in Jesus Christ and I've come to the judgment seat almost a pulpit for God. There's not barely given us Jesus Christ.

He's given us all things and because there isn't enough joy in the house of God. We need entertainment because entertainment is the devil's substitute for joy. Because there is enough power in the house of God people are always looking for the last scientific Development and their ass hair stands up when they see some fancy show on TV when I see the church in the New Testament.

They didn't have stately building. They didn't have paid evangelist. They didn't have a lot of money. They didn't have organization. They did come get on TV and they I'll tell you what they did. They turn the world upside down and I'm embarrassed To be part of the Church of Jesus today because I believe it's an embarrassment to a holy God.

Most of our joy is clapping our hands and having a good time. And then afterwards we're talking all the drivel of the world. Can he share his sorrow with you? If you're gonna get mature in God all the dwarfs around you will criticize and Say you're trying to be holier than the rest of us.

Living as a Distinct People of God

Ah, you'll discover this the men who have been most heroic for God have been the men with the greatest devotional life. I preach out of my heart all I believe not die for it. Am I just a showman? What's my what's my secret life like, you know, if we can't live as a different breed of people on this earth.

We've no right to live. We shouldn't be affected by changing customs or changing style or changing opinions or whether the stock market goes up or down. We ought to live Every day as though we come out of another world into this world with the power of that world upon us to live and speak.

And move and have our being in Jesus Christ before all the saints of all the ages and you and I to stand there alone on The diet and be judged for the deeds done in the body for every aspect of our lives.

But our praying for our giving for our living for our talking only one life will soon be passed. Only once done for God will last and when I am dying how glad I shall be if the lamp of my life has been Burned out for thee.

Eternity Consciousness and the Final Judgment

No, it's not so simple to be a Christian after all. It's a majestic thing. We ought to live eternity conscious in time. It's going to be an awesome day with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and the judge of judges.

You see there's no possible. There's no possibility of any rehearsal because again, this is the final judgment. Can you see all the saints of all the ages and Leonard Ravedale is standing there before a Christ.

Of those eyes are full of holiness where the place is breeding holiness. Whether it's all the majesty of an awesome God and he reads the record of my poor life before all the saints of all the Ages, can you see the Holy Dead all lined up there all the saints in the Old Testament all the faith in the New Testament.

The Lost Potential of a Self-Willed Life

It's not only true that we live in a world of bankrupt politics. We live in a world and this is the most tragic of all of a bankrupt church. When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and he shows his plan for me the plan of my life as it might have Been had he had his way and I see how I've lost him here and I checked him there and I would not yield my will.

Will there be grief in my Savior's eyes grief though? He loves me still would he have me rich and I stand there poor stripped of all but it's great. Why memory runs like a hunted thing down the paths?

I cannot retrace all of the years that are left to me. I give them to thy hand take me and break me and mold me to the pattern. The bow has left let's look at all the apostles and all the saints of all the ages that's any look that feeling I would it's amazing revival.

There's William Boothman founder of the Salvation Army. There's John Wesley hit all the great heroic figures. We've all read about them and here they are all watching while the book is handed down. And somebody's going to read the record when God opens up book of intercession when he puts the fire to their prayer life.

They're devotional life. I'll tell you all there'll be nothing lost. It won't be wood. It won't behave won't be stubble not concerned about human opinion not asking for more to spend prodigally on ourselves.

But say Oh God, I want these this life of mine adjusting. So I when I stand in your awesome presence as James said we shall not be ashamed of his appearance.

The Witness of the Saints and the Cost of Discipleship

There's gonna be no free crown.

Any any candidates here for the martyrs crown? There's gonna be no free glory up there. I'm embarrassed to death when I read Hebrews 11. I can read Hebrews 11 every day of my life and weep. I can turn my Bible over at the back.

I can read the map at the back of my Bible and weep. But what the Apostle Paul did. He had no plane. No jet plane. He had no automobile. Look how it look at mystery journeys. No wonder he says in parents of the deep in feathers with my countrymen in parents of labors in prison in the first 50 years of Wesley preaching.

The men that joined up with him as preachers died at the average age of 32 years of age. They were burned out for God. America is not dying because of the strength of humanism. It's dying because of the weakness of evangelism.

We're not taking people take people to the cross. We don't get them on the car devil says come down from the cross and save yourself. Why do you weep while other people are laughing? Why do you fast while other people are having a whale of a time?

It's stupid. It is except in the light of eternity. The holiest man that ever lived was the most abused. You expect better treatment from this world and he got. What is shrugging up in that little church for because it never hurt you to go?

Because nobody fast nobody prays. Nobody weeps your preachers dry-eyed. He talks how in God's name do they do it? You see you to account for your time. So here you've got three you live 24 hours a day.

Redeeming Time Through Prayer and Evangelism

You work eight eight hours a day. You sleep eight hours a day what to do with the other eight. Put that into years you live 60 years you sleep 20 years. You work 20 years, what do you do with the other 20?

It's not how long you live. It's how you live that matters. There are more decisions for Christ these days and ever in history, but never a fewer disciples. They were stolen. How long did it take them to die?

They were destitute. These are saints. These are men filled with the Holy Ghost. Hey, not one day was stolen. They were sawed asunder. According to tradition Isaiah was hung this way with his feet strapped up there and sawed down the middle.

Not with an electric saw and get it over with a wooden saw. It was sawed in pieces. The best title for the Church of God today. My judgment is this we're unbelieving believers. Somebody someday will pick this Bible up and be simple enough to believe it when they do all be embarrassed.

Can you remember the last time you didn't go to bed because men were dying without Christ? And remember the last time you pushed the pledge away and said no. I have a full time with God. Have you geared your life like that?

Sold-Out Consecration for the Next Generation

Are you living trying to be spiritual and living on the carnal plane? Are you trying to be spiritual and living in time? Are you trying to be spiritual and keeping up with other people round about? Listen, when God can get men that are sold out for him like Paul was sold out for him, we'll move our generation.

God is saying who will go for us? Not a seraphim, not a seraphim. Not a half man and half deity. He looks for men. God takes men, not money, not methods, not machinery, not movement, men. When I can say Lord, I'm concerned.

I'm concerned. I'm speeding on to eternity. Look at my ministry. Look at my life. Look at my fruitlessness. Look at my dry eyes. Look at my poor spirit that has no age in it. The men that died by the million, they're damned and lost.

Look at me. Supposing you just ask God to show you one thing this afternoon. You'll get round though. You don't wear wool. The things you don't do, this you don't do, they're all right. You'll get by.

Listen, will you tell me this? Will you tell me? And if you tell me this, I'll tell you how spiritual you are. Will you tell me how much you pray a day?