What Is Your Life - Part 7 — Leonard Ravenhill

Risen With Christ, Hidden With Christ, and Appearing in Glory

Lives. That's on the social level, but they never made it upward to God. They never had a living relationship with God. The past, he's made it possible to be risen with him. The present, we're dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God.

And then verse 4, the future, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then we shall appear with him in glory. But, this is what has to be done. Come on, you do your part here. He says, mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth, while you're in the flesh.

Putting Earthly Desires to Death

Put them to death, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, covetousness, which is idolatry. J .B. Phillips translates that best, I think. He says, consider yourself dead to all the worldly contacts.

Loathe them, hate them. Hate what? Well, have nothing to do with sexual immorality. Have nothing to do with dirty-mindedness. Have nothing to do with evil desire. Have nothing to do with uncontrolled passion.

Don't lust after other people's goods. You see, and it's hard to say again, if Christ has been born in me, he wants to live in me, he wants to talk in me, he wants to walk in me, he wants to work through me.

Christ's Abundant Life

It's not a struggle that I'm trying to be a Christian. Life, life, life. He says, I'm come that ye might have life, and that ye might have life more abundant. You know, if you have life, I guess it's a sign of life.

Maybe there's some other things too, but a sign of life usually is you have a good appetite. I guess they found, the cooks found that out today. You have a good appetite. Look, if you haven't got hold of this, get hold of it now.

You can't impress God. Now, if you're a Christian, you're supposed to be living a full spectrum, you can't impress him. Now, if I'm going to live, I'm going to eat. If I'm going to live, I'm going to eat this world because Jesus says what?

I am the bread of life. Man cannot live by bread alone, the only earthly bread, but he can live by the bread which is Christ. He says, I am the water of life. That's essential to life. You can't live without water.

He says, I am the light of life. And he says, I'm not merely come, isn't it? John 10 and 10, in which he says, I'm come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. You know, I hear people go to conferences, meetings, and they say, boy, that was good.

The Difference Between Being Challenged and Changed

Boy, were we challenged. Every meeting, we were challenged. And the question isn't were you challenged, the question is were you changed? Were you changed? Paul runs his flag to the top of the mast. Oh, I like his statement there in what?

Is it 1 Corinthians 5, 7, in which he says, if any man be in Christ, any man, anywhere, at any time, if he be in Christ, he is a new creation. He isn't patched up, he's made a new creation. He gets a new heart, a new spirit, new desires, new hopes, new longings, that cannot be satisfied at the broken systems of the world.

David's Faith Before Goliath

You remember the climax to the life of King Saul? Saul got pretty mad because a young guy was coming up behind him. And King Saul had been writing songs that were at the top of the charts. And then after him, there came another young fellow by the name of David.

And boy, he broke all records for publication. And people were going down the streets, clapping their hands and singing, Saul had slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands. And then there's a man that terrified the nation, big man, oh mercy.

Oh, was he about 10 feet high? And Saul didn't go to him, and Saul's brave son didn't go, and the chosen men from West Point didn't go. A little boy comes up with a sling and a stone, and his brother says, hey, you go back and look after those sheep.

He says, well, do you mind if I kill Goliath before I go? And his brother says, now go on, go on, look after those few sheep. And somebody says, I'm going to tell the king. And the king says, that little boy you mean?

Bring him here. Oh, he was handsome, ruddy, good-looking, country boy. And the king says, is it true you want to go tackle that man there that's 10 feet high, and you're only 5 foot 6? Yes, sir, I'd like to do it, just before I go see my dad.

What makes you think you could do it? Oh, the other night I was looking after my sheep, and a lion came. I got hold of him by the beard, and I punched his nose and said, if you come back, I'll kill you.

And the next night, a bear came, and I took my slingshot, and I killed him. I got rid of him. So I killed a bear, and I killed a lion, and I'd like to make it three in a row. Do you mind if I just kill this fella?

He says, worm, worm. You can go, put my suit of armor on, you know. He put his helmet on, came down on his shoulders, he couldn't see where he was going. Put his suit of armor on, it came down to his knees, he couldn't walk.

I can't go kill that giant like that. He said, why not? He said, because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. No, he didn't say that, but he thought it. And he goes out with his sling and his stone, and Goliath came.

And Goliath had an armor bearer in front of him, Markiel. And little David had nobody in front of him, except God. Do you know what David said to Abraham? I am thy son and thy shield. Not that I'll give you a shield, I am the shield.

And if God is between me and that situation, did anybody ever get past God and beat him? David goes to the brook and he chooses his five stones, and the old guy is getting so angry. Send a kid like that.

I'll break him over my knee and feed the birds with him. And David says, well, that's two minds with a single thought. I've just been thinking I'd do that with you. And he took five stones. Do you know why he took five stones?

Because Goliath had four brothers and he wanted to kill the whole lot while he was at it. He wanted to wipe the family out. Do you know what he did? The little boy took a stone and whoop whoop whoop. I remember years ago preaching this in the Mennonites, and I said, a stone went up and a boy in the back of the church went, like that.

I said, the stone hit him in the forehead and he said, well, you see, he got armor plating all over, and just a little thing there and the stone came and, you know, such a thing had never ended before.

Just a little boy. He didn't bother with the armor bearer. You know, we're so busy chasing demons, we're leaving the devil alone. You've got a demon. If you sneeze in some churches, you've got a demon.

Pulling Down Spiritual Strongholds

If you have a headache, oh, you've had it all day. Oh, you've got a demon in you. Good night. They must multiply like frogs, those demons. Oh, I'm longing to see the church get into the place where again she pulls down strongholds.

I'm tired of writing about revival. I'm tired of reading about revival.