Worship - Then Prayer - Part 1 — Leonard Ravenhill

Usually when I begin a meeting, I tell the pastor that I don't want the offering. I want you to take it and split it right down the middle, and make half of it to our son Paul in South America, and give me the other half.

So if you do that today, if you give the first five thousand of the offering to Paul, you can give me the other five thousand, that would be OK. I think I said yesterday that I wanted to talk about the second most important exercise in the life of a Christian.

Worship as the Christian’s Highest Exercise

I've been preaching sixty-four years. I have tried to practice, promote, and preach on prayer. About five years ago I suddenly discovered that there would be no prayer in heaven. There's just one person praying there, the Christ of God.

I believe the most important exercise in the life of a Christian is worship. In general terms, prayer is preoccupation with our needs. Praise is preoccupation with our blessings. Worship is preoccupation with God.

There's a good old English hymn that says, My goal is God himself. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing, but God. Just to skip over this, let me say this, that the importance of worship to me is emphasized when Satan said to the Lord Jesus, if you fall down and worship me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world.

It didn't mean real estate, because the Lord made that. It meant all the kingdoms. It meant the greatest kingdom of power, the Roman power, the greatest military machine in the world. It meant intellectual power.

The Greeks were in the great authority intellectually. He meant religious power. The Jews had monopoly, as they thought, of God. He said, I'll give you all these, if you'll fall down just once and worship me.

Because immediately we bow to me, we recognize we're inferior. On the other hand, the importance and majesty of worship is shown, I think, in Hebrews 1, where God says, let the angels of God worship him.

Angels in heaven do not pray to Jesus. Nobody prays in heaven. Again, let me put it this way, if you could relive one day in the life of Jesus Christ, which day would that be? Of every batch of students we get at our prayer meeting, they change every few weeks.

Because of the Bible schools round about us, we get about a hundred, a hundred and fifty students on a Friday night. It's a fantastic meeting to me. They drive three, four, five, six hours to get to the prayer meeting.

They leave at ten o 'clock at night, and if they're from ORU, they get back at three and four o 'clock in the morning. Isn't that wonderful? Sure. But it's also tragic. Why do they have to drive three, four, five hours to find a prayer meeting?

The Prayer Meeting and the Spiritual Temperature of the Church

The prayer meeting is the Cinderella of the Church. If you want to know how popular a church is, go Sunday morning. If you want to know how popular a preacher is, go Sunday night. If you want to know how popular God is, go to the prayer meeting.

Who wins? If you want to take your spiritual temperature, and you should do that more regularly than you take your blood, check your prayer life. The language of the poor. It doesn't matter if you're a king.

It was a king who said, Bow down, I'm here, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. It was a king who said, This poor man cried. The self-sufficient do not want to pray. The self-satisfied don't want to pray.

The self-righteous cannot pray. Prayer is the most demanding exercise this side of eternity. We live in an economy, almost, of what people tell me are big wheels. I tell them I've never seen them. But you see, David Wilkerson, yes, he comes to my office once or twice a week, and we have wonderful fellowship.

Behind us lives Dallas Home. Next door to us lives the second chapter of Acts. I mean, not the book, the song party. Further down the road, David Wilkerson lives. Right opposite to him, there's a studio of a well-known singing group.

Just behind them, we have the last days ministry. We call them the last minute ministry, they're always late, like you are here, I notice. One of these very famous men came into my office one day. We were talking about ministry, singing.

The Fivefold Ministry and the Danger of Performance

I like to be forthright, and downright, and outright. And I said, Well, of course, there are many ministries. There's the prophet, and the evangelist, and the teacher. What they call the fivefold ministry.

But singing isn't mentioned. Of course, you remember one day a disciple came to Jesus. One disciple, it says. Came to Jesus and said, Lord, teach us to sing. He said, What version is that in? Mine. No, it's the way you live.

He didn't say that. No, it was the apostle Paul who said, Sing without ceasing. He didn't say that. No, it was James who said, When you're sick, sing to one another. Do you know what? Most modern singing makes me sick.

I know some of you want to be filled with the Holy Ghost and get a good guitar. A guitar is a backslidden harp. And most of you are just waiting to get out of school, buy a guitar, and go on the road.

I tell you, it's easy money. You don't have to pray, you don't have to sweat, you've got a gullible audience. Dave Wilkerson has a new book coming out. It's dynamic. One chapter is on devil's music in the house of God.

It's the kind of book you write on how not to influence friends and win people. It will cost him a thousand pulpits. No, the disciples came. One disciple, Mark you. Often we say the disciples came and said, Lord, teach us that.

They didn't do anything of the kind. In Luke 11, it says one of the disciples. That's about the percentage. Immediately after Jesus had prayed, if you could relive one day in the life of Jesus, most students say it would be the day he raised Lazarus from the dead.

No, it would be the day when he made a carpet of the water of Galilee and he walked on the water. Oh, I'd like to see him when he unchained that demomiac that was leaping over tombstones. Someone else has a different suggestion.

When you say, if you could only relive one day, what would it be? The day he prayed. He was the greatest example of prayer. And it was after he had prayed that one disciple said, wouldn't you teach us to pray like John taught his disciples?

I do not know what John taught his disciples. But I want to talk on this subject anyhow. I want to take it for the background and skip through it because you've already cheated me for time. I forgive you.

Elijah’s Authority and the Faith of Hebrews 11

In the first book of Kings, in chapter 17, it says Elijah the Tishbite was the inhabitants of Judea. He said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years according to my word.

Notice that? Not God's word, my word. Here is a man who did the supernatural to the nth degree. He shut up heaven. He raised the dead. He made the rain to fall. He made the fire to fall. He made the people to fall.

And yet he doesn't have a place in Hebrews 11. You professors tell me that? Speaking of Hebrews 11, that chapter puts my nose in the dust every day of my life. They're not theologians. They're not leaders of kingdoms.

They don't write psalms. They're not prophets. They're very ordinary people in Hebrews 11. What did they do? They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions. Women received their dead graves to lie the gates.

And what? Not one of them ever had a Bible. Most of your Bible knowledge, God held you at the judgment seat. You have no privileges. You have no revelations. You can buy 24 versions of the New Testament in one volume.

A Sick Church in a Dying World

I think that at this moment, the greatest tragedy in this world is a sick church in a dying world. And the church is sick because the pastors are sick. The pastors are sick because they got lost in organizing instead of agonizing.

They got lost in commercialism instead of Christ himself. I've got nothing against prophetic charts. I don't know what that thing means, but I guess it's good when it's interpreted. But I've been more and more impressed this Easter, as we call it.

I've preached a number of times on the inertial journey. That was the greatest Bible school in history. Seven and a half mile course. It took about three hours to walk. And the Son of God came up behind those despondent, disillusioned, despairing, desperate disciples.

And what did he do? He taught them. What? He taught them from Moses. Why didn't he teach prophecy? He preached history. He taught them everything from Moses right down to that very day about himself. Your sole duty as a believer, a young believer particularly, is to find out everything you can about Jesus Christ.

Not just theology. Again, the disciple says, Lord, teach us praise, not to do miracles. I read again this morning there in Hebrews 12, one of the most astounding verses in the Scripture, that even while I'm in the flesh, by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the cleansing of the blood and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, even now in a rotten, perverted, crooked world where the Church is dead, I can be a partaker of the divine nature?

Not only that, it says that I can be a partaker of His holiness. That is staggering. Two verses after that it's more staggering because it says without holiness. Not without miracles. Not without tongues.

Not without a ministry. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. If you die unholy, you'll be unholy a billion years from now. Augustine said many famous things, outstanding things. One thing he did say.

There is no sanctification in the sepulchre. If you die backslidden, there's no change when you stand at the judgment seat. If you die prayerless, there's no chance to make it up anywhere. This is our school of probation.

Prophets as God’s Gift in Times of Crisis

So here is a marvelous man. Elijah. Miracle-working Elijah. He comes on the stage in a critical hour. He is in the bracket, as far as I'm concerned, with the most awesome men that ever lived. You know why?

I mentioned one yesterday. I didn't do a good job. Isaiah. Elijah. A minimum of men. They're bracketed as what? Prophets. Prophets are God's gift to us. They come on the stage in the crisis of nations.

Not only is America in a crisis today, the whole world is in a crisis. As I said yesterday, there's only one way out. That's by a divine, you can organize a super crusade as you like. You've got to live a million years to get to the road.

There are five billion people in the human race today. There are more than four billion of them totally lost and never heard the name of Jesus. And we're building vast palaces. I hear Peter has just bought 22 acres of prime land right in the middle of Palm Springs.

You know what for? Oh, a thing we need more than anything in the world. They're going to build a Christian entertainment center. Remember the apostles organized one like that, right after the upper room.

Pentecost, Holy Ghost Fire, and the Glory of Jesus

How shameful of us to say we have no anointing of God. I notice over this building a beautiful cross. But the cross is not a symbol of Christianity. The cross is pagan, true. The symbol of the church of Jesus Christ is a ton of fire.

Why didn't the Holy Ghost come on those men in the upper room? As above. As in the case of Jesus, they'd say, this is authentic. Jesus did not need a ton of fire because he needed more cleansing. The prince of this world come up and find there's nothing in me.

They had a ton of fire. Everybody knew about that before long. When Peter released that ton of fire, the most wicked, diabolical man, he pointed his finger at him and said, you crucified the Lord with glory.

Let him have God-raised earth. John Baptist had a ton of fire. It says that John Baptist, because he doesn't serve any other church than the Holy Scriptures, he was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.

It says his mother was filled with the Holy Ghost. His father was filled with the Holy Ghost. And miracle of miracles, his preacher was filled with the Holy Ghost. Those were very rare to find. You can't even find them in Pentecostal churches.

Filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb? I wonder how many women here are pregnant or want to be pregnant. Are you going to pray from the very moment you know that you're going to have a child?

Are you going to pray that that child will be filled with the Holy Ghost? The greatest thing my daddy ever did for me. He didn't do many, but he did one. He took me to a whole night of prayer when I was 14 years of age.

A Night of Prayer and the Men Who Shaped Ravenhill

My mother was called Lucy. That's why I love Lucy. And we would say, Lucy, I'm going here. Lucy, tonight we're going to have a night of prayer. My father was called Walter. And I'm going to pray with Walter Dayfare.

And I'm going to pray with Albert Barnes. Not a commentator, just an old man called Albert Barnes. I went to that prayer meeting at 10 o 'clock. We prayed until about 2 o 'clock. I saw my dad take off his coat.

And I saw him, I heard him praying. And interceding, and weeping. The other man took up the same burden. The next man took up the same burden. I thought maybe it was 3 o 'clock in the morning when we finished.

That was my baptism into a night of prayer. And I've been spoiled ever since. I'm not impressed with preaching. I've preached in some of the greatest churches in the world. And I've been friendly with some of the greatest preachers.

But the men who are outstanding in my life are men who pray. I think it's Montgomery that it says in a hymn, All earthly things with earth will fade away. But prayer grasps eternity. It doesn't mind the colossal intellect.

It doesn't demand a vast vocabulary. Montgomery again says, O thou by whom we come to God, the life, the truth, the way, the path of prayer thyself hath taught, Lord, teach us how to pray. And then he says, Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try.

Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high. Answer this question, not to me, but answer it to yourself. Did you kneel and pray this one? Did you believe that when you prayed this morning the God who heard Elijah on Mount Carmel heard your prayer?

Did you believe when you prayed about same eternal being there? Or heard the prayers of his son hears your prayer? The apostle Paul was a great man of prayer. Remember he said, May not always to pray.

Again, not to sing. Again, not to preach. May not always to pray and not to think. The first time I went to Ireland I went into a prayer meeting in a tin shed. The rain was running on the floor I had to put my feet on the chair in front to keep the water from soaking me.

And yet some people knelt down. I remember one old farmer quoted this prayer and this is about 30 years ago I still remember that rusty old voice but how he prayed Where only seek thee thou art found and every place is hallowed ground.

That's from an old, old home of Wesley's. Elijah the Jewish writer, in evidence of Judah. He comes on the stage 58 years after the dividing of the kingdom. If you read the latter part of the previous chapter, which we won't do, 16th chapter I'll read it from verse 30 Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord and more evil than all that were before him.

There had been six kings. The second king did more evil than the first. The third did more evil than the second. The fourth did more evil than the third. And then when you come down to the last one, he doesn't exceed the iniquity of the previous king, he exceeds the iniquity of all the kings before him.

And it's at this intervention that this amazing man comes. I don't know his pedigree, nobody else does. He did more evil than all the kings that were before him. In verse 30, when it came to pass as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebarth, that he took Jesuit.

He defied God in every way God said they couldn't marry outside of their own group, and he married deliberately. He took the wife Jesuit of the daughter of Beth-Beal, the king of the Zidonians and went and served Beal and he went and worshipped him.

Not only he built an altar to him, he built a shrine to him he worshipped him. And he built in Samaria and he made a grove and did more to provoke the God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

He rebuilt Jericho that God had said remember should never be rebuilt. And he rebuilt it in blood. He defies God on every conceivable opportunity when he comes to the nation it seems to me it parallels the day in which we live.

The Crisis of the Home and the Church

It was a day of iniquity. It was a day of impiety. It was a day of impurity. It was a day of infidelity as I said yesterday you can combine all the holiest things in the world this morning you know our preachers don't have time to look after the flock.

Do you know why? Because they're chasing goats. They can't look after the sheep. They're chasing goats, scapegoats. Oh it's the school system. I get pretty angry. I get pretty mad sometimes during the time that they were trying to get the president back into office again people were going up to buildings carrying cards.

Put the bible back in school. Put prayer back in school. Well don't you want the bible back in school? Not necessarily. Wouldn't you like to see prayer back in school? Not necessarily. I'll tell you that I'd like to see the bible, I'd like to see it in the home.

I'd like to see prayer in it. I guarantee some of you men are honest here, ask if you've ever even opened the word of God except when you're preaching. I'm tempted to say this, let me say it. I may be wrong but I'll risk it.

It seems to me in the average home that when the TV came in the family also went out. You teach your children before that wicked corrupt swine. You make the TV your babysitter. When they get 12 or 13 you buy them a one such.

They add it in their own bedroom and watch all the corruption when you've gone to sleep. It's not the depravity of the school system, it's not the depravity of politics and the bills rotten. It's the chaos in the home.

That's the problem. The decay is in the home and the decay is in the home because the decay is in the heart of the father of none of that. My sweet wife and I spend more hours now than ever we've done in our lives.

After breakfast we have our devotions. And then we read a classic. We're reading one now called still something. It was written in 1858. It's a fantastic book. Cost you $3. Read it. If you want to know something about warfare in prayer there's a book written in 1604.

It has 1140 pages. It will cost you a nice little sum of $26. It's written by a man by the name of William Gormley. G-R-M-A-L-L. I gave Dave Wilkerson a copy of that. Four years ago we went for a vacation to the Bahamas.

Somebody paid for it. That's why we went and we enjoyed it. When I came back he said Len I have read that book through. I said 1140 pages. Len he said where have I been. I'm 51. He's 54 now. Where have I been all this time I said reading Pentecostal magazines little scruffy bits of sermonettes for Christianettes who often smoke cigarettes.

The whole book of 1140 pages is under just the final verses of Ephesians 6 on spiritual warfare. It's not the sloppy stuff these boys write about in magazines. Forget it. If you get that book and read it and stay with it I guarantee it will revolutionize your prayer life.

Elijah’s Hiddenness, Obedience, and Divine Provision

Teach us to pray. Here's an example. Wasn't the king's bedroom. Long before that the prophet knew what was going on. I say these are most exclusive men in my judgment not men that walk on the moon. What's walking on the moon.

I walk with the lord everyday. That's more important than walking on the moon. What is science doing leading us to hell. There's been a lot of talk about the holocaust lately. Oh those 6 million Jews that were liquidated.

Terrible. If there were 6 million I don't know. Oh isn't it awful. I'll tell you something more awful. It's more awful than in the last few years. We've had a holocaust in America. We've liquidated at least 10 million babies.

Put them down with John and flush them away. Somebody's gonna meet them at the judgment seat. I'm not troubled too much about the holocaust of the past though. We went through world war 2. World war 1 I went through and then world war 2.

What about the holocaust that's coming up. Science says that we can now. What's my word. Here we can now barbeque a city in less than 5 minutes a whole city New York could be barbequed in 5 minutes. In greater New York 20 million people could perish.

I don't care what science says. Where would you like to know what the bible says. The bible says there's a holocaust coming up when the man who went on the back of the donkey down main street and people sneered and said he's a king.

The Romans must have thought it was a joke. They'd seen their rulers come down main street down the Appian way into Rome with their captives chained at their wheels and ridiculed and scorned and then stopped the scorning and started applauding.

Here's a man coming and women are throwing rags down in the street and tearing branches off there. He is poor man deluded man. Is this a way to set up a kingdom. Gentle Jesus meek and mighty. Wait a minute.

You got it wrong. That's only the first part. What about when he comes riding from heaven on a white horse. Not with a thousand people on either side but 200 million people there. And he's going to fight them.

And he's not going to raise his hand. He's not going to raise a sword. He's going to kill 200 ,000 people quicker than you could. Barbeque a city. Why. What does he do it with the swab of his mouth. He did it once in the garden of Gethsemane we seek Jesus.

I am here. They fell down. You people that like to go to churches and see people fall backwards. They used to call that backsliding when I was a kid. The only people who fall backwards in scripture are sinners.

If you learn to worship read Revelation. Everybody you worship from Abraham right through the scriptures. They just fell on their face. Dr. Chaucer said to me one day as I went in his office. Len let other people do as they like you and I will worship God.

Face downward. Some he said always lay on your stomach to pray either on the floor or across your bed. I've done it ever since. He wasn't the greatest preacher I ever met. But he had more intimacy with God than any man I've ever met.

He knew the heartbeat of God he knew the love of God and he gazed on the majesty of God. Are you wanting to be a preacher? Let me give you a couple of tips. One is every week of your life or two or three times in the week read the 26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

Paul stands before a gripper and tells him what preaching is all about. This is what God called me to do to open the eyes of the blind to turn them from darkness to light from the proud of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by Satan is in me.

Heaven is a holy place prepared for holy people. Again without holiness no man shall see the Lord. You won't go there. On your record of being one of the world's outstanding preachers or healers or singers everything is graded on this one level.

Whether we walked in holiness or walked in purity or if you like an old way walked in sanctification everything. Everybody was against this amazing man Elijah. What does he care. What does Proverbs 28 say the wicked flee when no man pursues.

And they fled before this man again in Psalms. In the Psalm 3 verse 8 it says I'll not be afraid of ten thousand. The odds against him are awesome. But there's an old saying which is still true. And I heard it at least 60 years ago.

There's an old saying which is still true that one man with God is a majority. Everybody's on the bandwagon organising. Not many on the bandwagon agonising. They're all promoting. Few people are praying.

I'd love to have seen this amazing man Elijah here he says to Ahab there's going to be no rain now. Who is that famous American that said what did he say. Now. Let me think of it. Come on now. Give me liberty or give me death.

What was his name. Patrick Henry must have been Irish Patrick Henry. Give me liberty or give me. Do you know what. If you really believe this word and believe the context of modern leading every time we pray we go to the prayer place and say give me revival or give me death.

If we don't have revival it's going to be hell for you and your children. Ten years from now I'll tell you that you'll wish to God. They've never been born. We don't have a decade left. Give me liberty or give me death.

He stands and defies the king defies the government. He puts his key and he shuts up heaven. And he says you know what. There'll be no rain till I unlock it. Aren't you like one or two deacons of this classification.

He prayed and the rain fell. He prayed and the fire fell. He prayed and the people fell. You don't need two or three. Like that you could dismiss the others. Why do we establish deacons in our churches.

Usually because they own two Texaco stations and a hot dog stand. We don't appoint them because we're full of the Holy Ghost. Alright Tommy I love you dear. I'm teasing Tommy here because he's in the fast food business as you call it.

He's a very precious man of God. But our deacons are not selected because they're full of faith of the Holy Ghost. Oh I can't. I'm such a big David Wilson who was a pastor up on the west coast the Pentecostal pastor.

And he said to him brother tell me this. How much time do you spend in prayer. And he just said frankly he said brother how do you think I spend time in prayer. I have three thousand people. I have so many churches to attend.

I have so many hospitals. There's nothing in the scripture about the pastor going to hospital. That's the deacons job. Then they say well if the deacons have to take care of the hospital who buries the dead.

Well that's clear from the scripture. The deacons says let the dead bury the dead. Don't tell your pastor. I said that he's set up heaven. Do you so love God. Are you so jealous for the holiness of God that you would dare get on your knees and say God Almighty.

I don't care if from today I have to stand in bread lines. If you have to put a squeeze on this luxurious living of ours till we stand in bread lines. I'd rather stand in bread lines and see the nations shaking with revival from coast to coast from Canada to the gulf than any other thing.

Again God does not answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer. I guess Rachel was the most beautiful person in Israel. Very beautiful woman. She got nicer clothes than her sister. She was better looking than her sister.

But her sister had a brood of children. One day she comes into the tent and says Jacob give me children or I die. And we don't get revival until we are willing to die for it. I read again in Exodus 32 this morning where that amazing man Moses said forgive their sin if not blot me out.

A bit earlier he says I cannot manage this people. They are so rebellious they are so unbelieving. They are so disobedient. If need be kill me. I spoke to our class one Friday night about 6 weeks ago on that the prayer that has never been repeated.

I read 60 years ago where a pastor put a notice outside of his church. This church will either have a revival or a funeral in the mercy of God. It had revival. Our prayers are so pathetic so weak so sickly.

The effectual fervent prayer. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. He must have felt ten feet high. Don't you think when he rebuked the king and he says listen you're going to get straight.

You've gone down a twisted path. You've cursed this nation. You've brought every blasphemous thing here. But listen it stops here. I'm taking over. I'll set up heaven so your economy will change. Everything you have will change according to my word.

I love my God more than my nation. Do you love your God more than your nation. I'm not an American in case you don't know. But you poor souls you had to stay here. You were born here. We came here because I can tell you the spot in London where God told me to go to America.

I'm not regretting that I came. I said to somebody I'm going to put a flag up outside our house because I love America. The top one is going to be the flag of America. The next one the Union Jack. And the third one the state where we live Texas which of course is bigger than England and America as you know.

Oh that's good from the Texans. They think I'm walking in the light. Now you see I've got where I should be. He must have felt wonderful. I defied the armies against God. I defied the king. I defied the government.

I defied my own feelings. I had to have an extra time of prayer to get the courage and endurement. But I did it. And then God says go hide thyself. I mean I could be front page news if this got round that I defied the king all I've done.

And God says go hide yourself. And he hid himself his whole life is explained in this statement here in the 17th chapter and verse 3 get thee hence and turn eastward and hide thyself by the boutique as it is before Jordan.

In case I forget because I lapse. You know sometimes in my thinking I'm not losing my mind. I'm losing my memory sometimes. You know there are three signs of old age. The first is loss of memory. I can't remember the other two the first half of his success go hide thyself.

In the next chapter go show thyself. It's wrong to hide yourself when you should show yourself. It's wrong to show yourself when you should hide yourself. It's a forgotten art. I went to see the pastor and his wife said he'd gone away for three days.

Boy doesn't he waste time. Look at this little old guy here according to tradition he's only about five feet high. He had a bit of a hump. He had a big nose. And there he is scribbling. Hey you were in jail when I came here a year ago.

What are you doing? Making notes still? Yeah. What are you doing? I'm secretary. For who? The holy ghost. He says. What are you doing here? Come on. You've got a healing ministry. Get out and heal the sick.

You raise the dead. You cleanse the lepers. You drive demons out. Paul. Get up and do something. We're killing ourselves. We're activists. If we don't go to sleep tired out and fall into bed almost paralysed.

We know we haven't worked for God when maybe we've been insulting him all day. I nearly had to sing that hymn. Take time to be holy this morning. I didn't know if you'd know it but anyhow it's a great hymn.

Tithing Time and Total Consecration

There's a great insistence everywhere from Pentecostals now to Presbyterians on tithing tithing tithing tithing. If you die without being paid up in your tithes you won't make it. You'll be turned back at the pearly gates.

You haven't got your tithes paid up. You've got all those empty packets in the church. The scripture in King James says bring all the tithe. And it's the problem. The tithes doesn't take any moral courage or discipline to take your purse out and give a tenth of your money.

How often do you tithe your time. You give God 2 hours and 24 minutes of every day in personal close communion with him reading his love letters communing with him. I believe you could fill the altar with a hundred people every hour every hour of every day and disappoint him.

Napoleon had an outstanding diplomat and wherever he went and he used to go to China and other countries. He'd find rare artworks and bring them home to his wife. One day as he came in his chateau there his wife was there beautiful and he says darling I found you the greatest treasure in the east.