Audio Sermon: The Holy Ghost — Leonard Ravenhill

The Holy Spirit Convicts the World

16 and verse 8 and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment and of righteousness because i go to my father and ye see me no more of judgment because the prince of this world is judged.

Now look at verse 13 how be it. And i'm putting an emphasis here how be it when he the spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth. For he shall speak not of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak.

And he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. So the various contributing forces to this meditation this afternoon one was the the fact that there's a slang phrase that i just about detest and that is that you'll meet people who say something like this have you had the baptism they take with as much junction as have you had the flu shot.

And most of them don't mean are you holy. What they mean is you speak in tongues very often. Somebody sent me a little paper this week and there was a phrase in it that really really gripped me because it was written by a pentecostal brother.

And this is what he says we're living in a a charismatic generation that has despised or neglected as he put it the holy spirit. Now you need to sit and think an hour maybe over that. But it's very true.

We're living in a day when there's much talk about charisma. You know we used to talk about a man having unction. The other day i talked with a very famous man and he said to me you know so-and-so oh he has charisma.

Now somebody said the reason that jack never nicholas isn't as popular as a golfer as arnold palmer is arnold palmer has charisma. So apparently you don't need to be sanctified to have charisma. It's another word for a kind of glowing outgoing radiant personality.

You know somebody comes in a room and the atmosphere changes. They have that kind of personality. And so to many people again you know the holy spirit is not a person. The holy spirit is an experience.

Or the holy spirit is an influence. But by biblical definition by the words of jesus here the holy spirit is a person as a person. He can speak as a person he can rebuke as a person he can inspire us as a person he can be offended.

The other thing that disturbed me and it did disturb me very much was talking with a man who was a very distinguished minister and he said he he'd been talking to a lady whose husband had been one of these wild cards a drunkard a fighter a drinker a gambler everything.

But she wasn't too impressed with his life. He made it in the material world. He drives an enormous Cadillac. He has everything. And somebody said but listen you know he doesn't come in drunk. He doesn't gamble your money.

He doesn't give you black eyes. He doesn't say. She says look i want to tell you i'll sum it up for you in a sentence when he got saved so many years ago his habits changed. His personality didn't. Well if it didn't he didn't get saved.

That's all i've got to say about it. If you still got anger and pride and jealousy and maliciousness and something like that you need to get to the cross real quick. Because jesus didn't die to deliver you from a lot of lousy sins.

And the penalty that whether you get forever he died to transform your personality. You see the spirit does not come. The work of god is not to bless us. It's to integrate his life in your life. And my life.

Simpson expresses it beautifully in the in the other hymn book we sing from sometimes once it was the blessing but now it is the lord. Once it was the feeling and now it is his word. And so he goes on.

Wasn't his gifts. I wanted now to give it all. You see you can retain your gifts. Even if you're backslidden you won't retain your fruits. The fruits will wither the gifts remain. Because god says the gifts and callings of god are without repentance.

The Spirit Convicts Rather Than Merely Performing Miracles

Now here jesus says now the disciples didn't like this. He says he's going to to to leave his disciples. And and another person is going to come. And he says when he is come he doesn't say do the miraculous and raise the dead.

This is what he says. When he has come he will reprove or he will convict the world of sin of righteousness and of judgment. I've read a prophecy this week. It was written in 1619. I didn't happen to know the writer personally but it was written in 1619.

It's a very marvelous prophecy. It's about these last days in which we live. And this man though he does not substantiate his argument from scripture. And he raises a host of theological and eschatological questions but an awful lot of truth in what he said.

But he sees at the end time what he calls an army of melchizedek men coming forward. Oh you could translate that maybe into another way and talk about a bunch of super saints coming along if you like.

Romans 8 and the Spirit's Leading

Now once i start thinking about the holy spirit i i had automatically returned to what is perhaps the greatest chapter on the spirit in the bible. That's romans 8. Here's another thing that provoked me.

The the radio the tv said that one of the great problems right now in the nation is absenteeism. People backing off from duty responsibility going to work. You know uh the phone rings. It's mary. She can't come in today.

She has a terrible headache. Oh she'll be in tomorrow. All right. This is jack. He calls the office of the factory and says i can't come today. Uh oh i got real stomach upset because he doesn't say he was drinking beer and a lot of junk till midnight last night.

But he says he has a stomach upset and uh he can't make it. Somebody else says well i would have been there. But you know what. My uncle came in from australia. He's only here for 48 hours. So i'm not coming in today.

I'm not coming in tomorrow. Well you say they're all reasonable. Well this is the point the lord got through to me. He may not get it through to you the same way. Have you noticed that immediately your physical constitution is a little bit out of kilter but it telegraphs up to your mind.

And your mind says something to your will. And you will say can't go to work today. Can't do that today. Can't do something today. Not with a headache like this. Not with a stomach like this. Not when uncle john is coming.

He could cut you out of his will. Ten dollars left. You could be in real trouble. Now let me ask you a very simple question. Does the spirit get through to you as easily in your spirit as your tummy gets through to you.

Hmm i mean you tomorrow. You're going on a day shopping and you get up with a burden tomorrow. And you call sister jane and say listen jane. I i'm sorry i can't come. You know god's put such a burden of africa on my spirit.

I'm gonna have to spend 12 hours on my stomach huh. You're going on a business trip and the lord intervenes and says look i want you today to do that. Does he do it. Look if the holy spirit is power let's turn the switch on.

God knows we need it here and everywhere in the church of god. If he's power turn the switch on. If he's a person listen to him. I'm convinced i'll get to it. Maybe a little bit later. But what it mentions in the 19th verse of romans 8 about the manifest sons of god.

You know what god will hear your prayer. I don't believe that's a secret anymore of god hearing your prayer. The secret is you hearing god. When did you last hear him come on. Not reading streams in the desert or squirts in the wilderness or something.

But when you're really down along with god you read the word of god. And suddenly you heard a voice say no. Or yay. He's a person. Is it. What. So wesley that says he speaks and listening to his voice.

New life. The dead receive the wounded broken hearts rejoice. The humble poor believe. Somebody asked me the other day. If i get discouraged with it not on your life. I don't get discouraged. Why should i.

I know what god has called me to do. And i say it. And i found an answer to my problem years ago. I'm going to talk to preachers this week. Fine. They'll get mad for sure. At least i hope so. And uh it's very strange to get them upset.

Paul on the Damascus Road

But you know i got a secret from god. It isn't a secret in one sense. It's that word again about the apostle paul going down damascus road. And he testifies three times about it in the acts of the apostle.

And he says we went down the road i a company of people with me. And you know he says there shone round about me and them that journeyed with me a light from heaven. I heard a voice. Nobody else heard the voice.

I don't read. Anybody else hit the dust. He was a violent man. God threw him off his horse. He couldn't have been walking all the way he was going. God threw him off his horse into the dust. He was violent.

God deals violently with violent people. The heart of lydia opened like a flower. Did you ever hear a flower. Make a noise. My some of us had made a sunset. It would wake up with a thousand earthquakes every morning just to show we did it.

But the old sun gets out of bed in all its majesty never makes a noise. God works silently. In some people's lives. The heart of lydia opens. But going down that damascus road saul says i heard a voice.

Have you ever realized again. It's the very world that daniel said. I was round about me saw a light. I heard a voice. Now the only way i get discouraged this is out of a bunch of us that are here less than 500.

But if one doesn't hear the voice i'd be pretty discouraged. If one does i'm satisfied. The rest of you can get some light. I hope if you don't hear a voice it's fine. Romans 8 again is the is the. Well.

Of course it depends who you follow. Somebody says it's the most profound chapter ever written. And somebody else will come up and tell you revelation. Something is the greatest chapter. And somebody else will tell you.

But certainly this this beautiful chapter romans 8 is the is the chapter of the holy spirit. Well you might say the epistle is because 26 times in the epistle the apostle mentions the holy spirit. 18 of those times are in this chapter.

He has eight different names for the holy spirit. But again what an amazing chapter this is. You see when all is said and done the holy spirit when he is come jesus says he will glorify me. He has nothing to give of himself.

I tease people because i know it provokes them. I like to provoke them. But the holy spirit has no gifts. The word of god says jesus died and rose from the dead. And what. He led captivity captive. And he gave gifts unto men.

The Spirit Distributes Christ's Treasures

He purchased them with his own blood and they were not there. The holy spirit is the is the executive of the godhead. I don't know how many people i've had in my lifetime who told me listen when i die i'm gonna leave you something in my will.

There must be people in england nearly 200 years old because they told me 50 60 70 years ago they'd leave me something. I'm gonna die. Maybe by now all they leave me is bills anyhow. So i hope nobody can find my address.

But you see the holy spirit he's the executive of the godhead. He takes the treasures jesus purchased for us and he distributes them according to his will. Look at verse 34 of chapter 8 here in romans for a minute.

I'd rather look at verse 33 for a moment. Who shall lay anything to the charge of god's elect. It is god that justifies. Now look if you believe that you don't even never need to have a worry in your whole life from here to eternity.

What people think as brother herb said earlier didn't care. What about my reputation. Take it to the cross. Then you'll have no trouble with it. Get it crucified. What's reputation. Well i'll tell you what god told me in my 20s i was a young man.

You know god told me one day you don't need to worry about reputation. Reputation is what people think you are. Character is what god knows. You are. You can do what you like with my reputation. Stamp on it spit on it distort it.

I'll enjoy it. I'll laugh with you. You can't touch my character. He has that. And that's inaccessible to you. And i've got better news than that. Not. You afraid of you. It's inaccessible to the devil too.

Romans 7 and Romans 8: Defeat and Deliverance

You see this man this man's come out of romans chapter 7. Oh what a chapter. Romans 7 is there. It's a soul in captivity. You know romans 8 is in in the language of the modern name. It's a song of a soul set free romans 8 7 is a funeral march romans 8 is a wedding march romans 7 the man is in the tomb romans 8.

The man is in triumph romans 7 i don't believe he's even about a saved man. I believe it's an unsaved man. Good night. If you've all the rotten stuff in romans 7 after you're saved you better not get saved.

Just go join the mormons or be a muhammadan or something. Romans 7 is defeat. Romans 8 is deliverance romans 7 the man is a victim. He's conquered. Romans 8 is a victor. He says in verse 37 recited things that might come and may not come.

And then he says what will more than conquer us through him that loved us. That's nice isn't it. That's superlative. If you like somebody asked an old country preacher what it meant to be more than concrete.

He says well it means you shoot at 13 12 ducks and kill 13. Well that's a pretty bad bit of logic. But i'll tell you what it is. Being more than conquer is getting victory and not being exhausted at the end of it.

Jesus didn't rise after he came out of the temptation of 40 days. I like to read that story. You talk about what mocking the devil. He was led of the spirit into the wilderness. And he was beaten and battered for 40 days.

And nobody knows what happened. You say i can tell you three trials. You can't. You can only tell me three that happened after he came out of the severe temptation. And then when he came out you know what it says.

He came out in the power of the spirit. I like that i guess the devil was tearing his hair and spitting and roaring and saying. You know i just thought i got that fellow down where i wanted. And jesus said would you like to go through it again because i'll take you on another 40 days and we'll lick you anyhow.

Superfluous energy. Victory with a margin left. Where were we. Verse 33. Verse 34. Listen to this. Who is he that condemneth. It is christ that died all right. Remember he's a man in triumph. He's liberated.

He says it is christ that died all right. If it's christ that died can the death of jesus christ be contested. It is christ that died. Therefore this is our substitution. He said he's at the right hand of god.

So he's not only our substitute he's a sovereign. He's there in majesty on high. And he maketh intercession. So there's supplication. What more do you need. You've got substitution for our sins. We've got sovereignty.

He's triumphant over death and sin. And we've got supplication. He he liveth to make intercession for us. There's almost a holy swagger here isn't there. In verse 8 he says. There is therefore now no condemnation to those of us who are in christ.

Jesus as long as we walk after the flesh and not after the spirit. One of the most rousing hymns i think ever sung. We sang it up at asbury the other week. I got them to sing it two or three times because the pipe organ made up for what they couldn't sing anyhow.

But but it was majestic restless hymn. No condemnation. Now i dread jesus and all in him is mine alive in him my living head and clothed in righteousness. Divine bold. I approach the eternal throng that i have access.

My breath is in my nostrils. The only thing i own in the world is not a house or a car one beat of my heart. And i have the right to go to that eternal throng. I say reverently my god. We're going to be terribly embarrassed when we get to heaven and look how we've played around with christianity.

I have a sovereign a lord a majestic savior with everything under his feet. I have one living there to make intercession for my feeble. If i said a b c d e f g and with a burden in my spirit he'd interpret it to the father.

He lived to make intercession. Oh i like to hear men pray. I like to hear men sweat in prayer grieve in prayer weep in prayer roar in prayer. Because one of the ministries of the holy spirit is a minister of intercession.

The Spirit Dwelling in Believers

But again this race is not to the swift. This battle is not to the strong. Prayer is not to the man with the most elastic vocabulary. If it was i'd swap the dictionary. Prayer is not according to a man who can present his needs most eloquently to the eternal father.

What about the deaf and dumb. What about those who are retarded. Let me tell you something else. Time's running on. Look at verse 9. Will you please romans 8 and verse 9. You're not in the flesh but in the spirit.

If so be that the spirit of god dwell in you. Now that's enough to keep us going all afternoon. The spirit of god dwelling in you. Look at the next verse. And if christ be in you my lord my lord my lord.

You mean to say you've been living on the miserable level you've lived this week and god dwells in you. And the spirit. Well just a minute. I've got something else for you. Would you mind reading verse 11.

If the spirit of him that raised up jesus from the dead dwell in you. Come on. If that miracle of regeneration happened in your life. If you were born again of the spirit of god then god came to indwell you.

The spirit came to indwell you. And the son came to indwell you. Then you've got the baptism of the holy ghost. Dear god why do we live at this poverty level when we've all these riches. Why is the church so weak.

When there's an unlinked to omnipotence. There's a sense in which you're justified. If you pray the language again of james when he says that that god won't rebuke us for our ignorance that we can pray for wisdom.

But there's also the other side of the coin in which it says if christ dwells in you he is made unto us. Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Disagree with me. If you like. And if you do you'll know you're wrong.

But you disagree with me. You know i've discovered there's an awful lot of people want to be good. There are not many people want to be spiritual. A lot of people want to be good. They don't want to be spiritual.

Wholehearted Discipleship and the Cross

Yeah i've seen mansion over the hilltop. But don't ask me to take up my cross. My jesus i love where the whole realm of nature mine. He says why don't you give me what you've got. That you don't. You never own the whole realm of nature.

Stump up what you've got. You know we never fool god. All we do is fool each other and fool ourselves. Oh yes. I can get emotional singing love. So amazing. So divine demands my soul my life. Well pity didn't stop there.

That's not too bad. My soul my life my all. Oh that that really hurts. Doesn't it juggles it huh. I mean you could have left that out. Couldn't be. I mean your soul and your life's enough without asking for all that.

But you see god god god gave you everything in jesus christ and he asked everything in return. There's no part-time discipleship. There's no part-time spirituality. No i say i'm convinced again. There are many that want to be good.

But there's very few that want to be spiritual. I talked just before i came to the meeting with an old veteran missionary. He's out in california just preparing to leave and go back to south america. I think when i first met him he was working in borneo and had an awful time down there.

He's beaten up his wrinkle. He's been through hell. His wife's health has been shattered. She gets restored. One day it's like heaven. The other day her body's in awful pain. Some wages there for serving god.

When they've been 30 years on the mission field you say you're to be as bright as an angel. Well i'll tell you what i happen to read my bible. And it says the outward man perishes. But the inward man is renewed day by day.

And as you get older you find your body doesn't respond the same. Does it nana. Are you. Can you play tennis. No she says not okay. Your body won't keep up your energies don't keep you. If your mind is the outward man perishes say what you will.

Blessing Versus Becoming a Blessing

But you know he said he said. But the raven you know i'm so disturbed about two things. One is the complacency in the church. The other is and he's a veteran. He served god man. He could have quit years ago.

He'd done a lifetime's work. And he went to another mission field. And he said the thing is god has been shaking me up so much in the last few months. I said glory. I said glory to god brother. You've been doing the same with me the last few weeks.

Oh yes. Oh. He keeps tearing me up keeps disturbing me keeps rebuking me keeps showing me areas that i know so little about. Well he said you know brother rainer down in south america the spanish preachers in the in the in the pentecostal churches particularly they get people saved.

They get them going on with god. And then when they get to a certain place he said you'll hear a man say ah yes. You wanted god you wanted his blessing. You wanted the baptism you wanted against. But as soon as he took the pacifier out of your mouth you started grumbling.

Why are you so happy. Still got a pacifier. Hasn't he laid any challenge there. Hasn't he made any demands there. Tell us all we have to do is crap. And have a whale of a time and give a little tithe and be blessed.

Wait a minute when he starts crucifying the flesh. When he says don't go to the cross get on the thing. Oh then of course it becomes a different story entirely. Doesn't it. This is a tremendous chapter i said.

And i say again it's all through the finished work of jesus christ. He has ascended and nobody can challenge the substitution he made for me on the cross. He's not only my substitute he's my sovereign.

Christ's Finished Work and Intercession

You know sometimes i think you may not do this. I think i live sometimes as though god jesus didn't quite get through with it and finish the job. But i'll tell you what he said on the cross. Just two words.

Maybe we ought to write them here. Maybe you ought to write them on a piece of paper. Stick them on the mirror while you keep looking at your beautiful self. And uh and see a sign there every time you look and it just say this it is finished.

Three words. He can't come back and do anything else. If he did he didn't do a perfect job. He did a perfect job. Not all the blood of beasts on jewish altar slain. You could stack their bodies until you couldn't see the moon.

You could have a river of animal blood bigger than the river amazon. But not all the blood of beasts on jewish altar slain could give one guilty conscience peace or wash away one stain. But christ the heavenly lamb takes all our sins away.

The one tragic moment in hell was when jesus said it is finished. And he pulled the empire down. And you see jesus strutting the only time he strutted in the book of the revelation. And he says with a triumph you know what.

I finished the job. And listen these are the keys of death and of hell. You know if we really knew it lucifer's got nothing left. He's got nothing left. Let me come to three simple things in this chapter 22 23 26.

Creation Groaning and the Spirit's Intercession

Verse 22. We know that the whole creation groaneth and traveleth in pain together until now. And not only they but ourselves also which have the first fruits. It's really first fruit in the original first fruit of the spirit.

Even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption to with the redemption of the body. Verse 30 26. Likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we but the spirit itself.

That's the worst translation in this version. It's really the spirit himself maketh intercession. You see the true spirit of prayer. The spirit of god in me creates it. And he at the right hand of the father communicates it.

And the father on the throne considers it. The father son and holy spirit always work in harmony. Remember it's not father son and holy spirit. It's this way father son and holy spirit. The holy spirit is not not as those who used to say the junior partner in the godhead they're equal in majesty.

They're equal in glory. You work. And i i say this many times to myself in prayer. I guess i've said it here more than once. And what's more. I'll tell you more than once again every work of the holy spirit is majestic.

The world was a what was a ball of mud hanging up there in the in the universe. And the holy spirit brought and he brooded over it. And go down the road just now and see all those blue bonnets and lovely flowers.

He put them prodigal there with his color. There he made the stars both heavenly flames. He counts their numbers calls their names. His wisdom's vast and knows no bound the deeper. All our thoughts are drowned.

The Spirit in Creation, Incarnation, and Resurrection

Oh he made this universe. He put the stars in their sockets. He was there before the trees of the fields clapped their hands and the morning stars sang together. He was there in the bosom of the father.

And he brooded over a dirty pile of mud. And it became this marvelous world that we haven't discovered yet. And one day brooded over the empty womb of a young beautiful maiden. And he conceived jesus christ there just like he conceived creation.

And one day that man was lying on a slab cold and dead as dead as the slab he was on. And the devil thought man i just got him. I knew he wouldn't get up. He hasn't. He's not going to make it. And as i've told you before he said what can we do.

And they put a stone there. And then they put wax over the stone and seals over the wax. And then the sin of the world against the stuff. And then satan says every demon put your shoulder to that stone.

We've only 10 seconds to go and we can wreck the whole human race. And if you think the first countdown was in florida you're two thousand years too late. It was resurrection morning and all heaven was looking on and all hell was looking on.

And the earth had gone to sleep. Don't you get disgusted friends. Forget you. You remember that lovely pathetic hymn. Do thy friends despise forsake thee. Take it to the lord. In prayer. I always feel like saying would you hand them all a kleenex.

While we're saying that self-pitying hymn. Do you realize that for three years he totally was the resurrection and the life and demonstrated it. And not one of them turned up that morning at easter. Why do you expect better treatment.

Hell was looking on. All the angels are looking up. There's the stone there's the wax. There's the seal. There's the soldiers. There's all the sin of the world. There's every demon on his shoulder. And in the last minute when satan as what was it 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 and he was just going to say one.

And the holy ghost went in and cheated him. Jesus jumped up from the tomb. Because the word of god says in this very chapter of romans 8 the spirit of him that raised up jesus from the dead. Listen. Do you realize.

If you're born he raised you from the dead. Trespasses and sins. Why get so excited about lazarus. You're as dead as lazarus. Maybe you're stunk more. But you're as dead as he was. Anyhow you say open the eyes of blind bartenders.

Didn't he open your blind eyes. He unplugged the ears of the deaf. Won't you death. And we sing it this afternoon. Hear him. Ye deafish praise ye dumb. Your ransom tongues employ. Hmm. I wonder how often our ransom tongues are employed.

I wonder how often we do leap for joy. The holy ghost created the world. The holy ghost created the christ in the matrix of the virgin. The holy ghost raised up jesus from the dead. And not only that but remember it says what in roman.

Pardon no hebrews 10 excuse me. The blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified for the curing fire. How much more. How much more shall the blood of christ overthrow the eternal spirit.

Miracles, Healing, and the Power of the Spirit

He needed the holy ghost even when he ascended. I like jesus. He's putting it mild. But you see our language is so poor. I like him because he contradicts all the laws of nature. People say well how could a man maybe be born without the mother.

Without a father. Well the first man came into the world without a mother. He's the only person in creation that didn't have a navel. But adam didn't have a mother. Jesus didn't have a father. He came into the world contradicting nature.

He walked on the water that scared him. That scared them just to show he could contradict. He didn't do it often. He didn't do it for fun. Most often he took a boat. Some people want miracles. Every meeting him it'll come to ours.

And for a long while maybe before you see any. We don't need them in that sense. I'm sure man if we could have done what jesus did you'd never left the pool of bethesda all the way all your life. He went and healed one man and walked away and left maybe 500 cripples that would have killed me.

I shared meetings often with miss cooman. And she'd say after the meeting when somebody said wasn't it marvelous. But oh she'd say look brother how many went away unhealed. That's what gets me. Not that three people were healed.

Two or three thousand. They're not healed. Oh well the cameras don't put the pictures on that. Do you ever find a healer. Right. Right. The book on all these failures huh. You ever testify about all your failures.

Come on now. Oh i once prayed for so and so. I saw so-and-so do me that fine. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying this on the law of averages we've got about a hundred failures for every healing or miracle.

Jesus didn't take uh walk on the water for fun. He walked on the water when it was needed. But i'll tell you what he did it. That's what others. The only man that ever did not peter did it. You say he sank.

I say he didn't. The scripture says he did. He doesn't. He says he sank when he was going out. How do you think he got back. Do you think jesus gave him a picket bag went back to the boat. Sure he did.

You see he only had his eyes on jesus going out. But when he came back he had jesus with him. I think he hung on jesus arm. I would anyhow walking and all walking. And they say we both go down together and not at all.

No no no no no no chance of that. But isn't it lovely that jesus contradicts the laws of men the laws of science. And one day they were talking to him and he says you know uh one day and they oh he's gone.