Revival Forum 89 - Part 5 — Leonard Ravenhill

Revival Roots Through Scripture and Catechism

In the center of Glasgow and I didn't know they said this is Duncan Campbell. And he was always known as Duncan Campbell of the Argyle Revival. I'll tell you about that. To now he lost his anointing and became nobody.

But I said to him well what was a condition he had what. Revival 1949. He said well by the way that at time after breakfast in the morning they lifted all the dishes off the kitchen sink off the table put them in the kitchen sink.

And that he got the Bible. And he read a sermon or a psalm usually commented on it. And the children had to memorize the what do you call it. The shorter catechism. You see maybe the greatest him right you ever had was Isaac Waltz.

He wrote when I surveyed the wondrous cross he wrote joy to the world. The Lord is come. He wrote for marching to Zion. Wonderful man of God. But you know he had a catechism catechism for children under seven years of age.

And you couldn't move up in a in a class in Sunday school until you've memorized it. Then he had another catechism for children from 7 to 14 years of age. Then he had another catechism for people 14 and up what does a good book say thy word of.

I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. And so that I said well I you give me the secret of revival. The seed had been in the hearts of those children for 10 and 15 years. Then the Holy Ghost comes and send somebody along and that seed begins to germinate.

The Word of God as Seed and Spiritual Fire

The Word of God is quick and powerful. Where is it is first in my heart. But then the Holy Ghost breathes on it. It's no. I have a little spark in my heart. The Holy Ghost breathed on it. It comes into a flame.

Nurturing Spiritual Life in the Family

Your number one concern should be a family. I went to preach at a certain college at a good time. The second time I went the guy came. He said I want to thank you for coming. He said God moved on my heart.

Last time you were here fine. And he said I believe in you. I said what do you mean. You believe in me. He said because you've raised three boys that are a credit to you. Two wonderful preachers. My precious wife did most of it.

I was away touring in prayer. But I spent hours in prayer for them. And my number one even if I was in a big church in some other country. Number one today Lord the first thing I cover my family with the precious blood.

I believe the Holy Spirit will talk to them. Dear God when Paul was 16 years of age he prayed more hours. And I prayed. We were prayed to the one and two in the morning in an old part of a mansion we had in Ireland.

Prayer and the Reproduction of Spiritual Leaders

And all the men I've known have been men of prayer. And it cost something. But you see your ambition which should be to see your spiritual offspring in your home. Your spiritual offspring in the church.

If I were in a church I would have a nucleus of about ten young men every week and talk to them about the things of God particularly in the life of prayer. I'd read some of the great characters that God has made because they made of the same stuff of us.

And what we bothered about a big church. Why didn't Jesus take the 5 ,000. He fed them. They didn't follow him. He didn't feed the 5 ,000 in the church. He didn't feed the 4 ,000 in a church. He manifested his power.

He had 12 and they weren't all good. Thomas doubt they look at a mess Judas made. But prayer is a secret. You know that you make up your mind. You're gonna give time to a prayer. The devil will fight it more than anything else.

Your phone will ring off the hook. Visitors will come. Somebody will say come and preach at our church. Why'd you go conduct a revival in somebody else's church. When you don't is dead. That's nonsense brother Avon Hill.

Knowing God and the Coming Judgment

If you had if.

You knew that God was going to remove you from the scene and you only had one message left that you could communicate to the church in North America. What would that message be. What's the burden of your heart right now.

There will be.

Two things. Number one that the sad thing we don't know God Jesus I am come that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ without sin. And if we know God we don't have to know anybody else.

If we don't know God we need to know everybody else. The other thing that's obscure I'm going to use it when I preach on the indestructible man. We've lost totally lost sight of the judgment seat of Christ.

Preparing a Holy Bride for Christ

Totally. Suppose the Lord is coming today as you as a pastor. Would you welcome him and say Lord my church is the cleanest church in town. We're without spot or wrinkle. We've dealt with divorce. We dealt with drunkenness.

I have the most gobbledy bunch of deacons in Texas or in America I the finest group of young people. Lord I've spent my life preparing the bride. Why doesn't he come. Because the bride hasn't made herself ready.

She's filthy. She's unclean. Isn't rape and all the damnable things in the world that keeps these away. The church is filthy. He's not coming for a bride. Therefore we have to revive a revival of true holiness.

Holiness, Integrity, and Honest Preaching

Bill. I believe with all my heart you do. I believe to manly. Holiness has to come. There are three things missing in modern preaching immensity intensity and eternity. There are two things missing in the pew.

One is integrity and the other is honesty. But you read about those old Puritans we have immensity and intensity. There was no dodging the Word of God. You felt you're almost being crucified with it. It's the Word of God that's living.

As my dear brother said last night it's not an illustration. You build a doctrine on it. You can't do that. These guys that have all these visions they trouble me in one sense. You have a vision. It doesn't help me.

It's my personal relationship with God. And as you taught last night I was thinking how often I've preached on that chapter manly. And it's a wonderful chapter on faith. And the key in that chapter to me is is Hebrew 11 6.

How's it begin. Yeah. And he that cometh to who. He that cometh to God must believe that he is. That he is what that he is able to save to the uttermost. That he's able to keep you from falling. He's able to make you pure in an impure world.

Christ in the Believer and Revival of Purity

As I said the greatest miracle in the world is God can take a unholy man out of an unholy world. Make him holy. Put him back at that. In holy world we can walk in truth and righteousness from here to eternity walk through hell.

Jesus didn't die to save us from sin. 3 Titus 2 what did he die for. To pick get a peculiar people unto himself. You know many of people in your church want to be good. There are not many want to be holy.

Who wants a drunken husband. Who wants a rotten unfaithful wife. Who wants kids that are the smartest dressed in town. Who cares. Ask your children. Do you want to be holy. Do you think my right turn around and say dad are you holy.

Do you live like Christ in our home. You see that's where it comes down to role models. As we say we've got half of men who are models. I think you centralize it last night. Or did you. When you're talking about Christ being in us.

You see a man isn't say because he gives up his lousy sins and confesses sins. And believe Jesus rose from the dead. The devil believes that the devil believes in the virgin birth. He witnessed it. The devil believes in the resurrection.

He witnessed it. But there's no Christ in the devil. It's Christ in you. Paul says he revealed himself to me. And then he revealed himself in me. You'll never forget that if you have that crisis I'll tell you that you can argue as much as you like about the second blessing.

You come into a crisis where the Christ becomes different. The Word of God lives and vibrates. The losses of men. You see men robbing God every day. Some of your deacons do it. They rob God of time. They rob God of his testimony.

That I've got it robbed God of his authority on them. There has to come a revival of purity in the church. So the two most urgent things to me will be to preach. That you may know God say for the next month.

Knowing Jesus Christ as the Church's Urgent Mission

You say I'm going to do nothing but study about Jesus Christ who he is and what he is.