There is always so much we can glean from the words of Ravenhill – though he is dead, yet he still speaks. He has brought a very strong and anointed word for the Body of Christ today. Sure, many Christians do not like him because he was such a no-nonsense, serious man of God, but we need more leaders like him, not less.
This is my fourth article featuring a number of quotes by him. The other three are found here:
As in thosepieces, here are some powerful, inspiring and convicting quotes from the famous revivalist and preacher Leonard Ravenhill. May they be a blessing, encouragement and, if need be, a reproof to you.
“This is an hour in need of burning hearts, bursting lips and brimming eyes! If we were a tenth as spiritual as we think we are, our streets would be filled each Sunday with throngs of believers marching to Zion – with sacks on their bodies and ashes on their shaking heads, shaking at the calamity that has brought the Church to be the unlovely, unnerved, unproductive thing that she is!”
“Are you beyond the place where anyone can offend you?”
“The cross is going to judge everything in your life – your eating, your drinking, your sleeping, your spending, your talking. Everything is cross examined!”
“If you’re going to be a true Christian, I’ll tell you one thing amongst others: it’ll be a lonely life. It’s a narrow way and it becomes narrower and narrower and narrower.”
“There are only two kinds of persons: those dead in sin and those dead to sin.”
“Maturity comes from obedience, not necessarily from age.”
“The only time you can really say that ‘Christ is all I need,’ is when Christ is all you have.”
[Concerning one of the new “movements” in the church that was causing a stir among Christians:] “There’s also a stir when the circus comes to town.”
Revival God's Way: A Message for the Churchby Leonard Ravenhill (Author)
“Not all praying men are prophets, but all prophets are praying men.”
“We have too many preacherettes preaching too many sermonettes to too many Christianettes smoking cigarettes.”
“The only vision (many) of you have is television.”
“I am very suspicious about people coming to the altar. The altar is about one of two things— death or sacrifice. It’s cheap to come to the altar (these days).”
“If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there’s something wrong!”
“You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire, you will not have to advertise it. The community will already know it.”
“I believe the choice in America (will come down to this): either we concentrate in prayer or (we’ll end up) praying in concentration camps. You say it can’t happen. It will!”
“I’m sick and tired of only reading about church history; let’s make some by the grace of God!”
“We’re a million, billion miles away from New Testament Christianity!”
“You’ll never get me to believe that the church today believes in hell.”
“The early church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.”
“I believe every church is either supernatural or superficial. I don’t believe there’s any middle ground.”
“You hear people say in church, ‘Lord, You’re welcome!’ If the Holy Ghost came to some churches, there would be a stampede to the door.”
“Partial obedience is disobedience!”
“One good Baptist (once) said to Dr. Tozer, ‘If God withdrew the Holy Spirit tomorrow, my church would function just the same; we wouldn’t even know He was gone’.”
“If Bible knowledge could change the world, we would’ve changed it long ago.”
“I’m astounded, bewildered, confused, baffled when people tell me there are 75 million people in America that are filled with the Holy Ghost and we’re the most rotten nation on earth.”
“We are not eternity conscious enough.”
“Once inside eternity, we’re going to be very embarrassed at the smallness of our faith.”
“What are you going to do when you get to eternity, if you can’t stick in an hour with God down here? In God’s name, what are you going to do in a million years in God’s presence? Expect some reports from earth about football or something?”
“I think one of the serious breakdowns in modern evangelism is this: it has offered too much for too little. What we do mostly is offer forgiveness. We need cleansing! There is no true conversion until a man takes up his cross.”
“If there’s no brokenness in the pulpit, why should there be any brokenness in the pew?”
“The wonder of the grace of God is that God can take an unholy man out of an unholy world and make that man holy and put him back into an unholy world and keep him holy!”
“The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it’s waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.”
“I have no faith in my faith. My faith is in the faithful God.”
“Faith can’t do anything I want; (but) it can do anything God wants.”
“I don’t ask people if they’re saved anymore; I look them straight in the eye and say, ‘Does Christ live inside you?’”
“It’s going to demand a lot of courage before too long— to really live and maintain the true Christian life according to the Word of the Living God.”
“All you have to do is get in a closer walk with God and you’ll find your enemies are in your own church.”
“God is looking for people who will live recklessly for Him—not concerned with public opinion or preacher’s opinions, but becoming a love slave of Jesus Christ.”
“Paul said, ‘…having nothing yet possessing all things…’ Today, we have all things but possess nothing!”
“If there’s stagnation in your life, it’s your fault and not God’s.”
“One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed.”
“The Apostle Paul never had to deal with Pastors who had spring fever with baseball and winter fever with the Super Bowl! He never had to deal with that. All he had to deal with was devils! That was easier! You can get people delivered from the devil— drinking and smoking— but you can’t get them delivered from sports! It’s a strange day isn’t it?”
“There’s no cost of being a Christian in America. Good Lord, no!”
“The dreadful possibility (is) if I get out of line with the will of God, I can become as corrupt as any man who has ever lived.”
“No man is greater than his prayer life.”
“Are we so in love with the Lord Jesus that He could ask anything of you and you’d do it? If God tells you to get up at 4:00 a.m. and intercede would you do it?”
“If you don’t have a praying pastor, forget it!”
“How much time have you spent with Jesus today? When is the last time you’ve gone to Him and say, “I’m not going to ask you for a thing; I come to worship you in spirit and in truth.”
“Wouldn’t be wonderful to have a few men like Paul? He said, “I’m dead!” Dead to self… dead to ambition… dead to feelings… dead to be offended… dead to be flattered… dead! Paul died to everything!”
“There is one qualification that proves we’re filled with the Holy Ghost and that’s we live a holy life.”
“All you have to do is decide to walk a little closer to God and you’ll be criticized more in the church than in the tavern down the street.”
“We hear (about) many (who) go to a conference or a meeting and say ‘Boy, wasn’t that good? weren’t we challenged?’ The question isn’t ‘weren’t you challenged?’ The question is, ‘Were you changed?’”
“There’s going to have to come some heroism in (today’s) Christianity. It doesn’t necessarily mean burning at the stake, but it could mean that.”
“Isn’t it amazing how we believe in the sovereignty of God until it comes to money— then we send a newsletter.”
“You may fool your pastor; You may fool yourself; but you will never fool God.”
“I’ve had more accolades in my time, about my books and preaching, but it don’t make a hill of beans difference. I made up my mind fifty years ago that no one would flatter me and nobody would flatten me. We’re all unprofitable servants— there’s so much we don’t know.”
“God smote Moses with leprosy. If God smote us from our gossipping and criticism, we’d have to turn (this meeting) into a healing meeting.”
“Preachers who have homes and cottages by the lake, a boat on that lake, and a big bank balance, still beg for more…These dear, doll-like preacher-boys no longer change their suits once a day, but two or three times a day. They preach the Jesus of the stables, but themselves live in swank hotels. For their own lusts they bleed the audience financially in the name of the One who had to borrow a penny to illustrate His sermon. They wear expensive Hollywood suits in honor of One who wore a peasant’s robe…How fearful will all this be in the judgment morning.”
Another ten out of ten.
Thanks Suzanne.
Thanks Bill, some good quotes.