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A Man of God - Part 9
Leonard Ravenhill

Leonard Ravenhill (1907 - 1994). British-American evangelist, author, and revivalist born in Leeds, England. Converted at 14 in a Methodist revival, he trained at Cliff College, a Methodist Bible school, and was mentored by Samuel Chadwick. Ordained in the 1930s, he preached across England with the Faith Mission and held tent crusades, influenced by the Welsh Revival’s fervor. In 1950, he moved to the United States, later settling in Texas, where he ministered independently, focusing on prayer and repentance. Ravenhill authored books like Why Revival Tarries (1959) and Sodom Had No Bible, urging the church toward holiness. He spoke at major conferences, including with Youth for Christ, and mentored figures like David Wilkerson and Keith Green. Married to Martha Beaton in 1939, they had three sons, all in ministry. Known for his fiery sermons and late-night prayer meetings, he corresponded with A.W. Tozer and admired Charles Spurgeon. His writings and recordings, widely available online, emphasize spiritual awakening over institutional religion. Ravenhill’s call for revival continues to inspire evangelical movements globally.
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Sermon Summary
This sermon emphasizes the lack of appetite for God among young people, the importance of personal devotion to Christ, and the need for a genuine transformation that reflects Christlikeness in our actions and attitudes. It challenges believers to prioritize spiritual revival over worldly pursuits and to seek a deep, sacrificial commitment to God. The speaker highlights historical figures like Edward Irving and John G. Lake as examples of apostolic Christianity and calls for a return to a fervent, repentant faith.
Sermon Transcription
Church, you can play sports here, you can go down to the CMV, you can have a walk. Why do they deserve like that? I mean, why don't they have an appetite for God? But they don't. I mean, three weeks ago, the fellow that's taken up the, to be assistant of Dr. Critchwell, he blasted Baylor University, the message said. But then guys told me going to Baylor, uh, it's not known any longer as a spiritual place, it's known now as a, well, it's a liberal arts college, and it's known mostly for its football team. But why do the kids suddenly have no appetite when they get, teenagers get away from home, well, I won't have to go to church, set it up, my folk have made me good, there's no appetite. So there's no relationship with God. And if he spent time at the altar and took them through step-by-step what it means to become a Christian, your life is entered with Christ in God, you're not your own, you're bought with a price, that you've no time of your own, you've no money of your own, you've no interest of your own, Christ must become a complete master. We don't do that. And unless we do, we're not going to have a change. I mean, there are people that are really hungry, there are people that need day books and folk on the streets, well, I've never seen a Christian in my life. Well, what they say, the average church member is just like us, very often they're smoking till they go in the meeting at last, at last minute when they come out, it's the cowboys or something, where's the difference? And it isn't there. But it all comes down, I don't care whether it's shrug it or pete it out, it comes down, it breaks down with personal devotion to Christ. They quit praying, they quit reading the word of God, they haven't time, and therefore they start rotting from the inside. There isn't a nation big enough to destroy, America will destroy ourselves, the present rate of development in herpes and AIDS is appalling. The list, the lid hasn't been taken off the thing yet. I don't think the government dare tell us what's happening in the country. It's the same in England. But where did God fill men? I mean, Shrug It says the day after, he'd been in that trouble, I was going to step down and let my son take over, but I woke up full of the Holy Ghost. No, he woke up full of tongues. He gave his tongues, and he took it, that's a sign. But the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. I see a girl wearing a big ring, she says, well, Jack gave me that. I go back to the church six months after and say, well, oh, did he get married? Oh, no, we quarreled after that. But you're still wearing the ring. Yes, of course, Jack's gone, but he left his ring. By the same token, the Holy Ghost has gone, but he left his gift. The gifts and callings are without repentance. Who moved London more than Irving? Edward Irving in his day. Carriages jostled each other. Parliament suspended so they could run out near this great altar. Every kind of sign and wonder built that colossal church. And finally, stood on the platform and said, I am the Son of God. I've cut this veil to you, but now here I am. There's everything. Men call him the 13th Apostle. There's no questions about what happened. There's a whole book on him. I have it. And you've got all these amazing moves. I guess you read something of Wigglesworth. Have you read John G. Lake? John G. Lake's books are published now by Christ for Nations. There's four of them. That man is here. I'm standing here, and I talk with Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth is here. I'm here. John Lake is up there. You talk about apostolic Christianity and it all, beyond anything we've ever known. I don't think it's the only answer. I think the answer is when people are so transformed, they're no longer mean, they're no longer selfish, they're no longer covetous, but they give themselves. I mean, when children say something happened to my daddy, he's been a Baptist for all his life, or something happened, or my daddy's been a Methodist, or now my daddy's been a charismatic, but something suddenly changes, becomes different. He's Christlike. He speaks gently to my mother. He's concerned about us. It isn't, well, I'm going to the World Series, whether you like it or not, or I'm going to a ball game, you know, football. And I say to these preachers, well, you say, I can't take three days off. I say, you took more than three days off to go deer hunting. You took three days off to go fishing. Why can't you pastors stand and say there's going to be a meeting for pastors at least one day a week, or one night a week, when we get together, we evangelicals really lay hold of God for revival in our city. These kids around here will raise money to go to Hong Kong for three days, or go to South America, but when they come back as soon as they get off the plane, their compassion dies. What are you going to do with kids like that? And they'll keep doing it as long as we want them. You know, oh, we took a number of our people from our church. We took them on a cruise. But you're touching the elites of the church all the time. You've done that year after year, and the poor people are struggling. If you can take six or seven days off for a cruise, can you take six or seven days off for a nation that's going to hell? What do you want to do? Kids lying in the street fornicating? People cobbling a man on the head and stealing his watch. That's sin to become before your eyes, before we feel. I mean, how many, it's all right to say, I want to be like Jesus. Do I want Gethsemane? I've never had a person yet, dear brother, and I've gone to church for 80 years. I've heard man say, I was born again. I went to the cross. I've had my Ophirum experience. I've never heard a man say, I've got Gethsemane experience. I've had broken. My dad was the nearest of that. My dad couldn't say grace at mealtime without tears. Right now, I have invitations to seven different places. I'm not going to one. I said, because if people say, what's happening in America? I can't say there's a revival anywhere, I know. I said, do you think I'm going to talk to them about the Holy Ghost revival when we're dying and doomed and damned here, and we're running into worse trouble? What is in the scriptures? What does God say? I can't give you glory because you honor one another. That's one of the biggest sentences we have. Like John Wimbledon, once he eulogized me, and I said, if you do, I'll walk off the platform. Well, I went to say, well, first of all, we talked about revival. He said, well, you told Bickle that in revival, you don't make altar call. I said, you don't? He said, I've never been in a meeting like that. So I said, when we come, I said, let our David speak an hour before I do an hour. Our David is free now. He's pulled out from the church. He's free to go anywhere. I said, so David preached an hour. We had a 15-minute break, and I preached for an hour and a half. And while I was preaching, the whole audience broke up. They came in hundreds to the front and wept and groaned and cried out audibly, make me clean, purify me. That happened six days. We never had an altar call. We didn't have to. They came to the altar and stayed not five minutes, two and three hours calling on God. You read Luke chapter three, where it says, John was preaching and the people cried out, what should we do? And the soldiers cried out, what should we do? And the publicans cried out, dear God, when heathen men start crying out, what should we do? You know, God's there. There's no cleaning altar call. What did they say on the day of Pentecost? Men and brethren, what should we do? We're panicking. The altar doesn't mean anything to people now. They come out every week. They're romanizing our Protestants. Oh, get your sins forgiven and go back and do the same lousy thing. It's ridiculous. You don't do that if you go to death. When you die to self, you die to business promotion, you die to ambition, you lay it all out and say, we mean this, we mean this, let God go on record, put us on record. We're not going to do anything unless we go to death. What did we have not long ago? Do you remember A. A. Allen? A. A. Allen used to have meetings. He'd get 500 come forward on the way home to his hotel. He called his call girl and she met him there. He died with liquor bottles, whiskey bottles all around his room. There's a whole bunch of men than that. You don't find anything like that amongst the old fashioned revivalists.
A Man of God - Part 9
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Leonard Ravenhill (1907 - 1994). British-American evangelist, author, and revivalist born in Leeds, England. Converted at 14 in a Methodist revival, he trained at Cliff College, a Methodist Bible school, and was mentored by Samuel Chadwick. Ordained in the 1930s, he preached across England with the Faith Mission and held tent crusades, influenced by the Welsh Revival’s fervor. In 1950, he moved to the United States, later settling in Texas, where he ministered independently, focusing on prayer and repentance. Ravenhill authored books like Why Revival Tarries (1959) and Sodom Had No Bible, urging the church toward holiness. He spoke at major conferences, including with Youth for Christ, and mentored figures like David Wilkerson and Keith Green. Married to Martha Beaton in 1939, they had three sons, all in ministry. Known for his fiery sermons and late-night prayer meetings, he corresponded with A.W. Tozer and admired Charles Spurgeon. His writings and recordings, widely available online, emphasize spiritual awakening over institutional religion. Ravenhill’s call for revival continues to inspire evangelical movements globally.