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Revival Forum 89 - Part 6
Leonard Ravenhill
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0:00 6:09
Leonard Ravenhill

Revival Forum 89 - Part 6

Leonard Ravenhill passionately warns about the reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ and hell, urging believers to pursue genuine spiritual transformation and disciple-making rather than mere religious rituals.
This sermon delves into the sobering topic of the Judgment Seat of Christ, emphasizing the importance of repentance, making disciples, and the reality of hell. It challenges preachers to not shy away from preaching on difficult truths like hell and to focus on true spiritual transformation rather than rituals. The speaker highlights the need for genuine encounters with Christ, rather than just religious practices, and the urgency of living out a vibrant, impactful faith.

Full Transcript

And now I'm going to study about the Judgment Seat of Christ. I've preached on the Judgment Seat of Christ for more than 20 years. I've been working on the book for 9 years. But you know what? It terrifies me. I try to go to bed at 9. One night I was late, I went to 10. I woke up at 2 o'clock and went to the end of the house to my little office. And I opened Revelation. I began to read Revelation 20. And it's as though the book suddenly left alive. What did I read? I read there, the second death. And suddenly I said I've heard a hundred sermons on the second coming. I've heard a hundred on the second blessing. I've heard a hundred on the second coming, on the second birth, on the second blessing. And never heard one on the second death. And just a voice like that I'm sure, just said to me, hell has no exits. And I turned around. What do you think I did? Go back to sleep? A million roads into hell and nowhere. Well preachers, tell me, when did you last, come on be honest, don't raise your hand. When did you last preach on hell? Huh? Lots of the Dallas guys don't believe in it. Cut it out of your Bible. You've cut it out of your preaching, what's the difference? In God's sight you cut it out of your Bible. Boy you're going to get into trouble man, you won't be in the Southern Baptists. Did you say we should do what Jesus did? You see kids come to me and say, well I'm going to the Philippines for three weeks. Can you speak the language and I'll give you that tract. Why? To fulfill the great commission. What was the great, well the last words of Jesus. Tell me, what were they? As Manley says, what were they? Well the last word of Jesus was going into all the world and not in my Bible. That's the last word of the disciples. The last word of Jesus is three times over in Revelation. Repent, repent, repent. And he didn't say go into all the world and preach. He said make disciples. You can't make disciples in five minutes at the altar. You can't make disciples by giving tracts on Main Street every Friday night. Bring them in. Even if you bribe them with coffee or a donut or something. And say we're going to have instruction now. We're not going to go through the catechism. The pastor's made a catechism. We're going to teach you the fundamentals of the faith. Our kids don't know it. I guarantee. There's a big church in the south where the pastor says, we're called to the 11,000 college students in this town. And then he says, I'll give you the name of it in the back of my Bible. And he says in this town in their sophomore years and the Baptist. I'll give you his name. He says the sophomore students in the colleges here. As soon as they get away from home in the second semester or what do you call them? Sophomore. They quit church. They go off out on Sundays. Why? Because they've been baptized. They've done everything but they never met Christ. They've gone through a ritual and a formula. Few of our young people are generally born again of the Spirit of God. Boy I'm glad when I got saved I got saved. I know as soon as I got saved, boy I got an appetite for prayer. I owe a lot to America and he owes a lot to me too. But somebody gave me a limited edition of the life of David Brainard. When I read it I cried. I said, people told me that all finished with the New Testament. Listen, if miracles finish with the New Testament, prayer finished. You show me where God the Holy Ghost abrogated giving gifts unto men. You can't show me. A professor told you. Who told him? Not God, the devil told him. It's an amazing thing. You can be in a church and commit adultery. You shouldn't do, but if you do that or some other thing. They'll let you stay as a pastor. You get filled with the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues they'll kick you out. I had dinner the other day with Dr. Jack Reed. You know Jack Reed? Beautiful man of God. Knows Hebrew through and through. Knows Greek through and through. He was teaching in Dallas. No, sorry, Jack Deer. Thank you dear. Jack Deer. And I sat with him. Well he was teaching Greek and Hebrew. I won't mention the seminaries. There are a whole lot of these seminaries. I mean seminaries in Dallas. And he didn't get the gift of tongues. He went to see what was happening in these other churches. When he saw it, he became alarmed. You know a guy said to me, I've read your books. One thing sticks in my mouth. What is it? You said one day somebody's going to read the Bible and believe it. And when they do we'll all be embarrassed. That's what they do in some of these foreign countries. They get the Bible and they read it. They stare and say, hey who's this Jesus? Is he there? Oh no he lives up there. They don't get a hill of beans if he lives up there if he's not living in you. Life action became new to me today. I'll tell you. You can believe dear brother. I know you do on your team. But people don't just get interested when your van goes down the street with life action. How much life do you leave in churches? How much life is there? Does somebody say Dell and his team? They don't preach like ordinary men. They preach as though they've got something of a power. That we've never measured. I'm going to keep saying. I'll stop over right now. But you know what all of us are thermometers. We have a big thermometer at the back of our window. And I say to them out in the morning, darling. What is it? Do you know the last few mornings before we came here. It was almost 80 at 7 in the morning. And what's it going to be today? 100. But you know that poor thermometer. Where a poor thermometer is round. They were at 80 the other day. Boy, they went down like the stock market. Down to 40 or something last night. But there inside the door. You have a, what do you call it? A thermostat. Well it's only a thermometer.

Sermon Outline

  1. I
    • The terrifying reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ
    • The importance of preaching on difficult truths like hell
    • The second death and its irreversible nature
  2. II
    • The Great Commission and the call to make disciples
    • The inadequacy of rituals without true conversion
    • The need for instruction in fundamentals of faith
  3. III
    • The spiritual condition of many young believers
    • The necessity of being born again of the Spirit
    • The power and continuation of spiritual gifts
  4. IV
    • The contrast between mere thermometer believers and thermostats
    • Living a life empowered by the Holy Spirit
    • The call to vibrant, impactful faith and prayer

Key Quotes

“Hell has no exits.” — Leonard Ravenhill
“Repent, repent, repent.” — Leonard Ravenhill
“You can't make disciples in five minutes at the altar.” — Leonard Ravenhill

Application Points

  • Examine your life in light of the coming Judgment Seat of Christ and pursue holiness.
  • Commit to making disciples by teaching and nurturing others in the faith.
  • Embrace a vibrant prayer life and seek the power of the Holy Spirit for daily living.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Judgment Seat of Christ?
It is the future event where believers will be judged by Christ for their works and rewarded accordingly, emphasizing accountability in the Christian life.
Why does Leonard Ravenhill emphasize preaching on hell?
He believes many preachers avoid this topic, but it is crucial for awakening people to the reality of eternal consequences and the need for repentance.
What does it mean to make disciples according to the sermon?
Making disciples involves teaching and nurturing believers in the fundamentals of faith, not just leading them to a quick decision or ritual.
How does Ravenhill describe genuine spiritual transformation?
It is a life changed by the Holy Spirit, marked by prayer, power, and a deep relationship with Christ, beyond mere religious ceremonies.
What is the significance of spiritual gifts in the sermon?
Ravenhill asserts that spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues are still active and vital for the church's power and effectiveness.

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