7. Quotes from Leonard Ravenhill's personal letters
Quotes from Leonard Ravenhill's personal letters, number 7
Make no mistake about it, Ravenhill understood that we must know God according to the Bible… the Bible is, above all, the revelation of God. However, Ravenhill saw clearly that we must go beyond a doctrinal view of God into personal relationship. He then refers to Daniel 11:32. Knowing God and doing exploits is revival language and it goes far beyond evangelism. Godly exploits, however, will not get approval from the world, but it will get its attention. Can we say of the church today, as Peter said, “This is that!”? Leonard ponders an interesting contrast between Matthew 21:13 and 23:38. If “your house” (church) is not the house of prayer, then it is not “My house” Instead of being full of God, it will be desolate. He ends the letter, where he began. As a nation within a nation, we are not under its doom and we are governed by higher laws.
Dec. 17:1988: A blessed Christmas and New Year to you. The pundits tell us 1989 will be a year of gloom. So what? Psalm 24 is ours. I think v. 4 is the key and v. 10 the assurance - all between is ours.
All Bible teaching seems to center around know your Bible – was there ever in history more books on “How to” know….? Was there ever fewer who know their God and in knowing Him do exploits? All sin is failure. All failure is not sin. Can we expect better treatment from this world system than Jesus got from it? Evangelism is something man does. Revival is something God does. I need to ponder, “My house… your house – desolate”. I would like to see a pastor calling from his church to all passers by – This is that! If we are a holy priesthood and a holy nation, then we are a nation within a nation. ..
Those who cannot see the Laodicean church as the model church for the 21st century, certainly do not have at all eyes to see the times in which we are living. There is only one point-of-view that counts and that is God’s. “What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more!” said Murray McCheyne. Ravenhill claims that Christ is not coming for such a church. He also refers to the impossible task that some have taken on to bring on the Kingdom in this time. It can’t happen until the King returns to earth.
Dec. 23, 1987: A very blessed New Year to you and your dear family. We have a warm winter, not good for killing bugs!
Forgetting the pre-, post- and mid- tribulation theories, all seem to agree that this is the Laodicean period – and yet claim all the ‘church’ will be the bride. What the critics inside or outside the church say of the church, I do not care, but what Jesus says of her crushes me: “Poor, wretched, naked, blind” Is he coming for naked, poor, blind, limping bride? The reconstructions here want to rebuild, though Herold Taynbee has reminded us that 19 previous civilizations have collapsed, but we will use the old rubble again and it will stand this time. The Restorationists might start restoring deacons to Acts 6 and restoring evangelists to Acts 8 standards. Will we ever learn that flesh is still flesh with its 100 frailties? The kingdom teachers seem to have forgotten the kingdom of God cometh not with observation and that some of the children of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness…
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