Leonard Ravenhill Quotes

 “Today’s church wants to be raptured from responsibility.”

“The early church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.”

“If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere.”

“How can you have a dead service with a living Christ?”

“A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God.”

“Men give advice; God gives guidance.”

“Many of us are hunting mice – while lions devour the land.”

“A man who is intimate with God will never be intimidated by men.”

“No man – I don’t care how colossal his intellect – No man is greater than his prayer life.”

“Better for you to have one sleepless night on earth than millions in hell.”

“Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?”

“A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning.”

“Let your iniquities be given speech and hiss and torment you until you repent!”

“The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it!”

“God pity us that after years of writing, using mountains of paper and rivers of ink, exhausting flashy terminology about the biggest revival meetings in history, we are still faced with gross corruption in every nation, as well as with the most prayerless church age since Pentecost.”

“Church unity comes from corporate humility.”

“Nobody else can give you a clean heart but God.”

“Smart men walked on the moon, daring men walked on the ocean floor, but wise men walk with God.”

“You can’t develop character by reading books. You develop it from conflict.”

“I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in the United States are truly born again.”

“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.”

“When there’s something in the Bible that churches don’t like, they call it legalism.”

“Why is there this criminal indifference to the lostness of men? Our condemnation is that we know how to live better than we are living.”

“The Church used to be a lifeboat rescuing the perishing. Now she is a cruise ship recruiting the promising.”

“The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.”

“My main ambition in life is to be on the devil’s most wanted list.”

“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.”

“No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one’s talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off.”

“Entertainment is the devil’s substitute for joy”

Courtesy of: http://www.leonard-ravenhill.com/quotes

We really are the Sons and Daughters of God

This was taken from: the Ransomed Heart by John Eldredge

This is so beautiful and so true, I could not resist, I had to post it

 Life on the road takes us into our heart, for only when we are present in the deep sentences can God speak to them.  That’s why the story is a journey; it has to be lived, it cannot simply be talked about. When we face trials, our most common reaction is to ask God “Why won't you relieve us?” And when He doesn't  we resignedly ask, “What do you want me to do?”  Now we have a new question: Where is the romance headed?”

There is another great “revealing” in our life on the road. We run our race, we travel our journey, in the words of Hebrews, before “a great cloud of witnesses” (12:1). When we face a decision to fall back or press on, the whole universe holds its breath-angels, demons, our friends and foes, and the Trinity itself-watching with bated breath to see what we will do. We are still in the drama of Act III and the heart of God is still on trial. The question that lingers from the fall of Satan and the fall of man remains: Will anyone trust the great heart of the Father, or will we shrink back in faithless fear?

As we grow into the love of God and the freedom of our own hearts, we grow in our ability to cast our vote on behalf of God. Our acts of love and sacrifice, the little decisions to leave our false loves behind, and the great struggles of our heart reveal to the world our true identity: We really are the sons and daughters of God

The Church That Christ Builds — Part 6

By J.C. Ryle 1816—1900

I will now conclude this message with a few words of PRACTICAL APPLICATION.

1. My first word of application shall be a QUESTION. What shall that question be? What shall I ask? I will return to the point with which I began. I will go back to the first sentence with which I opened my message. I ask you, whether you are a member of the one true Church of Christ? Are you in the highest, the best sense, a "Churchman" in the sight of God? You know now what I mean. I look far beyond the Church of England. I am not speaking of church or chapel. I speak of "the Church built upon the rock." I ask you, with all solemnity: Are you a member of that Church? Are you joined to the great Foundation? Are you on the rock? Have you received the Holy Spirit? Does the Spirit witness with your spirit, that you are one with Christ, and Christ with you? I beseech you, in the name of God, to lay to heart these questions, and to ponder them well. If you are not converted — you do not yet belong to the "Church on the rock."

Let every reader of this message take heed to himself, if he cannot give a satisfactory answer to my inquiry. Take heed, take heed, that you do not make shipwreck of your soul to all eternity. Take heed, lest at last the gates of Hell prevail against you, the devil claims you as his own, and you are cast away forever. Take heed, lest you go down to the pit from the land of Bibles, and in the full light of Christ's gospel. Take heed, lest you are found at the left hand of Christ at last, a lost Episcopalian or a lost Presbyterian, a lost Baptist or a lost Methodist — lost because, with all your zeal for your own party and your own communion table, you never joined the one true Church.

2. My second work of application shall be an INVITATION. I address it to everyone who is not yet a true believer. I say to you, come and join the one true Church without delay. Come and join yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ in an everlasting covenant not to be forgotten.

Consider well what I say. I charge you solemnly not to mistake the meaning of my invitation. I do not bid you leave the visible Church to which you belong. I abhor all idolatry of denominations and parties. I detest a proselytizing spirit. But I do bid you come to Christ and be saved. The day of decision must come some time. Why not this very hour? Why not today, while it is called today? Why not this very night, before the sun rises tomorrow morning? Come to Him, who died for sinners on the cross, and invites all sinners to come to Him by faith and be saved. Come to my Master, Jesus Christ. Come, I say, for all things are now ready. Mercy is ready for you. Heaven is ready for you. Angels are ready to rejoice over you. Christ is ready to receive you. Christ will receive you gladly, and welcome you among His children. Come into the ark. The flood of God's wrath will soon break upon the earth. Come into the ark and be safe!

Come into the lifeboat of the one true Church. This old world will soon break into pieces! Don't you hear the tremblings of it? The world is but a wreck upon a sandbank. The night is far spent, the waves are beginning to rise, the wind is getting up, the storm will soon shatter the old wreck. But the lifeboat is launched, and we, the ministers of the gospel, beseech you to come into the lifeboat and be saved. We beseech you to arise at once and come to Christ.

Do you ask, "How can I come? My sins are too many. I am too wicked yet. I dare not come." Away with the thought! It is a temptation of Satan. Come to Christ as a sinner. Come just as you are. Hear the words of that beautiful hymn:

"Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Your blood was shed for me,

And that You bid'st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come."

This is the way to come to Christ. You should come, waiting for nothing, and tarrying for nothing. You should come, 

as a hungry sinner — to be filled; 

as a poor sinner — to be enriched; 

as an undeserving sinner — to be clothed with righteousness.

So coming, Christ would receive you. "Him that comes" to Christ, He "will never cast out." Oh, come, come to Jesus Christ! Come into the true Church by faith and be saved.

3. Last of all, let me give a word of EXHORTATION to all believers into whose hands this message may fall.

Strive to live a holy life. Walk worthy of the Church to which you belong. Live like citizens of Heaven. Let your light shine before men, so that the world may profit by your conduct. Let them know whose you are, and whom you serve. Be epistles of Christ, known and read of all men, written in such clear letters, that none can say of you, "I know not whether this man be a member of Christ or not." He who knows nothing of real, practical holiness — is no member of the Church on the rock.

Strive to live a courageous life. Confess Christ before men. Whatever station you occupy — in that station confess Christ. Why should you be ashamed of Him? He was not ashamed of you on the cross. He is ready to confess you now before His Father in Heaven. Why should you be ashamed of Him? Be bold. Be very bold. The good soldier is not ashamed of his uniform. The true believer ought never to be ashamed of Christ.

Strive to live a joyful life. Live like men who look for that blessed hope — the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is the prospect to which we should all look forward. It is not so much the thought of going to Heaven, as of Heaven coming to us, that should fill our minds. "There is a good time coming" for all the people of God, a good time for all the Church of Christ, a good time for all believers — a bad time for the impenitent and unbelieving — but a good time for true Christians. For that good time, let us wait and watch and pray.

The scaffolding will soon be taken down. The last stone will soon be brought out. The top stone will be placed upon the edifice. Yet a little time, and the full beauty of the Church which Christ is building shall be clearly seen

The Church That Christ Builds — Part 5

By J.C. Ryle 
(1816—1900)

The promise of our text is true of every individual member of the Church. Some of God's people have been so much cast down and disturbed, that they have despaired of their safety. Some have fallen sadly, as David and Peter did. Some have departed from the faith for a time, like Cranmer and Jewell. Many have been tried by cruel doubts and fears. But all have got safe home at last, the youngest as well as the oldest, the weakest as well as the strongest. And so it will be to the end. Can you prevent tomorrow's sun from rising? 

Can you prevent the tide in the Bristol Channel from ebbing and flowing? Can you prevent the planets moving in their respective orbits? Then, and then alone, can you prevent the salvation of any believer, however feeble, the final safety of any living stone in that Church which is built upon the rock, however small or insignificant that stone may appear.

The true Church is Christ's body. Not one bone in that mystical body shall ever be broken.

The true Church is Christ's bride. Those whom God has joined in everlasting covenant, shall never be put asunder.

The true Church is Christ's flock. When the lion came and took a lamb out of David's flock, David arose and delivered the lamb from his mouth. Christ will do the same. He is David's greater Son. Not a single sick lamb in Christ's flock shall perish. He will say to His Father in the last day, "Of those who You gave Me — I have lost none" (John 18:9).

The true Church is the wheat of the earth. It may be sifted, winnowed, buffeted, tossed to and fro. But not one grain shall be lost.

The tares and chaff shall be burned. The wheat shall be gathered into the barn.

The true Church is Christ's army. The Captain of our salvation loses none of His soldiers. His plans are never defeated. His supplies never fail. His muster-roll is the same at the end — as it was at the beginning. Of the men that marched gallantly out of England a few years ago in the Crimean war, how many never came back! Regiments that went forth, strong and cheerful, with bands playing and banners flying, laid their bones in a foreign land, and never returned to their native country. But it is not so with Christ's army. Not one of His soldiers shall be missing at last. He Himself declares, "They shall never perish!" (John 10:28).

The devil may cast some of the members of the true Church into prison. He may kill and burn and torture and hang. But after he has killed the body, there is nothing more that he can do. He cannot hurt the soul. When the French troops took Rome a few years ago, they found on the walls of a prison cell, under the Inquisition, the words of a prisoner. Who he was, we know not. But his words are worthy of remembrance. 

"Though dead, he yet speaks." He had written on the walls, very likely after an unjust trial, and a still more unjust excommunication, the following striking words "Blessed Jesus, they cannot cast me out of Your true Church." That record is true! Not all the power of Satan can cast one single believer out of Christ's true Church!

I trust that no reader of this message will ever allow fear to prevent his beginning to serve Christ. He to whom you commit your soul has all power in Heaven and earth, and He will keep you. He will never let you be cast away. Relatives may oppose. Neighbors may mock. The world may slander and ridicule and jest and sneer. Fear not! Fear not! The powers of Hell shall never prevail against your soul. Greater is He who is for you, than all those who are against you.

Fear not for the Church of Christ — when ministers die, and saints are taken away. Christ can ever maintain His own cause. He will raise up better servants and brighter stars. The stars are all in His right hand. Leave off all anxious thought about the future. Cease to be cast down by the measures of statesmen, or the plots of wolves in sheep's clothing. Christ will ever provide for His own Church. Christ will take care that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." All is going on well, though our eyes may not see it. The kingdoms of this world shall yet become the kingdoms of our God, and of His Christ.

The Church That Christ Builds — Part 4

By J.C. Ryle 
(1816—1900)

a. Marvel not at the enmity of the gates of Hell. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own" (John 15:19). So long as the world is the world, and the devil the devil — so long there must be warfare, and believers in Christ must be soldiers. The world hated Christ — and the world will hate true Christians, as long as the earth stands. As the great Reformer Luther said, "Cain will go on murdering Abel so long as the Church is on earth."

b. Be prepared for the enmity of the gates of Hell. Put on the whole armor of God. The tower of David contains a thousand shields, all ready for the use of God's people. The weapons of our warfare have been tried by millions of poor sinners like ourselves, and have never been found to fail.

c. Be patient under the enmity of the gates of Hell.

It is all working together for your good.

It tends to sanctify.

It will keep you awake.

It will make you humble.

It will drive you nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It will wean you from the world.

It will help to make you pray more.

Above all, it will make you long for Heaven.

It will teach you to say with heart as well as lips, "Come, Lord Jesus. May Your kingdom come."

d. Be not cast down by the enmity of Hell. The warfare of the true child of God is as much a mark of grace — as the inward peace which he enjoys. No cross — no crown! No conflict — no saving Christianity! "Blessed are you," said our Lord Jesus Christ, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake." If you are never persecuted for religion's sake, and all men speak well of you — then you may well doubt whether you belong to "the Church on the rock" (Matthew 5:11; Luke 6:26).

5. There remains one thing more to be considered — the SECURITY of the true Church of Christ. There is a glorious promise given by the Builder, "The gates of Hell shall not prevail."He who cannot lie has pledged His word, that all the powers of Hell shall never overthrow His Church. It shall continue and stand, in spite of every assault. It shall never be overcome. All other created things perish and pass away — but not the Church which is built on the rock.

Empires have risen and fallen in rapid succession. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Tyre, Carthage, Rome, Greece, Venice — where are all these now? They were all the creations of man's hand, and have passed away. But the true Church of Christ lives on.The mightiest cities have become heaps of ruins. The broad walls of Babylon have sunk to the ground. The palaces of Nineveh are covered with mounds of dust. The hundred gates of Thebes are only matters of history. Tyre is a place where fishermen hang their nets. Carthage is a desolation. Yet all this time the true Church stands. The gates of Hell do not prevail against it.

The earliest visible Churches have in many cases decayed and perished. Where is the Church of Ephesus and the Church of Antioch? Where is the Church of Alexandria and the Church of Constantinople? Where are the Corinthian, and Philippian, and Thessalonian Churches? Where, indeed, are they all? They departed from the Word of God. They were proud of their bishops and synods and ceremonies and learning and antiquity. They did not glory in the true cross of Christ. They did not hold fast the gospel.They did not give the Lord Jesus His rightful office, or faith its rightful place. They are now among the things that have been. Their candlestick has been taken away. But all this time, the true Church has lived on.

Has the true Church been oppressed in one country? It has fled to another. Has it been trampled on and oppressed in one soil? It has taken root and flourished in some other climate. Fire, sword, prisons, fines, penalties, have never been able to destroy its vitality. Its persecutors have died and gone to their own place — but the Word of God has lived and grown and multiplied. As weak as this true Church may appear to the eye of man — it is an anvil which has broken many a hammer in times past, and perhaps will break many more before the end. He who lays hands on it, is touching the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8).

The promise of our text is true of the whole body of the true Church. Christ will never be without a witness in the world. He has had a people in the worst of times. He had seven thousand in Israel even in the days of Ahab. There are some now, I believe, in the dark places of the Roman and Greek Churches who, in spite of much weakness, are serving Christ. The devil may rage horribly. The Church in some countries may be brought exceedingly low. But the gates of Hell shall never entirely "prevail."

The Church That Christ Builds — Part 3

By J.C. Ryle 

(1816—1900)

3. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us, "Upon this ROCK will I build My Church." This is the Foundation upon which the Church is built. What did the Lord Jesus Christ mean, when He spoke of this foundation? Did He mean the apostle Peter, to whom He was speaking? I think assuredly not. I can see no reason, if He meant Peter, why He did not say, "Upon you will I build My Church." If He had meant Peter, He would surely have said, "I will build My Church on you," as plainly as He said, "To you will I give the keys." No, it was not the person of the apostle Peter — but the good confession which the apostle had just made! It was not Peter, the erring, unstable man — but the mighty truth which the Father had revealed to Peter. It was the truth concerning Jesus Christ Himself which was the rock. It was Christ's mediatorship, and Christ's Messiahship. It was the blessed truth that Jesus was the promised Savior, the true Surety, the real Intercessor between God and man. This was the rock, and this the foundation, upon which the Church of Christ was to be built.

The foundation of the true Church was laid at a mighty cost. It was necessary that the Son of God should take our nature upon Him, and in that nature live, suffer and die, not for His own sins — but for ours. It was necessary that in that nature Christ should go to the grave, and rise again. It was necessary that in that nature Christ should go up to Heaven, to sit at the right hand of God, having obtained eternal redemption for all His people. No other foundation could have met the necessities of lost, guilty, corrupt, weak, helpless sinners.

That foundation, once obtained, is very strong. It can bear the weight of the sins of all the world. It has borne the weight of all the sins of all the believers who have built on it.

Sins of thought, 

sins of the imagination, 

sins of the heart, 

sins of the head, 

sins which everyone has seen, 

and sins which no man knows, 

sins against God, 

and sins against man, 

sins of all kinds and descriptions

 — that mighty rock can bear the weight of all these sins, and not give way. The mediatorial office of Christ is a remedy sufficient for all the sins of all the world.

To this one foundation, every member of Christ's true Church is joined. In many things, believers are disunited and disagreed. In the matter of their soul's foundation, they are all of one mind. Whether Episcopalians or Presbyterians, Baptists or Methodists — believers all meet at one point. They are all built on the rock. Ask where they get their peace and hope and joyful expectation of good things to come. You will find that all flows from that one mighty source, Christ the Mediator between God and man, and the office that Christ holds as the High Priest and Surety of sinners.

Look to your foundation, if you would know whether or not you are a member of the one true Church. It is a point that may be known to yourself. Your public worship we can see; but we cannot see whether you are personally built upon the rock. Your attendance at the Lord's table we can see; but we cannot see whether you are joined to Christ, and one with Christ, and Christ in you. Take heed that you make no mistake about your own personal salvation. See that your own soul is upon the rock. Without this, all else is nothing. Without this, you will never stand in the day of judgment. Better a thousand times in that day to be found in a cottage "upon the rock" — than in a palace upon the sand!

 

4. I proceed in the fourth place to speak of the IMPLIED TRIALS of the Church, to which our text refers. There is mention made of "the gates of Hell." By that expression we are meant to understand the power of the prince of Hell, even the devil. (Compare Psalm 9:13; 107:18; Isaiah 38:10).

The history of Christ's true Church has always been one of conflict and war. It has been constantly assailed by a deadly enemy, Satan, the prince of this world. The devil hates the true Church of Christ with an undying hatred. He is ever stirring up opposition against all its members. He is ever urging the children of this world to do his will, and to injure and harass the people of God. If he cannot bruise the head — he will bruise the heel. If he cannot rob believers of Heaven — he will vex them by the way.

Warfare with the powers of Hell has been the experience of the whole body of Christ for six thousand years. It has always been a bush burning — though not consumed; a woman fleeing into the wilderness — but not swallowed up (Ex. 3:2; Revelation 12:6, 16). The visible Churches have their times of prosperity and seasons of peace — but never has there been a time of peace for the true Church. Its conflict is perpetual. Its battle never ends.

Warfare with the powers of Hell is the experience of every individual member of the true Church. Each has to fight. What are the lives of all the saints — but records of battles? What were such men as Paul and James and Peter and John and Polycarp and Chrysostom and Augustine and Luther and Calvin and Latimer and Baxter — but soldiers engaged in a constant warfare? Sometimes the persons of the saints have been assailed, and sometimes their property. Sometimes they have been harassed by calumnies and slanders, and sometimes by open persecution. But in one way or another the devil has been continually warring against the Church. The "gates of Hell" have been continually assaulting the people of Christ.

We who preach the gospel can hold out to all who come to Christ "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4). We can offer boldly to you, in our Master's name, the peace of God which passes all understanding. Mercy, free grace and full salvation are offered to everyone who will come to Christ, and believe on Him. But we promise you no peace with the world, or with the devil. We warn you, on the contrary, that there must be warfare, so long as you are in the body. We would not keep you back, or deter you from Christ's service. But we would have you "count the cost," and fully understand what Christ's service entails (Luke 14:28).

The Church That Christ Builds ─ Part 2

By J.C. Ryle

2. Our text contains not merely a building — but a Builder. The Lord Jesus Christ declares, "I will build My Church." The true Church of Christ is tenderly cared for by all the three Persons of the blessed Trinity. In the plan of salvation revealed in the Bible . . .

God the Father chooses,
God the Son redeems and
God the Holy Spirit sanctifies every member of Christ's mystical body. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, three Persons and one God, cooperate for the salvation of every saved soul. This is truth, which ought never to be forgotten. Nevertheless, there is a peculiar sense in which the help of the Church is laid on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is peculiarly and pre-eminently the Redeemer and Savior of the Church. Therefore it is, that we find Him saying in our text, "I will build — the work of building is My special work."

It is Christ who calls the members of the Church in due time.

They are "the called of Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:6).

It is Christ who quickens them. "The Son quickens whom He will" (John 5:21).

It is Christ who washes away their sins. He "has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Revelation 1:5).

It is Christ who gives them peace. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27).

It is Christ who gives them eternal life. "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (John 10:28).

It is Christ who grants them repentance. "Him has God exalted . . . to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance" (Acts 5:31).

It is Christ who enables them to become God's children. "To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).

It is Christ who carries on the work within them when it is begun. "Because I live, you shall live also" (John 14:19).

In short, it has "pleased the Father that in Christ should all fullness dwell" (Colossians 1:19). He is the Author and Finisher of faith. He is the life. He is the head. From Him every joint and member of the mystical body of Christians is supplied. Through Him they are strengthened for duty. By Him they are kept from falling. He shall preserve them to the end, and present them faultless before the Father's throne with exceeding great joy. He is all things in all believers.

The mighty agent by whom the Lord Jesus Christ carries out this work in the members of His Church, is, without doubt, the Holy Spirit. He it is who applies Christ and His benefits to the soul. He it is who is ever renewing, awakening, convincing, leading to the cross, transforming, taking out of the world stone after stone and adding it to the mystical building. But the great chief Builder, who has undertaken to execute the work of redemption and bring it to completion, is the Son of God, the "Word who was made flesh." 

It is Jesus Christ who "builds."

In building the true Church, the Lord Jesus condescends to use many subordinate instruments:
the ministry of the gospel,
the circulation of the Scriptures,
the friendly rebuke,
the word spoken in season,
the drawing influence of afflictions —
all, all are means and appliances by which His work is carried on, and the Spirit conveys life to souls. But Christ is the great superintending Architect — ordering, guiding, directing all that is done. Paul may plant and Apollos water — but God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). Ministers may preach, and writers may write — but the Lord Jesus Christ alone can build. And except He builds — the work stands still.

Great is the wisdom with which the Lord Jesus Christ builds His Church! All is done at the right time, and in the right way. Each stone in its turn is put in its right place. Sometimes He chooses great stones, and sometimes He chooses small stones. Sometimes the work goes on fast, and sometimes it goes on slowly. Man is frequently impatient, and thinks that nothing is happening. But man's time is not God's time. 

A thousand years in His sight, are but as a single day. The great Builder makes no mistakes. He knows what He is doing. He sees the end from the beginning. He works by a perfect, unalterable and certain plan. The mightiest conceptions of architects, like Michelangelo and Wren, are mere trifling and child's play — in comparison with Christ's wise counsels respecting His Church.

Great is the condescension and mercy which Christ exhibits in building His Church! He often chooses the most unlikely and roughest stones, and fits them into a most excellent work. He despises none, and rejects none — on account of former sins and past transgressions. He often makes Pharisees and publicans become pillars of His house. He delights to show mercy. He often takes the most thoughtless and ungodly — and transforms them into polished corners of His spiritual temple.

Great is the power which Christ displays in building His Church! He carries on His work in spite of opposition from the world, the flesh and the devil. In storm, in tempest, through troublous times, silently, quietly, without noise, without stir, without excitement — the building progresses, like Solomon's temple. "I will work," He declares, "and who shall hinder it?" (Isaiah 43:13).

The children of this world take little or no interest in the building of this Church. They care nothing for the conversion of souls. What are broken spirits and penitent hearts to them? What is conviction of sin, or faith in the Lord Jesus to them? It is all "foolishness" in their eyes. But while the children of this world care nothing, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God. For the preserving of the true Church — the laws of nature have often times been suspended. For the good of that Church — all the providential dealings of God in this world are ordered and arranged. For the elect's sake — wars are brought to an end, and peace is given to a nation. Statesmen, rulers, emperors, kings, presidents, heads of governments — have their schemes and plans, and think them of vast importance.

 But there is another work going on of infinitely greater moment, for which they are only the "axes and saws" in God's hands (Isaiah 10:15). That work is the erection of Christ's spiritual temple, the gathering in of living stones into the one true Church.

We ought to feel deeply thankful that the building of the true Church is laid on the shoulders of One that is mighty. If the work depended on man — it would soon stand still. But, blessed be God, the work is in the hands of a Builder who never fails to accomplish His designs! Christ is the almighty Builder. He will carry on His work, though nations and visible Churches may not know their duty. Christ will never fail. That which He has undertaken — He will certainly accomplish.
  

The Church That Christ Builds

By J.C. Ryle

"Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!" Matthew 16:18

Do we belong to the Church which is built upon a rock? Are we members of the only Church in which our souls can be saved? These are serious questions. They deserve serious consideration. I ask the attention of all who read this message, while I try to show the one true, holy, catholic Church, and to guide men's feet into the only safe fold. What is this Church? What is it like? What are its marks? Where is it to be found? On all these points, I have something to say. I am going to unfold the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which stand at the head of this page. He declares, "Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!"

Let us consider this in more detail:
 

1. We have, firstly, a BUILDING mentioned in the text. The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of "My Church."

Now what is this Church? 

Few inquiries can be made of more importance than this. For lack of due attention to this subject, the errors that have crept into the world are neither few nor small. The Church of our text is no material building. It is no temple made with hands of wood or brick or stone or marble. It is a company of men and women. It is no particular visible Church on earth. It is not the Eastern Church or the Western Church. It is not the Church of England or the Church of Scotland. Above all, it certainly is not the Church of Rome. The Church of our text is one that makes far less show than any visible Church in the eyes of man — but is of far more importance in the eyes of God.

The Church of our text is made up of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, of all who are really holy and converted people. 

It comprises . . .
all who have repented of sin,
all who fled to Christ by faith,
all who been made new creatures in Him,
all of God's elect,
all who have received God's grace,
all who have been washed in Christ's blood,
all who have been clothed in Christ's righteousness,
all who have been born again and sanctified by Christ's Spirit.

All such, of every name and rank and nation and people and tongue, compose the Church of our text.

This is the body of Christ.
This is the flock of Christ.
This is the bride.
This is the Lamb's wife.
This is the Church on the Rock.

The members of this Church do not all worship God in the same way, or use the same form of government. Some of them are governed by bishops, and some of them by elders. Some of them use a prayer book when they meet for public worship, and some of them use none.

But the members of this Church all come to one throne of grace.
They all worship with one heart.
They are all led by one Spirit.
They are all really and truly holy.
They can all say, "Alleluia," and they can all reply, "Amen."

This is that Church, to which all visible Churches on earth are servants and handmaidens. 

Whether they are Episcopalian, Independent, or Presbyterian, they all serve the interests of the one true Church. They are the scaffolding behind which the great building is carried on. They are the husk, under which the living kernel grows. They have their various degrees of usefulness. The best and worthiest of them is that which trains up most members for Christ's true Church. But no visible Church has any right to say, "We are the only true Church. We are the men, and wisdom shall die with us." No visible Church should ever dare to say, "We shall stand forever. The gates of Hell shall not prevail against me."

This is that Church to which belong the Lord's gracious promises of preservation, continuance, protection and final glory. "Whatever," says Hooker, "we read in Scripture, concerning the endless love and saving mercy, which God shows towards His Churches — the only proper subject thereof is this Church, which we properly term the mystical body of Christ." Small and despised as the true Church may be in this world, it is precious and honorable in the sight of God. The temple of Solomon in all its glory was mean and contemptible, in comparison with that Church which is built upon a rock.

I trust the things I have just been saying will sink down into the minds of all who read this message. See that you hold sound doctrine upon the subject of "the Church." A mistake here may lead on to dangerous and soul-ruining errors. The Church which is made up of true believers, is the Church for which we, who are ministers, are specially ordained to preach. The Church which comprises all who repent and believe the gospel, is the Church to which we desire you to belong. Our work is not done, and our hearts are not satisfied, until you are made a new creature, and are a member of the one true Church. Outside of the Church which is "built on the rock" there can be No Salvation.

Prevailing Prayer by Andrew Murray

   I Appointed You That Ye Should Go and Bear Fruit, and That Your Fruit
   Should Abide: That Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask of the Father in My Name, He
   May Give It You--John 15.16


   In the first verse of our parable, Christ revealed Himself as the true
   Vine, and the Father as the Husbandman, and asked for Himself and the
   Father a place in the heart. Here, in the closing verse, He sums up all
   His teaching concerning Himself and the Father in the twofold purpose
   for which He had chosen them. With reference to Himself, the Vine, the
   purpose was, that they should bear fruit. With reference to the Father,
   it was, that whatsoever they should ask in His name, should be done of
   the Father in Heaven. As fruit is the great proof of the true relation
   to Christ, so prayer is of our relation to the Father. A fruitful
   abiding in the Son, and prevailing prayer to the Father, are the two
   great factors in the true Christian life.

   That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
   you.--These are the closing words of the parable of the Vine. The whole
   mystery of the Vine and its branches leads up to the other
   mystery--that whatsoever we ask in His name the Father gives! See here
   the reason of the lack of prayer, and of the lack of power in prayer.
   It is because we so little live the true branch life, because we so
   little lose ourselves in the Vine, abiding in Him entirely, that we
   feel so little constrained to much prayer, so little confident that we
   shall be heard, and so do not know how to use His name as the key to
   God's storehouse. The Vine planted on earth has reached up into Heaven;
   it is only the soul wholly and intensely abiding in it, can reach into
   Heaven with power to prevail much. Our faith in the teaching and the
   truth of the parable, in the truth and the life of the Vine, must prove
   itself by power in prayer. The life of abiding and obedience, of love
   and joy, of cleansing and fruit-bearing, will surely lead to the power
   of prevailing prayer.

   Whatsoever ye shall ask--The promise was given to disciples who were
   ready to give themselves, in the likeness of the true Vine, for their
   fellow men. This promise was all their provision for their work; they
   took it literally, they believed it, they used it, and they found it
   true. Let us give ourselves, as branches of the true Vine, and in His
   likeness, to the work of saving men, of bringing forth fruit to the
   glory of God, and we shall find a new urgency and power to pray and to
   claim the "whatsoever ye ask." We shall waken to our wonderful
   responsibility of having in such a promise the keys to the King's
   storehouses given us, and we shall not rest till we have received bread
   and blessing for the perishing.

   "I chose you, that ye may bring forth fruit, and that your fruit may
   abide; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
   give it to you." Beloved disciple, seek above everything to be a man of
   prayer. Here is the highest exercise of your privilege as a branch of
   the Vine; here is the full proof of your being renewed in the image of
   God and His Son; here is your power to show how you, like Christ, live
   not for yourself, but for others; here you enter Heaven to receive
   gifts for men; here your abiding in Christ has led to His abiding in
   you, to use you as the channel and instrument of His grace. The power
   to bear fruit for men has been crowned by power to prevail with God.

   "I am the vine, my Father is the Husbandman." Christ's work in you is
   to bring you so to the Father that His Word may be fulfilled in you:
   "At that day ye shall ask in my name; and I say not that I will pray
   the Father for you; for the Father himself loveth you." The power of
   direct access to the Father for men, the liberty of intercession
   claiming and receiving blessing for them in faith, is the highest
   exercise of our union with Christ. Let all who would truly and fully be
   branches give themselves to the work of intercession. It is the one
   great work of Christ the Vine in Heaven, the source of power for all
   His work. Make it your one great work as branch: it will be the power
   of all your work.

   In My name. Yes, Lord, in Thy name, the new name Thou hast given
   Thyself here, the true Vine. As a branch, abiding in Thee in entire
   devotion, in full dependence, in perfect conformity, in abiding
   fruitfulness, I come to the Father, in Thee, and He will give what I
   ask. Oh, let my life be one of unceasing and prevailing intercession!
   Amen


   

Quotes On Prayer

"He that is never on his knees on earth shall never stand upon his feet in heaven." C. H. Spurgeon

"A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning." Leonard Ravenhill

"None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those who have learned it by experience. It is a great matter when in extreme need to take hold on prayer. I know, whenever I have prayed earnestly, that I have been amply heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for. God indeed sometimes delayed, but at last He came."
Martin Luther

The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be; the mightier the forces against evil. E.M. Bounds

"If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere." — Leonard Ravenhill

"True prayer is a lonely business." Samuel Chadwick

"When I am praying the most eloquently, I am getting the least accomplished in my prayer life. But when I stop getting eloquent and give God less theology and shut up and just gaze upward and wait for God to speak to my heart He speaks with such power that I have to grab a pencil and a notebook and take notes on what God is saying to my heart." A.W. Tozer

"The spirit of prayer is more precious than treasures of gold and silver." John Bunyan

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." Oswald Chambers

"See that you do not use the trick of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do." Oswald Chambers

"You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed." John Bunyan

"He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has heaven and earth at his disposal." C. S. Spurgeon

"A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet." E. M. Bounds

"In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is continual prayer." John Wesley

"The more helpless you are, the better you are fitted to pray, and the more answers to prayer you will experience." O. Hallesby

"I am as certain as I am standing here, that the secret of much mischief to our own souls, and to the souls of others, lies in the way that we stint, and starve, and scamp our prayers, by hurrying over them." Alexander Whyte

"Whether we think of, or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him." John Wesley

"People can't see your root system, but God can. Praying and meditating on the Word of God will cause your roots to go down deep into His love." Warren Wiersbe

"Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer." Charles Finney

"He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy life. Satan had rather we let the grass grow on the path to our prayer chamber than anything else." E.M.Bounds

"Those who know God the best are the richest and most powerful in prayer. Little acquaintance with God, and strangeness and coldness to Him, make prayer a rare and feeble thing." E. M. Bounds

"True prayer is measured by weight,-not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length." C. H. Spurgeon

"Often times God wants us to sit before Him in quietness. He doesn't want us to do all the talking. As Is. 30:15 says "In quiet and confidence will be your strength." Charles Stanley

"The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me." Billy Graham

"Prayer is not a hard requirement- it is the natural duty of a creature to its creator, the simplest homage that human need can pay to divine liberality." C. H. Spurgeon

"And there you have the reason why many people pray for the power of the Holy Ghost, and they get something, but oh, so little! because they prayed for power for work, and power for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self." Andrew Murray

"Prayer is never an acceptable substitute for obedience. The sovereign Lord accepts no offering from His creatures that is not accompanied by obedience. To pray for revival while ignoring or actually flouting the plain precept laid down in the Scriptures is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble." A.W. Tozer


I don't often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying. Smith Wigglesworth

“There is a mighty lot of difference between saying prayers and praying.”John G. Lake

Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural. ~ Oswald Chambers

Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. ~ Oswald Chambers


History is silent about revivals that did not begin with prayer.~ Edwin Orr

To pray well is the better half of study. ~ Martin Luther

Study your prayers, a great part of my time is spent getting in tune for prayer. ~ Robert McCheyne


I shall see no hope until the individual members of the church are praying for revival, perhaps meeting in one anothers' homes, meeting in groups amongst friends, meeting together in churches, meeting anywhere you like, and praying with urgency and concentration for a shedding forth of the power of God.... There is no hope until we do.~ D.D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. --Arthur W. Pink

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. --Oswald Chambers

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. -- John Bunyan

The true spirit of prayer is no other than God's own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints. And as this spirit comes from God, so doth it naturally tend to God in holy breathings and pantings. It naturally leads to God, to converse with him by prayer. --Jonathan Edwards

Whether we think of or speak to God; whether we act or suffer for him; all is prayer when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him. --John Wesley

God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede. -- Oswald Chambers

There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him. --William Law

Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent. --Leonard Ravenhill

The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer. --John R. Mott

I must secure more time for private devotions. I have been living far too public for me. The shortening of devotions starves the soul, it grows lean and faint. I have been keeping too late hours. --William Wilberforce

We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life is he does not pray; I question it. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God within him, which is nourished not by food but by prayer...Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. --Oswald Chambers

The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds

Pray, and let God worry. -- Martin Luther

Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?....Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray. --Oswald Chambers

Those who know God the best are the richest and most powerful in prayer. Little acquaintance with God, and strangeness and coldness to Him, make prayer a rare and feeble thing. --E. M. Bounds

How often have we prayed something like, "O Lord, be with cousin Billy now in a special way"? Have we stopped to consider what it is we're requesting? Imagine that you are a parent who is preparing to leave your children with a babysitter. Would you dream of saying, "O Betsy, I ask you now that you would be with my children in a special way?" No way. You would say, "Betsy, the kids need to be in bed by 9 pm. They can have one snack before their baths, and please make sure they finish their homework. You can reach us at this number if there's any problem. Any questions before we go?" We are very specific with our requests and instructions for our babysitters. We want them to know specifics. It should be no different with prayer. --David Jeremiah

There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire off their guns anywhere. Possibly somebody would be killed, but the majority of the enemy would be missed. --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. --Corrie Ten Boom

We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another. --William Law

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?-- Corrie Ten Boom

Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan --John Bunyan

Always respond to every impulse to pray. The impulse to pray may come when you are reading or when you are battling with a text. I would make an absolute law of this – always obey such an impulse. --Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Some people pray just to pray and some people pray to know God. --Andrew Murray

There is a mighty lot of difference between saying prayers and praying. --John G. Lake

"Prayer requires more of the heart than the tongue."
Adam Clarke

"The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, buy unoffered prayer."
F.B. Meyer

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."
Oswald Chanbers

"Do not make prayer a monologue-make it a conversation."
Author unknown

"Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure."
D. L. Moody

"O, let the place of secret prayer become to me the most beloved spot on earth." -- Andrew Murray

"The secret of praying is praying in secret." - Leonard Ravenhill

_________________