Ravenhill Returns
July 6, 2006
Posted by Dan Edelen in : Apologetics, Christianity in North America, Church Issues, Evangelism, Maturity, Revival, Youth Feedback : 13 comments
One of the most perplexing parts of the Bible occurs whenever we have people wondering whether a deceased prophet has "returned" in the spirit of a new prophet. Consider this passage:
And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."
—Mark 8:27-28 ESV
Today, some highly confused people use this to endorse reincarnation, but the reality of what is said above is reflected in another passage:
And he [John the Baptist] will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
—Luke 1:16-17 ESV
John wasn't Elijah, but he preached by the same powerful Spirit that compelled Elijah.
Leonard Ravenhill was one of my favorite preachers, but he passed on to glory a few years back. I haven't encountered anyone who can preach in the spirit of Ravenhill—that is until recently.
If you haven't heard the blistering message delivered by Paul Washer at an SBC youth rally, then you haven't heard one of the most pyrotechnic sermons since Ravenhill departed this sphere. Washer even mentions Ravenhill mid-sermon, so you know he's done his homework listening to that great saint.
I heartily encourage you to listen to Washer's sermon by any of the means possible at the SermonAudio.com site. Several bloggers have linked to Washer's message, and I thank them all. I think every Christian in America needs to hear this one, myself included. It's an hour spent you won't regret.
No, Leonard Ravenhill hasn't come back. But it's good to see that men who minister in the same spirit and power as he did still exist.
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