The Life Of Frances Ridley Havergal
(Taken from “Deeper Experiences Of Famous Christians” by James G. Lawson)
“Oh, that He may make me a ‘vessel… sanctified and useful for the Master’ (2 Timothy 2:21)! I look at trial and training of every kind in this light, not its effect upon me for myself, but in its gradual fitting of me to do the Master’s work.”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.208)
2 Timothy 2:19-21
19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness."
20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
21 Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [37], useful to the Master, prepared [“to make ready”] for every good work.
(NAS)
37 hagiazo (hag-ee-ad'-zo);
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from 40; to make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate:
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1) to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or to hallow
2) to separate from profane things and to dedicate to God
a) to consecrate things to God
b) to dedicate people to God
3) to purify
a) to cleanse externally
b) to purify by expiation: to free from the guilt of sin
c) to purify internally by a renewing of the soul
Hebrews 10:7-14- Through the breaking of our will, to now do His will, consecrating ourselves to God, we are then able to be sanctified by the Spirit. The covenant is established within us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. He circumcises our hearts, cutting away the fleshly nature, thereby marking us out as His own (see the Bible study The Distinguishing Mark). So many of God's people are consumed with the mark of the beast when we should be more concerned in regards to our receiving the mark of God. With the mark of God covering us we do not need to be concerned with anything else.
7 "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do Thy will, O God.'"
8 After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast not desired, nor hast Thou taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),
9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Thy will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
(NAS)
John 17:17-21- God's word of truth, the gospel, is what sanctifies us, when applied (see the Bible study The Gospel Word Of Truth). This is why the devil has infiltrated the church with his lies. Also, it is through our being sanctified by the Holy Spirit that we become one in Christ. All other so called unity is merely a group hug in the flesh.
17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.
18 "As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 "I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.
(NAS)
1 Peter 3:15
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
(NAS)
Joshua 3:2-6 – Consecration among the priests was, and still is crucial in order to bring back the presence of the Lord. They are the leaders, those chosen by God to carry His Presence. Like priest, like people.
2 And it came about at the end of three days that the officers went through the midst of the camp;
3 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.
4 "However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."
5 Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
(NAS)
“I suppose that God’s crosses are often made of the most unexpected and strange material. Perhaps trial must be felt keenly, or it would not be powerful enough as a medicine in the hands of our beloved Healer…”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.209)
1 Corinthians 1:17-18 – Human wisdom removes the power of the crucified life. It doesn’t understand that which seems to be foolish; that there is great power in joining Jesus in His death. The life of Christ and the power of His resurrection is given to us as we take up our cross and follow Him. The big question then is what does it mean to take up your cross and die with Jesus? (See the Bible study The Word Of The Cross.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied [2758] of its power.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(NIV)
NT:2758 kenoo (ken-o'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:2756; to make empty, i.e. (figuratively) to abase, neutralize, falsify:
KJV - make (of none effect, of no reputation, void), be in vain.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1) to empty, make empty; used of Christ: he laid aside equality with or the form of God
2) to make void, to deprive of force, to render vain, useless, of no effect
3) to make void, to cause a thing to be seen to be empty, hollow, or false
Philippians 2:5-7
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied [2758] Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
(NAS)
“Did you ever hear of anyone being very much used for Christ who did not have some special waiting time, some complete upset of all his or her plans first?”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.209)
“I want Jesus to speak to me, to say 'many things' (Matt.13:3) to me, so that I may speak for him to others with real power. It is not knowing doctrine, but being with Him, that will give this.”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.210)
Acts 4:13- Do people recognize us as having been with Jesus?
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
(NAS)
“…it was on Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, that I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light, and what you see, you can never unsee. There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness. God admits you by the one into the other… You know how I have been withheld from attending all conventions and conferences; man’s teaching has, consequently, had little to do with it… it was made clear to me that He who had thus cleansed me had power to keep me clean. So I just utterly yielded myself to Him, and utterly trusted Him to keep me.”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.211)
“…before He [the Holy Spirit] comes to live in a man, He must be given full possession of his body.”
(“Reese Howells, Intercessor” by Norman Grubb, p.39- See notes in Bible study called Glorified.)
“Before there can be fullness there must be emptiness. Before God can fill us with Himself we must first be emptied of ourselves. It is this emptying that brings the painful disappointment and despair of self of which so many persons have complained just prior to their new and radiant experience... There must come a total of self-disvaluation, a death to all things without us and within us, or there can never be real filling with the Holy Spirit.”
(“Keys to the Deeper Life” by A. W. Tozer, p.49-50)
Hebrews 10:5 - See the Bible study Preparing The Body Of Christ For Burial.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.
(NKJ)
“It is only while we are kept by the power of God Himself that we are not sinning against Him; one instant of standing alone is certain fall!”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.212)
1 Peter 1:3-5- By faith in His word, we look to God to keep us.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected [5432] by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(NAS)
5432 phroureo (froo-reh'-o);
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from a compound of 4253 and 3708; to be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount guard as a sentinel (post spies at gates); figuratively, to hem in, protect:
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1) to guard, to protect by a military guard, either to prevent hostile invasion, or to keep the inhabitants of a besieged city from flight
2) metaphorically:
a) under the control of the Mosaic law, so that he might not escape from its power
b) to protect by guarding, to keep
c) by watching and guarding to preserve one for the attainment of something
Jude 1:24-25- God’s power is the only thing that will keep us from falling away from Him with an apostate heart at the end of this age (see 2 Thess. 2:3).
24 Now to Him who is able to keep [“to guard, to keep watch, to preserve”] you from stumbling [“from falling, standing firm”], and to make you stand [“to fix, to establish”] in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
(NAS)
Guarding the place of abiding; “remaining in Him”
(See chapter 9 in “Reese Howells, Intercessor” by Norman Grubb.)
“…the Spirit gave him John 15:7; “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” It would all depend on his abiding… This key text, John 15:7, makes it plain that the promise is unlimited, but its fulfillment depends on the abiding. That is why in all cases of intercession, Mr. Howells constantly spoke of guarding his ‘place of abiding.’”
(“Reese Howells, Intercessor”, p.70)
“Up to that time I had always had fear of the searchings of the Holy Spirit. I was afraid of the new places of abiding because I could never refuse them, and while there is the least fear there is not perfect liberty. People may think they have no fear when really they have never been tested. I thought I would have no fear of going against the world and its opinions and that it was the easiest thing to be dead to it- but it was the greatest error I ever believed. I had to be pulled through inch by inch; it was the process of sanctification, when the self-nature and all its lusts had to be exchanged for the divine nature (Romans 6:6, 2 Peter 1:4). Daily I decreased and He increased.”
(“Reese Howells, Intercessor”, p.138- see Bible study called Glorified)
“We do not come only to be cleansed in the fountain, but also to remain in the fountain, so that it may go on cleansing.”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.212-213)
John 15:4-7- This is a conditional promise of the Lord. If we do not remain in Christ, He will not remain in us. Also, we can be thrown into the fire! There is also a prayer promise here in verse 7.
4 Remain [“abide”] in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
(NIV)
1 John 2:24-29
24 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is what he promised us-- even eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-- just as it has taught you, remain in him.
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
(NIV)
The question; “What is my true desire?”
“What is my great need and craving of soul? Surely, after having been justified by faith and having assurance of salvation, it is to be made holy by the continually sanctifying power of God’s Spirit, to be kept from grieving the Lord Jesus, and to be kept from thinking or doing whatever is not in accord with His holy will. Oh, what a need this is! And it is said that he ‘shall supply all your need’ (Phil. 4:19). Now, will we turn around and say “all” does not mean quite all? In regard to both the commands and promises, it seems to me that everything short of believing them as they stand is just another form of ‘Has God indeed said…?’ (Genesis 3:1), the very words that the devil used to tempt Eve.”
“…never before did sin seem so hateful, so really intolerable. Nor did watchfulness seem so necessary, and a keenness and uninterruptedness of watchfulness too, beyond what one ever thought of; only this time it is a happy sort of watchfulness… his eye is more than ever on the alert for any sign of the approaching enemy, because he knows they can only approach to be defeated.”
“This is where the ‘all for Jesus’ comes in; one sees there is no halfway; one must be absolutely all yielded up, because the smallest unyielded or doubtful point is sin… even a momentary hesitation about yielding, obeying, trusting, or believing tarnishes everything; the communion is broken, the joy is vanished. Thank God, this condition never has to continue… one desires to have more and more light; one does not shrink from painful discoveries of evil, because one so wants to have the unknown depths of it cleansed as well as what comes to the surface… His power is our resource, enabling us to do what we could not do without it.” (“Deeper Experiences…”, p.213-214)
Luke 24:49
49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed [1746] with power from on high."
(NAS)
1746 enduo (en-doo'-o);
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from 1722 and 1416 (in the sense of sinking into a garment); to invest with clothing (literally or figuratively):
(Thayer’s Greek lexicon)
to sink into (clothing), to put on, to clothe oneself
Acts 1:8
8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
(NAS)
“Wherever she went, her life was full of service, and her words were elevated with a new spiritual power. It was at this time, too, that she wrote her great consecration hymn, ‘Take My Life and Let It Be’… She considered every moment of her time as belonging to the Lord, and sought to use it to His glory… Not only did she consider every moment of her time as wholly the Lord’s, but she also regarded every penny of her money as belonging to Him.”
(“Deeper Experiences…”, p.215-216)
