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TrueWitness
Member



Joined: 2006/8/10
Posts: 661


 Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians

I have uploaded this wonderful biography to Scribd for your downloading and reading pleasure. It was written by James Gilchrist Lawson in 1911 and contains biographical sketches of men and women of faith from Old Testament times through the 20th Century. It was a labor of love to convert the scanned book image PDF file to Word. I had to delete pics from the document because they did not convert (pics became series of numbers and letters). You can now download this book in either PDF, Microsoft Word, or plain text formats.
Enjoy and be blessed.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/62621076/Deeper-Experiences-of-Famous-Christians

 2011/8/20 13:44Profile









 Re: Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians

Thanks so much for this link - I am reading it with great interest but I am afraid that it will not go down well here, the majority not accpting second blessing holiness.

 2011/8/20 14:47
TrueWitness
Member



Joined: 2006/8/10
Posts: 661


 Re: Second Blessing

The only person described in the book that held to a "second blessing" theology is Wesley. So don't throw out the entire book because of one person who doesn't fit with your idea of sound doctrine.

 2011/8/20 16:28Profile
Aussiedler
Member



Joined: 2005/2/14
Posts: 109
GERMANY

 Re:

Thank you very much for uploading this edition!

PS: I like second blessings. And third, fourth, fifth,... blessings. I hope you all have more than one blessing in your christian life.

 2011/8/20 17:49Profile









 Re:

True Witness

I am amazed at your statement as most of the people named were holiness preachers holding the same doctrine as Wesley apart from Whitefield and and John Bunyon who both opposed it so why the writer includes them I don`t know.

 2011/8/20 18:04









 Re:

Aussiedler

I wonder why you and others have to make a statement like that as though there isn`t a specific meaning to `second blessing`. To discount it in the semi joking way that you have done is not suiting for a child of God in making a joke out of a serious subject. Anyway Germans have no sense of humour (just joking)

 2011/8/20 18:10









 Re:

True Witness

After reading more from the link I can see why the mistake is made - the second blessing is taken as conversion in many cases due to the difference in theology, twisting things to get it fitted in.

 2011/8/20 18:13
Aussiedler
Member



Joined: 2005/2/14
Posts: 109
GERMANY

 Re:

let me explain why I did this:

here in germany many (mostly conservative baptist/mennonite/lutheran) christians think something as a second blessing is total heresy. they argue: if we have grace/bornagainexperience/baptism we have it all

than you have all the pentecostals/charismatics/neocharismatics, they say: if you have the second blessing (tongues/gifts/power/whatever), you have it all. you need no third, fourth, etc blessing.

No I believe both are totally wrong. Their lifes testify that both groups have no changed life (fruit of the spirit), very little spiritual gifts and no power.

You see in Acts that the apostles had more than two blessings. and Pauls says, we have to be filled with the spirit always.

NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS THAT ONE OR TWO EXPERIENCES IN THE PAST ARE SUFFICIENT TO ALWAYS LIVE A HOLY LIFE. YOU HAVE TO BE FILLED NOW - IF NOT ALL YOUR PAST EXPERIENCES ARE WORTHLESS.

thats why you have more than one encounter with the spirit. most of us were filled with the spirit at some point in their life and after a short while they lost it (because of sin, pride, judging, etc) - was the same with me. What do you do then? You go hard after God to have another encounter with him. you confess your sin before others. you humble yourself... and then god will give you grace, and you sure will have another "Blessing".

 2011/8/20 18:20Profile









 Re:

Aussiedler

`Their lifes testify that both groups have no changed life (fruit of the spirit), very little spiritual gifts and no power.`

Oh yes, I absolutely agree with this observation. It is my observation too, that those who claim to have received what is called entire sanctification or power or fullness of the Spirit, do not show it in their lives along with those who deny that anything mnore needs to be done. They are both wrong. Hallelulia!

Pentecostals are the only group who are talking about this experience nowadays, and I agree with you that it does not show any fruit, but in the past, it was non Pentecostals who actually opposed the Pentecostal take on it, who really did show the fruit. They are such like as Wesley, Finney, Fox and others who actually were the cause of great revivals because of what they taught.

NOBODY TODAY IS PREACHING THE SAME THING AS THEY TAUGHT.

`NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS THAT ONE OR TWO EXPERIENCES IN THE PAST ARE SUFFICIENT TO ALWAYS LIVE A HOLY LIFE. YOU HAVE TO BE FILLED NOW - IF NOT ALL YOUR PAST EXPERIENCES ARE WORTHLESS.`

Oh yes, again I absolutely agree with you. There is no living on past experience. It must be a present reality, a present submission and an ongoing appropriating of the gift which has been given. Like an electric appliance, it must be plugged in to the power supply and if it is unplugged it will cease to work.

And I absolutely agree with you that there are many `blessings` or rather, restorations when one has wandered or backsliden from God or even when one hasn`t and just experiences the grace of God.

We are so much in agreement I could weep.

Calling entire sanctification a blessing, in this sense is misleading. It is not the same thing at all, and you have shown me that it should not be called merely a blessing. THANKYOU for showing me this. I do miss Germans now I no longer live there with their desire for correctness in all things. It is a great quality to have and I have much respect for it (and the efficiency which I also miss greatly).

Entire Sanctification is not merely a blessing. It is an entering into a new level of faith and can be lost if one does not continue to play ones part in the transaction and walk in faith like before. It is a place where one gets really plugged in to the power source (and no tongues) but it is about having a pure heart, and feeling that pureness and nothing coming out of the heart that is against the will of God. It is living the way Jesus lived in that every thought is captive to this will which you can see is not the same thing as what happened before when one was up and down, praising God one minute then the next in doubt or worrying about the future.

It is a level of Christianity when the promises of God are fulfilled in a spectacular way and one can hear Him speak and guide continuously. I don`t mean just though scripture, but inside there is that communion that came now and again as before, at times of blessing, but ebbed away.

Most of all, it is a level of Christianity that one always longed for but did not think one could have it until after death. All of the literature of what seems to be excessive language of intense devotion are from those who have reached this state and it is not just an occasional thing for them THEY LIVE LIKE THAT ALL OF THE TIME.

It is like having that encounter but it stays there.

This is forcast in the OT when it says that we are to be pillars in Gods temple. This is the sense of it. Never more to roam.

God bless you. May I suggest you read more about these people who claimed it in the past and you will find the fruit.

Brenda


 2011/8/21 0:27
shornlamb
Member



Joined: 2010/10/31
Posts: 16
Germany

 Re:

Dear Brenda,

Thank you for your words. I can agree whole heartedly with them. You are a great encouragement.

Thank you, too, "TrueWitness" for your love in uploading "DEEPER EXPERIENCES OF FAMOUS CHRISTIANS", which I shall eagerly read (by the way, didn't Frances Havergal burn with the message of the 2nd blessing? And didn't George Muller write of the night when "the old George Muller died and the new George Muller began to live" long after he had began God's great work in Bristol? -- but what does terminology mean anyway, it's the lived-out life that counts, isn't it...the crucified-with-Christ life).

And thank you, too, "Aussiedler" for your comments about the need for ongoing blessings. As an Englishman living in Germany for most of my life I can certainly understand the comments made about Germany.

Germany has had it's "completely-surrendered" servants, too - Gerhard Tersteegen, Johannes Gommel and Basilea Schlink to name but a few who have inspired and encouraged me - especially the latter, who, as far as I know, didn't use the terminology of 2nd blessing, but much more so emphasized the DAILY WALK in repentance, surrender of the will, and the first love, bridal love for Jesus. Bridal love was her central theme and still is that of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, which she founded, today.

It was a great surprise for me about 2 years ago, to have my own personal experience of what some call "the 2nd blessing"! It took me completely by surprise. For 41 years I had been a Christian (experiencing my new birth when I was 18 years old at an outdoor meeting in England -- again, completely by surprise and by God's grace). And of those years 35 had been in full-time service for the Lord.

My experience happened after hearing an audio-sermon by Duncan Campbell on this very website (what a blessing this website is). Of course, the 2nd blessing was an integral part of his preaching (a 2nd work of grace in the heart of a child of God, usually later on in his or her life and often at a moment of crisis, as Duncan could himself testify). I prayed the simple prayer with him at the end of his message, not even thinking that my compromised Christian walk could change at such a late stage in my life. But in the days that followed the Holy Spirit became free to do His work. I would awake earlier and earlier each morning with a deep hunger for the Word of God. Sometimes there was no time for sleep, and the hours in precious fellowship with the Lord went by unnoticeably. I know that this was a work of grace. There is no way I could have worked this up. I can only be ashamed for all the years that I had shared my heart with other things and had not surrendered it completely unto God.

Those were the nights! And the days were a walking side by side in a sort of constant fellowship with my Father - a closeness to Him, that I would not have thought possible. Yes, it was a "one-time" Calvary moment for me. But I have learned since then that the blessing does not remain automatically. God in His loving jealousy will not share my heart with anything or anyone else. And He is quick to withdraw whenever I decide to willingly sin and turn my attention to things I should not do. In His love He has been thus teaching me to stay completely in His will. Obedience (DOING His will) is for me at this present moment the key word, and the thing that keeps me on course. So I can understand from experience that the "2nd blessing", or "entering into the second covenant" as Andrew Murray termed it, is or can be a one-time complete surrender of the whole heart to God, but it is also a blessing that needs to be renewed daily, beginning in my early morning quiet time, soaking myself in the Word of God, and DAILY deciding afresh to lay my life unreservedly upon His altar (Romans 12:1) out of love for Him.

I cannot boast about the above experience, I can only boast of God's love and grace to me. He let me see my nothingness so that He could be my ALL. And I share it with you only as an encouragement. He can take the worst of us, no, I think He DELIGHTS in taking the worst of us and transforming us into the image of His Son. Praise and glory be to Him.

Thank you that I can fellowship with you in this way. Not many who I have met know about what I have shared with you, so it's a real encouragement to share with kindred spirits.

God bless you.

 2011/8/21 7:40Profile





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