Human work or the work of the Spirit

At the time Charles Finney cites the 3 reasons why revivals are declining, and less powerful than before, he has a continuous experience of these revivals for about 20 years. He is a man of experience who has lived, not an awakening, but multiple awakenings in various regions. Finney was one of the men who firmly believed that if we use the proper means to repent sinners, they will be saved. But if we do not use the message of the gospel appropriately, these will be lost.

Finney continues : "I think that we do not generally underline the necessary action of God in the hearts of Christians and sinners. I know that I have sometimes misunderstood myself. In the desire to dislodge sinners and retrogrades from refuges where they could continue to justify themselves, I myself, as others have done, too much insisted on the personal efforts that sinners had to make. I should rather have shown them how much they depended on God's grace and the influence of his Spirit. This saddened the Spirit of the Lord. He therefore refrained from acting because his work was not honored or sufficiently emphasized. He could not be glorified for his action.

At the same time, multitudes have been overexcited by the use of all kinds of means to provoke an excitation. They conceived hopes, but never knew the necessity of the presence and the mighty action of the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, such expectations are easier to reject than to keep ! It would be amazing, in fact, that one could lead a Christian life based on an experience with which the Holy Spirit would clearly have nothing to do."

How much we need to honor the Word of God ! Thus we will be able to experience what the disciples experienced. "And they went forth to preach everywhere. The Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the miracles that accompanied him" (Mark 16:20). I want to live this !

Jeremy Sourdril