Charles Finney

In Power from on High, Charles Finney boldly uncovers the awful truth that today's Christians, even Church leaders, are sadly lacking from the critical gift of power, but he offers hope as he reveals the wonderful fact that this power is available to every Christian who dares ask for it in faith. Charles Finney is a great Christian writer and author and man of God. This book will help you live a deeper Christian life, with Holy Ghost power from on high. He was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. 1] Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist during the period 1825-1835 in upstate New York and Manhattan, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, and a religious writer.

This Classic book - The Backslider in Heart -- introduces and orients the reader to critical biblical/theological thinking from a biblical perspective. Finney's presentation is written with a clarity that fosters biblical thought and facilitates Bible comprehension. You won't be disappointed. While staunch Calvinists believed in the perseverance of the saints, Finney believed that a Christian could "backslide," or turn back from the Christian life and revert to a life of sin. In this address, Finney clarifies his theology of backsliding, first explaining what it is not, then what it is. He describes what a backslidden life might look like, and what consequences living in sin bring upon the sinner. Finney is consistently one of the best Bible scholars and this one is at the top of his writing. He's bold in his writings but solid in Scripture. "It's impossible to measure the influence of Finney over God's church. His works remain in print and are widely read, which shouldn't surprise us. He is considered one of the most outstanding pastoral, evangelistic writers on practical and devotional themes.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt. 11:29-30 I. In enquiring upon this subject the first question is, What is intended by this yoke? The yoke of Christ is his revealed will, his authority. The word here rendered yoke literally means a band, or something that binds. II. What is it to take the yoke of Christ? 1. To take the yoke of Christ is to accept his will as our universal rule of action. 2. To take Christ's yoke is to enter into a voluntary state of entire subjection to him. 3. To take Christ's yoke is to commit ourselves to a state of voluntary, loving, confiding servitude. 4. To take Christ's yoke is to commit ourselves to universal obedience to Christ from love to him, sympathy with him, and confidence in him. This is no doubt the true idea of taking Christ's yoke upon us.

"Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save his people from their sins." --Matt. 1:21. AS EVERYONE KNOWS JESUS DOES SAVE A SOUL FROM HELL IF THEY REPENT AND TURN TO JESUS. HOWEVER - AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT- UNLESS YOU ALLOW JESUS TO SAVE AND DELIVER YOU FROM SIN THE DELIVERANCE FROM HELL WILL NOT HAPPEN EITHER. NOTE: The books from Classic Domain Publishing are intended to awaken people - Christians, Backsliders, and Non-Christians alike - to the urgency of seeking Christ in order to make the rapture or to make it to heaven if they should die before the rapture. Most of the books by Classic Domain Publishing are Public Domain and are "re-published" in order to make the books more readily available to the modern era in the "Last Minutes" of these "Last Days."

-Death to sin implies a death to our own interests and happiness as an end of pursuit, and a living wholly to the glory of God, and for the up-building of his kingdom. -Death to sin implies a will wholly subservient to and under the control of the will of God. I speak now also of a state of will. One who is dead to sin has no other will than that God's will should in all things be done. -Death to sin implies a self-denying state of mind, a disposition to give others the preference, a choosing to accommodate others, and bless, and benefit others, at the expense of self-interest or self-indulgence. -Death to sin is the real and practical regarding of our whole being as God's. -Death to sin implies the making of ourselves no reputation as Christ did. -Death to sin implies the real and practical regarding of our possessions as God's.

The object of this love is the world. It was to a world of sinners, towards which this love was exercised. God loved men as a race, as sinners, the enemies of God. It was an unselfish kind of love. The reason why God loved men was not because they deserved that he should do them good - for they deserved evil only at his hands. Observe, there was a good reason why he should love them, but they had no right to demand his love as a matter of justice, for they had forfeited all claim to his affection or protection; and therefore, of course, justice did not demand that God should do them good. The soul of man was so valuable, its happiness would be so infinitely important, and its misery so great an evil, that God, looking at the intrinsic value of their souls, saw good reason for loving them and doing them good - that is, God did the good for the sake of the good itself; he willed good to them for the sake of the intrinsic and infinite value of this good to them considered in itself, and not because they at all deserved it. They not only had no claim upon him for this love, but there were great reasons for his destroying them; yet, nevertheless so great was the value of their souls, so much did he pity them in view of their coming and certain destruction, and so greatly did he love their happiness and desire it, that overcoming all obstacles in the way he rose above any disposition to punish them, or retaliate upon them for their wickedness, and sought only to do them good. There was good reason for this as I have said, not in view of the actions of mankind, but in consideration of the value of their souls.

In this insightful discourse "On Prayer" Charles Finney discusses some very good points about prayer. It may very well encourage you to prayer more often and more earnestly. Some points that Charles makes are such things as: - Prayer also prepares us the better to receive all blessings from God, and hence should be constant. - Prayer pleases God as governor of the universe, because it puts us in a position in which he can bless us and gratify his own benevolence. - Search the history of the world, and you will find that where there has been most true prayer, and the soul has been most deeply imbued with the divine presence, there God has most abundantly and richly blessed the soul. Who does not know that holy men of old were eminent for usefulness and power according as they were faithful and mighty in prayer? - The more we pray, the more shall we be enlightened, for surely they are most enlightened who pray most. If we go no farther in divine things than human reason can carry us, we get little indeed from God.

How does pride of heart deceive men? 1. It renders men in a great measure blind to their own faults. The man of a proud heart will not see his own faults. He has no desire to see them. He would sooner see anything else in the world than see the bad side of his own character, and of course he takes every precaution to avoid the honest view of himself. He has no intention or even desire to find his own proper level in society, but tries to deceive both himself and others. He would fain imagine that he is vastly better than he really is, and make everybody else believe it if he can. Hence he will overlook his own faults either wholly, or at least as far as he can, and would be glad to make others do the same. This is one of the workings of a proud heart. 2. It leads men to excuse, or at least palliate their own faults. If a proud man can no longer cover his own faults, this will be his next resort. When he can not deny that many things in his conduct are palpably wrong objectively considered, he will yet maintain that under his very peculiar circumstance, they are nearly or quite right. They will at least admit of much palliation; so he sets himself most diligently to this labor. He will be that last man to come down to a candid and through examination of his own faults. Ah, he does not relish this honest-hearted work. 3. It leads men to imagine that they have virtues which they have not. This is often manifest in their egotistical manner of speaking. In their common conversation they assume that they possess virtues which nobody ever saw them exhibit, or ever dreamed of attributing to them. Whatever in their own conduct has the remotest appearance of virtue, they are sure to drag into their service to prove themselves the best of men.

We do not properly owe an individual until we are under an obligation to pay him. Whenever he has a right to demand the pay, we have no right to withhold it. There may be such a thing as contracting a prospective debt, giving your obligation to become due at a certain time. But then you do not properly owe, because you are under no obligation to pay till it becomes due. But whenever it becomes due you are bound immediately to pay it. It is unjust to be in debt past it's due date]. If your creditor has a right to demand payment, you certainly have no right to withhold it. If it is due it is unjust for you not to pay ... It is as much injustice as stealing, and involves the same principle. The sin of stealing consists in the appropriating to ourselves that which properly belongs to another. Therefore whenever you withhold from any man his due, you are guilty of as absolute an injustice, as if you stole his property.

The backslidden condition is a lot more common than people like to believe - especially about one self. You may fool yourself into believing that you are in good shape with the Lord. But let me tell you, if you have a sin or sins you have not overcome yet then that is a very real sign that you are not in a pure state before God (i.e. backslidden or lukewarm). Take the diagnoses that Charles Finney gives and carefully and soberly consider whether you have any backslidden tendency in your heart or actions. Because of the deceitfulness of sin you may not be very good at your own diagnosis. Earnestly ask the Holy Spirit what areas in which you need to overcome. If you already know you need to overcome - that is a good sign that you are hearing from God. Then take the crucial next step and earnestly ask the Lord to help you overcome ALL sin. Including any disobedience. It is a great deal more important than you realize