Jesus showed me that the answer rested in His Holy Spirit and in His power.

This led to the next obvious question which was what does this mean and how do I draw upon Jesus’ power through the Holy Spirit more effectively? It was not to long after this that I came across a book called, The Release of the Spirit, by Watchman Nee. In this book Pastor Nee showed how in order for us to be effective in ministry outreach and release, the outward man, our soul and flesh, must be broken of its self-initiative if the Holy Spirit is to be released. He wrote,

"Thus the breaking of the outward man is the first lesson for everyone who would learn to serve God. He who is truly used by God is one who’s outward thought and outward emotion do not act independently. If we have not learned this lesson, we shall find our effectiveness greatly impaired. May God bring us to the place where the outward man is completely broken."^8/22

This led to the next obvious question, "How does one bring about a breaking down of the outward man so that one’s actions are through the leading of the Holy Spirit and not through independent thought and emotion?" Not to long after I began seeking Jesus for an answer to this question, I was talking to some friends of mine one day and they related a story to me about a man by the name of Charles G. Finney, a nineteenth century Evangelist. They shared with me how the presence of Jesus in his life was so real that one time while passing through a factory on tour, workers, as they observed his passing, would break down in tears under conviction of sin and their need of Jesus.

This seemed a little far fetched to me at the time, but I got saved by checking out the source of Christianity: the Bible. Therefore, I decided to check out original sources about this man’s life to find out if there was anything to their story.

Right off the bat, I found a five-hundred page autobiography on his life called, Charles G. Finney.⁹ In the book Charles Finney, a lawyer, related how, as a result of reading the Bible, he became a Christian.^9/477 I could identify with that since I too became a Christian as a result of reading the Scriptures.

Not to long after he received Jesus, he shares how one night after having spent some time with the Lord, that the Lord appeared to him in a vision and without warning or the knowledge that it was still for today, Jesus Baptized him in His Holy Spirit. This was followed with speaking in tongues. Finney shared,

"By evening we got the books and furniture adjusted; and I made up, in an open fire-place, a good fire, hoping to spend the evening alone. Just at dark Squire W__, seeing that everything was adjusted, bade me good-night and went to his home. I had accompanied him to the door; and as I closed the door and turned around, my heart seemed to be liquid within me. All my feelings seemed to rise and flow out; and the utterance of my heart was, ‘I want to pour my whole soul out to God.’ The rising of my soul was so great that I rushed into the room back of the front office, to pray.

"There was no fire, and no light, in the room; nevertheless it appeared to me as if it were perfectly light. As I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. It did not occur to me then, nor did it for some time afterward, that it was wholly a mental state. On the contrary it seemed to me that I saw him as I would see any other man. He said nothing, but looked at me in such a manner as to break me right down at his feet. I have always since regarded this as a most remarkable state of mind; for it seemed to me a reality, that He stood before me, and I fell down at His feet and poured out my soul to Him. I wept aloud like a child, and made such confessions as I could with my choked utterance. It seemed to me that I bathed His feet with my tears; and yet I had no distinct impression that I touched him, that I recollect.

"I must have continued in this state for a good while; but my mind was to much absorbed with the interview to recollect anything that I said. But I know, as soon as my mind became calm enough to break off from the interview, I returned to the front office, and found that the fire that I had made of large wood was nearly burned out. But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.

"No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love; and I do not know but I should say, I literally bellowed out the unutterable gushings of my heart. These waves came over me, and over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recollect I cried out, ‘I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.’ I said, ‘Lord, I cannot bear anymore,’ yet I had no fear of death."^9/19-20

Not very long after this Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus began to use Charles Finney in a most unusual way that brought true revival wherever Finney preached; so much so, that he is mentioned in our history books. Included in this book was a story about a factory in Whitesboro near Utica, New York,

"The next morning, after breakfast, I [Charles G. Finney] went into the factory, to look through it. As I went through, I observed there was a good deal of agitation among those who were busy at their looms, and their mules, and other implements of work. On passing through one of the apartments, where a great number of young women were attending to their weaving, I observed a couple of them eyeing me, and speaking very earnestly to each other; and I could see that they were a good deal agitated, although they both laughed. I went slowly toward them. They saw me coming, and I observed that her hands trembled so that she could not mend it. I approached slowly, looking on each side at the machinery, as I passed; but observed that this girl grew more and more agitated, and could not proceed with her work. When I came with in eight or ten feet of her, I looked solemnly at her. She observed it, and was quite overcome, and sunk down, and burst into tears. The impression caught almost like powder, and in a few moments nearly all in the room were in tears. This feeling spread through the factory. Mr. W__, the owner of the establishment, was present, and seeing the state of things, he said to the superintendent, "Stop the mill, and let the people attend to religion; for it is more important that our souls should be saved than that this factory run." The gate was immediately shut down, and the factory stopped; but where should we assemble? The superintendent suggested that the mule room was large; and, the mules being run up, we could assemble there. We did so, and a more powerful meeting I scarcely ever attended. It went on with great power. The building was large, and had many people in it, from the garret to the cellar. The revival went through the mill with astonishing power, and in the course of a few days nearly all in the mill were hopefully converted."^9/183-184