1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why I Published "Baptism of the Holy Spirit", April 26, 2010
This review is from: Baptism of the Holy Spirit/God's Provision of Power (Paperback)
Around 1999, I found what was at the time one of the last copies available of this work by Mahan/Finney. It was truly life-changing reading for me. It is simply suffused with Scripture to back up each point made in it, and I could feel the Holy Spirit's influence throughout. The basic premise of the book, is that when you allow the Holy Spirit to become involved in every aspect of your life, He has a cleansing and renewing effect upon you, which is transformational and very rewarding. The book was SO good, I felt it had to be put into print again, and made available to Christians to help them grow in their walk with the Lord, as it had helped me so much in that regard. It was one of the privileges of my life to have been able to publish
Baptism of the Holy Spirit/God's Provision of Power because I know that anyone who reads it with a willing spirit, as one comes to the Word, in order to be taught by the Lord, that person will be blessed as I was.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the benchmarks of Spiritual power, September 19, 2010
This review is from: Baptism of the Holy Spirit/God's Provision of Power (Paperback)
I own an original 1870 copy of this book that I found in a little bookstore in Coweta, Oklahoma. It is something that God gives as a blessing.
The main thrust talked about in whole and in part is not if there is a debate about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit it is explaining you can't spiritually do anything without it and why.
There is no approach to growth without a pragmatic outlook. Growth is about stretching into the unknown and coming to conclusions based on benchmarks. If people think God is sovereign and have to just have to wait and see what happens then most if not all of those person are done. All they have to do is wait till they die to go to heaven. In the mean while try and be the best kind of person they know how to be.
On the other hand if you want to see power in your life to help change the world then you need God to help you. God is sovereign, but He sticks to His own rules. He is the same today and yesterday and is not a respecter of people. If it works for one it will work for all. He has given power to man. Jesus came as a man anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power. Asa Mahan is saying we are men ordained to be anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power.
Mark 16:17-18
These signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Without the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Mark 16:17-18 is not going to happen. The optimist knows this is true and the pessimist fears he is correct.
This book was written before man was too full of himself and is an un adulterated book of truth. If you think that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is still a debate don't buy this book. If you think the style is dated then the Gospels must be a quantum leap. Truth has no expiration date.
As far as Finney goes - when we have filled the shoes of one so profound and responsible for such advances in the Christian life then we can dismiss him as insignificant, boring, and dated.
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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Book from the Oberlin College Perfectionist Teachers, November 20, 2005
This review is from: Baptism of the Holy Spirit/God's Provision of Power (Paperback)
I would be the first to admit that I am not a fan of the teachings of Charles G. Finney. While in college I was first introduced to Finney's LECTURES ON REVIVAL. I found them boring but also had many problems with Finney's disdain for revival being a sovereign work of the Spirit of God. Finney was very man-focused in his book and believed that all aspects of "religion" were merely accomplished through pragmatic means. I tried reading more of Finney's books on prayer and then on sanctification. It was here that I first saw Finney's teaching on the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
This book is from the writings and teachings of Oberlin College professor Asa Mahan. Mahan was a collegue of Charles Finney and contributed much to Finney's thinking and vise versa. Mahan never had the popularity of Finney but his writing on the baptism with the Holy Spirit led to a holiness revival of sorts in the late 19th century following the American Civil War. Mahan's work would become a standard text in many holiness Bible colleges and would effect the early Pentecostal movement.
Mahan teaches in this book the baptism with the Holy Spirit after salvation. Mahan teaches that a believer is indwelt with the Spirit (Romans 8:9) but not filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Mahan differs himself with Finney in that he teaches that the purpose of the baptism with the Holy Spirit is for power to evangelize or preach the gospel (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).
Overall this work adds nothing new to the Spirit-Baptism debate and there are better works on the subject from holiness, Pentecostal, and Evangelical positions. Mahan's style is dated as are his arguments. Mahan's theology is further tainted by the influence of the pragmatist Charles Finney.
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