[Published in Charles G. Finney, A Sermon, Preached in the Presbyterian Church at Troy, March 4, 1827, by the Rev. Charles G. Finney, from Amos III. 3: Can two walk together except they be agreed? (Troy, N.Y.: Tuttle and Richards, 1827), page 2.]
TROY, MARCH 30th, 1827.
REV. CHARLES G. FINNEY,
Dear Sir&emdash;Believing that the publication of the sermon you preached in this city, soon after opening the present session of the Presbytery of Troy, from the text, "Can two walk together except they be agreed," will essentially tend to advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom; we, members of said Presbytery, earnestly request a copy of the same for the press.
Affectionately yours, in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel,
Samuel W. May, John Younglove,
I. B. Goodrich, Amos Savage,
Nathan S. S. Beman, John B. Shaw,
John P. Cushman, Thomas Fletcher,
Jonathan Kitchel, John Hendricks,
John E. Baker, Zebulon R. Shepherd,
Joseph Brown, Timothy Graves.
Thomas McGee,
&emdash;oOo&emdash;
BRETHREN,
The discourse mentioned in your communication, and which you request for the press, was altogether an extemporaneous one. Since preaching upon that subject, I have hastily sketched down the principal thoughts, and if you are of opinion that it will, in any degree, promote the object mentioned in your request, I submit it to your discretion, with my humble prayer that God may add his blessing.
Yours in the bonds of the Gospel,
C. G. FINNEY.
Troy, 30th March, 1827.
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Charles Finney (1792 - 1875)
Known as one of the leaders in the Second Great Awakening revival in America. He was a revivalist who called for deep introspection of sin and preaching of the law to bring about sin. He was known to preach 30+ nights on sin and than the last night on Christ to have people flee to Him for mercy. Used greatly in the book: "Revivals of Religion" which is a classic on the subject of revival.He preached on the true Baptism of the Holy Spirit and its necessity. In his revivalistic campaigns he was used of the Lord to bring some estimate over 50,000 souls to the Lord which many were sound converts. There has been questions raised surrounding his theology in the later years of his ministry but this does not discredit that God used him powerfully in revival and for God's kingdom.
Charles Finney was born in Connecticut to an ordinary family and life that gave little hint of the great things God had in store for him. He was a schoolteacher and then a lawyer before his conversion at age 29. Finney was filled with the Holy Spirit on the same day he was saved and immediately began witnessing to friends and family members. More than twenty people were saved in the 24 hours following Finney's conversion. Finney's personal evangelism soon became public evangelism as he began to travel and preach in extended revival meetings. He considered revival to be a natural result of following the instructions God had laid out in His Word.
During Finney's fifty years of preaching, more than 500,000 were saved. He wrote many books, the most enduring of which are The Autobiography of Charles Finney and Lectures on Revival of Religion. After ill health forced him to stop traveling in meetings, he accepted the pastorate of a church in New York City. From 1852 until 1866 he served as president of Oberlin College in Ohio. Although some of his theology was lacking, he was a powerful, Spirit-filled soul winner who brought revival to cities and towns across the eastern United States.