Mark xi. 24, "Therefore I say unto you, What things (continued)
The Baptism With the Holy Spirit 239 of us to-day, as He did Abraham of old, that we simply take Him at His Word and count the thing ours which He has promised, simply because He has promised it.
Afterwards we get the feeling and the realization of that which He has promised.
2. The second question that some will ask is, " Will there be no manifestation of the baptism with the Spirit which we receive ? Will everything be just as it was before, and if it will, where is the reality and use of the baptism ? " Yes, there will be manifestation, very definite manifestation, but bear in mind what the character of the manifestation will be, and when the manifestation is to be expected. When is the manifestation to be expected ? After we believe. After we have received on simple faith in the naked Word of God. And what will be the character of the manifestation ? Here many go astray. They have read the wonderful experiences of Charles G. Finney, John
Wesley, D. L. Moody and others. These men tell us that when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit they had wonderful sensations. Finney, for example, describes it as like great waves of electricity sweeping over him, so that he was compelled to ask God to withhold His hand, lest he die on the spot. Mr. Moody, on rare occasions, described a similar experience. That these men had such experiences, I do not for a moment question. The word of such men as Charles G. Finney, D. L. Moody and others is to be believed, and there is another reason why I cannot question the reality of these experiences, but while these men doubtless had these experiences, there is not