6.9.2016 Finney on THE NECESSITY OF UNION

AGAIN I SAY TO YOU THAT IF TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH CONCERNING ANYTHING THAT THEY ASK, IF WILL BE DONE FOR THEM BY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN
matthew 18.19
an individual may desire a revival for the glory of God and the salvation of sinners.
another member of the church may also desire a revival, but for very different motives.
some, perhaps, desire a revival in order to have the congregation built up and strengthened.
this would make it easier for them to pay their expenses in supporting the Gospel.

another desires a revival for the sake of having the church increased so as to be more respectable.
others desire a revival because they have been opposed or slandered
and they wish to have it known that, whatever may be thought or said, God blesses them.
sometimes people desire a revival from mere natural affection, so as to have their friends converted..

people can pray so emphatically for a revival that you would think by their earnestness and union they would certainly move God to grant the blessing,
until you find out their reason.

and what is it? they see their congregation is about to be broken up unless something can be done.
or they see another denomination gaining ground
and there is no way tto counteract this except by having a revival in their church.
all their praying is, therefor, only an attempt to get the Almighty to help them out of their difficulty.
it is purely selfish and offensive to God.

261  until they recognize that their children are rebels,
parents seldom agree in praying for the conversion of their children
in such a way as to have their prayers answered.
parents often pray very earnestly for their children.
but if they want their prayers to prevail,
they must take God's part against their children.
because of their perverseness and incorrigible wickedness,
He is obliged to send them to hell unless they are saved.

...suppose a church get the idea that sinners are poor, unfortunate creatures
who come into the world with such a nature that they cannot help sinning. 
if christians feel that sinners are unable to repent and believe the Gospel,
it is hard to see the sinner as a reel against God who deserves to be sent to hell.
how can they feel the sinner is to blame?
and how can they take God's part when they pray?

if they do not take God's part against the sinner,
they cannot expect God to hear their prayers, because they do not pray with right motives.
no doubt, one great reason so many prayers are not answered
is that those who pray take the sinner's part against God.
they pray as if the sinner were a poor, unfortunate being, to be pitied,
rather than a guilty wretch to be blamed.
and the reason is that they do not believe sinners are able to obey God.

262  how often do you hear people pray for sinners in this style:
'Oh Lord, help this poor soul to do what he is required to do.
O Lord, enable him to do so and so'?
now, this language implies that they take the sinner's part and not God's.
they cannot pray successfully until they understand that the sinner is an obstinate reel.
he is so obstinate that, without the Holy Spirit, he never will become converted.
this obstinacy is the only reason he needs the influence of the Holy Spirit for his conversion. the sinner needs help in overcoming his obstinacy, making him willing to do what God justly requires him to do.
if there are rebellious and impenitent members in the church, they should be removed. the church should agree to cut them off. if they remain, they are a reproach to religion and will hinder revival. sometimes, when an attempt is made to cast them out, there is a division. then the work is stopped. sometimes the offenders are influential people or they have family friends who will take their side, create a bad spirit and prevent revival.
whenever wrong has been done to anyone, there should be a full confession. i do not mean a cold and forced acknowledgment such as saying, 'if I  have done wrong, I am sorry for it'. it should be a hearty confession, going the full length of the wrong and showing that it comes out of a broken heart.

a great obstruction to revival is often found were active, leading individuals harbor a revengeful and unforgiving spirit toward those who have injured them. if the church members are truly in agreement in confessing their faults and in cherishing a tender, merciful, forgiving, Christlike spirit toward anyone they think has done them wrong, the Spirit will come down upon them, overflowing their souls.