"God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God" (Ps. 62:11).
God Himself is the great source of power. It is His possession. "Power belongeth unto God", and He manifests it according to His sovereign will. Yet, not in an erratic or arbitrary manner, but according to His declared purpose and promises. True, our opponents and hindrances are many and mighty, but our God, the living God, is Almighty.
Further, God's power is available power. We are supernatural people, born again by a supernatural birth, kept by a supernatural power, sustained on supernatural food, taught by a supernatural Teacher from a supernatural Book. We are led by a supernatural Captain in right paths to assured victories. The risen Saviour, ere He ascended on high, said: 'All power is given unto Me. Go ye therefore".
Again, He said to His disciples: "Ye shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you". Not many days after this, in answer to united and continued prayer, the Holy Spirit did come upon them, and they were all filled. Praise God, He remains with us still. The power given is not a gift from the Holy Spirit. He Himself is the power. Today He is as truly available, and as mighty in power, as He was on the day of Pentecost. But since the days before Pentecost, has the whole Church ever put aside every other work, and waited upon God for ten days, that that power might be manifested? We have given too much attention to method, and to machinery, and to resources, and too little to the source of power.
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Taylor was known for his sensitivity to Chinese culture and zeal for evangelism. He adopted wearing native Chinese clothing even though this was rare among missionaries of that time. Under his leadership, the CIM was singularly non-denominational in practice and accepted members from all Protestant groups, including individuals from the working class and single women as well as multinational recruits. Primarily because of the CIM's campaign against the Opium trade, Taylor has been referred to as one of the most significant Europeans to visit China in the 19th Century. Historian Ruth Tucker summarises the theme of his life:
No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematised plan of evangelising a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor.
Taylor was able to preach in several varieties of Chinese, including Mandarin, Chaozhou, and the Wu dialects of Shanghai and Ningbo. The last of these he knew well enough to help prepare a colloquial edition of the New Testament written in it