THE POWER OF GOD IN A REDEEMED LIFE

CHAPTER TWELVE The winter following, I was strangely led of God on an outstanding mission. I told my wife that I felt led to go to the railroad station and take a trip, but was not clear as to where, but perhaps to Eldon, Iowa. The Free Methodists had asked me to help them in a meeting sometime when I could. When I arrived at the station, I was impressed to get my ticket to Ottumwa. When I arrived there, I prayed and asked the Lord where I should go, and He said, "To Fort Madison." When I arrived in Fort Madison, I went to Brother Armstrong's. On arriving there, he told me that my brother Vernon was preaching near Dallas. We went to hear him and he asked me to preach the next night. I told him that I would if I were there. That night I stayed with the Saintclairs. The next evening, as we were getting ready for supper, they asked me if I knew that Sister Carpenter was not expected to live till morning. I had not heard it before, so I said, "Let us go early to see her." The doctor had said, "She may live until midnight, but not likely." When I went into her room, she said, "I am so glad you came. I want you to preach my funeral." I said, "I did not come to preach your funeral. God is going to heal you and you are going to go hear me preach." She said, "That is impossible." I said, "Not with God." I knelt by the side of the bed and laid my hand on her arm that was under the sheet. Just then the power of God came in glory -- torrents of it. I did not pray a word, but shouted and praised God and wept for joy. There were unsaved people in the room. They knelt and began to pray and call upon God. I could not stop shouting to pray for them. The sick woman was shouting with all the strength that she had. That lasted for nearly three quarters of an hour. When we quit shouting, she said to her husband, "Get my clothes. I haven't an ache nor pain now." She dressed and walked to the car and rode nearly seven miles to meeting. She had been bedfast for nearly a year and a half with Bright's disease, in other words, T. B. of the kidneys. She was so poor in body that she looked like skin and bones. I tried to preach, but the people kept watching her, and I could not get their attention. Finally, I asked her to testify. Sister Carpenter arose and said, "Folks, you know the doctor said I could not live till morning. When Brother Poe came in, I asked him to preach my funeral. He said, 'God is going to heal you.' I said, 'That is impossible.' 'But nothing is impossible with God,' he said, and knelt down and the healing hand of God touched me. It seemed I could see a stream of gold come down from heaven and touch me on the forehead and fold to my feet, back and forth over my body. It went through and through me. I am healed." She then praised the Lord for His great work. Her husband and she asked me to stay that night with them. Upon arriving home from service, I felt clear that I was to leave for a place I had never heard of. I told them that I would be leaving on an early train in the morning. About three quarters of an hour before I was to leave, I heard a knock on my door and I answered. "Get up. We have breakfast ready." The night before I had asked them to stay in bed, for I could slip out early and not bother them. But there were hot biscuits and a steaming breakfast. After returning thanks, she said, "Brother Poe, I slept like I did when I was sixteen and feel so good. I did not waken until God told me to get up and fix breakfast, and I feel so well now. But I want to make a request: When I do die, will you preach my funeral?" I said, "You may outlive me." Five years later she had not had a headache nor had she been sick. That is Divine healing. To God be all the glory -- not to me, nor to any other, but God through His dear Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, had done the work. As I took the train, and arrived in the little town where the Lord had led me. I went into a restaurant and inquired if there were any holiness people living there. They said, "Some people live here that they call 'the saints.' " I said, "Mormons?" They said, "No, they are very strict people." I found where they lived. It was planned of God. We had a good visit and talked of the workings of our God. Toward evening, they said, "Do you know Sister Paget from Fresno, California? She is holding a meeting about eleven miles from here." We went to the meeting and on the way the Lord gave me a message. I told the folk I was with, not to tell the evangelist that I was a preacher. When we arrived and it was time to start the meeting, the evangelist was not there. I was asked to lead the singing. After we had sung about three songs, prayer was called for. Then I asked that we sing, More, More About Jesus. We were almost through the song when the evangelist arrived. She looked at me and said, "You have a message for us." I said, "Me?" "Yes," she said "I was in my room praying for a message and the Lord told me that the man leading the singing has the message." That I could not deny, though I had told no one. God gave the message and many souls were moved upon. After returning from the service, we talked for some time of the leadings of the Lord. The next morning, I told the folk with whom I had stayed that I was to leave on the 8:00 a.m. train. We ate breakfast and got down to pray. A young woman in the home began to seek the Lord. I heard the train that I was to take, whistle into town. We prayed on for nearly an hour. The girl prayed through and said, "The Lord has just called me to go as a missionary," and praises were heard. I said, "My mission is fulfilled. I must hurry and catch that train." They said, "That train has been gone an hour." I said, "The Lord has told me to go." I did and there stood the train. I told the conductor where I wanted to go and he said, "Aboard." When I arrived at the next place where the Spirit had led me, I found there was a Holiness Association meeting going on there. I started to it, but received a checking of the Spirit. I hurried back to the depot, and asked the Lord where He wanted me to go, and He told me to another town. There I prayed again and the Lord led to Washington Iowa. That was back toward home. When I arrived, a train was there going to my home. I started to buy my ticket, but felt a very slight checking. Then came a quick urge, "Get your ticket for home." Again I went to the window to get my ticket, but again, a slight checking I left the window to pray. While praying I heard the conductor say "Aboard." That same quick spoken Spirit said, "You have grieved the Holy Ghost and I became fearful and uneasy. Finally I thought, The Holy Ghost is not the author of confusion. "Dear Lord, Thou knowest I did my best to obey Thee. Now where do you want me to go?" "Muscatine." I arose from my knees went to the window and asked when I could get a train to Muscatine, and was told that it was then coming in. I bought my ticket and was soon on my way, in the perfect will of God. I want to say right here that it is not always easy to know the will of God, but if it is to do something on the spur of the moment, it is best to wait. The Word tells us to "Wait on the Lord," and if we wait, we can be much more sure. Now on the train, it was getting late and I saw that it would be midnight when we would arrive in Muscatine. I bowed my head and said "Dear Lord, have some one in town that I know so that I can go out in the country to where I know some people." As I was walking up the street, I saw a family sitting in their car. I walked over to them and spoke and said, "I am ready to go." They said, "We have been sitting here ready to go for an hour but it seemed that we must have forgotten something or that we should not leave." I told them how I had prayed. I rode with them to the home of Brother Hepter. The next morning (Sunday), Brother Hepter and I planned for service in his home for that night. We went to Muscatine to tell some folk about it. On our way out of town, we both spoke about the same time, "Why didn't we stop somewhere for service?" He wanted to turn back, but I said, "I don't feel that we should." About four miles out in the country, we saw a church. I said, "There is the place," and we went in. There stood a tall man, just announcing his text. He had a great subject about discerning the evil and the good. He had a small box, which was divided into two parts. He had sand in both parts, and the sand in each looked the same. He said, "One of these will make glass, the other will not. The reason -- the one has a substance in it that will not unite in melting. The other is clean sand. That is a sanctified person; the first, a justified person." He preached a striking message and I amen-ed him. He was a Methodist preacher and had the experience. As soon as service was over, he came to me and said, "I perceive by the cut of your gib that you are a preacher." I replied, "I am." He invited me to preach for him that night. I told him that I was engaged. "Well, by the way, what would hinder you from preaching for me in First Church in town this morning." I consented. They sang one song had prayer, and announced that I would preach. Never, in all my life, have I had an easier time preaching. In fact, I didn't preach. The Holy Spirit so came upon me until I was carried so far out in God and the Spirit, I could not tell after the message what my text was, and neither could anyone else. Those old-time Methodists were up on their feet, waving their hands and shouting, and the preacher patting me on the back and shouting. He would no more than sit down until he would be up shouting, with perhaps twenty of the people at a time. I had never seen anything like it. I want to say right here that I have met more courtesy in some of those churches than I have in most of those where I have given the greater part of my life. Jealousy and envy are terrible sins. We had a good service in the Hepter home that night, with several seeking salvation. I was asked to preach on Monday night in a home where the people had been reading infidel books. They claimed to be unbelievers, but God got hold of them when they heard their daughter testify to how God had caused them to stay in town for an hour in answer to my prayer. After I preached that night, both the man and woman were converted. On the way to the Hepter home again, I said, "I am through. God is speaking to me to go to Toddville, Iowa," and I was taken to the train in the morning to go to Toddville. On arriving in a new town to me at about 9:00 p.m., I bowed my head and said, "Dear Lord, show me the house I am to stay in." I was impressed to go to a certain house. When I knocked, a crippled woman came to the door and asked me in. I lifted my cap, walked in, went in the front room and set my suitcase down, put my cap on it, and said, "The Lord has sent me to this town to hold a meeting, and to this house to abide." About that time I heard springs of a bed making a noise. In a moment here came a man, with a long beard, out of the bedroom, shouting, "Glory toos Got. Glory toos Got." He grabbed me and hugged me and said, "We have been praying every day for two weeks for God to send us an evangelist. Let's go tell the pastor." I asked where the pastor lived and found that it was several miles away. I told him, "This will keep till morning." He went to see one of his neighbors who carried the mail and told him the happenings and wanted to know if he would take us over to see the pastor the next morning. Arrangements were made, but we must be back before 7:00 a.m. At 5:00 a.m. we were knocking at the door of the pastor in Marion, Iowa -- over twenty miles from Toddville. The pastor, a total stranger, asked when I could begin. I said, "Tonight." He said, "Go ahead. I won't be able to be there before Sunday." I said, "Brother, I am a stranger to you. Are you going to turn me loose in your pulpit, not knowing me?" He said, "In this case, I can, for it is of God. A great load has rolled off and I can feel the Spirit." I said, "I do not belong to your denomination, but I do belong to God." He said, "You go ahead and obey Him and preach what He lays on your heart." The first night that I preached, a woman jumped up, praising and shaking hands as she did. I had a feeling in my inner consciousness that it was not real. I said nothing but went on preaching. The next night it was rather quiet, but the third night, when I was about two-thirds through preaching, that same woman jumped up and said, "Come on, folks. You know the evangelist is pounding on cold iron. Let's go to the altar." About forty-five came. They all prayed and as they were getting up, I said, "Go home, sinners as you were when you came. None of you prayed through." About every other night they would all come back to the altar, but I would always send them home, saying, "None of you have prayed through." You may say, "How did you know they hadn't prayed through?" I knew what I was preaching when they went under and I knew they hadn't done anything about it. On Sunday night, it was about the same ordeal -- all the members at the altar. I said, "Go home, sinners; not a one of you prayed through." The good pastor said, "Brother Poe, some of those folks are the best in the church." I said, "That may be, but they are not praying through." He said, "Very well. Do your best. We need a revival." Those people kept repeating, coming to the altar for nearly three weeks. On Sunday morning I preached in the Sunday school hour and we had a break -- twelve young people prayed through. When I started preaching in the regular service, the same woman that had gotten up the first night and put on a shout that registered something was wrong, arose and went across the room to some people and asked forgiveness. I said, "Now, come and ask God to forgive you and He will do it," and they came. I kept right on preaching. They soon arose with victory. Others did the same until they had all confessed. I do not know how many times folks were at the altar that morning. The service closed at 4:00 p.m., and no one complained of the late hour. We were in for a revival. While preaching on Friday following that Sunday, I felt God would have me say, "There are three people here tonight who, unless you give your hearts to God, will be in hell before I am through preaching Sunday morning." One person became angry and said he would never go back to hear that preacher again. While I was preaching on Sunday morning, one of the men that was present on Friday night, was driving his car. It skidded and went into a deep ditch and he was instantly killed. As I was about half through preaching, some boys came to the door and said, "A black man is in the barn behind the church." Some of the men near the back went out. A man who had been in the service on Friday night had hung himself and was dead. About that moment, some boys drove up and told a man on the outside the church to tell So-and-so to come out. He went out and was told that his boy had accidentally shot himself and was dead. That boy had also been in Friday night's service, and was one of the boys of that Sunday school. When his parents went to church, he went hunting and was killed by his own gun. The three were dead and it was not yet noon. When the man, who had said he would not come back, heard what had happened, he said to his wife, "I have to go to church and give my heart to God or I will be the next to go to hell." He was a seeker that night. The meeting closed with victory. A year later I received a letter from the pastor, and he said, "We had a missionary meeting today. The glory fell and we didn't get away from the church until 4:00 p.m. It made us think of the big day when victory really came -- that Sunday when they all met God and met His conditions." If we see old-time revivals, we must not compromise, but we must be led of the Holy Ghost. Amen!