Signs and Wonders God Wrought in the Ministry for Forty Years/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII.
“I WILL WORK AND WHO SHALL HINDER?”
I next went to Summitville, Indiana and commenced meeting on Wednesday evening, Feb. 25, 1885. The house was crowded the first night. The crowd was made up of infidels, skeptics and scoffers. Many of these scoffers were church members. A few of God’s children stood by me praying for victory. Most every one said, she will make a failure here, and were hoping it would be a failure. I went in the strength of God, knowing that he that was for me, was more than those who were against me. I arose and told them that God was coming in power; that many of them would be at the altar that night, crying for mercy. I saw some laughing, as if to say, you do not know us. I commenced singing, “Let me in the lifeboat.” The Holy Ghost fell upon me. God made them to see the lifeboat on the ocean of eternity, and them drifting away into darkness and despair, down to an awful hell. I led in prayer. When I arose, the silence of death reigned over the house. They were trembling under conviction. While I was preaching, God sent every word like arrows, dipped in the blood. of Jesus, to their hearts.
After preaching, I called for sinners to come forward. There was a rush for the altar. It was soon crowded. Those who had opposed me most were the first to come. Some who would not yield were stricken down as dead in different parts of the house. There were many bright conversions the first night. The work went on increasing in interest for one week. About five hundred were saved in the church. The seats were taken out to make standing room. The whole house was a mourners’ bench. Many of the worst men in the town and country were saved, and lived earnest Christian lives. Many were saved at home, all around the country, in nearly every house. Some died praising God. Several went out preaching the Gospel. Hundreds have been brought to Christ by their labors.
I commenced meeting at nine o′clock in the morning and closed at twelve at night. Some men arranged to come and break up the meeting. I did not know them, nor what they were doing. They came and crowded in at the door. God pointed the leader out to me. With a loud voice I called to him to come to Christ. The fear of God fell upon him. He turned pale as death and started for the altar. When he got half way he fell under the power of God. He lay about sixteen hours. The way he talked, and his gestures while lying there, brought the fear of God on all who saw him.
Those who came in with him saw it was a fearful thing to fight against God. They were soon on their knees crying for mercy. When he came out he had a wonderful experience to tell, which God used to bring many to Christ. He went to work to bring souls to Christ, and soon began to preach. Many ministers came and received the anointing power from on high. The power of the Holy Ghost fell upon me the first meeting and remained while I was there. It could be seen, heard and felt by all who came. Many times the power would take control of me when singing, praying and preaching. I would be held standing, a spectacle for men and angels. Sometimes I would lay for hours at a time. The holy fire went into all the churches and spread for miles. Hundreds of lost souls were brought to Christ after I had gone to other fields.
From Fairmount we went to Columbia City, Indiana, and commenced meeting in the Universalist Church Thursday evening, March 12, 1885, which lasted about four weeks. Sinners came to the altar the first night. Many made a start for heaven. The interest was so great we engaged the large skating-rink, which was crowded. The interest continued till the last. Many who had been saved in my meetings a year previous, and some of the ministers and Christians who assisted me in those different places, came up to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
CALLED TO PREACH DIVINE HEALING
The Lord showed me while here that I had the gift of healing, and of laying on of hands for the recovery of the sick. I had been working day and night for many months and had no strength only as God gave me each meeting. It would be two o’clock often before I would get to sleep. When God began to show me I must preach divine healing I could not understand that it was the Spirit of God leading me. For three nights when I was almost dead for rest I lay awake. God was teaching me a lesson I could not, or would not learn. I said: Lord, you know I started out to win souls for heaven, and I have been busy all the time. I have tried to be faithful in everything you have given me to do. I am so exhausted with constant labor that I have to be helped many times to rise from my bed.
I thought if I would preach divine healing they would bring all the cripples in the country, and I would neglect the salvation of souls. The Lord showed me He would take care of the work. I told the Lord if He wanted me to pray for the sick to send them to the meetings, and show me He wanted me to pray for them, and I would. When I made this promise I had perfect rest of mind and soul. From this time God began to lead me to teach divine healing and pray for the sick. It is now nine years since, and God has healed thousands of all manner of diseases. Thousands have been brought to Christ by seeing the people healed. The devil tried to make me think there would not be nearly so many saved.
On Friday, April 10, 1885, we left Columbia City for Hartford City, Indiana. At Fort Wayne we were met by Lawyer C., of Hartford City, who escorted us to his house. In the evening we met the Daniel’s Band at their nicely fitted up room, and found them all on fire for God, which cheered our hearts. The Daniel’s Band arranged to have meetings in the opera house, as I was going to stay over Sunday. At five o’clock Saturday evening they began to fill the house, and by the time the meeting commenced the house was full to overflowing, and God greatly blessed the people, and several souls were saved. On Sunday the house was full all day. But Sabbath evening was the grandest and most glorious sight I ever witnessed; fully two thousand people were crowded into the hall, and fifteen or more were entranced during the evening, and God was present in mighty power. On Monday we went to New Corner, and in the evening met the Daniel’s Band of that place. The house was literally packed, and there were not enough sinners in the house to fill the altar, almost everyone being on the Lord’s side.
By very urgent request I next went to Tipton, Indiana. I commenced meeting on Sunday morning, April 26,1885, at the Methodist Church, and for two weeks we held up the cross of Christ to a dying world, amidst all opposition from professing Christians and the outside world. All hell seemed arrayed against us, but I trusted in the Lord Jehovah to give us the victory. And many hundreds praise God for the meeting at Tipton.
On the second Sabbath evening, amidst the most intense excitement, when the altar was filled with seeking penitents, a Mrs. Y. went into a trance, and while in that condition, Dr. P. went to the front part of the house to see a trance for himself. She soon commenced to motion for him to get down on his knees. He fell as one dead. He yielded to the Lord; as he afterwards said, he believed it was then or never. God blessed and saved him.
I never saw such demonstrations of the Spirit and power as at this meeting. Many of the leading church members were struck down or stood held, not able to move, under the power of God; their faces shining with the glory of God. The presence of God was so felt that the fear of the Lord fell upon all the people.
In the two weeks I was here over five hundred came out on the Lord’s side. May they ever be kept faithful to the end of life.
News of the wonderful work of God was spreading all over the country. The interest was so great I could not get any time to rest, day or night. Committees were sent from all parts for me to go and hold meetings in different churches. I was so exhausted from constant work I could hardly sit up. We slipped off to Indianapolis, and took boarding in a private house, hoping to rest a few days, without any one knowing where we were; but we had not been there half a day till several ministers from the city churches came to see me, and tried to persuade me to hold meetings in their churches. I told them it was impossible at that time. They then urged me to preach on Sabbath, but I had to refuse.
Some came from Pendleton, Indiana, who traced us to our boarding-house, and begged very hard for me to come there, if only for a week. I had only one week before my next appointment. I saw I could not rest there, so I told them I would go. The news of my coming got there a few hours before I did. The preacher’s family, and neatly every other, were cleaning house and making garden. Things could not have been more discouraging. I was so weak I had to go to bed till meeting time, and then be helped to church. I stayed eight days. The result of this wonderful meeting was that several hundred souls had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life, including many leading citizens of the town and county—doctors, lawyers and merchants. Dr. T., a noted infidel, was converted and healed of diabetes. He is now a member of the legislature of Indiana. The oldest sinners and the hardest were saved.
We prayed for the Lord to convict them on the trains, and make them get off, and come and be saved. One afternoon I fell under the power of God and had a vision, and lay till the house was crowded. At night five doctors examined me, and they said I was in a normal condition, and that my pulse and heart beat were natural, but that it was keeping time with the music. I showed them by signs that they would all be converted, and showed them their calling, and they were all made to praise God.
While in that condition I saw three men come in from the train. They were all travelling men.
The people thought that I would not be able to preach, but I arose, and stood before a packed congregation. The power of the Holy Ghost was like a cloud on the people. I saw the three men that I had seen in my vision come from the train. They were not sitting together. I went to each one, and told them that the Lord had brought them there, and that they would all be converted that night. They were angry at first, and said they were going to another city, but something got hold of them, and they had to get off the train. They saw the crowd going to the church, so they came, too. Praise the Lord they were all saved that night. One told me that he was going right back home, twelve hundred miles, to tell his mother the good news.
After a week or two these men came to another place, where we were holding meeting, and told of the wonderful way they were brought to Christ.
From that meeting the revival swept over that country, and thousands were rejoicing in a Saviour’s love. The richest men and women were brought to Christ, and they built a nice new church.
For twenty miles round men and women were struck down in their homes, in business places, and on the roads and streets. Some lay for hours, and had wonderful visions. Many went into
the ministry, or became evangelists. AT KOKOMO
After long solicitation, which had been kept up constantly for over four months, I next went to Kokomo, Indiana, and for three weeks God wonderfully blessed me and the people of that city.
My first meeting was held in the Friends’ Church, which was very large. It would not hold the people. The next day we went to the court house. While there Barnum’s show came to the city. The papers said there would be a race between the Woodworth meeting and the show to see who would get the biggest crowd. Hundreds came to the city to go to the show, but when they heard of the wonderful meeting in the court house they came there. Once, while the great show was passing, I was preaching and held the crowd. The next time they passed there were several hundred on their knees in prayer. Not one went to the window. Praise God for such victory through the power of the Holy Ghost. We went from the court house to the skating rink, the largest building in the city. About one hundred were baptized. It was said about twenty thousand witnessed this solemn and wonderful scene. The first one baptized was a Methodist minister. About twenty church members who had not thought of being baptized were so impressed they stepped out with their best clothes on and were baptized. The crowds were so large I had to appoint three meetings that night. One was held in the court house yard and one on the street. Some ministers took charge of these meetings, and I held services in the rink. The power of God was felt for fifty miles round. Thousands of souls were brought into the light of God. The Sabbath we closed God gave us a pentecost. The Holy Ghost fell on the multitude that had crowded in the rink and around the door. The power of God had been poured out in all the meetings, and “signs and wonders” followed and rested upon the people. The Holy Ghost sat upon the blood-washed sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty.
In two hours five hundred converts had testified that they knew they were saved by the power of God, and happy on their way to heaven. Many fell under the power of the Holy Ghost while speaking. Many fell in all parts of the house. Old men and women wept aloud. Others shouted, and sinners cried for mercy. All classes were stricken down in the meetings; many church members and ministers of different denominations, not only in the meetings, but in the city and miles away. They had wonderful visions of hell and heaven, and many of the deep things of God. As they stood and told these visions the fear of God fell upon the people, and hundreds were convicted and brought to Christ.
One minister on his way home stopped ten miles away with some friends who had been to the meeting; while there, he fell in a trance The news soon spread. The neighbors gathered in. One left his plow and went in. He had been fighting off conviction. As he looked at his minister lying like one dead, the Spirit of God showed him if he was not converted before he come out of the trance he would be lost forever. He fell on his knees and called upon God to save him. Others followed. The house became a mourner’s bench. Soon their mourning was turned to shouts of praise. Before the minister came back from his visit to heaven, the news had been shouted around the throne: “Sinners are coming home to God.” This is only one instance out of hundreds where God has started a revival far away from the meetings, by striking some one down in a trance. The great revival at Cornelius’ house was all brought about by two trances, one a sinner, the other a saint, though they were many miles apart at the time. God used three visions to bring about the conversion of Saul. If I would write all the mighty works of God, I would have to write a book for each meeting.