W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
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contrast in that respect between the North and the South. In the former, I generally board myself, as a matter of<br />
choice, because it does not seem convenient as a rule for the people' to entertain the preachers. In the latter, as a<br />
rule, the members want the preacher to board with them and I have to adopt the style of the old-time school<br />
teachers, who always boarded among the scholars.<br />
In this case I was impressed with the exceptional phenomenon, as no one invited me to enjoy the hospitality so<br />
characteristic of Southern people, but the pastor boarded me and my two stalwart, red-hot Kentuckians.<br />
God has wonderfully blessed me with that gift of the Holy Ghost denominated “discernment of spirits.” I Cor.<br />
12:8-11. As my coming had been thoroughly advertised, the people gave me a splendid curiosity congregation to<br />
begin with. I always made it a rule to preach for conviction with all my might, praying incessantly that God<br />
would send it before the curiosity had evanesced. If I could possibly couple conviction on to curiosity, I would<br />
hold my congregation. In my general diagnosis of the large crowd that first looked me in the face, I found but<br />
the smallest number of people who seemed to be walking in the light of God's countenance. Of course, many of<br />
them had been saved in former years, but the Spirit had been grieved away and the darkness of condemnation<br />
had again supervened. Satan, as he always does, had captured them with his favorite lassoes of dead legalism,<br />
cold ritualism, lifeless formality and hollow hypocrisy.<br />
As upon this early diagnosis, I found about nine-tenths of the people under condemnation, with but a few<br />
enjoying the experience of full salvation, therefore the Spirit told me to take Mount Sinai for my pulpit, and He<br />
would furnish the thunderbolts, lightning-shafts, earthquakes, cyclones and typhoons. Consequently I stood<br />
before that crowded assembly, tossing Heaven's flaming artillery from the tips of my fingers, preaching for<br />
conviction with all my might, and keeping in mind the homely maxim of Sam Jones, “Never try to scald hogs<br />
till you get the water hot,” as in that case you will set the hair, so you cannot get it off. I was making no altar<br />
calls, as I did not feel led to wear myself out on nominal seekers, insufficiently convicted for a really genuine<br />
conversion. I was constantly shaking over Hell all the people in the churches or out of them indiscriminately,<br />
who had not the clear witness of the Spirit to a bona fide Scriptural regeneration, actually knowing their<br />
salvation as consciously as their very existence. My clear, straight and constant exegesis of real matter-of-fact,<br />
know-so, personal salvation, was too high for many of the church members to appropriate, therefore they, along<br />
with the outsiders, had to take their place under the black banner of condemnation, exposed to wrath and Hell,<br />
world without end.<br />
As the days went by, the audiences kept up splendidly, crowding the house and listening spellbound. At the end<br />
of the week the pastor came to me with flowing tears and informed me that he would have to send me off, as his<br />
official board had notified him that he could not retain me any longer. They had really gone back on me almost<br />
from the beginning, and he knew it, but was so anxious for a revival that he had held on, hoping it would come<br />
and relieve him. All of this time I had made no altar calls, but was preaching with all my might for conviction;<br />
meanwhile I had a great deal of prayer, diligently testing my congregation and giving all who had grace enough<br />
to exercise it in public an opportunity to glorify God in oral prayer. I also had testimony; giving all an<br />
opportunity meekly to tell what God had done for their souls. When the pastor gave me my discharge, I<br />
acquiesced without a word, pronouncing my blessing upon them, and proceeding at once to get ready for the<br />
morning train, as they had but two a day going in the direction of my next appointment. It so happened that my<br />
young men could not get their washing in time for the morning train, therefore we had to postpone till four<br />
o'clock P. M. Meanwhile I was packing my trunk and fixing up to leave, when the pastor returned to my room,<br />
accompanied by a fine looking gentleman in the prime of life, whom he introduced to me as his presiding elder.<br />
He said, “Quit packing that trunk; if you go away from here in a month, it is as early as I expect.” I responded,<br />
“The pastor who called me has already discharged me, and consequently I am preparing to go.” Then he said,<br />
“As presiding elder of this district, I have rights as well as the pastor, and I am not willing to let you leave. I<br />
want you to stay here a month yet, and then I have many places in my district where I want you to hold<br />
meetings.” I asked him why he differed so widely from the pastor in reference to the continuance of my labors.<br />
He responded, “When I drove into the city this morning, the members of our church, as fast as they saw me, ran<br />
out of their business houses and halted me in my buggy and said, 'We are so glad you have come, we have been<br />
wishing you would. “Why, what do you want?” Oh, we are in a heap of trouble; and so much need a revival.<br />
Our pastor called a man to help us in a revival meeting, and he has actually ruined us all, he has preached away