Lessons from the Potter’s Wheel – Part 3: Days of Glory, a Consuming Fire

While there were no overt or visible manifestations of God’s glory that I knew of in the West Plains revival, there were certainly many other expressions that left no one in doubt that God was present in glory, power, and fellowship. It seemed that the presence of the Holy Spirit hovered over the city for a period of many months – perhaps for several years. Many would testify that the presence of God was so real and personal it seemed one could look over his shoulder and God would be there. He was a real and abiding presence that no honestly spiritual person could seriously doubt.

During the week of the Jamie Coleman Crusade, when the revival broke out, large numbers of people came to a saving knowledge of Christ. Not only were there people responding to the gospel message in each of the evening services but people were spontaneously accepting Christ as they went about their daily affairs. One farmer was under conviction so strongly that he got on his knees in his milking barn in the wee hours of the morning and accepted Christ.

Another man was on his way to the nearby forest to go deer hunting and became so convicted that he stopped his truck, got out and went to his knees in the frost covered grass and received Christ in his heart.

We heard stories of people driving into the city and becoming so convicted that they would come to the First Baptist Church, the epicenter of the revival – seeking spiritual help.

The church building was packed with people in every service of the revival services with that attendance continuing in the regularly scheduled services at the conclusion of the revival meeting. Pastor Jim Hylton preached with great anointing and clarity as he expounded the principles of the revival we were experiencing. People continued to respond to the gospel messages with brokenness and great conviction with large numbers coming to Christ.

As the revival spread in the congregation, spontaneous prayer meetings began to occur. More than once, Norma and I would pack our children into the car, go to a home where the word had gotten around that there would be prayer, put the children in the back room with the rest of the kids, and join in a time of heart rendering and beseeching prayer.

On occasions, on our way home from one of these prayer meeting, we would pass the home of another of our members where a number of cars were parked near the house and, knowing that prayer was happening, would simply walk in and join in the prayer. The times of prayer were so intense that we, on occasions, would enter after the beginning of prayer time and leave before it was over with few people noting our coming and going.

One lady, whose husband was quite antagonistic to anything spiritual, was in one of the prayer times (as was her habit) and realizing that it was getting late, she hurriedly got up to leave. It was time for her husband to be getting in from work and he would be quite angry if she wasn’t home with her and their son in bed when he got in. We were all sprawled round the room in various attitudes and postures of prayer when she left. Knowing their situation, we began to urgently pray for her that the Father would intervene. The next day, she shared her story. She and her son had gotten home and were in bed long before he got in. He came in the house, banging the doors and complained that he had run out of gas seven miles out of town and had to walk the entire way with no one offering him a ride. She, rousing their son, took her husband out to get his car, all the while inwardly rejoicing at the Father’s care. When we heard the story, there was a great outpouring of praise and rejoicing in all of our hearts; thanking the Father for His watch-care over His children.

The Bible came alive! As Norma experienced revival in her life, we consumed its truths. We would lie in bed at night before going to sleep and read – with her reading her Bible and with me reading mine! I would exclaim, “Listen to this!” as I would be struck by a particularly exciting Word. She might say, “First, let me read you this passage!” And so it would go night after night with us often lying awake until the early hours of the morning feasting on the Word of God.

Lesson from the Potter’s Wheel: When the presence of God touches a person, home, church, or community, people are drawn to Him, lives are changed, and new values are sought. The Potter’s Wheel was all about change, and change is the order of the day in Days of God’s Glory!

Jeff

• Jefferson H. and Norma R. Floyd, CO-directors • Jubilee International • P. O. Box 572 • Noblesville, IN 46061 • Copyright November 2007 by Jefferson H. Floyd. All rights reserved.