Hi, I’m David
Lee French, and this is the account of the resurrection of my grandfather
Joseph French, he was born in Ireland in April of 1880. Enjoy your reading…
Psalms 98:1
<A Psalm.> O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous
things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
Psalms
118:18-23, "The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over
unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I
will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall
enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."
The
Resurrection
of
Joe French
The following
testimonial is given to us by J. H. Duke, who resided in Los Angeles at the
time of this writing. The miracle described in this chapter is quite
representative of the miracles that have taken place on thousands of occasions
under the ministry of the twentieth century Pentecostals. The early apostles
experienced such miracles, we are experiencing them today, and we can fully
expect them to continue in even greater measure in the future. Whenever the
true gospel is preached without reservation, its validity is confirmed by signs
and wonders following.
In
the month of June, 1908, I was managing the Railroad Hotel in Thayer, Missouri.
This hotel primarily served the Frisco Line at that time. About five o’clock
one evening, while resting on the veranda of the hotel, I was appröached by a
young Irish man looking for the manager of the hotel. Upon informing him that I
was the manager, he asked about the possibility of employment as a cook. At
that time, we were in need of a cook, and after convincing me of his qualifications,
I gave him the job. He told me that he had been the head chef on several ocean
liners, and that he had been around the world five times. Judging from his
appearance, I found this hard to believe, as he appeared as a young man barely
out of his teens. But, I discovered that Joe French was some years older than
he appeared.
Soon
after Joe began working for the hotel, a band of saints from St. Louis arrived
in Thayer, and almost immediately the mighty fires of revival began to invade
the town and surrounding countryside. The group of five saints that made the
hotel their headquarters included Mother Barnes; her daughter, lma Jean; Sister
Flint, the operator of a charity hospital in St. Louis; Elder Bennet Lawrence;
and Elder H. Bowley, later a missionary to South Africa. They all enjoyed Joe’s
cooking immensely, and especially praised the delicious biscuits. I informed
them of my new Irish cook, and Mother Barnes, being Irish herself, was anxious
to meet Joe. She found her way back to the kitchen, introduced herself to Joe,
and immediately began to praise his cooking. Receiving such a compliment was
something that joe was not accustomed to, but then all the actions of these
"strange people" were new to Joe. He had never been around people
that were constantly praising the Lord. Joe was soon persuaded to attend one of
the gospel meetings, and attended a Sunday evening service, in his message, the
evening speaker made mention of the fact that other denominations, including
the Roman Catholic Church, were beneath the Apostolics in truth and power. Joe,
being a Catholic, became very stirred up. The next morning, as I entered the
kitchen, I was surprised to hear normally mild-mannered Joe breathing out
threatenings against that preacher for daring to say anything against the
Catholic Church. After some explanation, Joe cooled down a bit, and the matter
was adjusted. I assured Joe that we all loved him, including the preacher, and
that we would do anything within our power to make him happy. The next day,
after the train dinner had been served, Joe suddenly was stricken down while in
the kitchen. When Elder Lawrence and Elder Bowley entered the kitchen, they
found Joe in a state of utter collapse, and looking as pale as if death had
already taken its toll. They summoned me, and I at once ordered him taken to
the main part of the hotel. The two elders carried him upstairs to one of the
finest rooms in the house. Joe asked me to get him the best doctor in town, so
we sent for Dr. Culp. After an examination, the case was pronounced as
malignant typhoid fever, a disease so fatal that very few ever recovered from
it.
Sister
Flint, on being told of Joe’s condition, felt condemned because she was the
only one in the band that had failed to speak to him concerning his soul’s salvation.
Being a professional nurse, she at once volunteered to nurse him. For eighteen
days she faithfully ministered to Joe’s wants. Because of her profession, she
was not strong on divine healing. She administered faithfully all the drugs
that the doctor’s prescriptions called for, which were numerous. After about
five days of Joe’s sickness had expired, the marshall of the town came into my
office and said, "Mr. Duke, I understand that you have a sick man in this
hotel, and that you are letting him die for the want of a doctor." I told
him that his informant had told a malicious lie; that I had called a doctor at
the very outset, and not only that, but I had a trained nurse in Joe’s room
from the commencement. I insisted that he come up and see for himself. He did
so, and was dumbfounded when he saw that he had been sent on a fool’s errand.
This was victory number one.
As
time went on, Joe became worse. By this time, God was working mightily in the
meetings. Great crowds looked on from night to night as devils were cast out,
the sick healed, and numbers baptized in the Holy Ghost, speaking in other
tongues. One morning while in prayer about Joe’s condition, I took my Bible and
asked God to give me a passage of Scripture regarding his almost hopeless case.
It came in a flash. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). I seemed to be
able to draw only one meaning from this, as the doctors in a special
consultation had pronounced Joe’s case utterly hopeless, and told me to notify
his relatives to that effect. Try as I would to believe otherwise, there was no
alternative but the solid conviction that Joe would surely die, but that God
would raise him from the dead. Three doctors had emphatically declared that Joe
would die before morning, but I informed them that I knew that several days
ago, as God had clearly shown me this from His own Word.
That
same evening we had one of the most wonderful services that I had ever seen in
the tent, as people could be seen everywhere, lying slain under the power of
God. After the service, my wife and I returned to the hotel and retired for the
night. About half past one in the morning, I was awakened by the weeping of
Sister Flint. I could hear her as she said over and over, "Joe is
dead." I arose and quickly dressed, and on going to Joe’s room, discovered
that he had already been laid out for burial. I felt quite composed in spirit,
and walking to the dead man’s side, I felt his hands, and put my ear close to
his heart. There was no sign of life in him. I turned to Sister Flint, and
asked her if she was certain that Joe was dead, "Dead," she replied,
"have I not seen one hundred and fifty of them die; and don’t I know when
a man is dead?" The Spirit instantly took my tongue, and repeated the
promise of Scripture that God had given me; "Though he were dead, yet
shall he live." Sister Flint instantly became so agitated that she turned
to Mother Barnes, whom I had not yet noticed, and said, "What do you think
of this man?" Mother Barnes answered, "1 believe that he believes
God." At this, the power of God came upon me, and before I knew what I was
doing, I was on my knees at Joe’s lifeless side, holding him by the hair, and
rebuking in tongues. The interpretation was "1 rebuke this death demon in
the Name of Jesus, and command the spirit to return to this body."
Instantly, life re-entered the body, and Joe’s frame shuddered. He opened his
eyes, and looked straight at Sister Flint, making an obvious believer of her.
Before
leaving Joe’s room, it was apparent that God had raised him from the dead. I
left instructions to give Joe anything he wanted to eat if he should become
hungry. In short time, Joe said, "I’m so hungry." "Joey, what
can I get for you," Sister Flint asked. He called for two poached eggs on
toast accompanied by a glass of milk. The order was quickly prepared and
brought to Joe, and he devoured it heartily.
During
the remainder of the night, Sister Flint read the Bible to Joe, and talked to
him about his soul. As a result, Joe repented of his sins and decided that he
was going to make a start for God. The next morning, while we were all
rejoicing over Joe’s decision, the doctor arrived. This visit, he did not bring
his black medicine bag, but came with a death certificate. The doctor was
speechless when he stepped into Joe’s room, and saw him sitting up in bed with
a heavenly smile on his face. We all looked at him, and Sister Flint said,
"What will we do now doctor?" He gulped at the lump in his throat,
and backing toward the door, muttered, "Keep on praying." He then
left. This was on Friday morning.
On
Sunday Joe was at the altar seeking the Holy Ghost. in almost no time at all,
the Lord filled him with His Spirit. Joe soon returned to Ireland, and surrendered
to the authorities, confessing a crime of murder, and giving all the details.
The authorities would pay no attention to Joe, however, so he was clear. From
that point on, he preached the gospel to his fellow countrymen. His mother,
father, and two sisters were soon saved. Recently we heard from Joe, and he
informed us that he is happily working for the Lord in Ireland.
It
seems almost useless to state that this miracle turned the town of Thayer
upside down. To this day I retain a living faith in my heart concerning the
ability of God to work miracles. Why should it be thought incredible that God
would raise men from the dead today. The Bible plainly records that Jesus
called Lazarus forth from the grave. And, Jesus told His disciples that they could
expect to perform even greater miracles.
This book of 20th century Pentecostalism will leave you with a profound love for and appreciation of the rich heritage we enjoy. Frank Ewart follows the flame of evangelism as it weaves its way from Topeka to Houston to Azusa Street into Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America.
Click the image below to order this book.
Copyright assigned to Pentecostal Publishing House - 1951
Revised 1975 Word Aflame Press
Hazelwood, Mo. 63042
Permission to use this chapter of the book, was given to me by the Word of Flame Press
