What wilt Thou have Me to do?
An Address at The Monday Meeting, Corinthian
Hall, Oakland, Cal. Reported by Miss Sadie Cody.
October 1914
Published in Triumphs of Faith p. 227-230 October
1914
Read Acts 19. As soon as Paul saw the light from
heaven above the brightness of the sun, he said,
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
And as soon as he was willing to yield he was in a
condition where God could meet his need; where
God could display His power; where God could
have the man. Oh, beloved, are you saying today,
“What wilt thou have me to do?” The place of
yieldedness is just where God wants us.
People are saying, “I want the baptism, I want
healing, I would like to know of a certainly that I
am a child of God,” and I see nothing, absolutely
nothing in the way except unyieldedness to the
plan of God. The condition was met which Paul
demanded, and instantly when he laid hands on
them they were filled with the Spirit and spake in
other tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:6). The only
thing needed was just to be in the condition where
God could come in. The main thing today that God
wants is obedience. When you begin yielding and
yielding to God He has a plan for your life, and you
come in to that wonderful place where all you have
to do is to eat the fruits of Canaan. I am convinced
that Paul must have been in divine order as well as
those men, and Paul had a mission right away to
the whole of Asia.
Brothers and sisters, it is the call of God that
counts. Paul was in the call of God. Oh, I believe
God wants to stir somebody’s heart today to
obedience; it may be for China or India or Africa,
but the thing God is looking for is obedience.
“What wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
…God wrought special miracles by the hands of
Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the
sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases
departed from them, and the evil spirits went out
of them.
Acts 19:11,12
If God can have His way today, the ministry of
somebody will begin; it always begins as soon as
you yield. Paul had been bringing many people to
prison, but God brought Paul to such a place of
yieldedness and brokenness that he cried out,
“What wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Paul’s
choice was to be a bondservant for Jesus Christ.
Beloved, are you willing that God shall have His
way today? God said, “I will shew him how great
things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts
9:16). But Paul saw that these things were working
out a far more exceeding weight of glory. You
people who have come for a touch from God, are
you willing to follow Him; will you obey Him?
When the prodigal son had returned and the father
had killed the fatted calf and made a feast for him,
the elder brother was angry and said, “…thou
never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry
with my friends,” (Luke 15:29) but the father said
to him, “...all that I have is thine” (v. 31). He could
kill a fatted calf at any time. Beloved, all in the
Father’s house is ours, but it will come only
through obedience. And when He can trust us, we
will not come behind in anything.
“...God wrought special miracles by the hands of
Paul” (Acts 19:11). Let us notice the handkerchiefs
that went from his body; it means to say that when
he touched and sent them forth, God wrought
special miracles through them, and diseases
departed from the sick, and evil spirits went out of
them. Is it not lovely? I believe after we lay hands
on these handkerchiefs and pray over them, that
they should be handled very sacredly, and even as
the one carries them they will bring life, if they are
carried in faith to the suffering one. The very effect
of it, if you only believed, would change your own
body as you carried it.
A woman came to me one day and said, “My
husband is such a trial to me; the first salary he
gets he spends it in drink, and then he cannot do
his work and comes home; I love him very much,
what can be done?” I said, “If I were you I would
take a handkerchief and would place it under his
head when he went to sleep at night, and say
nothing to him, but have a living faith.” We
anointed a handkerchief in the name of Jesus, and
she put it under his head. Oh, beloved, there is a
way to reach these wayward ones. The next
morning on his way to work he called for a glass of
beer; he lifted it to his lips, but he thought there
was something wrong with it, and he put it down
and went out. He went to another saloon, and
another, and did the same thing. He came home
sober. His wife was gladly surprised and he told
her the story; how it had affected him. That was the
turning point in his life; it meant not only giving
up drink, but it meant his salvation.
God wants to change our faith today. He wants us
to see it is not obtained by struggling and working
and pining. “…the Father himself loveth
you...” (John 16:27). “...Himself took our
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew
8:17). “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew
11:28).
Who is the man that will take the place of Paul, and
yield and yield and yield, until God so possesses
him in such a way that from his body virtue shall
flow to the sick and suffering? It will have to be the
virtue of Christ that flows. Don’t think there is
some magic virtue in the handkerchief or you will
miss the virtue; it is the living faith in the man who
lays the handkerchief on his body, and the power
of God through that faith. Praise God, we may lay
hold of this living faith today. “The blood has never
lost its power.” As we get in touch with Jesus,
wonderful things will take place; and what else?
We shall get nearer and nearer to Him.
There is another side to it. “...exorcists, took upon
them to call over them which had evil spirits the
name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by
Jesus whom Paul preacheth...and the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know;
but who are ye?” (Acts 19:13,15). I beseech you in
the name of Jesus, especially those of you who are
baptized, to awaken up to the fact that you have
power if God is with you; but there must be a
resemblance between you and Jesus. The evil spirit
said, “…Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who
are ye?” (Acts 19:15). Paul had the resemblance.
You are not going to get it without having His
presence; His presence changes you. You are not
going to be able to get the results without the marks
of the Lord Jesus. The man must have the divine
power within himself; devils will take no notice of
any power if they do not see the Christ. “Jesus I
know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” The
difference between these men was they had not the
marks of Christ, so the manifestation of the power
of Christ was not seen.
You want power: don’t take the wrong way. Don’t
take it as power because you speak in tongues, and
if God has given you revelations along certain lines
don’t take that for the power; or if you have even
laid hands on the sick and they have been healed,
don’t take that for the power. “The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me...” (Luke 4:18); that alone is the
power. Don’t be deceived; there is a place to get
where you know the Spirit is upon you, so you will
be able to do the works which are wrought by this
blessed Spirit of God in you, and the manifestation
of His power shall be seen, and people will believe
in the Lord.
What will make men believe the divine promises of
God? Beloved, let me say to you today, God wants
you to be ministering spirits, and it means to be
clothed with another power. And this divine power,
you know when it is there, and you know when it
goes forth. The baptism of Jesus must bring us to
have a single eye to the glory of God; everything
else is wasted time and wasted energy. Beloved, we
can reach it; it is a high mark but we can get to it.
You ask how? “What wilt thou have me to do?”
That is the plan. It means a perfect surrender to the
call of God, and perfect obedience.
A dear young Russian came to England. He did not
know the language, but learned it quickly and was
very much used and blessed of God; and as the
wonderful manifestations of the power of God
were seen, they pressed upon him to know the
secret of his power, but he felt it was so sacred
between him and God he should not tell it, but they
pressed him so much he finally said to them: “First
God called me, and His presence was so precious,
that I said to God at every call I would obey Him,
and I yielded, and yielded, and yielded, until I
realized that I was simply clothed with another
power altogether, and I realized that God took me,
tongue, thoughts and everything, and I was not
myself but it was Christ working through me.” How
many of you today have known that God has called
you over and over, and has put His hand upon you,
but you have not yielded? How many of you have
had the breathing of His power within you, calling
you to prayer, and you have to confess you have
failed?
I went to a house one afternoon where I had been
called, and met a man at the door. He said, “My
wife has not been out of bed for eight months; she
is paralyzed. She has been looking so much for you
to come, she is hoping God will raise her up.” I
went in and rebuked the devil’s power. She said, “I
know I am healed; if you go out I will get up.” I left
the house, and went away not hearing anything
more about her. I went to a meeting that night, and
a man jumped up and said he had something he
wanted to say; he had to go to catch a train but
wanted to talk first. He said, “I come to this city
once a week, and I visit the sick all over the city.
There is a woman I have been visiting and I was
very much distressed about her; she was paralyzed
and has lain on that bed many months, and when I
went there today she was up doing her work.” I tell
this story because I want you to see Jesus.
We had a letter which came to our house to say that
a young man was very ill. He had been to our
Mission a few years before with a very bad foot; he
had no shoe on, but a piece of leather fastened on
the foot. God healed him that day. Three years
after, something else came upon him. What it was I
don’t know, but his heart failed, and he was
helpless; he could not rise or dress or do anything
for himself, and in that condition he called his
sister and told her to write and see if I would pray.
My wife said to go, and she believed God would
give me that life. I went, and when I got to this
place I found the whole country was expecting me;
they had said that when I came this man would be
healed. I said to the woman when I arrived, “I have
come.” “Yes,” she said, “but it is too late.” “Is he
alive?” I asked, “Yes, just alive,” she said. I went in
and put my hands upon him, and said, “Martin.”
He just breathed slightly, and whispered, “The
doctor said if I move from this position I will never
move again.” I said, “Do you know the Scripture
says, ‘God is the strength of my heart, and my
portion for ever’?” (Psalm 73:26). He said, “Shall I
get up?” I said, “No.”
That day was spent in prayer and ministering the
Word. I found a great state of unbelief in that
house, but I saw Martin had faith to be healed. His
sister was home from the asylum. God held me
there to pray for that place. I said to the family,
“Get Martin’s clothes ready; I believe he is to be
raised up.” I felt the unbelief. I went to the chapel
and had prayer with a number of people around
there, and before noon they too believed Martin
would be healed. When I returned I said, “Are his
clothes ready?” They said, “No.” I said, “Oh, will
you hinder God’s work in this house?” I went in to
Martin’s room all alone. I said, “I believe God will
do a new thing today. I believe when I lay hands
on you the glory of heaven will fill the place.” I laid
my hands on him in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, and immediately the glory of the
Lord filled the room, and I went headlong to the
floor. I did not see what took place on the bed, or
in the room, but this young man began to shout
out, “Glory, glory!” and I heard him say, “for Thy
glory, Lord,” and that man stood before me
perfectly healed. He went to the door and opened it
and his father stood there. He said, “Father, the
Lord has raised me up,” and the father fell to the
floor and cried for salvation. The young woman
brought out of the asylum was perfectly healed at
that moment by the power of God in that house.
God wants us to see that the power of God coming
upon people has something more in it than we
have yet known. The power to heal and to baptize
is in this place, but you must say, “Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do?” You say it is four months
before the harvest. If you had the eyes of Jesus you
would see that the harvest is already here. The
devil will say you can’t have faith; you tell him he
is a liar. The Holy Ghost wants you for the purpose
of manifesting Jesus through you. Oh, may you
never be the same again! The Holy Spirit moving
upon us will make us to be like Him, and we will
truly say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

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