Books: Personal Experiences of S. O. Susag
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S. O. Susag >> Personal Experiences of S. O. Susag
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The next time I was there he said, "There is no tuberculosis about him now;
he is well, when did he have it?" Then I told him that five years previous
to this time, when a lad of fourteen, he was sick and I prayed for him and
the Lord healed him. (Dr. Seversen did a good job on that young man's arm
and the Lord did the finishing.) Mr. Larson has a good strong arm today and
is employed in a service station in Elbow Lake, Minnesota.
Two years later I visited Dr. Seversen. When he saw me, he stuck both arms
up and said, "Here comes the man with the iron nerve." I answered him, "No,
here comes the man with a little good common sense and faith in God
Almighty." "Yes," he said, "common sense, but I thought it could not be
done, when it was in such a mess and had been broken so long." I answered
him, "Yes, but a good arm is better than an iron hook on it." He said,
"Indeed, but I did not think it could be done." (I have nothing against
doctors, but the Lord can do what men cannot do.)
* * * * *
One time Brother and Sister George Larson's three sons were stricken at the
same time with infantile paralysis. Herman was 21 and the twins 18 years. A
specialist was called and he brought two doctors with him. He pronounced
the cases as very serious, especially Norman who was stricken in the head,
and they did not think there was any hope for him. They said it would be a
good thing if he would die, for if he lived, he would be crazy. They sent
for me. Sister Larson was then pastor of a congregation in Hereford, Minn.
They had been praying and we prayed again, and the Lord finished the job
and healed all three. Often people say, "It was not so serious and may not
have been what they said it was," but this time the devil got fooled. The
young man had been going to the University of Minnesota where they had been
tapping some blood from them for medical science purposes to use to heal
others stricken in the same manner; so medical science acknowledge they had
the real thing.
At one of the camp meetings at Hereford, Ole Torgesen got very much under
conviction and went home to repair a thrashing machine engine. It did not
want to start and he got angry and swore at it. Starting suddenly, the fly
wheel struck his left hand and breaking a number of bones. He went to the
doctor and had the bones set and the hand taped and the arm strapped to his
body. Then he came back to the meeting and wanted to be saved. He repented,
and the Lord accepted him. While he was still on his knees he looked up and
said, "I hear you men believe in divine healing, and I want to be prayed
for that the Lord will heal my hand." So Brother C. H. Tubbs and myself
prayed the prayer of faith and he began to unloose his arm and take off the
bandage. While he was doing so, the saints were shouting the praises of
God. Others told him not to take the bandage off and got angry as he
continued removing them. Finally he took off the cotton and cleaned off the
iodine and the taping. After doing so, he lifted his arm slowly to move his
fingers. Finally he put his hand up and moved his fingers freely, and his
hand was healed to the glory of God. Next day we had baptismal services and
I asked him if he wanted to be baptized. He said he did, but thought his
wife would be saved, too, so wished that both could be baptized together. I
said, "All right."
Next day in the morning service she got saved. She was the daughter of a
lay minister of a certain denomination who did not believe in baptism by
immersion. She asked me if they could be baptized right away. I told her
that just as soon as the service was over we would go immediately to the
pool. She did not want her parents to know what she was doing, so we kept
it quiet, but when we started for the pool, the prairie seemed to be alive
with people on horse back and in all kinds of rigs, coming from all
directions.
They were blowing horns and making music on circle saws. So when we got to
the pool, the banks were covered with people more than in the baptismal
service before. While we were singing, I heard the sister say to her
husband, "There they come!" It was her father and mother. They came over to
them and I said, "Don't say a word to them." The preacher went after them
in a great way. Finally the daughter put her arms around his neck, and
said, "Daddy, don't go at it this way, please. We are saved now and want to
obey the commandments of the Lord." "All right," he said, "You are old
enough to know what you are doing." "But this man..." running at me and
shaking his fist in my face, and I thought I surely would get a good
licking when I said nothing and did not move. He cooled down, and said,
"This is a poor man. We better take up a collection for him," and walked
away. While I was baptizing the two and a Methodist minister's son, stones
and sticks flew in plenty around me but none hit me.
One evening three young men cut the rope of the tent and were caught. When
they learned they could get seven years in State prison, and we did not
prosecute them--that ended all the disturbance at that place.
* * * * *
At one time I was holding a revival meeting at Plum Coulee, Canada. One
evening there was conviction upon a number of people. I was just going to
close my sermon and make the altar call, and the devil said, "Now you
swear." It shocked me so, I had to stop for a minute and conviction ceased.
Then I had to start preaching again. The devil once more said, "Now you
swear." I rebuked him and went ahead and made the altar call, and those
under conviction came forward and received help.
* * * * *
MAN FEAR
I was called at one time to Grand Forks to help in a meeting. Coming there,
I saw two or three large, tall ministers whom I had never seen before. I
was scared to preach before them, so when we had prayer that evening, I
prayed the Lord to deliver me from man fear. The committee asked me to
speak that evening and the Lord blessed and gave me victory. Next day one
of those good ministers came to me and said, "I want to talk to you. I was
so blessed before you came, but since you came, I was afraid of you and my
blessing all left. I wonder if you can help me?" "I can," I said. "When I
came last night, upon seeing you and Brother H., I got so scared I wished I
was not here, so I prayed and it left me and then the devil jumped on you."
This made me think of a Swedish song which says in part:
"Menisko frygtens didlige snaror har bringat
Mangen en man paafald."
Which means in English:
"The fear of man the deadly snares
Has brought many a man to fall."
In a case like this it may not mean so much, but in many cases good
ministers have failed to preach the truth because of the fear of man. What
a disaster for themselves and for hundreds of souls!
One Sunday morning I spoke in a chapel for a brother pastor. When the
service was over he came to me and in a very tired tone, he said, "Did you
mean me this morning?" I answered, "Dear Brother, I surely did not mean
you." He said, "Well," and walked away still tired. I did not go for lunch
but remained in the chapel and wept and prayed that I might not be a trial
to my dear brethren. I said, "I will not go into the pulpit again until you
give me more wisdom," but when the afternoon meeting time came, no one else
had a message, and I had to go into the pulpit again. The Lord blessed in a
wonderful way, and a number of souls got saved. After the service the good
pastor came to me and said, "Will you forgive me? You did not mean me this
morning."
* * * * *
HOW THE LORD LEADS
Once on my way to Platte, South Dakota, I got lost. I was driving slowly
trying to think of where I had gotten off my route--when suddenly a man in
a field on a tractor waved me to stop. He climbed over the fence, and here
it was Brother Walter Ratzlaf. He said, "How come you are here?" I
answered, "I'm lost." "Turn around," he answered, "and we will drive down
to the house."
Going to the house, there was a young lady I had known in North Dakota. He
introduced her to me as his wife. The last time I had seen them, they were
in North Dakota. Both of them were now members of the committee for the
young people's convention of North Dakota, which was to convene the
following Friday, Saturday and Sunday. George W. Green of Bertha, Minnesota
was to have been the guest speaker, but they had just gotten a telegram
from him saying that he could not be there. Brother Ratzlaf said, "The Lord
must have sent you here. Could you be our guest speaker?" I answered, "Yes,
if you want me. I am on my way home, and Brother Green was expecting to
meet me at my place, and I was planning on taking him from my home on to
the convention." Again, I could see how the Lord directed many times,
unbeknowns to me.
A lady brought her sister who was in the last stages of tuberculosis to the
camp meeting at Saint Paul Park, Minn. Wife and I prayed for the sick woman
and she was instantly healed. So they insisted that I go to their place and
hold them a meeting. I was very busy, so it was sometime before I could go.
Finally they wrote asking how much I wanted to hold the meeting. I wrote
that my carfare round trip was to be $26.50, and I thought I ought to have
that much. They answered that they would give me that much, and that much
more. I went and started the meeting on Friday evening. The folks I was to
stay with lived six miles in the country and we secured the Methodist
Church in town for the services. We had two services on Saturday, three on
Sunday, two Monday and two Tuesday. Tuesday night they left me in the
church. I had coal enough to keep me warm. As I had no money to go to the
hotel, the next morning I walked out to their place in the loose snow,
arriving about dinner time. I had dinner and that evening they took me to
the meeting and left me again. I have no recollection of how I got away
from there. It seems to me a family in town, who knew some of my relatives,
kept me for a day or two. My carfare, which I still have coming from them
as well as the rest, is the only meeting I had held in 52 years on which I
had set a price. A brother belonging to another denomination who often
attended the services and who was an agent for the Furges Kalls Woolen
Mills, Minnesota, whom I met some years later, asked me, "Did you ever get
any money from that meeting?" I replied, "I have it all coming," so he gave
me five dollars and a pair of seven dollar trousers. That experience was
one of the "all things." This was the only time I ever set any price on my
ministry.
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
Brother Masters and I were holding meeting in Hereford, Minnesota. Brother
Masters was doing most of the preaching, and I was exhorting and giving the
invitations. One evening after he finished preaching, I dismissed the
meeting immediately. As we were going to our room between eleven and
twelve, he asked, "Why did you not give the altar call tonight?" Then he
added, "You did right, but what was the reason?" I answered, "Too much
Masters." He replied, "The Lord help me!" and on his knees he went. He
stayed there until between three and four o'clock in the morning. The next
night I did not need to give an altar call, for the people flocked to the
altar of their own accord.
* * * * *
MY FIRST PREACHING TRIP
I was standing in a wagon driving home from Hawick, Minnesota. The Lord
spoke to me and said, "I want you to go to Belgrade next Sunday and
preach." I replied, "I do not know what to preach." The Lord answered, "You
go and open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." I argued that I did not
have the money to go. He answered, "I'll tend to that."
When I arrived home from Hawick, there was a letter from an old brother
about 80 years of age living at Norway Lake, Minn. He said, "The Lord has
been telling me that you ought to go to Belgrade and hold them a meeting,
and I am sending you the carfare." So I went.
Another time I was holding a meeting north of Belgrade and staying with
Brother and Sister Andrew Larson. The night before leaving that locality I
dreamed that when I came to Belgrade, I saw a man go into the depot just
ahead of me, and as he stepped away from the ticket window he said, "Ha,
ha, ha, I may as well go home then, since there is no train until three
o'clock this afternoon."
Brother Larson was to take me to the depot early in the morning, and it was
cold. When telling them my dream they laughed, and we all laughed. They
said, "It can't be that bad."
It was about six miles to town and riding in an open buggy, I got cold, and
when we got within about a quarter mile from town, I said, "You had better
let me out here and I will walk and get warmed up." So he did. When I
arrived at the depot a man walked in just ahead of me, and when he turned
from the window, he said, "Ha, ha, ha, I might just as well go home since
there will be no trains until three o'clock this afternoon."
I walked up to the ticket window and said, "How come the train is so late?"
He said, "An old freight train ran off the track and they will have to
clean up before the passenger train can come through." I did not wait, but
walked home--a distance of twenty miles.
* * * * *
At one time I held a meeting in what was known as Clark school house,
fifteen miles south of Cohasset, Minnesota. After the last Sunday morning
service, I said, "If there is anyone who will take me to Cohasset after
service tonight, my heavenly Father will give him a hundred fold in this
life, and eternal life in the world to come." So going down to the door
after service to shake hands with the folks, there stood a nice-looking
young man who had not been out to the services before. He said, "I'll take
you to town tonight." I said, "All right, thank you," and out he went.
After a while Brother Goodell, the elder, came and said, "I'll take you to
town." I said, "You are too late. You lost your pay this time." He said,
"Who is going to take you?" I answered, "The young man who stood by the
door when I got there." He thought a while, then he said, "Oh, that was
Henry Garber; that will never do. He is not saved. He drinks a little,
dances, plays cards and likely smokes." Then he added, "I'l take you. The
road is bad" (and it surely was). I answered him, "If he is like that he
needs the pay." "Well," he said, "He may not come. Aren't you afraid to go
with him?" "No," I said.
He came, and it took us quite a while to get there on account of the road.
We talked farming, dancing, drinking, love and salvation. Getting to town,
it was still an hour and a half before the train would arrive. He said,
"Wouldn't it be good to have a little lunch now?" I said, "That would be
fine." "Alright," he said, "you order what you want." "Aren't you going to
have some?" I asked; but he said, "no." After lunch he said, "How about a
little ice cream now." "Fine," I said.
There were quite a number of young folks in the restaurant and while I was
eating he was talking to the young people telling them he had been to two
services that day and he added, "They were two of the best sermons I have
ever heard in my life." They called out in a chorus, "Henry, Henry, have
you sworn off?" Then they asked, "Who preached?" He answered, "Reverend
Susag over here."
After I got through eating, he introduced me to all those young people.
Then I said, "You had better get me to the depot now, and start for home;
the road is so bad." "Well," he said, "I will not start back until you are
on the train." And so he did; and when he put my grips on the train, he
said, "Good by," and as he shook hands with me he left $3.00 in my hand. As
he was leaving me he said,
"When--" but he never finished what he started to say. No doubt he meant to
say, "When you pray remember me." I did not hear of him, nor see him for
two or three years. Going to Milwaukee one Sunday to hold services for
Brother Flint, a young man came to me in the chapel and said, "Praise the
Lord Brother Susag." I said, "Amen." I looked at him and he said, "Do you
know me?" I answered, "Yes, I have met you somewhere, but I don't remember
where." "Think of Cohasset, Minnesota," he answered. I slapped him on the
shoulder and said, "Henry, when did you get saved?" "Driving home that
night," he said; "thinking how you treated me, almost a stranger, you spoke
to me like a father--with such good understanding of everything and you
called me brother and I got broken up, and going to my room on the farm, I
knelt by my bed and repented and the Lord saved me. It was so good and the
Lord made me so happy. I went to see my parents who lived six miles out of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin." They all became members of the congregation in
Milwaukee, and Henry became a much loved and respected member of the
congregation in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and for many years one of the
leaders and finally went home to his reward.
One time I was holding a meeting in the neighborhood where a young man
lived who was one of our first converts, and he attended my services. One
day he asked me if I would go home with him. I said, "Yes." On the way, he
stopped me and said, "Have you got grace enough?" I answered, "I think so."
Finally we got near his home, and in a little grove he stopped me again and
he repeated, "Have you got grace enough?" I answered again, "I think so,
but if you think I need more, let us pray that the Lord will give me all
that I need." We knelt down in the grove there and prayed. Coming into the
house he introduced me to his mother, a fine looking lady. We sat down and
had a friendly chat, and before I knew it, I said, "Praise the Lord."
"Oh," she said, "You are one of them are you?" Then she gave me a real
tongue lashing. This was because several of her sons and daughters had
gotten saved, and they were very much persecuted because they left their
church. Sometimes when she would find Olaf on his knees praying, she would
grab him by the hair and pull him around in the house.
Finally her husband came in, and she introduced me to him.
"Susag," he said, "are you the husband of that witch over near Paynesville
or Hawick, that goes singing and fingering on the strings on that box,
getting people to weep and taking them away from their parents?" (Wife
played a harp when she sang.) "You get out of this house as fast as your
feet can carry you."
I took my hat and started for the door, and as I came near, he stood there
with his hatchet in his hand and said, "If you come nearer, I will smash
your head," and lifted the hatchet. I realized the man was so angry he did
not know what he was saying, so I went back and sat down. "Say, Mr.
Erickson," I said, "sit down, and let me tell you how the Lord saved us."
"Alright," he answered. His wife said, "Get him out, get him out!" Then he
answered, "Let him speak out of his heart. It is the first time he has ever
been in our house." "No," she said, "Get him out." "No, no, wife, be
quiet." And he sat down and I related how the Lord convicted wife and I.
(We used to be of the same faith as they were.) When I had told them our
experience, he came over and put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "You
can stay with us over night, but don't say anything about your religion."
I thanked him and said, "We have services tonight, and I have to be going."
Later on Brother Peter Peterson of Foboken, New Jersey and myself held a
meeting in that neighborhood and went and called on Mr. Erickson, and had a
very pleasant visit with him. Brother Peterson had been a rough seaman and
he told him of his life, and how the Lord had convicted and saved him. That
seemed to impress him.
Years later Olaf bought the farm and his parents moved to another house.
One morning Mr. Erickson did not come in for breakfast, and his wife went
to his bedroom to see what was the matter. There he was on his knees by the
bed praying. The first time she had ever seen him doing so in that
position. He got up and said, "yes, I am coming." She went back to the
kitchen, but still he did not come; so she went back to call him. Again he
was on his knees by the bed. She said, "Aren't you coming husband. The
breakfast is getting cold." He answered again, "Yes, I'm coming." But he
did not come yet. She went back the third time, and on his knees he was,
and this time he was dead. No doubt the man had been calling upon God, and
the Bible says, "Whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Hundreds of prayers had gone up for those folks. After his death Mrs.
Erickson went to stay with her oldest daughter at Westlake, Minnesota.
After being there for some time she took very sick, and she said to her
daughter, "Will you send for the preacher?" Yes, she said, "What is his
address?" (thinking she wanted her own pastor). "No," she said, "I want
your pastor, Brother Susag." I went and at the end of three days, she got
gloriously saved and got well. Later on she took sick again and passed on,
and because I was in Europe at the time, my wife conducted the funeral
service. What looks hopeless with man can be changed by prayer.
* * * * *
At one time when Olae Christaphersen was selling books in the country
between Grove City and Litchfield, Minnesota, he came to a home where quite
a number were weeping and he asked why they were so sad. The lady of the
house replied, "Our daughter, a young lady, is in the bedroom dying, and
husband has gone to town to get the coffin, as she stinks already." (Those
days they took the coffin to the homes sometimes). He inquired if he could
see her, and she said, yes. After standing looking at her a while, he knelt
and laid his hands on her and prayed the prayer of faith, and the Lord
raised her up. Years later he was selling books in N. Dakota. He came to a
nice farm home and knocking at the door a fine looking lady opened the
door. Surprising him, she said, "Come in." Unused to such courtesy, he
hesitated a moment, and she said again, "Come in, I know you. I am the lady
you prayed for down by Litchfield, Minnesota, whose father had gone to the
undertaker to arrange for the funeral. I am married and this is my home."
* * * * *
At one time a sister-in-law of Olae Christaphersen, Bastine Christaphersen,
was in childbirth. The midwife said the child could not be born without
medical help. Her husband started for Wilmer to get the doctor. At seven
o'clock she began to get blue and lost consciousness. They sent for Brother
Olae. When he came, he looked at his sister-in-law and walked out into the
woodshed, and there among the split wood he knelt down and prayed. A number
of times they called for him to come in, but he did not answer. About
twelve o'clock he came hurrying in and laid his hands on his sister-in-law
and said, "I command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that this child
be born, and that my sister-in-law be made well." Immediately the child was
born, and all was well. In a few minutes the doctor arrived and he said it
was a wonderful miracle.
* * * * *
HEALED AFTER RUNNING A RUSTY NAIL THROUGH THE FOOT
One time my wife stepped on a rusty nail, running it through the shoe sole
and her foot. The next morning Brother Christaphersen came and she asked
him to make her a crutch, since I was in Europe at the time. She had to
walk with her knee on a chair and he said he would. He went out and in a
few minutes he came back and said, "The Lord does not want me to make you a
crutch. Let us pray the Lord to heal you." They prayed and she was healed
at once.
* * * * *
HEALED OF LOCKJAW
I had my collar bone broken three times; the third time I was in North
Dakota holding meetings. It was during July and very hot, being around 85
to 90 degrees in the shade. I was staying with Brother and Sister E. Olson
and lockjaw set in. I took chills until they moved me into the kitchen and
had the stove red hot. Even then I could hardly quit chilling. I battled
with the devil and the pain for a whole day, and finally got the victory.
Bless His name.
HEALED OF BROKEN LEG
One time I was plowing and was thrown off the seat onto the plow in such a
way that my leg caught between the bars and I was thrown with my weight on
my leg, breaking it near the ankle and splitting the bone nearly to the
knee. The end of the broken bone protruded under the skin near the knee.
The neighbor hearing my scream, phoned to my home, and the folks came and
took me home. We sent for Sister Hendricks, (now Sister Mayhre). She and
wife prayed for me and as they prayed the bone moved back into its place
and the next day I was well as ever and able to go about my business.
* * * * *
MAN SAVED AND HEALED
At one time while I was pastor in Grand Forks, a young man came who had
been on crutches for four years. (He was partially paralyzed, and unable to
bear his weight on his limbs.) He came at the time of the State camp
meeting. He had written to Brother E. E. Byrum to come and pray for him,
and he was bringing the answer he had gotten from Brother Byrum which said,
"I haven't time to come and furthermore it is so far and expenses would be
so great and since the Dakota State Camp meeting convenes in a few days,
you might be able to get someone to take you down there. Brother Susag will
be there and he does the same kind of work that I do. He will pray with
you, and instruct you how to get saved and healed."
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