OLD FRIENDS MEET IN POTOSIE AGAIN

Luther Davis Laid To Rest (His Spirit Lives On)

By Editor Jerrell H. Miller

POTOSI, MO — It was Friday and a warrior of the Spirit of God was laid to rest in a small cemetery in Missouri. He wasn’t a well known preacher but some well known men came to a grave side service to give him honor. His name was Luther V. Davis and as he was laid to rest the witness of the Holy presence of God could be felt at the place of his burial. Some men raise to their greatest through the sacrifice of the small station in life where they live. It is these types of moments that define and bring home the quality of ministry found in the small country churches of America. John Kilpatrick felt the power of God at the grave side, as Luther V. Davis was laid to rest. One of his son’s, John Davis, said, "It was like a celebration, something happened there that day. We could feel the hand of God come down and touch us at the grave side — it was a remarkable service. The awesome presence of God overshadowed the entire service. There was no time to feel sorry, it was a time of celebration."

Scripture talks about seeds when they die — they always bring forth new trees for the harvest. Jesus said that not unless a seed dies will it bring forth a newness of life. The offspring of this man is bearing fruit all over the United States. Ambassador John Davis of the Brownsville Revival is the son of the man that was laid to rest. He, more than anyone else, knows the sacrifice his father made for him to be where he is today.

John Davis recently spoke about how much his father believed in God. He spoke about the time he and his brother were not expected to live and how his father believed for a miracle. It was in Potosi that both boys were raised out of their death beds because of a father who had enough faith to touch God. Potosi is a small stage but the actions played out upon that stage have world wide implications today. No, this was no ordinary man that was laid to rest in the Missouri sod. Luther was a faithful man who had raised a large family on the smallest amount of money, and still remained in his call of ministry. Yes, the Davis’s were poor but not in Spirit for they knew the power of God. They knew they were special because of the miracles that were brought through a poor country preacher called Luther.

Pastor John Kilpatrick remembers the first time he came to Potosi, Missouri. He traveled with an old friend, Paul Wetzel, to the service for Luther Davis. Wetzel was in the revival bus as it pulled in on February 25. John Davis met John Kilpatrick as a child in Potosi. At the time Paul Wetzel was afraid that little John and his mother were in danger from a father and husband who was a tyrant in Georgia. He thought it was better if the two traveled with him to Potosi, Missouri, to be in revival. The church where Wetzel held his revival meetings would be where John Kilpatrick would meet John Davis, one of the sons of Luther Davis. The relationship between Kilpatrick and John Davis blossomed over the years as the two men became lifelong friends.

These three men, Paul Wetzel, John Davis, and John Kilpatrick, stood next to the grave of a great man of God and what was supposed to be a mournful moment turned into the presence of God. "It was tremendous what we felt in that graveyard. It was a special day, not just because it was my father we buried but we felt the presence of God and heard His voice. We all walked away from the graveyard knowing that God had been there once again to assure us in Potosi, Missouri." Some things never change from childhood — Potosi will always be a place of reassurance for those who are troubled in Spirit and seek direction."