Summer
1995
The Manifest Presence
of God - P-2
Walter Beuttler
Note: During 1951, a revival was experienced
in the Bible School where Brother Beuttler taught. The Lord
used this move of the Spirit to put into operation the things
He had taught him during an intense visitation while in a
motel room. Brother Beuttler had drawn aside to meet the Lord,
who in turn manifested His glory to him. This manifestation
was immediately challenged by Satan. The following is Brother
Beuttler's account of some of the Lord's dealings in the outworking
of his calling to a ministry to the nations, which came during
this personal visitation with the Lord.
During this revival, the Lord awakened me each morning at
three o'clock. This meant I stayed up the rest of the night,
sitting in His presence so I would be ready for the services.
During this time, the Lord gave the outline for the services
during the day.
During a Friday night service, there was a mighty move of
the Holy Spirit, and some of the students were going beyond
what the Holy Spirit was doing. Because I was in charge, I
put my hands on the fellows who were having these manifestations
which seemed so out of place.
They were going into excess, but in restraining them, I did
it in a wrong spirit, as a reaction to what was happening.
As soon as I did this, the moving of the Spirit stopped and
I knew I had killed the meeting. It was as though a blight
struck the meeting, it was finished. I dismissed the service
and went home.
That night, at two-thirty, while still asleep, I was awakened
by a man's voice singing audibly in my bedroom. I looked in
the direction of the voice and saw the Lord standing there.
He was dressed in white garments, looking my way as He sang.
I heard Him like I hear a man's voice, and I saw Him as I
would see you. This has happened only once in my life.
I sat up in bed as He sang two stanzas. Apparently I was
awakened just as He began the first stanza, which had to do
with sin and forgiveness. After this, I went to my chair and
sat there, waiting before the Lord. There was an unusual presence
of the Lord as I mused over the song that He sang.
I was considering the second stanza, and seemed to push away
the thought of the first stanza, which had to do with sin.
When I realized what I was doing, I said, "Lord is something
wrong?" I heard the answer right away, "The error
of Uzzah."
In the Old Testament, Uzzah had touched the ark of God and
died. The Lord was saying, "You committed the same sin
as Uzzah; you touched the ark of God." I did not die
because Jesus had died in my place two thousand years before,
but it was sin nevertheless. I said, "Lord I am sorry,
I did not mean to stop the moving of the Holy Spirit."
The Lord knew that, but neither did Uzzah intend to stop the
progress of the ark.
I told the Lord that I did not know what I should do. At
once I received the answer; "On Sunday morning, during
the communion service, you are to make a public confession
to the whole student body for what you did, and ask the students
forgiveness." I squirmed when I heard this. I knew He
meant it, and that there was no way out. I said, "Lord,
I do not know how I can do a humbling thing like that, but
I will do it."
Sunday morning came, and as they distributed the bread, my
heart suddenly began to pound so hard I thought it would jump
out. I knew this was the signal to obey what the Lord had
told me. I stood up and said, "Students, I have a confession
to make." You could have heard a pin drop in the silence.
And I could hear their thoughts, "Brother Beuttler, confess?"
I told them exactly what had happened and said, "I ask
your forgiveness."
As soon as I finished, one of the students gave a powerful
utterance in prophecy. "Because you have done this thing,
(it was obviously addressed to me), and have humbled yourself
in the sight of this congregation, the Lord your God will
lift you above your fellows and make of you a city set on
a hill."
When I heard this, I dropped between the seats and wept.
As I did, the Lord spoke to me saying, "Go and teach
all nations." If I had not humbled myself that morning,
I do not believe God would have sent me around the world to
carry the truths that Jesus taught me and which Satan had
challenged while seeking the Lord in the motel room.
Teach all nations? Where would I go, and on what? Bible School
teachers did not receive salaries, especially in those days.
We were as "poor as a church mouse." A few weeks
later, the Lord spoke, "Get a passport." I thought,
Lord, I have no money to go anywhere." Later, the Lord
again said, "Get a passport." I thought, "How
could I go?"
Then after several days, the Lord spoke a third time. This
was strong and clear, "Get a passport." I hesitated
again and said, "Lord, why spend money for a passport,
I cannot go anywhere."
About two weeks later after speaking at a church, a lady
said, "I have an airplane ticket to go to Europe and
I cannot go. I felt I was to give it to you. Do you have a
passport?"
I said, "I will get one right away." She responded,
"It takes four weeks to get a passport and this flight
leaves in two weeks." I stayed home, keenly feeling my
disobedience to the Lord.
The Lord said nothing about travelling for the next nine
months. I would say, "Lord, when am I to go?" There
was no response, but I did get my passport. Then I felt it
was the time to go, and began to look for someone to give
me a ticket. Different ones would shake my hand and say, "Praise
the Lord, Brother Beuttler," and I would think, but where
is my ticket?
The Lord bore witness that this was the time to go, but still
there was no ticket. Finally, an individual asked me, "How
are you going?" and I replied, "by boat." He
said I would hardly get there, and it would be time to return.
I explained that air travel was too expensive. In response,
I was told that the difference would be given to me.
About half-way across the Atlantic, the Lord spoke to me
saying, "I have sent you on a journey." I was so
pleased to know I was in the will of God. Since I had not
known where to go, I was going home to my family in Germany.
My mother was unsaved and was sick, so I thought I could talk
to her about salvation and pray for her, which I did.
My sister told her pastor I was visiting, and I was asked
to speak. The Lord woke me up early in the morning and gave
me the message. The pastor asked me to come back the following
night and I agreed. Again, the Lord woke me up, and as I sat
in His presence, He gave me the message.
This went on day by day for a week. Then on Sunday morning
the pastor said, "Before you speak, I want to say something."
I thought I was in trouble because I had spoken on the Holy
Spirit. Instead, he told the congregation that for many months,
he had been praying that the Lord would give them the deeper
things of the Spirit. He began to cry, and said, "Just
think, God sent a man from America to answer my prayers."
The Lord was indeed confirming the call to the Nations He
had given me, and this was the beginning of that ministry.