The Lord’s Visit
Walter H. Beuttler
(Edited from a taped message)
Now, I
told you this morning that I would follow with you a series
of lessons browsing in the Word of God. I’m not interested
in preaching. I’m not trying to preach. I’m trying to share
with you, what God has shared with me. I’m not giving you
a sermon. Who wants to hear sermons? By the help of the
Lord, I want to give you bread. The bread
of the Word of God, as He has shared it with me.
This is
a series we will follow right through in every service.
We’ll not finish this subject, but at least we’ll go as
far as we can. I’ll do my best to give you the very mostest,
as much as time and my personal resources physically will
enable me to share with you.
Sometimes they say,
“It takes a week to get acquainted with Brother Beuttler’s
ministry.” Well, that really varies, but I’ll give you
a few clues. First of all, I’m not trying to be scholarly.
I’m trying to be very simple. Right down on the level where
all of us live.
I’m
not trying to make truth as complex as I can, because God
is simple; His Word is simple; and we’re simple people;
so we’re going to talk on the level as simple as can be
where everybody with an open heart and mind is able to follow.
You
will also notice as we go along, I give you some experiences
the Lord has given me. I was teaching one year in a Bible
school in Lima, Peru.
I gave them my notes on the Holy Spirit. They asked whether
they could use them, and of course, they can. They wrote
back later and said, “Brother Beuttler, we enjoyed your
notes. They were a great help, but none of us teachers have
had your experiences.”
Well,
God gives different people different experiences. He deals
with us differently, and I want you to recognize that when
I tell you some things (and I will tonight to begin with),
that they are not mere stories, though they are true, but
it’s not merely telling what happened.
If
you will watch, you will learn thereby how God works, how
God works in me, how God works or wants to work in you.
These experiences will become vehicles of truth. There are
truths given in a form that most people are able to understand
and to retain far better than if truth comes in an abstract
form. So we’re right down on your level, and if you will
follow, when I’m done there ought to be in your hearts a
deposit of truth that most of you have never known existed.
There
will be a fresh hunger for God, a desire to know Him. There
will be the beginning of a dimension of experience in your
life; experience with God that you never thought even existed.
That is not saying too much. I know whereof I speak. So
we trust the Lord to share with us the things that we need
in our hearts for this particular time.
Don’t be surprised if sometimes I speak as though I knew
what you were saying today, or doing today, or whatever
there is. I get accused of that many times, “Where did
Brother Beuttler get that? Who told him about the trouble
we’re having? Oh I know! He’s staying in the pastor’s house,
and he knows all about it.” Well I rarely stay in a
pastor’s house and usually know absolutely nothing, but
the Spirit does.
I was
in a church years ago on Long
Island. After the meeting a lady came up, and
she was rather, shall I say, circumferential? She came right
up the central isle, and I knew I was in for it as she came
like a missile off the pad and zeroed in on me.
“Preacher, who told you all about me?” she asked.
“Nobody,” I answered.
“Are preachers telling lies too?” she continued
to ask.
I said, “Well, I’m not lying.”
She said, “Listen preacher, you weren’t only talking
about me for a whole hour and a quarter, but when you said
such and such a thing (and she told me), you even
pointed your finger right at me.”
I didn’t know anything about her. I said, “Sister,
I don’t even know the pastor. This is the first time I’ve
been here and never talked to him.”
She says, “Preacher, somebody told you.” And then
off she went, taking her torso back with her, mad as could
be. “Somebody told on her,” but nobody did. It so
happens that the Holy Ghost knows.
So
as we go along it might just be the Spirit is putting His
finger on something. Don’t pick up a brick and throw it
at me. It won’t hurt me if you do. I’m used to it. But it
would be better I you would to give the credit to God.
Now
then, I’m taking you into a subject, which is very, very
dear to the heart of God. And as I told you, it is the subject
of our personal knowledge of God. Now I’m not going to go
by the watch.
I’ll
begin with you as the Lord began with me, quite some years
ago now, and gradually take you along. If you will follow
me, believe me, and not only open your mind, but also your
heart. I’m speaking to your heart, to our innermost need
with which God is so greatly concerned.
Some
years ago, I was teaching at our school (Eastern Bible Institute also known as Green Lane) and was over at our cottage. We had a cottage at that
time. Later the school built us a house. One afternoon I
got something in here (pointing to his stomach area) from
the Spirit. It did not come in words, but in a strong impression
that the Lord wanted me to go some where alone, undisturbed,
unobserved, undistracted. Well, where can you do that in
a Bible school where they wake you up in the middle of the
night and want you to interpret a dream? I interpret them
to go right back to their dormitory.
There
was no other place that I knew to go than to a hotel. So I told Mrs. Beuttler, and then I went to the
Robert Morris
Hotel in Philadelphia to shut myself up with God. This
morning I had mentioned this tower to which Habakkuk went.
Well, I went to a modern tower, the equivalent to their
towers. Their towers were built of mud brick. Hotels, of
course, today are different. And I shut myself up. Now you just follow me.
I
arrived there at 2:00 o’clock Friday afternoon for an indefinite
period. At once I went before the Lord and started to seek
the Lord. I knew in my heart that God, in some way, wanted
to speak to me. I knew no more, except that I was to be
alone, undisturbed and undistracted so that I could fully
concentrate on Him.
I have no time to talk with you on the subject of “Waiting
For God,” but I dropped on
my knees and simply placed myself before the Lord in sheer
faith. All right, I wasn’t always on my knees. You get tired
there. So I would walk, sit, stand, even lie on the floor.
It got to be past midnight. Now I’d been there from 2:00
p.m. on with the attitude of simply, “Father, here I
am.”
I did not storm the gates of heaven. God isn’t that far
away. You know how some people do. (Spits
on both hands, and positioning himself like a wrestler getting
ready for a big conflict.)
“Oh God! Ummmmm Uggggggg
(His face contorts to show strain)
(He then hits the pulpit) Blam!
Blam! “Come here, God.”
No, we do not need to do that. He’s right here, all the
time.
When you go and pray, take with you Matthew 6:6, I do.
Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you
have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in
the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you openly.
So I presented myself before the Lord. I did no praying,
I simply presented myself. His was the next move, not mine.
When
I got too tired, after midnight, I lay across the bed to
sleep some, and didn’t get undressed. Way before sunrise
I was up.
“Doing what?” you ask.
Presenting myself before the Lord.
Saturday, I was there all day long, nothing to eat, till
way past midnight Saturday. I was very tired again and lay
across the bed for a few hours. I was up before sunrise
presenting myself before the Lord. I never heard anything
of any kind, but God’s in the secret place. You know that
from Matthew 6:6.
I knew the Lord was observing me as I waited.
I
was there till 2:00 o’clock Sunday afternoon. At that time,
I was sitting on the floor of the room. You have to change
your position, you know, just to change around. I had one
of these little pocket Bibles with me and was reading it,
wondering if maybe I’d find something in the Book,
that the Lord wanted to speak to me.
I noticed it was 2:00 o’clock. I had been there 48 hours.
In all that time, I got absolutely nothing. I heard nothing.
I saw nothing.
I felt nothing. Not even His presence. Everything
was just empty and dead, and I said within my spirit, “My,
it takes God a long time to speak.”
No sooner had I said that then the Lord spoke, right
in here (pointing to his stomach area). You see this is
where your spirit is, and this is where the Holy Spirit
is. He fills your spirit in here.
That’s where you get things from God. In here. (pointing his to stomach
again) There were
words that I heard, but not with the ears, but I heard words
in there, and the words were: “To hurry God is to find
fault with Him.” Do you understand? Well then, here’s
a letter for you. In other words God saw that I was being
impatient. And He heard when I was criticizing God.
Did you ever criticize Him?
“Well, I don’t know why God doesn’t answer my prayer?”
Most likely, first He wants you to get rid of the impatience.
I understood at once that I was criticizing God for being
slow, and I apologized and said, “Lord, forgive me. I’m
sorry I got so impatient.” All right now, I can take
my forgiveness by faith easily. So that was settled.
Folkses,
as I apologized to the Lord and asked for forgiveness, having
been there now 48 hours without anything to eat, the Lord
walked through that door into the room. As He walked in,
His presence followed after Him in the shape of the robe
of a sovereign. (Some of these things are hard to explain.)
Have
you ever seen Queen Elizabeth on TV perchance, or another
sovereign with a royal, a regal robe following them dragging
on the floor as they walk up to a throne or some place?
That’s how the presence of the Lord came in. It followed
Him like the robe of a sovereign.
And
the Lord came over and stood to my left, just a few inches
beyond the length of my arm. I was still sitting on the
floor. As He stood there, His presence (that robe) spread
out, and the robe shape disappeared. His presence went through
the entire room.
I
am being very precise with my words now, very careful to
be exact. You see, He’s listening too, and I don’t want
to have to come around again and apologize to you for having
overstated things. Oh no! I’m scared of that.
And His presence filled the room. I remember saying within
my heart, “Now His presence fills every cubic inch of
this room.”
And so it was. I believe that I had Isaiah’s experience
when he said, “And his train (His presence) filled
the temple.” I think I had the same experience, but
I only think this. I offer no proof, just my statement.
As His presence filled the room, the Lord began to speak,
not audibly, but He did speak. He gave me a scripture from
the Word. I was not striving; I was just awestruck in His
presense, and yet perfectly composed.
And scripture came, it just came. It was from
John
17:3, “That they might know thee,”
I can enlarge on that scripture for you. “This
is life eternal, that they might know thee.”
I
looked it up, found it, read it and began to see something.
I began to see that Jesus was talking, not about knowledge
about God primarily, although that’s involved, but about
a personal knowledge of God.
You
see, this is one fault that I must find with our theological
schools, and that is so many students graduate with so much
theology in their heads, and techniques for the ministry,
and yet greatly lacking in a personal, inward knowledge
of a personal God. I hope you understand.
Now
we know who President Nixon is. Who doesn’t? We know a lot
of things about him, or think we do, but we do not know
him. At least I do think I could recognize him in a crowd,
but I have no personal knowledge of the man; there is no
personal relationship there.
The
Lord had so strongly impressed me with the need of a personal
relationship to God: that God becomes to us as real, or
even realer, than another person.
From then on, the Lord kept standing there for four solid
hours, from 2:00 to 6:00 o’clock, while He opened up the
scriptures to me. I can rightfully claim that I received
personal teaching from Jesus Christ for four solid hours:
Him standing there, me sitting
here, on the subject of “Knowing God,” a subject
that I have spread into I don’t know how many countries
the world over.
I’d
get a scripture; I’d look it up; And Oh, it would just open up and I’d
see things I’ve never seen before. I’ll share some of them
with you, if you’ll stay with me. So that you will know
how scriptures sometimes open, and show off their beauty.
I
think it was last year while I was in Bangkok,
Thailand
walking to one of the hotels in terrific heat. It’s a hot
place, you know. And to my great delight, I found a lotus
flower. Don’t ask me how that fell on the sidewalk, but
there it was. I wanted to examine it because they had intrigued
me once on the Island
of Ceylon.
Oh the beauty in that lotus!
Many
of us when we get scriptures from the Lord the scriptures
are closed like in a bud, but the Lord comes along by His
Spirit and opens up the bud for us. Oh! What beauty.
I
made notations. I still have them at home. That done, I’d
get another scripture, and another, and another, and another
for four solid hours on knowing God, and being a friend
of God. Not every Christian is a friend of God. Saved? Yes,
but not a necessarily a friend of God.
He
opened up the scriptures showing how to be an intimate of
God, how to have intimate communion with Him. How we can
have an intimate relationship, and intimate fellowship with
Him, in which the Lord will share secrets, secrets with
some of His people that He does not share with the rank
and file of Christians.
We may qualify, but not everybody does. He calls, but
not everybody responds. Not everyone is willing to pay the
price for that kind of meeting, or that kind of relationship,
but the possibility, the potentiality is there.
So when He got done, I noticed it was 6:00 o’clock. He
spoke again, right in here (pointing to his stomach). That
the scriptures and their opening up had come from Him, but
now there were those words again in here (pointing to his
stomach), and the words were, “And the Lord left him to try him,”
and with those words,
the Lord turned around, and walked out the way He came.
His presence collected from all over the room and changed
back into the form of the robe of a sovereign and followed
Him out of the room like dragging on the floor. Out He went
with that regal robe behind Him, and He was gone.
I’d
had a personal visit from a personal Christ for four hours
of private teaching. At the time I did not know the Lord
was getting me ready for overseas work. I had no idea of
it at that time.
And
then He was gone. And there I sat. “And the Lord left him to try him.” I thought, “I think something is going to happen.
I’m going to have a test. Now comes
examination.” Then I thought of school how we teach
and then give an examination. I thought, “I’m going to
be in for something,” but had no idea what, not an idea.
I was in the room till about 8:00 o’clock wondering what
kind of a test I was going to get. I didn’t have the faintest
notion. I began to think, “I don’t suppose that really
means anything. Sometime something perhaps will happen,
but I’m going to go to bed. After all I haven’t slept much.”
I
was starting to go to bed when somebody else walked into
that room right through the door without even opening it.
I knew the identity of the visitor at once. His identity
is described in the Bible as satan.
I was standing by the bed. It was a four-posted bed, and
I stood by one of the posts. I was going to hang something
on there and go to bed. And he walked in. I kept standing
where I was, no, I wasn’t scared. No, not at all, but I
thought, “Something’s up.”
Now
as he walked in, behind him there followed the satanic presence
in the form of the robe of a sovereign, an exact duplicate
of the Lord’s robe, but the presence was Satanic. He stood
in exactly the same place as the Lord stood. As he stood,
his robe also spread and diffused losing its shape as a
robe and went throughout the entire room, same as the Lord’s
presence. I remember saying in my heart also, “Now the
Satanic presence is filling every cubic inch of this room.”
And so it was.
He
opened the conversation, if that’s the right term for it.
You can judge for yourself. He spoke. I heard him. Didn’t
he speak to Jesus in the temptation? Well, isn’t he the
same devil? Why should this be incredible? Anyhow, it happened.
I was there, were you?
He
opened the conversation. Conversation is not really the
word; it’s more like a debate.
He said, “The Lord did not visit you.”
I said out loud as I say to you with a little bit of
defiance in it, “Yes, He did.”
Back came the answer, “No, He didn’t.”
Back went my retort, “Yes, He did.”
Now
the sequence of some of those things I cannot guarantee
anymore, and in some instances, I cannot guarantee the precise
wording, but I can guarantee the accuracy of the substance
- that I guarantee. In the beginning, I had things just
as they were, but gradually they will fade into, more or
less, my own words, but they still carry the very same essence.
To the best of my recollection came the words, “This
Bible is not the Word of God.”
I said, “Yes, it is.”
He said, “No, it isn’t.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Why don’t you deny this Bible?” he asked.
“Why should I deny it? It’s the Word of God,”
I said; and so on it went. Among other things, I don’t recall
it all.
This
lasted for quite awhile, but I had no measurement of time.
I’m afraid to even guess. It was quite awhile, but I can’t
give you the time; I haven’t got it. I wasn’t thinking of
time.
At one point he said, “You are praying too much.”
“No, I’m not,” I answered.
“You are going to lose your mind because of your religion.”
(That statement is accurate.)
“No, I’m not.”
“You are going to finish your life in an insane asylum.”
(That is an exact quote.)
“No, I’m not.”
“You are losing your mind already.”
Now there were other things in between that I do not
recall.
“You are losing your mind already - see?” And
with that the entire room began to turn like a merry-go-round.
It started slowly. I wasn’t dizzy and didn’t lose my balance.
I knew right away what was happening. Everything turned.
Whew! The bed went around, the dresser, the doors, the pictures,
the whole room as it was started to revolve with me at the
center. It started slowly, went faster and faster. I can’t
be exact about the speed. Let’s say it went something like
this after awhile (described speed by wave of his hand).
He said to me after awhile, “You see what is happening?
You’re losing your mind.”
I said, “I’m not losing my mind. This is only your
deception, and I just don’t believe it. Nothing’s moving.”
I knew nothing was moving.
Remember when he came to Jesus. He showed Him all the
kingdoms of this world.
I knew it was just a deception, and I wouldn’t be deceived.
Then he really put the heat on. I began to see things:
trees in the room. Yes! Mountains, rocks, squares, circles, triangles, men, women, nude scenes,
all kinds of a confusing array of things. And he
said:“See, you’re losing
your mind. You’ve lost it already.”
“No, I’ve not lost it. My mind is all right. My God
is real and this is His Book.” And so it went on.
I do not recall how the first one ended, but I took a
stand all the way through, an affirmative stand. Once I
said, “No, the Lord is only trying to test me to see
whether I stand. He taught me four hours and now He’s only
letting you test me to see whether I stand, and I am standing.
My God is real; the Lord was present; He hears you speak.”
And I held my ground.
While
I do not remember the precise moment when we terminated
our conversation, but suddenly at some point, he turned;
his presence collected from all over the room; changed into
a regal robe; and out he went with the robe following behind
sliding, so to speak, on the floor exactly the precise duplicate
of the Lord - and he was gone.
I thought, “Whew! That was something!” And it
was. I was never scared, but it was a real debate and case
of holding to the Word and to the truth and not being broken.
I had the strangest feeling that he was coming back.
I just had that feeling he wasn’t finished. Some time went
by; I can’t give you the time; and I thought, “Well,
maybe that was all. I think I’ll go to bed.”
Just
as I was trying to go to bed, in walks his majesty, Satan,
with the same robe behind him, walking in formed steps like
in a processional. And he stood in the same place,
his presence went throughout the room. There we were in
the same thing all over again, the second visit. To the
best of my knowledge, it was a precise carbon copy of the
first.
As
far as I remember, everything he said at first was now repeated
with one difference. This time (I do not know for what reason),
his words came with tremendous power. I cannot account for
it, I do not know. I cannot tell you what I do not know.
Oh was there power in those words! Did they ever come, and
I stood my ground the same as before, but I noticed one
thing: I was slowly wearing down. What worried me was, not
so much that physically I was getting exhausted from the
sheer combat of the thing, but what really worried me was
that I noticed my will of resistance began to weaken.
Now
on the first visit, my will was adamant. Oh, I stood my
ground! I did again, but not in the same firmness. All I
can tell you is my will was weakening. He seemed to attack
my will. While I used the same or similar words, and all
the confusion, all the merry-go-round, everything was there
again, but with greater power. I cannot describe it. Oh
the power that flowed from that being!
Inside I was weakening, and I remember thinking, “If
he does not stop soon, this time he’s going to win.”
He did not stop. That being bore down on me without mercy.
“Now are you ready to give up?”
“No, I’m not,” I said. But in my words there was
no longer that firm (if you know what I mean), that firm
something. I knew it lacked the same quality of firmness,
the decisiveness. I knew he was smart enough to discover
it. He did and took advantage of it. He hammered at me.
“Are you ready to deny this Word?”
“No, I’m not,” I’d answer.
“Are you ready to deny the Lord visited you?”
“No, I’m not,” I said, but I was weakening.
Folkses,
I could not help myself. My answers remained correct, but
I no longer meant them with the same something. I remember
thinking, “I cannot hold out much longer.” Whether
he knew it or not, I do not know if he could tell.
Here I was with the room going around and him saying,
“Now do you see yourself inside an insane asylum?”
“No, I’m not seeing it at all because I’m not going
to.” But there was a difference.
I got to the point where I was finished. After all, he’s
supernatural. He’s got power. I threw myself across the
bed seemingly defeated. I do not recall whether I said it
to him audibly or whether I said it to myself inwardly,
but I do know I said within myself at least, “I cannot
resist any longer.” With these words, I threw myself
on the bed apparently defeated.
Here is a little interval that I cannot give an account
because I just do not remember. He was still there. Finally
on the bed, I noticed in here (he points to his stomach),
the presence of the Spirit of God. It was of a size of an
orange, a relatively small orange. I felt a ball-like of
the presence of God in here (he points to his stomach).
As far as I remember, I paid no further attention to satan,
though I knew he was there. My attention was now focused
on what was happening in here (He points to his stomach,
spirit area). I felt the presence of God, and to my surprise
or delight (I hardly know what word to use), that presence
in here was singing. I realized the Spirit of God was singing
in here. That attracted my attention. Well, why wouldn’t
it? And the song was, “Isn’t He wonderful, wonderful,
wonderful? Isn’t Jesus, my Lord
wonderful?”
As
the Spirit sang, that ball-like presence expanded and slowly
rose up on the inside as it expanded. I paid no more attention
to satan. I don’t know what he was doing, as I was busy
with this song. I was lying on the bed. That presence of
God became stronger and expanded through out me, and it
reached the area of my throat, and for no reason that I
could give you, I joined the Spirit singing. He sang somewhere
in here (stomach area), and sang on the way up. When He
reached my throat, I joined Him, and we sang a duet for
the benefit of his majesty, who was still in the room. It was something I could not have
done apart from the Spirit.
As we were singing and got to the part of, “Isn’t
He wonder----, the Spirit interrupted and spoke a quotation
from Isaiah
59:19, but a little
different than it reads in our Bible,
“When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of
the Lord (and this is how I got it) shall raise an armed defense against
him.”
satan
was trying to throw me to the ground and pin me, which I
think if were successful would have obliged God not to send
me overseas. I would have failed the test. satan
was so afraid. (I don’t know if that is the correct word
- I’ll try to change it.) satan
was so eager that this truth of the personal knowledge of
God not be disseminated throughout the whole world that
he came with his personal presence to stop me before I ever
got started. And then the Spirit of the Lord came to my
assistance and dispatched him. That is how God began to
meet me in this area of truth.
Now let me ask you a little favor before I get started.
I haven’t started yet. We’ve only gotten through the door,
which the Lord led me here. Let’s stand and have the pastor
lead you in singing, “How Great Thou Art.” For those
who don’t believe this, your disbelief doesn’t change it
one iota.
Now I’m going to take you into the truth itself; the
truth in which God is so interested; the truth, which satan
so hates. He doesn’t care how much theology we know---no.
He doesn’t care whether we can recite the entire Encyclopedia
Britannica. But he does care about our personal relationship
to God, and that is what God cares about also.
Now
I am going to take you to Exodus 33:12-15. We have here some of the areas of truth the Lord shared
with me. They are very simple, but I had never seen them.
Let’s see what we can get.
Exodus 33:12-15 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest
unto me, Bring up this people; and thou hast not let me
know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I
know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my
sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace
in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may
find grace in thy sight; and consider that this nation is
thy people. And he said, My presence
shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said
unto him, If thy presence go not
with me, carry us not up hence.
Now here is a prayer by a man who was obviously experiencing
a sense of need. He had a great task to perform to lead
these people into the Promised Land. With all the dangers
and all the problems, this man knew his need and so he prayed,
“Show me now thy way, that I may
know thee.” This
is the very heart of what we are talking about. “Show
me now THY way,”
the way God does things, how He works, why He works the
way He works. We learn to know God by observing His ways.
Have you ever learned by observing the ways of the Lord?
You will learn something about Him.
We
had a lady evangelist in the Assemblies of God by the name
of Hattie Hammond. Some of you might know her. She and I
had a convention together in Washington. The church put us up in the same
hotel, the Ambassador. In the evening after the service,
we’d go down to the coffee shop, have some coffee, English
muffin or something and have a good time talking. We’d talk
and talk and share and share.
One
night she shared something that I’ve never forgotten. She
said, “Brother Beuttler, before we retire, I must tell
you something,” and she told this story:
“In
Springfield, Missouri,
we had a huge young people’s rally in the thousands.”
She was sitting on the platform because she’s a very well
known speaker, and a young fellow did the preaching. “It
was a Christ Ambassador’s rally, and he said: you shouldn’t
be older than 35 years to be able to attend these meetings.”
“That strikes me strange every time I think of it.
You’re not a Christ Ambassador if you’re over 35 years.
Well, I’m 69, but I travel all over the world, and no longer
considered an Ambassador because I’m past 35. That’s cookoo!
Anyhow,
this young fellow preached. She told me that you never heard
such a miserable harangue as that young fellow preached
that afternoon. All he did was tear the
Assemblies of God to
shreds with criticism.
This was no good; that was no good. It was all he did. What
surprised her was at the end, the presence of God fell on
these several thousand young people, hands went up worshipping
the Lord, praise full of God’s presence.”
And afterwards she talked to the Lord, “Lord, I can’t
understand this. How can you bless such a harangue as we
had to listen to tonight?” I remember her leaning over
the table and saying, “Brother Beuttler, what do you
think the Lord said?”
She said the Lord said, “I am not blessing one word
of all he said. I’m pouring out a Spirit of rejoicing upon
My people to help them forget everything
he did say.” (We must comment
on this particular story here. Walter Beuttler was an Assembly
of God preacher through and through, as was Hattie Hammond.
And neither would endure a single word spoken out against
their denomination, even though great was their denomination’s
sin was great in its turning away from its humble and spiritual
roots. [This same denomination made war and disfellowshipped
all those that joined in to what became known as the Latter
rain Revival, and later again this same denomination made
war against what was became known as the charismatic revival.]
In Beuttler later life he had to travel from AG church to
AG church here in the US
and in nations across the world. To
teach these things, to AG denominational churches that all
had departed so far from their denominations roots, that
neither their preachers nor their teachers or even their
elders in these assemblies knew anything of these things.
As Beuttler testifies also in this message that it took
an act of God to bring him into an understanding of these
things; that were formerly known unto others. But were in time allowed to slip away, as these things have again
since Beuttler’s death in 1974.)
“Show me now thy way that I may know
thee.” What we
can learn as we observe the way God works, so differently
from the working of man. I’ve prayed what Moses prayed many
times, “Show
me now thy way.” Oh
the way of the Lord is so different!
A couple of years ago, if I err not, I was in western Australia.
I had been speaking there a number of times at the Foursquare Church
of the Pentecostal movement. There was an A/G church in
the city, but it was the Foursquare who had asked me. I
was at the A/G church last year, and the pastor said to
me, “Brother Beuttler, I must tell you what one of my
deacons said. I told him Brother Beuttler is going to visit
us the next time he comes to Australia, and he said,
‘Well, it’s about time.’”
The pastor is a Beuttlerite
(A disciple of Walter Beuttler as many of his bible
school students were encouraged to become – this was a grievous
error on Beuttler’s part.)
and said to the
deacon, “Well, when he visited the Foursquare, did you
ever invite him?”
“Well no, we never invited him,” said the deacon.
The pastor said, “Well, what are you grumbling about
then?”
You know there is such a thing as following the providential
arrangement of the Lord. Somebody in the Philippines complained, “Brother
Beuttler does not follow regular channels.”
But there are channels of divine providence that operate
different than the way man operates. Do you know how I got
to come here? I was up in Elim
Bible Institute for a week with the students there and your
pastor was there. He said, “Brother Beuttler, I’d like
you to come down to the Rock Church.”
(Eddie
Bez’s Church in Virginia
Beach)
As far as I’m concerned, it was the providential arrangement
of the Lord, never mind regular channels.
“Show me now thy way, that I may
know thee.” God
answered this man and said, “My
presence shall go with thee.”
Why did God say that? Moses had said to God, “Lord,
You tell me this and that, and I should do thus and so,
but You have not told me whom You
will send with me.” And the Lord said,
“My presence shall go with thee.”
Now look here folkses. Has
it ever occurred to you that the presence of God is a companion?
“My presence shall go with thee.” Those of you who are widows, widowers, wall flowers
(is that what they call some people?), those of you who
for one reason or another, or for no reason that you know
of, are alone. There is a companionship of the presence
of God that is realer That
is a Beuttlerism (Another gross error of Beuttler was that he
encouraged his disciples to quoted his many sayings, and
they did so as if his sayings were equal with scripture.)
-- I have to say that or you’ll think that fellow should
go back to school and study his English, but you leave me
alone., that is realer than the companionship of a human
being.
The Lord gave me this for traveling because I am a solo
traveler, although Mrs. Beuttler has been with me a few
times. I don’t intend to go overseas alone anymore, because
I have physical problems and shouldn’t do it. Most of my
journeyings have been alone. I
remember a man down in New
Zealand saying, “You
mean you are always traveling alone?”
Yet
not alone, there is a companion. Folks,
this companionship of the presence of God is one
of the most deliciousmous experiences
in the Christian life. I don’t know what I would do without
it.
Look here! I was going to France one year and had a little extra
time. I was going down 5th
Avenue in New
York and was walking down to take the bus out
to JFK
Airport. I was walking down that Sunday
afternoon and remember saying, “Father, don’t let me
go unless you go with me.” Who wants to go to France,
or anywhere else for that matter, without the Lord? I didn’t.
You know, the Lord spoke right in here (pointing to stomach
area), “When you arrive, I will be waiting for you.”
Isn’t that deliciousmous?
Well,
I arrived the next day and what weather! It seemed like
the sky was dropping down. Everything came down. How do
you say it? Cats and dogs, pitchforks, sauerkraut, lima
beans, everything came down. All right, I always have a
raincoat with me and the Japanese rain hat. I was all tucked
in. Always be prepared when you’re traveling. That’s one
of the rules of traveling. I stepped off the Constellation
plane onto the concrete, a lake of concrete, but when I
stepped down on that concrete, I was surrounded by the presence,
a strong presence of the Lord.
“When you arrive, I will be waiting for you.”
He couldn’t wait inside the airport lounge. He had to come
out in rain and all and walk in with me. I had such a thrill.
Now folkses, this is not a figment
of the imagination; this thing is real, a real joyful, peaceful
sense of His presence. And we walked in together. “My
presence shall go with thee.” These are realities, a
personal experience with a great variety of applications.
One day I was making another trip. I go every year, sometimes
twice. I had my itinerary laid out. I had a map there of
the world, my prayer map. I said, “Father, I’m sure of
my route from Los Angeles,
over to Tokyo, Hong Kong,
Manila, Singapore.”
Beyond Singapore
I could not figure out which way the Lord would have me
go. Oh, I could go, but you want to be in the Lord’s will.
I knew I could go south to Australia. All I need to do is tell
them I’m coming. Come from there up through the South Pacific
or head westward, particularly France.
I said, “Lord, I just don’t know which way to go after
Singapore.”
I was sitting there on the floor with my map on the bed
quietly looking to the Lord, not praying, just saying, “Father,
which way would You like me to
go?” As I sat there I got the words right in here (pointing to his stomach), “I will meet you
at the Pyramids.” I knew what He meant. It meant, go
westward to Cairo.
The reason He gave that to me is that Cairo
used to be my rest stop place, one of them, on the way from
the Far East. Out by the Pyramids there is a hotel, the Meina House, 5 minutes walk from the Pyramids, $3.00/night,
no luxury but clean, air-conditioned. I like to sit there.
Across the Sphinx there is a rest house where you can buy
sandwiches, Coke, coffee and just sit there. Nobody
there to bother you with, “Where did Cain get his wife?”
You’ve got to get away from people, you know, because they’ll
kill you. So that was a place for me to rest.
So the Lord let me know by that, “You go westward.
I will meet you at the Pyramids.”
Eventually I was on an Air-India flight to Cairo, and we were coming into Cairo. In the distance, I saw the lights of
Cairo coming up, and I thought
within myself, “I wonder how He’s going to meet me.”
I figured He would meet me at the Meina
House. By the time I get to the hotel it will be daylight,
and I’ll get my stuff in order, get something to eat maybe,
and walk out to the rest house, and while I sit there, He’s
going to come with His presence. But He didn’t.
I was watching the lights of Cairo come up when all of a sudden; here was
the presence, a strong personal presence. He couldn’t wait
till we landed, if you catch my thought. He couldn’t wait
until I sat at the rest house looking at the Sphinx. He
had to come out before we ever landed and meet me while
we were yet in flight. “I will meet you at the Pyramids.”
Folks, this thing is wonderful
to cultivate the presence of the Lord in a personal relationship.
Moses prayed, “Show me now thy way.”
And oh, make this your prayer while I’m here, “that I
may know thee.” I’m going to give you three thoughts.
Look at this Moses. Look who said this prayer.
Deuteronomy 34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses whom the Lord
knew face to face.
Now here is a man who knew the Lord face to face, that
is to say, intimately, personally. Moses had a personal
acquaintance with God, yet the man prayed,
“Show me now thy way, that I may know thee.”
Exodus 33:11 And the Lord
spake
unto Moses face to face as a man speaketh
unto a friend.”
What you have here in the first instance that I gave
you is an intimate relationship. In the second instance
we have intimate communion. How would you like the Lord
to speak with you, share with you in intimacy, like a friend
with a friend, sharing with a friend what He will not share
with anyone else?
If I
feel free in my spirit while I’m here, I would like to tell
you how the Lord shared with me one night the loneliness
of His heart that brought tears to the eyes of the Lord.
There is such a thing as the Lord sharing things in His
heart with some, things which He does not share with everyone.
I
may have to go back to some scriptures and add some things
to it, but this will give you something to think about.
Numbers 2:8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches;
and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold.
Now here you have an intimate privilege. Think of it!
Moses was privileged as a friend of God to behold the shape
of the Lord, of God. You have different translations that
read: “The shape of the Lord shall he behold;” or,
“the form of the Lord shall he behold;” “the likeness
of the Lord shall he behold.” God permitted Moses to
see the very form of God. It could be that we shall get
that far - to the form.
Suffice to say, when Moses prayed, “Show me thy way, that I may know
thee,” this man
Moses already had an intimate relationship with God, intimate
communion with God and enjoyed an intimate privilege with
God; and such a man still prayed, “Show me now thy way, that I may
know thee.”
These
meetings we’re having can lead us into an intimate relationship,
an intimate communion and an intimate experience and privileges
with God many, many Christians never know anything about.
“This is life eternal,” Jesus said, “that they might
know thee.”