The Manifest Presence of God - Part 2
Walter Beuttler

Note:  During 1951, a revival was experienced in the Bible School where Walter 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 his 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 that day.

During a Friday night service, there was a mighty move of the Holy Spirit, and some of the students seemed to be 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 to me, seemed so out of place.  In restraining them, I did so 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 I saw the Lord standing there.  He was dressed in white garments, looking toward me, 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 the bread was distributed, 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 traveling 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 halfway 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 that He had given me, and this was the beginning of my ministry to the Nations.