THE MESSAGE OF PENTECOST
Hans R. Waldvogel
The purpose God had in launching the Pentecostal movement was to make way for the presence of Jesus to be revealed—for Jesus Christ to be received by His people as King. When Jesus Christ manifests His presence, it means that a soul has broken through into a life of obedience; someone has really wanted Him. That's what brought the Pentecostal movement—people wanted Him.
At first they knew nothing about powers, gifts, manifestations; but they knew about Him—that they lacked Him, and that they wanted Him. People would say, "O Jesus, we've been singing about You and hearing about You, but where are You? Where are You yourself?" When Jesus Christ began to manifest himself, He brought people into an experience—an inward experience—that transformed them; and there came a majesty even into their outward bearing. They came to know Him.
Jesus Christ said, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: . . . and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." The great secret today is to have Him and to know Him like that. But He will only manifest himself to people who really want Him alone—who seek Him alone, who keep His commandments, who pray through, believe through, obey through, and love through until Jesus Christ himself is revealed to them. We need to be very careful not to miss that great secret of the Lord.
To us there can be only one call, and that is to have Jesus Christ for ourselves. Once you have had a taste of His presence and of His indwelling, nothing else has an attraction for you. He alone satisfies. There isn't anything in heaven or in the earth or under the earth that can satisfy the human heart but Jesus Christ himself; and blessed are the people that are hungry for Him and want Him alone. Jesus, a jealous bridegroom of the soul, takes His bride through all kinds of testings and all kinds of trials to see whether she will say, "Jesus," instead of "Self"; "Jesus," instead of "People"; and "Jesus," instead of "Things." People like that are going to have Him.
There's something coming upon this earth that has not yet been fully manifested; it is Jesus Christ manifested in His own—Jesus coming to be glorified in His saints. Today Jesus is manifesting himself in powers, in gifts, and in all kinds of ministrations of the Holy Spirit; but after all, He has taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come to us. Even so come, Lord Jesus." Jesus Christ must find a people that are ready to receive Him, to be filled with Him and united to Him-a people who are not satisfied with anything short of waking in His likeness. And that's the thing we need to pay attention to.
Is the cry of our hearts, "O Jesus, to know You"? We get sluggish and indifferent to the call of the King. We say we're seeking Him; but when He comes to manifest himself to us, we're not at home. Oh, how Jesus Christ longs to be revealed—to be manifested!
Do you know of anything more sweet, more powerful, or more wonderful upon this earth than a meeting—whether it be two or three, or two or three thousand-where Jesus Christ is evidently manifested, where He walks in the midst and every heart is drawn to Him, into His presence, into worship, and everyone is satisfied with Him and open to Him? While we were holding meetings in Germany, people awoke to the wonder of the presence of Jesus! They said to me, "We have seen wonderful things, but there's nothing like the presence of Jesus to satisfy our hearts."
Even though He may not use you in a great way, you have a great Savior, a great Bridegroom, a great and wonderful King. And when you have Him, you have everything. O Jesus, what a mistake we make when we want things beside yourself, or we want anything at all, no matter how spiritual it seems, beside yourself.
The Bible says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Oh, that's what I need to labor over-to have the Lord for myself, to have Jesus for myself. Never mind anything else. Let others boast of gifts and powers. My boast will be of the Lord: I will delight myself in the Lord. "I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
Jesus spoke like that of the Father. That was His cry. He was willing to empty himself. Though He was in the form of God, and He counted it not robbery to be equal with God, He emptied himself. His only desire was to have the Father glorified in Him, even though it meant crucifixion. There Jesus Christ won the great fight over the selfishness of the human nature. He won the fight by emptying himself—by humbling himself.
Look at the contrast between Adam the first and Adam the last. The first Adam wanted to rise into a place of being like God, of knowing like God, and of being powerful like God. In doing so he became a slave to sin. The last Adam, who was like God, made himself of no reputation and was found in the likeness of men. He humbled himself-and what was the result? God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name that is above every name.
What do I do in order to meet Jesus—to win Christ? Paul points the way: "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."
We don't all have the same capacity or the same kind of ministry; we don't all have the same lights or the same gifts, but all of us have this one call—to be for Christ, to possess Him, to be filled with Him. And nothing can withhold from us that knowledge of the Son of God if we love Him and keep His commands—if we run after Him with all of our hearts. All our labor ought to be over this one thing-O Jesus, to know You and the power of Your resurrection! Wonder of wonders, when Jesus Christ finds a heart that wants Him like that, He won't wait a long time before He'll begin to reveal himself. Deep down in your soul there will be that still small voice, that wonderful anointing, that sweet presence of the Son of God; and it will be manifest wherever you work for Him. Wherever you go there will be the sweetness-that soft touch of His presence.
That's the thing that makes Holy Ghost meetings. Some people have become accustomed to living in the presence of the Lord, and they are reaching out after Christ instead of after good meetings. That's what we need in these wonderful days. While there are many voices that clamor for our attention, there is one gentle voice, the voice of Jesus, saying, "Lovest thou me? Do you want me?"
O Jesus, I know that I want You above everything else. Put power within me to run after You. Take away from my heart all idolatry-all desire for things, for people, for places; but, Son of God, I pray that I may learn to love You and run after You, and like Paul to do this one thing: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
There is no greater call than this, and this call has certainly and definitely come to our hearts. What are we doing with it? God and the devil are watching to see what you are doing with this one call—to have Jesus, to know Him. The enemy is working overtime to keep people from knowing Jesus. If we grow careless over this one thing—knowing Jesus—darkness and confusion will enter our souls, and we will become enamored of other things.
God has called upon us to deny self, to hate self, to love Jesus, to want Him, and to seek for Him with the whole heart. If God has put that cry into our souls, we ought to nurse it and make sure that it increases in us. As we seek Him He draws nigh to us; that seeking spirit becomes our portion, and we become desperately hungry for the Lord. Oh, there's the voice of the bride, "Where is He whom my soul loveth?" Your whole attention is riveted on Him. There is nothing else that satisfies you.
There must come a time in my soul and in your soul when Jesus Christ becomes our all; every other interest and affection has been wiped out, and there is only one interest—Jesus. No matter what He does with me, whether He raises me into a place of power with himself or not, the important thing is that I have Him for myself, and that He satisfies the depths of my spirit. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
What would we do if we were suddenly translated into heaven? Would we feel comfortable to be forever with the Lord Jesus? Would we move in His presence if we had not learned to do that here?
What a wonderful call! Let us recall it to our own hearts. Let us ask God to restore the light in our own souls. Let us become simple. It may be that God will keep you small and hidden. O wonderful, wonderful call! He says, "My love, let me see thy countenance, thou that art in the secret place of the stairs." Let others make a great noise and clamor for attention. The bride of Christ is hiding away in Him with one desire—only to please the Bridegroom.
The above may be printed and distributed for the glory of God.
Hans R. Waldvogel
The purpose God had in launching the Pentecostal movement was to make way for the presence of Jesus to be revealed—for Jesus Christ to be received by His people as King. When Jesus Christ manifests His presence, it means that a soul has broken through into a life of obedience; someone has really wanted Him. That's what brought the Pentecostal movement—people wanted Him.
At first they knew nothing about powers, gifts, manifestations; but they knew about Him—that they lacked Him, and that they wanted Him. People would say, "O Jesus, we've been singing about You and hearing about You, but where are You? Where are You yourself?" When Jesus Christ began to manifest himself, He brought people into an experience—an inward experience—that transformed them; and there came a majesty even into their outward bearing. They came to know Him.
Jesus Christ said, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: . . . and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." The great secret today is to have Him and to know Him like that. But He will only manifest himself to people who really want Him alone—who seek Him alone, who keep His commandments, who pray through, believe through, obey through, and love through until Jesus Christ himself is revealed to them. We need to be very careful not to miss that great secret of the Lord.
To us there can be only one call, and that is to have Jesus Christ for ourselves. Once you have had a taste of His presence and of His indwelling, nothing else has an attraction for you. He alone satisfies. There isn't anything in heaven or in the earth or under the earth that can satisfy the human heart but Jesus Christ himself; and blessed are the people that are hungry for Him and want Him alone. Jesus, a jealous bridegroom of the soul, takes His bride through all kinds of testings and all kinds of trials to see whether she will say, "Jesus," instead of "Self"; "Jesus," instead of "People"; and "Jesus," instead of "Things." People like that are going to have Him.
There's something coming upon this earth that has not yet been fully manifested; it is Jesus Christ manifested in His own—Jesus coming to be glorified in His saints. Today Jesus is manifesting himself in powers, in gifts, and in all kinds of ministrations of the Holy Spirit; but after all, He has taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come to us. Even so come, Lord Jesus." Jesus Christ must find a people that are ready to receive Him, to be filled with Him and united to Him-a people who are not satisfied with anything short of waking in His likeness. And that's the thing we need to pay attention to.
Is the cry of our hearts, "O Jesus, to know You"? We get sluggish and indifferent to the call of the King. We say we're seeking Him; but when He comes to manifest himself to us, we're not at home. Oh, how Jesus Christ longs to be revealed—to be manifested!
Do you know of anything more sweet, more powerful, or more wonderful upon this earth than a meeting—whether it be two or three, or two or three thousand-where Jesus Christ is evidently manifested, where He walks in the midst and every heart is drawn to Him, into His presence, into worship, and everyone is satisfied with Him and open to Him? While we were holding meetings in Germany, people awoke to the wonder of the presence of Jesus! They said to me, "We have seen wonderful things, but there's nothing like the presence of Jesus to satisfy our hearts."
Even though He may not use you in a great way, you have a great Savior, a great Bridegroom, a great and wonderful King. And when you have Him, you have everything. O Jesus, what a mistake we make when we want things beside yourself, or we want anything at all, no matter how spiritual it seems, beside yourself.
The Bible says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Oh, that's what I need to labor over-to have the Lord for myself, to have Jesus for myself. Never mind anything else. Let others boast of gifts and powers. My boast will be of the Lord: I will delight myself in the Lord. "I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."
Jesus spoke like that of the Father. That was His cry. He was willing to empty himself. Though He was in the form of God, and He counted it not robbery to be equal with God, He emptied himself. His only desire was to have the Father glorified in Him, even though it meant crucifixion. There Jesus Christ won the great fight over the selfishness of the human nature. He won the fight by emptying himself—by humbling himself.
Look at the contrast between Adam the first and Adam the last. The first Adam wanted to rise into a place of being like God, of knowing like God, and of being powerful like God. In doing so he became a slave to sin. The last Adam, who was like God, made himself of no reputation and was found in the likeness of men. He humbled himself-and what was the result? God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name that is above every name.
What do I do in order to meet Jesus—to win Christ? Paul points the way: "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."
We don't all have the same capacity or the same kind of ministry; we don't all have the same lights or the same gifts, but all of us have this one call—to be for Christ, to possess Him, to be filled with Him. And nothing can withhold from us that knowledge of the Son of God if we love Him and keep His commands—if we run after Him with all of our hearts. All our labor ought to be over this one thing-O Jesus, to know You and the power of Your resurrection! Wonder of wonders, when Jesus Christ finds a heart that wants Him like that, He won't wait a long time before He'll begin to reveal himself. Deep down in your soul there will be that still small voice, that wonderful anointing, that sweet presence of the Son of God; and it will be manifest wherever you work for Him. Wherever you go there will be the sweetness-that soft touch of His presence.
That's the thing that makes Holy Ghost meetings. Some people have become accustomed to living in the presence of the Lord, and they are reaching out after Christ instead of after good meetings. That's what we need in these wonderful days. While there are many voices that clamor for our attention, there is one gentle voice, the voice of Jesus, saying, "Lovest thou me? Do you want me?"
O Jesus, I know that I want You above everything else. Put power within me to run after You. Take away from my heart all idolatry-all desire for things, for people, for places; but, Son of God, I pray that I may learn to love You and run after You, and like Paul to do this one thing: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
There is no greater call than this, and this call has certainly and definitely come to our hearts. What are we doing with it? God and the devil are watching to see what you are doing with this one call—to have Jesus, to know Him. The enemy is working overtime to keep people from knowing Jesus. If we grow careless over this one thing—knowing Jesus—darkness and confusion will enter our souls, and we will become enamored of other things.
God has called upon us to deny self, to hate self, to love Jesus, to want Him, and to seek for Him with the whole heart. If God has put that cry into our souls, we ought to nurse it and make sure that it increases in us. As we seek Him He draws nigh to us; that seeking spirit becomes our portion, and we become desperately hungry for the Lord. Oh, there's the voice of the bride, "Where is He whom my soul loveth?" Your whole attention is riveted on Him. There is nothing else that satisfies you.
There must come a time in my soul and in your soul when Jesus Christ becomes our all; every other interest and affection has been wiped out, and there is only one interest—Jesus. No matter what He does with me, whether He raises me into a place of power with himself or not, the important thing is that I have Him for myself, and that He satisfies the depths of my spirit. "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
What would we do if we were suddenly translated into heaven? Would we feel comfortable to be forever with the Lord Jesus? Would we move in His presence if we had not learned to do that here?
What a wonderful call! Let us recall it to our own hearts. Let us ask God to restore the light in our own souls. Let us become simple. It may be that God will keep you small and hidden. O wonderful, wonderful call! He says, "My love, let me see thy countenance, thou that art in the secret place of the stairs." Let others make a great noise and clamor for attention. The bride of Christ is hiding away in Him with one desire—only to please the Bridegroom.
The above may be printed and distributed for the glory of God.