Abandonment — Hans R. Waldvogel

Abandonment as the Key to the Inner Court

Abandonment is the key to the inner court, so that he who knows truly how to abandon himself will soon become perfect. We have a German hymn that says the same thing. And this morning there's a wonderful light shining in this place.

It's this that we're learning slowly, to abandon ourselves. Now a person of course can abandon himself to sin, to flesh, to lust, to pride, to sensitiveness, to all the works of the flesh. But the wonderful thing is that we have learned, or are learning, to abandon ourselves, to give ourselves to one who gives himself to us.

I was impressed in different testimonies this morning. It rejoices my soul. Really a strange meeting, isn't it, to see a platform full of preachers doing nothing. They're either exceedingly dumb, or they're exceedingly smart.

I think when a preacher gets to the place where he knows that he knows nothing, he's beginning to be... Then he's beginning to be... simplicity of giving myself to one who gives himself to me. That was the light that began to shine when I first came in contact with Pentecostal people, and I do...

I think I will thank him for all eternity that he brought me into a little mission in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where people were abandoned to Jesus. Strange to me, and yet I expected that. Coming in among a people who knew the Holy Ghost, I expected that they would wait for the Holy Ghost, that they would recognize him and give him room.

And they did. Thank you. Meetings in that place, out of this world, and sometimes when people here criticize because it gets a little loud, I wish they had been there. My goodness, sometimes the chairs are piled on the floor, and we had a floor to ourselves.

Drawing Near to God Through Prayer

Well, it so happened that in that place we prayed all the time. The assistant, or rather an apprentice minister, and I made it my business to get there at six o 'clock in the to get one or two hours of in prayer before going to morning worship.

I had to do that. I had to pray for myself. I needed it. I was bad off. And then I would clean the place and pray all day, and then people would come in, some men that were out of work, and they'd pray all day, and we'd pray all day.

And I soon discovered that when you draw night to God, he draws night to you. It was a very wonderful discovery to make for me. I remember one time, it was the day before my birthday, first time I was in the ministry, and I thought, well, tomorrow I expect God to meet me on my birthday.

I didn't know how he would do it, but I was just stupid enough to think he would. So I fasted that day, not to empty my stomach, to fill it with birthday cake. I don't think I had one at all, but I wanted God.

I remember how I lay on the platform for a hard job. I didn't know the unction that we know today. I had to saw wood. I had to pray through. But next day it was strange, very strange. I got into a meeting, and there was a prophet there, really one of God's prophets.

And the Lord gave me a word, gave me a word from heaven, and this is said, because you called on me so earnestly. Now the prophet knew nothing about it at all. Because you sought me so earnestly. And I said, oh, God's taken notice of it.

I felt so dry, and it was such a hard job to fast. And now the Lord knew about it. God took notice of Cornelius' prayer. He said, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And oh, what a memorial he that seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

The True Blessing Is Turning From Iniquity

And there was the manifestation of God. We like to see people blessed. We like to get blessings ourselves. And unfortunately in Pentecost, we have taken the blessings and made idols out of them. How much advertising there is done today in the world over blessing.

But Peter says, God sent Christ to bless you to turn away every one of you from your iniquities. That's the real blessing. When it isn't a blessing, it ceases being a blessing. And it's the call of the King.

It's the great eternal. You know, people everywhere pray for a revival. We've got a revival within our grasp. And unless Jesus is the revival we want, we're not going to have a revival. We may fall into fanaticism.

People are doing that everywhere in the world today. They shake themselves, and they shout, and they shout like peanut vendors, and they have a wonderful time, and they dance and clap their hands and prophesy.

And all that is an end with them. But when the blessing is the call of Jesus to obedience, to abandonment, to giving myself to him, it's different. Jesus gave a message years ago. He said, you think you're seeking me.

And as soon as you turn to me, you feel my touch. You feel the blessing. But you don't know how long I have waited for you. I wait years and years and years and years. Oh, how long I have waited for you.

And it seemed to me by the testimonies we heard this morning that some hearts are waking up to the call of Jesus. That's the call of the King. And beloved, we're not going to see the manifestation of Jesus that we want until we give ourselves to him, because then he gives himself to us.

There must be an honest to goodness exchange. Why does it take so long for us to wake up? I question myself. Why does it take me so long? Well, I tell you, the natural mind doesn't receive these things.

You'll be greatly surprised at the way God leads you when you really begin to follow Jesus, when you really want him. People think that when they seek the Lord, and lots of people are seeking the Lord in order to get blessings.

I've known people in Pentecost to pray for weeks at a time, and really fast, because they thought, well, God will give them power. And one of them said to me, do I seem powerful in my ministry? Another one said, I've been seeking the Lord for three weeks and I've got nothing yet.

Emptying Ourselves Before the Lord

But you want him, he'll make you feel like nothing. You'll be coming down. You'll be emptied. You'll be stripped. Whom the Lord loveth, he chases. As many as I love, I rebuke. And you know, that rebuke isn't so nice when the Lord shows you that all your human effort is good for nothing in his sight.

That you must have gold dried in the fire that you may be rich. But on the other hand, isn't it perfectly marvelous when Jesus says, let not your heart be troubled. Now, there are a lot of things, when you look at them, they'll trouble your heart.

They'll get right into your heart like bedbugs and cockroaches. And you'll have a hard time to exterminate them. If you look at your troubles, and look at your sins, and look at your flesh, and look at your unworthiness, and look at your unfitness, look at your prayerlessness, and look at all these things that you're guilty of.

Of course, you wouldn't let anybody else know about it. But sometimes you can't help but see it. And God says, don't let your heart be troubled. Look unto Jesus. Open your heart to Jesus. Believe also in me, for I am your life.

I'm your righteousness, your holiness. I'm your attainment. I'm your zeal. I'm your good works. I'm your love and joy and peace. Give yourself wholly to me, and I will give myself wholly to you. For it will mean an absolute exchange.

And we learn that lesson, when we begin to learn something about abandonment. Now, these meetings are very, very healthy, and very good to learn abandonment. I talked about the early days, when I first came into meetings like these.

I soon found out that there was an unction in the meeting. It was like a light to my soul. And by just watching that light, by just paying attention to that Holy Ghost unction, He would make me know when I was to say something, or when I was to shout, or when I was to sing.

Just felt that inside was just sort of a monitor, when you want nothing but Jesus. When you're sick and tired of yourself, that's poverty of the Spirit. Why then the kingdom begins to move in. The King comes, like a thief in the night, and there comes into your soul a light, very quietly, quietly, a still small voice.

True Worship Seeks Jesus Rather Than Attention

I know there are people that always want to exhibit themselves. They always want to attract attention to themselves, when they shout, when they dance, when they clap their hands, when they testify. Whatever they do is done with a view of attracting attention to themselves.

Now, there are not many people like that here. They would choke if they were. They wouldn't get very far. But I've seen them in my travels. That's, of course, not healthy. But most people who come here want Jesus.

They're sick and tired of everything else. It was wonderful last night as we traveled home in the car. It was 11 o 'clock, and I wanted to get some news. I switched on the radio. And you know that voice that came over the radio, jarred, as thin as string, how after a Holy Ghost meeting, a human voice jars you.

Well, that's the way it should be. It's because your soul has become God-enamored. God has moved in. God is in charge. He shuts out other voices and other influences. Your soul becomes like a weaned child.

It becomes abandoned to God. And the more we draw night to God, the more earnestly we practice the presence of God, the more the Holy Ghost takes over. Now, that's something denominational churches know practically nothing about.

The Quakers used to call that the inner light. They talked about a light in the depth of your soul that makes you know God's will. But you know, Pentecost is all the movements, Methodist, Baptist, Quaker movement, Holiness movement, Free Methodists, Salvation Army.

It's all rolled into one, all one package. You've got it all there like in a fruitcake. Raisins and figs and everything is there. And in Pentecost, you've got it all. You've got Jesus. Hallelujah. You don't talk about the second definite work of grace and you don't talk about healing even.

You don't talk about the baptism anymore. You talk about Jesus. It's Jesus, the lover of your soul, Himself. Oh, that's what Dr. Simpson writes about, Jesus Himself. Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord.

Once it was the feeling, now it is His word. Oh, it is more than a feeling, isn't it? It's a person. It's Jesus. It's His voice. The voice of my beloved, that holy Jesus, and He is looking through the lattice.

Every once in a while you get a revelation of Him. And I remember in those days how sweet it was to my soul. Precious. Is this abandoned? You learn a thousand and one lessons, and after all, it's just one lesson.

It's just Jesus. And you know, the reason we have these meetings is because God wanted them, because Jesus is longing. He said years ago that He is not satisfied with Pentecostal meetings. Jesus is longing to make meetings Himself by His own meetings in which He is the Lord, where He is manifested, where He speaks His word.

He pours out His Spirit. We're in danger of becoming one-sided. I saw that in Germany when the people woke up to the wonder of the Holy Ghost and His presence and of praise. They quickly got into praise.

And some ministers there thought, well, that was the only thing. And so they shout. They shout the meeting into praise. It's easy to do that when the Holy Ghost is present. People will follow. I said, listen, there's something far beyond that.

Some people never get the hang of it. It isn't praise and it isn't silence. It isn't any gift of the Holy Ghost. It's the giver, Jesus Himself. And you can sit for two hours in perfect silence and yet be fed within the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

We've had a lot of silence waiting upon God in these two weeks. And perhaps during those silent hours, God's miracles were wrong. Then when we thought, I can enjoy a colored people's meeting like as good as anybody else.

Jesus Himself, Not Merely the Blessing

And in five minutes, I had enough blessing for a month. After they got started, the meeting was supposed to start at eight o 'clock and I saw a sign on the wall. Punctuality is a great virtue, but there was nobody there at eight o 'clock except the stove and myself.

And I was glad the stove was there. And after a few minutes, the preacher walked in. Well, bless the Lord, he said. And then one of the deacons came and then a lady came. And then by, oh, by nine o 'clock, the meeting started.

And they began to, they got on their knees and the preacher began to sing, Happus Lord. And the lady said, Happus Lord. The congregation said, Happus. And did he happen? They didn't give up until they were on the floor.

Anybody didn't want to topple over, they helped them down. I can enjoy that immensely because I know God does it that way. God runs after his people, you know. And if they insist on getting a blessing a certain way, why he gives it to them.

Some people want spinach every day. Well, they can have it. Maybe they can make a living out of it. But you know what Jesus is longing for to give himself. He wants to come to this world and he's got to come by his saints who have gotten far enough in our Bible study to discover that.

He is coming to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in. Learn to admire Jesus in some people. We know it's Christ. When Elder Brooks was 90 years old, we had a birthday party for him in the city of Zion.

And almost the whole city came together. And being a friend of his, they asked me to say something. And God immediately gave me a text that I hadn't thought of from Galatians. This text, they glorified God in me.

And I told the people, now when anybody who knows Elder Brooks thinks of him, they think of God immediately. They don't think of Pentecost or of any certain doctrine or some idea, but they just automatically think of God because God has come forth in that man.

Wherever he has been ministering, Jesus ministers. That's the way every one of us must be. Fully received by me that every act and thought and word and feeling is permeated by the life of God. People say, my, isn't that a hard saying?

Who can hear it? That's what they said when Jesus said, don't labor for the meat that perisheth. These things all perish. But here's meat that comes down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die.

And he's talking about this great mystery. He says, even as the living Father sent me and I live by the Father, he that seeth me, seeth the Father, so he that eateth meat shall live by me. Now, beloved, that call, we've heard it.

Oh, we've heard it for many years, but it's beginning to dawn. It's beginning to dawn and flesh and blood can never give it to you. Like we heard, my Father who is in heaven has revealed it to you. It's got to be that spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

And he is doing it, thank God. And I was thinking this morning how wonderful it would be if we could keep these meetings up for a whole year, just waiting upon the Lord. Now, it might be, it might be that if God had his way, he would call us that, and I'll tell you why.

Christ’s Work Through Diverse Ministries

God does many wonderful things in the world, many. Now, Oral Roberts is coming to this town, and he is a giant of faith. We do thank God for that man, and many like him. What a job he's doing. How my soul rejoices over the ministry of a man like that, and Billy Graham, and many others that are able to shape the ends of the world.

Beloved, Christ is being preached. That's wonderful. People find fault with him. Well, don't you find fault with yourself, too? Okay. Christ is being preached. But the gist of it is this, that God has given us a call that you don't find in many places.

They've asked us to give up our meetings when Oral Roberts comes and said, wouldn't that be foolish? You stop eating because, um, nice restaurant over in New York? No, you'll have to take care of your children that have to go to school and give them their lunches and so on.

No, we have our job. I'll tell you another thing. Some time ago, well, when our work began, Jesus began to manifest himself in the most marvelous way. This week has reminded me so much of the beginning, because people came and it was new to them.

It was new to have a minister sit on the platform and do nothing, and call the attention of people to Jesus. Remember, Sister Monda's sister coming in from the lighthouse down there, they had a real holy ghost revival.

They had about a half a dozen tambourines, Monda had one, and I don't know if they had bass drums or not, but they could make that piano wobble, you know, and boy, how that tent stayed on its pins, I don't know.

But they had a continuous revival, and people swore they'd never come to Patchen Avenue again. We had 15 people the first night I was there, and they told me, why did you come? You might as well have stayed where you were.

Nothing doing here. But you know, that first meeting was a revelation to me. Jesus came to that meeting. I saw him. It was Christ. It was a very simple meeting, and then Sister Monda's sister walked into that place, and she came out of this great revival, and she sat down, and she thought, she called for a song.

She said, numero 17. I said, well, Jesus is just now walking through the aisles blessing people. We'll sing that a little later. That never happened to her before. She was ready to walk out of the place, but she said, well, she looked around.

Preacher was doing nothing, sat on the platform with his eyes closed. Her neighbor had their eyes closed. Somebody else had their eyes closed. Carry me back to old Virginia, land of the possum and the coon.

You know, people don't feel at home. But finally, she thought, well, I might as well close my eyes too, and she did. And when she did, she suddenly felt a wonderful unction in her heart that she'd never felt before.

Oh, she didn't want to open her eyes again. She went out of that meeting. She went down to the lighthouse and drummed everybody together. She said, oh, you must come to Patchen Avenue. Jesus is there.

And one by one came like that. Jesus was there. And people became so changed by the power of God. They were set into God. I remember how when I go to visit people in their homes, sometimes you wouldn't even say hello.

We would just sit down and that wonderful cloud of his presence would come over people. And we'd sit there and I'd get up without saying goodbye and just move out and move and visit somebody else. And wherever we went, there was that wonderful presence of Jesus.

Abandonment and the New Creation

What had happened? Why, people had been set into God. It's something that happens on the inside when you abandon yourself to Jesus Christ and he becomes more than a blessing. He becomes the indwelling fountain of life.

Something wonderful happens to you that's more wonderful than the creation of man. It's a new creation. That's what God is after. That's what makes it possible for Jesus to manifest himself. And that's what God is working on.

And that manifestation of Jesus is not going to be perfect or complete in this world until God finds a group of people that are abandoned 100 percent, who have sold out absolutely and completely. Like Ter Stegen says, In Wort und Werk, in allem Wesen, sei Jesus und sonst nichts zu lesen.

In word and work and in all my movements, let nothing be seen but Jesus alone. And so then I invited other ministers and churches to come and they wouldn't come. They wouldn't sneeze at us. They didn't like us.

They didn't answer my letters or my invitations at all. But when they had revival meetings, I announced them in my church. I asked the people, go down and be a blessing. Go to the lighthouse. Go to Glad Tidings.

They had a wonderful campaign at Glad Tidings. One of the world-shaking evangelists was there. So I sent the people there. I wanted to be brotherly. I still feel that way. But you know, after the people had been there a few nights and came back, they didn't worship God anymore.

They had lost something. Something had gone away from them. They said, wait a minute, we better hold fast that which we have, that no man take our crown. And so since that time, and that's 32 years, we have never called for revival meetings.

But we have called, or God has called for meetings of this type, where we come together and wait upon the Lord. And everyone has discovered something wonderful. Now you've discovered how after two weeks, everything has changed.

Even our outstations have changed. They feel something. People tell me that in their shops, in their homes, they feel a strange something. And then they wake up, oh, this is the time of prayer. What is it?

Oh, it's the eagerness of Jesus Christ to come to this earth. And you and I either prepare the way for his coming, or we become stumbling blocks and we hold him up. And when Jesus comes, he's going to come to the simple people, the people that have learned the simple love of Jesus, have seen the face of Jesus.

Tell me not of office I, I have heard the voice of Jesus, all my soul. And the reason we don't see more of this is because it requires childlike simplicity. And we don't like that.