Chapters: 1. Why Don't Men Obey God?
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18 ORDINATION
Near the end of the message I declared, "I am going out into
the world to find the people of God! I am leaving all to go
wherever the Lord leads me. I am going to find those hearts who
are willing to trust and walk with God!"
During the last two-thirds of the message I noticed that the
pianist, a woman seldom given to emotional expression, was
weeping. When the benediction was given she came to the pulpit
to deposit her offering which she had been unable to give from
her position at the piano. Stopping where I was seated, she
stated very simply, "Well--this is it."
And a shout came right out of my heart!
The previous September she had told me, "Rev. Helm, you are
not a pastor."
"Why, Gladys!" I responded, a little amazed.
"Oh," she went on, "I know that you are pastor of the
Pleasant Grove Church, but that is not who you are. You have a
different calling."
And on this evening when God spoke through me the words, "I
am leaving all to find the people of God!"--Jesus stood right
behind her and spoke into her right ear, "Gladys, this is what I
have been telling you about this servant." She related that this
revelation continued throughout the latter two-thirds of the
message. I don't believe she ever had such an experience before
this nor has she had one since then.
A few minutes after she had told me this, I noticed Charles
I. hugging the shadows of the north wall of the church. He was
standing with his shoulder against the wall, weeping
175 with his hand on his chin. When I went over to love him he said,
"Well--I guess we will be coming along."
We prayed with people for some time that evening at Pleasant
Grove Church. The meeting wasn't over until twelve-thirty the
next morning, but still the people didn't want to go home. They
loved me and I loved them. Oh, how I loved them! God had always
given me an unusual love for my flock. While we had pastored in
Whitewater, a minister friend from a distance away had said to
me, "I never would want my congregation to know what thoughts
were in my mind."
I was shocked. I replied, "Oh, my Brother, I wish my people
could see into my heart. If they could see how I loved them in
Jesus, I think they would be moved to weeping. If they could
know how I really want to do God's will with all that there is
within me, I believe my sanctuary would be full and the church
basement crowded as well."
The dear ones at Pleasant Grove Church never did draw back
from my ministry or question me. Even later, when God was
working with me so mightily, not a member or church leader
opposed me carnally. Of the seven churches I served, this
congregation simply believed the report. They didn't get after
me or line me up. If they had questions about how God was
leading me, they just prayed about them.
And that night, even at twelve-thirty in the morning, they
didn't want to leave us. I carried our three daughters out to
the car, one at a time, and started for home. We had not
travelled far when suddenly, from within the car, I heard music
that was not of this earth! "Oh, Honey!" I exclaimed. "I hear
heavenly music! It's right here by the rear view mirror! Put
your ear over here and see if you can hear it."
But though she listened, she was unable to hear it. "Oh, it
is wonderful! It's coming from right there!" I told her. I
wanted so badly for her to hear it, for she is a musician and her
soul responds to music in the Spirit. She would have been deeply
moved, I know. It was the first time I had
176 ever heard such a heavenly melody, because it was the first time
I had left everything to go with God.
When we arrived home a little before one in the morning, I
carried the children inside, helped put them to bed, and began to
get ready for sleep. For many years now my wife and I have
endeavored to have family worship before retiring. Many things--
in fact, nearly everything--will try to stop family worship, but
you will need to do it regularly, either at morning or at night.
You will need to worship together for your own strength,
because, if you haven't read the Word consistently and prayed
regularly, you won't have the strength to resist temptation and
the Tempter. The essentials of living an overcoming life in the
face of trials and situations are: consistent reading of the
Word, prayer, humble witnessing, and obedience to the Holy Spirit
through self-denial. Jesus will grant you strength for every
encounter as you obey Him in prayer, in the Word, in your
testimony, and in yieldedness.
I was very much in the Spirit of God as I came from the
bedroom into the front room to get my Thompson Chain Reference
Bible, which I had laid on the old table my mother had loaned us.
Generally I picked it up with both hands, but on this occasion I
reached for that Bible with only my left hand. I never dreamed
that God was about to give me one of the most wonderful and
significant experiences of my entire life.
As I reached for that precious Book, the Holy Ghost suddenly
took complete charge of my left hand and arm. Moving within that
arm in a way He had never done before or since, God opened that
large Thompson Chain Bible like it was a little New Testament.
More perfectly than I could ever describe, the pages of the Word
opened to the Gospel of John.
When my eyes fell upon the page, the sixteenth verse of the
fifteenth chapter leaped right out, hit me on top of the head,
and ran down to my feet. It said: "YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME,
BUT I HAVE CHOSEN YOU, AND ORDAINED
177 YE SHOULD GO AND BRING FORTH FRUIT, AND THAT YOUR
FRUIT SHOULD REMAIN: THAT WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK
OF THE FATHER IN MY NAME, HE MAY GIVE IT YOU."
My soul began to laugh, to cry, to rejoice. I am unable to
tell you what all was happening in my heart, for the glory of God
was burning in my soul. The experience which I had enjoyed in
the service earlier that evening while under the anointing of
Jesus had truly been marvelous; but this sacred event in the
seclusion of the parsonage was somewhere higher in another area
of hallowed bliss. I was unspeakably, gloriously happy! As I
rejoiced I started to travel up and up toward the skyline drive
of God's precious Perfect Will.
I had right to rejoice, for this was my Service of
Ordination. During that previous week I had relinquished the
honors of men and the approval of most religious leaders. In
order to serve Jesus alone and do only His will, I had forsaken
all that the earth had to offer, and this was the night of my
ordination from God.
You see, my ordination is not of man. My Calling is right
from the Throne. I am ordained from Jesus the Christ in Heaven,
for He witnessed this to me in power and in the Holy Ghost
through the Word: "YE HAVE NOT CHOSEN ME, BUT I HAVE
CHOSEN YOU AND ORDAINED YOU..."
The moment was so sacred and so holy, I scarcely wanted to
move. I knew myself to be utterly unworthy of this experience
with God. I sensed that I would never be able to adequately
convey what Jesus had done for His glory in those brief seconds.
Walking from the front room through the dining room into the
bedroom, I sat down on the bed. About the time I reached the
bedside, Jesus walked through the door behind me. I was not
seeing Him with earthly eyes; it was a spiritual vision. I had
never before seen Jesus in a vision, but I knew when He came
through the door. "Oh, Jesus!" I said. "You are here!" As He
came right up to me, I was privileged to see
178 His nail-scarred foot. His presence was to be sensed all about.
The only words I could say were, "Jesus, You are here--Jesus, You
are here," and began to praise and honor Him.
While I was adoring Him, that nail-scarred foot began to
turn away. I thought He was going to leave me. "Oh, Jesus!" I
cried. "Don't leave me!" I am left alone now and forsaken by
nearly all men. I don't have many friends in this world. Lord,
don't leave me! Please don't forsake me, Jesus!"
And in the twinkling of an eye I was on my right knee in a
land that I had never been in before. As I faced the southwest I
saw a building of unusual design set in a landscape which I
cannot describe. Everything was of the Kingdom of God. The
hands of Jesus were close to me, and I was just ready to place my
uplifted hands upon the Master's shoulders, when I heard His
voice.
I heard the audible voice of Jesus!--The most beautiful,
resonant, glorious voice of the ages! It was such wonderful,
wonderful sound, that if you ever hear it, you will want nothing
more than to hear it over and over. I heard His spoken voice
twenty-two to twenty-four inches from my right ear say,
beautifully clear: "I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE NOR FORSAKE
THEE."
(And as I share this with you, God operates within me by His
gifts and says: "I will lead you and guide you and tell you what
to do." I am thrilled that in the midst of sharing with you how
Jesus spoke to me years ago in an audible voice, His Holy Spirit
speaks within me in an operation of His love and tells me that He
will guide, direct, and help me know what to do and say. What
could be more marvelous in the earth than this!
(A few of you may receive a little thrill or an operation in
your heart when you read certain passages of this humble
pilgrimage. This is the Holy Spirit witnessing to you that
something is of God. This is His way of helping you to know that
these aren't simply words, but that whatever is being
179 shared is truly of Jesus. John Wesley preached more on the
witness of the Spirit than he did on many doctrines of the
Church.
(God witnesses to the body because the body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost. As long as our body is yielded to God, the Holy
Spirit lives in us from the top of our head to the soles of our
feet. When He has full control of the heart, He is able to teach
and refine us. But there is much more to be done within us than
we can know. Therefore, God continues to refine and purify our
hearts; He repeatedly leads and instructs us in humble ways until
we are more sensitive to His gentle promptings and holy
guidances.
(We have only begun! So, be encouraged. Never ask, "Why
does this have to be like that?" Or say, "I don't see why God
has to work like this." No, no, no. Don't question, analyze, or
attempt to fix everything to suit the intellect. Simply look to
God, believe Jesus like a small child, and trust the Word.
(Above all, don't let anything discourage you. Keep
pressing on in faith, in spite of all obstacles, always seeking
to express and embrace the love of God. Be content with very
little. The less you have, the happier you should try to be,
because Jesus promised that the last shall be first in
His Kingdom. Never permit yourself to be ruled by feeling or by
emotion: go by faith in Jesus. Doing these things, you will begin
to experience a day by day walk with Jesus which the choicest
vocabulary will be unable to express.)
After this heavenly experience in the Kingdom of God, as I
was lying on my back in bed with my feet together, the loving
hand of Jesus suddenly came to rest against the bottoms of my
feet. I said, "Honey, Jesus' hand is on the bottom of my feet!"
"It is?" she replied. The moment was so hallowed that I
scarcely dared to speak, yet I wanted my companion to know a
little of the wonder of God's presence with us.
"I feel God here," she whispered.
180 How could you praise God sufficiently for the holy privilege
of having the Master place His hand upon your feet? Praise God!
He was getting me ready to walk with Him. Glory be to Jesus! I
had been striving to follow Him for about nine years, but now He
was preparing me to walk on the heavenly trail of God's Perfect
Will. Hallelujah! He was getting me ready to go with God and
not with man!
The hand of the blessed Son of God, the Stranger of Galilee,
rested on the bottom of this unworthy servant's feet for about
forty to sixty seconds, then moved. "Now Jesus' hand is on the
top of my feet!" I told my wife. It remained there for a time
and then passed up to a position slightly above the ankles.
Slowly--very slowly--the hand of Jesus moved up my body,
lingering for some seconds, then progressing slowly to another
area. Each time I could tell where His hand was placed. When
His hand reached the area of my heart, I fell asleep.
This was my first experience in walking with God after I had
forsaken all of the earth to do only Jesus' will.
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