Life Lessons From The Road
Knowing the Will of God (And doing it) Part 3

“How Jesus speaks to me' Arthur Blessitt

I am going to open my heart and tell how Jesus speaks to me and how I personally know and seek to do the Will of God.

My dear brother, friend and fellow evangelist Ricky Hobbs who gave me the idea for these columns asked me to be open and honest and expose my life and walk with Jesus to the world. He said 'Help us' know how to live the life. I am touching on things that are my treasures; my most intimate and cherished thing; my relationship and fellowship with God who is Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I will start at the early days of my life and then on to the present. This will take several columns and then I will go back and show from the Bible how people heard from God. This is what I had planned for now but felt led to change the order. This is my personal experience in this column. For the scriptural basis of this teaching please read the two previous columns on 'How to Know and Do the Will of God'.

All night praying as a child:
I well remember as a child of about 7 or 8 years old sitting in the big oak tree in our front yard and praying all night. I would sit there in that tree and visit with God. I would see the stars and moon and the passing clouds and know that Jesus was there with me. My mother would call out often in the night “Son, don't go to sleep and fall out of that tree'. My mother is now 94 years old and the other night we were speaking on the phone about that. Those are some of the most wonderful moments of my childhood. For me to pray and just be in the Presence of God has been common for me all my life. I would sit in that tree and talk to God. I would tell Him all that was on my mind then just sit there and enjoy His presence. Now I cannot explain how I felt but I 'know' how I felt.

When I was saved:
When I was 7 years old my mother, father and sister went to a 'Brush Arbor' Revival meeting in our community out in the country at Goodwill, Louisiana. The meeting was on the grounds of the Goodwill Baptist Church. There were poles with tree brush on top and sawdust on the ground. I remember the evangelist preaching and when he gave the invitation at the end of his message for people to come to the front and pray and give their lives to Jesus and be saved and follow Jesus I wanted to go forward but my mother held my shirt and would not let me go to the front. On the way home in the truck I asked mother and dad why they would not let me go and give my life to Jesus. I will never forget, my dad turned the truck around and drove back to the church grounds. Almost everyone was gone. But then I saw one car and the pastor and the evangelist going to it. I ran over and said “I want Jesus in my life, I want to be saved'. That evangelist knelt on his knees and told me about Jesus and how Jesus died for me and arose from the grave and ascended into heaven and will hear my prayer now and live in my life forever. He then led me in a simple prayer something like “Dear God I give You my life, I repent of my sins and give my life to Jesus. I believe Jesus died for my sins. Cleanse me and write my name in Your Book of Life. Make my home in heaven. Thank you Jesus.' I know Jesus saved me then and there! I did not cry or shout but I knew! I have never felt even for a moment in my entire life since then that I have not had Jesus in my life and knew His Presence and Power and Glory. I am 62 years old as I write this and

“ I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day'. (2 Timothy 1:12 in the Holy Bible)

I would just like to add one thing. I grew up knowing about Jesus and loving Him. But the first time I ever felt lost I got saved! Only for a few minutes between that invitation to go forward and the time we got back to the grounds did I ever feel lost, perhaps about 10 or 15 minutes! I wanted to give my life to Jesus. Never had to battle not wanting to follow Jesus. Of course have had to battle to live out the will of God.

Steps with Jesus:
When I was about 8 or 9 years old one of my jobs was to carry water to the people chopping cotton in the fields. It was often a long hot walk from the house with ice water. Many times as I started off with heavy buckets of water I would head directly toward the farm workers. But so often I would hear Jesus speak to me something like: “Go straight ahead 30 steps, turn right and go ten steps then left again 7 steps. I will tell you then which way to go.'

Tears fill my eyes now as I write this for this is a Holy Thing I am speaking about. Off I would go counting steps and turning and obeying the Words of Jesus to me. Sometimes I would be on the far side of the field from where I was supposed to be. I remember one time my dad found me walking far away from where I was to be walking. He said “What are you doing over here?' I tried to tell him that Jesus was leading me and telling me which way to go. But my dad thought I was just playing and firmly pointed me in the direction of the cotton choppers and told me that “'He' was now telling me which way to go.' I cried as I obeyed my dad.
Oh, dear friends this happened to me as a child Jesus speaking and telling me exactly what to do. He was teaching me to hear His Voice and obey. Time and time again throughout my life Jesus has spoken to the exactly the same way telling me where to go and what to do and even the dates to be at places etc. My commitment is just to obey His Voice and do it even should I not fully understand all that is happening. All Glory to Jesus my Lord.

My call to preach:
This 15 year old farm boy living now in the swamps of Louisiana with his family was me, Arthur Blessitt. We were living in the 'woods'. You would have to know what that term means but some of you do. One night as I lay in bed I felt Jesus calling me to preach. I got up and went to the bedroom where mother and dad were in bed and I told them what Jesus said. I ask them what they thought. I remember mother saying “Well, son should God want you to preach then do it, but if He is not calling you don't'. With that in mind I went back to bed. The next night as I lay in bed Jesus spoke again, “I want you to give your life to me to preach'. I lay there and pondered the words and call. Then I said “Yes, I give my life to you Lord to preach.' Peace flooded me and the Glory of God was upon me and I went immediately to sleep!

Speaking forth:
After I surrendered to preach, the word of course spread all about my high school. One day someone said to me. “Well, you are going to be a preacher where are you going to college to study?' Suddenly these words burst forth from me, something I had never even though about or considered. “I will be going to Mississippi College'. I realized that I had spoken forth my own prophesy. Peace flooded my heart and I never doubted that call but started making plans to go there after graduation.

How God led me in the early years:
Walking by the post office in Clinton, Mississippi one day while I was in College, I saw the famous World War I recruiting poster that had been revived. Uncle Sam pointing a stern finger and saying, "I want you." I gazed at the poster, transfixed. As long as you stand in front of that poster or even on the side of it, it seems that the finger is pointing toward you.

I found a card with a prayer that someone had written on it in my wallet. I had never before taken the time to read the words.

"O God, glorify Thyself today at my expense. Send me the bill anything, Lord. I set no price. I will not dicker or bargain. Glorify Thyself. I'll take the consequences."
Then there was a place to sign the card.

In my dorm room I lay in the floor crying and signed my life away to Jesus. What glory, what peace.

All through my college years and on I found that as I considered and prayed about things there would be a great peace about one direction the Lord would be leading me in.

I would consider several things but when I would think of one thing there would be peace. However often there was still the direct Voice of Jesus in my heart telling me exactly what to do.

I was in San Francisco, California on Christmas Day 1963 driving down Market Street. I was a student at Golden Gate Seminary and was undecided about staying in school. My peace was gone but to leave would be failure in the eyes of most people. A thought flashed through my mind that I had never considered 'Nevada', and then I said out loud “I feel the Lord calling me to the desert, to Nevada.' I burst into praise and joy and laughter. There was a peace that passes understanding. I went back to seminary and packed and on New Years Day I crossed the state line into Nevada and never looked back.