Praise — Hans R. Waldvogel

Praise as the Practical Application of Faith

And so I'm glad to the Lord, the Holy Ghost, for a practical school. He doesn't only talk to us about praise, like the Baptist preachers used to. I used to wonder about it. The choir would sing, shout unto the Lord, everything within a shout.

And one time, when the Lord came upon me, I gave just a little wee bit of a shout and it all jumped on my throat. In other words, they didn't want the practical application of the truth of God. But today, thank God, in our circles we have a practical teaching and a practical experience.

And that's the quickest way to learn. Experience is the best school and fools will learn in no other. But at any rate, everybody can learn in the school of experience. And one thing we ought to remember is the practical application of praise.

We don't have too much praise. But the Holy Ghost has said, if you don't praise the Lord, you're going to fail. But I trust all of us are awake to it and interested enough to know that it's a very definite act of God.

Praise as Evidence of the Kingdom Reigning

The shout of a king is in them. That's what praise is. And we ought to guard it very carefully. It's a kingdom experience. It's an evidence that the kingdom is coming to us when Jesus Christ shouts in us and through us.

And that's what He does. And sometimes people make comparison between powers and gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost. They say, for instance, that speaking in tongues is the least of the gifts. I wonder who told them that.

There is no such comparison to be made. It depends what you do with it or what God can do with it. But if we could make a comparison, it seems to me that praise in the Holy Ghost is the highest gift. The Lord has said, it's the highest form of service, praising the Lord.

Why, it puts Jesus on the throne. And the reason people don't praise Him at times is because somebody else reigns there. Oh, we've got to wake up, as we heard a while ago, to the fact that our Father has a kingdom to give.

But it's a very different kingdom for that of Alexander the Great or Napoleon or Hitler or the Democrats. It's within you. Praise God. It's Christ enthroned by the Father where sin reigned. What good is a kingdom to us, a kingdom that's on the outside, when we are driven by the lashable whip into obedience?

Christ Enthroned Within the Believer

How very different, how very, very different when that law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus dominates me. Where the law of sin and death was reigning within my heart, within my soul, within my spirit.

Now Jesus is enthroned within my heart. Why, that's the very heart of the gospel. When the Lord Jesus prays to His Father, as we quoted last night, I in them and Thou in me. What a declaration. We could search our hearts this morning and see whether that has been realized.

Whether I have a practical experience. Christ in me. Oh, sin will be there. Flesh will reign until Jesus Christ really is in me. He and the Father come and make their abode with us. And that scripture text shows us how far the church has drifted from the gospel.

They have indeed a form of godliness. I looked for our church announcement in the paper this morning, but I didn't find it. But I found many others. The Church of the Sacred Heart had a very successful bingo.

Very successful. What a paradox. The Church of the Sacred Heart and the basketball team of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. They won first place. Mercy on the church. Mercy on the church that has enthroned the devil in the flesh.

Who has enthroned in my heart this morning? Praise will tell you the shout of a king. Oh, when the king reigns within your heart, he'll shout. And it will not be yourself. You will lend your voice and your body and your soul and your spirit, but he'll do the shouting.

Praise Overcomes Spiritual Depression

That's the wonderful thing I've discovered about praise. I discovered that nitric acid eats copper, but I discovered that praise eats the dumps. Like the serpent of Moses' rod that ate all the rods of the magicians of Egypt, so the praises of the Lord eat up all the dumps.

They swallow them up. Thank God I discovered that. Have you made the discovery? Have you found out that praise means the reign of Jesus Christ within you? I said to a man who was in a dump, what's the matter?

Aren't you a Christian? He says, I can't help it. Well, that's awful. Jesus said, no man can serve two masters. You cannot have the devil or trouble or worry or anxiety on the throne of your heart and Jesus at the same time.

You've got to dethrone one or the other. One or the other is going to reign, and that, after all, is my business. When he says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness in me. Make room for me.

Let me reign. I'll show you something. I'm the king of glory. He that believeth in me shall never hunger, and he that follows me shall never thirst, and he that eateth me shall live by me, even as I live by the living Father.

Oh, how important it is that we praise God continuously. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. And you know that one of the grandest and greatest and most lasting changes that have come into my life was when I became a praiser.

I didn't know at the time exactly what happened. I knew that a devil moved out. Might have been a little devil. A bowlegged one. I don't know what his name was, but he certainly made me feel miserable, and I knew it was the devil.

And I knew that I had harbored him. And I knew that I had made room for him. I found out that it was the devil. It was flesh. I found out that I was a sinner. I found out that the Bible says rejoice in the Lord always and rejoice evermore.

I found out that I was not seeking first the kingdom of God, but I was allowing some other prince to rule at times. Jesus really had come into my heart, but I found him out. I did not allow him to reign and to manifest the glory of his kingdom within me.

Crucifying the Flesh and Walking in the Spirit

But when I did, I did it by praising the Lord. Deliberately stepping out on the promises of God and crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts. The Bible says, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.

And it tells us how to do it. If you live in the spirit, ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Because the spirit is mightier than the flesh and ye are not of the flesh. If so be that the spirit of God dwell in you.

But it's very practical. And we get a very practical schooling. I did. I'm so thankful to God for bringing me into a mission where they kept praising the Lord and insisted on it. And where the Holy Spirit calls things by their right name.

Instead of Cusperdor he said Spithun. And there I woke up. I found out that these nice names for our flesh won't do. It's just a dump. I didn't like that expression. I like to sing, somewhere the sun is shining.

Somewhere a little rain. Somewhere a heart is shining. But always, you know, with a woebegone expression you turn on your phonograph. And get one of these sob records. Sniff, sniff, hoo, hoo. No, the Bible says don't.

D-U-M-P. He calls it by its right name. He calls it flesh. He says if you live in the flesh you shall die. I'd like to know how many of God's people have been defeated. Utterly defeated because they would not let Jesus reign.

They did not rejoice ever more. Oh how important is praise. It's an expression of faith. And it's a kingdom experience. And I found out something else later. I found out that God gave me a gift of praise.

Praise as a Weapon in Ministry

It set in. As a minister I need it. It's a very powerful weapon. And if you're ever going to be used in the ministry you'll find out that in this Pentecostal ministry you cannot win without praise. We have wonderful illustrations of it in the Old Testament when Jehoshaphat found the enemy amassed against him.

And the Bible says they were without number. And he gathered his horses and they were so few. So few they looked like a flock of goats. In the presence of a great innumerable army of enemies he said Lord what shall we do?

We don't know what to do but our eyes are upon thee. And as they all got their eyes on the Lord the Lord gave him an inspiration. Instead of building hydrogen bombs and getting his armaments ready he called on the weapons that are not carnal but mighty through God.

He set the singers before the artillery. They had to meet the enemy. They had to go before and praise the name of the Lord. And all the people followed after. And when they praised the Lord great hailstone fell upon the enemy and destroyed them all.

And presently they got so confused that every man's sword was against the other. And they slew one another until there wasn't a single one left. Mind you such a clean cut job God did when his people praised the Lord.

Oh hallelujah. And not only that not only were the enemies defeated by the praises of God. Not only did the enemies defeat themselves. Absolutely they didn't need to shoot one arrow. Just the praises of the Lord.

No wonder he said one shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight. But they were three days in gathering the spoils. They came home loaded down with gifts. All kinds of riches. So that it took three days to gather.

Instead of fighting three days and getting licked in the end. They were gathering the spoils for three days. Have you ever experienced that? Do you know why that's in the Bible? Why because there's a great army arrayed against us.

And all your ingenuity and all your fighting is not going to win the victory for you. How many times have I had to experience that? But oh when praises of God are called upon. Mrs. McPherson tells in the early experience of her tent meeting.

Spiritual Warfare and the Power of Hallelujah

How that one night the meeting was tied up. The atmosphere was black. I've known some ministers that wade right through. Instead of getting the wonderful weapons of the Spirit of God to work against the enemy.

They get carnal weapons. They have an entertainment. That's what she did later you know unfortunately. They put on a show or anything to hold the people. And they fooled the people. And then the devil withdraws.

He is not interested at all. He's won the victory. But in those days Mrs. McPherson was a messenger of Jehovah. And her business was to preach the kingdom of God. And so she said Lord what's the matter?

And the Lord opened her eyes. And she saw the tent surrounded by black fellows. Demon powers. Oh that was what was the matter. The devil was in charge. Undoubtedly there were people there that had invited him.

And there was not the faith. And there was not the worship. And so when she saw that she knew what to do. She got up and she said Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. And when she did that she saw this army of the devil taking one step backward.

And there was an opening there. And presently she said Hallelujah again. And then somebody in the audience pipes up and says Hallelujah. And every time Hallelujah was uttered these devils stepped back.

Until they were almost all together gone. And then the glory of God came upon that meeting. And everybody was shouting the praises of God. And instead of these devils the angels of God surrounded the tent.

I've never had a vision like that. But it's happened many many times in my ministry. In my travels in Europe. Where the atmosphere was as black as hell. God broke through by praise. It's unspeakably wonderful when you get into that atmosphere.

Elisha, the Chariots of Fire, and Seeing Heaven's Protection

Do you know what it is? Why it's exactly the same experience that Elisha had and his servants. When they saw the mountains full of chariots. The enemy had come. And the young man opening the Venetian blind looked out and said good night.

It was really morning. But he said good night. They've come to swallow us up. That's what we do when we go into a dump you know. Oh beloved it's because the king is not on the throne. Because we don't let him reign.

Because when you let him reign you see the king all the time. And Elisha prayed a wonderful prayer. He said Lord open his eyes. And presently the wonder happened that he saw the mountain full of chariots of fire.

And horses of fire. Beloved we're surrounded by the hosts of heaven. The Lord says I am the Lord of hosts. And Lord I am with you all way. Even unto the end of the earth. But the devil fights us all the time.

He contests every step of faith that you take. And oh when we learn our lessons. I tell you we'll have wonderful experiences. In victory like Jehoshaphat. When we feel like going down. Because there are so few with us.

Becoming Teachers and Winning Souls for Christ

Elisha prayed the same prayer. He said Lord there are so few with us. But it's nothing would be to save by many or by them that have no power. Oh I trust that by these lessons that God gives us in our meetings.

We are at last becoming teachers the Bible says we ought to be. God ought to be able to send us out into the dark places of the earth. And to win them from the hand of the devil for Christ. Like Jehoshaphat did with his choir.

Sending the choir before an army. Supposing our President Roosevelt had done that. When he sent our armies into the fray. Or President Truman when he sent them into Korea. Beloved I am sure that if the United States instead of building hydrants and bombs would get to prayer.

And to praising the Lord Communism would soon be wiped off the earth. I am positive of that. Positive because I know that Jesus Christ is the King. And he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. But thank God I have nothing to say about that.

But beloved I am positive that by his grace we shall win. Hallelujah. I know that he has given us weapons that are mighty through God. When he says the Kingdom of God is within you. He means that Jesus Christ wants to be enthroned in your heart.

Choosing Who Will Reign

Hallelujah. And when he says the shout of a king is in them. And in another place talking about Jesus. He says in the midst of the church will I sing praises unto thee. Beloved we have to make the choice.

We have got to say who is going to reign. We have to vote men and women alike. There is neither male nor female. I saw an interesting article the other day. And a picture of a Swiss stand. Celebrating the defeat of women's suffrage.

It's a funny stand. It's a man and a woman side by side. And the man triumphantly putting his hand on the mouth of the woman. And between them the Swiss flag. But we don't have that. Thank God we have women's suffrage.

God wants men and women to praise the Lord. And to praise him continuously. Hallelujah. We are soldiers of the cross. The kingdom is within. Oh do you let Jesus reign. It will cost you something. It will cost you your rags.

It will cost you your ash cans. And in place of them he will give you beauty perhaps. The oil of joy for the spirit of heaven. And in place of the enemy. You will see the hosts of heaven surrounding you.

Oh I tell you the enemy's plea. We sing it in a German song. Defying their mission's plea. When God has came to see. Forward in glory. Mit dem Heiland.