Talk on Praise — Hans R. Waldvogel

Praise as an Offering to God

Were you ever lost in the woods, and you couldn't find the way, and then somebody pointed out to you the way to get out of the woods? Well, God did that for me, and he did it for you, when he said, this is the way.

And what is the way? By whosoever glorifies me. Whosoever offers praise. It's an offering. A very wonderful offering. Offering praise. God might say, well, you've got to offer something else. Like some folks, too, they say, if you'll bring me twenty dollars, I'll pray for you.

Heavens. No, gosh. God doesn't want you to come and beg him to heal you. He's begging you to let him heal you. Did you know that? Oh, he comes with blazing eyes. Like Abraham Lincoln, when he saw slavery at its worst, he went through the southern states, and he saw one poor slave being whipped bloody.

He said, if I ever get a chance to hit that thing, I'll hit it hard. And that's what Jesus Christ said, if I ever get a chance to hit that work of the devil, I'll hit it hard. And he did hit it hard when he said, it is finished.

It was finished. And those outstretched arms of Jesus are the invitation to all that are oppressed of the devil, to come to him, to drink his blood, to partake of the victory of Calvary. You cannot add anything to it.

Faith in the Finished Work of Christ

But you can accept it, and the only way you can accept it is by faith. And that's where we often fail. Without faith. We bring to God all kinds of offerings, all kinds of things. And God doesn't want it.

He didn't accept Cain's offering. He rejected it. But when Abel offered a lamb without spot, and he offered the blood, he showed that he had faith in the Lamb of God. And beloved, the Lamb of God has been slain for you.

The ransom price has been paid. And now it ought to be so easy and so simple to believe God. But I need to strip myself of all anxiety and all fear. Glory to God. How do I do that? Why, by reading the Word of God.

Instead of reading all kinds of stuff that creates unbelief. This Word is given to us to create faith. That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. God talks about the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Read Ephesians 1 and see how the superlatives chase one another. What is a superlative? I don't know. Anyway, they chase one another. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Not the treasures of this earth that pass away. But unsearchable treasure. He has begotten us unto an inheritance. Incorruptible and undefiled. And that paid us not away. What is that inheritance? Why, it's the Holy Ghost.

It's the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. And if you give Him a chance, He'll come and fill this body of yours. Praise God. Not with a barrel full of vitamins and aspirin tablets. But with resurrection light and resurrection power.

Thank God. Oh, what a wonderful Savior. And Jesus Christ said, this is the way. When you accept it without trying to pay for it. Whosoever offereth praise. And that's what makes praise so effective. And so absolutely essential.

Praise Opens the Way into Salvation

Praise. The Bible says, opens the gate into salvation. Thou shall call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise. And you enter into His core. Thank God. With praise, you don't have to stand on the outside like a beggar.

But the great King of Glory has spread a phase. He says, all things are ready. Now go into the highways and byways and bring them in. It's all ready and they find all kinds of excuses. And beloved, here's the great lesson that we need to learn.

That without faith it is impossible to please God. You can't get anything except by really giving honor to God. Now, that's the lesson Abraham had to learn. The Bible says, he waxed not weak through unbelief.

When the doctor said, there's no more hope. Your blood pressure's too high. Gonna have a stroke tomorrow. He didn't get weak like we do. Say, look out for those doctors, those pushers. Be careful. As soon as you listen to them, why, unbelief comes in like a hyena.

Like a bad beast. Don't listen to those unbelievers. Unbelief is the devil's jester, court jester. Unbelief puts the devil on the throne. That's what he's always looking for. That's how he dragged all of humanity down into the pit of destruction.

Trusting the Plain Word of Scripture

When he said, you think God said that to Eve? He didn't touch Adam. He went to Eve. You think God said that? You haven't been to school. You ought to learn Greek and Hebrew, and then you'd understand the Bible.

You can't just take the Bible the way it's written. Did you ever hear anybody say that to you? They come around with these newfangled interpretations. Listen, I can't stomach this stuff. Give me the old King James Version.

The old Martin Luther Translation. They're given by the Holy Ghost. Why do people always want something newfangled? Because. Well, did God mean that? You've got to learn Greek now. This word here that says, surely, it really means hatechomai.

It's Greek. You've got to know the shadings of the meaning of that word before you can understand. Now, did God mean that? God meant it, thank God. And if he didn't mean what he said, why didn't he say what he meant?

He did say both. He said what he meant. Thank God. Who has believed our report? What does it mean? The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost joining hands to redeem all of humanity. And what did they do?

He said, I did it. You didn't do it. You didn't bring me any sacrifices, but I brought a sacrifice. He spared not his own son, my father. Is that possible? Your Raja Gaila Bose. Oh, beloved, I can face all of hell with that word of God.

With that faith in the Son of God, I can face every devil. But never mind. I cannot afford to be presumptuous. That faith has to spring up within my heart. And the Bible says that faith comes by hearkening to the word of God.

By taking it into your heart. Not by getting it only into your head. Of course, it's got to go through your head. But taking it into your heart. The Bible says faith comes by the word of God. Just like all things were created by the word of God.

The Word of God as the Source of Life and Power

Oh, wonderful word of life. We're studying atomic science. I've learned something new today. I heard about, what was it again? Electrons and mesotrons. Never heard about those before. What wonderful, really what a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Savior.

Not only the sky, like David said, when I behold the sky, the heavens, the sun and the moon and the stars which thou hast made, what is mad that thou art mindful of him. But now we dig down into the very seventh basement of creation and we dig up the atoms that are so small that you can't even grasp the smallness and yet every one of them is built more wonderfully than my Swiss watch.

And Jesus made them all in such a marvelous way by his word. And you're a God who upholds all things by the word of his power. And why does he uphold all things by the word of his power? Listen, scientists are coming behind the secret of the creation.

And they're trembling before the hydrogen bomb and before the atomic bomb. But they're trembling before something else. The whole creation is a bomb, is stored with fire. And the Bible tells us what for?

For destruction of the ungodly man. When he shall come to be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do I obey that gospel?

Why, by believing the true report. By accepting. And this wonderful word is bound to create faith. Beloved, I've said a number of times that all books ought to be burned so that people will have to get to the Bible.

I've never, I read books, I like books, I like some books. The minute I get a book I can smell whether it's good or not. I read the last page and then I know what's in it. But this wonderful Bible contains all the wisdom, all the knowledge, all the righteousness, all the power that is needed.

The Bible says that the man of God may be perfect, truly established unto every good work. And out of this Bible you can receive faith, living faith, conquering faith. Thank God you will become a living epistle of Christ written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.

Christ’s Promises Above Human Theology

Children, we need the Bible. We need these simple words of Jesus Christ. We need these unsearchable treasures, these exceeding great and precious promises by which God Almighty offers himself to me. Why does he say I stand at the door and knock?

Why, because we lock him out. That's what we do. We're rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. Read these excerpts of the theologians today. Carl Barth, and what's his name, and Niebuhr, and what else is his name, Pike?

What a Pike. And all these theologians. That makes you sick to read those things. Why not read what Jesus said? I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Thank God. And here he is the great gift of God Who has believed our report?

And what is that report? Why, it's contained in Isaiah 53. He was delivered for our offenses. Surely himself took our sins upon himself, and surely himself took our sicknesses. Beloved, the Bible says surely.

Surely. Some of you are going to listen to Messiah by Handel, and you'll have that repeated over and over again. Surely. Surely. Surely. Himself. All who have believed our report, beloved, whosoever offers praise.

Healing, Praise, and the Victory of Faith

And it might be interesting to know how many people in this meeting have been healed by praise. Some of the mightiest healings that God's given me, He gave me when I was really sick and praised God in spite of it.

One time in Switzerland, 30 years ago. This next year. I was really suffering in my body and had been for quite a while. And I was in a hotel, Schweizerhof in Zurich. And just then the devil seemed intent on making me feel miserable.

And I remember how I looked at Jesus and the Holy Ghost rose within me and just laughed and gone from my trouble. And 30 years ago, it never returned. And a number of other times, a woman down in South Brooklyn called us up one day.

We didn't know who she was. Her girl, 15 years old, had been sent home from the hospital incurable. She screamed. When I came into the house, I saw a sign on the wall, please don't talk, pray. And the neighbors had gathered in the hall and they said, what murder?

They're letting that child die. And I came upstairs and here was the doctor. He was shaking his head. He said, we don't know what's the matter. We can't help her. The only thing we could do would be to cut her open and see if we could find something.

And when he said that, the mother began to scream. Here was the child in bed screaming and here was the mother screaming. What did I do? I began to laugh. The Holy Ghost did that. I went up to the mother.

I said, listen, man's extremity is God's opportunity. You know what God says? They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. She told me that five members of her family had died of the same disease and the doctors had never been able to find out what was the matter.

So I called home. It was on Santa Carlos Friday night. Asked my brother to pray in the meeting and they did. And next morning I said to Charles, let's go down and find out what's happened. I like to follow the matter up.

When we came there, I found that whole house bathed in the glory of God. Came upstairs. The child met me smilingly. The mother smiled. She said she'd gone to bed right after I left, seven o 'clock and slept right through until seven o 'clock in the morning.

First time in weeks. And next Sunday they came to Seneca Avenue and testified to the wonder that God had wrought for them. And I laughed. Like that other time, Terra Nova was the name of an Italian family and the girl had been screaming all night and raving.

Power of the devil was upon her and the father couldn't talk English. Didn't know what to do. Did hurt that we pray for the sick. It was after midnight. And when I went close to the child, the devil screamed at me.

I got the creeps really. I backed out. And I said, Jesus, this is a case for you. I knelt down with my face toward the wall. I said, Jesus, what are you going to do? He began to sing. She was screaming.

The devil was screaming. And I was singing. And I was singing, Jesus, oh, how sweet the name. Jesus, every day the same. I sang it twice and the devil was gone. The devil was gone. I think a whole legion was gone because that atmosphere was clear.

Standing on God’s Promises and Praising Him

Listen, this is the way God says it's all finished. It's finished. You'll never get anything from God any other way but by receiving the finished work of Christ on Calvary. And if you don't get it right away, do like Abraham, his faith waxed strong because he looked at the promise and he considered him who had promised and he said, my God is able to raise the dead and call the things that be not as though they were.

And he promised. And that finishes, that settles it. God promised it. Thank God. And as you stand on that word and begin to praise God, God is honored. And you know that next night, the same night this father brought this girl.

It was again at Seneca Avenue. She was kneeling there and as I prayed for her, I could feel God coming to her. I said, child, God's gonna baptize you with the Holy Ghost. The next morning at five o 'clock, I got another telephone call, please.

So I came. Charles took me out there again and the father met me, smiling. I said, you talk funny language. Well, I said, this sickness is not unto death. Praise the Lord. Oh, beloved, praise. Praise would be stupid, but when it's praising God for his gracious mercy and his love, the Bible says that the Gentiles should praise God for his mercy.

And that's why I do thank God for a meeting like this where we are allowed to praise the Lord. Where we have the privilege of entering in and only God knows how many chains were broken this night in those that really entered in to praise.

If you didn't, you didn't get your victory. But if you did, God did something for you. And we need these victories. We need the Spirit of God strengthening us within because tomorrow you're gonna have another trial.

Gonna have another test. And then you'll be prepared to meet it with a smile.