Hans R. Waldvogel emphasizes the vital role of praise in a believer's life, asserting that without it, one is destined to fail. He draws from the Apostle Paul's exhortation to rejoice in the Lord, even from a dungeon, highlighting that true joy and liberation come through continuous praise. Waldvogel shares personal experiences of overcoming inner bondages through worship, illustrating that praise not only invites God's presence but also transforms the soul. He warns against the pride that hinders joy and encourages believers to focus on rejoicing in the Lord to experience true victory and fruitfulness in their spiritual lives.

Selected Verses: Philippians 3:1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Opening: Not in a comfortable lobby of a fine hotel, but out of the dungeon, which certainly couldn’t have been very comfortable—and he writes to the Philippians out of the dungeon. And he writes a word that is interesting: “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say rejoice.” “To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.” I’ve many times thanked God for that word, because I too am one of those “harpers that are harping with their harps” all the time—harping on the same thing. Now, we’ve just passed through our Thanksgiving service where praise, of course, was the main theme. And so here we come together again tonight, and the Lord sets before us again the theme of praise—not only the importance of praise, but the great and unspeakable blessing. One of the first words that I heard when I came into Pentecost—or came in touch with a Pentecostal minister—was a motto I saw on the wall. He had made it himself, and this motto said, “If you don’t praise the Lord, you’re going to fail.” That was news to me. I’d known a great deal about theology, and biology, and phrenology, and philosophy, and a lot of those things, but I didn’t know that I was going to fail if I didn’t praise the Lord, because I didn’t praise the Lord. … Selected Quotes: There’s something in praising the Lord that brings God into your soul, that liberates you, that breaks the chains, that makes a way for the glory of God to descend upon you, makes you a temple of the living God. You know how in Old Testament times, in the temple the singers had to sing day and night, and the light of worship had to burn day and night—typical of this New Testament temple. … And if you knew what thieves and murderers lodge in your soul tonight, you’d get rid of them. I found out what was lodging in my heart. I thought I was a good Christian, but I was dumper. And when things didn’t come my way, sometimes I felt like tearing the whole world to pieces. Did you ever feel like that? You know, religiously, of course—righteously indignant. … Ah, but “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” What a cure for all these bondages is the praise of the Lord! And tonight, Jesus means to cure you, He means to help you, He means to restore the lights of God within your soul. “Finally, brethren,” Paul says after his great discourse on being filled with God, “rejoice in the Lord.” “And again I say rejoice.” Rejoice not in somebody or somebody else or something else, but “rejoice in the Lord.” “Delight thyself also in the Lord.” … “Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice.” And when I discovered these bondages in my soul, I did something about it. God wouldn’t let me get by without this victory. I found out that it was fundamental, absolutely. I found out that a lack of joy is due to an innate pride, an inborn pride. If you don’t “rejoice in the Lord alway” it’s because you think too much of yourself. And God doesn’t want us to think of self. … You’ll never be a fruitful branch in the Vine until you get this victory in your soul. It’s a victory of the Son of God. “He is the Prince of Glory,” and if He is to reign supreme and to “subdue all things” within you, He’ll certainly subdue these idols that you have worshipped, maybe unknown to yourself. … Illustrations: The theologian who scoffed at praising the Lord. “I was a dumper, and you know, lots of professors are dumpers, lots of theologians are dumpers. I’ve known theologians that were crushed by their dumps. And they worshipped them, they liked them… [I] told him how in our meetings we shout the praises of God. He said, ‘Oh, that’s a lot of flesh!’” (from 1:31) Throughout this message, HRW relates the story of his release from inward bondages through determined praise. See also recording 9B. “I joined in the praises of God with all my heart, and God did something for me. Beloved, that was worth more than a university education. God took that rock out of me. That thing went—that heaviness.” (at 9:33) The lack of praise likened to a clogged fuel line in an Auburn. “You know what praise will do for you? It’s the gas line that makes you get stuck. Oh, let God blow that thing out and give you a fresh flow of power.” (from 14:29)