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Soldiers Hymn
B.H. Clendennen
Bertram H. Clendennen (1922–2009). Born on May 22, 1922, in Vidor, Texas, into a large, poor family, B.H. Clendennen, known as Bert, grew up with little exposure to faith, despite churches dotting his hometown. After graduating high school in 1940, he joined the U.S. Marines post-Pearl Harbor, serving in the South Pacific at Peleliu, where combat stirred spiritual questions. Saved in 1949 at age 27, he felt called to ministry in 1953 and was ordained by the Assemblies of God. In 1956, he founded Victory Temple (later Victory Tabernacle) in Beaumont, Texas, pastoring for 35 years and growing it into a missions-focused church. One of the first three preachers to broadcast on U.S. television, he reached wide audiences with his conservative Pentecostal sermons emphasizing repentance and the Holy Spirit’s power. In 1967, he ministered in Tanzania, raising funds to build 15 churches, and preached globally in Vietnam, Iran, India, and Zaire, often in perilous conditions. At 70, in 1992, he moved to Russia with his wife, Janice, founding the School of Christ International, which trained leaders in over 130 nations across every continent by his death. Clendennen authored books like The Prodigal Church and The Ultimate Thing, urging a return to Pentecost’s simplicity. He died on December 13, 2009, in Beaumont, survived by his wife, daughter Brenda, and son Mark. He said, “The purpose of Pentecost is to reproduce Christ in the believer.”
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the idea that as believers, we are soldiers in a spiritual war. He encourages us to endure hardships and not be deceived by false theology. The preacher asserts that if we are not facing problems, it means we are not a threat to the devil and not in the will of God. He emphasizes the importance of fighting against the devil in every aspect of our lives, using prayer as our weapon. The preacher concludes by declaring that victory is possible through the power of the cross and encourages believers to stand firm and reclaim their cities for God.
Sermon Transcription
We're in a war tonight, we're soldiers, and Paul told Timothy, you've got to learn to endure hardness as a real soldier. A lot of the theology you hear preached today is a cheap graze sold on the marketplace of religion. They'll try to tell you that if you've got any problems, it just means you're out of the will of God. I'm here to tell you, if you're not having problems, you're outside the will of God. If the devil's led you on, that means you're no threat to him. I never knew anything about warfare until I come to know God. Amen, but you step out on the front lines of evangelism, and you say to the devil, you're not going to have the Bronx any longer. We're going to establish a beachhead here, and we're not going to be pushed down. We're going to win, we're going to fight. We'll fight you in the marketplace, we'll fight you under the tent, we'll fight you in the streets, we'll fight you in our schools, we'll fight you on every corner. We're here to say, my God, heaven is going to rule, heaven's going to rule. And God's looking for a few good folks that are not afraid to say, we're going to push that devil out. We're going to have our cities back. We're going to have a safe place for our children to live. And the weapons of our warfare are not guns and bombs, but on our knees, we're going to prevail with God. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. In our churches, we're going to preach a gospel that says to the devil, you have no right here. Amen, that says to evil, there's a cross that stood between you and righteousness. There's a cross that died and rose and is our hope tonight. Oh, can't you hear me? The opportunity for victory has never been greater than tonight.
Soldiers Hymn
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Bertram H. Clendennen (1922–2009). Born on May 22, 1922, in Vidor, Texas, into a large, poor family, B.H. Clendennen, known as Bert, grew up with little exposure to faith, despite churches dotting his hometown. After graduating high school in 1940, he joined the U.S. Marines post-Pearl Harbor, serving in the South Pacific at Peleliu, where combat stirred spiritual questions. Saved in 1949 at age 27, he felt called to ministry in 1953 and was ordained by the Assemblies of God. In 1956, he founded Victory Temple (later Victory Tabernacle) in Beaumont, Texas, pastoring for 35 years and growing it into a missions-focused church. One of the first three preachers to broadcast on U.S. television, he reached wide audiences with his conservative Pentecostal sermons emphasizing repentance and the Holy Spirit’s power. In 1967, he ministered in Tanzania, raising funds to build 15 churches, and preached globally in Vietnam, Iran, India, and Zaire, often in perilous conditions. At 70, in 1992, he moved to Russia with his wife, Janice, founding the School of Christ International, which trained leaders in over 130 nations across every continent by his death. Clendennen authored books like The Prodigal Church and The Ultimate Thing, urging a return to Pentecost’s simplicity. He died on December 13, 2009, in Beaumont, survived by his wife, daughter Brenda, and son Mark. He said, “The purpose of Pentecost is to reproduce Christ in the believer.”