In this sermon, the speaker shares his joy in preaching the word of God and bringing comfort to Christians. He expresses his desire to reach out to the communists and asks God for a miracle to be able to do so. Later, he discovers a secret microphone in his hotel room and realizes that his message was recorded and shared with communist leaders. He rejoices in the opportunity to spread the gospel even to those who may oppose it. The speaker emphasizes the importance of every Christian being a light in the world and sharing the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Now, I have always been a watchmaker. I was the first licensed woman watchmaker in Holland. I repaired watches the whole day. I had a jewelry store together with my dad. And I could sell good watches. When you came to me, I could tell you now, when you buy this watch, it is so good, that even if it makes a difference of two minutes in the month, you come back and I can change it. But then I thought later, I hope I have not boasted too much about my watch. What must I do when it makes a difference of five minutes in a week? You know, I do not sell watches anymore, but I sell the gospel. And I am so glad that when I tell very much about the great joy and love of the Lord, then I can never boast too much. For the reality is far and far greater than I can tell you and you can tell me. And I hope that when we come in heaven, and we look back at this time, we will not be ashamed that we have so lived as beggars. And we are king's children, tremendous rich. And that's why I am so glad that I can tell you a little bit what I experienced. You all have heard of that terrible time that we have had in Holland, and then when the Germans came, and the leader Adolf Hitler, and he intended to kill all the Jewish people. We started to save as many as we could. I had never planned it, but God had planned it. After some time I had a gang of 80 people, 30 teenager boys, 20 teenager girls, 20 men and 10 women. And once we heard that in a Jewish orphanage in Amsterdam, all the babies had to be killed because they were Jewish babies. When we heard that, our boys said, we will save them and we will steal them. And they went to that orphanage and they stole all the hundred babies. You will say, how is it possible? I will tell you a secret. Sometimes there came to us good Germans, who were soldiers, who were in the army, and they said, we don't like to work any longer for Adolf Hitler. We will not kill the Jewish people. Can you help us? And I always said, sure I will help you. Just come in. And we gave them, of course, civil clothing and we took the uniforms. I have not to go into details, but you understand how my boys stole the hundred babies. One of my bravest boys was Piet Hartog. And Piet said that evening, I believe we do the most important work that exists. Just saving lives from the morning till the evening. I don't long to go back to college. This is life. I said, Piet, I am so happy when I think of the babies that we have saved. But Piet, there is a work that is more important even than saving lives, and that is saving souls and tell the people about the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Piet smiled. Piet said, I am a Christian boy. I go to church, I read my Bible and I pray. But telling people a gospel, telling them about Jesus, that is good business for my pastor. I said, Piet, every Christian is called to be the light of the world. And every Christian must be ready to tell the way of salvation to anyone who needs it. And in your time, in your life, Piet, there will come a time that you will see it the most important work for you, to win souls for Jesus Christ and to show that the way of salvation by believing in Jesus and inviting Him into your heart. Half a year later, Piet came into prison. And when he came into the cell, he heard that he had only one week to live. And a day before he was shot, he wrote us a long letter. And he wrote, all the men and the boys in this cell are sentenced to death. And I am so glad that I could tell them that when they receive Jesus as their Savior, that the Lord Jesus will make them children of God, and that when they go to be killed, that they go to the house of the Father with the many mansions where Jesus is preparing a mansion for everyone who believes in Him. And Piet wrote, I am seeing now that the most important work for a Christian is to win souls for eternity. Say, young people, I have a message for you from Piet Hartog. Don't wait till the last week of your life like he has done. But give your life today to the Lord and say, Lord use me. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to me. How you will say it, I don't mind. But tell the Lord that He may take you to use you as the light of the world. And then I can tell you He will use you. And when you really will be used to win souls for Jesus Christ, once when you enter the beautiful city and the saints all around you appear, many of them will tell you, it was you that invited me here. Boy, that will be a joy. Then you will know that you have not lived in vain. Once there came a man to me and said, will you save my wife? She is arrested. She has saved Jewish people and now she is in a police station. And there is one policeman who will run the risk to set her free if we pay him 600 guilders, but I have no money. I said, oh man, what does money say? Let's see, I have 200 guilders, come back after an hour. And in that hour I asked all my friends, say, have you money? Give it. It means to save the life of a good woman. When that man came back I gave him 600 guilders. That man was a quisling, a betrayer. His wife was not at all in prison. But the Gestapo, the police of the enemy had said, find out if Corrie ten Boom saves Jewish people. And he thought, I can do it and make some money. And he made some money. He went home with 600 guilders. But five minutes later the Gestapo surrounded our house and we were all arrested. Later when I was in a concentration camp, there came a prisoner from my hometown. And she said, say, do you know who has betrayed you? I said, no. And then she told that it was that man. And there came hatred in my heart. The man I had given my large penny. But I know from the Bible that hatred means murder in God's eyes. But I also know from the Bible what to do with your murder. When we confess our sins, when we repent and ask forgiveness, then He is able to forgive us. And the blood of Jesus declenches from all the sins that we tell Him and ask forgiveness for and repent. And I repented for my hatred and the Lord took that sin away. That's the great joy. The Bible tells very clearly what the Lord does when you repent. He takes such a sin and He casts it into the depths of the sea, forgiven and forgotten. That's what the Bible says. The Bible doesn't say, but I believe He put a sign, no fishing allowed. And do you know when I had repented of that sin, the Lord cleansed my heart with His blood. And heart cleansed by the blood of Jesus, He fills with the Holy Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love. Love even for enemies. And instead that I hated that man, I loved him. And after the war that man was sentenced to death because he had caused the death of many Dutch people. And when I heard that I wrote him, your betrayal has meant the death of my old father who was 84 years old when they brought him into prison. After 10 days he died. My sister who died after 10 months terrible suffering. My brother, he came out alive with a sick man and died through that sickness. And his son never came back. I myself have suffered terribly in three different prisons. But I have forgiven you. And that is because Jesus is in my heart. And when Jesus tells you to love your enemies, He gives you the love that He demands from you. And I sent that man a New Testament and underlined the way of salvation. And that man wrote me, that you could forgive me is such a great miracle that I have said, Jesus, when you give such a love in the heart of your followers, there is hope for me. And I have read in the Bible that you sent me that Jesus has died at the cross for the sins of the whole world. And I have brought my terrible sins to Jesus and I know that they are forgiven. Your forgiveness has shown me what it means that there is forgiveness through Jesus Christ. And that man was brought to death that same week but he was reconciled with God and God had chosen me, who had hated him, to bring him to the Lord. The greatest of all is love. In 1 Corinthians 13, I believe that Paul describes God's love. There are two kinds of love. Human love and God's love. Human love fails on the long run, but God's love never fails. And I believe that this love that is described here is the love of God, not only in the heart of the Father, but shattered, brought into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Romans 5, 5. And when Paul uses the translation of Philips, then he says, If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass and crashing cymbal. If I have the gift of foretelling the future and hold in my mind not only all human knowledge, but the very secrets of God, and if I also have that absolute faith which can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all. If I dispose of all that I possess, yet even if I give my own body to be burned, but have no love, I achieve precisely nothing. This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience. It looks for a way of being constructive. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails. Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its thirst, no fading of its hope. It can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. And in my life all else had fallen. I stood in Rollcall, in the concentration camp Ravensbruck, where 97,000 women were killed or died, also my sister. When I stood there on Rollcall, one of the guards used her time to demonstrate her cruelties. I could hardly bear to see or to hear what had happened in front of me. But suddenly a skylark came and he started to sing in the sky. And all the prisoners looked up. And when I looked up, I looked at the sky. And then I thought that Psalm 103 was written, As high as heaven over the earth, so far is God's love and mercy over all that fear Him. And suddenly I saw it. Oh, love of God, how deep and great, far deeper than man's deepest hate. God sent that skylark three weeks daily, exactly due Rollcall time, to turn away our eyes from the cruelty of man unto the ocean of God's love. How can you and I understand God's love? At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my sins rolled away, it was there by faith I received my sight. When we look unto Jesus, we understand, when we look at the cross, what an ocean of love He has for you and me. I was questioned by a man in whose hands my life was. He was my judge. It was wartime. And if that man should say I had to be shot, I should have been shot. He asked me much about my spare time, about what my certificates, and I told him all. When he asked me about my misdeeds, I did not tell him all. He has known only of eight jewels that I had saved, and I hoped that there were more than eight hundred. But when he asked me about my spare time, I told him about that work that I had with feeble-minded children in my little booklet, Common Sense Not Needed. You can read about it. And when I told that, the man said, what a nonsense! Hasn't it far more value to convert a normal person than an abnormal one? And then I said, if you should know Jesus, you should know that he has a great love and concern for everyone who is in need. It is possible that a poor, feeble-minded child has more value in his loving eyes than you and I together. Then he was angry, and he called a policeman and said, bring her back to her cell. But the next day I was again brought to him, and then he said, I could not sleep this night. I had always to think of what you told about Jesus. We have time enough for the questioning. First you must tell me what you know of Jesus. Boy, that was a chance! I said, Jesus is a light. Come into this world that everyone who believes in him does not remain in darkness. And I asked him, is there darkness in your life? That man said, darkness? There is no light at all in my life. And I brought him the old, old story of Jesus and his love. After me Betsy, my sister, was questioned. With great joy she testified to her faith, and she told about Jesus, and then she said, it is important to speak about Jesus. It is more important to speak to him. Do you allow me that I pray with you? He said, yes. And she prayed with him. The prisoner with her judge. Five times Betsy was questioned. Five times she prayed with that man. Betsy died in prison. But after the war I met that judge, and he said to me, I can never forget your sister's prayers. Through her and through my testimony, God touched the heart of that man. And he became a friend instead of an enemy. But he had to do his job. And suddenly he showed me papers found in my house. And to my horror I saw names, addresses and particulars. That could mean my death sentence. And the death sentence of my family and my friends who were in prison. You will say, how is it possible that such dangerous papers were found in your house? But I must tell you that my teenagers have done a tremendous, courageous job. But they were not always careful. And so it happened that these terrible papers were found in my house. The judge said, can you explain these papers? I said, no, I can't. And I felt deep unhappy. But he knew how dangerous they were. And suddenly he turned, opened the door of the stove, and he threw all the papers into the flames. Oh my, how happy I was. I should never have believed. And you should have told me that I could be happy when I was in a prison of an enemy. But that moment when I saw the flames destroy these horrible papers, it was as if for the first time I understood Colossians 3.20, where it's written that Jesus has taken the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, has taken them out of the way and nailed them at the cross. See, do you realize that there are dangerous papers for you? Do you realize that in heaven all our sins are written down? And we have all to come for the judgment day of God. And if we have refused Jesus Christ in this life, the judgment day will be terrible, for we will have to pay and to carry the punishment for our sins. But when we have found Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, in this life we have nothing to fear, for we will find out that Jesus has taken all our sins and nailed them at the cross. Hallelujah! What a love! What a Savior! I had a little Bible. When I was brought into that concentration camp Ravensbruck, I had a small Bible, but a whole Bible, Old and New Testament, specially printed for what they called the underground workers. It was very small. I had it on my back. But when we entered I saw that we all had to be searched. And I saw that they took away everything that the prisoners had hidden under their clothing. And I got scared. I said, Oh God, these people may not see me. God, send your angels and let them surround me. But then I thought, yes, but angels are spirits and you can look through a spirit. I said, God, make your angels untransparent today. You can pray very unorthodox when you are in great need. But God did it. God did it. The woman who stood in front of me was searched, and then Betsy who stood behind me. And they did not see me. So I came with my Bible in the prison. Strange story? No, that's not strange. That is what is written in the Bible. Angels are ministering spirits sent to this planet for your and my help. And there are far more angels than demons. Yes, there are demons. And they can really come into your heart when you do these occult sins of what Ellen told. You play with a witchy god. You go to a spiritualist meeting. You go to a fortune teller. Then a demon comes in your heart. But praise the Lord. You can send them away in the name of Jesus. And don't forget, there are only one third of the angels fallen. So there are twice as many angels as there are devils. And really still far more. For many of these devils are already sent to hell. So we can know that those who are at our side are far more and far stronger than those who are against us. And that's what I have experienced. Now when I came in that prison, we had to live with 700 prisoners in a room that was built for 200. It was terrible dirty and very soon our clothing were full of lice. Those lice have caused many sicknesses. But in some way they have helped us. For the guards would never come into our room. They were afraid to get lice from us. That was good. The Bible was a forbidden book. But twice a day we had a Bible message in barrack 28. And God had used for that angels and lice. God can use everything. God can use everything. And what a joy. Many of the people around me were killed or died. But many died with Jesus' name on their lips. And that was worthwhile. Even Betsy's death and all the suffering that I had to endure. Can you forgive your enemies? I cannot. But Jesus in me can. Some time ago I had a difficulty that some friends, some Christian friends of mine did something very mean. And I had difficulty to forgive them. And I said, Now Lord you have given me that grace that I could forgive the murderers of my family. Now Lord it is not difficult for you to give me forgiveness and love for my Christian friends. It took some time but I forgave them. But you know that book that I have written in the hiding place. I wrote together with John and T.B. Sherrill. And I had to tell really my whole life many things to them. And so they had also heard of my friends. And John Sherrill once said to me, Say Corrie, these friends of yours who did that mean thing, what about them? I said, That is forgiven and forgotten and I will not speak about it anymore. He said, I know that. But I should like to know what do they think of it? I said, They take it easy. They simply say they have not done it. But they can say that but I have everything black and white in the letters that they have written me. And John said, What? Say where are your sins? You have told that when you brought your sins that God has cast them into the depths of the sea and that there is a sign no fishing allowed. That is what happened with your sins. And the sins of your friends you have black and white? Oh God give Corrie the grace to burn all the black and whites of sins of others as a well smelling sacrifice for you. I have done it for her. Say have you black and whites of sins of others? Do you realize that you have no forgiveness? You can't forgive? No I can't either but Jesus can. And don't go to sleep tonight before you have burned all your black and whites and I know that is a little bit difficult to burn papers here in America but you can also make them just so small and throw them in the waste basket that nobody can find out what your friends have done or your enemies. And you will find out that forgiveness is a tremendous joy for it is a key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. Now you and I have to be the light of the world and I like to illustrate that with my flashlight. Some who have heard me some time ago have seen it already but I don't mind it. I like to tell that to all of us. You know this flashlight doesn't give light. It's not broken but I have only one battery in it. I need of course two batteries. Now this is like you are in my heart. That first battery that is what happened when you said your first yes to Jesus. So that real decision and if there are here who have never done it I hope you will do it tonight and do you realize that when you say yes to Jesus so really it meant yes that the angels rejoiced for your soul is very very precious in God's eyes. And the moment that you received the Lord Jesus I told you already all the promises of the Bible are yours. I asked a lady say have you ever received the Lord Jesus as your savior? She said I go every Sunday to the church. I said that's good but a mouse born in a biscuit tin is therefore not yet a biscuit. Do you know to be in the church doesn't make you a child of God? She said but my father and mother are very fine children of God. I said but God has no grandchildren. You have to make a decision because the Lord loves you and he likes to hear that you say yes Lord Jesus. I thank you that you love me and I will love you. Thank you that you died at the cross for me. Now I'm glad she did it that lady. But now there comes such a terrific joy in your heart when you know that your sins are forgiven. That many people say hallelujah I'm saved that's the end. Now you may say hallelujah but don't say it is the end it is the beginning. That moment you must cash your checks. You must take all the promises of the Bible and you must learn to live as limitless rich king's children. And one of the great promises of the Bible is that Jesus said I will send you the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says be filled with the Spirit. And that is that second battery. And that second battery the fullness of the Holy Spirit gives you to be the light of the world. But I could not get it in my flashlight because it is full of rags. And you know these rags are unrepented sins. This is pride. This is jealousy, envy. This one is unclean thoughts, unclean deeds, unclean words. This is selfishness. These are occult sins. Now I'm going to ask you something. Will you tonight pray and will you say search me O God and know my heart today that is said in the Psalms as a beautiful prayer. You can also say Lord show me if there are rags in my flashlight. And that's just to say. And then the Lord will show you and say yes you are selfish. You are dishonest. You are a liar. And whatever the Lord says don't make an excuse for the blood of Jesus has never cleansed an excuse. But say yes Lord I am. I have lied. Will you forgive me? And then repent. And repentance means asking forgiveness and then in the power of the Lord turn away from your sins. And that is necessary. There was a pickpocket who was a very good pickpocket. He stole about 50, 60 watches every week. And then he was converted. He said now I am a Christian. I steal only 5 or 6. No. When Jesus shows his great love for sinners when that woman that was found in adultery was brought to him the Lord said I don't throw a stone on you. And then he said go and sin no more. And that is what Jesus can say. For he bids us fly and gives us wings. And when you have brought your sins to the Lord then claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit is love and peace and kindness and goodness and self-control and then you are the life. He does not do it. I would say life is flesh life. I think I have overlooked a little rag. You see sometimes when we are very decent sinners there can be such a little decent sin in our heart. Just a little bit of self-pity. A little white lie. But you know when we do not make clean deck with as little sins in our hearts we cannot be the light of the world and I find one. Sure. But that is not a rag. That is paper. Twenty dollars. No that is not a rag. That is no sin. It was only in the wrong place. The money must not be in my flashlight but in my purse. You see when you have too many dollars or not dollars enough often the devil brings the dollars into your heart but your heart must be filled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord will do it. He will make you really the light of the world. And that is the great joy. We have not to strive and to try and to try. It is not try. It is trust. It is not do but done. Our God has planned for us great victory through His Son. And I will tell you one story, one experience of a short time ago. I was in Russia. You may not speak as a foreigner in a church but I asked if I could bring the greetings from America and from Holland and they said yes. And my greetings took 30 minutes. And then we sang a hymn and I asked the pastor may I say goodbye? He said yes. And I said goodbye 30 minutes. So my sermon was a whole hour. And oh it was a joy to speak to these Christians and I say don't lose courage. The suffering of this time is not worthy to be compared with the common glory. God Himself will wipe away the tears from the eyes and the best is yet to be. This world will be covered with the knowledge of God like the waters cover the bottom of the sea. Jesus is alive and His light is stronger than the deepest darkness. I have experienced it that you cannot go so deep. Always deeper are the everlasting arms that carry you. Oh it was a joy. It is always a joy to give these people comfort. But one morning I was in my hotel room and I said God I like to bring the gospel to the communists. They have an eternity to lose or to gain Lord. And you died for the sins of the whole world. But Lord I cannot reach them. Lord I need a miracle but You are a God of miracles. Give me a miracle that I can reach the communists today. And the same moment I saw on the floor little holes in the form of a pepper box. The holes in a pepper box. And I understood there is the secret microphone. In all the hotel rooms in communist countries there are secret microphones. And they take every word you say on that microphone. On the tape. And I said thank you Lord for that answer. What a joy. I could give a message to communists. Did they listen? They not only listened they took it on a tape. And they did not give the tape. They gave the tape to their chiefs. And we prayed for all the people who had to read these tapes. And boy I had a joy. I said you know people I have here in my hand a book. A book almost bursting by good news. In this book is among all other riches the great answer for the two paramount problems that every human being has. And that is the problem of sin and of death. For in this book you can read everything that you have to know about Jesus Christ the Son of God who died at the cross for the sins of the whole world. And when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and you repent of your sins then He will cleanse your heart from your sins and He will fill you with the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit is peace and joy and love. And Jesus gives you everlasting life and that means life in heaven. That is the answer for your death problems. And Jesus has said come unto me all and all that is also you there. What a joy. I can tell you I have brought after that every day what I call my pepper box messages in the communist countries. Say people pray. Pray for your fellow Christians. Especially now for the fellow Christians in China. Pray that your president will be used. That there comes an opening that Christians can come into China and help the Christians there and bring the gospel to the many who have never heard the gospel. You know half of the greatest half of the body of Christ is suffering persecution. And what Shemini said when my feet were whipped my hand felt pain. And the feet are whipped of the Christians over a great part of the world. Pray for your fellow Christians in these countries and be sure that you cash your check so that you will be strong in times when you should come in difficulties of persecution. And the great joy is when you surrender all to the Lord. He will fill your heart with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is a spirit not of fear but of love and of power and a sound mind. I have here a glove that cannot do anything. But when my hand is in the glove it can cook, it can write, it can do many things. No, I know that is the glove. That's not the glove. That's the hand in the glove. You and I are nothing but gloves. And the hand that is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit does the job that He makes you children of the light. The light in this very dark world. But you must give room to the Holy Spirit when my hand is only in the midst of the glove. Now the glove cannot do anything. No, you must surrender every finger, every corner of your life to the Lord and He will fill you with the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah! Amen, we pray. Thank you, Lord. That there is such an ocean of love available. That love that you have brought into our heart through the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, that you did that. And thank you, Father, that that love in us is sufficient and more than sufficient to overcome the problems that we have to face when we come home, when we go to our work. We praise and thank you, Lord, that your love still stands also when all else has fallen. And our Lord, search our hearts. Show us if there are unconfessed sins, rags in our fleshlight, pride, envy, selfishness. Tell it us, Lord. And we praise and thank you when we repent. You forgive and cleanse us. And Lord, show us if there are black and whites of sins of others in our life, in our heart, perhaps in a little drawer at home.