In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of having hope in the Gospel. He describes how the early Christians faced persecution and even death with boldness and joy because of their hope in Jesus Christ. The preacher also highlights the simplicity of the Gospel message, using the analogy of a man finding the way of life by following a small river. He encourages believers to anchor their souls in the hope of the Gospel and not be moved away from it. The sermon concludes with a reminder that true rest and victory can only be found by fully putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible is so very dear and precious to me. It seems to me like that crystal stream that issues forth from the throne of Almighty God. And that's exactly what it is. The words that I speak unto you, Jesus says, are spirit and are life. A person cannot be filled with the Holy Ghost until they're filled with the Bible. You can have the baptism of the Holy Ghost. You can see that stream. But here we read about those who are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. How did they get there? Why, by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, by receiving the Gospel, by believing it, by being filled with the Holy Ghost or baptized with the Holy Ghost. But now they're not at the goal yet. Says, we're saved by hope. We're, we've started on the pilgrim's progress. We have left the ways of world and sin. We have forsaken the city of destruction, but we're not yet in the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem. But thank God we're on the way. And now you notice how the Holy Ghost talks about walking in the Spirit. Glory to God. So many people love to claim this promise. There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, but they walk in the Spirit. Glory to God. They take certain steps. Psalm 119. Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. They also do no iniquity. Walking in the Spirit reminds me again of that river. I told the folks the other day in the German meeting, they're all Germans, you know, they love to sing, Die Wacht am Rhein. Lieb Vaterland, magst ruhig sein. Fest steht und treu die Wacht am Rhein. And I told them, Das der Rhein ist ein Schweizer Knabe. The Rhine is born in Switzerland, is a native Swiss. Oh yes. And if you don't believe it, I'll take you to the source of the Rhine. I looked it up one day. And right in the heart of Switzerland, in the very cradle of independence, that's where the Rhine is born. And if you don't know the way to Germany from there, you don't need a road map at all. All you have to do is follow that stream. You'll get to Germany. And you'll get to the big sea. That's all you need to do. One time, a mountain climber in Switzerland fell into a crevice. He was climbing over a glacier. And you know, glaciers are themselves mountains of ice, without, almost without limit, and deep, very, very deep. And he had fallen deep down into the crevice, right into the, almost the heart of the earth, to the very bottom of that glacier. And looking up, he saw just a little streak of light. And there was no possibility for him to climb up there and save his life. And he thought, well, here's where I perish with cold. But presently, he heard something. He heard a rivulet. He heard the murmuring of a brook. And he looked along this crevice. And there he saw how the ice that was melting was gathering in the river. And it was flowing underneath the ice. It had hollowed out a tunnel big enough for him to crawl through. And he knew that that river would find a way out. Why, yes, it does. This river, thank God, is a very safe road map, a very safe guide. The unction which you have received of him abided with you. But how? We heard about it a while ago. Beloved Abirragai Bordera Shalbai, Jesus says, without me you can do nothing. And you don't have to do anything without me. Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. How am I going to find the way, Philip says. Why, I am the way. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you can't lose the way. Oh, that is the great and wonderful program. God is giving us again in these meetings. And he wants to impress us with that wonderful fact that you'll never lose the way because you're in the way if you're in him and his word abides in you. Beloved, we need the Holy Ghost. And we need the Bible. And we cannot have and keep the Holy Ghost without the Bible. And we cannot understand the Bible without the Holy Ghost. And we cannot eat of that tree of life without the Holy Spirit. Glory to God. Oh, how wonderful is the New Testament. And one thing impresses me in Holy Ghost meetings and has always impressed me. And I think it's a great privilege to be a minister in a Holy Ghost church. When I was a little boy, I always liked to sing. And I was wishing I was a minister. My brother was wishing to be a, um, what do you call that? Zuckerbecker. A con, huh? Ein konditor. Ja. Das ist sächsisch. But how do you say that in English? A man that makes candy. They're always dressed in white in Switzerland. They wear a white cap. And my brother thought, oh, if that was my job, I'd have plenty candy to eat. But I wanted to be a preacher because I loved to sing. And I had a lot of favorite songs. And I thought if I were the preacher, why, I could call for any song I liked in every meeting. And that's what I am now. Praise God. That's why I can call for any song I want. But more than that, I have been impressed deeply with the wonder of Jesus. You know, I've never been in a meeting where I haven't seen Jesus walking in the midst. That's been my great and wonderful privilege to see Jesus Christ walking in the midst. And more than that, to see Jesus Christ take charge, take over. I've been in the most impossible places. That was our experience when we came to Germany. And then to find Jesus Christ taking over, taking charge. Hallelujah. And all I had to do was to walk in the way, to walk in the spirit, to follow carefully where he led. And the thing that impresses me in Holy Ghost meeting is the sublimity, the heights, the heavenly heights to which the Holy Ghost will lift the meeting with his exceeding great and precious promises. And with the wonderful words of life he speaks. How many times I've stood in this pulpit and wondered at the things God gave me to say. Oh, how surprised I have been. And then the second item that interests me is the utter simplicity of it. The simplicity of the way. How simple is the way. This man who was in that crevice was going to die, absolutely die. But he found the way of life. He found the way out of death into life. And it was simply this rivulet, this little river. All he had to do was follow this river. And beloved, today in this wonderful chapter, God lifts us to sublime heights, wonderful heights. We're saved by hope. And it is so important that we're not moved away from the hope of the gospel. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil where the forerunner is for us entered. Even Jesus, made of God, and high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. And we're anchored in him. And it is tremendously important that God can lift us by this wonderful hope. And that this hope becomes the helmet of our salvation. And that we're not moved away from the hope of the gospel. That's the thing the early church received strength from. When they went into the arena to be devoured by wild beasts, the heathen wondered. Nero himself, as they were marching into the arena, they were singing. And he was beside himself. He sat there singing. We ought to torture them more. He couldn't understand how these dying people, the gladiators, would howl with fear. But these Christians would sing. And they would love one another. And their faces were beaming. And they were filled with boldness in the Holy Ghost. And they pointed at the heathen that were yelling at them. And they said, Look at us. Take a good look at us. You're going to see us again in the day of judgment. But then you will be under the wrath of God. You will be condemned. You will be cast into the lake of fire. But we will be like Jesus Christ. Oh, beloved, today God wants us to receive a new delight of this wonderful hope. What have I been saved for? Oh, my Lord and my God, what did you save me for? Why, not to make me wonderful? Jesus Christ died on the cross and paid the great price because he wanted a possession among all the nations of the world that hate him. For whatsoever is born of the flesh is enmity against God. You can cloak it with any religion you want, Christian science, unity, Unitarianism, Lutheranism, Catholicism, whatever you call it. It's enmity against God. But Jesus Christ has a bride, a church. Glory to God. That's going to be without wrinkle, without spot, or any such a thing. And the question is, do I belong to that church? Many are called, but few are chosen. How do I become chosen? Why, when I choose him, when I choose his way, when I choose Jesus Christ to be my way. Praise God. When I put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh. We heard a while ago that it's our choice. Beloved, that's what we're here for. And the Lord has said one time, that's what he gave you your will for. It seems to me that man, when he comes upon this earth, is neither bad nor good. He has no power, but he's got power to choose. Unfortunately, our parents chose for us, our father Adam chose for us the way of sin and the way of death. And we inherited for him until the last Adam came. And he said, I set you free. The light came. Praise God. It was manifested. And now men must make their choice. God commanded all men everywhere to repent. Thank God you can repent. You can come out from among them. Jesus Christ said to Paul, for this cause have I appeared unto thee. And he himself testifies, for this cause, I received mercy. For this cause, God saved me. For this cause, I appeared unto thee to make thee a witness of this unspeakable salvation. To go and preach among the Gentiles, Christ and the resurrection from the dead, life eternal, immortal, invisible. Thank God, go among them. That they might obtain inheritance, which is by faith in me. Oh, how sad it is to hear people say we're saved. And then they smell like tobacco factories. Or they say they're saved and they still live in the lusts of the flesh. And they still hanker after the things of earth. They halt between two opinions. How many there are even in this assembly who are like that. Their heart still draws them. The lust is still in their hearts. It's still rooted there. Oh, beloved, once you've seen Jesus Christ, you will want him more than your own life also. And that's what Jesus means when he says you're wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. With all your religion, with all your boastfulness, come to me. I'll give you gold. Try it in the fire that you might be rich. How rich was the church of the persecution? No fire, no sword. He explains it here in this wonderful chapter. He says we are as sheep led to the slaughter. For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself for us that he might have us, that he might possess us, that we might be his bride, that we might be his everlasting possession above all the glory and beauty and grandeur and majesty of all the hosts of heaven, beloved, without spot or wrinkle or any such a thing, but that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. How far have we gotten on this way? Beloved, if we have walked in the way, we have progressed, we have been promoted, we have grown up into him, we have put off old things, we have put off the old man with his teeth, we put on the new man. How few people do that? We can boast, we can be very boastful. And isn't that the sin of the Pentecostal people? We used to think that that epistle to the church of Laodicea belonged to the Catholics and to the dead church. I believe it belongs to us. Rich and increased with good. Look how we advertise what we do. Look how we like to publish magazines and pictures. What is that? What's behind it? Well, I am holier than thou. I do more than you do. That guy, he only saved a thousand souls. Watch me. I'm going to save a million. Now that sounds harsh. Oh, but beloved, when I'm rich in humility. Humility? Nobody thinks of that. Lowliness of mind. Oh, that was the beauty of the son of God who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. Jesus, don't let them do that to you. Why you are the son of God. You are a son of God. Don't let them do that to you. And yet the Bible says, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. And as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Why is it? There are two wonderful statements linked together. Romans 8, 28, all things work together for good to them that love God. And that other statement, the spirit himself helped with our infirmity. We know not what to pray for as we all, but God brings it to us. We glory in tribulation where until we also have been appointed. Beloved, we're not rich in God until God is our wealth. We're not really saved until God has become our salvation. Let us therefore fear less the promise being left us of entering into his rest. Any of you seem as to come short of it for the word preached didn't profit them, not being mixed with faith. They didn't believe God. They despised the promised land. They saw the giants. Beloved, the promised land was there, but it was full of giants, full of dangers, full of deadly enemies. And they saw these deadly enemies. And God said, I will drive them out before you. But they didn't believe God because they couldn't see him. So are we, the promised land is before us. God has provided a rest for the people of God. Beloved, we will never rest until we put on the Lord Jesus Christ fully, until we find that way, until we make that exchange where we can say like the apostle Paul, not I, I live no more. As long as I live, I'll be in trouble. As long as I live, the devil will always find something within me that he can attack and something that he can get hold of. That's what's the matter with the spiritual pride that has cursed us. We have been blessed of God with the power of the Holy Ghost. And presently we appropriate something to ourselves, maybe unconsciously. There is within us the root of pride of self-seeking that we didn't know was there, but the devil saw it. And he says, you want to be a prophet? I'll help you. I'll give you prophecy. All you have to do is go to California in three months time and 10 easy lessons. They'll make an apostle out of you. They'll give you a diploma with a gold seal. They will. Or they'll give you a doctor title for five bucks, doctor of theology. You'll command a much better salary. Beloved, it's unbelievable, unbelievable that Pentecostal people, and yet they have fallen head over heels into this pickle barrel. God have mercy upon us, beloved, unless we become rich and rich by him. And how is God going to call our attention to it? By making all things work together for good. He says he will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but he will with the temptation make a way of escape. He says, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. When I came into Pentecost, I got a marvelous message one time through Elder Brooks. He said, son of mine, don't think that you're going to be perfected without suffering. I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. We have the sentence of death in ourselves. What for? Why there was something that was not yet fully given. Something there that was still of self. A choice in the apostle Paul to live. And God wanted to be his life. And so he pronounced the sentence of death and put it in his very body so that Paul might reach out to the tree of life and help himself to the life of God. Can't be killed anymore. Oh, beloved, it is Abba Gardera, when we walk in the spirit and not in the flesh, we will very, very carefully walk by this roadmap that God gives us by the Bible that brings to us exceeding great and precious promises. And that's where faith comes in. The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Oh God, I'm in a trial. I'm in a test. What shall I do? Go around and get as much sympathy as you can. Make a woe-begone face and let people know that you don't feel good. How shallow that is. Why not go to God and say, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Here's where God's going to lead me in triumph in Christ and make manifest by me the savor of his knowledge. Here's where Jesus Christ is going to supply me with his own abundant grace. And when Paul cried to God and said, oh God, take away this thorn out of my flesh. Jesus says, nevermind, Paul, you've got a lesson to learn. My grace. You still depend a good deal upon your own faith. You didn't know that, did you? But this old devil, he knows it and bang, bang, you've hardly gotten up. And down you go again. Knocked out. He buffets me with fists. Ah, but I found the source of strength that cannot be beaten. My strength, my strength. Oh, to walk in the spirit, beloved. We're saved by hope. And while we're saved by hope and anchored in the glorious city of God, we despise the world and all its charms, but we despise ourselves and the workings of our flesh too. That's where we're defeated. We don't know how much we exercise flesh. Let me get into a trial. It's easy to boast as long as I feel good. And as long as I'm healthy, but let me get sick a little bit, or let me get into a real trial and watch me go down like on a heap. Watch me. Oh, father in heaven. We don't believe that all things work together for good. We don't believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. We don't believe when he says, let not your heart be troubled. He authorizes me to believe in him. What does that mean? Why in his presence, his indwelling, his being my all in all. How many times we sing how firm a foundation ye Saints of the Lord, but are we planted on that foundation? Beloved, this wonderful word of God is the foundation. Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and to do of them. That's why he says the word of God is quick. It's a line. When you accept it, when you submit to the word of God, you'll be transformed. You'll be made alive. That word will become alive within your soul. It will accomplish that where unto God sent it. It is the seed of the kingdom and it will bring forth a harvest of the kingdom, a submission of your whole being to the reign of Jesus Christ. And is there anything else that satisfies? Isn't that the great sin of God's people? They don't fear lest the promise being left us of entering into his rest. His rest. Oh, his rest. God rested. God rested. God has committed all things to the son. We are his workmanship. And since Jesus Christ rose from the dead and occupied the throne of glory. Hallelujah. He is there for me. He is in my heart to accomplish in me. We read in Hebrews 13 that the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, shall make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight. Oh, what rest when I see Jesus. What rest when the Holy Ghost makes me behold the wonder of Jesus, referring everything to him. We have had a wonderful experience along this line, and yet we're still in the kindergarten experience. I'm ashamed to admit it. How much more greatly and wonderfully God would have undertaken. How much further along could we be if we had taken seriously the call of God? What happened to Israel when they didn't? They despised his word. They believed not his word. And God swear they shall not enter into my rest. They're going to have their own unbelief according to their own word. For every day that these spies despise the promised land, there shall be one year of judgment. Beloved, we're saved by hope. Are we walking in the spirit? Then we're progressing every day. The Holy Ghost will draw us. He will lead us on, and he will make sure that every step will come. Every step will be a step forward. All things work together for good, but only to them that love God, because they that love God keep his word.