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You Have to Work for It
Hans R. Waldvogel

Hans Rudolf Waldvogel (1893 - 1969). Swiss-American Pentecostal pastor and evangelist born in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Emigrating to the U.S. as a child, he grew up in Chicago, working in his family’s jewelry business until a conversion experience in 1916 led him to ministry. In 1920, he left business to serve as assistant pastor at Kenosha Pentecostal Assembly in Wisconsin for three years, then pursued itinerant evangelism. In 1925, he co-founded Ridgewood Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, New York, pastoring it for decades and growing it into a vibrant community emphasizing prayer and worship. Influenced by A.B. Simpson, Waldvogel rejected sectarianism, focusing on Christ’s centrality and the Holy Spirit’s work. He delivered thousands of sermons, many recorded, stressing spiritual rest and intimacy with God. Married with children, he lived simply, dedicating his life to preaching across the U.S. His messages, blending Swiss precision with Pentecostal fervor, remain accessible through archives
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In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of choosing to serve either God or the devil. He urges young people to sow their actions and efforts into the spirit rather than the flesh, as the consequences will be either corruption or eternal life. The preacher uses the analogy of a king who made sacrifices for his bankrupt son, but the son and others made excuses not to come. The sermon also highlights the need for young people to prioritize their soul's salvation and not waste their youthful vigor, but instead use it to redeem the time and serve God. The preacher shares a story about a cornfield that can only be passed through with strength from heaven, symbolizing the need for divine strength in our lives. The sermon concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to be witnesses for Jesus and not be deterred by opposition or persecution. The preacher shares personal experiences and encourages the audience to seek the fountain of living water, symbolizing the need for a personal relationship with God.
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In fact, you ought to be so filled with the Holy Ghost that you can't keep down. I mean, we must be led of God in testifying. But, you know, Jesus says, Ye shall be witnesses unto me. And Peter says, We can't help it. And the High Priest said, I'll take a baseball bat and I'll split your head open. He says, We can't help it. You can do whatever you like. And even after they beat him, and they forbade them to testify, and they locked them in jail, even the jail couldn't keep them. What's keeping you? So it began. There was a time when I didn't have a testimony. But there was a reason for it, and I'll tell you what the reason for it. I didn't know how to drink. Nobody had shown me the fountain. I belonged to church. But it was like the restaurant I was telling about this morning, when one afternoon I was very hungry, I went into an Italian restaurant. They have little antipasto and big antipasto. And they have veal escalopini with mush. So my mouth was watering as I looked at that menu. But the waiter didn't come around for a long time and finally came. And I wanted a meal. He says, Nothing left, all eaten up. Well, why have you got the menu there? Why have you got the Bible there? Why have you got the exceeding great and precious promises? Whole jizz. That's the whole business. And it was lying around and kicked around. I believe that Jesus meant exactly that. He has a sweet tooth. And you know what he did? He announced publicly that bread of alms. And he never ate it without pouring cream over it. But anyway, this woman brought the straw. They that seek me early shall find me. That's the wonderful thing. Me, God Almighty, is waiting. Oh, he is waiting. Beloved, that's the glory. You seek God. All the box tops, he'll come. Glory to God. There weren't many in Old Testament times, but there were some. Thank God. What out who walked with God. Fine looking chap. Who in the hour of fears and temptations said, How shall I sin against God? Anybody, no matter what you are, no matter how weak you are, your very weakness will be a cause for God. I'd like to ask that question. Who is working for it? It's work, because do you know there are not many people that speak? They that wait upon the Lord. How much time? Tell me, are you working for it? You will get something, I tell you, that nobody else has. David says, I am wiser than all my teachers, because I keep thy law. I meditate and fear. Oh, I tell you, unless you get strength from heaven, thousands shall fall. And there is nothing in the world as working with God. Oh, my father, tonight, the glory of the Lord. Where are the transformed lives? Oh, there you are saying. But tell me, where would we be if we had really always done our best when Sister Schweiger died? The moment she spent in prayer, she prayed all the time. And I think it was he, in his Irish stroke, said, Oh, she didn't. But I wonder what our regret will be when we get to glory, and when we behold that thing. Glory. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. What? We shouldn't talk much. You can determine your harvest. No. Make first things first. Businessmen, they said to me, I can't. I've got to tend to business. What is your business if it isn't to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? You have no business anywhere else. That's your business. Yes, sir, I tell you, he will praise the Lord, and thousands of businessmen have the whole life of a Christian. You've got to work. I see the young people sitting back there. Now, that's the academy of young things, growing things. They used to sit up in front, but I don't know. But you're working either for God or for your soul. Either corruption or holy invitation. Come, everything. All is ready. A king made a banquet, made a king. Finding consolation. My youthful life. What I'm sowing in my youth, I'm going to reap later on. And I'm certainly not deeming the time. Redeeming my strength. Oh, God, you've given me youthful vigor. Oh, what a wonderful blessing. What an asset to this wonderful. Don't let me wait until I get old and flabby and fat and lame. But let me turn this. I recently saw that legend again of the told difference. People say that every time I hear the ears of corn, you're permitted to pass through this. The largest. So when she saw those, she was tempted to pick one. But she thought, no. She thought, oh, you know this simile. You know what that means. Today, if you will hear his voice. And finally, she had to take a consult.
You Have to Work for It
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Hans Rudolf Waldvogel (1893 - 1969). Swiss-American Pentecostal pastor and evangelist born in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Emigrating to the U.S. as a child, he grew up in Chicago, working in his family’s jewelry business until a conversion experience in 1916 led him to ministry. In 1920, he left business to serve as assistant pastor at Kenosha Pentecostal Assembly in Wisconsin for three years, then pursued itinerant evangelism. In 1925, he co-founded Ridgewood Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, New York, pastoring it for decades and growing it into a vibrant community emphasizing prayer and worship. Influenced by A.B. Simpson, Waldvogel rejected sectarianism, focusing on Christ’s centrality and the Holy Spirit’s work. He delivered thousands of sermons, many recorded, stressing spiritual rest and intimacy with God. Married with children, he lived simply, dedicating his life to preaching across the U.S. His messages, blending Swiss precision with Pentecostal fervor, remain accessible through archives