Praise Series

30 Days of Praise

PRAISE

Psalms 150/ Heb 13:15

This morning I would like us to begin with some aerobic affirmations and I’ll need your help. Everybody say this together, “Hallelujah”, now say, “Amen”, now saw “Praise the Lord.” Let’s do it again.

* Question for you; how did it make you feel to do this? For some, it’s a little weird to start out but the more we did it, the easier it became and the better it felt. Now, I want you to sing that little chorus from many years ago, “Hallelu, Praise Ye the Lord”.

* Psalms 150 1:-6 say, Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. 2Praise Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for His abundant greatness. 3Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and lyre. 4Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings.5Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals. 6Let everything that breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah!

* Praise should be as natural for the believer as eating, breathing, or drinking. We are told to praise God “in”, “for”, and “with” all that we are. In other words, we are told the where, why, and how to praise Him.

* The sad truth is this; we have forgotten what it means to “praise God.”

* Lest I be misunderstood, we haven’t forgotten how to give or offer “praise,” we can do that without thinking. However, I submit that most of us have forgotten or have simply never come to understand how to “praise God.”

* To be crystal clear, allow me to make a distinction between “worship” and “praise.” Last week, we come to understand (and even saw a demonstration of) worship as being “kissing towards.” Now, we have fun with it, but the serious part is the attitude.

* While worship infers a “kissing toward” and “bowing down before”, Praise gives us the thought of “shining like a light”, “boasting”, “to rave about”, “celebrate” and much more. For me, it says as much about adulation as it does “applause”. In our worship we bow, adore, honor, and give our homage, while in our praise we stand to applaud Him, to brag on Him, to celebrate Him, to lift Him up with our voices &hearts. He is worthy. In my language, it means just having a fit for Jesus, now it’s a good fit and it is one that is expressive & exciting. To praise the Father exudes an emotion of joy, excitement, even enthusiasm.

* This morning, let’s look at one verse of scripture. Turn with me to Hebrews 13:15-16 - Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.

1) The Origin of our Praise. – The writer of Hebrews begins this verse with “though Him.” This is where all true praise begins. The concept of “through Him” or “In Him” is a common theme in the Bible. We are told that “in Him” we have been blessed, chosen, adopted, forgiven, born-again, and secured. Through Him we have been raised, redeemed, and reconciled to God. It all comes back to Him because He is our designer or creator and all good gifts come from Him.

a) It would serve us well to realize that we, like all creation, were designed to “praise.” How do I know this? Remember the words of Jesus when the “church people” wanted Jesus to stop the praise of the people during the triumphant entry? “Well, I can, but if they stop, the rocks will cry out.” True praise comes from deep within. Every part of our being is praise just waiting to happen. Richard Foster defines praise as “the bubbling over of a hot heart for God.”

b) The Bible says, “God inhabits the praise.”

2) The Objective of our Praise – “Let us continually offer” – Interestingly enough, God allows us to make choices. Were I God, I’m not sure I’d trust us.

a) The writer calls on US to voluntarily “offer up” our praise. What does this mean? The picture is of placing something on an elevated altar, to bring it up or carry it to a higher place for a higher cause.

b) Our objective is from that “bubbling over” heart to lift up our best and offer it up. I submit that when we “offer” something, it is something of value to us, something we love as opposed to something of which we just “let go.”

c) Our objective is not just to offer it up, but to do so “continually.” We are not to just praise Him on one day, in the church building, with all our brothers and sisters, but all the time. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of our Lord shall be praised. In the good times, bad times, up times, down times, we are to praise. This is our lifestyle, our life’s mandate.