7 Things Concerning Praise 1 Series

7 Things Concerning Praise – 1

Back a few months ago I posted a devotion on the website. A couple of weeks ago, someone sent me an e-mail letting me know how good that devotion was and I needed to preach it sometime. I had never really thought of it before then, but since he said that, it has been constantly on my mind. So, this week, I dug a little deeper in that devotion and decided to give you the “7 Things Concerning Praise.” But after starting to prepare it I realized that there is NO way that I can preach all 7 things in one setting, so we will begin with 3 tonight and then finish with 4 more the next Sunday night that I preach.

Praise in an essential in a Christian’s life. It is not only essential here at church, but it is also essential in our homes. We must learn to let praise become a lifestyle wherever we go. There are several things that praise does for us.

I. PRAISE IS A WEAPON

Psalm 35:28, “And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.”

Some may be wondering how you get praise being a weapon out of this Scripture? I want you to keep this Scripture in mind as we read a few more. If my tongue speaks of His righteousness all day and if my tongue praises Him all day long, it becomes a mighty weapon against any enemy that may come against us. The tongue can be the most evil thing that you can have. Listen to how James describes it:

James 3:5-10, “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

That is some pretty potent words. No man can tame the tongue, but God can when our mouths are filled with His praises! The book of wisdom tells us:

Proverbs 19:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

From reading this Scripture, I find that no matter how evil a tongue can be, it can also be good! There is life in the power of the tongue! That is a serious weapon. Something so little can give us life and life more abundantly. How? By the words we allow to come from it.

➢ I want to be a praiser, not a complainer! I choose life, not death!

II. PRAISE ACTIVATES THE SPIRIT WORLD

Secular rock groups understand this truth. They understand that demonic spirits are activated by demonic music in the same way that the presence of God is activated by praise. Music holds a huge influence over us. I usually listen to music on the way into work every morning. The other morning when I got out of the car, the song that was playing was: “Holy Spirit, rain down, rain down. Let your fire fall, let your voice be heard, come and change our lives as we stand on Your word. Holy Spirit, rain down!” I ended up singing that song the rest of the day and it caused my prayer to lean towards that. All day, “Holy Spirit, would you rain down on Calvary Pentecostal Church! Would you rain down on the Campbell household? Would you rain down on my children’s schoolwork today? Would you rain down in every part of our lives? Let your voice be heard in my heart and in my family’s hearts!

What do you think the Lord would rather have on our minds? The drunk guy with his pick-up truck, or the rock song talking about sex, partying and dancing or “Holy Spirit, would you rain down on us today?” We are huge believers in our household that all our music must be pleasing to the Lord! We want the right spirit in our household. Praise is a weapon and it activates the Spirit world:

III. PRAISE CAUSES THE ENEMY TO RETREAT

Psalm 8:1-2; “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!