Break The Silence

Break the Silence

Psalm 100

June 1, 2008

Minister Pamela L. Johnson

This month our theme is “The Courage to Be Powerful”. I want to provide an addendum to this theme “The Courage to Be Powerful in Our Praise.” In preparation for this message I struggled a little. Not because I have trouble with being powerful or praise, but because there are so many places that illustrate praise throughout the scriptures. I had read this Psalm 100 more than once and still I found myself searching the scriptures to find something else. But God kept leading me back to Psalm 100 and He then said, “Break the Silence.”

In this 100th chapter of Psalm it has been titled the Psalm of Praise. In this chapter we find the writer immediately calling the world to praise. Immediately believers are called to break the silence, to praise God to worship Him. The Psalmist writes, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.” It’s not a mandate for just the praise and worship team. It’s not just for the choir. It’s not just for the Pastor, but it’s a mandate for everyone. It’s calling all to praise God.

When you make something you cause it to exist. Zion being the place of God’s praise, you have to make something happen, you have to build a praise. You have to bring together all the components/blessings and build a praise, cause something to occur. Pull those blessing together, you know, He touched me this morning with a finger of love. I was clothed in my right mind. I moved throughout my home and found that my family was still doing fine. He gave me shelter and put food on the table. Pull all those components together and build a powerful praise.

Now when you build a praise you can’t just do it any ole kind a way. You can’t build a powerful praise with, anger, frustration, bitterness, strife and so on and so forth but build it with joy, kindness, peace, gentleness... Be enthusiastic about it, to the point of obsession. To the point where there’s nothing else you rather do. If I can’t do anything else, this one thing I will do I will be powerful and happy in my praise.

Make a joyful noise. In order to break the silence we have to make some noise. But we have to be careful about the kind of noise we make.

You see because gripping and complaining is noise. Fussing and cursing is noise. But what God requires is joyful noise. He wants to hear pleasant, sweet sounding noise. Noise attracts attention. What better way to get God’s attention than praise, making a joyful noise. God inhabits the praises of His people. Not only does your praise/noise get God’s attention, it interferes with the enemies plan. Some noise is undesired and when we lift our voices in praise it bothers the enemy because Satan can’t stand to hear God getting praise. A song writer wrote a song that says my praise is my weapon. Open your mouth and pull down some strong holds, breaks some yokes, loose some shackles, somebody needs to break the silence up in this place.

How can you praise if you’re unsure about whom you’re praising? Know ye that He is God. You have to be confident in who God is. He is the creator, the Shepard, God almighty, the One who reigns. I have to be assured of His capabilities, history, I just have to know that I know that I know, that He is God. He has chosen us to come to His place of praise. We didn’t decide this morning on our own that we were coming to church, God chose you to be here, it’s a divine appointment and for that He deserves the most powerful praise that you have in you.

If we are going to be powerful and break the silence, we are going to have to rehearse our praise. When you rehearse something that means you go over it, you practice it, so that it’s perfected. The choir rehearses prior to ministering on Sunday mornings. They aren’t trying to figure out what they are going to sing when they get here, but they are already prepared to minister, because they have rehearsed, and not just once but over and over so that it’s perfected.

We have to perfect our praise, Sunday praise is not enough but I need to have a praise rehearsal on Monday, another on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and two on Friday and Saturday. We have to perfect our praise, and in doing so I already know what I’m going to give thanks for when I enter the gates. I already have on my mind the goodness of God. I’m already thanking Him when I drive up on the parking lot. Lord I thank you, for you have been so good to me. Lord I thank you for you’re ever faithful towards me. Lord I thank you for your grace and mercy. Thank you Lord, the enemy tried to keep me from getting here but I made it. We should have already perfected our thank you, so when I enter into His courts, my thank you has been elevated to a praise.