I Am Created To Praise Series

I AM CREATED TO PRAISE

Human praise of God is a central theme in Scripture. The word praise is listed over 330 times in the Bible. It comes from the Latin word meaning to “value”. Therefore, when we praise God, we are proclaiming His greatness and His goodness. The book of Psalms means “Praises”, and comes from the same Hebrew root word as “hallelujah” which means “Praise the Lord.”

We learned in the last life truth that we are to be the servants of God. The Scriptures declare that the servants are to praise the Lord. Psalm 113:1-3 (NIV) 1 Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. 2 Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. 3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. The New Testament reveals that the name of the Lord is Jesus, so we are to Praise Jesus! This truth is declared over and over in the Scriptures and is one of the main reasons each one of us has been created. The name of the Lord is to be praised and God’s creations are created to declare praise to God!

No one is excluded from praising God. Isaiah 43:21 (NIV) 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise. Psalm 150:6 (NIV) 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Jesus told us that the greatest purpose for our lives is in Matthew 22:37-38 (NIV) 37 … "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. When we love God with all of our being this causes us to worship, praise, rejoice, be thankful, and glorify. Each of these attributes has a different meaning but they are all closely related.

Worship is to acknowledge the presence of God. Praise is a response of worship. Thankfulness is a part of praise and a response to blessings given. To glorify is to bestow honor, praise, and admiration. Rejoicing is to have great delight and give praise.

Matthew 4:10, Jesus says, "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." - Psalm 29:2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

We are not only to be praising God but we are to be rejoicing in Him every day! Many times we think praise is just something we do as a congregation on Sunday, but God commands it to be a daily part of our lives.

Philippians 4:4 (NIV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

1 Chronicles 16:8-10 (NIV) 8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

When we think about worship and praise, we may only think about singing. But it is so much more. It is shouting, declaring, telling, bowing, clapping, making God known, being prostrate, praying, living a holy life, and more. It is about who you are and what you love. If you are passionate about Jesus and what he has done for you, then you will worship and praise Him!

Praise is tied into the first two of the Ten Commandments where God says that we should have no others gods before Him and we are not to have any idols. This keeps us focused on giving God the praise due his name and our hearts from being drawn away to love something more than Him.

WHERE DOES WORSHIP AND PRAISE COME FROM?

a. It comes from our new nature

As we learned in our second Self-Government life truth there is no one who seeks God. Within our corrupt nature we do not want to praise God. The Scriptures declare in, 1 Corinthians 12:3 (NIV) 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. Christ in us is what enables us to fulfill our responsibility to praise the Lord. Without the Holy Spirit in us, we will not praise the Lord. The phrase “Jesus be” or “Jesus is” is more about the character changes within us and not just saying the specific phrase. Do we acknowledge God for our blessings? Or do we think that somehow we have deserved them? Or that we deserve better than we have?

b. It comes from a heart fully committed to God.