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My Praise Is In The Middle Series
Contributed by Joel Quick on Aug 10, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: The greatest battles won have been won in the middle.
My Praise is in the Middle
Psalm 22:22
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
1) Middle
a) mid•dle
1. Equally distant from extremes or limits; central: the middle point on a line.
2. Being at neither one extreme nor the other; intermediate.
1. An area or a point equidistant between extremes; a center: the middle of a circle.
2) Excited about the start
a) Anxious, nervous, impatient
3) Looking to the end
a) Can’t wait till it’s over
b) Trouble has us wishing for the end
c) God is in the middle
4) David’s dilemma
a) Family against him
b) Chaos in his house
c) Hiding in caves
d) Moping around
5) Moping Period
a) •Eagles are meat eaters from the day they’re born till the day they die.
•He doesn’t want anything else but fresh meat,
•He will not eat rotten, polluted meat
b) In the middle years of an eagle he goes through a stage in his life called the moping period.
This is a time of great depression in his life. It’s up to him whether he lives or dies.
He can stay in the valley or he can eat the meat from heaven, climb up the mountain and get back on his rock and start living.
c) During this time calcium builds up on his beak and covers the 2 holes on either side and he can’t breathe properly.
d) You see an eagle is not made to walk around like a chicken or a turkey.
e) And as the eagles flew over again they started dropping something.
Bobby ran over to see what it was, and picked it up and saw that it was big chunks of rabbit and squirrel.
They were dropping fresh meat to strengthen them and to help them get out of that wilderness and not die there in discouragement and depression.
f) You can sit there, dry up, not eat it and die if you want to, criticize everything, pick on all the problems you see in folks.
But if you will eat the meat, the word of God that God’s men and women bring you every week, you will mount up with wings and be what God called you to be.
6) Finding Praise in the middle
a) Praise-act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation.
b) The greatest battles won have been won in the middle
c) Paul and Silas
d) David fought Goliath in the valley of Elah
7) The Valley of Kidron
8) The valley of Kidron is called now the valley of Jehoshophat. It is the valley just outside the east wall of the city of Jerusalem. It is the valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The valley of Kidron is a big, deep valley.
9) I’ll not wait
a) Determined to praise Him no matter what
b) Praise Him in the midst of chemo
c) Praise Him in the midst of divorce
d) Praise Him in the midst of pain
10) Valley of decision
a) Are you in the middle?
b) Can’t decide
c) Don’t know what to do
d) That’s where your praise is
e) That’s where your breakthrough is