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.
3) The Object of our Praise. – “To God” – this might be better phrased, ‘the CORRECT object of our praise.”
a) In Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 we are given a glimpse of God on the throne. In history and eternity, He is the object of unending and energetic praise. Yet today, many hold back.
b) The truth is this; we don’t have a problem with praise. We think nothing of clapping for singers, entertainers, sports teams, and the like. In fact, we’ll spend our money, energy, and time, to be a part of whatever it is that excites us. At the risk of being mauled, it certainly seems to this preacher that some of these have become substitutes for God. They have become the objects of our praise.
c) Remember Psalm 150 and all the ways we are to praise Him? We praise Him “in”, “for”, and “with”. This just about covers all of life and creation.
4) The Operation of our Praise. – How does our praise truly operate? Scripture says, through “the Sacrifice of our praise, the fruit of our lips, & confessing His name.” Let’s consider what the Bible says.
a) This scripture speaks of sacrifice, fruit, and even confession. How does this play out. In Sunday school today, you should have been reminded of the physical ways in which the Bible teaches us to praise. Unfortunately, the SS lessons make no distinction between acts of “worship” verses acts of “praise.” So let’s look at how worship & praise actually operates.
b) Worship evokes a sign of respect, honor, praying homage, and even reverence to one who is worthy. The Bible teaches us that in worship people bow, kneel, and even lie down prostrate before the one they worship.
c) On the other hand, praise causes things like standing, singing, shouting, clapping hands, raising hands, dancing, playing instruments, and even testifying. All of these are done for glory to the object of their praise.
d) Last week, we read in John 4 as Jesus opened the eyes of the woman at the well. He spoke of water, living water, and a well of water. That well of water is a picture of an artesian type of well that is constantly running.
5) The Outcome of our Praise. – What does praising God do? In a word, it transforms. Transforms depression into expectation, darkness to light, sorrow to joy, and even hopelessness into anticipation.
a) Years ago, Doug Oldham recorded a song entitled what would I do without His music. It is when we praise Him that our outlook turns to up look.
b) Praise has the ability to change lives.
* Let’s be candid; in this room are some of the very people who get nervous when the preacher gets excited about Jesus yet think of nothing hollering at the TV when their team is doing about to win. Please listen, as long as we are more excited about our sports than our Savior and praise them rather than Him, we will not make a difference in this world.
