THE POWER OF HIS PRAISE
Study Text: Psalm 149: 1 – 9
Introduction:
- The praises of God and the effective use of His word are two powerful and effective weapons to oppose aggressively the kingdom of Satan.
- Praise means “to commend, to applaud, to magnify.” For the Christian, praising God is an expression of worshipping and glorifying the Lord.
- When we praise God, we humble ourselves and center our attention upon the Lord with heart-felt expressions of love, adoration, and thanksgiving.
- Praising God is to be our way of life. Unfortunately, some people think praise is something that only takes place in church. However, praise should be a part of a believer’s lifestyle, part of our daily prayer life, at work, in the car, at home, in bed, or anywhere.
- When we worship and praise God, we are focusing upon God, who has the power and the majesty and the desire to deliver us from fear, oppression, and depression.
- Whatever we face in this world, we need to stay focused on the throne room and praise God
- We shall discuss the topic in three sub-headings:
1. The Purpose of His Praise
2. The Pattern of His Praise
3. The Power of His Praise
1. The Purpose of His Praise
1. Almighty God is worthy of our praise and worship. Ps 18:3
- Praise Him because He is God and He is worthy. Praise Him for the battles He’s already fought for you and won. Praise Him because He has a perfect plan to give you victory and glorify Himself this time, too.
- Praise is an expression of faith! It declares that we believe God is with us and He is in control of the outcome of all our circumstances.
- Praise is a “sacrifice,” something that we offer to God, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him, love Him, and believe He is worthy of our praise
2. We are called to praise and worship God. Ps 150:6
- The act of praise is something that's for every living, breathing individual. Not only people. God has even given animals and birds and so on an opportunity to praise Him. He tells them to. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
3. Praise and worship ushers in the presence of God. Ps 22:3
- God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise and worship Him, the presence of God will fill every situation that we are facing, and we will experience victory in all our battles.
- Some think that worship is a response after the Holy Spirit moves upon them. But, it’s the other way around. The Holy Spirit moves when we praise and worship. Lifting up Jesus Christ through praise and worship invokes the Lord’s presence and power to flow in our midst. That is why we begin our services with praise and worship songs.
- Praise elevates us into God’s presence. Paul and Silas knew how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power. Through praise and worship, their hearts were raised into the joyous presence and peace of God, which allowed His power to operate in their circumstances. Acts 16: 22 - 25
4. Praise defeats our enemy and grant us victory through Divine interventions. Our praise puts evil to flight.
- Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, was vastly outnumbered by a huge army that was attacking his kingdom. Therefore, he proclaimed a fast and sought the Lord with all his people.
- The Lord heard their cry and promised them victory. Then Jehoshaphat sent singers and worshippers ahead of his army as he went to meet the enemy. As they praised and worshipped the Lord, the Lord caused the enemies of Judah to fight each other and destroy themselves. 2Chron 20:20-22
- When we praise and worship the Lord, the Lord will cause confusion in the camp of our enemies and make them destroy themselves. When God’s people begin to praise His name, it sends the demons running and it releases the power and might of God on our behalf.
5. Praise reveals our devotion to God.
- When we praise the Lord, we are declaring our devotion and allegiance to God. As God's children, praise is one way we reveal our identity and connection with the Heavenly Father.
6. Praise motivates us to holy living.
- Praise demands that we open ourselves, our hearts to God, which often times reveals the clutter that has displaced His presence in our lives!
- Often times, praise demands our confessing secrets and sin. Praise is a purging, purifying agent. It cleanses the soul! The more we praise and worship the Lord, the more we desire to be like Him!
7. Praise increases our joy!
- Joy is contagious! In Romans 14, Paul tells us that the "kingdom of God" is not about living in fear, keeping someone's rules, but the joy of a pleasing relationship with God, fuelled by the Holy Spirit! We obtain joy from pleasing those we love!
2. The Pattern of His Praise
- There are many actions involved with praise to God – verbal expressions of adoration and thanksgiving, singing, playing instruments, shouting, dancing, lifting or clapping our hands.
- But true praise is not “merely” going through these motions. Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees whose worship was only an outward show and not from the heart. Matt. 15:8
1. With our body and voice. Ps 63:3-4
2. With instruments of music.
Ps 150:3-5 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
3. With our emotions.
Ps 47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
4. With our life.
1 Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Ps. 34:1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
3. The Power of His Praise
- Satan has already been defeated by the Lord Jesus (Colossians 2:15; Eph. 1:17-23), and we share His victory over the forces of darkness (Ephesians 2:6)! When we begin to praise and worship God, we enforce that defeat in our current situation.
- Praise is powerful because of the following reasons:
- When you Praise God in difficult situations, God will go ahead of you and He will cause a breakthrough for you.
- When you praise God, it takes your focus off your problem, weakness, issues and inadequacy.
- When you praise God, you place your focus on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith, from whom your help comes. As you praise God, take your eyes off your problems as written in 2 Chronicles 20:12.
- In 2 Chronicles 20:21, Jehoshaphat appointed singers unto the LORD. It shows that God is the focus not man.
- Praise brings down the presence of God into the situation. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits praise. God thrives in an atmosphere of praise (Revelation 4:11). Psalm 16:11 tells us that when the presence of God comes down, there is fullness of joy.
- When you praise God and He descends, the atmosphere changes (2 Chronicles 5:13-14), and He performs miracles, signs and wonders (Exodus 15:11).
- When you praise God, curses are broken and blessings follow (Psalm 67:5-7). The earth will yield its increase and God blesses His people.
- When you praise God, it makes God to move on behalf of you, the praise giver (Joshua 6:20). Praise energizes God and makes Him to silence all your enemies (Psalm 8:2, Matthew 21:16).
- When you praise God, you experience deliverance from every band that is holding you bound, because God descends into the arena praise is coming from (Acts 16:25-26).
Conclusion:
- We don’t have to wait for everything to be perfect before we decide to celebrate what God is going to do in our life. Because if we do, we never will celebrate!
- Praise is putting action behind our faith. Praise is about what God is capable of, not what we are capable of.
- God is still the same God, who answered Jehoshaphat, Paul, and Silas when they praised Him in the moment of their need! And He will do the same for us today. It doesn’t matter what the needs are, whether they are big or small, He can handle them all!
- Praise is putting action behind our faith in the middle of our situation. Therefore, praise Him, trust Him, continually, in all situations, and experience the power of God.
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