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.
The Hebrew meaning of praise is Tehillah, which means to sing God’s praise. But the one I favor is Shabach, which means literally to address in a loud tone, praise or proclamation with a loud voice or shout.
How can you break the silence? Why don’t you give God a Shabach. Shout all ye people the wonders of God, for He is good and His mercy is everlasting. How do you break the silence by thanking God for all that He is and all that He has done? Bless the Lord, for He has done some marvelous things.
I will break the silence. I have a praise, I have a shabach. Are there any praisers in the sanctuary? Is there anybody with a powerful praise on their lips? Is there anybody that will bless the Lord? Maybe somebody is having trouble finding a reason for a powerful praise. Well let me loan you a couple of mine. I will bless the Lord because He is… What is He you ask, well what do you need Him to be? Because He is THAT…
If you need one more, I will praise Him for His love, He loved me so much that He gave His son to die for my sins. To be ridiculed and talked about. To be marched from judgment hall to judgment hall. To be beaten all night long. To carry a cross up a hill to Calvary where they nailed His hands and His feet. They mocked Him and made fun of Him. Oh but instead of Him coming down He cried to His Father, my master and creator, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” I bless the Lord because when He put His head in the locks of His shoulder that wasn’t the end of the story and the third day He got up with all power under heaven and earth in His hands. And because He did that, now I can come to Zion and lift up my holy hands without boundaries or restrictions. I can shout unto God not just within the gates or the courts but in the Holy of Holies. I can bring all my burdens to Him, I can cast my cares on Him because He cares.
So now that we have entered into His presence and we are His people, lets give Him a powerful praise, because He is God and He is worthy of all the praise, glory and honor forever and ever. Somebody open your mouth and give Him a POWERFUL PRAISE! Let today be the day you break the silence…
