THE POWER OF PRAISE
Ps. 40:3
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR:
1. A police officer jumps into his squad car and calls the station. “I have an interesting case here,” he says. “A woman shot her husband for stepping on the floor she just mopped.”
2. “Have you arrested her?” asks the sergeant.
“No!” “Why not?” “Because she’s in the house and the floor’s still wet!” [Rose Mattix]
B. TEXT
1. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness” Ps. 48:1.
2. “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous: for praise is comely (fitting) for the upright” Ps. 33:1.
3. “And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord” Ps. 40:3.
4. “Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You” Ps. 67:3.
5. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps. 107:8.
6. “Seven times a day do I praise You because of Your righteous judgments” Ps. 119:164.
7. “Every day will I bless You; and I will praise Your name for ever and ever” Ps. 145:2.
8. “While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being” Ps. 146:2.
9. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” Ps. 149:6.
C. THESIS
1. Today I want us to talk about Praise & Worship. When we praise the Lord, God inhabits our praises.
2. It makes the devil mad, but makes God glad, when we come into the presence of the Lord.
3. The enemy knows that with God’s presence comes His Power, His Anointing, and His Blessings!!! Amen?
4. And then the miraculous starts to take place. And the Devil doesn’t want you to start experiencing the miraculous because He wants you to live defeated lives!
5. So we’re going to look at the 3 types of worship, the hindrances to praise, and then how we can let praise usher us into a walk of victory.
6. The title of this message is, "The Power of Praise."
I. THREE TYPES OF WORSHIP
A. PRAISE
1. Praise is excited, exuberant, and noisy. It’s characterized by rejoicing, singing, shouting, uplifted hands, clapping, dancing. Praise is Celebration.
2. We watched the Houston Texans play their division rivals, the Indianapolis Colt a week ago. In a crucial play, 3rd down and long, just as he was tackled, Deshaun Watson threw a 40 yard pass and amazingly, DeAndre Hopkins stretched out and caught it.
3. The place went crazy. It was celebration time. That’s what PRAISE is.
B. THANKSGIVING
1. Thanksgiving is different than praise because its motivation results from something God has done. How wonderful it is when a long-sought answer to prayer arrives, and creates in us a tremendous feeling of thankfulness!
2. HUMOR
a. In North Dakota there was a clever old preacher who always amazed people, because no matter how bad the circumstances, he could always find something to give thanks for.
b. One cold December morning, he arrived late to church because his car got stuck in the snow drifts. The power went out and the piano player wasn’t there.
c. The parishioners were eager to see what the old preacher could come up with to be thankful for on that dismal and frigid morning. "Dear Lord," his prayer began, "I thank You, that not all days are like today.”
C. WORSHIP/ ADORATION/ LOVE
1. Then there’s worship. When you and God are alone together, face to face, and have shared a long and intimate relationship -- almost a romantic love is felt, except it’s reverential.
2. THE PROGRESSION OF WORSHIP
a. At the Temple in Jerusalem, Praise occurred in the outer courts. That’s where the sacrifices took place and the cleansings. That’s why Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
b. Next the priests, with sacred garments, moved into the Holy Place to fellowship with God. There stood the Table of Shewbread and the Lampstand/ Menorah. They symbolized our fellowship with JESUS as the LIGHT OF THE WORLD and as the BREAD OF LIFE, which came down from heaven.
c. Lastly came the worship within the veil. The only offerings that penetrated the veil were the Blood of Christ, sprinkled 7 times, and the smoke of the incense on the Altar of Incense.
Hebrews 10:19-22 tells us we are not to stay outside the veil, but go boldly in to worship in the very Presence of God. Here the believer comes before the very Throne of Majesty and worships before the Living God in the Spirit.
II. REASONS WHY WE OFTEN DON’T PRAISE DURING THE TRIAL (HINDRANCES):
A. FEAR
1. When things really go wrong, it’s pretty normal to panic -- Get the jitters, cold sweats, shakes, or freeze in place. We begin to imagine God has forsaken us, that God considers us unworthy for some reason.
2. Fear can immobilize you; make you unable to take any action. Joshua, after the defeat at Ai, collapsed. In 7:10, God said, "Get up! What are you doing on the
ground? Israel has sinned!"
B. EYES ON CIRCUMSTANCES
1. In the Bible, when the Israelites were invaded, their normal response was to count the number of their soldiers and compare to how many of the enemies there were. They looked to the natural.
2. When you get your eyes on your circumstances, you lose faith, because your focus is on the wrong thing/ place.
3. We have to be realistic, but we also must trust in the Lord as our helper! The 3rd reason we don’t praise is…
C. FORGETFULNESS
1. Israel forgot WHO’s on their side -- Almighty God!
2. They forgot WHAT God had done for them – the 10 plagues, opening the Red Sea. They only looked to the natural and left God out of their equation
3. Don't we do the same?
a. We had victory yesterday.
b. But one difficulty and we think God's not in control anymore; God doesn't love us anymore. Neither is true.
4. But it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!!!!
D. ILLUSTRATION “From white knuckles to praise.”
1. Marcie Laycock was driving home, long distance on a dark and stormy night. It was a downpour rainstorm. She drove with both hands on the wheel, white knuckled, and was soon feeling the tension in her back and neck.
2. Needing distraction, she popped a praise CD into the player. She said, “It wasn’t long before I was singing along with the singer, singing songs of praise and songs about God’s amazing care for us.”
3. “Then I began to notice that my car felt different – like a cocoon – warm, safe, and dry inside. I sensed God’s presence with me, right there in the middle of that dark and stormy night, even though big trucks whooshed by, spraying my windshield, obliterating my view of the road.”
4. “As I pulled onto the exit ramp, I realized what a difference that music had made. My grip on the steering wheel had relaxed, my neck and back were no longer stiff. And my mind was not focused on the storm, but on the glory of a loving God who is with us all, no matter our circumstances.”
5. What a great difference praise can make!
III. PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCED VICTORY…
A. PRAISED BEFORE THE ANSWER CAME
1. 2 Chronicles 20; Jehoshaphat sent praisers before the Army.
2. Psalm 27:1-3; David didn't fear armies.
3. Joshua 6:20; Israel shouted before Jericho walls fell.
4. Acts 16:25-26; Paul & Silas praised before earthquake.
5. Some praised God even when they thought He might NOT answer – 3 Hebrew Children.
B. FOUR POSITIVE RESULTS OF PRAISE
1. PRAISE OVERCOMES FEAR WITH TRUST
a. Fear and faith are opposites. Faith drives out fear. God told them not to be afraid or discouraged.
b. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind” 2 Tim. 1:7.
c. JOKE. A Sunday school teacher of eighth-grade boys asked his class to think of things they were thankful for. Most gave the typical responses: "Thanks that we're here together:" "Thanks for the hunting trip;" and so on. Then one boy said, "Thank you God that I was sick Friday so I didn't have to go to school!" That's turning things around!
2. PRAISE PLACES THE BATTLE IN GOD’S HANDS
a. God said, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (vs. 14).
b. God told Jehoshaphat, "The Battle is not yours, but God's" 2 Chr. 20:15. Verse 17 says, -- "You will not have to fight this battle."
3. PRAISE IS A “MAGNIFIER”
a. David said, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” Ps. 34:3.
b. We’ve all seen magnifying glasses. They’re good for reading the fine print at the bottom of some contracts; or, for older people, to see the normal print.
c. It’s interesting that the Bible uses the same word "magnify" as a synonym for “praise.” When we begin to "magnify the Lord," Jesus is made larger or clearer to us and to others, and He’s brought near by our praise.
d. How about we magnify the Lord this morning, make Him bigger (to us) and see Him more clearly?
4. PRAISE IN ADVANCE DEFEATS THE DEVIL
a. To some, it may look like foolishness. But God wants you to rise to a "faith walk," a higher level of trusting Him. Praise is the spark-plug of faith; it moves you up to a level of victory over circumstances.
b. Verse 22 -- "As [Jehoshaphat’s army] began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against... [their
enemies].”
* Their faith provoked God to action.
* The same thing happened when Paul and Silas
were beaten and were in the Philippian jail. As they sang hymns -- an earthquake shook open the doors and loosed their fetters.
* The closer we get to God, the more:
Our bands are loosed;
The closed doors fall open;
The ropes are burned off (3 men in the fire);
* The high praises of God… [“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand” Ps. 149:6] …not only loose you, but began undercutting your enemies. God is a liberator -- from bondage, sickness, lack, ignorance, weakness, doubts, and fear.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Missionaries John and Elaine Beekman worked among the Chol Indians of southern Mexico. They rode on mules and travel by dugout canoes to reach this tribe. They labored among them for 25 years.
2. Today the Chol church is thriving. More than 12,000 Christians make up this community and it is fully self-supporting.
3. What's interesting is that when the missionaries came, the Chol Indians didn't know how to sing. But with the coming of the gospel, however, the believers in this tribe became known in that region as "The Singers!"
4. Do you know why they love to sing now? Because they have something to sing about! Do you?
B. THE CALL
1. Do you have a problem?
a. Let's pray about it.
b. Now let's praise God for the victory before it occurs!
2. Prayer.
3. Salvation Call.
