Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither [shall] fruit [be] in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and [there shall be] no herd in the stalls: (18) Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (19) The LORD God [is] my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ [feet], and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
I. Habakkuk starts us out on a depressing note, the harvest has failed, the labor that was put in the harvest failed, and all the herds have died. He basically said the worst case scenario is a reality, we are at rock bottom. Have you ever been there?
A. Life comes with problems built in. Job 5:7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. You're not going to Get through this life without trouble, without hardships without pain, without getting your heart broken at least once or twice. Without being lied on, persecuted, and despised. Mix in a little betrayal and deception into the pot, because that's life.
1. All you have to do is look in the Bible and you will see what I'm talking about. David was a great Man of God, a great King of Israel, a worshipper, but that did not exempt David from pain. If you study David’s life, you will see a man who endured much pain. Look at Job: He was a righteous man, but he endured more grief and pain than would seem humanly possible.
2. Sometimes life hurts. Sometimes you're in the pit and sometimes you're in the fire, sometimes you're on the Mountain calling fire down from heaven, and sometimes you're in the cave hoping Jezebel doesn't find you. There are just some things that happen to us all, just because we're in the world. Then there are things that are demonic in nature, attacks straight out of hell; your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
B. Habakkuk did something that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. He was standing in the midst of chaos, of loss, of emptiness and confusion and disappointment and he did something that will send shock waves through hell and applause through heaven. He said: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. He decided to praise God even when it didn’t make any sense. Praise and Worship is not easy, real praise and worship usually comes from a place where there has been pain.
1. Through sickness, grief over the passing of a loved one, through the fire of divorce, family turmoil, lost loved ones that keep you up all night in tears, foreclosure, pink slips, bounced checks, harassment, brokenness, through all of life’s trials and tribulations; what are you going to do???
2. I tell you what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to let my feelings and my emotions take over. I'm not going to go into deep depression. I'm not going to run to the frig and try to consume my sorrow in food. I'm not going to overdose on prescription meds. I’m not going to going to drink away, smoke away, shoot up or snort up away my problems, I’m not going to clear up my head in some else’s bed. I'm not going to get angry at God and accuse him of not loving me, and not caring about me and leave the Kingdom and the church.
3. I'm going to do what David did: I'm going to encourage myself in the Lord. Then I'm going to get my praise on. I'm going to get beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; I'm going to open my mouth and praise God. Ps 109:30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude. Ps 107:15 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!
C. In 2 Sam. 6:14 And David danced before the LORD with all [his] might; and David [was] girded with a linen ephod. (15) So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. (16) And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
1. 2Sa 6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
2. David could have said: You're right honey, that was a shameful thing for me to do, and it certainly was no way for a king to act. I should have composed myself, I should have behaved myself better. I'm sorry that I embarrassed you. He could have said that; But he didn't. (21) …David said unto Michal, [It was] before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. (22) And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
3. Michal wanted David to be a “posh” praiser but David had to give a “savage” praise. He told her my praise and my dancing wasn’t for you, or for the servants or the hand maidens, but I was dancing before the Lord who chose me and made me king over your daddy; and if you thought that praise was ridiculous, if that was offensive and distasteful to you, if you thought that my last praise was Savage, you haven't seen anything yet.
4. The church is filled with Posh Praisers. People that will praise God when everything is pretty, when the weathers nice, when the bills are paid, when all the children are saved, when their body feels good, when they got money in the bank.
5. Their face never gets scrunched up, their makeup never runs, they don't cry, they don't ever get their clothes out of sorts, their wig never gets twisted, and their weave doesn’t fall out. Their praise looks like it was rehearsed in the mirror. Every movement looks choreographed…
D. But I'm going to tell you something that might surprise you: God would rather have your SAVAGE PRAISE than your Pose Praise. It doesn't take any confidence, and it doesn't take any faith in God, and it doesn't take any effort to praise God when everything is going great in your life. Oh Yes we definitely should praise during those times. What really gets the attention of heaven, and penetrates Hell is that SAVAGE Praise.
1. That Praise that Doesn’t make any sense: That praise when you're face is all scrunched up, that praise that bows you over and others can’t tell if that is pain or praise, that praise that runs down your face, that praise that you had to reach down deep for; a praise that is aggressive, it's just savage, It aint posh.
2. Posh praisers get uncomfortable around Savage Praisers, cause Savage Praisers ain't worried about winning a beauty contest, they're just trying to hang on to their sanity. Them Posh praisers have a Problem with real praise: Cause real praise might get loud, and it might get ugly.
3. Noise is a sign of life. When my children were born we waited to hear a cry; a noise to let us know they had arrived and were just fine. You know that there is life in a place when you can hear some noise; ever been to a mall where there was not a lot of people or better yet a church full of people, but it was so quiet you had make sure you were not at a funeral.
4. The church is supposed to be filled with the noise of God’s presents. There needs to be more noise. Where ever Jesus went there was noise, the bible says it was noised that he was in the house. People need to know He is in the house, in our lives, etc. It's time to quit worrying about trying to posh up, and just be savage with your praise.
II. Savage Praise is a producer! Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice. (6) Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
A. Praise will produce a divider. When you praise God, He begins to cut-off some things; He begins to cut off or cut away the things in your life that hinder you from your forward progression in Him, praise creates a dividing line between you and what the enemy has designed for your life.
1. Every time he tries to side line you from God’s plan; your praise throws him off course, every time he tries to remind you of past failures, your praise steps in and reminds him of his future, every time he tries to block you from reaching your full potential in God, your praise steps in and cuts off his onslaught at the very point of contact.
2. If you want to go to war against the devil then follow these words from Jud 20:18 And the LORD said, Judah [shall go up] first. Jesus when teaching the disciples to pray; told them to start with praise, Mt 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name; before you petition you should start with a praise! Ps 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.
B. Praise will produce a shield so “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard (shield) against him”, cause “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”,
1. Praise blocks “all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. It shields you so that you won’t even see the darts coming at you, you’re so caught up in your praise, that no one and nothing else around you matters, true praise will create such a shield that all hell can be on your doorstep and it won’t affect you.
2. Your praise can take you to another place into the deep recesses of God into His Shekinah Glory, into the Holy of Holies, from glory to glory, from storm to shelter, from fear to faith. It is here you can get wrapped up, tied up, and tangled up in the presence of God that causes you to declare that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
C. Praise will produce liberty and the thing I like about it is that frees me from the opinions of others, Ro 8:1 ¶ [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
1. Praise frees me from the past, 2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2. Praise frees me from the pain of the past, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
3. The Bible says that, Eph 6:12 for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Paul said that, 2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
a. That’s why praise is so important in the life of a believer it is your weapon, the reason some of you struggle like you do and can’t fight the way you should is because the enemy has put your mind in bondage. Believing you will never get out, never receive, never overcome…
b. He will try to bind you with depression and anxiety. He wants your joy, your peace. He would rather have you popping a pill than pulling a praise.
4. There's something Powerful in a Savage Praise. God responded to Paul and Silas savage praise and shook the Jail off its foundation. God responded to Job’s savage praise and gave him back double for all his troubles. God responded to David’s savage praise and he recovered everything the enemy had stolen.
III. Praise pays for the promise. In Joshua chp. 6; Jericho was on lock, but God commanded Joshua to keep them in the perimeter of their blessing. I am sure they felt some frustration, here they are walking around something they can have; yet they have to be quiet about it. They could not move from where they were.
A. When you stay where God tells you and do not get any results that action represents covenant. God is a God of covenant. That shows the situation that I trust God.
1. On the seventh day, God and Joshua created a pact, and the secret to getting what was housed behind closed doors was located in their mouths. You have to love God to stay by something that you want now and cannot have, and wait until He says “You can have it”.
B. It had been almost a week and they were now about to get what belonged to them, I am sure they were tired from all that marching. I can imagine some were thinking it has been 6 days now and nothing will the 7th day be the same.
1. Most people give up, not knowing they are a day away, because God does not give us the time. A day does not have to be a 24 hour cycle, but can be a season. Some of us stop when we are just a praise away. You say “I don’t feel like rejoicing today”. You missed it. The best time to praise is when you do not feel like it. The day you take a break is when you breakdown.
2. They are directed to do on the last day all that they have done over the previous 6 days. In one day they have to walk around the entire city 7 times. I am sure that they wondered why they were being instructed to go around on the last day 7 times. When you have to go through more now than ever; when it seems like everything is coming at you all at once, it is because you are closer to the promise than you have ever been.
3. This year, God took you through more because you are about to receive more. Some of the stuff you went through does not even make sense. It is getting under your skin, and the devil knows your in a sensitive place, and there is some frustration cause you know something is coming, but you just do not know from where it is coming. That’s why it is not the time to start cussing and fussing and give in to temptation and quit but, “stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.”
C. On the 7th day for the 13th time 3 million received one order. Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
1. A lot of you are reserving the praise for after you get what you want. You are never going to get it. But if you put your praise on the front end, in the middle, and on the back you get paid in full. Stop waiting on your healing to start talking about God being a healer, start talking healing to others and while you are ministering to others you are being ministered too, etc..
a. Praise is simply an expression of approval, admiration, gratitude, or respect. Praise is our weapon in this fight and it can only be used in faith, by believers. A savage praise is one that doesn’t need an audience with anyone but God, when there is no music, no church service, when everything isn’t going their way. Anyone can pretend to praise but a true praiser has approval on their lives, they have a heart after God. He is their everything; God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. You don’t praise looking for benefits, you praise cause you love God.
2. Let me tell you something; praise does not give you money, cars, spouses, blessings, what it does give you is a right mind that keeps you from a nervous breaking down, it strengthens you to hang in there. One thing I know is your praise gives you a break through before there is a break down. I am not talking about naming it and claiming it, blabbing it and grabbing it. God’s no genie and Praise is not a secret password. Praise puts you in alignment for God’s blessing and favor according to His will and purpose for your life. A Father knows how to take care of grateful children!
D. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. It is nowhere else. You can feel Him in your hands and feet all you want. There is no death and life decision in your hands and feet. You only have one mouth and one heart, and from the heart the mouth speaks. The connection to the mouth is the heart and when you love God and in covenant with Him your mouth ought to express it, along with your hands and feet. Praise visits hands and feet, but resides in the mouth. When they shouted the walls came down.
1. In scripture the word mouth appears over 340 times its Hebrew counterpart is “peh” (pa’ah) but there is one deviation when it is used as the word tera’ (ter-ah’) which means “gate or door”, what that means church is with your mouth you have the power to open or close your blessing. Some of you have been slamming the door on your blessing, instead of opening it!
2. The power is in your ability to use your mouth. Every time you use your breath to praise God, you are forcing change. I challenge you to praise yourself into your miracle, to change the atmosphere.
3. They shouted so loud that the city walls fell down. Boundaries, bad credit, unemployment, rumors, mistakes and failures… came crashing down.
4. Some of you all are where God wants you to be; you just cannot get in the door. You are standing right where the miracle is and waiting, waiting on God, and God is saying, “I am in your mouth”! All you got to do is open the door. Your praise will prevail and pay for the promise!
E. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. What did God do in Genesis 1, He spoke first and creation happened. If you want to see creative miracles in your life it starts with you opening your mouth!
1. Do you know that when you praise God, the devil will stop whatever he is doing to you? Self-defense classes teach people that a mugger is less likely to attack a person who refuses to act like a typical victim. Flaring your arms and feet is not as effective as making some noise. Sometimes the best thing to do is scream and make a lot of noise, because that can scare the attacker off. The devil is no different. He knows that noisy saints are the worst ones to pick on because they’ll call down a whole host of help from heaven with their praise.
a. A lot of you are reserving praise for after you get what you want. You are never going to get it and you’re doing it all wrong. If you are blessing the Lord at all times you put your praise on the front end, in the middle, and on the back of every situation. You’re praising God on credit! Momma why wait until they come to church, why not praise them in.
b. Your praise will start a war that you will win; look at what happened to the Israelites in 2 Chron. 20, verse 15 says, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle [is] not yours, but God’s. Your praise will breach the enemies’ camp and not just take back what the devil has stolen from you but will take the enemies camp from him! You will be like the children of Israel when they left with the spoils of Egypt…you are creating a plundering praise that takes it all back…
2. Let me finish what happened in 2 Chron. 15, verse 22 says, And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. The enemy may come up against your praise and try to keep you from the Lord, but your praise will prevail. Look at your neighbor and say, “Your Praise will Prevail”!
3. There is Power in Your Praise, I dare you to praise God, In the midst of your circumstances, In the midst of your confusion, In the midst of your crisis, I don’t know about you but I’ve got to Praise Him.
F. Imagine a people celebrating a harvest that never took place, a harvest they never reaped or sowed. Imagine a celebration of a nonexistent harvest. And imagine a people persisting in celebrating these nonexistent harvests year after year for centuries. It's one of the strangest phenomena of history. The Jewish people, did this because God commanded them to celebrate the harvests of the Promised Land. But in AD 70 the land of Israel was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth.
1. There were no more harvests, no more grain or fruits to be gathered. Yet even though they had no more harvests, they kept celebrating them anyway. They celebrated nonexistent barley harvests, gave thanks for nonexistent fruit harvests, and rejoiced over nonexistent vines overflowing with nonexistent grapes. And then something just as strange happened. After two thousand years of celebrating the nonexistent harvests, the nonexistent harvests reappeared on the earth.
2. The children of this world rejoice after seeing their blessings. But the children of the kingdom do the opposite. They celebrate before the blessings. Don't wait to see your blessings in order to rejoice. Rejoice ...and you will see your blessings. Don't wait for the gift to come in order to give thanks. Give thanks ...and the gift will come. Don't wait until your circumstances are right in order to celebrate. Celebrate anyway ...and they will be right. Don't wait for the victory to be won in order to become victorious. Become victorious ...and the victory will be won. Learn the secret of Israel's mystery harvests. Celebrate the blessings you don't yet see. Celebrate the harvest you don't have ...and you will have a harvest to celebrate. It’s time to put on a savage praise!
