TITLE: "A Blessing At All Times"
TEXT: Psalm 34:1 (KJV)
INTRODUCTION: In this Psalm, David pours his heart out in thanks to God for His protection and deliverance. This psalm is known as an "acoustic psalm" which means each step in the psalm follows a progressive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is detailed and intentional instruction to the children of Israel. He gives some hints (life principles/secrets) on how to be a blessing (to God and others) at all times. Upon seeing verse 1 in the Authorized King James Verson, I noticed that the last part of the verse reveals three distinct parts of this secret (clearly seen by simple observing the italicized, or translator-added text).
1. HIS PRAISE
a. Praise belongs to God.
1) It is His!
2) He is the ORIGIN of our praise.
3) He is the OWNER of our praise.
b. Praise lifts us from our realm to His presence.
1) It gets our eyes off our problems (John 3:30)
2) It focuses our faith on His promises.
2. MY MOUTH
a. Our mouths are very powerful weapons in the spiritual arena.
1) Life and death (Prov. 18:21; Deut. 30:19)
2) Faith and Confession (Ps. 116:10; 2 Cor. 4:13)
b. There is a discipline to praising God. We must decide if we will follow God and engage our mouths in praiseworthy things.
1) There may even be times that we don’t know how to praise God. There may be times we feel we are not even worthy to praise Him.
2) That’s when we have to borrow some from God...since He owns it anyway!
3. CONTINUALLY
a. When should we praise God? There are TWO TIMES in life when you should praise the Lord:
1) When we feel like it...
2) And, when we don’t feel like it...
b. How should we praise God?
1) It’s easy to praise God when you feel like it. There is little, or no sacrifice in that.
2) It’s not so easy to praise God when you don’t feel like it! That is when our praise becomes a sacrifice (ref. Hebrews 13:15).
3) However, when we don’t feel like it is when we need it the most.
CONCLUSION: Is it possible to be a blessing for God all the time? Let’s rephrase the question. How can we bless the Lord at all times? Three little secrets are: His praise...My mouth...Continually!
