It was Easter morning, 1799, and the people of Feldkirch, Austria, were terrified. Indeed, they believed this Easter would probably be the very worst day of their lives. Outside the gates stood the army of Napoleon, and he wanted in. The citizens were ready to raise the white flag of surrender.
But the bishop of the church had another agenda. In a voice trembling with emotion, he said to the townspeople, "This is Easter Day. This is the day of our King’s resurrection. We must have one moment of triumph. Let us at least ring all the bells of Easter." Fearfully, the people agreed. Soon the sound of church bells pealing out a celebration of victory filled the air.
Napoleon’s army was astounded. What could it mean? It didn’t take long for the generals to conclude that only one possible explanation could account for such celebration: the Austrian army had arrived during the night to help defend the town. The bells had not yet stopped ringing when the French army broke ranks and fled.
Like the story we just read of Jehoshaphat’s army, the story of Feldkirch is a powerful reminder of the power of Praise. Praise as a weapon of warfare--weilding not our own power but the power of the risen Lord to defeat the enemy.
But to tell you the truth, both of these stories seem a little distant from where I live my life today. I mean first of all they’re both ancient history and they deal with kings and emporers--not ordinary guys like me. And honestly the battles I fight are less likely to be with an enemy general and more likely to be with 3 year old or a bank teller.
Interrogative: So the critical question for me is, Does the power of Praise work in the kind of battles I face every day?
Transition: I believe that the answer is yes, and that it works in the big and small battles of our lives in the same way that it did for the king of Israel in the story we read today. So what I’d like to do is look at that story to see if we can identify the things that we need to understand about this weapon of praise to make it effective in our lives, and I’d like to look at some ordinary folks who have experienced the power of praise in their lives, and see how those same elements that were important in Jehoshaphat’s battle were crucial in their battles as well. We begin with the...
Decision to Praise
1-4After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat. 2Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
The people gathered in Jerusalem and the king cried out to the Lord. Then the Lord answers through the word of a prophet:
17-19You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’" 18Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.
Faced with an impossible situation, Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, didn’t complain or argue or feel sorry for themselves, they went to the Lord, and the Lord answered them with a promise, they took the promise as a fact and began to praise the Lord.
We too have the promise of the Lord, that whatever we face He’ll never leave us nor forsake us, that all things work together for our good. That God has a good plan for our lives, yet so often faced with a difficult circumstance we choose not to praise but to doubt and worry and complain, and when we do so we forfeit the power of praise.
Sherri and Kenny Hughes had been married 19 years. They had 3 older children, but they were praying and trying for one more. They had recently grieved through the loss of two children by miscarriage, so in July of 1993, Sherri was excited to finally check into the little country hospital for the birth of their fourth child. But when Tyler was born Sherri and Kenny both knew something wasn’t quite right.
The next day they drove Tyler the two hours to a Children’s hospital for a surgical consult. When the expert examined Tyler, he told the Hughes what they had suspected but were afraid to say: Tyler had Down syndrome. Members of their church family rallied around them and when Tyler went into surgery for a digestive system problem common to Down’s kids, they gathered in the courtyard to pray. When the word came that Tyler would not have to have a colostomy, a shout of praise went up from the group.
Raising a child with Down syndrome entails challenges most of us can’t fathom, yet today the Hughes are convinced that Tyler is a special gift to them and they praise God for all that He has brought them through.
Now you might be wondering how I know about the Hughes family. They’re not celebrities, just ordinary folks facing extraordinary challenges with the help of an extraordinary God. I met them by searching the internet for the phrase "I choose to praise." The website Sherri maintains to minister to others raising kids with disabilities was the first to come up. Sherri Hughes understands the improtance of making a Decision to Praise. She writes:
"God has walked me through so many difficult times in my life, I CHOOSE to praise him and walk with Him no matter what. His grace is very real. He was with me when I had two miscarriages, He was with me when my son was born with Down Syndrome and when I had to give Tyler to the doctors for surgery at 1 day old...
"When I’m feeling down, turning my heart to praise God has been one of the most uplifting things I can do. When I am able to turn my thoughts from my problems to the high praises of the God I love, it seems I am able to get get things into perspective ." (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5114/family.html)
Wow, Sherri, has helped me get some things in perspective! I think I can make a Decision to Praise. And that brings us to the next important thing we need to understand about praise, the appropriate...
Direction of Praise
12b "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
They said, "look God, these armies are all around us, we’re outnumbered. But we’re not looking around, we’re looking up." And then to prove it, they put their money where their mouth is--or more precisely their OPORDER reflects the commander’s intent:
21 Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army
The leading element of their attack formation was the worship band. You’d have to say that they we’re looking up. When you’re surrounded by what seem like hopeless circumstances, which way are you looking? When the umpteenth e-mail comes saying "honey it looks like it’ll be a little longer before I get to come home" do you look around or do you look up? When the doctor says, "I’m sorry the test results are not good," when your boss is making unreasonable demands, when you run out of money before you run out of month, do you look around or do you look up? The direction of Praise is up.
Most of us are most familiar with Darlene Zschech as the internationally known worship leader and author of such choruses as "Shout to the Lord," but her life wasn’t always as together as we see it now. As newlyweds, Mark and Darlene struggled financially. Darlene earned small change singing commercial jingles for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Diet Coke and McDonald’s. Mark struggled to keep their motorcycle parts business afloat to support Darlene and their two young children. It was then that Darlene decided to praise God through the struggle. "I learned we’ll never find hope looking at our circumstances," she says. "It’s only found by fixing our eyes on Jesus who doesn’t change and who’s always faithful."(Darlene Zschech, "The Power of Worship on CBN.org)
Psalms 55:18 says, "God delivers us in peace from the battle that is around us".
When circumstnaces have you surrounded, if you want to experience the power of praise, you’ve got to look up. It’s the Direction of Praise. Next it’s important to think about the...
Duration of Praise
Before the Battle v. 18 ...all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD
During the Battle v. 22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
After the Battle v. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.
Most of us don’t have trouble singing God’s praises once the victory is evident, but it can be difficult to praise before we "see the goods."
Darlene Zschech commented that praise is "thanking God for things even though they’re not there yet," Darlene says. "It’s appreciating Jesus not [just] for what He can do, but for being your Savior. And there’s power in that.
Sharon Baker was stewing in a traffic Jam in the town of Dudley, England--a suburb of Birmingham. The traffic Jam was just the icing on the cake. Sharon and her husband Trevor had come to Dudley to plant a new church because they knew that that was what God had called them to do. They had left a thriving church experiencing God’s presence in revival power, and the new work in Dudley was struggling not only for members, but eve3n for an apporpriate place to meet. Sharon recalls sitting in the car complaining that God hadn’t "shown us the goods (her words)." And then God broke through to her heart filling her with a passion and desire to worship.
The situation didn’t change overnight, but the Dudley church began praying more earnestly for a specific building. The old County Law Courts building captured their attention. It was a perfect place for a worship and ministry training center, but the beauracracy was blocking that path. But their prayers began to mingle with worship, and they declared war! Every week they circled the local government offices in prayer and worship. In February 2003, the committee was meeting for the final decision. Although the meeting was twice delayed, the timing of this one was no coincidence. Instead of just 20 of us at prayer, there now would be 500 because the church was hosting a conference! As the conference opened, with Bibles open, they walked around the conference hall reading and praying God’s words back to Him. The worship began to build with songs declaring the Lordship of Jesus and calling out for the power of God to fall. At times the musicians kept drumming and clapping, sounding more like tribal warfare than a church service.
After an hour and a half, the news came from the committee meeting. The building was theirs! At that moment a deafening shout of praise and rejoicing rose as worship and dancing broke out again. (Sharon Baker, "The Power of Intercessory Worship," Spread the Fire Magazine 29 May 2003)
I believe the people of the Dudley church experienced the Power of Praise, because they didn’t wait ’til the battle was over to lift their strongest weapon, but instead they Praised throughout the duration of the battle, before, during and after, and they experienced the...
Deliverance of Praise
27-30Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lutes and trumpets.29The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
Proverbs 21:31 says, "Go ahead and prepare for conflict, but victory comes from our God."
This is the power of Praise--not our own power but the power of God delivers us. And though I’m careful using this kind of language because some misunderstand it, I think that we can rightly say that as we Praise the Lord we release His power in our lives.
If we believe that he dwells in our praises, and that as we praise Him we enter into His praises, it follows that when we praise we experience the power of His presence, and his presence changes things--sometimes He changes the circumstances as the people of Feldkirch Austria, discovered in 1799, and the people of the church in Dudley, England discovered in 2003. And sometimes, just as importantly His Presence changes us as Sherri Hughes, mother of a child with Down Syndrome and Darlene Zschech, the not yet world renowned singer found out.
If you’re feeling surrounded this morning, I encourage you to make the Decision to Praise, that you change the direction of your focus--instead of looking around, look up, Don’t wait for the victory to begin, but praise throughout the Duration of the Battle, start today. Praise Him for who He is and for what He’s promised and you will experience His Deliverance!
