The Power Of Praise And Worship

"The Power of Praise and Worship" by Bishop Charles C Jones

Psalms 100

SCRIPTURE TEXT

1.Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2.Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3.Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4.Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5.For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

INTRODUCTION

There are some in the congregation who do not enter into worship with an attitude of gladness. Then there are others that enter in out of routine however the text commands us to make a joyful noise to the Lord,to come into His presence with singing why? because we are His creatures,and as His creatures we should submit to the Creator who made us. As sheep, we should submit to the Shepherd who died for us and now leads us in His paths. He not only made us, but He is making us as we yield to Him (Eph. 2:10 say's,"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."). When we mention the word submit a lot of times we look at that word as something bad but the word submit or being in Submission simply means fulfillment or that I am fulfilled. As you and I enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. As we are thankful to Him, and bless His name. We are spiritually,artistically or emotionally satisfying the Lord who not only commands us to worship Him but who also tells us that the only way to worship Him is in the Spirit.(John 4:24) It is a privelege to know that I have a right that's reserved exclusively for those of us who believe. Ask your neighbour are you an Insider? An Insider is priveleged to certain information that others may be restricted to. While the world looks for peace and happiness in differant things those of us who are insiders or worshippers have the inside scoop that Jesus Christ is Jehovah Shalom the Lord our Peace.

Story has it that there was a preacher that was trying to sell his horse. One day a potential buyer came to the church for a test ride. The preacher said," before you start ,you should know that this horse only responds to church talk." Go is praise the lord and stop is amen." So the man gets on the horse and says " Praise the lord," and the horse starts to trot. The man again says "Praise the lord," and the horse starts to gallop. Suddenly there is a cliff right in front of the horse and the man yells "Amen!!!" The horse stops just at the edge of the cliff. The man wipes the sweat from his brow and says, "Praise the Lord."

We know what we are to say, but somehow "Praise the Lord" has lost its meaning.

Today I want to talk to you about the reasons why we should praise God and then we are going to look at the ways we are to praise God.

BODY

"Reasons to Praise God"

1. Almighty God is worthy of our praise and worship.

Ps 18:3 say's,"I will call upon the LORD, for He is worthy to be praised.

This Psalm was composed when God delivered David from the hand of Saul during David's wilderness exploits. It is a song of testimony. When it comes to life we all are faced with struggles whether they be physical or spiritual. One of the great things we have the privelege of knowing as insiders is that God cares about us and that he hears us.

In Psalms 34:19 David said, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. How many of us can relate to David's testimony?..David was an Insider... In verse 2 of Psalms 18 David describes God in 6 ways. 1.) "my rock" - David found safety and security in God's immovable strength; 2.) "my fortress" - He found a place of refuge and safety where the enemy cannot penetrate; 3.) "my deliverer" - He found God to be a living protector; 4.) "my buckler" - a buckler is a type of shield , symbolizing that God comes between us and harm; 5.) "horn of my salvation" - God was a source of strength and victorious power to deliver and save him; 6.) "my high tower" - a safe place to lift him above the dangers of life.