The Weapon Of Praise

TITLE: THE WEAPON OF PRAISE

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 22:3 / 34:1

Last Sunday we examined the thought “The Battle Cry of Praise.” I want to continue this morning and perhaps over the course of the next few weeks to continue this examination on the subject of “Praise.” God has given us a powerful spiritual weapon to use in spiritual warfare. That weapon is praise. Living a life of praise is not only the most enjoyable way to live, but it’s also one of the most powerful ways to change your life.

• Praise isn’t like the caboose that just follows what happens

• It’s more like the engine of a train that makes things happen

• Your Faith isn’t complete without Praise

• Our Praise life is closely connected to our faith life, because Praise is an expression of Faith

PRAISE AFFECTS YOU - IT AFFECTS THE DEVIL - AND IT AFFECTS GOD. It touches everything and every part of your life. Likewise, a lack of Praise affects you in a negative way, turns the devil loose in your life, and doesn’t bless God. You have to get this area of your life right. Many Christians do not fully understand the place praise holds in receiving answers to prayer.

• They pray, yet fail to receive answers

• Oftentimes, they’re not missing it in their praying, their believing, or in their confession of God’s Word

• They’re missing it because they don’t understand that the secret of a victorious life comes through Praise!

• Prayer has to be mixed with Faith and Praise in order to produce results

Let’s pause for a moment and ensure we understand what exactly is Praise? Praise is the expression of approval or admiration for someone or something. For Christians god is the object of our praise. Christian praise is the joyful thankfulness and adoration of God, the celebration of His goodness and grace.

• Praise comes from a Latin word meaning “Value” or “Price”

• So to give Praise to God is to proclaim His merit or worth

• Many terms are used to express this in the Bible, including “Glory” -- “Blessing” -- “Thanksgiving” -- and “Hallelujah”

There are many actions involved with Praise to God —

• Verbal expressions of adoration and thanksgiving

• Singing

• Playing instruments

• Shouting

• Dancing

• Lifting or clapping our hands

But true praise is not “merely” going through these motions. Jesus spoke about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, whose worship was only an outward show and not from the heart. ST. MATTHEW 15:8 “THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.” Genuine praise to God is a matter of humility and sincere devotion to the Lord from within.

The enemy, Satan and his demons, despise our praise of God so much that he cannot even be in the presence of anyone who is actively doing so. Praise is our correct response to God for all He has done and is doing in our lives. So whenever you want the enemy to flee, Praise God. It is one of our greatest weapons in the war against him.

We live in a negative world, a fallen world where it seems that the ungodly are getting more and more prominent. So much of what we hear is just negative, and we have to make a deliberate effort to be positive and counter the culture we live in. Praise is a great tool to help us achieve that.

If someone were to pass out, to fall out - the first thing we would do is check their pulse to see if their heart is still beating.

• In the same sense, checking our life of Praise is how we check our spiritual pulse

• If we don’t live lives that are constantly giving, thanksgiving and praise unto God, we are not spiritually healthy

• Some people may take offense at that, thinking I just don’t know their situations

• But Paul said in PHILIPPIANS 4:4— REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS: AND AGAIN I SAY, REJOICE

Paul didn’t just say it once; he said it twice. He didn’t want anyone thinking that perhaps he had made a mistake or that there were exceptions to what he said. We are always supposed to be rejoicing in the Lord. The Christian who knows how to praise God regardless of the circumstances is a Christian who really knows God. Circumstances can’t hurt you when you’re really believing God. Jesus has already won the battle and has obtained victory for you in His death, burial, and resurrection. And He knows how to see you through any test or trail.

• It’s a command, not a suggestion to do it if we feel like it