I. PRAISE IS AN ETERNAL REALITY.
Everything that has been created was created to praise God. Everything created has the capacity to praise the Lord. Praise is the ocean which all of creation floats upon. Praise is the only earthly exercise that we will one day do in Heaven.
II. PRAISE IS AN ADDRESS.
“But you are holy, You who inhabit the praises of Israel.” Praise is where God lives. When you or I choose to make God at home through praise, we invite him to act “at home.”
III. PRAISE IS THE ONLY ACCESS TO HIS PRESENCE.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” There is a pathway, an entrance into the presence of God. He invites me to come and fellowship with Him in worship, but there is a way He desires to be approached.
Next week, we’re going to talk about some practicals of all the different ways God enjoys being praised!
IV. PRAISE MUST BE GENUINE.
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." My friend, if there is anyone who knows your heart and mine, it’s God. He knows the truth about your worship. He immediately knows the genuine nature of your praise.
IV. PRAISE IS A GARMENT.
Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
¾Jesus quotes these words again in the Gospels, declaring the focus of His ministry here on earth. Here we see the ministry of the Word, the ministry of healing hearts, the ministry of freedom to those imprisoned, and the ministry of comfort for those who mourn.
Beginning in verse three we see what I like to call the Divine Trade Off. God wants to bestow on us these gifts of eternal value, trading off to him these things in our lives that are worthless.
A crown of beauty instead of ashes…that sounds like a pretty good trade!
The oil of gladness instead of mourning…God says, “Give that to me, I have something better I want you to experience!”
A garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. The KJV translates despair as heaviness.
One of my favorite movies is Saving Private Ryan; its opening sequence depicts the American forces landing on the beaches of Normandy. As the landing craft approached, the German gunners were tearing them to pieces, so many soldiers opted to bail out of their boats and make for the shore. What these soldiers forgot was that they were carrying fifty pounds of gear, and many of them drowned before ever firing a shot at the enemy.
That is the spiritual and emotional condition of many Christians today. You’ve allowed the devil to weigh you down with stuff that God never intended you to carry. There are some who are carrying around guilt, some are weighed down with sin for which they’ve never come clean with God, some are bearing depression, some the stress of living beyond their means financially or spreading themselves too thin. All these things, the devil uses to pull us under.
But God has given, bestowed: to bestow something is like giving an inheritance. It’s something of special value that is bequeathed with special design or purpose. Before the beginning of time, God wove together a garment for you made from the same stuff that causes the stars to shine, and the birds to sing, and the waves to crash in unison of praise to the Creator.
He custom made this garment with you in mind, and because you are a joint heir in the Kingdom of God, He bestowed it to you. Here, let me take that old wet, heavy garment and I’ll trade it for this garment of praise! You didn’t do anything to earn it, it comes as part of your inheritance.
In the original text, the Hebrew word for garment translates as a mantle. This isn’t something over your fireplace. A mantle was a simple garment, typically a square piece of cloth worn kind of like a poncho or wrap over the torso. It was sleeveless which made the movement of the arms effortless. And it could be worn under a soldier’s armor without impeding.
It’s the same with praise.
? It’s simple, it’s not complicated.
? It wraps around us like a comfortable, light blanket that we use less for warmth and more for comfort and that feeling that says “I’m safe here.”
? It covers the innermost part of our being.
? It is frees us to move and be demonstrative in our expression of worship to God.
? And while it doesn’t replace the armor of God, it makes a great undergarment under the breastplate of righteousness.
Salvation is a free gift. All we have to do is receive it. Likewise, the garment of praise is something we choose to put on.
Most of us get up each day and go through our morning routine. Typically, we make the choice of what we are going to wear for that day. If it’s a casual day or a dressy day, we choose accordingly. If it’s going to be warm or chilly, we make a decision what will be the best to wear for the climate.
It’s the same with praise. Psalms 30:11-12 “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,” What are you choosing to wear? I don’t know about you, but I don’t look very good wearing burlap feed sackcloth. It would be no different than me buying Donna a two thousand dollar dress for some special occasion, and bring it home only for her to say, “All I have to wear is these ratty old jeans...I feel so terrible in these…I can’t go out and enjoy the evening.”
Dr. Jack Taylor wrote that “No exercise or medicine will cure the ill of discouragement like praise. Depression and praise cannot long live in the same heart. They are absolutely incompatible room mates.”
I’ve heard people say, you know, I just love being here on Sundays. When we sing and worship, I just feel so good, so peaceful, so encouraged, I just don’t want to leave. Well, duh…of course you’re going to feel that way because you’re wearing the garment of praise! You are making the choice to gather with God’s people and lift your hands and voice to Him in praise and it’s like medicine for your soul.
The problem is for many Christians that we treat the garment of praise like it’s our Sunday clothes. You know…that outfit or suit that we grew up calling our Church Clothes. Why on earth would we only want to feel the joy of the Lord, the buoyancy that comes from praise only one day a week? We need to put it on everyday. It’s the garment that goes with everything! It’s that jacket that shows off the best of what God created you to be!
Psalms 30:11-12 “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
For you, it feels comfortable and light. But to the enemy, it’s tough as nails. It’s impervious to the storms of life, it repels the spirit of heaviness and despair. It liberates and protects! The question is: What garment have you been wearing this week?
II. PRAISE IS A WEAPON.
¾What is melodious to God is devastating to Satan. Most Christians have no idea just how powerful and how pivotal praise is when it comes to us walking through in victory. We’ve got to begin to do warfare in such a way that is effectual. I’m getting tired of folks calling themselves Believers in Jesus Christ sitting passively in pews while the enemy does his job wreaking havoc in their lives and their circumstances.
The late Adrian Rogers was one of the finest preachers of God’s Word of this generation.
“We are not wrestling against flesh and blood. The enemy is a spiritual foe, and the battle is a spiritual battle. The reason that so many times we don’t win the battle is that we never show up for the war.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
How can praise be a weapon? As Believers we have been commissioned a suit of armor hammered and fashioned by God Himself to be worn as we take our stand for Jesus Christ. The majority of those pieces are to be worn as defensive body armor against the flaming arrows that the devil sends our way. But God doesn’t intend for us to fight a defensive war against the enemy. And so He’s given us weapons of warfare that are not only effectual, but mighty.
In Ephesians chapter five, along with armor of God we are provided with the sword of the Spirit which is…the Word of God. Jesus said, “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free.” You need to understand the Truth so you can know how to wield the sword. Just having the sword at your side doesn’t intimidate the enemy. It might look impressive to your religious friends, but it only is useful for battle when it is wielded with skill.
Look at Psalms 149:1-9 “Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand.”
This passage reminds us that praise, while a sweet incense to God, is a devastating weapon against the enemy.
7 To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; 8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute on them the written judgment-- This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!”
We aren’t in a battle with flesh and blood but rather with kingdoms and principalities of darkness in high places. We are the Jedi Knights, if you will, that God has called to execute the written judgment of God against Satan and his schemes. We have this honor as His saints! Praise the Lord! And those praises not only emanate from our mouths, but they are a two-edged sword in our hand against the devil and his demons.
Psalms 8:2 “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”
Now in Matthew 21:16, Jesus quotes this verse again, but when He quotes it instead of using the word praise, He inserts the word strength. If it were anyone else that was changing a word in scripture I might be worried, but since Jesus is the Word, what we have here is a clue of the powerful nature of praise.
Apparently to Jesus, praise and strength go hand in hand. And it’s not the praises of the spiritual giants that silences foe, but the praises of children. You wouldn’t think them to be strong and courageous, but you see, it’s not our strength that wins the battle, is it? When we praise, we are wielding a two-edged sword of which the enemy has no defense.
Last week, we talked about how God inhabits the praises of His people; that He is most at home in our praises. It could not be more opposite than for Satan.
Dr. Jack Taylor, “Praise, the continuing exercise of heaven is clearly etched into the memory of the devil and every other fallen angel. When they hear biblical praises they are driven to panic. Like metal scratching glass is the sound of praises to them. Their ranks are broken, they are devastated by praise. Their influence is neutralized and their lies exposed by praise. Praise puts them to flight!”
When we choose to praise God, we choose to focus on the truth of His unchanging Word instead of the poor attempts of the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives.
So, how do you wield this sword of praise? Next time persecution, depression, temptation, worry, or fear comes to your door:
1) Recognize it as an attack from Satan against you, personally.
2) Engage your faith muscles: You need the persistence to pray. “God, I need your help right now. I cannot do this on my own, nor do you want me to.”
3) You need a gratitude attitude. “Give thanks in all things.” Well I don’t feel grateful for this. That’s not what it says. Feelings come and go with the wind, but a gratitude attitude points us in a healthy direction for the next step to occur.
4) Make the choice to rejoice. When the attack comes, you just start praising God through prayer or song. You might put in a CD, you might go to that spot on the mountain where nature itself is bursting forth in all its beauty in praise the God! But you make the choice to rejoice and praise Him…and you watch what happens.
Your circumstances may not change immediately. It’s not God’s promise to take us out, but to take us through them, teaching and growing us along the way. But talk about joy for the journey! The enemy is stopped...he is silenced in your praises!
Do you know it is nearly impossible for your brain to listen and talk at the same time? We’re just not wired to be able to do it. So when the devil is filling your mind with discouragement, speaking words of defeat…start praising God. You can’t hear the devil’s lies if you’re actively engaged in praising God. And the devil cannot coexist in your passionate praise of the King of Kings.
When was the last time you attended a concert or special event? No matter the venue, the best tickets are always for the front row seats. People will pay outlandish amounts of money to secure the very best seats. Real fans want to be close to the action, to feel like they’re right there with the musicians, to almost feel their passion for the music they are creating on stage.
What defines a command performance? When do we leave feeling like we got our money’s worth? It’s partly the preparation, the pageantry and color of costumes. But standing ovation comes when we sense the devotion of the performer to giving their very best offering of music to the audience.
(Elvis’ last performances) People spent a months wages to go see the “king” perform, only to receive a half-hearted effort, almost a parody of the performer he once was when he was young and hungry.
I wonder what God feels like when He comes into the auditorium of our life song?
Do we just sing the same songs over and over with little passion, just going through the motions so we can appease the audience one more time?
God loves to be in the front row of your praises. And He paid for His seats with the greatest, highest price imaginable. He’s passionate about our worship. He alone is worthy of our praise!