The Power of Praise

Week 3: When Do We Praise? 
Psalm 150:6 New King James Version
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
So far we have established that Scripture is filled with this phrase to PRAISE THE LORD! And as we saw, it’s not a suggestion, it is something that God expects us to do! And I believe there be something to it for the Holy Spirit to put in the Bible so many times. 
Definition of PRAISE: 
Praise includes commending; expressing approval or a favorable judgment of; and glorifying, especially by crediting with perfections. (Websters)
On top of that, we have looked at all the Biblical ways to worship (SINGING, SHOUTING, MAKING A JOYFUL NOISE, THANKSGIVING, STANDING, KNEELING, CLAPPING OUR HANDS, DANCING AND JUMPING FOR JOY, LAUGHTER, UPLIFTED HANDS, TONGUES, AND MUSIC)  
Today we are continuing our new series called THE POWER OF PRAISE!  
So we have learned What is Praise and we know How to Praise…the next question has an answer that seemed to easy for me. And that question is, “When Are We to Praise God?
 The answer: All the time. 
In fact, I considered skipping this one because I didn’t want to bore you. But as I was praying about today, I believe I heard God say, “Remind My people”. So, here we are. 
Psalm 34:1New King James Version
1I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
That word, continually in the Hebrew means, to stretch, properly, continuance (as indefinite extension); constant; sacrifice—always, daily, perpetual. 
In other words, God is worthy of our praise in the best of time, the middle, and the worst of times. 
BEST OF TIMES
King David dreamed of building a permanent house for the LORD to replace the mobile Tabernacle that housed the Ark of the Covenant since the days of Moses. The prophet Nathan even put his stamp of approval on David’s plans. Then the Word of the LORD came to Nathan at night. 
1 Chronicles 17:4-10 New Living Translation
4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: You are not the one to build a house for me to live in. 5 I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. My home has always been a tent, moving from one place to another in a Tabernacle. 6 Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s leaders, the shepherds of my people. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’
7 “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. 
Notice here David was elevated because he was faithful in the small times, David learned to Praise God while tending sheep. 
8 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! 9 And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, 10 starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will defeat all your enemies.
“‘Furthermore, I declare that the Lord will build a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 
Wow!! God was giving David a house instead of David giving God a house. Isn’t this just like our God? We plan something great and God does something even better!! True, David wasn’t able to build God’s House, but his son Solomon did—yet David was so overcome with gratitude to God that he had his own praise session: 
1 Chronicles 17:20-24
20 “O Lord, there is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! 21 What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? What other nation, O God, have you redeemed from slavery to be your own people? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations that stood in their way. 22 You chose Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.
23 “And now, O Lord, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. May it be a promise that will last forever. 24 And may your name be established and honored forever so that everyone will say, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And may the house of your servant David continue before you forever.

Sometime later, David gave gold and silver for the building of the Temple and asked who would join him. The leaders of Israel gave willingly and he rejoiced because of their generous giving: 
1 Chronicles 29:20,22 NLT
20 Then David said to the whole assembly,” Give praise to the LORD your God!” And the entire assembly praised the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the LORD and the king.
 22 They feasted and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy that day.
What an amazing day in the LORD. You could see where the LORD’s presence showed up, a joy David knew and loved above all else. 
This HIGH moment was prompted by the Praise of David and the people, but also the lifestyle of praise that David lived. He never took God’s goodness for granted. Repeatedly, he told God how good He was and how grateful he, David, was for God’s many blessings to him. 
We could learn from David, a man after God’s own heart. Yes, we may praise God when we get blessed, but few of us have developed a lifetime pattern of seeing all the good in our life as gifts from the hand of God. Praising God in the good times—of which there are many more than we tend to admit or notice. 
James 1:17 New King James Version
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Every good gift. Let’s face it, many of us sit here and say that would be easy but how often have you seen or have you yourself fallen into the trap of success and lost the sight of where all the goods that you have done and received have come from our Father who is GOOD! 
IN THE MIDDLE (THE MUDANE, IN-BETWEEN TIMES)
But we know that our lives are usually lived on the mountain top or even in the valleys. Most of life are lived in the in-between. Our normal days can be the most challenging times to Praise God because there is nothing particular drawing us to Him. 
We all have habits. Some are good, some are bad. Some we need to break while others help us…
(biting fingers nails, complaining, gossip) (brushing our teeth, working out, taking our bath on Saturdays)
What if we can develop a habit of PRAISE? 
How might our days go if we turned our attention to Him instead of all the distractions (good and bad) that this world has to offer. 
David talked to himself about God all the time. Maybe we should do this as well. 
 Psalm 103:1 New King James Version
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
We like to sing” Bless the Lord, O my soul”, but how often do we do this. In truth, this phrase is a command to our soul to praise the LORD!
 I like this version: NLT
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Your soul is your whole self: your will, your emotions, and your intellect. 
In other words, give yourself a talking to and take control over your will, your emotions, and your intellect. Instead of talking to yourself with words that negative and destructive (because we all have done this). Tell yourself to Praise God! 
On Wednesday night we talked about how many of us focus on trying to stop the “act of sin”. We use our willpower to try and stop things that we want out of our lives. Instead, we should be PRAISING GOD. Surrender ourselves to the MOST HIGH. 
The Apostle Paul instructs us to have this attitude of Praise. 
Ephesians 5:19-20 New Living Translation
19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This means that before you get to church, you are supposed to be praising God. Even before you get into the car, have your own private praise service, so that when you join the rest of God’s family you are ready to ascend into God’s presence. 
In essence, you prepare in private for public praise. You don’t need a worship leader to make you feel like praising God. Yes, there is a place for them but it is not their job to make you feel good enough to tell your Father how great HE IS. 
If you form a habit of PRAISE in your life, you will be like David who said in 
Psalm 122:1 NKJV
I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
David rejoiced when the doors of God’s house were open and he could go in. I know growing up, if the church was open we were there. 
And to be honest, I believe that is one of the reasons I am where I am. I had my times of rebellion, but those time in God’s presence marked me and saved me. 
Instead of worrying about having your kids at the ball field or at lessons, or wherever. Maybe we should seek to have them in the Presence of God!!! 
Praise in your private life is what brings power and authority to your public experience. 
David had no problem dealing with Goliath because he had a worship service behind the mountain before he went out to meet the enemy. His instructions and encouragement from God gave him the courage he needed to fight a man who was 9-10 feet tall. Moreover, David’s patter of private worship had given him the opportunity to see God’s work on his behalf in the past. So his confidence to trust in God again was there in the new circumstances. 
Few us operate from this perspective. 
Have a private worship service in your home before you go to work. Put on some music that draws you into the presence of God, then spend some time with God before you walk out the door. Don’t listen to the news before you go to work. Listen to GOD. 
What will happen is when we make room for God in our life.  
Psalm 34:1-6 New King James Version
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
IN THE WORST OF TIMES
Paul and Silas, on the other hand, were suffering one of life’s low moments. 
Acts 16:16-19, 22-24 NLT
16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. 19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 
So you see this is not exactly the reaction that you would expect for setting someone free from a spirit. However, it messed with someone’s money. Look what happens…it turns into the worst of times for Paul and Silas…
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
What a predicament. What would most of us have done in such circumstances? We probably would have moaned and groaned about how unfair the events of the day had been. 
Peter would later write: 
1 Peter 4:16 NKJV
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 
But what did Paul and Silas do? 
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.
They didn’t start complaining about the darkness, the slimy moss on the walls, the stench of the urine in the hole that they had been thrown, or the rats they could hear and feel. 
Instead, Paul said, “Silas, let’s sing.” They spend the night praying and singing to the LORD—and not in a quiet, subdued manner. 
Their worship service was loud enough for the other prisoners to hear it. You never know who is listening…

Watch what happens…the word ‘suddenly’ appears…
I love it when that word shows up in the BIBLE. I love it when that happens in my life. When God suddenly does something. 
26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 
Suddenly, God entered the jail through an earthquake, and the cell was too small for God to sit down. I want to you to see something…the chains didn’t just fall of Paul and Silas, They fell off of every prisoner. 
What a story! Paul and Silas could have had a pity party. Oh they knew they had a problem, but they also knew how to get God’s presence in the midst of their problem…and that is to have a praise and worship service. 
I wonder what kind of prison you are in or what problem threatens to defeat you this morning. It is easy to complain when you are faced with things that frighten you or circumstances that never seem to get better. 
Nevertheless, if you want God come into your cell, you must resist the urge to grumble and complain.  You must make the decision to praise HIM instead. 
Just look beyond your feelings, your fears, your circumstances to God. Praise Him for whatever goodness you have enjoyed from Him, however small or insignificant it may seem to be at the moment. 
In other words, instead of looking at the problem, starting Praising the Way Maker. If you do this—if you will consciously choose to trust God and proclaim His goodness to you—the Lion from the tribe of Praise (Judah) will show up and shatter your prison. 
And not only this, He will loosen the chains and dispel the darkness! But notice something…
and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 
You never know, your praise may set the people around you free as well. I wonder if your kids, our grandkids, our friends, our coworkers, or maybe even our neighbors in the pew next to us this morning would be set free by us “LETTING OUR PRAISE OUT”.
PRAISE THE LORD
ENDING….

Zep 3:17 NLT
The LORD your God in your midst, 
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness, 
He will quiet you with His love, 
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Where in the world do we see a person singing over someone? I like to imagine a mother soothing her infant with a lullaby. Maybe you squirm, kick, and resist, but God sings. 
The next time you sit with Him in prayer, take a second to quiet your soul and listen for His song. God’s love for you is ravenous and unending. My mind also goes to singing songs in church. When we sing to God, we are reflecting the image of our Creator, the God who sings over us.