Praise - May 16, 2014

Scripture: Psalm 149-150
1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
2 O Israel, rejoice in your Maker. O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
3 Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. 

Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

6 Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains,
9 to execute the judgment written against them.
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.

Message:

The Power and Purpose of Praise

Observation/Promise:

Praising the Lord is not only for the times when we are thankful and we have blessings from GOD. Praise comes not only when good things happen to us, when we are promoted, when we feel good. Praise comes because we are grateful for who He is despite our situation and circumstances. Praise is based on the knowing and understanding the greatness and glory of GOD. Those who belong to GOD unendingly praise GOD even when they are falling asleep on their beds. 

Application/Command:

We praise GOD when we expect great things from HIM, because we are waiting for His glory to be revealed. When we want to see HIS righteous judgment come forth into the earth, we lift up His Holy Name, and sing aloud His praises. Those that praise GOD even in trials and terrible situations are blessed because they stir up GOD to execute vengeance against the wicked. What a privilege it is for those who are praisers of GOD.

6 

Power of Praise - Feb 19, 2014

1 Scripture:
Praise the Lord, all you servantsof the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. - Psalm 134:1
Give praise to the name ofAdonai! Servants of Adonai, give praise!
You who stand in the house ofAdonai, in the courtyards of the house of our God, praise Yah, for Adonai is good; sing to his name, because it is pleasant.
-Psalm 135:1-3
Give thanks to Adonai, for he is good, for his grace continues forever. 23 who remembers us whenever we are brought low, for his grace continues forever; 24 and rescues us from our enemies for his grace continues forever; 25 who provides food for every living creature, for his grace continues forever.
- Psalm 136:1,23-25

Thoughts:

Even though I am still broken hearted, I have been surrendering every event to the Lord.

I have been praying aloud and vigorously for the protection of GOD in our territory. That every human, creature, thing or anything in this house will not be harmed or touched by any evil thing. That no evil creature or spirit can pass through the borders of my home and it's property because this house belongs to GOD and I declared that our home is GOD's home. I asked GOD for many angels to come and protect us during the night cause there are too many dogs that died because a monster bit them called the sigbin. I thought that it's a myth, but I saw the bite marks of those evil creature and I'm just angry that they could just easily come into GOD's property. 

Message/Obersvation/Promise:

The Angles have come to minister at night by protecting GOD's house, our home. They are praising GOD as they protect, and watch over our territory. Yes they are singing GOD's praises and this is how victory is won during times of battles.

Command/Application:

Praise the LORD! Even though in hard times, true worship is when you praise GOD despite of your broken heart and sadness. When we praise GOD despite our circumstance, we receive the victory that HE longs to give us because we are trusting in HIM and enlarging our faith that HE is GOD and He is good. We have to remember what HE has done, He has done many great things and these things should not be forgotten but are to be forces that enable us to praise GOD again and again.

Humble Heart

30 Then I will praise God’s name with singing,
and I will honor him with thanksgiving.
31 For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,
more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
33 For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
he does not despise his imprisoned people.

36 

- Psalm 69

Praising GOD with worship and singing is something that GOD takes pleasure in from His loved ones. He is honored when we remember His goodness and faithfulness and thank Him for what He has done. These simple acts of please GOD more than sacrificing things in our lives to offer to Him. It's more than what we can give Him because worship and thankfulness come from our hearts. We can give GOD out of our abundance, but true worship and thanksgiving can only come from a heart that truly sees GOD's love in their lives. Praising GOD truly can come only from a humble heart.

The humble sees GOD's hand at work, they depend on His power to do what GOD has promised for them. The humble are the ones who depend on GOD alone, who trusts in GOD's hand to fulfill His promises and His heart to love them no matter what. Humility is a rare treasure found in a person. You are humble when you don't complain in spite of the the hardships you have to go through. Humility does not focus on the negative but hopes in the LORD and trust that whatever GOD is allowing in our lives is for our best. Pride says "I deserve to be happy." But humility says "may GOD look to me in mercy and lift me up once again. Pride sees all the bad and continue to speak about it. But the humble will be encouraged by the LORD because they cry out to Him and they are comforted by His love and presence.

The Motivation of Praise

1 Praise the Lord!
How good to sing praises to our God!
How delightful and how fitting!
2 The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem
and bringing the exiles back to Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.

11No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
- Psalm 147:1-4,11

Why do we praise GOD? Why do we sing to GOD and are happy to praise HIM? What is our reason and our inner motivation? What drives us to praise the LORD GOD of Heaven and Earth? It is because we have experienced His goodness to us. We don't just praise GOD because other people do so. Our praise to GOD comes from our deepest hearts because we are thankful to HIM. The thankfulness we have in our hearts is because of what we have experienced with GOD. We cannot experience GOD if we do not have a relationship with HIM. Our experiences with GOD always bring us to singing and praise to His greatness because He does great things for those who love Him. For those who know HIM fear HIM, HE loves them. GOD wants to show them what HE can do for them. For those who depend on HIM, HE wants to provide more than what they need or hope for. 

This wonderful GOD that we praise and sing about so much is worthy and deserving of our heart's adoration because He proves Himself to those who seek Him. He wants to be made known, to be recognized, to be sought after. But only those who can truly see GOD and know GOD are those who need GOD. Our need for GOD comes from our brokeness. If you understand that you need something more than your family, more than your job, more than your greatest dreams to live a life of fulfillment on earth, then you are one who seeks GOD. FInd Him because HE wants to be found and HE is waiting for the day HE can pour out all HIS love and blessings on you, that you will not be able to contain what you receive from GOD, you will find yourself bursting out in praise for HIM.