Praise to God
#388, Praise to God, Pastor David McIntosh, Sunday, 06-27-2010
Text: Psalm 67:3
Introduction
* Praise the Lord! Can you say that with me, praise the Lord!
* One of the most well spoken phrases in Christian circles is: “Praise the Lord”
* I “Googled” the phrase “praise the Lord” and got 4.4 million hits.
* Today we are going to look at Praise to God. How important it is, how powerful it is and how necessary it is.
* Psalm 67:3 – May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
* The Psalmist desires that all the people’s praise God.
A. PRAISE
1. There are a few Hebrew root words for the English word praise.
2. In Psalm 67:3 the word for praise centers on the thought of giving thanks to God & making a confession of thanks to the name of the Lord.
3. Psalm 150:1 – Praise the Lord. This root word centers on a boast in the Lord, a boast in the radiant power of the Lord. We get Hallelujah from this root word as well.
4. Psalm 150: 6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
5. So when we say praise the Lord, we are talking about giving thanks to the Lord, making a confession that we thank Him and who He is and what His name means to us. But also we are talking about making our boast in the Lord; He has done something mighty for us as individuals or as a body of believers.
6. Let’s take a minute right now and make a confession of praise and thanks for who He is and what He has done in our lives!
B. WE PRAISE HIM…
1. With Singing: Psalm 9:11 –Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.”
2. We are to sing praises for what He has done. We are called to sing to God. He wants us to!
3. With Musical Instruments: Psalm 33:2 – Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. (God wants us to sing and use instruments to praise Him)
4. This is why we have praise & worship and invite you to sing and clap and lift your hands.
5. Five Reasons found in 1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
* He chose you (Jn.15 – you did not choose me, but I chose you)
* You are royalty (kings kid)
* You are holy (2 Timothy 1:9 – who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.)
* He has purchased you (1 Cor. 6:19-20 – You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body)
* You live in the light (Jn. 1:4-5 – In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.)
6. Our praise is to be perpetual: Hebrews 13:5 – Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
7. The Scripture gives us many reasons to “Praise the Lord.” To thank him, to make a confession of his Name, to boast in Him. To acknowledge that He has done mighty things in us, through us and for us. (Let’s take a minute and praise Him now, again)
C. WE CONTINUE TO PRAISE…
1. In forgiveness (Isaiah 12:1) In that day you will say I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.
2. For miracles (Luke 19:37) The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.
3. For souls saved (Acts 2:47) Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
D. THE POWER OF PRAISE…
1. In 2 Chronicles there is an incredible story of a battle that took place between God’s people (Israel & King Jehoshaphat) and the nations of Moab & Ammon.
2. Or should I say an incredible battle that didn’t really happen because God’s people praised the Lord!
3. 2 Chron. 20:18- 26 – The Power of Praise: (I need to turn and read NLT)
* V19 – The Levites stood to praise the Lord with a loud shout.
* V21 – The king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor (give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever)
* V22 – At the moment they began to sing and give praise the Lord caused the enemy armies to fight among themselves.
* V24 – So when the armies of Judah arrived at the lookout point there were dead bodies lying on the ground
* V25 – There was so much plunder (equipment, clothing, valuables) it took three days to collect it all.
* V.26 – On the fourth day they gathered in the valley of blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
* Now that is the power of a community of believers praising the Lord in unity, in spirit and in truth.
CLOSE
* Praising the Lord can change our lives if we make it a real part of our everyday lives!
* There may be a battle here and there that we can avoid just by having a heart of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord!
* It will be ETERNAL: Revelation 7:12 – Amen praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen
Altar call of praise: All those that want to come and praise the Lord before we leave come to this altar, bring all your cares, fears, worries, doubts, troubles, blessings, testimonies, prayers requests and let’s praise the Lord together in song with instruments and loud voices!