The Power of Praise and Worship

[rjones]

I've been studying about the Tabernacle of David and how it is so dramatically different from the Tabernacle of Moses. And from this study I'm learning about the power of praise and worship. About how God created us for just this purpose.

The Power of Praise

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name" (Ps.103:1).

"I will extol the Lord at all times his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together" (Ps. 34:1-3).

What an awesome thought to consider that we have the ability to bless our Creator, but time after time in the Scripture we are exhorted to do just that. We bless him through our praise and worship of Him.

Praise is an expression of admiration and appreciation. When we praise someone, we tell them how wonderful we think they are, or how great their accomplishments are. It is the same with the Lord. When we praise God, we are acknowledging His character and power.

"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands" (Ps. 63:3- 4).

We praise God because of who He is.

"Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise" (Ps.4 7:6-7).

We praise God because of what He does.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases; he redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. 103:1-5).

We are instructed to praise God:

At all times "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips" (Ps. 34:1).

Surrounded by God's people "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you" (Ps. 22:22).

On our beds "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night" (Psalm 63:6).

Among the nations "I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples"(Ps. 57:9).

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord" (Ps. 150:6).

Praise is not simply directed in words toward the Lord. We also praise God every time we speak about Him to others. We need to cultivate a praise habit which is toward the Lord (in personal praise) and about the Lord (to others).

Praise Elevates us into God’s Presence and Power.

"After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose" (Acts 16:23-26).

Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power. Through praise and worship their hearts were raised into the joyous presence and peace of God, and provided God a channel for his power to operate in their circumstances.

The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is not merely a reaction from coming into His presence.

Praise is a vehicle of faith which brings us into the presence and power of God! Praise and worship is the “gate-pass” which allows us to enter the sacredness of His glory. The psalmist writes, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Ps. 100:4).

This corresponds with Jesus’ teaching, that His presence will inhabit the gathering of believers who congregate in His name: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

A “gathering in His name” means that Jesus must be the focus, the center of the assemblage. He must be the one preached about, sung about — the one praised and worshiped. “I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee” (Heb. 2:12). Consequently, Christ’s presence, along with His virtue and anointing, is manifested in this type of gathering.

Tomorrow I will continue with the Power of Worship

 

[rjones]

The Power of Worship

Praise is an expression of admiration and appreciation, worship is a deeper expression of love and adoration. It is possible to admire someone and appreciate what they do without being in love with them. In the same way, worship has to do with our love of the Lord. It can only be expressed with the giving of our whole heart and life to Him.

"To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Mk. 12:33).

The religious rituals and ceremonies of Israel in the Old Testament became detestable to the Lord because their heart was far from Him.

"The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men"(Isaiah 29:13).

Today, also, God is only interested in sincere worship that comes from the heart.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn. 4:23-24).

We are to worship in spirit

Our spirit can be termed the "inner man" - the real you on the inside (Eph.3:16). Worship results when the inner man, in response to the promptings of God's Spirit, is released in love and adoration toward God. This can take the form of vocal worship, a love-song to the Lord, or silent adoration. Only those who have been "born again of the spirit" through faith in Jesus Christ can truly worship God

"Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit"(Jn. 3:5-8).

We are to worship in truth

To worship God in truth is to worship Him genuinely and sincerely and in full understanding of who He is, what He is like, and what pleases Him. This is only possible through the Lord Jesus, who is the Truth and came to reveal the Father.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (Jn. 14:6).

The Bible has been written to reveal God's heart to us (John 5:39-40). In the Bible we see praise and worship the way it pleases God:

With the mouth

Singing (Psalm 9:2,11).
Praising (Psalm 103:1).
Shouting (Psalm 47:1).

With the hands

Lifting (Psalm 63:4).
Clapping (Psalm 47:1).
Musical instruments (Psalm 150).

With the feet

Standing (Psalm 134:1).
Kneeling, bowing (Psalm 95:6).
Dancing and leaping for joy (Psa.30:11; 2 Sam.6:14-15).

These are outward expressions of what is coming from the heart. Without heart-felt praise, the outward form is empty and displeasing to God. God is always looking at our heart (1 Sa. 16:7). But when our heart is overflowing with gratitude and love for God, it is impossible to be silent. We will use all the outward means - with our mouth, with our hands and with our feet - to express the praise that is in our hearts.

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name" (He.13:15).

Praise and Worship sends the enemy running

Since praise and worship manifests God’s presence, we also realize that praise repels the presence of the enemy, satan. An atmosphere which is filled with sincere praise and worship to God by humble and contrite hearts is disgusting to the devil. He fears the power in the name of Jesus, and flees from the Lord’s habitation in praise and worship.

“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God” (Ps. 50:23).

When the children of Judah found themselves outnumbered by the hostile armies of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, King Jehoshophat and all the people sought the Lord for His help. The Lord assured the people that this would be His battle. He told them to go out against them, and He would do the fighting for them. So what did the children of Judah do? Being the people of “praise” (Judah actually means Praise), and knowing that God manifests His power through praise, they sent their army against their enemies, led by the praisers!


So on they went, ahead of the army declaring, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth forever!” And the bible says, “...when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten” (2 Chr. 20:22).

When God’s people begin to praise His name, it sends the enemy running! I challenge you to become a person of praise, and to worship the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and body,and you will experience the release of the power of God!

 

[Coconut]

In the same way, worship has to do with our love of the Lord. It can only be expressed with the giving of our whole heart and life to Him.

...amen. This is THE message!

We must seek to know God, (lack of praise comes from only knowing 'about' Him) for to know Him IS to love Him...


Eph 3 Then, having been rooted and grounded in love, (and only then) you will be able to understand, along with all the saints, what is wide, long, high, and deep- that is, you will know the love of Christ, which goes far beyond knowledge, and will be filled with all the fullness of God.

There is only one way to know God (God is love) ...

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, (to search after, specifically in prayer and worship) and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:

The CEV scripture says it this way...

Jer 29:13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you and accept your worship.