DOING PRAISE GOD’S WAY Part 1
Missouri Men’s Retreat 2006
(Friday Night)
Praise (lifting your hands, clapping, singing, dancing etc.) is not a Charismatic or personality issue; it is a Biblical issue.
- Psalm 47:1 (NKJV) 1Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
Praise is a verb – there is action involved
Praise has nothing to do with your comfort zone and everything to do with what pleases God
- Revelation 4:11 (NLT) 11“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
Although praise pleases God, you will find true pleasure in doing it His way.
A linguistic and Biblical approach to understanding praise
7 different Hebrew words for praise
1)Towdah, to-daw'; An extension of the hand, adoration; A choir of worshippers:--confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks.
A)Towdah praise glorifies God
i)Psalm 50:23 (NKJV) 23Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
B)Towdah praise paves the pathway into God’s presence
i)Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) 4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
(1)Cultivating and expressing thankfulness heightens your awareness of God
C)Towdah praise calls for a sacrifice
i)Jeremiah 33:11 (NKJV) 11… those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord….
ii)2 Samuel 24:24 (GWT) 24“…I won’t offer the LORD my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing…
(1)A sacrifice of praise involves a personal cost
(a)Laying down your pride
(b)Praising when you don’t “feel” it
(c)Praising when you don’t like the music
(d)Praising when your circumstances contradict the promises of God
(i)Paul and Silas
iii)Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV) 15Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
2)Yadah - Literally to use (that is, hold out) thehand; physically to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); opposite of bemoaning (by wringing the hands).
A)Yadah praise is a proper response to God
i)Psalm 52:9 (NKJV) 9I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for itis good.
B)Yadah praise moves beyond simply singing
i)Psalm 28:7 (NKJV) 7The Lordis my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.
(1)Praise in the heart should transfer to physical expression
C)Yadah praise goes public
i)Psalm 57:9 (NKJV) 9I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations.
(1)Who cares what you look like?
D)Yadah praise calls for a forceful release
i)Zechariah 1:18-21 (NLT) 18Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19“What are these?” I asked the angel who was talking with me. He replied, “These horns represent the world powers that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20Then the LORD showed me four blacksmiths. 21“What are these men coming to do?” I asked. The angel replied, “The blacksmiths have come to terrify the four horns that scattered and humbled Judah. They will throw them down and destroy them.”
ii)Psalm 42:11 (NKJV) 11Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
iii)1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) 7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
(1)Cares – divides your mind
(2)2nd Cares – stands ready willing and able to perform
3)Barak, baw-rak' - to kneel; To bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit)
A)Barak is a proper response to the daily extravagance of God
i)Psa. 68:19 (NIV) 19Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah
ii)Psa. 68:19 (NKJV) 19Blessedbe the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
(1)Take a Barak break; the pause that refreshes
B)Barak is a conscious choice, not forced homage
i)Psa. 103:1-3 (NLT) 1Praise the LORD, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2Praise the LORD, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. 3He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
(1)Praise always involves a decision
C)Barak goes public
i)Psa. 95:6 (NKJV) 6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
D)Barak begins to open your heart to hear God’s voice
i)Psa. 95:1-7 (NKJV) 1Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 3For the Lordis the great God, And the great King above all gods. 4In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. 5The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. 6Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:
(1)Let’s practice
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