Latest / CCC West Covina / The Privilege of Praise

Transcript

The Privilege of Praise · CCC West Covina

0:00
31 years ago this month, a group of people had gotten together
0:05
and they started they wanted to start a church and thus Christ
0:10
Community Church was was born 31 years ago this month.
0:18
And that group of people got together because they wanted to,
0:22
they wanted to, to go on a journey, a journey by which they
0:28
would learn to glorify and, and magnify the name of Christ.
0:35
They were fixed on doing that. So when we gathered together,
0:40
they, they made it very clear that from the very beginning,
0:44
they, they wanted to come to know and understand the Christ
0:51
more than anything. And so we said that we would
0:54
make it our, our passion to pursue Christ.
1:01
Then they said they, they wanted to make sure that not only do we
1:05
know Christ, but that we were able to demonstrate and show
1:08
Christ to other people. So we said, not only will we
1:13
make it our, our, our passion to pursue Christ, we will make it
1:18
our, our priority to portray Christ.
1:24
And then they said, well, we want to make sure that we, we
1:27
teach people the gospel and tell them about Christ.
1:33
So we made it our purpose to proclaim the Christ.
1:40
And then they said, as we do all that, we need to make sure that
1:45
we, we magnify and, and praise his name.
1:51
So they made sure that we made it our practice to praise
1:59
Christ. And that began the mission
2:03
statement for our church 31 years ago.
2:10
And over the next several weeks, I want to talk to you about our
2:14
practice and what it means to give praise and glory and honor
2:23
to the Christ. It is a journey that is a
2:29
lifelong journey. That's why we call it a practice
2:36
because it's not going to be perfect our praise, but yet we
2:41
are called by God to praise his glorious name as a church.
2:49
We we are a priesthood of believers.
2:53
First Peter 29 says that we are a chosen nation, a people for
2:59
God's own possession. We are a royal priesthood
3:06
revelation. One tells us that we are a
3:08
Kingdom of priests, and sometimes I I think that we
3:14
forget that part of the identity of the believer is that he is a
3:18
priest in God's Kingdom. And what a priest do priest
3:25
offer sacrifices to their God. And that's why the writer of
3:32
Hebrews said this way in Hebrews 13 verse #15 through him, then
3:39
let us continually OfferUp a sacrifice of praise to God.
3:45
That is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
3:52
Praise is a sacrifice. As a Kingdom of priests, we are
3:58
to offer sacrifices to our God, and the key component to our
4:04
sacrifice is praise to God. Because praise is costly.
4:12
Praise is costly because most of the time my will does not want
4:18
to praise the Lord. My emotions don't feel like
4:22
praising the Lord when things don't go the way I think they
4:28
should go or the way I prayed that God would make them go.
4:32
I have a hard time offering praise to God.
4:35
But yet the Bible says that we are to continually offer a
4:39
sacrifice of praise to God. It's the fruit of our lips.
4:46
David understood that. And so in Psalm 57 he says these
4:54
words, Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me.
4:58
For my soul takes refuge in you and in the shadow of your wings.
5:02
I will take refuge until destruction passes by.
5:08
I will cry to God most High, to God who accomplishes things for
5:12
me. He will send from heaven and
5:16
save me. He reproaches him who tramples
5:19
upon me. God will send forth His loving
5:21
kindness and His truth. Then he says, My soul is among
5:27
lions. I must lie among those who
5:31
breathe forth fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are
5:37
Spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.
5:41
Be exalted above the heavens. O God, let your glory be above
5:45
all the earth. They have prepared a net for my
5:48
steps. A soul is bound.
5:50
My soul is bowed down. They dug a pit before me.
5:55
They themselves have fallen into the midst of it.
6:00
My heart is steadfast. O God, my heart is steadfast.
6:05
I will sing. Yes, I will sing praises.
6:11
Awake, my glory, awake harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn.
6:16
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples.
6:19
I will sing praises to you among the nations, for your loving
6:24
kindness is great to the heavens and your truth to the clouds.
6:28
Be exalted above the heavens, O God, let your glory be above all
6:34
the earth. David and Psalm 57 knew that he
6:37
was surrounded by those who wanted to destroy his life, but
6:41
he knew that the answer to that was to give praise and glory to
6:45
his God, to sing to his God. And he was a sweet psalmist of
6:50
Israel. So he knew that the key to his
6:54
life in handling the difficulties of that he was
6:58
facing was to give praise to God.
7:03
He offered a sacrifice of praise to his God because that's what
7:08
priests do. And as the Kingdom of priests,
7:13
which we are, we are to offer those sacrifices unto the Lord.
7:20
So I thought that beginning today and into the holiday
7:23
season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are going to take
7:28
a journey along the pathway. We're going to call it the
7:32
pathway of praise, and we're going to begin to look at the
7:37
different aspects of praise that need to be practiced by us every
7:43
single moment of every single day.
7:48
So this journey will take us through the holiday season, but
7:51
it will help us learn that our praise to God doesn't just come
7:55
at Thanksgiving, or does it just come at the Christmas season?
7:58
It comes all year around because our lives are marked by a
8:02
sacrifice of praise to God. Now, you must understand that
8:12
when you get to heaven, this is what you're going to do.
8:18
You're going to give praise to God for eternity.
8:25
So it's best to practice now what you're going to be doing
8:30
perfectly in heaven. In fact, I like the way Charles
8:35
Spurgeon said it. He said it this way.
8:40
He said when you step into heaven, you may take your place
8:45
among the singers and say, I have been practicing these songs
8:52
for years. I have praised God while I was
8:57
in the world of sin and suffering and when I was weighed
9:02
down by a feeble body. But now that I am set free from
9:08
earth, from sin and the bondage of the flesh, I take up the same
9:16
strain to sing more sweetly to the same Lord and God.
9:25
When you get to heaven, you'll be filled with praise and you
9:32
will do this for eternity. It's hard for us to comprehend
9:37
that that goes way beyond any kind of human understanding.
9:42
What do you mean praise God for eternity?
9:46
Read Revelation 4, Revelation chapter 5.
9:49
Read Revelation Chapter 11. Read Revelation chapter 15,
9:55
Revelation chapter 19. It's all about the glory and
9:59
Hallelujah and praise given to God in heaven by those who are
10:04
there. The four living creatures that
10:09
are around the throne give praise to God day and night,
10:14
saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is
10:22
and is to come. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
10:27
Almighty. And they said the same refrain
10:30
over and over and over again. And these are the four living
10:33
creatures who have eyes all around them.
10:36
These are angelic cherubim. And yet they can't stop praising
10:42
the God they serve. They've been doing that since
10:47
they were created. And they will be doing that for
10:52
eternity. And we will one day join them in
10:56
the course of praise. Because when you get to heaven,
11:00
God is so overwhelmingly majestic, and so you will be
11:08
overwhelmed by His glory, and you can't help but praise Him
11:15
just for the opportunity to be in His presence for eternity.
11:22
So I thought today we would begin with the privilege of
11:27
praise. As we journey along the pathway
11:30
of praise, let's begin with the privilege of praise.
11:37
Why is praise a privilege to the priests in God's Kingdom?
11:47
Well, number one is that praise verifies my identity.
11:56
Praise verifies my identity. The verse Isaiah 43 verse #21
12:06
which says the people whom I have formed for myself will
12:12
declare my praise. God makes it very clear that the
12:19
people that I form for myself, they will do one thing.
12:25
They will give praise and glory to me.
12:28
They will honor my name. I have created them for my
12:32
glory, and therefore they will praise my glorious name.
12:41
The Bible says in Proverbs 2225 from you comes my praise.
12:50
I'm sorry, that's Psalm 2225. From you comes my praise.
12:55
In other words, because of God, and God is in me, comes forth my
13:01
praise to Him. The psalmist says in Psalm 40
13:07
verse #1 These words. I waited patiently for the Lord,
13:11
and he inclined to me and heard my cry.
13:14
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry
13:18
clay, and he set my feet up on a rock, making my footsteps firm.
13:23
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
13:29
Many will see in fear and will trust in the Lord when God takes
13:36
you and brings you up out of the miry pit.
13:39
He puts a new song in your mouth, a song of deliverance
13:44
that causes you to want to praise his glorious name.
13:51
The Bible makes it very clear that the identity the believer
13:57
is wrapped up in his praise to God way back in.
14:03
In First Samuel, I'm sorry, Second Samuel chapter 23, David
14:08
gives his last literary masterpiece.
14:14
We know that 73 of the Psalms are directly attributed to
14:18
David, and so as he sings this last song to his son to help
14:26
encourage him in his leadership, listen to what David says and
14:30
then listen to what he doesn't say.
14:34
Second same of 23 verse #1 Now these are the last words of
14:39
David. David, the son of Jesse,
14:41
declares the man who was raised on high, declares the anointed
14:49
of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel.
14:56
David is describing himself to his son, and he described
15:01
himself as the one who was raised up on high, who was
15:05
anointed by God, that God had called him and commissioned him.
15:12
And notice the very next thing he says.
15:15
He doesn't say he commissioned him to be the king of Israel.
15:20
He doesn't say he commissioned him to be a warrior for his God,
15:24
a soldier for his God. He identifies himself as a sweet
15:29
psalmist of Israel because when God called him, God called him
15:37
to sing praises to his name, to lift his name on high.
15:42
And that was more important than being the king of Israel.
15:45
It was more important than being a warrior for God.
15:48
It was to be able to praise His glorious name.
15:51
And David recognized that. And at the end of his life, he
15:54
helps his Son understand that this is what we do.
15:57
This is what people who are kings do.
16:00
They give praise to God because that's their identity.
16:06
Nothing verifies the identity of a believer.
16:09
Then the person who gives praise to their God, no matter what.
16:16
That's very, very important #2 not only does praise verify my
16:24
identity, but praise is that which ratifies my loyalty.
16:33
There's something that ratifies the fact that I am loyal to God
16:38
and that is fruitful lips that sing forth praise.
16:45
Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 145 verse #1 I will extol
16:52
you, my God O King, and I will bless your name forever and
16:59
ever. Every day I will bless you and I
17:05
will praise your name forever and ever.
17:09
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and His greatness is
17:13
unsearchable. One generation shall praise your
17:16
works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
17:20
Notice he says, I will four times.
17:25
I will extol your name. I will praise your name, I will
17:30
lift your name. I will do this because I am
17:34
loyal to the King. He recognized God as his King
17:38
and as a loyal subject to his King.
17:40
He's going to not only obey his King, he's going to give glory
17:44
and honor to his King. He's going to praise His
17:46
glorious name. So nothing ratifies my loyalty
17:50
to God more than my willingness to praise His glorious name.
17:59
The psalmist said in Psalm 22 verse #26 those who seek Him
18:08
will praise His name. Those who seek Him will praise
18:16
His name. If your passion is to pursue
18:19
Him, your practice will be to praise Him.
18:24
Why? Because those who seek Him can't
18:27
help but praise His glorious name.
18:31
And so it's important for us to realize that that praise is that
18:35
which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, and #3
18:42
praise is that which beautifies my personality.
18:48
Praise is that which beautifies my personality.
18:54
Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 147 verse #1 praise the
19:03
Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it is
19:11
pleasing and praise is beautiful.
19:19
Maybe your text says praise is becoming, or maybe your text
19:24
says praise is fitting. No matter how you cut it, praise
19:33
beautifies every scene, every circumstance, every situation.
19:43
So when you begin to praise God amidst hardship and difficulty,
19:48
broken dreams and promises you are, you are shining light in a
19:53
sphere that's dark. And by giving praise to God,
19:59
your personality is simply beautified, because God is
20:02
reflecting himself in and through you to those all around
20:06
you who somehow need to see the glory and splendor of God.
20:12
So when a man or woman gives glory to God, they are
20:16
reflecting the righteous radiance of a God who dwells in
20:21
unapproachable light. So therefore, when you give
20:24
praise to God, you are shining down in the darkness of human
20:29
souls, in human circumstances and showing how Christ is the
20:35
only answer. There's nothing that beautifies
20:39
the personality more than praise.
20:44
So many times our lives are marked by depression in
20:50
darkness. Our lives are marked by a dreary
20:54
and dreadful attitude, by bitter and unwelcomed attitudes.
21:03
But praise, praise changes all of that.
21:08
When you recognize that God is in control and God's in charge
21:14
and you want to give Him glory because of that, praise is that
21:18
which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies
21:28
my personality. That's what the psalmist said in
21:31
Psalm one O 3 verse #1 Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is
21:36
within me. Bless His holy name, because He
21:43
wanted everything within him, His soul, His mind, His heart,
21:48
everything to give praise to His God, knowing that the beauty of
21:54
His life was determined by His praise #4 Praise is that which
22:04
clarifies my priority. Praise is that which clarifies
22:12
my priority. Psalm 146 verse #1 says Praise
22:21
the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul, I will praise the Lord
22:27
while I live. I will sing praises to my God
22:32
while I have my being the priority the psalmist was as
22:39
long as I live, I will praise the Lord.
22:43
Psalm 119 verse #175 Let my soul live that it may praise Thee.
22:53
The psalmist says, I only want to live if I can praise your
22:57
name. So let me live that I might do
23:01
that. Let me live that I might sing
23:05
praises. Be grateful, be thankful all the
23:10
days of my life. The psalmist knew that praising
23:14
God sustained him. The psalmist knew that that
23:17
praising God strengthened him. So let me live that I might
23:22
praise your glorious name. That is that which clarifies
23:31
one's priority. Remember Job?
23:35
Job, chapter one, verse 21. The Lord gave and the Lord is
23:42
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
23:50
He lost everything. He lost his kids, his business,
23:56
his home, everything. He said.
24:01
Blessed be the name of the Lord. He spoke well of God's name.
24:08
He praised God's name. The Lord has given, and the Lord
24:12
has seen fit to take it away. Recognizing God's sovereignty,
24:19
recognizing God's plan, blessed be the name of the Lord.
24:25
And Job never cursed his God. Amidst all of his suffering,
24:29
amidst all of his hardship, he was one who wanted to bless and
24:33
honor his God. That's why he was a unique
24:37
individual. David was the man after God's
24:40
own heart. He was marked at the sweet
24:43
Psalmist of Israel. Job was the greatest man on the
24:47
planet by God's testimony, and he lived a life of blessing and
24:53
honoring his God. How about you?
24:58
How do you handle your situations?
25:02
How do you handle your difficulties?
25:05
How do you handle your hardships?
25:08
How do you handle the dark days? Are they filled with praise and
25:13
glory to God? Because it's a sacrifice you
25:16
offer. It's a sacrifice of praise to
25:21
God that priests offer. And we are a priesthood of
25:25
believers. Therefore we offer a sacrifice
25:28
of praise to our God continually, day by day, never
25:34
ceasing to honor our God. So praise is that which verifies
25:43
my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my
25:49
personality, clarifies my priority.
25:54
Praise is that which specifies God's generosity.
26:03
Praise is such a privilege because it specifies God's
26:09
generosity. You know the verse Psalm One O 3
26:13
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.
26:15
Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
26:19
forget none of his benefits. What of His benefits?
26:24
Who pardons all our iniquities? Who heals all our diseases?
26:29
Who redeems our life from the pit?
26:31
Who crowns us with loving kindness and compassion?
26:35
Who satisfies our years with good things, so that your youth
26:39
is renewed like the eagles. That's blessing the Lord.
26:44
That's praising the Lord. It specifies His generosity.
26:50
Praise is very specific. Praise is not general.
26:56
It's specific because of the things that God has done for His
27:01
own. Psalm one O 7 verse #8 Oh, that
27:04
men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for
27:09
His wonderful works to the children of men.
27:14
And, and the next one follows right on the heels of this.
27:17
Not only is is a privilege of praise a privilege because it
27:20
specifies his generosity, but it testifies to God's ministry.
27:27
It testifies to God's ministry. In other words, when I when I
27:32
give praise to God, I am giving a a testimony to the ministry of
27:36
God in my life. Listen to what the psalmist says
27:40
in Psalm 76. In you, O Lord, I have taken
27:44
refuge. Let me never be ashamed in your
27:47
righteousness. Deliver me and rescue me, and
27:51
climb your ear to me and save me.
27:55
Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come.
28:00
You have given commandment to save me, for you are my rock and
28:05
my fortress. Rescue me, Oh my God, out of the
28:08
hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and the
28:12
ruthless man, For you are my hope.
28:15
O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
28:20
By You I have been sustained from my birth.
28:23
You are he who took me from my mother's womb.
28:27
My praise is continually of You. I've become a marvel to many,
28:36
for You are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with Your
28:41
praise and with Your glory all day long.
28:46
So you see, he testifies to the ministry of God in his life.
28:50
Who's going to deliver him? Who's going to rescue him?
28:53
Who is this rock and stronghold no matter what the circumstance?
28:57
And he offers a, a continual praise to God day after day
29:01
after day. And the Bible says these words.
29:05
I have become a marvel to many. Why?
29:11
Why has he become a marvel to many?
29:14
Because who praises God when everything is negative?
29:18
But those who believe in God, those who who verify their
29:22
identity, those who ratify their loyalty, those who beautify
29:28
their I, their their personality, those are the ones
29:32
who who specify his generosity because they clarify their
29:36
priority. So therefore they testify to
29:39
God's ministry in their life. And that is a privilege of
29:42
praise. Many marvel at me.
29:49
They don't understand. And why would they?
29:54
The world doesn't get this. The world doesn't understand why
29:58
you would praise your God amidst all your negativity.
30:03
They can understand why you would give praise to glory and
30:06
God when when all things are going good, when your team wins
30:10
or you win the game because you hit the home run or you get a a
30:14
pay raise or, or you get some kind of recognition at work and
30:18
you give glory to God. Well, of course you give glory
30:20
and praise to God because everything is good.
30:22
But what about things that when they are bad, when they are
30:26
negative and you're downcast and things are very difficult in
30:32
your family, in your workplace, in your physical life, Is there
30:39
a voice that says, I praise you, God, for what you've done in my
30:44
life? I praise you for all the
30:47
sickness. I praise you for all the
30:49
negative circumstances. I praise you for the loss of my
30:53
job. I praise you in the midst of my
30:56
divorce because somehow, God, you are doing a work and I'm
30:59
going to lift your name on high because I am a priest in the
31:03
Kingdom of God and I will offer a sacrifice of praise to my
31:08
king. That's the privilege of praise.
31:16
If you're counting, it's #7 if you're not counting, it is still
31:23
#7 #7 is this praise? This is so good.
31:30
Purifies me from iniquity. Did you know that?
31:37
One of the keys to living a pure and holy life is to give praise
31:43
to God. It's said this way in Ephesians
31:48
chapter 5 verse #3 pulses. But immorality or any impurity
31:56
or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among
32:00
the Saints. And there must be no filthiness
32:03
and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but
32:09
rather giving of thanks, being grateful, praising God, thanking
32:24
him for who he is. These things should not even be
32:28
named among you. Paul says you shouldn't even be
32:33
mentioning them, but what you should be doing is giving thanks
32:38
to God for what He has done in your life.
32:43
I love what Ephesians chapter 1 says is if you got time to just
32:46
to go back and read it. It talks about God saving us and
32:49
how he does it. And three times he says to the
32:52
praise of the glory of his name. God does what He does for the
33:00
praise of the glory of His name, the glory of His character, the
33:04
glory of His person. He wants to be praised and
33:08
honored among His people and we. As priests are his.
33:11
People. So what do we do?
33:14
We. We do.
33:15
What priests do we We offer a sacrifice of praise continually
33:20
to our God, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the
33:23
situation, because we want to honor his name and.
33:29
Praise is that which? Purifies me from iniquity.
33:33
If I just learned to to give thanks to God my focus, that is
33:36
on him, right? It's not on my.
33:39
Own self. My own.
33:40
Needs my own wants. It's, it's on God.
33:42
So all the impure thoughts and all the, the immoral thoughts
33:46
and all the course gisting and all the silly talk that goes
33:49
away because my thoughts are not on those around me, nor is my
33:53
thought on me. It's on God himself.
33:56
And therefore I I live a life of thankfulness to God, a life of
34:01
praising Him for what He's done, and it purifies me from my
34:05
iniquity. Next. #8 Praise is that which
34:14
glorifies His Majesty. It glorifies His Majesty.
34:21
That's what a psalmist said in Psalm One.
34:23
O 3 Bless his holy name, the holiness of God.
34:31
Back in Exodus chapter 15, Miriam would lead the song of
34:35
praise after Pharaoh and his army was cast into the sea and
34:39
Israel was able to pass by on dry land.
34:43
And it says that Exodus chapter 15 verse #21 Miriam answered
34:48
them. Sing to the Lord, for he is
34:50
highly exalted, The horse and rider he has hurled into the
34:55
sea. You.
34:58
You. Want to glorify His?
34:59
Majesty, you want to glorify his royalty, you want to magnify his
35:05
name, and that's what that's what praise does over in
35:10
Revelation Chapter 19. Revelation Chapter 19 you had
35:16
the fourfold Hallelujah, it says after.
35:20
These things I heard. Some something like a loud voice
35:24
of a great multitude in heaven saying Hallelujah.
35:28
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God because his
35:31
judgments are true and righteous For His judge, the great harlot
35:36
who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and he has
35:40
avenged the blood of his bond servants on her.
35:44
The second time they said Hallelujah, her smoke rises up
35:48
forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four
35:51
living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sits on the
35:54
throne saying Amen, Hallelujah. And a voice came from the throne
35:58
saying, Give praise to our God, all you his bond servants, you
36:03
who fear him, the small and the great.
36:07
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and
36:10
like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty
36:14
peals of Thunder, saying Hallelujah for the Lord our God
36:17
the Almighty reigns. That that's what heaven is.
36:22
It's the it's the Hallelujah chorus of the of the Saints and
36:27
priests of God who are his bond servants.
36:31
So the voice that of heaven says, Give praise to His name,
36:36
for praise glorifies His Majesty #9 praise is that which
36:44
magnifies His sovereignty. It magnifies His sovereignty.
36:52
Paul says in Romans 11. O the depth of the riches both
36:56
of the wisdom and glory of God. How unsearchable are His
36:59
judgments, and unfathomable His ways.
37:02
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His
37:04
counselor, or who has first given to him, that it might be
37:08
paid back to him again? For from him and through him and
37:13
to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.
37:19
Amen. Paul lifts.
37:21
Praise to God. Because of His sovereignty, it
37:24
magnifies that even Jesus, Even Jesus would magnify the
37:32
sovereignty of God. Listen to what Jesus says.
37:36
Matthew 11 verse #25 At that time Jesus said, I praise you,
37:47
Father. I praise you, Father.
37:51
Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things
37:56
from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to
38:01
infants. Yes, Father, for this way was
38:04
pleasing in your sight. He magnified.
38:12
The sovereignty of His Father in Heaven.
38:16
I praise you, Lord, for you have hidden these things.
38:20
You have hidden this gospel from the intelligent and the wise,
38:24
and you've opened the the minds and the hearts of the lowly that
38:28
they might receive the gospel and believe the gospel.
38:31
He's magnifying God's sovereignty and salvation.
38:35
Even Jesus gives praise to his Father because he wants to
38:39
magnify his sovereignty. That's the privilege of praise.
38:47
So if you're taking notes because all spirit filled
38:52
Christians take notes, you know that the privilege of praise
38:58
verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my
39:03
personality, clarifies my priority, specifies God's
39:08
generosity, testifies to God's ministry, purifies me from
39:14
iniquity, glorifies God's majesty, magnifies his
39:18
sovereignty, and lastly, intensifies, intensifies my joy.
39:30
It intensifies. My joy.
39:34
Listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 63.
39:39
Psalmist. Says oh God, you.
39:41
Are my God. I shall seek you earnestly.
39:45
My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you in a dry
39:50
and where we land where there is no water.
39:52
Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and
39:56
your glory, because your loving kindness is better than life.
40:01
My lips will praise you, so I will bless you as long as I
40:10
live. I will lift up my hands in your
40:14
name. Why?
40:17
My soul is satisfied, as with Morrow and fatness and my youth.
40:24
Or, excuse me, my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
40:33
Praise intensifies my joy it. Makes it so it.
40:41
Is all consuming in my life so. Many times we live.
40:46
Lives joy joylessly, and that should.
40:51
Never be the case. And then the psalmist says these
40:55
words over in Psalm 18 verse #1 I love you, O Lord, my, my
41:00
strength. The Lord is my rock and my
41:02
fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, and whom I take refuge,
41:05
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
41:09
I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I'm
41:12
saved from my enemies. I'm saved from my enemies.
41:17
He's my rock, my refuge, my strength, my fortress, my
41:20
stronghold. And then over in Psalm 9 verse
41:23
#1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart.
41:28
I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and exalt in You.
41:32
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High, and then over.
41:41
In Psalm one O. 4 Psalmist says these words in verse #33.
41:50
I will sing. To the Lord as long as I live, I
41:55
will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
42:02
Let my meditation be pleasing to him.
42:06
As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord again.
42:13
The psalmist knew that. His gladness and his joy came
42:19
from his praise. That is the the privilege of
42:24
praise as we. Journey along this.
42:28
This pathway of praise we will instruct you more and more and
42:32
how it is we are to offer a sacrifice of praise as priests
42:39
in the Kingdom of God. Let's pray together.
42:42
Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity you give
42:45
us to spend a brief moment in Your word.
42:48
We pray, Lord, that we would be a people of praise, a people who
42:53
magnify your name, a people who sing unto your name, a people
43:00
who glorify your name, a people who live in the realm of praise.
43:09
You are a great God. We thank you.
43:12
For your salvation. And.
43:14
As priests in your. Kingdom, we want to.
43:18
Be those who continually. Offer up a sacrifice of praise
43:22
to our King, to our God, to the majestic.
43:26
Holy one of. Israel, Jesus Christ our Lord, I
43:31
pray. For those today who?
43:33
Are going through difficult times I pray Lord that you would
43:37
strengthen them and. Help them to offer.
43:40
A sacrifice of praise, knowing that they might not feel like
43:46
it, they might not even want to, but they know it's a sacrifice.
43:52
So they lift their voices in praise to their God for who you
43:58
are and what you have done. And may their joy be intensified
44:04
all the more simply because of you.
44:08
And our gladness comes from the Lord Jesus.
44:11
We pray this in your name, Amen.