THEPRAISE SERIES (Part 1) - PRIVATE PRAISE

"I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth"

Psalm 34:1

Thank God for corporate praise when we gather together. It helps us to get among a body of believers as we celebrate and magnify the name of the Lord. There is also a personal private praise which lifestyle worshippers must not neglect. The reason for this is that until we come to the place where we can really enter into that private, personal praise, just between you and the Lord, there are always going to be some hindrances and some holding back when we enter into the corporate praise.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17) and God wants us to get so free that when His Spirit starts moving on us at home, in our kitchen, out in your work place, when commuting or driving down the road in your car, we can just let the spirit of praise flow like rivers of living waters in our surrounding.The Bible says that God inhabits in our praise (Psalms 22:3). The question is, "If He inhabits in our praise, how far does He inhabits it?" The answer is as far as the sound of your voice goes ... "Glory! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Blessed Be the name of Jesus!" As far as our voice sounds, God is living in those words. For example, when we are in our car praising and worshipping Him, our audible praise fills that car. When the devil gets any where near you; do you know what he gets? "Glory!" If he comes through the window of your car, "Hallelujah!" hits him. When he tries to enter by the door, "Jesus!" knocks him off.
PRAISE HAS TO BE VOCALISED. The Bible says, "My lips shall praise Thee "(Psalms 63:3).If you go around with your mouth shut and not praising God, then God is not in your praise and the devil beats on you. Our praise may be as weak as babes, but it is powerful enough to silence the enemy (Psalms 8:2). There is power in the name of Jesus, that means that that power is released when we speak or sing it. When we begin to speak forth or sing our praises in His name, the spirit inside us begins to rise up and the power of darkness outside of us begins to retreat. Let the Devil hit our praise ten or twenty feet out in front of us. Let them stick their fingers in their ears each time they are near us.

Psalms 34:1 says, " ... His praise shall CONTINUALLY BE IN MY MOUTH." Most people have to stop what they are doing to try to get into praising God, but we need to have this reverse. We need to praise God so much that we have to stop praising in order to do something else.

Psalms 113:3 says, " From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." King David was a man after God's own heart. He praised God in the morning, he praised Him at noontime and he praised him in the night-time.

Psalms 119:164 David said, Seven times a day I praise Thee." The number seven is perfect and complete. God is looking for worshippers who will choose to PRAISE HIM CONTINUALLY AND ALL DAY.

PRIVATE PRAISE is a powerful experience to live in. It is the key to a victorious and abundant life with Jesus. Let us the first fruits of our day to the Lord in private praise.TPWC (An extract from Private Praise by Elbert Willis)

Until the practice of praise in private is continuous and free, the practice of corporate praise will be inhibited by fear, self-consciousness and discomfort. The practice in the corporate sense is absolutely indispensable to the maximum worship experience."
Jack R. Taylor - The Hallelujah Factor

THE PSALM 84 WORSHIPPER (PART 3) - DESIRING GOD

Theme: The Blessedness of Dwelling in The House of God 
Author: The sons of Korah (temple assistant)
Background: Psalm 84 expresses the thoughts of a passionate Worshipper who wants to go to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the three annual feasts (Exodus 23:17; 34:23) but could not. The psalmist inability to attend the feast did not rob him of the blessings of fellowship with the LORD. All who are pilgrims can make the same three affirmations that he made:
1) His Delight Is In The LORD (VV1-4) - the important thing is that we have a HEART devoted to the LORD, a spiritual hunger that cries out for intimate fellowship with the LORD (Psalm 42:1-2; Matthew 5:6)
2) His Strength Is In The LORD (VV5-8) - true worshippers "go from strength to strength" (Deuteronomy 33:25; Isaiah 40:28-31; Philippians 4:13) and trust God to enable them to walk a step at a time even in difficult situation [valley of Bara (weeping) - V6]
3) His Trust is In The LORD (VV9-12) - when we walk by faith, we put the LORD and His will first, and we keep our priorities straight (V10). This is the Old Testament version of Matthew 6:33 and Philippians 1:21
Do we delight in the LORD and seek Him? Do we depend on His strength? Do we walk by faith and trust in Him? Yes, "Even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (VV1-2).

 "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young" (V3). In other word, God's Living house is to his soul what a nest is to a swallow - a place of rest and security and satisfaction. The psalmist even envies the priests. "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You" (V4). Outsiders were not allowed to live there, and they were limited in where they cold go inside. Only the priests could enter the Holy of Holies.
Today, we have the privilege of fellowshipping with God without going through a priest. Do we have a desire and a hunger to worship Him? Does our hearts cry out for the living God. Or are we happy for an excuse to be somewhere else from God's house?
May we pray and hunger like David, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1-2).
Be blessed with this song: A Place At Your Altar - Hosanna Music

THE PSALM 84 WORSHIPPER (PART 2)

The Door-Keeper

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. 

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 

than dwell in the tents of wickedness" 

(Psalm 84:10)

According to the inscription, this psalm is associated with "the sons of Korah," who were Levites assigned to guard the threshold of the sanctuary (1 Chronicles 9:19), an important and honourable office. Their ancestor rebelled against God and Moses and was slain by the LORD (see Numbers 16 - note "tents of wickedness" in Psalm 84:10 and Numbers 16:26) but continued to serve at the sanctuary. The psalmist didn't aspire to a high office ("gatekeeper" in 1 Chronicles 9:19 is not the same word as "doorkeeper" in Psalm 84:10) but was willing to "sit at the threshold" of the temple, just to be close to the LORD.

Have you ever wondered why he was willing to be a doorkeeper? Some interesting insights for your thoughts:1) He holds the key to God's presence 
(to unlock the threshold of an "open-heaven")The prophet Isaiah likens the presence of God among His people to a city, concerning which he says: "You will call your walls Salvation and Your gates Praise" (Isaiah 60:18 ). The only way through those walls of Salvation is by the gates of Praise. Unless we learn to approach God with praise, we have no access into His presence.The "Door-Keeper" has the "master key or Master's key" to unlock many other doors in the temple in to His glorious Presence!

2) Jesus is The Door (John 10:7-9) - In the sense that Christ is a Door, the psalmist may well be content to be a doorkeeper, and though in God's house there be many mansions, yet seeing all of them are glorious, even the door keeper's place is not without its glory when one is passionate and hungry (God chaser) for His Presence - just to encounter Jesus

3) Miracles does happen at the gate (Acts 3:1-10)  whenever Jesus is presence.Be A God Chaser - a passionate Worshipper. You hold the key to God's Presence!

Be blessed! - TPWC.

THE PSALM 84 WORSHIPPER (PART 1)

"How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! 

My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; 

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" 

Psalm 84:1-2  (NKJV)

Psalm 84 expresses the thoughts of a Worshipper who wants to go to Jerusalem for a feast [there are three annual feast - Exodus 23:17; 34:23] but cannot. His great desire was not to go to Jerusalem solely to observe a holy day. Instead, he wanted to go to the temple to meet God. "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young" (verse 3). In other word, God's Living house is to his soul what a nest is to a swallow - a place of rest and security and satisfaction. The psalmist even envies the priests. "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You" (verse 4). Outsiders were not allowed to live there, and they were limited in where they cold go inside. Only the priests could enter the Holy of Holies.

Today, we have the privilege to fellowship with God without going through a priest. Do we have a desire and a hunger to worship Him? Does our hearts cry out for the living God. Or are we happy for an excuse to be somewhere else from God's house? The important thing is that we have a heart devoted to the LORD, a spiritual "appetite" that cries out for nourishing fellowship with the LORD. How easy it is for us to take for granted the privilege of worshipping "the living God," [see also Psalm 115:1-8] a privilege purchased for us on the cross.

May we pray and hunger like David, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:1-2).
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

Be inspired and blessed with this song: