THE PRAISE SERIES (Part 5) - A HIGHER PERSPECTIVE

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory!

Revelation 19:6-7

Are you beaten down by circumstances? The best antidote to our depression and anxiety is surprising to many. But those who have put into practice the prescription of Scripture have found an amazing truth: Praising God lifts us above our trials and remind us how He overcomes them.
Why does that works? It's a matter of perspective. When we focus on the turmoil of life and the weakness of our flesh, we get discouraged. When we focus on the problems of the day and the people who seems to oppress us, we get intimidated. Our praise remind us of who God is. As we praise Him, the threats and burdens that weigh us down grow smaller and He grows bigger - at least in our own eyes. The thought of an exalted God who is entirely on our side is an awesome inspiration
We don't find that perspective very often. We have subtly but persistently trained our minds to think negatively. We don't feel like praising God when the bills are overdue or our loved one is lying sick in the hospital. we don't even feel like praising Him when our lives have gotten mundane and we've become restless. Perhaps we mistakenly think our praise is based on how much power and love we've seen today. It isn't - or shouldn't be, at least. IT IS BASED ON WHO HE IS. AND HE IS WHO HE IS ALL THE TIME. For that we can praise Him. ALL THE TIME!
The more we praise Him, the more we see WHO HE IS and the more sincere our worship becomes. And our perspective jumps from one lowly, impossible place to the side of the God who reigns, both now and forever. Our praise opens our eyes to the truth of the situation:GOD RULES! 
An extract from : Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen
Have a blessed & victorious week!
TPWC

THE PRAISE SERIES (Part 4) - SILENCING THE ENEMY

From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise

because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger

Psalm 8:2 (NIV)

Have you ever wondered why God commands and desires our praise? Is it because He has as ego problem? Is He insecure? Does He need our praise? The answer to all these questions is emphatically NO. God does not need our praise. Scripture records that there are creatures in heaven that do nothing but worship Him day and night (Revelation 4:8)

Why then has God ordained our praise? Psalm 8:2 gives us the answer: "because of our enemies." Some people feel they have done the  Lord a great service if they spend thirty minutes worshipping Him. The fact is we do not do Him a favour; we do ourselves a favour and the devil great damage. God has not ordained praise because He needs it, but because we need to praise Him.

Ezekiel refers to Lucifer as "the anointed cherub" (Eziekiel 28:13-14). Lucifer was called to lead all of heaven in worship to the most high God ... but he fell because of PRIDE(Isaiah 14:12-15). Because of a prideful heart, Satan fell from heaven, lost his heavenly anointing and was cast to the earth. (Ezekiel 28:16-18).

The wonderful thing God did was to take what Satan was originally anointed to do and allow us, the body of Christ, to use it as a weapon of warfare to destroy the enemy's plans. Psalm 8:2 says that God has ordained praise because of our enemy, to silence the avenger. The word silence is the Hebrew word "shabath" which means "to cause to fail, to repose, suffer to be lacking, to put down, take away."

As we praise the Lord, we cause the enemy to fail. As we lift our voices to God, we defeat the power of Satan that would bring us into bondage. As we enter into worship, we begin to take back what the enemy has stolen from us.

When you understand this, spiritual warfare is no longer drudgery. That's why Paul could say, "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). It is a good fight when you know your enemy is fleeing in terror. We are not running from our enemy; instead we have him on the run. we are not in a defensive position waiting for him to attack. Rather we take the offensive and go after his kingdom aggressively. We are God's commandos who go in behind the lines rescuing those that are held captive. We use spiritual weapons of war to blow up his communications facilities and destroy his method of operation.

Paul said that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of stronghold" (2 Corinthians 10:9). Praise and worship play an important role in all this because God has ordained our praise to silence him. It is time for the church to arise in this hour and praise the Lord with all it's might. We must become uninhibited in our praise, even as children are (Psalm 8:2 says - "out of the mouth of babes"). Then our weapon of warfare - PRAISE - will be unleashed on the powers of darkness and result in their demise and destruction.

(an extract from - Silencing The Enemy by Robert Gay)

Praise The Lord!

TPWC

THE PRAISE SERIES (Part 3) - PREVAILING THROUGH PRAISE

"From the lips of children and infants 

You have ordained praise because of your enemies 

to silence the foe and the avenger" 

Psalm 8:2

Throughout the book of Psalms David refers continually to his enemies. Few men had more enemies than David. Persistently they pursued him and surrounded him, seeking his destruction. He survived only because he learned the secret of dealing with his enemies. He did not meet them in his own power or wisdom. Rather, he evoked against them the presence and power of God.

One main way that he did was through PRAISE. This was the way God Himself ordained for David says' "From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise ... to silence the foe and the avenger." In the natural order, children and infants are the weakest of all. But when praise comes from even the weakest, it's effect is powerful to silence the enemy and the avenger.
The Bible reveals that we too, like David, are surrounded by enemies, though ours are primarily in the unseen spiritual realm. The chief of these enemies is "the foe and the avenger" - Satan himself. He is the accuser of the brothers, the one who misrepresents us, who misinterpret everything we do, who even seeks to accuse us before the very throne of God.
How can we silence him? David has shown us the way: by PRAISE. When our praise ascends to God, it silences Satan. It cancels his accusations and shuts his mouth. It leaves us free to live out our lives without the continual condemnation of his accusations. Through praise we invoke the presence and power of God against all forces that oppose us.
(extract from "Through David's Psalms" - by Derek Prince)

For those of you who leads worship, try this ... there are times in the midst of praising the Lord, I would challenge the people of God to make a choice to open their mouth to proclaim the praise of God. I began to say that though they may be in the midst of diverse difficult circumstances to praise God, they could and should "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3)." I began to quote Psalm 8:2 and tell the congregation that even though their praises may be weak they are powerful to silence the enemies' accusations and intimidations. We begin to lift our voices, raise our hands and give a unanimous victory shout (Hallelujah!) ... very often we could immediately sense a spirit of victory and breakthrough. You could often "see" in the spiritual realm "the walls of Jericho and strongholds" collapse.

* PRAISE is our power weapon to the pulling down of strongholds (Psalm 149: 6-9; 2 Corinthians 10:4)

* The enemies cringe when we PRAISE Him (Psalm 66:1-2)

* God inhabits in our PRAISE (Psalm 22:3)

Praise is born in faith, is an instrument of war and a method of creating an atmosphere for the presence of the Lord. Praise requires effort, will power and boldness  - TPWC

THE PRAISE SERIES (Part 2) - PRAISE UNCONDITIONALLY

Why do we praise God? Do we desire to honour Him and make Him glad? Or do we feel that praise puts God under obligation to grant the earthly longings we bring to Him in prayer? Will God do whatever we ask simply because we praise Him?

God is not a heavenly vending machine into which we insert the coin of praise, press the right button, and get whatever we want. Nor is praise is a magical incantation that forces God to fulfill our wishes. Many of us would not consciously try to manipulate God. But when we praise Him in the midst of a trial, we can be tempted to secretly bargain with Him, feeling in some recess of our heart, "I'm praising You, Lord. Now You owe it to me to work out this situation the way I want."

TRUSTING REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS

True praise imposes no condition on God. It chooses to believe Him regardless of the situation and it's outcome. It accepts the circumstances He has permitted, without insisting that He change them. Such praise begins with the attitude that says, "Father, I'm going to keep trusting You even though everything is dark and confusing." As we continue to praise, we reach the place where we can say, " Father, thank You that You are working in me to beautify my character. Don't remove this problem until You've done all You want to do through it, in me and in others. Use it to prepare me for the future You have in mind for me. Change me in any way You see fit."

One major purpose of trials is to strengthen our faith and transform our attitudes. Therefore choosing an attitude of trust and praise sometimes ends a trial with surprising speed. But even if it does not, we find ourselves enriched and strengthen to endure.

Daniel 3 tells the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to bow to the golden image of king Nebuchadnezzar. Hoping to dissuade them of their folly, the king said in a rage, "What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" They replied, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are bot going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Daniel 3:15, 17-18). Infuriated, the king had the three you men cast into the blazing furnace.

We all know the outcome of these three Hebrew children's faith. Their miraculous deliverance has inspired faith down through the centuries.

DEMONSTRATING OUR TRUST

Through praise each of us can demonstrate trust in God to work in the present as He has in past centuries. In the final chapters of Genesis we see how God brought far-reaching benefits through all the events that had happened to Joseph - the cruel betrayal by his brothers, the agonies of his soul, the slavery, the false accusations, the long years of imprisonment, and the forgetfulness of the butler he had befriended, that resulted with the extra years of confinement.

We read in Psalm 105 that God Himself had sent Joseph to Egypt, intending to bring good out of his trials (Psalm 105:17). He used them to prepare this youth to be prime minister of the greatest nation on earth. Through Joseph's trials, God arranged to have him in the right place atthe right time to save the lives of hundreds of thousands during a severe famine. Joseph's long years of suffering resulted in his own life being saved, as well as his entire family,and through it, the ancestors of Jesus.

Joseph showed his confidence in God's loving sovereignty in Genesis 50. When his brothers feared retribution, Joseph told them "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid" (Genesis 50:20-21). As we offer praise, we show that we believe that Joseph's God is alive and at work today, even in the bleakest circumstances.

Through praise we follow the example of Paul and Silas in theirpainful imprisonment at Philippi. There in the inner prison, with their feet fastened in stocks, they were praying and singing at midnight. Suddenly God miraculously released them through an earthquake (Acts 16). Or we emulate Paul when he later rejoiced in the Lord though imprisoned for years. He was confident that his suffering was accomplishing God's purposes and therefore his own deepest desires.
GOD DOES NOT PROMISE TO MAKE OUR TROUBLES VANISH AND OUR WISHES COME TRUE IF WE PRAISE HIM. BUT PRAISE OFTEN RELEASES THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF CHRIST IN BOTH OUR CHARACTER AND OUR SITUATIONS.

A MAJOR STRESS REDUCER

Praise and thanksgiving do not insulate us from problems and pressures. But as we couple them with honest prayer, they do serve as a major stress reducer. They help release us from the self-imposed stresses of our negative attitudes, opening our hearts to the soothing power of God's peace, which surpasses all understanding. And they do more than soothe. They also infuse us with vitality. God's Word says, "Strength and joy are in His place ... the joy of the Lord is your strength" (1 Chronicles 16:27, Nehemiah 8:10). Praise and thanksgiving usher us into God's presence, where we can partake of His joy and quietly absorb strength, strength for our every need - spiritual, emotional or physical.

Our UNCONDITIONAL PRAISE deepens our trust and joy in God. It increases our spiritual impact on people. These and other benefits come not as our due for praising the Lord but simply as added reasons to praise Him for His undeserved favour. They come not because we manipulate God to do what we want, but because we centre our thoughts and expectations in Him.

Our motive in genuine praise is to bring joy and glory to God. we are here to do His will, not to obligate Him to do ours.

(An extract from Praise - A Door To God's Presence by Warren & Ruth Myers)