Waiting on the Lord starts in the Body
1 Corinthians 9:27 (LB) Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to.
- Asking is the Flesh
- Seeking is the Soul
- Knocking is the Spirit.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
The Soul Realm.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Psalm 63:1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Psalm 103 :2 (NKJV) “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
3 Things are associated with Worship
- By thanksgiving we acknowledge God’s goodness
- By praise we acknowledge God’s greatness
- By worship we acknowledge God’s holiness
Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship
Psalm 95 (AMPCE) 1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95 (AMPCE) 4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights and strength of the hills are His also. 5 The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication].
Thanksgiving
First stage of approaching God
Psalm 100:4 (NIV) Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Praise
It is splendor, brightness. It speaks of magnificence, excellence, dignity, and grace.
It also speaks of majesty (the Kingly majesty, which belongs to God as supreme ruler; and majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of God).
It is a most glorious condition, or most exalted state.
You praise God because He is a healer (Jehovah Rapha), because He is a deliverer, because He is eternal, because it is His nature to love His children.
Praise – Attributes of God
- God is trustworthy
- God is love
- God is righteous
- God is holy
- God is merciful
- He Is Always Everywhere
- He Is Full of Perfect, Unchanging Wisdom
- God Is Good
- Everlasting God
- Almighty God
When to praise God
- Every day—forever and ever (Ps. 145:2)
- At all times—continually (Ps. 34:1)
How to praise God?
- With the whole heart
Psalm 111:1 (NKJV) I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
2. With understanding
Psalm 47:7 (NKJV) For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
3. Joyful mouth and lips
Psalm 71:8 (NKJV) “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.
4. Lifting the hands – Yadah
Psalm 141:2 (NKJV) Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
5. With the dance – Tehillah
Psalm 149:3 (NKJV) Let them praise His name with the dance;
6. Bow down – Barak/Barouch
Psalm 5:7 (ESV) But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.
7. Shout – Shabach
Psalm 47:1 (ESV) Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
8. Sing/play instruments;” (Zamah)
Ephesians 5:18-20 (MSG) Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge drafts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
9. Halal – means to “shine (or flash brightly), boast, to praise, to act like a fool or madman”.
The word halal is part of the larger word “Hallelujah” which is the combination of the word Halal (praise) and Yah (Yahweh).
Together they mean “praise Yahweh” or “praise the LORD”.
Praise
Praise is unidirectional. We praise God. He does not praise us.
Praise is our acknowledgement of His power, authority, wisdom and worthiness.
Praise does not require a response from the one who is being praised.
What the Power of Praise Can Do?
- Praise gets our focus off ourselves and back on God.
Psalm 150:2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!”
2. Praise brings us to a place of humility. We remember our dependency on God, as we acknowledge our need for Him. As we praise Him as Creator and King of this world, we admit and recognize that we’re not in control, but He is. He is above all.
Psa. 95:2-3 “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
- Praise makes the enemy flee.
2 Chron. 20:22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated”
Psalm 18:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
- Praise leaves no room for complaining and negativity.
Psalm 103:2-4 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.”
- Praise makes room for God’s blessings over our lives.
He will not hold back His goodness, praise opens the gateway of blessing as we come into the Presence of our King.
Psa. 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
- Praise invites His presence. God dwells close to us when we praise Him. He lives there. He looks for it.
Psalm 22:3“He inhabits the praises of His people.”
- Our spirits are refreshed and renewed in His presence
Psalm 16:11 “In His presence, there is fullness of joy.”
- It paves the way for God’s power to be displayed, miracles happen.
Acts 16:25-26 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.”
Finally
- PRAISE GIVES US ACCESS TO GOD.
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise”.
2. PRAISE CHANGES YOU
Proverbs 27:21 says, “As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.”
