The Duty And Benefits Of Praise

[0:01] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to this spirit-filled word by David Enshie. When you catch a word, you have caught God. May you catch a word today that will cause God to change your story.

[0:13] Be blessed. Today is the last day of July, so I want to take advantage and talk about praise. Because praise is important to the believer.

[0:26] Remember, in 1 Peter 2, verse 9, it talks about how we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.

[0:36] That's what we are. The world doesn't have to give us permission to be that. And they don't have to know. The world don't know us, according to 1 John 3. We are the sons of God, but the world does not know us.

[0:50] Why? Because they don't know God. I think it should be the verse 1 somewhere. It says that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth not us. They don't know.

[1:01] They know you as child. And that's it. You are my classmate. You are my work colleague. You are my neighbor. That's all they know. But they don't know that this child they see is also a child of God.

[1:15] They don't know. Because they don't even know this God, let alone for them to appreciate what it means to be a child of God. In the same way, we are a peculiar people.

[1:26] But the world don't know we are a peculiar people. The hotel, the thing that we just have function, we come and have a function. But they don't know a peculiar people have entered here. We are a holy nation.

[1:39] The Bible says that you are a chosen generation. Chosen. Say, I'm chosen. I'm chosen. I'm elected. I've been selected. That's who we are.

[1:51] We have been chosen. Before the foundation of the earth, God, based on his full knowledge, decided that you, I'm going to choose you. I'm going to choose you. Before my mother gave birth to me, God had decided to choose me when I'm born.

[2:03] And at a certain age, he's going to call me. It's not by accident. It's not an afterthought. It was planned according to Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4. Before the foundation or at the foundation of the world, we are chosen to be blameless and holy in him.

[2:19] According as he has chosen us in him. Before. He chose us in Christ. Before. The foundation of the earth. That we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

[2:32] We are chosen. So we are a chosen generation. We are a royal priesthood. So when you talk about royalty, we are. When you talk about priesthood, we are.

[2:46] As soon as you are born again, you are a priest. What's the job of a priest? A priest stands between God and the people. And represents the people before God. A prophet represents God before the people.

[2:59] A priest represents the people. So you are a priest in your family. You are a priest of your family. You don't need a regalia or anything else. So long as you are born again, you are one of the peculiar people.

[3:11] You have audacity to represent your family, your community, your people before God. And intercede for the people before God. That's why believers need to pray for their land.

[3:24] Because we have the access to God. According to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 18. We have access to God. That's a serious statement. Many of us here don't have access to Downing Street.

[3:35] You don't have access to Buckingham Palace. You don't have access. But Bible says that through Jesus, we have access by the Holy Spirit to the Father.

[3:50] We have access. It's a serious thing. I have got access. That's what makes me a priest. I can just knock. And the angels say, oh, come in, come in. That is there. That is there. And it says that we have access to the Father.

[4:05] So we are a royal priesthood. Because our Father is a king, we are also little kings. Hallelujah. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

[4:20] We are a holy nation and a peculiar people. But see, sometimes in the charismatic setting, in our modern day church, we only focus on what we are.

[4:31] And I am this, I am this, I am this. Sometimes we come into Christ and it's all about what God, I am a royal priesthood, chosen generation, holy nation. And that's where the church can get it wrong when we only focus on that.

[4:44] Because with the privileges come responsibilities. With that doctrine of election comes the duty of praise. The duty of dedication. The duty of sacrifice.

[4:55] You can't just be boasting about the doctrine of election. The doctrine of selection. The doctrine of being chosen by God. The doctrine of being regenerated.

[5:06] Because none of us did anything for God to choose us. He said, by grace are you saved through faith. And not of yourself, lest any man should boast. No one can boast. No one can boast.

[5:17] He said in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, The best things of this world, What people don't value, Those have God chosen. So that no man can boast. Can you imagine?

[5:28] And the best things of this world, And the things which are despised, Has God chosen. Hallelujah. The things which are despised, Has God chosen. So don't be worried if the world doesn't celebrate us.

[5:40] The world can despise us. Yet God has chosen us. Hallelujah. Has God chosen. Yay. And the things which are not, To bring to naught the things that are.

[5:50] He has chosen the things that, If you are counting, If you are selecting what is important, You won't regard. But God said, What we do, People disregard, He has chosen. You are chosen. And now look at the next verse.

[6:01] Verse 29. That no flesh. It is flesh, humanity. No flesh. When it comes to God, You can boast. Hallelujah. Doesn't matter how much God has done through you.

[6:12] It doesn't matter how people are celebrating. I was sharing with the pastors, Some of the pastors yesterday, When we went out for outreach, And I was having a conversation with them, And I was telling them about how, Anybody who God really is using, Is a very humbling experience.

[6:27] Because people will give you so much credit. But you know, That the credit you are giving me, If something is taking off me, I will be asked nothing. You will always know, When God is using you, That it's not you.

[6:41] Because you produce certain type of results, That you by yourself, You know that, This is getting interesting. But you won't be telling people, You just keep going.

[6:53] When God has chosen to use you, You just keep going. But you must be very humble in your heart. You must always be humble. So we are chosen by God. We are appointed by God.

[7:05] He said that no flesh should boast. God doesn't like boasting. That's why Paul, Paul, Paul, In Galatians, I feel like preaching, You know, In Galatians, He says that, Forbid that I should boast, Save in the cross of Christ my Lord.

[7:21] For whom the world, I like that, 614, He said, God forbid that I should glory. Some translation says, I should boast. I should glory, Save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[7:32] By whom the world is crucified to me, And I unto the world. God forbid that I should boast. God forbid that I should boast. The New King James says, That I should boast, Except in the cross.

[7:44] So God doesn't want us to boast. Except in the things that make us nothing. That bring Him all the glory. Listen to where I'm going. So, It makes you nothing. It takes focus of importance from you.

[7:55] And places focus of importance on the cross. The cross. The cross. The cross which the world thinks is foolishness. When glory seems to be coming to you, You take the glory, And you put it to the cross.

[8:11] To the cross. So that it's not about you. God does not want any of us to boast. Because whoever you are in life, Somebody could have been better than you.

[8:21] Or there's someone who is better than you, In whatever you are doing, But doesn't get your level of results. Your education is important, But that is not what guarantees your elevation.

[8:34] Your education is important, But that is not the sole thing, That guarantees your elevation. Especially if God is behind you. So every believer must learn, And must always remind yourself, Hey, you are flesh.

[8:46] You are flesh. Calm down. Calm down. Humble yourself. And look up to God. Humble yourself. And look up to God. Humble yourself. And look up to God. Shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. So with the privileges, That God give us, In bringing us into Christ's, Which you didn't do anything about, According to Titus.

[9:04] Titus chapter 3 verse 5, That was all. So where it talks about, Not of things that we have done, But God has regenerated us. Not by works of righteousness, Which we have done.

[9:14] But according to, Salvation is not the entitlement of anyone. Salvation is not predicated on behavior. It's predicated on mercy.

[9:26] Salvation. Good vision. Good vision. Salvation. Salvation is at the mercy of mercy. Salvation is a function of God's mercy.

[9:38] Not appropriate behavior. Salvation is a function of God's mercy. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1.

[9:50] You, You were dead in your transgressions and sin. In that time, We were aliens from the life of God. Look at verse 2. Wherein in the past, We walk according to the course of this world.

[10:04] According to the prince of the power of the air. And the spring died is now at work in the children of disobedience. Look at the three. Also, Also, Also, We had our lifestyle, Our behavior, Our conversation.

[10:17] In times past, In the lust of the flesh, Fulfilling the desires of the flesh, And of the mind, And were by nature, Children of wrath. Can you imagine? God looks at you, And you are provoking, It's from the course of your lifestyle.

[10:29] Children of wrath, Even as the others. But verse 4 changes everything, But God. But God. But God. But God who is rich in mercy.

[10:42] God is rich in mercy. That's why you are saved. That's why you can be in church. That's why you can go to heaven. That's why God can help you. Why? Because God is rich in mercy.

[10:57] Hallelujah. In first Timothy chapter 1, Paul himself talks about how he was a blasphemer. He was an injurious person. He was persecuting the church.

[11:10] He said, But he obtained mercy. He obtained mercy. He obtained mercy. I obtained mercy. I obtained mercy. And look at verse 15. I like the verse 15.

[11:21] I like the verse 15. Verse 15 is really good. This is a faithful saying, And worthy of all acceptation. Anyone who can't accept this, Is trying to say that, Intellectually you are not all together. That's what he's saying.

[11:31] Because when he looks at his life, He can say that this is an intellectual fact. He said, Worthy of all acceptation. That Christ came in the world to die for sinners. Of whom I'm chief. Now, A chief sinner has become a chief preacher.

[11:45] So he was trying to say, It wasn't because of something I did. No one can be born again because of something they did. You will never get involved in your conception, did you? No.

[11:56] No. No. What contribution did you make towards your natural birth? Nothing. Nothing. What makes you think you can have any contribution towards your spiritual birth? No. So that no man can boast.

[12:07] Yes. But the point, Now let me go to where I was going. Now that you have had all these privileges downloaded on you, Or awarded to you, Or lavished on you, You must always remember it comes with a certain responsibility.

[12:23] Now, When somebody trusts you, They have actually put a huge burden on you. Some people don't know this.

[12:36] That's why you betray people's trust. When I trust you, With my medical reports, My medical information, I've given you a very huge responsibility.

[12:50] You have to make sure that this information I've given to you, You reward me for giving it to you. When you are trusted by a pastor and put you in a position, You must remember, That is a very, very big responsibility on you.

[13:07] When you are trusted by a friend, And they expose or give you certain information about themselves, You can go and tell others. You can go and tell others, And it might not be new.

[13:18] The reason why we wear clothes, Is not that people don't know, You have a chest. So, So, If you see my knees, And you go and tell somebody, He has got knees, I mean, We all know there should be knees.

[13:34] It's not new, But it's covered. And I only expose it to you based on trust. It's not new, But it's based on trust, You can see my knee. I just kept it to the knee.

[13:52] You are a chosen generation, A royal priesthood, A holy nation, A peculiar people. Don't stop there. Don't stop there. The scripture has not ended. Don't stop there.

[14:05] That you should show forth The praises of him. That your life, Now brings so much praise to him. In two ways.

[14:17] Actively and passively. What's the passive one, Where your life brings praise to him? In Matthew chapter 5 verse 16, Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men, That they will see your good works, And give glory to your father, Which is in heaven.

[14:31] That's the passive. Sometimes people are thanking God, For your life, Without you realizing it. Without you realizing it. People look at you and say, The way this guy lives this life, It's nice.

[14:43] Jesus is really real. People must, Your husband must be convinced, That God is really at work. He might not know where God is working, But when he looks at your life, He might be able, He should be able to tell that, God, I thank you for my wife.

[15:00] I thank you for my husband. Your wife must be able to look at you, And say, I thank God for my husband. If your closest allies, Or closest family members, Can't thank God for your life, You still have a lot of work to do.

[15:18] Because they are very close. And they can tell the genuineness of your life. So, It says that, That we should bring forth, So, That's a passive one. But today, I'm focusing on the active one.

[15:30] The active praise, Where you yourself, Actively engage, In praising God. Praising God. My lifetime, Praise God. That's a good one.

[15:41] But you yourself, You have to open your mouth, And take steps, In giving God praise. It's so important. So, Psalm 92 talks about, It is a good thing, To give thanks to the Lord.

[15:54] What? What? It's a gift thing, To give thanks to the Lord, And to sing, Ah, Ah. It's not, To wish praise, To sing.

[16:05] Hallelujah. It's an active thing to do. We say, To sing praises. It's a good thing. And we have been called, To bring praises to him. I was studying my Bible, And I found out that, One of the last things Jesus did, Before he went to the cross, Was they sang a hymn.

[16:23] After, We only focus on the communion. But after the communion, According to Matthew chapter 26, Verse 30, And Mark chapter 14, Verse 26, Bible says, And when they had sang a hymn, They went out to the mount of it.

[16:36] That's after, Look at verse 29. Matthew 26, 29. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth, Of this fruit of the vine, Until the day, When I will drink it, New, With you, In my father's kingdom.

[16:49] Now look at it, That's communion. It's commenting on communion. And look at it, Next verse, It says, And when they had sang a hymn. So it says this, The singing of him, Was part of their meetings.

[16:59] So much that, After communion, They sang a hymn. And in Mark chapter 14, Verse 26, They say him. And when they had sang a hymn, They sang a hymn.

[17:11] In Ephesians chapter 5, Verse 18, Talks about how, Don't be filled in wine, With wine, Wherein is excess, But be filled by the spirit.

[17:22] Be filled. One of the signs of a spirit-filled person, Is the verse 19. Be filled by the spirit, Speaking to yourself, In psalms, And hymns, And spiritual songs.

[17:35] Pastor, What are psalms? Psalm 91, Is there? Hymns, When you turn into singing. And spiritual songs, What are spiritual songs?

[17:46] I'm yet to tell you more, But be in the spirit and sing. Sing, But the key point, I want to make it, Singing and making melody, Your hearts.

[18:00] Making music in your heart. To the Lord. That's praising God. When you read the psalms, The psalms is divided into five major parts. Every major section finishes with doxology.

[18:12] Praises to the Lord. Every major section. And sometimes, The psalmist will be speaking about, I'm going through this, And I'm going through this. But it always ends with, To the praise of God. God be praised. God be praised.

[18:23] So the psalm, Is actually primarily, About praising God. In spite of, All the life expressions, And emotional expressions, That are captured in the psalm, Or embraced within the psalm, Is always sealed, With praise to God.

[18:38] Praise to God. And it says that, Speaking to yourself in psalms. In psalms. You can't speak in psalms, Without adding praise. Because the psalm, Is praise filled.

[18:51] Praising to the Lord. Speaking adorations to God. Speaking how God is majestic. How God is glorious. How God, Let it come out of your mouth. Some of us, When you open your mouth, Is complaining.

[19:02] Why oh me, Why this? Complaining, Complaining, And murmuring, And murmuring, And watch this. People didn't go, To the promised land, Because of murmuring. According to, First Corinthians chapter 10.

[19:15] They murmured, And became victims, In the wilderness. First Corinthians chapter 10. Memoring, Can victimize, A person. I believe. Neither mamahi, As some of them, Also murmured, And they were destroyed, Of the destroyer.

[19:32] Memoring, Memoring, Every time you have something, To complain to God about. Every time. And many people, Who complain in church, Never gets used by God, In the church.

[19:44] No, No, No, No, Any place you complain, If you complain about your husband, God can use you, To be a blessing to your husband. If you complain about your wife, God can, Because complaining, Backs God off.

[19:58] Why do you think, The Bible says, God loves a cheerful giver? Bible says that, Serve the, Ooh, Some 100. Serve the Lord with gladness. Serve God with gladness. Serve God with gladness.

[20:10] Serve God with gladness. A church, That is not filled with glad hearts, Will never grow. And will never see the hand of God. Serve God with gladness.

[20:22] Serve God with gladness. Serve God in Psalm 122. He said, I was glad, Verse 1, I was glad when they said, To be let us go to the house of the Lord. I was glad. When I heard that it's time for church, I was glad.

[20:36] I was glad. And so, The best place of praise, Is joy in the heart. In Isaiah chapter 12, Verse 3 and 4, It says that with joy, You draw our waters from the wells of salvation.

[20:51] You need to be joyful. In Philippians chapter 4, Verse 4, Rejoice in the Lord again, Isaiah. Rejoice.

[21:03] Jesus was getting ready to go and die, But they sang him. They sang him. He knew he was going to die, But they sang him. They sang him.

[21:14] In Colossians chapter 3, Verse 6, Let the word of God dwell in you richly. Oh my goodness. Thank you, Jesus. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, In all wisdom.

[21:26] Teaching and admonishing. See that one another. How can you do it, If you are not within the context of church? There are so many one another's in the New Testament. Teaching and admonishing one another, In Psalms, In hymns, Spiritual songs, Singing with grace in your heart, To the Lord.

[21:44] So we are a chosen generation, A royal priesthood, A holy nation, A cordial people, But you know what? We are also supposed to, We have been called out, For a purpose, A heavenly purpose, To bring glory to his name, To bring praises to his name.

[22:00] The songwriter, I love this song, He said, Take my life and let it be. Consecrated Lord to thee. Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Hallelujah! Sometimes, Even when you are going through difficult times, You must make sure, Your life is not void of hallelujah.

[22:19] Never run out of hallelujah, Doesn't matter what you go through. Never run out of hallelujah, Never run out of hallelujah, Never run out of hallelujah, Shout hallelujah! Hallelujah!

[22:31] And never be ashamed, To express your praise to God. Never be reserved, In expressing your praise to God. Don't be ashamed! Don't be ashamed!

[22:42] To bring praise to God, Saying, God, I love you. God, thank you. Some of you, Some of us, Our children must know, That mommy will just say, Very soon, Mommy will say, Thank you, Jesus. Daddy will say, I have a mommy, I always thank you, Jesus.

[22:53] Daddy, I always thank you, Jesus. It's good your children, Begin to notice that about you. Because when God, Appeared to Solomon, And he said, Solomon, Tell me what I should do for you. Do you know Solomon's points of reference? He said, My dad walked with you, And you blessed him.

[23:06] Your children are watching, Your walk with God. They are watching. In their day of need, They will call on the God of their father. They will call on the God of their mother. Don't tell them what to do.

[23:19] Do it for them to see it. Every time you are on the phone with your sister, Complaining, Complaining, Complaining, Complaining. Every time you are on the phone with your brother, Complaining, Complaining, Complaining, Memories, Memories.

[23:31] After church, You pick a call and begin to complain. They are in their car. They are listening. They are watching you. They are watching mommy's duplicity. They are watching daddy's duplicity.

[23:47] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The hallelujah only comes when you see church people. But it's not really deep in your heart. It's skin deep. Your hallelujah shouldn't be skin deep.

[23:58] My brothers and sisters, Your hallelujah should be so deep That even when you are taking injection Or something, You are, Maybe you are, Let's say, You will be sedated. But let's say you are even sedated or something.

[24:10] And you, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! This thing has really eaten you up. Yeah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Some of us, When you are put under pressure, The first thing that will come out of my life May be sweared.

[24:25] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. But I know you are changing. Hallelujah. By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, You are changing.

[24:38] God is moving us from glory to glory to glory. Shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so it says that, Let the word of God dwell in you richly That you will be able to admonish others in psalm.

[24:50] Teaching, Teaching and admonishing one another In psalms, Hymns, Spiritual songs, Singing and making, Singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

[25:03] Praising God is not an option, It's a command. It's a command. It's a command. The Bible talks about how Moses, When he finished building the tabernacle, The Bible says that, When he finished building the tabernacle, The glory of God filled the place.

[25:22] Exodus chapter 40, That Moses, Verse 34 and 35, Moses couldn't even enter. When you create an atmosphere for God, He will occupy it. Oh, I'll say that again.

[25:34] When you create an atmosphere for God, He will occupy it. Atmospheres are important. Atmospheres, Very important. So Exodus chapter 40, Verse 34, Says that, Then a cloud covered the tents of the congregation, And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

[25:54] Not everywhere. That tabernacle that was erected purposely for him, He filled it. Look at the next verse. The glory of God filled it, And Moses was not able to enter into the tents of the congregation, Because the clouds abode thereon, And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

[26:13] I pray that may God's glory fill your house. May God's glory fill your life. May God's glory fill your car. That other things can't enter, Because God has filled it.

[26:26] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. May God's glory fill your body so much, That sickness cannot feel comfortable in your body. But you have to create the atmosphere for him.

[26:37] Create the atmosphere. You see, If you create a heavenly atmosphere, Heaven will just come to the heavenly atmosphere. God dwells in this atmosphere.

[26:48] If you can replicate the atmosphere to a certain dimension, You automatically invite God. God will come because he's in that atmosphere there. It's so important to create an atmosphere.

[26:59] An atmosphere of praise. In Psalm 22 verse 3, It says that, I think we should all read the front of the screen. Are you ready? Yes. Alright. Let's read it out. Let's go. I know you know what I will say.

[27:16] It's not loud enough. Let's read it again. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praise of Israel. Can I hear the ladies please? But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praise of Israel.

[27:31] Wonderful. Can we check the men as well? Men. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praise of Israel. Sometimes the people who choose not to read, I don't understand that.

[27:43] I don't understand that. Listen, no one can, oh no one can tell me what to read. No one can't read. We are reading the word of God. You are just replicating what God has said. You are just, it's coming out of your mouth.

[27:54] That is too much. What's too difficult about that? Sometimes a Christian should just take the Bible and read it out loud. Read it out loud.

[28:04] No, don't add anything. What is just written? Because the Bible is God's word. This, this, this. Whatever is written, whatever is written, even what Satan said inside it, when you read it, it's the word of God.

[28:16] I know it's complex now. It's getting, it's okay. All right, let me explain what I said. Satan appeared in Genesis chapter three and he told the woman, has God said? Okay. Has God said? He should do. So that was words of the devil.

[28:29] That's words of the devil. But it's in the word of God. So that is the word of God. Do you understand? And when you read it with the understanding of God's goodness, it's the word of God.

[28:41] So anything you take from the Bible and you read it, even Jesus said that until the son of man returns, not even a jot or a tittle of the script. So the dot on the I is equally the word of God.

[28:55] The dot, let alone just one word in the, it's the word of God. And so when you pick the word of God and you speak it out of your mouth, you have actually released the grace of God in your mouth.

[29:06] You have released the power of God. You have released the glory of God. So that's why I like asking people to read it. Sometimes it's nice and then when we read it in unison, oh, it's so amazing.

[29:17] Beautiful. Let's do it again. Let's do that exercise again. Please, let's read it. Let's go. But thou art holy, oh, thou art holy, inhabit the praises of Israel. One more time.

[29:28] But thou art holy, oh, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. For the last time. But thou art holy, oh, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Hallelujah.

[29:39] That alone, this week, you can just keep saying that. But thou art holy. The focus is God. You, oh God, are holy. How about God? He inhabits. Ah, ah.

[29:50] Where does he inhabit? The praises of Israel. Israel is his people. The praises. That's his habitation. That's God's natural habitat. His praise of his people.

[30:01] Yes, yes. Not the prayers of his people. Woo. The praises of his people. Oh, you are praising. God's natural habitat is the praises of his people.

[30:12] But thou art holy. Oh, you who lives in the praises of his people. So when we come together and we begin to sing his praise or speak his praises, we create a habitat for him and it shows up.

[30:28] That's why when Paul and Silas was in prison, in Acts chapter 16, verse 25, Bible said at midnight. And at midnight, Paul and Silas, what did they do?

[30:38] They prayed and sang praises. One of the translations I saw, which, where did you bless me this morning? It said, and about midnight, Paul and Silas, while praying, sang hymns of praise to God.

[30:52] So they were praying, but they made sure the prayer had, while praying, they sang hymns. Wow. And so some of us, we pray and pray and pray and your prayer is void of praise.

[31:04] Wow. Jesus said, when they asked Jesus, teach us how to pray. He said, when you pray, the content of your prayer should be, our Father in heaven.

[31:15] First thing, hallowed be your name. That's the first request. It's an ascribing praise to him and as I said, they're requesting that his name be praised. Hallowed be your name.

[31:26] The first content, when you say, okay, I'm talking to our Father in heaven, the next thing, hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name. Hallowed be your name. So, whilst praying, they sang praises.

[31:38] Bible says that, don't be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, back with thanksgiving. Sometimes we forget about that one. We only think of prayer, prayer, prayer. No, no, no. There must be thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the plate on which you serve your prayers.

[31:51] In Revelation chapter 8, Bible says that, the angel took incense and offered the incense with the prayers of his people. So, the incense that takes our prayers, it must be the praise.

[32:03] When God hears praises, he begins to show up because he inhabits the praise of his people. When you pray, God can send angels.

[32:16] Most of the time, when you pray, God will send angels to answer, most of the time. But when you praise God, usually he counts down himself. Praise invites God and God is not able to turn down an invitation of praise.

[32:30] Do you know why? Because he inhabits praises. I'm just trying to suggest to a congregation that we should never run out of praise. It doesn't matter what you are going through.

[32:42] You must be able to still let your hallelujah not go silent. You should be able to always say, praise you, Lord Jesus. Hallelujah, Lord Jesus. Praise you.

[32:52] And mean it from your heart. Praise you, Lord Jesus. Sometimes you are crying. Oh, I begotten. But I still praise you, Lord. I still praise you, Lord. Sometimes you don't understand why these things are happening.

[33:04] But I still praise him. I still praise him. Because God is good. And his mercy endures forever. Shout hallelujah.

[33:15] Praise God. We must be a praiseful people. Our lives must be full of praise. Praise God for that child of yours.

[33:27] Praise God for that son or daughter of yours. Praise God for that job of yours. Praise God for that commendation situation. Praise God. In everything, praise God. Someone shout hallelujah.

[33:39] Hallelujah. You know, if you are not conscious about this and do it consciously and intentionally, Satan can take advantage of you. Because I'm going to show you five things that praise can do for you.

[33:52] The power of praise. Can I show you in the end? Number one, what's the benefit of praising God? When you praise God, what happens? Is someone learning something at all?

[34:04] Do we have some praises in the house? We read in Psalm 22, verse 3. Where does God live? Where does he?

[34:14] What is his natural habitat? That's why in heaven, the Bible says, the angels never cease to praise him. They constantly, holy, holy, and holy, holy. When we get to heaven, we'll be singing and praising him.

[34:26] We'll be singing and praising him. We'll be singing and praising him. And when we get to heaven, we change the content of their lyrics in heaven. When we get to heaven, we begin to introduce praising to the lamb that was slain.

[34:42] Because we are the redeemed. Angels are not redeemed. So when we go to heaven, our praises bring a dimension that angels have never experienced. It says that they never cease to praise.

[34:52] Worthy is the lamb seated on the throne. Revelation chapter 5. They praise the lamb. The lamb who was slain. Who was slain. Hallelujah.

[35:04] Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, blessing. That's in heaven. Singing and praising to the lamb who died to save us.

[35:17] It said for you, verse 9, for you were slain and has redeemed us. And they sang a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seal thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed.

[35:30] Ah, redeemed people are talking now. Redeemed people are talking now. And has redeemed us unto God by your blood out of every kindred, people, nation, and has made us kings and priests.

[35:41] royal priesthood. You see that, has made us unto our God. Kings and priests. Royal priesthood. It's there. That's the content of our worship. And we get there. It's always going to be praising.

[35:52] It's always going to be praising. That is why when you are redeemed, you have, you, ooh, this is good. Every redeemed soul always have something to praise God for. In spite of what is not going the way you expect, there's always a reason to thank God and praise Him.

[36:09] So now, benefits of praise, number one, Bible says God inhabits the praises. So, when you praise God, you guarantee His presence in your life. And in Psalm 97, verse 5, it says that hills melt like wax at the presence of the Lord.

[36:25] And the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Hills, they represent challenges. When God shows up, some things will vanish. Those problems still are big.

[36:36] Look at, Naum 1, verse 5, mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is bent at His presence. Whatever challenge seems unsurmountable, as you praise God and you secure God's presence, whatever is in your life, that stubborn situation will melt away.

[36:59] Hallelujah! Hallelujah! So, when you praise God, you secure His presence. you secure His presence. And who can stand against the Lord?

[37:11] Who can stand against the Lord? Who can stand against the Lord? Who can stand against the Lord? You secure His presence. And so, praise brings His presence. You remember how in the book of 2 Samuel, David and Israel went to the house of Obedidom to go and bring the ark of His presence.

[37:32] and how they were doing. They were bringing it with singing, music. The King Jesus says, music. Bringing it with music and dancing. 2 Samuel 6, verse 15.

[37:46] And so, David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting with the sound of the trumpet. Look at verse 16. And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, that's David's wife, looked through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing.

[38:05] Let's forget about Michal. What she saw was what they were doing. Singing and dancing, singing and dancing. David the King. Why? Because he was ushering the presence of the ark into the city of David.

[38:18] Praise has the way of attracting God. As you praise God, sometimes a situation happens at work, quickly go to the toilet, the restroom, and then begin to praise God.

[38:30] Praise God for solution. Thank you, Lord. Thank you that you have made a way for me. Thank you, Lord. Before you go and make a decision, praise God. So, praise secures his presence.

[38:41] Number two, look at Psalm 67, verse 5 to 7. Sometimes I want you to see the text, then you can deduce what praise does there. Let the people praise the, oh, really?

[38:51] Let's already allow. Let the people praise thee, oh, God. Let all the people praise thee. Wow! Let all the people praise thee.

[39:03] In Psalm 150, it says that, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. So, Psalm 60, back to what we're reading, Psalm 67, it says that, let the people praise, let the people praise thee, oh, God, let all the people praise thee.

[39:22] The next verse, we are going to verse 7. What happens when the people praise you? What happens when the people praise you? What happens when the people praise you? Then, praise must go, then the earth shall yield its increase.

[39:35] And God, even our God, shall bless us. Look at the next verse, verse 7. God shall bless us and all the ends of the earth shall fail. Why?

[39:46] It starts with praises, then there is a reaction. Then the earth yields its increase. You want the benefits loaded in life? You must be a praiseful person. Learn how to praise God.

[39:58] Then the earth will yield its increase. The blessing of God on this earth will begin to speak for you. Give it a go and sing. The rest of the year, live a praiseful life.

[40:10] A life that brings praise to God. Praise him. Every time you open your mouth, say, God, I thank you. I give you praise. I appreciate you. I celebrate what you have done for me. There are things you can thank God for in your life.

[40:22] Focus on those things instead of the things that you can complain about. Thank God for. You are losing your hair. Thank God you have not lost your beard. You know, things like that. Yeah.

[40:38] Why am I getting so much sleep? Why am I getting so much sleep? At least, thank God you had a lot of food to eat. Number three, praise provokes divine intervention.

[40:54] Second Chronicles chapter 20, verse 15 says that. And he said, how can ye all and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem endow King Jehoshaphat? Thus says the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude for the battle, uh-oh, the battle is not yours.

[41:10] Whose battle is it? The Lord. That situation you are going through, whose battle is it? The Lord. Yeah. If it's the Lord, then you must learn how to hand over the battle to the Lord. That's where praise comes in.

[41:23] Praise will transfer the battle into the hands of the Lord. He said that. Don't be afraid. So, tomorrow, go down against the, ah, by the Lord's battle, why should I go down against them? God should go down against them.

[41:35] Why should I go down against them to go and fight the army? No, he said, go down against them. See, verse 16. Tomorrow, go ye down against them, behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel.

[41:51] You shall not need to fight, ah, ah, you shall not need to fight in this battle. Search yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you. Oh, Judah in Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed.

[42:02] tomorrow, go out against them for the Lord, ah, he said we shall not fight, but we should go down against them. But he said, I don't, we shall not need to fight in this battle. Yeah, I'm going to show you how you should transfer the battle, because God's battle, he will fight, but you have to go down against them.

[42:19] All right, so he says that, go down against them, and verse 18 says that, and Jehochaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the prophets of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

[42:32] And the Levites and the children of the Kohathites and all the children of the Kohites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice, uh-oh, on high.

[42:43] And they arose early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went forth, Jehochaphat stood and said, hear me, O Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God and he shall be established.

[42:57] Believe in his prophets and he shall prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers, oh, not a militia, singers, singers, singers, singers, unto the Lord, and that shall praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and to say, praise the Lord for his mercies and dear friends.

[43:17] And when they began, watch this, watch this, and when they began to sing and to praise the Lord, the Lord was engaged. That's how they transferred the battle. When they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Abnon and Moab and Mansir, which had come against Judah and they were smitten.

[43:36] What? Just the praising, that's how to transfer the battle in the hands of God. So when you praise God, you actually provoke divine intervention or better still, you transfer the battle to God.

[43:48] Praise God for that thing. You have prayed about it enough. Praise God for it and see the battle transformed into God's hands. Somebody shout hallelujah. Shout hallelujah. And let me add last too quickly.

[44:00] You overcome demonic opposition or resistance. When you praise God, there's a way at midnight, I quoted Acts chapter 16 verse 25, at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed.

[44:11] You remember? They prayed and sang praises and Bible says that and suddenly there was an earthquake and the foundation of the prison was shaking. What happened? They praised God and their chains fell off.

[44:24] That demonics situation became cheap meat in the hands of the angels of God. In Joshua chapter 6 verse 1 to 3, Jericho was strictly shat because of the children of Israel.

[44:37] This is serious opposition. They said, you are not going anywhere. You are not going. You are not making any progress. But the Lord told Joshua, verse 2, and the Lord said unto Joshua, see, I have given, ah, I have given in thy hand Jericho and the king thereof and the mighty men of a wheelie.

[44:52] He said, what should we do? Verse 3 says, go before them tomorrow. You shall encompass the city, all the men of war and go around the city and thou shalt do this six days. And then on the seventh they go seven times and then shout.

[45:06] Praise God and that's it. And so in the verse 16, Joshua told them, shout for the Lord has given you the city. Shouting, the Hebrew word for shout is shabak. It's one of the words translated as praise, meaning shouting, praising God with a loud shout and sustained shout.

[45:24] So shabak, that's Psalm 47 verse 1. Clap your hands all you people and shout unto God. The Hebrew word shout is shabak. Shabak. Shouting is a form of praising God.

[45:37] So it's a shout. So Joshua said, shout for the Lord has given you the city. And they shouted and the Bible says that the walls of the city fell down. Verse 20. Verse 20. So the people shouted when the police blew the trumpet and it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the trumpet and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat.

[45:59] So the people went up into the city. Every man straight. Don't have to use colors. Straight. Flatting the city. The walls. The walls that were built to keep them out. Shouting brought it down.

[46:12] Praising God in a shout brought the wall down. And so it has a way of dealing with opposition. Bible says in Psalm 8, verse 2. You have ordained strength in the mouth of succulent that you silence.

[46:26] Verse 1. Let's start from verse 1. Verse 1. Look at verse 1. It says, O Lord our God, how excellent is your name in all the who has set thy glory above the heavens. Verse 2. Out of the mouth of babes and succulent has thou ordained strength because of thy enemies that thou mightest steal the enemy and the avenger.

[46:45] God has ordained strength in the mouth that as we open our mouth to release the strength against the enemy. Bible says, among the gods who is like you, doing wonders.

[46:56] Fear of glorious in holiness, fearful in praise, doing wonders. So when we praise God, we engage the fearfulness of God. in Exodus chapter 15, verse 11.

[47:07] It says, among the gods, who is that country, O Lord, amongst the gods, glorious in holiness and what? Fearful in praises. Fearful in praises. When we praise him, he shows up in his might.

[47:18] Fearful in praises. Someone say, hallelujah. Hallelujah. And finally, it's the protocol for heaven. Protocol into the presence of God. Matthew chapter 6, verse 9. It says, when you pray, say, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

[47:30] As you are going, say hallowed be your name. It's very important. In Psalm 100, it says that, enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his calls with praise. And look at verse 4, Psalm 100. Let's look at Psalm 100. I think we should read Psalm 100 together.

[47:41] From verse 1. Psalm 100 from verse 1. It says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Let's all read. Let's go. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye light. Verse 2. Serve the Lord with gladness.

[47:54] Come before his presence with singing. Verse 3. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that has made us. And not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

[48:07] Verse 4. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his calls with praise. Be thankful unto him. How do you enter his gates? And into his calls.

[48:19] It's a protocol. Coming before God. That's why I said, let your prayer be. It acts just for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving. It's a protocol.

[48:30] Jesus said, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. And he ends the prayer by saying, For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. There's something that is called doxology. Giving God praises.

[48:41] Giving the, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 1, all the way to verse 14. Talks about how God has saved us. So he spoke, first of all, the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, verse 3. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3.

[48:53] Blessed be God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who according to our banner has blessed us, who has blessed us, spiritual blessings. And it goes on, and look at how it ends the subject of God in verse 6.

[49:04] Look at verse 6. Verse 6, it says that, To the praise of the glory of his grace, where he has made us, accepted. So this is God, to the praise of the glory of his grace. Then he goes, look at the next verse, goes, it focuses on Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption.

[49:17] That's talking about Jesus Christ, alright? Through his blood. Whose blood? Jesus. No, God the Father's blood. Jesus' blood. Through his blood, the forgiveness, and he spoke about Jesus, spoke about Jesus, talking about what Jesus has done for us, until he gets to the verse 12, and seals it, that we should be to the praise of his glory.

[49:35] Who? Then he goes on the Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinitarian formula. It's always throughout the scripture. So it goes to the Holy Spirit from the verse 13, and then look at verse 14. So verse 14 says that, which is the earnest, that's talking about the Holy Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchase possession, war to the praise of his glory.

[49:57] Did you see that? Verse 6, to the praise of his glory. Verse 12, to the praise of his glory. Verse 14, to the praise of his glory. Everything that God is doing, Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20, unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that he can think or ask of, according to the power that works in us, verse 21, unto him be the glory in the church.

[50:17] Everything God is doing, we must remember, we have to give him glory. When you want to see God work, start praising him. Start giving him glory. When he has done something, praise him. When he's here to do it, praise him.

[50:28] Praise his pain in advance for the things that God is about to do for you. Somebody shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so between now and the end of the year, make sure your life will always be flowing in ceaseless place.

[50:40] And see God, watch God fight for you. Watch God bless you. Watch the earth yield its increase for you. Watch demonic shackles fall off. And see the glory of God manifest in your life.

[50:52] Is somebody ready to give God praise? Oh come on, rise to your feet and give Jesus some praise. Give Jesus some praise. Glorify his name.

[51:04] Lift up your voice. Lift up your voice. Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. When God speaks, works show. And the works will surely show in your life.

[51:16] To hear more from David Entry, follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and subscribe to Karis Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share and subscribe to our podcast so you're always up to date.

[51:29] Be blessed.