Monday, April 22, 2013

04-14-13 FAITHBOOK PRAISE

Psalm 100
       Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 34:3   Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.

The old city of Jerusalem to this day has the archways called gates.  The city was created as a fortress to keep unwanted invaders out.  This was particularly true just out side the temple.  Each progression closer to the holy of holies (the seat of God) had a gate to go through to enter the next court (court of the gentiles, the women, Israel/men, Priests).  You can still see this separation today at the Wailing Wall 3/4 men 1/4 women.

Do you pray when you are in the presence of God or do you send him tweets, posts, texts, emails, or leave voice messages?  What do I mean?  You can get right into the holy of holies if you are a disciple of Jesus – but there is a prescribed way to get through the gates found in Psalm 100 vs 4 - Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

We don’t come to God like a whinny ungrateful self centered child – we come as mature Christ followers who first recognize the one to whom we are approaching – The living God.  We begin by reminding ourselves that he alone is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.  We begin by offering him the gift of our praise and thanksgiving.  We begin at the beginning – giving him the praise and thanksgiving he is due.

The only time to deviate from Psalm 100 praising is in our SOS prayers – during an emergency 911 situation where we need God to act NOW.  What about when I am in a non-emergency situation but I am down in the dumps and life looks bleak – then remember Rom 8:28-29   And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  This doesn’t mean all things are good but that in all things God is working for our good.  Even in the most tragic times, God is still present working on our behalf.  That is reason to give thanks – not for the tragic thing happening but for the God who is carrying you through that circumstance.

          Look at Phil 4:4-7  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess 5:18   give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  “In all circumstances” not FOR all circumstances.

          Ps 43:5   Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

RETELL the story of the Philippian Jail Praise   Acts 16:16-34

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice." 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.

23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God — he and his whole family.

 

What words of praise do we use?

Ex 15:2  The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.

Isa 25:1   O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.

KINDLE BOOK: 99c To him who sits on the throne: Praising God with the scriptures

 

HALLELUJAH! YES, PRAISE THE LORD!

Based on Psalm 150 Liv Bib: song written by Jeff Cooper 1988

Praise Him in his temple

and in the heavens He made with His mighty power,

His mighty power.

 

Praise Him for his mighty works,

and His unequaled greatness.

Praise the Lord!

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Praise Him with the trumpet,

And with the lute and the harp,

Lute and the harp.

 

Praise Him with the tambourines,

And with the processional.

Praise the Lord!

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Praise Him with stringed instruments,

And with the horns,

With the horns.

 

Praise Him with the cymbals,

Yes, loud clanging cymbals.

Praise the Lord!

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Let everything alive

Give praise to the Lord,

To the Lord.

 

You---praise---Him.  Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord!

 

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.      Your love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.      Your love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:      Your love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,      Your love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,      Your love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,      Your love endures forever.

who made the great lights —       Your love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,      Your love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;      Your love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt    Your love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them    Your love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;      Your love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder    Your love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,      Your love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;      Your love endures forever.

to him who led his people through the desert,      Your love endures forever.

who struck down great kings,      Your love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings —       Your love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites    Your love endures forever.

and Og king of Bashan —       Your love endures forever.

and gave their land as an inheritance,      Your love endures forever.

an inheritance to his servant Israel;      Your love endures forever.

to the One who remembered us in our low estate    Your love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies,      Your love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature.      Your love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.      Your love endures forever.

Rev 22:12-16   "Behold Jesus! You am coming soon! Your reward is with you, and you will give to everyone according to what he has done. You am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. "You, Jesus, have sent your angel to give us this testimony for the churches. You are the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

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