Friday, May 4, 2012

GET YOUR PRAISE ON....

"I WILL GIVE THANKS WITH MY WHOLE HEART!"
YESTERDAY WAS AMERICA'S ANNUAL NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER. HERE IN SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, WE CHOSE THE FOLLOW AS OUR KEY SCRIPTURE VERSE TO SHOW HOW WE, THE ACTUAL PEOPLE OF GOD, SHOULD APPROACH THIS DAY AND EVERYDAY AS A PERSON OF PRAYER AND PRAISE:
TODAY, AS WE WRAP UP OUR THREE DAY FOCUS, WE SEE WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THE MECHANISM OF PRAYER.WHILE A SPECIFIC DAY IS SET ASIDE FOR NATIONAL PRAYER, THE PRAYER AND PRAISE SHOULD NEVER STOP.  IF WE CALL OURSELVES CHILDREN OF THE LIVING GOD, WE WILL LINE UP WITH WHAT REVELATION 4 CLEARLY SHOWS - HEAVEN IS FULL OF CONTINUAL PRAISE TO OUR LIVING GOD!
"What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also".(1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV)


You know the story of two men in prison for their faith. They begin singing and praising God all night until an earthquake hits the joint and all the convicts flee - except these same two men. We know them as Paul and Silas. The jail from Philippi instead of full of panic because of all his escaped cons, apparently was very convicted by the Praise and Hymns and Worship of the ONE TRUE GOD all night long from Paul and Silas!


We know this because the first thing he did was not call for a back-up to chase the escaped prisoners, but to get lights, seek out Paul and Silas, fall to his knees and cry out "Sirs, what must I do to be saved????!!!!" The Philippian Jailer didn't say "hey guys, you have to help me out here, or the Warden is going to have my head"....etc...the jailer literally asked (in the original language) "I will do anything necessary to be saved....just tell me how!!!!"


This is a direct result of what was happening all night, since Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown into chains in the hoosegow! I wish to show you this verse as it is leading up to what we've been talking about the past two days, and now today in our KEY VERSE above. Acts 16:25 says "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them!"


Notice two things here:
1. They are praying with both their mouths out loud, and also in the Spirit.
2. They were actively engaging their persons in praise by singing Hymns out lout!


The reason this verse matters is it is a yardstick for OUR praying today and always!  The original intent and used here for "praying" in Acts 16:25 is "proseuchomai"!  This literally means proseltyzing or Evangelizing! They were using their Praise to ask the Lord and entreat Him to save somebody! They were preaching a sermon of revival and outreach, while engaging their minds and every fiber of their being in PRAISE! WOOHOO!!


This is what the Spiritual Heart is - Body, Mind and Soul....all in sync in perpetual proseuchomai or evangelistic intercession. King David said the following passage which embodies everything I just spoke above about, to explain praising God with your "WHOLE HEART" or every fiber of your spirit woman or man!!! He said:

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
(Psalm 9:1-2 ESV)

Why did David say this? He gave us an example or two here:

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
(Psalm 9:9-10 ESV)


The rest of the psalm gives more examples and shows our friend, David, in submission, supplication and serving as an example of how we approach prayer, intercession and ultimately intercession.


Earlier in on this message, I mention the Praise that is going on in front of the VERY THRONE OF GOD RIGHT NOW in Revelation 4. God gave us a glimpse of what we should be looking forward to! This should lead us to develop a lifestyle of worship RIGHT NOW so we can really love the Lord our God with all our Heart, Soul and Mind. 


Here below, is the relevant portion of Revelation 4
May it bless you this day. 
May it lead you to get your praise on today. 
May it lead you to develop the mindset of worshipiung Him with your entire spiritual heart. 
May this lifestyle of praise engage your entire being, in a higher purpose, a higher calling. 
May it then lead you to heights heretofore unknown, as a child of the King! Amen



"....and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
(Revelation 4:6-11 ESV)


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