The Priority of Praise

Every one of us has a favorite time of the year, a favorite month of the year which we appreciate more than other times. Mine happens to be the last two months of the year, both November and December. It's all about the celebration of what takes place in those months.

And when you think about all the songs that are sung and all the sights that are seen, and even the smells of the holiday season are unique and special. And so we embark on a time of the year where the whole world basically is involved in some kind of celebration when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas. But the believer's celebration is different.

It's unique in that the believer's celebration is based on three key components. It's based on number one, a contemplation. The reason we are to celebrate the Christ is because we contemplate him, we meditate upon him, we think only of him, and we recognize that the season is all about him.

So our celebration consists of a contemplation. Outside of that, it consists of a consideration. And the word to consider is a mathematical term whereby you add up all the facts and come to the right conclusion.

And so as we contemplate this great God that we serve, we begin to consider all that he does and all that he is by adding up all the facts of everything about his being and his works, and we celebrate him. And that contemplation leads to a consideration which leads to a commemoration. That is, we understand who Christ is and we remember all that he has done which allows our celebration to be that which is beyond what the world gives because it honors and glorifies the name of Christ.

And when you commemorate someone, you remember them. And it's so important for us to do that. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul says to Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from the dead, which is my gospel.

Why would Paul tell Timothy to remember Jesus? Had Timothy forgotten about Jesus? No. Timothy's a pastor. He's not gonna forget about Jesus.

But you have to understand what it means when the Bible says to remember something. It simply means that you are to pay very close attention so that you can act wisely and fulfill your commitment. So, when Paul tells Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, he's telling him to pay very close attention to the Christ so that in your ministry, you can act wisely and fulfill your commitment.

You can say the same thing about Jonah when Jonah was in the belly of the fish. It says in Jonah chapter 2 that Jonah remembered the Lord and he offered up a voice of thanksgiving to God. Now, did Jonah forget about the Lord? No.

The reason he was in the belly of the fish was because of the Lord. I mean, he was going the opposite way of Nineveh. Everything that he was doing in rebellion was against the Lord.

He didn't forget the Lord, but he had to pay very close attention to the Lord he served so that he could act wisely and make the right decision. So when he remembered the Lord, he lifted his voice in thanksgiving to God. Same is true with Solomon.

When he told his son Rehoboam, remember your creator in the days of your youth. If not, that Rehoboam would have forgotten about his creator. That's not the point.

The point is pay very close attention to the one who created you while you're young because the evil days are coming. And if you pay very close to him now, pay very close attention to him now, you will act wisely, you'll fulfill your commitment so that when the evil days come, you'll be able to stand. The believers had this great celebration of the Christ on a continual basis, not just at Thanksgiving and at Christmas.

We have this continual celebration because of this contemplation upon the Christ, this consideration of the Christ and this commemoration about the Christ. That's why our celebration is so unique. And so, when we pay very close attention to remembering Christ, what are we remembering? Well, one, you remember his works.

Listen to what the Bible says. First Corinthians 11:24. Christ said, do this in remembrance of me, speaking about the Lord's table.

When you partake of the Lord's table, you do this in remembrance of me. You are reminded of the fact that my work on Calvary's cross is that which saves you. Over in Psalm 77:11, it says, I will remember the works of the Lord.

Psalm 103, excuse me, Psalm 105, verse number 5. Remember his marvelous works. Psalm 139, verses 13 to 14, talk about the fact that we were created and wonderfully made and we need to remember that we were made specifically by God.

So we are to remember the works of God, but we're also to remember the ways of God. Deuteronomy 8, verse number 1 says, remember that the Lord your God led you all this way. Important for Israel to remember what God had done, that God had brought them to where they were.

They were on the edge of the promised land and they were there because God had led them all the way. That's what God had done. That's why the psalmist says in Psalm 18:30, as for God, thy way is perfect.

God doesn't have imperfect ways. He's only got perfect ways. And so, we are to pay very close attention to the ways of God so that allows us to act decisively and fulfill our commitment to him when we look at his ways and his works.

The reason we don't remember the ways of God is because we are all about our ways. And the Bible says, there is a way, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death, not life. We forget that.

So not only do we remember the works of God and the ways of God, it's imperative that we remember the word of God. Psalm 119:52, I will remember thy ordinances from old and comfort myself. The psalmist knew that his comfort would come because he paid very close attention to the ordinances of God and then would act wisely and fulfill his commitment to God, and then he received the comfort of God.

Comfort doesn't come to those who disobey the word of God. It comes to those who obey the word of God. That's why Christ said in John 15:20, remember the word that I said unto you.

And the Bible says in Acts 20:35, remember the words of our Lord Jesus when he said it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. And then of course, Psalm 119:16, the psalmist says, I will not forget your words. So that commemoration that enables us to celebrate the Christ is all about remembering the works of God, the ways of God, the word of God, and even the wonders of God.

Listen to what the Bible says. Psalm 77:11, surely I will remember your wonders of old. There's one thing to remember the works of God.

There's another to remember the wonders of God. What's the difference? Listen to what the Bible says. Psalm 105, verse number 5, remember his wonders.

Psalm 111, verse number 4, he has made his wonders to be remembered. Psalm 98, verse number 1, oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things. The difference is, is that in Isaiah 9:6, it says his name shall be called wonderful.

So when you remember the wonders of God, you're remembering the God behind all the works that he performs. And the Bible tells us that we're to remember those things. And as believers, that's what we do, why? Because the Bible says that the people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise, Isaiah 43:21.

That's our theme verse for our topic, the pathway to praise. God made it very clear that those people that I formed for me, they will declare my praise. Well, if that's the case, the reason we do that is because we remember our God.

We remember Jesus Christ. We remember our creator and we give glory to his name. Our lives are consumed with that.

And so we have looked at the privilege of praise. We've looked at the profit of praise. We've looked at the people of praise.

Last week, it was the prerequisite to praise. This week, it's about the priority of praise. Praise is the priority of the believer.

It's something that's always ever present in his life. It's something that rings supreme or reigns supreme in his life because he wants to give praise to his God. He's been created to give praise to God.

And so let me give you six principles that will help you understand why praise is our priority. It will help you as you journey along the pathway to praise.

Principle number one is this, praise is that which escorts us into God's presence.

Praise is that which escorts us into God's presence. Listen to the psalmist, Psalm 100. Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord himself is God. It is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. Enter his courts with thanksgiving and enter his gates with praise.

The psalmist is speaking about the temple where the presence of God, the glory of the Lord would reside, that's where the Lord would dwell among his people.

And the psalmist made it very clear that when you enter into the presence of God, you enter in with shouts of praise and thanksgiving to God. You enter his courts with praise. You enter his gates with thanksgiving.

Why? Because it escorts you into the presence of God. Now we know that God is omnipresent, right? We know that God is everywhere at the same time and there's no place that God is not there. He's everywhere.

He's omnipresent. It's incomprehensible for us to understand that. We can't get that, but he's everywhere.

But we don't have a temple we go to. We don't enter into courts and gates with praise because our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells within us, right? So the very fact that praise is that which escorts us into the presence of God, in other words, praise is that which allows us to enter into communion with him in such a way that it brings glory to his name.

You know, how many times do we feel far away from God? Or we think that God's nowhere around. Israel was always that way. They were always wondering, where's God? How come he's not here to help me? What happened? Is he not listening? Does he not care? Of course he does.

He's everywhere. He's omnipresent. He's present with you now.

But the reason you don't sense God's presence among you is because you refuse to enter that presence with praise. When you begin to praise him and thank him and glorify his name, all of a sudden, you begin to realize that God is ever present with you. He's always there.

He never left. It's when you feel far away from God, it's you who moved, not God. You're trying to move away from him.

But in all reality, he is ever present with you. Listen to Psalm 95. Psalm 95 says, O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and let us shout joyfully to him with songs. It's always about entering the presence of God with a certain attitude, a certain frame of mind.

And that is a mind that is willing and ready to praise the true and living God. Because praise is that which escorts us into the presence of the living God. And once that praise escorts us into the presence of God, number two, praise is that which encompasses us in the protection of God.

It encompasses us with the protection of God. For only in his presence are we protected. And so the Bible says in Psalm 18, David says these words, verse number 1, I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my rock, my God in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised and I'm saved from my enemies.

David knew that his salvation came because of God, the divine protection of God. And that's why he would call upon the name of the Lord, that's why he recognized that the Lord was worthy of praise because God was his refuge, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his savior, his bulwark, his shield. God was everything to him. And David recognized that in those years in which he journeyed away from Saul because Saul pursued him relentlessly, that God was his protector.

In fact, if you go on in Psalm 18, it says these words later in verse number 30, as for God, his way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a shield to all who take refuge in him. For who is God but the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless. He makes my feet like hinds feet and sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle so my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of your salvation. And your right hand upholds me and your gentleness makes me great. You enlarge my steps unto me and my feet have not slipped.

David, writing this after the years in which he fled from Saul and now he's king over Judah and king over Israel, he is looking back and realizing that God gave him the strength to bend the bow, that God gave him the strength to wield the sword, that God was the one who protected him and watched over him.

So at the end he says this, in verse 46. The Lord lives and blessed be my rock and exalted be the God of my salvation. The God who executes vengeance for me and subdues peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies. Surely you lift me above those who rise up against me. You rescue me from the violent man. Therefore, excuse me, I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to your name. I will give thanks to you. Excuse me, I will sing praises to your name, O God. Because you see, praise is that which encompasses us with the protection of the God of Israel.

God is our protector. God's our provider. He's our shield. And so we enter his presence with thanksgiving and praise, and there is nothing but protection from God.

So we recognize that praise is a priority because it escorts me into the divine presence and it encompasses me with divine protection. And then thirdly, this is where it gets really, really good. As if it's not good already, this is where it gets really, really good.

Praise elevates me to the divine perspective. Praise elevates me to the divine perspective. Praise is that which enables me to see what God is doing.

It gives me a clear perspective on the sovereignty and providence of God being worked out in my life. Every one of us asks the question, God, what are you doing? Why has this happened this way and not that way? Why am I in this situation and not that situation? We always ask God those questions. And yet God is forever faithful. But when you praise him, he, it elevates you to the divine perspective.

Turn to the book of Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk, he was a prophet in Israel. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah. And he had some questions, a question that probably you and I would ask if we were living at that time. And the question simply was, Lord, why are you using the wicked Chaldeans to bring your people into captivity? Why would you use the wicked to come against your people, your chosen people, Israel? Why, Lord? So in chapter 1 of Habakkuk, he simply worries and he wonders what's gonna happen to God's people.

In chapter 2, he will wait and he will watch as God speaks. And then in chapter three, he simply worships and witnesses for his God. What would change in the life of Habakkuk? The circumstances never changed.

The circumstances would remain the same. God was still gonna use the wicked Chaldeans, to lead Israel into 70 years of Babylonian captivity. So what changed? Not the circumstances, but Habakkuk's perspective on the circumstances.

When that changed, everything was all right. So he says this at the end of Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 16, I heard and my inward parts trembled. Earlier, he says in chapter 3, verse number 2, I have heard and report about you and I fear.

God's spoken and Habakkuk trembled. At the sound, my lips quivered, decay into my bones and in my place, I tremble because I must quietly or wait quietly for the day of distress. I've come to realize that I can't change what's gonna happen.

I've come to realize that the day of distress is gonna come upon God's people. I've come to realize that the wicked Chaldeans will move against us and take God's people into captivity. So because I must wait quietly for the day of distress for the people to arise who will invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines. Though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no fruit. Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls yet. I will exult in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation for the Lord God is my strength and he has made my feet like hind's feet. Sure, steadfast, swift like a deer and makes me walk on my high places.

Habakkuk's whole perspective changed. God had spoken. So he in effect remembered the word of the Lord.

And he would act decisively because he paid very close attention to what God had said. And he realized that in praise it would elevate him to a divine perspective. He would be able to see things from God's point of view.

And every one of us needs to have that kind of perspective. We think so logically that we can't think theologically. But Biblicists think theologically because they think theocentrically.

They think God's mind, God's thoughts. And the only way to do that is to be invaded by the word of God, to be immersed in the word of God, to know what God has planned and what God has said, to know the works of God and the ways of God, the wonders of God, to know those things about God and to realize that God is at work and God has a plan. And Habakkuk, a prophet of God, had to learn to wait upon the Lord and say, Lord, what are you doing? I don't get it. These are your people. And God would speak to him and God would show him what he was doing. And all of a sudden he would begin to lift his voice in praise to God.

Why? Because he would see things from God's perspective. Listen, everything about life has to be seen from God's perspective. When you look at it through your lenses, from the human perspective, things look really, really bad.

They don't look very, very good. Your health might not look very good to you. The doctor might say you're gonna die next week. I don't know. From the human perspective, it doesn't look very good. But what's God's perspective? What's God's plan? What is God doing? And all of a sudden, even though you don't know what's happening, you begin to lift your voice in praise. You've entered his courts with thanksgiving and praise.

So, you've entered into the divine presence of God because praise escorts you into that presence. And then you realize that you are protected by that God whose presence you dwell within.

And then all of a sudden, you begin to see things from God's perspective because you begin to praise him all the more. That's why the Bible says, the people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise. Not that they might declare my praise or I hope they declare my praise.

No, they will declare my praise. They're gonna do this. And when you do, all of a sudden, you are elevated to a whole new view, a whole new view because you see things from heaven's perspective.

That is just so important. God was at work. God was gonna do something for Israel that the only way he could accomplish his feat was to get them into captivity for 70 years.

Yes, they were paying for the consequences of their sin, but God was doing a work in their lives to move them to anticipate the arrival of their Messiah. God had a plan. For a whole nation, just like he has a plan for you individually.

And God is working. And the next time you find yourself with, man, what is happening? Just lift your voice and praise to the Lord and shout joyfully into his name. And all of a sudden, you'll begin to see things very clearly from the divine perspective.

Praise escorts us into the divine presence. Praise encompasses us with divine protection. And praise is that which elevates us to the divine perspective.

Number four, praise is that which enables us through divine power. Praise is that which enables us through divine power. You know, the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, the presence of God's spirit.

In Acts chapter 1, the Lord said to his disciples, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses. We forget that divine power resides within us and that God wants to enable us to perform under his power.

And it's his strength that allows us to do the things he's commanded us to do. There are so many things that we think we can't accomplish, but God says you can. Because I've already equipped you with my spirit and my spirit resides within you.

The problem is we don't lift our voices in praise to God so that I'm able to understand the divine power within. Go back with me if you would to the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 20. I've used this illustration before, but I think it's very pertinent to the point where King Jehoshaphat was very much afraid of the Moabites and Ammonites and Edomites that were coming upon the nation of Israel.

The armies were innumerable to count. And rightly so, Jehoshaphat began to fear. So the Bible says in verse number 2, a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea out of Aram.

And behold, there in En Gedi, Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Here was Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel, who realized his inability to handle this great army. He couldn't do it. His people were outnumbered.

The skill of the enemy army was beyond Israel's skill. And he realized his inability to do anything. But soon, because of the prophet, he recognized God's sovereignty.

And it says, listen all Judah, verse 15, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. That's just such a great verse. Do not fear the multitude.

Don't fear the fact that you are so outnumbered, you have no chance, because the battle is the Lord's. That's just so good. See, we're so busy fighting our own battles that we forget that the battle is the Lord's.

It's no wonder we lose. The battle is the Lord's. He goes on to say in verse number 17, you need not fight in this battle.

Station yourself. Set yourself. Watch. Wait. Stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you. Oh, it's with you. You can face this army.

And so it says in verse number 19, the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice. They rose early in the morning and they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in his prophets and succeed. When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised him in holy attire as they went out before the army and said, give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting.

He responded obediently because of God's sovereignty amidst his inability. And what did they do? They began to sing praises to God. At the very end, it says in verse number 26, then on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Barakah. For there they blessed the Lord and therefore they have named that place the Valley of Barakah until today. And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. The story is so incredible to realize that all they did was begin to sing to the Lord and the enemies annihilated themselves.

You just need to remember that next time you get in a fight. Just start singing to the Lord, giving praise to his glorious name. And then they knew that God would be with them.

They knew that God would fight for them. The prophet told them. So they waited, but they gave praise to God because praise is that which enables us through divine power.

When we begin to praise God, the power of God is unleashed in our lives. Instead of grumbling and complaining about what's happening, in my life, I begin to praise God for what he's doing because he's gonna do things beyond whatever I can ever imagine. Remember Paul and Silas when they were in prison, Acts 16? They had been beaten and they were in stocks and chains.

What did they do? They began to sing. Began to pray and began to sing. Did Paul and Silas know the chains were gonna come off? Nope. Did they know the jail doors are gonna be opened? Nope. That's not why they were singing. They were singing because the people that I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise no matter what the circumstance.

And so they did. And lo and behold, the chains fell off, the doors flew open. God was doing the work, why? Because praise enables us through divine power.

Power. And so we're so busy worrying about things and complaining about things and griping about things that we forget that we are to praise him in everything and for everything. And praise is that which enables us through divine power.

Number five, this is so good. Praise envelops us with divine peace. Praise envelops us with divine peace.

You know this verse. Philippians 4, verse number 6. Be anxious for nothing.

Okay, this says stop worrying. But we worry, don't we? We get very anxious. We're very much anxiety driven. Our palms become sweaty. Our brow becomes filled with beads of sweat. Our pits become smelly because all we do is live anxious lives.

Yet the Bible says be anxious for nothing. Matthew 6, Christ did the same thing. Don't worry about what you're gonna wear tomorrow.

Don't worry about how long you're gonna live. But what do we do? We worry about how long we're gonna live. We worry that we're gonna die tomorrow. We're worried about somebody's gonna get cancer in my family.

Why? Why do you do that? All your days are numbered. You can't add to it or subtract from it. It's all numbered. But we worry about how long we're gonna live. We worry about what clothes we're gonna wear. We worry about everything in life. And Christ gives a command, don't do this because to do it is a sin. To do it is a sin.

We don't see worry as a sin, but it is. We don't see anxiety as a sin, but it is. Be anxious for nothing, the Bible says.

Why? It tells you. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. See our problem is we spend more time in petition and not enough time in praise.

Look at your prayer life. You're asking God for this, you're asking God for that because you want this and you want that. You keep asking and asking and asking and asking and asking, but not praising.

Our prayers are filled with petition, but they should be filled with praise. So he says be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Every petition is coupled with thanksgiving.

Every supplication is surrounded with thanksgiving. Every time you ask God for something, you praise God for something. Just keep praising him.

When you do that, when you do that, it says, and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your heart and mind. Guard it from what? Anxiety. Worry.

Doubt. Why is it our lives are filled with worry and doubt? Because when we pray, we don't pray with thanksgiving. We don't pray with praise.

We don't pray thanking God for what he's gonna do and how he's gonna do it. We're just so worried that he's gonna even hear my prayer and answer my prayer. We're even anxious about that? And most of us would be anxious for nothing.

But in everything, not some things, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, that's the key, let your requests be made known to God. When that happens, the peace of God will surpass all human comprehension. In other words, you can't understand this on the human level.

It's beyond human intelligence. It's divine peace. Peace.

And God wants to surround you with his peace in your heart. It will guard your heart. It'll protect your heart from all kinds of sweat.

Just does. From being anxious, being worried. Because praise is simply that which enables us through divine power and envelops us with divine peace.

I wonder if you live a life of peace and tranquility and serenity, or is your life filled with worry and anxiousness about all kinds of things that just really don't matter in the long run? And so many times we forget that our prayers need to be more about praising God than petitioning God. When they are, then the peace of God, which goes beyond all kinds of human comprehension, it's gonna guard you, protect you, watch over you, allow you to sleep at night, allow you to go through life without sweaty palms, allow you to go through life relaxing in the sovereignty of the living God.

And lastly, praise is that which enriches us in divine pleasure. Praise is that which enriches us in divine pleasure. Psalm 69, verse number 30, I will praise the name of God with song and magnify him with thanksgiving and it will please the Lord. Praise is that which enriches us with divine pleasure.

Don't you wanna please the Lord? Praise does that. Thanksgiving does it. That's why it's a priority.

That's why it's highest on our list. Why, because down deep we just wanna please the Lord. That's all.

We wanna honor the Lord, magnify his name. And so when we praise him and magnify him and give him the thanks due his name, the Lord is pleased. Lord is pleased with that more than any other sacrifice that we make because it's truly the sacrifice of praise that brings glory to his name and pleases him.

And so this is why praise is such a divine priority for us is because our whole life is wrapped up in pleasing God, honoring God. That's what we wanna do. So praise then is the priority of the believer.

As we journey down the pathway of praise, it is a long, long pathway. And as you journey down that pathway of praise, there are many crevices, there are many obstacles, there are many hindrances that will try to knock you off that pathway. But as long as praise remains your priority, then no matter what the obstacle, no matter what the hardship or difficulty, no matter how deep the crevice, how big the cracks, it makes no difference.

You will continue to journey giving praise to your God. Let's pray together. Lord, we thank you for today.

We thank you for your word. Forgive us, Lord, for not praising you as we should. Praise seems to be the lost art of the Christian today.

We know a lot about God, but we don't praise you enough for who you are. We'd like to pray to you and ask for things, but don't wanna praise you for your will being done. We wanna go through life anxiously waiting about what's gonna happen this week or tomorrow, in school, at work, with this person, with that person.

And yet, we just need to rest in God, trust in the Lord, knowing that you have everything under control. No, the battle is not ours, the battle is the Lord's. You are our protector.

You are our provider. You are our peace. You are everything.

Forgive us, Lord, for not seeing you as such. Pray, Lord, that you would take us, make us, and mold us into the people you want us to be.