The Privilege of Praise

31 years ago this month, a group of people had gotten together and decided they wanted to start a church. And thus, Christ Community Church was born 31 years ago this month. And that group of people got together because they wanted to go on a journey.

A journey by which they would learn to glorify and magnify the name of Christ. They were fixed on doing that. So when we gathered together, they made it very clear that from the very beginning, they wanted to come to know and understand the Christ, more than anything.

And so we said that we would make it our passion to pursue Christ. Then they said they wanted to make sure that not only did we know Christ, but that we were able to demonstrate and show Christ to other people. So we said not only will we make it our passion to pursue Christ, we will make it our priority to portray Christ.

And then they said, well, we wanna make sure that we teach people the gospel and tell them about Christ. So we made it our purpose to proclaim the Christ. And then they said, as we do all that, we need to make sure that we magnify and praise his name.

So they made sure that we made it our practice to praise. Christ. And that began the mission statement for our church 31 years ago.

And over the next several weeks, I wanna talk to you about our practice and what it means to give praise and glory and honor to the Christ. It is a journey that is a lifelong journey. That's why we call it a practice.

Because it's not going to be perfect, our praise. But yet we are called by God to praise his glorious name. As a church, we are a priesthood of believers.

First Peter 2:9 says that we are a chosen nation, a people for God's own possession. We are a royal priesthood. Revelation 1 tells us that we are a kingdom of priests.

And sometimes I think that we forget that part of the identity of the believer is that he is a priest in God's kingdom. And what do priests do? Priests offer sacrifices to their God. And that's why the writer of Hebrews said it this way, in Hebrews 13, verse number 15, through him, then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.

That is the fruit of lips that give thanks to his name. Praise is a sacrifice. As a kingdom of priests, we are to offer sacrifices to our God.

And the key component to our sacrifice is praise to God. Because praise is costly. Praise is costly because most of the time, my will does not want to praise the Lord.

My emotions don't feel like praising the Lord. When things don't go the way I think they should go, or the way I prayed that God would make them go, I have a hard time offering praise to God. But yet, the Bible says that we are to continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God.

It's the fruit of our lips. David understood that. And so in Psalm 57, he says these words.

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in you, and in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge until destruction passes by. I will cry to God most high, to God who accomplishes things for me. He will send from heaven and save me.

He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth his loving kindness and his truth. Then he says, my soul is among lions.

I must lie among those who breathe forth fire. Even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword, be exalted above the heavens, O God. Let your glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps. A soul is bound, my soul is bowed down. They dug a pit before me.

They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

Awake my glory, awake harp and lyre. I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples.

I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your loving kindness is great to the heavens and your truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God.

Let your glory be above all the earth. David in Psalm 57 knew that he was surrounded by those who wanted to destroy his life. But he knew that the answer to that was to give praise and glory to his God, to sing to his God.

And he was a sweet psalmist of Israel. So he knew that the key to his life in handling the difficulties that he was facing was to give praise to God. He offered a sacrifice of praise to his God because that's what priests do.

And as a kingdom of priests, which we are, we are to offer those sacrifices unto the Lord. So I thought that beginning today and into the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are gonna take a journey along a pathway. We're gonna call it the pathway of praise.

And we're gonna begin to look at the different aspects of praise that need to be practiced by us every single moment of every single day. So this journey will take us through the holiday season, but it will help us learn that our praise to God doesn't just come at Thanksgiving or doesn't just come at the Christmas season. It comes all year around because our lives are marked by a sacrifice of praise to God.

Now, you must understand that when you get to heaven, this is what you're going to do. You're going to give praise to God for eternity. So it's best to practice now what you're going to be doing perfectly in heaven.

In fact, I like the way Charles Spurgeon said it. He said it this way. He said, when you step into heaven, you may take your place among the singers and say, I have been practicing these songs for years.

I have praised God while I was in the world of sin and suffering. And when I was weighed down by a feeble body, but now that I am set free from earth, from sin, and the bondage of the flesh, I take up the same strain to sing more sweetly to the same Lord and God. When you get to heaven, you'll be filled with praise and you will do this for eternity.

It's hard for us to comprehend that. That goes way beyond any kind of human understanding. What do you mean, praise God for eternity? Read Revelation four, Revelation chapter 5, read Revelation chapter 11, read Revelation chapter 15, Revelation chapter 19.

It's all about the glory and hallelujah and praise given to God in heaven by those who are there. The four living creatures that are around the throne give praise to God day and night, saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

And they say the same refrain over and over and over again. And these are the four living creatures who have eyes all around them. These are angelic cherubim, and yet they can't stop praising the God they serve.

They've been doing that since they were created and they will be doing that for eternity. And we will one day join them in the course of praise. Because when you get to heaven, God is so overwhelmingly majestic.

And so you will be overwhelmed by his glory. And you can't help but praise him just for the opportunity to be in his presence for eternity. So I thought today we would begin with the privilege of praise.

As we journey along the pathway of praise, let's begin with the privilege of praise. Why is praise a privilege to the priests in God's kingdom? Well, number one is that praise verifies my identity. Praise verifies my identity.

The verse Isaiah 43, verse number 21, which says the people whom I have formed for myself will declare my praise. God makes it very clear that the people that I form for myself, they will do one thing. They will give praise and glory to me.

They will honor my name. I have created them for my glory and therefore they will praise my glorious name. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:25, from you comes my praise.

I'm sorry, that's Psalm 22:25. From you comes my praise. In other words, because of God and God is in me, comes forth my praise to him.

The psalmist says in Psalm 40, verse number 1, these words, I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay and he set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. When God takes you and brings you up out of the miry pit, he puts a new song in your mouth, a song of deliverance that causes you to wanna praise his glorious name. The Bible makes it very clear that the identity of the believer is wrapped up in his praise to God.

Way back in 2 Samuel, chapter 23, David gives his last literary masterpiece. We know that 73 of the Psalms are directly attributed to David. And so as he sings this last song to his son to help encourage him in his leadership, listen to what David says and then listen to what he doesn't say.

2 Samuel 23, verse number 1. Now these are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse declares, the man who was raised on high declares the anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel.

David is describing himself to his son. And he described himself as the one who was raised up on high, who was anointed by God, that God had called him and commissioned him. And notice the very next thing he says.

He doesn't say he commissioned him to be the king of Israel. He doesn't say he commissioned him to be a warrior for his God, a soldier for his God. He identifies himself as a sweet psalmist of Israel.

Because when God called him, God called him to sing praises to his name, to lift his name on high. And that was more important than being the king of Israel. It was more important than being a warrior for God.

It was to be able to praise his glorious name. And David recognized that, and at the end of his life, he helps his son understand that this is what we do. This is what people who are kings do.

They give praise to God because that's their identity. Nothing verifies the identity of a believer than the person who gives praise to their God no matter what. That's very, very important.

Number two, not only does praise verify my identity, but praise is that which ratifies my loyalty. There's something that ratifies the fact that I am loyal to God, and that is fruitful lips that sing forth praise. Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 145, verse number 1.

I will extol you, my God, O King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day, I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. Notice he says I will four times. I will extol your name.

I will praise your name. I will lift your name. I will do this because I am loyal to the king.

He recognized God as his king, and as a loyal subject to his king, he's going to not only obey his king, he's going to give glory and honor to his king. He's going to praise his glorious name. So nothing ratifies my loyalty to God more than my willingness to praise his glorious name.

The psalmist said in Psalm 22, verse number 26, those who seek him will praise his name. Those who seek him will praise his name. If your passion is to pursue him, your practice will be to praise him.

Why? Because those who seek him can't help but praise his glorious name. And so it's important for us to realize that praise is that which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, and number three, praise is that which beautifies my personality. Praise is that which beautifies my personality.

Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 147, verse number 1. Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God. For it is pleasing and praise is beautiful.

Maybe your text says praise is becoming. Or maybe your text says praise is fitting. No matter how you cut it, praise beautifies every scene, every circumstance, every situation.

So when you begin to praise God amidst hardship and difficulty, broken dreams and promises, you are shining light in a sphere that's dark. And by giving praise to God, your personality is simply beautified because God is reflecting himself in and through you to those all around you. Who somehow need to see the glory and splendor of God.

So when a man or a woman gives glory to God, they are reflecting the righteous radiance of a God who dwells in unapproachable light. So therefore, when you give praise to God, you are shining down in the darkness of human souls, in human circumstances, and showing how Christ is the only answer. There's nothing that beautifies the personality more than praise.

So many times, our lives are marked by depression and darkness. Our lives are marked by a dreary and dreadful attitude, by bitter and unwelcomed attitudes. But praise, praise changes all of that.

When you recognize that God is in control and God's in charge, and you want to give him glory because of that. Praise is that which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my personality. That's what a psalmist said in Psalm 103, verse number 1.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Because he wanted everything within him, his soul, his mind, his heart, everything to give praise to his God, knowing that the beauty of his life was determined by his praise. Number four, praise is that which clarifies my priority.

Praise is that which clarifies my priority. Psalm 146, verse number 1, says praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord while I live.

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. The priority of the psalmist was, as long as I live, I will praise the Lord. Psalm 119, verse number 175.

Let my soul live that it may praise thee. The psalmist says, I only want to live if I can praise your name. So let me live that I might do that.

Let me live that I might sing praises, be grateful, be thankful all the days of my life. The psalmist knew that praising God sustained him. The psalmist knew that praising God strengthened him.

So let me live that I might praise your glorious name. That is that which clarifies one's priority. Remember Job, Job chapter 1, verse 21.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He had lost everything. He had lost his kids, his business, his home, everything. He said, blessed be the name of the Lord. He spoke well of God's name. He praised God's name. The Lord has given and the Lord has seen fit to take it away. Recognizing God's sovereignty, recognizing God's plan, blessed be the name of the Lord.

And Job never cursed his God amidst all of his suffering, amidst all of his hardship. He was one who wanted to bless and honor his God. That's why he was a unique individual.

David was the man after God's own heart. He was marked as the sweet psalmist of Israel. Job was the greatest man on the planet by God's testimony.

And he lived a life of blessing and honoring his God. How about you? How do you handle your situations? How do you handle your difficulties? How do you handle your hardships? How do you handle the dark days? Are they filled with praise and glory to God? Because it's a sacrifice you offer. It's a sacrifice of praise to God that priests offer and we are priesthood of believers.

Therefore we offer a sacrifice of praise to our God continually, day by day, never ceasing to honor our God. So praise is that which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my personality, clarifies my priority. Praise is that which specifies God's generosity.

Praise is such a privilege because it specifies God's generosity. You know the verse, Psalm 103. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.

Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits. What are his benefits? Who pardons all our iniquities.

Who heals all our diseases. Who redeems our life from the pit. Who crowns us with loving kindness and compassion.

Who satisfies our years with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. That's blessing the Lord. That's praising the Lord.

It specifies his generosity. Praise is very specific. Praise is not general.

It's specific because of the things that God has done for his own. Psalm 107, verse number 8. Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men.

And the next one follows right on the heels of this. Not only is a privilege of praise a privilege because it specifies his generosity, but it testifies to God's ministry. It testifies to God's ministry.

In other words, when I give praise to God, I am giving a testimony to the ministry of God in my life. Listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 76. In you, oh Lord, I have taken refuge.

Let me never be ashamed. In your righteousness, deliver me and rescue me. Incline your ear to me and save me.

Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come. You have given commandment to save me for you are my rock and my fortress. Rescue me, oh my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless man, for you are my hope, oh Lord.

God, you are my confidence from my youth. By you I have been sustained from my birth. You are he who took me from my mother's womb.

My praise is continually of you. I have become a marvel to many, for you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all day long.

So you see, he testifies to the ministry of God in his life, who's going to deliver him, who's gonna rescue him, who is this rock and stronghold, no matter what the circumstance, and he offers a continual praise to God day after day after day. And the Bible says, these words, I have become a marvel to many. Why? Why has he become a marvel to many? Because who praises God when everything is negative? But those who believe in God, those who verify their identity, those who ratify their loyalty, those who beautify their personality, those are the ones who specify his generosity because they clarified their priority, so therefore they testify to God's ministry in their life.

And that is a privilege of praise. Many marvel at me. They don't understand. And why would they? The world doesn't get this. The world doesn't understand why you would praise your God amidst all your negativity. They can understand why you would give praise to glory in God when all things are going good, when your team wins, or you win the game because you hit the home run, or you get a pay raise, or you get some kind of recognition at work and you give glory to God.

Well, of course you give glory and praise to God because everything is good. But what about things when they are bad, when they are negative and you're downcast and things are very difficult in your family, in your workplace, in your physical life? Is there a voice that says, I praise you, God, for what you've done in my life. I praise you for all the sickness. I praise you for all the negative circumstances. I praise you for the loss of my job. I praise you in the midst of my divorce because somehow, God, you are doing a work and I'm going to lift your name on high because I am a priest in the kingdom of God and I will offer a sacrifice of praise to my king.

That's the privilege of praise. If you're counting, it's number seven. If you're not counting, it is still number seven.

Number seven is this. Praise, this is so good, purifies me from iniquity. Did you know that? One of the keys to living a pure and holy life is to give praise to God.

It's said this way in Ephesians chapter 5, verse number 3. Paul says, but immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints. And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather, giving of thanks, being grateful, praising God, thanking him for who he is.

These things should not even be named among you, Paul says, you shouldn't even be mentioning them. But what you should be doing is giving thanks to God for what he has done in your life. I love what Ephesians chapter 1 says.

If you've got time just to go back and read it, it talks about God saving us and how he does it. And three times he says, to the praise of the glory of his name. God does what he does for the praise of the glory of his name, the glory of his character, the glory of his person.

He wants to be praised and honored among his people. And we as priests are his people. So what do we do? We do what priests do.

We offer a sacrifice of praise continually to our God. No matter what the circumstance, no matter what the situation, because we want to honor his name. And praise is that which purifies me from iniquity.

If I just learn to give thanks to God, my focus then is on him, right? It's not on my own self, my own needs, my own wants, it's on God. So all the impure thoughts and all the immoral thoughts and all the coarse jesting and all the silly talk, that goes away because my thoughts are not on those around me, nor is my thought on me, it's on God himself. And therefore, I live a life of thankfulness to God, a life of praising him for what he's done, and it purifies me from my iniquity.

Next, number eight. Praise is that which glorifies his majesty. It glorifies his majesty.

That's what a psalmist said in Psalm 103, bless his holy name, the holiness of God. Back in Exodus chapter 15, Miriam would lead the song of praise after Pharaoh and his army was cast into the sea and Israel was able to pass by on dry land. It says in Exodus chapter 15, verse number 21, Miriam answered them, sing to the Lord for he is highly exalted, the horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.

You wanna glorify his majesty. You wanna glorify his royalty. You wanna magnify his name.

And that's what praise does. Over in Revelation chapter 19, he had the fourfold hallelujah. It says, after these things, I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying hallelujah.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God because his judgments are true and righteous for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. And he has avenged the blood of his bondservants on her. The second time they said hallelujah.

Her smoke rises up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying amen, hallelujah. And a voice came from the throne saying give praise to our God, all you his bondservants, you who fear him, the small and the great.

Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder saying hallelujah for the Lord our God, the almighty reigns. That's what heaven is. It's the hallelujah chorus of the saints and priests of God who are his bondservants.

So the voice out of heaven says give praise to his name for praise glorifies his majesty. Number nine, praise is that which magnifies his sovereignty. It magnifies his sovereignty.

Paul says in Romans 11, oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and glory of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways for who has known the mind of the Lord or who became his counselor or who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever, amen. Paul lists praise to God because of his sovereignty.

It magnifies it. Even Jesus, even Jesus would magnify the sovereignty of God. Listen to what Jesus says.

Matthew 11, verse number 25. At that time Jesus said I praise you father. I praise you father, Lord of heaven and earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.

Yes father, for this way was pleasing in your sight. He magnified the sovereignty of his father in heaven. I praise you Lord for you have hidden these things.

You have hidden this gospel from the intelligent and the wise and you've opened the minds and the hearts of the lowly that they might receive the gospel and believe the gospel. He's magnifying God's sovereignty and salvation. Even Jesus gives praise to his father because he wants to magnify his sovereignty.

That's the privilege of praise. So if you're taking notes because all spirit-filled Christians take notes, you know that the privilege of praise verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my personality, clarifies my priority, specifies God's generosity, testifies to God's ministry, purifies me from iniquity, glorifies God's majesty, magnifies his sovereignty and lastly, intensifies, intensifies my joy. It intensifies my joy.

Listen to this psalmist in Psalm 63. Psalmist says, oh God, you are my God. I shall seek you earnestly.

My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you. In a dry and weary land where there is no water, thus I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory because your lovingkindness is better than life. My lips will praise.

So I will bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. Why? My soul is satisfied as with morrow and fatness and my youth or excuse me, my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

Praise intensifies my joy. It makes it so it is all consuming in my life. So many times we live lives joylessly and that should never be the case.

And then the psalmist says these words over in Psalm 18, verse number 1. I love you, oh Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock 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 am saved from my enemies. I'm saved from my enemies. He's my rock, my refuge, my strength, my fortress, my stronghold.

And then over in Psalm 9, verse number 1. I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonders.

I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, oh most high. And then over in Psalm 104, psalmist says these words in verse number 33.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to him.

As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord. Again, the psalmist knew that his gladness and his joy came from his praise. That is the privilege of praise.

As we journey along this pathway of praise, we will instruct you more and more on how it is we are to offer a sacrifice of praise as priests in the kingdom of God. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity you give us to spend a brief moment in your word.

We pray, Lord, that we would be a people of praise. A people who magnify your name. A people who sing unto your name. A people who glorify your name. A people who live in the realm of praise. You are a great God.

We thank you for your salvation. And as priests in your kingdom, we wanna be those who continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to our King, to our God, to the majestic Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ, our Lord. I pray for those today who are going through difficult times.

I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen them and help them to offer a sacrifice of praise, knowing that they might not feel like it, they might not even want to, but they know it's a sacrifice. So they lift their voices in praise to their God for who you are and what you have done. And may their joy be intensified all the more simply because of you.

And our gladness comes from the Lord Jesus. We pray this in your name, amen.