The Profit of Praise

As we approach the holiday season, we are on a journey. Journey along a pathway we've called the pathway to praise. And over the next several weeks, we are going to look at what the Bible says concerning giving praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And how do we do that? What does it entail? And last week we told you that we are a kingdom of priests. That's Revelation chapter one as well as first Peter chapter 2. In fact, Peter calls us a royal priesthood.

And as priests, we are in the process of offering sacrifices to our God because that's what priests do. And the church as a priesthood of believers have specifically three different sacrifices that they offer on a regular basis. If you're with us on Wednesday night, you know what those sacrifices are because we talked about how pleasing they are to the Lord.

The first sacrifice is a sacrifice of self or my person. Romans 12 tells us that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice unto God. For that is the only logical form of worship that we will ever have.

And so as priests, we offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices. But not only do we offer up the sacrifice of self, but we also offer up the sacrifice of substance or our purse. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 16, and do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

And then there's the third sacrifice and that's a sacrifice of song. Whether it's a sacrifice of self, substance, or song, or person, purse, or praise, it's all costly. 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. All three of those sacrifices are costly, but they are compensated greatly by God.

And so, as we begin to journey down this pathway of praise, we recognize that it is a sacrifice that truly pleases our God. And so, in our journey, we began last week by looking at the privilege of praise. What is the privilege behind praising God? As we continue down this pathway of praise, we move from the privilege of praise to the profit of praise.

There is great profit in praising God. And so many times we miss this aspect of praise. For the Bible says in Psalm 92, verse number 1, these words, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, oh most high.

To declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night, with a 10-stringed lute and with a harp, with sounding music upon the lyre, for you, oh Lord, have made me glad by what you have done. I will sing for joy at the works of your hands. The psalmist says it is good to give thanks unto the Lord.

He would also say in Psalm 107, these words, verse number 1, oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary. Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Psalm 147 says it this way.

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 becoming. There's something about praise that is good. And because it's good, it brings profit to those who give praise to God.

This morning, I wanna show you why it's good to give praise to God because the benefits are insurmountable. It's good to give praise to God, number one, because the person of God is good. The person of God is good.

Psalm 119:68, God is good. Whenever you give thanks to the Lord, it is good because the person of God is good. And so when you give thanks to the Lord, what the profit is is that you begin to understand the magnitude of the person of God himself.

So the Bible says that God himself is good. Listen to Psalm 118, verse number 1. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting.

Oh let Israel say his lovingkindness is everlasting. And let the house of Aaron say his lovingkindness is everlasting. Oh let those who fear the Lord say his lovingkindness is everlasting.

And then the psalmist concludes Psalm 18 with these words. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good and his lovingkindness is everlasting. The psalmist would say in Psalm 25, verse number 8, good and upright is the Lord.

In Psalm 145, verse number 9, the Bible says the Lord is good to all. And then it says in Psalm 32, verse number 9, for I will wait on your name for it is good. Good.

Psalm 34, verse number 8, those, or excuse me, taste and see that the Lord is good. The Bible says in Romans chapter 2 that it's the goodness of God that leads man to repentance. The goodness of God leads man to repentance, why? Because man is destined for hell.

But because of God's grace and God's goodness, man can be saved. So the Bible says it's the goodness of God that leads man to repentance. As you recall way back in the book of Exodus, the 33rd chapter, Moses asked God to see his glory.

I wanna see your splendor, I wanna see your majesty. God says I can't let you see the fullness of my majesty because I'll have to kill you if you do because you'll be incinerated. But I will let all my goodness pass before you.

In other words, the glory of the Lord is defined by the goodness of God. It talks about his patience, his loving kindness, his forgiveness, his mercy, as he would hide Moses in the cleft of the rock and pass by him and he could see the afterglow of the glory of God and God would proclaim to him all of his goodness and Moses would fall down and worship the Lord. It's good to give thanks to the Lord because the person of God is good.

And when you realize how good he is, the profit that you receive is insurmountable because you begin to understand the character and nature of your God. Number two, not only is a person of God good, but the providence of God is good. The providence of God is good.

The providence is defined by the hand of God moving in and among his people. It's the hand of God that moves mountains. It's the hand of God that moves kings.

It's the hand of God that moves husbands and wives. It's the outworking of God in the daily aspect of every one of our lives. God's providence is always at work.

God's providence is never, never not working. God is working in and among your life, your marriage, your workplace, even as we speak today, through the people and circumstances that you face to bring about your greater good. That's what the Bible says.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. That means even sinful things. The Bible doesn't say all things except that which is sin works together for good.

It says that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purposes. Why, because God is bigger than your sin. Your sin is never so great that it gets God by surprise.

Your sin is never so big that God can't handle what's going on in your life. So, God will say all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose, because God is at work in the lives of his people. You know the story of Joseph.

You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Why? Because the providence of God was working in my being sold to the Ishmaelites, being thrown into a pit, being lied to by Potiphar's wife, being thrown into jail. God used all those negative circumstances to bring about good for Joseph, that he might save two nations, both Egypt and Israel.

But so many times we can't see the working of God amidst all of our conflict and affliction, but God is working. God's providence is always sound. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 119:68, God is good and doest good.

Only a good God can do that which is good. And that's why the Psalmist would go on to say, it was good for me to have been afflicted that I might learn your decrees. So, in the goodness of God, he allowed the affliction to come my way that I might learn the decrees of God.

Why? Because in the providence of God, he is working all things out after the counsel of his will. That's why the providence of God is good. Because the person of God is good.

And if I know that, okay, the prophet to me is that I know that God is intricately involved in every aspect of my life. Through all the negative and all the positive, through all the evil and through all the good, God is involved in molding and shaping my life that I might be just like him because God wants me to be like him. He wants me to be Christ-like.

So the providence of God is good because the person of God is good. And if both of those are good, then number three, the proclamation about God then is good. That's why the angel said, we bring you good news of great joy.

The good news is the gospel. And when you proclaim the good news about a good God and his providence, it brings profit to your life because you're doing what God's called you to do to proclaim the message of the Lord. Listen to the words of Isaiah chapter 40, verse number 9.

Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news. Here Zion is representative of the people of Israel. If you are reading through the Old Testament, Zion is mentioned some 152 different times.

It refers either to a place, Mount Zion, or to a people, Israel, or to the property that Israel has, Mount Zion itself. And it refers to very different aspects of the things related to Israel. But here it refers to the people.

O Zion, my people, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily. O Jerusalem, bearer of good news, lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of God, or the cities of Judah, here is your God.

You're a bearer of good news. The Bible then says in Isaiah 52, verse number 7, which Paul quotes in Romans chapter 10, how lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation and says to Zion, your God reigns. How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news.

Listen, if you want beautiful feet, you don't need a pedicure. You just need to proclaim the gospel. That makes your feet beautiful.

Save your money on your pedicure and make sure that money is used to proclaim the gospel because that's what makes the feet of those who bring good news beautiful. Why? Because you're bringing to people that which they need to hear, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the person of God is good, the providence of God is good, the proclamation about God is good, and the promises of God are good.

Back in Joshua chapter 23. Listen to what Joshua says. Joshua chapter 23.

As he concludes his ministry of leading Israel to the promised land, he says in verse number 14, now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed. All have been fulfilled for you.

Not one of them has failed. What a testimony. Here Joshua is going the way of all the earth.

He's about to depart into the presence of the living God. And he wants to assure the people of Israel that not one good word that God has spoken has failed them. Earlier he would say in verse number 45 of chapter 21, not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed.

All came to pass. That's just such a remarkable statement. That Israel would know that what God has said to you has come to be.

So we trust the promises of God because it's the good word of God, the promises of God are good. If the person of God is good, then the promises he makes are good as well. The promise of forgiveness, the promise of his mercy, the promise of his love, the promise of his grace, all of God's promises are true.

Even the promises that are in the negative that if you don't do this, this will happen. Why? Because God is faithful and true to his word. And so God when he makes a promise, he fulfills that promise because he is true to his word.

Psalm 84:11 says, no good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. Talk about the prophet of praise. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

That's very, very important. A lot of you know about my testimony and my first wife died after four and a half years of marriage of cancer. After she died, I went to the Lord and prayed Psalm 84:11.

Lord, the Bible says, no good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. And the Bible also says that God is good and he does good. So Lord, you are good, you do good, and no good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

The Bible also says, if I present my body as a living sacrifice, it is good and acceptable unto God. And the Bible also says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing. So Lord, because you withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly, and I desire to present my body as a living sacrifice to you, which is good and acceptable, and you are a good God who does good, I would ask that you bring a good thing to me.

And the Lord brought Laurie to me. It was no longer than a week after that that she knocked on my office door. And she and her boyfriend were at the door.

Little did the boyfriend know his days were short. You know what I'm saying? But the Lord brought her to me. Because I believe that when you wait on God, he will always bring to you that which you need.

We spend all of our energy searching for that which we think is good. And if you're single, you search for a wife. Why? You search for a husband.

The Bible says, seek after God. Doesn't say seek a husband. Search God, seek after God.

Be consumed with God and watch what God does. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. Focus on your walk with the Lord.

Focus on honoring him. Because those who honor me, God says I will honor. First Samuel 2:30. So honor the Lord.

And watch and see how the Lord honors you. But we spend all of our energy seeking that which we think we need instead of searching after the God we need to worship and adore. And the promises of God are very, very good.

God always keeps his word. And so the person of God is good. The providence of God is good.

The proclamation about God is good. The promises of God are good. Oh, by the way, the property of God is good.

Did you know that? If you're still in Joshua chapter 23, it says this in verse number 15. It should come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats until he has destroyed you from off the good land which the Lord your God has given you. Notice he calls it the good land that God has given you.

It says in verse 16, when you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you and you will perish quickly from off the good land which he has given you. Which land did God give Israel? He gave them his land. Leviticus 25, verse number 23.

The land, God says, is mine. As he talks about the promised land, he says the land is mine, okay? Now, we know that God owns the earth. He created the earth.

Everything about the earth is his, right? But never does God say America is mine. Canada is mine. China is mine. Russia is mine. Never says that. But he does say that the promised land, the land of Israel, is mine.

That's why there are 38 different descriptions of that land in the Old Testament to make sure there is no mistake which land is God's and the land he gave to Israel. From the River Nile to the great river, the Euphrates, God says is my land. That's the good land that I've given to Israel.

Why? Because if the person of God is good, then his providence is good. When you proclaim him, that's good. His promises are good.

Therefore, his property, that which he owns, is good. You see, everything about God is good. That's why when the rabbi came to him, he called him good teacher.

That's why in John 10, he's called the good shepherd. Because everything about God is good. And therefore, we are the benefactors of his goodness because no good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

So therefore, we begin to understand the providence of God, the promises of God, the property of God, the person of God, the proclamation about God. We begin to understand all those things and say, wow, God's in charge. God's working.

Look what God has done. That's the profit of praise. And as you journey down the pathway of praise, you begin to recognize all the benefits that come your way when you praise the name of God.

How about this? The precepts of God are good. The precepts of God are good. Book of Nehemiah, ninth chapter.

In chapter 9, it's one of the three national prayers recorded in the Old Testament. Ezra 9, Daniel 9, and Nehemiah chapter 9. It's a prayer of praise to God.

It's a prayer of praise about God and his creation, about God and his choice of Abraham, about God and his care and compassion for his people Israel. In fact, it's a prayer about the commandments he gave to Israel. Listen to what is said, Nehemiah 9:13.

Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments. The precepts of God are good.

The statutes of God, the commands of God, they're all good. That's why John would say in first John 5, verse number 3, that God's commands are not burdensome. They can't be.

Why? Because a good God has given good commands. In fact, in Psalm 111, verse number 10, it says, those who do them have a good understanding. So those who obey the commands of God have a good understanding.

Why? Because the precepts he gave are good. And only a good God can give good precepts, good commands, good statutes. And so when you obey the statutes of God, it's to your benefit because you gain good understanding.

This is the prophet of praise, to praise him for he is good. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. And so the person of God is good.

The providence of God is good. The proclamation about God is good. The promises of God are good.

The property of God is good. The precepts of God are good. The power of God is good.

The Bible says in Psalm 62, verse number 10, that power belongs to God. So if the person of God is good, then the power of God is good. Because it comes from a good God.

The Bible says in Romans 1:16, that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In 1 Corinthians 1, verse number 18, the cross is the power of God to those who believe. In Psalm 62, power belongs to God.

In Psalm 77, I shall remember the deeds of the Lord. Surely I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work and muse on your deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God. You are the God who works wonders.

You have made known your strength among the peoples. You have by your power redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob, the sons of Joseph. Listen to the words of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel, chapter 4, when he says this.

At the end of the period, a very specific time in which Nebuchadnezzar had been for seven years crawling on his hands and knees, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed and praised the Most High and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can ward off his hand or say to him, what have you done? Verse 37, now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are true and his ways just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride. Because the person of God is good, then the power of God is good. And God always is demonstrating his power, whether it's through the gospel that's preached or how he moves in his providence to orchestrate and rearrange all kinds of things in your life, God's in charge of all that.

That's why the power of God is good. Next, the purposes of God are good. Book of Numbers, 23rd chapter, verse number 19.

God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? No one can ward off the hand of God. But God has a purpose, he fulfills that purpose.

Isaiah chapter 46, remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, things which have not been done, saying, my purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.

Calling the bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.

That just speaks loudly about the purposes of God. God speaks to fulfill his purpose. God does what he does because the ultimate purpose is that he will be glorified and honored.

God has a purpose behind his providential working. God has a purpose behind the power that he enacts. God has a purpose behind the proclamation that is given, that others might hear the gospel.

God has a purpose behind all the promises that he gives. And it's all about the glory of God, that somehow he might be put on display, that he might be seen through his people. God will receive the glory because his purpose is that he be magnified.

And that's why everything is moving to that great crescendo toward the end, where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen. The purposes of God are good.

How about this? The provisions of God are good. The provisions of God are good. Over in the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah chapter 2.

By the way, Nehemiah chapter 1 begins with a prayer. Nehemiah ends with a prayer. There are 12 prayers in the book of Nehemiah.

The book of Nehemiah is about leadership. Can't lead unless you're a prayer warrior. Fathers can't lead their children or their wives unless they're men of prayer.

They can't lead in the workplace, in the church, on their team, no matter where they're at, unless they're people of prayer. That's why these 12 prayers are recorded in the book of Nehemiah, as Nehemiah exemplifies great leadership among the people of Israel. In chapter one, Nehemiah begins to pray.

He's concerned about the nation. He has heard about the destruction of Jerusalem and all that's taken place, and he is burdened greatly. So he prays for four months.

Most of us can't pray for four minutes. But he prays for four months. And in the providence of God, as he's before the king, his countenance is sad, which is not a good thing.

Because if that's the case, the king would take offense and recognize that you are sad because you are in his presence, and you'd either be demoted or you'd be killed. But something unique happens in chapter two of Nehemiah because the queen appears with the king. Only time in the book of Nehemiah that the queen appears with the king.

She appears there with him in the providence of God to soften the hardness of the king's heart. God places people in certain positions for his purposes. There are no accidents in your life.

They're just divine appointments. You don't have a car accident. You have a car appointment, right? No one dies by accident.

They die because there's an appointed time for man to die. Everything is about a divine appointment. So the queen is with the king.

God in his providence allowed that to happen. And the king begins to ask the question, Nehemiah, what is wrong? Why are you so sad? Why are you downcast? And Nehemiah begins to explain to him all that's taken place. The king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, chapter 2, verse number 6, how long will your journey be and when you will return? Because he says, I want to go back to Jerusalem.

So the king asked him, how long will it take you? And it pleased the king to send me. And I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, if it pleases the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the river that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah.

And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress, which is by the temple for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go. And the king granted them to me because, sing carefully, the good hand of my God was on me. Nehemiah gives credit to the good hand of my God that was upon me.

God was gonna provide. He provided a commission for me to go back. He provided letters so that I could get through those who might be my enemies.

He provided wood so we can build the fortress the necessary elements around the city. God was good, he provided everything. But he also provided an army to protect him.

Verse 9, then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. God provided everything Nehemiah needed to go back to build the walls around the city of Jerusalem.

Why? Because all the provisions of God are good. God will provide all of your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. But God is the provider.

And when you begin to pray to him and seek his face and ask the Lord to do a great and mighty work, which God did, you're able to give him all the credit because God in his good hand was upon you. The Bible says that in James chapter 1, that every good thing given and every perfect gift comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Every good gift, every perfect thing comes down from God above.

God doesn't give bad gifts, doesn't do that. He gives only good gifts. You'll embark on the Christmas season and you'll probably receive a lot of bad gifts.

Gifts that you don't want to have. Gifts that you don't need. God doesn't give you anything you don't need.

God only gives you good gifts. Why? Because the provision of God is good. How about this? The plan of God is good.

Is it not? It's not. A verse specifically given to Israel, which by way of secondary application, we can apply to us, but it was specifically given to Israel as God would reassure them of his plan for their life. When he said in Jeremiah 29, I know the plans I have for you.

Plans for prosperity and not for calamity. Plans to give you a future and to hope. That was specifically given to Israel so that they would know that the plan of God that would take them through 70 years of captivity would end up being such a perfect plan for them because it would be for their prosperity.

The plan of God is always good. Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of that plan and we wonder where God is. And we ask him, what are you doing? But God has a purpose behind the plan like he has a purpose behind his providence, like he has a purpose behind his promises, like he has a purpose behind his proclamation.

God has a purpose for everything. And in his plan, he is orchestrating all things for his glory. And lastly, the paradise of God is good.

That's where we're going. We're going to glory. Christ said to the thief on the cross, today you will be with me in paradise.

Paradise. In paradise, Revelation 2 verse number 7 is the tree of life. And the tree of life is that which you partake of throughout all eternity because it's a life-giving tree.

It's the eternal tree. And therefore, paradise only comes from a good God whose presence dwells in that place. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because the profit that it brings is insurmountable.

As you journey this week down the pathway of praise, don't forget the privileges of praise, and certainly don't forget the profit of praise. Let's pray together. Lord, thank you for today.

Thank you that we can spend a brief moment in your word. So many things to be said about each of these principles. So many things to meditate upon.

Our prayer, Father, is that we would be a people of praise. For the Bible says that the people I have formed for myself, they will declare my praise. And those of us who know you as Lord and Savior have been formed by you.

And you are still working in and through our lives. And one of the ways you work is that we would be declare your praises. May we be those people this week and for the rest of our lives until you come again, as you know surely will.

In Jesus' name, amen.