TEXT: HEB. 13:15
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name” – NIV.
God would give you reason to praise Him continually in Jesus name. Many of the songs we sing today that have blessed the church of God were from those who have seen God’s wonders first hand. When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and saw how the same Red Sea swallowed their Egyptian enemies, they sang (Ex. 15: 11) “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders”- KJV. When God changed the story of Hannah from been a barren woman to been a mother of Samuel (a great prophet), she declared in I Sam. 2: 2 “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God” – KJV. I pray that God would give you reason to praise Him in Jesus name.
Why must we praise God? The twenty four elders in heaven tell us why we must praise and worship God continually. In Rev. 4: 11, they sing “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” – KJV. What does that tells you. It simply means He created you for HIS PLEASURE. God has not created you for your own pleasure but for His. It means that you are not going to dictate your terms but He would lead while you would follow His instructions. Therefore, give Him pleasure with your praise. He requires it and demands it of you. Your praising the Lord is not conditional. It is your duty. I know it is possible that there are circumstances around you that you would want God to change at the moment that seems to be delaying. But our God is not bound by our time but we are to work in His will.
If there is anything you should take out of the various teachings and exhortation you have heard throughout this month, it is that you must resolve to give yourself to His praise while you live. The psalmist states in Ps. 50: 22-23 that “Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God” – KJV. Do you want God to show you His salvation? Order your conversation by offering praises unto God continually.
When you give Him pleasure with the sacrifice of praise, He would cause His plans for your life to be quickened. God Himself promised in Jer. 29: 11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” – KJV. What can be more assuring than this? Why don’t you start praising God right now?
David, who is the greatest example of a man of praise that we are expected to emulate said in Psalm 34: 1 “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” KJV. That means he was prepared to praise God notwithstanding. Are you prepared to praise God at all time? Are you prepared to praise God, come what may? You may wonder why David was so close to God’s heart despite his failings. Evidence from the bible account of David revealed that his major asset is praise.
Brethren, I enjoined you to make up your mind to praise God as from now like you have never done before.
Brethren, how do we praise God?
1. You can praise God with high sounding instruments. In Psalm 150:5, the bible says that we should “praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals” – NIV. Our God appreciates the use of instruments in our sacrifice of praise unto Him. When you use instruments, you are actually inviting God to come and dance with you. I pray that God would inhabit your praise in Jesus name.
2. You can praise God with a loud voice (II Sam.6:15). In Lk.19:37, “when He came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen”. It means our praise would involve noise. It is customary for some to look at you as fools, but it is you alone that can understand why you are doing what you are doing. As you are well aware, it is the winning side that is always the noisy side in any sporting competition. So if you want to be on the winning side of God, learn to praise Him aloud.
3. You can praise God with dancing (II Sam.6: 16-23). In verse 16, we are told that David was leaping and dancing when he successfully brought back the ark of the Lord to the city of David. When you dance in praise of God, you are telling the devil and the world that you are not ashamed of God. Also, when you dance for God you are actually demonstrating the fact that you are not too big to dance for God. One thing I know is that if you dance for God in praise, He would look down on you and visit you. I pray that you would receive the visitation of God in Jesus name.
4. You can praise God with singing (Heb.2: 12). Another way by which you can praise God is through singing. As quoted by Paul in Hebrew 2:12, David declared in Psalm 22:22 that “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” – NIV. Are you declaring His name around you? Like David, you must declare His name in praise wherever you found yourself.
5. You can also praise God with music (II Sam. 6:21). So David said to Michal “… Therefore I will play music before the Lord” – NKJV. Play melodious tunes unto the Lord and He would surprise you with His presence. Try Him today and see what He can do.
A song writer wrote:
I will praise you o Lord (2ce)
With a heart of thanksgiving
I will praise you o Lord
Let that be your song today.
In our passage, we are enjoined to offer our sacrifice of praise through Jesus. It means that for you to offer an acceptable praise, you must have a relationship with Jesus. The praise of a sinner cannot be acceptable but an abomination to the lord. May I tell you brethren that giving your life to Jesus is the first act of sacrifice of praise? When you offer your hearts to Him, you are actually saying that He is the Lord over your life; He would lead while you will follow; and that He would be your shepherd while you would be His sheep.
If you are willing to let Him into your life today and enjoy His peace, then you may want to say this prayer,’ Lord Jesus, I come before you today to confess that thus far I have lead my life without you, but today I confess you as my Lord and Saviour and I want you to rule my life from now on. I pray that you forgive my sins and blot out my sins with your blood and write my name in the Book of life. Help me not to go back to my sins. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving my soul from perishing. Amen’.
If you have prayed this prayer with sincerity, I congratulate you and I know that the Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ would come into your life and grant you His peace.
Shalom
Dr. Yinka Okude
Pastor – in – Charge
RCCG, Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton.
