It's time..."to get your Worship On"
1 Thess. 5:18-20 MSG.
16-18. Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
No matter what is going on in life, you can find a reason to thank God.
Most people when they're confronted with it don't like to believe this next statement...
What comes out of your mouth is what comes into your life...and everyday we make choices as to what we want to happen each day.
Have you determined yet what today holds for you?
Will it be a good day or bad day?…
I don't know what today holds for you...
for you see the choice isn't up to me...
it's up to you
TBS.(the bible says) everyday we wake up with a choice,
Choose ye this day whom you will serve, will it be God or man, the choice is yours?
Joshua 24:15 NKJ
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Whether most people will admit it or not, happiness is a state of mind
and a choice that we make on a daily basis...
When is the last time you said...
"No matter what happens today I'm not going to let the accuser or circumstances steal my JOY"
For some people the devil has them convinced that they don't even
have a choice in the matter anymore…
Life stinks...
I never get any good breaks...
It's always going to be this way...
They've had so many bad days
that they have forgotten that they even have a choice in the matter...
Did you know that the accuser has some convinced that negativity is their friend and there is a comfort level in being negative…
Because anything you do long enough will become familiar to you...
And for some reason they feel as though
...it's their job to point every negative thing they see...
Thing is… They have done it for so long that they don't even see the negativity in what they're doing...
and when confronted about it...they've got so used to doing it..They accuse you of the one who's being negative.
Positive thoughts, bring about positive results!
Negative thoughts, bring about negative results.
I have had both in my lifetime...and I have concluded after exhaustive research
that I like the positive results
that positive thoughts bring about...
so much more than the negative results negative thoughts bring about...
Illus.
The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual,
"This is good!"
To which the king replied, "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown
off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just
happened. "And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for
so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, ’This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."
How many like positive results?
TBS. Be cheerful no matter what happens.
You can either focus on the problems in life, or you can focus on the blessings...
The question is: do you want more problems, or do you want more blessings?
It's really an easy choice...everyone wants more Blessings in life, for their prayers to be answered, for their needs to be met.
Over the years I have heard this statement more than once...
"if I had more blessings and all my prayers answered...I would definitely be more happy and that would give me something to smile about"
I've often wondered if that would do it for a person?
Because it always seems to be about what a person doesn't have...and even if they had it all..somehow I still don't think they would be happy
However...if your a believer...you already have undeniable access to the abundant life God has promised you
Thing is... You have to choose to be a participant for the abundant life to happen in your life
TBS. to pray, or to praise Him all the time; to thank God no matter what happens...
This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
If your living and constantly worried about what’s happening or not happening in your life...Because you think its something
that you can control yourself..your mistaken
I’ve got news for you and your probably not going to like it...you never will experience all that God has for you..
as long as you make about what you are capable of on your own!
You see..no one has a hard time praising God...
as long as they like what it is that’s happening to them.
Its when your able to praise and thank Him in the midst of the trial your going through and thank God and trust Him no matter what happens...or what the outcome is
That’s where God wants you and that’s the way...God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
no matter what comes your way...your not going to budge
You know that God is in charge of the good things that are coming your way! Amen??
*no matter
what anybody says...
what the media says...
what the economic advisors say...
what your doctor is saying...
what your family is saying...
what your body is saying...
Because each and everyone of them will lie to you...
you should always be thanking and praising God...because all those things and everything else is subject to...
and has to bow down and submit to..
the presence of the living God..
If you know Jesus... and you choose to believe...
Your relationship with Him...has already made you victorious over every situation!
Jerm. 17:7-8 NKJ
7. “ Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
I shall not be, I shall not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water’s, I shall not be moved!
In case you don't know it..that's an old chorus that Christians have been singing about for years and years
And at some point, one has to ask themselves
Is it lip service...or heart service??
Is it real to me...or is it just words on a piece of paper?
Will you always feel like singing a praise song to God?
No...but that shouldn't stop you from getting your WORSHIP ON!!
Does everyone always feel like going to work? No...but you still go don't you!
Listen...when you get the news and the challenge you are sitting there facing...
is like a brick wall you've just crashed into...
You probably won’t feel all that much like singing anything but the blues...
But you see the blues is just a style of music…
And no matter what style of music you choose to use...
Even in those blues..your words and thoughts should still be that of praise and worship....
To the God of all Possibilities!! Amen??
Psalm 100:1-4 NKJ
1. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2. Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3. Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
If your going to wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to celebrate and praise God for what is going on in your life...
You better get used to waiting...
Praise is putting action behind your faith.
Praise is about what God is capable of, not what you are capable of.
Your praise and worship attitude of no matter what happens....
I'm going to believe and trust God with the results...
is where the rubber meets the road!
I love the story of Paul and Silas in prison...
they knew that they weren’t capable of shaking and bringing down
the walls of the prison...they had wrongly been thrown into
But it didn't matter...because they knew someone
they could call on..who was willing and wanted to help them..
Someone with earthquake shaking capabilities…
Acts 16:22-26 MSG.
22-24The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jail keeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.
Now do you suppose that they felt like praising the Lord at that exact moment?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there human nature was screaming No...
I have a feeling though their heart was saying Yes...
They could have been in there for years...
they didn’t know what would happen next...
they also realized that they weren't on a need to know basis…
They quickly realized..that they were on a need to praise basis!
Sometimes I think as humans…
one of the things that hinders our faith and Most...
Is the constant I think I need to know basis...
25-26. Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears.
How many of you know...that for every circumstance and situation
you come across...there are going to be naysayers that are going to be present
Thing is...they didn’t care what everybody else was thinking and neither should you...
everybody else wasn’t going to get them out and their not going to get you out of your situation either! Amen??
When you don’t feel like praising Him, that’s when you need to praise Him the most...
(I will repeat it..because it's worth repeating)
That’s were you faith gets stronger...
when you praise Him in spite of your circumstances!
That's when your praise and worship is amplified by your Faith!!
Nobody else can go where you need to go...
They can’t receive what you need either...
TBS. That God inhabit’s the praises of His people..there is no closer form of communication than praise and worship!
I believe that God was right there in the midst of that prison...
inhabiting the praise and worship that Paul and Silas was offering up...
Their Praise and worship was a sweet fragrance to God....and He was more than willing to grant what they were asking Him to do on their behalf..
Acts 16:26 MSG.
And Suddenly! Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.
Did you know, that God loves Suddenly Moments?
He really does....He loves to meet His Children’s Needs!
God is still the same God that answered Paul and Silas needs...
And He will do the same for you and whatever need that you bring to the feet of His Son and lay down at the alter
Nothing is to big or small to the God of...
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! Amen??
Each and Every time you and I praise God it is giving God an opportunity to get us ready for the miracle we are seeking Him for!
There is power in the name of Jesus...
Power to break every chain and every stronghold off of your life!
God is still in the miracle working business!
#1 Praise God for what He is Doing right now in your situation!
#2 Keep Praising Him, until the answer comes
If you have any questions, repeat steps 1 and 2, until you arrive at the desired result!!! Praise God?
Illus. contributed by Jeff Strite
We should be like the 3-year-old boy (that Paul Harvey told about) who went to the grocery store with his mother.
Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask."
She put him up in the cart & he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles. He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies & he stood up in the seat & said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?”
She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down. They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle.
“Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?” She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down & be quiet.”
Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance. So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart & shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?”
And everybody round about just laughed. Some even applauded. And, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy & his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.
We could learn a lot from the little boy..
We ought always be willing to praise and not give up…
TBS. He who started a work in you, will be faithful to complete it!
Its all about what He has done for us, to make us victorious!
MSG. says it this way
1st John 5:4-5
Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways.
(Does what? Conquers the world..that's what!)
The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith.
The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.
Believe Jesus for your need today...
You have everything He has available to Him...
because of the relationship you have with Him...
If you don't have the relationship
that you want to have with Him today..You can!
He has qualified you and made you worthy to receive the grace He extends to you!
Just Receive it, don’t let it pass you by,
Receive it, Receive it, Receive what has been given to you,
Let’s pray and thank the Lord for the needs that are being met at this very moment!
Amen
