You know, there is nothing like looking back over your life and seeing a missed opportunity. Have you ever done that? I don’t mean like a Why didn’t I buy Microsoft opportunity, I mean a REAL OPPORTUNITY! A Kingdom opportunity.
Years ago in the fall of 1998 when I first moved to Dallas, I was living in an extended stay motel while I looked for an apartment.
I was in my first wilderness. Dad was dying of cancer. My sister was dying of Hepatitis C (also dying), My daughter was divorcing her husband. There was SO much pain all the way around.
I missed my Mom, my kids and my only grandson so horribly.
I spent every evening listening to sermons & praising God.
I was living on potted meat, ramen noodles and peanut butter. I was SOOO broke.
I remember praying one evening about going to church. I had never lived in any city before, least of all Dallas, and I had no idea how to even find a good church to go to.
We didn’t have GPS back then. Cell phones were just starting to become popular. And I can get turned around in a paper sack, yall, so I don’t just go driving around trying to find stuff. If I did, I would end up in like CANADA. Because I don’t have a sense of direction.
So I prayed about going to church and asked God to make a way. In the meantime, I figured I would just content myself with watching church on TV.
The next day I was in a nearby Laundromat doing my laundry and I started talking to this really nice lady who was also a Christian. She invited me to her church. She was a delight. Her name was Noni.
But her church was in South Dallas. We were in North Dallas. So she offered to come pick me up and take me.
So I started going with her to T.D. Jakes’ church, The Potter’s House, in Dallas. That was when they were in the old building. I think it held like 6K or 8K people, I can’t remember. They built a new one to hold 20K because he was preaching FOUR services every Sunday morning. I do not know HOW he did that. Preaching under the anointing drains you, because you put everything you have into it.
Anyway, so I started riding with my friend every Sunday and God bless her because I was eating lunch on $5 a week back then and I did not even have money to help pay for gas.
This was the same lady that noticed I did not have a coat and offered me the beautiful red coat that winter. I was SOO cold, and I was SOO overjoyed to get that beautiful coat!!! I wish I knew where she was, I would love to thank her.
It was common to see the miraculous at The Potter’s House. One time we were waiting for the service to start. No one was on the stage. And a Spirit of Giving hit all of us. There were THOUSANDS of us there, yall, and all of us got up and started going to the altar steps and laying our tithes & offerings before God. There was NO music, there was NO preacher on stage, there was NO ONE on the platform!! I did it too, the feeling hit us like a wave and you know the Holy Ghost when He’s there!!
Later I saw T.D. Jakes talk about that Sunday on television – this was YEARS later. He had been back in his office or some place PRAYING. And I wish I could remember what he said he was praying about, but God told him go look at the congregation. He looked out and saw all of us giving. And God told him it was His doing.
The congregants at The Potter’s House praise dance at the end of every worship service. I never was any good at keeping up with them because I only ever knew how to dance to music.
So I began to notice every Sunday morning, there was this elderly lady who would walk back and forth in front of the altar and praise God before every service started – for like 30 minutes! And I mean praise Loudly. And you could tell it was REAL PRAISE – the kind that wells up in you when God just amazes you. And I became curious. I asked Noni about her but she had no idea why the woman did that.
One Sunday, I just had to know why. So I went down in front of the altar and I said, I KNOW THERE HAS TO BE A STORY BEHIND PRAISE LIKE THAT! Please tell me the story!!
So she did.
Years earlier, she had been into drugs. Some men had attacked her in her home in South Dallas and beaten and robbed this woman – and she was an older woman, yall – she was elderly. They had beaten and robbed this woman and LEFT HER FOR DEAD. I don’t remember what she said about how help came, but I want to say someone finally found her. And I believe she said she was in a wheelchair for awhile afterwards.
And she said now she praises God because He saved her life. It was obvious she had been delivered from drugs, too.
I walked back to my seat thinking about that incredible story. You might have to understand that South Dallas is kind of known for drugs and crime and all that to truly understand how miraculous it really was that this elderly woman survived being attacked in her home.
So I was thinking about that today and I thought “Wow, knowing now the power of real praise, I wonder how much her praise before service every Sunday changed the atmosphere at the Potter’s House.”
And I found myself wondering – WHAT IF ALL OF US WHO HAD A PRAISE HAD GONE DOWN THERE AND JOINED HER??? WHAT IF, INSTEAD OF ONE BOLD WOMAN PRAISING GOD FOR HIS MERCY AS WE ALL SHOULD BE DOING EVERY DAY, WHAT IF THIRTY OR FIFTY OR A HUNDRED OF US HAD BEEN DOWN THERE PRAISING HIM WITH ALL OUR HEARTS???
WHAT KIND OF MIRACULOUS POWER WOULD HE HAVE RELEASED ON THAT CHURCH CONGREGATION IF WE HAD ALL TOGETHER OFFERED THE KIND OF REAL PRAISE KING JEHOSHAPHAT AND ALL HIS PEOPLE HAD OFFERED ??
So I just want to say this. If you have something to praise God for - and if you’re alive, YOU DO, When you go to church this Sunday, I want you to think about this. And if you have the boldness and the love for your Savior that that woman has, think about the praise movement you could start in YOUR CHURCH. Think about the miracles that could start flowing in YOUR CHURCH!
Its not all up to the pastors to bring the game, yall – it’s the congregation shouting AMEN that helps them preach – did yall know that? The Presence of God is not ushered in by the pastor, its ushered in by the praise. By the worship we offer up to Him.
So if you want to see REAL MIRACLES in YOUR CHURCH, bring the praise. Be the person bold enough to BRING YOUR PRAISE right down to the front of the church and offer it up LOUDLY!!
Psalm 107:8
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Revelation 3:15
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
People who don’t praise Him are COLD. People on fire for God aren’t afraid for their praise to be heard. They’re NOT AFRAID to praise Him out loud and for others to know He did something for them!
God WANTS your praise – He WANTS your worship. He desires this of us. It means everything to Him. Why do you think Satan wanted to take His worship so much? Because God created us to worship, He CREATED US TO PRAISE!!
2 Chronicles 20:2-30
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,
6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
So Jehoshaphat, a king that was good, was informed a big army of his worst enemies was on their way to do them all in. He was afraid – I would have been, too! What if your country was taken over, and you heard a big crowd of angry enemies was on their way to YOUR HOUSE to Kill YOU??? This could happen in the future yall, and the not so distant future at that, here in America, or any place else. We have peace now, but it will not always be peace for us.
So the King and all the people gathered to ask God for help. The king acknowledged that God had always helped his people and said, Lord, help us out here. You said we could come here for help.
And God answered and said, Hey guys, I got this!
So the king sent a band of praisers out ahead of his army to meet the enemies.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, (as soon as they began to praise, God set a trap for their enemies!) the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
And not only did God have it, but they were THREE DAYS COLLECTING ALL THE SPOIL!!! Back then kingdoms conquered each other and took the wealth to increase in power. If you fought someone and won, you got to strip them of weapons, jewelry – anything they had on them. And they DID.
So you want to know how to defeat that enemy that’s TOO BIG FOR YOU TO DEFEAT? The answer is PRAISE HIM.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Jehoshaphats enemies were defeated from the moment that band of praisers began to sing praise, yall, and yours will be, too.
King David – the King who was KNOWN for winning wars was a PRAISER! That’s how we got the Psalms. He went about praising God and walking with Him, talking to Him all the time. Consulting him about everything. He praised his way through victory after victory.
Psalm 47 talks about praising God
1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
2 For the Lord most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
5 God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
“He is a great king over all the earth…” We praise Him because no matter what we’re going through, He knows how to fix it, and how to make it come out to our benefit!
Some people may not know how to praise, or how to worship. Let’s talk about that for a minute.
Worship is adoring God for Who He Is. Lord God you are holy, to you belongs all honor, all praise and all glory and all majesty. That is an example of worship. Worship is offered regardless of your circumstances. No matter what is going on with us and whether or NOT He has answered our prayers, He is still Who He is. The song by Casting Crowns, Praise You in the Storm describes this – go listen to that on Youtube and you’ll see what I mean.
Praise is more like thanking Him for what He has done for you. Lord Thank You so much for bringing me the money to pay rent this month! Thank you for that promotion at work. Thank you for healing Mom. I praise you for making a way for me. I praise You for that breakthrough, Lord. Lord I know You are faithful! I praise You for saving my children! I know Your arm is not too short to save!
You can praise your way to anything you need and out of any situation that’s bad. Praise gets God’s attention. It also brings Him into your situation – He inhabits the praises of His people.
So let’s think about this for a minute. God doesn’t just want us to praise for HIS sake, but for OURs, too! Praise serves many functions! I want to talk to you today about five reasons to praise.
1. Because praise recognizes God, Praise gets God’s attention.
2. Praise is a weapon. We see it won the whole war for Jehoshaphat and his people – in fact, it was so powerful that he was granted peace and he didn’t have to fight any more!
3. Our praise is a testimony to others.
SING PRAISE (from Sermon Central Illustrations)
We can get victory over hardships by singing praise to the Lord.
"My mouth is filled with Your praise...all day long." Ps. 71:8 (NAS)
Roger Bennett, pianist and songwriter died of leukemia in 2007. Prior to his death he wrote on his website about a different battle:
Our enemy stalks us exactly the way the Bible describes, as a roaring lion. He hides in the bushes waiting for any sign of weakness. Then he strikes. He didn't strike me physically. He struck a more critical part -- my joy...confidence...and hope. Every thought turned towards heaven bounced back like it was made of brass. Every time I tried to look on the bright side, I ended up imagining a dark future. Then he threw his most effective dart -- doubt. "You call yourself a Christian. What a hypocrite! You're more afraid than ever...more filled with despair. So much for your faith, Mr. Gospel Singer!" I believed every thing he said. I tried everything I knew to pull out of it...I thought if I dozed off it would pass...but the clock seemed to move in slow motion. Sleep was nowhere near. I tried to lose myself in the Bible, but the words blurred and I couldn't make sense of them."
Then Bennett had an epiphany, as he thought about Paul and Silas in prison. "They didn't despair," he wrote: "They sang praises and that became their weapon.
One after another...old songs came to me and I sang them to my empty room. It wasn't a great performance, but it may be the most powerful blessing I've received."
The Palmist wrote, "My mouth is filled with Your praise...all day long.
Songs in the night works wonders. Songs bring the joy of the Lord. Thanksgiving -- anticipate Joy.
Acts 16:25-30
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Paul and Silas’s praise witnessed to the other prisoners, got God’s attention and got the guard saved!
Their praises opened the doors that were closed to them – God said that’s a word for somebody who has been staring at a closed door. He says praise is the key if you want me to open that door for you.
Praise made their chains fall off of them. You want to be free from that bondage? He says praise Me! Praise Me in the streets, praise Me in the congregation, praise Me in your homes and in your businesses and among your neighbors. Am I not God??? Then praise Me!
We don’t mind telling everybody everywhere when something goes wrong, do we? We’ll sure tell them what the devil is doing to us, so why are we reluctant to tell them what God is doing for us?
Oh, but we don’t want to be called a fanatic or a Jesus freak, do we??
Let me tell you something, if you are afraid of what men will think you will never be a great praiser and you will never get your miracle.
Period.
God will be honored or you will just be left standing right where you are. That’s just the way he rolls. This is His world, He makes the rules. You can follow them or not, but don’t go complaining that you didn’t get any help when you didn’t do what you were told.
Stay in rebellion and keep the approval of men. And you can stay in your mess.
You know, my Mother was an intercessor and a praiser. She praised God to anyone with ears on the sides of their heads. She didn’t care what anyone thought about it, if they didn’t like it, she just figured they needed Jesus that much more – lol.
At the end of her life, 8 years after her Alzheimers diagnosis, she had 14 strokes in the last two months and she no longer recognized any of her children or grandchildren or family. I was with her the night she died. The last word anyone remembers her saying was Jesus. She kept praying and praising to her last words, until she slipped into a coma and went off to be with the Lord. How precious that must have been to Him.
We are so quick to ask Him for something. And we’ve all asked Him for stuff this week. And we wondered where our answers were. But He was wondering why we weren’t praising Him for all He has already done???
Why His children, who say they want to glorify him, AREN’T.
You say you want to glorify God? THEN DO IT!!!! You have a chance EVERY SUNDAY – WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
4. Praise encourages us – when we hear our own testimony it goes back into our heart and reminds us that our God is FAITHFUL! He has helped us before and He will help us again!
5. Praise gets your eyes off your problem and ON to God. As we praise Him, our problems get smaller and He gets bigger. Our fear diminishes and He takes his rightful place. He is always bigger, but when our circumstances scream at us that we’re going down, we forget that sometimes.
Let me tell you a story from The Christian Herald. (from Sermon Central Illustrations)
After one of the terrible battles of the Civil War, a dying Confederate soldier asked to see the chaplain. When the chaplain arrived, he supposed the young man would wish him to ask God for his recovery; but it was very different.
First the soldier asked him to cut off a lock of his hair for is mother, and then he asked him to kneel down and thank God.
"What for?" asked the surprised chaplain.
"For giving me such a mother. Thank God that I am a Christian. And thank God for giving me grace to die with. And thank God for the home He has promised me over there."
And so the chaplain knelt down by the dying man, and in his prayer he had not a single petition to offer, but only praise and gratitude.
So let’s summarize.
1. Praise is your WEAPON. You’re facing a battle? This is how you fight it.
2. Praise RECOGNIZES GOD, so it GETS HIS ATTENTION and BRINGS HIM INTO YOUR SITUATION
3. Praise is a TESTIMONY to those around you – when they hear your praise, you’ll be like the woman at The Potter’s House
4. Praise ENCOURAGES US – it REMINDS US OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
5. Praise gets your eyes off your problem and ON to YOUR GOD – it reduces your fear, it helps CALM YOUR ANXIETIES, because it helps you put your circumstances into perspective
One time I was praising God and He told me to praise more LOUDLY. And I said Lord, do you like praise loud so you can hear it? And he said NO, SO THE DEVIL CAN!
So remember WHEN YOU PRAISE – HE LIKES IT LOUD.
BRING YOUR PRAISE – START A PRAISE MOVEMENT IN YOUR CHURCH!
And just watch what happens when the atmosphere fills up with praise and GOD shows up in the house!
