Text:
2 Chronicles 20:1-4, 13-17
Have you heard the saying that there
are two times to praise the Lord - When you feel like it and when you don’t? Any other time you don’t have to praise Him. David said in Psalm 34, "I
will bless the Lord at ALL times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth".
"Continual" means repeated
without pause; uninterrupted. Praise is
to be an everyday part of life no matter what’s happening. Whether I’m having a high moment or low
moment, my focus should stay on God basically because of who He is. He is Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the
end; King of Kings; Lord of Lords; Creator; The Great I Am; He’s Jirah, Our
Provider; Great Physician. He is worthy
of our praise all day and everyday no matter what kind of day it may be.
Another reason for our praise is
simply obedience. Exodus 34:14 tells us: “For
the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God", and He demands and
desires our praise. The first
commandment (Exodus 20:3) backs this up, “Thou
shalt have no other gods before me”. Psalm 150:6 states, “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord”.
In the Old Testament, it was noted
several times that God’s people were not to appear before Him empty:
Psalm 149:5: “Let the
saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds".
Psalms 149:6: “Let the
high praises of God be in their mouth".
Hebrews 13:15: “By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name".
Often times, when crisis arises in
our life, the devil comes to amplify the crisis in addition to the real problem
just to make it worse. His goal is to
make you feel guilty, unworthy, or like a total loser. He loads his gun and
shoots you with fear and doubt. Most of
the time, it’s so subtle you don’t
realize you’re under attack. The enemy
is throwing his best shot called "distractions". We are natural beings with feelings, thought
patterns, and a will. You really don’t
feel up to fighting back. If you would
remember in Hebrews 13:5, God said, "I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee".
Praise is a weapon that will overshadow
the enemies weapons of fear and doubt and cause him to lose his grip on any
situation. Praise is not a problem when
things are going good. When you can
praise when trouble is all around you, you are telling God, “I know the enemy
is trying to kill me and my family, but I know you’re my God." You’re acknowledging Him as Lord over your
situation. Your praise becomes a
sacrifice.
In the Old Testament, the sacrifice
of animals called for a death. The same is true in the New Testament realm of
sacrifice. We have to die to our comfort
zone, our egos, our desires, and our constant focus on our problem. If truth be told, trouble comes to all of us. Many times people think that those of us in
ministry “have it all together", like we don’t have problems, or we always
have enough money and don’t experience attacks from the enemy. The impression of some may be that we’re
insulated from the difficulties of life.
Jesus said in John 16:33 that we would have tribulations in this life,
but he didn’t stop there. He said "be of good cheer, I have overcome the world".
No one is exempt. It doesn’t matter your position of leadership
in the church or on your job. Think it
not strange when you encounter problems in your life. But remember:
Jesus has promised us victory!
Whatever you’re going through, I want
you to know that a powerful praise will birth victory. So go ahead and praise God for what you
already know - that you are already blessed and delivered according to the word
of God. There’s a supernatural power that is released in praise that alters
both the physical and spiritual realm. If
we are going to get a break through in our personal lives, in our churches, in
our cities, we must understand the power of praise.
What is praise? Simply expressing approval, esteem for
someone. The French origin of praise is
“Priesier” meaning “to prize”. Prize is to cherish something or someone, to
estimate of worth. When we praise Him we
are estimating His worth. We are
esteeming Him. The purpose of praise is
to get God into your environment. The
power of praise is the presence of God at work in your life.
When God is present, things change. When praising God, you’re actually gathering
all the facts you know about Him and putting them into words of praise and
words of thanksgiving. You are agreeing
with what He has already said and shown us about who He is. So the less you know about Him - the less
you’re able to praise Him. If you want
to praise God more, you need to have a relationship, a revelation of Him. The only way you can have that is through His
Word.
Remember, there are benefits that
come with praise. It puts God to work. Ephesians 3:20: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that
we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us". Allow me to inform you that God specializes in
the impossible. Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible".
Our text reveals that Jehoshaphat,
King of Judah, knew this. He was
threatened by a vast army that struck terror in his heart. Faced with the greatest crisis of his life, he
began to seek God through fasting, praying, and confessing his helplessness. He
called the people together for a praise session. He commended God for His power over all
people and situations. He testified to
how God had been faithful to His people in past and present, and no one could
withstand God. Then he reminded God that
his people were helpless without Him, but confirmed that He was assured God
would deliver them out of the hands of their attackers. 2 Chronicles 20:12: "Oh
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". We need your
direction. Tell us what to do. God, we’re not moving until we hear from you
because you are our God, and we trust you.
Jehosphat was standing on Proverbs
3:5: "Trust (Hebrew word: B’takh
-meaning complete reliance, cling to, confide in, set one’s hopes and
confidence upon) in the Lord with all
thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding". Why? Isaiah 55:8: “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” Our own understanding is like a broken reed. If you lean on it, it will fail. Our own ways may prove to be uncomfortable and
hedged with thorns. But if we
acknowledge Him with total submission, He promised to direct our path.
The Spirit of God came upon Jahaziel
in 2 Chronicles 20:15-16: “Be not afraid or dismayed by reason of this
great multitude; for the battle is not your's, but God’s. To morrow go ye down
against them". Verse 17: "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle.”
Jehoshaphat responded to the threat of
war with Praise, expectancy, and obedience. After all, their name is Judah meaning
“Praise”. This is how we should respond
in the face of adversity. Praise is the
secret to the power of God.
Jehoshaphat has gotten direction from
God, and all he had to do was act on it. They rose up early in the morning and headed
to battle. He continued to praise and
encourage the people. In verse 20, he
said "believe" (Hebrew word: “aman”), meaning be stable, resistant to move, change, firm, steady,
firmly persuaded. This is the same as Paul in Romans 8:38 who says that he is
persuaded that neither life (with all afflictions/distresses it brings), nor
death, things present (going through now), nor things to come (things may
befall you in your walk with Christ) will separate him from the love of Christ
which will surely save, protect, and deliver those who believe in and through Him.
That Hebrew word, Aman,
ties in with another word called FAITH. Hebrews
11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please him (God)”. You don’t have to have much. Matthew 13:31 states “a grain of mustard
seed”, which is enough to be effective, enough to cause one to be obedient to
God. Not like that dead faith in which the
walk doesn’t match your talk. Not that of
demonic faith, like the fig tree full of leaves but no fruit. In other words, you have the form of Godliness
but no heart.
You must have that dynamic faith
- the faith that leads to action and involves the whole man because faith
without works is dead. Then he appointed
singers (praise team) and positioned them frontline with instructions to lead
this army. Why? Ask Saul in 1 Samuel 16 who was the king
appointed by God and became disobedient. God allowed evil spirit to overtake him. Saul called for David, a skilled musician who played
music on a harp and drove the evil spirit away. Satan is allergic to praise. Jubilant praise can paralyze Satan. It’s the antidote to the poison of Satan’s oppression.
Jehoshaphat instructed the praise
team to sing unto God. I want you to
thank Him for His goodness, faithfulness and His Excellency. Tell Him we’re celebrating His love and our
victory because praise that’s right will drive the devil away. As they sang praises, God heard their songs of
faith, and He set ambush against their enemy causing them to turn on each other
and slay one another. Judah arrived to
the battleground, and the enemies were all dead. All they had to do was collect the spoil which
took them three days, and they returned home filled with joy.
That praise team leading the army
wasn’t just having a casual praise session. They were handling serious business. Their praise had put flesh on their faith. Praise that’s attached to faith opens the door
for God to work for you, in you, and through you. God can’t do anything other than what He has
promised. That praise team at the head
of the army was praising God as though the army coming at them was already
dead. Praise sparks victory! They were rejoicing in God’s faithfulness
before He could be faithful. They
believed that the One who had made the promise would do exactly what He said, “Ye shall not need to fight in this
battle" (2 Chronicles 20:17); verse 15: "for
the battle is not yours, but God’s".
What happened back then is still current
today. Allow me to share this testimony.
The first Sunday in January 2011, God
forewarned my church family through His Prophet Bishop Wilson that we were
going to be faced with something that year, but we were going to witness the
move of His Hand. God said to tell us
“Work the Word and Work the Works”. A week later (January 6), our eldest sister
was diagnosed with stage four rectal cancer. I can’t describe the devastation our family
experienced. My faith level was nowhere
to be found. Psalm 30:5 states “ weeping may endure for a night, but JOY
cometh in the morning".
Early the next morning, I was sitting
alone at my work station. A co-worker
approached me and asked, “What was the Word on last Sunday?” I stated, "Work the Word and Work the
Works". She proceeded to tell me
that God awoke her in the night and had her to pray for rectal cancer. He told me to send it back to hell from whence
it came. I then realized God was giving
me divine direction in this situation. I
then informed her of my sister’s diagnosis. She stated, “God has anointed my hands.".
Taking my hands into hers, she stated,
“I am transferring the anointing to you.
Go get your family together, lay hands on your sister, and send that
cancer back to hell from whence it came”.
I declare unto you this day, my
family came together that very night and offered God Praise and Worship in
songs, then Communion, and Prayer (laying of hands on sister). After the Praise session, the Spirit of God
came upon my sister Mary, stating, “Do Not be afraid; I healeth thee” and my
niece, Nekedria, “Do not be afraid; I have thee in the palm of My Hand”.
Today, I can testify that my sister
is cancer free and back on her job full time.
It all came through Working the Word in order to Work the Works. Talking about a powerful praise, we had to
demonstrate it with expectancy, and
believe that God would perform His Word. Since that experience, my life and my faith in
God has not been the same. We had to
demonstrate faith attached with praise, expectancy, and obedience which birthed
victory.
In conclusion, when you’re faced with
what’s seemingly an impossible situation, remember Jehoshaphat and my
testimony. Seek the Lord through prayer
and fasting. It will bring Jehovah
Shalom to your rescue (peace of God, rest of God, wholeness, free from
anxiety/fear).
Confession:
Announce to God that you need Him. For it’s "in him we live, and move, and have our being". Acts 17:28.
Obedience. Shows love for Christ. John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments”.
Trust in the Lord and His Word,
giving thanks always.
Lastly, Let the high praise of God be
in you at all times. I declare unto you "a
powerful praise will birth victory"!
~ Evangelist Brenda Hansley
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