Praise Him!

Praise and worship:

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Yada- praise, make confession 2, thanksgiving, cast out 1, shoot 1, thankful. physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; to revere or worship (with extended hands);

hillûl; (in the sense of rejoicing); a celebration of thanksgiving for harvest: — merry, praise. AV (2) - make merry, rejoicing, praise, glory, boast, foolish 3, fools 2, commended 2, rage 2, celebrate 1, give 1, marriage 1, renowned 1; stultify- cause (someone) to appear foolish or absurd:

to shine (fig. of God's favor)

When you start to dissect the words praise and worship, you realize that one thing you find is that praise is connected to sound; it can be vocal or instrumental. One of the words used is laud which means to use verbal or written expression to give respect. Praise is connected to sound;

Psalms 150

Let Everything Praise the LORD

1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Praise connected to sound; whereas, worship has a physical or positional component. Various words connected to worship can be related to bowing, kneeling, lifting hands low or high in the air, laying prostrate on the ground. The word positional or postural would be a good word to use. Before we started the study, Niya was in there, and we were talking to her about some of this and she remembered coming away from a study that she did on worship with the thought that worship was all about the position or posture of the heart.

Lily made a comment that she did some study once and came away with the idea that there is an invitation going out from God to man and that praise initiates the response and praise will ultimately lead to worship. Think about that. The God of glory is inviting man to know Him and live for Him and belong to Him. When a man recognizes that truth, he will laud or praise God, and once a human begins to praise him, the position of his heart will slowly move to a posture of worship: I reverence you God, I recognize your authority, your holiness, the truth of your word, and I realize that I have transgressed your ways. I lower myself in your presence. Forgive me and give me strength to live for you. For you are worthy to have your word obeyed.

And then Brennan brought up a great scripture to cap things off:

Romans 12:1-2 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2

A Living Sacrifice

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The name of praise

Genesis 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Genesis 49:8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Niya and Bill the first time the English word worship was used was in the book of Genesis:

God asks Abraham to worship, offer Isaac as sacrifice

Genesis 22:5-6 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

Whole Burnt offering

Genesis 8:20-22. 20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

In these passages what we realize is that worship isn’t about us. The focal point of worship is all about God and in order for true worship to take place the opposite of self must occur. In order for true worship to take place, like the burnt offering, self must die, so that God can be exalted, so self help teaching and psychology that tries to better the old man has no place in the house of God. Worship is all about God, and our heart’s posture towards Him. It’s about giving Him glory, lauding Him, reverencing and honoring Him, and when His creation does that, His word says that He will inhabit those praises:

Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Inhabit- to dwell somewhere, to sit down and remain in a place

It seems clear to me that God showed us the true fulfillment of whole burnt offering worship when, as a father, like Abraham, God offered His Son Jesus to die on the cross? Jesus, the fulfillment of the whole burnt offering. Jesus where something died before it could ever really live according the real purpose. (I sanctify myself, so that they can be Sanctified. Sanctify them in your word. Your word is truth)

So in one sense, worship has nothing to do with what it sounds like in that it’s really about the position of the heart that is approaching God. A simple hymn sung by a person that can’t really stay in tune could, if sung from a prostrated heart, bring tears to a hardened criminal’s eyes and bring a breakthrough to the heart, nothing to do with the person except a willingness to stultify everything to do with the person, a vessel that contains God’s glory releasing His glory right there where they are, so that God’s glory will fill the earth.

So it’s not how well it sounds, it’s how low it bows. Is the position of the heart humble, broken, thankful, loving and kind towards God as that heart sings and gives its praise? On the other hand everything that we do for God is supposed to be the best that we have to offer. The best lamb, the first fruits. If all we have is a turtle dove, then we give Him the best turtle dove that we have. If we have a ram, we give him the best one, but that doesn’t make sense. If I give him my best and strongest male ram of the flock, it’s going to weaken the gene pool of my herd. You don’t understand your God yet. It’s an act of faith. Worship is about Him. It’s about believing Him, thanking Him, acknowledging Him in everything we do and everywhere we go. And He says that if we do that He will be with us. Well, I tried preacher, and I didn’t get it yet— get what? The thing I was looking to get. Well, maybe you didn’t do it long enough. Keep believing, keep trusting! Abraham believed God and never saw the promise. It wasn’t about Abraham. It was about the promised seed. It’s not about us. It’s about the promised seed.

When you study the word of God, you have to keep in mind what you learned before. God’s word makes more sense when we keep it connected and study it that way. It is living, chronological and He desires to reveal Himself, His plan and what’s going on now to us through His word. Therefore, we must pay close attention to what He is saying.

God’s purpose for man was that he was created to be the image of His glory, wherever man would go, he would carry with him the image/ glory of the Lord…But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Numbers 14:21. The earth was created as a place for man to bear the image of His glory and to spread that glory over all the earth. Before the fall, to make the whole earth like Eden, a place where God’s presence dwelled all over His creation, in and through His creation man. Imagine this the thought that the whole earth filled with the glory of the Lord as every man, woman and child is like a harmonic, walking symphony of praise, glory and worship to the Lord…But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

But then the fall, an act of rebellion incited by evil entities, evil enemies that hate God and desire to steal His glory and receive honor and glory for themselves through some form of forced obedience towards sinful worship.

The definition of glory in the Old Testament is honor, dignity or reverence

Dignity- nobility or elevation of character; worthiness

• elevated rank, office, station, etc.

• A sign or token of respect

Reverence- a gesture indicative of deep respect; an obeisance, bow, or curtsy.

• the state of being revered, or treated with respect tinged with awe.

God loves cleanliness, clean living, obedience, praise, worship, faith, then it stands to reason that the forces of evil would want man to do the opposite…

They would want man to believe and to do the opposite. Instead of believing God and His word and honoring His holiness with obedience and thankfulness through righteous living defined by God’s word, evil would entice man to do the opposite.

Then, instead of man being found in God’s image and bringing God’s glory into the earth, they would instead entice man to become corrupt, wicked, obey their commands, and worship them through sin. Now, instead of a worship or bowing down through a willing submission, you have a slavery form of reverence that is driven by an unholy fear instead of a godly fear.

As man takes this behavior, obedience to sin and corruption of God’s word with him around the world; he (man) now bears the image of evil, and the image of evil has now been and is being spread across the earth. And so if we view this thought from one of the points that I made last week—sanctification- set apart to God, made holy. Now, at least in my eyes, sanctification takes on a whole other level. Instead of filling myself w certain words from music that has spirits connected to it, I fill myself w praise and worship. Instead of binging Netflix, I spend time in my prayer closet.

Looking from this angle, evil trying to cause man to bear their image, makes the rebellion of Babel take on a whole new layer, the rebellion during the times of the judges, each individual rebellion, especially of leaders that caused God’s people to rebel. The repeated rebellion of the Judges, rebellion that results in bondage, the rebellion of Solomon that splits the kingdom and ushers in idolatry and sin and wickedness, finding its climax in Ahab and that wicked woman Jezebel who seduces God’s people and steals their hearts away from Him.

Acts vs Revelation

Acts 2:11 we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God

…But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD

VS.

Revelation 13:15 He had power to make the image of the beast speak and cause all those that will not worship the image of the beast to be killed V 18 Here is wisdom let him that has understanding know the number of the beast is a number of a man— they worship the image of the beast 666 he entices them that man be exalted— Islam at the prison

This earth belongs to God. God said that His glory would fill the earth. Satan wants to steal God’s glory, receive God’s worship and attempt to take over this earth. He wants to turn God’s people into slaves, so that they cannot worship and serve God. Now, it makes sense when I remember God’s words:

Exodus 6:1-8

1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.

Exodus 15:11-12. 11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.

Psalms 149. 1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

DISTRACTIONS: Blockers of the Blessing

Luke 10:38-42 NASB

Martha and Mary

38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

We don’t really learn much about Mary from this story alone, but the scripture has certainly enlightened us to what’s going on in Martha’s life:

She was distracted— she had work to do; after all, somebody has to do the work. The KJV uses the word serving instead of preparations, interesting because it’s the same Greek word used to describe how Stephen the martyr and Phillip got started in Ministry. The word in the Greek is διακονία and it’s where we get our English word deacon.

KJV Cumbered, anxious and troubled

Cumbered—dragged all around, dragged away, driven mentally, over occupied, just too busy about a thing

Careful/ anxious—to be troubled with cares, seeking to promote one’s interests

Troubled—τυρβάζω tyrbazō; to make “turbid”, i.e. disturb: — trouble. to be troubled in mind, disquieted

1 Peter 5:7  [Concern/interest (Matt 10:29-31)]

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

To throw cast upon. Anxiety                   2 sparrows, hairs, value > many sparrows

Philippians 4:6-7. [sacrifice] a place set apart/suitable.     Penury>need/hunger vs self suf

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. My life is full of anxiety & turbidity Robert is a giver Does it say make your requests known to Robert or God?

Isaiah 26:3 (mountain of the Lord perfect peace to the one whose mind is stayed upon Him And that is where I transition from Martha to Mary)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, (Unbelief)

whose mind is stayed on thee: the mind must be stayed upon Him (it cannot be Him & ?…)

because he trusteth in thee.

Luke 10:42 ESV

but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Truth for your life

There is one thing necessary: but I have clothes to do, dishes to wash, the kids have to be bathed, I have to drive them to school, I’m single, I’m not married, I don’t have any help, or the husband I do have doesn’t help— side note: There are a lot of distractions in our lives that were never God’s will. His word is so clear in so many areas, and we blatantly ignore it, and do our own will and then ask Him to bless it. That’s not how it works church. It works like this: we seek His will through His word and prayer, we submit to His will, where we’ve transgressed His will, we repent and then He sends refreshing and healing and provision and guidance moving forward.

We can get mad or we can receive the word of the Lord and recognize the areas  of our lives where we have been in rebellion against God.

Let us understand this: many people make decisions that will affect their lives for years, one example is to have children outside of God’s prescribed order. Is the child beautiful yes, until they hit two and they start talking and acting out in rebellion and you thought changing diapers was hard. What about raising a child that won’t end up perishing in hell church? What about that? Well, if their daddy would help… You don’t need their daddy’s help. You need your Father to help their daddy. You need your Father to help you. You need your Father to help your children. How do I do that? The world says smoking pot is the answer, taking Xanax, depression medicine, don’t do it by finding another man to have another baby with— those things are distractions, they prevent you from hearing the voice of God. Those things will deceive you into thinking that you’re okay. You’re not okay if you are living in sin! Then what do I do?

You cast your cares on Him! God wants to turn it around. He wants to work in your favor, but He requires something. Listen to me closely, He requires something from you it’s called repentance. He wants you to quit blaming everyone else around you and take responsibility for your rebellion against His word, and He wants you to choose the good portion and to sit at His feet and drink the cup from His hand lean against Him and breathe, feel His heart beat. He wants you to choose the good portion, so what is the good portion that Mary chose?

She chose the River of anointing that was flowing out of Jesus. We weren’t there, but Jesus was in the house, He was speaking, anointing flowing from heaven, oil flowing from His lips and her soul longs for this, and Martha is right there distracted, in the very same geographical space but distracted. You are in here and some of you are tuned in and God is saying something that can help you and you will receive His word and it will help you, and then some of you are distracted—always looking at the phone, a turbid mind with a thousand different worries, cares and concerns.

That’s Martha, she misses her moment of visitation, she chooses something else, something other than the good portion, and the result is that lusts of the flesh manifest: envy, frustration, jealousy, irritation— Jesus ain’t taking this away from Mary girl. He will take away that ugly that’s all over you right now if you let Him, but He will not take this away from Mary, for this is why He came!

The work of the ministry

The presence and anointing of the Lord will always draw attention and a crowd. Once the crowd arrives, there is always work to do. When Jesus is present, people will be present and where there are people, there are Ministry needs. Martha is serving, she is doing διακονία, so she’s trying to do good, she’s trying to serve God, but everything she’s doing is in the flesh, it’s in her own strength, there’s no anointing on this effort, and so we have these two examples of response to the presence and ministry towards the Lord: one scurries and flits around, distracted, irritated, frustrated, can’t really get much done, because she’s consumed with busy work and it only produces jealousy towards others. The other one sits at His feet and receives the oil of His presence, a time of preparation and filling for the purpose of pouring out, later she will return to His feet and bring the oil she saved and pour it back upon Him. That’s work for the Lord, that’s the Spirit of God (Jn 12:1-3 fragrance filled; Mk 14:3-9 alabaster box).

This kind of love, devotion and ministry is not for women only. I have seen this type of love written in God’s word, words from David’s pen, popping off the pages, words that will warm the coldest of hearts and bring tears to the driest of eyes. Most of these Psalms of desperation that cry out and long for God’s presence were written by King David when he was running for his life, and far away from the house of God!

Psalms 42:1-3

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Psalms 63:1-4

1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Psalms 143:6-7

6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. 7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

Psalms 43:4-5

4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Maybe the difference between Mary and David is that this is her first time there [in the presence of God] whereas, David has been there. He’s been in the field seeking, writing singing and experiencing the presence of God. He’s been in the temple. Now, he’s on the run. He can’t get to the temple where God’s presence is located. He longs for it. He’s thirsty, he’s hungry

The proper version of a Christian life and servant of God, is a working Martha whose work is an overflow from praise, it’s a pound of spikenard, perfume of praise that comes out out of the overflow of time spent in His presence like Mary.