The Privilege of Praise

31 years ago this month, a group of people had gotten together

and they started they wanted to start a church and thus Christ

Community Church was was born 31 years ago this month.

And that group of people got together because they wanted to,

they wanted to, to go on a journey, a journey by which they

would learn to glorify and, and magnify the name of Christ.

They were fixed on doing that. So when we gathered together,

they, they made it very clear that from the very beginning,

they, they wanted to come to know and understand the Christ

more than anything. And so we said that we would

make it our, our passion to pursue Christ.

Then they said they, they wanted to make sure that not only do we

know Christ, but that we were able to demonstrate and show

Christ to other people. So we said, not only will we

make it our, our, our passion to pursue Christ, we will make it

our, our priority to portray Christ.

And then they said, well, we want to make sure that we, we

teach people the gospel and tell them about Christ.

So we made it our purpose to proclaim the Christ.

And then they said, as we do all that, we need to make sure that

we, we magnify and, and praise his name.

So they made sure that we made it our practice to praise

Christ. And that began the mission

statement for our church 31 years ago.

And over the next several weeks, I want to talk to you about our

practice and what it means to give praise and glory and honor

to the Christ. It is a journey that is a

lifelong journey. That's why we call it a practice

because it's not going to be perfect our praise, but yet we

are called by God to praise his glorious name as a church.

We we are a priesthood of believers.

First Peter 29 says that we are a chosen nation, a people for

God's own possession. We are a royal priesthood

revelation. One tells us that we are a

Kingdom of priests, and sometimes I I think that we

forget that part of the identity of the believer is that he is a

priest in God's Kingdom. And what a priest do priest

offer sacrifices to their God. And that's why the writer of

Hebrews said this way in Hebrews 13 verse #15 through him, then

let us continually OfferUp a sacrifice of praise to God.

That is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

Praise is a sacrifice. As a Kingdom of priests, we are

to offer sacrifices to our God, and the key component to our

sacrifice is praise to God. Because praise is costly.

Praise is costly because most of the time my will does not want

to praise the Lord. My emotions don't feel like

praising the Lord when things don't go the way I think they

should go or the way I prayed that God would make them go.

I have a hard time offering praise to God.

But yet the Bible says that we are to continually offer a

sacrifice of praise to God. It's the fruit of our lips.

David understood that. And so in Psalm 57 he says these

words, Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me.

For my soul takes refuge in you and in the shadow of your wings.

I will take refuge until destruction passes by.

I will cry to God most High, to God who accomplishes things for

me. He will send from heaven and

save me. He reproaches him who tramples

upon me. God will send forth His loving

kindness and His truth. Then he says, My soul is among

lions. I must lie among those who

breathe forth fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are

Spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.

Be exalted above the heavens. O God, let your glory be above

all the earth. They have prepared a net for my

steps. A soul is bound.

My soul is bowed down. They dug a pit before me.

They themselves have fallen into the midst of it.

My heart is steadfast. O God, my heart is steadfast.

I will sing. Yes, I will sing praises.

Awake, my glory, awake harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples.

I will sing praises to you among the nations, for your loving

kindness is great to the heavens and your truth to the clouds.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God, let your glory be above all

the earth. David and Psalm 57 knew that he

was surrounded by those who wanted to destroy his life, but

he knew that the answer to that was to give praise and glory to

his God, to sing to his God. And he was a sweet psalmist of

Israel. So he knew that the key to his

life in handling the difficulties of that he was

facing was to give praise to God.

He offered a sacrifice of praise to his God because that's what

priests do. And as the Kingdom of priests,

which we are, we are to offer those sacrifices unto the Lord.

So I thought that beginning today and into the holiday

season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are going to take

a journey along the pathway. We're going to call it the

pathway of praise, and we're going to begin to look at the

different aspects of praise that need to be practiced by us every

single moment of every single day.

So this journey will take us through the holiday season, but

it will help us learn that our praise to God doesn't just come

at Thanksgiving, or does it just come at the Christmas season?

It comes all year around because our lives are marked by a

sacrifice of praise to God. Now, you must understand that

when you get to heaven, this is what you're going to do.

You're going to give praise to God for eternity.

So it's best to practice now what you're going to be doing

perfectly in heaven. In fact, I like the way Charles

Spurgeon said it. He said it this way.

He said when you step into heaven, you may take your place

among the singers and say, I have been practicing these songs

for years. I have praised God while I was

in the world of sin and suffering and when I was weighed

down by a feeble body. But now that I am set free from

earth, from sin and the bondage of the flesh, I take up the same

strain to sing more sweetly to the same Lord and God.

When you get to heaven, you'll be filled with praise and you

will do this for eternity. It's hard for us to comprehend

that that goes way beyond any kind of human understanding.

What do you mean praise God for eternity?

Read Revelation 4, Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

Read Revelation Chapter 11. Read Revelation chapter 15,

Revelation 11 · chapter mention Revelation 15 · chapter mention

Revelation chapter 19. It's all about the glory and

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

Hallelujah and praise given to God in heaven by those who are

there. The four living creatures that

are around the throne give praise to God day and night,

saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is

and is to come. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God

Almighty. And they said the same refrain

over and over and over again. And these are the four living

creatures who have eyes all around them.

These are angelic cherubim. And yet they can't stop praising

the God they serve. They've been doing that since

they were created. And they will be doing that for

eternity. And we will one day join them in

the course of praise. Because when you get to heaven,

God is so overwhelmingly majestic, and so you will be

overwhelmed by His glory, and you can't help but praise Him

just for the opportunity to be in His presence for eternity.

So I thought today we would begin with the privilege of

praise. As we journey along the pathway

of praise, let's begin with the privilege of praise.

Why is praise a privilege to the priests in God's Kingdom?

Well, number one is that praise verifies my identity.

Praise verifies my identity. The verse Isaiah 43 verse #21

which says the people whom I have formed for myself will

declare my praise. God makes it very clear that the

people that I form for myself, they will do one thing.

They will give praise and glory to me.

They will honor my name. I have created them for my

glory, and therefore they will praise my glorious name.

The Bible says in Proverbs 2225 from you comes my praise.

I'm sorry, that's Psalm 2225. From you comes my praise.

In other words, because of God, and God is in me, comes forth my

praise to Him. The psalmist says in Psalm 40

verse #1 These words. I waited patiently for the Lord,

and he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry

clay, and he set my feet up on a rock, making my footsteps firm.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Many will see in fear and will trust in the Lord when God takes

you and brings you up out of the miry pit.

He puts a new song in your mouth, a song of deliverance

that causes you to want to praise his glorious name.

The Bible makes it very clear that the identity the believer

is wrapped up in his praise to God way back in.

In First Samuel, I'm sorry, Second Samuel chapter 23, David

2 Samuel 23 · chapter mention

gives his last literary masterpiece.

We know that 73 of the Psalms are directly attributed to

David, and so as he sings this last song to his son to help

encourage him in his leadership, listen to what David says and

then listen to what he doesn't say.

Second same of 23 verse #1 Now these are the last words of

David. David, the son of Jesse,

declares the man who was raised on high, declares the anointed

of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel.

David is describing himself to his son, and he described

himself as the one who was raised up on high, who was

anointed by God, that God had called him and commissioned him.

And notice the very next thing he says.

He doesn't say he commissioned him to be the king of Israel.

He doesn't say he commissioned him to be a warrior for his God,

a soldier for his God. He identifies himself as a sweet

psalmist of Israel because when God called him, God called him

to sing praises to his name, to lift his name on high.

And that was more important than being the king of Israel.

It was more important than being a warrior for God.

It was to be able to praise His glorious name.

And David recognized that. And at the end of his life, he

helps his Son understand that this is what we do.

This is what people who are kings do.

They give praise to God because that's their identity.

Nothing verifies the identity of a believer.

Then the person who gives praise to their God, no matter what.

That's very, very important #2 not only does praise verify my

identity, but praise is that which ratifies my loyalty.

There's something that ratifies the fact that I am loyal to God

and that is fruitful lips that sing forth praise.

Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 145 verse #1 I will extol

you, my God O King, and I will bless your name forever and

ever. Every day I will bless you and I

will praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and His greatness is

unsearchable. One generation shall praise your

works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

Notice he says, I will four times.

I will extol your name. I will praise your name, I will

lift your name. I will do this because I am

loyal to the King. He recognized God as his King

and as a loyal subject to his King.

He's going to not only obey his King, he's going to give glory

and honor to his King. He's going to praise His

glorious name. So nothing ratifies my loyalty

to God more than my willingness to praise His glorious name.

The psalmist said in Psalm 22 verse #26 those who seek Him

will praise His name. Those who seek Him will praise

His name. If your passion is to pursue

Him, your practice will be to praise Him.

Why? Because those who seek Him can't

help but praise His glorious name.

And so it's important for us to realize that that praise is that

which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, and #3

praise is that which beautifies my personality.

Praise is that which beautifies my personality.

Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 147 verse #1 praise the

Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it is

pleasing and praise is beautiful.

Maybe your text says praise is becoming, or maybe your text

says praise is fitting. No matter how you cut it, praise

beautifies every scene, every circumstance, every situation.

So when you begin to praise God amidst hardship and difficulty,

broken dreams and promises you are, you are shining light in a

sphere that's dark. And by giving praise to God,

your personality is simply beautified, because God is

reflecting himself in and through you to those all around

you who somehow need to see the glory and splendor of God.

So when a man or woman gives glory to God, they are

reflecting the righteous radiance of a God who dwells in

unapproachable light. So therefore, when you give

praise to God, you are shining down in the darkness of human

souls, in human circumstances and showing how Christ is the

only answer. There's nothing that beautifies

the personality more than praise.

So many times our lives are marked by depression in

darkness. Our lives are marked by a dreary

and dreadful attitude, by bitter and unwelcomed attitudes.

But praise, praise changes all of that.

When you recognize that God is in control and God's in charge

and you want to give Him glory because of that, praise is that

which verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies

my personality. That's what the psalmist said in

Psalm one O 3 verse #1 Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is

within me. Bless His holy name, because He

wanted everything within him, His soul, His mind, His heart,

everything to give praise to His God, knowing that the beauty of

His life was determined by His praise #4 Praise is that which

clarifies my priority. Praise is that which clarifies

my priority. Psalm 146 verse #1 says Praise

the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul, I will praise the Lord

while I live. I will sing praises to my God

while I have my being the priority the psalmist was as

long as I live, I will praise the Lord.

Psalm 119 verse #175 Let my soul live that it may praise Thee.

The psalmist says, I only want to live if I can praise your

name. So let me live that I might do

that. Let me live that I might sing

praises. Be grateful, be thankful all the

days of my life. The psalmist knew that praising

God sustained him. The psalmist knew that that

praising God strengthened him. So let me live that I might

praise your glorious name. That is that which clarifies

one's priority. Remember Job?

Job, chapter one, verse 21. The Lord gave and the Lord is

taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

He lost everything. He lost his kids, his business,

his home, everything. He said.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. He spoke well of God's name.

He praised God's name. The Lord has given, and the Lord

has seen fit to take it away. Recognizing God's sovereignty,

recognizing God's plan, blessed be the name of the Lord.

And Job never cursed his God. Amidst all of his suffering,

amidst all of his hardship, he was one who wanted to bless and

honor his God. That's why he was a unique

individual. David was the man after God's

own heart. He was marked at the sweet

Psalmist of Israel. Job was the greatest man on the

planet by God's testimony, and he lived a life of blessing and

honoring his God. How about you?

How do you handle your situations?

How do you handle your difficulties?

How do you handle your hardships?

How do you handle the dark days? Are they filled with praise and

glory to God? Because it's a sacrifice you

offer. It's a sacrifice of praise to

God that priests offer. And we are a priesthood of

believers. Therefore we offer a sacrifice

of praise to our God continually, day by day, never

ceasing to honor our God. So praise is that which verifies

my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my

personality, clarifies my priority.

Praise is that which specifies God's generosity.

Praise is such a privilege because it specifies God's

generosity. You know the verse Psalm One O 3

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.

Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and

forget none of his benefits. What of His benefits?

Who pardons all our iniquities? Who heals all our diseases?

Who redeems our life from the pit?

Who crowns us with loving kindness and compassion?

Who satisfies our years with good things, so that your youth

is renewed like the eagles. That's blessing the Lord.

That's praising the Lord. It specifies His generosity.

Praise is very specific. Praise is not general.

It's specific because of the things that God has done for His

own. Psalm one O 7 verse #8 Oh, that

men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for

His wonderful works to the children of men.

And, and the next one follows right on the heels of this.

Not only is is a privilege of praise a privilege because it

specifies his generosity, but it testifies to God's ministry.

It testifies to God's ministry. In other words, when I when I

give praise to God, I am giving a a testimony to the ministry of

God in my life. Listen to what the psalmist says

in Psalm 76. In you, O Lord, I have taken

refuge. Let me never be ashamed in your

righteousness. Deliver me and rescue me, and

climb your ear to me and save me.

Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come.

You have given commandment to save me, for you are my rock and

my fortress. Rescue me, Oh my God, out of the

hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and the

ruthless man, For you are my hope.

O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.

By You I have been sustained from my birth.

You are he who took me from my mother's womb.

My praise is continually of You. I've become a marvel to many,

for You are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with Your

praise and with Your glory all day long.

So you see, he testifies to the ministry of God in his life.

Who's going to deliver him? Who's going to rescue him?

Who is this rock and stronghold no matter what the circumstance?

And he offers a, a continual praise to God day after day

after day. And the Bible says these words.

I have become a marvel to many. Why?

Why has he become a marvel to many?

Because who praises God when everything is negative?

But those who believe in God, those who who verify their

identity, those who ratify their loyalty, those who beautify

their I, their their personality, those are the ones

who who specify his generosity because they clarify their

priority. So therefore they testify to

God's ministry in their life. And that is a privilege of

praise. Many marvel at me.

They don't understand. And why would they?

The world doesn't get this. The world doesn't understand why

you would praise your God amidst all your negativity.

They can understand why you would give praise to glory and

God when when all things are going good, when your team wins

or you win the game because you hit the home run or you get a a

pay raise or, or you get some kind of recognition at work and

you give glory to God. Well, of course you give glory

and praise to God because everything is good.

But what about things that when they are bad, when they are

negative and you're downcast and things are very difficult in

your family, in your workplace, in your physical life, Is there

a voice that says, I praise you, God, for what you've done in my

life? I praise you for all the

sickness. I praise you for all the

negative circumstances. I praise you for the loss of my

job. I praise you in the midst of my

divorce because somehow, God, you are doing a work and I'm

going to lift your name on high because I am a priest in the

Kingdom of God and I will offer a sacrifice of praise to my

king. That's the privilege of praise.

If you're counting, it's #7 if you're not counting, it is still

#7 #7 is this praise? This is so good.

Purifies me from iniquity. Did you know that?

One of the keys to living a pure and holy life is to give praise

to God. It's said this way in Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 verse #3 pulses. But immorality or any impurity

or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among

the Saints. And there must be no filthiness

and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but

rather giving of thanks, being grateful, praising God, thanking

him for who he is. These things should not even be

named among you. Paul says you shouldn't even be

mentioning them, but what you should be doing is giving thanks

to God for what He has done in your life.

I love what Ephesians chapter 1 says is if you got time to just

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

to go back and read it. It talks about God saving us and

how he does it. And three times he says to the

praise of the glory of his name. God does what He does for the

praise of the glory of His name, the glory of His character, the

glory of His person. He wants to be praised and

honored among His people and we. As priests are his.

People. So what do we do?

We. We do.

What priests do we We offer a sacrifice of praise continually

to our God, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the

situation, because we want to honor his name and.

Praise is that which? Purifies me from iniquity.

If I just learned to to give thanks to God my focus, that is

on him, right? It's not on my.

Own self. My own.

Needs my own wants. It's, it's on God.

So all the impure thoughts and all the, the immoral thoughts

and all the course gisting and all the silly talk that goes

away because my thoughts are not on those around me, nor is my

thought on me. It's on God himself.

And therefore I I live a life of thankfulness to God, a life of

praising Him for what He's done, and it purifies me from my

iniquity. Next. #8 Praise is that which

glorifies His Majesty. It glorifies His Majesty.

That's what a psalmist said in Psalm One.

O 3 Bless his holy name, the holiness of God.

Back in Exodus chapter 15, Miriam would lead the song of

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

praise after Pharaoh and his army was cast into the sea and

Israel was able to pass by on dry land.

And it says that Exodus chapter 15 verse #21 Miriam answered

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

them. Sing to the Lord, for he is

highly exalted, The horse and rider he has hurled into the

sea. You.

You. Want to glorify His?

Majesty, you want to glorify his royalty, you want to magnify his

name, and that's what that's what praise does over in

Revelation Chapter 19. Revelation Chapter 19 you had

Revelation 19 · chapter mention Revelation 19 · chapter mention

the fourfold Hallelujah, it says after.

These things I heard. Some something like a loud voice

of a great multitude in heaven saying Hallelujah.

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God because his

judgments are true and righteous For His judge, the great harlot

who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and he has

avenged the blood of his bond servants on her.

The second time they said Hallelujah, her smoke rises up

forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four

living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sits on the

throne saying Amen, Hallelujah. And a voice came from the throne

saying, Give praise to our God, all you his bond servants, you

who fear him, the small and the great.

Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and

like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty

peals of Thunder, saying Hallelujah for the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns. That that's what heaven is.

It's the it's the Hallelujah chorus of the of the Saints and

priests of God who are his bond servants.

So the voice that of heaven says, Give praise to His name,

for praise glorifies His Majesty #9 praise is that which

magnifies His sovereignty. It magnifies His sovereignty.

Paul says in Romans 11. O the depth of the riches both

of the wisdom and glory of God. How unsearchable are His

judgments, and unfathomable His ways.

For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His

counselor, or who has first given to him, that it might be

paid back to him again? For from him and through him and

to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.

Amen. Paul lifts.

Praise to God. Because of His sovereignty, it

magnifies that even Jesus, Even Jesus would magnify the

sovereignty of God. Listen to what Jesus says.

Matthew 11 verse #25 At that time Jesus said, I praise you,

Father. I praise you, Father.

Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things

from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to

infants. Yes, Father, for this way was

pleasing in your sight. He magnified.

The sovereignty of His Father in Heaven.

I praise you, Lord, for you have hidden these things.

You have hidden this gospel from the intelligent and the wise,

and you've opened the the minds and the hearts of the lowly that

they might receive the gospel and believe the gospel.

He's magnifying God's sovereignty and salvation.

Even Jesus gives praise to his Father because he wants to

magnify his sovereignty. That's the privilege of praise.

So if you're taking notes because all spirit filled

Christians take notes, you know that the privilege of praise

verifies my identity, ratifies my loyalty, beautifies my

personality, clarifies my priority, specifies God's

generosity, testifies to God's ministry, purifies me from

iniquity, glorifies God's majesty, magnifies his

sovereignty, and lastly, intensifies, intensifies my joy.

It intensifies. My joy.

Listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 63.

Psalmist. Says oh God, you.

Are my God. I shall seek you earnestly.

My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you in a dry

and where we land where there is no water.

Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and

your glory, because your loving kindness is better than life.

My lips will praise you, so I will bless you as long as I

live. I will lift up my hands in your

name. Why?

My soul is satisfied, as with Morrow and fatness and my youth.

Or, excuse me, my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

Praise intensifies my joy it. Makes it so it.

Is all consuming in my life so. Many times we live.

Lives joy joylessly, and that should.

Never be the case. And then the psalmist says these

words over in Psalm 18 verse #1 I love you, O Lord, my, my

strength. The Lord is my rock and my

fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, and whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I'm

saved from my enemies. I'm saved from my enemies.

He's my rock, my refuge, my strength, my fortress, my

stronghold. And then over in Psalm 9 verse

#1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart.

I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and exalt in You.

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High, and then over.

In Psalm one O. 4 Psalmist says these words in verse #33.

I will sing. To the Lord as long as I live, I

will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Let my meditation be pleasing to him.

As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord again.

The psalmist knew that. His gladness and his joy came

from his praise. That is the the privilege of

praise as we. Journey along this.

This pathway of praise we will instruct you more and more and

how it is we are to offer a sacrifice of praise as priests

in the Kingdom of God. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for this day and the opportunity you give

us to spend a brief moment in Your word.

We pray, Lord, that we would be a people of praise, a people who

magnify your name, a people who sing unto your name, a people

who glorify your name, a people who live in the realm of praise.

You are a great God. We thank you.

For your salvation. And.

As priests in your. Kingdom, we want to.

Be those who continually. Offer up a sacrifice of praise

to our King, to our God, to the majestic.

Holy one of. Israel, Jesus Christ our Lord, I

pray. For those today who?

Are going through difficult times I pray Lord that you would

strengthen them and. Help them to offer.

A sacrifice of praise, knowing that they might not feel like

it, they might not even want to, but they know it's a sacrifice.

So they lift their voices in praise to their God for who you

are and what you have done. And may their joy be intensified

all the more simply because of you.

And our gladness comes from the Lord Jesus.

We pray this in your name, Amen.