We are the Family of God
Lesson # 4

Lifting
Copyright © 2002
D. S. Briggs, BA; ThM; D. Min.

Psalm 107: 1-8
Background Scripture:
Psalm 100
Memory Verse: 1 Peter 2:9

“but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”

The story is told of a destitute woman who had come to know the
Lord and the pardon of her sins. Excited about her newly found faith…desirous to share with the fellowship of God’s people, she hastily made her way to a local church on Sunday morning. Each song that the choir sang seemed to minister directly to her spirit. The prayers touched her very soul! By the time the preacher stood up to preach she could barely contain herself any longer. When the preacher said something she agreed with she shouted “Amen”! People turned around and looked glaringly at her but she didn’t even see them, for she was so focused on listening to the word of God.

When he said something else she agreed with she screamed ”Thank you Jesus”! Folks around her began to mumble under their breath about this loud stranger who was interrupting their “quiet time of meditation” with the Lord. How dare she! Where did she come from? Finally she jumped up, waving both hands wildly in the air, tears streaming down her face and saying …”Praise the Lord! Lord I thank You!” At this latest and loudest outburst as official looking church official, rapidly came up to her seat and fiercely whispered…

“Madam, I must ask you to sit down and be quiet so we can think on what the man up there is saying!!! If you can not be quiet we will usher you out of this service.” A look of sincere shock crossed her face as she sat down. She tried to keep quiet, but as she thought on what the Lord has brought her out of she began to loudly lift her voice once again in praise. This brought the official back to her pew, with a fellow companion. He whispered more firmly this time…

“Miss…one more sound out of you, and we will escort you out of this service”. The lady looked at him with tears rolling down her face and said…”I am sorry…I did not mean to disturb anyone…but I am just so happy and free since I found the Lord.” As this official turned to go he said ”Lady, you may have found the lord, but you sure did not find him here!”

While we may laugh at the outcome of this little story, the sad truth is too many of us can also attest to its truthfulness. Many Christians of various denominational backgrounds have struggled with the legitimacy of praise in the morning worship. Strangely however we do not question its legitimacy in our private life, cars, homes, jobs, etc. Only at church, and particularly the morning worship hour does the issue of praise – its place and legitimacy rear it’s divisive head.

Questions are raised at churches across the world on this issue. Questions like:

· What constitutes praise?
· When is it sincere?
· If praise is genuine how is it called out of order when it disrupts a program?
· Who can truly offer praise?
· Why can’t I praise God in my own way?
· Is praise decent and in order?
· If my praise is quiet, then is it true?

This issue has become so divisive that churches have literally split because of it. In many churches choirs and praise teams have been formed to allow and promote praise as being not only biblical and spiritual, but viable as well. New denominations and “specialty churches” been formed that favor and foster praise as the “modus operandi” and not the occasional happenstance occurrence. (ex: Full Gospel Baptist, Non denominational, Charismatic) Many members of the Body of Christ move from one local church to another, trying to find an atmosphere of praise. A church where they can freely lift their sacrificial
offerings of praise to God, without visual or verbal condemnation of those who declare both by attitude and actions, and if necessary by vote ”we don’t do that here so you better not do it either”.

ü Psalm 150:6 … Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

The Psalms are a collection of songs. Compiled by several authors, they span the panoply of human emotion. However, we quickly discover that regardless of man’s condition, the psalmists overwhelmingly challenge the hearers of these songs to give praise to god. In spite of our physical condition, in spite of our emotional condition, in spite of our location…we are commanded, challenged, and convinced to always give praise to god. In reading the psalms we find out that there is only one group of people who are not mandated by God to give praise to God:

ü Psalm 115: 17 – 18…The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord

In reading the scripture we find no group exempt from this command:
Ø Angels…………..……………………………………………….Psalm 148:2
Ø Gentiles……………………………………………………….Romans 15:11
Ø Heaven and earth…………………….……………………..…Psalm 69:34
Ø Kings…………………………………………………………….Psalm 138:4
Ø Poor and Needy………………………………………………..Psalm 74:21
Ø Nations……………………………………………………….…Psalm 117:1
Ø Servants……………...…………………………………………Psalm 135:1
Ø All people…………………………………………………………Psalm 67:3

Let’s review the text:

Ø Vs # 1…O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever
Ø Vs # 2 …Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy
Ø Vs # 3 …And gathered them from out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south
Ø Vs # 4 …They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way: they found no city to dwell in
Ø Vs # 5 …hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Ø Vs # 6 …THEN they cried unto the lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses
Ø Vs # 7 … and he led them forth by the right way, that they might go forth to a city of habitation
Ø Vs # 8 …Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and his wonderful works to the children of men.

I.) The Platform of the Disciple
A.) Hear his request; “Give thanks to the Lord” Why?
1.) His eternal goodness
2.) His enduring mercy
B.) Hear his reason: he has been redeemed!!!
1.) Praise must be personal to be powerful
2.) He recognized where he was, and who had him

Disciple - one who is a devoted follower of another. One who submits to their teachings and tenets; brings their life under the subjection and scrutiny of the same; promotes through practice and principle the teaching of whomever or whatever they follow.
***from this we understand that it is only the disciple of the Lord that recognizes his personal relationship with God, and knows (there is no conflict in his/her mind, body, soul, or spirit…they know) that he has been redeemed that can offer true praise unto god. Redeemed from self, satan, sin and the shifting standards of this society. Redeemed by the shed blood of the holy Lamb of God.

II.) The prayer of the disciple
A.) Their delay in prayer “then”
B.) The direction of prayer “unto the Lord”
C.) Their deliverance through prayer
1.) The Lord heard them
2.) The Lord delivered them
3.) The Lord led them
4.) The Lord prepared a place for them

***Can anything be clearer than this? It is obvious from this text that prayer and praise go together. Praise quite often comes as a result to answered prayer. The challenge is to learn from this text not to let our problems overwhelm us in life, before we call on the Lord!!! Don’t wait until it goes from bad to worse. If it ever starts to turn from good to bad, a child of God should be in earnest prayer to their heavenly Father. Better still, is to maintain vigilence in our prayer life no matter how life is treating us at that moment.

III.) The proclamation of the disciple
A.) Excitement of the writer
B.) Emphasis of the writer
C.) Exasperation of the writer

Concluding thought: The house of worship should also be a house of praise! In spite of our situations, we should still be able to offer up a “yet praise”! (cf: Habakkuk 3:17 – 19) God’s House is the place where we come together to celebrate the goodness of the Lord in the atmosphere of expectancy! We can praise God for our past experiences, our present experience and our future expectations. Let’s be a people who follow the advice and admonition of the Hebrew writer who declared ”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”.(Hebrews 13:15)

“I will bless the lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth”
Psalm 34:1

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