-Transcript-
00:36 Amen. Glory. Here we are wrapping up a multi-part series on David’s instructions on how to praise God.
00:43 You know David gave us instructions in 1 Chronicles 16:8 that they they almost preached themselves. Amen. If I’m honest all I’m doing is just rightly dividing the Bible just exploring great Bible truths.
01:00 I’m not adding anything to it. I’m not coming up with anything original. I’m just giving you God’s Word straight.
01:16 Amen. That’s what I believe God called me to do and today we’re going to recap a little bit before we get to the conclusion of this five-part series on David’s instructions for praise. So 1Chronicles 16:8 reads, give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
01:24 And so if you’re a preacher you could see this and say that’s a three-part message. Number one, give thanks unto the Lord. Number two, call upon his name.
01:31 And number three, make known his deeds among the people. And that really is the crux of it. David says do these three things to praise God.
01:39 And as we looked at the scriptures throughout this week, throughout the five parts of this series, amen, what we see is that there’s great depth to praising God and that there’s an order to praising God.
01:50 And the reason why this is so important, amen, and God helped me to say this, there’s a lot of churches that believe they are praising God and they’re praising God with what Adrian Rogers used to call the most shallow emotion, which is the emotion, right?
02:07 The whim, the feeling. And so they’re going to turn the lights down low and they’re going to blaze the music up and they’re going to have the smoke machine and the effects and they’re going to have the big screen and so forth.
02:19 Now before you turn the channel, I’m not against technology in the church or so forth. I was saved in a big, big church. Amen.
02:27 I was saved at a big church. I believe people can be saved in any denomination in any church. Honestly, if God’s word speaks to them, if he chooses to open their hearts, amen, he’s the one that does the saving.
02:40 Amen. We just plant the seeds. That being said, there are a lot of churches, these especially ones that would have the budget to do so.
02:45 Amen. I know you can’t, you can’t buy a lot of this equipment for cheap anymore that try to create this praise of God. In fact, it becomes their whole ministry.
02:57 They say our ministry is simply to praise God. We don’t really do Bible study. We don’t really do evangelism.
03:04 We don’t really do soul winning. We just praise, right? You hear churches talk about this and we’re just here to praise, but then they’re praising God in a way that, that doesn’t line up with the scriptures. It’s really ironic.
03:13 A church should be based upon God’s word because people are there to worship God, a holy God who has an order to what he’s doing. He has an order to what he’s doing. And that order is very specific.
03:23 You know, when 1 Chronicles 16:8starts with give thanks unto the Lord, there is a reason why it starts with that. Just like our prayers. We need to give thanks unto God.
03:35 Now we’re told in everything to give thanks. Amen. That’s 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything.
03:46 Give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. So don’t get it confused. God has a will for you.
03:50 He has a will for me. And he has a design for praise. And you know, you want to get into the specifics as preaching recently on, uh, the ark and Uzzi, I believe it was touched the ark when he was trying to carry it.
04:05 They hit a bump, the cattle at a bump, and he touched the ark and God struck him dead. And part of the lesson of that scripture is that God has an order to things and that God’s order is the right order. And that we need to obey God.
04:16 So part of it is just obedience is greater than sacrifice. And so we could go and create some big production, but if God’s not in it, it’s totally worthless.
04:24 And David, the Psalmist gives this wonderful instructions for praising God, give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
04:33 And as we’ve kind of driven into these topics, as we spent time in each of these topics throughout this week, we’ve learned that giving thanks unto the Lord is very serious and important.
04:43 And that we all fall short in this aspect. Tell me anybody that gets a flat tire and just says, thank you, God.
04:50 Of course not, but maybe there’s a reason for it. And we do need to give thanks in all things. We need to give thanks.
04:55 We don’t know God’s plan. Amen. I can look back in hindsight and see a lot of things that I thought were a negative that actually was God working in my life and blessing me.
05:04 And I give him thanks for that. So we need to give thanks to the Lord. We need to call upon his name.
05:09 We need to drive into that relationship with God that is so close that we can say we love the Lord and our actions would then help mirror that statement rather than saying we love the Lord and our actions say that we’re a worldly carnal Christian, just yoked up with the world.
05:25 That doesn’t make sense. That’s a lukewarm Christian, which the Bible tells us makes God sick.
05:29 Amen. So we need to have actions that show that we’re calling upon the name of the Lord. We need to have a closeness with God.
05:36 We need to have a fellowship with God because how can you praise someone that you don’t know?
05:41 That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve not gotten that many compliments in my life just out of the blue, but a few people that maybe I don’t know that well might’ve said something nice to me and I appreciated it.
05:48 But in my mind, I’m thinking I’ve never even met them.
05:53 I don’t even know them. It was very awkward, but don’t worry. That doesn’t happen too often.
05:57 More often than not, people are making other comments to me. So don’t worry about that. Amen.
06:02 But the truth is we must know God to give him proper praise. And finally, we need to make his deeds known among the people. Are we telling others about the great things that God is doing in our lives, doing through us? Amen.
06:16 That’s what he desires. He desires us to make his deeds known among the people because it shows faith in him. It shows his sovereignty.
06:26 It shows him at work. Oh, what a thumb in the eye that must be to the devil when we brag on God and we show people we believe in the real, true living God after the devil’s deception has been spread so far and wide across this earth that there’s still people that say, hey, God is real. He’s alive.
06:37 Amen. He’s blessing. Amen.
06:42 I want to tell you what he did. God did this and God did that. And that’s contagious, by the way.
06:46 And other people will start getting on that bandwagon in the best possible way. And so as we’ve gone through this message, I hope and pray that you will really deeply consider praising God in the proper manner, giving thanks unto the Lord, calling upon his name, making known his deeds among the people.
07:04 And if you do those things and you are happening upon a church service and there’s a song or there’s some entertainment to it, there’s nothing wrong with praising God because you’ve been doing the right things.
07:17 You’ve been obedient in the right way. And again, I hope God helped me to say that correctly, but we need to be calling upon his name and we need to be making his deeds known among the people.
07:26 And that’s where we’re picking up here today in this final part of this multi-part series on David’s Instructions for Praise is making God’s deeds that he’s done in your life and in the lives of those that you know that you care about, making them known among the people and the fruit that comes from that, the fruit that comes from that.
07:48 Because when we do that, not only are we blessing God in a sense by bringing him praise and he desires our praise, amen, but we are also being blessed by that because we receive a blessing in our faith being grown, in our boldness being grown, in our wisdom,
08:01 if you will, being grown through praising God to others. Because then people will say, hey, tell me more about what God did. And oh, where did you see that in the Bible? And they said, well, I want to back it up.
08:16 You know, I knew God was going to do something big in my life. And then here it says, you know, Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ Jesus or whatever it is. When we brag on God, there are good consequences to it, wonderful fruit that comes from it.
08:29 So that’s what we’re going to pick up here in the message. And then we’ll conclude. Whatever it may be, you’ve got to brag on God, you got to give God the glory publicly, and it will be a blessing and it’ll be part of David’s instructions for praising God.
08:44 Make known his deeds and he will save others. I believe that. John 12:32, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me.
08:56 Now Christ here is mentioning the cross, amen, and the power of the cross. And as we speak on God and as we talk about what the Lord has done for us, amen, what’s going to happen is going to draw all men unto him.
09:13 So as we give him the praise and point to him, not in some cryptic way and not in some way that people will never understand and not in some way that’s obnoxious and will constantly offend them, though the gospel is offensive, but you don’t have to be overly obnoxious, right?
09:27 But in a way that’s authentic, right? In a way that helps people understand.
09:39 You know, someone may say casually, how come you don’t drink? Right? And you could say, well, let me tell you about what God did in my life. And I used to drink a lot and I wasn’t a good person.
09:47 And I would get into a lot of problems and I would have all kinds of issues and all kinds of snares.
09:52 And I prayed to God and he took that desire away from me. And so that I didn’t have to drink anymore. And then he filled that void in my heart with his spirit.
10:06 And now I read the Bible and I’m at peace and I’m happy and I have zero desire to drink and I, I benefits. I don’t spend money on alcohol and I don’t go into dangerous places at night and on and on. And I just love the Lord.
10:19 I’m the same person Saturday as I am on Sunday. You see, you’re not telling them you better get right. You know, you’re just simply bragging on what God’s done in your life, testifying if you would.
10:28 And that opens the door for another to see that testimony and be influenced by, and look and say, you know what? God is so good. This God that this person serves is God of Israel, Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior.
10:41 This one that has turned his attention to the Gentiles that is saving those saving the whosoever’s anybody.
10:49 Amen. And it calls upon his name can’t be saved. And that he desires all to be saved.
10:53 He desires all to come to repentance. That God is a good God. And I want to know that God, and I’m tired of living like I’m living.
11:02 It’s exhausting living in sin. The wages of sin is death and people are reaping their wages every single day, not just physically, but spiritually. So when you testify to what God’s done in your life, you give him glory.
11:14 People can and will be saved as you lift the Lord up. Finally here, you’ll be more grateful and thankful.
11:20 You’ll be closer to God himself as you called upon his name and you’ll help win souls back to Christ and even backsliders to get him back on fire for God.
11:30 All of this. When you go to God in praise through how David instructs us by giving thanks to God, by calling upon the name of the Lord and by making his deeds known to others.
11:43 So interestingly enough, as we outwardly praise God and do these things in obedience to God, we receive much blessing, which is truly the whole core of the Bible.
11:57 When we follow what God wants us to follow, he’ll bless and he’ll bless and he’ll bless some more. And when we try to do it our own way, it never works. We have to bring God an appropriate offering.
12:08 Think of Cain and Abel. We got to bring God an appropriate offering and that offering is to live as God called us to live and praise him in giving thanks and calling upon his name and in telling others about him and we’ll be so blessed for it. Blessings that are hard to quantify, hard to even count, like gratitude.
12:29 Gratitude leads to discovering God’s mercy in your life. I’ve heard it said that gratitude and fear cannot coexist. If we are so grateful for God, we won’t fear for our life, right?
12:42 When we understand his sovereignty and his power, as we go to him and giving thanks as David instructs us to do, King David, I should say, well, what happens? We then become grateful to God and thankful to God.
12:57 And what was a burden now becomes an opportunity, right? Things that we looked at and murmured about, now we thank God for because we know that he put them there and there’s a good reason for it.
13:07 There’s no better relationship to work on than the one of you and God. And many people, if they’re told you need to get close to God because you’re all messed up, right? That may not work.
13:19 Well, obvious reasons may not work. But when you say, okay, to praise God, you got to be close to him. Then that’s okay.
13:26 Well, I want to be close to him because I want to give him praise, right? It’s a nicer way to look at it, but there’s no more important relationship we need to work on than the one between ourselves and God. Amen.
13:36 And that comes by calling upon the name of the Lord frequently and often.
13:42 And also too, you’ll understand better as you praise God, how important God is in your life and your purpose for what he wants you to do.
13:53 And finally, you’ll help win souls and backsliders back to Christ as you tell others about what God has done in your life. As you share those things,1 Chronicles 16:8, give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
14:12 As you do that, you will win souls to him. So for no other reason, do it for that. Thank you so much for listening.
14:20 I really appreciate it. Put this into practice. Take care.
14:24 God bless. I’ll talk to you soon. Amen.