Rev. David Holwick ZJ "Questions People Ask" topical series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 1, 2002
Psalm 113
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I. Where's God's rally?
From a Campus Life magazine article by "Autumn":
She went to a George W. Bush rally just a few days before the end
of the 2000 election.
Tens of thousands of people gathered outside cheering, waving
signs, wearing buttons.
Secret Service men were everywhere talking into their earpieces,
scanning the crowd.
There was an energy in the air as Bush spoke.
After the rally, crowds gathered waiting to get a glimpse,
a handshake, a photo of the big "W."
Autumn was one of the groupies.
She stood there for 45 minutes hoping he'd come by.
They waited patiently until he sneaked out the back door in a
black Suburban, waving through a half-open window.
A dejected crowd walked away, dragging their Bush/Cheney signs.
As Autumn stood amidst the throng of people, she realized this
praise and adoration was for one man, who they hoped, possibly
prayed, would be the next president of the United States.
She didn't know what one man can do for our country, but Autumn
knew he couldn't save their souls.
So she began thinking, how many rallies do we hold for Jesus?
Here is a God who became a man to save us from our sins.
But how often do we put on a "Jesus Christ Saves" button?
Do we have signs in our yard that say "Vote God, Jesus, and Holy
Spirit as Lord of Your Life"?
We give praise and adoration to singers, athletes, Hollywood stars
and politicians.
Where's the praise for God?
#13475
II. Praise is a central part of worship.
A. In the Bible, prayer and worship begin with praise.
1) It even commands us to give praise.
a) You can do it even when you don't feel like it -
it is not purely emotional.
b) But it is something we can choose to do.
2) What exactly is it?
B. Honoring God for who he is.
1) Names of God.
2) Attributes of God.
C. Honoring God for what he has done.
1) Especially acts of deliverance.
2) Psalm 113 is one of the "Hallel" psalms.
a) Literally, "praise" psalms.
b) They were associated with the deliverance at Exodus.
c) Jews used them at every Passover.
d) Jesus probably recited this very psalm right after the
Last Supper.
III. Praise is fueled by joy.
A. Does God have to grub for compliments?
When he was still an atheist, C. S. Lewis had an awful time
accepting the central nature of God in the Bible.
He called God's demands for praise the mutterings of an old
woman seeking compliments for herself.
That's how the Psalms sounded to him, when he read repeatedly,
"Praise the Lord."
Such continual repetition for praise seemed remarkably vain.
Yet, as Lewis had a change in heart toward God, he realized
that he had made a profound error on the nature of praise.
He wrote:
The most obvious fact about praise - whether of God or
anything - strangely escaped me.
I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the
giving of honor.
I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously
overflows into praise....
The world rings with praise - lovers praising their [loved
one], readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the
countryside....
If we value something - really value it - we will delight in
praising it.
As a matter of fact, praising it increases our enjoyment.
The delight is incomplete until it is expressed.
When you really love God and appreciate what he has given you,
you will want to praise him.
It will come naturally.
#18425
B. Praise is the most joyful thing you can do.
1) In Old Testament, they sacrificed with shouts of joy.
2) In New Testament worship, there were spontaneous outbursts
of praise as people saw and understood God's power.
a) Hebrews 13:15 says the only sacrifice God needs is the
praise from our lips.
3) Worship in the Bible is exciting and loud.
a) "Hallel" is related to a word for making noise...
b) Psalm 150 lists seven different types of instruments
used in worship, including clashing symbols.
IV. Praise is not restricted by circumstances.
A. We praise God with joy in spite of circumstances.
1) Philippians is one of the most joy-filled books in the
New Testament.
2) It was written from prison at a time when Paul was under
severe attack.
B. We can praise God always.
Thirty-nine members of a youth group and eight chaperones
from Northside United Methodist Church in Jackson, Tenn.,
were returning wet and tired from a rafting trip.
Their chartered bus became stuck in a traffic jam on
Interstate 24 because of an accident a mile ahead.
The teens invited other motorists to use the bathroom in
their bus and played with children in nearby cars.
Then they noticed a flatbed truck near them.
They asked permission from the driver and used his trailer
for an impromptu praise service.
All 47 climbed onto the flatbed, pulling out several
guitars and a harmonica.
People gathered around to listen as they sang lively songs
they had learned a short time before.
Before long, 25 more teens arrived and climbed aboard the
truck, including those from a Church of Christ in
Nashville.
The bus was filled with lines of people waiting for the
bathroom, and the flatbed was surrounded by an audience.
People with food began to pass it out to those who didn't
have any.
Some motorists on the other side of the interstate, where
the traffic was moving, pulled over to take photographs.
The praise service lasted two hours, ending when the
students got word that the wreck was about to be cleared
and they should return to the bus
"What a witness it was," one participant said.
#4718
V. Promoting praise.
A. Is praise hard for you? Possible reasons:
1) Inadequate view of God.
2) Inadequate relationship with God.
3) Inadequate worship experience.
4) You are focusing on negative circumstances.
B. Develop your praise potential.
1) Spend five minutes each day praising God.
a) One stipulation - don't use the word "praise."
b) Think about who he is, and what he has done.
1> Specifically, what he has done for YOU.
2) Study the names of God.
a) Especially in Genesis and Exodus. "Jehovah Jireh"
3) Study the psalms, which are filled with praise.
4) Praise him with music.
a) Our music is called "praise choruses" for a reason.
5) Seek a place of beauty and meditation.
a) A special place in the woods.
b) An empty church.
VI. Praise puts things in perspective.
A. The advice of an old man.
MacNeil Jordan was born in Barbados, 100 years ago on Christmas,
to parents named Mary and Joseph.
He believes in God, family and Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and
nutmeg every morning.
Jordan speaks in short, simple sentences.
His recipes for life and longevity are uncomplicated.
"I eat well. I sleep well. I walk quite a bit," he says.
And every week there's church, where "I praise my God."
"Give God praise every day," he says.
"That's all. That's my life."
#22745
B. Live your life as an offering of praise to God.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 4718 "Praise Service During A Traffic Jam," from a praise newsletter
by Onie Kittle; August 10, 1999.
#13475 "Where's the Rally for God?" by "Autumn", in Campus Life
magazine; original article titled "Praise For A Savior";
http://www.christianitytoday.com/teens/newsletter/how01110.html;
November 10, 2000.
#18425 "Joy's Completion," by Ravi Zacharias; A Slice Of Infinity: Ravi
Zacharias International Ministries; September 25, 2002.
#22745 "A One-Hundred-Year-Old's Simple Recipe For Life," by Amy
Westfeldt, on America Online; copyright by The Associated
Press; November 23, 2002.
These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Illustrated Bible Dictionary "Praise"
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I. Main words:
A. Old Testament:
1) Hallel, root meaning is connected with making a noise.
2) Yada, associated with bodily actions and gestures which
accompany praising.
3) Zamar, associated with the playing or singing of music.
B. New Testament:
1) Eurcharistein, to give thanks.
a) Implies a more intimate relationship than bless.
II. Praise and joy go hand-in-hand.
A. The basic mood of joy marks the people of God.
B. We express our joy in praise.
1) We rejoice in God's works. Ps 90:14-16
2) We accept God's gifts. Eccl 8:15, etc.
C. The act of praising implies the closest fellowship with the
One being praised.
1) It is commanded as a duty.
a) It is not meant to depend on mood or feelings or
circumstances. Job 1:21
b) "In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to
enjoy Him." - C.S. Lewis.
III. Who can praise God?
A. Heathen won't.
B. Individuals can, but congregations are best.
1) Praise gives honor to God.
2) Praise is a testimony to God's people. Ps 51:12-15
IV. Praise in worship.
A. Elaborate arrangements were set up in Old Testament.
1) Levites and antiphonal singing.
2) Musical instruments.
B. Joy pervades Christian experience in New Testament.
1) Taken for granted in worship.
2) Spontaneous outbursts of praise as people saw and understood
God's power.
3) Psalms were used in worship.
a) Also, doxologies in Revelation.
V. There is a close association of praise and sacrifice.
A. In OT, sacrifice went with thanksgiving as well as expiation.
1) Gratitude is behind the bringing of first fruits.
B. In NT, praise itself is a sacrifice. Heb 13:15
1) The Christian life should be a self-offering of praise.
2) Prayer must include praise. Phil 4:6
Zondervan Dictionary
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I. Main theme of Scripture, tied with other concepts of worship.
A. In spite of stress and persecution the writers experienced.
II. Praise is given to someone worthy of it, usually God.
A. Often takes form of poem or psalm.
III. Praise is spoken of as a duty.
A. The act can create the emotion.
B. "Dryness" in praise may call for obedience to command to praise.
Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible
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I. Praise sets forth the superiority of God in his person and activity.
A. It attempts a description of God but cannot exhaust him.
II. Psalm 113 sets forth almost all the aspects of praise.
A. God, the object of our praise. 113:1
B. Those who are to give praise. 113:1
C. When it is to be offered. 113:2
D. The place of praise. 113:3
E. The ground or reason of praise. 113:4
F. (The mode of praise)
1) sacrifices and offerings.
2) physical activities.
3) instruments and utterances.
4) fasting, meditation, silence.
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