Sermon (13-Nov): "We Must Praise" Psalm 98

Scripture:

Psalm 98 (SLIDE)

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

2 The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

5 make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,

6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;

9 let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Big Idea:

The objective of this message is to realize the importance and presence of praising God in our lives

(SLIDE) Praise is not what it used to be

- American gospel artist, composer and musician J. Moss penned these words:

If I were a drummer, I would use my cymbal

If I were a writer, I would use a pencil

I would use my voice, if I were a singer

No matter who or what we are, we must praise

If I was a doctor, I would use my research

A prolific dissertation, if I was a speaker

I would use my hands, if I were a potter

No matter who or what we are, we must praise

- These words come to mind when I consider not just this Psalm but throughout the Book of Psalms

- There’s around 70 times in Psalms which make mention of singing

- And the word psalm itself is related to melody—a poem

- So, when I was new to the faith and getting acquainted with Bible, I was confused

- I thought Palm Sunday was Psalm Sunday and there was a “Book of Palms”

- My whole viewpoint of the Psalms and praise was all wrong

- Then, I began to settle myself down and listen—allow God to give me wisdom

- Provided that you are walking with God; the Bible is not super difficult to understand

- Granted that you are open to God leading you; God is known for using the foolish things of the world to confound the wise

- If we believe that we everything figured out, it won’t take long for Him to show you otherwise

- In my mind, I was trying to figure out how those that attended church and sat to my left and right sung praises to God;

- How and why was this a big deal

- What is this praise of God all about?

- Why make it such a big deal?

- Musicians playing and soloists singing with the congregation clapping their hands

- This was all new to me

- The Baptist church that I had been accustomed to…

- Was nothing like the church my girlfriend who would eventually become my wife invited me to

- I was getting exposed to—what I believe—was a foretaste of heaven

- I was getting exposed to what a deeper level of praise was all about

- My idea and concept of praise was changing…and growing

- And, it needed to grow

- I needed to refine what praise meant to God

- Fast or slow, loud or mellow

- However, you look at it, praise is about giving thanks and showing honor to the One who is worthy of praise

- When I’m happy, I can show God praise

- When I’m down, I can do the same

- Whether I feel like it or not, it’s all about His being worthy of praise

- Our Old Testament ancestors looked at it in different ways (SLIDE):

- Praise to them meant:

yadah, meaning “praise, give thanks, or confess”

zamar, meaning “sing praise” or

halal (the root of hallelujah), meaning “to praise, honor, or commend.”

- Yet, in our day, praise doesn’t hold the same type of meaning; praise is not what it used to be

- Praise seems to be more of an option than a necessity

- That’s not to make anyone feel guilty but we should consider it

- Can we raise our level of praise?

- Now, that won’t always amount to louder singing or more shouts of “Hallelujah”

Transition: However, I do believe that it moves us to make it more of a priority

Sometimes we can think that praise is not a priority…not necessary (SLIDE)

- I believe that believers and unbelievers can get too comfortable…at times

- We can get too comfortable with our lives and the status quo and all that surrounds us

- We go so far as thinking that it’s cool and God doesn’t necessarily need my praise

- And, individually, God doesn’t need your or my praise—so to speak

- But, when we get down to it, praise says so much more than God needing it

- Listen to this [SLIDE]:

A conductor was rehearsing his great orchestra. The organ was rolling, giving beautiful melody. The drums were thundering. The trumpets were blaring out. The violins were singing beautifully. Suddenly something seemed wrong. Someone in the orchestra had thought, With all this going on, I can rest a while. This is a rehearsal anyway.

The conductor threw up his arms and said, “Where’s the piccolo?”

The piccolo player said, "I'm obscure. I don't amount to much. With all of this going on, I don't have to keep playing."

But the one with the trained ear said, “Every one of us is necessary.” When you and I feel obscure, we must remember God has something significant for our lives, and we need to respond.

- Gordon Johnson, "Finding Significance in Obscurity," Preaching Today, Tape No. 82

- Each one of us is necessary…not that God needs us

- More along the lines that we make up a great symphony and, figuratively, we are music to God’s ears

- Your praise to God is a melody like no other—your voice an instrument like no other

- So much can be said about the opening verse of Psalm 98 (v.1):

“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things”

- Those marvelous things that it’s referring to…are things too difficult for us to understand

- I think of the many times that there have been things that I could not understand

- I remember being stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico

- I had just finished working an off shift from the military and was working the annual Balloon Fest for our church

- Working off shifts wreaks havoc on your sleep cycle and Circadian rhythms

- I might have had a few hours of sleep but not much

- Coming home from the event late that morning, all I remember is me in my car facing a guard rail

- I don’t remember stopping or swerving but somehow my car was placed into the proper lane

- No accident and no other cars were affected

- It’s situations like that which remind me of how great God is

- Another time was here while I was travelling to work; I got off on an exit coming around a blind corner

- I saw the car in front of me and behind me and knew that there was going to be an accident

- I remember slamming on the brakes but thankfully no accident—front or back

- I’m pretty sure we can pass the mic around and each of us tell our story of when God has done “marvelous things” for us

- Others may look at it as “yeah, okay” even insignificant

- But, for me, it’s a part of my testimony

- The most marvelous thing that He did was like the passage says,

“The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations”

- I often tell my wife that there is nothing that I would change in my life because everything has played its part

- There are some scars I have and some damage I caused others

- For that damage that I’ve caused, it hurts me to think about it

- Still, it’s helped me become who I am

- Not to repeat any of the hurt or cause further damage but to embrace His salvation and His righteousness

- To work to maximize the kingdom and make it real to those I encounter everyday

- Not to show perfection but that God can use an imperfect vessel

- He uses imperfect people to perfect other people

- And, we are all being perfected and “conformed to the image of Christ;” we take our example from Him

- Jesus knew the Father’s works and praised Him;

- He began the Lord’s prayer by saying the Father’s name is to be hallowed and lifted up as holy

- I tell you all this to impress upon you that praise as a Christian is a vital part of our lifestyle

- We don’t do it to look good or because we are forced to

- Jesus, King David and other psalm writers set the example; the Apostle Paul mentions it (SLIDE)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Eph. 1:3)

Transition: God through Scripture tells us what He thinks about praise

God thinks highly about praise and says so from His Word [SLIDE]

- Despite what you or I may feel about praise, it’s God thoughts and opinions on it that matter the most

- Where we may allow feelings and even motives to shape what we do,

- How we operate should be based off of what God says

- You see instances of praising Him in song and dance

- Or with a variety of instruments

- So, there is no one set way to praise God

- Whether it’s a simple raising of our hands or lifting our voice even making a joyful noise for those who can’t carry a tune

- It’s almost as if it is natural for a believer—male or female—to worship God

- Listen to what the psalmist writes (Psalm 33:1; SLIDE),

“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.”

- One translation even says that as a believer that our praise is “beautiful”…befitting to those who we are in God

- It’s not always easy to offer praise especially in the hard times or the dry seasons

- So, it may seem like a sacrifice

- The author of the Book of Hebrews explains it this way (Heb 13:15), [SLIDE]

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

- Praise may be a sacrifice

- But we praise openly and we’re willingly professing His name

- God would not have us do something that is utterly meaningless

- Praise and worship allows us to take our focus off of ourselves and place it on God

- Whether we think too highly or too lowly of ourselves,

- Praise is God focused—not problem or situation focused

- Any of us can focus on what’s going on in our lives

- But not everyone can praise and worship God

- Our praise here on earth, I believe, sets us in position for what we are going to do for eternity

- In the Book of Revelation, I think of the angels rejoicing and praising God for Who He is and His greatness (Rev 7:11-12),

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

- In eternity, praise will be our purpose and passion

Transition: If that’s the case, what can you do to change your view of praise?

What Can You Do to Change Your View of Praise? [SLIDE]

- To change our view of praise, for some of us it’ll take a monumental, seismic shift

- Or, for some it may not take that great a change—a tweak here or there

- Still, for each of us, we can start with this…1) Examine our heart

- That’s tough; to confront where we currently are in our praise of God

- I mentioned earlier that we can get so comfortable where we are that change doesn’t even enter our minds

- Still, I am reminded that we need to examine our hearts and ourselves [SLIDE]

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

- If we believe, we’re giving ourselves the proper foundation that Jesus lives in us

- Long story short, we have what we need to praise God

- For anybody who doesn’t believe, here’s the opportunity…

- Here’s the opportunity of a lifetime—to meet the One Who has kept you all of your life

- This becomes the foundation on which you can build the rest of your life

- This may be foreign ground but it’s not lonely ground when we think of our joy of the Lord (v.4,7), [SLIDE]

Psalm 98:4,7 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth… Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

- Our life here as we grow and mature—our awareness and praise of God should continually transform

- It should transform from the basement to ground floor to hopefully—one day—the penthouse

- Our journey which includes our praise of and to God is ever evolving

- And, with that, we are not just examining our heart, we 2) Determine in Our Heart to Praise

- Many times in the Book of Psalms, it talks about praising God;

- In the good times as well as the bad

- We do this because we have a “made up mind” to praise

- I don’t know if there will ever be an ideal time where everything will always be right for us to praise

- There may be pockets of good and sunny days but that’s not a guarantee

- Life is filled with so many unpredictable things that, frankly, we can’t afford to wait…

- For that sunny day with perfect weather and everything to go right

- Yet, we can determine to praise in spite of our day—what we feel, how we feel

- I say this as one who doesn’t have it altogether but is determined to praise God

- Striving to know Him

Transition: Lastly, why must we change our view of praise?

Why We Must Change Our View of Praise?

- I kind of alluded to this earlier but to put it simply; because we were meant to

- Look at what Peter says (1 Pet 2:9), [SLIDE]

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

- Regardless of how we may feel, we are a chosen people if we’ve chosen to believe

- As I’m closing, it’s been estimated that we take 23K breaths a day

“We tend to thank God for the things that take our breath away. And that's fine. But maybe we should thank him for every other breath too!”

- Mark Batterson, Pastor and Author

- We have a chance to model ourselves after the psalmist when he says (Psalm 139:14),

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

So, let’s endeavor to echo the psalmist…would you pray with me?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!