Praise and Presence 2

The Power of Your Sound

Psalm 100:1–4 NKJV

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

All of these verses talk about making a sound. If we want to enter the presence of God, there is a sound that has to take place. Sounds set environments. The environment God inhabits is praise. That is why these 4 verses of Scripture are so important and can unlock things in your life that you have not been able to access previously.

Psalm 100:1–3 NKJV

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness;

Shout: “rua” - to split the ears with sound, to raise a triumphant battle cry.

Has God ever given you victory in your battles? Has God ever raised you up when you could not get up on your own? Why are we so loud at ballgames and concerts and then want to be quiet in church? Is our favorite ball team more worthy of praise than our God? It is time to stop being quiet and begin to let out a roar that shakes the gates of hell and drowns out the noise coming from the enemy’s camp.

David did not go to fight Goliath in silence. He did not just run onto the battlefield with his mouth closed and sling the rock that brought down the enemy.

David let out a battle cry. David shouted as he ran toward the giant. David declared loudly to make sure the enemy heard what he had to say. David shouted out in faith, declaring what the Lord was about to do.

1 Samuel 17:45–46 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

It is time to open your mouth!!!!!

Psalm 100:1–3 NKJV

Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God;

Why is it important to sing songs at church? David tells us! You do not have to be able to sing pretty to sing before the Lord. I do not care if you cannot carry a tune in a bucket, the sound of your voice in praise is a beautiful sound in the ears of the Lord.

We do not sing because we want everyone to hear us. We do not sing just to be singing. We sing because God has declared it to be a protocol for entering his presence.

We sing simply because We know that the LORD, he is God. That is why I do not need a cheerleader to get me ready to praise and worship God.

“I didn’t feel like singing this morning. I did not like the song. The person leading worship couldn’t sing good.”

Can we possible make it more about you?

Psalm 100:1–3 NKJV

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

It is not about you or your feelings. It is about Him.

Psalm 100:4 NKJV

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

The gates are the first step into the outer court. You cannot come in without being thankful. If you cannot think of anything to be thankful for today, go back to the cross.

Enter his courts with praise: The tabernacle - Judah was in front.

Praise: one of the seven words for praise: (Tehillah) - to sing praises from the heart. It also means an unhinged type of praise.

That is the type of praise David exhibited when he danced before the LORD with all his might. It was an unhinged praise. Sometimes when you need a breakthrough, you cannot just give an ordinary, quiet, and dignified praise. You need to let out a praise that rings through the atmosphere and into the throne room of God.

Same word: God inhabits the praises of his people - enthroned - The praise that makes room for his presence.

King’s courts - this is when the King takes his seat. He is enthroned in praise.

“Praise isn’t one sound—it’s a language. And when we speak the language of the court, the King responds with His presence.”

Everything in life follows the sound it makes. In the Genesis story, the first thing God did in creation was to release a sound. He spoke and it happened.

He created the heavens and the Earth and then everything else, He spoke to what was already holding it and told it to let it loose.

When he created the heavens and the earth, the potential for every other thing in creation was already there. He did not say, “Let there be grass, and trees.”

He said, “Genesis 1:11 “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.”

He spoke to the sea and said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures.”

Then he spoke to the earth again and said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature.

The potential for all life was already there, He just had to tell it to let it loose.

When He created mankind, He spoke to Himself.

“Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.”

Then he placed him in the Garden of Eden and God came and walked with Adam in the coolness of the evening.

Archaeologists have never found the Garden of Eden. Why?

The Garden was not a location, it was an environment. Eden was the presence of God and when Adam sinned, what did he get banished from?

Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

In His presence is joy and it seems like every other person is on Xanax. It seems like everyone is an addict or an alcoholic or they are smoking weed or whatever else.

WHY?????

In His presence is joy. In the presence of the LORD, I can handle anything going on around me or in my life and still have joy.

We are running around everywhere trying to find what we have been banned from and unless we know how to get it back, we stay in that cycle.

So, the first thing God created in the earth was sound. He spoke everything into existence.

And then He tells us,

Proverbs 18:20–21 NKJV

A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

You can open her heart or you can close it like a vault.

You can make friends or you can make enemies.

You can life someone’s spirits or you can tear them down to make them feel like nothing.

You can give life to your marriage or you can kill it.

You can bring life into a room or you can make it dread the moment you walk in.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. God did not just randomly design it that way. There is purpose in everything He does.

Everything follows the sound it makes.

People who constantly make depressing sounds are never full of joy.

People who always speak negative do not have positive outcomes. But they keep speaking the same things, expecting a different outcome.

“I am so depressed.” Stop talking about your depression. Get some sunlight. Turn off the blues music and the tear in my beer music and put on some praise and worship. CHANGE THE SOUND!!!

We are so broke, we will never get ahead. CHANGE THE SOUND!!!

You have continued to talk like that and have you seen anything change??

When you change the sound, you are changing the seed you are planting. Planting different seeds gives different fruit. If you do not like the fruit you keep having to eat, change the seeds you are planting.

You wonder why you get stuck in certain seasons and certain situations. But you never stop to consider that you keep making the same sounds. You keep speaking the same thing.

There may be seasons God already wanted you to pass through and move out of but you keep staying there because you keep making the same sounds.

If you begin to make a different sound, you create a different environment. You will soon see your life begin to follow the new sound.

I often say, “I don’t get sick.” I do not say this out of arrogance or pride. I say it because I do not want to get sick. Most people who stay sick all the time either talk about how much they stay sick or they have other people talking about how much they stay sick.

When I do get sick, I make certain to speak to the sickness and let it know it cannot stay in the name of Jesus.

How? Speak the Word of God into it!!!!!

A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand but it shall not come near me. The Lord shall bless my bread and my water and take sickness from my midst.

The Word of God is life. Stop speaking doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, and dread. Stop speaking sickness, lack, and poverty.

Start speaking merciful sounds. Speak gracious sounds. Speak sounds of kindness and joy and love. Speak of the goodness of God. Remind yourself what God has already spoken over you.

“I am the righteousness of God. I am the chosen of God. I am loved by God. I am above and not beneath. I am blessed. The joy of the LORD is my strength. I am healed. I am free. I am whole. I am His and He has called me by name. He forgives my iniquities and heals all my diseases.”

Watch your life turn as you change the environment.

Every significant power is accompanied by a significant sound. A jet engine is very powerful. It also has a very powerful sound. You hear the jet before you ever see it. You can hear a freight train coming long before you see it. l sounds. Very powerful things have very powerful sounds.

But our churches are so quiet. Why do you think the enemy has tried so hard to make our churches quiet? We have pretty church, dignified church. We wear our best clothes, have our hair done just right, makeup is looking great and we do not want to mess any of it up so we stay sophisticated, domesticated, and quiet.

As long as he can keep us quiet, there is no power. People come in sick and leave sick. People come in bound and leave bound. People stay broke, busted, and disgusted. Marriages come in broken and stay broken.

If we want things to change, we have to release the sound.

Manifestation comes after the sound.

What do we do? The tests finally showed the tumor is gone. I am going to church and give God a praise.

I got turned down at every job interview and now I finally got hired. I am going to church and give God a big praise.

You should praise God when he does something. But what might happen if you started praising Him before you saw it happen?

Do not wait until God has given you breakthrough to make a sound. Start praising Him now. You may have gotten the first job if you had already been praising Him.

Don’t wait for God to send money into your bank account before you praise Him. Praise Him now while you cannot afford a Taco at Taco Bell. Praise Him for the healing while the doctor still says you are sick. Praise him and your child is still lost and strung out on drugs, knowing that God will send a breakthrough because of the sound I am making.

Elijah - had not rained for 3-1/2 years. “I hear the sound of an abundance of rain.” The sound came before the rain.

Acts 2 Suddenly, There came a sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the whole house. Then tongues of fire came and sat upon each of them and they began to speak with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability.”

The fire did not fall until heaven released the sound. When the fire fell, the people in the upper room did not stay quiet and dignified.

Their praise became so undignified the people outside the room said, “They are drunk.”

It is time to stop caring what people think about us and just let out a praise that shifts atmospheres and changes lives. Don’t wait on the situation to change, let out a sound that changes the situation.

It might look foolish to some who know you don’t have two nickels to rub together but you are praising like you own the bank. It might look foolish to people who know your diagnosis but you are praising like you have never been sick in your life.

You may be in a battle and the key to your victory is in your mouth!!!!

Psalm 47:1 NKJV

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

Praise comes before the victory. Your praise is your battle cry that brings the victory. The walls of Jericho never fell until they released a praise, a triumphant shout that brought down the walls.

Today is your day to get a breakthrough. Today is your day to see walls come down.

SHOUT!!!!!!!!!!!

Listen…

In an earthly court, when the king is about to speak, the room shifts.

Conversations stop. Movement ceases. Every ear turns toward the throne.

I sense that shift right now.

Some of you came in carrying verdicts spoken over you:

“It won’t change.”

“It’s too far gone.”

“You missed your moment.”

“You’ll always struggle.”

But heaven is silencing lesser voices.

Because when praise fills the court, the King rises to render decree.

Raise the Expectation

I hear the Spirit saying:

“This is the sound before the decree.” “This is the praise before the breakthrough.” “This is the alignment before the acceleration.”

You thought you were just singing— but you were summoning alignment.

You thought you were just lifting hands— but you were positioning yourself for favor.

You thought you were just shouting— but you were announcing victory before the verdict.

Build the Fire

Lift it now.

Shabach Him! Let there be a shout in this house!

Not because you see it— but because you trust the King.

Some chains are breaking in this moment. Some anxiety is dissolving in this atmosphere. Some prodigals are turning around because of this sound.

This isn’t emotional hype.

This is court language.

And the King responds to covenant sound.

Prophetic Declaration

I declare over this house:

Where there has been delay—there will be decree. Where there has been heaviness—there will be glory. Where there has been warfare—there will be victory. Where there has been silence—there will be strategy.

Because when sons and daughters learn the language of praise,

The King does not ignore it.

He inhabits it.

Bring It to Jesus

And hear me— this access was not purchased by your volume.

It was purchased by His blood.

Jesus tore the veil. Jesus opened the court. Jesus secured your standing.

So now lift your voice—not trying to get in— but because you’re already welcomed.

This is not the sound of strangers.

This is the sound of sons.

And the King is responding.