Sermon Tone Analysis

*Crazy Praise*

 

*Intro*

I chose the title for today from the verse: 

*/Hebrews 13:15 (AMP) "Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.

"/*

 

How often?

At ALL times.

Do you ever have bad days?

Do things ever go wrong for you?

Have you ever had tragedy strike?

This verse can seem to be an unrealistic command…even crazy.

But it comes to a matter of choice and perspective.

*I.

Magnify*

Whatever you focus on will be magnified in your life.

Why does it make sense to praise God in the middle of bad situations in life?

Because you make God bigger in you.

It makes your problems smaller, and because God inhabits the praises of His people.

Spies in Canaan:

In Numbers 13 after being set free miraculously from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, the Children of Israel finally come to the border of the Promised Land.

Moses sends out 12 men to spy out the land before they enter.

When they come they tell of the magnificent land and all it can provide, but that there are strong cities and giants in the land.

10 of the spies say forget it, 2 of them say “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Why the difference?

What would cause 12 respected trustworthy men who have the same information, have seen the same things to come back and have 2 different recommendations?

I believe it was a matter of perspective.

It was about magnification.

You look at an ant on the ground it is tiny and easily overlooked.

But when you grab a magnifying glass, it becomes large!

(and you can cook it in the sun!)  you look at a planet in the night sky and it is tiny, but with a telescope it becomes big.

It makes it appear close enough to touch.

The same is true in your life and the same is true with God!

When you choose to magnify your problems or perceived flaws you can make them big enough to paralyze you with fear.

But when you make the decision to focus and magnify God in your life, you bring Him near so that everything else becomes small!

What kind of person are you?

Which type of spy do you identify with?

Don’t be the person who always looks at problems as reasons not to go forward with what is right; with what God has called you to.

Rather look at the problems as opportunities to magnify God in your life and make His Name great!

You can be a giant-killer

 

Joshua and Caleb chose to give God praise and bring God into their situation, and the result was that they saw those giants as ants next to the Lord of Hosts and were full on ready to squash em!

 

What are the problems in your life that are keeping you from marching on in God? 

“I’m not old enough.”

“I keep screwing up.”

“I don’t know how.”

 

~*~*Musicians come up~*~*

 

Maybe you are discouraged…

Paul and Silas in Acts chapter 16.

Just experienced a great victory in casting an evil spirit out of a psychic and God was magnified in that moment.

But certain people weren’t too happy about it, and they were beaten and thrown into a dungeon.

They could have chosen to be discouraged at that moment and maybe they were at first.

Could have wrestled with thoughts like “God I thought we were doing your will…”  “God why did you let this happen to me.” “God why did you abandon me at my point of need”  But instead of shouting things at God, they chose to magnify Him and give him that crazy praise that says “in spite of my circumstances, Lord you are Holy and worthy of my praise!”

So at midnight they were praying and singing:

 “If I had wings I would fly

All that I need you are;

If the world caved in around me,

To You I’d still hold on,

cuz you’re all that I believe;

you’re the one who created me

Jesus, because of you I’m free!”

And at that moment not only were they set free from any doubt and discouragement, but God showed up and set them free in the real world too.

The chains broke off and the prison door was kicked open, and God said “I LIKE what’s happening here!”

God inhabits the praises of his people!

Upon returning from AUS I was so tired, but found sign in my yard “We Missed You” and then the next day my office.

What a great blessing…but right upon the heels of that blessing was news of discouragement.

I knew right then I had a choice of what to magnify in my life.

Instead of sitting and thinking about the negative things and getting angry, I chose to dwell on the goodness of the Lord.

What choice do you face at the moment?

Let’s choose together to give God some Crazy Praise!