TOPIC: PRAISE/THANKSGIVING
TEXT: EXODUS 15:11 “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
MEMORY VERSE: PSALM 103:1 “(A Psalm of David.) Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
FOCUS
Today, we are looking at another trigger of signs and wonders and that is Praises/Thanksgiving. We Praise God in anticipation and we Thank God for what he has done. You can see there is a little difference between them even though both are needed to trigger signs and wonders.
In EXODUS 15:11, the Bible says that “God is fearful in praises, doing wonderful things’ ‘. If God is praised, then his act will be evident. So the more we Praise God, the more signs and wonders he does in the midst of men. One of the things that have made signs and wonders to be scarce in some congregations is that there is no adequate Praise. Anywhere there is Praise, there are always signs and wonders. Do you remember the story of Jesus and Lazarus? When Jesus got to the tomb that Lazarus was dead for 4 days, all he needed was to Thank God and the Bible says “He that was dead came forth”. So each time you Thank God, you have triggered signs and wonders towards your direction.
Every situation responds to praise. There is no situation in life that does not respond to praise. Even the barren, the Bible says “Sing O ye barren”. So if singing, Praises, and Thanksgiving is recommended for those that are barren, then how much more those that are fruitful? Do you want to be fruitful? Then go into Praise because God does wonders in praises, he does excellent things, and there are so many things that we need that Praise will bring for us.
Praise is like a sickle that when you put it on the harvest, it has no choice than to deliver. Many people think that by complaining and murmuring, they will get things done but NO! In this kingdom, we need quality Praise for quality signs and wonders. So anytime you notice things are not normal, go into an abnormal Praise. I call it “Abnormal” because there are Praises that are abnormal and there are also Thanksgiving that are abnormal. I once heard a story about someone who shouted Hallelujah one thousand times and the yoke was broken. That is what Praise/Thanksgiving does. Praise/Thanksgiving always produces signs and wonders.
LESSON
ACTS 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
We are looking at how Praise triggers signs and wonders and like the Jesus and Lazarus story, even though it looked like a hopeless situation, signs and wonders were triggered by Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not just appreciating what God has done or praising him in anticipation, Thanksgiving is you are consciously, you are intelligently, and you are deliberately acknowledging every good gift in you and you are attributing every good thing that has ever happened to you to God.
God is mighty, God is wonderful, and God wants his children to Praise him and celebrate him. Paul and Silas that were kept in prison, the Bible says “They sang Praises”. So what have Praise got to do in the prison house? They knew they were there for a purpose so they were never discouraged and they went straight to Thanksgiving. They were praising God with a loud voice and the louder their voice, the bigger their testimony. If only you will Praise God today, you will come out of whatever prison that the enemy has kept you.
God is in the business of raising people. God is in the business of setting men and women free. God does not keep people in bondage. He wants people to be liberated from the shackles of the enemy. But he has commanded that men should Praise him. The Bible says “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”. The more you acknowledge him, the more signs and wonders he gives to you.
God blesses you because he knows you need these miracles. God understands. And the only thing he has asked us to do is to sing praises. God does not want us to live a life of hopelessness. He knows that there are times our fuel of signs and wonders will go down and at that point, he expects us to pick up Praise as a weapon and begin to thank him. God is a God that wants our Thanksgiving so that he can keep giving us more testimonies. Good bless you.
PERSONAL CONFESSION
I receive grace to always Praise my God.
PRAYER FOCUS
Father deliver me from the spirit of murmuring and complaining in the mighty name of Jesus Christ
NOTE: Nothing triggers signs and wonders like living a life of Praise.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Praise is a provoker of wonders.
UNTIL YOU PRAISE, HE CAN NOT RAISE YOU.