PERFECT PRAISE
Praise the Lord dear Saint. The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever. I want to share with you something on praise which am certain will transform your life forever.
Matthew 21:15–16 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
As a general definition, to praise someone is to speak well of that person. Praise is different from worship as per the dictionary of God. This week I want to share with you the power that is in perfect praise.
In our scriptural reference above, the chief priests and scribes saw the miracles that Jesus performed and also heard the children singing praises to him. This of course angered them because they never considered him as God. Jesus in response reminds them of a scripture that says that God would perfect praise in the mouth of babes and sucklings. The Psalmist wrote in Chapter 8 verses 2 “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger” From comparing these two scriptures, we can rightly conclude that perfecting praise and ordaining strength are one and the same.
When the scriptures talk of those in whom God has perfected praise, they refer to people that have learned to bless the Lord at all times. These are people that don’t wait for the most appropriate circumstances in order to praise God. Such people have received a revelation in their heart of who God is and what he can do. They know that the earth was without form and void but the Spirit of God hovered over it and begun to make sense out of that which was formerly without shape and order. A man in whom God has perfected praise remembers his works of old, from the foundation of the earth. Such a man considers the works of God including those that he has not seen with his eyes, works that happened way before his existence in the flesh and esteems them as though they were his personal testimony. When they read of the God who separated the red sea and had the children of Israel cross over on dry ground, it is a present experience in their spirits. They consider in their hearts that because God is the same yesterday, today and forever, he is able to separate their seas today the same way he did in the times of old. Such men keep the testimony of God, they don’t take it lightly.
When the scripture speaks of men in whom God has perfected praise, it is referring to men that have learned not to error in speech. Such men may be pressed on every side but they will never speak negative. Squeeze them hard as you wish and all you will ever get is praise. They hold the testimony of God and as such, they just refuse to confess weakness. When the Psalmist says that he will bless the Lord at all times, what comes to your mind? History has it that at the time David wrote this Psalm, he had just feigned madness before Abimelech in order to survive being killed. His own master King Saul was relentlessly pursuing his life. David considered all this and concluded in his heart “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise will continually be in my mouth”. Such a man will see cancer and say “By his stripes, I was healed”. That man will lose a business deal and he will say “All things are working together for my good. Bigger business will come in from this”. That man will be persecuted by people and he will say “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all”. When such men cross over to spy the Promised Land, they will see giants and say, “Let us go up at once. God has delivered them into our hands” Giants cannot be a hindrance to them after they have seen the red sea divided before their own eyes. When such men see people mourning over the death of Jairus’ daughter, they will say “What is this tumult all about? She is not dead, she is only sleeping” Oh that God would perfect praise in us! That we would see dead situations as though they were only sleeping. Such men can’t be convinced otherwise, they have been persuaded that God is good and that he is able, period!
In the same chapter (34), the Psalmist says “What man desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile”
David now explains why he blesses the Lord at all times. It is because he desires life and many days and to see the goodness of the Lord. He learned a principle that propagates such results; that is to keep the tongue from evil and from speaking guile.
How many times do Christians speak evil with their tongue? I heard a Christian say the other day that Uganda is a collapsing economy. That is evil. People have resigned to fate; that is evil. It is evil to say that there is no man to marry you. It is evil to say that you don’t have enough resources for a wedding and hence you are putting it off. It is evil to say that cancer is on the rise. It is evil to say that your pockets are as dry as the dry season. Keep your tongue from evil. Perfecting praise is not practicing and perfecting all the notes and cords of your favorite praise songs, no. It is learning to bless the Lord at all times well knowing he is above every circumstance surrounding your life. After your praise is perfected, strength will come from your mouth and that strength will still the enemies of God and the avenger. The enemies of God are those things that are against his plans for your life. Perfect praise disempowers the plans of the wicked one and ushers you into glorious living. Perfect praise is when the tongue masters an unwavering allegiance to the word of God and to his promises. May his praise continually be on your lips.
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE: Proverbs 18:20–21, Philippians 4:8, James 3:2
LET’S PRAY!
Holy Spirit, I surrender my spirit, soul and body to you. May I be a vessel for your works. May my tongue bless you always. May my mouth continually speak of your praise. I pray that you will perfect praise on my lips and ordain them with strength. May I never find myself confessing that which is contrary to your word. Perfect praise in me O God! Perfect it in Jesus’ name. Amen
If this message has inspired you, share it with every person that you care about. Greetings from the First Lady, Sandie!
For a free download, Click Here, Perfect Praise 4th September 2017
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