“Unrestricted Praise!”

Hebrews 13:15, “By Him therefore LET US OFFER THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE TO GOD CONTINUALLY, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”

Now, I’m not a huge fan of all animals, but anyone who knows me knows I love dogs. However, I ran into an old high school friend and we had a chance to reminisce about the ‘good ole days’. And one of her favorite memories was when her parents bought her a canary. Well, me and Monica hung out a lot, particularly at her house since she had no little siblings to harass her, and I had 2! And since I always had my dog with me, I would often walk to her house with my dog Smokey.

BUT, Monica neglected to tell me she received a canary from her parents as a gift. So when me and Smokey walked into the house, we were all in for a bit of a surprise!

We entered the house, and Immediately, the first thing we heard was singing! Somewhat of a whistling I guess, but it sounded pretty melodic. Then she made the introductions and me and Smokey officially met Goldie, her new bright yellow canary friend. Now, this little yellow cheerleader was great for when you were in a bad mood, because she never was! Monica said, as soon as you uncover her cage in the morning, she starts warbling (which is defined as, ‘to sing softly and with a succession of constantly changing notes’) her repertoire of happy tunes.

If it was a sunny day, you had happy singing from her all day long. If it was a miserable day. Guess what? You had happy singing all day long! Goldie didn’t care whether it was rain, sleet, snow, ice, blizzard, storm, hail, winds, hurricane or tornado, she was going to sing! It didn’t matter if it was morning, noon, night, or midnight, she was going to sing. Neither the type of weather, nor the time of day, was her preference. She had no preference, but she always had a song. It didn’t matter whether she was bound in her cage, or flying around the house freely, neither circumstance mattered to her, she was going to sing. It didn’t matter if she was in the room alone, or if it was family and friends, or even foes (which Smokey was, because he did not like Goldie one bit)! However, I reiterate, Goldie didn’t care, she had a song, and she was going to sing. It didn’t even matter how the people around her felt; happy, stressed, sad, noisy, quiet, depressed, angry, frustrated, lonely, or down. It just didn’t matter. No matter what, she was always singing! Whether there was money in the house or not, she sung. Goldie had no concerns about food in the fridge or not, she sung. Clothes or not, she sung. Bills paid or not, she sung. There was absolutely nothing that hindered Goldie from singing!

It may sound just a tad bit on the crazy side, but the thought of Goldie and her Relentless Singing, made me wonder if as Christians, we would be able to out Sing…or out Praise… Goldie?!

Sounds comical, but truth be told, we’ve got a lot to learn from Goldie the Persistently Singing Canary!

You know, I love that word “persistent”, because it’s defined as “continuing or recurring; to prolong; remaining attached instead of falling off in the normal manner; to persist, especially in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement; persevering; lasting; enduring tenaciously; constantly repeated.” Which reminds me of the Scripture found in Luke 18:1-8: “Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that AT ALL TIMES they ought to pray and NOT GIVE UP and lose heart,  saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and had no respect for man.  There was a [desperate] widow in that city and SHE KEPT COMING TO HIM and saying, ‘Give me justice and legal protection from my adversary.’  For a time he would not; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow CONTINUES to bother me, I will give her justice and legal protection; otherwise BY CONTINUALLY COMING she [will be an intolerable annoyance and she] will wear me out.’”  Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says!  And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] WHO CRY OUT TO HIM DAY AND NIGHT? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf?  I tell you that He will defend and avenge them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [THIS KIND OF PERSISTENT] faith on the earth?” (MSG).

Persistent Praise, Persistent Prayer, Persistent Faith…Sounds as if This Whole PERSISTENT Thing Really Means Something to God…I Wonder if it Means as Much to Us?

Honestly, can you imagine having an Unbeliever be favorable towards a Believer just because of their Persistence? The judge in the parable had no fear of God or faith in God, but he could not take this woman PERSISTING that he do something on her behalf, and yes indeed he did! I wonder if her nickname is “Goldie”? Because she sure sounds a lot like her! Despite the ‘NO, despite the discouragement, despite the obstacle, despite the opposition, the widow PERSISTED, a lot like Goldie, not allowing situations and circumstances to stop her! Are you that focused? Are you that forceful? Is your follow-through that consistent?

Let’s revisit our text: Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15, it says, “Through Jesus, let us CONTINUALLY offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.” Let’s take a peek at this verse in a few translations:

“Through Him, therefore, LET US AT ALL TIMES OFFER up to God a sacrifice of praise…” (AMP);

“Our sacrifice is to KEEP OFFERING praise to God in the name of Jesus.” (CEV);

“So through Jesus WE SHOULD NEVER STOP OFFERING our sacrifice to God. That sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak His name.” (ERV);

“Through Jesus WE SHOULD ALWAYS bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge Him.” (GWT);

“LET US GIVE THANKS ALL THE TIME to God through Jesus Christ. Our gift to Him is to give thanks. Our lips should always give thanks to His name.” (NLV)

Did you catch all of that? We are to offer God our Praise of Thanksgiving: “AT ALL TIMES…TO KEEP OFFERING IT…TO NEVER STOP OFFERING IT…TO ALWAYS OFFER IT…TO OFFER IT ALL THE TIME”!

“Through Jesus, let us CONTINUALLY offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.“

Notice how frequently we’re called to be praising God – “CONTINUALLY”! I love that word “continual” because it’s defined as, “constantly or frequently occurring; having no interruptions.” This right here is a good spot to tell somebody, I’m warning you, don’t interrupt my praise! This is the definition of your praise of thanksgiving, it should be constantly, frequently and have no interruptions! Meaning, just like Goldie and the Widow, you need to develop some Persistence that Perseveres, Regardless of Circumstance! Is that easy? Absolutely not! If it were, the Praise and Worship Leaders and Choir wouldn’t look like they’re about to pass out every Sunday trying to push and propel you into praise, you would just… “ENTER into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) Can I tell you what I learned about the word “enter”? Well, it’s defined as, “to come or go into; to begin to be involved in or do; to join; to register; to participate.” But what caught my attention is its Old French Origin “entrer,” from Latin ‘intra’ which literally means “within.” If I was preaching this, this would be the part where I would tell you to “turn to your neighbor and tell them, you don’t get it when you get here, you bring it WITH you!” Praise isn’t something you walk into, it’s something you bring out from WITHIN you! Goldie sang all the time because that’s what was IN her, you should enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise for no other reason than that’s what’s IN you! Like Goldie, you need no coach, no cheerleader, to pom-poms lifted in the air telling you, you can do it, no keyboard, no drums, no organs, no preacher, no praise break, just the praise from WITHIN! When your praise comes from WITHIN, nothing on the OUTSIDE hinders it or helps it, because it’s self-sufficient in and of itself! It doesn’t need prompting, pushing, propelling and it’s not stopped by problems or panic! We are commanded to “ENTER IN…” WITH IT ALREADY! Why? Because it’s what we do, “AT ALL TIMES…WE KEEP OFFERING IT…WE NEVER STOP OFFERING IT…WE ALWAYS OFFER IT…WE OFFER IT ALL THE TIME”! WE CONTINUALLY PRAISE OUR GOD, NO MATTER WHAT!

Now, can I share a little secret with you? Now we know that we are to praise God CONTINUALLY, BUT we are also to praise Him SACRIFICIALLY. Did you notice that a lot of times praising God is a sacrifice? “THROUGH JESUS WE SHOULD ALWAYS BRING GOD A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE…” (GWT) And no offense to anyone in the congregation, but I don’t have time to worry about a “group praise project”! In other words, my sacrifice is personal! I feel like David, “MY [ONLY] SACRIFICE [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17 AMP) My Sacrifice and My Praise are PERSONAL! See, what He means to you, because of what He’s done for you, will not move me as much as what He means to Me for what He’s done for Me! My praise is a sacrifice, it’s painful because its price was hefty to attain. My praise comes from the depth of my hurt, turmoil, abandonment, betrayal by others, but never by God. And my praise doesn’t need an organ, because it has a memory! And every time I don’t ‘feel’ like praising God, my praise has a memory of its own. It recalls the last time we didn’t think healing and deliverance would come (but it did); it recalls the last time we didn’t think food would go on the table, or the bills would be paid (but it did, and they were); it recalls the last time we didn’t think the marriage would come off life-support (but it did); it recalls the last time the children were in trouble and we thought they’d never get back to God again (but they did); it recalls the last time we were down to our last cent, and didn’t think another nickel would be found (but it was). My praise is sacrificial and personal because it has a memory! It remembers the price paid to attain it. And then it reminds me what I owe God for it! That’s why I don’t need outside assistance to praise God, nor do I need a group effort, nor do I allow circumstances to stop me, I give God what I owe Him, and I owe Him my personal, sacrificial, continual praise!

Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating ALL OF YOURSELF, set apart] as a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.” (AMP). I don’t have to offer a sacrifice for ‘Us’, I have to offer MY Sacrifice of ALL of ME! My sacrifice of praise is personal and unstoppable! Even when my sacrifice is painful! Truth is that’s what sacrifice means “an act of giving up something one values for the sake of something that is of greater importance.” My personal, sacrificial praise to God is of greater importance than my mood, attitude, feelings, or surroundings. Does your praise mean that much to you?

However, can we be honest? Because truth is, sometimes we really don’t feel like praising. There’s a lot of unpleasant stuff going on. We’ve been praying, and we haven’t gotten any answers that we can recognize. We’re still struggling with habits, addictions, pain, our past, our health, our finances, our families, our jobs (or lack thereof), our churches etc…And truth is, when we’re in the midst of such hardship, lifting holy hands in praise, is not exactly the first thing on our to-do-list. Can we be real about it? But, when times are tough and God seems largely silent, praise is not just the overflow of some gushy spiritual high, “Hey, praise the Lord!” No, it’s a choice! A deliberate, painfully, sacrificial choice. God’s command for our continual praise is not conditioned on our circumstances. He says “continually” and He means, “continually”!

Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Be joyful always. Pray CONTINUALLY. Give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus.” This sounds like the lifestyle of a certain yellow bird (Goldie). “…ALWAYS…CONTINUALLY…IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES…” No matter what, Goldie was singing. Her script for the day was already written. Everyone was going to hear positive sounds from her, regardless of any outside negativity surrounding her. Can you imagine how much our daily disposition would change for the better if we would give God continual, personal, sacrificial praise and thanksgiving; learning to be joyful (no matter what); to pray continually; and to give thanks in all circumstances?” In doing all of that, I don’t think we’d have any space or time left to worry, fret, or be pessimistic, fearful, doubtful, negative or complaining!

Listen: That’s a CHOICE we are all called to make each new day to determine to give God what we owe Him, regardless to anybody, anything or anyplace. With the mindset of a continual “praiser”, you go into the day aggressively looking for the marks of God on that day, the subtle activity of God, the dramatic activity of God, the little things, the big things, the little surprises, the little encouragements. Because, believe it or not, there’s not a day in your life that doesn’t have the fingerprints of God all over it. But you have to go looking for them. And that’s what “praisers” do. They don’t get stuck in a moment, they move past the moment in the vehicle of praise!

You may be in a sick bed, an unemployment line, a lonely time, a time of loss, or a time of overwhelming stress. But is that what’s going to determine your attitude or your talk? Are you going to let that stop your song or pause your praise? No, it needs to be the Christ in you, not the circumstances around you that push your praise forward, even when all of life is trying to knock you backwards.

In fact, praise is also an awesome weapon when life hits you over the head like a hammer. Psalm 8:1-2, “Lord our Lord, your name is the most wonderful in all the earth! It brings you praise everywhere in heaven. From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you. THEY SING OF YOUR POWER TO SILENCE YOUR ENEMIES WHO WERE SEEKING REVENGE.” (ERV) And yet, you allow the broken washer, car, or plumbing to steal your praise and song! But it’s a weapon that silences the enemies of God! You can’t afford to be mute! Open your mouth, sing your songs of praise, let God feast on the fruit of your lips giving Him praise!

Lastly, continual, personal, sacrificial praise is the best weapon to help you Circumvent the enemy! You see, the word “Circumvent” is defined as, “to find a way around (particularly an obstacle); to avoid; to get around; to get past; to evade; bypass; sidestep; dodge; overcome  a problem or difficulty (typically in a clever or surreptitious way); to outwit; to avoid (defeat, failure, unpleasantness); to avoid being stopped by something. Its’ Latin Origin ‘circumventus’ literally means to ‘come around; escape; elude’. Did you know your praise held so much strategic power? No matter how many traps the enemy sets for you, your praise causes you to circumvent every last one of them! Your praise causes you to escape the entrapment’s of the devil!

So Church, are you going to out-praise Goldie, or is Goldie going to out-praise you? My Suggestion? LET NOTHING AND NO ONE INTERRUPT YOUR PERSONAL, CONTINUAL, SACRIFICIAL, PERSISTENT, UNRESTRICTED PRAISE!

The word ‘unrestricted’ is defined as, ‘not having limits’. And that’s just how your praise to God ought to be, having NO limits! Meaning, you’re free to praise God in the car, in traffic, at the doctor’s office, in line at the bank, grocery shopping, at the book store, walking along the street, in your home, in the church, even in the bathroom shower (where some of us get in our best singing!) Listen, when you realize all that the Lord has done for you to be set free, you refuse to allow anyone or anything to bind you ever again! Jesus Himself sits on the right hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for us, so with Jesus speaking to the Father on our behalf in the Heavenlies, how dare we keep silent about Him in the Earth! Jesus destroyed your every yoke, bondage, and constraint! Now praise Him continually like you know you’re free! Your praise is Unrestricted, it has No Limits! So you don’t ever let anyone Shhh you! Let no one silence you! Let no one tell you it doesn’t take all of that! They have no idea of all that you’ve made it through and made it over, they have no idea of all the Lord did for you, they have no idea the praise you owe God for the debt He paid on your behalf! This day, open your mouth, and give God a persistent, continual, sacrificial, limitless praise!

2 Chronicles 20:22, “As soon as they started shouting and praising, God set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir as they were attacking Judah, and they all ended up dead. The Ammonites and Moabites mistakenly attacked those from Mount Seir and massacred them. Then, further confused, they went at each other, and all ended up killed.” (MSG)

Psalm 34:1” I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with His praise.” (MSG)

Acts 16:25-26, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.” (CEV)

Psalm 98:4, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.” (NKJV)

Psalm 113:3, “Hallelujah! You who serve God, praise God! Just to speak His name is praise! Just to remember God is a blessing—now and tomorrow and always. From east to west, from dawn to dusk, keep lifting all your praises to God!” (MSG)

Psalm 150, “Hallelujah! Praise God in His holy house of worship, praise Him under the open skies; Praise Him for His acts of power, praise Him for His magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise Him with castanets and dance, praise Him with banjo and flute; Praise Him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise Him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah! (MSG)

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine #EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged #BeAPraiser
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