I Have a Reason to Praise

Our series through the month of September is "I Have A Reason..." and every week we follow up that lead with a different topic. This week we looked at praise.

Why do we praise?

How do we praise?

How we can praise.

The effect of our praise.

Fully understanding what the Bible teaches us about praise can seem complicated & something of a mystery. Not in a "Is Noah's Ark really on Mt Ararat?" or "What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?" way, but in the sense that Biblical examples of praise range from David dancing in the street (2 Samuel 16:14) to Moses & the people singing (Exodus 15:1-2) and even to praise during prayer (Psalm 63:4) .

While praise is intensely personal it is often demonstrated publicly. In our modern context, praise is often tied to worship. What that looks like in your church may differ from what it looks like at BCC - that's a topic for another day. Today, I want to look at why praise goes far beyond the worship set on Sunday morning.

Why do we praise?
"You are my God & I will praise you; you are my God I will exalt you. Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever." Psalm 18:28-29 Could we have a clearer directive on why we should praise? God is our creator, He is good, & his mercy endures forever. Forever.
We praise because God inhabits the praise of his people - Psalm 22: 3
We praise because it brings us into His presence - Psalm 100:4
It is our expression when we gather together - Hebrews 2:12
It is a lifestyle not an event - Psalm 34:1

How to Praise
It's easy to fall into a trap of careless - meaning without intent - praise. We do it when we toss out a prayer when we say "grace" before a meal. "Thank you God for this food, bless it to our bodies, Amen." & we dig in. We do it because we're supposed to, not because we want to. There's a big difference.
Praise is to be honest & genuine - Matt 15:8
Worship in spirit & in truth - John 4:23
It is to be done sacrificially -Hebrews 13:15
Praise God specifically - Psalm 150:2
Praise God consistently - Psalm 146:2

Ways to Praise
As I mentioned, in church today, praise is often tied to worship. Some prefer hymns over choruses, secular music included in the worship set, or even a dance team. Again, a topic for another day, although I do recommend  Jon Acuff's look at hand-raising in worship over at Stuff Christians Like.
Obviously, God is more concerned about the condition of your heart than the position of your hands.
Declare your thanks - Hebrews 13:15
Clap your hands & shout - Psalm 47:1
Through musical instruments & dance - Psalm 150:4
Singing praise songs - Psalm 9: 11
Psalms, hymns & spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19-20
Make a joyful noise - Psalm 98:4
By lifting our hands - Psalm 134:2
By being still - Psalm 4:3-5; Psalm 46:10
By being loud Psalm 33:3; Psalm 95:1-6

The Effects of Praise
Praise has a powerful effect on not only the believer, but on the Devil, and on God himself.
Nehemiah 8:10 "The joy of the Lord is my strength."
1 John 5:4 "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith."
Acts 13:2 "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted..."
It's important to remember these principles:
Satan has no power or presence. 
You focus on someone bigger than yourself.
Your problems become smaller.
Blaming God for problems diminishes.
You become bold in your witness.

Above all else, remember this:
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.