04/25/2021 | The Protection of Praise | Evg. Tes Stewart

i just feel kind of an old-fashioned pentecostal praise in this house this evening that my god you haven't forgotten how to worship you haven't i feel an old-fashioned sunday night praise in this house today so i think i'm just going to talk about praise for just a few minutes musicians kind of get in your mind some old-fashioned sunday night praise songs that we might just praise our way out of here tonight amen amen if you have your bibles i want to read from isaiah chapter 60 verse 18 isaiah chapter 60 and verse 18. i like what i feel in this house today i believe there is a word from god for somebody here and it's my prayer that you would leave this house with a greater appreciation for your praise isaiah chapter 60 and verse 18. the bible says violence shall no more be heard in thy land wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and by gates praise god what does thou how good does that sound violence shall no more be heard in thy land and wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise we just saying about defending us and lifting up a standard i believe that there's a revelation in this house god wants to prepare somebody for what they're going through and and give somebody an understanding of what is going to take you to this place of peace that we're reading about so for the next few moments i want to talk to you simply about the protection of praise the protection of praise let's bow our heads god we thank you for your power your presence your anointing in this house god we don't take your presence for granted god thank you for inhabiting our praise and manifesting yourself among us now god anoints your word let us not just be hearers but doer's own let your word take root in our hearts and our minds and produce life in the days and the weeks and the months to come and we'll be careful to give your name the praise in jesus name amen amen you may be seated as you look at history you find perhaps that one of the most consistent characteristics of cities throughout time has been walls you find walls on virtually every continent and in every culture and and it seems that for much of history that walls were seen as a near necessity it almost would appear that there has been a a human instinct to build uh this protection of whenever you find yourself settling in an area that you're unfamiliar with or you find yourself facing a unknown or unseen dangers it would appear that the greater the threat the greater the uncertainty then uh the greater there was an urgency to build a wall and for centuries walls would exist as a source of security and a relative peace of mind and some walls that have been built over the centuries or were so substantial that they survive and exist in some form even today the great wall of china is one of the structures that i desire to visit before i die but but there was something i i read about this wall and i learned that at one point the great wall of china was more than 13 000 miles long think about that one wall that was 13 000 miles long they say you can see the great wall of china from space and in the scriptures the walls of jericho are familiar to many of us because uh they're the significance that they play in the story of the children of israel and their attempt to enter the promised land and when the children of israel got to the city of jericho what they actually face uh were two sets of walls that sat on a hill and at the highest point of the highest wall the children of jericho found themselves up over 50 feet higher than the children of israel and so no wonder the people of jericho felt safe enough and secure enough and comfortable enough to simply sit on their wall and mock the children of israel as they begin to march uh around their city because there's something comforting there's something confidence inducing about a wall that seems to be impenetrable a wall that seems up to the task of protecting you from hurt harm and danger a few years ago my wife and i visited historic jamestown in virginia we spent some time uh at the original sites of the settlements the pilgrim settlements and and they have if you've been there or or if you haven't been there they've gone back and they've reconstructed uh some replicas of the buildings and the walls that they built uh when they first arrived the defenses that that they tried to to establish when they first got here to america and i have to say that the walls are when i look at those walls pastor those walls don't really seem that confidence inducing to me those walls are not as strong as i perhaps would have liked in a new land without understanding or knowing what lied what lie out there but i could almost envision them after so many months of travel on the seas facing uh unpredictable seas and uncertain ties i can see them when they've arrived to their destination and they now face even more uncertainty that there was something on the inside that says we've got to build some sort of walls and the walls that they built no doubt at it gave them some sense of protection and comfort in the face of the unknown there's something reassuring about a wall in a trying place and a trying time you don't feel quite as vulnerable you don't feel quite as unprotected when you find yourself behind a wall there is some measure of disconnect between the terror that might lie out there and the relative security that lies within here and no doubt the more substantial the wall the greater the sense of security within the wall the more trustworthy the wall the more confidence the inhabitants can live with and live in the walls are a fixed defense there's a defense that exists all day every day and once the walls are constructed there's a substance in them that's not greatly affected by the seasons and the times the darkness of nights don't affect the walls the coldness of winters don't affect the walls the wind and the reigns of life don't affect the walls because they exist on a firm foundation that has been anchored somewhere deep below the surface the bible does talk though about the lack of a wall in proverbs 25 28 when the bible says that a man with no self-control is like a city that is broken down and has no walls what a terrible place to live your life going through this life being exposed to every assault of the enemy being exposed to every temptation that might come your way walking without any walls you're vulnerable you're defenseless against an enemy who has a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour it's a dangerous place to try to live your life and i do understand that we have uh in houston and i know in florida you have churches that call themselves church without walls and and i understand the context that some of these churches mean to present that name and mean to present that that that that that that thought the church without walls i but i'm also concerned that in some cases uh it's becoming true in every sense that they try to really become a church without walls that there actually are very little to no walls and any wall is seen as a negative thing any wall is seen as something that's restrictive and i can stand here and say today that i thank god for some of the walls and some of the boundaries in my life i don't know where i would be if not for some of the walls and some of the boundaries that god has placed around me i believe there's been walls in my life that my mom and dad prayed around me that had nothing to do with me i thank god for the walls are in my life my god but our scripture tonight calls our walls salvation i don't know about you but i'm thankful for the walls of salvation in my life i'm thankful that the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the strength of my life of whom shall i be afraid when the wicked of even mine enemies and my foes came up upon me to eat of my flesh they stumbled up and fell throwing hoes so they camped against me my heart shall not fear the war should rise up against me in this will i be confident one thing have i desired of the lord and that will i seek after that i may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the lord and to inquire in his temple for in the time of trouble my god somebody needs to hear the word of god in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret of his tabernacle he shall hide me he shall set me upon a rock god is a refuge and strength a very present help in times of trouble therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains are be carried out into the midst of the sea though the waters thereof roar and be troubled the mountains shake and tremble with the swelling thereof there is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of god the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high be still and know that i am god i will be exalted among the heathen i will be exalted in the earth the lord of hosts is with us the god of jacob is our refuge i'm so thankful for the walls of salvation in my life oh i'm not here tonight because i've been perfect i'm not here tonight because i haven't failed i'm here tonight because of the walls of salvation that god has placed around me my god and yes there are times i face uncertain situations there are times like those pilgrims and settlers i find myself in a place i've never been to before perhaps surrounded by an enemy and unknown but i shall not be afraid of the terrors by night nor the arrows by day because we just sang about it that when the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the lord will raise up a standard against him i've come this evening to try to talk to somebody who the enemy has just about convinced that you're vulnerable he has you just about convinced that you're at the end of your rope he has you just about convinced that he's on the edge on the verge of victory in your life you want to take a few moments out and just thank god for the walls of salvation in your life to the enemy it's an obstacle huh but to you it's salvation to the enemy it's a hindrance but to you it is the keeping power of the holy ghost in your life my god uh the devil recognizes the power of the hedge around your life that's why he complained to god that he couldn't even get to job he understands the power of the hedge so it doesn't always have to be well with my finances as long as i can say it as well with my soul it doesn't always have to be well with every aspect of my health as long as i can say it as well with my soul i thank god that the blood has been applied to my life i thank god for the walls of salvation so our verse this evening said that the walls are salvation but then it goes on to say that the gates shall be called praise there's a fundamental difference between walls and gates in terms of the defenses in our lives because where the walls represent the most fixed the most secure the most unmoving points of protection the gates represent the most moving the most perhaps vulnerable points of protection where the walls are constant the gates are the variable the laws are fixed and unmoving but the inhabitants control the gate and if the inhabitants don't man the gates and don't actively close the gates the gates might as well not even be here the gates don't do you any good if they're not manned and closed during the point of attack so somebody has to be on the lookout for the enemy somebody has to see the attack coming and somebody has to say it's time to erect the gates of praise if you waited too long to close the gate you might not get the gate closed in time and so if there was ever going to be a breach of the defenses it was most likely going to happen at the gates hear me when i say that the enemy knows human nature well enough to know that when we find ourselves under attack it's our tendency to stop praising when we find ourself under the assaults of the enemy it's our tendency to say i don't feel like praising i don't feel or see anything worth praising for and in the times of battle that's exactly what the enemy needs to happen in order for him to come in to the city unchecked in order for him to come in to the city uh untouched he needs for you to neglect the gates of praise because hear me when i say there's nothing the enemy can do about the walls of salvation there's nothing the enemy can do about the redeeming blood of jesus christ there's nothing the enemy can do about the walls that god has placed around you but if he can get you to abandon the gates of praise he can come into your family unchecked he can come into your church unchecked he can come into your home unchecked but i've come to preach something into somebody's spirit where you might be able to say i can be like paul and silas it might be midnight i might be changed hand and foot i might be locked up behind the walls and the windows but i can praise god in spite of what's happening i can praise god right where i am and if i keep praising god something is going to change if i keep praising change are going to come off if i keep changing uh doors are gonna open if i keep praising everything it's gonna change [Applause] my god i feel revelation i feel revelation in this house [Applause] so you give god glory when you praise him in the middle of your crisis you give god glory when you praise him in the midst of your struggle but you also give yourself a protection hear me when i say you can't be destroyed if you keep praising god the enemy can't overrun your city if you keep praising god the enemy can't do whatever he wants to do if you make up your mind i'm going to erect the gates of praise and i'm not going to stop praising her until the battle is over i'm not going to stop praising you until the victory oh it's time for somebody to get your song back it's time for somebody to get your shout back it's time for somebody to get your dance back i know it's been painful but it's time to erect the gates of praise i know it's been a struggle but it's time to erect the gates of praise i know you don't feel like it but it's time to erect the gates of praise she see how y'all about god she my god my god my god my god my god my god my god my god my god he gotta move out my god i feel the holy ghost in this house see if we're not careful we begin to see praise as something we just do for god's benefit i don't feel like it but i'm going to praise god just because he he wants the praise i've been around long enough to learn that my praise benefits me so much more than it benefits god that when i magnify god i don't make him any bigger than he already is he's as big as he ever needs to be when i exalt or lift god up i don't make him any higher than he already is he's as big or as high as he needs to be but it does something to me when i magnify god i make him bigger than my circumstances i make him bigger than my situation when i lift god up it lifts me up so much more than it actually lifts him my god the bible declares that we overcome i got i want to preach to somebody in this house about becoming an overcomer the bible declares that we overcome by the blood of the lamb that's salvation that's the wall we overcome by the blood of the lamb here what i'm saying that's the wall of salvation but it doesn't stop there in addition to the blood of the lamb it says we overcome by the word of our testimony it's not just about the blood it's not just about the walls but it's about what comes out of my mouth it's about what happens when we open our mouth we begin to testify we begin to remind ourselves of who our god is and what our god has done and we become an overcomer i've been around long enough to learn that god does not necessarily give you enough strength to always lift your burden but he does give you enough strength but you can always lift your hands that even when your heart is heavy your trial is heavy you can always lift your hands lift your eyes to the heels from which cometh your health paul and silas did not have to have enough strength to break their chains and if they had done that they still would have had to have enough strength to overpower the guards if they had done that they would still have to have enough strength to break the locks on the doors and the gates all they had to have was enough strength to sing their song in their midnight hour when you're facing a jericho situation you don't have to have the ability to tear down walls that stand 50 feet high you just have to have enough strength to keep walking and to keep praising keep walking and keep praising i've talked about this before but i feel led to talk about isaiah 61 3. the bible says that god gives us for the spirit of heaviness a garment of praise i wonder if anybody in this house can be transparent enough to acknowledge that when the bible talks about a spirit of heaviness that you know exactly what the bible is talking about that you know what it means to have a heaviness come over your mind your spirit your body just out of nowhere a doom a gloom of darkness sometimes nothing you can even put your finger on that precipitated it but you just there's a heaviness that comes over you the bible says in isaiah 61 3 that for that spirit of heaviness that god has given us a garment of praise there's a few things i find interesting about that because you might think on the surface that if god took away one spirit he might replace it with another spirit that if he took away a spirit of heaviness that he might replace it with a spirit of happiness a spirit of joy and perhaps you've even prayed that god take away this heaviness and give me your joy but the bible declares that god's remedy for a spirit of heaviness it's not a spirit of happiness but it is the garment of praise and hear me when i say if it's god's solution it must be the best solution if it's god's remedy it must be the best remedy and i set out a few years ago to try to figure out what makes the garment of praise the best remedy for the spirit of heaviness and in my prayer thinking about it what god brought back to my memory was an old saying i've heard my entire life that if you give a man a fish he can eat for a day but if you teach him how to fish he could eat for a lifetime and when i began to think about this in the context of isaiah 61 3 i began to realize yes god could take away that spirit of heaviness and give me a spirit of happiness but that would be like giving me that fish that would be a one-time solution that would only last for so long because something else would happen and would destroy that spirit of happiness and i would be right back in that heavily that heavy place it would be just a temporary fix that might last for just one night but by giving me the garment of praise it's like teaching me how to fish it's not just a one-time solution that's going to get me out of one heavy night it's not just a one-time solution that's going to get me out of one dark place but with my garment of praise any time and every time i feel the spirit of heaviness i i've already got the answer i can take out my garment of praise and i can praise god until there's a lifting i can take out my garment of praise and i can praise god until the heaviness is defeated any time and every time it's not just going to get me through one night but i've already got the answer i can praise her until everything changes i feel the holy ghost in this house i feel the holy ghost in this house [Applause] i don't think i'm even going to be able to musicians go ahead and come on i don't think i'm going to be able to finish this i'm trying to preach to somebody in this house who may have found yourself under the attack of the enemy i'm not saying that to be critical perhaps not even your fault but you have found yourself under siege your family under siege and you're trying to figure out what you can do to survive the attack you're trying to figure out what you can do to secure the perimeter in your life you're trying to figure out what you can do to have the protection of god uh active in your life the way it needs to be i've come preaching here in this house that in those circumstances you've got to remember the gates of praise and you've got to make up your mind god you're going to control what you control god you're going to take care of the walls of salvation but as for me and my house we will erect the gates of praise as for me and my house i we will sing in the midnight hour as for me and my house we will praise until everything changes [Applause] so you might have come in tonight you might have come in in a heavy place you might have come in battling the spirit of heaviness but you know god's solution based on isaiah 61 you can begin to praise god and defeat that heaviness but let me just say one more thing that happens i believe for all of us many times when we come to the house of god we come heavy we praise we feel a lifting but too many of us leave our garment of praise at our pew and so we get to the point where for an hour or two every week we come and there's a temporary release from the heaviness but by the time we go back to the car we left our praise here in this building and we're right back to that heavy place i want a praise to ignite in this house that's not going to stay in this house but that somebody's going to wake up tomorrow with a song sea out of god somebody's going to wake up tomorrow and when the enemy tries to come back with that spirit of heaviness you say wait a minute i've already got the solution it might be seven o'clock in the morning i might be the only one in the bedroom but i can praise until the heaviness is gone i can praise until there's a lifting i can praise until the gates are closed i'll come all across this building begin to lift your voice all across this building begin to erect the gates of praise all across this building closing gage in your life i'm gonna praise god until something takes place i'm gonna praise god until something changes in my we've come life do tear down strongholds break the chains find the devil in jesus name tonight we've got a right to shake the foundation with let's take glory glory hallelujah this is what is what we've come to do tear down strongholds break detroit in jesus lord tonight we've got a right to shake the [Applause] the lord is foundations the lord is worthy the lord is worthy in this house we've got a right to shake the foundations [Applause] something's happening in this the house is worthy the lord is worthy he is worthy the lord is worthy tonight we've got a right to shake the foundations somebody's closing the gate right now you've got to see the guys [Applause] all he is i gotta pray i gotta praise and i gotta let it out [Applause] praise him come on and i just gotta let it out i've got a praise on the inside and i just gotta let it go i just gotta let it out [Applause] praise him and i just gotta [Music] [Applause] [Music] and i just gotta give me [Applause] i've give me some room so i can praise him oh praise him come on come on come on the lord the highest praise hallelujah hallelujah the lord the highest praise the hallelujah the give the highest the highest praise hallelujah hallelujah come on again the lord the give the highest the highest praise hallelujah hallelujah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] he is worthy he is worthy he is worthy [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah is [Music] is praise praise praise all night all night all night all night all night me [Applause] is [Applause] all night all night tonight [Applause] come on and give the lord the highest praise oh come hallelujah and give the lord the highest praise hallelujah [Applause] hallelujah thank you lord oh we give you praise and glory [Applause] god bless the name of jesus [Applause] thank you jesus you know the best form of defense that a city a community an individual can have is to have a posture that is both offensive and defensive many times in scripture we've seen where the key to receiving from the lord is praise and faith why is it that praise and faith is what activates people receiving the gift of the holy ghost people receiving the healing in their body because both praise and faith amen is defensive and offensive when you believe it protects your own spirit but it also takes new territory hallelujah [Applause] when you worship the lord it's not just a posture of being on the defense but you when you praise him you take new territory it gives you the ability to advance because the walls can't move but those gates can open up and an army can come out and god's people can lift up the name of jesus in any environment hallelujah [Applause] oh i was glad when they said it to me let us go into the house of the lord [Applause] [Music] ah jesus [Applause] [Music] it's been said that the best defense is a good offense security system that's on this building is not only to protect the items that are in this building locked doors and locked windows but it also has an alarm system that if somebody was to penetrate that out barrier they would immediately activate an alarm to the palm bay police department that's the offensive nature of it we're not interested in just protecting the building we want to catch whoever tried to get in [Music] i will tell you why you ought to praise him every day not only does it protect you not only does it protect your spirit not only does it protect your home not only does it protect your finances but when you worship the lord hallelujah it catches those spirits that would try to destroy you and send them back to where they came from for greater is he that is in me [Applause] than he that is in the world we enhance by our praise jesus [Applause] whoa hallelujah thank you jesus you all got one more song in you i want you to link up with somebody i'm about tired of this coveted business i want you to link up with somebody you need to get a dance partner if you got to go we love you god bless you you're dismissed [Music] we're just having fun now come on get somebody you can worship god with dancing come on bless the lord in hell i want to take new territory yeah that's in the name of jesus in the name of jesus [Music] god bless we love you can't stop keep on praising him oh in the name of jesus he's the king of jesus

Channel: Eastwind Pentecostal Church of Palm Bay, Florida

Views: 755

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: first, pentecostal, apostolic, sermon, pastor, david, myers, palm bay, melbourne, brevard, county, florida, upci, upc, bishop, j., e., jackson, ellis, Eastwind, Eastwind church

Id: S_XsA11d_G8

Length: 48min 38sec (2918 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 26 2021