Praising the Goodness of God (Psalm 146) | Honest To God | Dave Rodriguez

let's begin with my favorite emoji given a favorite emoji this is mine alright and it I love this one because I'm always wondering about something and so let me begin with something I'm wondering about did you ever wonder why everytime you go to church whether you go to grace kids or you go to our student ministry or you come into big church that we sing why we do that it doesn't happen every other place you go to in the world why why is it when you going to church and and secondly when you sing what do you wonder why we save the things we do when we're singing like mostly we think about God right we think about what we know about him what we like about him what we love about him what we appreciate about him generally we call those songs praise songs or worship songs so why why do we do that now is it because that God's needs to be encouraged I mean I know you do and I know I do maybe this morning when you woke up and you put your clothes on you went to somebody in your family said do I look okay because you want to be encouraged or am i alright or did I do okay in my test or am I good enough athlete I mean we want to be encouraged does God need to be encouraged for those of you adults you know bill Mara the comedian he asked this question does God have an ego problem is that why he needs to be praised well the answer's no of course not God doesn't feel badly about himself so why do we praise Him and why do we worship Him I'm gonna give you a few reasons first is this he's simply worth it he is awesome huge powerful and Lord of the universe and look even if you're not feeling it and I don't know if you're feeling it today I don't know if you're feeling like praising God today I don't know what you're feeling even if you're not don't worry about it because the rocks will worship Him if you don't so we'll the trees over the stars over the moon so we'll all fish some giraffe and goats and pigs and all of God's creation will praise Him because he is worthy of praise he is worthy now also while all this is going on even if you're not feeling it you don't want to praise God all of creation will be praising God and the last book of the Bible tells us of a scene in heaven that's going on all the time 24 hours a day 365 keeps going there are these creatures with wings and eyes they're angels but they're kind of not they someone look like humans some of them and then there's a bunch of elders around the throne and they are praising God constantly non-stop because he is worthy that's the first reason why we praise God just because of who he is but there are two other reasons that that we praise God that have more to do with you because when you praise God stuff happens for example when you praise God you start to win your battles see against whatever enemy is attacking you what enemy is attacking you fear anxiety depression sadness Satan himself when you praise God battles start getting one you know the story in the Old Testament of course when the people of God were coming across this impenetrable city of Jericho what did what did they do what Josh would do he put the worshippers out front he gave him he gave him the ram's horn and they walked they walked around and then they praise God and WHAM the walls came - I'm telling you when you start worshipping God when it starts coming out of your mouth you're not just like letting it go you when it's coming out of your mouth you start winning battles you start winning battles look you've been in here how long 1/2 hour 40 minutes I'll bet you in the last half hour 40 minutes the thoughts that have been plaguing you for days and hours and days and now you know what you haven't thought about it much have you because you're in the presence of God and you start winning battles here's what it says in Psalm I think 8 verse 2 from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise why because of your enemies to silence the foe and the Avenger when kids praise God Satan goes down when you praise God your your battles get one you know there's a song we just started singing it in the last few months and it's it's about this whole idea goes I raise the Highland ooh yeah in the prayers and saw my enemies right I'm gonna sing in the middle of the storm come on louder and louder you're gonna hear my praises roar up from the ashes hope will arise death is defeated the king is alive I guarantee you in that moment right you didn't think about your fear you didn't think about your anxiety in that moment you were praising God you start winning battles that's the bottom line second thing that happens when we praise God watch this is that God I don't know where you envision God heaven out there some but let me tell you when you praise God he comes and takes up presence in your life right they matter of fact he comes and pulls up a big chair and sits down when you pray here's what it says in psalm 22:3 you are holy and throned on the praises of israel that word and throne means to pull up a chair and sit down when your kids come into grace kids this every parent should be thrilled about this when we when our outlet allowed kids are leading your kids in worship and the little ones even the smallest ones are praising God God pulls up a chair and sits down in that room he is right there one our students and when our students worship have you ever seen her students worship I'm telling you what I've went on a retreat with them I spoke at the retreat in February you know that come in looks like Church they're all sitting down in their chairs until the band starts to play they get out of the chairs they rush the front and it's like this rave worship session and in that moment God pulls up the big chair and says I think do you think God is delighted by that he is delighted by that when when these guys go nuts God loves it and every time you walk into this church or in one of our campuses and we sing praise songs God pulls up the big chair something happens he is there one of my favorite stories in the scripture is second chronicles chapter 5 what is it second yeah five Solomon decides he's going to build a big temple because his father his dad King David who wanted to build a temple to God for a lot of reasons wasn't able to do it so Solomon takes up the task and he builds this huge temple and he wants to dedicate the temple and so what he does he knows full well what he's doing he gets the trumpeter and the instrument instrumentalists and the singers and he gathers them at the temple and they start worshipping and praising God and God shows up and just comes down upon the temple with a huge cloud and it's so overwhelming that people are falling out they cannot deal with it this is what happens when God shows up listen I talked to a guy between ours and he confirmed to me what many of you have told me in the 28 years of history of grace there are times when you walk into the service and you're sitting here during praise and worship and you cannot stop crying there's something that happens when you're in the middle and you know why that is I don't have scientific evidence to back this up but I got to tell you what when God is in the room when God is when he is present your body and your motions are not designed to handle the presence of God we cannot contain our motions we cannot hold it in when God is there matter of fact if you're not weeping and if you're all put together you're doing a pretty good good job of keeping God's influence side of your life because you're not someday when you die and your body is and you have a new body near the present you'll be able to handle God's presence and worship Him and be incredible but in the meantime when God is near don't be surprised if tears come because just or you feel something because that's what happened with God's near I'm telling you it's important that we praise God whether you're alone and you praise God we're together we praise God good things happen it God comes very close praise ignites fighting against our enemies and what praise stops the crazy-making in your brain I know you you look put together you do you look great but you look fantastic just want to tell you that especially the blue the royal blue likin the color okay but but I like your royal blue - okay but but the fact is but the fact is you got a lot of crazy-making going on in your head you do I know you're looking at me like no I'm good no you're not you know you're already processing what this is week is going to be like you're processing what last those a lot of craze making that's why it's important for us to praise because praise relieves us here's what I said praise replaces my freaking out with his presence it replaces my freaking out with his presence so that's all by way of introduction to the song we're gonna look at Psalm 146 grab the Bible page 522 and let's let's go through this together Psalm 146 now while you're doing that kids you got this the sheet a little bit later I'm going to tell Izzie was right I'm going to show you 10 awesome things about God you were you were right and so if if one of these things awesome things about God gets an image in your mind write it down but draw a picture of it and then you can send it to me your parents can send it to me or you can put it on our social media hashtag worship together or you can hanging out in the lobby second thing I want to tell you before we look at this passage is last week I was over the fishers campus and I was hanging out in the lobby and I was just chatting people and I met a new couple that goes to grace they love grace they've only been here about two or three months came from a different faith background and they are digging grace and they're loving and they told me one of the reasons why is they said this church has so well taken care of our children they have a 12 year old and a 10 year old and they and they said they we love that our children are known we love that that our kids are led to Jesus they love what's happening and this is important to us so much so that we design and not every Church has the design we do with our kids but we are insistent from day one early on that your child is in a small group and somebody knows their name so that when they walk in the room we know who they are we caught same all the way through student ministry sometimes these these group leaders just move up age to age so they could stay with those kids from from you know infancy all the way up and this is important why this is from research fuller seminary indicate shows this if your child is gonna stick in their faith when they turn 25 it is going to be because five older adults somewhere in their life invested in them five adults who knew Jesus invested in their life not one not two not three or four it has to be five adults that's why we want to start them young with a pit with an adult who knows them and pours into their life so that their faith will stick parents let's be honest about something here you are not enough for your child's faith development I know you think you are but you are not I'm gonna tell you right now that your next senior pastor my son who would be an extra senior is not where he is spiritually purely because of penny and me we sent him off to Nairobi Kenya and there's several men that took him under their wing and led him to where he is today you need somebody else in your child's life other than you my daughter Lucy she went to IU for heaven's sakes I thought well there goes her faith I don't know what's gonna happen there but you know what happened when she got the I um and I you dad so when she went she would she got but she's there a young woman put her arm around her and discipled my daughter she is a young lovely leader and loves Jesus and most importantly gave me a grandchild so that's and then she takes him back to Chicago why does she do that it is like here is and then she takes them away okay this is not about that but all that to say grace Church your kids are in great hands here in great in great hands all right here we go where was I preaching here we go sermon Psalm 146 can we read this together and can you read not like a robot can we put a little energy into this come on alright here we go here we go ready praise the Lord let all that i am praise the lord i will praise the lord as long as I live I will sing praises to my god with my dying breath don't put your confidence in powerful people there's no help for you there when they breathed their last they return to the earth and all their plans die with them but joyful are those who have the God of Israel's their helper whose hope is in the Lord their God he made heaven and earth the sea and everything in them and he keeps every promise forever he gives justice to the oppressed food to the hungry the Lord frees the prisoners the Lord opens the eyes of the blind the Lord lifts up those who are weighed down the Lord loves the godly the Lord protects the foreigners among us he cares for the orphans and widows but he frustrates the plans of the wicked the Lord will reign forever he will be your God o Jerusalem throughout the generations praise the Lord all right this is some people call somewhat Psalm 146 147 48 49 and 50 the last five books songs in the Book of Psalms the Hallelujah so it's the like the finale the Hallelujah Psalms and the reason why is every one of them starts with this phrase praise the Lord which is the translation in English of the word the Hebrew word hallelujah you've heard that word right we just sang it I recently you know what it means well it's a contraction of two words two words Haleh Hallel Hebrew Hallel which means to boast about something in it but it's but it's not a polite word it means to kind of rave about some kind of go nuts about something so halal means going nuts about something and then Hallel and then yah is God's nickname from Yahweh okay so it's a it's Hallel hallelu yah which means go nuts about God to worship God and to praise God so everyone 140 60 150 starts with hallelujah hallelujah and then the psalm writer starts to talk to himself look look what he says in verse one at all that i am praise the lord now how many of you talked to yourself yeah a lot like next time I'm not eating the whole burrito right or tonight I'm gonna go to bed a reasonable hour you know you telling yourself you don't say these things out loud it's like okay I'm never wearing green again those kind of things all right so we talked to ourselves that's what he's doing here look what it let me read it again let all that he's hate he says look dude all that you are needs to praise God he sang himself look praising God is not a luxury for me it's a necessity I cannot skimp on worship and he says I need to throw everything that I am into it all of me now let's talk about what all of you is are is you are a body you are a mind you think and you are emotions he says I want to throw all of what I am into worship now when I was growing up I wasn't allowed to do that I wasn't when I was good nobody ever told me this when I was growing up but it was abundantly clear and my little Baptist Church you don't bring all of yourself to worship you bring your brain but stay in your lane stay in your worship lane and it stayed that way all the way into seminary which when you think about it is just weird like you you come in the worship and but don't move don't move just stay still now if you want to sing loud that's okay but don't get nuts on that what is that you know weird that is first of all that's not the way our bodies are designed to stay still - have you seen me during this sermon look at yourself it's always like this or like this or that or this or I was watching a kid between hours out there look at our kids you ever seen them this kid came in and it was all about him and everybody of breakfast everyone heard him in because he wasn't having anything that was happening he would and he was loud and he was moving and I thought that's the way the kids are how come it is the kids are like this I mean is he was like she was like constant motion up here right so what is when they get older we say you know stop at the consum ocean if you're gonna praise God just stays just stay still what is wrong with us we need to we need to learn to move and look if it's the last thing I do I'm gonna get you guys to respond to my sermons to start my you got 11 months you got 11 months okay can we up the game matter of fact next time when I don't know if Tim's in the room here but if when Tim's up here I want you to shock the daylights out now won't you give him an amen I want you to blow him away all right can you do that we got 11 months we got to up our game all right so let all that i am praise lord so that's one this our bodies are designed by god to be expressive it's who we are and let's let me just talk about the bible the bible seems to be pretty clear I will bless you as long as I live in your name I will what lift up my hands every day I call upon you Lord and I what spread my hands to you lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord and then there's Solomon stood stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the Assembly of Israel and what spread out his hands and as or bless the Lord the Great God and all the people answered amen amen lifting up their hands I wonder if we used our whole body more in worship whether we just be healthier I wonder I wonder if we would just be healthier because all that stuff you're holding in that can't be good that cannot be good let's bring it out okay and then notice what he says next let all that i am praise the lord in verse 2 i will praise the lord now as long as i live i will sing praises to my god with my dying breath hmm so all that i am for all that for as long as I'm here I want to praise God now I'm gonna bring out the emoji again I got a question mm-hmm what is it that you will never stop doing think about what is it that you will do till your dying breath what will be a part of your life non-stop until the day you go into glory love your family be kind what what are the things that are thee that will never end what the psalm writer says is the very very last thing on my breath is going to be praise to my god is that true of you now the question is why why is he so insistent that all of this does this forever well verse 3 tells us again he's talking to himself he says self don't put your confidence in powerful people they're no help for you there when they breathed their last they returned to the earth and all the plans died died with them but joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper whose hope is in the Lord their God look he's just talking to himself he's saying look I have issues I have issues I know I've got problems on concerns and he's saying to himself I know what I tend to do and I know what everyone else did we tend to turn to where we can get the power now this word powerful people is the Hebrew word and not deep it means princess we turn to the people the princes the the powers that be to solve all of our problems than our issues because this is what we all do look you have issues you look great but I want to tell you everybody looks great you just cleaned up very nicely today but I know what's going on in here you have issues and because you have issues and you have concerns and you have depression and you have anxiety I know what you tend to do you want to go to forget those things solved and what you're going to turn to your strategic plan you're gonna you're going to turn to somebody else an expert what the psalm writer says is because of our issues I am NOT I am NOT going to turn to that which I think will give me power and which I have lifted up as more the answers tomorrow I'm gonna turn to God himself I'm gonna turn to the one who knows me and I'm gonna praise him he is my helper praise replaces my freaking out with his presence now in the last part of the song he goes into full-on praise mode and he just starts listing 10 awesome things about God 10 awesome things so kids listen carefully I'm gonna go through these to be pretty quick but Lenna if one of them hits you in the brain and you go I like that one draw me a picture about one of the awesome things about God and we're gonna start in verse 6 and we're gonna go through verse 9 here we go starting at verse 6 awesome thing number one about God God made the heavens and the earth the sea and everything in them so if you want to draw an animal draw an animal you want to throw a plant you want two stars moon whatever God made everything second awesome thing about God is that God keeps every promise forever now I gotta I need to stop here for a second cuz I don't know that you guys believe this I'm gonna be honest with you as recently with the last three or four days I know the promises of God I've studied the scriptures I'm gonna tell you why is it why is it after all these years that I still doubt the promises of God what is wrong with me what is wrong with us when he says come to me all you are weary and laden and what I will give you rest how come it is that I'm not sure I believe that how come it is when I'm concerned about my future and lately not gonna lie my future has been really important as I've been thinking through it that I that I neglect to hang on to Jeremiah 29:11 that he says he knows he has plans for me plans for me to prosper and give me hope in a future how come I forget these why do we forget the promises of God which are forever the psalm writer says that's the only second awesome thing about God third awesome thing about God now miss table number three number four five six seven eight and nine are all part of a package I'm going to read them to you but I want to tell you what they they encompass it's all the awesome things that God does for those who are helpless now he's going to give you all these descriptions of a helpless person a person who is who power has gone they're not able to control their future they're everything looks bleak that maybe you you maybe face I don't know what you're facing are you facing a time where everything looks bleak and you feel like powers gone beyond you are unable to change change your future we'll pay attention to number three God gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry are you oppressed God is for you number four awesome thing about God God frees the prisoners what what chains are holding you down God will free you number five awesome thing God opens the eyes of the blind unable to see lights dark side note reading something by jean-pierre Dacus odd old french mystic who said this the best place to be is in the dark because it's in the dark where God carries you so even though you can't put your step step forward you don't know where you're going God is carrying you can I tell you how much I've hung onto that in the last couple of weeks number five number six awesome thing God lifts up those who are weighed down hello everybody in the room hello everybody you're weighed down number seven God loves the godly now I want to point out something about this word the word godly here probably be better translated innocent and what he's saying is that God loves those who have ever thought I haven't done anything wrong why is this happening to me what am I getting punished I mean what have I done God loves the if you're innocent God loves you he will bring you justice number eight awesome thing about God God protects the foreigners among us interesting today to say this out loud God protects the foreigners among us those who have no connection no home they're far from home they have no community God is with them number nine God cares for the orphans and widows the ultimate people who have nothing in that culture women who have lost their husbands and so in that culture lost their identity and children who have no parents for anyone who finds themself in the place of being estranged from everyone else in community and unable to see your way forward God loves you and then the final awesome thing about God is that he frustrates the plans of the wicked now I want to hang on to that because don't you every now and then go why why why is that why does it seem like the wicked are always winning well the fact is God is aware of that and they're one of the awesome things is he's fully aware and he will bring justice so when we stop and praise God when we focus on his awesomeness and we say them out loud with each other or alone or we sing about them things happen right now in this room I don't know where he is but the god of the universe is in here he may be right beside you he may be here he may be there huh but he is enthroned on our praises he is here it's why you're feeling the way you're feeling right now because he's and if you stop and think about it you can feel his presence he is here and the second thing when we praise God just think about the battles you've been fighting with anxiety and depression in the last thirty minutes you haven't even thought much about it because that battle is being fought for you right now because he is here it's why we praise God praise replaces your freaking out with his presence so let me read the last verse to you all and let me remind you kids and students and adults that this verse 10 the Lord will reign forever he will be your God Emma and Jason and Amelia he will be your God Robert and Kylie and Liam and Ava and fill in your name here he will be your God throughout the generations hallelujah hallelujah how about we pray for a moment and then we'll praise a little more and then we'll go home father I I thank you for pulling up the big chair in this room and I believe you pulled up a chair and the lives of the people who are watching online right now the hundreds of people are watching online and I just thank you for your presence and I thank you for fighting our battles in the presence of our enemies we praise you we thank you I got to tell you I am I just have to say I have to confess that I've done a poor job of my myself I have worried more this week than I've praised I have fussed more than I've worshipped but I thank you in these last couple of days that you've been gracious to pull me in in a way to make me deal with this passage myself so I could turn my worrying and my turning to the princes the not Deeb's out there that will solve my problems turn it to you who will you are with me you are with us we love you we praise you we worship you in Jesus Holy Name I pray amen

Channel: Grace Church

Views: 1,145

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Grace, Grace Church, Grace Church Indiana, Grace Church Noblesville, Noblesville, Fishers, Carmel, North Indy, Indianapolis, Church in Carmel, Church in Noblesville, Church in Fishers, Church in North Indy, Church in Westfield, What does the bible say about praise, How do I praise God, How do I know God is good, What does the bible say about God's goodness, Bible verses about goodness, How do I study the bible

Id: p4xATFo2qh4

Length: 30min 45sec (1845 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 15 2019