The Battle for Your Praise - Pastor Raymond Woodward

my subject this morning is the battle for your praise the battle for your praise and I'd like to take you to the book of 1st Samuel very familiar passage of Scripture very familiar chapter for Samuel chapter 17 now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle and were gathered together at Shoko which belongeth to Judah and pitched between Shoko and as Iike in a feast Amim and saul and the men of israel were gathered together and pitched by the valley of elah and set the battle in array against the Philistines and the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side and there was a valley between them I'm gonna preach this morning I will not be long as long as I don't have to overcome reluctance or resistance how's that somebody say the battle is for my praise would you lift up your hands before we're seated and when you give a praise to God at the beginning of this message or Jesus I thank you God for the authority of your word and the authority of your spirit that is here among your people help me to flow in the vein of the Holy Ghost and Lord Jesus help your people to respond in the vein of the Holy Ghost I pray Lord God that your will would be done your kingdom would come your people would be blessed and uplifted and encouraged and God you would do in the lives of those gathered what only you can do we will give you all of the praise because the praise doesn't belong to anybody but you it belongs only to you and we give you praise this morning somebody say in Jesus name and you may be seated Judah was first a man than a tribe than a territory and finally a kingdom the kingdom of Judah the word Jew from Judah and that forever associated God's people with Judas land the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the land of Judah from ancient times and because Jacob called this son his son Judah because he called him a young lion in Genesis 49 the Lion of the tribe of Judah has been used as a symbol of Jerusalem for many years it's on their coat of arms and then the New Testament the Lion of the tribe of Judah that same title of strength and authority is transferred to the one you know who died who was buried and who rose again in Jerusalem in Judah the Lord Jesus Christ John said he got this message from one of the elders when he saw his vision of heaven and he wrote these words weep not behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David he has prevailed he's overcome he's conquered every enemy he's defeated every opposition he has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and his wife Leah in the book of Genesis that was a little bit of a dysfunctional family mostly because Jacob had more than one wife you can take from that whatever you need and and so this mother the mother of Judah she had three sons before she had Judah and she named her first three sons according to her circumstances but she named Judah because she had finally overcome her circumstances here's how it goes these are the children of Leah first of all there's Reuben when Ruben was born she said surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction now therefore my husband will love me Reuben literally means behold a son that's what she said when she brought him to Jacob behold a son hopefully you can love me now Semyon the next son when he was born Leah said because the Lord have heard that I was hated he hath therefore given me this son also and so simians name means he has heard god heard that I have circumstances God heard that I have problems God heard that I was hated and that's why she named Simeon and then her third son she named him Levi and she said when Levi was born now this time will my husband be joined unto me because I have borne him three sons and so Levi means joined maybe my husband will finally be United with me because I've borne him three sons joined so her first three sons Reuben behold a son Simeon God has heard Levi joined her first three sons were named because of her circumstances but thankfully something changed in Leah's heart and by the time she had her fourth son she named him Judah and here's what she said when he was born now will I praise the Lord there comes a point in your life when you've got to say my circumstances are not going to get me down anymore there comes a point when you say enough is enough I've dealt with this enough I've suffered with this enough I've lost enough sleep and I've cried enough tears and I've had enough anxiety and you know what I'm gonna do in the middle of what life has thrown at me which isn't always fun isn't always pleasant and isn't always fair now I'm gonna just praise the Lord and that's what Judah means she named her forced son not according to her circumstances but because she had finally overcome her circumstances his name simply means praise now will I praise the Lord Judah means praise and that mentioned that definition that name meaning follows Judah the man follows Judah the territory follows Judah the tribe and Judah the Kingdom all the way through the Bible it is very significant that the tribe of juda when they went into battle and especially when they conquered the promised land Judah was sent into battle first now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord and they said who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first who takes the lead who takes charge of the battle who do we put on the frontlines to fight against them and the Lord said oh that's easy Judah shall go up behold I have delivered the land into his hand Judah means praise the illustration cannot be missed by any serious student of the scripture praise needs to be sent into every battle first praise wins the battle best when we praise the Lord it does something in the supernatural realm that helps us overcome our circumstances many many years later under the reign of King Jehoshaphat there was a battle where the singers of Judah not the soldiers of Judah the singers of Judah a huge choir they defeated three impossibly large armies that had assembled to destroy them the children of ammon the children of Moab and the children of Mount Seir and as those three massive armies came at Judah God gave them specific instructions they didn't send the soldiers of Judah in first they sent the singers of Judah in first and they began to praise the Lord and shout praise to their invincible God they were not invincible but they knew God was invincible and God through those three massive enemy armies into confusion and caused them to turn on each other and slaughter each other and do you know what their strategic battle cry was from all the singers of Judah here it is when he had consulted with the people King Jehoshaphat he appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army the singers went before the soldiers and here what they sang praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever and it was when they began to sing and to praise when Judas stood up and Judah did what Judah was named for that's when the Lord said ambushment against the children of Ammon Moab and Mount Seir which were come against Judah and all of them were smitten there comes a moment in your life there comes a battle that you can't fight with natural means there comes a circumstance that you can overcome and the principle from the Word of God not only is it clear but it's repeated so many times when you go to war against the devil he's massive he's huge he's powerful he's fierce but there is something a secret weapon if you will that you go into battle not with your head down but with your head up not with your hands clinched but with your hands raised and you begin to give praise to the Lord and praise wins the battle and it causes confusion for the enemy the battle is over your praise God wants your praise the devil wants your praise the world wants your praise and even your own flesh wants praise but only one of those can have praise not two not three not all four either God the devil the world or your own flesh is going to receive praise in your life and if the devil or the world or your flesh can't get that praise then they go into a pity party and they begin to salt and they work against the praise of God and you need to be careful because the devil the world and your own flesh will conspire against you to shut down praise so that God can't receive it the devil doesn't want God to receive the praise this sinful world doesn't want to respond to receive praise and your own flesh would prefer that you get the praise and not God get the praise and that's why praise is a principle of spiritual warfare everywhere in the Bible Old Testament New Testament no matter who's in the battle no matter what's going on praise as a principle of spiritual warfare is everywhere in the Bible because if the devil receives praise hell wins and if the world receives praise the world wins and if you get the praise you win but if God gets the praise it's better than all of the above because God wins that battle and so it's everywhere in the scripture the psalmist said I will call upon the Lord he is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from mine enemies you know how I get saved from my problems and my circumstances and my enemies and my battles it's not that I figured it out I couldn't figure it out the circumstance was puzzling me the situation was perplexing me life was bewildering me I couldn't figure it out but I just started to worship God in the middle of it that's how I got saved from my enemies you know this verse we quoted often but thou art holy o thou that in habitus the praises of Israel God literally lives in praise that's why praise is a principle of spiritual warfare because when you praise God you attract God you praise the devil you'll attract hell you praise the world you'll attract the world you praise yourself you'll look you'll attract other people that want to flatter you want to give you the glory and the praise and the credit and you can have your own little kind of mutual admiration society but if you praise God heaven shows up the Angels stand in attention and God says I'm about ready to go down there and I'm gonna live in that so if you're in somebody said I'm walkin through hell this week well good praise God and God said even if I make my bed in Hell the psalmist said God is with me even in hell praise Psalm 1 underverse for enter in his gates with Thanksgiving when you come into his courts come into his courts with what with praise why because the battle is over your praise the battle is for your praise enter into his courts with praise be thankful unto Him bless his name praise is not some abstract mental exercise praise is not some silly chant from the New Agers praise is not some kind of positive thinking or self-help or talk yourself into smiling that's not what praise is praise has nothing to do with you praise has nothing to do with your circumstances praise is a straight vertical channel that cuts through all the junk and it goes straight to the throne of God and when you praise him he comes to your aid when you praise him he comes to your help that's why we enter into a service like this and we're not content until somebody praises the Lord singing is nice preaching is great all of the announcements are wonderful but we're not happy until somebody just flat-out enters into his courts with praise we owe him a praise we get to give him praise it's a privilege to lift up the name of the Lord that's why we praise him but while we're praising them as the praises go up blessings and help and strength and victory and the miraculous come down there is something about sending praise up into the heavens it helps us God is my help my healer my rock and my fortress and my strength oh my goodness I feel that coming right there if you just lift up a praise to him you have no idea what praise can do to manipulate your situation you have no idea what praise can do to overcome your enemy you have no idea what praise can do to let loose the miraculous in your life praise is forever a principle of spiritual warfare you might not want to get comfortable because this is a good one from the rising of the Sun under the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised if they can praise Him in Africa then it's our turn in Canada if they can praise Him in China then it's our turn in Canada the Sun's up right now it's daylight in Canada they already have their turn on some other continents and they did a great job but it's our turn when the sun's up from the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same if you're awake you're supposed to be praising if you're breathing you're supposed to be praised if you're alive you're supposed to be praising if you're his child you're supposed to be praised oh my the psalmist said in Psalm 34 I will bless the Lord at all times his praise somebody say praise shall continually be in my mouth now that word continually means somebody that repeats something over and over sounds like a chant that's what it means continually be in my mouth you ever heard some of those elders that they say Jesus Jesus Jesus you ever heard some of those people pray hallelujah hallelujah you say that's vain repetition not if it's directed to the Lord and you're giving him a conscious praise it's only vain repetition when you're checked out thinking about once and you're saying hallelujah hallelujah that's not praise but when you give God glory when you give God honor when your mind and your heart and your voice and your mouth yes I'll lift it up to him something happens my soul shall make her boast in the Lord a lot of people boasting about a whole lot of stuff they boast about their skill they boast about their success they boast about their career there's even people foolish enough to boast about their good looks that's you stop it either make people jealous or you make them laugh that was metal and I'm sorry my soul shall make her boast in the Lord my boast isn't in anything down here my boast is in the Lord and the humble shall hear their up and be glad and then the psalmist says this o magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together why because I sought the Lord and the God of all creation heard me and delivered me from all my fears now we know the principle of the magnifying glass it's doubtful that in that ancient time 3000 years ago the psalmist knew what a magnifying glass was but the principle of magnify in language is the very same as the principle of magnify with a magnifying glass when you look at an object with a magnifying glass the object doesn't get bigger your perspective of it gets bigger and it works the same in language when you magnify the name of the Lord Jesus doesn't get one bit bigger one bit more powerful one bit more miraculous or one bit greater but your perspective of what he can do it grows it gets greater it gets bigger and that's why the psalmist said Oh everybody magnify the Lord with me if you'll lift him up it'll dawn on you that God is bigger than your problem if you'll praise if it'll dawn on you that God is greater than your situation so magnify the Lord with me the battle is over your praise and on this particular day in the Word of God the Philistines have gathered their armies to battle in a fees demean that means bloodshed Bible names are very significant so they've gathered in a feast Amim it means bloodshed and there between Shoko and as iike those two places mean hedged in and fenced in and they face the Israelites the Philistines on one side the Israelites on the other across the valley of elah which means strength so if you take those meanings and you just kind of casually look at them you'd come up with us there's no way out they're fenced in they're hedged in it's gonna be a bloodbath because they're in the place of bloodshed and only the stronger army is going to survive because they're in that Valley which means strength and then Goliath stands up Goliath's name literally means exposure he is so strong so threatening and so terrifying that he's about to expose the weakness that resides in Saul and his army and here's what you've got to understand the Bible said in the first verse of chapter 17 that as they gathered in this territory this territory belonged to Judah so Goliath the giant Goliath the obstacle Goliath the enemy literally has the gall to stand in the territory that belongs to Judah he stands in the territory of praise and it is in the territory of praise in the territory of Judah that the battle unfolds Goliath the giant the enemy the opposer he dares for somebody to come and fight him because what they're trying to decide on this day is who is going to own praise that's what they're trying to decide who is going to own the territory called Judah and on this day it's either going to go to Goliath and the Philistines and they're going to own praise or it's going to go to Saul and his army the Israelites and they're going to own praise but make no mistake whoever owns praise whoever owns Judah whoever owns this central territory in the land we know as Israel is going to control the whole land and so here's Goliath challenged if he'd be able to fight with me and kill me then will we be your servants but if I prevail against him and kill him then you'll be our servants and you'll serve us and the Philistine said I defy the armies of Israel this day give me a man that we may fight together somebody say the battle is over your praise Goliath literally stands in the middle of praise in the middle of Judah and he says if I conquer you in the territory of praise you'll have to serve me you'll be depressed for the rest of your life you'll be defeated for the rest of your years you won't know which way to go you'll have nothing but confusion and heart and heartbreak if I conquer you in the middle of praise it's all over for you but the deal works both ways despite the obstacle despite the giant despite the odds despite the terror and the fear if you conquer me in the valley if you conquer me in the territory of praise if you win the war where praise is concerned then I have to serve you for the rest of my days if you win the war in praise then the devil is defeated if you win the war in praise the enemy has to flee if you win the war in praise it doesn't matter what the obstacle looks like there is a victory that enters into your soul not your circumstances your soul you can't change your circumstances or you would have but you can change your soul that's why the devil said bless the Lord that's why David said bless the Lord O my soul in the face of the devil in the face of the obstacle David said so pay attention now I need you to lift up a praise to the Lord no matter what is going on in your life bless the Lord O my soul it's okay to talk to yourself if you're talking to yourself to worship the Lord somebody in this room this morning that didn't have a great week that does have a situation that does have a crisis you need to address yourself and you need to say so pay attention now bless the Lord in the middle of my circumstance because here's what you don't know that if you win the victory in the valley if you win the victory in the territory of praise if you win the battle for praise the devil is permanently defeated in your life as long as you keep winning that battle it doesn't matter what hell throws at you because you're going to praise the Lord if you win the battle for praise it doesn't matter what the world puts against you because you have decided to praise the Lord I don't feel resistance maybe a little reluctance so could we just overcome that for a moment and would you lift up your praise to the Lord but I'm in a valley good that's where the victories won but I've got a giant gray that's where the victories won here's what you got to remember if you win the battle if you win the victory in the valley if you win the battle for praise [Applause] passing your hauler in this morning of course I am because you're not but if somebody would get a glimpse of what this could do if you win the victory in the territory appraised the enemy has to flee before you buy the enemy's own admission bike Elias own words if I beat you here in praise if I win over you here in praise you have to serve me but if you win over me if you beat me in the place of praise I have to serve you now you know this story it was not Saul it was not any of Saul's highly trained soldiers who stepped up to fight Goliath that day it was a young man really a kid named David he had no formal battle experience or did he David actually had the home-field advantage as long as they were standing in territory that belonged to Judah because Judah means praise and as long as David stood in the territory of praise he stood on home turf David had spent years in the fields of Judah surrounding Bethlehem tending sheep playing his harp and guess what writing songs of praise to God David was not the least trained on the field that day David was probably the best trained to win the victory that day because he'd spent a lifetime honing his preys skills don't miss it Goliath was defeated by appraiser who was standing in the midst of a valley the principle holds true the story's not there by accident it's not just a cute little Sunday School tradition it's there for a reason if you ever decide I'm in the middle of a valley I'm in the middle of a trial I'm in the middle of a dark night of so but I'm gonna gather my wits and my spirit around me and I'm gonna put some words together they may be feeble they may be filled with pain I may have fear facing me down but I am gonna stand in the middle of my valley and I'm gonna lift up a praise to God the enemy was defeated by appraiser who stood in a valley the odds were against David and both armies mocked him that day the Philistines mocked him and Israel mocked him who do you think you are you can't do this even his own brothers mocked him that day but David won the victory for Judah because he knew how to praise his way through and that did not stop when David became King it didn't even stop when his own wife Michael was embarrassed and offended by his dancing before the Lord David had just brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem Saul was king for 40 years and left the Ark of the Covenant in captivity most of that time and didn't even care he ran his kingdom without the manifest presence of God David was king about five minutes and he started saying where's the Ark we can't have a kingdom without the Ark we got to go get the Ark whatever it cost we got to bring the Ark back can I tell all the wonderful Pentecostal folks this morning we can't have Church without the Ark we can't have God's move without his presence we can't just become a church that just goes through some motions sing some songs here's a sermon prays a prayer and goes home unchanged that is not the kind of church that we are we're the real thing we're the Bible thing with the Apostolic thing and in the middle of praise is where God shows up in the middle of worship is where God's power touches down and David brought that Ark back and began to dance before the ark and every six paces he offered a sacrifice somebody call that a big waste somebody would say that's a little much don't you think somebody would say I think we could have put that money or that time too better use but David didn't care every six paces they sacrificed and he danced before the Lord all day long it was a trail of blood and dancing all the way into Jerusalem and Michael looked out a window she got that long nose critical look and she looked out of the window and she started whispering to all of her servants and her chamber maids and she began to say I think that's disgraceful I think that's a little too much I think that's a little too much noise and a little too much excitement and a whole lot too too much emotion and when David finally got home that night she let him have it she did it's in your Bible oh how glorious you were today you made an absolute idiot out of yourself in front of all of Israel dancing around like that what in the world do you think you were doing and David said to Michael it wasn't for you it was for the Lord it was before God not before you I wasn't thinking about you or anybody else I was praising the Lord as his presence came back into the city of Jerusalem and by the way God chose me before your father and before all Saul's house and he appointed me ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel therefore will I play before the Lord I'll dance if I want to dance I'll shout if I want to show I'll get loud if I want to get loud because God has been better to me then the teammates have been to the hitter or the pitcher over there on the ball field they might have helped him win a game or a tournament but my God has helped me win the battle my God has saved me from sin so it's not for you number one and number two if I choose to do it I'll do it unto the Lord and I'll keep doing it on till God shows up and you and if that offends you read the next verse and I will yet be more vile than thus and I will be based in my own sight and all these maid servants that you've been gossiping to and checking out and talking to and criticizing me to all of them that you've spoken of of them shall I be had in honor the NIV the New International Version says I will become even more undignified than this we love our dignity don't we we love it but you cannot preserve your dignity and honor his deity at the same time cannot cannot I think on my computer under sound effects they call that a golfclap I wish somebody would lift your hands in the air pastors almost done music come on back I'd like you to begin to lift up a praise to the Lord that's a nice little rumble nice little soft nice little sedate kind of a praise that's not the praise the Bible's talking about there's a phrase that's undignified there's a praise that's kind of a little bit violent because the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force there's a praise that that just is a little insistent there's a praise that gets a little loud there's a praise that gets a little emotional there's a praise that doesn't come from somebody that's so dignified in their life's perfect perfect it comes from somebody that's been in trouble and knows what it is to walk through a valley and just says God I gotta have you show up so I'm gonna praise I'm gonna win the battle in the territory of praise because when I win in the middle of praise the enemy has to flee when I win in the middle of praise my situation turns around [Music] [Applause] the battle is over your praise God wants it the devil wants it the world wants it in your own flesh wants it let me tell you the battle for praise often takes place in the middle of a valley when your own feelings and your own circumstances and your own life conspire against you and life will try to shut your praise down and problems will try to shut your praise down and the devil will try to shut your praise down but here's what David said he put together the Book of Psalms he didn't write them all but he compiled them and at the very end of the Psalms in 1 he did write David ends the entire hundred and fifty songs of Israel this way let everything that hath breath praise the Lord praise ye the Lord in other words if everything's turned upside down and you got nothing left if everything is upside down and you have no strength you have no victory you have no joy you have no peace you've got nothing but problems you've got nothing but situations and circumstances you say I've got pain in my body that doesn't prevent you from heaven breath to breathe if you're alive and you can hear this if you've got breath in your body let everything that hath breath if you've got breath that's enough it might come out through gritted teeth it might come out through a grimace of pain it might come out with tears rolling down your face but let everything that hath breath praise the Lord the battle is for your praise the battle is about your praise and the victory comes in your praise everybody stand if you would [Music] yes it's starting that's that's helping us we only got one service today my goodness at least we could kind of blow out the stops and give God a great praise so well I think I think that you should only praise the Lord when you feel like it I think that you should only praise the Lord when you're really doing it from an authentic place that's our buzzword is authenticity not in the Bible by the way here's what the prophet Isaiah said God will appoint unto them that mourn in Zion he will give them beauty for Ashes the oil of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness I just don't want to put on anything pastor you're not obeying Scripture put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness well that would be a put-on no a garment is something that covers you a garment is something that covers over a garment is something that conceals so if you came to the house of the Lord with a spirit of heaviness let me give you some Bible advice take your praise and cover up your heaviness take your praise and cover up your depression take your praise and cover up all the tears you cried this week cuz you deserve a blessing from God and you deserve deliverance from God and God wants to give you that kind of victory but you gotta take that garment of praise and say God I'm putting it on regardless of how I feel putting it on regardless of what I see I'm putting it on regardless of the diagnosis I heard I'm putting on the garment of somebody shouted the battle somebody shout at the battle is for your praise either the devil's gonna win the world's going to win your dignity's gonna win or god's gonna win but if god wins all bets are off as to what happens to the enemy the problem the circumstance the disease the situation and the setback before we come to the altar this morning I hope you'll join us we've only got one service today we need to close it with a great time at the altar but I'd like you rate where you're standing before you even take that walk before you even end up at the front if you lift up everything you got let everything let everything then everyone that has breath praise the Lord give him a praise give Him praise don't keep that praise for yourself don't reserve that praise for the world don't keep that praise for all the good things you want no give that praise to God there's victory in that praise and if you win over the enemy in the territory of praise the enemy has to flee would you step out of where you're standing as many as can come and as quickly as you can come would you join us at the front [Music] rabbie Mohawk yamaha DeShazo barakatuh when you come please come all the way if you would make room for everybody to get up the odds before you go on with the rest of your day before you engage in the rest of your week before you head home to that thing that situation that problem that circumstance that made you cry you might have left your house crying this morning because of the heaviness that's on you just a word of advice put on the garment of praise to overcome that spirit of heaviness put on the garment of praise to overcome that opposition put on the garment of praise to overcome the devil himself thank you for responding now here's the response that matters the most would you lift up your hands would you lift up your heart would you lift up your voice and most of all would you lift up your praise and give it to God he deserves it the devil doesn't get it the world doesn't deserve it and I won't keep it I'm gonna give my praise to the Lord he's going to bring somebody out today he's gonna set somebody free today he's gonna bless somebody's life today [Music] the battle is for your praise win the battle right now in the valley win the battle in the nighttime win the battle yes yes yes yes Sudama McCoy Yamaha if you're filled with the Holy Ghost right now would be a good time to just pray in the spirit and push the enemy back pray in the spirit and push the enemy back the battle is for your praise the battle is for your praise

Channel: Capital Community Church

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Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, apostolic, christian, preaching, sermons, sermon, raymond, woodward, jack, leaman, matthew, bible, study, biblical teaching, the, battle, for, your, praise, the battle for your praise

Id: hjgogKvHeYI

Length: 41min 14sec (2474 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 27 2019