Hallelujah - Part B

The mightiest active all is God sending his son from heaven to earth to pay for our sins.

No wonder in second Corinthians 9. The apostle Paul thinking of that act, said thanks be to God or praise be to God for his undescribable many was hurriedly chewing his favorite sports teams or musicians that excited to be missing in our worship to the Lord spoke to Dale and connect with Skip Heitzigs, Scriptures, biblical truth, to help you cultivate authentic and joyful praise to your heavenly father want to let you know what an amazing opportunity to visit the sites with the prophets and kings of the Bible from God. Lenny and I are taking a group to Israel in 2022 and we want to invite you to join us will visit places like Nazareth, the Jordan River Dead Sea in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the garden tomb – just a flyby look at the itinerary. Find out more about the trip@inspirationcruises.com/C8 the bank skip. Now we want to let you know about a resource that will help you, your God's voice more clearly by walking through his work 19 pandemic is constant reevaluation of priorities like choices in the path forward this question to my want half-life here Skip I think with some thoughts on priorities that we all want the life with a happy ending a life marked by growth life marked by productivity and refreshment and God's touch of blessing and prosperity and maturity. Here is our special offer for this month. For those who support outreach daily… I Skip hiking playlist messages on significant stomach 2022 biscuits daily… And they're both currently thinking of you. Give $30 to help more people connect with consequent: 819 to go online to connect the skip.com sample from scant you pursue him.

When you pursue holiness, happiness tags along: 892 1888 to give or connectwithskip.com Psalm 150, skip, try to get into today's message that we know there's no temple today and we know that where the temple of the Holy Spirit. So we don't go to a specific spot.

Needless to say, when we gather to gather corporately in what we call the sanctuary the direction of at the tone about the purpose of it is for praise. Now some of you know, probably most of you know that this wasn't built to be a church.

This was built as a sports complex. This was on this building this room you're sitting in was a soccer field.

We bought it at Astroturf where there is some badly stained and and poorly chosen carpet they used to be Astroturf and that we pulled up and we sold it but it was a sports arena was in the church. But when we bought it we dedicated it and we said from now on.

It's a sanctuary from now on though W praises song and they'll be the Bible taught and we will direct our thoughts toward the Lord in this place, but to notice what else he says he says praise him in his mighty firmament literally in the expanse of the heavens, so he is saying.

Praise God on earth and praise God in heaven at sort of always saying everywhere. It's as if he's summoning all of the humans on earth and all of the angels in heaven to join corporately together in the singular anthem of praise just for a moment I want to take your mind to the heavens. Would you not agree that in time in terms of the size of the crowd and the beauty of the location heaven is to be the greatest praise event ever right when John and Revelation song a little picture of it in Revelation 4 by reset I saw four living creatures, and I saw 24 elders bow down that I looked out I saw Josh as far as the eye can see. He said these words. I looked again and I heard the singing of thousands of millions of angels around the throne and the living beings and the 24 elders, so he saw this huge momentous gathering in the heaven and listen to what they were doing and I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them, singing to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise forever and ever. So the thought here of the Psalm is this let God be praised on earth as well as in heaven. It's the same thought that Jesus had when he taught us to pray and he said when you pray, say our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. When you and I praise on earth. It's the one activity that is mirroring matching what is going on is will is being done on earth as it is in heaven. So right now right here on this earth in our lives.

Praise to fill our lives like praise fills the halls of heaven we think about.

It's good to be part of your eternal occupation which they got to get a little practice now I said before, I set it in the series I just say it again because were to move on but this is inappropriate when we gather to sing. I'm sorry it didn't work. You can sit in front your computer do that when you're here in a place where God's people are gathered together in our songs to be sung in a Lord who is alive to be praised.

We engage in worship we sing those anthems of praise to him as a man who was visiting a church and it was a little church in Connecticut and it was more of a formal church and a formal liturgy was given and there was a part in the service call. The Eucharistic liturgy at that point there were dealers in the pews and people got on their knees and they saying hallelujah in the word hallelujah was that was that words they were saying in this visitor. This man noticed one woman with her arms raised heavenward while she sang hallelujah Licata's attention wasn't so much that she had her hands raised. It's that her hands were twisted were gnarled were diseased crumpled up next to her were walking crutches and he just looked at that picture of that woman like this with those hands raise and he thought, dear Lord, I how could a woman like that with that kind of suffering, lifting up those arms saying hallelujah is an important question and that brings us to the third part of the frame.

That's the why question why should praise occur. The question is also answered verse two praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Two reasons are given. We praise God for what he does and we praise God for who he is, no matter what he does okay. We praise God for what he does and we praise God for who he is, no matter what he does. We praise him for his mighty acts. Every service when I asked people is that so, can you think of one of the mighty acts of God, the first answer the came out.

That's what I did do it this time because now I can anticipated some basic creation, which is a good answer when we see creation which is a mighty act we see the intricacies of God's creation. It should lead us to be amazed, and to praise the Lord for the ingenuity of the creator. The immensity of the creator.

The other night I was with my family were little restaurant we were eating outdoors and it was in the evening and the clouds are going by never changing color my little grandson Seth kept pointing up sing pop-up sunset and just a little while later, the clouds would change into a pink unit with pop sunset and then they get all darker more purple pop-up sunset and he was so enthralled by the change of the color in the sunset and it dawned on me precisely how God intended creation.

That's the kind of response. God wants as we observe creation.

We look at a beautiful that's amazing, praise the Lord. I appreciate that art and that beauty so the intricacies of creation help us to appreciate the ingenuity and the immensity of the creator, that's what it says in the book of Psalms week.

We actually read Psalm 19 the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. So as we look upward. We should say, praise the Lord. That's a mighty act and then when we look inward at us some idea. Here we are. God formed us. The Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I know we spent a lot of time looking at the mirror and that's always a losing game, but if you look inside of your body and I remember studying this years ago but I'm always amazed at the at the human body you have in your body.

About 30 trillion cells. That's what they tell is the average human body is 30 trillion cells know some have many more than that. Some of much less in evidence. The average 30 trillion in a single cell of your body. You have what's called DNA molecule dioxin rival the gas it's basically a blueprint. It's the instruction manual that tells that cell how to act every single moment from birth till death is a set of instructions. If you were to take one human cell and translate that DNA material into text into written book form one cell would produce for thousand volumes of literature. Essentially one cell would fill this whole stage from bottom to top all the way back with books oneself. If you were to translate all 30 trillion cells of your body into text into written information. It would fill the Grand Canyon 40 times over to overflowing fearfully and wonderfully made. So when you look outward, you should say, praise the Lord.

We look inward, praise the Lord opposer's mighty acts of the mighty is active.

All, however, is in creation its redemption. The mighty is active. All is God sending his son from heaven to earth to pay for our sins.

No wonder in second Corinthians 9.

The apostle Paul thinking of that act, said thanks be to God or praise be to God for his undescribable gift so many mighty acts creation redemption preservation provision. All of that so we praise God for what he is done. We also praise him for who he is to listen carefully.

This is important because sometimes in your life you can't readily think of what he does.

Your life is all about the bad stuff.

I'm going to trial, and I feel overwhelmed by the situation and circumstances in my life. Bad things have happened and are happening. It's either not like counting your blessings of all the things he is done at that moment. That's when you turn to the second reason to do it which supersedes all of the reasons you praise him just for who he is just for who he is, his attributes, he's all-powerful, he is ever present. He's all knowing. He cares for. That's who he is. We praise him according to his excellent greatness.

Did you know the word praise comes from a Latin and if later on a French word that means price price when you are declare praise you are declaring the value of God, irrespective of what you are experiencing. That's why that lady could raise those hands up in that church like this because of who God is in her life so we don't praise God for what we can get out of them or we don't praise God because we do.

It makes us feel really good songs made me feel the cool, there's a higher purpose just for who he is, there's a very little fruit in Africa called the taste very was called taste. And you know why it's called that because we put in your mouth, it changes the taste of everything to listen to this. This is intriguing when you eat it taste very good, sweet and pleasant.

And if you eat something after you eat the taste very for up to an hour.

I've been told it still tastes good. So you could eat sour fruit after you've had a taste very your taste buds are so altered by the taste very, that even the sour fruit taste pleasant and good sweet that big, that would come in handy for some restaurants I've been to our love is needed.

Taste very and it. This is also listen carefully. Praise is the taste. The Christian life.

It's praise when you make a declaration appraiser matter how you feel or what you're going through. It takes the sorrow and even makes that pleasant to the taste much better than without. So for who is so we have taken this picture we have three sides of the frame who that's God where everywhere earth and heaven. Why, because of what he does because of who he is and here's the fourth part completing the picture.

How how is praise to be expressed.

Verse three praise him with the sound of the trumpet, praise him with the lute and harp phrasing with the timbrel and dance, praise him with stringed instruments and flutes praise him with loud cymbals.

My apologies that the Bible actually says the word loud some of you may be offended but it says it's time to read it loud cymbals, praise him with clashing symbols are the requesting is in their group and some of you, but it's in the Bible so matter. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord so that answers the how question how are we to praise the Lord. Two ways with instruments man is made and with breath of God is given three verses are devoted to aid instruments that are listed and I like to go to all the instruments and say how they were made, what they sound like us there lost in antiquity. Many of them, but suffice it to say that music was always important to God's people in the proclamation of praise in the Old Testament we find Levitical choirs and instruments that David commissioned and somebody made himself. We have an interesting story in the Old Testament of a king sending worshipers out musicians out as the front line of infantry in a battle they would go first. They want to give her the worship team or water was they were out there giving glory and praise to God, we come to the New Testament we read about Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs that make Melody into the Lord so music is a part of our expression and praise to the Lord as part of the art forms around praise. Most of you know that Martin Luther note was not only a great reformer, but an author. What some of you may not realize is that he was also a lover of song and he wrote songs he wrote worship songs even played an instrument. I'm told he wrote these words and went to the hero next to theology rights. Martin Luther I get to music. The highest place in honor music is the art of the prophets. The only art that can calm the agitations of the soul. It is one of the most magnificent and delightful presence that God is given to us and then he says this shows his cantankerous side, if any man despise his music as all fanatics do for him.

I have no liking. Go mess with Martin for music as a gift in the grace of God, not the invention of man.

Thus, it drives out the devil and it makes people cheerful and one forgets all wrath, impurity and other devices. There's power in song there's power in music. I think God intended that to be heard a song on the radio that you haven't heard for a long time, but when you hear it, your mind goes back to when you first heard it and it's like you can even enter into the emotions you first felt man I first heard that song. I remember that night. Sometimes it's a good memory.

That's our song, honey, that's the song we we heard only dated still to this day I can hear worship songs over some years ago, but I remember and it just brings back the emotion of what I was going through what I felt the Lord was leading me through so powerful, so singing is such a part of who we are and how we express our praise.

The couple that left Moody Bible Institute and became missionaries to the southern coal Indian tribe in Mexico. They had to get to this remote area by by mule and by handcarved canoeing. They got to this area to minister coal Indians and they spent 25 years.

The next 25 years of their life giving their lives to translate the New Testament into the cold language, but what the missionary said is that this was a people who did not know how to sing. They had no songs so when the missionaries were there. They not only taught them the Scripture the gospel they taught a music so much so that anyone who came to Christ. Learn songs and the rest of the unconverted tribe referred to the Christians as the singers not Christians but those are the singers not today there are over 12,000 believers in the truck. It's a self-sustaining community. But what an interesting thing there singers and the missionary John Beekman said the reason they saying is because now they have a reason to say and every one of you has a good reason to sing to lift your voice up and so we sing and we praise with instruments. The God is given or the man is made and then finally with breath of God is given.

Verse six sums it up, and we close. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord and I summing up by simply saying, praise God by any and all means possible by every conceivable instrument by what you blow into our play with strings or bash together or just if you can't play anything and all you can do is this. I don't know much, but I got a breath and use it for the right reason. Last week we saw that you should you do, you could use your breath for the wrong reason like gossiping, complaining and foul language. The highest way to use your breath is praise and do you know that's the goal of all creation. Did you know that the goal of all creation is this that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, because of the story and I promise I will close with the story. But this is so important. I don't want you to miss this years ago there was a little boy who lived on the country and he had never in his life into a circus.

He'd always wanted to eat heard about what a circus is like here that a circus is coming to town and he said daddy please can I go to the circus on Saturday always wanted to go and the father agreed and said if you finish all your chores by Saturday morning than Saturday. Afterwards you can go down and go to the circus so it happen. He'd he finished all his chores Saturday after his chores were done, his father gave him a dollar to pay the fare to get the circus so you know how long ago this was and where this was today popcorn.

It is like 30 bucks you know you if you go to the fair unity of faith hundred dollars for a corner somewhere.

So I was a dollar to get into the circus back and so he takes a dollar and he runs toward the town and he sees out in the streets. People gathering together and and he he looks to the crowd and sees on the street a parade and there's caged animals that are on traders going by. And then there's a marching band that goes by and then another marching band goes by then another marching band goes by and then finally the end of the parade was a clown credit dancing and doing tricks. The boy was just so excited he walked down to the clown since I was a last event in the parade and gave the clown the dollar bill turn around and he went back home. He'd never been to a circus before he thought that was it.

When all that was was a parade leading to the circus tent where the circus would take place. But he paid his dollar and he went home and he missed circus. I can't help but think that there many people to come to church exactly like that little boy they come for the parade. There's the parade of worship songs and prayers and instruction in the final song and they go home, missing the main event, which is an actual encounter with the living God. Everything else is just a parade. The main event is where my heart connects with his heart in meaningful praise in the congregation of people. That's the main event.

People miss it every week. Praise will transform you it will change you. It is a declaration based not only on what he does but who he is and so I ask you Lizzie to you as he lowered his Savior is central to your life or is it just peripheral, and you're okay with just the parade that wraps up Skip Heitzig six message from his series, please Skip to show how you can help keep this broadcast going strong connecting people like you to God's word.

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