22/11/2015 Sermon Notes- Pastor Lian on PRAISE = STRENGTH (awesome awesome sermon)

22/11/15 Sermon – Ps Lian

Psalm 8:2
God establishes strength in our mouth to silence our enemies and avengers. 

Sickness, lack, depression, addiction, diseases are our enemies. Jesus has established strength in our mouths to silence every enemy. 

How does strength come out of our mouths? The good thing is Jesus unpacked this verse for us in Matthew 21:16

You have perfected praise = God has ordained strength 

So…
Praise = strength 
Praise = power 

Every time our praise goes up, His power comes down. 

Ps was up on stage and spotted a Sister she was praying for. She had gone for an op for a serious condition. Went down to talk to her. The first thing she said was pastor, I want to praise the LORD because when she went for the operation, the wound was a $2 note long and 4 cm deep. Praised God because the wound supernaturally closed up and it is now the size of a fifty cent coin. Wants to praise God for the body of Christ. Her CG rallied around her and prayed and encouraged her. Wanted to also praise God for her CG mate who is a nurse. She had been coming to her house every single day to dress her wound. Praised God that as she told the nurse Sister, I want u to know that although I feel it, I don’t feel the pain. Praised God also for her daughter’s friends come to pray for her too. Her Daughter is in arrow ministry. One specific girl would come and sing and worship and praise God & lay hands on her. She could feel the tangible presence of God. Pastor Lian saw the power of praise displayed right before her eyes. When this sister’s praise went up, God’s healing and provision came down to her situation. God provided supernatural provision of people to support and care for her.

When our praise goes up, His provision and presence comes in. It’s amazing. 

Some think, but I am not like this Sister. I am not strong like her. 

That Sister praised God that He is so good although she isn’t. 

U don’t have to wait for everything to be perfect before U praise the LORD. Just started praising God.

Some feel if things aren’t perfect, how to praise God? Some will tell u if u have problems and u don’t praise God, He will be displeased with u and will withhold his help from u. 

Wrong. 

Understand the heart of God. Must understand why He wants us to praise Him and how come when we praise Him, His presence enters our circumstances. 

2 Chron 20:2-12

A great multitude were going to come against them—> how they must have greatly feared when hearing this 

If going through a prob and have fear in your heart, it’s ok. Jehoshaphat also feared. But don’t remain in that fear

If u have a prob, it is hard to go right away to praise. It’s ok. What did Jehoshaphat do?

He feared but he went to seek the LORD. 

“Is God lost that I must find Him?” Hello, it’s us who are lost. Not God ok. Lol. 

See what Jehoshaphat did. Not hard at all. 

V6 – 12

How Jehoshaphat sought the LORD. 

– LORD we have no power but our eyes are upon You

Shift our eyes away from our problems and ourselves. Stop looking at your boss, your spouse, your kids. U see your kids and go see gin nah. But u can seek the LORD instead. 

Look away from all of the distraction and keep your eyes upon Him. 

We tend to complain when we have issues. We can cast our eyes and cares upon Him. That is how we seek the LORD. 

Many years ago, Pastor Lian’s dad came to know Jesus and he said, “If I had known that believing in Jesus is so wonderful I would have believed a Long time ago.”

Pastor was a teacher when her Dad fell ill. He was having dementia and would ask their helper to get the chopper so he could kill himself and wanted to throw himself out of the window. She felt angry with her Father then and was anxious. Realised through all of that she was angry and complained and grumbled but never came to the LORD to settle it. Came to the end of herself. Listened to P&W song on her Walkman. 

When she forgot about focusing on the issues the more she listened to the P&W, she saw Jesus and all her worry and anxiety melted away like butter on a hot day, a hot stove. 

Remembered afresh the all together loving one. Remembered she has a GOOD GOD and started to dance in the living room, not to please God, but she couldn’t help it. She was so joyful and rejoiced before Him because she realised it was stupid to be so anxious and angry and afraid. 

Walked out of that time of the LORD filled with the reality of His presence. 

Then her Dad came up to her and said, “Praise the LORD anyway.”

And she heard that his voice changed. He was very senile and very angry all these months. But now he sounded tender. Asked her to go to the room and open the drawer, and take out a box. She did so. He asked her to open it. When she did, it was something valuable to him & he wanted to give it to her. What he really meant to tell her was “Daddy loves you.” It was so precious to Pastor because she knew that once she came out of praise time, that her dad would be ok. But God went exceedingly and above and beyond what she imagined to receive this declaration of love from her Dad. He wanted her to know she is precious to him. 

That was one of the last moments he was lucid, where her Father, for the first and last time, told her that he loves her. This provision, a provision of love, from her Father came into her life when her praise went up to God. 

Her Father had to be hospitalised and his pastor wasn’t around. So pastor prayed and her dad’s pastor came back to SG the next day. He told her dad, when ur address change, Jesus is there. Her dad passed away peacefully. 

Pastor shared that praise in Hebrew is YADAH. 

The Hebrew language is an idiogramic  language. Each alphabet has a picture and meaning. English is phonetic language and each alphabet is a sound. In Hebrew, each alphabet signifies the ox and one concept. 

YADAH= yud dalet hei 

Praise is the hand that opens the door to grace

Praise is not I have to sing all these songs and do all these things for Him before He will do something for me

Praise is shifting your perspective to seeing Him and like a hand it opens the door to allow the power of God to come into your situation with every good thing. 

2 Chron 20

V15

You don’t have to be dismayed or afraid. It is the LORD’s battle and it is His battle. 

V16-17

You will not need to fight in this battle but u must show up.

If u have issue with your kid, show up at home and step out. Talk to him and love him. Don’t just stay in the office and wish the problem away

When u show up, God will show forth His goodness. U position yourself and stand still and see His salvation 

U can go out because the LORD is with u. 

When u show up, u stand still and see His salvation. What is salvation in Hebrew? Yeshua. See Jesus. 

U talk to ur boss, ur kid, ur spouse because His wisdom will come on u. U show up and He will show forth. 

U know the LORD is fighting for u so u can go out in to battle, to rise up and sing. 

Praise the LORD a for He is good and His mercy endures forever

Your problem is for a day but His goodness and mercy will go beyond that evil day to swallow up the problem. 

When their praise went up, the LORD sent ambushes against the enemies so they were defeated. Their enemies killed their other enemies and destroyed one another. Only God alone can do this. 

As u praise the LORD, see your enemies being defeated. Lack is defeated. Provision will come in. Sickness? Healing will swallow it up. Keep praising the LORD for He is good. His mercy endures forever!! 

Every single problem of yours will be swallowed up by your God. 

2 Chron 20:22-27 

God can turn the Attack around and protect and restore to u MORE than what the enemies meant to steal from u

If Goliath didn’t come, David would have just been a shepherd boy good at playing with his sling. But Goliath came and David became a giant slayer. 

If Jospeh wasn’t betrayed by his brothers and sold away to Egypt, he would not have become the PM of Egypt that saved his people. Impossible if not for God. 

If u allow ur problems to overcome u, they will. But today, look at your problems and see that u will eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. He will use these problems to strengthen u and bring u to so much more. 

V26- The battle ground was renamed Beracha= blessing ground. God will turn your battle ground into your blessing ground. 

Instead of seeing the problems, rejoice over them to see these problems will lead to great blessings because we have His victory.

Praise the LORD!!