January 17, 2013 at 7:13pm
Norita Williams
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;"Exodus 20:5, KJV"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"Exodus 34:14, KJV"For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God."Deuteronomy 4:24, KJV"Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,"Deuteronomy 5:9, KJV"(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth."Deuteronomy 6:15, KJV
FROM THE VERY beginning THE LORD LETS US KNOW THAT WE ARE TO ALWAYS PUT HIM FIRST, HE IS A JEALOUS GOD. HE HAS THAT RIGHT BECAUSE HE GAVE EACH ONE OF US THE VERY AIR THAT WE BREATHE.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IS THAT THE LORD COMES FIRST IN ALL THINGS. IN LIFE WE ALL ARE FACING THINGS THAT ARE UNBEARABLE AND WE TEND TO PUSH GOD TO THE SIDE AND TRY TO DO THINGS OUR WAY. IN DOING THIS WE PUSH OUT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TRULY HELP US IN OUR CIRCUMSTTANCES. THE LORD TELLS US IN 1 Samuel 17:47 (ESV)
“And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”
THE BATTLE IS THE LORDS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF IT ALL. THERE ARE SO MANY EXAMPLES IN THE BIBLE THAT THE LORD GIVES US TO ENCOURGE US THAT THE BATTLE IS HIS. NOT ONLY THIS BUT HE GIVES US EXAMPLES OF WHAT PRAISE AND WORSHIP DOES. WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS WHEN WE PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE LORD? WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS DOES TO THE ENEMY? LOL THIS MAKES THE ENEMY SO MAD. BECAUSE WE HAVE TAKEN HIS PLACE BEFORE THE LORD AND HE DOES NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT!!! HERE IS A LITTLE HISTORY OF WHAT TOOK PLACE :
Isaiah 14:12-15
New International Version (NIV)
12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[a] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.
ANOTHER PLACE WHERE ITS FOUND:
Revelation 12:7-10) And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God!
the original Hebrew here is "heyel" which means "morning star".
MORNING STAR MEANING LUCIFER "lucifer" for this word, which means "bringer/bearer of light , HE WAS OVER THE WORSHIP AND PRAISE IN HEAVEN BUT DECIDED TO TRY AND TAKE OVER BECAUSE HE BASICALLY GOT IN HIS HEAD THAT HE WAS BETTER THEN GOD. WHEN IN DOING SO GOT THROWN OUT OF HEAVEN AND CAST DOWN ONTO THE EARTH. WHY DO YOU THINK IT MAKES LUCIFER SO MAD WHEN WE PRAISE GOD? BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT HE CAN NO LONGER BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD GOD AND PRAISE HIM LIKE HE USE TO. HE GETS MAD AND IN RETURN TRIES TO DISCOURGE US AND SEND THINGS OUR WAY TO TRY AND SHAKE OUR FAITH IN THE LORD. TO MAKE US STUMBLE AND FALL, TO GET OFF TRACK AND TO LOOSE HOPE THAT THE LORD IS RIGHT THERE. THIS IS THE REASON WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE LORD AT ALL TIMES. THROUGH ALL THE GOOD AND BAD TIMES, TO ALWAYS LIFT HIM UP NO MATTER WHAT COMES OUR WAY.....
NUMBER 1.
1) Yadah (yaw-daw’) This means to show reverence or praise with extended hands. The word pictures associated with the root words for this type of praise is shooting an arrow or throwing a rock. It literally means to extend the hands, or to shoot and arrow.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
The Dedication of The Temple in 2 Chronicles 7
2 Chronicles 7
New International Version (NIV)
2 Chronicles 7 The Dedication of the Temple
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying,
“He is good; his love endures forever.”
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.
8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
The LORD Appears to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’
19 “But if you[a] turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
Footnotes:
- 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
- 2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
uses this expression of praise (visualize Levites blowing the trumpets and calling everyone to worship and the “praise” that everyone is expressing is through standing and lifted hands).
So when we share this with our people we get them to visualize a small child who wants to be picked up. They extend their hands high above their heads in a sign of surrender and desire to be held. You could also use the image of throwing or shooting your praise outwardly to God instead of holding it in. Have your people lift or extend their hands.
NUMBER 2.
2) Towdah (to-daw’) This word is very similar to yadah, but has a slightly different flavor. It means to show agreement with by extending the right hand. In today’s society the closest thing we have is a handshake to seal a deal or pact. The idea is that it is usually associated with sacrifice (specifically things given up to show thankfulness to God).
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 50:23
Psalm 50:23
New International Version (NIV)
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”
(the thank offering NIV, KJV uses the phrase praiseth)
When we share this, we get them to visualize offering our thanks to God (and our agreement with His promises) by visualizing the extended hand. You could use a handshake, if so have people imagine they are shaking hands with God. Or you could have people lift their hands (similar to the yadah, but instead of surrender the underlying notion is thankfulness and agreement).
NUMBER 3.
3) Barak (baw-rak’) This flavor of praise is one that we commonly see around altars. It means to kneel down. It means to bow low as a sign of adoration and reverence. It carries with it the idea of humbling yourself to a place that is lower than the recipient of your worship (God).
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 95:6
Psalm 95:6
New International Version (NIV)
6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;(expresses this idea literally);
Psalm 103
Psalm 103
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
(uses the phrase “bless the Lord” to convey this expression)
This one might be the most physically “uncomfortable” expression to have people do, but you can have people stand up and bow or kneel right where they are. I also like to have people think about a royal court of years gone by. Have them answer what would be the first thing you’d do before approaching the throne to have an audience with a king or queen. You would bow low as a sign of reverence and deference to their power. The same applies here: we bow and kneel to outwardly express our awareness of God’s greatness.
4) Tehillah (tel-hil-law’) This type of praise is singing, but not just any type of singing. It’s the singing that bubbles up from our hearts. It’s a spontaneous type of singing. These songs are unrehearsed and unprepared. They are straight to God.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 22:3
Psalm 22:3
New International Version (NIV)
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. (these are the types of “praises” that God enthrones or inhabits, which is interesting because it’s so specific: God literally lives in the SPONTANEOUS praises of His people!); Psalm 33:1 Psalm 33:1
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
(this type of praise is “fitting” for God’s people, or it literally makes them “look good”); When Isaiah talks about trading garments of ashes and mourning for garments of joy and praise, the word praise their literally means SPONTANEOUS praises!)
This is also a tough one to get people to just do because of the spontaneous nature of it. But you could have everyone on the count of three to stand up and just blurt out a praise to God! That would illustrate it. It would be coordinated, but each person would be “praising” spontaneously.
5) Zamar (zaw-mar’) This literally means to pluck the strings, to celebrate in song and music. Basically it’s probably the most common form of “praise” we have across the world in our churches. It’s just singing songs put to music. What’s neat about it though, is that it can also refer to JUST PLAYING, as well. It is usually translated as “sing praises.”
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 150 (this psalm illustrates a picture of instrumental worship).
Psalm 150
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.[]
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
A fun way to illustrate this is to have everyone clap together (playing their five fingered instruments!). There’s not much needed to illustrate this form of praise though, because it is so prevalent in our churches. Our regular Sunday Setlists are filled with ZAMAR.
- Halal (haw-lal’) This might be one of the most “fun” forms of praise because it requires one to step outside of “dignity” for a moment. It means to be clamorously foolish. To boast. To shine. This is the kind of praise that David exhibited when he danced for joy at the return of the Ark of The Covenant to Israel. It’s also the form of praise that prompted his wife to ridicule him for his lack of dignity. 2 Samuel 6:14-15
14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
This is also where we get the word Halellujah from. It literally means “Praise the Lord” but even more literally it means to BE CLAMOROUSLY FOOLISH unto the Lord! This includes dancing and laughing and leaping and twirling before the Lord, but it also (and probably more accurately) includes the state of the heart before God. A heart that is turned towards God and not afraid to BOAST in and of God is a “halal” heart. Halal is not only demonstrative praise, but can also be the force behind any of these other forms of praise. You can sing or shout or even play an instrument as a halal.
Scriptures to reference: This word appears over 100 times in the Old Testament. 1 Chronicles 16:4 (there were actual appointed musicians to “halal” before the Lord); Nehemiah 12:24 (an example of call and response halal)
7) Shabach (Shaw-bakh’) Are you ready to get loud? Shabach means to address in a loud tone. It’s typically associated with freedom or triumph. But it’s more than just a loud shout, it’s the idea of putting everything you have into it. An attitude of wholehearted praise.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 63:3-4 (We typically look at this psalm as soft cry of thirst in a dry place, but the words in these verses literally mean to SHOUT praises!)
This is pretty simple to illustrate. Ask people to stand up and shout a phrase (Hallelujah or Praise the Lord works great) together on the count of three! Encourage them to view it as a wholehearted expression of praise. One of the best comparisons for this is the spontaneous, electric cheers and yells that fans at a sporting event utter when something good happens to their team.
A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THIS IS IN
Joshua 6:1-5, 11-16, 20 (NIRV)
1 The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.2 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.3 “March around the city once with all of your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. 4 Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.5 “You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in.”
11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.14 On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.15 On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.16 On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets.Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city!
20 The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down.
THEY DID THIS WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT-EVERYTHING THAT WAS INSIDE OF THEM CAME OUT BEFORE THE LORD AND IN DOING SO THE WALLS FELL!!!! WHEN WE PUT GOD FIRST IN ALL THINGS THE WALLS IN OUR OWN LIVES WILL COME CRUMBLING DOWN !!! WHEN WE PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE LORD IT IS LIKE STIKING BLOWS TO THE DEVIL. ONE HIT AFTER ANOTHER WE ARE MADE CONQUORS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST!!! BUT REMEMBER IN KNOWING WHAT IT'S ABOUT AND KNOWING WHAT THIS WEAPON IS FOR USE IT GREATLY!!! NOW IN KNOWING THIS WHEN RAISING YOUR HANDS OR SHOUTING DO IT WILL ALL OF YOUR HEART AND BE SINCERE ABOUT IT. IN DOING THIS YOU ARE USING THIS WEAPON THE WAY IT SHOULD BE, WITH POWER AND AUTHOIRTY!!!!!
WEB SITES USED: http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/7-ways-to-praise-a-simple-teaching-on-worship/
BIBLE VERSONS USED: NIRV; NIV;KJV;
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