Power of Praise
THE MAIN IDEA
Praising Jesus in faith and obedience has power to tear down strongholds.
WHY DID GOD COMMAND ISRAEL TO DESTROY THE CANAANITES?
From God’s omniscient and eternal vantage point, God knew that the Canaanites were beyond redemption, beyond salvation. (Genesis 15:16)
God did not want the sins of the people of Canaan to be adopted by the Israelites and spread to the world. (Deuteronomy 20:18)
God wanted to make room for repentance and faith in Him through the Israelites. (Genesis 8:21; Rahab; the Gibeonites)
UNDERSTANDING GOD’s WORD BETTER
Sometimes, our expectation of God’s word is to provide answers on how to deal with the challenges of life and to help us cope through those challenges—in other words, as a personal advice column. And while the word of God should offer personal encouragement and strengthening, the Bible shows us that the blessings and the fullness of life that God wants us to experience come when we decide to live for His purpose. God’s singular purpose is to fill the earth with His glory in Christ Jesus through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God loving communities and families, the church. God is constantly urging us and encouraging us to live for His purpose, because that is what is best for us. We come to understand God’s word better when we realize that God’s blessings are found when we seek first (make it our priority to seek) His kingdom and His righteousness.
PRAISING JESUS REVEALS BARRIERS – (Verse 1) When the people of God boldly praise Jesus, sooner or later, the world shows its true colors and shuts its doors to our witness!
PRAISING JESUS RESULTS IN VICTORY – (Verse 2) As Christians, we are engaged in an ongoing battle to save lost souls and fulfill God’s purpose. Despite how any situation may look, our Lord Jesus Christ has already won the war. Jesus claimed the victory when He went to the cross so that all of our sins—past, present, and future—might be forgiven.
PRAISING JESUS REQUIRES FAITH – (Verses 3-5) When we are fighting battles in this world, we have to fight those battles God’s way: (1) We have to fight God’s battles and not go chasing after our own battles. And (2) we have to fight God’s battles by praising Jesus. Both of those things require faith—or more accurately, obedience that is born of faith. God has created each and every one of us so that we might live a life of praising Jesus. And so not only is praising Jesus an end in itself, praising Jesus is also the weapon that we wield to accomplish the purpose of God.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
In what ways have you seen the world shut its doors to the gospel of Jesus Christ? For believers: There are approximately 112 waking hours in the week. On a scale of 0 – 112, how much margin would you say that you have in your life for praising Jesus?