Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: PHP
Program Code: PHP000005S
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00:01 Hello I'm Shelley Quinn.
00:02 Did you know that praising God will change 00:06 your mental prayer posture and increase your faith? 00:09 Please join us today on "Pressing in to His Presence" 00:12 to learn how this amazing principle works. 00:38 Welcome to Pressing in to His Presence. 00:40 This is a series on prayer that is teaching us 00:45 how to approach the throne of God boldly but humbly. 00:51 As we are seeking intimate communication with God 00:56 we need to learn how to do this. 00:59 We're so glad that you're joining us today. 01:02 On our last program we concentrated on the first part 01:06 of the verse from Psalm 104 01:09 for focusing on entering 01:11 into His heavenly gates with thanksgiving. 01:15 Today we'll focus on the second half of that verse which reads, 01:19 "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 01:22 and into His courts with praise." 01:27 Today's presentation will prove that praise can take us 01:32 from a down in the mouth attitude to one spiritual joy. 01:37 It's an amazing way to increase our faith. 01:40 And in this series we're using a book 01:43 that I was privileged to write, 01:45 titled "Pressing in to His Presence." 01:48 If you're following along in the book 01:50 today we're beginning on page 40. 01:54 Thanksgiving is our way of passing 01:58 through the heavenly portal of His heavenly temple. 02:02 We're now ready to enter into His courts with praise. 02:07 What is the difference between thanksgiving and praise? 02:12 In our last program we saw that thanksgiving 02:15 is a form of praise, a somewhat self focus platform of praise 02:21 but as we make a joyful expression of gratitude to God 02:25 for His goodness toward us, that's thanksgiving. 02:29 And having thus begun, we're now ready 02:32 to graduate to a higher form of praise. 02:36 You know, in the Hebrew the word for praise is "Halal." 02:40 And it means to boast about, to celebrate. 02:45 Nearly every language on earth 02:48 uses the expression, Hallelujah. 02:51 Sometimes the "H" is silent and they say alleluia. 02:55 But this is derived from the Hebrew halal 02:59 and it's generally translated praise Lord. 03:03 So every time you say Hallelujah 03:06 you're saying praise the Lord. 03:09 Did you know that praise 03:10 is the official worship language of Heaven? 03:15 It is how created beings give God 03:19 all inspired respect for His character traits 03:23 and all of His magnificent undertakings. 03:26 In fact, it is the first command 03:30 of the three angels messages found in Revelation 14. 03:34 Let's look at verses 6 and 7 03:38 and we're gonna read this from the amplified version. 03:41 That's Revelation 14:6, 7 which reads, 03:47 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, 03:51 with an eternal Gospel with good news 03:55 to tell to the inhabitants of the earth. 03:58 He cried with a mighty voice, 04:00 Revere God and give Him glory, 04:03 honor and praise in worship, 04:07 for the hour of His judgment has arrived. 04:11 Fall down before Him, pay Him homage and adoration 04:18 and worship Him Who created heaven and earth, 04:22 the sea and the springs, the fountains of water." 04:28 If that's the first commandment of the three angels messages 04:33 to an in time people let me ask you this, how are we doing? 04:40 Does our conversation with man 04:44 and our prayer to God reflect a true attitude of praise? 04:50 Why would God want us to praise Him anyway? 04:54 As we consider whom we approach in prayer is-- 04:59 if we consider Him as the creator 05:03 and as we offer Him the glory due His name. 05:08 Our expression of praise erodes our own pride for condition. 05:14 Coming into His quotes we praise causes us 05:18 to recognize our absolute dependency upon Him 05:24 and it teaches us to worship the Lord 05:27 in the beauty of holiness. 05:30 I love what Psalm 96 says, 05:35 we'll read verses 4, 6, 8 and 9, 05:39 and David wrote, 05:40 "For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. 05:46 Honor and majesty are set before Him, 05:49 strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. 05:54 Give to the Lord the glory due His name, bring an offering, 06:00 and offering and praise and come into His courts. 06:05 Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" 06:13 Do we? 06:15 You know He is a loving God 06:18 who created us for personal worship. 06:21 And if we truly understand all that He is 06:25 and all that He is done for us 06:27 and all that He has in store for us 06:30 we would declare His praises. 06:33 That's what God expects. 06:36 In fact, in Isaiah 42 and excuse me-- 06:41 Isaiah 43:21 here's what He says. 06:46 This is God speaking, He says, "This people I have formed 06:51 for Myself, they shall declare My praise." 06:55 The Bible has much to say about our acts of praise. 07:00 It says, we were formed, chosen and commanded to praise God. 07:06 The Apostle Peter puts it this way in 1 Peter 2:9, 07:12 he says, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood 07:18 that you may proclaim the praises of Him 07:22 who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light." 07:29 For which I say praise the Lord. 07:32 The temple priests of old 07:35 entered into the gates with thanksgiving. 07:39 If they had to enter this gate to reach the outer court 07:43 then as they were walking through the outer court 07:47 pressing in if you'll to the presence of God 07:50 they're approaching closure to God. 07:53 As they walk through His courts they did so with praise. 07:58 If this is how the priest approached 08:01 to his earthly sanctuary should we, 08:05 as a role up priesthood not do so, 08:08 as we approach His heavenly sanctuary? 08:12 Why does God command us to praise Him? 08:16 Does He require our praises to feel good about Himself? 08:20 Do our praises change Him? Certainly not. 08:26 He has spoken in Malachi 3:6 08:29 and "I'm the Lord, I change not." 08:33 And again it is written in Hebrews 13:8, 08:38 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. 08:44 Praise does not change God. Praise changes us. 08:51 It changes our mental prayer posture 08:55 making us more respectful as we realize 08:59 it is our Holy and righteous Father 09:02 whom we're addressing. 09:04 And as we offer up a sacrifice praise 09:09 God's authority as Master of our life 09:13 and destiny is magnified in our minds. 09:17 Let's consider David's words, he wrote these before 09:22 as he was speaking actually before the assembly. 09:25 As he blessed the Lord 09:27 found in 1 Chronicles 29:11-13. 09:34 This-- you talk about a beautiful praise. 09:38 David says, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, 09:42 the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty, 09:48 for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours. 09:52 Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, 09:55 and you are exalted as head over all. 09:58 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. 10:04 In Your hand is power and might, in Your hand 10:08 it is to make great and to give strength to all. 10:13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You 10:17 and praise Your glorious name." 10:23 What a prayer praise. 10:26 When is the last time you approached the Lord 10:29 with a heart filled with awe and respect like David did? 10:37 Can you see our praise could change him into prayer pastor? 10:42 David wrote in Psalm 42:11 10:49 excuse me Psalm 21:13. 10:53 He wrote, "Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! 10:58 We will sing and praise Your power." 11:02 Praise causes us to recognize the power of God 11:08 and to remember that nothing is impossible for Him. 11:12 We should praise God whether we feel like it or not. 11:16 Praise changes our frame of reference 11:20 and it increases our faith. 11:23 At one of his lowest times 11:25 when David was actually hiding as if-- 11:30 he was a hunting fugitive Saul always hunting him. 11:34 He was finding refuge in the rocks 11:36 and caves of the wilderness 11:38 and here's what he wrote in Psalm 42:11, 11:44 "Why are you cast down, O my soul? 11:47 And why are you disquieted within me? 11:51 Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him. 11:56 The help of my countenance and my God." 12:00 We see here that David encouraged himself 12:04 through praising God. 12:06 As we recall the wondrous works 12:09 of our Creator and sustained God. 12:12 Praise increases the level of our expectations 12:17 and it heightens the hope that's in our hearts. 12:21 In short, praise takes us 12:23 from that down in the mouth attitude 12:26 to one of spiritual joy. 12:29 And as we boast about our loving God 12:32 we begin to celebrate in our hearts. 12:35 God prescribed praise for the benefit of our faith. 12:41 Hallelujah. 12:42 We can praise our Lord for more than His glory, His power. 12:48 Praise God for His name. Praise God for His Word. 12:54 His name represents His character and-- 12:58 these are symbolic His name and His word are symbolic 13:02 of His loving nature and His faithfulness. 13:06 Here are three examples of that 13:09 how we can praise God for His word. 13:13 The first is Isaiah 25:1 and it says, 13:19 "O Lord, You are my God, I will exalt You, 13:24 I will praise Your name, 13:26 for you have done wonderful things, 13:29 Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." 13:35 And then in Psalms 56:10-11 David says, 13:40 "In God I will praise His word, 13:44 in the Lord I will praise His word, 13:47 in God I have put my trust, I will not be afraid. 13:53 What can man do to me?" 13:56 And then our final example is Psalm 138:2 14:01 where David prayed, 14:03 "I will worship toward Your heavenly holy temple, 14:06 and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth, 14:11 For You have magnified Your word above Your name." 14:18 Actually I claimed that for sometime 14:20 as the promise over my ministry, 14:24 word over your ministry that God exalts 14:27 His word even above His name 14:30 because Jesus Christ is the living word. 14:33 There is no limit to the number of things 14:36 for which we can praise the Lord. 14:39 And as we consider His power 14:42 and the pure beauty of holiness of His character 14:45 praise will just naturally dwell up in our hearts 14:48 and it will just pour forth from our mouth. 14:52 The Book of Revelation unveils the scene that is taking 14:57 in place in heaven, right now as all creatures there 15:02 live in constant praise of the Lord 15:05 enthroned in this atmosphere of praise and worship 15:09 our God is still inclined to condescend 15:13 to those who praise Him on earth. 15:16 In the King James Version, 15:18 Psalms 22:3 reads like this. 15:24 "But thou art holy, O Lord, 15:28 O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." 15:34 When we press into His presence with praise, 15:38 God draws nearer to us in a special way. 15:41 He dwells in our praises, He inhabits our praise. 15:47 Does it James 4:8 say, "Draw near to God 15:50 and He will draw near to you." 15:52 And just listen to this incredible passage. 15:56 This is 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14. 16:04 It says, "Indeed it came to pass, 16:08 when the trumpeters and the singers were as one, 16:12 to make one sound to be heard 16:14 in praising and thanking the Lord, 16:17 and when they lifted up their voice 16:19 with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, 16:22 and praised the Lord, saying, 16:24 'For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.'" 16:29 When this happened it says "That the house, 16:32 the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud." 16:37 It's a cloud of His presence. 16:39 "So that the priests could not continue ministering 16:44 because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord 16:48 filled the house of God." 16:53 Oh, that our times of worship both private and corporate 16:59 will be filled with glory as praise 17:02 and graced with His presence in such a way. 17:06 You know the cloud of God's presence 17:08 is spoken up often in the Old Testament. 17:11 This cloud led the Israelites through the wilderness. 17:14 This cloud descended on the tabernacle 17:17 to enable Moses to speak to God face to face. 17:21 Well, God covered Himself with the cloud. 17:24 Moses didn't actually see His face 17:27 because no man can see His face and live. 17:30 But in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14, 17:36 Paul speaks of the cloud of God's presence 17:40 and our need for holy living to remain under its protection. 17:48 This may sound a little strange, 17:51 there was a little strange but at the age of 19 17:55 I believe it's possible that I might have witnessed 17:59 the cloud of His presence. 18:02 I was delayed by work so I arrived late 18:05 to a Friday night Bible study 18:08 at the south main church of Christ. 18:11 And our pastor had been studying about the person 18:15 of the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. 18:19 And he was introducing these wonderful truths 18:23 that he had learned to those who are opened to receive it. 18:27 You know that the topic of God's Spirit had been greatly 18:32 I guess overlooked in the past by this congregation. 18:35 But God had also been teaching us 18:39 this small number of people they gathered about 30 of us 18:43 the importance of opening our study with worship and praise. 18:48 So over a period of a few months 18:51 our time of praise had continued to link them, 18:56 in here I was this Friday night arriving 40 minutes late 19:01 and when I walked in the building 19:02 I heard revered singing. 19:04 So not wanting to disrupt this worship 19:08 I stood outside of the door until the song had ended. 19:13 And just as I entered into the sanctuary 19:15 the pastor began praying. 19:17 So I immediately bowed my head 19:20 to just participate in the prayer of praise to God. 19:24 And after the pastor said amen, I looked up 19:29 and this small group always met down 19:31 toward the right front pews about 30 people sitting there 19:35 and when I looked up right there 19:38 over those right front pews hovered a curious cloud. 19:45 It rested directly above the people 19:48 and it wasn't present in any other part of the sanctuary. 19:53 I quietly slipped into pew behind the others 19:58 and I was awestruck by the probable presence of God. 20:03 Years later as I read that verse in 2 Corinthians 5:13-14, 20:08 I finally understood the visual phenomenon 20:12 that I saw that evening. 20:15 Do you want God to leave you through this wilderness 20:19 of this sin sick world by His presence? 20:22 Press in to His presence with praise. 20:26 But how can we learn to truly praise the Lord? 20:31 When the Lord was first teaching me to begin my prayer 20:35 by entering into His gates with thanksgiving 20:39 and into His courts with praise, 20:42 I admit I wasn't all that good at praising the Lord. 20:46 You might recall that I was journaling my prayers, 20:50 writing them out His letters to God's 20:51 so that I could stay focused during my hours of prayer. 20:55 Well, that's certainly provided the evidence 20:57 of my lack of ability to praise. 21:00 Several weeks into my prayer experience I had-- 21:03 I was prompted to review the praise sections 21:07 of my written journals and it was pretty sad 21:10 disappointment to read my pitiful attempts 21:13 giving God the glory due His name. 21:16 My praise portions played out like a broken record, 21:19 they were heartfelt but repetitious 21:22 and I cried out oh, Lord, teach me 21:26 to give You the glory due Your name. 21:28 Teach me how to praise You. 21:31 And I remembered what I had studied 21:33 about the last supper of Jesus. 21:36 When Jesus instituted the Lord supper 21:39 He and the disciples afterwards sang a hymn 21:42 before they went out the Mount of Olives. 21:45 And most Bible scholars believe they sang 21:48 from one of the Psalms recorded in Psalms 115 to 118 21:53 which would traditionally sung 21:56 at the close of the pass over meal. 21:59 You know, oftenly familiar name 22:02 for the Bible book Psalms comes from the Greek. 22:07 It carries the meaning of singing 22:11 with a stringed instrument for accompaniment. 22:14 However, the Hebrew name 22:16 for the Book of Psalms means praises. 22:20 This book contains more than half the occurrences 22:25 in the Old Testament of the word "Halal" 22:28 the Hebrew word for praise. 22:31 So I was impressed to look to the Psalms 22:35 the next day to learn how to praise. 22:38 After all if you think about it 22:41 the Psalms could be continued a written prayer journal. 22:46 David's prayers to God that were so filled with intimacy, 22:52 so filled with passion which indicated 22:55 how close He was to God's heart. 22:59 The passion for God's presence 23:01 was something that I wanted to share. 23:04 So the next day I began reading a Psalm out loud 23:08 and then praying it back to the Lord in my own words 23:12 from my praise segment. 23:14 And I was creating a personal testimony 23:18 of what the Lord had done or would do in my life. 23:21 So going through all the Psalms in this manner 23:24 I grew in spontaneous praise of the joy of the Lord 23:29 and praise helped me to press into His presence. 23:33 What I would like to do right now is share a sample 23:37 from my prayer journal inspired by Psalms 1 23:42 and what I'll do is we're gonna put up-- 23:46 have the scripture on the screen 23:49 then I'll read to you how I paraphrase that. 23:52 So Psalms 1:3 reads, excuse me let's start with Psalms 1:1. 24:00 Psalms 1:1 reads this, 1 and 2, 24:04 "Blessed is the man who talks not in the counsel 24:08 of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, 24:12 nor sits in the seat of the scornful. 24:14 But His delight is in the law of the Lord, 24:16 and in His law he meditates day and night." 24:19 Now here's how I paraphrase that, 24:22 "I said oh, father God, I thank You for godly counsel. 24:26 I thank You for blessing me as I follow Your counsel. 24:29 I praise You from making Your love loved by delight. 24:32 Give me an quench of the desire for Your word my Lord. 24:36 Cause me to meditate on a day and night 24:39 for Your word is inexhaustible. 24:41 Thank You Father, 24:42 from making it my habit to live in Your word." 24:45 Then Psalms 1:3 continues, 24:47 "He shall be like a tree planted 24:50 by the rivers of water." 24:52 I paraphrased that as praised by writing 24:55 "Father God, thank You for planting me. 24:58 I'm routed and grounded in Your love. 25:01 By Your grace I'm steadfast precious, Lord. 25:05 I praise You and I thank You for Your rivers of water. 25:09 I'm spiritually refreshed by Your living water." 25:13 Now Psalms 1:3 continues by saying, 25:16 "That brings forth its fruit in its season." 25:20 And I wrote "I thank You righteous Father, 25:23 that You caused me to bear fruit in Your timing. 25:26 Oh, Lord, cause me to remember 25:28 that by You word and Your spirit 25:30 You're doing a work in my heart 25:32 that You've promised to complete." 25:35 And then finally Psalms 1:3 continues, 25:38 "Whose leaf also shall not wither, 25:40 and whatever he does shall prosper." 25:43 My prayer paraphrase was this "Most gracious Lord, 25:48 I thank You that my vitality encourage shall not fade. 25:53 How I praised You for Your plan for my life. 25:56 In You and by Your grace, my purpose is ever brewing 26:00 and growing glory to Your Holy name." 26:04 Please note that I didn't use every verse 26:05 but only the verses 26:07 that I could easily turned into praise. 26:10 And as I proceeded through the Book of Psalms in this manner 26:13 I found that necessary at times to read more than one 26:16 to selecting verses which have the most meaning to me. 26:20 I encourage you to try this, it is a potent process 26:25 for developing the vocabulary and posture of praise. 26:30 As we enter into the Divine fellowship of prayer, 26:33 we're well advised to recall the honor and glory 26:37 that is to our redeemer God. 26:39 He invites us to approach His throne boldly, 26:42 but we should come humbly 26:44 realizing the privilege of prayer, 26:46 recognizing the holiness of the moment 26:49 and reverencing the omnipotent Creator 26:52 who is our adoptive all but father. 26:55 Psalms 150:6 says, 26:57 "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 27:04 Praise the Lord." Hallelujah. 27:09 You know, I encourage you starting immediately 27:14 when you're praying enter into the courts of His sanctuary. 27:19 As you enter through the gates enter with thanksgiving. 27:25 As your approaches-- approaching His heavenly temple 27:28 give an offerings of thanksgiving and praise 27:32 and you'll find that God will change you as you do this. 27:39 Well, our time has slipped away. 27:41 Please join us on our next program 27:44 when we'll discuss the five steps of true repentance. 27:49 Be sure you've a pen and a paper to write these down 27:52 because these are beautiful and they're awesome. 27:57 Now, my prayer for you today 27:59 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 28:03 the love of the Father and the fellowship 28:05 of the Holy Spirit will be with you always. 28:09 Thank you so much. |
Revised 2025-05-01