Praise & Worship Part 1

0:00 This is the FBCG Live podcast with Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. Wherever you're joining us from, we pray this message encourages and empowers you in your daily walk with God. I want to start a new series today on praise and worship. Um... I've noticed that we have a lot of people who do praise and worship the Lord, but I know there's a lot of people who are just observers.

0:34 And that might be because you don't know. Or maybe you feel that that's not your personality. Or maybe you feel as though you don't feel like it. or maybe you made a god about something upset or bitter but ultimately the scripture gives us a lot of information about worship god As a matter of fact, let's turn to Psalm 150. That's why I want to start off with Psalm 150. This is the last psalm in the... in the Psalms.

1:18 And it makes a suggestion. Let me read it to you. Psalm 150, it says, praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary. Look at your neighbor and say, you're in the sanctuary. If you don't know right now, you're in the sanctuary.

1:41 Praise him in his mighty firmament. Praise him for his mighty acts. Is there anybody here? God has done some mighty acts for you. Praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the lute and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance. Look at your neighbor and say, what kind of music was playing the last time you danced? Yeah. I know y'all be dancing, doing the flat with the, with the, uh, what's that called? Boots on the ground? Is that that? was that a gospel song y'all was doing that too Praise him with string instruments and flutes.

2:50 Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise it with clashing symbols. Let everything that has breath Can you take a breath in?

3:13 Somebody say, I got breath. He woke me up this morning. I got breath. There's plenty of people who didn't be able, weren't able to take a breath. And since I have breath, I think I ought to give him some glory. You should have been dead. You should have been buried in your grave. But God woke you up this morning and gave you breath. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Keep standing. Keep standing. Look around all them jokers still sitting down looking at me. After I'd have read the scripture and made the, and y'all still just sitting around.

4:08 Hasn't God done something? Hasn't he opened up some door? Hasn't he answered some prayer? Hasn't he given you some kind of victory? somebody say he's worthy to be praised. Amen. All right. Y'all can sit down now. Sit down. I see we got some people that's willing to give him a shout and a praise. When I think of the goodness of Jesus. Thank you. Okay, okay, calm down.

5:11 Okay, all right, I got it. I got it. I got it. So allow me to take these few moments today for the next couple of weeks. Because the Bible gives us so many instructions, so many various ways to praise and worship God. I mean, story after story, situation after situation of how God responds to praise and worship. And that's what I want to spend the next couple weeks talking about, the power and purpose of praise and worship.

5:54 Oh, he gave it to you? It was for you. He wouldn't let him give. He gave it to you. Bless you, young man. I shouldn't take it from you. Go ahead. No, he gave it to you. It's for you. It's for you. He was coming to give it to you. You're going to spend it anyway, so.

6:18 Do anybody other than me have that problem that I don't get to spend no money and she spent all the money? Am I the only guy that got that issue? Come on, guys. Don't be chicken. Raise your hand. Don't be scared.

6:41 I'm scared. I got to the fire. I'm scared. I'm scared. OK. Let's see. Where was I? so many people just sit back they don't feel like it they got various reasons why they don't participate in worship but it's clear in the Bible if you read the Bible you can almost go to any page somewhere in that section is examples of people worshiping God Let me define the difference between praise and worship.

7:25 Praise is when you celebrate and talk about God. It is an acknowledgement of what he does and who he is, is praise. When you talk about he answered your prayer, that's praise. When you talk about the doors he's opened, that's praise. Worship is when you talk to God. Praise is when you talk about God. Worship is when you talk to God and give him thanks and adoration for what he has done. when you talk to God, when you communicate to God. So prayerfully, you go from praise, from talking about God to worship to where you talk to God.

8:23 Amen. And the two go together, praise and worship. Somebody say praise and worship. This is what this series is about. It's about praise and worship. And I got one purpose today, one purpose, one point I want to get through today, one single point. I'm going to read a number of verses to you, scriptures to you, stories, situations that I want to read to you so that you can see this one simple thought. that God responds to worship and praise. Amen.

9:00 Amen. I got one, two, three, four scriptures I'm going to read to you. Some of them are rather lengthy, but y'all ain't got nowhere to go, so just hang with me for a minute. Let's go to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. So let's start there. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. As a matter of fact, worship is my, let me talk about worship for a minute before I give you this passage. When I was growing up, my uncle had a dog, a boxer. He was a boxer. Is that a kind of dog? I think it is. Yeah, that's the kind of dog. He lived in Pittsburgh, my uncle.

9:45 And Duke was his name, Duke. and my aunt would say, Duke, my uncle's name was Johnny. Johnny's coming home and Duke would run to the window. He gets so excited. and he would look at the window to see his car pulling up. He was so excited that his master was coming home. Yes, yes, yes! And then when my uncle would come in the house, he'd lick him, he'd lick his face. He'd lick all over him. Oh, nasty lick. That dog, you let that dog lick on you. And that's what worship is. This is excitement that my master's here, my savior's here, and your worship is a way of licking on God.

10:47 Come on, say, I'm licking on God. I'm so excited about what he's done and who he is and the prayers he's answered and the miracles he's wrought and what he's capable of doing. It's licking on God. Somebody say he's working. Yeah, you're nasty, but you can lick on God. You can lick on God. When you participate in praise and worship, when you give him thanks and glory, you're worshiping and exalting him. Now, 2 Chronicles 20. Did I give y'all that already? Verse 1. Let me start at verse 1. It happened after this, that the people of Moab, with the people of Ammon and others with them, besides the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Let me be clear. Jehoshaphat is the king. He is the leader. He is the king.

11:40 And so they came to battle against the people of God. Jehoshaphat is the leader of the people of God. So go ahead to the next verse. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat saying, a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria and they are in Hazazon Tamar which is in Gedi. And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Stop right there for just a moment. I want to make this clear here today who Judah is. Judah is one of the 12 tribes. It is the tribe that has the responsibility of leading the people of God, the whole nation, all 12 tribes. They are responsible for leading them in worship.

12:40 And Judah is that, that's the tribe that they are. And they are led by Jehoshaphat. Okay, go ahead. So Judah gathered together. Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, O Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? And do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in your hand is there not power and might so that no one is able to withstand you? are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever and they dwell in it and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name saying if disaster comes upon us sword judgment pestilence and famine, we will stand before this temple and in your presence for your name is in this temple and cry out to you and our affliction and you will hear and say, and now here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them.

14:07 And here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. Oh, our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. You ever been in a situation where you didn't know what to do? Way to go. So now all Judah with their little ones, their wives and their children stood before the Lord. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jael, the son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph in the midst of the assembly.

15:01 I know this is long. Y'all just keep hanging with me for just a few more months. And he said, this is the priest talking now. Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem and you, King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours but God's. Can y'all stick a pen right here? Y'all stop worrying about Trump. The battle is not yours, it's the Lord's. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Tomorrow, go down against them. They will surely come up by the ascent of Ziz and you will find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel.

15:56 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourself. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you. O Judah and Jerusalem, do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them for the Lord is with you. Stop. Y'all, somebody about to shout right here while you're in right here. Go ahead, keep going. Go to the next verse. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord worshiping the Lord. Then the Levite, watch this, they worshiped. Did y'all see that right there?

16:48 Watch this. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohonite and of the children of the Korahite stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices how? Loud and high. So they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established.

17:23 Uh-huh, keep going. Believe his prophets and you shall prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness. And as they went out before the army and were saying, praise the Lord for his mercy endures forever. Now, when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. Y'all missing a great spot to shout, amen.

18:17 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude and there were their dead bodies falling on the earth. No one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, hold up, look at me. Slow down, Pastor, slow down. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies and precious jewelry which they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry away, and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. Y'all missed a great spot. Listen, they didn't have to fight.

19:12 Israel didn't have to fight. Judah didn't have to fight. The enemy fought among themselves. Y'all better watch the news because the people who once came against you are now fighting against each other. I feel like running around this building right now. Somebody look at your neighbor and say, God has not stopped being God. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. We ain't worried about the enemy. We will win. God will give us the victory. And all they had to do was worship. The scripture says, position yourself. That position is to worship.

20:13 Get in a mode of worship. Give God the praise. I know you don't feel like it, but this ain't about how you feel. You don't feel like going to work every day, but you get up and go. worship God okay alright y'all didn't get that one let's go to Joshua chapter 6 I got one point today. Did I tell y'all that already? I just want you to see what God does in response to worship. I'm just trying to get you off of your sit back, watch, observe, mold, and move you to a place of participatory worship. Yes, Jesus. It's something you can do.

21:05 Yes, amen. You just got to get your heart in the right place. This is Joshua chapter 6 starting in verse 1. Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out, none came in. Let me tell you what that means. Jericho was a city that had a great big old wall surrounding it all around. Big wall and big gates. and Jericho had heard about the children of Israel. Joshua and the army were taking over, moving from city to city, conquering. So Jericho, the city of Jericho, heard about the children of Israel, Joshua and the children of Israel. So they shut the gates, and the scripture says, nobody left the city and nobody came in the city. It was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in. Nobody left.

21:58 so they had locked the gates, shut the gates. Nobody went out, nobody came in. Okay, go ahead to the next verse. Now, and the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand. It's king and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war. You shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. so one time each day march around the city of jericho so here's the here's the truth of israel they get up every morning and march around the city march around the walls they're on the outside of the city they're on the outside okay you shall march around the city all you men of war you shall go all around the city once this you shall do for six days okay go ahead and seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark but the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets and it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn and when you hear the sound of the trumpet that all the people shall shout with a great shout then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up every man straight before him.

23:24 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests and said to them, take up the Ark of the Covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Ark of the Lord. And he said to the people, proceed and march around the city and let him who is armed advance before the Ark of the Lord. So it was when Joshua had spoken to the people that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpet and the rear guard came after the ark while the priests continued blowing the trumpet. Now Joshua had commanded the people saying, you shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth until the day I say to you, shout. Then you shall shout. So he had the Ark of the Lord circled the city, going around it once, then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. That's what they did one time each day, six days. So Joshua rose early in the morning and the priest took up the Ark of the Lord.

24:41 Keep going. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them, but the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord while the priests continued. Keep going. Blowing the trumpet. Keep going. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to camp. So they did six days. days. But I love when God sticks his butt in my situation. It came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early about the dawning of the day and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day, only they marched around the city seven times. and the seventh time it happened. I like that.

25:34 That sounds, it happened. When the priest blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, shout for the Lord has given you the city. Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction. It and all who are in it, only Rahab the heartlet shall live. she and all who are with her in the house because she hid the messengers that we sent. That's another story. We'll talk about that on another day. And you, by all means, abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it. I got to come back and talk about that too one day. But all the silver and gold and vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord. they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the police priest blew the trumpet and it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat.

26:42 Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Y'all missed a great spot to shout right there. When Joshua said shout, the people shouted, and the wall came down. I don't know what kind of walls are in between you and your destiny, but I'm here to tell you, when you open your mouth and give God the praise, when you open your mouth and give him the glory. When you open your mouth, whatever stands between you and your destiny will come down. I wish I had a friend. We gotta be people of worship. We gotta be people that give him praise. We gotta be people who are not ashamed. We gotta be people who are willing with a willing heart. Okay, I got to hurry up.

27:41 I only got five minutes left, six minutes left. Look, 1 Samuel chapter 1, 1 Samuel chapter 1, verse 19 and 20, verse 19 and 20. Now, y'all know who Hannah is. Hannah, you need to tell you, Hannah is barren. She's been wanting to have a child, and her and her husband, Elkanah, could not have a child. But here's what 1 Samuel 1.19 says. Then they rose early in the morning, and what did they do? Worship before the Lord and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah, that's her husband, knew Hannah. Knew.

28:22 Okay, he knew his wife. Y'all know what that means, right? in a biblical way yeah and the Lord remembered her so it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son and called his name Samuel saying because I have asked the Lord I've asked for him from the Lord All I'm trying to get you to see is God responded to her with prayer requests when she worshiped. Acts 16. This is my last verse right here. I'm going to be finished. Acts 16.

29:10 Verse 25. But at midnight. Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prisons were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone's chains were loose. And the keeper of the prison awakening from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice saying, do yourself no harm for we are all here. Then he called for a light, ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved?

30:07 Amen. So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and immediately he and all his household were baptized. Y'all. Paul and Silas were in jail and they were praying and singing praises to God. I don't care how jacked up your situation is, don't stop praying and don't stop singing. Somebody say, tell your neighbor, don't stop praying and don't stop singing. Tell your neighbor, don't stop praying and don't stop singing. I don't care what you feel like, keep on worshiping. I don't care how low you feel, keep on worshiping.

31:01 Go against the grain of what your flesh wants to do and go ahead and give God the praise and guess what in due season and in due time and at the