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Radical Praise"Make a joyful noise all ye lands, serve the Lord with gladness come before his presence with singing." Praising God is not a request, it is a command. We are to bless God at all times and his praise must be continually in our mouths. In the 100th Psalms, the writer informs us that we serve a cheerful God who desires praise and worship from cheerful people; thus he uses the term "joyful noise." In essence, praise is not something we reserve for Sunday mornings; it should be a part of our daily routine. In every land throughout the world God’s goodness is seen. Therefore, in every land, He should be praised. As believers, we are instructed to come before His presence with singing. It is imperative that we first know who God is, and secondly, we are to give Him what He desires, praise. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. When we approach His gates (that is, to come into his presence) we should do so with thanksgiving, not murmuring and complaining. I believe that a great deal of us don’t receive because we don’t believe what His Word says, nor do we follow His instructions concerning praise. As a believer who knows the benefits of praise I offer you this proclamation: If you are in need of a raise, then enter His courts with praise. Sing psalms and spiritual songs to God, which brings melody, not melancholy. God blesses us when we praise Him and obey His commands. In the 19th Psalm, the writer lets us in on one of his discoveries. Here, he declares that the heavens are a testament to God’s glory and the firmament sheweth (push forth) his handiwork. The word "sheweth" should not be taken lightly. Not only is it mentioned in the scriptures, it is mentioned more than once. The very word itself denotes force. Oftentimes, we will not feel like praising God, but we must (with all the strength we can muster) praise God anyway. Day after day and night after night, we are to give God praise. "Day after day" symbolizes the times in life when the light is shining forth, and we are capable of seeing our way. "Night after night" is symbolic of the times when the light at the end of the tunnel is dim and the future ahead looks grim; a time when at best, we are just stumbling through hoping and praying for the light of day. But in the midst of it all, when we can barely show our faces, let alone put one foot in front of the other, we are to praise God as if we don’t have a care in the world. Like a woman travailing in the pains of labor, we are to push forth the praises. No woman when she is laboring rejoices, but after the labor, the miracle of the birth makes the pain of no effect. Seeing her precious little one makes the pain worthwhile. This is the exact same travailing David speaks of. We are to shew (push forcefully) the praises of God whether we want to or feel we have a reason to. Imagine someone singing, shouting, witnessing, and filled with joy while at the same time they are telling you that their bills are due, there is no money in the bank, their husband has walked away and left them, their sister passed away leaving them with three kids plus the four of their own, the doctor informed them that their biopsy three weeks ago showed signs of cancer, their son tested positive for AIDS, and their daughter who is supposedly visiting a friend has actually run off with a drug dealer. Yet, they attend and actively participate in all the praise and worship services. They give from the little that they have to the church in the form of tithes and offerings. They help out the local children with their studies, and witness to the homeless about the goodness of God. People, this is what I mean by radical praise. I’m sure you would probably agree if I say that this woman has nothing going right in her life, but yet she pushes forth (sheweth) the praises. Now, that’s radical! We are to respond to any and all news (good or bad) with singing, shouting, celebrating, worshipping, rejoicing as if nothing has happened at all. We are to rock till we drop, and even then we shouldn’t stop! David, the writer here, jammed (danced) out of his clothes-Radical praise. An incident occurred in my life recently, but I praise God for my daughter receiving a full scholarship to college. Not just a little money, but a price that well exceeds our expectations. At present, we don’t know how or from where the money will originate, but faith instructs me to perform as though she has everything she needs. I am packing her bags and we are traveling to the campus. She will live in a suite, choose a variety of food delicacies, go to the movies, visit the library, purchase all of her books and supplies just like the students who received full scholarships because our success does not lie in the hands of men. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The world and the people that dwell within it belong to the Lord. My daughter and I belong to God and trust me when I say, "Daddy loves his girls!" Recently, the local school that my daughter attends awarded in excess of $4.0 million dollars in scholarship monies to the same group of students. As I sat there listening to the names as they were called, I expected to hear her name at some point, but she was never mentioned. We applied for scholarships from various places. She retook the college entrance tests several times increasing her score each time she retook it, not to mention that she is a national merit scholar and a member of the National Honor Society. As we prepared to leave the school that day my daughter replied to me, " Mom, this is why I asked you not to come to the school today. I knew beforehand that my name was not on their list, but God will give me the money. I need to go to school. I have studied hard and been on the honor roll since the first grade. We have believed God for everything else and things has never been easy for us. We have had to jump hurdles all our lives but Mom, she said, be happy because I have made it now and will make it in college also." She didn’t say she might make it, she said she will make it. That is radical. My mom often tells me that my daughter is different, unlike the kids with whom she associates. She doesn’t despair at disappointments, nor does she react negatively to rejection. As I pondered the events of the day, I was reminded of the circumstances with which my daughter entered this same school. We were turned down on several occasions but through perseverance and the actions of two key persons, not only was she enrolled but she was accepted in the middle of a semester which we were told was impossible. After getting there, she has excelled in her studies; never missing a beat. As I write this letter to you, we are preparing for graduation and she will do so with honors. People, God is not concerned about who we are, but in whom we believe. As people of God, we must believe that God will supply our needs. Now I don’t advocate sitting back expecting God to do everything. That is ludicrous. After we have exhausted all of our possibilities, God will step in and fight for us. He doesn’t always work by conventional means. For my family, our blessings arise out of struggle. In the meantime, our heads are held high. We will graduate, go off to college, and get all that w need. Why? Because we refuse to be refused and we deny being denied. We are of God and have overcome all things. The greater One is in us!!! Talk about radical praise- this is it! Refusing to be refused and denying to be denied. Wholeheartedly believing and expecting is what radical people do. Anyone can offer their thanks after having received something, but radical praise involves thanking God and praising Him when there is nothing in sight and we have no earthly means of receiving it. If I ended this article here, I would have given you enough information to excite some faith within yourselves, but I wouldn’t dare end without informing you that God is in control and He cares for His people: one and all. Very few of us have the necessary means to survive, but our God does. All that He asks of us is to praise Him. I attended a youth conference on radical praise recently and the speaker gave a word from God confirming some of the things I have already mentioned. One of the things that he told us was that if anyone was in the audience in need of money for anything whether it is a car, job, and tuition for school- it did not matter because God was going to supply every need. He actually used the word "Tuition." Now this speaker had no idea I was in the audience, but God knew and spoke a word through him. It was not the man, but the Spirit which searches all things that gave me the word of confirmation because God knows our desires and He rewards them. This minister challenged us to praise God as if it was already accomplished, and praise God I did. This is the meaning of faith: " the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." We are not able to see anything at this time, but we are hoping. By faith, we will receive; not may receive, we will indeed get all that we need and more. If you are wondering why I keep going on about praise, it is because I stumbled upon a revelation. If you are unaware or have ever wondered where God lives, then you know nothing about praise. You see, our dear readers, the Bible informs us through scripture that God inhabits (hangs out, lives, abides) in the praises of His people. Imagine having God hanging out at your crib- man, that’s radical. Now, I’m going to drop something really heavy on you. "Any territory which we abandon Satan fills; whether it be our place of worship, our praise, our children or loved ones, it does not matter. I recall hearing the elderly say when I was growing up, " That boy’s parents better show him some attention because if they don’t, the people in the streets will." As parents we are instructed to train our children and live a life that we welcome them to imitate. Too often our children do the opposite of what we teach and train them, but the Word instructs us to train them anyway. They have free-will to choose right or wrong and this will came from God. Just as He promised that the truth of the Word would not depart from those individuals who are trained, the opposite also applies. If we fail to train our children, they will lose focus and stray away. The enemy is waiting to search and destroy. He wants to see us doomed to destruction. We are to train our children about serving God and giving Him praise. If we train them about life and its many disappointments; if they are told that things won’t always happen according to our plans; if they are instructed to have faith in God and praise Him regardless of the circumstances because God is truly a man of his word, our doctors’ offices would be empty and it would be God receiving the praise, not the doctor nor the medication. I have had so many occasions to throw in the towel, but I am a believer and believers and quitters are not compatible. I cannot quit nor give it. I must stay in the fight. After all, the battle is not mine. The battle belongs to God and He will fight for me, and you also. Stay in the fight. Our children need us. Sure, they scream, holler, act out, and act up but God has the final say. In closing, I will let you in on a secret. When I get totally fed up, I go to God and ask for relief. He has never failed me. I can’t tell you what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. It is God and through Him all our needs are supplied. Now, that’s radical. Radical Praise: The one to receive it – God! The time to do it- Now! Praise Him! Praise Him!
Travestine J. Wright |