Topic: The Enemies of Praise
Speaker: Pastor Sam Ogah
Praise is an effective spiritual tool. It is one of the most potent spiritual weapons that can provoke the acts of God in the life of an individual. Not many know this weapon. Many can sing without praising God. Every singing that is not acceptable is not praises to God but mere singing. For us to experience the wonders of praise, it must be accepted by God.
Five enemies of Praise
There are some things that can weaken the effectiveness of praise in the life of a Christian. We must be able to know these things so that we can avoid them when we see them
1. Murmuring and Complaining – 1 Corinth 10:10 – Murmuring and complaining is one of the enemies of Praise. We must be careful not to murmur. No matter how legitimate your reason is, do not murmur. When you complain to man, you secure man’s sympathy but when we murmur before God, we incur God’s anger – Num 11:1. Learn to trust God completely and focus on the things the Lord has done. Never compare yourself with others. Many have afflicted themselves with so much pain due to complaints. Life journey is personal. Learn to appreciate God per time and see your life the way God sees it. Complain and murmur will contaminate your praise and make it unacceptable before God. Learn to be contented and that will spur praise.
2. The Spirit of Heaviness – Isa 61:3. The spirit of heaviness brings depression, sorrow and pains. You must be careful. Sometimes, some believers are unable to sing and dance to God because of the spirit of heaviness. You must be conscious and deliberate about it. When you feel it around you, rebuke it straight away and do not give it place in your life. See reasons to give God thanks and dance and sing before him. If God should open your eyes to see what people go through in life, you won’t need any motivation to praise God. The devil knows that once you indulge in praises to God, God is drawn near and to avoid that, the devil tries to put upon a man the spirit of heaviness. The fellow just gets angry without any cause – that is the spirit of heaviness. When you sense it, rebuke it straight away and consciously make effort to praise God and change the atmosphere.
3. Discontentment – 1Tim 6:6. There is no enough contentment in the church today. Christians have fallen to the state where we rate the worth of a man with his physical material possession. If that is your state, you will not be content and when you are not content, you cannot praise God. Intrinsically, every man is the same irrespective of your colour or race. Every man is the same before God. Contentment is the cure for covetousness. James 5:13. Many times we question the faithfulness of God to us because of discontentment. When you start to compare yourself with others, then know that there is a seed of discontentment already at work in your life. Beware of people affecting your relationship with God. Be smarter than the devil. Your value is not a function of your physical possession. We must be satisfied at every point we are in our lives. Only compare yourself with yourself and know that God has plans for you and that God’s plan for you is different from that of others. until we are contented, we will always be covetous and when we are not satisfied, we cannot be happy. Covetousness is not a function of your possession, it is a thing of the mind. Learn to rest and trust God completely knowing that he has the best plan for you. James 5:13
4. Holding on to the Past – When you hold on to the past, you will corrupt your praise lifestyle. Many cannot praise God effectively because they are holding on to the past – pro 4:18. Do not lay hold on the past to affect and disrupt your tomorrow. Do not hold on to your past negatively so that it does not corrupt your tomorrow. Let go of the past. Don’t carry people in your heart. It’s a weight and weight limits speed. If you carry people in your heart, let them go because it limits the speed and affects your work with the holy ghost.
5. Being Offended in God – Do you know despite how supreme and omnipotent Matt 11:6 God is, people still get offended in God. The same John the Baptist that said of Jesus, behold the lamb of God, he was the same asking his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the messiah of they should expect another – Matt 11:6.
Being offended in God is a suicide mission. Learn to trust God. What brings offences is lack of trust. How much has offence in God helped you? Offence in God is a disaster. Learn to trust him that every time, He has your back. You cannot harden yourself against God and prosper. Never get offended with God – Job 9:4. We must trust in God. Ensure you take those things seriously and when you sense their traces in your life, rebuke them immediately.
Endeavour to give God quality praise this last week of the year and always!