Praise Is A Weapon of Mass Destruction

by Doreen Russ

Cory had asked me to speak to the youth at "Access." The title above is what the Lord had given me to share with them. Not only is praise a weapon of destruction but...it is a weapon of MASS destruction. How cool is that!! I am not sure if many of you have thought of praise as being a weapon but believe me, it is and God wants you to use it as such. Here are just a few of the things that happen when we praise:

• PRAISE GREATLY PLEASES THE LORD Psalm 69:30-31. David noted, "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs."
• PRAISE DRIVES BACK THE ENEMY & RELEASES POWER Psalm 149:6-7. "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples.
• PRAISE SILENCES EVIL FORCES/SATAN Psalm 8:2. "From the lips of children and infants (meaning the weak) you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the enemy & the avenger.
• PRAISE BRINGS DELIVERANCE & VICTORY 2 Chronicles 20:21-22. "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever. As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated."
• PRAISE COUNTERS THE SPIRIT OF DESPAIR Isaiah 61:3. "and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness, instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

So knowing the above, what does that mean we should do? Well....how about this:

• Praise and sing to the Lord. Psalm 33:1-2
• Praise the Lord continuously. Psalm 34:1
• Praise the Lord together. Psalm 34:3
• Praise the Lord with singing, music and dancing. Psalm 92:1, Psalm 149:3
• Praise the Lord because He made you. Psalm 139:14-16
• Praise the Lord with thanksgiving whenever we approach Him. Psalm 100:4-5

Ok...so after sharing all the above, I believe the Lord wanted us to put this to the test. Not testing in a condescending way, but a test as to say, ok guys, let's see if the above really works. So with the help of "Eddie James", who is a great worship leader, we broke out into a Holy Ghost Partay!!! Yes, that is what I said, a HOLY GHOST PARTAY!!! We were dancing, singing, jumping, clapping, raising our hands and PRAISING the Lord. It was so much fun. I believe God was very pleased with all of you youth! I don't believe you held back anything from him and that is what He asks from us. I think the students had fun and I know God did. And I know I did. For any of you who could not come, believe me...there will be plenty more Holy Ghost Partays!!! So don't feel bad that you missed out. God has so many more planned for the RiverStone students!

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Below is a video of Eddie James @ the OneThing Conference last year. Enjoy this video--also remember that we are going to OneThing this year-sign up now!