Hebrews chapter 13
Today we are walking in: Why Are We To Praise Yah
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 8
WHY ARE WE TO PRAISE Yah?
Praise brings Yah into your environment.
Why should you praise Yah? This is a good question. Does Yah have an ego problem so that He needs you to tell Him how great or good He is? Does Yah have fits of depression so that He needs you to encourage Him occasionally? Does Yah have an emotional problem that makes Him crave your praise and attention?
Yah Does Not Need Your Praise
No! Yah does not need your praise. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8). He isn’t moved by what you say or do.
I used to think that I moved Yah when I praised Him. Therefore, I praised Him in a loud voice and with loud instruments. I thought if I praised Yah loudly, He would respond quickly. I found out, however, that Yah is not moved by me. He’s the same whether or not I praise Him. He is not emotionally unstable so that my praise changes how He feels about Himself—or about me.
If Yah were moved by my praise—or by my lack of praise—I would be able to determine what kind of day Yah has. How absurd! If this were true, He would not be— indeed, could not be—the faithful, unchanging Yah He is. Instead, the quality of His day would depend on the quality of my praise.
Yah IS THE SAME WHETHER OR NOT YOU PRAISE HIM.
Why, then, if my praise does not move or change Yah, does change sometimes come because of praise? Who does the praise affect?
Praise Affects You
Yah is the same all the time, but you are not. This is why you need the stability of Yah’s unchanging presence to keep your world in balance. You need Somebody who is, and always will be, the same every day, all day.
Our days go up and down—sometimes higher, sometimes lower. This is never true for Yah. His days are always up. He’s there all the time with the same attitude, the same perspective, and the same abilities. Consequently, His presence in your day is quite important.
When He is with you because you have created an atmosphere in which He can dwell, your day is a day of His making no matter what it holds—thus, the common saying, “Most High, help me to remember that there is nothing in this day that you and I can’t handle together.” In other words, Yah makes your day when you give it to Him at the start through praise.
So if you were just fired, say, “Yah, make my day,” and invite Him to come to you through praise. Then He can turn your firing into a hiring. Likewise, if you wake up feeling ill, say, “Yah, make my day,” and praise Him despite your illness. This gives Him the opportunity to get into your environment where He can touch and heal you.
PRAISE INVITES Yah TO “MAKE YOUR DAY.”
In essence, no matter what is going on in your life, if you will invite Yah into your day through praise, He will fill your life with Himself. Then the words, “make my day,” become more than a cute saying. They become reality as Yah takes the threads of your life and weaves His tapestry. This is why the apostle Paul could say,
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love Elohiym, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 8:28 את CEPHER.
When Yah’s plans and purposes are worked out in your life, every day and all day becomes good.
Praise Puts Yah to Work
Praise also invites Yah to do more good things for you. In fact, He enjoys showing us that He is even greater than we imagined and much more capable than we have yet seen.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Unto him be glory in the called out assembly by Mashiach Yahusha throughout all ages, world without end. Amein. EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 3:20-21 את CEPHER.
I wonder, therefore, what our life would be like if we consistently attracted Yah through praise. What would our families, neighborhoods, and nations look like? Would counselors and social workers be out of work? Would the bars and clubs in our town be empty and our services be full? Would divorce, abortion, and child abuse become scourges of the past? Would decent housing be available for everyone and would the streets of our cities be safe to walk at night?
Such scenarios may seem to be impossible, but Yah specializes in the impossible. There is no telling what is possible when He arrives and takes over.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, evidently knew this. When threatened by a vast army that struck terror in his heart, Jehoshaphat turned to Yah for help. He proclaimed a fast, called the people together, and had a praise session in front of the Temple.
Yah SPECIALIZES IN THE IMPOSSIBLE.
And Yahushaphat stood in the assembly of Yahudah and Yerushalayim, in the house of Yahuah, before the new court, And said, O Yahuah Elohai of our fathers, are not you Elohiym in heaven? and rule not you over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand you? DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:5-6 את CEPHER.
Do you see what the king did? He bragged about Yah. He proclaimed that power and might are in Yah’s hand, not man’s. He testified to his faith that no one can withstand Yah. Then he reminded Yah what He had already done for His people and confirmed his faith that Yah was up to the job.
O ELOHAYNU, will you not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon you. DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:12 את CEPHER.
“Tell us what to do, Yah. We’re not doing anything until You tell us what we should do. We’re just waiting here for
You because You are our Yah and we trust You.”
Praise, expectancy, and obedience. This Jehoshaphat’s response to the threat of war. This should be your response as well in the face of adversity, because praise is the secret to the power of Yah.
I know that some of you have little time for this “spiritual stuff” because your needs are practical needs. Indeed, I’ve heard people say, “Yeah, I appreciate all this praise and other things you’re talking about, but let’s
was become practical now. Let’s be reasonable. All this spiritual stuff isn’t going to pay my mortgage or get my boss to stop hassling me or get my kids to quit hanging with the wrong crowd or get my spouse to stop running around. I’m dealing with real issues here, and I need real answers.”
You are exactly right. You are dealing with real issues— issues that are every bit as threatening as the army that would soon be on Judah’s doorstep. So maybe you had better deal with them the same way Jehoshaphat dealt with the Moabites and the Ammonites:
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Teqoa: and as they went forth, Yahushaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Yahudah, and ye inhabitants of Yerushalayim; Believe in Yahuah Elohaykem, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto Yahuah, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise Yahuah; for his mercy endures forever. DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:20-21 את CEPHER.
What did Jehoshaphat do? As he led his people into battle, he said, “Let’s sing. I want you to thank Yah for His faithfulness and to celebrate His love. Tell Him how beautiful His holiness is.”
This may appear to be an unreasonable response, but let’s see how it worked out.
And when they began to sing and to praise, Yahuah set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Mo'av, and Mount Se'iyr, which were come against Yahudah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Mo'av stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Se'iyr, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Se'iyr, everyone helped to destroy another. And when Yahudah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness and saw among the multitude, and lo, the carcases of Naphaliym on the earth - none had escaped. DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:22-24 את CEPHER.
Wow! Not one man from the attacking army escaped the vindication of Yah.
To understand what was so special about Judah’s victory, you need to understand the significance of their praise. Those singers out in front of the army weren’t just having a casual praise session. They were doing serious business because they were appealing to Yah’s integrity. This is what “the splendor of Yah’s holiness” (vs. 21) refers to. His holiness means that He can’t do anything other than what He has promised. Therefore, the men at the head of the army were praising Yah as though the army coming at them was already dead! They were rejoicing in Yah’s faithfulness before He had been faithful. Why could they do this? They believed that the One who had made the promise would do exactly what He had said:
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the yeshu`ah of Yahuah with you, O Yahudah and Yerushalayim: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for Yahuah will be with you. DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:17 את CEPHER.
The average person would have run from that approaching army. He would have sought some way to escape the coming destruction. This was not what Jehoshaphat did. His words to his people show just how different his response was:
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Teqoa: and as they went forth, Yahushaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Yahudah, and ye inhabitants of Yerushalayim; Believe in Yahuah Elohaykem, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 20:20 את CEPHER.
A song of faith in the night is the highest form of praise. It shows that you believe Yah’s word to you to be true, and you trust Him to fulfill it. You attract Him through praise because your praise shows that you have faith:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to Elohiym must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. IVRIYM (HEBREWS) 11:6 את CEPHER.
Faith pleases Yah. This is why, when the bulldozer is coming toward you and you begin to praise Him, Yah says, “I will deliver you from the hands of this enemy.” He begins to work for you because He is pleased with your praise and the faith that enables it.
Praise Puts Flesh to Our Faith
Praise fixed firmly upon faith opens the door for Yah to work for you, in you, and through you. It allows Him to handle all the things in your life that you cannot. This was certainly true for one leper whom Yahusha healed. The Gospel of Luke tells us that ten lepers begged Yahusha for mercy, but only one returned to thank Him (see Luke 17:17-19). Praise also followed the faith of the blind beggar who told Yahusha that he wanted to see (see Luke 18:35-43).
So, what are you waiting for? You need to praise Yah in the midst of your problems, and you need to do it now. Your praise is what attracts Yah to you. It is what gets you into His presence.
- Praise Him because you believe in Him and want to please Him.
- Praise Him because you want to honor and obey Him.
- Praise Him because you know you cannot live apart from Him.
- Praise Him because you need Him every hour of every day to be truly human.
- Praise Him because there are circumstances, events, and relationships in your life that you don’t know how to handle.
- Praise Him because He has made promises to you that have yet to be fulfilled.
- Praise Him because you are certain He will be faithful to fulfill all He has spoken to you.
- Praise Him because there’s power in praise and you want to tap every bit of that power.
- Praise Him because His ultimate goal is that you will bask in His presence and eat at His table for-evermore (see Ps. 23).
PRAISE IS YOUR YAH-GIVEN PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY.
Finally, if these aren’t enough reasons why you should praise your Yah, praise Him simply because His presence is more important to you than anything and everything that’s keeping you from praising Him.
PRINCIPLES
1. Yah does not need your praise.
2. Your praise does not change or affect Him.
3. Your praise changes and affects you.
4. Praise brings Yah into your day so He can handle whatever comes your way.
5. Praise turns impossibilities into victories.
6. Praise based on faith thanks Yah for what He will do, before He does it.
The Divine destiny connection, the chain that links us together.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Monday, April 8, 2024
HOW ARE WE TO PRAISE YAH?
Psalms chapter 66
Today we are walking in: How are We To Praise Yah?
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 7
HOW ARE WE TO PRAISE Yah?
Be the concert. Don’t just attend one.
Praising Yah has many forms, all of which have a common denominator: Praise is always extroverted. In other words, praise can always be seen or heard. It cannot be hidden or kept silent. Therefore, all expressions of praise must be vocal or in some other way outwardly expressed.
For the Hebrew people, this seemed to be easy. A study of the Old Testament shows that they were an emotional, expressive people. Maybe this is why Yah liked them. They were not afraid to openly show how they felt about Yah. Celebration and exhilaration were regularly part of their worship.
This is not, however, always the case for us. Some Hebrews seem to prefer to sit and soak in worship rather than be active participants. Such behavior is not true praise. Just as you cannot cheer on your favorite sports team without moving around and making some noise, so you cannot praise Yah calmly and quietly. This is not to say that quiet times of worship are not sometimes appropriate—particularly after the presence of Yah has become manifested among His people. Yet, praise must be declared or manifested in some way. Otherwise, it is not praise.
Unfortunately, some of us are so inhibited that we refuse to abandon ourselves to praise. We don’t want to express it in an observable manner. To avoid this outward expression is to disobey Yah, since He specifically commands us to let the sound of our praise be heard:
Praise our Yah, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard (Ps. 66:8).
Many people assume that this command refers to singing. Singing is not, however, the only form of biblical praise that can be heard. Shouting, clapping, laughter, singing and praying in the Spirit, and playing musical instruments are all expressions of praise that can be heard. We must be careful, therefore, that we do not exclude certain forms of praise simply because we are uncomfortable with them. Rather, we should seek to understand why we are uncomfortable, and make adjustments that will challenge our comfort zone. Otherwise, how can we fully proclaim the good tidings that are ours in Hamachiach Yahusha?
O Tsiyon, that bring good news, get you up into the high mountain; O Yerushalayim, that bring good news, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Yahudah, Behold your Elohiym! YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 40:9 את CEPHER
The Cepher uses the phrase, “lift up thy voice with strength ... “ in this verse. This certainly seems to indicate that our praise is to reveal a definite conviction and involvement. We are not to speak or sing in a timid manner, but with energy and assurance. When we are uncomfortable, it is difficult to be either assured or energetic. Therefore, we must challenge ourselves to go beyond the forms of praise we have always used.
This is not to say that our praise is to be showy for the sake of show. Quite the contrary is true. Our praise is to be genuine and authentic, arising out of our relationship with Yah. Therefore, our praise can reflect no more than is truly inside. If we have no passion in our heart for Yah, we should not be surprised when our praise lacks passion. The absence or presence of passion for Yah within us just naturally becomes evident in our expressions of love, adoration, and appreciation.
PRAISE COMES FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH Yah.
On the other hand, some of us may find a particular form of praise difficult because we prefer to be entertained rather than do the praising ourselves. We love to go to concerts where there is lots of energy and excitement, but we resist showing that same level of intensity in our praise on a Saturday morning.
Praise requires effort on our part. It is not something another person can do for us. Yes, a worship leader can make suggestions that may lead us into praise, but we must make the choice for ourselves as to whether or not we are going to praise Yah.
Some people are also uncomfortable during times of praise because they think they are too dignified to celebrate Yah with abandon. I remember one day after services when one of our members was holding the daughter of one of our pastors. She was content to stay with this person until she saw her daddy. Then she started kicking and pulling away until the woman who was holding her could not hold her any longer. Therefore, she put the child on the floor and watched her run.
People were talking and walking all around, but this little girl didn’t care who else was in the room. She had seen her daddy, and he was her sole focus. She also was unconcerned that her dress was in the air and she was showing her underwear.
Such abandonment is what the Most High wants from us. Often we become self-conscious because we are not Yah conscious. Yes, we may be feeling poorly, or things in our life may seem to be falling apart, but this is precisely when we need to run to our Father. He is the only One who can heal us and put us together again. Whether we feel like it or not, we need to praise Him.
I want to make sure you understand what I just said. You need to praise Yah, and you need to do it with your whole being. Your need is more critical than your level of comfort. Whenever you relinquish your will and praise Yah however His Spirit leads you, you will find that His presence is the only place you want to be. It is also the only place where you can find everything you really need.
Ask anyone you know who is a praiser. He or she will soon tell you that Yah fills those who hunger for Him, and He gives righteousness to those who thirst for it. (See Matthew 5:6.)
Biblical Forms of Praise
Every form of praise contained in the Scriptures is an expression that the Church as a whole, and we as individual members, need to use. I know that some denominations, congregations, and pastors like to choose which expressions of biblical praise they will use, but this is certainly not Yah’s intent. Our degree of comfort or the popularity of a particular form of praise does not change the fact that it is both commanded in the Bible and taught by example.
Singing
Sing unto Yahuah, O ye chaciyd of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 30:4 את CEPHER.
SING aloud unto Elohiym our strength: make a joyful noise unto the Elohiym of Ya`aqov. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 81:1 את CEPHER
O come, let us sing unto Yahuah: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our yeshu`ah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 95:1 את CEPHER.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to Yahuah; EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 5:19 את CEPHER.
Let the word of Mashiach dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to Yahuah. QOLASIYM (COLOSSIANS) 3:16 את CEPHER.
Singing is certainly the most common form of praise practiced today. In the Scriptures, singing was part of both private and public worship, as well as of celebrations following a victory Yah had won. Examples of these victory celebrations include the song of Moses following the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, the singing of the Israelite women after David killed Goliath, and the song of David after Yah delivered him from the hand of Saul (see Exod. 15; 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 22).
Shouting
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let Yahuah be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 35:27 את CEPHER.
Make a joyful noise unto Yahuah, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:4 את CEPHER.
Shouting is a less common form of praise today than singing. Nonetheless, singing and shouting are commanded together in the Scriptures, and either word may be used to translate the same Hebrew verb, ranan.
Therefore, shouting and loud singing are to be companions in our praise. Together they express joy and exultation, as is seen following the consecration of Aaron and his sons, when the fire fell from Yah’s presence and consumed the sacrifices (see Lev. 9:24). The people’s rejoicing is described as shouting.
Making a Joyful Noise (So It Can Be Heard)
O bless our Elohiym, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 66:8 את CEPHER.
Make a joyful noise unto Yahuah, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto Yahuah with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of shofars make a joyful noise before Yahuah, the King. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:4-6 את CEPHER.
There is a place for triumphant celebration and loud worship. Yah is not nervous, so we can make noise. Indeed, He evidently enjoys it, for the Bible includes commands that we make a joyful noise before Him. This joyful noise may be singing, shouting, or some other audible form of praise.
Laughter
WHEN Yahuah turned again the captivity of Tsiyon, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, Yahuah has done great things for them. Yahuah has done great things for us; whereof we are glad. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 126:1-3 את CEPHER.
Till he fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing. IYOV (JOB) 8:21 את CEPHER.
This form of praise is rarely used today and is even treated with suspicion by some people. Yet, the Bible tells us to rejoice with laughter. Psalm 126, in particular, paints a lovely picture of laughing with delight over Yah’s goodness in bringing His people back from exile. It is an expression of pure joy and wonder following a difficult season. The same seems to be true in Job, where joy and laughter are also used in a parallel form.
Thanksgiving
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto Yahuah; because he is good, for his mercy endures forever toward Yashar'el. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahuah, because the foundation of the house of Yahuah was laid. EZRA V'NECHEMYAHU (EZRA) 3:11 את CEPHER.
I will praise the name of Elohiym with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 69:30 את CEPHER.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 100:4 את CEPHER.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to Yahuah; Giving thanks always for all things unto Elohiym and the Father in the name of our Adonai Yahusha Ha'Mashiach; EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 5:19-20 את CEPHER.
Thanksgiving and praise are often used in parallel constructions in the Scriptures, as is evident in the verses quoted above. In particular, they seem to be paired in public worship. The Book of Nehemiah, where it states that the priests were to stand opposite each other and perform an antiphonal form of praise and thanksgiving, provides an example of this. Ezra 3:11, Psalm 69, and Ephesians 5:19- 20 also seem to indicate that thanksgiving incorporated singing (see Neh. 12:24).
Standing
At that time Yahuah separated the tribe of Leviy, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of Yahuah, to stand before Yahuah to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 10:8 את CEPHER.
And to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahuah, and likewise at evening; DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 23:30 את CEPHER.
Then the Leviyiym, Yeshua, and Qadmiy'el, Baniy, Chashavneyah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Shevanyahu, and Pethachyah, said, Stand up and bless Yahuah Elohaykem forever and ever: and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. EZRA V'NECHEMYAHU (NEHEMIAH) 9:5 את CEPHER
BEHOLD, bless ye Yahuah, all ye servants of Yahuah, which by night stand in the house of Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 134:1 את CEPHER.
Standing is a bit more common form of praise than some are, but we need to increase our times of standing before the Most High in worship. Sometimes after we stand for a while, we become self-conscious and think we are getting tired. Even then we should remain on our feet because standing is an act of honor. We stand in worship because it shows our respect for Yah.
Kneeling
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before Yahuah our Maker. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 95:6 את CEPHER.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Adonai Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 3:14 את CEPHER.
That at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Yahuah is Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, to the glory of Elohiym the Father. PHILIPPIYM (PHILIPPIANS) 2:10-11 את CEPHER.
Kneeling is a form of both humility and honor in our praise and worship. It shows our recognition that Yah is the Most High and we are His people. Some people still kneel for prayer, but in many denominations and congregations, kneeling is no longer practiced at all. Reinstating kneeling to our worship services would do much to restore the sense of reverence that we are sometimes missing.
Clapping Our Hands
O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto Elohiym with the voice of triumph. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 47:1 את CEPHER.
Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:8 את CEPHER.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 55:12 את CEPHER.
Clapping is a show of approval and appreciation. Yet, many churches don’t encourage people to clap their hands to the Most High. Those who omit clapping from their praise do themselves harm because Yah is the One who determines how we should praise Him.
Moreover, clapping has benefits that we don’t fully understand. Studies done in Japan over the last thousand years have shown that our hands and feet contain nerves that attach to every organ in our body. When we walk, we are therefore stimulating all our organs and giving them life.
The same is true for our hands. Maybe this is why Yah commands us to praise Him with clapping. He knows that as we clap, the nerves in our palms and fingers stimulate our whole body, bringing us life. Thus, when Yah says, “Clap your hands,” He’s really saying, “Get life.” How like our Yah to give us commands regarding praise that not only bring honor to Him but also benefit us in ways beyond the blessings of obedience.
If you don’t believe me, try this sometime. When you are getting drowsy in the middle of the day, or you have trouble getting up in the morning, start clapping. You will feel your whole body wake up and start to work again.
Dancing
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 149:3 את CEPHER.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 150:4 את CEPHER.
Yahuah Elohayka in the midst of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over you with singing. TSEPHANYAHU (ZEPHANIAH) 3:17 את CEPHER.
Few congregations use dance in worship, and some folks actually disapprove of it, but dancing before the Most High is scriptural. In truth, Psalm 149:3 specifically admonishes us to let people praise Him with dance. Sometimes this is the only form of praise that can adequately express the intense joy and longing that well up inside us. We know we must move physically to release our love and devotion to the Most High.
Certainly dancing must be done decently and in order. Yet, we must be careful not to limit such expression because we do not believe in it or do not understand it. Dancing is both an acceptable and essential part of our worship .
At times, our dancing may even become boisterous as we leap and show great joy. This was surely true for Miriam and the other women in Exodus 15 who celebrated Yah’s victory with timbrel and dance. It was also true of Yahusha when the disciples He had sent out two by two came back telling of all they had seen and done. Luke 10:21 says that Yahusha “rejoiced in spirit” (KJV). The Greek word that is translated here rejoice means to “jump for joy” (Strong’s, G21). In a similar manner, the word giyl (Strong’s, H1523), used in Zephaniah to speak of Yah’s rejoicing over us, means “to spin under the influence of a violent emotion, i.e. usually rejoice.”
I wonder how often the Most High is dancing in the Spirit but we are sitting still. He is having so much fun, but He is watching us and wondering why we don’t dance too. If the joy of the Most High is truly in our heart, it will sometimes show up in our feet!
Uplifted Hands
Thus will I bless you while I live: I will lift up my hands in your name. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 63:4 את CEPHER.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 134:2 את CEPHER.
I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. TIMOTHEUS RI'SHON (1 TIMOTHY) 2:8 את CEPHER.
Many of us sing about praising Yah with uplifted hands, but we seldom do it. Yet, we see here that we are commanded to lift our hands in Yah’s sanctuary. The sanctuary is where we come to worship. It’s Yah’s holy dwelling place. Therefore, if Yah says to lift holy hands, we’d better do it. If we don’t obey this command of the Most High, we can’t expect Him to keep His promises to us, since He is holy and cannot lie. Our obedience is what opens Yah’s hands to give us what He has promised.
Therefore, our praise must meet Yah’s requirements all the time. We can’t choose when and where we will lift our hands or do any of the other forms of praise. Obedience requires that we follow the leading of Yah’s Spirit wherever we are and whenever He prompts us to praise.
This is what obedience is. It’s going against our own will to fulfill the will of another; it is submitting our desires to the desires of someone else. In essence, we object to our own personal wishes so we can submit to the wishes of another. Praising with uplifted hands is thus a matter of obedience, not of personal preference.
Making Music on Instruments
And David and all the house of Yashar'el played before Yahuah on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on shofars, and on cymbals. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 6:5 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. Hallelu-El in his sanctuary: praise him in the expanse of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the shofar: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise Yah. Halleluyah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 150:1-6 את CEPHER.
Psalm 150 in its entirety exhorts us to praise the Most High, and instruments are an important part of this praise. Instruments are not, however, to take over the praise and worship time. This is not Yah’s intent. Praise through musical instruments isn’t to be offered until after we have brought our sacrifice of thanksgiving and raised our voice in praise.
How We Praise Depends on How Well We Know the One We Praise
The characteristics of our praise to the Most High depend on the depth of our relationship with Him. If we have built an intimate, lasting friendship with Him and have become perceptive praisers, we can expect that all these forms of praise will be part of our experience. Should this not yet be our practice, we can start where we are and ask Yah to lead us into the less common forms. Those persons who sincerely desire to obey Him in praise will find that He soon answers their prayers.
PRAISE REVEALS ON THE OUTSIDE WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE INSIDE.
In truth, the more we abandon ourselves to the work and leading of Yah’s Spirit within us, the more we emulate the praise that is pictured in the Scriptures. And why should we not, since praise leads us to our heart’s true home. There, as Yah’s presence comes to us and stays with us, we discover the depths of joy and wonder reserved for those who wholly give themselves to the praise of Yah. Our praise is no longer governed by traditions or comfort zones. Instead, we find that we need every form of worship Yah has given us because no one form or expression can adequately reveal the love, adoration, and faith we feel inside. True praise shows forth in some observable manner our delight and our wonder that Yah has chosen us to be His children and even now draws us close to Him.
PRINCIPLES
1. Praise takes many forms but must always be visible or audible.
2. We cannot choose which forms of praise we want to use. We need to praise Yah with our whole being.
3. Nobody can praise Yah for us.
4. Biblical forms of praise include:
-Singing
-Shouting
-Making a joyful noise
-Laughter
-Thanksgiving
-Standing
-Kneeling
-Clapping
-Dancing
-Uplifted hands
-Making music on instruments
Today we are walking in: How are We To Praise Yah?
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 7
HOW ARE WE TO PRAISE Yah?
Be the concert. Don’t just attend one.
Praising Yah has many forms, all of which have a common denominator: Praise is always extroverted. In other words, praise can always be seen or heard. It cannot be hidden or kept silent. Therefore, all expressions of praise must be vocal or in some other way outwardly expressed.
For the Hebrew people, this seemed to be easy. A study of the Old Testament shows that they were an emotional, expressive people. Maybe this is why Yah liked them. They were not afraid to openly show how they felt about Yah. Celebration and exhilaration were regularly part of their worship.
This is not, however, always the case for us. Some Hebrews seem to prefer to sit and soak in worship rather than be active participants. Such behavior is not true praise. Just as you cannot cheer on your favorite sports team without moving around and making some noise, so you cannot praise Yah calmly and quietly. This is not to say that quiet times of worship are not sometimes appropriate—particularly after the presence of Yah has become manifested among His people. Yet, praise must be declared or manifested in some way. Otherwise, it is not praise.
Unfortunately, some of us are so inhibited that we refuse to abandon ourselves to praise. We don’t want to express it in an observable manner. To avoid this outward expression is to disobey Yah, since He specifically commands us to let the sound of our praise be heard:
Praise our Yah, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard (Ps. 66:8).
Many people assume that this command refers to singing. Singing is not, however, the only form of biblical praise that can be heard. Shouting, clapping, laughter, singing and praying in the Spirit, and playing musical instruments are all expressions of praise that can be heard. We must be careful, therefore, that we do not exclude certain forms of praise simply because we are uncomfortable with them. Rather, we should seek to understand why we are uncomfortable, and make adjustments that will challenge our comfort zone. Otherwise, how can we fully proclaim the good tidings that are ours in Hamachiach Yahusha?
O Tsiyon, that bring good news, get you up into the high mountain; O Yerushalayim, that bring good news, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Yahudah, Behold your Elohiym! YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 40:9 את CEPHER
The Cepher uses the phrase, “lift up thy voice with strength ... “ in this verse. This certainly seems to indicate that our praise is to reveal a definite conviction and involvement. We are not to speak or sing in a timid manner, but with energy and assurance. When we are uncomfortable, it is difficult to be either assured or energetic. Therefore, we must challenge ourselves to go beyond the forms of praise we have always used.
This is not to say that our praise is to be showy for the sake of show. Quite the contrary is true. Our praise is to be genuine and authentic, arising out of our relationship with Yah. Therefore, our praise can reflect no more than is truly inside. If we have no passion in our heart for Yah, we should not be surprised when our praise lacks passion. The absence or presence of passion for Yah within us just naturally becomes evident in our expressions of love, adoration, and appreciation.
PRAISE COMES FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH Yah.
On the other hand, some of us may find a particular form of praise difficult because we prefer to be entertained rather than do the praising ourselves. We love to go to concerts where there is lots of energy and excitement, but we resist showing that same level of intensity in our praise on a Saturday morning.
Praise requires effort on our part. It is not something another person can do for us. Yes, a worship leader can make suggestions that may lead us into praise, but we must make the choice for ourselves as to whether or not we are going to praise Yah.
Some people are also uncomfortable during times of praise because they think they are too dignified to celebrate Yah with abandon. I remember one day after services when one of our members was holding the daughter of one of our pastors. She was content to stay with this person until she saw her daddy. Then she started kicking and pulling away until the woman who was holding her could not hold her any longer. Therefore, she put the child on the floor and watched her run.
People were talking and walking all around, but this little girl didn’t care who else was in the room. She had seen her daddy, and he was her sole focus. She also was unconcerned that her dress was in the air and she was showing her underwear.
Such abandonment is what the Most High wants from us. Often we become self-conscious because we are not Yah conscious. Yes, we may be feeling poorly, or things in our life may seem to be falling apart, but this is precisely when we need to run to our Father. He is the only One who can heal us and put us together again. Whether we feel like it or not, we need to praise Him.
I want to make sure you understand what I just said. You need to praise Yah, and you need to do it with your whole being. Your need is more critical than your level of comfort. Whenever you relinquish your will and praise Yah however His Spirit leads you, you will find that His presence is the only place you want to be. It is also the only place where you can find everything you really need.
Ask anyone you know who is a praiser. He or she will soon tell you that Yah fills those who hunger for Him, and He gives righteousness to those who thirst for it. (See Matthew 5:6.)
Biblical Forms of Praise
Every form of praise contained in the Scriptures is an expression that the Church as a whole, and we as individual members, need to use. I know that some denominations, congregations, and pastors like to choose which expressions of biblical praise they will use, but this is certainly not Yah’s intent. Our degree of comfort or the popularity of a particular form of praise does not change the fact that it is both commanded in the Bible and taught by example.
Singing
Sing unto Yahuah, O ye chaciyd of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 30:4 את CEPHER.
SING aloud unto Elohiym our strength: make a joyful noise unto the Elohiym of Ya`aqov. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 81:1 את CEPHER
O come, let us sing unto Yahuah: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our yeshu`ah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 95:1 את CEPHER.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to Yahuah; EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 5:19 את CEPHER.
Let the word of Mashiach dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to Yahuah. QOLASIYM (COLOSSIANS) 3:16 את CEPHER.
Singing is certainly the most common form of praise practiced today. In the Scriptures, singing was part of both private and public worship, as well as of celebrations following a victory Yah had won. Examples of these victory celebrations include the song of Moses following the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, the singing of the Israelite women after David killed Goliath, and the song of David after Yah delivered him from the hand of Saul (see Exod. 15; 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 22).
Shouting
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let Yahuah be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 35:27 את CEPHER.
Make a joyful noise unto Yahuah, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:4 את CEPHER.
Shouting is a less common form of praise today than singing. Nonetheless, singing and shouting are commanded together in the Scriptures, and either word may be used to translate the same Hebrew verb, ranan.
Therefore, shouting and loud singing are to be companions in our praise. Together they express joy and exultation, as is seen following the consecration of Aaron and his sons, when the fire fell from Yah’s presence and consumed the sacrifices (see Lev. 9:24). The people’s rejoicing is described as shouting.
Making a Joyful Noise (So It Can Be Heard)
O bless our Elohiym, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 66:8 את CEPHER.
Make a joyful noise unto Yahuah, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto Yahuah with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of shofars make a joyful noise before Yahuah, the King. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:4-6 את CEPHER.
There is a place for triumphant celebration and loud worship. Yah is not nervous, so we can make noise. Indeed, He evidently enjoys it, for the Bible includes commands that we make a joyful noise before Him. This joyful noise may be singing, shouting, or some other audible form of praise.
Laughter
WHEN Yahuah turned again the captivity of Tsiyon, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, Yahuah has done great things for them. Yahuah has done great things for us; whereof we are glad. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 126:1-3 את CEPHER.
Till he fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing. IYOV (JOB) 8:21 את CEPHER.
This form of praise is rarely used today and is even treated with suspicion by some people. Yet, the Bible tells us to rejoice with laughter. Psalm 126, in particular, paints a lovely picture of laughing with delight over Yah’s goodness in bringing His people back from exile. It is an expression of pure joy and wonder following a difficult season. The same seems to be true in Job, where joy and laughter are also used in a parallel form.
Thanksgiving
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto Yahuah; because he is good, for his mercy endures forever toward Yashar'el. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahuah, because the foundation of the house of Yahuah was laid. EZRA V'NECHEMYAHU (EZRA) 3:11 את CEPHER.
I will praise the name of Elohiym with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 69:30 את CEPHER.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 100:4 את CEPHER.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to Yahuah; Giving thanks always for all things unto Elohiym and the Father in the name of our Adonai Yahusha Ha'Mashiach; EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 5:19-20 את CEPHER.
Thanksgiving and praise are often used in parallel constructions in the Scriptures, as is evident in the verses quoted above. In particular, they seem to be paired in public worship. The Book of Nehemiah, where it states that the priests were to stand opposite each other and perform an antiphonal form of praise and thanksgiving, provides an example of this. Ezra 3:11, Psalm 69, and Ephesians 5:19- 20 also seem to indicate that thanksgiving incorporated singing (see Neh. 12:24).
Standing
At that time Yahuah separated the tribe of Leviy, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of Yahuah, to stand before Yahuah to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 10:8 את CEPHER.
And to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahuah, and likewise at evening; DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 23:30 את CEPHER.
Then the Leviyiym, Yeshua, and Qadmiy'el, Baniy, Chashavneyah, Sherevyah, Hodiyah, Shevanyahu, and Pethachyah, said, Stand up and bless Yahuah Elohaykem forever and ever: and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. EZRA V'NECHEMYAHU (NEHEMIAH) 9:5 את CEPHER
BEHOLD, bless ye Yahuah, all ye servants of Yahuah, which by night stand in the house of Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 134:1 את CEPHER.
Standing is a bit more common form of praise than some are, but we need to increase our times of standing before the Most High in worship. Sometimes after we stand for a while, we become self-conscious and think we are getting tired. Even then we should remain on our feet because standing is an act of honor. We stand in worship because it shows our respect for Yah.
Kneeling
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before Yahuah our Maker. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 95:6 את CEPHER.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Adonai Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, EPH'SIYM (EPHESIANS) 3:14 את CEPHER.
That at the name of Yahusha every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Yahuah is Yahusha Ha'Mashiach, to the glory of Elohiym the Father. PHILIPPIYM (PHILIPPIANS) 2:10-11 את CEPHER.
Kneeling is a form of both humility and honor in our praise and worship. It shows our recognition that Yah is the Most High and we are His people. Some people still kneel for prayer, but in many denominations and congregations, kneeling is no longer practiced at all. Reinstating kneeling to our worship services would do much to restore the sense of reverence that we are sometimes missing.
Clapping Our Hands
O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto Elohiym with the voice of triumph. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 47:1 את CEPHER.
Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:8 את CEPHER.
For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 55:12 את CEPHER.
Clapping is a show of approval and appreciation. Yet, many churches don’t encourage people to clap their hands to the Most High. Those who omit clapping from their praise do themselves harm because Yah is the One who determines how we should praise Him.
Moreover, clapping has benefits that we don’t fully understand. Studies done in Japan over the last thousand years have shown that our hands and feet contain nerves that attach to every organ in our body. When we walk, we are therefore stimulating all our organs and giving them life.
The same is true for our hands. Maybe this is why Yah commands us to praise Him with clapping. He knows that as we clap, the nerves in our palms and fingers stimulate our whole body, bringing us life. Thus, when Yah says, “Clap your hands,” He’s really saying, “Get life.” How like our Yah to give us commands regarding praise that not only bring honor to Him but also benefit us in ways beyond the blessings of obedience.
If you don’t believe me, try this sometime. When you are getting drowsy in the middle of the day, or you have trouble getting up in the morning, start clapping. You will feel your whole body wake up and start to work again.
Dancing
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 149:3 את CEPHER.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 150:4 את CEPHER.
Yahuah Elohayka in the midst of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over you with singing. TSEPHANYAHU (ZEPHANIAH) 3:17 את CEPHER.
Few congregations use dance in worship, and some folks actually disapprove of it, but dancing before the Most High is scriptural. In truth, Psalm 149:3 specifically admonishes us to let people praise Him with dance. Sometimes this is the only form of praise that can adequately express the intense joy and longing that well up inside us. We know we must move physically to release our love and devotion to the Most High.
Certainly dancing must be done decently and in order. Yet, we must be careful not to limit such expression because we do not believe in it or do not understand it. Dancing is both an acceptable and essential part of our worship .
At times, our dancing may even become boisterous as we leap and show great joy. This was surely true for Miriam and the other women in Exodus 15 who celebrated Yah’s victory with timbrel and dance. It was also true of Yahusha when the disciples He had sent out two by two came back telling of all they had seen and done. Luke 10:21 says that Yahusha “rejoiced in spirit” (KJV). The Greek word that is translated here rejoice means to “jump for joy” (Strong’s, G21). In a similar manner, the word giyl (Strong’s, H1523), used in Zephaniah to speak of Yah’s rejoicing over us, means “to spin under the influence of a violent emotion, i.e. usually rejoice.”
I wonder how often the Most High is dancing in the Spirit but we are sitting still. He is having so much fun, but He is watching us and wondering why we don’t dance too. If the joy of the Most High is truly in our heart, it will sometimes show up in our feet!
Uplifted Hands
Thus will I bless you while I live: I will lift up my hands in your name. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 63:4 את CEPHER.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 134:2 את CEPHER.
I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. TIMOTHEUS RI'SHON (1 TIMOTHY) 2:8 את CEPHER.
Many of us sing about praising Yah with uplifted hands, but we seldom do it. Yet, we see here that we are commanded to lift our hands in Yah’s sanctuary. The sanctuary is where we come to worship. It’s Yah’s holy dwelling place. Therefore, if Yah says to lift holy hands, we’d better do it. If we don’t obey this command of the Most High, we can’t expect Him to keep His promises to us, since He is holy and cannot lie. Our obedience is what opens Yah’s hands to give us what He has promised.
Therefore, our praise must meet Yah’s requirements all the time. We can’t choose when and where we will lift our hands or do any of the other forms of praise. Obedience requires that we follow the leading of Yah’s Spirit wherever we are and whenever He prompts us to praise.
This is what obedience is. It’s going against our own will to fulfill the will of another; it is submitting our desires to the desires of someone else. In essence, we object to our own personal wishes so we can submit to the wishes of another. Praising with uplifted hands is thus a matter of obedience, not of personal preference.
Making Music on Instruments
And David and all the house of Yashar'el played before Yahuah on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on shofars, and on cymbals. SHEMU'EL SHENIY (2 SAMUEL) 6:5 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. Hallelu-El in his sanctuary: praise him in the expanse of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the shofar: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and flutes. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise Yah. Halleluyah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 150:1-6 את CEPHER.
Psalm 150 in its entirety exhorts us to praise the Most High, and instruments are an important part of this praise. Instruments are not, however, to take over the praise and worship time. This is not Yah’s intent. Praise through musical instruments isn’t to be offered until after we have brought our sacrifice of thanksgiving and raised our voice in praise.
How We Praise Depends on How Well We Know the One We Praise
The characteristics of our praise to the Most High depend on the depth of our relationship with Him. If we have built an intimate, lasting friendship with Him and have become perceptive praisers, we can expect that all these forms of praise will be part of our experience. Should this not yet be our practice, we can start where we are and ask Yah to lead us into the less common forms. Those persons who sincerely desire to obey Him in praise will find that He soon answers their prayers.
PRAISE REVEALS ON THE OUTSIDE WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE INSIDE.
In truth, the more we abandon ourselves to the work and leading of Yah’s Spirit within us, the more we emulate the praise that is pictured in the Scriptures. And why should we not, since praise leads us to our heart’s true home. There, as Yah’s presence comes to us and stays with us, we discover the depths of joy and wonder reserved for those who wholly give themselves to the praise of Yah. Our praise is no longer governed by traditions or comfort zones. Instead, we find that we need every form of worship Yah has given us because no one form or expression can adequately reveal the love, adoration, and faith we feel inside. True praise shows forth in some observable manner our delight and our wonder that Yah has chosen us to be His children and even now draws us close to Him.
PRINCIPLES
1. Praise takes many forms but must always be visible or audible.
2. We cannot choose which forms of praise we want to use. We need to praise Yah with our whole being.
3. Nobody can praise Yah for us.
4. Biblical forms of praise include:
-Singing
-Shouting
-Making a joyful noise
-Laughter
-Thanksgiving
-Standing
-Kneeling
-Clapping
-Dancing
-Uplifted hands
-Making music on instruments
Saturday, April 6, 2024
REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL MANDATE OF THE KINGDOM OF YAH
Matthew chapter 6
Today we are walking in: Rediscovering The Original Mandate Of The Kingdom Of Yah
Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 24:7 ×ת CEPHER
KINGDOM
Today we look to the word-KINGDOM- H4467 mamlâkâh, (mam-law-kaw') -dominion, (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm):—kingdom, king's, reign, royal
The Torah testifies...............
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Yashar'el. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 19:6 ×ת CEPHER
Numbers 32:33
And Mosheh gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Re'uven, and unto half the tribe of Menashsheh the son of Yoceph, the kingdom of Ciychon king of the Emoriym, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 32:33 ×ת CEPHER
Deuteronomy 17:18
And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this Torah in a cepher out of that which is before the priests the Leviyiym: DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 17:18 ×ת CEPHER
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Samuel 10:18
And said unto the children of Yashar'el, Thus says Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el, I brought up Yashar'el out of Mitsrayim, and delivered you out of the hand of the Mitsriym, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: SHEMU'EL RI'SHON (1 SAMUEL) 10:18 ×ת CEPHER
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahuah Tseva'oth will perform this. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 9:7 ×ת CEPHER
Jeremiah 18:9
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; YIRMEYAHU (JEREMIAH) 18:9 ×ת CEPHER
The writings bear witness...........................
1 Kings 9:5
Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom upon Yashar'el forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Yashar'el. MELEKIYM RI'SHON (1 KINGS) 9:5 ×ת CEPHER
1 Chronicles 17:11
And it shall come to pass, when your days be expired that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:11 ×ת CEPHER
Psalm 145:13
Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahuah is true in his word, and holy in all his works. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 145:13 ×ת CEPHER
REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL MANDATE OF THE KINGDOM OF YAH
The Bible says that when a man teaches the kingdom of Yah he’s like a man who goes into a house and brings out old things and new things, because if you lost something for a long time and then you finally found it you think it's new again. We lost this so what I decided to do today and I prayed about this last night for the longest I said Yah what do you want me to do? He says I want you to reassure everyone this afternoon about the kingdom. So I want you to write down a lot of Scripture right now and then go into your own studies. The priority of Yahusha Hamachiach is the kingdom. Yahusha never preached being born again. Yahusha mentioned born-again once, and he never spoke it to a crowd of people. Take a deep breath. The man's question was important. How do I enter the kingdom? We keep preaching what Yahusha never preached. His priority was Matthew 6 verse 33. He says seek ye first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness and everything you need will be added to you. Seek ye first the kingdom of Yah. Now for any Pastor’s that may read this teaching, I'm glad you are reading, because pastors, this is going to be the class that you didn't have in college. This is going to be the class that you didn't have in Bible School. This will be the class you didn't have in seminary. I got a degree in theology and there was not one class on the kingdom and Yahusha said we must seek that first. So I have a degree in theology and don't know the message. I wanted to mention this comment here about prototype timing and listen carefully. According to chronology in the Bible, Adam is about 7,000 years old according to the chronology in the Bible. Now the earth may be much older than that, we don't know. it could be a billion years, million or whatever they want to say but we don't know that, but based on the biblical chronology mankind is about seven thousand years old. So when Adam disobeyed Yah in the third chapter of Genesis, Yah made a promise in the same chapter. He says that the woman shall have a seed that shall come into the world and shall crush the head of the authority of HaSatan and then he shall restore man back. Well here's a question I had about Yah or with Yah for years. Yah why did you take so long to send the seed? Between Adam and Yahusha is four thousand years. That's a long wait and I kept asking Yah why didn't you send Yahusha in chapter 4 and solve the problem? That’s a logical question isn't it? Or why didn't you send Yahusha during the time of Abraham or at the time of Moses or the time of the Chaldeans or the Assyrians? And Yah said to me an amazing thing. He said I sent my son, this is his answer, in the fullness of time. Now the word fullness here has nothing to do with a watch, you know on your hand, a time of day or something. The word fullness of time means everything was in its right place. The setting was perfect. Yah always moves when he has everything in the right place. So why did Yah wait 4000 years before he sent the Machiach? Because it took 4000 years for there to be a prototype in the earth that was the correct prototype of the kingdom of Yah. Now listen carefully. To understand Yah's timing in sending the king, the Machiach, anointed king, you have to understand his concept of a kingdom, and there was no Kingdom on earth that had all the components in it until the Romans arrived. The Romans actually set up a prototype of a kingdom that was the closest to Yah's kingdom and that's why he came at that time. Now let me make a statement. Effective communication depends on correct concepts. So when you're going to communicate with someone you got to make sure that their concepts are the same as yours, otherwise there will be a misconception. So every time you use words, the meanings have to be the same in both people's minds. Are you with me? So when Yah is about to speak into the world he has to make sure that the words that are going to be used by him are common in the environment. So the Roman Empire had all the words, all the concepts that a kingdom that Yah desired on earth had. Let me give an example. Every Kingdom before the Romans, all of them, you could study them, whenever a kingdom took over territory or invaded foreign territory, here's what they did: they would kill all the strong soldiers, they would take the women, and then take all the the young men and they would uproot them out of the country that they invaded and take them back to their country and make them slaves. They would displace people. The Romans were the first Kingdom in history that reversed that. The Romans were the first Kingdom and that's why they were so successful, they were the most powerful Kingdom in history, they were the longest reigning Kingdom in history. Even today no one has ever passed the Romans in rulership and thirdly the Romans had the largest kingdom in history and still do. They reigned from Africa to Scotland. They controlled the world for 200 years. They were the most powerful, most successful Kingdom in history, why? Because they used Yah's system. What is Yah's system? The Romans were the first ones to invent Yah’s idea of colonization. What did the Romans do? Whenever they invaded a foreign territory they didn't uproot the people. They would leave the people in the land but the King, Caesar, which means Lord, would send from his courts a person that he hand-picked to that territory where he just invaded and that person would be called a Tetra or a governor. Pilate was one of them. There are many of them and they would live in the new territory with the people that they conquered and the job of that governor was to convert that territory into Rome. In other words, the Romans didn't bring the people to Rome to make them Romans, they took Rome to the people to make the people Rome. Please listen to me please. So the concept, when Yah saw that, he said let’s go now because everything you're going to say will make sense to them. And that's why the Romans are so successful. They used Yah's system and so came the saying when in Rome you do as the Romans do. In other words, wherever the Romans invaded became little Rome. They made you speak Latin, they made you eat Roman food, they made you wear Roman clothing, they made you pay Roman taxes, they made you practice Roman culture. In other words, everything became Rome, So wherever you are it's Rome and Yahusha came in the midst of that. He was born in a colony. Palestine was a colony. Judea, that whole area was a colony and the governor was sent there to control it and make it Rome And his name was Pilate. Are you following me? Words like colonia is a Greek word that the Romans implemented. Words like Caesar or lord kurios were words that the Greek used for their political discussion but the Romans implemented it. Caesar means Lord. Lord means owner. I own the Empire. That's why Yahusha Hamachiach was a problem to the Roman Empire because he declared that he was Lord. it was a political issue not a religious one. Yahusha Hamachiach never claimed that he was a priest. I know you are shocked but read the four Gospels. But he claimed he was what? A king. He said you call me Lord but don't do what I say, why? if I'm your owner you don't do what Caesar tells you to do, you do what I say and then he says if Caesar’s your Lord then you pay Caesar money if I'm your Lord you pay me money. It was a political conflict. it was two kingdoms clashing. Is anybody still with me? So Yahusha' message had to be a kingdom message. Okay so let me help you out so that you will settle this forever. Let's read from your Bible, Matthew 3:1. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea, what did he preach? Repent! Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is near. John's message was the kingdom message. He didn't preach baptism. He wasn't a Baptist. He baptized but he was not baptist, he preached the kingdom and he baptized Yahusha. I wish I had time to talk about that. I don't want to talk about it right now but the word baptism actually implies submission to a master teacher and his philosophy. That's what baptism was about. It's really not about the ritual of the water. It was what you submitted to. Everybody had baptisms. The Pharisees baptized, the Sadducees had baptisms, Herodians had baptisms. Baptism means you submitted to a master teacher, you went under his authority and became one with his philosophy. Plato had disciples, they call them students. Aristotle baptized, he had students that followed him. Socrates was a master teacher with students; disciples. So everyone had them and Yahusha came and he saw John and John was the master teacher of his era and John was preaching the message of the kingdom and when Hamachiach saw him, Yahusha said I'm going under that teacher. He said I have to get under this philosophy because this is my message and so the teacher became just like the student and vice versa. Let's read Matthew 4:17 And from that time on Yahusha began to preach, what did he preach? Repent! Why? For the kingdom of heaven has arrived. Matthew 4:23 And Yahusha went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. That's what he preached. Matthew 5:3, blessed are those who are spiritually poor for to them they can only be satisfied by the kingdom of heaven. He was talking to six billion people. He says every human that is spiritually bankrupt, the only thing that can satisfy your emptiness is not a religion but the kingdom of heaven. This is why people in your country are atheists, they are agnostics, they are animists. They don't want religion. They're looking for something else. Religion does not satisfy your spiritual hunger. Look at that verse. He said if you are spiritually poor the only thing that can satisfy you is the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because that is what you lost. You didn't lose a religion, you lost the kingdom. Look at this, Matthew 6:33 but seek ye first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you. Luke 4:43 but he said to them I must preach what? The good news of the kingdom to other towns also because that is why I was sent. Some of these verses you have never seen before. Matthew 13:11 but he replied the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them. Matthew 13:24 Yahusha told them another parable, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Look at this, Matthew 12:28 but if I drive out demons by the Spirit of Yah then what? Then the kingdom of Yah has arrived on earth. Let me tell you what miracles are. Miracles are not religious activities. Miracles are evidence of another government. Look at that verse. He said if I drive out demons by the Spirit of Yah, he didn't say a religion has arrived. A kingdom has arrived. How about this one, verse 29 again he says can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first what? Ties up the strong man, then he can rob his house. He says I was able to cast this demon out of this man because the kingdom that was controlling him clashed with a greater Kingdom. Come on let us read the Bible, Luke 9:11 but when the multitudes knew it they followed him and he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of Yah and healed those who had need of healing. By the way, he didn't speak to them about Calvary. Please don't attack me yet. Read the four Gospels for yourself. Yahusha never preached Calvary to the people. He only spoke of his death privately to his disciples. Publicly he preached the kingdom. I'm going to get in trouble right here but study for yourself. Calvary is not the gospel he preached to the people. Matter of fact, let's move on because some of you haven’t got it yet. Luke 12:33 Do not be afraid little flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Yah's pleasure is to give you the kingdom, not to give you a religion. Oh you haven’t had enough. Okay let's move on again Luke chapter 16:16 the law and the prophets, watch this, were preached up until John. Read on, but since John we should be preaching, he says, the kingdom and I graduated from seminary and there was not a class on it. The law represents Moses, the prophets represent all the minor and major prophets of the old testament. He says, the message is not what they said was coming. The message is what has already arrived. Take a deep breath. You never saw that verse before. Since John the message should be the kingdom. By the way it gets worse. Let's read this one, Matthew 23:14 Woe to you theologians, you seminary graduates! Woe to you religious professors, you lawgivers, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, you shut the kingdom of heaven up in men's faces, you won't teach it and you yourselves would not enter nor will you let the people who want to find it, find it. In other words, we are bent on teaching our own messages. Most of the theology that the world of Christendom is filled with things Yah knows nothing about. In other words, you want Yah to influence you in this teaching. I know how you feel right now but blame him not me! Religious people don't want you to know this message, so they shut it up. I tell you, four years in a university in Theological Seminary and no class taught this. How can I go through four years of study in theology about Yah and the Bible and have no session on the kingdom and it's the only message he said to preach? Because they shut it up. I spent one semester studying St. Augustine who was a Catholic priest. I had to read books by German theologians, all the deep guys and none of them talked about the kingdom. This community should be known as the kingdom community, the place where you go to get that message! Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, my assignment is a very difficult assignment because the things I do, like I'm doing right now, is very difficult, because I've got a deal first of all with the church and pastors will come after you. Listen to me, Yahusha never had a single opposition nor a problem with sinners. His greatest opposition was religious people. He says you'll lock it up and you wouldn't go in either. It gets worse Matthew 24:13 and this gospel, this one, this means I know there are many others that you are preaching, but this gospel of the kingdom will be preached into the whole world as a testimony to every hindu, buddhist, Shintoists, Islamic person, every atheist. He said preach that, don't preach Christianity, preach the kingdom to them, why? That's what they're hungry for. That's why they shut down on you. They don't want religion, they have one already and it’s not working. He says, when you preach the kingdom, then the end will come. He placed the end of the world not in the hands of Yah, he left it in your hands. In other words, the end of the world is dependent on a message. So could it be that the church is holding him back because we're preaching our own stuff? I love you, you know and this is hard work man. Take a deep breath. Let’s read, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into the whole world as a testimony to all men and then the end will come. In other words, he says the end is depending on what you preach and he told us what to preach. So stop prophesying and telling people that the end of the world is coming soon. You are holding it back. Are you with me? Are you reading the Bible?Let me prove something to you. This particular statement is a result of a question they asked in verse 1 and 2. They said to Yahusha, when is the end of the world coming and this was his answer, when you guys preach this message to every city, every nation in the world, then I will come. But one time they asked him again. They said, when is the end of the world coming? His answer was strange. He said the end of the world will be like the days of Noah. He says you remember the days of Noah, the people raveling and sinning and everything. He says the Lord spoke to Noah and told Noah to build his ark. Watch him now. He says and when the ark was finished, the door was closed. When the ark was finished, then the rain came, he said and the floods rose. So shall it be at the end of the age. This might be a little confusing for you. Here's what he meant. He was telling the people, telling the disciples, he says look, the end of the world at that time, didn't depend on Yah, it was waiting on Noah. The rain could have come if Noah was finished in a week, if he was finished in a month, if he was finished in two years. The rain was waiting on Noah, so shall the end be. Yah's waiting on you to do that. I am not too concerned about missionaries anymore. I'm not excited about missionaries anymore but the question I have is what is your missionary preaching? Read the statement. You might be financing the retardation of his return. You have a Bible School here, thank Yah, you have a ministry school, thank Yah. Make sure that that school is teaching those people what message to preach when they leave here. When your denominations and your church tradition becomes more important than his instructions, then you have no reason for existence. Take a deep breath. Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:27 I tell you the truth some of you who are standing here today 2,000 years ago will not taste death before they see with their own eyes the Son of man coming in his kingdom. That verse is never taught by theologians. Why? Because they don't want to accept that it's already here. Okay take a deep breath. Let me explain this verse. Look at the verse. He was talking to people in a village standing with him 2,000 years ago. He says you will not die, you're going to be alive when the kingdom comes. He went to the crucifixion stake, rose again, came back and he said receive the Ruach HaQadesh. In other words, the kingdom is here. The kingdom of Yah is love, joy, peace and righteousness in the Ruach HaQadesh. The government is here now. We keep putting the kingdom in the future. The governor is already here. The kingdom is supposed to be working every day wherever you are. It's here on earth now. I put it to you, write this down. You can never appropriate what you postpone. If you keep putting the kingdom in the future you can never experience it now and he wants you to experience it now. He wants to meet all of your needs now. He wants you to be protected by his army now. And by the way, in a kingdom the citizens don't fight. This is very important. In a kingdom the army fights not the citizens. And so when you study the Bible carefully you'll find that the Army in the kingdom of Yah is the messengers. You are citizens so while you're drinking kool-aid and sipping your iced coffee with your chocolate doughnut the messengers are fighting on your behalf. He said I will give my messengers, army, charge. That means responsibility, concerning you, to protect you in all your ways, therefore stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The next verse says, and the angel of the Lord went forth and destroyed Pharaoh's army. Let me tell you something. While you are here there are secret agents around your house walking around right now, they are walking around. That's why your car is safe, your kids are safe, your home is safe, your business is safe, why? In a kingdom the government sends its army to protect your property. These military guys are so awesome that the Bible says one of them destroyed Pharaoh's army. ONE! No wonder why Pilate became nervous when he threatened Yahusha. Let me give you an example of how powerful the army is. Yahusha is a king not a religious man. That's why when they arrested him in the garden he was arrested by the religious leaders. They took him to Caiaphas house and put him on trial in the court in the night, which was illegal but it was a religious Court, the Sanhedrin Council. Yahusha never answered them why? Wrong courtroom. You can't try a political leader in a religious court, so he just kept quiet, why? Unnecessary to talk to these guys, wrong courtroom. They have a religion. I have a kingdom, wrong courtroom. Now watch this, the Bible says then Caiaphas command that he be sent to Pilate. He went to Pilate. Now it's the right courtroom. We have Kingdom against Kingdom and he began to talk. Yahusha said Pilate, Pilate said Yahusha, the people said that you claim to be a king. Yahusha said, they rightly said, for this cause was I born to be a king, to testify of the truth, but my kingdom is not from this world it's in it but not from it. Pilate says, Do You Know Who I am? I represent King Caesar, I have the power in my thumb, I could take your life or give it to you. Now never threaten Yahusha. Watch his response. Yahusha said excuse me Pilate, listen to his words now, he says Pilot you could have no power over me except it was given to you by my government from above. That is in your Bible. The next statement he says, because even now, watch him now, I could call 10 legions of messengers……… not believers. I don't need no believer to defend me, I have an army in my country. I can call 10 legions of messengers and they can deliver me out of your hands right now. He says but I came to die so shut your mouth. Do you know that a Legion is 6,000 soldiers? 10 legions is 60,000. Only one destroyed Pharaoh's army. You better give him praise! Your house is safe, your car is safe, your business is safe, your children are safe. He has given his messengers CHARGE concerning you! The only problem is with the messengers, they work for you, you have to give them instructions because you are their boss. And so he said messengers are ministering spirits sent forth to do the bidding, the instructions of those who are of his salvation. That's why your house was broken into, because you left home and didn't leave instructions! Say thank you great governor! It is time to rediscover the original kingdom mandate!!!!!!
Today we are walking in: Rediscovering The Original Mandate Of The Kingdom Of Yah
Numbers 24:7
He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 24:7 ×ת CEPHER
KINGDOM
Today we look to the word-KINGDOM- H4467 mamlâkâh, (mam-law-kaw') -dominion, (abstractly) the estate (rule) or (concretely) the country (realm):—kingdom, king's, reign, royal
The Torah testifies...............
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Yashar'el. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 19:6 ×ת CEPHER
Numbers 32:33
And Mosheh gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Re'uven, and unto half the tribe of Menashsheh the son of Yoceph, the kingdom of Ciychon king of the Emoriym, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. BEMIDBAR (NUMBERS) 32:33 ×ת CEPHER
Deuteronomy 17:18
And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this Torah in a cepher out of that which is before the priests the Leviyiym: DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 17:18 ×ת CEPHER
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Samuel 10:18
And said unto the children of Yashar'el, Thus says Yahuah Elohai of Yashar'el, I brought up Yashar'el out of Mitsrayim, and delivered you out of the hand of the Mitsriym, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: SHEMU'EL RI'SHON (1 SAMUEL) 10:18 ×ת CEPHER
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahuah Tseva'oth will perform this. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 9:7 ×ת CEPHER
Jeremiah 18:9
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; YIRMEYAHU (JEREMIAH) 18:9 ×ת CEPHER
The writings bear witness...........................
1 Kings 9:5
Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom upon Yashar'el forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Yashar'el. MELEKIYM RI'SHON (1 KINGS) 9:5 ×ת CEPHER
1 Chronicles 17:11
And it shall come to pass, when your days be expired that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:11 ×ת CEPHER
Psalm 145:13
Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahuah is true in his word, and holy in all his works. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 145:13 ×ת CEPHER
REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL MANDATE OF THE KINGDOM OF YAH
The Bible says that when a man teaches the kingdom of Yah he’s like a man who goes into a house and brings out old things and new things, because if you lost something for a long time and then you finally found it you think it's new again. We lost this so what I decided to do today and I prayed about this last night for the longest I said Yah what do you want me to do? He says I want you to reassure everyone this afternoon about the kingdom. So I want you to write down a lot of Scripture right now and then go into your own studies. The priority of Yahusha Hamachiach is the kingdom. Yahusha never preached being born again. Yahusha mentioned born-again once, and he never spoke it to a crowd of people. Take a deep breath. The man's question was important. How do I enter the kingdom? We keep preaching what Yahusha never preached. His priority was Matthew 6 verse 33. He says seek ye first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness and everything you need will be added to you. Seek ye first the kingdom of Yah. Now for any Pastor’s that may read this teaching, I'm glad you are reading, because pastors, this is going to be the class that you didn't have in college. This is going to be the class that you didn't have in Bible School. This will be the class you didn't have in seminary. I got a degree in theology and there was not one class on the kingdom and Yahusha said we must seek that first. So I have a degree in theology and don't know the message. I wanted to mention this comment here about prototype timing and listen carefully. According to chronology in the Bible, Adam is about 7,000 years old according to the chronology in the Bible. Now the earth may be much older than that, we don't know. it could be a billion years, million or whatever they want to say but we don't know that, but based on the biblical chronology mankind is about seven thousand years old. So when Adam disobeyed Yah in the third chapter of Genesis, Yah made a promise in the same chapter. He says that the woman shall have a seed that shall come into the world and shall crush the head of the authority of HaSatan and then he shall restore man back. Well here's a question I had about Yah or with Yah for years. Yah why did you take so long to send the seed? Between Adam and Yahusha is four thousand years. That's a long wait and I kept asking Yah why didn't you send Yahusha in chapter 4 and solve the problem? That’s a logical question isn't it? Or why didn't you send Yahusha during the time of Abraham or at the time of Moses or the time of the Chaldeans or the Assyrians? And Yah said to me an amazing thing. He said I sent my son, this is his answer, in the fullness of time. Now the word fullness here has nothing to do with a watch, you know on your hand, a time of day or something. The word fullness of time means everything was in its right place. The setting was perfect. Yah always moves when he has everything in the right place. So why did Yah wait 4000 years before he sent the Machiach? Because it took 4000 years for there to be a prototype in the earth that was the correct prototype of the kingdom of Yah. Now listen carefully. To understand Yah's timing in sending the king, the Machiach, anointed king, you have to understand his concept of a kingdom, and there was no Kingdom on earth that had all the components in it until the Romans arrived. The Romans actually set up a prototype of a kingdom that was the closest to Yah's kingdom and that's why he came at that time. Now let me make a statement. Effective communication depends on correct concepts. So when you're going to communicate with someone you got to make sure that their concepts are the same as yours, otherwise there will be a misconception. So every time you use words, the meanings have to be the same in both people's minds. Are you with me? So when Yah is about to speak into the world he has to make sure that the words that are going to be used by him are common in the environment. So the Roman Empire had all the words, all the concepts that a kingdom that Yah desired on earth had. Let me give an example. Every Kingdom before the Romans, all of them, you could study them, whenever a kingdom took over territory or invaded foreign territory, here's what they did: they would kill all the strong soldiers, they would take the women, and then take all the the young men and they would uproot them out of the country that they invaded and take them back to their country and make them slaves. They would displace people. The Romans were the first Kingdom in history that reversed that. The Romans were the first Kingdom and that's why they were so successful, they were the most powerful Kingdom in history, they were the longest reigning Kingdom in history. Even today no one has ever passed the Romans in rulership and thirdly the Romans had the largest kingdom in history and still do. They reigned from Africa to Scotland. They controlled the world for 200 years. They were the most powerful, most successful Kingdom in history, why? Because they used Yah's system. What is Yah's system? The Romans were the first ones to invent Yah’s idea of colonization. What did the Romans do? Whenever they invaded a foreign territory they didn't uproot the people. They would leave the people in the land but the King, Caesar, which means Lord, would send from his courts a person that he hand-picked to that territory where he just invaded and that person would be called a Tetra or a governor. Pilate was one of them. There are many of them and they would live in the new territory with the people that they conquered and the job of that governor was to convert that territory into Rome. In other words, the Romans didn't bring the people to Rome to make them Romans, they took Rome to the people to make the people Rome. Please listen to me please. So the concept, when Yah saw that, he said let’s go now because everything you're going to say will make sense to them. And that's why the Romans are so successful. They used Yah's system and so came the saying when in Rome you do as the Romans do. In other words, wherever the Romans invaded became little Rome. They made you speak Latin, they made you eat Roman food, they made you wear Roman clothing, they made you pay Roman taxes, they made you practice Roman culture. In other words, everything became Rome, So wherever you are it's Rome and Yahusha came in the midst of that. He was born in a colony. Palestine was a colony. Judea, that whole area was a colony and the governor was sent there to control it and make it Rome And his name was Pilate. Are you following me? Words like colonia is a Greek word that the Romans implemented. Words like Caesar or lord kurios were words that the Greek used for their political discussion but the Romans implemented it. Caesar means Lord. Lord means owner. I own the Empire. That's why Yahusha Hamachiach was a problem to the Roman Empire because he declared that he was Lord. it was a political issue not a religious one. Yahusha Hamachiach never claimed that he was a priest. I know you are shocked but read the four Gospels. But he claimed he was what? A king. He said you call me Lord but don't do what I say, why? if I'm your owner you don't do what Caesar tells you to do, you do what I say and then he says if Caesar’s your Lord then you pay Caesar money if I'm your Lord you pay me money. It was a political conflict. it was two kingdoms clashing. Is anybody still with me? So Yahusha' message had to be a kingdom message. Okay so let me help you out so that you will settle this forever. Let's read from your Bible, Matthew 3:1. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea, what did he preach? Repent! Why? Because the kingdom of heaven is near. John's message was the kingdom message. He didn't preach baptism. He wasn't a Baptist. He baptized but he was not baptist, he preached the kingdom and he baptized Yahusha. I wish I had time to talk about that. I don't want to talk about it right now but the word baptism actually implies submission to a master teacher and his philosophy. That's what baptism was about. It's really not about the ritual of the water. It was what you submitted to. Everybody had baptisms. The Pharisees baptized, the Sadducees had baptisms, Herodians had baptisms. Baptism means you submitted to a master teacher, you went under his authority and became one with his philosophy. Plato had disciples, they call them students. Aristotle baptized, he had students that followed him. Socrates was a master teacher with students; disciples. So everyone had them and Yahusha came and he saw John and John was the master teacher of his era and John was preaching the message of the kingdom and when Hamachiach saw him, Yahusha said I'm going under that teacher. He said I have to get under this philosophy because this is my message and so the teacher became just like the student and vice versa. Let's read Matthew 4:17 And from that time on Yahusha began to preach, what did he preach? Repent! Why? For the kingdom of heaven has arrived. Matthew 4:23 And Yahusha went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. That's what he preached. Matthew 5:3, blessed are those who are spiritually poor for to them they can only be satisfied by the kingdom of heaven. He was talking to six billion people. He says every human that is spiritually bankrupt, the only thing that can satisfy your emptiness is not a religion but the kingdom of heaven. This is why people in your country are atheists, they are agnostics, they are animists. They don't want religion. They're looking for something else. Religion does not satisfy your spiritual hunger. Look at that verse. He said if you are spiritually poor the only thing that can satisfy you is the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because that is what you lost. You didn't lose a religion, you lost the kingdom. Look at this, Matthew 6:33 but seek ye first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you. Luke 4:43 but he said to them I must preach what? The good news of the kingdom to other towns also because that is why I was sent. Some of these verses you have never seen before. Matthew 13:11 but he replied the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them. Matthew 13:24 Yahusha told them another parable, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Look at this, Matthew 12:28 but if I drive out demons by the Spirit of Yah then what? Then the kingdom of Yah has arrived on earth. Let me tell you what miracles are. Miracles are not religious activities. Miracles are evidence of another government. Look at that verse. He said if I drive out demons by the Spirit of Yah, he didn't say a religion has arrived. A kingdom has arrived. How about this one, verse 29 again he says can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first what? Ties up the strong man, then he can rob his house. He says I was able to cast this demon out of this man because the kingdom that was controlling him clashed with a greater Kingdom. Come on let us read the Bible, Luke 9:11 but when the multitudes knew it they followed him and he received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of Yah and healed those who had need of healing. By the way, he didn't speak to them about Calvary. Please don't attack me yet. Read the four Gospels for yourself. Yahusha never preached Calvary to the people. He only spoke of his death privately to his disciples. Publicly he preached the kingdom. I'm going to get in trouble right here but study for yourself. Calvary is not the gospel he preached to the people. Matter of fact, let's move on because some of you haven’t got it yet. Luke 12:33 Do not be afraid little flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Yah's pleasure is to give you the kingdom, not to give you a religion. Oh you haven’t had enough. Okay let's move on again Luke chapter 16:16 the law and the prophets, watch this, were preached up until John. Read on, but since John we should be preaching, he says, the kingdom and I graduated from seminary and there was not a class on it. The law represents Moses, the prophets represent all the minor and major prophets of the old testament. He says, the message is not what they said was coming. The message is what has already arrived. Take a deep breath. You never saw that verse before. Since John the message should be the kingdom. By the way it gets worse. Let's read this one, Matthew 23:14 Woe to you theologians, you seminary graduates! Woe to you religious professors, you lawgivers, you Pharisees, you hypocrites, you shut the kingdom of heaven up in men's faces, you won't teach it and you yourselves would not enter nor will you let the people who want to find it, find it. In other words, we are bent on teaching our own messages. Most of the theology that the world of Christendom is filled with things Yah knows nothing about. In other words, you want Yah to influence you in this teaching. I know how you feel right now but blame him not me! Religious people don't want you to know this message, so they shut it up. I tell you, four years in a university in Theological Seminary and no class taught this. How can I go through four years of study in theology about Yah and the Bible and have no session on the kingdom and it's the only message he said to preach? Because they shut it up. I spent one semester studying St. Augustine who was a Catholic priest. I had to read books by German theologians, all the deep guys and none of them talked about the kingdom. This community should be known as the kingdom community, the place where you go to get that message! Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, my assignment is a very difficult assignment because the things I do, like I'm doing right now, is very difficult, because I've got a deal first of all with the church and pastors will come after you. Listen to me, Yahusha never had a single opposition nor a problem with sinners. His greatest opposition was religious people. He says you'll lock it up and you wouldn't go in either. It gets worse Matthew 24:13 and this gospel, this one, this means I know there are many others that you are preaching, but this gospel of the kingdom will be preached into the whole world as a testimony to every hindu, buddhist, Shintoists, Islamic person, every atheist. He said preach that, don't preach Christianity, preach the kingdom to them, why? That's what they're hungry for. That's why they shut down on you. They don't want religion, they have one already and it’s not working. He says, when you preach the kingdom, then the end will come. He placed the end of the world not in the hands of Yah, he left it in your hands. In other words, the end of the world is dependent on a message. So could it be that the church is holding him back because we're preaching our own stuff? I love you, you know and this is hard work man. Take a deep breath. Let’s read, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into the whole world as a testimony to all men and then the end will come. In other words, he says the end is depending on what you preach and he told us what to preach. So stop prophesying and telling people that the end of the world is coming soon. You are holding it back. Are you with me? Are you reading the Bible?Let me prove something to you. This particular statement is a result of a question they asked in verse 1 and 2. They said to Yahusha, when is the end of the world coming and this was his answer, when you guys preach this message to every city, every nation in the world, then I will come. But one time they asked him again. They said, when is the end of the world coming? His answer was strange. He said the end of the world will be like the days of Noah. He says you remember the days of Noah, the people raveling and sinning and everything. He says the Lord spoke to Noah and told Noah to build his ark. Watch him now. He says and when the ark was finished, the door was closed. When the ark was finished, then the rain came, he said and the floods rose. So shall it be at the end of the age. This might be a little confusing for you. Here's what he meant. He was telling the people, telling the disciples, he says look, the end of the world at that time, didn't depend on Yah, it was waiting on Noah. The rain could have come if Noah was finished in a week, if he was finished in a month, if he was finished in two years. The rain was waiting on Noah, so shall the end be. Yah's waiting on you to do that. I am not too concerned about missionaries anymore. I'm not excited about missionaries anymore but the question I have is what is your missionary preaching? Read the statement. You might be financing the retardation of his return. You have a Bible School here, thank Yah, you have a ministry school, thank Yah. Make sure that that school is teaching those people what message to preach when they leave here. When your denominations and your church tradition becomes more important than his instructions, then you have no reason for existence. Take a deep breath. Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:27 I tell you the truth some of you who are standing here today 2,000 years ago will not taste death before they see with their own eyes the Son of man coming in his kingdom. That verse is never taught by theologians. Why? Because they don't want to accept that it's already here. Okay take a deep breath. Let me explain this verse. Look at the verse. He was talking to people in a village standing with him 2,000 years ago. He says you will not die, you're going to be alive when the kingdom comes. He went to the crucifixion stake, rose again, came back and he said receive the Ruach HaQadesh. In other words, the kingdom is here. The kingdom of Yah is love, joy, peace and righteousness in the Ruach HaQadesh. The government is here now. We keep putting the kingdom in the future. The governor is already here. The kingdom is supposed to be working every day wherever you are. It's here on earth now. I put it to you, write this down. You can never appropriate what you postpone. If you keep putting the kingdom in the future you can never experience it now and he wants you to experience it now. He wants to meet all of your needs now. He wants you to be protected by his army now. And by the way, in a kingdom the citizens don't fight. This is very important. In a kingdom the army fights not the citizens. And so when you study the Bible carefully you'll find that the Army in the kingdom of Yah is the messengers. You are citizens so while you're drinking kool-aid and sipping your iced coffee with your chocolate doughnut the messengers are fighting on your behalf. He said I will give my messengers, army, charge. That means responsibility, concerning you, to protect you in all your ways, therefore stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The next verse says, and the angel of the Lord went forth and destroyed Pharaoh's army. Let me tell you something. While you are here there are secret agents around your house walking around right now, they are walking around. That's why your car is safe, your kids are safe, your home is safe, your business is safe, why? In a kingdom the government sends its army to protect your property. These military guys are so awesome that the Bible says one of them destroyed Pharaoh's army. ONE! No wonder why Pilate became nervous when he threatened Yahusha. Let me give you an example of how powerful the army is. Yahusha is a king not a religious man. That's why when they arrested him in the garden he was arrested by the religious leaders. They took him to Caiaphas house and put him on trial in the court in the night, which was illegal but it was a religious Court, the Sanhedrin Council. Yahusha never answered them why? Wrong courtroom. You can't try a political leader in a religious court, so he just kept quiet, why? Unnecessary to talk to these guys, wrong courtroom. They have a religion. I have a kingdom, wrong courtroom. Now watch this, the Bible says then Caiaphas command that he be sent to Pilate. He went to Pilate. Now it's the right courtroom. We have Kingdom against Kingdom and he began to talk. Yahusha said Pilate, Pilate said Yahusha, the people said that you claim to be a king. Yahusha said, they rightly said, for this cause was I born to be a king, to testify of the truth, but my kingdom is not from this world it's in it but not from it. Pilate says, Do You Know Who I am? I represent King Caesar, I have the power in my thumb, I could take your life or give it to you. Now never threaten Yahusha. Watch his response. Yahusha said excuse me Pilate, listen to his words now, he says Pilot you could have no power over me except it was given to you by my government from above. That is in your Bible. The next statement he says, because even now, watch him now, I could call 10 legions of messengers……… not believers. I don't need no believer to defend me, I have an army in my country. I can call 10 legions of messengers and they can deliver me out of your hands right now. He says but I came to die so shut your mouth. Do you know that a Legion is 6,000 soldiers? 10 legions is 60,000. Only one destroyed Pharaoh's army. You better give him praise! Your house is safe, your car is safe, your business is safe, your children are safe. He has given his messengers CHARGE concerning you! The only problem is with the messengers, they work for you, you have to give them instructions because you are their boss. And so he said messengers are ministering spirits sent forth to do the bidding, the instructions of those who are of his salvation. That's why your house was broken into, because you left home and didn't leave instructions! Say thank you great governor! It is time to rediscover the original kingdom mandate!!!!!!
Friday, April 5, 2024
WHEN ARE WE TO PRAISE YAH?
Psalm chapter 34
Today we are walking in: When Are We To Praise Yah?
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 6
WHEN ARE WE TO PRAISE Yah?
Yah is worthy of our praise all day, every day, no matter what kind of a day it is.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that there are two times to praise the Most High: when you feel like it, and when you don’t. Any other time you don’t have to praise Him. The implication is that you are to praise the Most High at all times. This is certainly the message of the psalmist: I will bless Yahuah at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 34:1 את CEPHER
Therefore, praise is to be an everyday part of your life. No matter what’s happening—whether you are having low moments or high moments—your focus is to stay on Yah.
In the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
In other words, Yah is worthy of your praise in the best of times, the worst of times, and all the mundane moments in between.
In the Best of Times
King David dreamed of building a permanent house for the Most High to replace the mobile Tabernacle that had housed the Ark of the Covenant since the days of Moses. The prophet Nathan had even put his stamp of approval on David’s plans. Then the word of the Most High came to Nathan at night,
Go and tell Daviyd my servant, Thus says Yahuah, You shall not build me a house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Yashar'el unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one Tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Yashar'el, spoke I a word to any of the judges of Yashar'el, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedars? Now therefore thus shall you say unto my servant Daviyd, Thus says Yahuah Tseva'oth, I took you from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people Yashar'el: And I have been with you whithersoever you have walked, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also I will ordain a place for my people Yashar'el, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them anymore, as at the beginning, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Yashar'el. Moreover I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that Yahuah will build you a house. And it shall come to pass, when your days be expired that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will stablish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before you: But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established forevermore. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:4-14 את CEPHER.
Wow! What a promise! Yah was giving David a house instead of David giving Yah a house. Isn’t this just like our Yah? We plan something great and Yah does something even better. True, David didn’t get to build Yah’s house— his son Solomon did—yet David was so overcome with gratitude to Yah after hearing Nathan’s report that he had his own little praise session:
O Yahuah, there is none like you, neither is there any Elohiym beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like your people Yashar'el, whom Elohiym went to redeem to be his own people, to make you a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before your people, whom you have redeemed out of Mitsrayim? For your people Yashar'el did you make your own people forever; and you, Yahuah, became their Elohiym. Therefore now, Yahuah, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have said. Let it even be established, that your name may be magnified forever, saying, Yahuah Tseva'oth is the Elohai of Yashar'el, even an Elohiym to Yashar'el: and let the house of Daviyd your servant be established before you. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:20-24 את CEPHER.
Sometime later, David gave gold and silver for the building of the Temple and asked who would join him in providing for Yah’s house. The leaders of Israel gave willingly and the people rejoiced because of their generous giving. King David, overjoyed by the response of the people, again praised the Most High:
And Daviyd said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahuah Elohaykem. And all the assembly blessed Yahuah Elohai of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Yahuah, and the king. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto Yahuah, and offered ascending smoke offerings unto Yahuah, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Yashar'el: DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 29:20-21 את CEPHER.
At some point in the praise and worship, Yah’s presence must have come to His people, for the next verse says, “And did eat and drink before Yahuah on that day with great gladness. And they made Shalomah the son of Daviyd king the second time, and anointed him unto Yahuah to be the chief governor, and Tsadoq to be priest. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 29:22 את CEPHER.
Then they acknowledged Solomon as king.
David’s world was certainly right that day. The leaders of the people had given generously for the building of the Temple and had acclaimed Solomon as king. Then Yah’s presence had come, a joy David knew and loved above all else!
Remember, however, that this high was not a chance occurrence. I have to believe that Yah’s coming in the midst of His people was not only prompted by the praise of David and the people, but also by David’s lifestyle of p raise. David never took Yah’s goodness to him for granted. Repeatedly, he told Yah how good He was and how grateful he, David, was for Yah’s many blessings to him.
We would do well to follow David’s example. Yes, we may praise Yah for a specific blessing, but few of us have developed a lifetime pattern of seeing all the good in our life as gifts from the hand of Yah. Praising Yah in the good times—of which there are many more than most of us admit—is an essential ingredient of our praise.
In the Worst of Times
Paul and Silas, on the other hand, were suffering one of life’s low moments. For many days they had been followed by a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell fortunes. Day after day, she had shouted, “The same followed Pa'al and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of El Elyon, which show unto us the way of yeshu`ah. MA'ASIYM (ACTS) 16:17 את CEPHER. Finally, having had enough of this, Paul commanded the spirit in the name of Yahusha to leave the girl, which it did. The girl’s owners, incensed by their loss of income, then stirred up the crowd and the leaders of the city until Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into jail, where their feet were placed in stocks.
What would most of us have done in such circumstances? We probably would have moaned and groaned about how unfair the events of the day had been. What did Paul and Silas do? They didn’t start complaining about the darkness, the slimy moss on the walls, the stench of the urine in the hole where they had been thrown, or the rats they could hear and feel. Instead, Paul said, “Silas, let’s sing.” They spent the night praying and singing to the Most High—and not in a quiet, subdued manner, either. Their worship service was loud enough for the other prisoners to hear it.
Suddenly, Yah entered the jail through an earthquake, and the cell was too small for Yah to sit down. This is when the doors flew open and the chains dropped to the ground—and not just the chains that had held Paul and Silas in the stocks, either. When Yah moved in, things changed in that whole jail! (See Acts 16.)
What a story! I’m sure that Paul and Silas’ wounds hurt. They could have had quite a pity party. Yet, this was not their response because not only did they recognize their problem, they also knew that Yah was up to dealing with it. Therefore, they did the one thing that would get Yah’s presence into that urine-soaked cell with them. They had a prayer and praise session.
I wonder what kind of prison you are in or what problem threatens to defeat you. It’s easy to complain when you are faced with things that frighten you or circumstances that never seem to get better. Nevertheless, if you want Yah to come into your cell, you must resist the temptation to grumble, murmur, and complain. You have to make the decision to praise Him instead.
Just look beyond your feelings, your fears, and your circumstances to Yah. Praise Him for whatever goodness you have enjoyed from His hand, however small or insignificant it may seem to be. Instead of recalling everything that is wrong in your life, remember everything that is right.
If you will do this—if you will consciously choose to trust Yah and to proclaim His goodness to you—the Lion from the tribe of praise will show up and He will shatter your prison. Not only this, He’ll loosen your chains and dispel your darkness too. No, you may not feel the earth tremble beneath your feet or see doors fly open, but you will find that your attitude and your outlook change as your praise brings His presence into your life. Just try it. Start small if you have to, but start somewhere. Find something in your life to praise Yah for, then open your mouth and create a place for Him to sit with you. You just might be surprised by what He does!
In the Mundane, In-Between Times
Don’t think, however, that you have to be on the mountaintop or in the valley to have your own private praise session. Oftentimes the normal days of our life are the hardest times to praise Yah because there’s nothing in particular to draw our attention to Him. This is why we must get into the habit of praising the Most High. Most of us have habits of murmuring. What would our life be like if we used that same energy to praise Yah? How might our days go if we turned our attention to Him instead of the ball game or the advertisements or the latest best seller?
David talked to himself about Yah all the time. I don’t think we have practiced that enough. We like to sing, “Bless the Most High, O my soul,” but how often do we really do it? (See Psalm 103:1a KJV.) In truth, this phrase is a command to our soul to praise the Most High.
Your soul is your whole self: your will, your emotions, and your intellect. (See Genesis 2:7 KJV.) Therefore, if you are telling your soul to praise Yah, in reality you are commanding your body to respond to all three.
In other words, you first give yourself a talking to and take control over your will, your emotions, and your intellect. Then, once all three are focused on Yah and attentive to Him, your body acts in accordance with the instructions it receives from them. This is why you can still praise Yah when your will is indifferent, your emotions are blah, or your mind is bored. Your body responds with praise because your will, your emotions, and your intellect —under your conscious and attentive control—tell it to do so.
We think we have to have something great in our life before we can praise the Most High. This is a lie! David praised the Most High day in and day out. Whether he messed up or had just won a battle, he talked with Yah about it. He didn’t need some special reason to sing, shout, or dance his adoration. He just did it all the time—even when things were boring and mundane.
PRAISE IS A DAY IN AND DAY OUT RESPONSIBILITY.
You too must develop an attitude where praise becomes your protection all the time as you bring Yah around you. Whether you are typing a letter, loading a truck, taking care of children, or cleaning the house, just keep making melody to the Most High. Sometimes you might be humming a tune. Other times you may need to praise Yah in your mind. Whatever you are doing, you are just going through the whole day with Yah. Don’t wait for something special to happen. Instead, make sure that Yah is with you every day and all day as you keep Him with you through your praise. Then, no matter what happens in your life, Yah is there to handle it.
Every Day and All Day In Public and in Private
Some of us wait until Sabbath on Saturday before we praise Yah, and even then we don’t come with praise and thanksgiving in our heart. Instead we come with our bad feelings and wait for someone to make us feel better.
Maybe you were up all night with the baby, you had a spat with your husband over breakfast, or your kids acted up in the car on the way to Sabbath. Whatever the reason, you come to Sabbath in a bad mood.
The apostle Paul instructs us to have quite a different attitude and disposition:
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Most High, always giving thanks to Yah the Father for everything, in the name of our Most High Yahusha Hamachiach (Ephesians 5:19-20).
This means that before you get to Sabbath, you are supposed to be praising Yah. Even before you get into the car, you are supposed to have your own private praise service, so that when you join the rest of Yah’s family, you are ready to ascend into Yah’s presence with everybody else.
In essence, when you prepare in private for public praise, you don’t need a worship leader to make you feel like praising Yah. Yes, there is a place for worship leaders in our corporate worship, but it is not their job to make you feel good enough to tell your Daddy how great He is.
IT IS NOT THE JOB OF THE WORSHIP LEADER TO INSPIRE YOU TO PRAISE Yah.
If you have been talking to your own soul throughout the week the way you are supposed to be, you won’t need anyone to get your attention and stir you up. You will already be eager and ready to go. In fact, you will be like David, who said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 122:1 את CEPHER.
David rejoiced when the doors of Yah’s house were open and he could go in. He was excited to worship with Yah’s people. The same should be true for you. Your worship in
private throughout the week should prepare you for worship with your brothers and sisters in Hamachiach.
In essence, all of us are worship leaders because we are temples of the Most High (see 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19). What we do in our own house affects what we do with everybody else. When we sanctify our house through righteous praise at home, we are then ready to sanctify the whole place when we come together.
Therefore, be careful not to come expecting something great in your public praise and worship if you haven’t had an individual meeting with Yah first. Praise in your private life is what brings power and authority to your public experience.
David had no problem dealing with Goliath because he had a worship service behind the mountain before he went out to meet the enemy. His instructions and encouragement from Yah gave him the courage he needed to fight a man who was nine to ten feet tall. (See 1 Samuel 17.) Moreover, David’s pattern of private worship had given him the opportunity to see Yah’s work on his behalf in the past. Therefore, he had the confidence to trust Yah again in these new circumstances.
Few of us operate from this perspective. If we functioned as David did, we would have a worship service at home before we go to the bank to get a loan. Most of us go for the loan first and cry to Yah if we don’t get it. On the other hand, if the loan comes through, we praise Yah for the moment, then go back to life as usual.
I’m telling you, friends, your life would be quite different if you praised Yah before you met a challenge. Just try it. Have a private worship service in your home before you go to work. Put on some music that draws you into praise and worship, then spend some time with Yah before you walk out the door. Don’t listen to the news before you go to work. Listen to Yah. Then He will fill your day with Himself because you started your day with Him.
LISTEN TO Yah, NOT THE NEWS, BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE IN THE MORNING.
Many times the Most High works all day to get into your life because you didn’t give Him the day in the beginning. He watches you go through your struggles and says, “My goodness! How I wish I could get into your day, but there’s no place for Me to sit. You haven’t praised Me, so there’s no place for My presence to be enthroned.”
Directly to Yah and Indirectly to Others
Praise is how we make room for Yah in our life. Sometimes our praise is offered directly to Yah, which is probably what we are most familiar with. We magnify and extol Him by speaking or singing our praise to Him as David did in Psalm 9:
I will praise you, O Yahuah, with my whole heart; I will show forth all your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you: I will sing praise to your name, O El Elyon. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 9:1-2 את CEPHER.
Not all our praise is to be direct, however. Yah also wants us to praise Him indirectly. This happens when we commend Yah and express our approval of Him to others.
Yah wants you to share with others what He is doing in your life. No matter how insignificant His activity in your life may seem to be to you, talk about it. Announce to your friends, family, and coworkers how He has sustained you and brought you through a difficult time. Testify to Yah’s goodness and to what He has been doing for you. This is how He receives glory and honor.
Most of us tell people about our problems, complaints, dislikes, and misunderstandings. We are much more likely to murmur and clamor than to speak of the Most High’s goodness to us. How sad! We are no different from the children of Israel who murmured their way through the wilderness and failed to recognize Yah’s blessings and to give Him credit for everything He had done for them. Indeed, they were so disgruntled that they wanted to go back to Egypt, the land of their slavery!
Yah doesn’t want you to have such an attitude. He wants you to see and proclaim the difference He has made in your life. Again, David is a good example of a man who did this. (No wonder Yah saw him as a man after His heart!) His praise was contagious because he wasn’t content to praise Yah by himself. When he went to the Tabernacle, he wanted everybody else to praise Yah too.
I will bless Yahuah at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in Yahuah: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify Yahuah with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought Yahuah, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and Yahuah heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 34:1-6 את CEPHER.
David wanted everybody to know what Yah had done for him, and he wasn’t shy about asking others to join Him in glorifying and exalting Yah.
We readily gossip about everything else. Now it’s time that we gossip about the Most High’s doings in our lives: “Did you hear what Yah did for so-and-so? He’s just telling everyone—and he’s telling them to tell even more people!”
Please stop reading a moment and really think about this. Wouldn’t it be great if every time we saw each other we shared something good of what the Most High has done for us? How our conversation and our attitudes would change! Surely we would see even more of Yah’s activity, since when we praise Him to others, He becomes excited to do the same thing again, and even more!
Sing a New Song Every Day
This is what the Scriptures mean by singing a new song:
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 33:3 את CEPHER.
O sing unto Yahuah a new song: sing unto Yahuah, all the earth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 96:1 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. Sing unto Yahuah a new song, and his praise in the assembly of the chaciyd. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 149:1 את CEPHER.
Our new song is to be a song of all that Yah has done for us. It is based on our experience with Him.
David did this on a regular basis. Because he was always seeing Yah at work in his life, his song came out of the latest thing Yah had done for him.
O sing unto Yahuah a new song; for he has done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, has gotten him the victory. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:1 את CEPHER.
I waited patiently for Yahuah; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our Elohiym: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 40:1-3 את CEPHER
Yah wants such praise from you as well. He is tired of hearing the same old testimonies you have shared repeatedly. In fact, if you’ll listen, you’ll hear Him asking you, “Do you have to tell the same old story again? Haven’t I done anything for you since that wonderful time?”
Truly, your most effective testimony is to brag to other people about what Yah has done for you this week. Tell
people what He did just yesterday, or even this morning. Then your song will always be new.
YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE TESTIMONY IS TO BRAG ABOUT WHAT Yah DID FOR YOU THIS MORNING.
This is what the children of Israel did when Yah drowned Pharaoh and all his army. Moses started singing, and his sister, Miriam, picked up a tambourine and led the women in a victory procession, singing and dancing before the Most High.
THEN sang Mosheh and the children of Yashar'el this song unto Yahuah, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto Yahuah, for he has triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea. Yah is my strength and song, and he is become my yeshu`ah: he is my El, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's Elohai, and I will exalt him. Yahuah is a man of war: Yahuah is his name. Phar'oh's chariots and his host has he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Your right hand, O Yahuah, is become glorious in power: your right hand, O Yahuah, has dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellency you have overthrown them that rose up against you: you sent forth your wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. You blew with your Ruach, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto you, O Yahuah, among the elohiym? who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 15:1-12 את CEPHER.
Do you see what the Israelites sang? Detail by detail, they told the story of what Yah had done for them. Indeed, they had a big celebration because they were certain that the events they had just witnessed were evidence of Yah’s protection and of His love for them. Therefore, they weren’t afraid or ashamed to sing and dance before Him or to pass the song on to their kids, who told their kids, who told their kids, until we read it ourselves today in the Bible.
This song and dance of praise is not an isolated incident. The Scriptures are filled with testimonies to the goodness and greatness of Yah. Indeed, you can tell what Yah did by what the p eop le sang. Nevertheless, not all these testimonies are joyous. Some show that Yah’s activity did not always bring celebration. Consider, for example, Psalm 137:
BY the rivers of Babel, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Tsiyon. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Tsiyon. How shall we sing Yahuah's song in a strange land? TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 137:1-4 את CEPHER
We see here that Yah’s people had nothing to sing about because they hadn’t seen Yah work in their lives for a long time. Their disobedience had brought His judgment on them and had taken them into exile far away from Jerusalem and the Temple that was Yah’s dwelling place. So they hung up their instruments and refused to sing.
This should not be true for you—unless, of course, you too are in exile because of persistent sin and iniquity in your life. You may sometimes want to recount those high points in your life when He really came through for you, but be careful you don’t get hung up there. No new songs might lead people to believe that Yah hasn’t done anything for you lately—and you know that’s not true!
Every single day you should have a new song to sing before the Most High and to share with others. This is how it is with praisers. Songs just show up because Yah’s presence comes and stays. His anointing flows naturally through those who have learned to see and testify to His goodness. These songs of the Most High don’t have to be worked up, because they flow from the present moment, from the intimate experiences between Yah and His people. Such praise also keeps and seals the reality of those times with Him.
Therefore, if you want Yah’s presence in your life, learn to be a praiser. Don’t keep silent about His many benefits. Make it your purpose to find something new to sing to the Most High about every day. No matter what your circumstances are, surely you can find at least one praiseworthy thing each day. Then, when Yah sees your gratitude toward Him and your habit of celebrating His goodness to you, He’ll come and stay with you. He’ll make every day a blessing as He enjoys your attention and takes pleasure in your joy in Him.
In essence, Yah wants you to be bragging about your heavenly Daddy all the time. If you aren’t, it just may mean that He isn’t your Father yet. You haven’t made the connection. You haven’t established the relationship.
When Yah becomes your Father, praise becomes a natural part of your life. You don’t have to think about it. Praise just naturally flows from your lips because you are seeing your Daddy’s handiwork all the time and you just can’t help telling Him how thankful you are that He is in your life.
You are like a child who can’t wait to hear his dad’s special whistle when he comes home from work. When the child hears the whistle, it doesn’t matter what he is doing, he has to see Dad as fast as he can. So, he runs and flings open the door. Then he clings to his father, talking the whole time about everything that has happened in his day.
PRAISE IS TO BE AS NATURAL AND COMMON TO YOU AS BREATHING.
This is the way it should be with you and Yah. It doesn’t matter who else is around, or what they may be doing or thinking, when you sense the presence of your heavenly Daddy, you have eyes and ears for nothing and no one else. Your praise bubbles up from within you just because He is there. Times may be good; times may be bad. This does not change your relationship with your Daddy. Once you have found the secret dwelling place of Yah in the midst of your praise, you go to Him day in and day out because there is no place you would rather be. His presence has become your true home, the environment for which you were created.
PRINCIPLES
1. You don’t need a special reason to praise Yah.
2. Every moment of every day is a suitable time for
praise.
3. A lifestyle of praise teaches you to see and trust
Yah’s work in your life.
4. Private praise prepares you for public praise and
worship .
5. Private praise prepares you for public victory.
6. Praise in the beginning of the day gives Yah room
to handle whatever comes your way in the rest of the day.
7. Praise may be both direct and indirect.
8. When you commend Yah to others, you are praising Him indirectly.
9. Complaining destroys the atmosphere created by praise.
10. Your new song every day keeps Yah’s presence with you.
Today we are walking in: When Are We To Praise Yah?
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 6
WHEN ARE WE TO PRAISE Yah?
Yah is worthy of our praise all day, every day, no matter what kind of a day it is.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying that there are two times to praise the Most High: when you feel like it, and when you don’t. Any other time you don’t have to praise Him. The implication is that you are to praise the Most High at all times. This is certainly the message of the psalmist: I will bless Yahuah at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 34:1 את CEPHER
Therefore, praise is to be an everyday part of your life. No matter what’s happening—whether you are having low moments or high moments—your focus is to stay on Yah.
In the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
In other words, Yah is worthy of your praise in the best of times, the worst of times, and all the mundane moments in between.
In the Best of Times
King David dreamed of building a permanent house for the Most High to replace the mobile Tabernacle that had housed the Ark of the Covenant since the days of Moses. The prophet Nathan had even put his stamp of approval on David’s plans. Then the word of the Most High came to Nathan at night,
Go and tell Daviyd my servant, Thus says Yahuah, You shall not build me a house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Yashar'el unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one Tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Yashar'el, spoke I a word to any of the judges of Yashar'el, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedars? Now therefore thus shall you say unto my servant Daviyd, Thus says Yahuah Tseva'oth, I took you from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that you should be ruler over my people Yashar'el: And I have been with you whithersoever you have walked, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also I will ordain a place for my people Yashar'el, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them anymore, as at the beginning, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Yashar'el. Moreover I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that Yahuah will build you a house. And it shall come to pass, when your days be expired that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will stablish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before you: But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom forever: and his throne shall be established forevermore. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:4-14 את CEPHER.
Wow! What a promise! Yah was giving David a house instead of David giving Yah a house. Isn’t this just like our Yah? We plan something great and Yah does something even better. True, David didn’t get to build Yah’s house— his son Solomon did—yet David was so overcome with gratitude to Yah after hearing Nathan’s report that he had his own little praise session:
O Yahuah, there is none like you, neither is there any Elohiym beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like your people Yashar'el, whom Elohiym went to redeem to be his own people, to make you a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before your people, whom you have redeemed out of Mitsrayim? For your people Yashar'el did you make your own people forever; and you, Yahuah, became their Elohiym. Therefore now, Yahuah, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as you have said. Let it even be established, that your name may be magnified forever, saying, Yahuah Tseva'oth is the Elohai of Yashar'el, even an Elohiym to Yashar'el: and let the house of Daviyd your servant be established before you. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 17:20-24 את CEPHER.
Sometime later, David gave gold and silver for the building of the Temple and asked who would join him in providing for Yah’s house. The leaders of Israel gave willingly and the people rejoiced because of their generous giving. King David, overjoyed by the response of the people, again praised the Most High:
And Daviyd said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahuah Elohaykem. And all the assembly blessed Yahuah Elohai of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped Yahuah, and the king. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto Yahuah, and offered ascending smoke offerings unto Yahuah, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Yashar'el: DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 29:20-21 את CEPHER.
At some point in the praise and worship, Yah’s presence must have come to His people, for the next verse says, “And did eat and drink before Yahuah on that day with great gladness. And they made Shalomah the son of Daviyd king the second time, and anointed him unto Yahuah to be the chief governor, and Tsadoq to be priest. DIVREI HAYAMIYM RI'SHON (1 CHRONICLES) 29:22 את CEPHER.
Then they acknowledged Solomon as king.
David’s world was certainly right that day. The leaders of the people had given generously for the building of the Temple and had acclaimed Solomon as king. Then Yah’s presence had come, a joy David knew and loved above all else!
Remember, however, that this high was not a chance occurrence. I have to believe that Yah’s coming in the midst of His people was not only prompted by the praise of David and the people, but also by David’s lifestyle of p raise. David never took Yah’s goodness to him for granted. Repeatedly, he told Yah how good He was and how grateful he, David, was for Yah’s many blessings to him.
We would do well to follow David’s example. Yes, we may praise Yah for a specific blessing, but few of us have developed a lifetime pattern of seeing all the good in our life as gifts from the hand of Yah. Praising Yah in the good times—of which there are many more than most of us admit—is an essential ingredient of our praise.
In the Worst of Times
Paul and Silas, on the other hand, were suffering one of life’s low moments. For many days they had been followed by a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell fortunes. Day after day, she had shouted, “The same followed Pa'al and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of El Elyon, which show unto us the way of yeshu`ah. MA'ASIYM (ACTS) 16:17 את CEPHER. Finally, having had enough of this, Paul commanded the spirit in the name of Yahusha to leave the girl, which it did. The girl’s owners, incensed by their loss of income, then stirred up the crowd and the leaders of the city until Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into jail, where their feet were placed in stocks.
What would most of us have done in such circumstances? We probably would have moaned and groaned about how unfair the events of the day had been. What did Paul and Silas do? They didn’t start complaining about the darkness, the slimy moss on the walls, the stench of the urine in the hole where they had been thrown, or the rats they could hear and feel. Instead, Paul said, “Silas, let’s sing.” They spent the night praying and singing to the Most High—and not in a quiet, subdued manner, either. Their worship service was loud enough for the other prisoners to hear it.
Suddenly, Yah entered the jail through an earthquake, and the cell was too small for Yah to sit down. This is when the doors flew open and the chains dropped to the ground—and not just the chains that had held Paul and Silas in the stocks, either. When Yah moved in, things changed in that whole jail! (See Acts 16.)
What a story! I’m sure that Paul and Silas’ wounds hurt. They could have had quite a pity party. Yet, this was not their response because not only did they recognize their problem, they also knew that Yah was up to dealing with it. Therefore, they did the one thing that would get Yah’s presence into that urine-soaked cell with them. They had a prayer and praise session.
I wonder what kind of prison you are in or what problem threatens to defeat you. It’s easy to complain when you are faced with things that frighten you or circumstances that never seem to get better. Nevertheless, if you want Yah to come into your cell, you must resist the temptation to grumble, murmur, and complain. You have to make the decision to praise Him instead.
Just look beyond your feelings, your fears, and your circumstances to Yah. Praise Him for whatever goodness you have enjoyed from His hand, however small or insignificant it may seem to be. Instead of recalling everything that is wrong in your life, remember everything that is right.
If you will do this—if you will consciously choose to trust Yah and to proclaim His goodness to you—the Lion from the tribe of praise will show up and He will shatter your prison. Not only this, He’ll loosen your chains and dispel your darkness too. No, you may not feel the earth tremble beneath your feet or see doors fly open, but you will find that your attitude and your outlook change as your praise brings His presence into your life. Just try it. Start small if you have to, but start somewhere. Find something in your life to praise Yah for, then open your mouth and create a place for Him to sit with you. You just might be surprised by what He does!
In the Mundane, In-Between Times
Don’t think, however, that you have to be on the mountaintop or in the valley to have your own private praise session. Oftentimes the normal days of our life are the hardest times to praise Yah because there’s nothing in particular to draw our attention to Him. This is why we must get into the habit of praising the Most High. Most of us have habits of murmuring. What would our life be like if we used that same energy to praise Yah? How might our days go if we turned our attention to Him instead of the ball game or the advertisements or the latest best seller?
David talked to himself about Yah all the time. I don’t think we have practiced that enough. We like to sing, “Bless the Most High, O my soul,” but how often do we really do it? (See Psalm 103:1a KJV.) In truth, this phrase is a command to our soul to praise the Most High.
Your soul is your whole self: your will, your emotions, and your intellect. (See Genesis 2:7 KJV.) Therefore, if you are telling your soul to praise Yah, in reality you are commanding your body to respond to all three.
In other words, you first give yourself a talking to and take control over your will, your emotions, and your intellect. Then, once all three are focused on Yah and attentive to Him, your body acts in accordance with the instructions it receives from them. This is why you can still praise Yah when your will is indifferent, your emotions are blah, or your mind is bored. Your body responds with praise because your will, your emotions, and your intellect —under your conscious and attentive control—tell it to do so.
We think we have to have something great in our life before we can praise the Most High. This is a lie! David praised the Most High day in and day out. Whether he messed up or had just won a battle, he talked with Yah about it. He didn’t need some special reason to sing, shout, or dance his adoration. He just did it all the time—even when things were boring and mundane.
PRAISE IS A DAY IN AND DAY OUT RESPONSIBILITY.
You too must develop an attitude where praise becomes your protection all the time as you bring Yah around you. Whether you are typing a letter, loading a truck, taking care of children, or cleaning the house, just keep making melody to the Most High. Sometimes you might be humming a tune. Other times you may need to praise Yah in your mind. Whatever you are doing, you are just going through the whole day with Yah. Don’t wait for something special to happen. Instead, make sure that Yah is with you every day and all day as you keep Him with you through your praise. Then, no matter what happens in your life, Yah is there to handle it.
Every Day and All Day In Public and in Private
Some of us wait until Sabbath on Saturday before we praise Yah, and even then we don’t come with praise and thanksgiving in our heart. Instead we come with our bad feelings and wait for someone to make us feel better.
Maybe you were up all night with the baby, you had a spat with your husband over breakfast, or your kids acted up in the car on the way to Sabbath. Whatever the reason, you come to Sabbath in a bad mood.
The apostle Paul instructs us to have quite a different attitude and disposition:
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Most High, always giving thanks to Yah the Father for everything, in the name of our Most High Yahusha Hamachiach (Ephesians 5:19-20).
This means that before you get to Sabbath, you are supposed to be praising Yah. Even before you get into the car, you are supposed to have your own private praise service, so that when you join the rest of Yah’s family, you are ready to ascend into Yah’s presence with everybody else.
In essence, when you prepare in private for public praise, you don’t need a worship leader to make you feel like praising Yah. Yes, there is a place for worship leaders in our corporate worship, but it is not their job to make you feel good enough to tell your Daddy how great He is.
IT IS NOT THE JOB OF THE WORSHIP LEADER TO INSPIRE YOU TO PRAISE Yah.
If you have been talking to your own soul throughout the week the way you are supposed to be, you won’t need anyone to get your attention and stir you up. You will already be eager and ready to go. In fact, you will be like David, who said, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 122:1 את CEPHER.
David rejoiced when the doors of Yah’s house were open and he could go in. He was excited to worship with Yah’s people. The same should be true for you. Your worship in
private throughout the week should prepare you for worship with your brothers and sisters in Hamachiach.
In essence, all of us are worship leaders because we are temples of the Most High (see 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19). What we do in our own house affects what we do with everybody else. When we sanctify our house through righteous praise at home, we are then ready to sanctify the whole place when we come together.
Therefore, be careful not to come expecting something great in your public praise and worship if you haven’t had an individual meeting with Yah first. Praise in your private life is what brings power and authority to your public experience.
David had no problem dealing with Goliath because he had a worship service behind the mountain before he went out to meet the enemy. His instructions and encouragement from Yah gave him the courage he needed to fight a man who was nine to ten feet tall. (See 1 Samuel 17.) Moreover, David’s pattern of private worship had given him the opportunity to see Yah’s work on his behalf in the past. Therefore, he had the confidence to trust Yah again in these new circumstances.
Few of us operate from this perspective. If we functioned as David did, we would have a worship service at home before we go to the bank to get a loan. Most of us go for the loan first and cry to Yah if we don’t get it. On the other hand, if the loan comes through, we praise Yah for the moment, then go back to life as usual.
I’m telling you, friends, your life would be quite different if you praised Yah before you met a challenge. Just try it. Have a private worship service in your home before you go to work. Put on some music that draws you into praise and worship, then spend some time with Yah before you walk out the door. Don’t listen to the news before you go to work. Listen to Yah. Then He will fill your day with Himself because you started your day with Him.
LISTEN TO Yah, NOT THE NEWS, BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE IN THE MORNING.
Many times the Most High works all day to get into your life because you didn’t give Him the day in the beginning. He watches you go through your struggles and says, “My goodness! How I wish I could get into your day, but there’s no place for Me to sit. You haven’t praised Me, so there’s no place for My presence to be enthroned.”
Directly to Yah and Indirectly to Others
Praise is how we make room for Yah in our life. Sometimes our praise is offered directly to Yah, which is probably what we are most familiar with. We magnify and extol Him by speaking or singing our praise to Him as David did in Psalm 9:
I will praise you, O Yahuah, with my whole heart; I will show forth all your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in you: I will sing praise to your name, O El Elyon. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 9:1-2 את CEPHER.
Not all our praise is to be direct, however. Yah also wants us to praise Him indirectly. This happens when we commend Yah and express our approval of Him to others.
Yah wants you to share with others what He is doing in your life. No matter how insignificant His activity in your life may seem to be to you, talk about it. Announce to your friends, family, and coworkers how He has sustained you and brought you through a difficult time. Testify to Yah’s goodness and to what He has been doing for you. This is how He receives glory and honor.
Most of us tell people about our problems, complaints, dislikes, and misunderstandings. We are much more likely to murmur and clamor than to speak of the Most High’s goodness to us. How sad! We are no different from the children of Israel who murmured their way through the wilderness and failed to recognize Yah’s blessings and to give Him credit for everything He had done for them. Indeed, they were so disgruntled that they wanted to go back to Egypt, the land of their slavery!
Yah doesn’t want you to have such an attitude. He wants you to see and proclaim the difference He has made in your life. Again, David is a good example of a man who did this. (No wonder Yah saw him as a man after His heart!) His praise was contagious because he wasn’t content to praise Yah by himself. When he went to the Tabernacle, he wanted everybody else to praise Yah too.
I will bless Yahuah at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in Yahuah: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify Yahuah with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought Yahuah, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and Yahuah heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 34:1-6 את CEPHER.
David wanted everybody to know what Yah had done for him, and he wasn’t shy about asking others to join Him in glorifying and exalting Yah.
We readily gossip about everything else. Now it’s time that we gossip about the Most High’s doings in our lives: “Did you hear what Yah did for so-and-so? He’s just telling everyone—and he’s telling them to tell even more people!”
Please stop reading a moment and really think about this. Wouldn’t it be great if every time we saw each other we shared something good of what the Most High has done for us? How our conversation and our attitudes would change! Surely we would see even more of Yah’s activity, since when we praise Him to others, He becomes excited to do the same thing again, and even more!
Sing a New Song Every Day
This is what the Scriptures mean by singing a new song:
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 33:3 את CEPHER.
O sing unto Yahuah a new song: sing unto Yahuah, all the earth. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 96:1 את CEPHER.
Halleluyah. Sing unto Yahuah a new song, and his praise in the assembly of the chaciyd. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 149:1 את CEPHER.
Our new song is to be a song of all that Yah has done for us. It is based on our experience with Him.
David did this on a regular basis. Because he was always seeing Yah at work in his life, his song came out of the latest thing Yah had done for him.
O sing unto Yahuah a new song; for he has done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, has gotten him the victory. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 98:1 את CEPHER.
I waited patiently for Yahuah; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our Elohiym: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahuah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 40:1-3 את CEPHER
Yah wants such praise from you as well. He is tired of hearing the same old testimonies you have shared repeatedly. In fact, if you’ll listen, you’ll hear Him asking you, “Do you have to tell the same old story again? Haven’t I done anything for you since that wonderful time?”
Truly, your most effective testimony is to brag to other people about what Yah has done for you this week. Tell
people what He did just yesterday, or even this morning. Then your song will always be new.
YOUR MOST EFFECTIVE TESTIMONY IS TO BRAG ABOUT WHAT Yah DID FOR YOU THIS MORNING.
This is what the children of Israel did when Yah drowned Pharaoh and all his army. Moses started singing, and his sister, Miriam, picked up a tambourine and led the women in a victory procession, singing and dancing before the Most High.
THEN sang Mosheh and the children of Yashar'el this song unto Yahuah, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto Yahuah, for he has triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea. Yah is my strength and song, and he is become my yeshu`ah: he is my El, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's Elohai, and I will exalt him. Yahuah is a man of war: Yahuah is his name. Phar'oh's chariots and his host has he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Your right hand, O Yahuah, is become glorious in power: your right hand, O Yahuah, has dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellency you have overthrown them that rose up against you: you sent forth your wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. You blew with your Ruach, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto you, O Yahuah, among the elohiym? who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. SHEMOTH (EXODUS) 15:1-12 את CEPHER.
Do you see what the Israelites sang? Detail by detail, they told the story of what Yah had done for them. Indeed, they had a big celebration because they were certain that the events they had just witnessed were evidence of Yah’s protection and of His love for them. Therefore, they weren’t afraid or ashamed to sing and dance before Him or to pass the song on to their kids, who told their kids, who told their kids, until we read it ourselves today in the Bible.
This song and dance of praise is not an isolated incident. The Scriptures are filled with testimonies to the goodness and greatness of Yah. Indeed, you can tell what Yah did by what the p eop le sang. Nevertheless, not all these testimonies are joyous. Some show that Yah’s activity did not always bring celebration. Consider, for example, Psalm 137:
BY the rivers of Babel, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Tsiyon. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Tsiyon. How shall we sing Yahuah's song in a strange land? TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 137:1-4 את CEPHER
We see here that Yah’s people had nothing to sing about because they hadn’t seen Yah work in their lives for a long time. Their disobedience had brought His judgment on them and had taken them into exile far away from Jerusalem and the Temple that was Yah’s dwelling place. So they hung up their instruments and refused to sing.
This should not be true for you—unless, of course, you too are in exile because of persistent sin and iniquity in your life. You may sometimes want to recount those high points in your life when He really came through for you, but be careful you don’t get hung up there. No new songs might lead people to believe that Yah hasn’t done anything for you lately—and you know that’s not true!
Every single day you should have a new song to sing before the Most High and to share with others. This is how it is with praisers. Songs just show up because Yah’s presence comes and stays. His anointing flows naturally through those who have learned to see and testify to His goodness. These songs of the Most High don’t have to be worked up, because they flow from the present moment, from the intimate experiences between Yah and His people. Such praise also keeps and seals the reality of those times with Him.
Therefore, if you want Yah’s presence in your life, learn to be a praiser. Don’t keep silent about His many benefits. Make it your purpose to find something new to sing to the Most High about every day. No matter what your circumstances are, surely you can find at least one praiseworthy thing each day. Then, when Yah sees your gratitude toward Him and your habit of celebrating His goodness to you, He’ll come and stay with you. He’ll make every day a blessing as He enjoys your attention and takes pleasure in your joy in Him.
In essence, Yah wants you to be bragging about your heavenly Daddy all the time. If you aren’t, it just may mean that He isn’t your Father yet. You haven’t made the connection. You haven’t established the relationship.
When Yah becomes your Father, praise becomes a natural part of your life. You don’t have to think about it. Praise just naturally flows from your lips because you are seeing your Daddy’s handiwork all the time and you just can’t help telling Him how thankful you are that He is in your life.
You are like a child who can’t wait to hear his dad’s special whistle when he comes home from work. When the child hears the whistle, it doesn’t matter what he is doing, he has to see Dad as fast as he can. So, he runs and flings open the door. Then he clings to his father, talking the whole time about everything that has happened in his day.
PRAISE IS TO BE AS NATURAL AND COMMON TO YOU AS BREATHING.
This is the way it should be with you and Yah. It doesn’t matter who else is around, or what they may be doing or thinking, when you sense the presence of your heavenly Daddy, you have eyes and ears for nothing and no one else. Your praise bubbles up from within you just because He is there. Times may be good; times may be bad. This does not change your relationship with your Daddy. Once you have found the secret dwelling place of Yah in the midst of your praise, you go to Him day in and day out because there is no place you would rather be. His presence has become your true home, the environment for which you were created.
PRINCIPLES
1. You don’t need a special reason to praise Yah.
2. Every moment of every day is a suitable time for
praise.
3. A lifestyle of praise teaches you to see and trust
Yah’s work in your life.
4. Private praise prepares you for public praise and
worship .
5. Private praise prepares you for public victory.
6. Praise in the beginning of the day gives Yah room
to handle whatever comes your way in the rest of the day.
7. Praise may be both direct and indirect.
8. When you commend Yah to others, you are praising Him indirectly.
9. Complaining destroys the atmosphere created by praise.
10. Your new song every day keeps Yah’s presence with you.
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