Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship - Part 6

The same thing with Paul and Silas when they were in a prison. Now when you're in a prison, we think the first thing to do is to pray, right? Lord, get me out of here. But they didn't pray. They said, Hallelujah. Well, we don't know. Maybe there's some good reason why we should be here. Maybe God wants to have us a little rest instead of running around all the time. And so we stand, sit here and praise the Lord. Of course, our legs are tied up, so we can't run away anywhere. We just praise God and they praise, praise, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, Lord, you're on the throne. The devil's been defeated. God shook that whole prison. And the wonderful thing is not just that they escaped, but one jailer got converted with his whole family. Somebody went to heaven because he saw for the first time in his life, this experienced jailer who had seen hundreds of prisoners. He never saw anybody praising God. And he said, these people are different. You know what makes a difference in your life? It's like in the midst of darkness when you hold up a candle, people say, this guy is different. Whenever I see him, there's a spirit of praise about him. He can bring people to Christ with a spirit of praise. That's all they did that brought conviction to that jailer. Now, I also said we need to praise human beings. Don't you believe that? We are such misers. We may pop that person's, pop him up and we don't want him to get proud. Well, you know, Jesus was not so bothered about that like you are. He would tell a Roman centurion, I have never seen such faith in all of Israel. What was that? Was he thanking the Roman centurion or was he praising him? Tell me. What was he? He was not thanking him. He didn't do anything. He was praising him, publicly appreciating him. Misers that human beings are, we are always afraid. Oh, we'll pop him up. We'll pop him up. We'll be artificial. That's because you're a miser. You're not like Jesus. Jesus publicly appreciated people. He turned to Nathanael. First time he's seeing him, there's a man in whom there's no guile. Imagine saying that to somebody, turning around to Peter and say, blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah. You didn't get that with your flesh and blood understanding my father in heaven revealed to you. I have, I tell you, I have never in my life seen a person like Jesus. All around me, I see even among believers, misers, misers. They are misers with money and they are misers with praise. I have decided to be different. Oh, we can't praise young people. What do you think Nathanael was? Do you think he was 85 years old? He was probably about 28. Praising a 28-year-old young man and saying there is a fellow who's without guile. You want to be like Jesus? I don't believe we are serious about wanting to be like Jesus. How many times do you appreciate some good thing your children do? Huh, okay. He did something you asked him to do and say, huh. Learn to be like Jesus. Appreciate that. Express words of appreciation publicly. What about your wife? Your husband? Do you ever say thank you? You ever appreciate? How many, when was the last time you appreciated your wife? Try and scratch your head and think about that. Or your husband? You mean there's nothing good in that person? Zero? Absolute zero? You mean he's exactly like the devil? Devil, I agree, is absolute zero. I heard of that guy who used to find something good in everybody and some, he asked, somebody asked him, what about the devil? He's a hard worker, he said. He's a full-time worker. 24 hours he's at his job. He found something to appreciate in the devil. It's all a question of the way you look at people. We are blind and I tell you the saddest thing is young people in our midst who should be the most wholehearted are some of the biggest misers. They have not learned to appreciate. You know the bible says you got to learn to appreciate your elders. Have you read that verse? In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 12. We request you brothers, appreciate, appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the lord and give you instruction. 1 Timothy 5 and verse 17 says give them double honor. All the honor you give to the president of India, give double honor to the elders in your church. How many of you do that? How many of you give more honor to the elders in your church more than to your boss in your office? Christians are misers. We're not like Jesus. We think we are wholehearted. Far from it. Finally worship. You know the one book which gives us a picture of heaven is Revelation and seven times in Revelation chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 7, chapter 11, chapter 14, 15 and 19. In all these chapters seven times you get a picture of heaven and it's always worship. Worship is more than thanksgiving. It's more than praise. It's bowing down. It's surrendering totally before God and acknowledging he is worthy. I have no right over my life. It says in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1 that in the new testament the way to worship is by presenting our body. In the old testament they worship God by giving tithes. Listen, you want to get a revelation? The old testament they worship God by giving 10 percent of their income. Today in the new testament God asks for something more. Your body. The way you worship it says present your body as a living sacrifice to God. That is your spiritual service of worship. How do you worship God? By when people bow down and fell down before God. What were they saying? You know it's like these people who bow down before kings. I'm your abject slave. All my body everything is yours to command. That's what worship means. God. I have no right over my eyes now to read or look at anything which I want. It's yours. I have no right with my hands to do anything I want. I have no right over my ears to listen to what I want. I have no right with my mind to think what I want. I have no right with this body to do anything anymore but your will. I worship thee sweet will of God and all thy ways adore and every day I live I long to love you more and more. So that's worship where we bow down and present ourselves completely and all our service for God is going to be effective only if we worship. Jesus said in Matthew 4 10 to the devil it is written you shall worship and then you shall serve. You know why so much of service is ineffective? Because we don't worship. Think of what Jesus told the Samaritan woman. God is a spirit. John 4 verse 23-24. Those who are and the father seeks for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. In the old testament they could only worship in the soul. Clap, shout, dance. Good with the body or with the soul but in the new covenant we worship with the deepest part of us our spirit. We worship with words. We worship with speech and the highest form of worship believe it or not is silence. Father of Jesus loves reward. What rapture will it be? Prostrate before thy throne to life and gaze and gaze on thee. We can do that now. Something we can do more in secret. It's very difficult to worship God in public in secret to gaze and gaze on God to pour out all that we have like the woman who poured out the anointment of Jesus' feet. Our love, our devotion, our life, our body, our everything. Dear brothers and sisters, ask God to show that to you more and more. We can begin with thanksgiving and move on to praise and ultimately worship.