Mark 16:15-20

15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

1 John 5:4

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

When Jesus took that seat and raised us up to sit with Him in Heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6), He enabled us to function on a level that is far above all opposition and to participate in the Kingdom of light. This Kingdom is one of Love not fear, of submission not oppression and of praise and thanksgiving not ungratefulness.

Lets begin to look at how getting into a position of praise will engage your overcoming victory in life. We will begin by reading this account in 2 Chronicles 20;

2 Chronicles 20:1-4

It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:14-19

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 ‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

2 Chronicles 20:20-21

20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:  “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”

They led with praise! Why? Can you imagine what was going through the peoples minds as the King instructed the singers to stand in front of the battle hardened warriors of Israel? They were about to learn a great and mighty lesson in how the Kingdom of God works.

Praising God engages a strength that shuts the devil up!

Psalm 8:2

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

What does that have to do with praise you ask? Well take a look at how Jesus quoted it.

Matthew 21:18

16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

Did Jesus misquote the scripture? No He expounded that praise is strength. Also notice that not only is it strength but is silences the enemy. When the devil is hounding your thoughts, the best thing you can do is start praising God, it will slap the enemies mouth shut!

King David also understood this powerful Kingdom principle when as a young lad he faced the giant Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:45-48

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

David was a praiser. He spent many hours singing and praising God and it strengthened him so much that there was invincibility in him as he stayed focused on his Lord. Notice that the words here are the same as those that the Lord instructed in 2 Chronicles 20 and so is the principle, David was a praiser and His praise was in his mouth and it was His strength! I am sure that the singers and praisers in 2 Chronicles 20 knew the story of David and Goliath very well and when they heard these same words spoken by the prophet they were filled with faith and with strength as they lifted their voices in praise.

In 1 Samuel 30 we see another powerful example of David knowing what to do in the face of drastic circumstances.  Ziklag, where David and his men lived, had been attacked while they were away and it looked like they had lost everything. The men who had so faithfully followed and fought beside David were now talking of killing him. David himself started to slip into an emotional distress but David knew what to do.

1 Samuel 30:6

6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

He knew that praise would get His focus on God, His strength! He knew the words of Exodus 15 verse 2 where Moses and the children of Israel sang “the Lord is my strength and my song.” He knew how to strengthen himself in God by praise, thanksgiving and focus on his Lord. We have many, many Psalms of David doing exactly this.

Why is this so, and How does this apply in the Newer Testament?

Psalm 22:3 (NKJV)

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:3 (KJV)

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

These two Bible versions have taken the same word and seemingly translated them totally different, however they are both correct and have just emphasized what the Hebrew word yashab means. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon describes this word as meaning to inhabit, dwell and abide as well as to sit down and to be set.

There is one place in our lives that the seated authority of God abides, dwells and is always present and that is in our praise! He is enthroned and inhabits us as we are seated with Him.

1 Corinthians 3:16

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

As Newer Testament believers how much more now can we be a vessel for praise and thanksgiving, for worship and adoration to God? How much more now as those who are the temple of the Living God should we be constantly lifting our praise to Him, understanding our place of authority as seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus?

Psalm 149:6

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand,

So now let’s look at what the Word of God says about our praise!

Psalm 43:5

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.

At ALL Times

Psalm 34:1

1 A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 113:3

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down The Lord’s name is to be praised.

Psalm 150:1-6

Praise the Lord! 1 Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! 2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

It is our Victory!!!!!

2 Corinthians 2:14

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

1 Corinthians 15:57

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Royal calling

1 Peter 2:9

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

A Sacrifice of Praise

Hebrews 13:15

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Romans 12:1,2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

The Praise Harvest!!!!!

Psalm 67:5,6

5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.6 Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.

WOW!