S1: Have you gone public? Have you come to the place
S1: where everybody knows that you are not ashamed to praise
S1: the Lord? To lift them up anywhere, anytime, for any
S1: reason at all in front of anybody?
S2: You're listening to Treasure Truth with pastor and author James
S2: Ford Jr, senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Heller. Glad you're with us today. As we
S2: begin a message called, have you gone Public with your Praise?
S2: And pastor, why would it be so important for a
S2: Christian to do just that?
S1: John 1232 and I, even if I be lifted up,
S1: will draw all men unto me. It's in red letters
S1: in my Bible, which means Jesus said it. But of
S1: course I think the whole Bible should be red letter then,
S1: because the living word is the one who dictated to
S1: men the written word. So. But yeah, That's it. If
S1: I be lifted up and listen, all we have to
S1: do is lift them up. He does the drawing.
S2: Sure.
S1: Yeah. So we don't have to try to convince anybody
S1: or anything of that nature. All we gotta do is
S1: lift up the name of Jesus.
S2: So when you say that for the person who's not
S2: familiar with that term, lift up the name of Jesus.
S2: Maybe we got someone who doesn't know Jesus listening today.
S2: Or a baby Christian. They're saying, what does that even mean?
S1: Share your faith in Jesus if you have been saved. Uh,
S1: it's old, trite, but true. You're just one beggar telling
S1: another beggar where to find bread. It's just the gospel message.
S1: What is it? First Corinthians 15 three and four. For
S1: I delivered unto you that which I also received, how
S1: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scripture
S1: that he was buried, and that he rose again the
S1: third day according to the Scripture. That's our message. Yeah.
S1: That's it. That's why it's called the gospel, which literally
S1: means good news. It's the good news.
S2: Yeah, yeah. My pastor just recently finished a five part
S2: series on that, and just hammering home the fact that
S2: this is good news and all we have to do,
S2: like you were just saying, is share it. That's all.
S2: That's it. It's not our job to try and save
S2: any souls to, you know, all we got to do
S2: is open our mouths.
S1: Anyone? Because, you know, some of you who are listening
S1: walk away thinking, I could have said this. Why didn't
S1: I say this? Listen. D.L. Moody said it best. The
S1: Word of God is like a lion. You don't have
S1: to defend it. All you got to do is let
S1: it go. Just give them the word.
S2: That's it. Well, let's get into the word right now.
S2: We're in Psalm 34. As we begin the message. Have
S2: you gone public with your praise? Here's Pastor Ford.
S1: Everybody done come out of the closet. But Christians, we're
S1: undercover Christians, secret agent Christians. I know folk ain't praising
S1: him on the job, and I know they're not praising
S1: him in the neighborhood. And I know they're not praising
S1: him wherever they are because they don't praise him in church.
S1: Don't praise him in church. And so have you gone public?
S1: Have you come out of the closet? Have you come
S1: to the place where everybody knows that you are not
S1: ashamed to praise the Lord, to lift him up anywhere, anytime,
S1: for any reason at all in front of anybody? See,
S1: if you're appraiser, just wave your hand in the air
S1: and wave it like you just don't care. Because if
S1: you're a real appraiser, guess what? This ain't even for you.
S1: Because you say to me, pastor, I don't need to
S1: come out of closet. I ain't never been in. From
S1: the moment I accepted Jesus Christ, I am not ashamed
S1: of the gospel of Christ, for it's the power of
S1: God unto salvation to everybody who believes. I was glad
S1: when they said unto me, let us come into the
S1: house of the Lord. And so I came to make
S1: a joyful noise unto the Lord. So now I ain't
S1: in no closet. I don't need to come out because
S1: I praise him wherever I am. I don't play church.
S1: I am the church. And you and I know there's
S1: power in praise. Have you read your scripture? You open
S1: your Bible and you'll see there's power in praise. Acts
S1: 16 Paul and Silas are in jail now. They're not
S1: in jail because they didn't pay their child support. They're
S1: not in jail because they violated their order of protection.
S1: They're not in jail because they were pushing crack. They're
S1: in jail because they were preaching Christ. You heard that before.
S1: And so they didn't call Johnnie Cochran. Guess what they did.
S1: Paul said, my name starts with P. I'll pray your
S1: name starts with S. You sing. And so Silas starts
S1: singing and Paul start praying and praise turn a jailhouse
S1: into a worship house. And they were set free by
S1: the power of prayer. I can imagine them now, Silas said.
S1: I don't know what to sing. He said, come on,
S1: just sing something. Your name starts with it. Victory is mine.
S1: Victory is mine. Victory! Today is mine! All the prisoners now.
S1: Is hearing. What's this noise coming out of there? Get
S1: thee behind victory today! Then all of a sudden, the
S1: bars got happy. Victory! And then all of a sudden,
S1: they just fell down. Prostrate to God. Whoo! And so
S1: what happened? Praise turned to jailhouse into a church house.
S1: And I submit to you, if you study the passage,
S1: here's what you'll find. They stayed in jail longer than
S1: they had to. How do you know that, Pastor Ford?
S1: Because what got him out of jail? Praise. That's what the. Read, read,
S1: read it, I ain't telling. Look, look, I ain't telling
S1: you no lies. Read it. Acts 16. They start praising them,
S1: and God released them from the jail. But what time
S1: they go to jail? 6 p.m.. What time they start
S1: praising round bout midnight. How many hours is that? Six
S1: hours a day. That started six hours earlier. They'd have
S1: been released earlier. Maybe there is some of you who
S1: are bound because you don't know how to praise. Amen. Amen.
S1: And so they were set free. Look what happened. Children
S1: of Israel, walls of Jericho. No bulldozer, no wrecking ball.
S1: But the dynamite of praise blew down the wall. God
S1: said walk around seventh day seven times and then shout.
S1: And when they shouted unto the Lord, Hallelujah! The walls
S1: came down. And so a fortress was turned into a freeway.
S1: Because the Bible says. They walked up on the wall
S1: into the city. So the wall didn't fall out. The
S1: wall fell in because God want to make sure even
S1: when I deliver you, I'm going to make sure it's
S1: easier for you to walk up in that city. I'm
S1: telling you, that's the power of praise. Praise turned a
S1: war into a worship service where Jehoshaphat had three enemies.
S1: And he said, here's what I want you to do.
S1: Put the choir in front. And the choir began to
S1: sing it. It says, as they praised him. In the
S1: midst of all the praise, the enemy was defeated. There's
S1: power in praise now don't look at me funny, because
S1: David says the same thing. He says, in essence, in
S1: this 34th Psalm, the Lord must be praised for who
S1: he is, not just for what he has done, so
S1: that everybody knows that our praise is not conditioned by
S1: our condition. Mhm. See, praise has the power to lift
S1: you above fear and circumstances, and it lets everybody know. Look,
S1: I don't have to have things as long as I
S1: have him. I will rejoice in him because when I
S1: have him, I have everything I need. We have to
S1: go public with our praise Saints. I'm serious about this. Now,
S1: let me give you the con. Before I give you
S1: the content. You gotta study. And then, like I say
S1: all the time, if you won't come to Bible study,
S1: I'll bring the Bible study to you. Psalm 34. Look
S1: at it. Look at your app or your or your Bible.
S1: It is. Notice it has a superscription. What's that? Uh, right.
S1: Before you get to the first verse, here's what it
S1: says a Psalm of David when he changed his behavior
S1: before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed. Now
S1: he's given us the context of why David wrote it.
S1: So if you don't know why he wrote it, it
S1: won't make the impact on you that it should. But
S1: when you know he wrote this when he went to Abimelech,
S1: feigning that he was insane, running from Saul, going to
S1: the enemies of God and the people of God to
S1: get help. Mhm. And so he it's found in first
S1: Samuel 2110 through 15. And it is acrostic psalm, say
S1: acrostic psalm. Say what is that Pastor Ford. There are
S1: 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. And he uses all 22.
S1: There are 22 verses. So he starts it off with uh,
S1: a and a Beth and then all the way down
S1: until he gets to the end of the alphabet. So
S1: each verse starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet
S1: in order. Now there's meaning to the madness. Why does
S1: he do that? He gives you a literation ration for memorization.
S1: That's why I do it. You say everything you do, pastor,
S1: is alliterated. If it's not alliterated at the beginning, it's
S1: alliterated at the end. Why do you do that? Because
S1: I'm getting old. It's hard to remember. And I can
S1: remember all P's, all R's, all S's, and so can
S1: you R. And so remember now this is a song.
S1: And when you look at it, I want to remind
S1: you that Leviticus was the worship handbook. The Psalms is
S1: the worship songbook and revelation is the worship picture book. Okay.
S1: Let me bring it together for you, Leviticus. You have
S1: to know it in your mind. This is how God
S1: prescribed worship. Worship is prescribed. That is, you don't get
S1: to decide how you want to worship God. God tells
S1: you how he wants you to worship him. Ergo, if
S1: you don't worship God the way God says worship him,
S1: then you're not really worshiping God. Then Psalms, You sing
S1: it in your heart. So Leviticus know it in your mind,
S1: sing it in your heart. And revelation gives us the
S1: picture of worship so we can store it in our mind.
S1: So when you go to revelation chapter four. Chapter five,
S1: you see in revelation chapter four the worship of the
S1: father for creation. Chapter five the worship of the son
S1: for Calvary. And you see them giving him glory and honor.
S1: And he says, listen, uh, we wanted to be on
S1: earth as it is in heaven, in heaven there shouting,
S1: and there's joy in the presence of God in heaven.
S1: There's a Amen and a hallelujah for the Lord in heaven.
S1: Somebody dancing, somebody singing, somebody shouting in heaven. My only
S1: question is what's going on down here on earth? And
S1: so David praises God because God gave him what he
S1: needed and not what he deserved. You know why he
S1: wrote this? Because he was wrong. But God only did
S1: him right that he was in a mess. But God
S1: turned into a message. Okay, let me see if I
S1: can get you to connect. If you lived the way
S1: you were supposed to live when you left here last
S1: Sunday to this Sunday, and you never sinned and you
S1: never did anything wrong. And you never thought a wrong.
S1: You never did a wrong. Then you could just sit
S1: there and just look at me. But if God has
S1: forgiven you of something he has provided for you, he's
S1: put clothes on your back, food on your table. If
S1: God has put a roof over your head. He didn't
S1: say that he had to do that, but he did that.
S1: Look at all the things you thought about. I just
S1: leave it with me. Look at all the things I
S1: thought I shouldn't have thought. Look at all the things
S1: I said I shouldn't have said. Look at all the
S1: things I did. I shouldn't, did. But yet I was
S1: able to walk in here under my own power. He
S1: gave me mercy. He gave me grace. He allowed me
S1: to come and talk to you today. I got to
S1: give him praise. I have to, I have to, because
S1: unlike you, I got issues and I struggle with them.
S1: And every time he. I don't get a lightning bolt
S1: out of heaven. I quote Romans chapter two. Don't you
S1: know that the goodness and forbearance of God is designed
S1: to lead you to repentance? But God ain't looking over it.
S1: God is saying, alright, I'm going to give you one
S1: more chance. Imma give you one more chance. And I'm
S1: here today. You don't want to know why? Because he
S1: gave me one more chance. And so I gotta thank you.
S2: Well, I hope that's our attitude as well. God has
S2: given us one more chance and one more chance and
S2: one more chance. And as a result of that, I
S2: think it's natural to go public with your praise. That's
S2: what this current message is all about. We're looking at
S2: Psalm 34 today. If you're just joining us, you can
S2: always come to our website, Treasure Truth Radio org. There
S2: you can listen to each and every program in its entirety,
S2: or go back and listen to ones that you may
S2: have missed. Again, it's treasure truth radio. Let's get back
S2: to our look at Psalm 34. Once again, here is
S2: Pastor Ford.
S1: See, he did it as alliteration, the Hebrew alphabet as
S1: an aid to memory. Okay, I gotta come get y'all,
S1: because I know what you're saying. Nah, we just don't
S1: work that way. Okay? The best part of waking up is.
S1: How you know that they haven't used that in ten,
S1: 15 years, but you know that. Oh, you deserve a
S1: break today. Now you know why I know it. I
S1: got my mind on my fist sandwich and my fist
S1: sandwich on my mind right now. A number eight. But
S1: they haven't sung that one in at least 15 years.
S1: You see what's happening here? What happened? You begin to
S1: hear it, and it began to inculcate itself in your memory.
S1: So now you can regurgitate it. It's long gone. Nobody's
S1: using it again. But it's become so much a part
S1: of you. All I have to say is five, 82,
S1: 300 and everybody says Empire. That's what David is talking
S1: about here, that that's the way praise ought to be.
S1: It ought to be innate. It ought to be something
S1: that when somebody says, Jesus died for us, if Jesus
S1: died for you, Amen. Uh, yeah. That he covered me
S1: with his blood. If he covered cover you with his blood. Amen.
S1: I mean, it's a natural response of what God has
S1: done for us. David feigned madness to get out of
S1: his trouble, and he says, I'm out of my trouble,
S1: but not because of my astuteness, but because of his authority,
S1: not because of my obstinacy, but because of his omnipotence.
S1: Not because of my skill, but his will. David praises
S1: God because God gave him what he needed and not
S1: what he deserved. David's saying, even when I was acting
S1: not in faith, God was still faithful because he cannot
S1: deny himself. Now let me let me just give you
S1: a little bit of teaching here. Y'all don't mind the Bible,
S1: do you? In verses one through ten is a natural break,
S1: and then 11 through 22 is the second division. There
S1: are two divisions, or what we would call two choruses
S1: to this psalm and one through ten. It's the praise
S1: portion of it. in 11 through 22. It's the proclamation
S1: part of it in one through ten. It's a song,
S1: but in 11 through 22 it's a sermon, and one
S1: through ten it's a devotional. But in 11 through 22
S1: it is doctrinal. And then finally, in one through ten,
S1: the focus is the grace of God. In 11 through 22,
S1: the focus is the government of God. Now let me
S1: put it together for you so you can see what
S1: David is doing. David is saying he, give me grace.
S1: And so what I want to do is give him government.
S1: In other words, since he's given me the grace of God,
S1: I want to tell you he's in charge of my
S1: life since he gave me a song in my heart.
S1: I'm going to preach you the sermon. And whenever God
S1: has had me in devotions, I want to give you doctrine.
S1: That's what David is saying. He's saying, listen, if you're
S1: going to go public with your praise, you need these things.
S1: Let's drop em. Let's not push them, clothe ourselves with
S1: them and go on and let me get my number eight.
S1: Here's the elements. Here's the first one. Your praise must
S1: be personal. Mm. I know you like that one. See,
S1: that's what I've been talking about. Just because they run,
S1: that don't mean I gotta run. Just because they holler
S1: don't mean I have to holler. Shoot this personal. Yes
S1: it is. Notice what he says. I will bless the
S1: Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in
S1: my mouth, my soul. Now, you need to understand what's
S1: going on here. The I is emphatic. The my is emphatic.
S1: What does that mean, Pastor Ford? Glad you asked. You ask, uh,
S1: intelligent questions. I focus on the actor, the one who's
S1: doing the blessing. Will is the attitude. Contrary to how
S1: I feel. Uh, bless the Lord. Uh, is a focus
S1: on action. This is the action. And, of course, the Lord. Uh,
S1: the focus is on the Almighty. So here I will
S1: bless the Lord. Uh, is actor attitude, action. And almighty.
S1: That's what he's saying. That's the focus now. It's personal.
S1: What do you mean by that passport? I mean, it's emphatic.
S1: So what's emphatic? Here's what he's saying. I don't care
S1: what everybody else around me came to do. I came
S1: to praise the Lord. I don't care if nobody else
S1: says Amen. I'm going to say Amen. I don't care
S1: what anybody else do me. Let me tell you, let
S1: me tell you I don't know what you came to do.
S1: But I came to praise the Lord. I came to
S1: bless his name. I came to jump and shout. And
S1: that's exactly what he's saying. See, if you came to
S1: get something from God, then you came for the wrong reason.
S1: If you're one of the ones who only come for
S1: the sermon, then you came for the wrong reason. Because
S1: it's not about a sermon. It's not about a band.
S1: It's not about a choir or praise team, or even
S1: the preaching of the Word of God, even though it
S1: should be central. But it's about coming together in a
S1: corporate expression and expressing to one another, and to God
S1: how grateful we are that he let us come back
S1: one more time. Sound. Yeah. Here's what he's saying. Yeah,
S1: it ain't just about a sermon. Now notice he says
S1: it must be voluntary will. It must be voluntary. In
S1: other words, he's saying I got the Lord's praise on
S1: speed dial. That's what I have. See, he's teaching us
S1: that praise is not an option. Praise is an obligation. Oh, yeah,
S1: it's an obligation. Yeah. Okay. Get this. Uh, I like sports,
S1: but I like football. I'm not a baseball fan. Even
S1: though Pirates is my team, I just say Pirates. My team.
S1: I don't even watch the games. And I was wondering,
S1: what's the uproar? What are y'all hauling about? And, you know,
S1: all in the store. Yeah, yeah. High five slapping high fives.
S1: The Cubs are going to the World Series. I said really? Yes.
S1: Finally we're going to. Oh, hey, bro, check this out. Yeah,
S1: you heard right. You heard. Now, it's not just because
S1: I'm not from Chicago. But let me tell you what
S1: I start thinking about. I start thinking about y'all. I said,
S1: how many of them right now who sit there all service.
S1: Don't open their mouth. Don't move. Don't say nothing. Don't stand.
S1: If you say, look at your neighbor. They're like, I
S1: don't want to see him. Look at my neighbor. I
S1: ain't high fiving nobody. I live in the suburbs. What
S1: are you talking about? High five. I said, I wonder
S1: how many of them was in the store talking about.
S1: Did you hear? Or at the job? The cup we in,
S1: we in. And then I begin to think the Cubs
S1: didn't go to Calvary and die for you. But you
S1: can holler for them. But you can't holler for Jesus.
S1: The cubs didn't cover you in their blood, but you
S1: can holler for the cubs, but you can't holler for Jesus.
S1: The cubs didn't write your name in the Lamb's Book
S1: of Life, but you can holler for the cubs. But
S1: you can't holler for Jesus that the Cubs ain't coming
S1: back to get you. But you can holler for the Cubs.
S1: But you can't holler for Jesus. The Cubs don't come
S1: in the middle of the night when your body is
S1: racked with pain. You don't say, oh, cubs! Huh? Yeah.
S1: No one has to coerce you. No one has to
S1: prompt you. You ain't praying with me. I submit to
S1: you who tell me. Well, you see, when I worship,
S1: I'm a kind of person who doesn't get excited. Then
S1: there's something wrong with you and your worship and your
S1: relationship with your God. Because if, if, if, if Uptown
S1: Funk can make you move and a song about somebody
S1: who died for you can't make you move, then there's
S1: something wrong with your salvation. Amen. Amen.
S2: That's really a challenging message today here on Treasure Truth
S2: called have you gone public with your praise? You can
S2: always respond and let us know how you're taking your
S2: praise public by filling out the contact form at our website.
S2: Go to Treasure Truth radio.org. You know, praising God doesn't
S2: require music or dancing. When we share the gospel, it's
S2: an act of worship as we help others find a
S2: relationship with Christ. Now, of course, everyone who shared their
S2: faith has heard dozens of excuses from non-believers. Phrases like
S2: I'm a good person or I'm spiritual but not religious.
S2: Maybe those sound familiar to your ears, but do you
S2: know how to respond to those objections? In the book
S2: How to Witness to Anyone, R.A. Torrey shares Scripture verses
S2: for occasions when you're not quite sure what to say
S2: on your own. Now, this is a practical book that
S2: grew out of Doctor Torrey's own work as an international evangelist,
S2: and it can equip you with confidence and power when
S2: you share the gospel. So request how to witness to
S2: anyone when you give a gift of any amount to
S2: treasure truth. Just call us at 888644 7660 or go
S2: online to Treasure Truth radio.org. You can also send a
S2: check in the mail and feel free to include a
S2: note in the envelope. Our address is Treasure Truth, 820
S2: North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. Take advantage of
S2: the limitless power of God's Word and request how to
S2: witness to anyone while it's still fresh in your mind. Again,
S2: call us at 888644 7006 60 or go online to
S2: Treasure Truth Radio.com. I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios.
S2: Join us again next time as we continue this message.
S2: Have you gone public with your praise? That's here on
S2: Treasure Truth. A production of Moody Radio, a ministry of
S2: Moody Bible Institute.