PRAISE

BLUEPRINT FOR A SUCCESSFUL CHURCH

ACTS 2: 47

PRAISE

“Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”.

Acts 2:46 reiterates what we have already discussed in our study.  It again uses the words and phrases, “continue”, “one accord” and “breaking bread from house to house”.  But verse 47 includes an additional component to the mix.  Verse 47 tells us that what these people were doing was being done with “praise”. 

I want us to look at the word praise and the act of praise and see if we can get a handle on what it means and how to accomplish it so that it will help us become a more successful church.

DEFINITIONS:   Commendation, admiration, extol, approbation, exalt, acclaim, laud, approval, and esteem are all words that can be used in place of the word praise. 

So if we are praising someone we exhibiting “an act of ”______” any of the above. 

Praising is an act.  Praising is an action word.  It would be very difficult to sit quietly in a room by yourself, without any type of expression and to give praise.   Praising is “an act of commending”, “and act of admiration”, “an act of extolling”, “an act of _____” fill in the blank with any of the words in the definitions.  We can sit in a room and think about praising God.  We can feel God’s presence and desire to bless His name and praise Him but until we put those thoughts into action, they are nothing more than “thoughts”  not praise.   

Sometimes when we are defining a word it works better for me to give examples rather than synonyms.

For example, if I want to praise my wife for the wonderful meal that she has prepared.  (Why are you laughing?  Keva can cook.)  I would say something like “Wow that was a really great meal you cooked tonight.  You are a fantastic cook.”  By saying that, I am commending her on her cooking skills.  I am acclaiming to anyone listening (even if it is only her) that she is a good cook.

Or if I wanted to praise the pastor for a good message he brought I might shake his hand, pat him on the back and say something like, “Dr. Rick that was a wonderful message today.  You were really used by God to bring the truth into focus”.  I am putting my thoughts into action. 

These are acts of praising.

These acts can be elaborate or simple.  I was privileged to attend an Eagle Scout awards ceremony last Saturday.   One of my young students had completed the requirements for Eagle Scout along with the seven other members of his troop. (To our knowledge this is the first time the entire troop received Eagle Scott recognition at the same time). These young men were praised in several ways.  They were given certificates, badges, commendations from the state legislator and other items by state, county and local officials.  Several times during the ceremony the 200 or so people in attendance stood to their feet and applauded or praised these boys for what they had accomplished. 

My praise was just as sincere but in a much more common way.  I gave this young man a small gift and a card that said, “Good job, I’m so proud of you”.  No matter how large or small, each of us, by an act or action expressed our praise. 

TYPES OF PRAISE:

In doing this study this week I have come to realize something about praise that I had never seen before.  You may have already realized this but it jumped out at me.  There are at least two types of praise, there may be more but I think there are at least two. 

Spontaneous praise.  This is the kind of praise that you might see at an Alabama or Auburn football game.

You have seen it and experienced it and participated in it a thousand times without even realizing it.  The coach sends in the play.  The quarterback calls the play.  The linemen execute the correct blocking scheme, the running back breaks through the line and turns on the heat and outruns the defenders and streaks for a 99 yard touchdown.  The stands erupt with spontaneous praise.  Thousands of foam rubber fingers are raised in the air.  Cheerleaders jump up and down and turn flips on the sideline.  Drunks throw their beer on the people sitting in front of them.

No one orchestrated this.  No one passed out fliers at the beginning of the game that said “When the running back makes a 99 yard touchdown everyone should immediately stand to their feet, scream and yell to the top of their lungs, wave their hands in the air and yell “We’re number one”.   This is simply spontaneous praise.  It is an act of celebration for the benefits we think we have gained by our team scoring more points than the other team.

We see this kind of praise in church from time to time.  A singer presents a song that touches our hearts, the speaker makes a statement or point that means something to us, someone gives a testimony that particularly blesses us and without instructions, without forethought, without prompting from anyone else we spontaneously praise God.

“Amen, Praise the Lord, Bless His Holy name” might be heard from our lips.  Our hands may be lifted into the air as a sign of praise.  Tears might fill our eyes as we bless God and praise God for what He has done for us. 

In football games and basketball games and baseball games I have seen extreme praising.  I’ve seen people grab the school flag and run around the field.  I have seen people stand in their seats and wave towels, shirts and other items of clothing.  I have heard them scream to the top of their lungs.  I’ve seen them cry and shout and beat on the seats, walls and vehicles. 

I’ve even seen some pretty extreme praising going on in the church, although it’s been a long time ago.  I remember a very long time ago at Birmingham First Church, there was a little man who played the organ.  I had seen him there many times as we visited that church for revivals or special services.  He was a kind little man, a gentle man, a quiet man.  He sat on the organ seat and played the music beautifully but not much else.

One afternoon at a special service there, the Spirit of God moved among us.  Hands were raised; tears filled the eyes of many.  Suddenly, without script or prompting this little man got up from his organ seat and begin to run.  (I’ve always been scolded for running in the church but no one scolded him)  He ran down one side of the church, around the back of the church, down the other side of the church and across the front of the church.  He was whooping to the top of his lungs and waving his arms. He was running as fast as his little legs would carry him.  When he arrived back at the organ he quietly sat down and begin to play again. 

Spontaneous praise, it comes in different forms.  I remember an old farmer who attended our little church in Calera years ago. The pastor would give an opportunity for testimonies and people would stand and say whatever was on their minds.  This old man was a man of few words.  I honestly can’t think of any one thing that he ever said that I can remember.  But as he would stand to give his testimony, he would get out a few words, something like “Pastor I want to just praise the Lord for what He has done for me”.  Usually not even that much, sometimes he would only get out the word “Pastor” and then he would reach into the bib pocket of his old overalls and pull out a big ole red handkerchief, he’d begin to cry and wipe the tears from his eyes.  He’d do this for several minutes without saying another word.  God’s Spirit would fall on the service and people would be blessed.  After a while the old man would sit down. 

Each of these examples depicts spontaneous praise.  Neither of these men sat at home and thought about when and where they would praise God, it simply happened. 

But then there is INTENTIONAL PRAISE.  This is praise that we think about beforehand.  Max Lucado tells this story in one of his books.  Let me share it with you.     

Kris Hogan was the football coach of the Faith Christian High School in Grapevine, Texas. Kris had a very successful football program going there.  He had 70 players on his team.  He had 11 assistant coaches, he had just about any type of training equipment that a coach could want and he had the support of his administration and the parents of the community. 

Each year Faith Christian school played a football game against another school called the Gainsville State School.  This school was quite different from Faith school.  Gainsville was a state correctional school.  Each of the boys who attended that school were there because they had done something wrong, something that deserved punishment or correction. 

Instead of good equipment these boys wore pads that were seven years old.  They played with helmets that were 10 years old.   There were no cheerleaders for this team.  There were no followers of this team except the uniformed officers who followed them and surrounded them whenever they played.  The Gainsville “Tornados” didn’t even have a stadium in which to play their games. 

On this particular day Kris Hogan who was a Christian, decided that he would do something special for these boys.  He asked for volunteers to switch sides in the game.  He got 200 parents and supporters of the Faith Christian School to cross the field and sit in the stands on the Gainsville side.  They took the team roster and learned the names and numbers of the boys who played.  They learned the positions that each boy played and were prepared to cheer for these boys.

As the pre-game began, these people formed a 40 yard “spirit line” through which the young men would run onto the field.  That week they made a large banner that stretched across the goal post so the team could break through it.  As each boy did something on the field he would hear people calling out his name.  “Good job Matt”.  “Way to go Mike”.  And when the game was over, they gathered around as the boys were loaded back on the bus and presented each with burgers, fried and a drink, candy and gave each boy a small Bible.  As the bus drove away they cheered and waved the team colors in the air.

Intentional praise, praise that was planned, praise that took forethought and work but praise just the same. 

Praise can be and should be spontaneous.  Our hearts should be touched and we should act or respond to that unexpected time, there is nothing wrong with that. 

But I think we forget to praise in the intentional way.  And I think it is because we are just too busy and thinking about ourselves.

Often the examples I give you in Bible study are from my own experiences.  When I went to Fire/Ems instructor school they told us that we should never use “personal experiences” to teach a point.  They told us that we should simply teach the facts.  But I learn from my “war stories” and I think you can learn from them too.    Let me share an embarrassing one with you that I experienced on Monday.  I think it taught me intentional praise.

I took Monday off to go with my son Chris to Bessmer to get lumber from an old house I was given.  I am going to use the lumber in my barn and he is building a chicken house and needed some lumber. 

So I took the day off, got up early got my old truck ready, loaded the tools that I thought I needed and made plans to go and get the lumber.   I had no sooner left my driveway and gone about two miles when I saw a truck parked on the edge of the road and a man standing next to it “thumbing” a ride.  I pulled over and asked if I could help. 

“Yes sir, I’m out of gas.  Can you give me a ride to my house to get my other truck?”  I consented and he climbed in.  After introductions he preceded to tell me his troubles.  No money, no gas, no cell phone and no one to call if he had a cell phone.  My remarks were something like “Yeah, things are tough all over”. 

I took him to his trailer to get a set of keys and finding out that the truck he needed was another half mile down the road consented to take him there.  He then shared with me how that work had been slow, money was short and he had sat with a gun in his hands and considered “ending it all”.  I didn’t have time for all of this.  I needed to be in Bessmer as soon as I could.  It was getting hotter by the minute. 

I quoted a line of scripture and told him that God would not put more on him than he could handle, dropped him off at his destination and drove away. 

Oh what an opportunity to praise God, help this old boy and make a difference and I “drove right by it” because I didn’t plan.  I didn’t expect God to drop someone in my lap who needed help and I simply was not in the “mood” to be helpful.  I was thinking about “me” and my goals and objectives for that day.  I didn’t even get the guy’s name.  Because of lack of preparation I neglected the opportunity to serve God and my fellow man who was in need.   

I should have told him about Jesus and how much He loved him.  I should have prayed with him before he got out of my truck.  God gave me a captive audience and I missed it because I was too busy and did not prepare. 

I hope I will learn from this lesson.  I hope God will give me another chance.  I want to prepare for the time that is going to come when I can look into the eyes of a hurting person and tell them that God loves them.  I want to prepare for the time when I can praise God.  I want to learn the things to say and develop the boldness to say those things to whomever I happen to be speaking with. 

I want to learn that praise and service is more than just a spontaneous act but is a planned mission.

Nate Saint, one of the missionaries who was killed in South America while trying to evangelize the Anca Indians made a statement about obedience that I believe will fit here.  I’ve tried to commit it to memory.  Saint said “Obedience is more than a spontaneous act, it is a die-hard decision made beforehand”.

I believe that goes for obedience, service and praise. 

To be a successful church and successful Christians we need to think about it, plan on it and prepare for it.  God will honor our efforts to glorify His name.