Sunday Morning Message November 30, 2014 Series Characteristics of a Revived Church A Revived Church Praises God Congregational Reading Acts 2:41 47

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1 Sunday Morning Message November 30, 2014 Series Characteristics of a Revived Church A Revived Church Praises God Congregational Reading Acts 2:41 47 Text Verses: "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:46-47) Introduction A church that is experiencing revival does not just quit after the Big Day; they continue on together. According to Acts 2:41 47, the Church at Jerusalem continued in revival mode long after the big day. In this series of messages on The Revived Church, we have been examining some of the things the Bible tells us that this church continued in: Review Series: A Revived Church Stays in the Bible A Revived Church Fellowships A Revived Church Prays Together A Revived Church Gives A Revived Church Strives Together (one accord, harmony) This morning we will examine another characteristic of a church that is in revival they praised God together. If Jersey Shore Baptist Church is going to continue to be revived, and continue to see people added to the church, we will have to also be a church that praises God.

2 Our theme passage for this year is a psalm of praise: "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:1-5) We sometimes sing Psalm 34 as a church: I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:1-4) Praising and singing go together. When we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, we are praising and worshipping the Lord. We often sing Psalm 48:1 & 2: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." (Psalm 48:1-2) "Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely." (Psalm 147:1) When we speak about praise we are also speaking about worship and thanksgiving. A praising church will be a church that praises God, worships God, and appreciates God by expressing their thanks to Him often. Let s look at what these three elements involve: I Praise The Bible is filled with praise for God. The word praise is used 160 times in the psalms alone.

3 Means to shine; to celebrate; to boast; to brag about Jesus. In a general sense, praise is speaking favorably about the Lord, magnifying Him and making Him look good to the people around us. In a more specific way, praise is an expression of glorification and honor for something that God has done. He has created all things. He has redeemed my soul from Hell. He has provided a roof over my head and given food for my family to eat. He has answer my prayer. Etc. II Worship Worship is only used in reference to God. You can praise a man for what he has done, but only God can be worshipped. Means to bow the knee or make prostrate "And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth." (1 Corinthians 14:25) Turn to Matthew 4:8 10 In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar s image of gold: "Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?" (Daniel 3:14) "Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery

4 furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (Daniel 3:15) "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter." (Daniel 3:16) "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." (Daniel 3:17) "But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:18) In Daniel 6, Daniel was arrested because he bowed his knee to his God after a law was passed forbidding any to bow to anyone but the king. In the Book of Esther we see that Mordecai refused to bow before Haman. "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice," (Psalm 95:6-7) At the invitation time, we encourage people to come and bow before the Lord as an expression of their worship and devotion to Him. We worship God for Who He is: He is Love He is merciful He extends grace He is Omniscient He is Omnipresent He is Omnipotent He is Holy and Just

5 Turn to Psalm 139:1 18 God is Awesome. He alone is worthy of our worship. III Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is an attitude of gratitude that is communicated or expressed. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:6) "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15) Turn to Romans 1:18 32 Lost people and also many Christians are like spoiled children. They don t appreciate anything; they are ungrateful and discontented, always whining that they deserve better: Forgive Me When I Whine Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden hair; I envied her - - she seemed so gay, and how, I wished I were so fair; When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two feet - - the world is mine. And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm; he seemed to radiate good cheer, his manner was so kind and warm; I said, "It's nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find"; he turned and said, "Oh, thank you sir." And then I saw that he was blind. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes, the world is mine. Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue; he stood and watched the others play, it seemed he knew

6 not what to do; I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why don't you join the others, dear?" He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears, the world is mine. With feet to take me where I'd go; with eyes to see the sunsets glow, with ears to hear what I would know. I am blessed indeed. The world is mine; oh, God, forgive me when I whine. Stop whining and learn to be thankful. Spirit- Filled Christians are thankful people: "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." (Psalm 95:1-2) "I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:17) Conclusion Practical Thoughts 1 Learn to praise God for every good thing you have, and every good thing that has been done for you. Make a list of things that God has given you and that He has done for you. If you do this, you will also grow in your Christian maturity to the point where you can praise God for the bad things that He has allowed in your life, because you know that through those bad things God is doing something either for you or through you that will glorify Himself, further His Kingdom, and make you a better person. 2 Spend more time getting to know God through His Word. Learn Who He is. Get know more about His attributes and His character. You will learn that God is nothing like you are, and nothing like any person you know. He is altogether lovely. He is Perfect and Holy and Just while being Loving and Gracious and Merciful. God is God. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your

7 thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) There is nobody like God and He is the only one worthy of your worship: "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:" (Isaiah 45:5) "Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else." (Deuteronomy 4:39) 3 Develop an attitude of gratitude. Learn to be thankful for everything that God has done for you. Eddie Rickenbacker Illustration It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B- 17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But there was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life. Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean...for nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long. But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred. In Captain Eddie's own words, "Cherry," that was the B- 17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, "read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for

8 deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off." Now this is still Captian Rickenbacker talking..."something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it." And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. You know that Captain Eddie made it. And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast...you could see an old man walking...white- haired, bushy- eyebrowed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls...to remember that one which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle...like manna in the wilderness. If Eddie Rickenbacker could take one day a week to express his thanks to Sea Gulls, how much more should God s people thank Him for all that He has done for us. A Revived Church Worships God for Who He Is, and they also Praise and Thank God for What He Has Done.