The Sacrifice of Praise Hebrews 13:15: By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. One of the areas that we need to stay consistent in is our praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord. This helps us to always have a thankful heart and attitude, because when we lose our thankful heart, we lose our respect and honor toward God. Thanking and praising God is one of the ways for us to keep our faith in action. For our faith to please God, and to receive the miracles that we need form God, according to the scriptures, our faith always has to be in action, as we read in James 2:17: Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. When we lose our praise to God, we have the tendency to become critical, bitter, and unappreciative. Eventually, we can even get over to the place that our prayers aren t being answered and our Christian life isn t bearing any fruit. We have so much to be thankful for, and many times in the midst of tests and trials, we can have a tendency to forget how good God has been to us. The scriptures teach us to be thankful in everything (Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Ephesians 5:20). For, even though we may be going through a hard time, it s not God s fault. It s usually just the enemy trying to take away our joy. Not long after I d received salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I lost everything financially. I didn t know any scripture to stand upon at the time. And, if I did know any scripture, it really wouldn t have helped because I didn t know how to use the scriptures for my life, or to apply them to my situation. One can be taught the Word of God from a historical aspect, which could all be true... for instance, in the book of Genesis, were there people on earth before Adam? Where did Cain get his wife? Where are the fallen angels? Whom did Paul take with him on his second missionary journey? Who wrote the book of Revelation? People can study these things all their lives and have great debates and arguments over them, but when you bottom-line it all, these issues usually never get anybody saved, healed, or delivered. These studies become head knowledge and not revelation heart knowledge.
The entire Bible is God s Word, but the thing that is going to set you free and give you victory are the scriptures that you can find in your Bible to use in tests and trials, and to stand upon until you get your miracle and blessing from God. I guarantee you that when you or your loved ones are in a life-threatening situation, you re not going to be concerned about who wrote the book of Revelation, or whom Paul took with him on his missionary journey, or anything else that theology is going to teach. You are going to be looking for a way to get God to move in your life, whether it s someone to pray the prayer of faith for you or your loved one, or for someone to give you a verse of scripture that addresses your problem, as the centurion did in Matthew 8:8, when he said,... speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. He wasn t looking to religion for his answer, or to the scribes or Pharisees of the day. He went straight to the source. He needed a Word from God, and he got one. That s what every believer on this earth needs today: God s Word. Just as every sinner needs Jesus because there s only one Savior, every believer needs to be taught the Word of faith. There s no greater message to teach the body of Christ than the Word of faith message. It s the message that God gave to and for the church in order to live in victory, as we read in Romans 10:8: But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; Once a believer grabs a hold of the faith message, they ve got the Words for life, as Jesus said in John 6:63: It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 15:7: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. I know from experience that until believers are taught who they are in Christ, and what Christ has redeemed them from, how to pray the prayer of faith and use the Name of Jesus, how to walk by faith and not by sight and be led by the Holy Spirit, and how to walk in the God-kind of love, they re just existing from day to day with little or no victory. About the best they ll ever accomplish is to attend church and socialize with their Christian friends. God did not save you just go to church. He also gave you the Great Commission in Mark 16:15-18: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take
up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Once you get the power of God working in your life, you can help other people to receive from God. Until a person is taught the truth, they usually end up blaming God for everything that s happened to them. When you don t know how to use the Word, the devil takes advantage of you by way of stealing, killing and destroying, because he does not want us saved, following, or serving God. He does all that he can to persuade the believer to quit and give up through persecution, afflictions, hard times, and deception. So when I lost everything financially, the Christians I was around (at least those I went to church with) were trying to persuade me that God did all this to me. Then, I finally got a job making minimum wage working in an insulation factory. I got a hold of some scriptures about thanking God (not for the problem, but for what His Word said about my problem). And I started praising and thanking God for my job and that I was being promoted on my job. And, I claimed that all my bills were paid, in Jesus Name. I don t think I could describe how hard that job was on me emotionally and physically. It was something in the natural that I didn t want to do and I didn t tell a soul what I was going through at the time. I just made sure that I didn t murmur or complain about it. Fortunately, I was just beginning to be taught the Word of faith through some cassette teaching tapes that someone had lent me. So I took my tithing scriptures from Malachi 3: 10-12 (Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts)and Hebrews 7:8: (And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth), and then I got Mark 11:23: (For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith) and Philippians 4:6: (Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God).
I started thanking God and praising God for my job and that all my needs were met. One day, they finally called me into the office. As I was walking to the supervisor s office, I thought, "This really works! All my tithing and praising God have gotten me a promotion." Instead, the supervisor informed me that he was laying me off. I left the supervisor s office and was walking across the parking lot with tears flowing down my face and feeling like such a loser, and I lifted my hands up to God and began to thank Him and praise Him for my promotion. I knew all I had was God, and no one would understand what I was going through, nor was there anyone who could really encourage me. But I thought about what Paul did in Acts 16: 16-30: And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Paul and Silas hadn t done anything wrong, but they prayed and praised their way out of those hard times. Then, God brought a great miracle to Paul and Silas, and a revival to that jail, all because they did not give up. In the natural, and emotionally, I felt terrible. But I knew in the midst of this, I had to keep standing on and confessing my tithing scriptures and keep praising God for my miracle. I still live the same way today in my ministry. It s what keeps us going when nothing else seems to work. We just
keep standing on the Word by confessing what it says about us and lifting our hands up to God and praising and thanking Him for our miracle. Not long after that, God got me my miracle floor covering job. If God can get us to stay with His Word, and if we will stay faithful in praising and thanking God, no matter how severe the storm may seem, God will always come through for us. We need to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God in Jesus Name, whether we feel like it or not. The Scriptures teach us to give thanks for the leaders of our nation, no matter what their political persuasion may be, as we read in 1 Timothy 2:1-4: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. We are to praise God and thank Him over the food that He gives us, as we read in 1 Timothy 4: 4-5: 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. This helps us to walk in love and not be critical, and it helps us to stay healthy physically, so even the food we eat is blessed and sanctified. We receive great benefits and blessings in our lives from God as we maintain a heart of thanksgiving. It s a way that we express our appreciation to God. Praising God and thanking God for what His Word says about us causes God to move on our behalf. No matter how severe the circumstances may appear, praise is always appropriate to offer to God. Again, you are not thanking God for the problem; you re thanking God, first of all, that He s your God. And secondly, you re thanking Him that you re delivered, as we read in Colossians 1:12 & 13: Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: When they told Jesus that Lazarus was dead ( Jesus had apparently already prayed for him), Jesus said in John 11:41, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. Jesus gave an excellent precedent for us to follow as believers: no matter how bad things may appear in the natural, it is no indication that God has not heard our prayer, neither is it a sign to quit or give up. When I was in Bible school, I fell so far behind financially. They started the procedure to evict me from my apartment; they shut off my utilities and then I was going to be expelled from Bible
school. It can be so embarrassing to get behind on your bills, especially when people know you re a Christian. You can get so angry over your bills and at the people who are trying to collect the money, so that all you can wish for is that you didn t have any money. All this was happening to me. I had stepped out to obey God, and now it looked as though I had totally missed Him. One day, the Lord said to me, "Son, I don t want you to get mad at the bills, or at the people you owe money to; I want to trust Me that I ll take care of all the financial obligations that you have. It s important, son, that you keep obeying Me and rebuking the thoughts that come to your mind and refusing all doubt, worry and fear. This is just the enemy, testing you and trying to get you to quit. Just keep applying what you know to do, and what you know from My Word, for I will never fail to come through for you, or for any of My children." So, I began to spend more time quoting my financial scriptures, claiming that I was a tither and that God wanted me to be prosperous. I kept praising and thanking God that all my bills were paid, in Jesus Name, as well as spending extra time praying in tongues. By doing this, it helped keep me strong spiritually, and focused on God. In a severe trial, the pressure can be so strong and persuasive, that all you want to do is give up and quit. Somehow, God got my rent and tuition paid, and my utilities back on. I still live today by these principles in my ministry and personal life. Little did I realize when that dear brother in the Lord gave me those faith tapes that God had just given me the Words of life to live in victory, as a believer. You ll have many opportunities, in your Christian walk, to give up and quit. But, if you love God more than anything else in the world, you won t quit, but you ll stay with Him and He will see you through. He said in Psalm 91:14 &15, Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. We may not always understand at the time why something has happened to us, but through prayer, God will speak to us and encourage us to keep on standing. He loves us and He s good to us. He never leaves us or fails us. He s our Protector, our Redeemer, our Shepherd, Provider, our Physician, our Father, and our God. He dwells within us as believers and leads and guides us in this life. He desires that we always put Him first so He can always bless us and care for us. When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God became your Father and He s the only guarantee you have that will never fail you. He ll be with you when no one else is. And just
remember when you get through the trial that you re faced with (and you will get through it), never, ever forget Who brought you through. Take some time today and every day to get on your knees and lift your hands to God to thank Him that He s your God and for everything He s ever done for you. Let Him know that you love Him, and that you appreciate Him. Additional Scriptures Colossians 3:16,17: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 1 Thessalonians 5:18: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Psalm 107:1,2,21,22,31: O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 34:1: I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. Remember, God wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers (3 John 2). Your Word of faith pastor,
Pastor Jesse Rich Jesse Rich Ministries P.O. Box 237170 New York, NY 10023 PHONE: (212) 501-7999 Email: www.jesserichministries.com/contact.htm To be REMOVED from this list - Click contact link above - send REMOVE message Website: www.jesserichministries.com