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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000162S
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00:02 #S084 - “A Different Kind Of Praise” (Part 1)
00:20 So do me a favor and stand to your feet as we go 00:21 to the scriptures today, as we get into God's word. 00:27 Grateful to see some of our guests 00:29 and visitors who are visiting us from 00:30 across town and out of town. 00:32 If you're visiting us from from out of town this week, 00:34 would you raise your hands so we can see you today? 00:36 Can we put our hands together for all of our guests? 00:38 Again, welcome. God bless you. 00:40 And we pray that you have a rich experience here with us today. 00:45 I want to invite you to go with me and your Bibles 00:48 to the book of Second Corinthians, chapter 12, 00:52 second Corinthians, chapter 12, and verse one again. 00:55 When to just give regards, 00:56 my good friend, Pastor Nixon and Nixon family visiting 01:00 from the Ephesus Church in New York City 01:02 and grateful to have Mrs. 01:04 Brown and members of the Johnson family here with us. 01:06 God bless you 01:07 and my good friend, Chaplain Mein Hill there in the back. 01:10 God bless you, my friend. 01:11 Bless you as well, along with some whom I have not caught. 01:15 God bless you. 01:16 Second Corinthians Chapter 12. 01:18 And we're going to look together at verse number 01:21 one, second Corinthians 12 and verse number one. 01:24 Anybody got a praise on your lips today? 01:27 All right. 01:28 Second Corinthians 12 and verse one. 01:31 And when you get there, just say, Pastor, I'm there. 01:34 Second 01:35 Corinthians 12 and verse number one. 01:38 And I want you to really give careful attention to the things 01:42 that the apostle describes 01:44 to us today, because I believe they have life 01:46 and meaning for us 01:48 as we maneuver through life's trials and adversity. 01:50 Second one 01:51 Corinthians 12 in verse one again when you get there, 01:54 just pastor there. 01:56 All right. 01:56 Listen to what he says. 01:59 He says it is doubtless 02:02 not profitable for me 02:05 to do what to boast. 02:08 I will come to visions and revelations of the law. 02:12 I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, 02:15 whether in the body I do not know, 02:16 or whether out of the body I do not know. 02:18 God knows such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 02:23 And I know such a man, whether in the body 02:25 or out of the body, I do not know. 02:27 God knows how. 02:28 He was caught up in paradise and heard inexpressible words 02:32 which are not lawful for a man to utter of such a one. 02:37 I will boast yet of myself. 02:41 I will not boast, except in my infirmities, 02:46 for though I might desire 02:49 to what I have a desire to boast. 02:52 I will not be a fool, for I will speak the truth, 02:56 but I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above 02:59 what he has seen of me or what he hears from me. 03:04 And this is the sermon verse seven through ten and less. 03:09 I should be exalted above measure 03:12 by the abundance of the revelations, 03:14 a thorn in the flesh was given me a messenger 03:18 of Satan, the buffet me lest I be exalted above measure 03:23 considered considered concerning this thing. 03:25 I pleaded with the Lord three times 03:28 that it might depart from me, and He said 03:31 unto me, as he is saying to some here today, 03:34 My grace is sufficient for you. 03:38 My strength is me perfect in weakness. 03:42 Therefore, most gladly, I would rather boast in my infirmities 03:47 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 03:50 Watch this verse in. 03:51 Therefore, I take pleasure. In what? 03:55 No, no. 03:55 Are you all catching this? 03:57 He says I take pleasure in one infirmities in what? 04:02 In what? 04:04 In what? 04:06 In what? 04:08 For Christ's sake. 04:09 For when I am weak, then I am strong today. 04:14 Say, I want to talk to you for a little 04:16 while under the subject. 04:17 A different kind of phrase. 04:21 A different kind of praise. 04:23 Let us look to the Lord together in prayer. 04:25 Father, again, in this little while, 04:28 would you please see much? 04:30 Lord, there's a limited amount of time we have together. 04:33 But I'm praying that you give us truth that is eternal. 04:37 And so we're praying that the Spirit 04:40 would reign so heavily upon this service 04:44 that it would literally smother all rivaling principalities. 04:47 So, Lord, would you please hide me in the shadows 04:50 of the cross that Christ alone might be seen, 04:54 that Christ alone would be heard, 04:57 and at the end of our time 04:58 together, let Jesus alone be praised. 05:01 Bless us. 05:01 To this end, 05:02 we ask in the mighty name of Jesus, 05:04 let them that love him, say together. 05:06 Amen. 05:07 Any man you may be seated in the house of the Labor 05:13 again talking to you today on the subject 05:15 of a different kind of phrase. 05:22 You know, friends, 05:23 there are two classes of people 05:26 who give praise to God in the body of Christ. 05:30 First, there are those who give transactional praise. 05:36 And the second group are those who give relational praise. 05:40 Those whose worship is transactional. 05:44 They praise God for things. 05:47 But those whose worship is relational, 05:50 they praise God through things. 05:54 And both classes 05:55 can be spiritually alive, maturing and abounding. 06:00 But there is an inconsistency in the lives 06:02 of those who give God transactional praise, 06:07 because they will only praise God when things are going well. 06:11 So they praise God for the new job, 06:14 and they will praise God for the new house, 06:18 and they will praise God for good health, 06:22 and they will praise God for the scholarship. 06:25 But the problem is that there is going to be 06:27 an inconsistency in their praise, for 06:30 they only praise him according to the season 06:34 they are in and friends. 06:36 There must be a maturity in the journey because sometimes 06:40 that type of praise reads like the reading on an EKG machine 06:46 where it is filled with high peaks and very low valleys. 06:50 And the problem 06:51 is their praise mirrors what's in their bank account, 06:55 their praise mirrors, how they feel when they wake up 06:58 in the morning, 06:59 their praise mirrors, how people may be speaking about them. 07:05 And the only thing the devil loves more than no 07:07 praise is fluctuating praise where it is high in one season 07:13 and invisible in the next, 07:16 and what the person that gives transactional 07:18 praise needs to recognize is that there are going to be 07:22 seasons of life. 07:23 Am I preaching to anybody today? 07:26 In fact, Solomon says it this way 07:29 that they're going to be seasons where you laugh 07:32 and they're going to be times for you to mourn. 07:35 They're going to be times where things are being built up. 07:39 And they're going to be times where things are being torn 07:41 down. 07:42 In fact, Jesus says that I'm going 07:44 to send the son to rise on the evil and the good 07:49 and I'm going to send rain on the just and the unjust. 07:54 And the word to somebody today is you've got to get to a place 07:57 where you give God a praise for all seasons. 08:01 Are you with me? 08:02 Church and see where those that have a relation of praise. 08:07 This is where we want to leave. 08:09 And it's not that this type of person 08:12 does not get touched by discouragement. 08:15 It is not that these types of believers don't endure 08:18 real pain. 08:19 It is not that they don't get overwhelmed by life. 08:23 But because there is a relationship with God, 08:27 there is an abiding trust that evens out their praise. 08:32 It stabilizes their homage. 08:35 And it makes consistent their homage to God. 08:38 In other words, 08:39 when you have a relationship with God, 08:42 you give him a different kind of praise 08:45 because it is not emitting 08:48 from a season of comfort, it emits from the goodness of God. 08:53 Is there anybody that knows that relational worship 08:55 is different than church and liturgy? 08:59 This is the type of praise that Jobe gives when he loses 09:02 all of his livelihood and his kids, and he opens his 09:06 mouth to say, The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. 09:11 But blessed be the name of the Lord. 09:14 This is the type of praise that David gives 09:17 when he suffered the slings and arrows of life. 09:20 And yet he says, I will bless the Lord at all 09:23 times and his praise continually be in my mouth. 09:28 This is the type of worship described by Paul 09:32 when from a Philippi in jail, he says to the Saints, 09:35 to rejoice in the Lord always. 09:38 And again, I say, rejoice. 09:40 And I don't know about you, saints. 09:42 I don't want to just give God transactional praise. 09:46 That may be the starting point, 09:47 but I want to get to something deeper. 09:51 I want a faith that can praise God in the middle of the storm. 09:56 I want a faith that can praise God when there is no money 09:58 in the bank. 09:59 I want a faith that can praise God 10:01 when folk don't speak well about me. 10:05 In fact, I don't want to wait to things get better to praise 10:08 God because I believe that from the rising of the sun 10:13 to the going down of the Saint, that the name of the Lord 10:16 is to be praise. 10:18 And I just need to know, do I have at least seven saints 10:22 that can testify that God has been so good 10:26 that you ought to give him and all season's kind 10:29 of praise today? 10:31 Let me say it this way. 10:32 I remember Malcolm back in September with Breath of Life. 10:36 We went on a cruise to the Mediterranean, 10:40 and when we got to Turkey, they took us to a leather shop 10:43 where we got to shop for leather 10:44 coats and garments of that sort. 10:47 And I remember trying on a particular type of leather 10:50 jacket, and the salesman said, Sir, that's a good choice. 10:55 He says, that's an all weather type of coat. 10:58 And I said, How can it be all weather? 11:01 It is a dark colored coat and it has a heaviness to it. 11:04 He says, Open up the inside and look at the inside. 11:08 And the inside had a bright color. 11:11 So he said, Sir, it's reversible, 11:14 so that in the winter you can wear dark, 11:16 but in the spring it goes right. 11:19 But I said it still feels a little heavy. 11:22 And he said, Sir, remember that this leather is made of lamb. 11:25 Same. 11:26 And the lamb skin operates different, 11:30 so that when it's on the inside it keeps you from the cold. 11:34 But when you reverse it, 11:35 it operates like the insulation on your house 11:39 and it keeps the heat from wearing you down. 11:42 And the word to somebody today is that you've got to have 11:45 a reversible phrase that can praise. 11:48 And when things are well and you can turn it inside out 11:53 and praise them when things are not well. 11:55 But the good news is that when you're covered by the lamb, 11:59 he can insulate you from any season. 12:02 And when you're covered in the lamb, 12:05 you can praise them in the winter. 12:07 You can praise them in the summer. 12:09 There is no season where you cannot praise God 12:13 when you're covered by the lamb. 12:14 Are you with me today? Church. 12:17 And so, friends, as we go back to second Corinthians 12, 12:21 give me a little leeway as we develop this thought. 12:24 You see this little Perich speak 12:26 is filled with conviction and spiritual truth. 12:30 And the first thing it teaches us, friends, 12:34 is that the most dangerous of all sins is the sin of pride. 12:39 In fact, friends, when you look at your Bible, 12:43 when you look at the scenes that are warned against the ones 12:46 that are warned against the most, it is not fornication. 12:50 It is not Sabbath breaking. 12:53 It is not coveting your nature, your neighbor. 12:56 But the sin 12:57 we are warned against the most is the sin of pride. 13:00 And when you look 13:02 at the scripture, the admonitions against pride, 13:04 they are not subtle and gentle, but they are scathing and 13:10 elevating in nature. 13:11 In fact, in James four, six, the Bible says God 13:16 opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. 13:21 In Proverbs 11, the Bible says When pride comes, 13:25 then comes disgrace. 13:26 But with humility comes wisdom. 13:30 In Proverbs 1680, the Bible says Pride goes before 13:35 destruction in a hearty spirit before a fall. 13:40 In fact, Proverbs six eight says that a proud 13:43 look is at abomination under God. 13:48 In fact, said for his God hates pride so much that he says, 13:51 When I see a proud look and elitist better 13:56 than you stank face, expressing 14:00 it is an abomination unto me. 14:02 I hear me today and see the reason 14:07 that you got to understand that God hates pride 14:11 is that when He sees pride on your face, it's 14:13 the same expression Lucifer had before he put him out of glory. 14:19 And he. Friends, I need you to get that. 14:21 The reason things fail is because of pride. 14:26 The reason that marriage is collapse is because of pride. 14:30 The reason we forfeit favor is because of pride. 14:34 The reason potential never becomes reality 14:37 is because we carry too much pride. 14:40 Are we clear that pride is the original sin? 14:44 And there was an interesting correlation in France 14:48 before between pride and praise. 14:51 In fact, friends, when you look at your Bible, 14:53 the Bible talks about how in the beginning 14:57 how Lucifer was the covering cherub. 15:00 Are you with me today? Church. 15:01 In other words, Lucifer was the Stephen Manders of heaven 15:06 that helped lead the people into the worship 15:09 of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 15:13 But the Bible says 15:14 that its heart became proud because of his beauty, 15:19 that he was corrupted by reason of his splendor, 15:23 that he was perfect in all of his ways 15:26 until iniquity or pride was found in him. 15:29 And because of pride, 15:31 Lucifer was no longer willing to lead worship. 15:35 Lucifer wanted to receive worship 15:38 and noticed that the more pride he gathered, 15:42 the less praise he began to give. 15:44 And the reason that God hates pride is the more pride 15:48 we collect, the less pride praise we give to God. 15:52 Let me say it again. 15:53 The more pride we have, the less praise we get. 15:58 In fact, friends, 15:59 the reason that some of us have no boast in the Lord, 16:04 the reason that there is no praise on our lips, 16:07 the reason our hands are too heavy to lift in glory 16:12 is because we are saddled with too much pride. 16:14 All mighty quiet. 16:15 But I'm a stand on it today. 16:17 In fact, there are some who say the reason I don't be praised 16:21 is because I'm a little conservative in my expression. 16:24 And for some, that is the case. 16:26 But the reason that some of us 16:27 don't have no praise is because we've got too much pride 16:32 and too much composure and too much concern about what 16:36 somebody is going to say about our worship of God. 16:40 And the reason I know you like it is I see you shout 16:43 when the cowboys are playing. 16:45 I see you dance when your Yankees are on top. 16:49 And some of y'all won't move in church. 16:52 But let a little Luther Vandross start playing and all 16:54 kind of rhythm gets in your conservative bones. 16:58 Are you gonna hear me today? 17:00 And see? 17:01 See, the problem 17:02 is, the more pride you have, the less praise you give. 17:06 And this is the crazy thing. 17:08 Most pride. 17:09 All of it is unwarranted. 17:12 How many of us know that? We get proud? 17:13 All of the things that God has accomplished in our lives. 17:18 In fact, the Word says that Lucifer became proud 17:20 because of his beauty. 17:21 But his beauty was given to him by God. 17:25 And it's crazy 17:26 because some of us get pride over how cute we are. 17:30 Yeah, yeah, you got some cuteness. 17:31 But that cuteness came from God. 17:35 Some of us to get pride all over the job that we were. 17:38 But how many of us know promotion 17:39 does not come from the East or the West? 17:42 But promotion comes from God. 17:45 Some of us who get proud over how much money we make. 17:48 But the Bible says it is God 17:49 that gives the power to get wealth. 17:51 Some of us get proud about how spiritual we are. 17:56 But the Bible says it is God that works in you. 17:59 But the will and do of his got pleasure. 18:02 Some of us get from because of the gift that we have. 18:06 But the Bible says every good and perfect gift 18:09 comes from above. 18:10 And I just need to know, is there anybody that knows 18:14 that if there is anything good that comes from our lives, 18:19 it is because of God's goodness operating on our side. 18:26 And see, this is the crazy thing about pride, 18:29 because for most sense, 18:30 you've got to confess and look to God for help. 18:34 But pride is the one thing that God addresses 18:37 in voluntarily or without your consent. 18:40 God says, I've got to regulate pride 18:44 to keep them from getting so far 18:47 that they get beyond my reach. 18:51 Now, some of y'all are listening to this and say, Pastor, 18:54 I'm hearing you on pride, 18:57 but what does that have to do with Paul story? 19:01 Because if you don't understand the danger of pride, 19:05 then you won't understand the placement of the form. 19:10 So back with me, if you don't mind. 19:11 Second Corinthians Chapter 12 and verse seven. 19:14 Look at what Paul says with his own words. 19:17 And he says, Unless 19:19 I sit, be exalted above measure. 19:23 By the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh 19:28 was given me a messenger of Satan to buffet me 19:33 less I be exalted 19:35 above measure did not get sent to the church. 19:39 Notice reigns the why of the thorn that Paul references. 19:44 He says essentially this thorn, y'all quiet today. 19:48 Church was given to me to help reckon 19:52 lay the pride that gets me gets me in trouble. 19:57 And truth is friends that if you read the writings 20:00 of Paul in their entirety, what becomes clear is that there 20:05 is a hubris that is always there on the verge. 20:10 But he restrains it because God has giving him 20:13 a regulating element. 20:15 In fact, earlier in the chapter he says, Man, 20:18 my desire is to boast about my own goodness. 20:23 But I've learned not to be a fool. 20:26 And see, I love this because Paul here is making it clear 20:31 that this thorn is not punishment, it's protection. 20:35 Okay, see? 20:38 See, see, Paul here is giving a level 20:41 of transparency that is edifying for the body of Christ, 20:46 because Paul says, Man, this pride thing 20:49 is so sinister and imperceptible 20:53 that without the help of God, I would be a slave to it. 20:57 I don't with me today, church. 20:58 Now, now I need you to get why this Pakistan is necessary 21:03 for the apostle Paul has lived 21:06 an extraordinary life. 21:09 Do you realize that the hand of the Lord 21:12 is upon Him in such a way that when he speaks, Mr. 21:15 Brown, his words don't just entertain those 21:19 that are already persuaded, but he has a wisdom 21:24 that draws the hardest sinners over into this marvelous light. 21:28 Do you realize that Paul apparatus with such force 21:32 that demons literally give deference 21:34 to him for one double say, Jesus. 21:38 I know and Paul, I know. 21:41 But who are you? 21:42 Do you realize that the anointing is so thick 21:46 that they take Paul's sweat rag from his work and the aprons 21:50 from his tent, making, and they drop them on the sick. 21:54 And when his sweat rag touches the sick, that tumors 21:57 get displaced and the cripple get up and walk 22:01 that poor yaks around so anointed 22:04 that they would take the sick and lay them in the street. 22:08 And when Paul walked by and his shadow fell upon them, 22:11 the sick would get made well 22:14 and the infirmed would get made whole. 22:16 In fact, Paul is so tough that snakes bite him 22:20 and he shakes it off as if nothing happens. 22:23 He survives 22:24 ship wrecks and lashes that should have taken his life. 22:28 And the Bible says that when he sleeps at night, 22:32 the cosmos opens and God gives him revelations 22:36 that are so abundant that it cannot be expressed 22:39 with human words. 22:40 And see. 22:42 The problem with that, Paul admits, is that the hand of God 22:46 works strongly with such consistency 22:49 that sometimes it's hard to tell what 22:52 me and what's God. 22:56 And so Paul literally says to 22:59 help me know the difference, God has given me 23:06 a thorn in the flesh to afflict me. 23:11 Whenever my pride begins to swell. 23:14 So. So, again, I need you to get that the thorn is not 23:17 punishment, it's regulation. 23:20 See, the thorn is like a spiritual thermostat. 23:22 I go with within a church. 23:24 You know, we some of us are old enough 23:26 to remember those window units in your house, 23:29 and it only had two settings on 23:32 and off. Come on and say a minute. 23:34 But now we have thermostats. 23:36 And the beauty of a thermostat is what it does 23:40 is it regulates the temperature in your house 23:43 so that when you want it to not get warmer than 70 degrees, 23:47 guess what? 23:47 The unit is going to be stationary 23:51 as long as it's at 68, it's going to be cold. 23:54 As long as it's at 69, it's not going to go to work. 23:57 But as soon as the temperature gives above 70, 24:00 it's going to kick in 24:01 and regulate a temperature that's getting out of control. 24:06 And see, 24:07 sometimes God is your pride thermostat 24:11 so that as long as you walk in humility, your straits, 24:15 but once it reaches a certain threshold, 24:17 God says, let me step here. 24:20 So there are a couple of things I want to say about this storm 24:23 before I take my seat. 24:24 The first thing you need to notice 24:25 is that the thorn is immovable, so this has to be friends. 24:32 A unique frustration for this particular apostle. 24:35 In fact, 24:37 the Bible says that Paul is given a thorn in the what? 24:41 He has given a thorn in the flesh, Bobby 24:44 which means it is a medical predicament 24:47 that actually disrupts the movements of this. 24:50 Apostle Now we are not told what this particular thorn is, 24:55 but there are some 24:56 that believe that Paul suffers from migraines 24:59 that would disable him from time to time. 25:02 Some believe that his thorn was Caesar's and that he suffered 25:05 from epilepsy. 25:06 Many believe 25:08 that after he lost his sight on the day of his conversion, 25:12 that his sight would leave him in Caesar's. 25:15 In fact, in Galatians six and verse 11, 25:18 the Bible says that Paul says, I write you using very 25:21 large letters, which suggests a challenge with his eyesight, 25:27 but understand that we are not told what 25:30 type of thorn our condition it is because it is irrelevant. 25:34 The one thing we need to note 25:35 is that the thorn won't be removed, not even by God. 25:41 And it's uncomfortable because he wants it gone. 25:44 It's so difficult because it hinders him in seasons 25:48 and he develops after a while an appreciation for the thorn. 25:51 After a while. 25:52 Jessica He comes to have some value for this thorn 25:56 because he 25:57 realizes that this thorn is not necessarily punishment. 26:01 It is actually a spiritual failsafe. 26:04 It is actually the last boundary. 26:07 It is actually the last restriction 26:10 that keeps him from getting so proud 26:12 that he becomes disqualified from God, 26:15 that when his pride begins to swell, that's 26:18 when the thorn kicks in. 26:20 When he starts to get a little high minded, 26:23 when he starts to become praising, are praiseworthy 26:25 about himself, when he begins to lose that sense 26:30 of where his help comes from, that that thorn, what it does 26:33 is it pricks him back into a dependent posture 26:37 and see Paul comes to a place where he sees 26:40 the goodness of God not in what is removed, 26:45 but he sees the goodness of God and what God allows to remain. 26:50 Okay, let me say it again. 26:52 See, the goodness of God is not just 26:53 and what he takes out of your life. 26:57 Sometimes God is good 26:59 by the affliction he lets remain in your life. 27:03 Well, I ain't got no mature saints in here today. 27:05 So you see. 27:06 See, God is not a good father if he takes every hard thing 27:09 out of your life. 27:10 But he's a good father 27:11 because he has measured the tension that remains, 27:17 especially if he's going to push you toward the Kingdom of God. 27:21 Thank you for joining us for the Breath of Life 27:24 Television Ministries Broadcasts with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 27:28 We hope and pray 27:30 that you have been blessed by this powerful message. 27:34 Join us next week for part two of the message, “A 27:37 Different Kind Of Praise” You don't want to 27:41 miss it. |
Revised 2025-03-05