Tell Us His Name
A. Talk about some things that motivate you to be greater Christians
and grow closer to God. One of those is praising God.
Some Christians dont know how to praise God. But, praising
God is not limited to congregational worship services on Sunday.
We need to be praising and honoring God
in our homes with our families and in our place of work, in our
leisure time. Bubby Marshall and I use
to sing praise to God when we were Bass fishing. We sang praises
driving to the lake in the early
morning darkness; while we fished and then all the way home at
night.
1. When we talk about praise were not talking about Pentecostals
who shout, clap, jump up and down, scream and holler with their
eyes rolled back in their heads. I praise God every morning, before
the sun tops the horizon. I sit in the swing in our enclosed patio
garden with a cup of coffee. As the waterfall fountain trickles
down and the moon slowly moves across the sky. I quietly praise
God and pray fervently for His strength and guidance. Without
praise to God its difficult to rise above the discouraging
tasks of life that beset you each day. If you dont know
how to praise God you truly have a problem.
a. Do you know what the word Praise Means? It means "highly
acclaim, adore, commend, give
credit." I heard a story that illustrates what praise is
all about. A medical missionary, who was an
Opthamoligist, went to a remote island in Indonesia. Blindness
was a common problem. He
discovered the problem was environmental and he found a treatment
that halted the process.
People came by the hundreds and would leave with hope, joy and
gratitude. They had no
phrase in their dialect that would simply say, Thank You.
Just look at the doctor and say, I will
tell you name! Thats the best definition youll
ever find for praise.
(A) Ps. 148, Tells Who is to Praise God. Did you ever wonder who
sings Gods praise? Ps. 148: 1-8, Who tells the name of God?
"The heavens, praise Him in the height praise? Who is it
that tells the name of God? Vs.1-8. On a clear Sunday night as
we drive back to
Lubbock, Bess and I always notice the moon and stars and at least
once during the drive
one of us will comment out loud, Look at Gods beautiful
moon and stars. And sometimes, well just sing praises
to God as we make our way through the darkness. Do
you know what were doing? Were telling His name.
But, were not the only ones who
are doing that. Billions of stars are proclaiming His name to
all who see them. Every
day from dawn to dusk the sun praises God, it tells His
name. Every mountain, hill,
rock, river, lake and mesquit tree is a testimony to God's presence.
God put them here
and took the time to named them one by one and each and every
one of them Tells the
name of God more eloquently than you or I can in human words.
(B) Vs.10, talks about, "...the wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds." Every critter on earth
tells His name and is aware of God. Ive come
to love and appreciate a little Chinese Pug because by being what
she is and doing what she was created to do, she beings praise
and glory to God. All of Gods creation, praises Him, all
of Gods creation tells His name.
b. But that's not all. People are to tell the name of God.
Vs. 11-14. Every one from the least to the greatest are to Tell
His name. Do you remember Christ's triumphful entry into Jerusalem
in Lk. 19:35-39? Do you remember what the Pharisees said in Vs.39-40?
Guess what? Gods name is going to be praised whether we
do it or not. God has declared and made it so. All creation will
tell His name.
(A) Of all God's creation who would be the one to naturally tell
His name? Who would be the most Logical one to tell
His name? Wouldn't it be the one who is the most intelligent?
The most Important? The highest in order of creation? The one
who is created in God's own image? Isn't it logical that man would
be the one most inclined to praise God and tell His name?
(B) God created the world and saved the best for last. He created
us in His image and likeness after having created the world for
us. Given us a unique relationship of personal fellowship. Given
to no other part of creation. I love you the most and you are
the only one created in My image. Of all creation you are the
only one who is eternal. We are the only ones who have the ability
to communicate with Him personally. Isnt it natural, logical
that we be the ones to tell His name?
(1) Ps.139:7. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can
I flee from your presence?
No matter where you are God is always there with you in Lubbock,
Dickens, Spur,
Girard , at home or at work, God is always there. Never a time
when God is not with
you and we need to praise God for that. Ps. 139:1-2, "...you
have searched me and
you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive
my thoughts from
afar." God knows the word that comes from your tongue before
it is spoken. He
knows your thoughts before you ever think them.
(2) Jer. 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet
to the nations." Matt. 6:8, "...your Father knows what
you need before you ask him." God knows the end of a thing
before its beginning. We need to tell His name to all the world
because of His power. His power provides our every need, Phip.
4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his
glorious riches in Christ Jesus." He will do it now just
as He did in times of Old. Acts 5, Peter is cast into prison and
an angel loosed his chains and opened the doors. They responded
by openly rejoicing and telling the name of god.
c. We read the Gospel story about Gods love that sent His
Son to die for our sins. We should be moved to tell all the world
the name of our wonderful God. We should also tell the name of
God for what He is doing now. He answers our prayers, gives us
comfort, peace, joy in Jesus. He gives strength to face all that
Satan hurls at us. The list is limitless.
(A) God is doing great things NOW and the Bible says, Tell
His name. Great churches have great assemblies. But, greatness
is not measured by numbers. Great assemblies are where people
come together regardless of their numbers. And they come together
to tell the name of God. Lift up their voices in songs
of praise and tell about God the
Father, Jesus, the Holy spirit and the great deeds they have done.
(B) Great assemblies are where men lead prayers that reflect holiness,
commitment of lives and families in appreciation for all God has
done for them. Great assemblies are where brothers and sisters
in Christ gather around the Lords Table to remember Gods
sacrifice of love for us and praise Him for that. Great assemblies
are where Gods Word is proclaimed in its fullness
so God is glorified. Thats what were about. We are
in the praise business. We live lives that reflect the love of
God and in doing so we live lives that tell His name.
(C) It is to praise His name that I leave you with the words of
the apostle Paul in Acts 20:32.
Spur - 07/27/03 am
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