“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 endures to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5
If you are tired of the place you are in then start being thankful for what you have already and then as you begin to praise God for this He will bring you into His Courts. The verse above says that thanksgiving is a doorway into the Courts of God.
We have so much to be thankful for. God says that we can begin to move forward and enter His gates, and into the land of promise by being thankful. Our destiny is the Holy of Holies, the very Presence of God and the journey starts with a thankful heart.
Recently I had a vivid dream that shook me up. In it I saw a Pastor friend of mine called ‘Judah’ in a wheel chair. I had the impression that he had been in a car wreck. Not only was he paralysed but something was wrong with his eyes. After the dream I wondered if I should warn him of some impending danger, but had a check in my spirit that it didn’t mean that. The Lord eventually reminded me that ‘Judah” in Hebrew means ‘Praise,’ and that it was a message for me. The Lord said to me that I and many in the Church are crippled because of our lack of thanksgiving and praise. We may have had a previous ‘incident’ (car wreck) somewhere down the line that has crippled us. We need a healing in our souls so that we can rise up out of our spiritual wheel chairs and praise the Lord. This lack of praise was also affecting our spiritual eyesight as well.
Judah was one of the 12 sons of Israel and became one of the most prominent tribes from whom Jesus was a descendant. In Genesis 49 we have a prophecy given to Judah by his dad – Jacob, which is worth taking a look at. It reveals to us some of the blessings that can come to us as we ‘Praise’.
“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.” Genesis 49:8-12
We see from this prophecy that Judah has many blessings given to him. In the light of the fact that Judah means ‘praise’, so praise has many blessings associated with it. I know we are not where we want to be just yet, but this is a way forward. God tells us not to belittle the small things in our lives as they lead to greater things.Start by being thankful for the small things we have.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin,” Zechariah 4:10
When you look at the prophecy given to Judah you see many benefits that come from praise. They were for Judah back then but I believe they are also for all of us today, those who praise God.
Firstly it says that Judah will be honoured by his brethren. Praise brings with it honour from the Body of Christ. A negative person doesn’t attract blessing from anyone let alone God or the Brethren.
It says that Judah will destroy his enemies. Praise does damage to your enemies in the spirit realm. Psalm 149:6-9 says that praise binds the enemy.
“May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them— this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 149:6-9
It says that when you praise God you will be like a lion. The lion is the King of the Forest. Praisers have kingly privileges and it makes them strong. It may seem like a whisper when you praise God but in the spirit it’s like a roar.
It says too that Judah has a sceptre. Kings had sceptres and this symbolises their authority – Praise gives you authority in life. We have authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. Authority over the enemy. When you aren’t praising and magnifying the Lord the enemy seems bigger. We have the power not him.
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
“He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:18-20
The end of this prophecy is strange and hard to understand. I looked up what it said in a commentary about this portion of scripture and it says that it is speaking of extravagance. “Washing your clothes in wine” is an expensive pastime, it’s not just mere water. So it would seem that Praise brings wealth and extravagant blessing into your life.
Another major benefit of praise is found in Hosea 10-11-12.
“Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. Sow righteousness for your-selves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.”
We see here that Judah plows. So in the light of the comparison Praise plows too. When you praise God it plows up your hard heart and allows God to open you up and plant fresh seeds into your life. It then brings with it blessings as He rains down His righteousness on you.
Often praise can be a sacrifice and hard to do but it’s expected from us even when it’s hard. We often have to praise God by faith regardless of how we feel.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
The trouble is these days the Devil is making us focus on all the things we don’t have and not upon all the things that we do. This generation is very unhappy. It all goes back to the Garden of Eden when Satan said to Eve that she should try the tree that God said not to eat from, even though they were given thousands of other trees. Today we have been given so much yet we can still be so unhappy. Thanksgiving sets us free. We are so blessed yet so poor.
In Revelation chapters 2 to 3 it speaks of the 7 Church Ages. The last Church Age of Laodicea shows a selfish, spoilt Church that has everything yet is very poor in spirit. I believe this is the age that we are in. The promise to those who manage to overcome in this age is the greatest of all the promises. They are told they will sit with God in His throne and have great authority. We today have more than other generations before us and if we can be thankful and enter into the realm of praise, we will reign in life. This authority has always been given to us but the Devil is blinding and robbing us. Praise sets us free and allows us to take hold of the blessings that are already given to us by God. We always have been Kings and now we can begin to use it without interference. Praise causes us to yield our increase and bring forth fruit.
“Let the people praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise you. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” Psalm 67:3-6
We need to position ourselves for the blessings that are available. In 2 Samuel God told David that when he saw the sign of the wind blowing in the top of the mulberry trees to move forward quickly.
“As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." 2 Samuel 5:24
One translation says ‘bestir’ yourself and another ‘position’ yourself and here it says ‘move quickly’ (RUN). Seize the day. These are special days that we are in right now and we will not have them again. Let’s keep ourselves in that place where we can receive the blessing reserved for the Last Days. Thanksgiving and Praise is the key that opens the door into the realm of this blessing and enables us to do all God is calling us to do. Don’t allow the enemy to rob you anymore. Rise up you Sons of Judah and praise the Lord. Don’t let the enemy keep you in a wheelchair anymore.
