Ron Sawka Ministries
August 30, 2023; Elul 13, 5783
www.rwsministries.com
Eleven Reasons to Praise the Lord
A few weeks ago, I made a list of reasons why we should praise the Lord, what that praise should be like, and what happens as a result. I had planned to speak on that during last week’s Apostolic for Chinese monthly webcast, but was led in a different direction. So I promised I would share the notes in this week’s update. Without further ado, here are those reasons along with supporting scriptures:
1. It is pleasing to the Lord. “I will praise God’s name with song and exalt him with thanksgiving. That will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with horns and hooves” (Ps. 69:30–31). Furthermore, Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
2. It is to be our lifestyle. “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15).
3. It helps keep us from foolishness. The two most important things in our lives are 1) to always recognize that God is in every situation and circumstance, and 2) to be thankful. Not doing this immediately puts us on a downward trajectory toward darkness and foolishness. “Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:16).
4. It is a prime method of keeping ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit. “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18–19).
5. It must be joyful. This is important because the joy of the Lord is our strength. “Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation continually say, ‘The Lord is great!’” (Ps. 40:16).
6. Praise helps us remember—as well as receive and experience—all the benefits His salvation has for us. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases” (Ps. 103:2–3). There is no need to live in condemnation or doubt. Praise Him. You will soon know in your heart you are forgiven and fully accepted by Him. We can and should expect healing of body, soul, or spirit while we are praising.
7. Praise brings deliverance from what I am afraid of and breaks the power of fear. Rather than focus on the many negative things occurring in the world now, we are much better off just praising, singing, and worshiping the Lord. Fear gets broken. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. … I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Ps. 34:1–4).
8. Praise is a simple and effective way of “silencing” the enemy. Even children can do this. “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength” (Ps. 8:2). If you find yourself being hassled and your thoughts continually being drawn into debate, argument, or worry, then just start praising God. It will absolutely “silence the enemy” (8:2).
9. Praise is a mighty weapon of war. When we praise God, the ruling demons, principalities, and powers in our area get bound up and hindered. That is why the devil does everything he can to keep us from praising; he knows very well what a powerful weapon praise actually is to affect my neighborhood, city, and nation. The more we praise, the more God’s light begins to break through around us. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand … To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron” (Ps. 149:6–8).
10. Allows us to be touched, healed, and delivered by the love of God. Mary Magdalene’s life and reputation were in ruins. She heard Jesus was at Simon the Pharisee’s house. She went to see Jesus. As soon as she got close to Him, she found all she could do was kneel before him and worship. She wept as she was touched by His love and compassion. Not only was the power of sin broken in her life, but I believe she was delivered from seven demons during that one encounter (see Luke 7:36–8:2).
11. Results in God’s glory resting on us and being released through us wherever we go. I want to add this extra point the Lord showed us recently during MPP. He wants my mouth filled with praise and with positive words that bring grace and give glory to Him. Then, His glory—His presence, healing, and miracles—rests on me and flows out through me to others. “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with your glory all the day” (Ps. 71:8).
Thanks for praying,
Ron and Teddy
P.S. Teddy continues to be at her family home in Ohio caring for her mother. She has been there since mid-July, and we’re not sure when she’ll be able to return home to Japan. Yarn Alive took a summer break during August. Activities begin again September 5. Thankfully, the women can carry on even if Teddy isn’t there.
The Month of Hope and Great Expectation!
Elul The 6th Hebrew Month of 5783, August 18–September 15
Elul is connected to the tribe of Gad, whose name means “a troop is coming” (Gen. 30:11). God wants us to know help is on the way. The Lord has troops of angels that He sends to aid, help, and minister to us (see Heb. 1:14). Expect help and increase.
More about Elul may be found here.
Travel/Ministry Schedule
Sept. 17–18, Japan, Kobe Eiko Kirisuto Kyokai
Sept. 22–24, Malaysia, Sibu, Hosanna Church
Sept. 25–28, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Agape School of Ministry
Sept. 29–Oct. 1, Malaysia, Bintulu, Canaan Assembly
Oct. 2–8, Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu
MPP (Mondays–Fridays, 6:00–6:45 a.m.)
Next scheduled days off: Monday, Sept. 18, Sept. 25–29
Weekly Broadcast Schedule (Times are listed in Japan Time, UTC+9:00.)
Apostolic for Russia—Fridays, twice monthly: August 25, September. 1, 15 7:00–8:00 p.m. Join us on Zoom (Meeting ID: 840 2016 0640, Code: 219951), or watch on YouTube.
Apostolic for China—Saturday, September 16, 8:00–9:30 p.m. Join us on Zoom (ID: 823 7276 5237, Code: 878174)
Note, I usually post links to my public Facebook page.
Resources
Ron’s new book, How to Activate Prophecy and Revelation Gifts, the first title in our new “Apostolic Center Training Series,” is intended as a tool for training others in prophetic activation. It is now available for Kindle. Print copies can also be obtained from our office in Sano. Contact info@rwsministries.com for information about ordering copies, or to obtain any of the four books from the “Building Apostolic-Prophetic Foundations” series, which are also available on Kindle:
• Judah Goes First: The Power of Apostolic-Prophetic Praise
• Activated to Prophesy: The Essential Experience for This New Church Era
• Apostles and Apostolic Anointing: Raising Up the End-Times Believers
For English or Japanese books, contact info@rwsministries.com.
For Chinese books, chinese@rwsministries.com
For more information or to connect with our ministry team, please write us at info@rwsministries.com or info@mppjapan.com.
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