Today, we want to look at “THE UNTAPPED POWER OF TEHILLAH.” “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 the Bible says, “Rejoice evermore.”
Why rejoice? “…because the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).
Do you know that God created you to praise and worship Him? In Isaiah 43:21 God said, “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall shew forth My praise.”
Therefore, it is the responsibility of everything God created to praise and worship Him. In Psalm 150:6 the Bible instructs us saying, “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord…”
When we praise and worship God, we are offering spiritual sacrifices to Him.
Hebrews 13:15 says, “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.”
What is praise? Praise is thanking God for the things He has done for you, what He is doing for you right now, and what He will yet do for you in the future.
David was a true worshipper of our God. Knowing the power of Tehillah David said, “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1).
What is worship? Worship is appreciating God for who He is. And you can only appreciate God for who He is if you know His names and their meanings.
There are 7 Hebrew words in the Old Testament that describe how believers are supposed to use their mouth and body movements in praising and worshipping God:
1. Barak. This means to bless, to declare God the origin of the power for success, prosperity, fertility. Barak means to be still before Him (Ps. 46:10).
2. Shabach. Shabach means: a) To address in loud tone, b) To shout (Ps. 29:9b, NLT; Josh. 6:16). Shout; for the Lord hath given you the victory. Shout; for the Lord hath healed you. Shout; for the Lord hath promoted you. Shout; for the Lord hath increased you. Shout; for the Lord hath prospered you.
3. Todah. Todah means to extend hands in thanksgiving, thanking Him for His goodness and faithfulness as you count your blessings – Praise (Ps. 134:2, Ps. 107:15).
4. Yadah. Yadah means to worship God with extended hands just appreciating Him for who He is - Worship. Worship involves lifting up holy hands unto God as a sign of total surrender to Him.
Todah and Yadah show that raising hands in worship is not a new charismatic craze; rather, it is a spiritual principle.
5. Zamar. Zamar means to pluck the strings of an instrument; to praise with songs (Ps. 150).
6. Hallal. Hallal means to be vigorously excited; to celebrate (Ps. 34:3). This type of praise or worship is done with a loud voice. Hallal plus the divine name, Yah, gives Halleluyah which means “Praise the Lord.”
7. Tehillah. Tehillah is a Hebrew word that speaks of worshipping God in the spirit, singing in the spirit.
Worship is an activity of the spirit-man. True worship requires you contacting God, the Spirit, with your spirit-man.
New Testament worship must be in spirit and in truth. Since “God is Spirit,” He must be worshipped in spirit.
A human being is a spirit (1 Thess. 5:23), the nature of which corresponds to God’s nature, which is Spirit.
Therefore, you can only have fellowship with God and worship Him in the same sphere that He exists in, by doing so with your spirit-man.
Now, let us look at the power of Tehillah: When true praise and worship go up the glory of the LORD comes down. When you are talking about the glory of the Lord, you are talking about His power.
Psalm 22:3 says, “…O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (His people).”
What happens in His presence? 1) In His presence there is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). 2) In His Presence the power of God is released to destroy every yoke. 3) In His Presence there is no danger; you are fully protected (Ps. 91:1-12). 4) In His Presence there is no fear (2 Tim. 1:7). 5) In His Presence your mind is on things above (Col. 3:1-2).
When true praise and worship go up the LORD Himself comes down in the form of a cloud. “…13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; 14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God” (2 Chron. 5:11-14).
Finally, the children of Moab and others came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Chronicles 20:1-4 says, “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle…3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”
And he said, “Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you” (2 Chron. 20:15-17).
“19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high” (2 Chron. 20:19).
“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper” (2 Chron. 20:20).
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever” (2 Chron. 20:21).
“And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah (Blessing); for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day” (2 Chron. 20:22-26).
“Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies” (2 Chron. 20:27).
Conclusion: Do you want the yokes in your life to be destroyed? Do you want to be an all-round overcomer? Do you want a manifestation of God’s glory? Do you want a manifestation of the miraculous? Do you want to be truly anointed? Do you want rivers of the spirit to be flowing freely in your life? Do you want to escape spiritual drought and barrenness? Do you want to see mountains crumble before you? Do you want to see the Red Sea part before you? Do you want to see demons bow before you? Then spend quality time praising and worshipping God in spirit and in truth. Watch out for the next edition of the Good News from the Pulpit!
Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG) 27.08.2023 @ HQs
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