1. I’ve got this solution…

    Last Sunday, Pastor Carl continued his message on praise and it’s been the best few weeks in church history… well, until next week. Pastor Carl tweaked his messages as the day went on so I’ve done a composite set of notes with the fantastic and ever-faithful Danny Peters (@dannypeters on Twitter). You can find the notes from Kevin Singleton’s message from the 5PM service here.

    SPEAKER: Pastor Carl Lentz
    TITLE: A Problem Called Praise, Part 2

    Your praise can be a problem for your problem.
    -Your praise is a problem for the problem attacking your marriage, your health, etc.

    You can be the type of Christian who’s not just taking up space but taking new ground.

    Sometimes we can have questions for God and his answer is to praise him or worship him and it doesn’t seem to make sense. But nothing God does is by accident.

    We worship God to remind ourself who he is, not because he’s suffering from an identity crisis.

    Your praise has the power to break down walls.

    Joshua 6:15-20 MSG

    When the seventh day came, they got up early and marched around the city this same way but seven times—yes, this day they circled the city seven times. On the seventh time around the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua signaled the people, “Shout!—God has given you the city! The city and everything in it is under a holy curse and offered up to God.
    “Except for Rahab the harlot—she is to live, she and everyone in her house with her, because she hid the agents we sent.
    “As for you, watch yourselves in the city under holy curse. Be careful that you don’t covet anything in it and take something that’s cursed, endangering the camp of Israel with the curse and making trouble for everyone. All silver and gold, all vessels of bronze and iron are holy to God. Put them in God’s treasury.”
    The priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the blast of the trumpets, they gave a thunderclap shout. The wall fell at once. The people rushed straight into the city and took it.

    Context: The Israelites were wandering around the desert for 40 years and an angel appears to them and says that they need to walk completely silent around the wall of this city for 6 days and on the seventh day shout and take the city.
    -Rahab being saved was foreshadowing of Jesus giving value to people.
    -The praise of ordinary people brought this wall down.
    -You don’t need to get over the walls in your life; you just need to praise God and watch them fall.
    —Don’t lose your faith or your faith proclamation.

    For some people, what used to be a shout of praise has become barely a whisper.
    This whole relationship began with the spoken Word. This faith is based on the spoken Word—the promises of God.
    -People need to hear the Word of God from your mouth.
    —The tech craze has helped people forget how to verbalize anything.

    This is the season where you get your voice back.
    -If you feel discouraged or overwhelmed, you’ve lost your voice. Speak to your day. Change your semantics.

    James 3:5 MSG

    A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

    Sometimes in real life, you don’t feel like praising God.

    2 Reasons to Praise God:
    1) You can praise God because when he sends you, he equips you. An all access pass has been granted.
    -If he’s sent you, he’s with you.
    John 16:12-15 MSG

    “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

    -There’s no need for striving or running. You don’t have to look anywhere else for the power of God.
    -The menu is all good. It doesn’t lie. If it’s on there, you can order it.
    —You can get wholeness, healing, forgiveness, etc. You have access to it all.
    -Will you wake up every day of your life and let go of control and let God take care of it?
    -Are you continually willing to let go and let the Holy Spirit take control?
    -If there is any corner of your life filled with you, then you’re missing out. Living with the Holy Spirit is like going from black and white Christianity to HD Christianity.
    -This faith without the full power of the Holy Spirit will never work right. Let the Holy Spirit have more of who you are.
    -You can have a prayer language that surpasses your understanding.
    2) When you’re in it, don’t forget that he is in it and you were designed for it.
    -You can praise God because his promises won’t return void. When he says it, he means it.
    -Some people have no idea what it is to have a faithful father. It’s very hard, for some, to believe God will do what he says.
    -Our God will see us through. You’re never going to know until you go. God will move. His promises come back full.
    -God is faithful. Stand on his word. Walk into the fight. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. God goes before you. You can praise him now.
    -When you feel like you’re at your wits end, he’s gone before you.
    -God is for you. 

    July 26, 2012