Topic: Victory through Praise [Tuesday 9, February 2016]
Memorise: 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. – 2 Chronicles 20:22
Read: 2 Chronicles 20:21-24 (KJV)
21 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.
22 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.
Bible in One Year: Mark 7:1-9:13; Job 18:20-19:12
MESSAGE:
Victory is generally presented in the Bible as an act of God. From Genesis to Revelation, God is always presented as the source of all victory, which He grants to those who obey His commands and put their trust and confidence in Him. Wherever you turn to in the Scripture, the principle holds true.
“And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” – Colossians 2:15
In essence, God has destroyed the value and quality of our enemies and has also put their failure, disgrace and shame in open display for all to see. Victory is always presented in the Bible as achieved by God without human intervention. This reality makes it absolutely necessary to praise God whenever we are confronted by the enemy, knowing that victory is assured in Jesus’ name.
The Bible also presents praise as a spiritual language that can reach beyond the intellect to touch the heart of God. Whenever God wants to do something really supernatural, He calls for an army of musical warriors, to bombard the stronghold of the enemy. Such was the case in the time of Jehoshaphat King of Judah who deployed divine warriors, an army of worshipers, to march into battle with musical instruments in their hands and songs of praises in their mouths. As they praised and worshipped God, he rose on their behalf and completely destroyed all their enemies. 2 Chronicles 20:22 says:
“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.”
What I know for sure is that if you praise God, His enemies cannot stand by. Some 30 years ago, we went to Otukpo town in the middle region of Nigeria for a programme, with some students. I planned to talk on divine healing. Then, we began to praise God so intensely that the glory of God descended and I forgot every other Scripture I had planned for the next sermon except Luke 1:37. Suddenly, there were clusters of students kneeling and praying in tongues though they had never heard of the Holy Ghost baptism before. Others joined them praying in tongues and the end of the day I could not preach. Go ahead now, praise God until you bring down His glory today?
Key Point: As you worship God today, He will arise and scatter all your enemies in the mighty name of Jesus.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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