There are three things the enemy would want to steal from you.
- The Word (parable of the sower)
- Your Witness
- Your worship.
All three are really connected. The Promises of the Word will stir up worship in you and worship will cause you to tell others about the good things of God. This is why the devil would want to steal these things from you. He will use fear, temptation, discouragement, distrust. He will find a way to steal your joy. If he can get your joy he can get you to loose trust and to doubt and then to become bitter and to fall into sin.
Sin will take all three from you. It will keep you distracted from the Word. Withouthe the Word you will not worship and without worship you cannot be a witness. Thank God for the blood of Jesus that was shed that we might find grace and mercy and restoration.
Psalm 51:12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Some of the criticizers.
Michal
1 chronicles 15:29. And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.
The Pharisees
Luke 19:37. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38. Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
The Chief Priests
Matthew 21:15. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,
And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
I can worship in the face of criticism because the Bible commands us to praise Him
When you are living for God you don't have to be afraid of what people will do to you or say about you.
Hebrews13:5. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
(psalm 27)
Psalm 118: 6. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Within Every criticism of the worshipper is a failure of the criticiser to recognize who Jesus really is.
Judas did not want Mary to anoint Jesus' feet. Questioning Jesus mission
Goliath mocked God's army. Questioning God's strength.
Nebuchadnezzar threatened the Hebrew boys to worship his statue instead of God. Questioning God's power.
In every case the criticiser wanted the worshipper to change his or her focus. The worshippers stayed focused on God and God delivered them. Their witness stayed strong. Their trust in God was strengthened and their worship was filled with thankfullness and faith.
In Psalm 137 we have a sad song. It came from the Israelites that were captive in Babylon. The Babylonians knew the Israelites for the worhsip they gave to God. They wanted them to sing. They wanted to hear a good Gospel song. Yet sadly this psalmist said, we hung up our harps. How can I sing the Lord's song in a strange land. This song showed their focus on their circumstances. They carcd more about contempt for their enemy.
We can't allow circumstances to keep us from the Word or from worship or from witness. If we can pull our hearts away from the cares of life and the deceitfulness of sin; if we will not allow our hearts to grow hard where we won't allow the Word to heal then we will have a song of victory.
Praise You In This Storm
Praise You In This Storm (Medium W/o Background Vocals) (Performance Track)
Praise You In The Storm - Medium w/background vocals ([Performance Track])
Praise You In The Storm - High w/background vocals ([Performance Track])
Praise You In The Storm [Performance Tracks]
