Fraudulent Praise, Part I: Revealing The Truth!

If there is one thing about "church" and "Christiandom" that I absolutely don't like, it's the "grudgingly vocal obligation" (or hyped up) congregational praise! I personally find it disturbing that much of the Christian Community lead many to believe some GROSS untruths about the reality of Praise!

Frankly, many of us largely confuse "Giving Thanks", "Praise" and "Worship" altogether! I plan to talk more about this in a future blog post, but for now....

1) Giving Thanks... is our offering to God of acknowledgment as Sole Supplier of ALL THINGS great and small.

2) Praise... is the offering to God for the acknowledgment of **WHO HE IS** beyond and regardless of what He has Supplied!

3) Worship... is the offering of YOUR LIFE in FULL surrender to God as a sacrificial acknowledgment that He is The ALL SUPREME and PREEMINENT LORD OF ALL!
Many people THINK they are Praising God because they are voicing loud utterances of the word "Hallelujah" (which is incorrectly taught as "the highest praise") or "Bless Your Name" and the like, but TRUE PRAISE comes from SEEING God for yourself and having a DIRECT encounter with WHO HE IS!!!

For example, while I GIVE THANKS to God for my finances/job/material possession, I PRAISE HIM because I have come to KNOW HIM intimately as The God of MY Provision (Jehovah-Jireh).

I may have heard others testify of knowing God in this way, but NOW I SEE HIM CLEARLY in MY OWN life! Therefore (and because I have been impacted by knowing God in this way).... I SURRENDER my life and ALL that I possess to The God of Provision [Worship] and allow Him to use me/my possessions in whatever ways that pleases Him!

Many attempt to Praise One Whom they have NOT (yet) intimately encountered, and thus don't KNOW Him! Their "praise" is nothing more than mere words!
They do well in obeying the "hype man/woman" (or praise leader) in the church, but know nothing about obeying God! Thus, their "praise" is a FALSE WITNESS of their relationship (or lack thereof) with God!

Jesus said, "...These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men..."
** Matthew 15:8-9

He (Jesus) later said, "...It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, ** FALSE WITNESS **, blasphemies...."
** Matthew 15:11, 19

My friends, if we view the Giving of Thanks and the Offering of Praise in the same light as we do the giving of our money (during offering time... that many teach as a part of praise and Worship), then we should also view it in light of what Scripture teaches about our Giving...

"...So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, **NOT GRUDGINGLY** or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver...."
** II Corinthians 9:7

Its a real shame that many church leaders have led (and are continuing to lead) many to believe that The Presence of God lives within a bunch of empty noise! There is NO WAY for a Praise Leader to know who has or who have not encountered God intimately! Its a PERSONAL experience and NOT a corporate experience!

Now don't get me twisted!!! We should Praise together! We should Give Thanks together in the Sanctuary, but NOT because someone speaking into a microphone has commanded it! My Praise comes from MY OWN experience, NOT anyone else's!!!

"...Rejoice in the Lord , O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright...." ** Psalms 33:1 KJV

#KeepWINNING!!!
Roc