Praise: An Instrument For Amazing Ascension, by Pastor Joshua Obaro

Praise: An Instrument For Amazing Ascension, by Pastor Joshua Obaro

Bible Text: Psalm 31:21 – “Blessed be the Lord for He has showed me the marvelous kindness when I was in a city of siege”.

Say to yourself “I will rise”. It is our month of ascension. Amazing ascension is the one that causes enemies to weep. Can you imagine a man waking up as a gate man but before the end of the day he got an amazing lifting. Mordecai slept as a gateman but slept as a great man. He never thought of it, he never prayed for it he was never qualified for it but he was spotted for an amazing ascension by the Most High God.

In December 2016, a woman lost her job, in the midst of the crises the landlord was planning to evict her but her cousins who came from Europe during the crises decided to buy her the house. She would have been eternally grateful for her rent to be sorted out but our God is Jehovah overdo. When God wants to step into your case, he will do beyond your request.

3John:2 depicts that “God wants you to prosper spiritually, maritally, financially even as your soul prospers”. So the Lord in his attempt to bless you said in 1Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation…”. Many only desire the word of God to know and not to grow.

Psalm 35:27 -”Let them say continually the Lord be magnified that takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servants”. Job 36:11 “If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment”. God’s plan for every child of God is to rise. The Lord wants you to rise Zac 3:1, but the devil doesn’t want you to rise. Satan is always out to stand in your way to ensure you don’t rise. To ensure that you do not rise beyond your present situation.

There is power in what we confess. Say to you again “I will rise”. What your mouth don’t declare you cannot experience mistakenly. So always confess good things. “Don’t be ignorant of the devices of the devil lest he takes advantage of you- 2 Cor. 2:11.

The devil applies a lot of tools to ensure people don’t rise. One of the tools the devil uses is ancestral causes. Isaiah 14:21 “Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities”.

Every ancestral voice that says you will not rise; the fire of god will silence them in Jesus. One of the tricks the devil uses is stinginess. A liberal soul is what will be made fat. You don’t give because you don’t have; you give so you can have. Some peoples’ hand is filled with super glue; whatever enters their hands does not come out. Another tool is discouragement; you need to tell the devil my condition is not my conclusion. Another one is sickness. Lastly, is ingratitude. Never say what is this, else things will not happen. The only reason why men are grounded is because they take God for granted. Let your voice be a voice of thanksgiving.

Jer. 30:19 “And out of them shall precede thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small”

2017 you will make merry. Thanksgiving is ascribing glory to God for where you are. You might not be where you want to be but you are not where you used to be. Please don’t ever think you are where you because of your strength. Wherever you are today is somebody’s prayer point. Do you know, while you are thinking oh am in the UK, I do not have a job, somebody else is thinking “oh Lord if I am in the UK maybe my life will be okay”.

Appreciate God for where you are taking cognizance that you didn’t get there by your power. So many people applied but they were refused. Paul said, 1 Cor. 15:10 – “I am what I am because of the grace of God”. I have seen a chartered accountant become scattered accountant. God wants to tell you not to be proud. Give glory to your God, where you are is by his mercies.

James 1:17 – “Every perfect gift belongs to God and comes from God”.

When should I thank God?

When things are good forget not his benefits, when things are bad, thank him still. There are seasons in life, Habakkuk 3:17

“17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. …” thank him when things are bad. Psalm 66:12 “Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

Once I met a man whose car was stolen and he was dancing on the road. When asked why he was dancing, he declared that he is dancing because they took his car not his life; he is glad that he possessed something someone could steal. Lastly, he said he is thanking God that he is not the thief. In a bad situation do you find reasons to thank God?

Thank God for your situation, you are complaining they are talking about you, they don’t talk about nonentities they talk about celebrities. Be glad you are been talked about, find reasons to thank God always.

Lastly, learn to thank God in anticipation. In anticipation for perfection. Psalm 31:8 “And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room”.

How do you thank God?

Thank God from your heart Psalm 57:7

Thank God with a sacrifice Psalm 116:12 “

Praise is God’s power raising someone from the miry clay. David said, Psalm 116:12 and 17 “what I shall render unto the Lord for his benefits unto me? I will offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving”. There is nothing too much to offer to God.

What happens when we thank God?

Your destiny is preserved – Malachi 2:1-2

2 Timothy 3:1- when you are not thankful, your tank cannot be full.

Multiplication of blessings – Psalm 67: 5-7

Divine lifting- David said, “God is the lifter of my soul”. David praised God 7 times daily and prayed without season, no wonder his voice was heard from the bush.( Psalm 119:164, Psalm 55:17).

The only way to move from Bush Residential Area (BRA) to Government Reserved Area (GRA) is through praise.

You will enjoy divine bargain and deliverance. Paul and Silas prayed and got deliverance

You will enjoy divine presence of God. Psalm 22:3, Psalm 91:1. You can’t be seated with the most high and be the most low.

Give God your best praise. Not all praises are acceptable to God. The only one that can lift you is God but you need to give your life to the Lord most high, be acquainted with him so your praises will not be in vain and you can experience all the benefits associated to worshiping Jehovah. Praise the Lord – Halleluiah!!!!

The sermon, Praise: An Instrument For Amazing Ascension, by Pastor Joshua Obaro, was delivered on April 2, 2017