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Today will be the second last sermon for the book of Hebrews and we're going to touch on the subject on praise. There's a story of a lady who loves to praise God. She's a widow, a poor widow, but she loves to praise God every day of her life. But the problem is that she has a neighbor who is an atheist. An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in God. So every time the neighbor watches and sees her praise God he gets very irritated. But one day she was praising God as normal and he sort of overheard her prayer.  She was praying, God, I know that you are the great provider and you know that I have no money right now and I pray that you provide the very next meal.  When she heard that or he heard that heard that, he rushed to the supermarket bought a pack of groceries and puts it right in front of her door and he did that for the next few days, so that at the end of the week as she was praying Lord provide me my meal, groceries. She found that pack as she was again going to bow her head and praise God when he suddenly came in and said ah hah ! do you realize that God did not provide you all these groceries, for the past week I am the one who went to the supermarket and bought these things for you, so don't ever praise God, there is no God. But this lady didn't say a word to him, but she bowed her head and went on to pray and this is what she prayed, she prayed dear God, I thank you that you are always a provider and you even made the devil pay for it.

Well, this is a story about praise and today, we are going to look at a subject of praise. It says in Hebrews 13 and verse 15 through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. So, the Bible here speaks of the sacrifice of praise. Aren't you glad we are in the New Testament where we don't have to bring animal sacrifices?  Could you imagine what your Sunday morning will be like if we still have to bring animal sacrifices early in the morning after breakfast, you probably have to rush to the market, find a bull or a goat or a lamb, squeeze that animal into your car together with your children, come to church bring it up and hear the shriek and the scream of animals being slaughtered right here. Maybe you see blood flowing out of the room. Maybe you'll see your pastor and other fellow members all dirtied and splattered with blood, but we are glad this morning, we don't have to do that anymore in the New Testament, but does that mean then that as Christians we have no sacrifices to bring. Well, the writer here says, you bring a sacrifice, but not a sacrifice of animals, but a sacrifice of praise to God. So this morning we're going to look at this vital important aspect of praise, praise in our lives and praise as a church and we are going to look at some five basic simple principles from Hebrews 13 and verse 15, I hope this will be simple. I hope this will be memorable but most of all I hope our church and you personally we will be a more praiseful people.

First of all, let's look at the fruit. The fruit here is the fruit of lips. Praise is the fruit of our lips. Now the implication is very simple. It means this, if we really want to worship God with praise then it is not sufficient to only feel it, nor think it in our hearts, it is necessary to express it. The Bible says the sacrifice of praise is the fruit of our lips.  See I fall into this sometime in worship service, I can stand and I say I'm thinking godly thoughts. I'm thinking scriptural thoughts. I am worshiping God, I think that's true, but I think if I really want to praise God, then it should not just stay in the heart. It should be expressed in our lips and it should be expressed maybe in songs and that's why in churches in worship services, the people of God gather to sing praises unto God, and I think this praise is not limited just on Sunday morning in our singing, but it can be every day in your life, in your home, in your bathroom, as you drive you can praise God in all places and at all times. So songs are important. So I want to encourage you folks, every Sunday morning, I think this is a problem in our church every Sunday morning, some of us aim to be in service at 1120 1125 what time does service starts folks, what time do we say service start ? 11, what time do you come?  Hehehe….well sometimes we think a worship service the key part of it is the hearing of the sermon. Now I certainly think it's important to be filled with the Scripture in order to respond to him, in proper worship, but we must not think that the singing is just a prelude, it is a sacrifice of praise. So come be ready hearts filled with his love to sing praises unto Him, I think that's proper.

So we need to express in our lips, not just in songs but also in our prayer. We live in a very fast-paced world, right, everything is so fast, we are rushing from here to there, we chased the Pokémon also rush from here to there and when it comes to prayer, we can also rush into prayer. What I mean by that is without really stopping and pondering who we are praying to and praising our God, who we are praying to we rush into the requests we straight away say, God give me this, help me in that, answer this thing but if you look at the Bible, if you look at the Old Testament stories and the examples of prayer written in the Old Testament and if you read the New Testament, you will realize that the people of God did not rush into prayer generally, they usually begin with, okay, let's start all over again, they begin with praise, you read the Bible, you see they start with praise, it’s right, it’s proper, it’s good that we should praise, it is His desire.

In fact, in modern churches, Christianity today we have some acrostics to help people remember what to pray for right. So for example we have ACTS, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. So you don't start asking for things until maybe you have begun praising God, confessing your sins and thanking him for the Gospel. That's proper, that's right so they have this ACTS. Some people say it's PRAY praise, repent, ask, yield, so again, it begins with praise. So it's important that we should be a praiseful people in songs and in our prayer life. Why, because God is worthy that's why.   He's worthy to be praised but besides that let me also argue with you that He is, it is not just that He's worthy, but it's natural for us to praise. It is satisfying for us to praise.  C.S. Lewis gives us a very interesting perspective with regards to that point, it is indeed natural and satisfying to praise. Look at what he wrote, I take excerpts of it, he said the most obvious fact about praise actually whether of God or anything, strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. If I really enjoy something, it will overflow into praises, it's natural he says. He says the world rings with praise lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game, and I see this in my kids mummy, mummy daddy, come and see this ant, so big, mummy, daddy, look at see this come and see this tree, they are amazed with things and naturally they tell others about it. Singaporeans will say wah! look at this bak chor mee [hokkien : minced pork noodles] very nice, put on Facebook and Instagram, we naturally praise and tell people, it's natural. That's what Lewis is saying.  I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is its appointed consummation. So the Scotch catechism says that man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, but we shall then know that these are the same thing. These two things really are about the same thing, fully to enjoy is to glorify in commanding us to glorify Him, God is actually inviting us to enjoy Him, so it's a profound thinking in that God is not just calling us to praise him because He's desperate for it, now of course He's worthy of it, He delights in it. But besides that, Lewis is arguing that in our praise, we are invited to enjoy him completing, consummating that deep joy in praise. So this is the first point, I like to highlight to you that praise is the fruit of the lips, not just in the heart, that as we sing of his praises as we praise Him in our prayer, God is worthy and it is satisfying to the soul, if you truly enjoy God and love Him, so fruit is one.

A second point I think we can see in this text is what I'll call the fitness to praise. We assume everybody can praise God. Well, the reality according to the Bible is no, not everyone is fit to praise God, we underestimate our unworthiness, we underestimate our sinfulness and the holiness of God. So the Bible tells us the only way we can really offer a sacrifice, acceptable to Him in praise is through Him, through Jesus, that's what it is all about. It's only through the finished work of Christ on the Cross, His redemptive work that now sinful man can offer an acceptable sacrifice of praise. There is a beautiful story in the Bible about Isaiah, you would know, the prophet who had his first encounter with God.  The Bible tells us he was amazed, he was stunned, he was astonished, he says woe is me, for I am lost for I am a man of unclean lips.  I mean he didn't dare to praise God or sing unto him, because he knows that he's unclean his lips are unclean and he cannot face nor praise the King, the Lord of hosts. What happens next is instructive because God sends a seraphim an angel then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. The altar is where the animals are sacrificed, the altar is where the blood was shed, the altar is where a substitute, a picture of a substitute is offered and so from that altar a coal is taken, and that coal touches the mouth of Isaiah and the seraphim said now look that this has touched your lips and your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for, now you can speak before God.

The point, I think is, this is an illustration of what Jesus Christ will do for all of humanity, that He is to be that sacrifice on the altar and with His blood, with the touching of Christ grace in our lives, we can now be able to speak before God and to praise Him. So through Him, I think is key. The implication is, is clear to me now Christians praise God, not to get forgiveness, but because of His forgiveness, you get that, because many religions tell you today to chant, to meditate, to sing, to do all kinds of things so that you can have forgiveness, according to the Bible, we praise God, not because we will get forgiveness, but because we are already forgiven by the work of Christ and now I can truly with no hidden agenda really praise and worship God. That's why he says, this is to God, this is to acknowledge His name.  It is not a means to secure my forgiveness.  It is not a means to earn favor or salvation before God. It is a response of heartfelt gratitude for the forgiveness found in Jesus. So this, I think reminds us of that, every time we praise God, let us be reminded, God accepts this because of the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ.

The third point of praise is that of fellowship. We must understand that there is fellowship in praise and this I think I take from a small little word in this verse and the word that is the word us, let us. You know we live in such an individualistic world that we think everything is about me and God, but it's true the Christian faith is a deeply personal faith, but let us not forget that God's Gospel is calling people, not just to know Him as individuals, but God's Gospel is call us to be a community and in here we see a community of praise. Worship, praise ought to be offered as a congregation as a community.  Now, there is a very interesting verse, in Hebrews chapter 2, earlier we studied this and let’s look at it.  It says here that is why, He, who is this he here? Christ Jesus, go back, read it, look at the context, and you'll see why. That is why Jesus, He, is not ashamed to call them brothers. What an amazing thought, Jesus calls me brother, saying, I will tell of your name. Whose name? God's name, I will tell of your name, the Father's name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation, ecclesias, assembly, the people called out, I will sing your praise. You know something Jesus is going to sing of God's praise in the midst of His people, in the midst of all of us. There is this congregation, there's this assembly, there's this community that is expressed here and I think we as followers of Jesus are invited and called to this community of praise.

Let me share with you something David Mathis wrote. A bit long this paragraph, but I think it's very helpful. He says our heart in corporate worship should not be to drown out the other worshipers from our consciousness with tightly shut eyes and a narrow focus on God, but to praise Him as one of His people, from among His people, gladly part of a gathering. We widen our eyes of worship to include our neighbor, not as the object of our worship, but as joy multiplying, praise-accenting partners in worship. What is he saying? He is saying that he is recognizing that there is this horizontal dimension in worship and praise. That's why there are songs written time past that says “Oh come let us adore Him, come we that love the Lord”. It is a calling together of God's people, as a community, as a fellowship to sing praises unto Him. So there's this is very important principle I want to highlight here and that is this.  I think in worship, in corporate worship services, it is very important that we are not performance-oriented, but participation-oriented.  Can you get the two words? We must not be performance-oriented, but it is participation-oriented.  Meaning, the worship team here is not meant to perform for you. They are not performers but they are leaders to lead all of you into participation of this congregational worship and praise to God and I'm glad for our worship team that deeply understands this principle.   You see they don't do things here as performance. For example, you won't see Jon Chong or Tommy come up with a golden sequin jackets with slick hair, purple in color, and then flashy guitar skills, trying to get your “whoos and your wows”. No, that's not their purpose. Neither will they sing in such a high key that none of you will be able to hit those notes and then they, they you would all wah, you can really sing so well aah Jon! Now that’s not their purpose.

On the other hand, I know what they are thinking, do you realize that sometimes they have even told you that they they made the key of the song go lower I think there was just a few weeks back they said, you know the song is sung in this key, but we're going to make it lower. Why? Why? to encourage participation because some of us, we aiyah [sigh] too high, don't want to sing already, paiseh [hokkien, shy] urh..urh..break sound, aiyah very embarrassing so you're so afraid of that you say okay, let's encourage the church that key is not the that the key is not in the key alright, OK. The key is not in the key you sing, the key is in the expression of our heart and says we want to help the church worship God together. That's why in our worship services, we don't dim the lights as if it's totally dark and it is just between you and God. Now, let me say this, I think worship must be deeply personal, but it is not just individual and we have lights on, so that we together are part of this joy multiplying, praise accenting partners in worship.

So I want to say, even when we go to Punggol, I think the stage probably will be way bigger than this. But we are not going to fill it with dancers and wah ah what dry ice, small laser beams and ah jazz up Jon Chong make him more handsome, plastic surgery or whatever, no we are not going to do anything like this, because we're not here to entertain you.  We are not in the entertainment business, you want to be entertained you go to Youtube, you go to TCS [Television Corporation of Singapore], I'm sure they do much better than us and we are not in the game for entertainment, we are here to encourage what, worship and praise, participation. God by his Gospel has called us to this community, led by the Lord Jesus Christ of course. So, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise as a people.

Number four, what would it be. Well the question is what really fuels worship. What really drives and motivates and puts the fire and passion in praise and song. Well I think it's found in a little word again, “then”, “through Him then” or if you want me to put it another way “through him therefore”. We worship God because of Jesus Christ. That's what the whole book of Hebrews is about it, it's because of Christ, the great mediator the one who is greater. The only one who can save man from our sins, and because of Him, through Him, therefore, especially with the promise that He gave us in Hebrews 13 when he says, I'll never, no never, no never leave you, that we can look to the city that is to come, that we can feast at the table of the Gospel, that we can drink in the grace over and over again through Him therefore, through the Gospel, through God's love, because of His love.  Let us now worship Him!   What drives worship is the vision of God, His goodness, His character, His deeds in the Gospel. That's what drives worship. I think that the same understanding as Paul when he wrote the book of Romans.  Now Romans, I we preached it over two three years, some years back and we realize that chapters 1 to 11 were largely doctrinal sections, doctrine doctrine doctrine doctrine, this what God did,  this what God did, this what God did and it's doctrine upon doctrine, great stuff! Then we know chapter 12 onwards is about application, what you do in response to what God has done. And there's this transition point in Hebrews, err Hebrews, Romans 11, where at the end of the review of the great Gospel, the doctrinal section Paul, as it were uncontrollably even in his writing says, Oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments? And then he breaks out in praise for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things to Him, “be glory forever, amen”. It’s, it’s just that un-repressible joy. Why? The fuel for worship is the Gospel, in the Scriptures when we see who God is and what He has done for us, you can't contain yourself, but that you will praise Him.

John Stott, an Anglican pastor, he says, the worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by the vision of God. Hence the indispensable place of Scripture in both public worship and private devotion. It is the Word of God which calls forth the worship of God. Scripture is indispensable. Why? Because it is the Word of God that calls forth, that draws out the worship of God. It is when we look into the Bible and we see God for who He is. We see what he has done in the Gospel that inspires, evokes and informs us in worship. That's why, according to Paul again in Colossians, he says this is what it means that when the Word of Christ dwell in us, we will sing, with thankfulness in our hearts to God. The Word of Christ settling in our hearts draws out the heart of worship.

So I started this sermon by saying, eh, I pray that Gospel Light will be a more praiseful. You know we have a problem in Gospel Light, do you realize? You don't admit it. I admit it, alright. I don't think we praise God, really that well. Now, I'm not talking just about superficial expression or volume, but maybe as a church, we have been so afraid of charismatic excesses, wah they wah they, do a “call it” kind of thing and they eeyah, better be quiet. Just, just stay still, don't move too much, don't sing too loud, don't be too expressive. So there is this excess that I think it's not good, but maybe as a church, we have swung to the other side that says silence is golden! Don't sing too loud. Well I think that is where we are, but how do we encourage a heart, an expression of praise better? How do we do that?

Well, there are all kinds of suggestions for example, dim the lights so that people are not inhibited, ah get a drum set, pong, pong, pong so that you all, erh more excited, maybe get a super singer, a rock star, Li Nanxing [local celebrity] come and sing, don't need Jon Chong, someone, “zzch” or whatever lah, all kinds of things that the world does. But the problem with all that I think is that you can only encourage what is on the outside, but it never addresses what is on the inside. See Jesus said, “this people honors Me with their lips, but the heart is far from Me. Now I can have a louder band, we can amp up the volume, we can have, we can have erh laser lights and so on and so forth, but what's the point? What's the point if all we do is we sing louder but our hearts are far from Him. You see, that's not the right way to encourage a praiseful people. That's not the right way. The right way is that it must be beginning in the heart, because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and how can we touch the hearts? Well it's only by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So here in this church we believe that it is absolutely vital that we cultivate a heart of awe and love for God that is the key. And how do you get that? You get that as people are reminded of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. It is the Word of God that calls forth the worship of God.  Otherwise, everything is just tiresome works of the flesh. It is very tiring, sing louder, ah go evangelize, serve God, well if your heart is not stunned and amazed by God's love, everything is going to be a pain. So the fuel for life and praise and worship, really is Christ and his Gospel.

Finally, in this passage we see the frequency of grace. It says here let us continually offer up sacrifice of praise, continually, it can be looked at in different ways. Number one continually may mean every Sunday for, for many of us, so every Sunday, praise God, I hope you don't come to church service at 1120, 25 I know how you work because I I'm at the door and I see who comes at what time, I've a, I've a little time chic chac, chic chac, chic chac, chic chac I know, not that, not that it’s difficult, you can ask anyone who stands at the door. After a while, you know. So sometimes you're late, I understand that, but if you habitually aim for 1125 I think you are not doing this right. I mean, it's God's will to continually praise him, at least on Sunday and let me encourage you to come even earlier because maybe you should just sit here in silence and reflect upon the Gospel that your heart may be filled with true gratitude before you sing unto him. I mean, if you are taking this seriously it will change the way we, we approach God on Sundays, practical. Maybe you shouldn't hang out there too long chit chat, chit chat, chit chat, filled with all kinds of talk, and then come in, aah let's sing.  No I think there is a cultivation that is necessary at times. So I want you to take this and consider for yourself what it means to worship Him continually, minimally Sunday, but of course we all know it goes beyond Sunday continually means, every time, all the time. It is God's will for us to be thankful to give thanks all the time, 1st Thessalonians 5.

So what does it look like to praise God, all the time?  Now let me just qualify, I don't think it means that every time I talk to anyone, or every person I meet, I say hallelujah brother, hello hallelujah, hallelujah, hah, you know there are those hallelujah men, everywhere they go is hallelujah, hallelujah, I mean it’s sometimes inappropriate and downright irritating if you do it wrongly. So I don't think this is saying, everywhere you go hallelujah, hallelujah Paul didn't do that Jesus didn't do that. But it is the spirit, it is about a freedom from a griping, complaining and murmuring spirit, but be filled with a thankful spirit. You see, God's work and goodness in everything you do, and you render praise unto him.

I give you the ancient example and it's Johan Sebastian Bach. He writes musical compositions and at the end of his compositions he will end off with typically these three words in Latin, Soli Deo Gloria. You say what is this, it is very simple alone God glory. So to God alone be the glory, he ends of his compositions like that. You know what he's continually offering a sacrifice of praise unto Him.  He renders glory back to God. Now this may look very different for different people. For you in your career, in your family, in your home, do you continually offer a sacrifice of praise?  So it may be every Sunday, it may be every day.

The third way I think the word continually may mean is in good times and also in difficult times. That's what it means to be continually.  In good times and also in difficult times, just like the song we sing that praises God, blessed be your name the Lord, giveth, the Lord taketh away, but my heart will still choose to say, Lord blessed be your name, so that's I think an expression of continual praise, whether it's good or difficult continue to praise God. So let our praise to God not be conditioned upon whether you have a good breakfast, you had an easy week in office, whether your children were obedient or whether you were healthy, sure thank God, when these things are going well, nothing wrong with praising him for that, but supremely, praise God in good times and difficult times because of His love for you in the Gospel, praise Him because of who He is as revealed in the Scripture. That's how we praise Him continually. So that's it sacrifice of praise.

I pray you will be a person of praise and I pray that our church will be people of grace, let us unashamedly offer up the fruit of our lips, songs in prayer because God is worthy and because, this is an invitation to fully enjoy Him. What a blessing, what a privilege, what a good God. So our fruit is in our lips, our fitness is in Christ, now we worship not because we want to get something, but because we truly want to praise Him. Our fellowship is in the church, participation, not performance, our fuel is in the Gospel, the Scriptures and finally, our frequency is in all times and in all places. Maybe God has spoken to you something about your life, would you respond to him favorably this morning.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. The world today raves and praises food, scenery, stars, actors, when we enjoy something we burst out in praise and so it is tragic when the people of God would gather and we would not praise. But what a joy and what a beauty it is when the people of God gather and we are excited, and our hearts are filled with the joy and splendor of God, and it results in the fruit of our lips. This morning, would you pray that God will make yourself a better worshipper, a more praiseful person, not that you fake it, not that you do for show, but you say Lord, I'm not seeing that melody in my heart. I'm not saying seeing that joy within my soul. It's a kind of a warning sign. It's a kind of alert system that calls you back to drink from the Gospel fountain to find your joy, your satisfaction in the Gospel and when you drink deeply from the fountain you will have overflowing praise.

Maybe your Sunday morning has to be recalibrated, maybe you, you might want to start memorizing a few songs, while you are starting to see that this is a sacrifice God delights in and God desires.  Gospel Light Christian Church can I ask you something, would you want to glorify God as a fellowship of praise as a community of praise I mean, if we love God won't you even do that so let's all look to Christ, our Elder brother, who is not ashamed to call us brothers, but to declare, I will sing of your praise in the midst of the congregation, let us join in together, joy multiplying, praise accenting partners in worship.

Maybe you're here today for the first time and you must be wondering what is this all about?  What has this got to do with me, let me say this to you, you don't praise God, in order to be saved, you can't your praises are worth nothing to save yourself but get this right.  Get saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will become a person of praise that will be the inevitable result of God's love flooding your heart. So today turn from your sins look and look full at Jesus and what He has done for you on the Cross, He who knew no sin, is now made sin for us that we who were sinful and hopeless might have that righteousness from Him.  This is the amazing story of the Bible, that God would send His Son to save you from your sins. I pray this message will warm your hearts and draw you to Him, and then we will say, how can we ever keep from singing your praise?

So Father this morning, I thank you for your word, thank you for your reminder and for the call to be a worshipful and indeed a praiseful people. Help myself, help this church, not for our own sake but for your own glory and honor. Bless your words, may we diligently consider these truths in our lives and may we diligently seek to live that out, consistently. So Bless Your church once again, we thank you, in Jesus Name, amen.

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