Singing and shouting are Biblical ways of exalting God and acknowledging – not only to our own feelings or other people, but also to the whole spiritual realm of unseen powers – that God is worthy of praise. Shouts of praise are found in many places in the Bible (e.g. Judges 7:20, Ezra 3:11, Ps 98:4, Ps 100:1, Ps 47:1, Is 26:19, Jonah 2:9), and there are even more Biblical references and exhortations to sing to the Lord (e.g. Ps 96:1-2, Ex 15:1, Ps 13:6, Ps 68:4, Ps 98:10). Heb 13:5 reminds us we should ‘continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.’

Many of us find it difficult to sing and shout to God. We are held back perhaps by our feeling that this is a little bit fanatical and are afraid of what others may say about us. Like David who danced before the Lord with abandon when the ark of the covenant was return to Israel, we may attract scorn (see 2 Sam 6:14-16) and are not sure we want to ‘stand out from the crowd’. Jesus reminded the Pharisees who wanted a less tumultuous welcome from people for Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!’ (Luke 19:40) When our hearts overflow with who God is and all He has done, we will not want to keep quiet!

A more insidious reason for not praising God is the belief that we can only do this when we are happy, that it is hypocritical to praise God when we are anxious, hurt and grieving. We have to learn that the sacrifice of praise is given even when we see no reason to praise God. God is most worthy of praise (2 Sam 22:4, 1 Chron 16:25, Ps 18:3, Ps 48:1, Ps 96:3, Ps 145:3) – worthy of praise on good days and bad days. ‘What is true in the light is true in the dark.’ As Kutless sing,

‘When days are gold and life is good,
When the plans we make go as they should,
Or when the sky turns dark and heartache falls,
And a lonely painful season calls.

We will worship with all of our hearts,
We will worship all that You are,
Through the best, through the worst,
Jesusm we choose: we will worship You.’ (‘We Will Worship’, Kutless)

This morning’s sermon (unrecorded because of technical difficulties) continued the ‘Battles and Blessings’ series and looked at two battles won through the power of praise. In Josh 6:2-11, we see how Jericho is won by a very unconventional battle strategy using three strange weapons: people’s feet (as the Israelites marched around the city), trumpets made from rams’ horns (which the priests blew) and a loud shout on the seventh day. In 2 Chron 20:15-26, we see another battle won with the singers leading the way praising God for the splendour of His holiness and proclaiming ‘His love endures for ever.’ On both occasions, God demonstrated His power and ability to bring victory in ways that confound logic or reasoning (see 1 Cor 1:25).

Praise is a spiritual weapon (see Ps 149:6-9) with divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Cor 10:5). Spiritual battles can only be won with spiritual weapons, and praise is the ‘foolproof’ method God has given His people of lifting our eyes beyond our circumstances and trial and seeing God as He really is: high and lifted up, sovereign over all, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sustainer of heaven and earth, the one true God who is all-powerful and all-loving. When we magnify or glorify God (Ps 34:3), we are not making Him any bigger than He really is, but we are enabling our eyes to see Him as He truly is! Praise is a powerful weapon because it turns our eyes away from ourselves, with all our inadequacies and limitations, and turns our eyes onto God who is limitless in power and for whom nothing is impossible.

In both these battles, God’s people saw amazing things. They saw the walls of Jericho, seemingly so impregnable, crumble and fall. They saw dead bodies scattered everywhere and gathered so much plunder it took 3 days to carry it all away! Yet their part in these victories was relatively simple. They simply praised God through shouting and singing. May we learn to do the same.

‘You are good and what You do is good.’ (Ps 119:68)

Over the years, I have found this one of the most challenging and reassuring verses in the whole Bible. It’s challenging to me because so much that happens in our world is not good, and it’s very easy to be swayed by people who declare ‘if your God is so good, why does He allow…?’ before going on to list a whole host of horrendous suffering and evil (and it can be easy to feel swamped by suffering and evil), but it’s reassuring to me because it teaches us something totally fundamental about God’s nature which cannot be altered.

God is good. He is a good, good Father. ‘It’s who You are… and I’m loved by You; it’s who I am.’ The lyrics of this song by Pat Barrett and Tony Brown, sung here by Chris Tomlin, are a reminder to us that not only is God good, He wants to be in personal, close, intimate relationship with us. He is the only One who can provide us with the answers for which we search. He is perfect in all of His ways to us.

Pat Barrett and Chris Tomlin have written a children’s book based on the idea that God is a good, good Father. The book tells the story of a little bear named Tucker whose life and townspeople are forever changed when they learn just how great the King’s love is for them. When Tucker’s friends need help, he goes to see the King who lives in a castle where the door is always open.

Tucker wants to take the perfect gift to the King in hopes he will be convinced to help. Along the way, Tucker encounters a variety of humorous animals filled with advice who leave him confused about what the King is like. He doubts whether the King would be willing to help. Just as Tucker is ready to give up, he meets the King who runs to him with open arms offering love, acceptance, and help.

Children’s books and songs often contain profound truths. As we celebrate Fathers’ day today in the UK, many families don’t have the security and assurance of a good, good father and wonder, deep down, about the goodness of God. All of us, however blessed we have been in our earthly fathers, need more than any human parent can give us. Today, let’s meditate on the goodness of God. He is a good, good Father to us. He loves us unconditionally and longs to give us good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). We may not have all the answers to all the questions of life, but we can have the security of knowing we are accepted, loved and wanted by God.

Apart from our usual meetings on Sunday, there are some extra meetings coming up soon.

On Tuesday 20th June at 10.30 a.m. we will be hosting a ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting. Please do come along to pray for our churches, our community and our nation.

On Saturday 24th June at 6 p.m. we will be having our Annual General Meeting. Come along to find out what has been happening over the past year and to pray about the year to come!

On Monday 26th June at 1.30 p.m., we will be holding a service to celebrate the life of Lorraine Austwick. Please let us know if you can help with preparing and serving refreshments after the service.

Our identity now is as children of God. We belong to God, and His life within us can do things no one else can do. This sense of belonging is incredibly precious to us. We belong to God and He belongs to us: ‘my Beloved is mine, and I am His.’ (Song of Songs 2:16) We also now belong to His wider family, the church.

‘These hands do nothing until You compel me.
These feet go nowhere until You propel me.
My heart is barren till Your Spirit rushes through.
This life is nothing without You.

I’ve reached the end of what my sight can show me.
I only wanna know the One who knows me
My heat was searching, now I’ve finally found the Truth
This life is nothing, without You

Let Your hope be my breath.
Let Your love be my song.
Let Your peace be my rest.
I was made to belong to You.
I belong to You!

You’re my begining, and You’re my forever.
You are my victory and my surrender
Oh, Hallelujah, by Your mercy I am new
This life is nothing, without You; ohh…

Take this flesh and bone; breathe Your life within.
Take this heart of stone; make it beat again.
Take this flesh and bone; breathe Your life within.
Take this heart of stone; make it beat again.’ (‘Belong’, Aaron Shust)

Yan Hadley also spoke of the Biblical principles which, if applied, can help us to be strengthened, rather than broken, by suffering.

1. Give the burden to God. The questions we have regarding suffering will weigh us down and break us. Ps 55:22 says ‘cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will not permit the righteous to be moved.’ We have to acknowledge our limitations and lack of understanding and cast our burdens on God.
2. Look steadfastly to Jesus (Heb 12:2-3). We have to fix our minds on God (Is 26:3) in order to avoid the temptation to give up. Suffering often grinds us down; Jesus is the antidote to this erosion of faith.
3. Trust God’s sovereignty (Rom 8:28). Joseph suffered greatly throughout his life, but he had confidence in God’s ability to turn the plans others meant for evil to good. (Gen 50:20). Ps 30:5 reminds us that weeping will come, but joy will also follow the weeping. God is in control, even when we cannot see what He is doing.
4. Adjust your perspective. In 2 Cor 4:17-18, Paul talks of light and momentary troubles. He had suffering shipwreck, imprisonment and being stoned… but in the perspective of eternity, he could see that these were as ‘a flea on an elephant’s back.’
5. Maintain an attitude of joyful thankfulness. (1 Thess 5:18) Hab 3:17-18 reminds us that even when circumstances are dire, we can still rejoice in the Lord, and this joy gives us strength. Phil 4:4 reminds us to rejoice in the Lord.
6. Reach out to others for help. (Eccl 4:12) We are not meant to ‘go it alone’, but need the prayers and encouragement of other people. Prov 11:14 reminds us that counsel from others is helpful, and we are a family, the body of Christ.