Habakkuk 3:18 (NKJV) Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
“Rejoice” (01523) (gîyl/gûl) is derived from a root word which means “to spin round” (under the influence of any violent emotion) – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It is also from which such ideas like “to circle in joy” are readily derived. It is more applicable to vigorous, enthusiastic expressions of joy. Therefore, it is not surprising that most of its usage are in the psalms (songs) which means to rejoice or be glad.
It should be everyone’s conscious decision to praise God regardless of our feelings, moods and circumstances. Habakkuk made a conscious decision to rejoice and praise God despite the trees not having any figs, the labour in the land was futile and the herds were not producing anything!
We do not need to be conscious about who is with us when we are worshipping at home. We can let our hair down and shout for JOY!! Say out loud, “I choose joy and to rejoice in the Lord. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. Some will trust in chariots, others in their horses, some in their companies and their strategies BUT I will choose to trust in the Lord. I refuse to be moved by what I see, what I hear and what I experience because my faith is in the Lord!”.
We normally start with vibrant praise during the start of the praise and worship session.
We lift up holy hands to honour and praise Him. We clap our hands and dance for joy.
Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Psalm 34:1-3(NKJV)…. I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Sometimes, we really do not feel like praising because we are disappointed and feel let down. We are weary and striving. We are focusing on the problem and it seems to overwhelm us. All the more, we need to praise God so that we can shift our focus from the problem to God. It is really a choice that we make to praise God! Often, we make the mistake of not participating in the Praise and Worship segments at church, or we will skip the Praise and Worship portions during the online services and go straight to the sermons. It is one of the greatest mistakes that we can ever make because the whole service is all about God. We worship to the audience of One.
Use our voice as a trumpet to sound forth the blessings of the Lord.
Praise is Declaring the goodness of the Lord.
Praise is Declaring the victory of the Lord
Praise is Declaring the faithfulness of the Lord.
Praise is Declaring the greatness of the Lord.
Sermon Series: What to Do When You Do Not Know What to Do
靠主喜乐
哈巴谷书3：18然而我要因耶和华欢欣，因救我的神喜乐。
Rejoice (01523) (giyl/gul) 源于一个词根，意思是“转圈圈”（在强烈情绪的影响下）– 引自 Strong的《Exhaustive Concordance》。这也是从“开开心心围个圈”所衍生而来。它更适用于充满活力，热情的表达喜悦，怪不得这个词在诗篇（歌曲）里面用到最多，意思是喜乐或者高兴。
无论我们的感情、心情和环境如何，每个人都要有意识地赞美神。尽管树上没有无花果，田里的劳动是徒劳的，牛群也没有产出任何东西，哈巴谷还是刻意地去欢喜快乐和赞美神。
当我们在家里敬拜时，我们不需要在意谁和我们在一起。我们可以决定放下头发欢呼!!大声说，“我拣选喜乐，我要因耶和华喜乐。哈利路亚! 赞美耶和华!耶和华本为善，祂的慈爱永远长存。有人倚靠战车，有人倚靠马，有人倚靠企业和军兵谋略，但我选择倚靠耶和华。我拒绝被我所看见的、所听见的、所经历的所影响，因为我的信心是在主里面!”
当开始敬拜赞美的时候，我们通常以动感十足的赞美开始。举起圣洁的手来尊崇神和赞美祂。喜乐的拍手和跳舞。
诗篇100:4当称谢进入他的门，当赞美进入他的院。感谢他，称颂他的名。
诗篇34:1-3我要时时刻刻称颂耶和华;赞美他的话必常在我口中。我的心必因耶和华夸耀。谦卑的人听见，就欢喜。你们和我当称耶和华为大，一同高举他的名。
有时候，我们真的不想来赞美，因为我们感到失望和失落。我们疲惫不堪，苦苦挣扎。我们专注于问题上，它似乎让我们不知所措。即使这样，我们更需要来赞美神，这样我们才能把注意力从问题转开而投向神。赞美神是我们的选择! 有时，我们会犯错误，不参加教会的敬拜赞美部分，或者我们没有参与网上的敬拜赞美部分而是直接跳过进入主日的讲道。这是我们所犯的最大错误之一，因为整个礼拜/敬拜都是关于神的。在我们的敬拜中，祂是那唯一的听众。
以我们的声音为号角传扬耶和华的祝福。
赞美是宣告耶和华的良善。
赞美是宣告耶和华的胜利
赞美是宣告耶和华的信实。
赞美是宣告耶和华的伟大。
讲章系列：当你不知所措的时候那能做什么？