keep-calm-and-send-up-judah
Let Judah go up first. Send Judah up. Judah shall go first. Judah went up…

In the Old Testament, whenever the children of Israel inquired which tribe should go first against their enemy, God ALWAYS responded with…SEND JUDAH UP FIRST.

Judah…Yehudah…simply means praise.

“Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.” Judges 1:8

Translation: If you wanna set your city on fire…SEND JUDAH UP FIRST!

If you wanna set your situation on fire…LET JUDAH GO UP FIRST!

If you want God to move on your behalf in any way…SEND JUDAH UP!

Y’all hear me talk about this topic A LOT, lol. The praise was…is…and will always be…in the front…on the front end…in advance…God’s credit is good with me…He has NEVER failed and He NEVER WILL!

Praise = Mouth & Motion

“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” Psalm 47:1

What goes up…MUST come down!

Judah was the KEY of David…

“And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” Isaiah 22:22

Think about that friends…Judah (specifically the Lion of Judah)…praise… WAS THE KEY…of David. Why did Christ choose Judah who wasn’t the firstborn? He inhabits the praise of His people!

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3

David had much favor with God largely in part due to his lifestyle of praise. David was the only human in scripture to receive this God nod:

“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” Acts 13:22

David was a man after God’s own heart. If that isn’t an exceptional God nod…I don’t know what is!

God chose the tabernacle of David vs the tabernacle of Moses. We must ask ourselves why. There were many similarities in both tabernacles. The main difference was that David’s tabernacle had no walls which placed the praise happening inside on full display to those on the outside. BOOM!

“And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.” 2 Samuel 6:14-15

Here we see David again writing:

“That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.” Psalm 9:14

David was a fierce praiser!

Praise is why we are here! Prior to his fall, Lucifer was head praiser so to speak in the heavenlies. He was heaven’s worship/band leader and REFLECTOR not PRODUCER of light.

Sidebar: He was also heaven’s treasurer in control of heaven’s economy. (Judas…ring a bell…again we see a link between praise, finance, and betrayal.) So many church splits happen over these two areas…music and money…just saying. But, we’ll save that nugget for another post.

Back to Lucifer: He fell taking 1/3 of the angels with him. Who were those angels…I heard it supposed they were those in his (Lucifer’s) charge…heaven’s praise team if you will. I tend to agree.

Sidebar: (This one’s free, lol.) Pride was Lucifer’s #1 issue…this is why we too often see such pride issues among praise singers/musicians. The struggle is real. Pride is essentially the act of robbing God of the glory due Him. Lucifer said in his heart, “I will be like the Most High and ascend.” Dangerous mental posture. Guard your heart against pride at all costs!

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14

Back to my point: We have been created to fill that void. Consequently, this is also what fuels Lucifer’s rage against man. We have essentially taken his place. Creations who will worship God freely of their own accord!

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” 1 Peter 2:9

Praise is not only why we are here but it is also one of our most powerful weapons next to the Word of God…the Sword of the Spirit. If you want to get REALLY SERIOUS, whip out both weapons at the same time…put the Word of God in your mouth as you praise…praise Him with His Word. He loves it! It shows we believe what He has said. It is an act of faith that demonstrates our belief in every promise written. We are calling it out (invoking it) over our own lives! This is what it TRULY means to stand on the Word of God. Pure power!

So today, give it a go…

SEND JUDAH UP FIRST MY FRIENDS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

Silence of the Lambs

September 14, 2012March 21, 2019 Team ActivateLeave a comment

lambs

The greatest threat to the kingdom is the silence of the lambs. Lift up your voice!

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16b

The quickest way to dispel darkness is to turn up the light…so turn up Jesus! When darkness seems to be consuming the world in which we live, Christians need to crank up Jesus!

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 11:9

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5

If every Christian in America would realize that praise ambushes our enemies, I’m convinced that every church in America would be transformed! We are a nation at war (spiritually and in the natural.) Praise is a war strategy!

And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 2 Chronicles 20:22

It was a victory shout that brought down the walls of Jericho.

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20

As a cheerleader in high school, I jumped, screamed and shouted more to praise and encourage a basketball team than 95% of Christians do for Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith! We stand out of respect when the President walks into a room while bands blare “Hail to the Chief” yet many Christians won’t stand to sing a praise to the King of Kings! People scream until their throats are raw for sports teams yet are appalled at the thought of shouting unto God with the voice of triumph. Doesn’t make good sense. If you want to see what real joy and praise looks like, just tell a 6 yr old they’re going to Disney World. They jump, throw their hands in the air, scream, shout and even cry yet somehow Christians are able to contain joy unspeakable! It may be joy unspeakable but it’s not unpraisable! When words fail, get your praise on! God receives praise loud and clear! Praise isn’t just having good thoughts about and towards God in our hearts. Praise is mouth AND motion.

O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Psalm 47:1

I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1b

Should Christians be forced to praise? That’s impossible! There is no such thing as a forced praise! Praise is a free will offering. No one can make you do it. On the flip, when you know what God has brought you out of and into, no one on earth can make you stop praising Him!

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Some feel that actual (aloud and visible) praise is not important because the love of Christ is in their hearts. That’s fantastic! If it really is in our hearts, it will come out of our mouths!

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Matthew 12:34

The one leper who came back to offer praise was made whole. Healing is great but wholeness is greater! Our nation needs more than a healing…we need to be whole again! That will not happen outside of praise! Consequently, it’s real easy to sit back and say yay and amen but what are we as individual Christians doing about it? How are we to expect the nation as a whole to praise rather than eschew God when the majority of churches are silent week after week? If your church isn’t a praising church…make it one! If doing so isn’t accepted in your church, you’re in the wrong church! Praise is not an option…it’s a reflex, a natural outflow from a thankful heart! I say it’s time to let Judah go up first!

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first. Judges 20:18

The praise is in the front! (2 Chronicles Chapter 20)

Tag: praise

Send Judah Up

Silence of the Lambs