Our Only Alternative

Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand. Psalms 149:1-6 NASB

The Kingdom of God has come to earth through Jesus Christ.  He has begun the process of seeing His work done again on earth as it is in heaven and offers us the choice to voluntarily accept allegiance to Him and alignment with His reign. Did you catch that?!?  He gives us the opportunity to confess our sins, to repent, JESUS IS IN IT WITH US! 

Our only alternative is to continue in our brokenness and in the end, be forced to acknowledge His rule and face punishment as His enemies. 

Mark 1:15 NET He said, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the Gospel!

Jesus knew we would have difficult times, and His antidote for a stifled spirit is praise – praise in the middle of the struggle! Rejoicing, praying, and expressing gratitude is easy to do when life is going smoothly, i know, but what about when we are struggling just to get off the couch? Praise God for His presence and promise of eternal life with Him! He loves you. He loves me. He died for us. 

That is why it heals our brokenness and opens our hearts when we rejoice in Him. 

Deuteronomy 10:20-21 NET Revere the LORD your God, serve Him, be loyal to Him and take oaths only in His name. He is the One you should praise; He is your God, the One who has done these great and awesome things for you that you have seen.

We were created to worship His holy name, and we are now called to engage in warfare as His people. Warfare and worship go together. The high praises of God must be coming out of our mouth and our hands must securely hold onto the double-edged sword which is none other than the Word of God. 

God directs us to have praise in our mouth and His sword in our hands. Spiritual warfare doesn’t work if our mouth is full of complaining and admitting defeat.

The sword of the Spirit is to bind the enemy. God is now preparing a mighty generation to gather in the name of Jesus Christ, to put chains on the forces of darkness through the authority of Jesus’ name.