Yesterday ended is a podcast dedicated to the healing words of Jesus Christ and his story of redemption. Each podcast contains an original poem so that I can portray a confession of our faith of scripture in unique and succinct ways. Come with me on a journey to become a new creation and to declare old things dead and our life anew in Christ. What we meditate on will determine the direction and fruit of our lives. Let's live today speaking the words of life.
The victory we have in Christ can be felt in our everyday life. We can overcome depression. We can overcome fear. We can be confident. We can be free from worry. We can be free from anxiety. We can have emotional healing. We can have hope. We can be set free from our past. The Bible declares the goodness of God. The Bible is more than Christian psychology it is truth. The truth of God brings mental health, spiritual health and physical health. We can walk in peace. We can overcome the traumas of life.
What do you talk about a lot? Do you tell others what excites you or just complain? What thrills your soul? What chills your soul? Welcome to yesterday ended, healing the traumas of life. What fills your heart so much that it overflows out of your mouth? I’m your host Dennis Dobbin, and I’m here to teach you about inner healing through praise. Give a listen.
What do you talk about a lot? Do you tell others what excites you or just complain? What thrills your soul? What chills your soul? Welcome to yesterday ended healing the traumas of life. What fills your heart so much that it overflows out of your mouth? I'm your host, Dennis Dobbin, and I'm here to teach you about inner healing through praise. Give a listen. I am a writer, and I am a poet. As such, I love words. And unfortunately, at times, I'll be honest, I can get long-winded when I tell a story or a testimony about something, because I love details. I have a very good friend who has many times told me, get to the point. The issue I'm trying to make is what comes out of your mouth. Consider what Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 12, verse 34. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Whatever is in your heart will bubble up out of your mouth, good or bad. Whatever thrills you or chills you will commonly be the things you talk about a lot. On the good side, don't get me started talking about art. Don't get me started talking about tea. Don't get me started talking about wine, and absolutely don't get me talking about Jesus because I will never shut up. As the title of this podcast indicates, there is a specific word used when we speak joyfully and respectfully about something we love. It is called praise. What can I say that will bring him glory? I will tell my testimony, my life story. I will speak of the great things he has done, that the bounty of his goodness has left me stunned. I will praise him whose goodness has brought me near. I will praise him whose love has conquered all my fear. I will praise him whose presence wipes away my tears. I will praise him with my whole heart throughout the years. He lives within my praise and scares my enemies away. Living in praise my fears and frustrations cannot stay. As my praise fills the air, his power heals my heart. Praise changes the atmosphere, so that darkness must depart. I will praise him whose goodness has brought me near. I will praise him whose love has conquered all my fear. I will praise him whose presence wipes away my tears. I will praise him with my whole heart throughout the years. So what comes out of your mouth regularly? I was recently with a friend who used the phrase a number of times, that burns me up. Though there may be things that frustrate us and cause discomfort, how do we deal with the things of our lives? Will we speak evil or will we give praise to God? I have another friend who unfortunately is financially challenged. They haven't always made the best choices with their finances, and so their usual declaration is a declaration of poverty. Years ago I was in a situation where both of my roommates had moved out of the house I lived in. Rent was due a couple of days later and I was by myself. Best thing I figured out was I would have to give my last month's notice and move. But instead of being afraid, I spent the day relaxing. I didn't sit and moan and groan. I stayed peaceful. As I sat there that late morning, I got a call from a stranger. It was another believer in a ministry I belonged to that had just moved into the city from back east. He said he was looking for a place to live. I said, You just found one. And I praised the Lord. I went and picked him up from where he was, and that afternoon we were watching a movie when the phone rang again. A friend of mine from back home in Kansas was calling to tell me he had just gotten a job here locally and was looking for a place to stay until he found a place to live. I told him you just found a place to live, and I praised the Lord. Are we peaceful and prayerful? And are we praising? Or are we whining and complaining and being fearful? Romans chapter five verses two and three. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Here's a challenge that we face. What do we do in tribulation or mental pressure? Will we boast in the Lord in the tribulation, or will we complain to the Lord in the tribulation? It's good to talk to God when we're squeezed, but what comes out of us when we are squeezed? Is it complaining or praise? Psalm 42, verse 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God. When faced with a bad situation, what is your reaction? Do you think of the problem, or do you start thinking of the promises and end up praising? You can be cast down and you can be disquieted, or you can be opening your mouth with praise and declaring the goodness of God. I may have a challenge, but I also have a victory coming. I may not see it now, but I know it will come because God is faithful. I've developed a habit that even when I'm distracted and thinking in a stinking manner, I stop myself and praise the Lord for his goodness. It helps me get out of stinking thinking. When my mind is stuck on stupid, I stop and ponder how God has cared for me my whole life. I hate to admit it, but I've had a number of times before where I was stuck on stupid and I didn't get out quickly. But God has always been there when I turn to him. The question is, do we turn to him and praise him for his grace and mercy and love? So when darkness tries to invade our life, we need to turn the tables and bring the presence of God into our life. Psalm twenty-two, verse three. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. God inhabits our praise. When we praise, so are you praising. And if you're praising God and declaring his goodness, the downcast soul and the disquieted soul becomes comforted. This is revealed again in this next verse, 2 Chronicles 5, verse 13. It came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. And when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praise the Lord, saying, For he is good, his mercy endureth forever, that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. God filled the house of the Lord with his presence when they began to sing praise and give thanks to him. So what do you do in your house? What do you want there? The presence of darkness or the presence of the Lord? Bringing the presence of the Lord into your life will dispel the presence of darkness. Consider the power of praise in these next verses. Second Chronicles chapter 20, verses 21 and 22. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Sheer, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten. As was common back in those days, the neighbors of Judah became a bit feisty and decided to join together to attack Judah. King Jehosaphat called the people together, and after talking with them, he set up singers to praise the Lord. In these two verses, it doesn't say they prayed to the Lord. It says they praised the Lord. And when they sang and praised the Lord, the Lord responded by setting up ambushes against the bad guys. Would you like the Lord to ambush your enemies? If so, then you need to start praising. Your job isn't vengeance against people who hurt you. Your job is to turn to the Lord and praise him that his mercy endures forever. Our job is to glorify God. Psalm 9 verse 1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all thy marvelous works. The phrase with my whole heart has been around for thousands of years. I don't know if the contrasting phrase half-heartedly is a result of this phrase, but it does make sense. Are we kinda into giving God praise? Or are we doing it with everything we got? And here it clearly defines what praise is. I will show forth all thy marvelous works. Praise is simply talking about how good God is. When we're focused on how good God is, it's hard to stay focused on the challenges we face. The next few verses I'm reading from the New English translation, Psalm 103, verses 1 through 5. Praise the Lord, O my soul, with all that is within me, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, do not forget all his kind deeds. With all that is within me, kind of sounds like with my whole heart. If you're talking about how good God is, then you won't forget all his kind deeds. So what are some of these kind deeds that the Lord performs? Verse three, He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, who delivers your life from the pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle's. He forgives, and he heals, and he delivers, and he crowns us and satisfies us with good things, so that we are made young again. Being sixty-eight years old, I like that idea of my youth being renewed. Every year the eagle will shed its old feathers, and they will grow back. They will be renewed. So we need to shed the old stuff in our lives and receive the new feathers of God, so to speak, and mount up with wings as eagles. We can soar over the problems of life instead of being stuck in the pit. Psalm seventy eight verse four. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and His strength and his wonderful works that He hath done. Here we have a responsibility to praise the Lord before our children so that they come to learn of his wondrous works. As we praise the Lord before them, they will learn to do the same. Praise should become a lifestyle for us. Nine times out of ten when I am driving around town or especially driving to work, I have praise music playing in my car. I love to praise and worship the Lord in song. When I am working, I have praise music playing all the time. As we praise, the presence of the Lord comes into our lives. Praise is the proper way we enter in directly to his presence. Psalm 100 verse 4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. This is how we are to approach God with thanksgiving and praise. Though he will hear and listen to our cries, he's not particularly fond of whining. Murmuring doesn't go very far with God either. Imagine coming to a friend, and as you approach them, you remind them of things they've done wrong to you in your relationship. You tell them they haven't done enough for you. You accuse them of not caring. How long do you think that friendship will continue? Try that with God. How well do you think that'll go? As we develop the lifestyle of praise in our lives, our lives will flourish and show forth the fruit of God's love and goodness. It's time to sing His praises. I have heard it said that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. What effort are we putting into the praise we give to God? Are we praising Him with our whole heart? Consider the description concerning praise we find in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15. By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. The children of Israel were responsible for multiple sacrifices that they must give to have a good relationship with God. Our relationship with God is based upon the sacrifice of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Our response now should be to give a sacrifice of praise. We should give thanks to his name. Psalm one hundred fifty verse six. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, praise ye the Lord. If you are breathing, you can give praise to the Lord, and you should. Again, it should become your lifestyle. You wake up in the morning and give thanks, and you give thanks and praise God all day long. Psalm one thirteen, verse three. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised.
