Acts 3:8
In response to his miraculous healing this man had a celebration all by himself at first. He did not have to wait on anybody to tell him to praise God. He certainly did not need a praise team, he became a most enthusiastic and avid praiser all by himself. When God has intervened, we are expected to spontaneously praise Him. There is automatic praise. It is neither orchestrated or contrived, mechanical nor rehearsed.
The Church of the Living God must recapture the art of celebration. In fact this is a house of impromptu celebration. We are excited to be here. This is a house of praise and worship. We effortlessly, voluntarily break out in praise and spiritual, energetic worship. Jesus enlighteningly said to the woman at the well, “God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This place should always pulsate with exciting worship. There is no boredom here. We readily do Psalm 100 here. We come with our own praise.
This man in Acts 3, just couldn’t stop or be stopped. When the divine breaks in and miraculously transforms the very fabric of our lives, it’s difficult for us to keep quiet or be contained. It’s either you join us or leave us. For the rest of his life, this man had an irrepressible praise to the One who in mercy remembered him and came outside the Temple that day just to visit with him. For more than forty years, he sat by the wayside of life, begging and waiting to be carried. Then all of a sudden, deliverance came! I guarantee you, you and I would have responded in like manner “. . . walking, and leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:8). The God of the temple came outside the temple to escort him inside the temple! Therefore in great flourish he instinctively erupts in praise!
All I am saying today is, God has done absolutely too much for us to sit in praiseless silence. Praise Team or No Praise Team! I just feel that we are the ones who set the pace for our meetings. This man came to church with excitement. He already had his praise going on. He brought his praise and excitement into the temple, based on the transactions of the Almighty in His life, He didn’t come to church to be moved or stirred. He came in already moved and stirred.
May God help us today to remember the miracles and the phenomenal things He has already wrought in our own lives. May you comprehend and know that the miracle has already been done. The deliverance has already taken place. He has already given us the power and strength to move out of our old, crippling, debilitated, dilapidated conditions. Because He has lifted us , we come into His house with our hands lifted up and our mouths filled with praise. We come ready to spontaneously praise Him!
Leroy V. Greenaway
Presiding Bishop – Northeast Region
July 14th, 2023
