I Owe Him Praises

The speaker starts by expressing gratitude and praise to God, acknowledging that God deserves all the glory and honor. They read a passage from the Bible about lepers who were healed by Jesus, but only one of them returned to give thanks and praise. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing that we owe God praise for His goodness, grace, and acceptance. They mention that those who know God are the ones who understand the need to praise Him. They also mention the story of David dancing before the Lord to illustrate the attitude of praise. We have come to give you glory, we have come to give you honor. We have come to give you adoration because only you deserve everything. Baba, please accept our thanks in the name of Jesus. Heavenly Father, we know that without you we are nothing. And that is why we give me faith to come and praise you again this day. And we beg of you that you will accept our praises in the name of Jesus. This moment, O God, we pray you will not hide yourself from us in the name of Jesus. We pray you will speak to us expressly in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Heavenly Father. Blessed be your holy name. In Jesus' mighty name, we are prayed. Let somebody shout, Alleluia. Amen. Our topic this morning will go straight to the word of God. I would like us to check the book of Luke chapter 17. And I will be reading from verse 12. Luke chapter 17 from verse 12. I read, And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go, show yourself unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, he turned back with a loud voice, glorified God, and fell down on his feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. He was a Samaritan. 17. And Jesus answering announced, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There was none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy faith made thee whole. I pray this morning that our faith will make us whole completely in the name of Jesus. The topic before us this morning says, I owe him praises. I owe him praises. I owe him praises. As I tell the story of these lepers, the Bible says from verse 12 that as he entered a certain village, they made him ten lepers. They were lepers. Lepers are those who do not stay in the congregation with other people. Lepers are those who have been rejected. Lepers are those who nobody can associate with them. Lepers are those who God, who people, women have ignored and they are forgetting them. And the abode or the house of lepers is always in the forest. Far from where people are dwelling. And these lepers are there. Glory to God, Jesus was entering the city. And from afar off they saw Jesus. And they screamed. How does we look at this story very well? Ten of them came to Jesus. And they were begging for mercy. They know that their family are not proud of them. They know that if the child of that man that is a leper is walking on the street, they will be saying, He knows that they are a cause to their family. They know that nobody can be proud and say, that is my father in that forest is a leper. Their family hide from them. Their family hide from them. Their generation hide from them. Nobody want to be recognized with them. When there are great ceremony and celebration going on in the city, they cannot go out. They dare not go out. They remain in the forest. And they know this is a great tragedy. So they run to Jesus, have mercy on us. And Jesus looked at them as the son of David. And he had mercy on them. And he asked them to go and they were cleansed. And all of a sudden, if that was me, when I saw in verse 16, I saw something very strange in verse 16. From verse 15, and one of them, when he saw that he was healed, he turned back. And with a loud voice glorified God and he fell on his feet giving him thanks. He knows that he owe God praise. He knows that for what Jesus has done in his life, he owe him. He owes him praises. Because any man who does not acknowledge and recognize that he owe God praise can never be raised by God. Until we come to the consciousness that we owe God praises, that is when he can raise us. Because any man that does not give God praise will soon be erased. For we know to be erased from the agenda of the Lord, it is our consistency in giving him praise. But did you know that you owe him praise? Do I know that I owe him praise? The leprosy in the life of these 10 people, people can no longer associate with them. Did you know that if you can also remember, before Jesus have mercy on you, before Jesus have mercy on me, I am like that leper. There is leprosy of sin upon my life. There is leprosy of shame upon my life. There is leprosy of going nowhere upon my life. And when Jesus encountered me and set me free, the first thing expected of me is for me to know that I owe him praise. We don't need to be cajoled, we don't need to be coerced before you know that you owe him praise. You owe him praise. The kindness of God from the beginning of our life up till now is enough for us to think and say we owe him praise. I want us to say something very fast and very quickly. Let's check the book of Psalm 135. Psalm 135, I want you to know why do you need to praise God. Psalm 135, if you are there you can just read for us. Psalm 135 verse 3 Okay, it says praise the Lord for the Lord is good. Sin praises unto his name for it is pleasant. The first thing is that praise the Lord for the Lord is good. For the Lord is good oh God. The Bible says God is good, a stronghold in days of trouble. When you taste of the goodness of God upon your life, you owe him praise. When you taste of how good the Lord is to you, you owe him praise. Two things always happen on earth, the good and the bad. But good things are happening to you simply because God is good. It's a sign for you to know that you owe him praise. We owe him praise because God is good. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 to 9. Something very important, why we need to know that we owe him praise. Ephesians chapter 2 from verse 8 to 9. Okay, the Bible says for by grace are you saved through faith. And are not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of work lest any man should boast. For the sake of our salvation. For the salvation of our soul. When you remember and you think the kind of life you were living before the Lord saved you by grace, you will know you owe him praise. When I remember the way I started the journey of my life. Before I encountered God in 2007, I know I owe him praise. If I had continued that way, it is either I should be dead or I should be a great arm rubber. Because I remember many years ago, I think 1999 or so. In the night, I was hungry, I can't tell. Then all of a sudden I was just going and I saw there they sell bread, loads of bread. Then I stole the bread and began to run. And they began to chase me. People were shouting thief, thief, thief. And oh God, they gathered around me and the bottle started beating me. Then somebody said, Ah! Ah! Ah! And I was ashamed of myself. Like as if that would be the end. I kept on stealing. When I was late in work, I steal my boss's money. Instead of getting charged, I would not steal enough cents. I know where we keep the key. I would go to the shop, I would take the key, open the door, behind it very early at 6 am. I would pack away the money. What else is there to buy? Palito radio, palito radio, very small radio. Ay! Excuse me, if I had continued that way. I had not met Christ. What would I have become today? I would have become a notorious robber. If you remember, if you imagine, if you know how God saved me for the salvation of our life. And I cannot imagine when they ask me to pay to save me. I don't know how much I will have to pay. But by grace, free, I am saved. The same way you are saved sir. The same way you are saved ma. There are a lot of people, they are fornicators. Oh God. Before they gave their life, their life was miserable. And if we should continue that way, we will never end well in life. Jesus came to us and he saved us. I think for this reason, we owe him praise. I also want you to see for his grace, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6. I want you to see why you need to know that you owe him praise. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6. The Bible says, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in his beloved. Did you remember those letters? I said their families have rejected them. Their generations have run away from them. But his grace now made us accepted. It is when you are in Christ, that is when you can be accepted. And there is no man that is accepted by God, that will not be accepted by man. When you are accepted by God, man accepts you by default. Because he has saved us. Can I now quickly show us categories of those that praise God? How? What are those that praise God? Number one, those who know God. Those who know that they owe him praise are those who know God. Until you know God, until you have the knowledge of who he is. Until you know what he has done. Until you know what he is capable of doing. You will never know. But when you know God. Let's check the book of Samuel. I want us to see something very fast in the book of 2 Samuel chapter 6. 2 Samuel chapter 6. We are talking about we owe him praise. 2 Samuel chapter 6. And I will be reading from verse 14. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was guarded with a leaning effort. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of trumpets. And the ark of the Lord came into the city of David. Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord. And she despised him in her heart. And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in a place in the midst of the tabernacle. And David had preached for it. And David offered burnt offering and peace offering before the Lord. And as soon as David had made an end of offering, burnt offering and peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. And he dealt among the people. Verse 19. Even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women and men. To everyone a cake of bread and a good piece of flesh, a flagon of wine. So all the people departed. Now look at verse 20. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today! Who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants. And as one of the vain fellows, shamelessly over-committing. And David said unto Michal, Oh my God! And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord which chose me before thy father. And before all his house. So appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over the Israel. Therefore I will play before the Lord. Amen. Can you see this? David knows the God who has chosen him. It's like as if whenever it is time to praise God. When it is time to thank God. When we are doing it reluctantly. It's an evidence and a proof that we did not know the God who has saved us. David said, I am doing this. Which means the praise that we express outside comes from within. You appreciate God outside comes from within. Your depth and your knowledge of God will determine what you will do to praise Him. David knows that it is God who has chosen him, not his handwork. It is God who has brought him to this position and not his degree. When you realize that this business you are doing, the little money that you have, it is God who has given it to you. When it is time to praise God, you praise God from that knowledge. But when you think that my savings helped me to build this house. When you think that your qualification in school helped you to secure this job. You will never know that you owe God praise and you will soon be erased. Because those who praise God continuously, God wants to see them everyday. And He will put His eyes on them everyday. There is no man who praises God wholeheartedly that God will allow the devil to touch. Never. Ask David. So our level of praising God will determine how high God will raise us. The height at which you can praise God will determine how high you will go in life. It will determine how far you will go in ministry. It will determine how far you will go in your career and in your business. The same family that you are enjoying the grace of God today. The same family that I am enjoying the grace of God today. So many families have collapsed. So many are not standing. There is a supernatural power in praise that don't worry to judge. There is a supernatural power in praise that erases our worries. You will never see somebody praising God, dancing and is frowning. Is it possible? It is not possible. For the period of that moment when you are praising God, your worries disappear. Your troubles disappear. The problem you are going through disappears. You forget about it. David knows all this. He has this knowledge and he knows that he owes God praise. And when he owes God praise, he demonstrates it with all his heart. With all his life. Our fathers used to have an adage and it says, David knows that this thing that this God that he is serving, he can't just praise him anyhow. He praises him with the whole of his life. He praises him with the whole of his heart. He praises him with the whole of his mind. He praises him with everything in him. If you cannot praise God with everything in you, it means you did not know you owe God praise. And that is why the psalmist says, Let everything that has breath. Can you imagine? Your hand still has breath. Your leg still has breath. Your mouth still has breath. A lot of times, I have skipped accidents. And the moment accidents flashes through my face, The first thing that comes to my mind is, I did not die today because I am still going to dance on Sunday. But at the end of the day, the reason why God has always been sparing my life, Is because he knows that on a Sunday, this is where you come and dance. The best place to express yourself, the best place to be transparent is in the house of God. The best place to express the best of you, is in the presence of God. I saw David. He danced like no man business. He appreciates God. He knows that this is a debt. And if I should find an opportunity to pay it today, I must pay it now. Whenever we are in the presence of the Lord, If it is not paid now, it will become an injury on our neck. How do you praise God, sir? How do you praise God, ma? How do I praise God? Do you know that you owe Him praise? Do you know that you need to praise God? Because if you did not praise God, there is a high probability that you will be in trouble. Do you know that you need to praise God? Because if you did not praise God, there is a high probability that you will be erased from His agenda. I want us to see something very quickly again in the book of Exodus chapter 15 and verse 11. Exodus chapter 15 and verse 11. I owe Him praise. We owe Him praise. For your family, you owe Him praise. For your business, you owe Him praise. You owe Him praise. Oh God, look at that wonderful song. Thank you very much. Who is like you, oh Lord? Among the gods, who is like you? Nor by what glorious in holy. Fearful in praise is to ye in wonders. When the Israelites think, when the Israelites imagined, when the Israelites remembered what they went through in the land of Egypt, they said, no, only God can do this. Only God can do this. Who is like us to you, oh Lord? Before they can reach this conclusion, it means they have think, and they are still thinking deep, that who is like this God? Many times we have tried to save ourselves, we couldn't save ourselves, but this God saved us. Who is like Him? Many times they have tried to escape, but they couldn't escape, and they say, who is like Him? And there are a lot of things that the Lord has done in our life, that God is expecting you to come and give Him praise, but we have take it like a normal thing. We have seen it like a normal thing. A normal thing. We owe God praise. We owe God praise. The same thing that destroy others, is what is lifting us. Can we go back to that one Luke chapter 17, the golden... And I want us to see one or two things from that Luke chapter 17. Now, I'm reading from verse 14, And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go, show yourself unto the priests. Can you imagine? The same priests that never want to see them in the temple. The same priests that never want to see them again. The same priests that never want them to be in the town, that need them to be in the forest. When God encountered them, when God answered them, First thing, go and show yourself to the priests. The same way, those who have rejected you, now they are accepting you. Don't you think you need to give God praise? That house rent that a lot of people think you will not be able to afford, and God miraculously provides. Do you think it's because you work hard? Don't you think we need to give God praise? Imagine this economy. Imagine those who have gone with it. Imagine those who are dead. Imagine those who have become dropouts. Imagine those who cannot afford three square meal in a day. And you can still do all this. And it never comes to your mind that you owe Him praise. If we must raise our standard in life, then we must do that through praise. It is in praising God, that God raises us. It is in praising God, that God lifts us. It is in praising God, that God nourishes us. Because He knows that if I give Him more, He will praise more. Let me tell you quickly, what happens when we praise God? What happens to those who praise God? Number one, we are His children indeed. Let's check the book of Luke chapter 10, verse 17 to 21. Luke, the gospel of Luke chapter 10, verse 17. And they turned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. And He said unto them, I behold Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give you power to train upon serpents and scorpions and over all powers of the enemies. And nothing shall by any means hurt you, notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits of the Father rejoice because your name are written in heaven. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and He said, I thank Thee, O Father. I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things. Look at, for those glorious things that have happened, for those beautiful testimonies of the disciples, the first thing Jesus did is to go to God and say, I thank You, O Father. When you see things happening around you, if the first thing you do is to give God praise, it's a sign and a proof that you are not a bastard and that we are indeed a child of God. Because that is the step and the footprint that Jesus laid down for us. The first thing He did and the first thing He done is to thank God. And I remembered that in this manner, prayed ye, our Father, who art in heaven, the first thing is to say, hallowed be Thy name. The first thing is to say, praises be Thy name. The first thing is to say, honor be Thy name. If indeed you have a Father in heaven, the first thing you will say is that hallowed be Thy name. Only a bastard will not praise the Lord. We praise God. We praise God with all our hearts. We praise God with all our lives. And we praise God with our lifestyles. Amen. It is not just coming to sing praises that determine that you praise God. But the life that we live can tell if we really pray. If I live such a life, if I live such a life, my neighbor looks at me and says, ah, what the hell, I'm Christian. Excuse me, is my life praising God? But when we live a kind of life and our neighbor says, ha, show me your God. What church are you going? That is the life that gives God praise. It doesn't matter the kind of work we are doing. As a businessman, my business should give God praise. Because when people do business with me, they should be so sure that I will not cheat them. As a career person, my work should give God praise to the extent that everyone who comes to me will know that my life gives God praise. We praise God with our life. If our life is not worth emulating, if our footstep is not worth imitating, then we did not know we owe God praise. I want us to see something. That's the first thing. Our lifestyle, that will praise God. Number two, putting Him first. When we put God first, when we put Him in front, oh God, when we put Him ahead of our own agenda, when we put Him ahead of our own agenda, do you know, I will always remember this daddy, Baba Abraham. For many years, this man has been going without a child. For many years, this man has been going without any offspring. And so many times, he would discuss with the Lord, and he would sit God down, and he would say, Father, is it this Elias, this Elias, I will give you a son. And after everything, daddy decided to give him a son. And still, he tested him by asking him to bring back that son. And with all the son back, and he still put God first. And he still chose to sacrifice that son. And he still chose to give that son to God. It tells me that no life that has been given to God, we find it difficult to give God praise. If indeed you have been given to God, if indeed your love has been given to the Lord, it will not be difficult to give Him praise, through your life. It will not be difficult to give Him praise, through the words of your mouth. It will not be difficult to give Him praise, through your walk with the Lord. As a child of God, and as a Christian, the words of our mouth should be seasoned with grace. That when people hear us, Oh God, Jesus was speaking on a particular day. And a fellow that was here said, Blessed is the womb that bear thee. Excuse me, excuse me. Has he not given praise to that womb that gave birth to him? Because of what they hear him speaking. As I tie you together, I want you to read that Luke chapter 17 that I am reading. And I want to say to you, I am reading. And I want to say verse, Luke chapter 17. Let me start from verse 16, 15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, he turned back. He turned back. He knew that I have been healed. He turned back. I knew that from the onset, my life is not like this. But now that my life is going well, he turned back. My life has changed for good. He turned back. But that does not mean you need to turn back. That does not mean you need to turn back. Mommy, don't you think you need to turn back? Only one leper, this leper turned back. When he saw that something has happened in his life. How can something happen in our own life and we did not turn back? And our fathers in Europe, they would say, This man turned back to God. If you don't turn back to God, you go and complain. If you don't turn back to God, you go and say, it remains my leg. If you don't turn back to God, you go and beg. He turned back to God. And what did he do? And with a loud voice, he glorified God. Please promise me, I want us to see amplified version of that thing. Amplified. The way amplified put it, I was shocked. He said, and he fell. Okay, from verse 15 now. And one of them, upon seeing what was, he was cured, he turned back, listen, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice. He turned back. The first thing is recognizing. As you will turn back and recognize God, you will never be recognized in the affairs of men. Those who recognize God, the Lord sets them on high so much that they will be recognized. Excuse me, before you recognize anybody on earth, I beg of you, recognize God. I know that the way we dress, the clothes we put on, we want to be recognized, but you will never be recognized until you have recognized God. This leper turned back. This leper, see, I noticed, those that made him pass in life are those who turn back to God. If you remember the book of Exodus chapter 3, Moses saw the burning bush and he said, and now I will burn. And look at this mystery. Sister, check those things God has done in your life. Brother, check those things God has done in your life. Indeed, I know admission is so paramount in your heart. I know marriage is your priority now. I know business is your top priority now. And you turn back and give Him praise. As a round off, can I ask you, what do you think happens to the remaining nine? Sister, quickly run us through to verse 18. Verse 18, or this Luke chapter 17. Verse 18, I want us to see. I want us to see. Now, from verse 17 now. Jesus asked the question, verse 17. Then Jesus asked, we are not all ten cleansed. We are the, we are the, we are the nine. We now have two categories of people. We have the category of those who are among the one. We have the category of those who are among the nine. Ask the person beside you, what category are you? The nine that are ungrateful. The nine that never talk the word of God. Praise. Or the only one that returned. That returned. Oh God. Please give us the next verse now. Verse 18. Verse 18. Was there no, was there no one found to return and recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien? Is there no one and there is, there is this trouble in heaven. There is this person in God. There is this hunger that wants to come back. Would you give me praise? Would you come back? I have done something for you. Daddy, did you know? Mommy, did you know? That what is lifting you is the same thing that is destroying others. Would you come back? Would you come back like that one and give him praise? Don't you know where he prays? You are a choir. You are a song singer. Look at a lot of song ministers. Look at a lot of minstrels that have gone into the world. You cannot listen to some songs because even their appearance has jeopardized what they want to sing. But look at you standing in the Lord. Look at you still bouncing in the Lord. Don't you think you need to turn back and give him praise? I think that our generation need to turn back and give God praise. I think if there is anything we must value above every other thing is to give God praise because we owe Him praise. We owe Him praise. We owe Him praise. And until you praise Him, He might never raise you. And if God did not raise you, no man will raise you. Only God can raise us. I want us to rise up on our feet. I want to remind you that you owe Him praise. I want to tell you that you owe God praise. I want to tell you that everything you are today was because God kept you. Was because God has sustained you. Was because God wants you to be.