When we are praising and worshipping the Lord, His hand will be moved to act on our behalf in judging our enemies. Our God can always be touched and moved by the praises of His people.
This is especially true for those who are praising Him in righteousness at all times. Praising and worshipping the Lord helps you to stay in the flow of your faith in His presence. It helps you to be focused on Him, as the only Source for everything in your life.
As we are being established more and more in His righteousness, our praises will keep on ascending speedily before the Lord God. We are growing stronger in faith, as we are praising and worshipping the Lord more and more.
Praise and worship become your weapon of spiritual warfare, which can be used in silencing the enemy, and every opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The devil cannot stand in the presence of God’s people, as we are praising the Lord. He is terrified and flees away from us, because he knows that God’s power is rendered available to us whenever we are praising Him.
God’s right hand of righteousness goes into action on our behalf, whenever we are praising the Lord so as to bless us.
The scriptures tell us about King Jehoshaphat as he led God’s people (Judah), into war against their neighbors. Jehoshaphat had chosen to be praising the Lord, as he was leading God’s people into battle, against their enemies who were stronger than them.
We saw from the scriptures how the hand of the Lord God was released in judging their enemies, as they were praising the Lord.
The people of Judah did not even have to fight in this battle. The Lord God fought for them. And since the Almighty God never loses a battle, they only had to take the spoils of war in this victory.
The scriptures described what happened in this way:
“Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. So, when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.”
II Chronicles 20:22-24 NKJV
As God’s people were singing and praising the Lord confusion came upon their enemies. They started fighting one another in the midst of the confusion, instead of fighting against Judah. They ended up destroying one another, without the army of Judah having to do nothing in taking the victory.
It takes the praises of the righteous people of God to move the hand of the Lord in judging the wicked.
This is why a Christian can’t afford not to be in right standing with God. No child of God should be expecting the Lord to move on his behalf, even while praising and worshipping the Lord, if he is not living right with God.
No amount of singing, praising and worshipping can wash away the works of unrighteousness in an unrepentant heart. It takes only the blood of Jesus Christ to complete the work of salvation, healing and deliverance in the lives of those who are repentant.
God can never be mocked. A Christian who is aligning himself with the works of evil, while putting the name of the Lord on his tongue, will receive damnation from God.
King Jehoshaphat was living right before the Lord. That was why God responded to the cry of his voice in judging his enemies. He knew that he couldn’t go out into the battle against those who were stronger than him, with the army that he had. He had to trust in the Lord for deliverance from the hands of his enemies. And the Lord answered him with a great deliverance.
David said in one of his Psalms of praise to the Lord:
“At each and every sunrise I will awake to do what’s right and put to silence those who love wickedness, freeing God’s people from their evil grip. I will do all of this because of my great love for you!”
Psalms 101:8 TPT
Every morning David woke up to destroy and silence the works of wickedness around him, by living righteously before God, so that God’s people can be empowered to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth. He did this by praising God, as he stood before Him in prayer every morning.
And by praising God in numerous of the Psalms which he had written, David was able to silence wickedness across the nation of Israel. This was why his reign was the most peaceful and prosperous in the history of the nation of Israel.
David said in another Psalm which is known as one of the famous scripture texts, that he used in instructing and teaching his son (Solomon):
“At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments.”
Psalms 119:62 NKJV
The righteous judgement of the Lord God was so important to King David. He had to train Solomon, who was to become the King after him, how to tap into it. No wonder King Solomon was the wisest King of the earth during his reign. Righteousness kept him by faith in the flow of God’s judgement. And that was how he reigned as King over God’s people.
We can see from this verse in Psalms 119, that the giving of thanks to God in the morning, and at all times was a great secret of David for success in life. He passed this on to the generation after him by teaching his son the same thing.
King Solomon ended up becoming the wisest King of Israel, as he followed the instruction and the teaching of his father, by giving thanks to God always.
Praise and the giving of thanks to God at all times is what silences the enemy, so that the people of God may be able to enjoy peace and prosperity.
Those who are in captivity are released as their praises goes up to God. We saw this happening with Paul and Silas in Philippi, as they sang praises to God while being locked up in jail for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The chains were supernaturally broken as they were praising the Lord. This brought peace and prosperity into the city of Philippi, in the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:16-40).
This is what the righteous does daily as a way of life, because he loves the Lord God more than anything in this world. Praising the Lord is part of a lifestyle pattern for the righteous.
The wicked on the other hand can’t praise the Lord. It’s never on their lips, because their heart is not inclined to being totally devoted to God. The wicked loves the praises men, rather than praising God. This is why the judgement of the Lord will eventually come on them.
The scriptures tell us about King Herod who faced his death, as he was praising himself before the people of Tyre and Sidon.
The Bible says:
“So, on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied.”
Acts 12:21-24 NKJV
Herod had been persecuting God’s people before this incident. He was very knowledgeable about Christianity. He knew very well that he was supposed to be praising the Lord, but his pride would not let him do that.
He used his voice to make a political oration, which caused the people who were listening to him, to start treating him as if he was a god. Herod sought to glorify himself, instead of glorifying God before the people.
The angel of the Lord was around to release God’s judgement on him immediately. The angel silenced him, so that the people who were listening to him could have peace and prosperity.
And secondly, this was necessary so that the persecution of the Church may stop. God’s people had peace and prosperity in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It’s important to note that the angel of the Lord struck him not primarily because he was persecuting Christians. But he was struck because he gave the glory that belonged to God to himself.
His accomplishments as King were more important to him, than the purpose and plan for the eternal salvation of the people under his reign as King.
Herod knew a lot about God and about the followers of Jesus Christ at the time. There was no miracle which took place in Judea at the time, that he was not aware of. But instead of giving God the glory for all of them, he decided to take the glory for himself.
This is why Christians who are political leaders needs to be very careful, about giving glory to themselves in all their political activities. A man who knows what to do in giving glory to God, but who refuses to do so is setting himself up for destruction. God will judge such actions in men.
Commanding the hand of the Lord in judgement
We have authority in the name of Jesus Christ to command the hand of the Lord, in every difficult situation of our lives as Christians. It’s however important to be living in righteousness or right standing with God before doing this.
An unrighteous man can’t do it effectively, because of the self-condemnation in his life (Romans 8:1).
A righteous man knows that the left hand of the Lord is what is used in judging the wicked. God needs a hand to use in healing the sick and to set the captives free. He sees the hand of the righteous as being available, as Christ’s righteousness is easier to flow through it.
Our hands become the hand of God when we are yielded to Him in righteousness. The Lord’s right hand is what establishes us in God’s judgement over the land for peace and prosperity. So, the righteous opens his mouth every morning by praising God and declaring His promises. And every time he does this God’s hand is moved to judge wickedness around him.
The result of this is the destruction of the wicked, so that the righteousness of God can be established in his world. And every time he does this, he sees how God has always moved in every situation around him.
The Apostle Paul said:
“But in all things, we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,”
II Corinthians 6:4, 7 NKJV
” The armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left” are the weapons of our spiritual warfare, that we use in commanding the hand of the Lord, as His people on the earth. The right hand of the Lord blesses the people of God, while His left hand unleashes His judgement on the wicked.
The hand of the Lord is the scepter of His power in unleashing His judgement on both the righteous and the wicked on the earth (Habakkuk 3:4 and Exodus 15:6).
The scripture says to us while Jesus was putting His right hand on John on the island of Patmos:
“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”
Revelation 1:17 NKJV
The right hand of Jesus here signified what was about to be revealed to John. The judgement of the earth was revealed to John through the laying on of Jesus’ right hand on him. Everything that was revealed to John are coming to pass on the earth. The right hand of the Lord as it was laid on him, signifies the confirmation of everything which he had seen that it will certainly come to pass.
Jesus will have the final say on the earth. He is the first and the last. He was in the beginning of all things, and He will have the final say before the end of everything that’s created on the earth.
We are the Body of Christ on the earth. His hand on the earth works through His Body (the Church). The hand of the Lord God is for either the blessing (on the right) or the judgement of His adversaries (on the left). His hand functions on the earth within His Body – the local Church (Psalms 77:10).
God cannot do anything on the earth without His people who are living in it. He expects us to be using our authority in the name of Jesus Christ, to be commanding His right and left hands in reigning on the earth as His people (Psalms 118:16).
Jesus had given us the authority to be using His name to reign on the earth; but unfortunately, many Christians are not using it.
Judgement is therefore the harvest of the seeds, that both the wicked and the righteous are sowing with their mouth. If the wicked keeps on sowing the seeds of evil with his mouth, he will surely reap bountifully the harvest thereof when the judgement of God comes.
The same thing goes for the righteous man, his seeds of the good works that he is declaring will be inherited as the harvest in his life.
The reward of judging righteously
There are many righteous people who are seeing wickedness around them daily, but who are not opening their mouth to be destroying the evil, that they are seeing in the name of Jesus Christ. They have the authority to be using in destroying the evil around them, but instead of using their authority in righteousness, they have joined the band wagon of the wicked in speaking as they are doing.
And in most cases, that’s why many of them have fallen into the trap of the enemy, by putting their hands to partake in the evil that they are not speaking against.
They have fallen into the temptation of the enemy, because they are not speaking words in opposition to the wickedness, that they are seeing on a daily basis around them by destroying it in the name of Jesus. God has given us all authority on the earth in the name of Jesus. It’s now up to you and not God, to be using Jesus’ name to reign in righteousness on the earth.
When the devil comes to tempt, he will always come in a subtle manner. And if he is only being resisted by ignoring him, he will never go away. By ignoring the devil, he is being sent the signal, that he can continue to do what he is doing.
If we are not going to vocalize our opposition to him, he won’t go away. We will have to be speaking words in dealing with him every time he comes. And until Christians will start speaking words in opposition to him, he is not actually being resisted.
When a Christian is only ignoring the devil, the devil himself knows that he is just being tolerated. He won’t leave until we make him know where we stand.
And no matter how long you may be praying for the wicked, he will never change. The inclination of his heart is devoted to doing evil continually. Eternal salvation is far from the wicked (Psalms 119:155).
Our opposition in our judgement of wickedness gives the angel of the Lord, the permission to act on our behalf in enforcing our opposition to them. It sends a signal immediately to the enemy that he is not welcome.
If you are not saying anything, the angels can’t do anything either. They are waiting for your words, so that they can know what to do in helping you.
The Bible says about Enoch in judging his generation:
“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.””
Jude 1:14-15 NKJV
Enoch’s judgement of his generation as the righteous man living among them, positioned him in friendship with God. The Lord God had to take him away from the earth of wickedness, that he was living in. Enoch was not taken away by the Lord God until after he had judged his generation in righteousness.
What are you doing to judge the evil and wickedness around you? Your silence is sending the false signal to the wicked, that they can continue doing evil, since there will be no repercussion from their actions. Even the wicked knows that your silence without the use of your authority, to stop evil in the name of Jesus is enabling them to do more evil works.
The Prophet Ezekiel warned us:
“When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless, if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also, you will have delivered your soul.”
Ezekiel 3:18-21 NKJV
As Christians we have the command from above to be declaring His judgement over wickedness everywhere we see it. There is no excuse to be silent in confronting evil. The wicked will not be inclined to take another thought about his ways, until we start speaking against his evil deeds as the light in the darkness around him.
While waiting for the manifestation of the judgement of the Lord to wickedness, the scriptures adjoined us in this way:
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”
Jude 1:20, 22-23 NKJV
Praying in the Holy Spirit protects and builds up your faith for the redemption of your soul from the evil around you. This was what Enoch did to save himself from a wicked world. And as you are praying in the Holy Spirit, while speaking against wickedness in the nations, you will be empowered to save some from the judgement of God.
As the Apostle Jude mentioned here, you will have to be vocalizing your opposition to the evil being done around you, by those who are defiling their flesh. You are doing this so as to save them from the coming judgement of the Lord.
Judgement will come from the Lord upon them, as the righteous are vocalizing their voices against it. By ignoring them you are simply giving the devil a free license to continue in doing evil. You are a participant of evil, if you are supporting evil with your voice, instead of opposing it.
Isn’t it amazing that Jude could see what is happening in the world today. The same wickedness was around in his time. The devil will never change in his tactics on the earth, even though his method may be changing, due to the advancement in science and technology. He is like a crocodile, and he will never change his skin.
You may be the only voice that is able to speak to the wickedness of the wicked in your world. So, open your mouth and declare the judgement of the Lord upon those who are unrepentant. God is looking for the hand that can be used to establish righteousness on the earth. You can become God’s instrument for bringing His light into the darkness around him. You can make a change in the world of evil around you today.
