THE FIRST LADY SPEAKS

The "First Lady" Sherry H. Holmes is the wife of Pastor Dana A. Holmes and the "First Lady" of Full Gospel Word & Worship Center. She works extensively with her husband in ministry, serving in whatever area needed. She is a firm believer in Eccl. 9:10a "Whatever thy hands find to do…"First Lady" Holmes ministers the word God with a bold and powerful anointing and with a compassion for the hearers.  She believes that anyone who is willing, can be a vessel of honor for God's Glory!

You've Got the Power!

Have you ever misplaced something and looked seemingly "everywhere" trying to find it? Perhaps, you retraced your steps and found yourself searching the same areas again and again, while becoming increasingly frantic and/or frustrated - I can recall experiencing this with my keys. The more I searched, the more upset I became, until finally after a while, I decided to calm down. Interestingly, after calming down, I found my keys in my purse, where I'd looked many times and did not see them. They were in my possession all of that time, but because I could not see them, I could not use them. Consequently, I was unable to get to the place I needed to go. In this experience, my keys represented "power." I had the power to go, but it was overlooked. I see a parallel in spiritual matters. Many believers are endeavoring to get to the place that they need to go in faith and in receiving God's best, through His word, but somehow seem to lack the "power." One of the "keys" to living a life of faith and victory, which gives you "power" to get to the place you need to go is thanksgiving and praise. First of all let's get some clarity by defining these two words. Thanksgiving, as referenced in the New Testament, derives from the Greek word Eucharistia - gratitude, expressions of grateful language to God as an act of worship. Thanksgiving, as referenced in the Old Testament, comes from the Hebrew word Towdah - which means to express visible thanks or adoration to God by extending the hand in reverence, coupled with offering a sacrifice of praise through audible confessions of faith. Thanksgiving, as per the American Heritage Dictionary, is an act of giving thanks, an expression of gratitude especially to God. Praise, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is an expression of approval or admonition; strong commendation; to extol or to exalt; to express one's esteem for his virtues (power) or accomplishments. By putting all this together we can say thanksgiving is expressions of gratitude, grateful-ness and thanks to God from the heart. These expressions of the heart are displayed outwardly to God through words and actions of praise. 

The Dual Working of Thanksgiving and Praise 

Firstly, praise is worship in our hearts toward God. Secondly, it is an outward expression of what's in our hearts toward God expressed through praise. Another way of saying or looking at it is that thanksgiving is the focus of your heart, and praise is the outward expression of what's in your heart. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, thanksgiving is a day set apart to give I thanks. Well, just as we are Christians every day then every day is a designated day to give thanks. It is a vital key to releasing the power of God in your life. It is one of the most powerful weapons of spiritual warfare. You may not see it but you can see the results of it. You may say, "Why is this so powerful?" Because it was designed by God to be expressed to Him through the lives of the believer, thus giving Him access to move on our behalf. So when praise is released from you to God, it activates and stirs up the power of God. It causes the anointing to be released, rushing to your aid and bringing it's companion, victory, to remove every burden and destroy every yoke. Isaiah 10:27, And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. Hallelujah! That is great news but even though God designed us to worship Him, it must be a choice that we make. You might say, " It would be wonderful if there was a button I could push and automatically I would begin to praise." But that might not be so wonderful being that God wants willing praises and not mechanical praises. Leviticus 22:29, "And when you will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will". If you are experiencing heaviness, oppression, or whatever in your life, if you just take the time to praise God it will cause His power to come and cloak you with peace and tranquility. (Isaiah 61:3)

You may ask, "Why should I do that?" Because war has broken out. So, in the midst of it you offer praise to God, because He inhabits the praises of His' people. In the midst of war you praise and in the midst of the war He will come to cause the plans of the enemy to be stilled. Stilled in the Hebrew means to desist, to cause to cease, to put away, to put down, or take away. So if it seems like war has broken out in your life and nothing seems to be going right. You're frustrated on the job, angry with your spouse, the children won't listen and creditors keep calling. Sounds like war to me. So what are you going to do? Keep crying in the night, keep trying to borrow money, keep calling your prayer partner saying, "Pray for me, the devil is really trying me." NO! Break out your weapons; it's time to go to war. Psalms 22:3, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel". Let's establish one thing. Are you His people? If you answered yes, start praising God right now because "In everything (not because of) give thanks: for this is the will of God" (I Thessalonians 5:18) Oh yeah it's on now because you realize you've "Got The Power." Power to do what? Power to win, power to walk in victory, power to say what the outcome will be. Acts 16:16 gives the account of Paul & Silas being imprisoned. They cast the devil out of a woman that had the power to tell fortunes. She helped her masters on many occasions. However, once the spirit was cast out, she was powerless. This angered her masters and they arrested Paul and Silas. After beating them, the guards were ordered to thrust them into the inner prison. (verses 23-24). Instead of complaining and giving in, Paul and Silas opened their mouths releasing the power of praise, and God being God came down shaking the foundation of the prison, causing every one's bands to be loosed (verse 26). Do you see this? Do you see what praise will do? It will cause your situation to change, it will bring freedom to you in a way that you've never experienced. We have allowed the enemy to cause praise to become small in our eyes therefore "overlooking it like the keys." Keep thanksgiving and praise alive every day of your life. It is crucial to experience Gods power & anointing. Remember, you've got the power: 1) to change the situation; 2) to walk in the anointing; 3) to walk in victory; yes,

YOU'VE GOT THE POWER TO PRAISE!