1. Show Forth Praises of God
“. . . that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
1 Peter 2:9

2. Some Definitions
Show Forth = “let everyone know”
Praises = God’s virtues, excellencies, glories:
Graciousness of God, 1 Peter 2:3
Mercy of God, 1 Peter 2:10
Forgiveness of God, Number 14:17,18
Lovingkindnesses of the Lord, Isaiah 63:7
Showing Everyone the Great Goodness of the Mighty God!
Show Forth is “exangellos”. From the Messengers. So it’s spreading the word as a messenger would.
“Praises” are arete. Excellencies or virtues. Great things! Arete is an ancient Greek word that loosely translates to Excellence or Virtue. We can translate it further to mean the revealing or unconcealing of a person's Essence, or their Nature, in and through community, thus providing an individual with a direct experience of themselves as reflected back to them from the community.

3. with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.
There appeared a woman
with a spirit that had crippled her
for eighteen years.
She was bent over
and was quite unable to stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her,
He called her over and said,
'Woman you are set fee from your ailment.'
When He laid His hands on her,
immediately she stood up straight
and began praising God
Luke 13:1-13
Matthew 4:16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

4. Do I Praise God Like That
She had reason to show forth the praises of Him who called her out of darkness!
Are there reasons not to praise Him?
I think my own darkness was not so dark as hers
I forget what He does for me, for the cosmos
I do not love Him more than things, people
I bet she did begin praising God. I don’t think that it took a lot of convincing for her to realize how loving, gracious, merciful God is! Do I praise God like that? Maybe it’s because, for me, I think things were not so bad.

5. Whom Do I Remember? Our true state in life is
So that I recount all Thy praise, In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I rejoice on Thy salvation Psalm 9:14
Drunkards kill themselves
Prodigals beggar themselves
We can use our sins to destroy ourselves
Or we can live right to praise God and save ourselves & others
PSALM 9:14 – “So that I recount all Thy praise, In the gates of the daughter of Zion. I rejoice on Thy salvation.” Key Word: REMEMBER! Drunkards kill themselves; prodigals beggar themselves; the contentious bring mischief upon themselves: thus the destruction of sinners is of themselves. All wickedness came originally with the wicked one from hell; and those who continue in sin, must go to that place of torment. The true state, both of nations and of individuals, may be correctly estimated by this one rule, whether in their doings they remember or forget God.
Our true state in life is
whether we remember or forget God.
Psalm 9:14
Remember!

6. We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of our God
I Remember God
We will rejoice in Your salvation,
and in the name of our God
we will set up our banners:
the LORD fulfill all your petitions
Psalm 20:5
Our first step to victory in spiritual warfare is to trust in the mercy and grace of God; think of David fighting Goliath. Believers triumph in God, by which they distinguish themselves from those that live without God in the world. Those who make God and his name their praise, may make God and his name their trust. . .
We rejoice in Christ! We set up our banners in the name of the Lord our God, assured that by the saving strength of His right hand we shall be conquerors over every enemy.

7. Can’t Help But Talk!
Psalm 71:5 “My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them.”
There are things I love, that changed my life, and I talk about them.
It is not a job. Not a “To Do” task.
It is natural to talk about things that are important to me.
Words and actions slip out, whether I want them to or not.
When we love something or have had our lives changed by it, we will actively tell others. No one has to prod us, manipulate us, or trick us into talking about what we have seen.  I have seen Jesus change my life, my children’s lives, and many more.  I cannot help myself; the words come out in everyday conversation!

8. The Spirit’s Singular Phrasing – Talk (Proclaim), He says!
Isaiah 43:21 “. . . the people that I formed for Myself, that they may proclaim My praise . . .”
1 Peter 2:9 “ that they may proclaim the praises of Him Who called them out of darkness into. . .”
They differ from the world that their holy lives may shine as a light and honor God. Note that they proclaim how great God’s Essence is!
Does your life shine glory to God?

9. “Show forth His excellencies”
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11
Examples of folks talking about how great God is. First Peter himself.

10. “Show forth His excellencies”
. . . to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves Ephesians 1:6
Paul talking about how great is God

11. “Show forth His excellencies”
. . . to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:21
Paul, in the same letter!

12. “Show forth His excellencies”
. . . so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life Philippians 2:15,16
Paul!

13. “Show forth His excellencies”
. . . And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways:
to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:76-79
John the Baptist was all about the tender mercy of God! He was giving light! He showed forth the excellencies of God! His father publicly explained about John when he was a baby. Show forth God’s excellencies.

14. “Show forth His excellencies”
Psalm 148
Even the sun, moon and stars praise Him.
They know there is a Father of Lights!
Lesson: Show forth praise of God in whatever little, dark corner you find yourself – at home, at work, in play.
Nothing is too bright to praise him – nor too dim!! Hundreds of millions of light years away and unseen by my eyes and yet still praising him. Our fellow worshippers. Night unto night utters knowledge. Psal _____ Also, while the heavens are God’s PSALM 115:16, He is larger than those heavens 1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”

15. Ways to Show Forth His Excellencies
Sing to Benefit Others! Psalm 96:2
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. 4 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Let’s read all of Psalm 96. But notice verse 2 says that we will sing about Him and tell of His Salvation. Sing!
PSALM 30:12 – God has fixed his life so he says – “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever”

16. Ways to Show Forth His Excellencies
Sing to Benefit Others!
Take the Lord’s Supper with Brethren
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” Corinthians 11:26
Each of you—not dramatically—but publicly in the assembly announce “the Lord has died FOR ME.” And seeing this each Sunday, your child as he grows will be curious and he will ask you – Why are you doing this and what does it mean – and then you will announce to him this great and beautiful mystery.

17. Ways to Show Forth His Excellencies
Sing to Benefit Others!
Take the Lord’s Supper with Brethren
Meditate upon God’s Word, to Help Others to see God’s glory in you
The Bible alone is food for the soul.
Jeremiah 15:16
Jeremiah 15:16 -- Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. The Bible commends the daily practice of gladly meditating on God's transforming truth (Ps. 119:97, Phil. 4:8). How often do we meditate (memorize and deeply reflect) on God's Word? The godly man is blessed in Psalm 1 because "his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (Psa 1:2-3). He has the power to persevere, when everything else is drying up, because the taproot of the soul draws nourishment from God's Word by meditation. Christ's Word should dwell "richly" or abundantly in our heart (Col. 3:16). How precious it is that we can read the Bible and think the thoughts of God, treasuring them up in our mind. The Bible alone is food for the soul (Jer. 15:16), and light to live by (Psa. 119:105). Concentrated thought on divine revelation releases the power of Scripture in our lives. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2). We change and direction of our lives when we change the direction of our thoughts. If you are a professional "worry wart," I have some good news for you! Fretful worrying is where we mentally dwell on, over and over again, our problems. So, congratulations, you have a talent for concentrated thought! Why don't you shift the focus of your mind and begin to mentally dwell on the promises, precepts and power of Scripture (Phil 4:6-9)?!Replace worrisome thoughts with the practice of meditation on God's Word. Compile a list of your favorite verses (cf. Psa 94:19). Set a goal of meditating on a different verse each day. Copy of list of meaningful verses, putting them in the back of your Bible, and then review them regularly.

18. Ways to Show Forth His Excellencies
Sing to Benefit Others!
Take the Lord’s Supper with Brethren
Meditate upon God’s Word, to Help Others
Pray from a Pure, Trusting Mind for Others
“. . . call on the Lord out of a pure heart (mind). . .”
2 Timothy 2:22
Let us lift up our heart unto God in the heavens." (Lamentations 3:41) It is so easy to let our prayers become routine and repetitious, and we need to remember that God listens more closely to our minds (hearts) than the phrases from our lips. The Lord Jesus cautioned us about this: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matthew 6:7-8).Many people will lift their hands to pray or prostrate themselves on the ground. Some will stand; some will kneel. Some shout, some pray silently. Some will write out their prayers and then read them to an audience; others will pray eloquently and at great length. But the thing that counts far more than posture or eloquence is our attitude of heart. We must lift up our hearts to the Lord, not just our voices. Then He will hear in heaven!We need to feel as the psalmist felt: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God" (Psalm 42:1). Our hearts need first to be right, of course--pure and true in His sight. "Call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18). "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:22).

19. Ways to Show Forth His Excellencies
Sing to Benefit Others!
Take the Lord’s Supper with Brethren
Meditate upon God’s Word, to Help Others
Pray from a Pure, Trusting Mind for Others
Live Daily to One Purpose: Praising God, so God is Glorified
Psalm 34:1 – God’s praise can continually be in our mouths by the conversations that we have. Though every word does not have to be a declaration of praise, but our words should not distract others from God’s goodness and works. The Christians’ words are to be seasoned with God’s grace and wisdom, which is the same as offering praise unto the Lord (Ephesians 4:29)
“I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1

20. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
Philippians 1:9-11
A life lived for God's glory is a way of praising the Lord. Jesus instructed us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16). A life lived in service and surrender to the Lord, like a branch abiding in the vine which bears much fruit, glorifies the Father (John 15:1-8). The apostle Paul exhorted the church at Philippi, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11).

21. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."
Philippians 1:9-11
Love Grows Daily
Show God’s Excellent Things in your own life
Do good for others
God is Glorified!