Offer the Sacrifice of Praise

Father, in thy mercy on all of us, come, protect us from all the powers of darkness under the blood of Christ. Have thou great mercy on us tonight, draw near to us, put a hedge of protection around us. We are thrilled that Satan had to say to thee, there's a wall, a hedge of protection, and I can't go near him. Concerning Job, put that same protection around us. We trust thee for that. Tonight, through this meeting, in thy mercy, come, afresh wash me in the blood of Christ. Create in me a clean heart, O God, renew a right spirit within me, fill me with the Holy Spirit, take complete control as I yield myself afresh, and anoint and visit us here tonight through thy sacred word. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen. I'm going to read to you a few verses. You need not follow because you'll all be turning up and just get there when I'm too ahead of you, of all the verses I want to bring, but I want you to listen to these verses carefully to see the train of thought that God has in this sacred book. I want to start with this verse in Hebrews 13, verse 15, by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of—it's easy to say praise the Lord when everything's going right, but you want to know how real you are. Let things go wrong when it's a sacrifice, to still say thank you in spite of all these things. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God, continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. Giving thanks, it's a very precious, precious verse. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, Amos 4, verse 5 says, it's a sacrifice. Do we? Do we forget all the good, the devil does one or two bad things, and all we concerned in our war was me, and our faces, and an empty heart, and no thanks for all the good that still has come on us, that others would crawl to their knees and glass to have a pinch of salt of what we've got, we forget to say thank you, and the devil just gives us one thing to moan about, and it's a sacrifice, quite a thought. In Habakkuk 3, verse 17, in the Old Testament, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields yield no meat, no fruit, the flock be cut off from the fold, oh, that's tragic, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Amazing, amazing testimony. Lovely to read, but is it yours? In the school of God. Daniel, that godly man, just a handful, not one failure recorded against him, Joshua was one, Daniel was another, and God recorded the failures of David, Abraham, he didn't hide anything of the godly, but Daniel, not one thing against him in God's sacred record of his life, in Daniel chapter 6, verse 10, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, these wicked men, orchestrating, the devil working through them to destroy him in their jealousy, the sign of total hypocrisy and evil, jealousy, when Daniel knew that the writing had been signed, he went into his house, his window was being opened in his chamber to George Jerusalem, as Solomon asked, Moses had been received from God, but Solomon built the temple and he turned, no matter what happens to the son, so he opened his windows being opened in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees, knowing what these men had done, knowing the consequences, and he prayed, and gave thanks before God as he did before time, isn't that wonderful? The whole world wants you destroyed, and now they've done something that you can be totally destroyed, what do you do? Well, Daniel got on his knees as he had before, and he did what he did yesterday, and the day before it happened, he gave thanks to God, as he did before time, that is a sign of great maturity in depth with God. Philippians 4 verse 6, also a very staggering verse in the New Testament, be careful for nothing, that don't be anxious, and no concern concerning material financial things, particularly, contextually, be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, don't forget that, let your request be made known unto God, but don't forget when you come to God, supplication for your needs, and trusting, and resting in him, don't forget to say thank you, for all you have God. With thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ. There's something attached there that has to be done though, you can't omit those little phrases, that with thanksgiving is very, very, very essential. With thanksgiving, the next book, Colossians chapter 4 verse 2, continue in prayer, and watch in the same, with thanksgiving, don't forget that, with thanksgiving, 1 Thessalonians 5, the next book in the Bible, verse 16, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, in everything, a staggering statement, Psalm 37 verse 4, delight thyself also, that also is so important in this verse, in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart, you see there's a condition to every promise in the Bible, if you're honest, it might not be in the verse, but in the context, the verse before or after, you will find there's a radical and many times a costly condition attached to every promise, even concerning prayer, if you're honest with God that is, delight thyself also in the Lord and then, okay, he shall give thee, I'm waiting for this child, I'm waiting for this, then he shall give thee the desires of thine heart, Psalm 37 verse 4, staggering, well, one could go on and on, with all these staggering verses strewn through the Bible, if one has to be totally honest, don't be negative, you know, we bring every thought into captivity, unto obedience if they're wickedness, I don't want that God, but what about negativeness, no, bring that thought into captivity in the light of all these things, no God, I once worked 50 something years ago, when I was very young, and I was a young missionary, with a young man called Philip Sebelius, what a godly, godly man, he was so godly that I actually trembled, young as he was, anointing, oh my, and what a lovely life, I was so honoured to be with him, dear, dear Philip, I just knew I was being honoured by God in a peculiar way, giving this young man to be my co-worker and my captain, we called him captain, like in the Salvation Army, you know, captains, generals, sergeants, oh my, he was my captain, a couple of years in the mission, six years before me, so he was given to look after me and teach me, and dear Philip, we had to report all of our workers, they called them pilgrims, in our mission, every week we had to write a report, how many attended this meeting, how many responded, in a little report, and they put it in this little green prayer letter that went out to all the workers, a little extract or somehow a summary of what you said, of what happened in that place, because everyone's praying for each other, as far away as we are, and so the reports would come, and he read these reports on one of these letters that got to us, from all the different, he says, listen to this, oh, the devil really attacked us, oh, it was me, you know, it was a hard mission, a hard outreach, oh, he used to be a bit dramatic too, but you can't be like that, Keith, he says there's two ways of giving a report, there's two ways of speaking, negativeness breeds negativeness, no matter when you're negative, it breeds negativeness, to whomever, whether you're from the pulpit, wherever you are, you're negative, it breeds negativeness to you, he says, listen, you could say, oh, it was me, I poured my life out, we went to all the doors of the entire town, inviting people, we went and put tracts and invitations in all the car windows, right through the town, stood there, everything, all the PO boxes, invitations, and the church was half empty, he said, you know, you could reward that, you could say, hallelujah, the church was half full, no, he says, you be careful, boy, be positive, don't let the devil make you negative, despise not the day of small things, sometimes more happens in those small meetings than a great, great crowd, and he taught me something wonderful there, something wonderful, when I was at Bible school, theological seminar, my brother was also there, he had just been married and he started at the last day of his honeymoon in theological seminar to go out to serve God in this world, well, all hell comes against you, because one old missionary lady said to us, if the devil can destroy you here, he will, because if you can't make it here, you won't make it out there in God's mission, so he knows that he can just get you on your face, crawling and negative and self-destructive, you haven't got a hope out there, that's why he comes with all his powers against you, so we found it's true, what used to come against us, you think in that beautiful place, it would be heaven on earth, it was like all hell broke out against us, oh, many would weep and all the things Satan would try and do, oh, I got a bit negative at one stage, and I said some negative statement to my darling brother, my good brother, and he turned around one day to me and said, yes, you're right, Keith, expect the worst, always just expect the worst, okay, you will never be disappointed, so I just looked at him, okay, tried not to complain in front of him again, didn't help, dear good brother of mine, there was one young brother at Bible school, I met him the other day, oh, he's old, I suppose he thought the same of me, we were both young, 21, what was it, I don't know, anyway, there at Bible school, this young brother, he would complain, oh, all the time, oh, no, oh, oh, the practical, you know, we had to wash the toilets and the floors and cut the grass and dig trenches for all the rains, not to flood the, oh, my, what we didn't have to do in the practical times, which was many times, just to teach you, not here, but everywhere, how to be a missionary, it's not just here, but everywhere, nonetheless, he would always moan, sure, we had this great big missionary convention in the great hall of the theological seminar, and all different missions from all over the world had their little boxes that we had to make, their little, and they put signs of who they are, and had tracks and people representing all over, and every night they would testify the leaders and tell of the work to all the Christians, evangelically minded, that came from all over the Cape Peninsula, very evangelical town, and we had to do that, we had to make the stalls, put up the paper and make it look perfect, you know, everything perfect, and this boy was complaining, as Mr. Peckham, our good principal, what a godly man, would say, now we're all going to do this, all you fellows, oh, no, he says, oh, no, man, oh, oh, no, all the time, oh, no, oh, and one day, our principal, a very godly, gracious young man, raised his voice very loud and shouted at him, brother, like that, that shook us, brother, are you capable of doing anything in life without complaining, and he just turned and walked, the brother never complained again, it worked, he needed it, well, the godly Mr. Peckham, you didn't play the fool with him, but oh, what a wonderful man he was, it worked, it worked, we had a domestic helper, across Africa we do that, we used to, but anyway, many needed the work and were grateful for it, because there was no other meaning of tasks for them to bring in income, so we did the best we could to help our wives, especially if they had other things to pour themselves out and give themselves to do the domestic part of the housing, and we loved most of them, some of them educated us and told us what to do, let alone us tell them what to do, lovely godly people, some of them, well, the one maid, this domestic worker, she's dead now, but this was years ago when Jenny and I were first married, and she had an amazing ability, she actually just confused us, we were staggered, she said, I said, would you, we're going to go out, we're going to leave you in the whole house now, we have to do all sorts of things, and visiting, and I'm preaching, could you please just make sure you do this, and clean up all that, and would you do that, oh, are you sure, you're all right, you're going to be all right, it's not too much, holy praise dear, praise the lord, she says, you go, praise the lord, are you sure, oh, praise the lord, and then we noticed something for the first time, she said that, as soon as she turned, praise the lord, she says, that's a terrible word, by the way, in our country, sure, I said, Maria, have I given you too much, are you unhappy, no, praise Jesus, praise the lord, don't worry, oh, it's fine, go, go, and she turned, we couldn't believe it, I said, what are we going to do, it was like she honestly thought that if she turned around, and even if she was speaking loud, nobody heard her, but that was her heart, you know, how many people, oh, praise the lord, oh, when no one's watching, oh, they think no one's watching, oh, she was quite a character, I was in a home once, a very wealthy, wealthy, wealthy, beautiful palace, we've often stayed in those homes as missionaries, God-fearing people, and this very gracious, lovely woman was in the kitchen, rather late, and talking to me a little bit, the other missionaries had been in the house, staying as they were preaching or something, and we stayed upstairs, the workers, but I had left my torch, that's the flashlight, in the kitchen, and I'd gone down there for water or something, I don't know, fresh water, and she was praising the lord, and laughing, and talking with me, you know, oh, I thought, what a lovely, and I walked out, went to the staircase, and I thought, I've left my torch, my flashlight, so I turned around, and walked, and I was shaken, that same woman that half a minute ago was praising the lord, and laughing at me, she was, she was angry, she was miserable, oh, I said, I don't want to hear it, let her know that I heard this, in front of people, it's easy to say, everything's wonderful being a Christian, the moment they turn away from you, what are you, in truth, what are you in truth, there was a godly man, one of the greatest soul winners of the eastern cape of Africa, you go everywhere, the souls came to him, Mr. Peasley, Bill Peasley, what an incredible life, they should write a book about that man particularly, him and Archie Guss, won that whole section of Africa to god, there was no way, the farm laborers, people everywhere, saved through this godly man, and Archie Guss too, another godly man, he had been in the mission, and our mission was a young person, and right to the end, this was a great soul winner, but he left the mission, he was working with all these drug addicts, drunks, this beautiful home, he would drag them, feed them, pray them through, and set them up in life, as they came to god, he was just a great soul winner, and a great worker in his old age, well in east London, so I'm preaching, and something you do not do in southern Africa, unless you are with wild charismatics, I mean talking really wild, is you don't do anything while the preacher is preaching, but I just suddenly heard hallelujah, I nearly died, you get thrown out of the church in Africa if you do that, America is a bit different, okay, anyway, so I looked, so I carried on after a little while, praise the lord brother, go on, I thought we were in trouble, then I noticed somebody, I noticed something, no one was getting upset, people were smiling, others were beginning to say hallelujah, amen, amen, this man saying it in the right time, I was in a meeting where this preacher, I said you, there's a hell, and this old man in the front, amen, praise the lord, and this preacher turned to this man reeking of drink and shit, you're going to hell, hallelujah, you can say hallelujah in the wrong time, you know, it doesn't make you spiritual, you can say it in a time when it can destroy the whole meeting, everybody's just saying what's wrong with the man, amen, even the preacher doesn't know what to say, anyway, this man was saying in the right time, in the end I got to quite appreciate him, I found out who he was, he was Bill Peasley, the great godly Bill Peasley, oh great big staggering size, and he came up to me afterwards, oh so you come in the mission, you come in the IAB, and he told me things, and I realized this is this great soul when everyone speaks about it, right across us, everywhere people speak, this godly man, he was the one shouting hallelujah, no one would get upset with that, well, he said come up to my home tomorrow, the old mission up on the hill outside, I have many dormitories and that for all these drunks and broken lives that they minister to, so come for tea, you and your co-worker, I want you to come, my wife and I can fellowship with you and pray with you, so we went, the next morning we found the place and we walked in, what a godly wife he had, anyway his wife's there but he wasn't there, he rushes in, and he says darling, my dear, he used to speak like that, okay, and his wife's sitting there, and he looks at us, oh I forgot about you, oh sorry, I didn't know you were here, forgot you were coming, but he had this book, from prison to praise, murder and carillus, those days that were taking the world by storm, he says listen darling, isn't what this man says, in everything give thanks, but what happens, just thank god for it, I'm going to do that, I'm ashamed I haven't done it before, but he was always excitable, some woman, you know, or ankles, they called her his ankle, some men need that, or they make self-destruction, they destroy, they're so zealous they need to be held back a bit, some wives save their husbands who are too on fire, and would ruin everything if they didn't have an ankle, she was his ankle, so he said I'm going to do that, we pray to god, thank god for everything, she says oh no you're not, we've all stiffened up, because she was deadly serious, and he looked at her and said I'm not, oh, she was the authority, most women are in a very humble way, anyway, a good wife is someone who gets her way no matter what she wants, and her husband honestly thinks that she's submitting to him, anyway, oh no you're not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, because that's sin, that would be going against common sense and conscience, god doesn't want that, god forgive you, and that poor man that wrote that book, you don't thank god if tragedy or sin comes into your home or your children's lives, you don't thank god when death comes to wickedness and sin in your children, you don't thank god for tragedies and trials, no, that's ridiculous and against common sense, but you thank god in spite of these things, there's a great difference, you give god thanks in spite of these things, not for them, you never lose your sensibilities or common sense, no, well, we all looked at her in utter reverence and respect as her wisdom, we all learned a great lesson that day, we all learned a great lesson in that room that day, so did he, that's why a man needs a wife, who shall find her the wife, find her the good thing, if she's godly, otherwise you're really going to go through horror if she isn't, not a good thing, you understand brother? Okay, yes, well, there was a man called Bertram Friend, now we heard of Bertram Friend, books on his life and all he was loved and revered across our country and Britain and even America I believe, that's as many years ago as a young preacher when he was old, but he was revered in our country and they say when he preached the anointing of god just fell down upon him, in a way people were broken and weeping, I was looking forward to hearing him when I heard he was the main speaker, one of the speakers in a very large conference in Cape Town, which I attended and I couldn't believe it when he came out, he was a short little man, thin and he had this terrible voice, you know like a squeak, you're looking over the, it was staggering, this is Bertram Friend, thin, gaunt, oh, and I saw all the young people laughing, they also got a shock and all the shoulders, I said oh, and I felt ashamed that these young people were laughing, but as he carried on I started smiling, and I said no, he really was funny and he wasn't trying to be, this is Bertram Friend, well, I sat there and the minutes went by, five, ten, maybe more, and suddenly I looked around, all the shoulders had stopped shaking, mine, and we sensed god just coming in that meeting, we forgot about the man, the voice, and halfway through the sermon I looked, there wasn't a young person with the dry eyes, they were weeping, under conviction, few people can do that, when young people are broken, god for you, because their hearts are so still hardened, they haven't been slashed down yet, you see god says he chooses the base things, the weak things, the things that are despised, no flesh had glory in his presence, no wonder god's presence was felt, he couldn't glory, he had nothing to glory in, his wife was a strange little lady too, she would joke with him and laugh, she once turned and said, look at what god gave me to marry, a strange little funny monarchy, man, a very, you know, sentimental sort of word, but she would laugh, he would laugh, they were really funny, anyway, he was a great man of god, revered, loved, and people flocked in their multitudes to hear him when he was preaching in our continent, and he lived, when his wife died, he lived not far from Jenny and I, he loved to walk, oh my, he walked to keep himself alive, and I stopped once when he was in the middle of a great big forest, and our country's not all that safe, I said, Mr. Friend, where are you going? Oh, I'm walking. Oh, it's a bit dangerous here, don't you want to get in the car, I'll take you, where are you going? No, my boy, I'm praying, that's why I walk, please don't interrupt me, go now, and he walked on. He used to love to pop into our home, we had a very poorly home, but it was our palace, Jenny and me, when we had just married, staying with all the old age pensioners, missionaries who were all retired, that couldn't afford any better, so we stayed, oh, we loved our little apartment, and these dear people next to us, but he would like to pop in, he loved Jenny, and Jenny loved tea, and he loved tea, and a little squeaky voice would come through the door, Jenny, it's Uncle Bertram here, is there any tea on the kettle? So we'd take the hook off the door, and come in, Mr. Friend, he loved to come and have tea with Jenny, anyway, one day he comes in, Jenny's making the tea, and he sat there in the lounge, and there I was sitting, and he looked at me, and I saw his eyes filled with tears, so I stopped speaking, and he stood up, so I stood up, and he walked close to me, listen carefully, my boy, to what I'm going to tell you now, all my life I have been mocked, laughed at, ostracized, picked on, in schooling, I got so self-abhorrent, so self-destructive, I was scared to get out of bed in the mornings, I hated life, but my boy, look at me, people laugh at me, all the time, and I can't change, I'm me, and then God saved me, wonderfully, changed a lot in my heart, then he led me to be a missionary, in our mission, as a young person, it was a great privilege, and I loved to preach, but on the other hand, I was scared, because as I preached, people sat there just laughing, and I soon got scared to stand in a pulpit, knowing as I looked up, they're going to start laughing, and I began to get so angry, so disillusioned, so self-abhorrent, as a young preacher, and one night God spoke to me, and my boy, you might not believe this, because I know people who go mental, talk about hearing voices, but God spoke to me, in a staggering and unusual way, that shook me, I lay in my bed, I shook me, that I stood trembling, and the Lord said to me, Bertram, the devil is going to destroy you totally, and your ministry, unless you discipline yourself, that's the greatest discipline of your life, from this day onward, to reject negativeness, negative words, negative thoughts, and to offer the sacrifice of praise, no matter what comes from you, to praise, in spite of those things, unless you do that, I was so staggered, at the vividness of what was happening to me, that I just fell on my knees, and in obedience, and fear to be obedient, I began to praise, praise, give thanks, so I thought, what can I thank God for, so I started racking my brain, thank you Lord, that I am saved, some of the billions, who are not saved, who are going to be in hell for eternity, I've been saved, and I'm not going to hell, I've been saved from hell and judgment, for eternity, through Jesus, thank you Lord, thank you for health, where millions, millions are suffering right now across the world, in hospitals, multitude screaming in agony, across Africa without any medication, in the clinics that aren't even given medications, thank you I'm not suffering, thank you I can see, where millions cannot, across the world, they're born blind, they've never ever seen the face of their mother, they've never seen the beauty of a tree, the sky, I can see, I'm not blind, thank you I can hear, where millions have never ever heard of a bird, they've never heard of singing, they've never heard a voice, just dead silence, from birth to death, just lip reading, they don't even know their own voice, dead, thank you I can hear, I'm not born deaf, and millions are, thank you, I'm not starving, where millions are, and across Africa, their little babies are blown up, not through too much food, but because they have no food, their little skeleton bodies, but when they start blowing up, that means they're going to die, there's no food, their mothers and fathers look at them in the dark, in the terrible places that there are across the world, and wonder, all these places where they starve, their children starve to death, and help from outside goes to the corrupt, not to help the people it was meant for, thank you I have food, thank you I have a roof over my head, where millions don't, Calcutta alone, one square over a million people, they've never ever slept under a roof in their life, there they sit with these little cardboard plastic things, from birth until death, that's all they had to cover them, and their millions in one square, in the rain, in the heat, thank you I have a roof over my head, where millions don't, thank you God, I have a vehicle, where millions have never ever in their life set them a vehicle, across Africa, they walk from childhood to school miles, to work miles, old men walking miles and miles home, they've never ever had a vehicle, thank you I have a vehicle, thank you Lord, thank you, he said brother, after about 10 minutes something happened that shook me, my heart flooded with joy and peace, that I'd never known, even though I saved, a peace that passes all understanding flooded me as I gave thanks, the offer, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, it so shook me, it so affected me, this discipline, that from that day I didn't get out of bed, Keith, because I used to get out of bed in reverse gear, when I should have gotten to first gear, I was in reverse, mentally, before I get out of bed, Keith, to this day, I don't dare because of me, I don't even dare put my leg out of the bed, Keith, in the morning until I've spent at least 10 minutes saying thank you, thank you, then I dare to get up, because then I'm ready and filled with peace and joy, and then he said these words to me, now Keith, my boy, this morning in a very unusual and uncanny way, that you will not be able to comprehend, the Lord spoke to me, Keith, about you, that I was to come here and to tell you these words that God told me, that the devil is going to destroy you, Keith Daniel, and your ministry, unless you make the greatest discipline of your life, my boy, from this day to the day you die, to offer the sacrifice of praise. Jenny, Uncle Bertram's not waiting for tea, I have to go now, sorry, I will come again tomorrow, God willing. I stood there trembling, but that day I started, to this day, I needed to. I found a staggering thing, in closing, I was asked to go to a very exclusive mall, we have some of the most beautiful malls in the entire world in South Africa, we are not third world, trust me, there's some of the wealthiest properties in our entire world, in my country, oh it's a strange country, you go a few miles from the most incredible wealth, they say 20 of the most wealthy homes on earth are in Cape Town alone, you cannot believe the palaces men can build in our country, you'll drive a few miles, thousands of shacks and poverty, our country is so different, the class differences. In this Brooklyn mall, in the capital of our country, very wealthy area, affluent, I would meet with many preachers, Christians over the years, in this restaurant, they had a grand piano, you know, and they used to play hymns, sometimes classical music, second rate to hymns, by the way, although they're beautiful, but there wasn't rock and roll, oh, when you go to a restaurant, you don't look at the menu, you say, wait, let me just listen to the music to see if I'll survive, and if it's decent, you can go, and otherwise you can't even swallow your food, the music's so devilish today, they seem to think it has to be loud, so that no decent human being in their right mind could survive, they only want riprap there, it seems, oh, nonetheless, this place has this beautiful piano, and I so enjoyed it, over the years, meeting up with all in this lovely atmosphere, in this magnificent mall in Brooklyn, in Pretoria, but I made a mistake, you see, the first time I was taken there, they showed me how to get around this way, and that way, and this way, and that way, and I have a mind that somehow remembers, you know, I can even think back to when I was a little boy and go through a situation, I can even remember the room, I remember exactly what's in it, so I try and push that out of my mind, but see, I remember, I remember how they took me to this place, before they find parking, which has all these parking blocks, areas, and to get into the mall which is in the center, and I would go down this road, down this road, down this road, down this road, into the mall, parking, one of the, and then I would walk right through the whole mall, right up and down to the next section of the mall, until I came to this restaurant, there I met all the people, it was quite a procedure, years went by of doing this, when one day, some incredible mistake, I thought, well, let me walk in this old entrance right here at the beginning when I walked from the old house there in Sunnyside, and I walked and walked up and down, and I, let me go in this entrance, boom, there was a restaurant, I thought, all these years, I've gone there, and there, and there, and up and down and through, I could have walked through this door, right into the restaurant, oh, I was a bit undone, I really took a while to recover, I said, goodness me, we make mistakes. But you know, there's a staggering verse in the Bible, you all know it, in Psalm 95, verse 2, let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful, you see, you enter into, with thanksgiving in your heart, how does that verse go, you enter into his courts with praise, you come right into the presence of God, instead of going on and on and on in your quiet time daily, you want to go straight to God, to the consciousness that you're in the holiest of holies within seconds, within minutes, you just come with praise, you enter right into the presence of God, you don't need an hour of reading daily readings, you know, before you begin to consciously feel you're close to God, you're right there in the holiest of holies, communing with him, you just come with praise, you enter right into the presence of God, hmm, some of us take years to find out, years before we do that discipline, someone once said something to me that's remarkable, if you don't do what God tells you to do immediately, if you don't start immediately, you know what that means, Keith? You're never going to do it at all, listen carefully to me, Christians, young and old, you start this immediately, tonight, you might go through life second-rate Christians, self-destructive, self-abhorrent, negative about everything, no matter how good God is to you, hmm, beginning with your quiet time, pray.