This post is a follow-up message from Pastor Ben's sermon entitled "Praise!". [Watch video]

Psalm 113 calls us to praise God at all times in all places. But shouldn’t our life match what we say? In our sermon prep time last week Chad Ingalls made this point rather well. He said, “You can’t have two masters. If you are praising but doing something else, it’s like always saying McDonalds is wonderful but everybody only sees you at Burger King—you’ve got a problem.” Our lifestyle should match our praise.

Sure, we are called to praise the name of the Lord and tell the world of all the great things He has done, and what He will do for those who humbly call on His name. But there is this little thing called hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is perhaps the biggest criticism of Christians by those who do not believe in Christ. We’ve all heard, “The church if full of hypocrites.” Of course it is, we are all sinners, and none of us will fully match the praise of our lips. It is one thing to strive to grow in your relationship with Christ, all the while humbly being aware of having a long way to go, but blatant hypocrisy is a huge problem. Jesus himself called out hypocrites with these words, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men’ ” (Matthew 15:7-9).

When we tell others about the love of Jesus and the hope of salvation, they will listen more closely if we are living the principles of the Gospel, and our lives mirror the character of Christ our Lord. So, praise the name of the Lord “from this time forth and forever.” But make sure it is reflects to the way you live. McDonalds and Burger King are personal preferences, but for those who call Jesus Lord, there is no other Master. Our praise must match our lifestyle.