“I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.” Psalm 108:3
“Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9
Open wide your mouth. That’s what the doctor says to kids, right? And sometimes adults. When he wants to look inside and make sure everything’s okay in there. The dentist also. They’re prone to examining the inside of people’s mouths, aren’t they? So they say it often. Open wide your mouth! Then the examining begins.
I’m not a doctor. I’m not a dentist. But I feel compelled to ask you to do the very same thing. Open wide your mouth! And open wide your heart! It’s time to do some examining to make sure everything’s alright in there.
Notice what the psalmist said in Psalm 108 he does with his mouth. He praises God! And he sings praises to God! Look carefully at Psalm 108:3. Is that all the psalmist does? No! He praises the Lord “AMONG THE PEOPLE (caps added)”. Is that all he does? No! He sings praises to God “AMONG THE NATIONS (caps added).” Does anything stand out to you about that? This is what stands out to me. He praises God IN FRONT OF PEOPLE AND NATIONS. He does not say he praises God just in front of his friends. Or his family. Or those with whom he worships. Or fellow believers in God. He praises God! Period! He is not ashamed of loving God nor of praising God! He is not ashamed of God nor of his faith in God! He does not let worrying about what others think stop him! He does not hold back his praise! He is willing to praise the Lord in front of the world! How do you think he does this? I believe he is so in love with God, and so thankful to God, and so focused on God, and so devoted to God, and so hungry and thirsty for more of God, and so wanting to please God, and so willing to repent when he does wrong, and so committed to God, and so loves God more than humans, and so filled with the joy of knowing God, and so passionate about God, that he can’t fathom hiding his adoration of God because of what others may think or any other reason!
Jesus Christ says He will deny before God those who are ashamed of Him, refuse to confess Him as Lord, and deny Him. If we confess Christ as Lord before others, Jesus will confess us before the angels! The only way to a forever relationship with God is through Christ! We need Jesus to stand in the gap for us! We need Him to confess us before God! We need the Lord! When we truly believe and call Jesus Lord, and live accordingly, and genuinely love Him and are devoted to Him, we will not hold back our faith, love, and praise regardless of what others think! Oh, praise the Lord!