SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 14, verse number four says, And there were some that had indignation within themselves and said, Why was this waste of ointment made?
SPEAKER_00: Why was this wasted?
SPEAKER_00: And today I want to preach to you for a few minutes, worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus, let your work be done.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody say amen.
SPEAKER_00: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_00: I think we can all agree that God does so much more than we recognize.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the joys of studying the scriptures is, you know, we get to look back and we see how many of the pieces of scripture fit together, where God somehow takes uh the numerous little details and coincidences and all the things that we might we might think were happened by accident, and somehow God weaves those together and and they and they follow the path of the scripture and and and follow the prophecies, follow the promises, follow the principles of the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: And when we look back on our lives, we can also see that God has directed our steps and positioned us in the place where God wants us to be, uh oftentimes without us even being aware of that.
SPEAKER_00: So I think we can all agree that God does a lot of things we don't really understand or see going on in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: In Mark chapter 14, a familiar verse of scripture or passage of scripture to you.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm not going to read the whole passage beginning at verse number one, but I want to just kind of jump down a little bit and start with a story that I want to talk about for just a moment this morning.
SPEAKER_00: And so the Jesus and others had gathered together, and they were in Bethany, the house of Simon the leper, and he were having a meal together, and the Bible says, There came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, of spike and very precious, and she broke the box and poured it on Jesus' head.
SPEAKER_00: And there were some in the crowd that had indignation, King James.
SPEAKER_00: They got angry, they got upset, they were bothered within themselves, and they said, Why was this waste of ointment made?
SPEAKER_00: Why was this expensive ointment made?
SPEAKER_00: For it could have been sold for more than 300 pence and given to the poor.
SPEAKER_00: And they, again, another wonderful King James word I like, and they murmured against her.
SPEAKER_00: They murmured against her, I'm sure you've never murmured.
SPEAKER_00: But your children probably did when you told them to do something they didn't want to do.
SPEAKER_00: Murmured.
SPEAKER_00: They were grumbling sort of under their breath and not really expressing it loud to everybody, but there was this sort of turmoil going on.
SPEAKER_00: Why was all of this wasted?
SPEAKER_00: That woman came with a heart of worship.
SPEAKER_00: She came with an appreciation to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And she took this opportunity to make this beautiful expression, and others saw the expression, and they spoke about the waste of the expensive perfumed oil that was poured upon Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But the woman with all the extravagance that she could muster and bring together, she poured out her praise, her worship, her honor to Jesus by pouring this oil upon him.
SPEAKER_00: And what a beautiful scene of worship.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And the people that were there, I will say this, the people that were there and murmuring, they did not understand that the extravagance of the gift was part of the gift.
SPEAKER_00: That it was over the top was part of the gift.
SPEAKER_00: That it was expensive was part of the gift.
SPEAKER_00: She intended to give something valuable in worship to Jesus in this moment.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus responded to the critics and said, Let her alone, why trouble her?
SPEAKER_00: For she has wrought a good work on me.
SPEAKER_00: You have the poor with you always, and whensoever you will do good to them, uh, and whensoever you may do good to them, but me you have not always.
SPEAKER_00: And she has done that which she could, and came aforehand to anoint my body for bearing.
SPEAKER_00: What I want you to notice here, what I want you to see here, is the woman came with a heart of worship.
SPEAKER_00: She came to worship Jesus, she came to offer her gift, and she came in sincere worship.
SPEAKER_00: She in her mind was just worshiping Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: She in her heart was just worshiping Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But when the murmurers started complaining, then Jesus revealed something that no one else knew, not even the woman who was worshiping.
SPEAKER_00: He revealed something that nobody else in the room understood.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody else could fathom, nobody else could see.
SPEAKER_00: He revealed something in that moment that was powerful, that even the worshiper had no idea what was happening when he said, She has done something good because she has anointed me for my burial.
SPEAKER_00: I doubt they understood it even in the moment.
SPEAKER_00: I doubt they comprehended it even in the moment.
SPEAKER_00: But worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: She had done a spiritual work of preparation for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now it's important for you to know that the anointing of the body, the anointing of a body of someone who had recently died, was considered an act of honor, respect, compassion.
SPEAKER_00: It was a big deal in their culture.
SPEAKER_00: And uh and and and there were some practical reasons for it, but the main purpose was to clean, perfume the body, and then to carefully wrap it in preparation for burial.
SPEAKER_00: Now you may recall maybe an interesting side uh note, in case it's not, I don't think it's really a side note, but I'm gonna throw it in here as if it is.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, a little note about what happened to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You may recall that Jesus was crucified and it was a high Sabbath, and so they had to put him in the tomb quickly, and so they just wrapped his body and put him in the tomb.
SPEAKER_00: They didn't do the normal process because they didn't have enough time to do it.
SPEAKER_00: So he didn't get that normal anointing that most bodies received when they died.
SPEAKER_00: But we read we read on the third day that the ladies came.
SPEAKER_00: The women were coming to the tomb, and why were they coming?
SPEAKER_00: They were coming to anoint his body, they were coming to do this process.
SPEAKER_00: It was important to do.
SPEAKER_00: They were coming to do it, not remembering and not recognizing that Jesus' body had already been anointed.
SPEAKER_00: His body was anointed alive, not dead, because he wasn't gonna stay in that grave, he wasn't gonna stay buried there, he didn't need some perfume to cover up the stench of decaying flesh, because he wasn't gonna stay in the grave to begin with.
SPEAKER_00: And they had no idea what was happening, but God saw even when this woman uh was in this place of worship, God saw what she was doing.
SPEAKER_00: Again, I don't have time to spend any more time on the lady herself, but just to know that worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: Let me talk about worship for just a moment.
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I need to take the time for this because not everyone really understands what we're talking about when we're talking about worship.
SPEAKER_00: So let me just tell you a couple of things, three things about worship.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, worship is a gift from the worshiper.
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 13, 15 says, By him therefore let us offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually.
SPEAKER_00: That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
SPEAKER_00: And that word sacrifice doesn't mean sacrifice like it does in modern English.
SPEAKER_00: It's not talking about being burdensome, it's not talking about being difficult, it's not talking about being hard in some way, but in the sense of bringing a gift.
SPEAKER_00: They would have understood this in the context of their worship.
SPEAKER_00: That when they came to worship, they always brought a gift to worship.
SPEAKER_00: They always brought a sacrifice of an animal, they always brought some kind of gift, big or small.
SPEAKER_00: They never came to worship empty-handed.
SPEAKER_00: They always brought something to worship.
SPEAKER_00: And so the the imagery sometimes we lose because our modern English has a little different language to it.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you do give something in worship, but it's not burdensome and it's difficult.
SPEAKER_00: You're giving it out of love, out of out of appreciation, out of respect, out of honor.
SPEAKER_00: And so when we when we come to worship, it's our gift to God.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we don't wrap them up and put bows on them and all the stuff like we do in our culture, but we give our gift to God.
SPEAKER_00: And even this scripture said, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to God.
SPEAKER_00: It's actually our voices giving praise to God, giving thanksgiving to God.
SPEAKER_00: That's when we're giving that worship to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Another important thing to understand is that worship comes from the heart of the individual.
SPEAKER_00: Worship may be done in a crowd and with a crowd, but worship is in the heart of the individual.
SPEAKER_00: It must come from the individual.
SPEAKER_00: You can be in a crowd that's worshiping and never worship.
SPEAKER_00: You can sing with a crowd that's singing praise and never praise God.
SPEAKER_00: Because it's not the crowd that praises God, it's not the crowd that worships God, it's the individuals that worship God.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is an individual thing, it's got to come from your heart.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I've heard good Pentecostal people and I've heard it said, oh, I'm just blessed by their worship.
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you, and that's nice of you, but that doesn't replace your worship.
SPEAKER_00: Every one of us individually give our worship to God.
SPEAKER_00: It comes from the individual heart as we worship God.
SPEAKER_00: And even in the in the uh instructions about the uh the end where they're gathered around the throne worshiping God, it's coming from individuals that are worshiping God.
SPEAKER_00: It's the thousands that are there, but it's not just a crowd thing, it's individuals worshiping and magnifying the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: The third thing I want to say to you about worship is that worship requires expression.
SPEAKER_00: The expression of worship may vary depending on the person and the circumstances, but there must be an expression.
SPEAKER_00: There must be some expression of it.
SPEAKER_00: It may be loud in excitement, it may be quiet in reverence, it may be emotionally moving, it may be less emotional moving, it may be planned and orchestrated, or it may be impromptu and spontaneous, but it requires something to express.
SPEAKER_00: It requires some way to express it, to get it out, to put it forward, to say it.
SPEAKER_00: Something has to happen for us to worship God.
SPEAKER_00: There has to be some kind of action.
SPEAKER_00: If you sit there with no action and nothing's happening and you're not thanking God and you're not praising God, you're not worshiping God.
SPEAKER_00: I don't care how sacred you feel the moment is, you're not worshiping until you do something to express that worship.
SPEAKER_00: You need to do something to express it, to say it.
SPEAKER_00: Now I realize that we're all different, and so we do that in different ways, but we all have to make an expression.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to make it clear.
SPEAKER_00: We don't worship to manipulate God or to try to flatter God into giving us something or showing us some kind of favor in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: It is our free gift to God in appreciation and love and submission and honor to God.
SPEAKER_00: It's our free gift to God that we give to God freely.
SPEAKER_00: But that being said, the Bible makes it clear that when we respond in worship, God responds, often in ways we don't see.
SPEAKER_00: And like the woman with the alabaster box, your worship is accomplishing more than you know, more than you can see, more than you will understand, and more than you will ever understand.
SPEAKER_00: Your worship is doing something greater than you can fathom as God is working through you.
SPEAKER_00: You see the moment, but God sees the mission He's trying to accomplish.
SPEAKER_00: You see the act, but God sees the outcome.
SPEAKER_00: You see the perfume, but God sees the prophecy and the work that's being done in the perfume.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is never small.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is never unnoticed by God.
SPEAKER_00: Worship works behind the scenes.
SPEAKER_00: And there are so many examples of it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm struggling of which ones to share with you today.
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't have time to go through all that are on my list.
SPEAKER_00: But I will share one that you are very familiar with.
SPEAKER_00: Many of you at least, in Acts chapter 16.
SPEAKER_00: Paul and Silas were apprehended and they were beaten.
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says, when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison and charged the jailer to keep them safely.
SPEAKER_00: Who, the jailer, having received such a charge, his best plan was to thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast or secured in stocks.
SPEAKER_00: But the Bible says, and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God.
SPEAKER_00: At midnight, Paul and Silas began to pray and to praise and to sing and to worship God.
SPEAKER_00: They didn't worship God because they knew what would happen.
SPEAKER_00: I know you theologians that know the rest of the verses, you know what else happened.
SPEAKER_00: They didn't go expecting an earthquake.
SPEAKER_00: They went praising God.
SPEAKER_00: They went worshiping God.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't demanding God to do something, they weren't leveraging God to do something.
SPEAKER_00: They just were in this moment and they said, What else do we do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, let's just worship God.
SPEAKER_00: And they began to pray and they began to praise, they began to sing, and and and they weren't intimidated.
SPEAKER_00: They weren't bothered by everybody else because the Bible says the other prisoners were hearing them as they praise God, as they worship God.
SPEAKER_00: They're in the middle of the prison, they're in the most secure place.
SPEAKER_00: They're in the middle of everything.
SPEAKER_00: All the other prisoners are around them.
SPEAKER_00: They know that the most secure place is in the middle of the prison.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the worst criminals.
SPEAKER_00: They're in the middle of the prison and they're praising God and they're worshiping God and they're singing to the Lord and they're just honoring God and giving praise to God.
SPEAKER_00: And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God.
SPEAKER_00: But worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: And so what happened was the Bible says, and suddenly there was a great earthquake.
SPEAKER_00: So that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
SPEAKER_00: And suddenly, that's like a lot of other suddenlies in the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Suddenly you saw it, but God's been working already behind the scenes.
SPEAKER_00: Suddenly, there was an earthquake that shook the foundation of the prison.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if it shook anywhere else, but it shook the prison.
SPEAKER_00: Now you can shake the prison all day long, but that doesn't unlock the lock.
SPEAKER_00: The prison can tumble down, break apart, fall to pieces.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe a door is open because of that, but that doesn't unlock the bonds that's strapped to your, that your legs are strapped to.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't insert the key and unlock the lock.
SPEAKER_00: But something happened when God caused the earthquake to happen that they were completely loosed from the locks and the chains and the doors swung open, not just for them, but everybody in the entire prison was able to go free.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody in the entire prison had an open door.
SPEAKER_00: And the jailer, knowing that he was in trouble, was ready to commit suicide.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason why he was ready to commit suicide, because they're going to execute him for losing prisoners.
SPEAKER_00: Not only was he going to be ashamed, but they're going to execute him.
SPEAKER_00: That's what happens.
SPEAKER_00: But Paul and Silas witnessed to him and talked to him, and because of what God had done, not only did they experience this great miracle, but the jailer himself was saved on that night.
SPEAKER_00: He believed and was baptized.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it wasn't just a two-minute sort of, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they went through the process, they baptized him.
SPEAKER_00: All the prisoners are so engaged with what had happened and what was going on in Paul and Silas, they didn't even try to leave.
SPEAKER_00: They're all in the courtyard of the prison having church.
SPEAKER_00: Because Paul and Silas decided that even though the situation is dire and even though it's midnight, we can still praise God, and your worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: It'll shake prisons, it'll open doors, it will loose chains, it will save a jailer.
SPEAKER_00: And when it's all said and done, a church was planted in Philippi because of it.
SPEAKER_00: Your worship in dark moments may shake the foundations of the things that are holding you captive and break the chains of the things that you don't even know existed, and open opportunities for others to receive what God wants to give them.
SPEAKER_00: In 2 Chronicles chapter number 5, the Bible tells a story about the temple being dedicated.
SPEAKER_00: They had a great celebration to open the doors of the temple.
SPEAKER_00: And they gathered together and they sang and they worshiped God.
SPEAKER_00: And as they sang and worshiped God, if you read the story, there's a great move of God.
SPEAKER_00: A cloud fills the house.
SPEAKER_00: The glory of God comes down and fills the house so much that the priests that were offering sacrifices couldn't even offer the sacrifices anymore.
SPEAKER_00: The worship was so strong the preachers couldn't preach.
SPEAKER_00: The worship was so great that it stopped everything else going on.
SPEAKER_00: And established that this was God's place to meet with his people because they worshiped him and they honored him.
SPEAKER_00: They thought they were just singing, dedicating a temple, going through the traditional things, but worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: And God's visible glory filled the house and it became a spiritual place that God met with them and God ministered to them and established a heritage for them.
SPEAKER_00: When you worship God, let me tell you, it establishes a heritage.
SPEAKER_00: It established a place to meet God, it establishes a way that you can interact with God and experience the power of God.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 6 tells us about a young man who came and he had five barley loaves and two fishes.
SPEAKER_00: And he gave what he had to Jesus in expecting to lose his lunch.
SPEAKER_00: But you know the story.
SPEAKER_00: When you give something to Jesus, it's never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: When you give your gift to Jesus, it's never lost.
SPEAKER_00: He knows how to take it in his hands and do what only he can do.
SPEAKER_00: And the boy was without a lunch temporarily.
SPEAKER_00: Temporarily, he was without a lunch.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus took his lunch and fed the 5,000 because worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus multiplied it.
SPEAKER_00: He multiplied the lunch, he fed the 5,000, and there were 12 baskets full for the young man to take home with him, or whoever took it home with him.
SPEAKER_00: We don't really know, but there were 12 baskets left when it was all said and done.
SPEAKER_00: You think that little boy knew any of that?
SPEAKER_00: No, he just gave his lunch to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He just gave his gift, he just offered his gift of his lunch, of what he had, simple as it is.
SPEAKER_00: That's what happens when we worship.
SPEAKER_00: We don't necessarily know what's happening.
SPEAKER_00: We just give our gift to God and God multiplies it in his hands because that worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, Jesus did more than feed 5,000 that day.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus revealed to them who he was and the power that he had.
SPEAKER_00: They got a revelation of Jesus that they hadn't had before.
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just a miracle for one or a healing for one, but it was a feeding of 5,000 with so many baskets left over, 12 for so many other families that may have needed it.
SPEAKER_00: God provided for them because somebody gave something in worship, and worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: Cornelius, the Bible says in Acts chapter 10, was a devout man.
SPEAKER_00: He feared God with all of his house, and he gave much alms to the people, and he prayed to God always.
SPEAKER_00: This is his story.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he's done.
SPEAKER_00: He's consistently pursuing God.
SPEAKER_00: He's consistently seeking after God.
SPEAKER_00: He's he's he he just wants more of God.
SPEAKER_00: His heart is open to God.
SPEAKER_00: And to him, he just thought he was honoring God and giving God what he could in his gifts of worship.
SPEAKER_00: But worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: And something happened as he did that.
SPEAKER_00: It began to build a memorial to God.
SPEAKER_00: It began to stir something and move something that Cornelius could not see and he could not understand and could not fathom until one day an angel appeared to Cornelius and said, You need to go get Peter so you'll know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: And so he sent his servants to Peter's house, and Peter came and preached the gospel to him.
SPEAKER_00: And when Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius in his house, while Peter was preaching, they received the Holy Ghost, and afterwards they were baptized in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And that is fantastic and that is powerful that that happened in Cornelius' life and Cornelius' family.
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you, your worship is never lost, it's never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: You just keep worshiping God.
SPEAKER_00: You're building a memorial in your house, you're building a place in your house, a place in your family, a place where God can meet with them and God can do miracles.
SPEAKER_00: But it wasn't just Cornelius and his household that was saved that day, but a whole new door opened for what God wanted to do through the household of Cornelius because the entire Gentiles was welcomed in through the door that was open because somebody said, I'm gonna worship God, every day I'm gonna give to God, every day I'm gonna pray and seek God.
SPEAKER_00: His worship was not wasted, his worship was not just spent and gone, but God was doing something miraculous, and his private worship changed the entire trajectory of Christians around the world, and God produced something eternal.
SPEAKER_00: And the stories are too numerous, the stories are too much to tell today.
SPEAKER_00: But I just want to remind you today that your worship is never wasted.
SPEAKER_00: Your heart is filled with love.
SPEAKER_00: You come, you bow at the feet of Jesus, you pour out that sweet aroma of praise and worship to him, and you're giving your heart to him and worship.
SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, it's just you and him, and you're worshiping him.
SPEAKER_00: But let me tell you, it's a lot more than you and him.
SPEAKER_00: There's something else happening you don't see.
SPEAKER_00: There's something else he's doing when you don't fathom it.
SPEAKER_00: There's something else you can't comprehend that he's doing.
SPEAKER_00: While you're pouring out your oil of worship, he's doing something great and powerful in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Don't ever miss the opportunity to worship.
SPEAKER_00: Don't ever miss the opportunity to praise God.
SPEAKER_00: Don't ever miss the opportunity to give your heart to God and honor and praise to him.
SPEAKER_00: Because in those moments, God is doing something that you cannot see and you cannot know today.
SPEAKER_00: But God is doing something powerful in your life and in the lives of others.
SPEAKER_00: While the enemy may be threatening and the situation may look dire, and you may be bound up in the middle of your situation.
SPEAKER_00: Begin to sing and to praise God even when it's midnight hour, and God can set you free, and God can set the people around you free, and God can work in the lives of those around you.
SPEAKER_00: Enter and to his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
SPEAKER_00: Be thankful unto him and bless his name.
SPEAKER_00: You never know what door will open when you will come in the door with worship and honor and praise to God.
SPEAKER_00: You never know what God is doing and the door he will open in your life and the way he will make in your life, and the infilling of his spirit, his power and anointing.
SPEAKER_00: If you will come in the door with worship and praise and honor to him.
SPEAKER_00: Your small gift may seem like it's not much, but when it's worship, it's never wasted, it's never lost, it's never forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: It becomes a memorial to God and a reminder of your love and your passion and your appreciation for what God has done in your life.
SPEAKER_00: So keep on worshiping, keep on worshiping, keep on building that memorial to God, keep on magnifying the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You never know what God is doing, you never know what God is doing in your family, you never know how God is talking to your neighbor, your friend, your coworker, because you kept on worshiping and you kept on magnifying the Lord and you kept on giving praise to Him, and God kept working even when you couldn't see it.
SPEAKER_00: And you've already worshiped today, but I'm just inviting you to understand the power of the worship that you've been giving to God and the gift that you've been giving.
SPEAKER_00: We don't do it to get the gift, we do it because we love God.
SPEAKER_00: But when we offer our praise and honor to God, there's something glorious and powerful that happens.
SPEAKER_00: Would you stand with me?
SPEAKER_00: I gotta get you standing so I can stop.
SPEAKER_00: I just don't.
SPEAKER_00: I know I've I've been around church all my life, but I just can't quite understand when somebody refuses to worship God.
SPEAKER_00: I just can't quite understand that.
SPEAKER_00: I can understand when you don't understand, I can understand when people don't know why.
SPEAKER_00: I can understand when people don't know how.
SPEAKER_00: I can understand all those things, but I can't quite understand when people refuse to worship God.
SPEAKER_00: And quite frankly, I don't want to understand it.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to condemn anybody.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to, you know, shoot them and say you're terrible and horrible and you know, shoot them down.
SPEAKER_00: I I'm not saying that today.
SPEAKER_00: What I'm saying is I can understand when God's been so good to us, why we can't just open our hearts and worship God and magnify God.
SPEAKER_00: When God has blessed us so much of any place here in America, God has blessed us so much.
SPEAKER_00: We should be able to see the blessings and see the love that God has shown to us, see the praise that's due to his name for his blessings in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, we all have our human difficulties, we all have our challenges, but something happens when we begin to worship God with all of our heart.
SPEAKER_00: It's more than just us worshiping God, but God works in our lives in miraculous ways and powerful ways.
SPEAKER_00: He fills us, he ministers to us, he touches us.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to give you a moment today before you leave this house.
SPEAKER_00: I want to give you a moment one more time just to offer a worship to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Offer a thanksgiving to God, offer a praise to God.