Praise, the Engine of God's People on the Move

Introduction

In this message given at the start of 2026, Pastor Samuel YEO shifts course partway through, setting aside the topic he had prepared to make room for a conviction the Lord lays on his heart during the service : to speak about the power of praise in the journey of God's people. He begins by recalling that, in the Bible, praise is not a musical backdrop for Sunday morning. It is the first response God expects from a heart he has purified.

What he proposes that morning is a reordering. We often believe that prayer comes first, or that praise depends on our mood, on the quality of the worship band, or on how good the service feels. Pastor YEO will show, Bible in hand, that praise comes first, that it prepares the way, and that it carries everything else : holiness, the presence of God, worship.

If you are stepping into a new year, if you have walked with God for a long time, or if you are only now discovering what he does for you, let this message shift something in you. Praise is not an extra. It is the very rhythm of God's people on the move.

Outline of the teaching

1. Praise, the first activity God expects from a purified heart

Pastor YEO states it plainly, warning that it may come as a shock : "The first activity God asks of a heart that has been washed and purified by the blood of Jesus is not prayer. It is praise." He repeats the sentence, because it reverses an order many of us carry in our heads.

He points to Exodus 15. After crossing the Red Sea, once Pharaoh had been defeated, the people did not first turn to prayer. Moses stood up and sang a new song. Then Miriam, his sister, rose up with the women. What comes out of a heart touched by God's deliverance is a song. Not first a request. A song.

The question he then asks you is simple : are you sure, this morning, that your sins are forgiven? Because if so, then you have experienced what David calls the greatest blessing : "Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven." And that blessing gives rise to a new song, at church as well as at home.

2. The biblical foundation : we were created to praise

Why praise, and not something else? Because God created us in his image. Pastor YEO goes back to Genesis. God breathed, and man became a living being. Inside us, he placed a spirit, a fragment of eternity. That is why Jesus says in John 4:23-24 that the Father seeks worshipers who worship him in spirit and in truth.

He then makes an important distinction. Nature displays the glory of God, but the Bible never says that a tree or an animal praises God. Praise is the responsibility of humans. And it is, first and foremost, the responsibility of those who have been purified by the blood of Jesus. The people of God are a people who praise, because they were created for it and redeemed for it.

The pastor also recalls what happened in the heavens. The one once called the angel of light, entrusted with leading praise, wanted to be worshiped himself. Worshiping a created being is a sin. Worship belongs to the Creator alone. And this warning still holds true today in the church : if God is not exalted there, his presence can withdraw from a place, even if the sign out front still bears his name.

3. Why we must praise God

The pastor opens Psalm 96 and Psalm 150 before the people. "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth." "Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness." "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

The reason is given right in the text. We praise God because of his grace, because of his goodness, because of everything he does. And here Pastor YEO brings praise down into everyday life. You do not need a spectacular miracle to praise God. The fact that you are breathing this morning is already a miracle. The fact that you still have a father, a mother, a family, health, a roof, a job : each of these details is a reason to say thank you.

He insists : praise is not limited to Sunday. It is prepared and lived out at home. Alone, in your room, on the subway, in your native language, you can praise. Sunday worship is not the source, it is the continuation of what you are already living with the Lord at home.

4. The consequences of praise in the people of God

Pastor YEO gives three consequences that praise produces when the people truly praise.

It leads into the holiness of God. He quotes Exodus 25:8 : "Let them make me a sanctuary." Praise leads the people into a holy place. He recalls Isaiah 6 : what the prophet sees first is not God's power, it is his holiness. He also quotes 1 Corinthians 6:19 : your body is the temple of God. Your heart, your home, the assembly are all sanctuaries. Praise sets them back in their rightful place before God.

It brings down the presence of God and pushes back the enemy. The pastor shares firsthand testimonies. In the middle of praise, in Côte d'Ivoire, a woman with cancer saw the tumor disappear while she was singing. In his village, in 1981, during an evening meeting, the ground shook while the people were praising. This is not about manufacturing manifestations. It is about recognizing that where the people truly lift up the name of the Lord, his power is displayed, and the enemy cannot stand.

It leads to true worship. After praise comes worship, pictured by the burnt offering of the Old Testament : everything is returned to God, everything is laid on the altar. There can then be a deep silence in the assembly. The pastor cites Revelation 5, where John sees the worship of heaven and finds himself overwhelmed. Here on earth, he says, when we enter into that worship, we no longer want to leave. It is a foretaste of heaven.

5. A call to the church, and to you

Pastor YEO closes with a very direct appeal. What France needs is not a people who talk a great deal about Jesus and his blessings while keeping their distance. It needs a people who worship. Praise, when it is real, draws in even those who come with a broken heart, a damaged life, deep doubts. It draws them in because God is exalted there.

He also exhorts those who lead praise in the assembly. Leading praise is preaching. It is prepared at home, in prayer, before ever stepping onto the platform. And he urges the people not to be content with simply attending the service as spectators. Everyone comes with their own sanctuary, their own heart, and everyone is called to praise.

The message, in one line, is captured in the verse he kept returning to : "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Key takeaways

Praise is the first response God expects from a heart purified by the blood of Jesus, even before prayer.
We were created in God's image and redeemed in Christ in order to praise : praise is not optional, it is our calling.
Any life that breathes is already a reason to praise God; great miracles are not the condition, everyday grace is enough.
Praise leads the people into holiness, brings down the presence of God, and pushes back the enemy.
It prepares the way for worship, that foretaste of heaven where everything returns to God alone.

Personal application

Are you sure, today, that your sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ? That is where the real song begins.
When did you last praise God alone, at home, without music, simply for who he is and for what he has done?
Take two minutes right now : list three blessings you received this week and thank him for each one.
How do you prepare your heart before coming to worship on Sunday? Is worship really prepared at home?
What space will you open this week to move from praise to worship, that is, to lay everything before God, including what you do not understand?

Verses cited

FAQ

Does praise really have to come before prayer?

Pastor Samuel YEO is not saying prayer is secondary. He is saying that, in the Bible, when a heart is touched by God's grace, what comes out of it first is a song. Exodus 15 shows this after the Red Sea. Praise is the natural response of a forgiven heart. It does not crowd out prayer, it opens the way for it.

Do you need music and a worship band to praise God?

No. The pastor insists on this point. You can praise God at home, alone, with no instruments, in your native language, on the subway, in your kitchen. Praise is prepared at home. Sunday at church is an extension of what you are already living with the Lord throughout the week.

How do we know if we are entering into true praise as a congregation?

Pastor YEO gives three biblical signs. The holiness of God is recognized (Isaiah 6). His presence is felt and the enemy retreats. The people are led into worship, sometimes in a deep silence, where Jesus alone is exalted. These are not atmospheres to be manufactured, they are the fruit of a people who come with a prepared heart.

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