Being Thankful To God

Being thankful to God

Psalm 95:1-7

Introduction-

Psalm 95:1-7

You cannot after reading this Psalm not understand that we need a heart of thanksgiving toward God.

From the very first verse we see that worship is individual and it is corporate.

“Come let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation..”

This Psalm is written by a priest or levite calling God’s people in the temple to worship the one true God.

It is a call to remember the security Yahweh has given the people of Israel, and to act accordingly.

This is a two part message this morning. I want you to see these two parts.

Be thankful for who God is/ and that He desires to have a relationship with you.

Be thankful for what God has done for you.

Illustration-

Alex Haley- author of Roots, has a picture hanging in his office. It is a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. Why is it there?

To remind him that he didn’t get where he was on his own, he had help.

Psalm 100- tells us that we should praise the Lord continuously for what He has done, in fact, it says that we should enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

Romans 1:21- sums up a lot a people today

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Many people are not thankful!

They forget where God has brought them from or they are selfish. Both are a big mistake.

Thankfulness is the opposite of selfish, a selfish person says,

“ I deserve what comes to me!,”

“ I have made a sacrifice!”

“ I worked hard to get to where I am!”

A grateful person, a mature person realizes that life is a gift from God, and any blessings we receive come from Him.

One says Thank-me! And pats himself/herself on the back.

The other says that everything I have , everything that I am belongs to God.

Everything he has given me, everything He has done for me is reason to praise God for His goodness.

The Psalm has two elements woven in: (1) call to praise the God of all the earth

A call to praise the creator of all the universe. Talk about overwhelming thoughts. The creator of the universe desires to have a relationship with me.

The one that created gravity to keep you right now from floating away.

The God that declares to us that every good and perfect gift comes from God above.

The God that said He knew you from your mothers womb.

Listen,

1. When is the last time you just said thank you to the Lord?

2. When is the last time you reflected on His goodness to you?

3. When is the last time you came to him without an agenda? You came just because you wanted to be with Him.

“Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.”

Illustration-

In 1620, 2 ships left England in a quest to find the liberty to worship God as they felt right. Soon into the journey, one ship had mechanical problems including leaks that forced them to evacuate the ship. 42 passengers from the Speedwell ship boarded and joined the 60 passengers of the Mayflower to come to America. With great expectation and excitement they journeyed but soon found more troubles and difficulties. The passengers began to be sick, they face tremendous storms, but through it the ship anchored in America and the first thing they did was praise the Lord!

Thankfulness is not only acknowledging God when He does great things for you. It is acknowledging God for who He is ….. The God of the universe.

Why did Israel praise God?

Because He was above all gods!

There was no corner in the universe that was not in his hand.

The pagans worshipped all kinds of different gods and acknowledge them only as they felt they were receiving something from them.

Society today, willing :

to push ands shove to touch a celebrity hand

camp out days in a line to receive a concert tickets

Willing to spend money they don’t have to see someone they had put on a pedestal of their heart before God.

My God (4)

“In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is His , for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under His care.”