Five Keys To Giving Thanks Series

This verse shows three roles of God:

a. God is LORD

We are to make Him ruler, master, boss of our lives.

God is God and we are NOT.

God told Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’” Exodus 3:14 (NAS) Folks, you have no more control over God then you do the weather. God is God and we are not.

b. God is CREATOR

If you create something, you are greater than what you have created. You have every right over that which you have made.

“It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” Psalm 100:3b (NKJV)

c. God is SHEPHERD

“We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3c (NKJV)

God guides us to the place of security, plenty and rest.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3 (NKJV)

Someone has rightly said,

If we are created, He is the Creator.

If we are sheep, He is our Shepherd.

If we enter His courts, He is our King.

If we serve Him, He is our Master.

I am dependent on God. He created even the air that I breath. He knows every hair on my head. He knows every beat of my heart. I thank HIM for being God - I am dependent on Him.

The fourth word – of course – is:

4. THANKFULNESS

You can’t give thanks unless you are thankful.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

Thanksgiving is what flows out of a thankful HEART.

In Luke chapter seventeen there is a very interesting story. Jesus enters a village and upon entering He finds ten men who were lepers. They stood a long way off and yelled out to Jesus, "Jesus, have mercy on us!" When Jesus saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." Did you know that they had not been cleansed yet? They left before they were cured – because the Bible says, “that as they went along, they were cleansed.” Do you know what happened then? One of them – only one of them – when he saw that he was healed, turned around and went back to see Jesus. The Bible says he fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus, glorified God and thanked Jesus for what He had done. Only one out of ten THANKED Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus asked him? "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”

Folks we need to be thankful to God for what He has done for us.

That brings us to the fifth word is:

5. GRATITUDE

“For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:5 (NKJV)

Three reasons to be grateful:

a. The Lord is GOOD

b. The Lord’s mercy is EVERLASTING

c. The Lord’s truth endures FOREVER

In Romans chapter eleven Paul is giving thanks and praise to God when he writes:

“Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.” Romans 11:36 (MSG)

Our praise, our thanksgiving and our worship needs to directed to God. We need to be thankful for what He has done.

I want you to notice something about Psalm 100 – in its short five verses – look at how many times God mentioned or referred to. Lets read it again: