PRE-DISPOSED to/for THANKSGIVING-I—Psalm 100:1-5
Attention:
There is a tendency among business retailers to gear up early for Christmas.
This begins shortly after the Halloween push.
The shelves are beginning to get stocked with specifically Christmas items.—Christmas trees of all sizes, colors & materials, Lights, Baking goods, Candies, Ribbons, Brightly colored packages tied with pretty ribbons, Santa abounds, Magazine covers depict Christmas scenes usually founded on cold weather with snow & red outfits of various sorts..
Attractive displays, dedicated to Christmas, are being assembled & filled with ‘Christmas’ items.
They are placed strategically around the stores for maximum selling power.
But something very important is missing. & its been happening for years now.
Where is Thanksgiving? What has happened to Thanksgiving?
Christmas reigns at the expense of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has been overwhelmed by Christmas! Because Christmas has become overwhelmed by business...& business has become overwhelmed by greed.
It appears that the perceived reasons for True Thanksgiving are losing ground in America.
Need:
?Is your Thanksgiving Thankful?
The Psalmist charged God’s people to have an attitude of thankfulness.
God’s people are pre-disposed toward thankfulness.
What do God’s people(who are pre-disposed to thanksgiving) enjoy?
?Are you pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
1—People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving enjoy...
PROCLAMATION(:1)
Explanation:(:1) United/Release
:1—“(A Psalm for Thanksgiving.) Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.”
(A Psalm for Thanksgiving.)
This is a Psalm for the specific purpose of public Thanksgiving to the Lord. This was obviously set to music & its intent is such.
Our Thanksgivings are worthy of being sung.
“Psalm”—rwmzm miz-more’—Melody, Psalm—From —rmz zaw-mar’—meaning...To sing, sing praise, make music.
“Thanksgiving”(See :4)—hdwt towdah to-daw’—Confession, praise, thanksgiving. Strong—properly, An extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) Avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, A choir of worshippers:-- Confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks(-giving, offering).
“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.”
The thanksgivings of God’s people are worthy of being declared loudly openly & unashamedly(“shout”). Such a “shout” is borne from joy.
“All the earth” is directed to “shout joyfully.” Every land is to & should praise YaHoVeH with a joy borne of thankfulness at the extension of His merciful, gracious love toward us who sin but are saved. His loving grace is unlimited by space & time.
“Shout Joyfully/Joyful noise”—ewr roo-ah’—Hiphil imperative—To shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.
“Earth”—Ura eh’-rets—Land, earth
Argumentation:
Ps 66:1—“To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.— Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!”
Ps. 32:11—“Be glad in the LORD & rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
Ps. 33:1—“Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”
Ps. 47:1-2—“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah— Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth.”
Ps. 95:1-2—“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
Ps. 98:4—“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, & sing praises.”
Lk. 19:37-40—@ Jesus’ Triumphal entry—“Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice & praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:” ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven & glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered & said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.””
Illustration:
My son is headed for college soon/Tense moments waiting for word acceptance/When it happens there will be PROCLAMATION
Gossip magazines/Proud of the stories they make up/Love to PROCLAIM the bad news/PROCLAMATION
A young couple buys a new home/Paperwork has ended—the dust has settled—They are handed the keys/Invite people to their new possession/Proud PROCLAMATION
Perhaps some of you cannot proudly Proclaim Christ because you do not have a true saving relationship with Him! or you may know Him but have lost your joy(Ps. 51:12-13). The result is the same regarding your witness.
Application:
?You Enjoy God’s PROCLAMATION
?You Pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
2—People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving enjoy...
SERVICE(:2a)
Explanation:(:2a)with a Smile
:2a—“Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.”
The basis for an ability to shout our joy to YeHoVeH also equips/enables us to gladly & openly apply ourselves to the work of His desire.
“Serve”—dbe aw-bad’—To work, serve—1a) (Qal):—1a1) To labor, work, do work, 1a2) To work for another, serve another by labor, 1a3) To serve as subjects, 1a4) To serve (God), 1a5) To serve (with Levitical service).
“Gladness”—hxms sim-khaw’—Joy, mirth, gladness.
“Joyful Singing”—hnnr ren-aw-naw’—Ringing cry, shout (for joy).
Argumentation:
Mat. 6:24—“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one & love the other, or he will hold to one & despise the other. You cannot serve God & mammon.”
Deut. 13:4—““You shall follow the LORD your God & fear Him; & you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, & cling to Him.”
Deut. 28:47-48—“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy & a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, & in the lack of all things; & He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.”
Rev. 22:1-4—“And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God & of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; & the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall no longer be any curse; & the throne of God & of the Lamb shall be in it, & His bond-servants shall serve Him; & they shall see His face, & His name shall be on their foreheads.”
Illustration:
A server at On the Border(Concord)/Hispanic/Speaks English well but has definite accent/He does his job well/He has a huge infectious personality/I have never seen him without a ‘can do’ attitude & smile/SERVICE with a smile.
Our son’s 18th birthday/Went out to eat/Waitress at On The Border(Concord)/Really cheery/Nothing could phase her/Just to tease her, she was removing our chip containers for fresh & 1 was left out of four bowls/I told her— “Don’t take that chip, I want that chip!”/She smiles—She was happy, I was happy/SERVICE with a smile
Employee who is a malcontent, complainer—example: comic--Don Rickles type/Not real SERVICE?
Application:
?You Enjoy God’s SERVICE?
?You Pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
3—People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving enjoy...
SINGING(:2b)
Explanation:(:2b)
:2b—“Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.”
Though we labor in & for YeHoVeH, that labor/service is so sweet as to afford us a deep need to approach Him with “singing.” Such singing is wrought of our personal, corporate & outwardly expressed “joyfulness.”
“Joyful Singing”—hnnr ren-aw-naw’—Ringing cry, shout (for joy); Carries the sense of singing.
Argumentation:
Acts 16:22-30—:25—“But about midnight Paul & Silas were praying & singing hymns of praise to God, & the prisoners were listening to them;”
Ps. 40:3—“He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it & fear, And will trust in the LORD.”
Ps. 149:1—“Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the assembly of saints.”
Ps. 33:2-3—“Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Ps 47:6-7—“Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.”
Ps 66:4—“All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah”
Rev. 14:1-5—“Then I looked, & behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, & with Him one hundred & forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, & like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, & the elders; & no one could learn that song except the hundred & forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God & to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
Illustration:
I love to sing! I make a habit of singing in this sanctuary(by myself!)/Those of us who ‘can’t carry a tune in a bucket,’ make our excuse for singing based on Scripture—that we are making a “joyful noise”(:1)/But the fact remains, whether we sing well or poorly our heart is filled with a love for our Lord that wells up within us so that we must let it out by SINGING!
Application:
?You Enjoy SINGING to & of the Lord?
?You Pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
4—People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving enjoy...
KNOWLEDGE(:3a)
Explanation:(:3a)
:3a—“Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, & not we ourselves; We are His people & the sheep of His pasture.”
Such worshipful praise is built upon one’s accepting recognition that YeHoVeH is “God.”
“Know”—edy yada` yaw-dah’—to know—1a) (Qal)1a1) To know—1a1a) To know, learn to know, 1a1b) To perceive, 1a1c) To perceive & see, find out & discern, 1a1d) To discriminate, distinguish, 1a1e) To know by experience, 1a1f) To recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess, 1a1g) To consider, 1a2) To know, be acquainted with, 1a3) To know (a person carnally), 1a4) To know how, be skilful in, 1a5) To have knowledge, be wise.
Argumentation:
Prov. 1:7—“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom & instruction.”
Jer. 31:33-34—““But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, & on their heart I will write it; & I will be their God, & they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor & each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, & their sin I will remember no more.””
*Php. 3:8-11—“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, & count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, & may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, & the power of His resurrection & the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Hos. 5:3-4—“I know Ephraim, & Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself. Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know the LORD.”
Jn. 14:8-9—“Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, & it is enough for us.” Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, & yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
Ps. 40:5—“Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare & speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.
Jn. 8:31-32—“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, & the truth shall make you free.””
1Jn. 5:9-13—“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, & that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Illustration:
Hunter trespasses on posted property/Supposing he can take advantage of its bounty/Owner appears & prosecutes/KNOWLEDGE
True & personal Knowledge of God ensures against our acting presumptuously against Him.
Application:
?You Enjoy God & His KNOWLEDGE?
?You Pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
5—People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving enjoy...
FAMILY/Belonging(:3b-c)
Explanation:(3b-c)Submission
:3b-c—“Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, & not we ourselves; We are His people & the sheep of His pasture.”
“It is He who has made us, & not we ourselves”
In that recognition is the fact that He is the One “who has made us.” Thus the one(s) who accept YeHoVeH as God, accept that we are not here, nor have we become, & neither do we have what we have because of anything in ourselves.
These also identify themselves corporately as YeHoVeH’s “people.” Thus they readily recognize Him as their King, Master, & Leader.
“Made”—hse aw-saw’—To do, fashion, accomplish, make.
Indeed God has “made us” both...
Physically:
Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7—“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; & let them rule over the fish of the sea & over the birds of the sky & over the cattle & over all the earth, & over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male & female He created them.”....“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; & man became a living being.”
&...
Spiritually:
Eph 2:10—“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
1Cor. 6:19-20—“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, & you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body & in your spirit, which are God’s.”
“We are His people & the sheep of His pasture.”
These also look to YeHoVeH as their Shepherd & posit/view themselves as “the sheep of His pasture.” Thus they fully surrender every aspect of themselves & their lives to His guidance & direction, knowing that He will always seek their good & their welfare, never leading them astray.
“His people:”
Rom. 9:25-26—“As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.””
“His sheep:”
Ps. 78:52-53—“But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear....”
Ps. 95:7-9—“For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work.”
Isa. 40:11—“He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”
Jn. 10:14-16—“I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; & I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, & they will hear My voice; & there will be one flock & one shepherd.”
1Pet. 2:25—“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd & Overseer of your souls.”
“People”—Me `am am—1)Nation, people—1a) People, nation 1b) persons, members of one’s people, compatriots, country-men; 2) Kinsman, kindred.
“Sheep”—Nau tso’n—Small cattle, sheep, sheep & goats, flock, flocks.—KJV - flock 138X, sheep 110X.
“Pasture”—tyerm meer-eeth’—Pasturing, pasturage, shepherding—1a) pasturing, shepherding, 1b) pasturage, 1c) flock (meton).
Argumentation:
Jn. 17:20-21—In Jesus’ High Priestly prayer—“I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, & I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.”
A government is not what brings Christians together, An income is not what makes us one, Our God makes us FAMILY!
Mat. 12:47-50—“Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother & Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered & said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother & who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples & said, “Here are My mother & My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother & sister & mother.””
Eph. 2:19-22—“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints & members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Rom. 8:16-17—“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, & if children, then heirs--heirs of God & joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Mk. 10:29-30—“So Jesus answered & said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake & the gospel’s, “who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses & brothers & sisters & mothers & children & lands, with persecutions--& in the age to come, eternal life.”
We must let go of the limited physical family to experience the extended family of the spiritual.
Illustration:
Our living away from family/Our family becomes the church of God/& it is an excellent family at that/FAMILY
Adopted children/Parents choose the child because they want them to experience love unbounded/To have a family they can really rely upon/FAMILY
Application:
?You BELONG to the FAMILY of God.
?You Pre-disposed to Thanksgiving?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
People pre-disposed to Thanksgiving Enjoy...
1. PROCLAMATION(:1)
2. SERVICE(:2a)
3. SINGING(:2b)
4. KNOWLEDGE(:3a)
5. FAMILY / Belonging(:3b-c)
Don’t let retail & wholesale markets determine your joy.
CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING!....& celebrate it in the Lord....
.....because Christians have every reason to be thankful.
Presented 11/21/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
