Thanksgiving Living! - Psalm 100
Series: Thanksgiving
Well as I begin this morning I want to share with you a letter written by a young woman who had recently left her home in small town Canada to attend college in the big city. This is what she writes:
["Dear Mom: I’m so sorry that I haven’t written sooner. I didn’t want to tell you earlier, but I broke my arm, and my left leg, when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory during the fire we had. As frightening as it was, we were very lucky. A young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department and they were there within minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days but Paul, the service station attendant, came to see me every day, and it wasn’t as lonely as it could have been. Because it was taking so long to get our dormitory liveable again, I have moved in with him. He’s been great and we’ve grown very close … in fact I want you to know that I am pregnant! It’s o.k. though because we’re going to get married just as soon as Paul can get a divorce. That’s all for now, I hope things are fine at home. I really am doing well and will write more when I get the chance. Love, Your daughter, Susie
P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "C" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!" (Adapted from, A Proper Perspective on Thanksgiving, Steve Malone, www.sermoncentral.com)
Well this morning we are talking about Thanksgiving Living, and to live with thanksgiving we need to have a proper perspective on both our circumstances, and on the God to whom we come. Therefore I’ll ask you to open your Bibles with me please to the book of Psalms - Psalm 100. While many of the psalms speak of giving thanks and praising God, this is the only psalm we have that is actually described in God’s word, as a “Psalm for Giving Thanks.” …. Follow along as I read, beginning in verse 1 …
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100, NIV84)
This is the Word of the Lord. May He bless it this day to His glory!
Allow me to ask you a question: Are you living your life with an attitude of gratitude, moment by moment, day by day? Does gratitude flow from your heart? Is thanksgiving frequently on your lips? … See, if thanksgiving is to be found in the abundance of material possessions and the comforts and ease of life, we have far more reason to be grateful than the vast majority of the world. Generally speaking, we have an abundance of food, of land, of possessions, of wealth. We have doctors and nurses and surgeons to help with our health needs. We have a government that has put programs in place to help those who don’t have quite as much. We have easy access to clean, drinkable water. In the vast majority of cases we have far more than we need to simply survive – we have enough to thrive.
And yet is has been my observation, that while indeed it should, that having plenty does not necessarily bring forth an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Quite the contrary in fact as in many cases those who have the most are often the least grateful. Why is that? Because we take our plenty for granted. We have known no differently, or, if we once knew it, we have since forgotten. We believe it is our due, our right, that it is owed to us. That way of looking at the blessings we have received does not lend itself to living with thanksgiving.
They say “familiarity breeds contempt.” There is a lot of truth in that statement. Typically the more used to something we are, the less we appreciate it for the gift it really is. Take something as simple as our drinking water - When was the last time that you gave thanks to God – real heartfelt thanks – because you have clean, safe drinking water as close as the nearest faucet? Probably never, right? I mean we take it for granted, don’t we? Yet what a blessing that clean, water is! Or consider when was the last time you gave thanks – genuine thanks – for the food on your table? The job you have? The health you enjoy? God knows this tendency of our hearts and He warns us of it in the 8th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy 8 where we read these words …
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:10–14, NIV84)
The tendency of the human heart, when it is full and satisfied and life is good and relatively easy, is to become proud and to forget the goodness of God. When there is a great tragedy in a city or a nation, church attendance increases. In those moments people are suddenly reminded of their desperate need for God. The events of 9/11 are proof of this. In the weeks immediately following those terrorist attacks, church attendance in the U.S. rose dramatically. Churches that were half full to begin with, found themselves full up. Churches that had been full previously, found themselves overflowing. In their need and in their hurt the people called out to God. Yet just a few weeks later those same churches were pretty much back to the numbers they had experienced before. Why? Where had everyone gone? Well, for most of the nation, life returned to normal. They went back to their jobs, and their families, and for many of them life went on just as it had before. In their plenty they had forgotten God, and friends, we tend to do the same thing.
That’s why God’s word says, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord.” Intentionally give thanks so that you do not forget where the blessings come from. Constantly turning your thoughts to the Lord gives you the proper perspective for thanksgiving living.
And my hope is that you’ve come here this morning with grateful hearts; hearts filled and overflowing with thanksgiving! But it’s just as possible that you’re here today and thanksgiving is the furthest thing from your mind. And maybe that’s because there’s some pain or hurt or sorrow or trouble in your life that is threatening to overwhelm you.
I talked to one lady earlier this week who, that very morning, had discovered that she had lost her job. She’s on her own. She has to figure out how to put food on the table now and how to keep a roof over her head. There is brokenness and hurt and fear in her life. And we know people whose marriages are hurting. Anger and bitterness and pain have driven a wedge where there was once love and gentleness and peace. And there are those who have lost loved ones recently and the sorrow and the grief is deep and overwhelming. And there are people struggling with horrible illnesses and diseases. There are parents sitting in the hospital at the side of their child’s bed and they don’t know if their child is coming home. What do we make of these things?
In the book of Philippians we read these words: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6, NIV84) And from 1 Thessalonians, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, NIV84) Friends, how do you live with thanksgiving, whether in time of plenty, or whether in those times when your world is falling apart around you? How do you live with gratitude and thanksgiving before the LORD?
Let’s look back to Psalm 100 to see if we can discover the answer to that question in those verses. There are four stanzas to this psalm, in the first and the third we discover commands to follow, in the second and the fourth we are given the reasons for the commands.
Verses 1 and 2 form the first stanza. “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.” (Psalm 100:1–2, NIV84) The heart of that passage is found in the command to “Worship the LORD with gladness.” As we shout for joy to the LORD, and as we come before Him with our songs, what are we doing? We are worshipping the LORD with gladness in our hearts! When we come together in worship we should be coming with hearts filled with joy. Worship should not be a drudgery.
When I was younger, I hated going to church and one of the reasons had to do with all the singing we did. I couldn’t sing then, and I can’t sing well now, and I despised the singing along with all the rest of it. The good news is that the psalmist invites us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord! You don’t have to be a professional singer to worship God with joy – you just need to let your voice be heard! All the earth is to respond to the LORD with joy and to sing songs of praise. God knows what your voice sounds like. He is the one who formed you and shaped you and moulded you and gave you that voice – so let it be heard in praise of the LORD our God!
“Not my style of music though, pastor. Can’t get into all these newfangled choruses that we’re singing.” Or maybe your response is, “Another hymn? You’ve got to be kidding me – hymns are so old school when are we going to get in step with the times?” Music is powerful – there is no doubt about it – and we’re all going to have a style of music that we appreciate more than some other style - but the truth is that it’s the heart behind the worship that is more important than the style of worship itself. The object of worship trumps the means of worship every time.
While I was finishing seminary I had the privilege of frequently speaking at a Cambodian church in town. Most of the people didn’t know a word of English so the services were held in their native tongue and I worked with a translator. The music was Cambodian to the very core and I didn’t understand the words of the songs at all. The music was most definitely not my style, yet I was able to worship just the same. How? Because I wasn’t there to be entertained, but rather I was there to worship the LORD. A heart of gratitude, filled with joy, and moved to worship will not be silenced but will let itself be heard!
Yet how can we worship in such a way if our world is falling apart? The answer is found in the second stanza, verse 3. “Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” (Psalm 100:3, NIV84) Know that the LORD is God. This knowing goes beyond mere intellectual assent, beyond more than a cursory acknowledgement that God exists. It’s the type of knowing that results in transformed lives. A type of knowing that, because of the truth revealed in those words, surrenders everything they are, and have, and ever hope to be, to God, because they know Him in such a deep and abiding way.
Here’s the truth being revealed in those verses: Our thanksgiving is not dependent on our circumstances. Our worship, our shouts of joy, our songs of praise, are not dependent on the circumstances of our lives. How could they possibly be? If they were, how is that Job, Job who lost everything – his children, his wealth, his health – lost it all in the blink of an eye – how is it possible that he was able to proclaim, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:20, NIV84) If worship is dependent on our circumstances we could not possibly praise God with joy and thanksgiving at many times in our lives. Circumstances would dictate otherwise.
But the truth is that our thanksgiving and worship are dependant, not on our circumstances, - and this is where the shift in perspective needs to come in – our thanksgiving is dependent on who God is and who we are in relationship to Him. Why do we worship the LORD with gladness? Because the LORD is God. Our thanksgiving and worship rest in who God is.
It is He who made us. We are His. The psalmist says that “we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” The LORD is our shepherd. What’s the shepherd do? The shepherd looks after the sheep – he cares for them, leads them, guides them, protects them, and provides for them. The psalmist is saying, “if we are His people, then this is what God has done for us. He’s molded us and shaped us and given us life. Like the shepherd He has provided for us in our need, He has cared for us in our distress, He has protected us from the evil one. This is why we worship Him for He has not kept Himself at a distance but has entered into our lives.”
Turn with me to the Gospel of John for a few moments please. John, chapter 10, beginning in verse 2. Jesus is speaking and this is what He says to the people who had gathered around to hear …
“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. … [Then down to verse 7] Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. … [And down to verse 14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:1–18, NIV84)
The shepherd, the LORD, has laid down His life for the sheep. He lay down His life for us. Romans 5:8 says this: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV84) And John testifies saying, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10, NIV84) And Paul declares, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV84) And again, Paul says that the Shepherd, “gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” (Galatians 1:4, NIV84)
And what ought our response be to this revelation of God’s character, mercy, love and grace? Hebrews 12:1 … “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NIV84) And then Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV84) Someone once said that “Life is God’s gift to you. What you do with that life is your gift to God.” The proper response to the reality of God’s mercy in our lives, is the expression of worship and gratitude and the reality of a transformed life!
Therefore, in view of what God has done, and what the psalmist is revealing to us about God’s character, we find ourselves at the third stanza with another command: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” (Psalm 100:4, NIV84) The command is to enter into God’s presence with thanksgiving in our hearts! You can’t consistently do that unless you have a proper perspective on who God is. You cannot do it without knowing God with heart, mind and soul.
[Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself and said, "I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they grew older."
But this missionary had developed a treatment which would stop progressive blindness. So people came to him and he performed his treatment, and they would leave realizing that they would have become completely blind, but because of him their sight had been saved.
He said that they never said, "Thank you," because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.
And that is what the Psalmist is saying. "Suddenly you realize that God has been so good to you that you can’t keep it inside any more. From the depths of your being you shout your joy unto the Lord] - (Enter With Thanksgiving, Melvin Newland, www.sermoncentral.com) – you enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise, you give thanks to Him and you praise His holy name!
Why? Verse 5, stanza 4, … “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5, NIV84) Do you understand that how you perceive the heart of God makes all the difference in the world in how you respond to Him? If you understand God as some distant, all-powerful deity who is just waiting for the right moment to send judgment crashing down upon your head and upon your family, whose looking for the right moment to crush you, you will never enter His gates with thanksgiving. It is good to fear the LORD but that fear needs to be based in the reality of who God is.
If you see God as uncaring, unloving and distant you will struggle to enter into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart. Worship will be a chore for you. There will be no delight in praising God. It will seem empty and meaningless; something simply to be endured until it is over. If you do not know God for who He is you will not come before Him with thanksgiving in your heart and praise on your lips.
In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, speaking to, and of, the Pharisees, quotes the prophet Isaiah’s words saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8, NIV84) What was the problem? The Pharisees knew all the right words to say, they did all the right things, but the truth is that most of them were just going through the motions. They did not know God for who He is. They claimed to love God with their words but the words didn’t flow from the heart; from the reality of a life made new in Jesus. And not knowing Him, not understanding His heart, nor His love for them, they could not respond to Him in love. And neither can we.
If they had known God for who He was, and is, they would have understood, not just with head, but with heart, that the LORD our God is good! That’s the testimony of the psalmist! “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5, NIV84) This is the God to whom we come! Knowing what we now know, seeing God from what is perhaps a different perspective, how can we not worship the Lord with gladness? How can we not enter His courts with thanksgiving? How can we not praise His name and proclaim for all to hear the wonder of who He is and what He has done? He is a good and gracious God, abounding in love whose faithfulness continues through all generations! What ought our response be to such revelation? Worship and praise and blessing, gratitude, thanksgiving ought to flow from our lips unbidden! Worship is not a chore – it is a privilege – it is the response of a life touched, and changed, and transformed by God!
So what do we do with that? How does that translate into daily life? Well maybe we discover a clue in the life of the “little old lady who would come out every morning on the steps of her front porch, raise her arms to the sky and shout, "Praise the Lord!"
Well, one day an atheist moved into the house next door. Over time, he became irritated at the little old lady. So every morning he would step out onto his front porch and yell after her, "There is no Lord!"
Time passes with the two of them carrying on this way every day. Then one morning in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted, "Praise the Lord! Lord, I have no food and I am starving. Please provide for me, oh Lord!"
The next morning, she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "Praise the Lord!" she cried out. "He has provided groceries for me!" The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, "There is no Lord. I bought those groceries!"
The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, "Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them!" (Preaching Daily, October 3, 2012)
Well we can laugh at that, but thanksgiving living begins with knowing the LORD up close and personal. It’s practiced as we ask God to open our eyes to see the thousands of blessings we have received and all that we have to be grateful for in each day. It’s realized as we turn to God with praise and thanksgiving in the midst of all the circumstances of life acknowledging Him as God and praising His Holy name.
Let’s pray …
