Come Before His Presence with Thanksgiving
Theme: Thanksgiving sermon before Thanksgiving Day
Chuck Sligh
November 22, 2020
NOTE: PowerPoint or ProPresenter presentations are available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 95
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – A man was lost in the desert for five days and he came to the home of a preacher. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The preacher takes him in and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the preacher for directions to the nearest town. The preacher directs him, and offers to lend him his horse to make it. “But,” the preacher warns, “there’s something special about this horse. I’ve trained him to be a CHRISTIAN horse. You must say ‘Thank God’ to make him GO, or TO INCREASE HIS SPEED and ‘Amen’ to make him STOP or he’ll look at you like a dumb old mule.”
Anxious to get to town, the man says, “Sure, whatever” and gets on the horse. Testing the horse, he says, “Thank God” and sure enough, the horse starts trotting. A bit later he says again, “Thank God” and the horse speeds up. Feeling really brave, the man says, “Thank God” a third time, and the horse is soon up to a full run!
Suddenly he sees he’s heading straight for a huge cliff and in a panic yells “Whoa!” But the horse doesn’t even slow down, because you see, he’s a Christian horse! The cliff is looming ever closer and he’s doing everything he can to make the horse stop, yelling all the wrong words: “Whoa! Stop! Hold on!” Finally he remembers the correct command and shouts, “AMEN!!!”
The horse comes to s screeching halt a mere step from the cliff’s edge. The man, panting with his heart racing, wipes the sweat from his face; leans back in the saddle; and gasping for air he says with relief, “THANK GOD!”
This Thursday will be the American Thanksgiving, and I hope for you it’s more than a time off from work and a time for turkey and football. It ought to be a time to THANK GOD for all His goodness to you. Thanksgiving should be such a part of our daily lives, that the word thanksLIVING better characterize our lives.
Psalm 95, attributed to David, exhorts us to be thankful and to give praise to God. David begins this way in verses 1-2 – “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”
Let’s see what truths David has for us about thanksgiving in this Psalm:
I. FIRST, DAVID MENTIONS THREE THINGS WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR:
• The first one is for God’s POWER – Verse 3-6
David mentions two realms God manifests His power:
1) One is in the SPIRITUAL realm – Verse 3 – “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
He says that God is “a great King above the gods.” This is not an admission that other gods actually exist, but a statement that God is supreme above ALL, even above vain idols that are imbued with importance or power by mankind’s corrupt imagination.
2) Second, God is all-powerful in the PHYSICAL realm.
Verse 4 says, “In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.” – God rules over the deepest recesses of the earth, and also the highest heights of the mountains.
Verse 5 – “The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.” – He’s the creator of both the sea and the earth.
Verse 6 – “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” – He is also OUR maker as well as the maker of earth and sea.
David is saying that God is the greatest and most powerful Being in the universe. There is NOTHING and NO ONE more powerful than He. This Thanksgiving, be thankful for such an all-powerful God—one who is supreme; is more powerful than all; is greater than all; who created it all.
This is all very wonderful and amazing…but it’s a little of intimidating, isn’t it? I mean, He’s this incredible, all-powerful, supreme Being, right? Yes, but that’s not all He is…
3) David also says we should be thankful that God seeks a PERSONAL relationship with us – In verse 7 David says, “For he is our God…”
God is not just some great, big, impersonal Being in the sky; He’s a God who is PERSONAL, who is there for us, who has intimate care for His children. So David feels comfortable with calling Him “OUR God.”
In many places in the Psalms David has this lovely habit of referring to God as “MY God” or “OUR God”—indicating that he was on intimate terms with the Lord. As believers, we’re not alienated from God and He’s not distant from us. He’s OUR God, and we can go to Him in the hour of need because OUR God cares, and OUR God knows us, and OUR God loves us and OUR God wants to deliver us and help us in times of need.
Yes, He’s the King of the universe, the all-powerful Lord of Lord and King of Kings…which makes our intimacy with Him all the more remarkable. Because, you see, as children of the King, we have immediate access to Him; and He’s always there; and He always hears us when we call. This Thanksgiving, if Jesus is your Savior, thank Him for being YOUR God.
• Third, David implies that we should thank God for his PROVISION – The rest of verse 7 says: “…and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice.”
If you’re a believer, you’re one of His sheep, and the Good Shepherd takes good care of His sheep. Sheep are completely dependent upon the shepherd, and good shepherds loved their sheep, know them by name, and protect and provide for them.
David says 3 things about God as our Shepherd:
1) First he says, “…we are the people of his pasture.”
That is, like sheep, He leads us out to the best pastureland. In other words, David is saying that God provides for us.
2) And he also says we are the “sheep of his hand.”
The idea is that when pastureland is not available, or perhaps when a sheep is sick or injured, it is fed personally by the hand of the shepherd So even in times of want, God provides for us and provides our needs.
3) Then David says this: “To day if ye will hear his voice.”
God’s promised provision is conditional upon your obedience. He’ll try to lead you to the pastureland of provision and safety, and feed you from His own hand in the worst of times, but if you don’t listen to His voice and go astray you’ll find yourself wandering in the desert living on weeds, fending for yourself and vulnerable to the enemy.
That’s not what God wants for you. He wants to supply your every need, but you’ve got to follow Him and obey Him to experience this deep dependent relationship with God.
So David reminds us that we should thank God for all His provision. This Thanksgiving, why don’t you thank God for His provision for you?
We’ve seen three things we should be thankful for.
II. DAVID ALSO MENTIONS 3 WAYS TO EXPRESS THANKS TO GOD.
• First, you should RAISE YOUR VOICE in songs of praise – This brings us back to verses 1-2 – “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.”
The idea here is singing in corporate worship with God’s people. So when you come together to sing God’s praises at church—sing them with ALL YOUR HEART.
God’s power, and His personal relationship with us, and His provision for us are not things we should keep quiet about! Lift up your voice and SING about them!
You say, “Pastor I don’t sing very well.” God doesn’t say you have to sound good; in both verses 1 and 2 David says all you have to do is “make a joyful noise.”
So don’t worry about how it sounds. e. It’s not that God is tone-deaf; it that He’s really more tuned in to the heart of worship—thankfulness. To you it may sound like noise, but if you’re singing with thanksgiving and praise from your heart, you sound better than an American Idol winner to God!
• The second way to express your thanks is to BOW YOUR KNEE in worship. – Verse 6 – “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”
This verse follows verses 3-5 where David extols God’s magnificent power; His supremacy over all, and His creative power. So David says, “Worship this King; bow down and kneel before the Lord. He is your MAKER, and the maker of all that we see.”
Brethren…
• How can you see a sunset and not be thankful and full of praise to God?
• How can you observe the incredible diversity of life God has created and not worship Him?
• How can you look into the night sky and see the multitude of stars that populate it and not fall to your knees in awe and wonder?
• How can you look at the blazing glory of the autumn leaves and not say, “Thank you, God”?
Illus. – A lady named Harriet was an atheist. One morning she and a Christian friend stepped out into the glories of a beautiful fall morning for a short walk. As Harriet saw the brilliant sun peeking through the haze, and the frost on the meadow, and the brightly colored leaves making their way lazily to the ground, she was filled with awe and said, “I am so thankful. I’m just so GRATEFUL for it all.” And her Christian friend asked, “Grateful to whom, my dear?”
This Thanksgiving, WORSHIP the Lord, your maker and your ruler. He created you; He owns you; He sent His Son to die for your sins; He loves you; He sustains you and He provides for you. He deserves your homage; He’s worthy of your worship; He’s entitled to your love and devotion.
• The third response David exhorts is to SOFTEN YOUR HEART WITH CONTENTMENT. – He says in verse 8, “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.”
What is “the provocation” he’s talking about here? You’ll recall from the Charlton Heston movie, The Ten Commandments, that God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. Actually, this story is in the Bible, if you didn’t know that!—in Exodus.
What happened was that God did this by using Moses to deliver the Israelites from years of slavery, accompanied by astonishing miracles. As they traveled across the desert to freedom in the Promised Land of Israel, God provided quail and manna for them to eat every day. They didn’t have to hunt for food, or even forage for it.
They just woke up every day and there it was on the ground for them to simply take to their campfires and prepare it and eat it. Their EVERY need was met.
But you know what they did?—They grumbled and murmured and whined. Here they were—FREE FROM SLAVERY, with every meal taken care of, and they were the biggest bunch of grumblers you ever saw in your life.
The Bible says that their ungratefulness provoked God to anger. Look at verses 9-10 – “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”
God got hot because ungratefulness is a serious sin to God. In fact, because of their attitude of ingratitude, they were not allowed to enter the promised land, as we read in verse 11 – “Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.”
Listen folks, an attitude of ingratitude is a serious thing to God!
So David warns in our text: “Don’t harden your heart like the Israelites did and become ungrateful and rebellious.”
The key to doing that is to be content with what you have. In 1 Timothy 6:6 Paul said “…godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Illus. – Someone wrote [READ]…
• I am really content…until I start looking through the shopping catalogue.
• I liked my car…until I saw the new, updated model of my car.
• I’m satisfied with my clothes…until I stroll through the mall.
• I love our home…until I think of what it would be like to have a mansion or a log cabin on a remote lake.
• I’m satisfied with every area of my life…until I start comparing it with someone else’s life.
• I feel like I have enough of everything…until I see someone who has more.
God wants this us to be content with whatever we have. Paul wrote from a filthy Roman jail in Philippians 4:11 – “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
If he could be content in an unheated, rat-infested Roman prison, I should be content in my nice, warm house with my nice bed and warm, running water.
But most of us AREN’T content. We grumble and complain about every little thing. Murmuring and not being content seem to be universal sins of humanity.
Illus. – In regions of Mexico hot and cold springs are found side by side, and because of the convenience of this natural phenomenon, women bring their laundry, and boil their clothes in the hot springs, and then rinse them in the cold springs.
A tourist seeing this said to his Mexican guide: “They must think Mother Nature is generous to freely supply such ample, clean hot and cold water.” The guide replied, “No señor, there is much grumbling because she supplies no soap.”
Listen, we gripe and complain and murmur all the time, but WE’RE THE MOST BLESSED PEOPLE ON EARTH!
Illus. – If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of 100 PEOPLE; here’s the way the world would look [READ]:
• There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, and 8 Africans.
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition and one would be near death.
• 80 would live in substandard housing.
• 70 would be unable to read.
• 6 would possess more than half of the world’s wealth and all 6 would be from North America.
Listen, we attend church without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death. We’re better off than more than half of the people in the world. We have money to spend for both needs and wants, plenty of food in the fridge, all the clothes we need on our backs, and a roof over our heads. We’re richer than 75% of this world!
And we’ve got STUFF like never before in history.
Illus. – Steve Shepherd wrote, “My wife and I went to a huge flea market that took place every month for 4 days.…It is HUGE! I’m not sure you could see it all in 4 days. I never saw so much stuff and junk in my life! Americans are rich! They are rich in junk if nothing else!”
And it’s not just in the flea markets we have all this STUFF. We buy it, bring it home, and stuff it in our rooms, garages and attics! There’s even a thriving business of storage areas—just to keep STUFF! Folks, let me tell you—WE ARE RICH!
And yet, like the Israelites, we’re not grateful to God for all His goodness to us. We grumble and complain. Paul said in Philippians 2:14 – “Do all things without murmurings and disputing.”
Illus. – I am thankful for [READ]…
• the taxes I pay…because it means I’m employed.
• the clothes that fit a little too snug…because it means I have enough to eat.
• a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing…because it means I have a place to live.
• the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot…because it means I’m capable of walking.
• my huge heating bill…because it means I’m warm.
• all the complaining I hear about our government…because it means we have freedom of speech.
• the lady behind me in church who sings off-key…because it means I can hear.
• the piles of laundry and ironing…because it means my loved ones are near.
• the alarm that goes off in the early morning …because it means I’m alive.
• the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day…because it means I have been productive.
Illus. – A 12-year-old boy named David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he’d spent his entire life in a plastic bubble to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he’d like to do if released from his protective bubble, he replied, “I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother’s hand.” Folks, we take so much for granted!
POEM: “Forgive Me When I Whine”
Today upon a bus I saw a lovely maid with golden hair;
I envied her—so beautiful, and how I wished I were so fair;
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle;
She had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, she wore a smile.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two feet—the world is mine.
And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm;
he seemed to radiate good cheer, his manner was so kind and warm;
I said, “It’s nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find”;
he turned and said, “Oh, thank you Ma’am.” And then I saw that he was blind.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes—the world is mine.
Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue;
he stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do;
I stopped a moment, then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”
He looked ahead without a word, I realized—he could not hear.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears—the world is mine.
With feet to take me where I’d go; with eyes to see the sunsets glow,
with ears to hear what I would know. I am blessed indeed.
The world is mine; Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
CONCLUSION
Why don’t you break the mold this Thanksgiving…
• Make a joyful noise to the Lord for His goodness to you.
• Bow down and humbly thank God for His provision and His care for you.
• And be content with your blessings you have. – Stop your whining and give thanks to the Lord for His love to you.
(END WITH APPEAL TO THE LOST IF APPROPRIATE.)
