“SO MANY REASONS FOR THANKS!” Psalm 100
FBCF – 11/24/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Let’s get after it, Church! It’s time to rise up & give God the thanks that He deserves. Not only is Thanksgiving a uniquely American holiday; it is truly a uniquely Christian holiday b/c every blessing that we enjoy comes from the hand of our loving heavenly Father!
- This isn’t just for the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower – It is for those of us who are pilgrims in this world, on a journey to a much better place that is waiting on us.
- This isn’t just for enjoying a wonderful meal together w/ our family this Thursday – It is for those of us who will one day sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb w/ the family of God. It is for those of us who have been invited & have accepted God’s invitation to come to His banquet table.
- On Nov 17, 1989, Pres. George Bush pardoned the White House turkey, the first official presidential pardon of a turkey. But this isn’t just about a turkey being pardoned – It’s about all of sinful turkeys being thankful for OUR pardon – our release from the death penalty of sin & hell that we have received through the blood of Jesus & by the GRACE of God shown to us.
- This isn’t just for enjoying & consuming delicious food this Thursday – It’s about us tasting & seeing that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)
So, come on, Church! It’s time to give thanks to the Lord from the bottom on our hearts, w/ every fiber of our being, w/ every ounce of our energy. Let’s join w/ the Psalmist & give thanks to our God.
EXPLANATION – Psalm 100
Psalm 100 is known as “The Old 100th”. It teaches us to begin our encounters w/ God by giving sincere thanks & enthusiastic praise. It calls us as God’s people to active, not passive worship – vocal, not silent worship – intentional, not flippant worship. Interesting that there are 6 exclamation points in v. 1-4. Remind you from your elementary grammar class, exclamation points are used to:
- Emphasize a point
- Express strong emotion
- Indicate strong feelings or forceful utterance
So, if we are going to obey the Bible & do exactly what these verses tell us to do, then our thanks to God needs to have some strong feelings & emotions & some forceful utterances!
APPLICATION – Strong expressions of gratitude to God should be a part of every Christ-follower’s life.
WHAT WE DO – v. 1-2
Get Noisy! I know that Psalm 46:10 says to “Be still & know that I am God.” There is a place for quiet, contemplative expressions of worship. But I’m not preaching that verse today! This passage says to “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!” – We sometimes use this verse to joke w/ those who can’t sing or aren’t musically talented.
But the Hebrew word here means more than singing. Has more to do w/ shouting, applauding, giving a war cry, shouting in triumph & shout for joy.
- “Make Some Noise!” – On jumbotrons at stadiums during football games.
- Cheer for your team! Let the opposing team know you mean business! Get on your feet & join w/ those around you & yell! Don’t see many people at a TCA football game quietly sitting down when their son or grandson scores a TD, or intercepts a pass, or makes a perfect tackle, or when the final horn blows & victory is assured.
- God is calling His people to make some noise!
- How would you respond if someone walked up to you & told you they were going to pay your house off, pay off all your other debts, & give you a million dollars as a gift to you? Stay seated? Hands clasped in your lap? Quietly nod your head?
- No way! Would go nuts!
- Well, what has God done for you? It’s worth a lot more than a million dollars!
Serve Him – Our gratitude to the Lord for all He’s done for us should move us to desire to serve Him w/ gladness – Heb – w/ joy & jubilation – another indication that our gratitude needs to be boisterous & evident to all those around us.
WHY WE DO IT (part 1) – v. 3
He is God – “Know that the Lord, He is God!” There’s one of those exclamation points! In other words: ‘Nuff said!
- Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God…”
He made us – “It is He who made us…” – We didn’t evolve. He made us – PERIOD!
- Genesis 1:27 – “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
- Psalm 139:13-16 – “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
He owns us – “…we are His…” – You don’t belong to you anymore. You belong to God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “…You are not your own; you were bought w/ a price…”
He rules over us – “We are His people…” – He has chosen us & laid claim to us. We are under His authority.
- Isaiah 45:18 – “I am the Lord; there is no other.”
He cares for us – “…the sheep of His pasture.” – The picture of God as our Shepherd is one of the most comforting images in entire Bible.
- Psalm 23:1 – “The LORD is my shepherd…”
- Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep…”
- John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
WHERE WE DO IT – v. 4 – Where do we express our thanks & praise to God?
In the church house w/ God’s people – The gates & the courts in this verse refer to the gates & courts of the temple, the place where the people of God gathered together to worship Him. There’s no doubt that THIS gathering place should be filled w/ the thanks & praise of the people of God!
- Where are all the people who blasted social media a couple of weeks ago giving thanks to God for Trump being elected? They ought to be in the church house today & every Sunday, no matter who’s in the White House!
In our own house every day – Thanks & praise to God is also an important part of our daily time w/ the Lord. Start your quiet time in praise & thanks. Don’t come barging into His presence w/ your laundry list of prayer requests.
But whether the church house or our house or anywhere else, the ultimate place where we worship & serve the Lord is in His presence.
- Acts 17:24 – God does not live in manmade temples. He lives in us! That means His presence is available to us 24/7/365!
- Psalm 16:11 – “In your presence there is fullness of joy.”
- Come boldly into His presence – Ephesians 3:12 – “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.” (NLT)
WHY WE DO IT (part 2) – v. 5
Our God is good – He just is! Every other little “g” god is not good. Only our God is good – truly good in every way.
He loves us eternally – He doesn’t just feel love as some fickle emotion that changes based on our response to Him – He loves b/c He IS love.
- B/c He is eternal, His love is eternal.
- B/c He is perfect, His love is perfect.
- Psalm 36:5a – “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens…”
He is faithful to us – Psalm 36:5b – “…your faithfulness reaches to the skies.” – “beyond the clouds” (NLT) He is trustworthy & will never break a promise to us. His faithfulness is our foundation for believing in Him & living for Him.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3 – “…the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”
CONCLUSION – (slide – “Live like someone left the gate open”) Enter His gates w/ t’giving. Come on! The gate IS open!
