So Many Reasons For Thanks

“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!