WEBVTT 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:03.520 Did you notice who the author was of the hymn 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:07.780 we just sang? It was the great poet John Milton. 00:00:08.380 --> 00:00:10.779 The words have been somewhat altered, but it 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:12.900 was interesting to sing his music this morning. 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:21.699 I enjoy singing hymns like that where we sing 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:24.660 part of it and the choir sings part of it. The 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:29.620 antiphonal response, I think, is a very interesting 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:33.789 thing to do. And it's something that we believe 00:00:33.789 --> 00:00:38.049 was practiced quite frequently in the Jewish 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:41.789 worship. And so it's something that I think kind 00:00:41.789 --> 00:00:43.770 of puts us in touch with some of our biblical 00:00:43.770 --> 00:00:48.869 roots. The choir sang for us as we opened the 00:00:48.869 --> 00:00:51.329 service this morning our text which is Psalm 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:57.179 100. As we think about the thankful one. We live 00:00:57.179 --> 00:00:59.140 in one of the few countries in the world where 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:04.359 a day is set aside officially as a time of Thanksgiving. 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:08.939 It's a proper tradition, although I think we 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:11.739 have to sadly admit that for many today it has 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:15.739 become only Turkey Day or a day for an overdose 00:01:15.739 --> 00:01:20.659 of football. Some states, such as the state of 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:25.319 New York, set aside the day annually for Thanksgiving. 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.719 as early as the first part of the 19th century. 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:33.319 The tradition of Thanksgiving goes all the way 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:37.299 back to the days of the colonies and the pilgrims 00:01:37.299 --> 00:01:40.560 who were God -fearing men and women in a new 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:44.900 world. It was, however, Abraham Lincoln who, 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:48.379 as president, first proclaimed a national day 00:01:48.379 --> 00:01:53.120 for Thanksgiving in 1863. He did so in the midst 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:57.180 of the fury of the Civil War. And every president 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:01.400 since Lincoln has followed that example and proclaimed 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:05.200 a day of thanksgiving, and most often it has 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.360 been the fourth Thursday of the month of November. 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.840 Of course, as God's people, it is fitting that 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:19.020 we should observe that day in our culture, not 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:21.919 merely as a cultural symbol, however, but as 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:26.379 a spiritual privilege. For the attitude of gratitude 00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:29.919 should be one that characterizes us continually, 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:34.740 shouldn't it, in our earthly pilgrimage. This 00:02:34.740 --> 00:02:40.020 Psalm, 100, this Psalm is the most beloved of 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:44.280 all of the Thanksgiving Psalms. It instructs 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:48.000 us to be a grateful people, and I believe we 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:51.319 need to learn its lessons. I see at least two 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.259 lessons about thanksgiving in the psalm. In the 00:02:54.259 --> 00:02:58.379 first place, how to be thankful, and secondly, 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:02.479 why. Follow along with me please as we think 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:06.599 about this theme. In verses one through three, 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:10.479 we are taught how to be grateful. We are given 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:15.280 to understand the permeating nature of a grateful 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.520 heart. A grateful heart is like a perfume that 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:27.379 fills every room. It affects every area of one's 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:31.780 life. You will notice that there are four words 00:03:31.780 --> 00:03:36.379 of admonition in those first three verses. Shout, 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:43.120 serve, come, and know. I believe that God is 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.949 telling us in these verses that If we're going 00:03:46.949 --> 00:03:49.270 to be grateful, we need to remember that gratitude 00:03:49.270 --> 00:03:52.930 involves in the first place the tongue. Make 00:03:52.930 --> 00:03:56.990 a joyful noise or shout, he says, to the Lord. 00:03:57.889 --> 00:04:02.710 The word shout is a jubilant cry. It is the sound 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:07.629 as a cheer of loyal citizens as the king might 00:04:07.629 --> 00:04:11.270 appear. or to put it into our own society and 00:04:11.270 --> 00:04:13.889 culture, it is the sound that one might hear 00:04:13.889 --> 00:04:16.449 in the Metrodome when the Vikings come on the 00:04:16.449 --> 00:04:19.750 field. I have only been to one Vikings game, 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:22.230 but I want to tell you that is some kind of a 00:04:22.230 --> 00:04:25.350 roar. When those Vikings come onto the field, 00:04:25.410 --> 00:04:27.870 that whole place begins to shake with the sound 00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:31.129 of it, the shout of the people cheering on the 00:04:31.129 --> 00:04:34.949 team. Well, it is that same kind of an idea, 00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:38.689 the same kind of a joyful noise, that God has 00:04:38.689 --> 00:04:41.230 in mind when He tells us that we are to shout 00:04:41.230 --> 00:04:45.410 joyfully to the Lord all the earth. I did not 00:04:45.410 --> 00:04:49.230 get to go to the concert of prayer a week ago. 00:04:49.269 --> 00:04:52.410 I'm sorry about that. Some 80 of you did, and 00:04:52.410 --> 00:04:56.750 I'm glad it was a group of some 10 ,000 I've 00:04:56.750 --> 00:05:00.910 heard who were there to pray that evening. I 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:02.910 know that the year before, one of the things 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:05.670 that we did that I have never done before was 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:09.389 to shout to the Lord. Did they do that this year? 00:05:10.009 --> 00:05:12.810 They did. I think that is a neat experience. 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:15.269 We have a room here big enough to do it, but 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:18.649 I'm not brave enough to do it this morning. But 00:05:18.649 --> 00:05:23.610 to shout to the Lord. The idea is a very expansive 00:05:23.610 --> 00:05:27.870 sound. I think you would agree with me the gratitude 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:31.269 that is unexpressed is gratitude that's under 00:05:31.269 --> 00:05:36.170 suspicion. For if it's genuine, it must be communicated. 00:05:37.299 --> 00:05:39.860 We are told as the people of God, even in the 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:42.879 New Testament, that this is an appropriate thing 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:45.079 for us to do. I just invite you to think with 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:48.220 me about Hebrews chapter 13. If you want to turn 00:05:48.220 --> 00:05:51.060 there, you may. We'll look at it just briefly. 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:54.759 But in the 15th verse of this 13th chapter, notice 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.279 what he says. Through him, through Christ then, 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:03.920 let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:09.560 to God. That is, the fruit of lips that give 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:11.839 thanks to His name." Notice it's not just the 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.500 fruit of the heart or the fruit of the attitude, 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:20.720 but it says the fruit of the lips. Gratitude 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:25.079 involves the tongue. And as New Testament believers, 00:06:25.220 --> 00:06:28.339 we are to be involved in offering up words from 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:32.540 our mouths to God as a sacrifice to Him. There 00:06:32.540 --> 00:06:36.629 is no more noble use of the tongue. than to employ 00:06:36.629 --> 00:06:42.129 it in thanksgiving to God. Our tongues tell a 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:45.209 lot about us, don't they? When I was fighting 00:06:45.209 --> 00:06:47.949 this virus that I've been fighting now for about 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:52.550 three weeks, I went to the doctor and as he went 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:55.069 through a brief exam of my condition, one of 00:06:55.069 --> 00:06:56.829 the things he told me to do was to stick out 00:06:56.829 --> 00:06:59.949 my tongue. It's not that my tongue is exceptionally 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:03.209 beautiful and he wanted to admire it. But he 00:07:03.209 --> 00:07:05.889 did want to examine it because he knew that by 00:07:05.889 --> 00:07:07.930 looking at my tongue he could tell something 00:07:07.930 --> 00:07:11.350 about what's going on behind it, down in my throat 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:14.290 you see. Our tongues tell something about our 00:07:14.290 --> 00:07:18.290 physical condition. And is it not true that our 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:20.949 tongues also say something about our soul condition? 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:24.990 When our hearts are filled with gratitude to 00:07:24.990 --> 00:07:27.350 God, our tongues cannot help but speak it. So 00:07:27.350 --> 00:07:30.310 gratitude involves the tongue. But gratitude 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:34.279 also involves the hands. Notice he says, serve 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:40.660 the Lord. Serve the Lord with gladness. It is 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:44.560 good to speak our praise to the Lord. It is good 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.600 in our public worship to speak our thanksgiving 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:51.279 to him. But that speech has to be followed by 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:55.300 something of our actions. And again, the writer 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:59.040 of Hebrews makes this clear. Listen to the words 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:01.399 in the very next verse after the one we read. 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:07.160 and do not neglect doing good and sharing with 00:08:07.160 --> 00:08:10.519 such sacrifices God has pleased. And so he says 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:13.259 that as much as we are to offer our thanks to 00:08:13.259 --> 00:08:16.339 God with our lips, our hands must be involved. 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:19.839 We're to be involved in doing deeds of love and 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:23.240 kindness. Actions from our lives should speak 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:27.120 gratitude to the Lord. Thankfulness motivates 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:31.829 us, does it not, to do something in response 00:08:31.829 --> 00:08:35.370 to the one that we're grateful. It energizes 00:08:35.370 --> 00:08:39.129 us. It awakens our sensibilities to do something. 00:08:42.190 --> 00:08:44.389 Someone does something kind for you. Perhaps 00:08:44.389 --> 00:08:47.409 you have had need of a meal being brought to 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:50.470 your house for some reason. And some folks in 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:52.529 your flock or in your small church have brought 00:08:52.529 --> 00:08:55.250 over that food and, oh my, you're so thankful 00:08:55.250 --> 00:08:57.269 for that. It came at just the right time and 00:08:57.269 --> 00:09:00.299 so you say thank you at the door. But then as 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:02.759 you eat the food and as perhaps you wash up the 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.419 dishes and you think, what a very special thing 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:08.679 this was. And so you are motivated perhaps to 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:11.379 sit down and even write a note. You do something. 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:16.519 That's the point. We are to not only speak our 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.080 praise to God, we are out of gratitude to serve 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:23.519 Him, to do things for Him. Not in order to receive 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.440 His gifts, but because we have received His gifts. 00:09:28.409 --> 00:09:31.669 And we are to serve Him, it says here, with gladness. 00:09:32.350 --> 00:09:37.129 Not with reluctance. We're not to serve Him half 00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:41.210 -heartedly. We're not to serve with regret or 00:09:41.210 --> 00:09:45.350 with a grudge. We're not to serve Him with resignation 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:49.710 because, well, I have to. But whatever we do, 00:09:49.750 --> 00:09:52.470 we are to do with gladness to the Lord out of 00:09:52.470 --> 00:09:55.740 gratitude. It means if I teach a Sunday school 00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:58.779 class or sing in the choir or if I work in the 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:02.779 nursery or if I'm an usher, I am to do that with 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:06.200 gladness to the Lord. Not because Paul Bartlett 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.080 has put his hand on my shoulder and said, look, 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.419 we need help in the nursery. And he may do that. 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:15.779 And he's right. But why do I do that? Well, for 00:10:15.779 --> 00:10:18.500 him in one sense maybe, but beyond that, far 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:21.700 beyond that for the Lord. Out of gladness to 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:25.850 the Lord. That's why we serve Him. And why is 00:10:25.850 --> 00:10:28.230 it that I type those letters on Monday morning? 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:31.830 Why is it that I go out and make my sales calls? 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:34.889 Or I sit in my office and I make the decisions 00:10:34.889 --> 00:10:37.250 that I have to? Or as an accountant I write down 00:10:37.250 --> 00:10:40.549 those figures? Or work before my computer? Why 00:10:40.549 --> 00:10:44.649 is it that I do all of those things? Day by day, 00:10:44.830 --> 00:10:48.149 8 hours a day, or 10 hours, or 12 hours a day, 00:10:48.429 --> 00:10:52.820 out of gratitude? Gratitude to the Lord? You 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.820 see, whatever we do, we're to do it for that 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:58.440 reason. Paul puts it this way in Colossians 3 00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:04.120 .17. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.899 in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:10.720 through Him to God the Father. Well, somebody 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.820 says, yeah, I'm supposed to give thanks, but 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:14.879 you don't know this person I've got to work with. 00:11:16.139 --> 00:11:17.700 I mean, if you had to work with that person, 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:19.779 you'd find it pretty hard to give thanks, too. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:23.940 Well, it may be that you have a difficult working 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:27.039 situation, but can't you sift through that somewhere 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.799 and find something to be grateful to God for? 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:32.879 Can't you be grateful that that person takes 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:35.240 an hour break at lunch and leaves you alone? 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:40.580 Can't you be grateful that you work overtime 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:42.879 and at least there's an hour of quietness after 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:47.580 that person's gone? Look, sift through your circumstances. 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.340 Whatever they be, find something there to give 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.899 thanks to God. Give thanks to God you have a 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:57.039 job. We have people in our church who have been 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.919 praying for months for jobs and have yet to find 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:08.159 one. We are to serve the Lord with thanksgiving. 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:12.340 Gratitude involves our hands, but gratitude also 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:15.980 involves our feet. Notice he says, come. Come 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:22.759 before Him with joyful singing." I believe that 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:26.740 this applies to corporate worship. Certainly 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:29.360 it did to the writer of this psalm as he thought 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.419 about the Jewish people coming to the temple. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:38.259 How can we claim to be grateful to God for His 00:12:38.259 --> 00:12:42.940 blessings in our lives and yet fail to come before 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:46.860 His presence? the way that we're invited to here, 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.399 with joyful singing. Gathering with other believers 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:54.820 is important for all of us. I know it's true 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:57.320 that we can worship at home and we ought to worship 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.519 at home. And I've had people tell me, well, I 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.299 may not go to church, but I worship God out in 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:07.399 the woods, out of my backyard watching the birds 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.559 on Sunday morning or whatever. Sure, you can 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.820 worship God doing that, but it does not. take 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:19.480 the place of corporate worship. Yes, I know salvation 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:24.519 is individual, that's true, but that salvation 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:27.419 that is individual results in a relationship 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:31.740 to other people. There is a place for coming 00:13:31.740 --> 00:13:34.679 together with others, come before his presence, 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:37.779 come before him with joyful singing, it says 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:42.240 here. Francis Schaeffer said, Salvation is individual 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:47.759 but not individualistic. People cannot become 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:52.080 Christians except one at a time and yet our salvation 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:56.679 is not solitary. God's people are called together 00:13:56.679 --> 00:14:01.940 in community. God tells us if we are a grateful 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.019 people it involves our feet. We need to come 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:08.320 together and come together faithfully to worship 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:12.590 Him. in the congregation. And we are to do that 00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:17.509 with joyful singing. I wonder what that suggests 00:14:17.509 --> 00:14:21.610 about our worship, about our attitude in coming, 00:14:22.789 --> 00:14:25.769 about our involvement in the service itself. 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:35.009 Come before Him with joyful singing. It's interesting 00:14:35.009 --> 00:14:38.980 to look out of the congregation. when we're singing. 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:42.440 It's probably doubly interesting to look up here. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.519 But it's interesting to look out and to see those 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:49.759 faces that are just shining. The eyes are lit 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:53.279 up and the mouth tends to be curved here at the 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:57.580 edges. And you can tell that from the heart that 00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:00.700 person is entering into those words, that that 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:03.320 really means something to them. I tell you, that 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:08.120 blesses me. We are to come before the Lord as 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:11.940 a body of people joyfully and enter into the 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:15.899 service and sing and participate in it. That's 00:15:15.899 --> 00:15:18.940 what worship is all about. As the hymn writer 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:21.480 said, let those refuse to sing who never knew 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:25.860 our God. But children of the heavenly King may 00:15:25.860 --> 00:15:29.039 speak their joys abroad. God wants us to enter 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:32.340 into the celebration of corporate worship. I 00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:34.639 want to encourage you to be regular in corporate 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.350 worship. And not to allow little things, little 00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:40.889 excuses to keep you away. If you're grateful 00:15:40.889 --> 00:15:44.610 to God, that must involve your feet. It means 00:15:44.610 --> 00:15:49.210 coming to worship together. I remember a lady 00:15:49.210 --> 00:15:52.889 who was so faithful in this. She's now with the 00:15:52.889 --> 00:16:02.409 Lord. She was a widow. And even before that, 00:16:03.169 --> 00:16:08.679 her husband didn't come with her to church. When 00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:12.240 I first became pastor of that church, she had 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:20.159 been present in Sunday school and in church every 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:25.440 Sunday for 25 years. You say, well she must have 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:29.200 lived around the corner. No. No. As a matter 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:33.639 of fact, during the last part of her life, she 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:37.830 moved to a place about 30 miles away. And during 00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:42.690 that time she was alone. And during the 10 years 00:16:42.690 --> 00:16:47.169 that I was there as pastor, she never missed 00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:49.950 a single Sunday in Sunday school and in church. 00:16:50.509 --> 00:16:52.629 I mean there wasn't an excuse to keep her away. 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:55.629 If she was sick, she would come. She would infect 00:16:55.629 --> 00:17:01.149 other people, but she would be there. She would 00:17:01.149 --> 00:17:06.230 be there. 35 years, we honored her when that 00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:09.930 occasion came, for 35 years of perfect attendance. 00:17:10.009 --> 00:17:12.130 And you think about that, that's longer than 00:17:12.130 --> 00:17:16.490 some of you are old. She did not miss. She was 00:17:16.490 --> 00:17:19.170 faithful. She knew the importance of coming together. 00:17:19.910 --> 00:17:21.869 Well, as she got older, it became impossible 00:17:21.869 --> 00:17:24.670 for her to keep up that record. But oh, I thank 00:17:24.670 --> 00:17:27.170 God for her. What an example she set for all 00:17:27.170 --> 00:17:31.730 of us of faithfulness in coming to worship. God 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:34.130 says if we are grateful, it's going to involve 00:17:34.130 --> 00:17:36.390 our tongues, it's going to involve our hands, 00:17:36.769 --> 00:17:39.150 and it's going to involve our feet, but he tells 00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:44.210 us also it involves our mind. He says, no, the 00:17:44.210 --> 00:17:47.950 Lord. You see, gratitude is not a mere fleeting 00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:52.809 emotion. Gratitude is based upon intelligence. 00:17:56.349 --> 00:18:02.029 It is a deep inner acceptance of truth that is 00:18:02.029 --> 00:18:05.049 acknowledged to be true. And therefore we're 00:18:05.049 --> 00:18:08.849 grateful. We are to know the one that we worship 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:12.150 and why we worship Him. He tells us in the first 00:18:12.150 --> 00:18:17.410 place that we are to know the Lord is God. That 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:20.029 is, that there is no other God, that He is unique. 00:18:21.089 --> 00:18:26.329 He is uniquely and infinitely perfect and yet 00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:30.539 a personal being. who is self -existent and self 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:34.240 -sufficient. He himself is the source of all 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:37.920 that is. He says that when we give thanks to 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:42.140 God, we are to know that God is not one God among 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:48.059 many. That His truth is not one truth, but it's 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:54.420 the truth. Today we are told by those new agers 00:18:54.420 --> 00:19:00.150 around us that we're all gods. and that we all 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:04.009 have the Christ principle within us and we can 00:19:04.009 --> 00:19:07.990 develop our deity, our divinity, and be gods. 00:19:09.390 --> 00:19:14.849 That's the same mess that Satan sold to Eve back 00:19:14.849 --> 00:19:18.190 in the Garden of Eden. We are not gods, we are 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:24.049 creatures. We are made. We are finite. We have 00:19:24.049 --> 00:19:27.410 limitations, but God doesn't. He is not created. 00:19:27.609 --> 00:19:30.470 There is no limitation to Him. He is infinite. 00:19:31.430 --> 00:19:34.470 He is God. We're to know that. We're also to 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:38.549 know that He is the Creator. Know that the Lord 00:19:38.549 --> 00:19:43.890 Himself is God. It is He who has made us. That 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:47.309 is, it is He who gives us life and breath. Our 00:19:47.309 --> 00:19:53.460 lives are derived. God's life is not. By way 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:55.480 of application, I think we can say this too, 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:58.099 that all the success and all of the prosperity 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:01.380 and the produce of our lives also comes from 00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:05.759 God. It is He who has made us. There are some 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.799 people who brag that they are self -made, and 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.539 usually when they brag that, they adore their 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:18.819 Creator. You think about that. We are not self 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:24.519 -made. But it is he who has made us and not we 00:20:24.519 --> 00:20:28.319 ourselves We are to know also that the Lord is 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:34.400 the owner it says We are his people his people 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.720 by right of creation But also his people by right 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.839 of redemption those of us who are Christians 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:47.240 We are his chosen people his people singled out 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:51.539 from all the peoples of the earth to be especially 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:57.819 His, uniquely His. The thought in this implies 00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:02.319 that there's a difference between His people 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:06.500 whom we are and all of the rest. That's true. 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.500 Can you be grateful that God is your possessor 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:15.180 today? Know that, but also know that the Lord 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:18.529 is shepherd. Because we are the sheep of his 00:21:18.529 --> 00:21:22.589 pasture, the psalmist says. God provides our 00:21:22.589 --> 00:21:26.630 pasture, that is our provision for our needs. 00:21:27.650 --> 00:21:29.829 The picture in the psalmist's mind may well be 00:21:29.829 --> 00:21:32.809 of the Jews as they would come streaming into 00:21:32.809 --> 00:21:35.710 the temple compound and into the temple itself. 00:21:36.390 --> 00:21:42.130 Like a flock of sheep, they came. Hearing the 00:21:42.130 --> 00:21:44.789 voice of their shepherd, telling them to come 00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:49.309 and to worship him. We are the sheep of his pasture, 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:52.650 and now he sees them in his mind's eye, coming 00:21:52.650 --> 00:21:58.190 into the fold of God to worship him. We are his 00:21:58.190 --> 00:22:01.730 sheep also, and the Lord is our shepherd. As 00:22:01.730 --> 00:22:04.589 we worship, our worship must involve our minds. 00:22:04.670 --> 00:22:09.750 There has to be some intelligence there. We are 00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:13.769 to know that the Lord is God. We are to know 00:22:13.769 --> 00:22:16.089 that he is the creator, that he is the owner, 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:19.549 and that he is our shepherd. And as we know those 00:22:19.549 --> 00:22:22.630 things, as those truths sink down deep into our 00:22:22.630 --> 00:22:28.950 hearts, then we will have our gratitude stimulated. 00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:34.009 How are we to give gratitude? How are we to be 00:22:34.009 --> 00:22:38.269 grateful? Number one, by joyful words. Shout 00:22:38.269 --> 00:22:42.720 joyfully. By glad service. Serve the Lord, he 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.759 says, with gladness. Also by joyfully gathering 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:51.359 to worship. Come before him. And finally, by 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:55.960 full understanding of his uniqueness and of that 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:59.279 special relationship that God has between himself 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:03.519 and his own. We are to know he is God and that 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:09.150 we are his people. And so the psalmist instructs 00:23:09.150 --> 00:23:12.869 us how to be grateful. But we're also instructed 00:23:12.869 --> 00:23:17.009 why to be grateful, verses four and five. He 00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:19.890 basically gives us two reasons here. In the first 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:23.509 place, because of the privilege of access. And 00:23:23.509 --> 00:23:27.049 then secondly, because of the person of God. 00:23:28.690 --> 00:23:31.450 Why are we to be grateful? Because of the privilege 00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:35.210 of entering in. I especially like the arrangement 00:23:35.210 --> 00:23:38.549 the choir did this morning of Psalm 100 and the 00:23:38.549 --> 00:23:41.230 way that they did the word enter. Did you notice 00:23:41.230 --> 00:23:44.710 that? And how it built and resounded, echoed 00:23:44.710 --> 00:23:47.670 back and forth, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter. 00:23:49.410 --> 00:23:51.910 What a privilege you and I have to enter. That 00:23:51.910 --> 00:23:55.670 is not to be taken for granted. We can enter 00:23:55.670 --> 00:23:59.170 His gates because He has opened the way for us 00:23:59.170 --> 00:24:03.130 through the sacrifice of Christ. that one final 00:24:03.130 --> 00:24:07.369 sacrifice once and for all. This psalm is a psalm 00:24:07.369 --> 00:24:10.869 of invitation. It says, enter his gates. Notice 00:24:10.869 --> 00:24:17.529 it is addressed to all the earth, verse 1. You 00:24:17.529 --> 00:24:21.009 and I have the privilege of inviting others to 00:24:21.009 --> 00:24:25.509 join us in entering the gates of the Lord. We 00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:27.690 must ever be mindful that there are many who 00:24:27.690 --> 00:24:34.240 do not know the narrow way. They do not perceive 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:37.599 the narrow gate that must be entered. They've 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:39.940 already entered the broad gate and are on the 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:44.579 broad way that leads to destruction. But Jesus 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:47.839 tells us there will be a few who will find that 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.880 narrow gate and enter the narrow way that leads 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:54.079 to life. And you and I have the privilege of 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.720 inviting people to come to that gate. Enter, 00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:02.140 he says, his gates with thanksgiving. People 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:04.480 have the idea, generally, in the world that they 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:09.640 can worship God in their own way. They look upon 00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:12.180 our faith as one of many gates. Oh, there are 00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:16.980 many ways, many roads to God, they say. And how 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:20.920 pleasant that sounds to the human ear. But how 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:26.000 false it is. It is not consistent with what God 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:30.019 tells us is the truth. There's one way. His gates. 00:25:30.410 --> 00:25:34.869 Not many gates, God's gates. You and I can invite 00:25:34.869 --> 00:25:38.549 others to enter what a privilege of access we 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:40.849 have. To enter that gate and to invite others 00:25:40.849 --> 00:25:44.390 to come. We need to be grateful for that. That 00:25:44.390 --> 00:25:47.910 access to God. But also because of the person 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:52.730 of God. He says, give thanks to Him. Bless His 00:25:52.730 --> 00:25:57.549 name. For the Lord is good. That's what God is 00:25:57.549 --> 00:26:01.769 like. You look at the gods that the heathen worship. 00:26:02.990 --> 00:26:06.930 You go visit the Linettis and Taliabu. Or you 00:26:06.930 --> 00:26:09.789 visit others who work with tribal people, and 00:26:09.789 --> 00:26:13.369 you find inevitably their gods are angry gods 00:26:13.369 --> 00:26:17.049 who have to be appeased by some kind of sacrifice, 00:26:17.170 --> 00:26:20.890 be it human or whatever. They are gods who are 00:26:20.890 --> 00:26:24.049 not good. They are evil gods that have to be 00:26:24.049 --> 00:26:28.069 avoided or placated in some way. For the true 00:26:28.069 --> 00:26:30.750 God is not that way. How grateful we ought to 00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:34.710 be for that truth. That the Lord is good. And 00:26:34.710 --> 00:26:36.609 notice there are two words that describe His 00:26:36.609 --> 00:26:41.970 goodness. They are loving kindness and faithfulness. 00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:46.890 Loving kindness means God's loyal love. Our God 00:26:46.890 --> 00:26:54.549 is a God who loves. Not arbitrarily. Not discriminately. 00:26:56.299 --> 00:26:59.759 But He is a God who loves broadly. He loves all. 00:27:00.460 --> 00:27:06.420 And He is a God who loves loyally. He talks about 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:09.980 God's love here that is involved in the relationship 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:15.420 between two people. God's loving kindness. Be 00:27:15.420 --> 00:27:17.180 thankful that God is good and loving and that 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:20.740 He's faithful. We sometimes sing the chorus, 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:25.089 Jesus never fails. Heaven and earth may pass 00:27:25.089 --> 00:27:30.269 away, but Jesus never fails. Or we sing, Great 00:27:30.269 --> 00:27:35.589 is thy faithfulness, O God my Father. Great is 00:27:35.589 --> 00:27:38.609 thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies 00:27:38.609 --> 00:27:42.730 I see. All I have needed thy hand has provided. 00:27:43.390 --> 00:27:48.069 Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. God 00:27:48.069 --> 00:27:50.430 doesn't fail. That's the kind of a God he is. 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:56.319 Why should you and I be thankful? Because of 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:59.539 the privilege God has given us to enter His gates. 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:04.980 He has thrown the door open by the sacrifice 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:09.440 of Jesus. We may enter by that new and living 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.640 way that Christ has opened for us by His sacrifice. 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:18.960 Be thankful. And why should we be thankful? Because 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:22.829 of the kind of a God. that we're talking about. 00:28:22.950 --> 00:28:26.329 A God who is good and in His goodness He loves 00:28:26.329 --> 00:28:29.970 people, desires to be related to them. He is 00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:34.069 a God who is faithful and will not fail, though 00:28:34.069 --> 00:28:39.130 we may fail. He does not. And His goodness, His 00:28:39.130 --> 00:28:42.670 faithfulness are both everlasting. From generation 00:28:42.670 --> 00:28:46.930 to generation it's true. It was true of our fathers 00:28:46.930 --> 00:28:49.910 and our grandfathers' generation. And it will 00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:52.329 be true of our children and their children, if 00:28:52.329 --> 00:28:56.130 the Lord tarries. He is a God who is forever 00:28:56.130 --> 00:29:03.109 good. Unalterably, forever, He is that way. Well, 00:29:03.230 --> 00:29:05.930 Psalm 100 is an instructive psalm, but the fact 00:29:05.930 --> 00:29:10.430 is, really, the fact is that most of us don't 00:29:10.430 --> 00:29:15.799 need more instruction about being thankful. We 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.599 don't need more orders to be thankful. What we 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:23.880 need is obedience to be thankful. We don't need 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:28.059 more information really. What we need is inspiration 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:31.980 to do what we know we ought to do, to do what 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:34.759 we know is right. This morning you and I have 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:39.680 a choice. We have a choice to either be grateful 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:45.980 or to be grumblers. We have a choice to be thankful 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:49.599 to God or to be complainers and to be greedy 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:55.619 and selfish I Remind you that the latter is the 00:29:55.619 --> 00:30:00.660 choice of most people Especially as the age goes 00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:03.579 on because it tells us in the Bible in last days 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:09.920 men should be lovers of themselves covetous unthankful 00:30:12.009 --> 00:30:14.250 Elizabeth Elliott wrote about that some time 00:30:14.250 --> 00:30:18.829 ago in one of her newsletters. She said, we do 00:30:18.829 --> 00:30:24.230 have someone, capital S, to thank and a long 00:30:24.230 --> 00:30:29.250 list of things to thank him for, but, she goes 00:30:29.250 --> 00:30:32.009 on to say, I have been thinking of something 00:30:32.009 --> 00:30:36.710 that stifles thanksgiving. It is the spirit of 00:30:36.710 --> 00:30:42.470 greed, the greed of doing, being. and having. 00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:49.210 You know she's right. It's so easy for us to 00:30:49.210 --> 00:30:51.410 succumb to the pressures of our world, to be 00:30:51.410 --> 00:30:56.750 greedy about our doing. To say we're going to 00:30:56.750 --> 00:31:00.710 do what we want to do, what benefits us the most, 00:31:00.769 --> 00:31:05.269 what is most rewarding. To be greedy about our 00:31:05.269 --> 00:31:09.920 doing and not care what God wants us to do. Or 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:13.700 to neglect it, at least. And it's easy for us 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:18.700 to be greedy about our being. We succumb to the 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:24.099 world's pressure to want to be what is best for 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:29.319 us as we view it. We want to improve our own 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:33.400 lifestyle. And we get discontent with the roles 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.299 that God has given us. And as a result of that 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:42.450 greed of being We miss out on the peace that 00:31:42.450 --> 00:31:45.490 comes from being just who God's made us to be, 00:31:46.150 --> 00:31:48.269 and fail to realize that our greatest fulfillment 00:31:48.269 --> 00:31:52.670 is just being who God has created us to be. That 00:31:52.670 --> 00:31:58.670 was the mistake of Grandmother Eve. And she's 00:31:58.670 --> 00:32:01.670 right about the greed of having too, isn't she? 00:32:03.089 --> 00:32:05.690 Like all the rest of the people in our generation, 00:32:05.750 --> 00:32:09.180 we want to possess. We want what will enrich 00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:12.220 us. We want that which will make the neighbors 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:17.440 notice. And the result of that kind of a lifestyle 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:22.299 is that we fail to learn the joy of contentment 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:28.400 into the things that God has given us. There's 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:30.819 a great story about Matthew Henry. In fact, it's 00:32:30.819 --> 00:32:33.660 one of my favorite stories. Matthew Henry, as 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:36.700 you probably know, was a famous scholar of the 00:32:36.700 --> 00:32:40.259 Bible. There's a commentary that he authored. 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:43.720 On one occasion he was mugged. They didn't call 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:45.460 it that back in those days, but that's what it 00:32:45.460 --> 00:32:50.960 was. He was robbed and mugged and beaten. After 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:55.660 that, he wrote in his diary these words. Let 00:32:55.660 --> 00:33:01.019 me be thankful. Let me be thankful first, because 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:08.630 I was never robbed before. Okay? Second, although 00:33:08.630 --> 00:33:12.109 they took my purse, they did not take my life. 00:33:14.549 --> 00:33:18.670 Third, because although they took my all, it 00:33:18.670 --> 00:33:26.869 was not much. And fourth, because it was I who 00:33:26.869 --> 00:33:34.269 was robbed and not I who robbed. Profound, isn't 00:33:34.269 --> 00:33:40.839 it? Somebody has said gratitude is like a guardrail. 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:45.660 That's a great thought, I think. Because when 00:33:45.660 --> 00:33:48.240 you and I are grateful, it puts up guardrails 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:51.980 on the road of life. Guardrails that will keep 00:33:51.980 --> 00:33:57.140 us and our children from slipping and sliding 00:33:57.140 --> 00:34:04.299 off the road and making a wreck of life. If we 00:34:04.299 --> 00:34:09.980 allow greedy complaining attitudes to dominate 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:16.659 us. It removes the guardrails. If we allow ourselves 00:34:16.659 --> 00:34:20.380 to become intoxicated with selfishness and to 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:24.300 get drunk on ingratitude, the result is that 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:28.760 we will go off the road and will injure ourselves 00:34:28.760 --> 00:34:34.059 and injure others. Oh, we need the guardrails. 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:39.789 Above all, It is right to be thankful just because 00:34:39.789 --> 00:34:45.090 it's right. Yes, it establishes guardrails that 00:34:45.090 --> 00:34:49.309 help protect us and protect our children, but 00:34:49.309 --> 00:34:51.909 it's just right to be thankful. And that's what 00:34:51.909 --> 00:34:54.929 this psalmist says. Oh, may we be a grateful 00:34:54.929 --> 00:34:58.710 people today. What's your choice? What's your 00:34:58.710 --> 00:35:02.090 choice? Will you be grateful? Let's bow together. 00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:07.820 Well, I wonder just where you're seated if you 00:35:07.820 --> 00:35:11.760 would say to the Lord, Lord, I will be grateful. 00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:24.199 I will enter in. Lord, I today repent of ingratitude. 00:35:24.500 --> 00:35:27.780 Maybe we need to say that. Lord, today I turn 00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:30.440 away from the greed and the selfishness and those 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:34.920 covetous attitudes. Maybe we need to say, Lord, 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:39.099 put that guardrail up in my life that will keep 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:43.519 me from wrecking. Let's talk to the Lord about 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:57.940 where you are, won't you? Father, I pray that 00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:01.980 this morning our hearts will respond to the wooing 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:04.699 of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the Spirit 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:08.320 in this psalm. And may we not only accept this 00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:13.860 as good information, but may we be inspired to 00:36:13.860 --> 00:36:17.900 do what the psalmist tells us to do because we 00:36:17.900 --> 00:36:23.239 are so blessed. In Jesus' name, amen.