Thanking God 

Psalm 100:1-5

PSBC 11/18/01 AM

In a nutshell: When we -Speak about God's blessings; Serve Him with gladness; Show the joy of belonging to Him; Let Him be the Shepherd of our lives; and rely on His presence for our strength…we are saying "thank you" to God.

I. Introduction

A. Matthew Henry Illustration

Matthew Henry is best known for the Bible Commentaries that he wrote between 1706 and 1721. It is so good and remains so useful that just about every preacher I know has a copy Matthew Henry's commentaries in his library.

Well, one time while walking the streets of London, Matthew Henry was attacked by thieves and robbed of his purse. He wrote these words in his diary: "Let me be thankful. First, I was never robbed before. Second, although they took my purse, they didn't take my life. Third, although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, let me be thankful because it was I who was robbed and not I who did the robbing." ( John Yates, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Preaching Today, Tape No. 110)

I'm convinced that thanksgiving has a lot to do with your perspective!

B. Psalm 100

As we anticipate this coming Thursday, and our celebration of Thanksgiving Day, I thought I'd try to give you all some good perspective on thanksgiving. To do that I'd like you to turn in your Bibles to a song. We know it as Psalm 100-which is called a Psalm or song for giving thanks. So, it's pretty appropriate for what we want to consider.

If you're not familiar with the Bible, the Old Testament book of Psalms is very easy to find. Just open up your Bible to the middle, and 9 times out of 10, you'll find that you're somewhere in the book called Psalms…

Psalms 100 1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 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. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

C. Thanksgiving list

It's not unusual for people to compile lists at holiday times. Many make wish lists for Christmas, and some make lists of resolutions for New Years. But there is another list we often overlook-that is a Thanksgiving Day list of all for which we are thankful.

But one group did make a list one time. A group of wives compiled this list… I'm Thankful… …for automatic dishwashers because they make it possible for us to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for their after-dinner snacks. …for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house because they usually make them big enough to call in the professionals. …for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They're such a joy, you hate to see them go home to their own parents …for teenagers because they give parents an opportunity to learn a second language. …for smoke alarms because they let you know when the turkey's done.

Now your list might not be the same as theirs, but I'm convinced that if we began to make a list, we would find that we have a lot more for which to be thankful than just our material possessions. We just have to have the proper perspective on things.

You're probably like me. If you made a list of what you're thankful for, you would definitely include the major things-like life, health, family, friends, and the nation we live in.

On my list I'd also include my salvation. I'd include all of you who make up our church family here at Palm Springs Baptist. And the mercy that God showers upon me every day. When you start to think about it, we have so much to celebrate on Thanksgiving!

D. The Pilgrims

But has it ever occurred to you that no group of Americans were more underprivileged than that small handful from the Mayflower who started the custom that we will follow this coming Thursday? -They had no homes and no government agency to help them build homes. -They had no means of transportation, but their legs. -Their only food came from the sea and the forest. And they had to get that for themselves. -They had no money and no place to spend it if they'd had any. -They had no amusements except what they made for themselves. -They had no means of communication with their relatives in England. -And they had no HMO's, or social security, or Medicare.

But if you dared to call them underprivileged, you would have probably ended up in the stocks. Because those folks had a proper perspective on things. They recognized the fact that they had four of the greatest things human beings could ever have: -initiative, -courage, -a willingness to work, and -(most importantly) a strong faith in God's power.

The "Declaration of Independence" proclaims, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights . . ." And it ends with these words, ". . .with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

That faith in God's power has always been at the foundation of this country.

E. Distinctive Holiday

Thanksgiving Day is a distinctive holiday. It doesn't commemorate a battle or anyone's birthday or anniversary. It is simply a day set aside to express our gratitude to God for the blessings he has given us and our nation.

Illustration: In 1789, George Washington made a public proclamation. It's on the front of your WIG's this morning…

By the President of the United States of America. A proclamation: Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor-and Whereas, Both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me `to recommend to the people of the United States a day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many favors of Almighty God…" Now, therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November, to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.

So, based on that foundation, we will pause to give thanks, this coming Thursday. And that's where I believe the significance of Psalm 100 comes into play

II. Five Thanksgiving Commands

There are five thanksgiving commands given in this short Psalm. And understanding and following each one, will help us keep a proper perspective on thanksgiving, and a proper focus on God, to whom we give our thanks. So, that's where I want to focus the rest of our time this morning, briefly looking at each of these commands. I think it will get us ready for this coming Thursday.

A. Speak about His blessings

The first command is in vs. 1, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth."

Literally, the Hebrew means, "shout with the force of a trumpet blast." In other words, we are to give a shout for joy to the Lord with some power in our shout. I call this, "Speak about His blessings."

-Maybe God has solved a problem you had. -Maybe He has given you a specific direction to follow. -Maybe you have been the recipient of a blessing-and you realize that it was only something God could do. -Maybe you've been healed of a difficult disease. When that happens, it's not the time to keep quite. That's the time to say something about it! The idea is, "Shout it from the roof tops!"

Illustration: I heard of a missionary who was a medical missionary for many years in India. He served in a region where the eye disease, glaucoma, had been present in the people of that region, for generations. And because of this disease, a huge number of those people were going blind in later adulthood.

But the missionary was able to treat this disease and stop the progressive blindness in those people. So, many people came to him and because of his treatment, never became blind. They realized that unlike their ancestors, they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives.

The story goes that the people never said, "Thank you," because that phrase wasn't in their language. Instead, they used a word that meant, "I will tell your name."

And literally, wherever these cured patients would go, 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. "When you realize how good God has been to you-what blessings you have received from Him-don't keep it inside. You have to speak about it-you have to say something to someone about God's goodness to you! When you do that, you're "shouting to the Lord".

B. Serve Him with gladness

The second command from this Psalm is, "Serve the Lord with gladness."

Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, "serve the church." It doesn't say "serve the pastor, or serve the leaders, or even, serve the organization." It says, "serve the Lord."

Matthew 25:40 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

I'm not sure that we grasp this, completely.

Joke: A woman leaving the worship service said to the minister, "I enjoyed the sermon." "Don't thank me. Thank the Lord," said the minister. The lady replied, "It wasn't that good."

Too often we serve out of a feeling of obligation, or of fear, or of guilt. Having been a pastor for over 20 years, I know that sometimes people even serve because they want to draw attention to themselves. But true service takes the attention off of us and places it on to God-you see, service is a concrete way of saying "thank you" to God for all His blessings. So, serve Him with gladness.

C. Show the joy of belonging to God

The third command is, "Come before Him with joyful songs."

Notice, it doesn't say, make sure those songs are on pitch, or sing something only written 200 years ago. And it doesn't say, only sing something with a head-banging beat, or even to sing a newer chorus. The emphasis is on a joyful song. The emphasis is on joy.

Rod Cooper, a man I met through the Promise Keeper organization, said this in one of his talks…

I used to be the chaplain for the Astros and the Oilers when I was in Houston, Texas. After I'd do a chapel, they'd give me tickets. One time in the Astrodome I watched Earl Campbell run over everybody, his own men included, to get to the goal line. When he got to the goal line, he threw the ball down. The place went crazy. People were giving high fives and jumping around. The score board went off. The same thing happened when the Astros hit a home run. It was a ringing shout, because their team had scored.

I'm not saying that when you come to church you need to give each other high fives or do cartwheels down the aisle, but worship is a time of anticipation and expectation. We come together because all week God has been knocking home runs and scoring touchdowns in our lives. Worship is a time to celebrate what God has done for us. (Rod Cooper, "Worship or Worry?" Preaching Today, Tape No. 108.)

This command basically says, "Show the Joy of belonging to God." Even the poorest person in this room is better off than the vast majority of the world. So, show your joy for what is yours. Express your joy. Sing about it. Let your mind dwell on those good things. In fact, some of you need to let your face know what your mind is thinking-JOY!

D. Let God be Your Shepherd

Command number four is, "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." Basically this is saying, "Let God be your shepherd." And this phrase tells us two important reasons why we should do this.

1. First, God made us. God took every bone, and every joint in your body, and welded them together with sinews and muscles. Then He covered them with skin. He gave you eyes that see, a brain that thinks, fingers that can pick things up, and legs that allow you to walk. God made everyone of us, inside and out. And He did all that "making"…very intentionally. You are made exactly the way He wants you to be.

But keep in mind, He's not done "making" any of us. That's too important a process to stop. You see, God isn't satisfied with an unfinished product. -He's not satisfied with your temper. -He's not satisfied with your mediocre commitment. -He's not satisfied with your selfishness. -He's not satisfied with your misplaced priorities. -In fact He's not satisfied with any of the weak areas of your life where you give in to temptation. So the "making" process isn't finished-thank God! No really, I mean it-thank God… because He refuses to be satisfied with mediocrity! He's still making you and me into something useful, profound, exciting and mature.

2. Second, He says, "We are His people, the sheep of His pasture." The problem with sheep comes, when the sheep try to be the shepherd. You see, sheep aren't any good at finding drinkable water, or the nourishment of the green pastures. When sheep search for these things without a shepherd, they always get either lost, or into a lot of trouble. Just think about it… …when sheep try to be the shepherd, we wind up with people leaving a church over such incredibly important kingdom matters as: music style, hurt feelings, or the pastor preaching on The Prayer of Jabez. …when sheep try to be the shepherd, we decide things based on our backgrounds, feelings, and preferences-not on the Word of God.

But God is saying, "You be the sheep. Let me be the shepherd, and I will lead you beside the still waters and I will take you to the green pastures. Just let me lead. Listen to my words in Scripture and follow them exclusively. When you see how right my leading is, you will be thankful.

E. Rely on His presence for our strength

The final command is this, "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." I call this, "Relying on His presence for our strength."

In the Old Testament, the temple symbolized the presence of God. So whenever the people came to the temple and entered the courtyards, they knew that they had physically come into the presence of God.

Well, that temple no longer exists. But when Jesus left to go into heaven, He left the Comforter-God's Holy Spirit, to be with us. That means, the presence of God is always with us. We don't have to go someplace special to "enter His gates". That means He is with you as you drive on the highway. He is with you when you work. He is with you as you care for your children. He is with you when you play shuffleboard. He is with you when you sit down at a restaurant. He is with you every moment of your life.

When we draw upon that power-the power of the presence of God-we can be thankful beyond belief, because we have the most powerful force of the universe on our side to guide us, protect us, lead us, and sustain us, no matter what life may bring our way.

But think about this-What if God began to treat us like we so often treat Him? -What if God met our needs to the same extent that we give to His work? -What if we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent the rain? -What if God stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others? -What if God took away His message because we wouldn't listen to His messenger? -What if He wouldn't bless us today because we didn't thank Him yesterday? -What if God answered our prayers the way we answer His call for service? -What if God retired from providing His care to us, because He was too old? -What if God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we did not follow Him today?

But, that's where thanksgiving comes into play. Psalms 103:10 says… He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

Friends, we can say thank you to God when we rely on His presence to guide us in our decisions, our lives and our relationships. Because He is always there, just waiting for us to call on Him. And if you're truly thankful, you will treat Him like He really counts for something!

III. Conclusion

In one of his books, Max Lucado tells about his life as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pant leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty little face. The little boy looked up at the big American and said, "Peo, Senor. Bread, Sir."

Lucado said, "There are always little beggar boys in the streets of Brazil. Usually I turn away from them because there are so many, and you can't feed them all. But there was something so compelling about this little boy that I couldn't turn away. So, taking his hand, I said, `Come with me' and I took him into a coffee shop." I told the owner, "I'll have a cup of coffee and give the boy a piece of pastry, whatever he wants."

Since the coffee counter was at the other end of the store, Lucado walked over and got a cup of coffee, forgetting about the little boy, because beggar boys usually get the bread and then run back out into the street and disappear.

But this one didn't. After he received his pastry, he went over to Lucado and just stood there. Lucado wrote, "I turned and looked at him. Standing up, his eyes just about hit my belt buckle. Then slowly his eyes came up until they met mine." The little boy, holding his pastry in one hand, looked up and said, "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

Lucado continued, "I was so touched by the boy's thanks that I would have bought him the store. I sat there for another 30 minutes, late for my class, just thinking about a little beggar boy who came back and said, `Thank you.'"

Friends, keep the image of Max Lucado's experience in your minds this Thursday. Because I think God feels the same way Max Lucado felt . When we… -Speak about His blessings; -Serve Him with gladness; -Show the joy of belonging to Him; -Let Him be our Shepherd; -and rely on His presence for our strength… …His heart bubbles inside, because we, His children, beggars everyone of us, are saying "Thank you, Sir. Thank you very much." 

Amen.