Being Thankful

 

Scripture Text

Psalm 100

Intro: The attitude when you enter church will determine how you perceive everything that takes place. We are to enter God's house with our focus on Him. When we focus on all the wonderful attributes of God our hearts are filled with thankfulness to Him.

I. We Are to Shout Joyfully to the Lord! Psalm 100:1 (NKJV) ¹  Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Here we are told every nation is to “Shout joyfully to God!” We who have been saved and made a child of God should give a joyful shout of praise to God for all He has done for us. Lets all praise God with a big Hallelujah! One day when Jesus returns to rule and reign on this earth, the devil and all his demons will be defeated. When this happens all nations will shout for joy. We who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus will join in with those of all nations to give a joyful shout of praise to God! This is a shout of victory over evil, over sin, over the devil and all wickedness! One thousand years of peace on earth as we rule and reign with Christ and then a new heaven and earth in which we will serve God forever! What a day that will be!

II. Being Thankful Means Joyfully Serving God! Psalm 100:2 (NKJV) ²  Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. If we are truly thankful We will serve God with our spiritual gifts and We serve Him with gladness. Our singing to God with joyful songs is a means of worshiping Him. As we worship we focus on God and show our reverent honor, respect and adoration to Him because He has given His only begotten Son to die for the penalty of our sins and make us His children. God now freely gives us all things through Jesus. When you think of God's love, mercy and grace in all He has done for us, it's not hard to serve Him, sing to Him and show Him the honor, respect and reverence due His name.

III. Being Thankful Means We Follow God! Psalm 100:3 (NKJV) Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. We acknowledge He alone is God and there is no other. He is sovereign over all. We acknowledge God is the One who made us, we belong to Him. In Genesis 2:7 God “formed” man out of the dust of the ground. He made us in His image and likeness. He has also made a covenant with us through the shed blood of Jesus. We now belong to Him. Because we are His, God instructs us, He leads us. We follow Him because we are the sheep of His pasture and He is our good Shepherd. Psalm 23:1-2 (NKJV) ¹  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul! Because God is our Shepherd all our needs are met. God our Shepherd leads us His sheep to rest and refreshment. He restores our soul. Jesus said In Matthew 11:28-29 (NKJV) ²⁸  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

IV. Being Thankful Means We Praise and Bless His Name! Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. We are to enter God's house with our focus on Him, thanking, praising and blessing His name for all the wonderful things He has done for us. That's our reason for gathering together in His house. When we Bless His name, it means we proclaim as holy. It means we give all glory to Him as we lift up His name. We say good things about our heavenly Father when we leave this place. We tell others what awesome things God has done for us and what He wants to do for them. The truly thankful person is one who can see the hand of God in things around him and can see the hand of God working in their life. A thankful person sees the incredible things that God has done for them and others so that praise can be offered to God. It is not natural for people to simply thank God for all things, but it's something that has to be developed through constant exercise. It takes time to stop our mind and discipline it to thank Him for His Works in us. From His word we learn that everything perfect and good is from God.

James 1:17-19 (NLT) ¹⁷  Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. ¹⁸  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. Bless His holy name!

V. We Are to Thank God For His Unchanging Character! Psalm 100:5 (NKJV)  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. God has been, is and always will be good. Good means morally excellent; perfect; innocent; and righteous. God is and always will be merciful in His dealings with mankind. Mercy means compassion for the miserable and a desire to help. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open for God to exercise mercy toward mankind. He is truth! Truth means that which is true and in accordance with reality. God's character never changes. Every generation can count on God being the same as He was in history and will be the same for ages to come. Thank God that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Invitation: We are to be thankful to God for His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? You come to know Jesus when you confess your sins to Him and ask Him to forgive you and save you from Hell and for Heaven. If you have not done that now is the right time.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You, praise, magnify and honor Your name for all You have done for us. Help us to always remember to give You thanks on a daily basis. We recognize that You made us and we belong to You because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Help us as we leave here to always bring honor to Your name by what we say and how we live our lives. May we always be good witnesses for You in front of others and when we are alone.