Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving

Enter His Gates With

Thanksgiving

Steve W. Reeves

INTRODUCTION:

A. If you were invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, you would be

    expected to adhere to a strict protocol. Among the rules you would observe would

    be the following.

    1. The “no-touch” rule. An individual who meets the Queen is not permitted to touch

       her. You must wait for her to extend her hand. You must not grip her hand tightly

       and you must not hold it for more than a few seconds. There are no hugs, no kiss

       on the cheek or touching in any way.

    2. The “correct speech” rule. In addressing the Queen, you are expected to refer to

       her initially as, “Your Majesty,” and following this as “Ma’am.” You are not

       permitted to speak unless the Queen speaks to you.

    3. The “dress” rule. We live in a very informal society. However, in the world of Kings

       and Queens, formality is still the rule. Women are expected to wear a dress. Men

       are to wear a dark suit and tie.

    4. The “eating” rule. When tea and snacks are served, no one is to continue eating

       after the Queen has finished. Tea must be one sip at a time with the cup returned to

       the saucer after each sip. 

    5. These are only a few of the rules of etiquette one must observe in meeting the

       Queen.  (Source: Royal Etiquette: Do's and Don'ts When Meeting Her Majesty, by

          Huma Khan, ABC News).

 B. What does the Bible say about the way we come before God? Is there a proper

    décor? Is there a certain protocol? From Psalm 93 through Psalm 101 there is a

    group of Psalms that address this question.

    1. Psalm 93:1 – “The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord has clothed

       and girded Himself with strength. Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not

       be moved.”

    2. Psalm 95:1 – “O Come, Sing to the Lord.”

    3. Psalm 96:1 – “Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth.”

    4. Psalm 97:1 – “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad.”

    5. Psalm 98:1 – “O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things.”

    6. Psalm 99:3 – “Let them praise Your great and awesome name.”

    7. Psalm 101:1 – “I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, To You, O Lord, I will sing

       praises.”

    8. Psalm 105:1 – “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name.”

    9. Psalm 106 and 107 both begin the same way. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is

       good, His love endures forever.”

C. Within this group of Psalms” there is one that is particularly relevant to us during the

    Thanksgiving season.  Psalm 100 says:

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. ² Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing. ³ Know that the Lord Himself is God;

             It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep

             of His pasture. ⁴ Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise.

             Give thanks to Him, bless His name. ⁵ For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is

             everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations

D. This Psalm is constructed around four words.

I. SHOUT!

    A. “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.”  This statement in also found in Psalm

       98:4. It conveys the idea of an outward display of an inner attitude.

       1. When you attend a football game and your team scores a touchdown, how does

           the crowd respond? They engage in an outward display of an inner attitude.

       2. When a candidate for political office wins an election and delivers his victory

           Speech, how does the crowd respond?

       3. In both cases, there is jubilation, excitement and shouting.

    B. When the Psalmist says, “Shout joyfully to the LORD,” he is talking about showing

       homage to royalty. Picture a large crowd of people shouting praise and adoration to

       their King or Queen. Notice three things about this command.

       1. To whom is it directed?

           a. “All the earth.”

           b. The command to express praise is given to every person regardless of

               nationality, race, ethnicity, social status, educational level or language.

           c. In a world filled with division there is one way for us to unite. When we are

               praising and worshipping God together, we become one in spirit and purpose.

       2. Who is the recipient of this praise?

           a. The word LORD is used to describe the name YAHWEH, “I AM.” This is the

               covenant name of God with His people.    

           b. When we assemble to worship, we should have only one thing on our agenda.

               That one thing is to meet God. God’s agenda is to meet us. Our worship and

               praise is to God. We are not cheering for ourselves. We are not exalting

               ourselves. It is all about God.

       3. By what is this praise characterized?

           a. Shout with joy!

           b. Worship should be the most joyful activity in which we engage. Supreme Court

               Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., served on the nation’s highest court for

               over thirty years. He is reputed to have had one of the brightest legal minds to

               ever serve in that position. Holmes once said he gave serious consideration to

               becoming a minister but too many preachers looked like undertakers.     

           c. Psalm 66:1 begins with the same words as Psalm 100. “Shout joyfully to God,

               all the earth.”

           d. Psalm 98:6 declares, “Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.”

 

II. SERVE!

    A. In verse 2, the Psalmist declares, “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him

       with joyful singing.”

    B. In this context the word “serve” means “worship.” How does God want us to

       worship Him?

       1. Does God want us to worship Him with a sad countenance, a heavy heart and a

           spirit of drudgery? Some churches look like they are the most miserable people

           on earth.

       2. “Gladness” means to be joyful. Each of us comes to worship with an attitude. It is

            up to us choose the attitude we will possess.

    C. We do not come before God empty-handed. When foreign dignitaries visit one

       another, they often present gifts to their host. When the Magi or “wise men” visited

       the infant Jesus, they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Psalmist

       says, “Come before the Lord with singing.” God is not interested in the quality of

       your voice. He is interested in the praise from your heart.

III. KNOW!

    A. Notice verse 3 – “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us,

       and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

    B. There are two essential truths we must know.

       1. The reality of God.

           a. This Psalm said, “The LORD (YAHWEH) is God.”

           b. What does an atheist do on Thanksgiving? Who do they thank for the

               necessities of life? Who do they thank for the relationships of family and

               friends? In one episode of the TV cartoon “The Simpsons,” the character Bart

               was asked to say the blessing at Thanksgiving. He said, “God, this is our food.

              We worked for it. We paid for it. So, thanks for nothing.” How sad it would be to

                live a life that does not recognize the reality of God and the blessings He

               provides.

       2. The relationship with God.

           a. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

           b. There is not a more beautiful description of the relationship between God and

               man than this one. We are His people. He claims us for Himself. Everyone

               around you may reject you, but God says, “You are mine.” We are His sheep.

               The most famous Psalm reminds us, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not

               want” (Psalm 23).

IV. ENTER!

    A. Verses 4 and 5 are the climactic verses of this Psalm – “Enter His gates with

       thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

       ⁵For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all

       generations.”

    B. Why is God worthy of thanksgiving?

       1. Because He is good.

           a. In Genesis 1, everything God created was good. How could it have been

               otherwise, considering that He is good?

           b. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,

               coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or

               shifting shadow.”

       2. Because of His lovingkindness. This word is the Old Testament equivalent of

           “grace.”

       3. Because of his faithfulness. Whatever may change in your life, you can be

           assured of the faithfulness of God.

    B. A group of wealthy people were asked what they wanted for Christmas. Would it

       be a vacation home? A new car? A mink coat? One lady had an interesting request.

       “I want the gift of thankfulness for all that I already have.” Wouldn’t that make a

       huge difference in our lives?

CONCLUSION

A. A woman was shopping on “Black Friday” and became weary. She stopped at the

    coffee bar and bought a mocha and a small bag of cookies which she put in her

    shopping bag. The only seat available was at a table where a man was sitting. She

    asked for permission to sit, and he nodded as he read his newspaper. The woman

    took out a magazine and began to read as she sipped her coffee. She reached for a

    cookie on the table and put it in her mouth. In just a moment, the man reached for a

    cookie and ate it. She thought, “How rude. He didn’t even ask me for one of my

    cookies.” She took another one and ate it. Soon, he reached and took another cookie

    as he smiled at her. This went on for several minutes until there was only one cookie

    left. The man looked at her, she looked at him. He picked the cookie up, broke it in

    half and offered half to her. She was irate! Quickly she folded her magazine and put it

    in her shopping bag where she saw, to her horror, her own bag of unopened cookies!

 B. Sometimes we do a lot of “taking” from God without doing much giving.

    1. What does God want from us?

    2. He wants us to come before Him with the praise and thanksgiving of a transformed

       life.

C. Will you “enter His gates with thanksgiving?”

The Joy of Thankful Living

The Joy of Thankful Living

Steve W. Reeves

 
INTRODUCTION:

A. Rudyard Kipling, the British writer, was so popular during his life that he received ten

    shillings per word for his writing. Some college students thought they would have a

    little fun so they sent him ten shillings with a note that said, “Send us your best word.”

    Kipling wrote back, “Thanks.”

    1. There is always something to be thankful about.

    2. A little boy brought home his report card and told his father, “I think you will be very

       thankful.” His father looked at the card and saw several “D’s” and “F’s.”  “Why

       should I be thankful for marks like these?” he asked. “Because, I’m not cheating,”

       replied the boy.

B. The act of giving thanks is commanded and exemplified in the Bible.

    1. The book of Psalms contains the word “thanks” 62 different times.

    2. There are four occasions in the Gospels where Jesus offered thanks.

       a. Luke 10:11 – “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, ‘I thank thee, O

           Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise

           and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it

           seemed good in thy sight.’”

       b. John 6:11 – “Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed

           to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.”

       c. John 11:41 – “Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that

           You have heard Me. ⁴² I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the

           people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.’”

       d. Luke 22:17-19 – “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said,

           ‘Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the

           fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’ ¹⁹ And when He

           had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying,

           ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”

      3. The apostle Paul was thankful.

           a. Romans 1:8 – “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your

               faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”

           b. 1 Corinthians 1:4 -  “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of

               God which was given you in Christ Jesus.”

           c. Philippians 1:3 – “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always

               offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.”

C. When you think about it, there is great joy in the practice of thankful living.       

I. IT WILL BRING JOY TO YOUR POSSESSIONS

    A. Do you know why many people are miserable? They have never learned to be

       thankful and content with what they have. Your possessions do not bring joy but a

       thankful life will enjoy its possessions whether they be many or few.

       1. In Luke 12:15 Jesus had been approached by a man who asked him to tell his

           brother to share the family inheritance. Jesus saw something in this man’s

           attitude that prompted Him to give this warning. “Beware, and be on your guard

           against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his

           life consist of his possessions.”

       2. Jesus went on to tell a parable. “The land of a rich man was very productive.

           ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no

           place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down

           my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

           ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years

           to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You

           fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you

           have prepared?’”

           a. Was this man joyful? No!

           b. He was always coveting more. He was not content with what he had.

    B. Have you ever heard of Bernie Madoff?

       1. Madoff is a former investment advisor and stockbroker.

       2. He was a high ranking executive with NASDAQ, His financial firm was a Wall

           Street success for over forty years

       3. He seemed to have everything. He wanted more. He began defrauding

           customers and eventually accumulated over 64.8 billion dollars in his Ponzi

           scheme. That’s the largest case of fraud in American history. He was convicted

           in 2008 and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

       4. Why did this happen to a successful businessman? He was not thankful for what

           he had.      

    C. At the conclusion of the parable Jesus told in Luke 12, He said, “So is the man

       who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).

       1. Benjamin Franklin used to say, “Contentment will make a poor man rich.

           Discontentment will make a rich man poor.”

       2. In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul wrote, “I have learned to be content in whatever

           circumstances I am. ¹² I know how to get along with humble means, and I also

           know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the

           secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering

           need. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

       3. Country music star, Dolly Parton, grew up in the mountains of east Tennessee.

           One of Dolly’s early hit songs told the true story of her mother making a coat for

           her out of scraps of material. Other children laughed at her coat of many colors

           but Dolly never forgot the love that motivated each stitch and the warmth and joy

           that coat brought her.

II. IT WILL BRING JOY TO YOUR POSITION

    A. Look at these passages of scripture with me.

       1. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in

           Christ Jesus.”

       2. Ephesians 5:20 - “Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord

           Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.”

       3. Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom

           teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual

           songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

       3. All of these verses teach that thanksgiving should be a continual action in life.

    B. Are you thankful to be the age you are?

       1. You should be. There is nothing you can do about it.

       2. In Psalm 90:10 we read, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
           or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For

           soon it is gone and we fly away.”

       3. Two verses later in verse 12 the Psalmist wrote, “So teach us to number our

           days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

       4. I have known people who were miserable because of their age. Some young

           people are miserable because they want to be older, out on their own and away

           from parents. Some who are students can’t wait for graduation and the freedom it

           promises. Young people, do you realize that for each of you who wants to be

           older there is an old person who would give anything to be young again.. I met a

           man several years ago who told me he was 95 years old. He said, “Insider every

           old person is a teenager wondering what went wrong.”

       5. There are some who are older who are miserable because they are old. Some

           people spend thousands of dollars to have everything lifted up but “Father Time”

           keeps dragging it down.

       6. How much better it is to be thankful for the age you are. When someone asks

           your age you can reply, “I’m the age God wants me to be.”

    C. This same principle is true in many different ways.

       1. If you are male or female be thankful for the fact that God had a purpose and

           plan in creating male and female (Genesis 1:27).

       2. If you are single you can be thankful for the opportunities your singleness

           provides. Paul expressed thankfulness in 1 Corinthians 7:7, “I wish that all

           men were as I am.”

       3. If you are married you should be thankful for the husband or wife with whom you

           have been blessed. Proverbs 18:27 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing

           and obtains favor from the Lord.”

       4. There is joy in being thankful for your position in life.

III. IT WILL BRING JOY TO YOUR PROFESSION

    A. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord

       rather than for men.”

    B. Why should you be thankful for your job?

       1. Be thankful for your calling. There is a need for what you do. You would not be

           where you are if you were not fulfilling a need.         

       2. Be thankful for your colleagues. If you think that there is nothing in your

           colleagues to be thankful for then be thankful you have the opportunity to

           influence them.            

       3. Be thankful for you competitors who keep you on your toes.

       4. Be thankful for your capabilities. God has blessed you with the ability to work.

 

IV. IT WILL BRING JOY TO YOUR PROBLEMS

    A. Do you have more problems than Joseph in Genesis 37-50?

       1. He was hated by his brothers who wanted to kill him.

       2. He was sold as a slave, falsely accused and imprisoned.

       3. He was separated from his family.

       4. He told his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for

           good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive”

           (Genesis 50:20).

    B. What would happen if you were imprisoned because you had been telling others

       about Jesus? In Acts 16:25 Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi. Were they

       complaining and crying? On the contrary, they were singing and praying. The other

       prisoners heard them. The jailor heard them. What happened as a result of their

       imprisonment?  

       1. The Jailor was so impressed that in a moment of crisis he turned to them for help

           (Acts 16:30-33).

       2. When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi he said that his imprisonment in Rome

           had benefitted the Gospel (Philippians 1:12-14).  

    C. “I Am Thankful For.”

       1. I’m thankful for the taxes I pay, because it means I have a job.

       2. I’m thankful for dirty dishes in my sink, because they mean I have had food to

           eat.

       3. I’m thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and

           gutters than need fixing, because it means I have a home to live in.

       4. I’m thankful for the person behind me in church who sings off key, because it

           means I can hear.

       5. I’m thankful for piles of laundry and ironing, because it means my loved ones

           are near.

       6. I’m thankful for the alarm that goes off early in the morning, because it means

           I’m alive. (Unknown author).

    D. Fanny Crosby was born in 1820 and lost her eyesight when she was an infant.

       She lost her father when she was only a year old. When her grandmother heard of

       Fanny’s blindness she said, “I will be her eyes.” She spent hours with Fanny

       carefully describing the world, reading to her and kneeling beside her bed in prayer.

       With her grandmother’s help Fanny memorized the first four books of the Bible, the

       four Gospels, the book of Proverbs and man of the Psalms. Fanny Crosby lived to

       be 95 years old. In her lifetime she wrote six thousand hymns including, “A

       Wonderful Savior.” Pay close attention to this verse, “With numberless blessings

       each moment He crowns, and filled with His fullness divine. I sing in my rapture, O

       glory to God, for such a Redeemer as mine!”

CONCLUSION:

A. H.A. Ironside was a preacher in the 1800’s. On one occasion he went to dinner at a

    crowded restaurant. The only seat was at a table where a well-dressed man was

    seated. Ironside asked the man if he might join him. The man replied, “yes” and they

    began to chat in casual conversation. When Ironside’s meal arrived, he quietly bowed

    his head and thanked God. The other man said, “Oh, you’re one of those, are you?

    Well I’ll have you to know I’m not thankful to anyone. I earn my living by the sweat of

    my brow. When my food comes I just start right in.” Ironside said, “Sir, my dog does

    the same thing!”

B. God has given us the capacity to live a thankful life. The greater your thankfulness

    the greater your joy will be. Above all we can be thankful for the salvation that is

    offered us through Christ. If you are not His disciple may I invite you to come to Him

    in faith, repentance and baptism today?