The Lord is Good
Last year, 83% of Americans celebrated Thanksgiving and the vast majority agreed that the purpose of Thanksgiving is to 'give thanks'. Pretty obvious - it's right there in the name. But for the percentage of Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving and claim to not believe in God - I have to ask, give thanks to whom? Many don't necessarily think of 'Thanksgiving' as an overly religious holiday - but that's because they don't understand its beginning.
In 1789, George Washington made the first presidential thanksgiving proclamation. I'd like to read select portions of that proclamation. And this is not just a history lesson but reminding us again of the faith upon which our nation was founded.
"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 signal favors of Almighty God,"
"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies … for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed,"
"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations … and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, … – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best."
- Sounds pretty religious to me. Both houses of congress officially set aside a day of giving thanks to God. (And that in light of their understanding of the concept of 'separation of Church and state'.) President Washington recommended we give thanks to Almighty God. That's not a new idea. If we check in scripture we'll find that…
I. Giving thanks is commanded
Obviously I'm going to talk about giving thanks at Thanksgiving time - but when I personally don't look forward to talking about a particular topic - that's when I know I need to. And that's why God commands some things - so we can't avoid it whether we feel like it or not. I want us to look at a passage that I want to use as the basis of this message. Let's look at Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV)...
A psalm. For giving thanks. Shout 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.
The 100th Psalm was written for the people of Israel. God said to them, 'When you come into the Promised Land, and settle down in your warm homes, and you have plenty to eat, don't forget Me. I led you out of the wilderness and I brought you into a land flowing with milk & honey.' The people of Israel needed a strong reminder to give thanks, and I'm afraid that we still need it, too. I need it...
You would think that as the most prosperous nation on the face of the earth, we would also be the most thankful. But that's not the case, is it? Giving thanks was a command. And notice that it doesn't say, "When things are really going great, then"…
A. Shout for joy
Notice that nowhere in that passage did it tie blessings or circumstances to the call to "shout for joy to the Lord". Regardless of our circumstances, we are to shout for joy! Now I'm not naturally much of a 'shouting for joy' kind of guy. I'm not usually overly demonstrative of 'joy' - not shouting - especially not in a worship service. I wouldn't want people to think I'm Pentecostal, right?
But I am called to 'shout for joy to the Lord'. And of course I make the argument that I don't want it to be just an emotional response - but I also know that God did give me emotions. Granted some are more in touch with their emotions than others - but we should have some sort of emotional response to God. And according to this passage - that emotional response should be shouting for joy.
Why? Does God like to hear us shout? Maybe. But maybe our joyful response is not just for His benefit...? Perhaps our joyful response is also to let others know to whom credit is due. The Bible says this about Jesus after His resurrection from the dead in Acts 10:41-42 (NIV)...
He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen - by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. (42) He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
Those of us who know Jesus are supposed to tell others what He has done in our lives. Maybe the joyful shouting is to get their attention? We're called to shout our joy in Jesus from the mountain tops! And if you can't find any joy in your relationship with Jesus - you don't understand Jesus! You don't understand His grace and His power to transform lives!
Who am I without Jesus? I'm not a 'good guy'. Without Jesus I'm a broken, selfish, self centered guy. Who I am without Jesus is a sinner bound for Hell. - With Jesus and with His grace I am a saint with the promise of Heaven! If you can't muster up a joyful shout somewhere for that - your understanding of Jesus is all wrong; your understanding about God's view of sin and His righteousness and justice is completely off the mark! When you fully understand how thankful we can be for God's grace - you'll find that joy!
And moving on in Psalm 100 - again, notice it doesn't say, "Only when things are going really great, only then"…
B. Worship the Lord
In verse 2, we see that phrase, "Worship the Lord". I want to take a quick look again at that verse in two different translations. First in the NIV…
Psalms 100:2 (NIV)
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
And then in the King James Version…
Psalms 100:2 (KJV)
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Why does one say "worship" and one say "serve"? The original word that was used by the Psalmist literally meant "to work". Some versions translate it as "worship" and others as "serve" – but both are accurate when we understand that worship and service are very closely related. Worship is an action.
When you look at the Biblical concept of worship it isn't just about singing. Singing is a part of worship, but worship is more about giving your life to God. Service isn't just doing a job, but about working with joy for God's glory! We are to worship, to work, to serve God with gladness in every circumstance. And how are we to serve God?
Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
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.'
How do we worship God? How do we serve Him with gladness? By graciously and lovingly serving those in need - that's worship.
And moving forward in our passage, notice again that Psalm 100 doesn't say, "When things are going really great, then come before Him"...
C. With joyful songs
We're called to shout God's greatness, to worship Him, to serve Him and to sing in all circumstances. It reminds me of the account in the book of Acts where Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in jail and then at midnight decided it was a good time to start singing praise to God. They understood that God deserved their praise whether they were warm and well in the comfort of their homes or beaten and exhausted in a jail cell.
I grew up in a very traditional Church where we sang mostly hymns. Previous to serving at Deep River, I was at a Church where we very rarely sang a hymn. Here we sing many contemporary songs with some older hymns mixed in. Which is the proper way to sing to God?
It's not about the style but the expression - the outward response to God in song. We are called, as followers of Jesus, to worship God – to sing to Him despite our musical preference or ability or circumstances or even our mood. God deserves your praise in every situation and circumstance and season!
Now - that being said - research has shown that there is a condition that affects roughly 4% of the population. The formal name is "Congenital amusia", where a person is born with the inability to process or discern music and therefore have very little appreciation for music. So for those few people - I suppose they might get a small 'pass'. But for all of us - perhaps it's not so much about the actual singing as much as it has to do with the attitude behind our singing...? Our 'singing songs' is not just for our benefit, but for His glory!
Colossians 3:15-16 (NIV)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
If we want to demonstrate our thankfulness to God – we're called to sing. And in verse 3 of Psalm 100, we are also reminded to…
D. Know
Know what? It says, "know that the Lord is God". Why does He need me to know and acknowledge that? If I don't, will God somehow be diminished or feel hurt? - No. This verse isn't included for God's benefit, it's for ours. If I don't know, and live out the fact that the Lord is God, that He is the Sovereign King, that He is in control, it's not God who will miss out – it's me. Let's look at that verse again…
Psalms 100:3 (NIV)
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.
He made us, not the other way around. God is The Creator, The authority! If I miss that, my understanding of everything else in creation is twisted. If I miss that - I won't understand my place and purpose in God's creation. If I miss that - I might be tempted to place my own opinion higher than God's revealed Word in scripture. And when it comes to the attitude of 'thanksgiving' - If I miss the fact that the Lord is God - I will most likely blame God for the bad things in my life rather than praise Him despite those bad things.
Psalms 139:13-14 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (14) I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
God made you! And He made you just the way He wanted you. He made you for His purposes! When you really understand that and mature in that understanding, then it becomes much easier to learn to give thanks in every situation.
And let's look at the final command from the Psalm.
E. Enter His gates
We are called to shout God's greatness, to worship Him, to serve Him and to sing in all circumstances knowing that He is God! So let's look at that again, we are told to…
Psalms 100:4-5 (NIV)
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.
When the Israelites read this in Old Testament times, they would have understood it as referring to the Temple gates and court. That was where they entered into the presence of God. That Temple no longer exists, but we are still called to gather together to praise God as a group. And there are benefits both for God and for us by our 'corporate' act of worship.
It can be very encouraging seeing fellow believers - who we know are not experiencing the best of times - but still seeing them praise God. And it's very comforting to know that we are not alone! There are many likeminded, faithful believers trying to live out our lives for God!
But there's also a personal aspect of entering into God's presence. Some of us refer to this room as the Sanctuary, to remind us that God's presence is here. And that's accurate in the sense that God's presence is here. But God's presence isn't only here in this room. God's presence is here because we are here. We have God's Holy Spirit in us – so it's also accurate to say that we are God's sanctuary.
God is not limited to a mere room, a 'sanctuary' built by human hands. When we accept Jesus, God's spirit lives in us as a 'human sanctuary'. Under the New Covenant, God's presence is now with us and in us! Mankind's interaction with God is no longer contained to a specific building or room. When we understand that, we have yet another huge reason to give thanks to God.
So What?
We are commanded to give thanks to God because of who He is regardless of our circumstances. Do we stop and appreciate just how blessed we are simply because He is our God? Do we really know just how good we have it with God, or do we somehow think that He should do something more for us to appreciate Him? I want to close with another passage from Psalms for a bit of perspective.
Psalms 103:8-12 (NIV)
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. (9) He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; (10) he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (11) For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; (12) as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
If God never gives you another blessing other than the forgiveness of your sins – you are still truly blessed! Don't just say "thank you" to God – live it, and please tell others!