A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Psalm 100 - A Psalm of Thanksgiving

• Thanksgiving - TODAH – ("thank you!); an extension of the hand (in adoration), make confession, sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving
• Psalm 50:23a - But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

• Shout - raise a sound; give a blast; war-cry; alarm of battle; shout of triumph (over enemies); shout for joy

Worship the Lord with gladness.

• Worship - to serve
• Gladness -  exceeding gladness, joy, mirth, pleasure, rejoice
• Zephaniah 3:17 - “For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice (to be bright, cheerful, be glad, make mirth) over you with great gladness (glee, celebration, exceeding joyfulness, mirth, pleasure, rejoicing). With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult (to spin around, under the influence of a violent emotion, rejoice) over you by singing (a creaking or a shrill sound, ie: shout of joy, cry, gladness, proclamation, triumph) a happy song.” 

Come before him, singing with joy.

• Come - same as v. 4 - "Enter"
• Before Him - "the face of God;" His presence
• Singing with joy - shout for joy, celebrate with great joy, triumphing

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

• Acknowledge - "to know" (last week's sermon, "That I May Know Him"); perceive, learn, be acquainted with; understand; get to know; experience

He made us, and we are his.

• Nehemiah 9:6 - “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you."
• John 1:3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
• Isaiah 45:9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’"

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

• Luke 15:4-7; John 10:1-18

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;

• Enter - (see above - 'come')
• Thanksgiving - (see above - 'Todah')

Go into his courts with praise.

• Praise - (TEHILLAH) - song or hymn of praise; adoration; thanksgiving; praise (demanded by qualities or deeds or attributes of God); "for who He is" -- result of *knowing* God
• Psalm 22:3 - Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
• Psalm 66:2-3;8 - Sing about the glory of his name!  Tell the world how glorious he is.  Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!  Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.  Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs. … Let the whole world bless our God and loudly sing his praises."

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

• Give thanks - to use the hand, as to throw; to revere and worship; celebration
• Bless - "to bend the knee;" act of adoration; salutation; impart or invoke favor; cause to prosper
• Name - (SHEM) - "the Name;" conveys more than merely identity, but reputation, fame, glory; make famous

For the Lord is good.

• Good -beautiful, best, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, fair, be in favor, fine, glad, gracious, joyful, kindly, loving, merry, pleasant, pleasure, precious, prosperity, sweet, wealth, welfare 

His unfailing love continues forever,

• Love - Goodness; kindness; faithfulness; mercy; favor

And his faithfulness continues to each generation.

• Faithfulness - firmness; security; stability; truth

Application:

• What are YOU thankful to God for?  How are you expressing that thanksgiving?
• Make EVERY day a day of THANKSGIVING. 
• Psalm 103:1 ESV Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
• Psalm 103:1 NLT Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

That I May Know Him

Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

• From the invitation to "follow me" to the command to "go and make disciples of all nations," why would the disciples follow and go when it would cost many of them their social status, their friends and families, their jobs, even their lives?
• “In the New Testament, the Greek word translated "power" is dunamis, the source of the English words dynamic and dynamite, both of which are easily associated with "power." In addition, dunamis can also be translated "mighty works" and "wonderful works." The implication is not just the capacity for activity or accomplishment, but actual actions and achievements of such magnitude that they inspire a sense of wonder in others. Similarly, dunamis is also translated "miracles" a few times.” (Forerunner Commentary)

Ephesians 1:15-23 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

2 Peter 1:3-4 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

See the Value

Opening Verses:

• Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
• Romans 11:36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

You're not going to get anything out of church, or out of the Kingdom of Heaven, unless you see the value in it!

See the Value of the Kingdom

• Matthew 13:44-26 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"
• Discovering something you've inherited, rightfully owned all along, learning of the material value, the heritage value, and eventually the personal value.
• Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.
• Joshua Bell story
• Matthew 6:21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Christ Saw the Value in Us

• Luke 12:6-7 "What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."
• Touch of the Master's Hand

See the Value in Other People

• People are valuable because they are valuable to God.
• John 21:15-19 "Do you love me? … Feed My sheep." "Follow Me."

Help Others "See the Value" through Evangelism & Discipleship

Evangelism - "The active calling of people to respond to the message of grace and commit oneself to God in Jesus Christ."

• 2 Corinthians 3:3-7 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
• Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
• No "one size fits all approach." Each person is unique, the sum of their temperaments, experiences, perspectives, values, beliefs, etc.
• Ezekiel 33:30-32 “Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’ So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!"
• Not everyone will receive your message. Don't let that stop you. The joy set before you is well worth the pain and rejection along the way.

Discipleship

• Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
• (from "Multiply: A Call to Disciple Making" by Francis Chan): "What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? As you will discover, the answer is fairly simple, but it changes your life completely. The word disciple refers to a student or apprentice. Disciples in Jesus’s day would follow their rabbi (which means teacher) wherever he went, learning from the rabbi’s teaching and being trained to do as the rabbi did. Basically, a disciple is a follower, but only if we take the term follower literally. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is as simple as obeying His call to follow. When Jesus called His first disciples, they may not have understood where Jesus would take them or the impact it would have on their lives, but they knew what it meant to follow. They took Jesus’s call literally and began going everywhere He went and doing everything He did. It’s impossible to be a disciple or a follower of someone and not end up like that person. Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). That’s the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus: we imitate Him, carry on His ministry, and become like Him in the process."

Do you see the value in the Kingdom of God? Do you see the value in the people for whom Jesus Christ came to seek and to save, and for whom He gave up His very life? Are you doing everything in your power to live out the Gospel to which you've been called?