Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
November 23, 2003
Thanksgiving Sermon
“Approaching God”
Psalm 95
Introduction: It is not always easy to approach God. Often our lifestyles have become so crowded with other priorities that we can’t seem to get around to thinking about God and how He wants to be involved in our life. Sometimes we are loaded down with the cares and busyness of our lives or with the guilt of our sins that we speed through the days without even getting to the really important things. We take for granted the many blessings that God gives us on a daily basis. It doesn’t occur to us to say, “Thank You.”
We are often so far away from Him in our thoughts that we don’t know how to approach Him. What do we say, what do we do? Today’s Psalm gives us some helpful insights into how to draw near to the Lord. It is a good Psalm especially for this Thanksgiving season.
1. Making the Effort: First of all the Psalm says COME let us sing for joy to the Lord. In approaching the Lord we have to make the move to COME to the Lord. To make an effort. Even though He breaks into our lives at many points along the way, we’ve got to take the initiative to take time out to stop what we are doing and focus our attention on what He is trying to say to us. There are many stop signs along the way that God uses to get our attention. Sometimes it is trouble or sickness or financial setbacks. We often ignore these stop signs and move right on our way.
ILLUSTRATION: In Mexico our wagonmaster told us, “People don’t stop for the stop signs here,” but they DO stop for the “TOPES.” A tope is a speed bump in the streets. We were warned to “watch out for the topes!”
The Psalmist says, “COME let us sing for joy to the Lord.” Stop at the STOP SIGNS, and at the TOPES and turn your thoughts toward God. That is the First Step in approaching Him. It doesn’t happen automatically. You have to make the effort to turn your thoughts toward God--to bring yourself to a place where you are ABLE to be THANKFUL and to the place where you can sing for joy.
Often we come to church out of habit. It is what we DO on Sunday mornings. We go through the routine without much joy or enthusiasm. Just “get it over with” for another week. In addition to taking the initiative to COME to church or to the Lord, we approach him more than merely showing up for an hour. We enter in with a particular kind of attitude--a joyful one--with singing, shouting aloud with thanksgiving and music and with some enthusiasm. With an expectation that God is going to do something in our lives.
ILLUSTRATION: We pulled into our campground at San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico later than usual. It had been a long day’s ride from Los Mochis and our bus was to pick us up at 5:00 p.m. to go to a nice restaurant for our farewell dinner. Each RV was being parked but one had been overlooked. When we were walking up the street to get on the bus one woman in our group said, “I’m mad! I’m in a pout!. The whole evening is ruined and I didn’t have time to even change clothes. I’m in a pout!”
Sometimes it doesn’t take much to put us “in a pout: and it causes our entire morning worship service to be ruined. The hour slips by and we have failed to approach the Lord with Singing, Shouting, Joy and Thanksgiving.
How are you coming before the Lord today? Have the pressures of the week put you in a “pout?” Are you upset about things that have come across your pathway this week? Let go of the things that are hindering you from coming into His presence with singing, with joy and thanksgiving. It is up to each of us to clear our hearts and minds of things that would rob us of a thankful worship experience today.
2. Why Bother?: “Sounds like too much effort. Think I’ll just stay home today. It’s been a rough week.”
Why do we bother to make the effort to COME to church--to APPROACH the Lord on our one day off from work? Why do we sing--shout for joy---act enthusiastically--and give thanksgiving to the Lord?
Sometimes even during the Thanksgiving Season we are slow to express our thanks--we ask the Lord for all kinds of things but don’t often acknowledge the daily benefits that he loads us with.
`STORY: A little girl always talked to God following saying her nightly formal prayers. Usually she would ask for many things but one night after her list of requests she paused and added, “Thank you God. AND NOW GOD, WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?"
Why do we bother to make the effort to approach God, to ask and to receive his blessings and to thank Him?
The Message Bible states it this way, “And Why? Because God is the best, high king over all the gods. In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains. He made the oceans--he owns it! His hand sculpted the earth” (Psalm 95). This verse tells us that he is WORTHY of our praise. The one who shapes the mountains and the seas is the one who calls all things into being.”
We get a sense of the awesomeness of God. He is bigger than any problem I’m facing. He is the Creator--the Sustainer, the Redeemer. We approach Him with praise and thanksgiving simply for who he is.
3. A Personal Relationship with Him: But he is not distant or aloof from us. Even though he is t he Great and Awesome Creator, verse 7 says, “for he is OUR God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”
The Message Bible says, “Oh yes, he’s our God and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds. Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks.” (vs. 7, 8).
When we realize that he is our Solid Rock and that he can lift us out of a desolate pit, out of a miry bog and set our feet upon a rock, it makes us want to shout for joy--to sing--to say a hearty thank you and often. We are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.” The shepherd is our protector and the preserver of our lives. We would have perished because of our sins if we had not come to the knowledge of his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. If it were not for God’s redeeming love we would be living in ignorance, alone, and facing eternal separation from the very presence of God. We don’t want to forget where we came from. We need to remember that when times get rough and life puts us into a “pout,” God is there for us. Scripture tells us that He guides us and directs us and watches over us even when we are not aware we are in danger. We can thank him for his watchful eye over us.
STORY: There is a story in the Talmud about a wise and pious rabbi whose name was Akiba. He had taken a trip to a strange country where he took his three possessions--a donkey, a rooster, and a lamp. When he stopped at a village for the night people would not receive him and drove him out of town. He was forced to spend the night in the forest. Being the holy and pious man he was, he took pains to say, “All that God does is done well.”
He found a tree under which to sleep and lit his lamp and prepared to read the Torah. But a fierce wind blew out the light. Later that night, wild animals came through and chased away his rooster. Still later the thieves came into his campsite and stole his donkey. But in each case Rabbi Akiba said, “All that God does is done well.”
The next morning he arose and went back to the village. There he discovered that soldiers had come and killed everyone in the village. Had he been permitted to stay there, he too would have died. He learned that the soldiers had traveled through the same part of the forest where he had slept. Had they seen his lamp or heard his rooster crow or his donkey bray, he would have been killed.
Thinking on all these things he replied as he always did, “All that God does is done well.”
Rabbi Akiba knew something about the definition of worship and thanksgiving that we all want to understand. Thank God for doing all things well.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we’ve got to make the effort to approach God whether it is easy or convenient--to stop and to redirect our thoughts toward him. To come with an attitude of the heart as well as our physical approach. We come with life and enthusiasm--with singing and thanksgiving.
We approach Him simply because of who He is--the Awesome God-Creator of the universe.
We realize that he want to be OUR God--the Rock of our salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. We see the picture of his care and concern for us as a shepherd over his sheep. We are his people, the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:1-5 (Message Bible) says,
“On your feet now--applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter and yourselves into his presence.
Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people his well-tended sheep.
Enter with the password, “Thank YOU!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
For God is sheer beauty.
All -generous in love.
Loyal always and ever.
Let us pray:
