Sermon Central
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Watchman Of Thanksgiving Series
Contributed by Don Walker on Nov 22, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: Psalm 100 leads us to joyful thanksgiving. There are 5 commands the Psalmist gives us, plus a summation of why the 5 commands are valid for giving thanks to the Lord
Watchman of Thanksgiving
Morning, November 18, 2001
Pastor Don Walker
Twentieth Street Baptist Church
www.GoToJesus.org
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 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.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
This is a hymn sung by the Jewish people as they celebrated God. It is a hymn of worship. It is a hymn of praise. It is a hymn of thanksgiving.
There is a series of 5 commands given.
I. The first command is in vs. 1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
A. Make a joyful shout.
1. A shout of loyalty and homage, as in 1 Sam. 10:24
a. Years before this time, a King was chosen for Israel EHis name was Saul (1 Samuel 10:24).
b. Samuel was the last of a long line of leaders for Israel called Judges.
Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
2. The first contemporary example I thought of is gWe Are EMarshall.E
a. Now just stay with me a moment as we put all of this in perspective (Ifm not being disrespectful to the Lord!)
b. Suppose we would form a cheer for God Ewhat might it be like?
1) gPraise the Lord Eevery nation!E
2) "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).
3) "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11).
4) Letfs try one! -- gHoly, Holy, Holy Eis the Lord God AlmightyE
5) Another EgYou are worthy, our Lord and God Eto receive glory, honor, and power!E
B. gAll you lands.E
1. The psalmist is speaking of the nations of the world.
2. The nations must recognize who the Lord is.
a. He is "the LORD" by whose grace and blessings people exist.
b. The nations are invited to sing hymns to the Lord and to worship him.
c. The invitation is a free offer.
d. The submission to his rule comes out of a heart response of joy and gratitude.
C. This is praising God from the depths of your being.
1. Perhaps you have had a problem or a question that has been bothering you EGod solved it.
2. It might be that God has given a blessing, so you give praise and thanksgiving to Him
Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself and told an interesting story. He said, "I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they matured."
But this missionary had developed a process which would arrest progressive blindness. So people came to him for treatment. After the people had been treated they knew they would have become blind without the treatment, but now they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives.
The strange thing was that they never said, "Thank you." There was no way they could say thank you in their language. They had no word for thanks. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.
(adapted from Pastor Melvin Newland)
3. This is part of what the Psalmist commands.
a. Make a joyful shout because you realize that God has accomplished something so good you canft keep it inside any more.
b. From the depths of your being you shout your joy unto the Lord.
II. The Second Command Is to gServe the Lord with GladnessE(verse 2a).
A. Whom do we serve?
1. The command is not to serve the church, or the preacher, or serve the organization.
2. The command is to "serve the Lord."
B. No doubt Jesus plainly teaches in the story of what will happen before Him as He judges every person who has every lived upon the face of this earth (Matthew 25:31-46).
