Psalm 65:1-13; 100:1-5; John 4:27-42

Thanksgiving is a time for us to step back and to consider how good we
really have it. Especially to give thanks to God for His abundant goodness to
us.
One of the most beautiful Psalm of thanksgiving is Psalm100.
“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing. 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.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him,
bless His name. For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting And His
faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:1-5 (NASV)
It would be good for us to remember that when this psalm was written
– there was no such thing as “Thanksgiving” day. Most of us would agree
that thanksgiving should be a matter of the heart – but is it also a matter of
action? Yes – thanksgiving is to be a matter of action too! At least this is
what the Bible tells us in Psalm One Hundred. Look at Psalm One Hundred
again – and notice all the action words found in it.
Shout – Serve – Come – Know – Enter – Give – Bless
To be thankful – to celebrate thanksgiving – has always been a matter
of our involvement. God calls us to be actively involved in thanksgiving. In
fact, you cannot be thankful without being involved in thanksgiving. In other
words – thanksgiving is a verb not a noun. It is what you do – not a day you
put on a calendar and label it “Thanksgiving Day”.
Basis of our Thanksgiving:
A.The 100th Psalm was written for the people of Israel. God said to
them, “When you come into the promised land, & settle down in your warm homes, &
you have plenty to eat, don’t forget Me. I led you out of the wilderness & I brought you
into a land flowing with milk & honey.”
But it doesn’t take very long to realize that the people of Israel needed a
reminder, and I am afraid that we need it, too.
Maybe God had us in mind, also, when this Psalm was written. Did you
notice to whom it is addressed? The first verse says that it is addressed to
“all the earth,” & the last verse says that it includes “all generations.”
This message of thanksgiving is so deep and wide that it applies to
every person in every era in every stage of life.
B. It is not uncommon to compile wish lists at Christmas, & draw up a
list of resolutions for New Years. But there is another list we often overlook a
Thanksgiving Day list of all for which we are thankful.
If we are asks to make a list for the things we are thankful, what could
it be? I’m convinced that if we began to make a list, we would find that we
have much more for which to be thankful than just our material possessions.
Like you, I’m sure, my list would include the major things life, health,
family, friends, & the nation we live in, despite all its flaws.

But even more than that, I’m thankful for my salvation, our church
family, & the mercy that God showers upon us each day. With Jesus we have
so much for which to celebrate on Thanksgiving!
C. Has it ever occurred to you that our Ilocano pioneers in Kalilangan
came here seeking to find lands and a better living conditions.
They had no homes and no government agency to help them build
homes. They had no means of transportation but their legs. Their only food
came from the forest, and they had to get it for themselves.
They had no money and no place to spend it if they’d had any. They
had no amusements except what they made for themselves, and no social
security or medicare.
But anyone who dared to call them underprivileged would probably
have been wrong, for they did have four of the greatest human assets:
initiative, courage, a willingness to work, and a boundless faith in God.
Our forefathers had “a boundless faith in God.”
D. One of the most important reasons we are thankful is our
boundless faith in God. Yes, the only thing we have for sure is our
relationship with the Lord.
And that is what the 100th Psalm emphasizes. Just scan the Psalm. In
vs. 1 you’ll find the name of the Lord. In vs. 2 you’ll find the name of the
Lord. In vs. 3 you’ll find the name of the Lord. In vs. 4 it says, “Enter His
gates with thanksgiving.” And in vs. 5 you’ll find the name of the Lord. The
basis of our thanksgiving is the Lord.
That is the basis of thankfulness to remember that we got here with the
help of God, and that He is the provider of every blessing we have.
Let’s look at the first action God calls us to – as we give thanks:

  1. Thanksgiving Is About EXCITEMENT – (SHOUT)
    Notice what the psalmist tells us in verse one:
    “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.” Psalm 100:1 (NASV)
    Folks – God has made us a people of emotion and we should get
    excited about what God is doing in our lives. Open your eyes and see what
    God is doing! He gave you the strength to get out of bed this morning. He
    gave the clothes that you have that you can put them on and wear them to
    church. He gave you the beat of your heart. He gave you the breath that is
    in your lungs. All good gifts have come from Him. Isn’t that enough reason
    to SHOUT to the Lord? He is the creator – He is the sustainer. He has His
    eyes on the sparrow and He knows when one of them falls to ground – and
    He also knows the exact number of hairs on your head. SHOUT to Lord – for
    He is Lord – He is God – He is mighty –He is magnificent.
    Folks if we would start counting all the blessing God has given us – we
    would never cease counting. Here is a little poem I ran across this week. It’s
    called:
    How to Observe Thanksgiving It goes like this:
    Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Folks – when all else fails – count on God. He is a friend who will never
let you down. He will lead you through dark valleys when you go through
times of trouble. He will anoint your head with oil when you need healing. He
will prepare a feast before you when it seems that all others have turned
their back on you – and He will lead you to tables of plenty. He will give you
– exceedingly – abundantly all the things that you need. He is God – and He
watches over you. You should get excited about that fact. You should
“SHOUT” to the Lord.
The second action the psalmist calls us to is:

  1. Thanksgiving Is About SERVICE – (SERVE)
    Look at what verse two tells us:
    “Serve the LORD with gladness.” Psalm 100:2 (NASV)
    The Bible proclaims that one of God’s deepest desires is to have His
    people serve Him: “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you,
    but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the
    LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S
    commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”
    Deut. 10:13 (NASV)
    God has always asked His people to serve Him. God told Pharaoh:
    “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Exodus 7:16
    (NASV)
    Jesus said we are to make service to God a priority in our lives:
    “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
    will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Mat
    6:24 (NASV)
    Who or what we serve shows where our priorities are. I have heard it
    said:
    If we are created, He is the Creator.
    If we are sheep, He is our Shepherd.
    If we enter His courts, He is our King.
    If we serve Him, He is our Master.
    But notice that God wants more than just us serving Him – He wants us
    to serve Him with “gladness”. We should consider it an honor and a privilege
    to serve Him. We should count it a joy to be able to serve the Lord. He is the
    King of kings and Lord of lords – to be in His presence would be an honor

and a trill. I am sure that in Malacanang those who serve there are screened
and only the best are selected. What an honor it would be to be on the staff
of Malacanang. How much more of an honor it should be for us to serve God
– for He who is above all things has called us to enter His presence and
serve Him. Should we not serve Him with joy and gladness?

  1. Thanksgiving Is About A JOURNEY – (COME)
    In the second part verse two it says: “Come before Him with joyful singing.”
    Psalm 100:2 (NASV)
    Giving thanks to God has never been stationary or static. There is to be
    movement between those who are giving thanks and the One who is
    receiving thanks. That is why the psalmist tells us to “come”. An invitation
    has been offered. A door has been opened. We are to enter His presence
    with a song of joy on our hearts. Sing to the Lord a new song – tell Him how
    thankful you are for all the blessings He has given you. Thanksgiving is an
    invitation from the One we are to thank. Should we be surprised at this
    when Jesus said:
    “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew
    11:28 (NASV) Or:
    “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with
    Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 8:11 (NASV)
    God has given us great blessing – our response should be movement –
    it should be traveling – coming before Him – with joyful singing – thanking
    Him for all He has done.
    Let me give you a little insight at this point – coming before Him does
    not mean that you have to leave the physical location that you find yourself
    at – but it does mean leaving behind your self-sufficiency and your pride.
    “Come” means making God – God. “Come” means acknowledging that you
    are dependent on Him for all the good things that have come your way. The
    Bible 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.” James
    1:17 (NASV)
    We should always be moving toward Him. We should come to Him.
    The next area we are going to look at is:
  2. Thanksgiving Is About UNDERSTANDING – (KNOW)
    Let’s look at verse three: “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.”
    Psalms 100:3 (NASV)
    In this verse we are told to know – two things:
    A. God made us
    B. We are His possession
    Let’s look at each one of these for just a moment.
    A. God made us – not ourselves. Many times people get caught up in self-
    sufficiency and pride. Here is a verse that should help combat those

thoughts and ideas. You are not a self made person. Yes, we all have some
control of our lives to a certain extent – yet it is God who is ultimately in
control. God knew you before you were formed in the womb. He knew what
the color of your eyes would be. He knew how tall you would become. He
knew what nationality you would be and what gender. He knew you before
you were a twinkle in your parent’s eyes. Look at what the Bible says about
how God made us in Psalm One Hundred Thirty Nine: “You (God) formed my
inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.” Psalms 139:13 (NASV)
If He is our creator then:
B. We are His possession. We are His people. We are the sheep of the Good
Shepherd. We belong to Him. He created us – He formed us in our mother’s
womb. We did not make ourselves.
Folks we need to understand this. There is no place for self-sufficiency
or pride when we come before God with thanksgiving.

  1. Thanksgiving Is About STANDING Before God – (ENTER)
    Psalm One Hundred verse four says: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving
    And His courts with praise.” Psalms 100:4 (NASV)
    The most important thing to see in this verse is that when we give true
    thanksgiving it is to be in the presence of God. He is the object of our
    worship– because He is worthy – He should also be the object of our thanks
    He gives us blessing day by day. I have heard it said:
    Thanksgiving does not require bounty – but it does require recognition of
    who God is. True thanksgiving occurs in the atmosphere of worshiping in the
    presence of God.
    Everything that we are or that we possess is because God is who God is.
    When we understand this fact we can clearly and totally say, “Thank You,
    God.”
  2. Thanksgiving Is About SACRIFICE – (GIVE)
    Look at verse four: “Give thanks to Him.” (Psalms 100:4)
    Giving to God is an act of sacrifice. Now I know that some of you are
    saying, “Wait a minute – I don’t sacrifice to God.” I say, “If you worship Him
    – you are sacrificing to Him.” You are giving Him your time – your energy –
    and your attention. You are presenting yourself in such a way that you are
    giving yourself to His service. Folks that is sacrifice! If you don’t consider it a
    sacrifice – GOOD – because we need to offer ourselves to Him without giving
    it a second thought. What He wants most of all is our attention – our time –
    and our talents – so that He can use them for His glory. Give thanks to Him.
    Give praise to Him. Give your time – give your talents – give yourself to
    Him.
    He is worthy of our worship. The Bible says:
    “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living
    and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
    Romans 12:1 (NASV)
    God has made us in such a way that we are to build a growing

relationship with Him. Because of that relationship we need to give thanks to
Him.

  1. Thanksgiving Is About BLESSING The Lord – (BLESS)
    Look at what the last part of verse four says:
    “Bless His name.” Psalms 100:4 (NASV)
    God is blessed when His children bless Him.
    Here is a truth about all of Psalm One Hundred – it is not about us – it is
    about God. Look down through it. What do you find? In verse one you’ll find
    the name of the Lord who is over all the earth. In verse two you’ll find the
    name of the Lord who wants us to rejoice and celebrate with Him. In verse
    three you’ll find the name of the Lord who is our creator and sustainer. In
    verse four you’ll find His castle – His home with the doors opened wide for
    us. In verse five you’ll find His name that is good and kind and faithful to all
    generations. Does it not seem reasonable that we should end this psalm
    blessing His name? He is great. He is wonderful. He is to be praised. He is to
    be thanked. He is to be blessed.
    Would you bow with me?
    Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me – bless His holy name.
    Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within ne – bless His holy name.
    Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me – bless His holy name.
    May you have a wonderful day of giving thanks – make it a
    thanksgiving day.
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