Title Entering with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:1-5)
Enter with thanks
(Psalm 100:1-5)
June, when we must remember the war that our people suffered from, is the last Sunday like this. War belongs to those who do not know peace and gratitude. If we do not know gratitude, complaints arise, and when complaints mature, they become quarrels and wars. Our nation's war comes from the loss of gratitude. Thank you and please buy. (Verse 4) “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise, give thanks to him and bless his name.”
Why does God ask us to enter the temple gates with a grateful heart? (Verse 3) “Know that the LORD is our God; he made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” This is because God, as our creator and provider, is still giving us infinite grace. He is the One who freely gave his only-begotten Son.
Even though living with gratitude is the mission of the saints, why do we live without gratitude? Because they forgot the grace of God. It is because we forget the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Last time, there was a report that 15 fellow students were rescued by 3 brave students when a fire broke out at Yeji Boarding School in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. One schoolgirl escaped a colleague, but unfortunately she suffocated herself. The media and the whole nation unanimously applauded their spirit of sacrifice.
But that's it. It's been a month now, but the incident is being forgotten. Students and parents who survived this way should not forget their gratitude. But how long do we maintain our gratitude for these things? When we are in a situation where we are forced to die in our sins, there is someone who jumped in and gave his whole body for us. Jesus. When we realize that grace, we are so grateful, but at some point we forget the grace and live complaining about it.
Today's Bible talks about God's blessings that come from being thankful, and it tells us that we should always live a life of gratitude. Ahead of Thanksgiving Day, I would like to share the grace with you while thinking about the power of true gratitude. “Entering the gates with thanksgiving and entering the courts with praise” means entering the church that way. What kind of powers and blessings will you have if you go in and out of the church door with thanksgiving?
make me sing a happy song
A joyful heart makes pleasant sounds and joyful songs. (Verses 1 and 2) “Call for joy to the LORD, all the earth; serve the LORD with joy and come before him with song.” My heart is troubled, but there are no joyful words to come out. Moreover, a pleasant song is even more difficult. However, He promises that those who give thanks will be able to call on God with joyful words. It's a command, but it's also a promise.
Just hearing the word “God” makes my heart happy and full of peace. My heart races when I think of the creation that God has accomplished and the grace of being a shepherd and caring for us like sheep. Wouldn't the gratitude for God's shepherd just flow out of such a person's mouth? He will probably call God his Father, Shepherd, and Lord, brightly and loudly. (Verse 1) is exactly that.
But the joy is not limited to the Israelites, but 'the whole land'. It means 'the whole world, all peoples, all tribes'. I and you all belong here. All who come to the temple of the Lord with thanksgiving are to call on God's name with joy from their mouths. I hope you are such a saint.
Not only is it a word to call on God, but thanksgiving makes us sing a song of joy. Those who have received grace have the power to be thankful. Those who come and go through the temple gates with thanksgiving can sing in difficult times and in good times. (Psalm 48:4-7) "Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They will always praise you. Blessed are those who gain strength from you and have the highways of Zion in their hearts. They pass through the valley of tears." When they do, they make it a place of many springs, and the early rain favors them. They will gain strength and gain further, and will appear before God in Zion, each one of them.”
Yes, the church life and the song of thanks are inseparable. Gratitude may require God to give you strength. I hope that you will live your church life with God-given strength and thanksgiving so that the song of joy always resounds from your lips.
to serve with joy
(Verse 2) “Serve the LORD with joy; come before him with song.” Those who have been favored serve God with joy. A grateful saint can serve God with joy. The most important service of the saints is worship. There is nothing more irritating than being bound by a sense of duty or religious formality in worship. However, those who enter the church, the court of God with thanksgiving, can serve God with joy.
The early church members were such people. (Acts 2:46,47) "Every day, they made every effort to gather together in the temple with one accord, breaking bread at home, eating food with joy and sincerity of heart, praising God and receiving praise from all the people, and the Lord was saved. day by day." If it is fun to gather in the temple to serve God, that joy will bear fruit with thanksgiving. That is, they come back from the temple where they went in thanksgiving and gather the fruits of thanksgiving.
The source of joy is God. (Romans 15:13) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” . The saved saints come into the temple with cheers. They come into Zion while singing, put joy on their heads, and offer a worship service of excitement and joy that cannot be controlled (Isaiah 51:11).
(Psalm 84:10) I hope that the confession and joy of "One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere; it is better to be a gatekeeper of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked."
Your relationship with God will last forever
(Verse 5) “For the LORD is good, and his mercy endures forever, and his faithfulness endures for generations to come.” How exciting is the phrase “to all generations”? No one is forever. But God protects and guides us, but He does it forever.
It is too great for a blessing to have entered the church with a grateful heart. He allows us to live with the joy of the Lord, not only for our generations, but for our descendants. Why does God love us so much? (Verse 3) “Know that the LORD is our God; he made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” The reason is simple. Because we are His people and sheep.
Now it is clear why we should enter the gates with thanksgiving and the courts with hymns, giving thanks to God and praising his name. Gratitude produces the fruit of gratitude, the fruit of joy. Gratitude eliminates complaints and quarrels and makes you grateful for everything. It is very important to have a grateful heart, especially when ascending before the Lord.
Dear saints,
Next week is Thanksgiving Day. Please do not come out of duty or responsibility, but come with joy and gratitude. If your joy and gratitude abound, the fruit of God's thanks will also be abundant. Still, your gratitude doesn't last forever. But the fruits of thanksgiving from God are eternal. No one is happy without being grateful. I am grateful and no one is unhappy. If you give thanks, the conditions of gratitude overflow even more.
God's punishment for this unthankful nation was the Civil War. I hope that you will be able to recover true gratitude as you go through June of conflict and anguish, and look forward to the fruits of another joy of gratitude.