Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving

Psalm 100:1-5

We are to all… come before the Lord. But how do you enter into His Presence? How Should I Approach My God and My King?

In reality… We all live before Lord right here and right now. All of your actions and attitudes are on full display. All of our words and all of our thoughts are known… Right here and right now!

Every thing that we are… Every thing that we have done and are doing… Everything is wide open to our Almighty God...

This is leaves us with awe… and fear. And this produces humility and repentance as we respond to this faith… It drives us to call upon the name of the Lord and to be saved.

Through the Cross… you can stand. Through the Cross you may come and enter in. Through the Cross you may worship.

You could not, and can not, worship God in Spirit and in truth without going through the Cross of Christ… You can not and will not come into His presence the right way without the Cross…

Have you gone through the Cross? Have you confessed your sins, repented, and have you placed your faith in Christ alone for your salvation?

This is step number 1.

Know Him… Then, Come in… Enter… and Serve Him as a Christian...

Now… as Christians… How are we to come before our Heavenly Father and our King of Kings?

Question: Today… Do we know that we are coming before Him the right way?

The Word of God informs us doesn’t it?

There is a right way to come before the Lord. There is a right and good way to approach God in praise and worship.

As, Blood bought, redeemed children of God... we are the Lord’s Lambs and the Lord’s Sheep… We have access… But there is still a right and good way to come into His gates… there is an appropriate way to come into His courts… into His Presence...

Now Listen: There is a time to come before Him with our pain, and to cast all our cares and anxieties on Him. There is a time to confess… to fast, to weep, and repent in ashes...

But how does your lifestyle of worship look?

Here, in this Psalm, there is a call for the people of God to Praise the Lord and to Thank the Lord... To praise the Lord and serve Him joyfully...

As Christians… We live and we come into the Presence of God through worship… and this is what we do:

(Slide 1)1 - Shout joyfully to the Lord, (Hebrew - to Yahweh make a joyful shout) all the earth… Everyone… all people groups, all nations, everyone come before the Lord… Even Baptists… Even Georgia Baptists...

And let this be your practice: Shout joyfully!

This is not written to only the energetic Christians… or for certain denominations... This is written for all God’s people, all of God’s people, young and old: Shout joyfully to the Lord!

(Picture)When I was growing up in church… I didn’t know joy could be included in Sunday services. I do not remember seeing people smiling during the singing or the preaching… If you sang too loud or swayed too much you got pinched… or the “death eye.”

But this is how many of us were raised up in the church… But what does God’s Word say? Not, what does our tradition say… What does God say?

Listen: Sometimes, our traditions lead us... and not God’s Word!

Some folks come in smiling and laughing. Some folks come in joyful, and as soon as they sit down… the smiles turn upside down.

It is truly amazing… And when others appear to be joyful and laugh during the service… The frowns stare down the smiles… It is something to see!

What does the Bible say?

He does not say “shout painfully or moan quietly.” It does not say make a sleeping noise, or a grumpy face… It says make a joyful noise.

It does not say, “serve the Lord with a frown, or with madness...” It says… Serve the Lord with Gladness!

Our Happy God and King should be worshipped by a happy people, and a cheerful spirit is the correct response in His Presence.

God tells us what He likes… And He tells us to do what He likes... He does not tell us to do what we like… He tells us to do what pleases Him.

Imagine this: You are serving a customer and you don’t even ask the customer or the client what they want… You just bring them what you want...

I will just bring you what I like to eat… I will just serve you the drink I like the best. I will just give you the insurance, the car, the house… I like. I will just cut and style your hair for my good pleasure… Imagine that?!

We would never do that out there in the market place.

Now: If I am going to go buy cologne… It really does not matter what I like. What should matter is what my wife likes… It better not be what some other girl/woman likes… It is for my wife… I wear it to please her...

But when it comes to God… Do we even ask, “What do you like? What pleases you?”

Or do we just serve and do what we like and tell God to deal with it?

Amen or ooomee?

We know how this works in the world around us: We go to them to find out what they want and we give them what they want, and we serve them with gladness...

We put issues aside to serve our customers and clients with joy, cheer and with gladness… For what? For their money? For their business? For their acceptance?

We will do surveys, spend thousands or millions of dollars to please men, to find out what they like in order for us to benefit… But we will not crack a Bible to find out how to please our Creator??? God help us...

The Bible: This is where we find out?

Will we go to God’s Word, and even ask… “What pleases my God? What pleases my King?”

Queen Esther, before she was made Queen… Esther 2 - She bathed in oils, fragrances, spices and ointments… You could not take her deer hunting with you… She smelled like a walking flower shop… Bed, Bath, and Beyond...

And even though she was so beautiful… and even though she smelled so good… She still asked the question… “Does it please the King… If it pleases the King...”

Nehemiah - Nehemiah would never come before the King sad… with a downcast face, or an unpleasant spirit… and the day that he did… and the king saw it… Nehemiah was greatly afraid...

Why? Because you can’t come in your way. You come in the Kings way. You come in to please the king… You never come in to do your own thing.

Listen: Our attitude should be: “What pleases the King… If it pleases the King… I will speak, I will do… I will sing… I will… If it pleases the King… Only if it pleases the King… I am here to please the King!

Church: Have we stopped asking the question: God, What pleases you?

Church: When you come before the Lord of Lord’s and the King of Kings…What do you bring?! What do you give? Do you give the Lord your best… Or do you give Him the rest? Do you give God your left-overs? Do you give the Lord what He has commanded?

Church: Do you hear joyful shouts on Sunday’s, smiles of joy on people’s faces during worship? What is coming out of God’s people when we gather together to worship?

What is coming out of you and all of God’s people? Anything that reflects God’s commands?

Dear Church… there is a right way to come before Almighty God.

Reality Check: Ready?

We are not here for us. We are here for God. We are not here for our good pleasure. We are here for His good pleasure. We are not here, we do not exist, for our preferences… We are here to sing old songs, new songs, with every instrument we can play for the glory of God alone!

If the songs are Biblical and if they Praise God… Sing them with joy and gladness!

If the songs are Biblical and if they Praise God… Sing them together, both young and old!

If the songs are Biblical and if they Please God… Why would we dare shut our mouths when there is an organ or a drum, a piano, or a guitar… A quartet or a praise team?

You may be saying: “But it is not for me… that style… or that sound is not for me...”

No, its not for you… It is for God! Worship is for God!

Thanksgiving… is about you giving… Giving to God! Giving to God your Sincere Thanks.

(Slide 5) The Lord, He is God… The King is God… The Lord is Before Us… We come before Him, the Creator and Savior, the Great I Am!

Verse 3 - Church… know that the Lord… He is God! Your body and soul was made by God and for God. Your minds and hearts are made by God and for God. Your voices, your faces, your smiles… were made by God and for God...

Everything that has breath should praise the Lord!

And not grumble and complain...

This Church is about God, and all the activities of the Church is about God and His purposes! All of this is about putting a smile on Jesus’ face...

We are His people. You are His people. We are the sheep of His pasture!

Now act like it! You are in His Presence, now act like it! You stand before God. Act like it.

(Slide 6)

Verse 4-5 - Come in and act like it. Come in and see God for who He is. Come in, quit looking at yourself and look to God. Come in, quit looking at everyone else and look to Jesus. Come in… and quit looking for something to complain about and start looking for Someone to Sing and Shout about… And give Him Praise, with Thanksgiving!

He is our Creator, our Provider, Protector, our Comforter. The Lord is my Shepherd, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Peace, my Strength, my Counselor, my Teacher, my Bread of Light, my Living Water, my Resurrection and Life, my Rock, my Anchor, my Light, and my Healer.

Lift your eyes unto the hills… Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth.

Every good gift comes from Him. He owes me nothing and has given me everything...

Praise Him… Praise Him… Thank Him… Thank Him...

This is not a funeral service… Quit acting like it… Quit singing like it.

This is a worship service. This is not a complaining service. This is a Thanksgiving service. This is a praise service… All to the King of Kings!

Question: What is keeping me from entering in the right way? What do we need to do?

Know that the Lord, he is God. 2. Know that you are His.

And thirdly: 3. Remember the Goodness of God, the Love of God, and the Faithfulness of God.

(Slide 7)

Verse 5 - Remember the Goodness of God today. How has He been good to us?

Every Good and Perfect thing comes from above. Everything comes from Him. So, count your blessings, and name them one by one… count your blessings and remember what God has done.

If you can’t see your God and if you can’t see your blessings… Then something else, or someone else is in the way. You are in the way possibly. Negativity is in the way. Your attitude is in the way...

How will I know? If you are mad right now… You can know it!

Listen: Whatever fills your eye, fills your life. And if the eye is not filled with God, His beauty, His promises and blessings… Then your praises will die out… Your thanksgiving will dwindle down to nothing...

If you will quit the pursuit of God, if you will quit the pursuit of His Word, His Promises… If you will quit focusing on His blessings and Goodness… Your Spiritual Life is going to wither up, dry up, and burn out…

Today, this is something you can examine: Am I thankful? How often do I give thanks? If my thanksgiving is little to nothing… That is where my spiritual health is currently… Your spiritual health is poor.

Why? Your eyes, your heart is focused on other things… And you are going empty.

We can only give what we have. We can only give out of what we have.

When our minds are focused on death, we cannot experience the life. When we live in the darkness we cannot experience the light. When your minds and hearts are filled with negatives… we cannot see our blessings.

When we can no longer see the good things… the goodness of God...

The spiritual life becomes poor… Thanksgiving dwindles down… Thanksgiving is gone… And your lifestyle reflects this.

May this never be see among the Christians and within the Church!

Church, the Lord is Good. Church, the Lord is Faithful. Church, the Lord’s steadfast Love endures forever… He will always be faithful to His Word and to His people.

Church, God has saved you from the fire. He has saved you from destruction, He has saved you from your sins, from death, hell, and the grave… and He has given you everything… At His expense!

Remember today. Fill up today. Know where you stand, and Who stands before you today… And respond appropriately!

Come before the King: Shout for Joy, Serve Him with Gladness, Come before Him with singing. Enter in with thanksgiving, with praise… And bless His Name!

Church do you want to please God?

Come to Christ… and then come into His presence everyday with gladness, with praise and thanksgiving, give thanks to Him and bless His Name.

Tell Him how good He is. Tell Him how great and wonderful He is. Be joyful. Serve and be joyful. Sing and be joyful. Worship in Spirit and in Truth… and be Joyful.

Thank the Lord always. Thank Him in the morning. Thank Him throughout the day. Thank Him at night. Thank Him during the good times and the bad times...

And by the way: Your obedience is going to radically change your life.

And when we come together to worship as the Church… We will then explode with joy together. The praises of all the people will explode as One, for the Honor and Glory of One. When we serve with gladness together as One and our voices join in together with that heavenly choir...

Oh, the pleasing aroma that will go up… and oh, the pleasing smile that God will make...

Know that the Lord, he is God. 2. Know that we are His. 3. Remember the Goodness of God, the Love of God, and the Faithfulness of God.

1. Then we can make a joyful shout again. 2. Then we will make a joyful noise. 3. Then we will serve the Lord with gladness.

How is your worship today? Are you here for God? Are you singing for God? How is your joy meter?Are you giving God your best?

God is God and He deserves your best…

Let us pray this together today:

God help us to see Him today… to see all that He is and all that He has done and is doing.

May He open our eyes to see His blessings… And may we get over ourselves so that we can see the King of Glory.

Have your motives been wrong? Has our attitude been wrong? Have you lost sight of your God, of the Cross, and you are not seeking to please Him… You are looking to please you…?

Today is a New Day… A day to turn around… a day to Repent.

Turn to the Cross today… And turn back to a Lifestyle of Thanksgiving.

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