Give God Thanks / Demos Gracias a Dios

Introduction

“Please” and “Thank you” are very important words that we teach out children to say.

They are part of what it means to have good manners.

Many parents stress the importance of ensuring their children have an attitude of gratitude.

There are no self-made people in this world. We all owe something to someone. We have all recieved something from others along the way, for which we should be grateful.

Thanksgiving comes around every year. One day that has been set apart to feast with friends and family but also to come before Almighty God and express our gratitude to him.

We come to the book of psalms wherein we find a Psalm that is dedicated to expressing thankfulness before God. Today we will consider:

Who should praise and thank God?

How should we praise and thank God?

Why should we praise and thank God?

I. Who should praise and thank God?

I. ¿Quién debe alabar y dar gracias a Dios?

This is a universal Psalm.

Psalm 100:1 NASB95

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Psalm 100:1 RVR60

Cantad alegres a Dios, habitantes de toda la tierra.

The word of God declares that those who shout for joy to the Lord includes all people who dwell on earth.

This is not a Psalm for believers. This command applies to all who dwell upon God’s glorious creation!

This Psalm does not refer to those who are religious.

This Psalm applies to every human being that has been created.

This Psalm applies to all those who are created by God.

It is God and right for all created beings to shout for joy to their Creator.

Many times we think that the only people that have a calling/command/obligation to praise God’s name is those who believe in him.

The reality is that all of creation is called to praise his name - because he is the only God there is.

He is the Creator and worthy to be praised.

We understand this type of universal call. When we are in a court of law and the judge enters the room - all people rise to their feet out of respect. No one is exempt from standing to their feet.

Can you imagine simple human beings thinking they are exempt from praising and recognizing the Creator of the entire universe?

Can you imagine people thinking that the call to praise God does not apply to them?

The reality is that there are many who refuse to recognize and thank God for who he is and for what he has done.

The world does not follow the command of this psalm.

II. How should we praise and thank God?

II. ¿Cómo debemos alabar y dar gracias a Dios?

We are called to praise and thank God by serving him and coming before his presence.

Psalm 100:2 ESV

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Psalm 100:2 RVR60

Servid a Jehová con alegría; Venid ante su presencia con regocijo.

We are to serve God with gladness. We are not to serve him reluctantly. We are to be glad in the service that we render to God.

How is it that we serve him as a sign of our praise and gratitude before God? …by coming before his presence with singing

It is impossible to think that you can praise God without singing before his presence.

In the same way, it is impossible to think that you can praise God without coming before his presence.

We gather here Sunday after Sunday because we believe that God meets with his people. We come into his presence knowing that we will encounter God through his word.

God is in the midst of the praises of his people.

We are to come before his presence rejoicing and not out of a sense of obligation. It is a privilege to come before the throne of Almighty God and sing praises to his name.

We are called to express words of praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4 ESV

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:4 RVR60

Entrad por sus puertas con acción de gracias, Por sus atrios con alabanza; Alabadle, bendecid su nombre.

Do we have reason to thank God? We are to express words of gratitude.

What have we recieved from God’s hand? Life, family, children, health, joy, jobs. We are also to thank God for being with us in the midst of our difficulties.

We are to come with words of praise. Words of praise are words that express and extol God’s attributes - God is holy, God is gracious, God is full of mercy, God is powerful, God is love, God is with us!

We are so accustomed to come before God’s presence with out petitions. Do not shy away from coming before God and presenting your needs.

However, we are called this day to simply praise his name and to express words of gratitude!

We are called to remember what he has done on our behalf!

We are to never forget the many blessing we receive day after day.

III. Why should we praise and thank God?

III. ¿Porqué debemos alabar y dar gracias a Dios?

There are many who seek a reason to do something. We usually want to know the “why” of having to do something.

Why should we praise and thank God? Is there a compelling reason?

It should be sufficient for us that the Bible commands us to praise God and to give him thanks. However, God has given us plenty of reasons to praise and thank him.

Psalm 100:5 ESV

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:5 LBLA

Porque el Señor es bueno; para siempre es su misericordia, y su fidelidad por todas las generaciones.

God is good. The Lord is good. God’s goodness if eternal. He is a good, good, good God. God is the definition of what it means to be good.

His mercy/his steadfast love is forever. God’s mercy for humanity has been manifested since Eden.

He showed Adam and Eve mercy by providing a sacrifice to cover their nakedness after they had sinned.

God showed his mercy by saving Noah from the flood which destroyed the entire earth. God did not have to save Noah.

God showed his mercy by saving the people of Niniveh after they had been told about God’s judgement.

God showed his mercy upon sinful humanity by sending us his son Jesus Christ.

God’s faithfulness is forever. He is faithful to the promises that he has set forth in his word.

God has given us many promises in his word. They are true. We can count on every single one of his promises.

He has promised to be with us to the end of the age.

He has promised to not abandon us.

He has promised to hold us as if in the palm of his hand.

He has promised to not leave us or forsake us.

He has promised us an eternal home.

He has promised us joy and peace that surpasses all understanding.

Conclusion

Why then does the world not praise and give God thanks?

Why are there many people who deny the existence of God?

Why are there many people who gather on Thanksgiving, feast on food, and once Friday comes around they completely forget the importance of giving God thanks!

Sure he can give thanks for the United States.

What sets apart the people of this world and the people of God?

There is a significant difference in those that are called the people of God!

He can give thanks for having electricity and technology.

Psalm 100:3 ESV

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

But…at the end of his life - if he only believes that this world

Psalm 100:3 RVR60

Reconoced que Jehová es Dios; El nos hizo, y no nosotros a nosotros mismos; Pueblo suyo somos, y ovejas de su prado.

Can he truly give thanks

Those that give God thanks are those that have come to recognize that there is a Lord over this creation. That Lord, that Creator, that supreme being is God Almighty.

These people have come to the realization that God exists, that God is real and since he exists and since he is real he is worthy of our praise and gratitude.

These sample people through their belief in the saving gospel of Jesus Christ have become the people of God. Those who were not his people have now through the power of God’s Spirit, become his people - his sheep.

The Lord himself is their shepherd.

Our eyes have been opened to the reality that God sustains us, he cares for us, he sent his son to die for us - how could we not praise and thank him?