TEXT: PSALMS 100: 1-5: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise, be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD, is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.
Psalms 100 is an exhortation to
praise, to lay everything aside that hinders us and make a joyful noise unto
the LORD. God doesn’t care if we sing or squeak as long as we are opening our
mouths and giving Him praise with a cheerful and glad heart.
People bring all sorts of things to church: candy and toys for kids and cell phones to entertain themselves by texting friends during the service. Many will gladly show up, yet when service begin, in the words of the O’Jays, “your body is here, but your mind is on the other side of town”, and they totally miss the message. Can we agree that some things need to be left at home?
Our text lay out some things we
should clearly bring to church. The first thing we should bring to church is
the RIGHT SPIRIT which is:
A COMMANDING
SHOUT:
·
Psalm 100:1: “Make a joyful noise unto the
LORD all ye lands.”
The word “make” (give; produce;
create) is referencing music, singing. “Joyful”
is confessing (acknowledging; declaring)
publicly the God in your life through songs. “Noise” is raising a shout like the noise at a ball game or
sports arena.
When you put all this together, the
voices of praise, musical instruments, can you see or hear the “NOISE” (loud sound)? David added:
·
Psalm 47:1, O clap your hands, all ye people and shout to God.”
In this instance, both clapping and shouting out joyful worship
to God are urged.
In fact, clap is the root word taqa’,
meaning to clatter, ie slap (the
hands together), clang (an instrument); to drive (a nail or tent-pin; a dart,
etc); strike; thrust; smite. This word hands
(kaph) in Hebrew is defined as “power”!
So release the power of God in you
Remember in the fourth chapter of
Judges, Sisera was commander of the Canaanite army of king Jabin of Hazor that
was defeated by the Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali under the command
of Barak and Deborah. He fled to the
tent of Heber’s wife Jael and she killed him as he slept.
·
Judges 4:21, Then Jael Jeber’s wife, took a
nail of the tent and took an hammer in her hand and went softly unto him, and
smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
When we “clap” our hands, we are driving nails into the plots and plans of
the enemy that comes against us!! So “CLAP” those “HANDS” people of God and
release the “POWER” of God that combats, drives back and destroys the
workings of the devil in our lives!!!
Hallelujah Jesus!!! As we “CLAP”
our hands, we are saying “This far and no
further devil”!!!!
·
1Timothy 2:8: “I will (boulom’ai)
[desire; mind] therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands
without wrath (orge’)[violent passion;
anger; vengeance] and doubting” (dialogismos’)
[discussion; internal consideration; debate; dispute].
You realize, these expressions are an
actual requirement for worship. So, it’s a commanding shout. If you want
to confuse the enemy, then make some loud
noise with the voice of triumph and clapping those hands!!!
Anything that’s not like God is
warfare. In the Battle of Jericho, the Israelites marched around the city walls
six days and seven times on the seventh day, then they shouted and made
some noise and the walls fell. When the enemy is on your track, just
break out in shouting praise and it’s
guaranteed Satan will have to flee. As one song writer said, “Praise is the way I say thanks”!! Sometimes
you have to say, “Excuse me if I seem a little giddy or maybe even strange, but
praise is the way I say thanks”. Sure,
you might get some strange looks, but that’s alright. It’s because they haven’t
yet reached your level. They haven’t yet realized that praise is their weapon against the enemy.
I realize this can be challenging for
many of us, to participate in public praise, because I experienced it myself
before I came to know who I was spiritually. Until we come into the knowledge that we are
called by God to represent “HIM” in the earth, to worship and praise HIM we
will allow barriers to block our praise.
Why? Many of us think praise is for
the praise team and aren’t used to raising our hands and making noise in
worship. I remember being embarrassed to lift or wave my hands and cry out to
God in public worship. I was concerned more about who was looking at me than
focusing on my praise to God. When I became more mature in the knowledge of the
Word of God realizing that praise is commending God, I know that it’s
acknowledging HIS goodness; it’s entrusting myself to HIS care because HE has
always proved HIMSELF trustworthy. This knowledge has caused the barriers to
fall allowing me to praise God freely. David wasn’t ashamed to praise his God! II Samuel 6: 14 he danced before the LORD,
ridding himself of his kingly robe, wearing only the shortened ephod.
BRING
A SERVING SPIRIT
·
Psalm 100:2: Serve the LORD with
gladness:
Serve is from the Hebrew root word abad’,
meaning, to work for; to be in bondage
too; compel. It refers to doing whatever
the Master tells the slave to do or to be at his beck and call. We have been called to serve not
ourselves, but God.
Two words that have been
misunderstood by most people are ministry
and service. Ministry is merely service
and not referenced to Pastors, Priest, and clergy only, but to all that has
become a member of the body of Christ. If you’re a member of Christ’s body, you
are a minister and when you’re
rendering service, you’re ministering. So then, when you got saved, you became the
Lord’s property! I Corinthian 6:20: For you
are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. God redeemed us to do HIS holy work. You were
not saved by service, but saved for
service.
Our attitude must be like Jesus, “For I, the Messiah did not come to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give my life a ransom for many” (Matthew
20:28). It’s not optional, not something that can be tacked on to our schedule,
only if we can spare the time. Service starts in the mind and it requires a
mental shift, a change in attitude. We must have the mindset to focus on
others, not ourselves. You must think like stewards, not owners, because God
owns it all.
Not only do we have to serve Him, but
He tells us to serve with gladness, in Hebrew, simchah’, meaning, with
mirth, gaiety, happiness, accompanied with laughter. David said, “I was glad (same’ach)
[blithe or gleeful; merry-hearted] when they said unto me, let us go
into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).
We are to be filled with so much love
for God that regardless of what He asks us to do, it should fill us with
laughter. Proverb 17:22: A merry heart
doeth good like a medicine.
We should serve with happiness and
joy. Understand that happiness largely depends on happenings: good health, pleasant surroundings, and money
in your pocket. If my happenings don’t happen to happen the way I happen to
want my happenings to happen, then I’m not happy. Happiness and unhappiness do
not exist together.
But Joy comes from the indwelling
Spirit, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Joy should be spontaneous, a shout of victory.
Like when the king returning from the battle ground with good news, and the
people are shouting, “Our king has won the victory”. The King with his army
marches back to the city and the people are excited, lined along the streets,
waiting for the glorious moment when the king ride through the city gate in
triumph and the crowd is applauding and cheering.
That’s how our joy in the Lord should
over flow. We are to rejoice with those
that rejoice and weep with those that weep (Romans 12:15). So, if God has
worked a victory in your life, then, shout it out. If God has answered your prayer, shout it out.
Somebody might say, that’s not my
personality. I’m rather a calm and reserved
person. Here’s the thing, “Exuberant joy in the Lord is commanded for all, it
didn’t say exuberant personality. The command is “shout joyfully unto the Lord,
all ye lands”. When my happenings don’t happen to happen the way, I happen to
want my happenings to happen. I still got
joy!!
BRING
A SINGING SPIRIT
·
Psalm100:2: Come before his presence with
singing.
We should express our joy through singing as in “make music.” The sound of
music brings healing, improves your response to pain, it reduces anxiety and
depression. Music therapy has become increasingly used in hospitals to reduce the
need for medication. Why? It’s a distraction and gives the listener a sense of
control. It causes the body to release endorphins to counteract and slows the
heart rate bringing one to a state of relaxation. In II Samuel 16:14 God sent
an evil spirit to harass Saul because of disobedience. Saul calls for David to
play music that made him feel better and at peace. See, Saul could see the
anointing on David.
When God is in your life you won’t be
able to hide Him. You won’t be able to keep Him a secret. You can’t have
someone the size of God in your heart without Him getting out. He’ll show up in
your raised hands, sometimes, He’ll run out of your eyes as tears of joy, or
run over your vocal cords and make you shout Amen, hallelujah. When you need
medicine for the heart and you got the blues, here’s your prescription, “MUSIC.” It heals the soul and lifts your spirit.
BRING
RIGHT SUBMISSION
·
Psalm 100:3: Know ye that the LORD he is
God: it is he that hath made us, and not
we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
This is the action or fact of
accepting, yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another
person.
Submit to the person of God – We are to know God and God alone.
·
James 4:7: Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
God has already defeated Satan and he’s
trying to win us back. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the Devil will flee
from you. Submit your willingness to give up everything for Him and to follow
Him – which is obedience to His Word (written/spoken), in your daily walk.
Submit
to the Purpose of God:
The Psalmist said: “It is
HE that hath made us and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). God is our Creator! Many people live as though they are creator
and center of their own little world. Their mind-set leads to a greedy
possessiveness. Mark 3:14, And He
appointed/ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send
them forth to preach. Let’s be clear, God calls us to Himself, not to
people. He sends us forth to represent Him, so then, we must totally surrender
by submitting:
OUR MOUTH
The most powerful member of the body,
says James 3 6-8. The true source of the unruly evil produced by the tongue is
hell. At one end the tongue spits deadly
poison, and at the other end it is manipulated by wicked spirits and no man can
tame it. Then, Proverb 18:21 tells us, “Death
and life is in the power of the tongue.”
Note! The tongue was the first thing
to be anointed at Pentecost because God clearly understood that it was the
unruliest member Acts 2:3, “divided tongues, as of fire”. Tongues symbolize speech and the
communication of the gospel. The fire symbolizes God’s purifying presence,
which burns away the undesirable elements of our lives and sets our heart
aflame to ignite the lives of others.
OUR MIND
Romans 12:2 “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (thoughts), so
you can think and act like Christ. Jesus never had to pray about the will of
God because He walked in the mind of God. It’s fascinating about the Godhead.
Fact: God the Father, God the Son, God
the Holy Ghost walked in perfect agreement because they are “ONE.” Our goal
should be to walk in perfect agreement with God’s Word and God’s Will so that
it becomes a part of us, so we can think and act with the level of spiritual
maturity God desires.
OUR MEMBERS
Paul said, “Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your member as
instruments of unrighteousness” unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as
being alive from the dead (meaning regenerated, born again), and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God. You see, we have a continual choice day after day
whether to yield ourselves to sin or to God. Joshua didn’t have a problem
letting the world know, “As for me and my
house we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:18).
So, yield your whole body. “What! Know you not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 6:19). We’re no longer under the Law, but
Grace and now free from sin. Under the law, sin was out master, and law can’t
justify us nor help us overcome sin. Under grace, Christ is our Master and He
gives us power to do good rather than evil. When members are submitted, the
greater chance we have of defeating the enemy in our lives and more effectively
answering God’s call.
OUR MONEY
Mike Murdock, author of the
One-Minute Pocket Bible Series stated this principle he has governed his life
by. “What I make happen for others, God
will make happen for me.” Jesus said in Luke 16:10 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much
and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much”. God release
additional resources to us based on how we handle what we currently have.
Money is one of the most important
resources in ministry. If our money is not surrendered, it will greatly stifle
the growth of ministry. Remember, what you are doing with what you have currently
determine what you will do when you receive more. Know that God saved us for
His purpose and didn’t redeem us to keep us out of hell. He didn’t redeem us so
that we could feel good from time to time. He didn’t do it so we could look
down our long religious noses at our lost neighbors and feel superior. He saved
us so that we might serve Him (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:8), because He has a
plan for your life and will use you if you will serve Him.
TO HIS PROMISE
“We are His people, the
sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3), and we belong to
Him. Just as the Shepherd looks after
the welfare of his flock, so, our Lord looks after us with infinite care. If we
could or when we grasp this truth “The
LORD is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1), it would forever transform us. We would
realize that we never have to worry about a need being met and we never have to
fear anything that arises in our life.
We are His promises and guarantee (formal promise in writhing that certain
conditions will be fulfilled) that all is in His control (Romans 8:26) The Spirit helps our infirmities; (Matthew
6:25-34) Don’t worry about tomorrow, what
to eat, drink, wear; (Philippians 4:6, 7) Be anxious for nothing, just make your request known; (Hebrews 13:5)
Don’t have a covetous spirit, be content
in the things you have and learn to live with less rather than more. The problem is that we haven’t yet learned to
trust God. If you are His sheep, He will take care of you and watch over your
life.
Lastly, BRING THE RIGHT SACRIFICE
In the Tabernacle and Temple days,
the priest had better not enter the presence of the Lord without the right
sacrifice. To do so meant death, Hebrews 9:7. The one sacrifice that was
needed, our Big Brother, Jesus the Christ has already taken care of that forever,
Hebrews 10:10-14, Praise the Lord!
But now, there is still a sacrifice
that the people of God need to bring. It isn’t your money, although you should
bring your tithes and offerings! It isn’t your attendance, although you should
attend church at every possible opportunity. There is just one sacrifice the Lord expects every
Christian to bring to church revealed in the last two verses.
·
Psalm 100:4: Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Understand that “gates” are defensive
weapons acting as a barrier and closed to all outsiders. In the Old Testament
only the priest could enter the sanctuary and only the high priest could go
into the throne room. Here’s the good news, through the blood of Jesus, we are
no longer the enemies of God. Because the
carnal mind is enmity (hostile) against God:
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Romans
8:7). Now we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark
12:30). We are also now His children (sons) (Romans 8:16-17; 1 John 3:1-3.
The gates which were once closed to us are opened wide and we are invited to
enter into the presence of God as we bring to Him the sacrifice of praise for our salvation.
Then, He invites us to enter “into
His courts with praise” (tehillah), meaning, celebration, praise of exaltation of God; praises, songs of admiration. Get this, we are not just allowed
access to the outer limits of the sanctuary, but now can walk into the throne
room, where we can meet Him in all of His glory! Somebody ought to be shouting,
Hallelujah! Think about this! The Hebrew title of the Book of Psalms is Tehillim, literally the Book of Praises,
the songbook for worship events in the temple in Jerusalem.
The Psalmist encourages us to be thankful and to bless His Name.
God alone is worthy of being worshiped and we must bring the right sacrifice.
What’s your attitude toward worship?
Do you willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence, or are you just going
through the motions, reluctantly going to church? We got so much to praise God
for and I can back it up with verse 5.
·
Psalm 100:5: For the LORD is good, his mercy is
everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.
PRAISE HIM “FOR THE LORD IS GOOD”! God
is the original definition of good. He is good in and of Himself. David praises
Him for His goodness, “Thou art good and
doest good”, meaning pleasant, beautiful, delightful, glad, joyful,
precious, and righteous. The streams of God’s goodness are inexhaustible. We
call all kinds of things good - “This steak is good; she is a good friend;
today is a good day; that was a good movie.” All that we call “good” in today’s society is
tainted and imperfect, because Jesus said, ”There
is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18).
Everything God does is an expression
of His goodness! Regardless of what happens in life, God is good! No matter how
things turn out, God is still good! So, praise Him for His goodness.
Praise Him for His Grace! In Hebrew it’s chen (khane), and Greek it’s “charis” meaning, both meaning God’s unmerited favor, kindness, to rejoice. It is a God-given resource
that makes possible “holy living” when our life, circumstance, or character is
under fire by the adversary. We can praise Him for His grace. It is God’s grace
that become our enablement or empowerment to achieve His plan, endure hardship,
or access Him in our life. His grace is sufficient
(arke’o), meaning the idea of “raising a barrier” or “warding
off” (2 Corinthians 12:9). It’s God giving us the grace, the supernatural
ability or miraculous faculty/power to sustain,
endure, or maintain our call in Him.
His mercy is defined as “not getting
what we deserve.” One writer said, “We
live in a time when everyone wants what’s coming to them.” Not me! If I got
what was coming to me I would get hell. If I got what I deserved, I would
experience the undiluted wrath and fierceness of the Almighty God! Instead of
that, God extended His everlasting mercy towards me. He held back His wrath
from my life all because 2,000 years ago God’s Son, Jesus took my place on and
old, rugged, Roman cross. While He was dying there, all my sins were
transferred to Him and He died in my place.
My God deserved and deserves to be
praised. As He was dying, God looked at Jesus and saw my sins. He saw me
hanging there that day and He poured out His wrath into the Person of His Own
Dear Son. For that, I can enjoy mercy and it will never be exhausted
(Lamentations 3:22-23), because He makes a fresh batch every day! That’s a good
reason to praise the Lord.
Praise God for His Guarantee – meaning, a formal promise in writing that certain conditions will be
fulfilled. We are told that God’s “truth
endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). Simply stated, while the years
pile up, not a single promise of God’s Word will fail. You see, God cannot lie,
Hebrews 6:18, and what He has promised will be as good in 10,000 years as it
was the instants He promised it. When He tells you He loves you, you can count
on it. When He tells you He’ll never leave you nor forsake you, you can count
on it. Look! If God tell you anything at all, count on it. And, that is a good
reason to praise Him on today.
In conclusion, ask yourself the
question, “Am I bringing the right thing
to church”? Maybe, you have been
saved and want to get to know more about this wonderful God you hear about in
this message. You come and He’ll meet you right at the point of your need,
bringing the right spirit, the right submission, and the right sacrifice. Amen.
Evangelist Brenda Hansley