Pastor Melvin Newland from Oklahoma wrote: “Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself & said, “I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they grew older.” But this missionary had developed a treatment which would stop progressive blindness. So people came to him & he performed his treatment, & they would leave realizing that they would have become completely blind, but because of him their sight had been saved. He said that they never said, “Thank you,” because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, “I will tell your name.” Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.” That sounds just like what God has enabled us to do, and how we are called to respond to His Word in Psalm 100.
Key Principle: Thankful people are unmistakable. Their thankful heart shows in their lives!
Today we recall this simple song – “A Psalm for Thanksgiving”. (Mizmor l’todah: mizmor is from zawmar – to strike strings, to play music or to praise; todah or “thanks” is from “yadah” probably a hand motion that indicated thankfulness, celebration and warm greeting).
Psalm 100:1 “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 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. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” (NASB)
Remember – Thankful people are unmistakable. Their thankful heart shows in their lives! You can spot them every place they show up…thankful people. They have practices that identify them clearly! Look at them closely – then see if you have them. We are only a choice away…
Practice One: They are infectious – They enlist others in the Praise Chorus!
Psalm 100:1 “Shout (hariu: from ruach; as in cry out in loud voice) joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. (The text only says “Noise to the Lord all the earth” – the “joy” quality is implied.) The enemy has voices screaming from every direction, “Celebrate yourself! Cultivate selfishness! From out of the earth God has planned that people around the globe would drown out the voices of rebellion with loud proclamations of prayer and praise!
Practice Two: They are BUSY – They have become happy workers!
100:2 “Serve (from awvad: to become a bondsman, slave or worker of) the LORD with gladness (simchah: exceeding delight)…” There are to clear and simple elements to this practice. Step one – get busy DOING something. This happens to the one who decide he or she is truly bought and owned. Step two – do it with outlandish delight! I cannot do the minimum, and I cannot do it with a sour heart.
Practice Three: They look with WONDER – They Direct my Praises to Him!
100:2b “…Come before Him with joyful singing (renawnaw is from rawnan – loud cries, great rejoicing noises).” We are to present our songs to the face of the Lord. We are not singing to one another, and we are not rejoicing about one another. We are placed in front of HIS THRONE and He is the one listening to our voice.
Practice Four: They Smile with Understanding – They Know Who is watching over them!
100:3 Know these four truths:
- 100:3 “Know (yawdah: perceive) that the LORD Himself is God…”
- 100:3b “…It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…”
- 100:3b “…We are His people…”
- 100:3b “… and the sheep of His pasture.” Need we explain why the actual and literal belief in God as the Creator of the world is important to us? When our schools strip the belief system of the Almighty as our Creator, they undermine our very bedrock of freedom.
Practice Five: They feel Privileged – The Recognize how special it is to Know One so Great!
100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. There are three reasons I should recognize how special it is to know and serve my Lord:
- 100:5 “For the LORD is good…”
- 100:5b “…His lovingkindness is everlasting…”
- 100:5b: “…And His faithfulness to all generations.”
Thankful people are unmistakable. Their thankful heart shows in their lives! What do you see in the mirror today? Happy Thanksgiving!
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