Worship, Worship The Lord!

[0:00] Verse 1 says, Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.! Serve the Lord with gladness.! Come into his presence with singing.

[0:11] ! 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.

[0:25] Enter his gates with thanksgiving. In his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name. For the Lord is good.

[0:39] His steadfast love endures forever. And his faithfulness to all generations. Let's pray one more time. Lord, we thank you for this morning.

[0:52] Thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity and the freedom that we have to study your word and learn more about you.

[1:02] Help me today to present your word and your gospel faithfully, Lord. And help us with your Holy Spirit to be ready to receive your word, Lord.

[1:19] Help us to be faithful to it. Help us to be obedient to it. And we thank you for the salvation that you have provided for us. In Jesus' name, amen.

[1:30] I grew up in a Bible church in Mexico, Mexico City. And in Mexico, there is a famous hymnal called Celebrate His Glory.

[1:44] Our church used this hymnal for many years. And I learned by memory a lot of songs from this book. One of my favorite hymns was the number 634.

[1:57] He had a lot. With the title, Cantar Alegres, Cantar a Dios. In English, sing with joy, sing to the Lord. I read many times our passage for today.

[2:10] And I normally read my passages in English, but also in Spanish. And I realized that every time I was reading it in Spanish, this song resounded in my mind.

[2:24] And I realized, when I look into it, that this song had the same exact words of this song. And there's a little description underneath the hymns. This song was based on this song.

[2:38] And one of the things that I remember the most is how this song was sung. This is not a quiet song. This is a fast-paced song.

[2:49] And the chorus has an increasing melody and rhythm that invites you to sing with excitement and with a loud voice. And when you get to the end of the chorus and you are singing the last hallelujah, you're trying to sing it as loud as you can.

[3:07] And using the last amount of the breath left in your lungs, so when the last note is sang, you feel that satisfaction that only praising the Lord could give you.

[3:19] I think that this was the intention of this song. Psalm 100 is the last song of a group of psalms called the Royal Psalms.

[3:47] They go through Psalms 93 to 99. And they have the intention to praise God as King and as Lord. And if you look in your Bibles, a quick view of the titles of this psalm can give us this idea.

[4:03] Look at Psalm 93, the title, The Lord Reigns. Psalm 95, Let us sing songs of praise to the Lord. Psalm 97, The Lord Reigns.

[4:16] Psalm 98, Make a joyful noise to the Lord. Psalm 99, The Lord our God is holy. These titles, even though they are not inspired scripture, gives us the idea of the whole passage of each passage.

[4:33] So all of them talk about God as Lord and how we should praise him. So when we get to the Psalm 100, we get the postlude of this group of psalms.

[4:48] It is close in with a worship to the Lord. And today we are going to learn why we worship our Lord. And my hope is that our hearts shout with joy by knowing who he is and what he has done for you.

[5:03] So let's look at the first reason of why we worship the Lord. And we're going to find that in verses 1 and 3. Why we worship the Lord. And the first reason is we worship him because he is our Lord.

[5:19] And let's read verses 1 and 3 again. Verse 1 says, Make a joyful noise to the Lord, O the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with singing.

[5:31] 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. The writer starts this song with a call to worship.

[5:45] This type of a call was an invitation that was made during the congregational worship. We see this throughout the book of psalms.

[5:55] Where the leader of the worship was inviting everyone to start worshiping God. And let's look at two examples. A few chapters back in Psalm 95 verse 1.

[6:07] The writer says, Oh come. It's an invitation to worship. Oh come. Let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

[6:18] If you look now at Psalms 98 verse 4. It says, Make a joyful noise to the Lord. The same phrase and invitation used in Psalm 100.

[6:30] Again, an invitation. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, O the earth. Break forth into joyous song and sing praises. These two psalms are part of the royal psalms, as I mentioned.

[6:42] And their essence is to come and worship God as Lord. These psalms called everyone who came to the temple to sing and to praise God.

[6:54] Not themselves. Not the person who was standing leading the worship. Not the person who read the scriptures. But to God. God was the center of their praise.

[7:07] We see this in the three different commands at the beginning of Psalm 100. It says, Make a joyful noise, serve the Lord, and come into his presence with singing.

[7:19] It was a call to praise the Lord. And there is something unique about this praise. And probably you already noticed it.

[7:32] But this praise is characterized by joy. That's the essence of this psalms. That's joy. The praise to God should be joyful.

[7:45] And look at verse 1 again. The beginning. Make a joyful noise to the Lord. Make a joyful noise. These four words in Hebrew. Remember that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.

[7:58] These four words in Hebrew are one single word. And it means shout. Shout. What the psalmist is saying here is, Shout to the Lord.

[8:09] Shout to the Lord. Who? All earth. Everyone. Everyone had to shout to the Lord. The writer here is calling to the people, the earth, To come in reverence and to come with joy to worship the Lord.

[8:23] It was an explosion of praise to the Lord for who he is and what he has done. And this kind of shout of praise is not uncontrolled or violent.

[8:35] This is more of an act of praise and reverence with excitement because it is made with joy. The idea behind this word is a shout of victory.

[8:50] And the victory was celebrated with joy. Think about the words that Israel had. Every time they won a bottle, they came back shouting the victory that they had.

[9:01] Of course, they didn't come with their arms down and with their regular face and was like, Yeah, we won the bottle. No. There was a joyful shout. There was happiness in their faces, full of hope, full of excitement.

[9:16] They defeated their enemies. There was no threat anymore for them. They praised the Lord for his protection and for giving them the victory. Their shout was joyful.

[9:30] And now what is the reason behind this praise? Well, the writer gives us the reason of this joyful praise in verse 3. Why? Because the Lord is God.

[9:43] The only God. The creator and sovereign God. The only one who deserves our worship, our reverence, our obedience. Because he made us.

[9:55] And we are his. We are his creation. The reason behind this praise is the knowledge that the writer has of his Lord.

[10:07] The psalmist knew that he existed because God created him. And he knew this because he knew the scriptures. Because he had kept the law and God's word in his heart.

[10:20] The writer is praising God with joy because he knows him personally. And it's not a superficial knowledge.

[10:32] This praise only comes when there is a deep knowledge of God. And a deep relationship with him. That's why the unbelievers can't praise God.

[10:43] They don't know him. They don't understand him. They don't have a relationship with him. But we can. Can you do the same? Do you have a deep knowledge of him?

[10:55] Do you have a deep relationship with him? I want to show you another passage in the psalms with the same idea. So go to Psalm 66.

[11:07] Psalm 66. And we're going to look at the first seven verses. Psalm 66 verse 1 says, Shout for joy to God.

[11:22] This is the same word that is used in Psalm 100. All the earth. Sing the glory of his name. Give to him glorious praise. Say to God, how awesome are you, dears.

[11:35] So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you. They sing praises to your name.

[11:46] Say to God. And now see how the writer starts describing God in verse 5. Verse 5 says, Come and see what God has done.

[12:00] He is awesome in his deeds toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land. They passed through the river and food. There did we rejoice in him.

[12:12] Who rules by his might, power. Whose eyes keep watching on the nations. Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Say that.

[12:26] Israel worshiped God because they knew what he did for them. They knew their God. And now we should worship God.

[12:39] Not only because he's our creator. But also because he's our father and our savior. So go back to Psalm 100. And let's look at the second part of verse 3.

[12:51] And it says, We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Israel could sing this because they were his people.

[13:05] But now we can sing with joy because we belong to him. Because we are sheep of his pasture. Because his salvation has been extended to us.

[13:16] We have been reconciled with God through Jesus' sacrifice. And now we are part of his pasture. We learn this in the gospel of John.

[13:27] And please go to your Bibles to John chapter 10. Sorry, we're moving everywhere in the scriptures. But go to your Bibles to John chapter 10. Throughout the whole passage in John 10.

[13:43] Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. And refers to the actions that the good shepherd does. And let's start in verse 11.

[13:55] John 10, 11 says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He lays down his life for the sheep.

[14:08] Here, he refers himself as the good shepherd. But the good shepherd of Israel. But in verse 16, he talks about the Gentiles. We belong to the flock of the Lord.

[14:21] Because he laid his life for us too. Look at verse 16. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also.

[14:32] And they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock. One shepherd. Verse 17. For this reason, the Father loves me. Because I laid down my life.

[14:43] That I may take it up again. So now we can praise God for his salvation. For lying down his life for our redemption.

[14:55] But I want you to notice something else in this passage. And it is how the sheep know their shepherd. Look at verse 14.

[15:06] What it says. I am the good shepherd. I know my own. And my own know me. Look again at verse 16. I must bring them also.

[15:18] And they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock. One shepherd. And verse 27 says. My sheep hear my voice.

[15:31] And I know them. And they follow me. We praise the Lord. Because of his salvation. We won't perish in eternal destruction.

[15:41] Because he has given us eternal life. But also. Our praise should be motivated. By a deep knowledge of him. This week I went to my first baseball game.

[15:56] It seems that it wasn't the best game to go. Because the teams were not that great. And if you know me. I am not into sports. I would rather sit at home.

[16:08] And play board games with a cup of coffee. But I got to say that I enjoy it. I enjoy this game. It probably seemed that I didn't. Because I didn't clap or stand up. When everyone else was doing it.

[16:20] Plus. I wasn't told that I had to cheer up. For the home team. So I was very happy. When the other team was winning. But. Anyways. I enjoyed it. I'll go again.

[16:31] Maybe Jerry can take me. To see the Yankees next time. Probably you won't agree. But. I've heard that that's the best team ever. But. Something that was pretty noticeable.

[16:42] In the stadium. In the stadium. Was the excitement. Of the Nationals. Nationals fans. When they made a good play. Everyone was cheering up. At the team.

[16:53] And at the players. You could have seen their passion. For the game. And for their team. I've heard sometimes. People talking about. Baseball players. In numbers. It seems like.

[17:05] The numbers define. If they are good or not. I think. It's because. It's based on their runs. And hits. If I understand. Understand correctly.

[17:17] But. How do they know about this? How can they talk about their numbers? How do they know them very well? Like they have this number memorized. And they can tell you. Well.

[17:28] It's because. They have passion for this sports. I. Can tell you the instructions. Of many board games. Because I have passion for them. And I. I don't.

[17:38] Sometimes I don't have to look at the. At the. Instructions. I. I know them. Very well. Because I have passion for them. So people. They know this numbers. Because they have passion. For this sports.

[17:50] And. This makes them. That makes them to be. Up to date. On every detail. Of this sport. They study the numbers. They see their games. And know. Lots of details.

[18:01] Because they love. The sport. So when their favorite team. Is playing. They know. Every single detail. And they know. What is going on. And they are ready. To shout. With excitement. When they are playing.

[18:11] Because again. There is passion. For this. You know where I am going. Our praise. To the Lord. Will be a shout. Of joy. Because we are not.

[18:23] Come to him anymore. We are saved. And we belong to him. But also. It will come. It will come. From a personal. Relationship. With him. And from a deep. Knowledge. Of his word.

[18:35] It will come. From the passion. For the Lord. And his word. If we spend time. Reading it. And reading about him. And there is a question. For us.

[18:45] For you. And for me. How much time. Do we spend. Reading his word. And. The average. American. Citizen. Spends about.

[18:57] A thousand. Six hundred. Forty two. Hours. Watching TV. And six hundred. Eight hours. On social media. Per year. If a person. Reads.

[19:07] His or her. Bible. Fifteen minutes. Every day. Like a constant. Reading. Fifteen minutes. Every day. That only adds. Up to sixty. Five hours. Per year. That's only.

[19:18] Four percent. Of the time. We spend. Watching TV. And only. Ten percent. Of the time. We spend. On social media. That's nothing. And see. The real problem.

[19:28] Is not the time. We have time. The problem. Is because. We don't love. God's word. Sorry. So. We can praise him.

[19:39] So. How can we praise him? Sorry. If we don't. Spend time. Learning more. About him. I found a quote. From R.C. Sproul. In the. Book that we're studying.

[19:50] With the lakeside students. And. R.C. Sproul says this. And I quote. Here then. Is the real problem. Of our negligence. We fail.

[20:02] In our duty. To study. God's word. Not so much. Because it is difficult. To understand. Not so much. Because it is. Old and boring. But because.

[20:12] It is work. Our problem. Is not a lack. Of intelligence. Or lack. Of passion. Our problem. Is that we are lazy. When we set time apart.

[20:26] To learn more. About him. Our hearts. Will be amazed. With who he is. And our natural. Response. Will be to worship. And praise him.

[20:36] With joy. So know him. And praise him. With joy. Because he is. Your Lord. He is my Lord. God. And praise him. Let's look at the other reason.

[20:47] Of why we worship God. And we find it. In verses. Four. And five. We worship him. Because. He is.

[20:58] Good. Verse four says. Enter his gates. With thanksgiving. And his courts. With praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name.

[21:10] For the Lord is good. His steadfast love. His steadfast love. Endures forever. And his faithfulness. To all generations. The writer is continuing here.

[21:21] With the call. To worship. He continues with. Enter his gates. And his courts. We mentioned. That now we are part of the flock.

[21:32] Of God. We are his sheep. Because of his redemption. So now. We are capable. Of coming. Into his presence. Before.

[21:42] Before that. Our sin. Kept us apart from God. But now we can come. Into his presence. Hebrews 10. Describes. This better. So look in your Bibles. To Hebrews 10.

[21:54] We are going to start with. Verse. In verse 19. Hebrews 10. Verse 19. We are going to read. Through. 22. Hebrews 10.

[22:04] 19. Says. Therefore. Brothers. Since we have. Confidence. To enter the holy places. By the blood. Of Jesus. By the new.

[22:16] And living. Way. That he. Opened. For us. Through the curtain. That is. Through his flesh. And since we have. A great priest. Over the house. Of God.

[22:27] Let us. Draw near. With a true heart. In full assurance. Of faith. With a heart. Sprinkled. Clean. From an evil. In this passage.

[22:39] The holy place. Referred to the. Place in the tabernacle. Or the temple. In the old testament.

[22:51] It represented. The presence. Of God. And the access. To this. Place. Was limited. Only. Once a year. It was visited.

[23:02] By the high priest. To atone. For his sins. And the sins. Of the nation. The requirements. To visit. This place. Were strict. Leviticus.

[23:13] Chapter 16. Explains. Everything. The priest. Had to do. Before entering. The holy place. And you can read. At home. It's pretty interesting. And reading. All the. These requirements. But if the priest.

[23:24] Didn't follow. These requirements. Correctly. It could cause. His own. Death. But now. As Hebrews says.

[23:34] We have. Confidence. To enter. In the presence. Of God. Because of the blood. Of Jesus. Because now. We have a better. High priest.

[23:45] The perfect. Sinless. Priest. Jesus Christ. Hebrews 7. 27. Says that. He offered. Himself. Once. For all. The perfect.

[23:57] Sacrifice. Was. Offered. One sense. For everyone. His atone. Was. Enough. For you. And for me. And for the world. To redeem us.

[24:09] Forever. So now. That we are redeemed. We have full. Access. To God. There is no need. Of another priest. To go into our place.

[24:20] There is no need. To wait for a whole year. To ask for forgiveness. For. Of our sins. We can come to him. At any moment. And we should come to him.

[24:32] Giving thanks to him. And blessing his name. As verse 4. In Psalm 100. Says. This again. Is more praise. That is filled with joy.

[24:43] With gratefulness. And blessing. Again. This is the response. Of our redeemed heart. That has been drawn near to God. There is gratefulness. For his salvation.

[24:54] And then. The writer gives us. Three reasons. Of why. We praise. Where.

[25:04] They are explained. In verse 5. Because he is good. He is merciful. And he is faithful. There is. There are some. These are some. Of many. Characteristics.

[25:15] And attributes. Of God. And. These attributes. Of God. Are part of his nature. Is the essence. Of God. And he.

[25:26] Can't be. Or do. Anything. Contrary. To his nature. There is nothing. Bad in him. Not a single. Evil thought. And when God.

[25:36] Is something. He is perfect. In that. Something. That he is. So for instance. If we say. That he is good. He is the maximum.

[25:47] Standard. Of goodness. He can't be less. He can't be less good. Than he is right now. Or be better. Than he was yesterday.

[25:59] And the same happens. With his love. And his faithfulness. He won't stop loving us. Because of our failures. He won't love us. Less. Or more today. Than he did yesterday.

[26:11] His love. Will lower. A single bar. When we sin. He remains. The same. This doesn't mean. That he approves. Our sin. And that we weren't.

[26:23] There won't be consequences. Or judgment. From him. What it means. Is that. His love. For us. Has been. And will be the same. Even when we fail.

[26:35] It is hard for us. To understand this. We condition. Our love. According to. How other people. Treat. Treat us. And because. We are in the flesh.

[26:46] We can't. Love the way. That he does. We can't. But the love of God. Doesn't know conditions. God loves us. Perfectly. That's why the writer.

[26:57] Had the confidence. To write. That his love. Endures forever. God's love. Will never faint. It will never be less. He will remain. The same.

[27:08] Forever. James talked about this. In chapter 1. Verse 17. Every good gift. And every perfect gift. Is from above. Coming down.

[27:19] From the father of lights. With whom. There is no variation. Or shadow. Due to change. There is no variation. Or shadow. Due to change.

[27:30] This is amazing. Isn't it? He doesn't change. The author of Hebrews. In chapter 13. Verse 8. Says. Jesus Christ. Is the same. Yesterday.

[27:40] And today. And forever. God's love for you. Will never be different. Neither his faithfulness. It is in his nature. And we can praise him.

[27:51] With joy. Knowing how perfect. He is. This is why the psalm. Starts with a shout. Of joy. Because he knew his God.

[28:02] And his natural response. Was to praise him. Our immediate reaction. Of knowing God. Knowing his salvation. And knowing everything.

[28:13] He does. And has done for us. Should be praise. And worship. We have. We have. A great God. God. If you are saved.

[28:27] Don't hesitate. To learn more about him. Through the reading of his word. Don't wait to have an intimate relationship with him. And give thanks to the Lord.

[28:38] With joy. Because he has saved you. If you are not saved. Think about the riches. Richness. That are found in him. Through the perfect sacrifice.

[28:50] Of Jesus Christ. He offered himself for you. For the redemption of your sins. This psalm.

[29:00] That we saw today. Has two reasons. Of why we should worship the Lord. These two reasons. Are based on how God is. In his character. Knowing God.

[29:11] Is. Should affect the way. That we worship him. It should be filled with joy. And gratitude. It should affect our obedience. To his word. And our service. In his church.

[29:23] It should be done. With humbleness. And with love for him. And others. And it should affect. How we treat others. In our community. And our local church. Our actions.

[29:34] Should reflect. His love for us. Knowing God. And his works. Should give us. A reverent heart. That shouts to the Lord.

[29:44] With joy. Because we are. His redeemed children. And his love. Will ever change. His faithfulness. And love. For you. Will remain.

[29:55] Forever. Thank you.