[0:00] read today from Psalm 100. I'm going to begin at verse 1. Psalm 100, I'm beginning at verse 1. Just as you're looking up your Bible, there was a story once about Muhammad Ali, and he was sitting on a plane. The plane was ready to take off, and one of the flight attendants came up to him and said to him, sir, would you please put on your seatbelt? And he just looked at her with contempt in his eyes and said, Superman don't need no seatbelt. And she looked at him and said, Superman don't need no plane. He was humbled. And I'll tell you what, as you come to preach the Word of God in your home church where you're looking out, and there are some people who maybe change your nappies, that keeps you humble. So Sunday school teachers, you can correct any theology as well as Daniel.
[1:00] That maybe is not quite as it should be, and I'm sure it will be. Psalm 100, beginning at verse 1. Shout for joy to the Lord all the year. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people. The sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good, and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. May God bless the reading, and later the reflection from His Word.
[1:43] I think we're going to sing together. Told about a preacher who also kept horses. And one occasion, he was going to be selling one of his horses. And this horse was a particularly special horse.
[2:04] And a man came to the preacher to find out about the horse and asked him some questions. And the preacher said to him, there's something you need to know about this horse. It only responds to church talk. So do you want to test ride the horse? The man said yes, and he got on the horse.
[2:24] And the preacher said to him, if you want the horse to go, you need to say, praise the Lord. And if you want the horse to stop, you need to say, amen. So the guy got on the horse. He was on the horse. He said, praise the Lord. And the horse began to trot. And he said, praise the Lord again. And it began to gallop.
[2:45] And it was galloping at some speed. And he saw that he was approaching the edge of a cliff. And he was trying to think about the word for stop. He had forgot it for a moment. And then it came back to him.
[2:56] And he said, amen. And the horse ground to a halt. And he wiped his brow. And he said, praise the Lord. Sometimes we're in a bit danger of too much church talk. You know, we say, praise the Lord.
[3:18] We sing, praise the Lord. Comes easily from our lips, but not always from our hearts. We are called to be a people of praise. Down through church history, believers have joined together to praise the Lord.
[3:38] In fact, one of those everyday expressions in church history used to be, let us sing the old psalm 100th. Speaking about Psalm 100. This is a psalm, Psalm 100, that has been treasured by the people of God down through the centuries. In fact, C.H. Spurgeon once said, nothing can be more sublime, this side of heaven, than the singing of this noble psalm by a vast congregation. In fact, the hymn, all people that on earth do dwell, is one notable version of this psalm. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with fear. His praise foretell. Come ye before Him and rejoice. This psalm is a call to the people of God to praise His name, to praise His awesome name.
[4:40] During the Murray Coast revival in the early 1920s, many testified of a renewed and revived heart of praise. This was so evident among the people of God. Indeed, in Lossomouth Baptist Church, in some of our archives, people would speak about the singing, oh, the singing.
[5:03] In fact, in the first months of one of the years in the early 1920s, there were around 40 baptisms and 40 people added into membership at Lossomouth Baptist Church. This was true in many ways along the coast.
[5:22] Some testified at Phinecte, some miles from Bucky. A divine spark has been fanned into a fierce flame everywhere in the home. Everywhere in the home and in the streets. There is the joyous singing of hymns.
[5:36] Others testified in Hopeman. The praise of God is heard in the streets far into the night. People are crowding to the churches. One common indicator of genuine renewal and revival among the people of God is a heartfelt praise of God. A cry from the heart, not just from the lips. This was certainly true in the Welsh revival of 1904 and 1905. It's amazing to think that around a hundred thousand people were converted during the Welsh revival. And obviously, many came under conviction as the Holy Spirit was working through the preached Word of God. But it's interesting to read of so many who were converted during the praise times. As the Spirit of God was moving and people were praising God with a renewed vigour, with a renewed heart. Others were convicted, were born again as the Spirit worked. One of the great hymns of the Welsh revival was known as the love song of the revival. Here is love vast as an ocean. We are called to be a people of praise. We're not just to say, we're not to get caught up too much in church talk, but as the Lord touches our hearts afresh, we realize that great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. If you've got your Bible, turn to
[7:23] Psalm 145 and verse 3. Psalm 145 verse 3. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another. They will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty. And I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works. And I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness. They will joyfully sing of your righteousness. Why? Because great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.
[8:15] Is our praise worthy of Him? Let's search our hearts this morning in our own walk with God. Even as we gather as the people of God, as we are called to do, part of a local ecclesia, as we gather to sing and to honor His name. Are we coming with that real heart of praise?
[8:37] So I want to consider this psalm this morning. Psalm 100. And see what lessons we can learn. So first of all, if you look at verse 1, we see indeed the call to praise. The call to praise.
[8:54] We're told there in verse 1, shout for joy to the Lord all the earth. We can easily understand the people of Israel shouting joyfully in praise to their great God, but the psalmist calls for all the nations of the earth to praise Him.
[9:11] This is a recurring theme in the Psalms, for it was Israel's responsibility to introduce the Gentiles to the true and the living God. They were to be a light to all the nations.
[9:23] We are called to praise the Lord. Praise means an expression of approval, commendation or admiration. The extolling or exaltation of a deity.
[9:34] Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth. All the earth. We're called to praise the Lord. And praise is a common thread throughout the whole of Scripture.
[9:50] We could look to the Gospels and think about Jesus and how He came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. We were told there in Matthew 21 how people cried out, Hosanna!
[10:02] Hosanna! We could think of the disciples who worshipped Christ after His resurrection in Luke 24, verse 32. We could think about the early church.
[10:14] Acts 2, verses 42 to 43, how they gathered for prayer, for praise, for worship around the Lord's table, for fellowship. We could think about the church in Antioch in Acts chapter 13, how they prayed, they praised, they fasted before sending Paul and Barnabas out on mission work.
[10:35] We could read Paul's many letters and his great expressions of praise to his God. Why? Why are these so inspirational? Because our God is worthy.
[10:46] And there's a call to the people of God to wake up. Wake up! And praise His worthy name.
[11:00] Praise His worthy name. If you've got your Bible, turn to Revelation 22, and verse 3. There we're told that we'll praise the Lord for all eternity.
[11:13] Revelation 22, and verse 3. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city.
[11:27] And His servants will serve Him. You know, with the curse of sin removed, those who are with the Lord, both Jew and Gentile, will forever praise the King of kings in perfection.
[11:42] It has been said that our worship of God on earth is simply preparation for the celebration of praise that will take place in eternity with the Lord who will praise His name forever.
[11:57] This is our God. A God who is worthy of praise. So we are called to praise His holy name.
[12:08] We see in the structure of this psalm that indeed it is beautiful Hebrew poetry. Beautiful Hebrew poetry. In verses 1 to 2, we see a threefold invitation.
[12:22] Shout, worship, come. And then in verse 3, we see a threefold affirmation. God made us. We are His. And then in verse 4 again, an invitation.
[12:33] Enter. Give thanks. Praise. And then again in verse 5, an affirmation. He is good. He is loving. He is faithful.
[12:46] There's a drawing close here. Begins with shouting. Then coming. Then entering. We're called to praise the name of the Lord.
[13:00] In fact, the word enter in Hebrew means to come to or to go to. It is framed in the imperative mood. It is a command. We're required to come into God's presence and praise and worship.
[13:13] If you've got your Bible, turn to Hebrews 10 and verse 25. Hebrews 10 and verse 25. A challenging verse to the people of God.
[13:26] Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage one another all the more as you see the day approaching.
[13:39] We are called to have a heart of praise. But we're also called to be part of a local ecclesia. And we are called to gather regularly for corporate worship.
[13:54] We are to enter. We are to come. I wonder how regular you are at church. Now, I hear it all the time. We are the church.
[14:05] Don't have to be there every Sunday because it's the people. No, I believe we should strive. We should want to be gathering with the people of God.
[14:18] If we truly love Him, if He truly is worthy, we should make every effort to be here, to praise and to glorify and to worship His name. So, shout.
[14:30] Worship. Come. Enter. Give thanks. And praise His name. Why? Well, this song as well is a call to praise. Gives us reasons why we should praise this great God.
[14:45] Shout. Worship. Come. Enter. Give thanks. Praise. Why? We're told in verse 3 and verse 5 of many reasons why we should come.
[14:56] Why we should praise His holy name. First of all, if you look at verse 3, we're told there that He is the one true God.
[15:07] Know that the Lord is God. Know means in the Hebrew acknowledge. Acknowledge that He is God. He is the foundation of all.
[15:20] In the beginning, there was God. He is perfect. He is self-sufficient. He is self-existent. He is transcendent. He holds all things together.
[15:33] Father, this is our God. Know that the Lord is God. Acknowledge Him. Worship Him. Honor Him.
[15:43] Shout. Worship. Come. Enter. Give thanks. Praise His name. For He is the one true God. We don't worship some stone statue or some dead hero.
[16:00] We worship the living God. The one true God. Know that the Lord is God. But secondly, He is our Creator.
[16:12] Look at verse 3. It is He who made us. It is He who made us. You were made in the image of God.
[16:25] He formed you when you were in your mother's womb. Turn to Psalm 139. Such a special psalm. Psalm 139.
[16:37] We're told there in verse 14, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. But this God that we worship, this God that we praise, He is the one who made us.
[16:54] How could we not praise Him? How could we not worship Him? He formed us when we were in our mother's womb. If you want to look to verse 1 of Psalm 139.
[17:09] O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. He knows us. Verse 2, You know when I sit and when I rise. Verse 4, Before a word is on my tongue, You know it completely, O Lord.
[17:24] He knows all about us. He knows our sin. He knows our weakness. He knows our insecurities. Yet He loves us. Yet He still calls us to come.
[17:35] He still longs to lavish His love upon us. No wonder we worship. It's not just going through the motions. It's not just gathering on a Sunday to say words, to sing words.
[17:50] He made us. He created us. And we're told there in verse 14, I know that full well. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
[18:03] Your works are wonderful. And if you look on to verse 23, the psalmist just there desires so much to be intimate with God.
[18:13] Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Search my heart, O God.
[18:25] Know my heart. Know my anxious thoughts. Lay your life open this morning before God. He knows you. You might pretend to other people.
[18:38] You might put on the Sunday face, but God knows your struggles. God knows your anxieties. God knows your fears. And He loves you. He's for you. He knows you.
[18:51] And you know that. He is our creator. He made us. Praise Him. Shout. Worship. Come.
[19:01] Enter. Give thanks. Praise His name. He is our creator. But we're also told in this psalm, Psalm 100, that He is our shepherd.
[19:13] Look at verse 3. And we are His. We are His people. The sheep of His pasture. He is our shepherd.
[19:23] He leads. He guides. He protects. He even leads us through the darkest valley. And He leads us to the green pastures. The Lord is my shepherd.
[19:36] I shall not be in one. No wonder we praise His wonderful name. We are His. He loves us. So intimately is our relationship with Him.
[19:49] How wonderful that is. What a joy that is. If you've got your Bible, turn to John 10, verse 16. And there we are told that the Lord Jesus is the shepherd of the saints.
[20:04] John 10, verse 16. And just a couple of verses following as well. And we'll start actually at verse 14.
[20:18] I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
[20:30] I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice. And there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
[20:45] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. The Lord Jesus is our shepherd. He laid down His life for us.
[21:01] And He leads. He guides. He protects. We are safe under His care.
[21:13] What a joy it is to say that we are His, that we are children of God, that He is our Father. That we can say, Abba, Father. That we can know that He is in control.
[21:27] That when we sing songs like He's got the whole world in His hands. That He does. That He's got you and me in His hands. Well, He does because we are His.
[21:38] So often we feel that God is a million miles away. Sometimes we feel that heaven is silent. If you have been born again by the Spirit of God, no matter what you are going through, God loves you.
[21:51] You're His child. He'll always provide. He'll never forsake you. He'll never let you down.
[22:04] The Lord is our shepherd. So shout, worship, come. Enter. Give thanks and praise His name.
[22:16] But we're also told in verse 5 that the Lord is good. For the Lord is good. He is good. The Lord is righteous.
[22:26] He always does what is right. I loved when I was a child, the books, The Chronicles of Narnia. And I loved the line, the witch, and the wardrobe.
[22:36] And Aslan is a type of Christ in that book. It's a picture of Christ. And there's one moment in the book when Lucy comes up to Mrs. Beaver and is asking about Aslan and she looks at Mrs. Beaver and says, Is he safe?
[22:56] And Mrs. Beaver looks at Lucy and says, No. He's not safe. But he's good. He's good.
[23:10] We need to have a reverence for God. When we come to worship, we need to have an awe of God. Sometimes we do come in too lightly into His presence.
[23:24] We have lost something of the fear of God. And the fear of God, the Bible says, is the beginning of wisdom. Yes, we have that intimate relationship with Him.
[23:37] We are His. But He is other. He is the one true God. Acknowledge that He is God. And have that reverence for Him.
[23:49] But He is good. He is so good. You know, as a young pastor, well, not as young as I used to be. Still kind of young.
[24:00] Like to think I'm young. One of the things I've learned most in my ministry regarding just the daily duties of a pastor, it sounds so obvious, but it's to let God do the work.
[24:16] It's so easy to think that somehow you control the church. No. God builds His church. And even in difficult issues in the church, to let God deal with them.
[24:27] God is more than able to deal with people who are causing problems, people who are attacking a pastor, or people who are backbiting, or people who need discipline.
[24:42] Now, we have a part to play sometimes, but God is able. He is good. He works for the good of His bride.
[24:55] He works for the good of His people. The one who is good works for our good. We're told in Romans 8, verse 28, in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.
[25:07] And that's in the section of Romans that speaks about the fact that nothing can separate us from His love. in all things, God is working for your good. Even if you don't believe that, that is true.
[25:21] And we're told in Romans as well that His will is good, it's perfect, it's pleasing. He is for you and not against you.
[25:32] He is good. So shout, worship, come, enter, give thanks, and praise His name, for He is good. But He's also loving, we're told in verse 5, His love endures forever.
[25:48] We're told in Scriptures that His love never fails, that nothing can separate us from His love. I just quoted that. What a wonder that is. And to know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
[26:04] There's maybe people here today who've been Christians for many years, but still at times struggle to think that God really loves them. They think maybe at times they've let God down.
[26:17] Well, let me tell you today that God's love is as deep as an ocean. That His love never fails.
[26:27] I love that old hymn, Here is love vast as an ocean. Love and kindness as a flood. And there's a line in that song that is so significant, speaking about the cross.
[26:40] And we know that in Romans we're told that God demonstrates His own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We're told in that hymn that He kissed a guilty world in love.
[26:55] The cross is the kiss of God to sinners. sinners. That's how much God loves you. He loves you so much.
[27:09] It was actually on the night that I was converted at a Sunday school camp that I vividly remember singing a psalm we used to sing years ago here in Weston Hills Baptist Church to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon.
[27:24] This was in the Sunday school I might add. And it went, God's love is like a circle. A circle big and round.
[27:35] And when you see a circle no ending can be found. And so the love of Jesus goes on eternally forever and forever I know that God loves me.
[27:48] That is so true. His love never fails. It never gives up on us. His love is eternal. Don't doubt His love.
[27:59] I pray for me and for you that we experience more of the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of God through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. The truth is that so often and sometimes because of our upbringing some people who have had a difficult experience of a father or a mother doubt that God could truly love them.
[28:20] Even although they'll say so often deep in their heart they doubt could God really love me? Does He really love me? I've sinned again for the ten thousandth time with the same sin.
[28:31] Can He still love me? His love never fails. No wonder when we come into His presence we shout, we worship, we come, we enter, we give thanks and we praise His name.
[28:45] He is love. God is love. Carol Barth was asked near the end of his life at a big theological conference of the greatest theological insight he had ever learned.
[28:57] This was a man, I'm sure you're aware, who had such a great mind, a great theologian. And he paused and he was really frail and he looked out and he simply said, Jesus loves me.
[29:11] This I know for the Bible tells me so. Shout, worship, come, enter, give thanks, praise His name for He is loving.
[29:22] And then lastly, we're told in verse 5 that He is faithful. No wonder we praise His name. I know me, I am so at times faithless. I let people down.
[29:33] I let God down. But God is faithful. He always keeps His promises. He is righteous, as we said. He does the right thing. But He will never leave us nor forsake us.
[29:46] He is a faithful God. I love this story of Joshua. And we think of Joshua and all the promises that God gave him. The call that he had to be strong, to be courageous.
[29:58] That he would lead the people into the promised land. That God would be with him. That God would give him every place where he set his foot. That God would fight for him. And at the end of his life, as he was about to die, he would look out across the people and say, the Lord kept every one of his promises.
[30:17] Despite all the difficulties, despite all the battles that he had in his life, he said, not one of the Lord's promises failed. So shout, worship, come, enter, give thanks, praise his name, because he is faithful.
[30:41] He is the one true God. He is our creator. He is the creator. He is our shepherd. He is good. He is loving.
[30:52] He is an amazing God. An awesome God. How awesome is our God. And we need the Holy Spirit to give us a bigger vision as to our God and as to his nature.
[31:05] That in our own lives, there's a people who praise his name. That we would praise him in the valley as well as on the mountaintop. We would praise him in the storm as well as a season of peace.
[31:18] That we would worship him. That as we gather as the people of God, we would not take corporate worship lightly. That we would come hungry to meet with God. To glorify his name.
[31:30] To hear his word. Why would we not want to be here? Why would we not want to praise his name? He is an awesome God.
[31:43] Just as we draw to a close, I want to finish with a story. A person is going to appear on the screen. He is a baseball player. A guy called Oral Hershiker.
[31:54] And he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. And in the 1988 season, he was the most valuable player. He had such an important role in the playoffs and in the World Series.
[32:08] And in the last game of the season, he was sitting in the dugout between innings. It was a baseball team. And the camera focused in on him. And he was singing a song to himself.
[32:20] And the commentator made some comment like, well, he's got a lot to be singing about today. And then the game finished. A few days later, he was with Johnny Carson on, I think it's called The Tonight Show.
[32:34] Or it was. And Johnny Carson was interviewing him and he said, listen, the whole audience in the nation want to know what song were you singing? And would you sing it for us now?
[32:45] And the crowd started to go, come on, sing the song, sing the song. And he stood up and quietly and humbly he just begun to sing. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[32:59] Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Shout, worship, come, enter, give thanks, and praise.
[33:19] The Lord is the one true God. He is our creator. He is our shepherd. He is good. He is loving.
[33:31] He is faithful. We praise Him. We praise Him. We praise His holy name. Come on. Let's sing the old hundredth.
[33:43] Let's stand together and worship the Lord and praise His holy name. All people that on earth do dwell. little Him and King and all