Psalm 100, A Call to Worship

by Matt Slick

"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.  ² Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.  ³Know 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 loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations."

Alright, for those of you who are you into sports?  Who is your favorite team?  Is it a basketball team, or a football team, baseball, or maybe hockey? Do you absolutely love to see a great play?  Do you get excited and shout when you see a touch down, a home run, a goal, or a slam dunk?  Do you enjoy entering the gates of a ball park, a hockey rink, or a stadium?  Do you love the excitement?  Then again, do you like going in and sitting down in front of the tube and getting all psyched up for the "big event"?  The rose bowl?  The World Series?  Or the playoffs?  Do you know all the names of the players on your favorite team along with their hits, errors, or fouls?  Do you know the batting averages of 5 or more players?  Do you vicariously bask in the glory of your team's victory?  Do you praise the wonders of your pitcher, your goalie, your quarterback?  Do you love talking about them?
There are different things that get us excited, that cause us to shout for joy.  For me its a new computer program or a good book.  For others it could be new clothes, a new car, going to a party, buying a new music C.D., or maybe seeing a great movie.  Let me ask you, are you excited about God?  Do you love Him?  Do you know all about Him?  Do you enjoy entering His gates with praise?  Do you shout for joy and praise His name with joyful songs?  I hope so.
It isn't wrong to shout for a team, to support them, to talk about how great they are.  But the question is, "Do you know that you are called to give the same, if not more, devotion and dedication to the Lord as you do to your favorite team?"
You are called to Worship the Lord, to spend the same kinds of energy on Him.  In fact, did you know that you are called to Worship the Lord and that the Lord even tells you how to do it?
Turn with me to Psalm 100.

1. You are called to Worship the Lord -- BY...
   1. v. 1, SHOUTING JOYFULLY TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH
      1. Such shouting comes from within, from a heart full of joy.
         1. Matt. 12:34 says, "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
      2. ALL THE EARTH is a proclamation that all creation is to praise Him.
         1. Psalm 65:13, "The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.
         2. Psalm 97:1, "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad."
         3. Psalm 98:4-6, "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre; With the lyre and the sound of melody. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord."
         4. Isaiah 49:13, "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!
      3. ALL THE EARTH also means that such joyful shouting/proclamation is to be done in concert with others--corporate worship.
         1. Psalm 22:22, "I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee."
         2. Acts 2:42, "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
   2. (YOU ARE CALLED to Worship THE LORD BY) SERVING THE LORD WITH GLADNESS v. 2 [worship in the NIV; it is better as 'serve' KJV, NASB]
      1. Your hearts are to be filled not only with joy, but with gladness which is coupled with service.
         1. Rom. 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual service of worship."
         2. To be glad means that you are delighted, pleased, happy, taking joy, taking pleasure in something.
   3. (YOU ARE CALLED to Worship THE LORD BY) COMING BEFORE HIM WITH JOYFUL SONGS. (Singing) v. 2
      1. Remember, you are coming before the Holy Lord, entering into His presence.
      2. Therefore, do so with respect.  Do so with an open and contrite heart, having made confession of sins, having repented of wrong, having trusted in Christ.
      3. It is because of the cross of Christ that we can come before God at all with joyful songs -- that the Lord God will gladly receive.
      4. Our songs of praise and worship should come from hearts filled with joy.
      5. Our songs should overflow out of the abundance of grace that has been given you, first of all, in the cross of Christ, and second in all the other blessings you receive.
         1. health, love, food, children, work, etc.
      6. Songs that exalt the Lord.
         1. whether hymns or praise songs, country or classical.
         2. music that honors, exalts, and glorifies the Lord.
   4. (YOU ARE CALLED to Worship THE LORD BY) KNOWING THAT THE LORD IS GOD. (experiencing) v.3
      1. Knowing Doctrine for a fuller understanding of God.
         1. Trinity, Salvation, Creator, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Trinity, hypostatic union, Holy Spirit, salvation by grace, the resurrection, etc.
      2. Knowing Christ
         1. You can only know the Lord God through the Son Jesus Christ.  In Matt. 11:27 Jesus said, "All things have been committed to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
      3. Knowing God as opposed to false gods
         1. John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
         2. Contextually this means knowing that JHWH is God, not baal, not moloch, not a god from another planet, not brahma, not Zeus, etc.
      4. But knowing God also means to experience God.
         1. Psalm 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good."
         2. Have you experienced the comforting presence of God the Holy Spirit?
         3. Have you felt the presence of God in grace or conviction?
         4. Have you known the comfort of God through trials and testing?
            1. My wife and I experienced God's presence through the death of our son, Jacob.  Through it, the Lord's presence was very clear.
2. You are called all to Worship the Lord -- BECAUSE...
   1. v. 3, IT IS HE WHO MADE US, AND WE ARE HIS AND NOT WE OURSELVES; WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE.
      1. He made you -- He is the creator.
         1. Psalm 95:6, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."
      2. You are His people -- He is the Savior.
         1. Psalm 71:23, "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you -- I, whom you have redeemed."
      3. You are His sheep -- He is the Shepherd.
         1. Psalm 79:13, "Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise."
         2. Psalm 95:7, "...for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care."
         3. John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand."
3. You are called to Worship the Lord -- BY...
   1. V 4, ENTERING HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING AND HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE
      1. Being in the presence of the Lord.
         1. the gates and courts of his temple?
         2. in church
         3. among believers
         4. in prayer
            1. Earlier I said that Doctrine was important to have a fuller understanding of God; This is true, but prayer is important for having a fuller experience of God.
   2. (YOU ARE CALLED to Worship THE LORD BY) GIVING THANKS TO HIM AND v. 4
      1. Why do you give thanks?
         1. Being in the presence of the Lord should result in thanksgiving... in humility, in being aware of your own sin, in wanting to repent, to confess, and receive the work of God's grace in Christ.
   3. (YOU ARE CALLED to Worship THE LORD BY) PRAISING HIS NAME v. 4
      1. Who else is worthy of such great praise?
      2. Praise be to God because of His great mercy in Jesus our Savior.
      3. Psalm 99:2-3, "The Lord is great in Zion, And He is exalted above all the peoples.  3 Let them praise Thy great and awesome name; Holy is He."
      4. Psalm 135:1-3, "Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely."
      5. Names of God:  YHWH, God, Lord, Sovereign, the Holy One, Father, Redeemer, Savior, The Almighty, Creator, the Alpha and Omega...
4. You are called to Worship the Lord -- BECAUSE
   1. V. 5, THE LORD IS GOOD AND HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER; HIS FAITHFULNESS CONTINUES THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS
      1. True worship is an acknowledgement of (as well as a flow from) the knowledge and experience of the goodness of the Lord.
      2. It should flow out of the abundance of the love, gratitude, and appreciation that dwells in your heart--because of Jesus!!
      3. The salvation of the Lord will be eternal.  We will enjoy the fellowship of the holy Lord in His presence forever.
      4. God's love cannot fail
      5. God's love is always pure.
      6. God's love is always infinitely deep.
      7. God's love is a love of sacrifice in that Jesus, God in flesh, loved us so much that he died for us.
         1. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
5. Conclusion:
   1. Through Psalm 100, you are called to worship and you are even told how to worship.  Hopefully, your excitement for the Lord will match that of sports, or whatever it is you shout for joy about.
      1. In this Psalm we have learned that true worship comes from the heart, a heart filled with the presence of God because of the cross of Christ.
      2. Will you shout for joy to the Lord?
      3. Will you give Him thanks?
      4. Will you praise His name?
      5. Will you serve Him with gladness?
   2. To better glorify God, remember that it is He who has made you; you are His people, redeemed by His Son; remember that He is good and faithful.