Unlocking Happiness | Sunday, November 3, 2024

Amen. Praise God! Good morning. Thank you, Anthony and team. You guys can have a seat. That's a good reminder this morning that the Lord, the battle, belongs to Him.

Hey, a couple of things before we get into the Scriptures this morning. After our second or third service today, we are having our chili cook-off out here in the patio area after the service. I encourage you to come back after the third service. We have a number of contestants this year who are trying to compete in the cook-off, and you get to come back and judge them. We all love to judge people, so you should come back and be a judge for that. I think it'll be a great time.

We started doing this last year. It's something we do on the first Sunday in November, which also happens to be Time Change Sunday. It's the good time change! How many of you are thankful for an extra hour of sleep last night? Praise the Lord! I had such good sleep. I woke up refreshed, happy, and ready to go, and that's awesome. I mentioned in the pastors' group text, "Hey, extra hour of sleep tomorrow." Of course, Garrett, with small kids, said, "Not for those with little kids." So, God bless you, Garrett. We went through it too, so welcome to the club.

Well, every four years, we find ourselves here. We are just a little more than 48 hours away from the season finale of Season 60 of the U.S. presidential elections, and this one has been a doozy. The scriptwriters for Season 60 have gone all in with every possible twist and turn and all the chaos of everything. I mean, we've had assassination attempts, we've had palace intrigue, and we had a late-season candidate swap casting change. It's just total chaos! They've tried to put every possible thing into Season 60. It is craziness, and the showdown is only days and hours away.

I'll be honest; I get into this way more than I should. In my own mind, I get into this way more than I should. I'm not a big sports guy. I mean, some of you may be really involved in sports, but I'm not a big sports guy. Anthony's trying to cause a church split wearing that hat he's wearing today, but we'll pray for Anthony. It's really hard when your worship leader has such a dark heart. So, I'm not a big sports guy. I'm not huge into binging Netflix. I'm not super into a lot of...

Different hobbies occupy my time, but I don't really play video games. Although I will say that Tetris is the greatest video game that was ever created, I try not to get sucked into those things. However, I do find myself getting a little bit absorbed in the political news cycle every four years. At the beginning of the year, every four years, I tell myself that I won't get into it this time. Yet, I totally get sucked into it.

I wish I could be one of those people who doesn't even think about politics. It is what it is; it's going to happen the way it's going to happen. My lovely wife is like that; she would never even think about these issues unless I brought them up. I wish I could be more like her, but I am not at all.

I thoroughly believe that God is sovereign, even over governments and leaders, and He is sovereign over this whole situation. Still, I get caught up in it all. I would beg you to pray for me, and I will pray for you if you find yourself in the same boat. As we approach the first Tuesday in November during a presidential election season, I often find myself thinking, "Thank God it is almost over." This thought brings me a measure of gratitude, regardless of the outcome. I do have an outcome that I am hoping for and praying for, but I am grateful that it is almost over.

I am also grateful that we finished the Book of Judges last week, which was quite a challenge. It contained some very heavy themes, but I believe it offered instructive lessons for us. Now that we have completed Judges, we are entering a new month—November. In our culture, November is very much associated with the holiday that ends this month: Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Pastor Mark just announced our Thankful 30 Campaign, which you can register for on our website. Participants will receive a daily email throughout the month with a short video from Pastor Mark on the topic of gratitude. I also felt it would be good for us to focus our attention as a church on the subject of gratitude during the Sundays this month. I think it is an important theme for us to explore.

It's important for us to think about the meaning of holidays. Sometimes, we celebrate holidays like Memorial Day or Labor Day without reflecting on their significance. This is also true for the last Thursday in November when we celebrate Thanksgiving. However, it's crucial for us to consider the concept of gratitude and Thanksgiving, as it plays a significant role in our lives.

Years ago, I lived in Germany, and during November of that year, I noticed that Europeans do not celebrate Thanksgiving. The American students at the school where I was teaching decided to celebrate it anyway. We organized a big Thanksgiving meal and invited all the European students. They were puzzled by what we were doing, but we explained that we were going to be thankful, which is what we should be, especially in a Bible school setting. I believe it's a good thing to focus our attention on gratitude, and I appreciate that our culture encourages this in the month of November.

Gratitude makes life better, and this idea is supported by scripture as well as our own experiences. Research has shown numerous benefits associated with gratitude. For instance, there are emotional and psychological benefits when you practice thankfulness. Being grateful positively affects your emotional and psychological well-being. Additionally, there are physical health benefits that come from being a grateful and thankful person.

Moreover, gratitude has social and relational benefits. People generally prefer to be around those who are joyful and grateful rather than those who are constantly complaining and ungrateful. Research suggests that gratitude also offers cognitive and mental benefits. These are just some of the practical advantages of gratitude, but there are other important aspects of Thanksgiving to consider as well.

So, why does gratitude make life better? I believe it is, in part, because...

Has something to do with our nature. As a Christian, I obviously believe that God made us. That's the first thing we learn about God in the Scriptures: in the beginning, God created. One of the fundamental beliefs that we have as followers of the God of the Bible is that He is the Creator. He made us for certain ends and purposes; there is a Tao, we would say, to our lives.

Part of that is that God knows how He made us, why He made us, and what He made us for. He knows best how this equipment we have works. He is the original equipment manufacturer. He knows best how this equipment works, and He says gratitude is very, very important. It's kind of like the lubricant of the machine, if you will. Gratitude helps us to live this life better, and I think that is why God desires and wills our gratitude.

Pastor Mark, in his video, pointed to a very important gratitude passage in the Bible: 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, "Rejoice always." Can any of you say that with me today? "Rejoice always." Some of you may say, "I have a really hard time memorizing Scripture." Well, 1 Thessalonians 5:16 is two words: "Rejoice always." If you can remember that, you just memorized the verse.

The next verse is equally as easy; it's only three words: "Pray without ceasing." Can you say that? "Pray without ceasing." You just memorized two verses, and we're only about ten minutes into our message. This is great! The third verse is, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

You know, one of the most frequently asked questions that I've received as a pastor, especially when I was doing youth ministry, was, "What is God's will for my life?" There are certain passages of Scripture where God's will is explicitly stated. This is one of them: "This is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Give thanks in all things."

My goal over the next several weeks, leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, is to focus our attention on gratitude and Thanksgiving. My hope in doing so is that we will not only have just one day where we casually remember this concept of Thanksgiving at the end of the month. My hope is that maybe throughout the month, we would be...

I am reminded of the value of the principle and discipline that we are going to look at today and over the next several weeks. We are told, "In everything give thanks." The fact is that this can be a challenge. It can be difficult because there are things that will distract us and make it hard for us to be thankful. There might be moments in the next 48 hours that will make it difficult for you to have a heart and attitude of gratitude. It might be cliché to say, but it will make it hard for you.

It's not just that; there are all kinds of things that could come into your life over the next 30 days that will make it hard for you to be thankful. It could be personal issues, illness, or challenges at work that you go through. It might be something happening within your family or in the community or nation. Whatever it is, there are things that come against us that make it hard for us to be grateful. Yet, Paul says this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus: that you would be thankful in everything.

I think it is helpful to note that Paul was writing to a group of newly planted Christians in a city called Thessalonica. He was addressing people who were facing challenging circumstances and difficult situations. He was saying to these individuals, who were going through difficulty and facing potential persecution for their newfound faith in Jesus, that God's will for them is to give thanks in everything.

The first thing to consider is that he was writing to a group of people who were experiencing hardship, and there is a challenge to be thankful in the midst of that. The second thing to note is that Paul himself was going through difficult circumstances. He was learning the importance of this value and discipline of gratitude. Just before he had gone to the region and started that church, he had been in a city called Philippi.

Pastor Mark mentioned this in one of his videos last week as well. In Philippi, Paul and his associate Silas were thrown into jail after being beaten. It was while they were in jail that they were giving thanks to God in worship. You might wonder how that is even possible; the circumstances do not seem to compel thankfulness and gratitude. However, Paul was learning this truth: "In everything give thanks." This is God's will for you in Christ.

Jesus, my hope is that we will focus on gratitude this month. My expectation is that if we do that, we will be happier. Here’s a very simple question that requires your interaction: How many of you this morning want to be happier? You got enough sleep last night, so you're ready to engage. How many of you want to be happier?

We live in a culture that values the pursuit of happiness. Pretty much every single person you interact with on a daily basis is seeking happiness. They have different conclusions about what will lead to happiness, and we have a lot of different ideas in our culture about what will produce happiness. Some people think that if they make a lot of money, that will make them happy. Others believe that gaining power or having influence will lead to happiness. We have a whole bunch of people in our culture trying to become influencers because they think that will make them happy. Some think that if they just win an award, an event, or a sports competition, that will make them happy.

Here’s the amazing thing: pretty much to an individual, all the people who have achieved those things and thought they would make them happy, on the other side of it, say that it didn’t make them happy. This is fascinating. All these people who achieved career success, sports success, or financial success reached a level that we think would definitely make them happy, yet so many of them—almost all of them—on the other side say it didn’t make them happy. This begs the question: What’s going to make me happy?

Some of you have heard the name Dennis Prager before. Dennis Prager is a Jewish man who has written some really good books, including a commentary on the first five books of the Bible. I own that commentary, and I find a lot of the conclusions and observations he makes on the scriptures to be really good. I just hope and pray that someday Dennis Prager finds Jesus; I think that’s the only missing puzzle piece he has at the moment.

He wrote a book a number of years ago called "Happiness is a Serious Problem," and I have quoted from that book before. The title itself is so good: happiness is a serious problem. We live in a culture that is dedicated to the pursuit of happiness. People want this, so where do we find it?

He says this on page 59 of his book: "Yes, there is a secret to happiness." At this point, I don’t know about you, but my heart kind of goes, "Well, okay, what is it?" He continues, "There is a secret to happiness, and it is gratitude." He writes that all happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be.

Happy now? We tend to think that being unhappy leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that complaining leads people to become unhappy. So, he concludes, become a grateful person, and you will become a much happier person. I ask you again, how many of you want to be happier? I do. Prager, I think rightly observes, become a grateful person, and you will become much happier. If that's true—and I think it is—can you see why God would desire your gratitude?

Point number one, if you're taking notes: God wills happiness; therefore, He wills our Thanksgiving. He desires your happiness. You may ask, is that really true? Does God want me to be happy? Well, Jesus said in the Gospel of John, "I have spoken these things to you," His word, His gospel, "that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be full." His aim is your fullness of joy. Man, that's awesome to know! My Lord, my Savior Jesus wants my joy to be full.

Now, fullness of joy, according to the way that Jesus might define or articulate it, might be different than the way that 21st-century Westerners might think it comes. But He says, "I've spoken these things to you that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full." I want you to have fullness of joy. God wills our happiness; therefore, He wills our Thanksgiving.

Last week, if you were here with us, we did something together that we do every seven weeks at Cross Connection. We partook of communion, where we partake of the bread and the cup of communion. In many more traditional churches, they refer to communion by a word that sounds foreign to you because it is a foreign word. It starts with the letter "E": the word Eucharist.

Has anyone ever heard the word Eucharist before? It's like, what is the Eucharist? Well, the word Eucharist is a Greek transplant word into our language. When you read "Thanksgiving" in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks," that verb is Eucharist in the Greek. It's a connected word. See, the Eucharist, when we partake of the bread and cup of communion, what are we doing? We are remembering what Jesus did for us in order that we might be stirred to give thanks to Him, to Eucharist, to be thankful to Him. This is one of the keys to being thankful.

Therefore, being happy is important. Point number two: a key to gratitude is memory. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." The Eucharist is a time to remember Him, to partake of the bread remembering His body that was broken for us, and the cup memorializing His blood that was shed for us. This remembrance stirs us to gratitude, and happy people are thankful people. This will increase and produce our happiness.

A key to gratitude is memory. That might sound strange, but it's true. The Psalms in the Bible, the big book of Psalms with 150 of them, is like a huge worship book, a hymnal. In Psalm 77, one of the psalmists says, "I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember your wonders of old. I will also meditate on your work and talk of your deeds." The psalmist emphasizes that it is valuable and good to remember and meditate upon all the good things that God has done and to share those things with others.

Again, in Psalm 63:6, it says, "When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches, because you, God, have been my help; therefore, in the shadow of your wings, I will have joy. I will rejoice." I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time sleeping. I've been like this since I was a kid. The reason I have a hard time sleeping is that I can't shut my brain off. There have been many nights where I lie in bed mostly awake, and my mind is just churning. It's thinking about things I need to do tomorrow or next week, or things that didn't go so great today, or things I have to prepare for in six months or six years. My mind just goes and goes.

Sometimes I find myself sleepless in those scenarios. Here's one of the awesome things I've discovered: if I redirect my thought pattern and remember God upon my bed, as the psalmist says in Psalm 63:6, I meditate upon Him in the night seasons. I find that I start to be freed from all the things that are weighing upon my mind and my heart, and I experience joyful rest. Another one of the Psalms says He gives sleep to those He loves.

God loves speaking about Himself. It also says it's vain to stay up late and to rise early; He gives His beloved sleep. When I remember the Lord on my bed and meditate upon Him in the seasons, I find that my heart is settled, my mind is stayed, and I rejoice with sleep.

Now, it's not just the psalmist. Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, which we studied together a couple of years ago, says this: "Be careful that you do not forget." Maybe you're forgetful; I sometimes am. I frequently lose my keys. I'm really grateful that the car I drive now doesn't have a key, so I don't have to lose my keys. But I still do. I come to my office and realize I don't have my keys. I can't get into my office, and I need to have somebody else open it because I left my keys at home and forgot them. So maybe you're like me; you forget things.

The worst part about that is sometimes you forget something, and you go upstairs to look for it. But by the time you get up there, you forget what you were looking for. Has anybody else done that? That's the worst! It's really bad when you've done it two or three times, and then you think, "There is something desperately wrong with me."

Moses warns, "Be careful that you do not forget the Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:12), the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. It is hard to imagine. Moses was speaking to a group of people who, just a short time before this—just decades before—had actually been in slavery. All their fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers had been in slavery for 400 years. Could you even imagine? How could you possibly forget that? He says, "Be careful that you don't forget the Lord who delivered you from that."

Some of you remember your slavery—not in Egypt, but your slavery to sin. It’s easy to forget that, and we need to be careful that we don't forget that God saved us and redeemed us from that. He rescued us from it. A couple of chapters later, in Deuteronomy 8:2, he says, "And you shall remember the Lord your God who led you all these 40 years in the wilderness."

He says, "Don't forget that God delivered you from slavery," but then he adds, "Don't forget that for the last 40 years, He has provided for you every single day as you wandered in the wilderness." It's hard to imagine, but sometimes we can forget how God has provided for us. It's easy to do this when you find that, as life has gone on, you become a little bit more financially secure. Maybe you're at a point right now where you wish that could be the case, but perhaps you've gotten to a point where you're less worried about your bills than you once were. However, there was a time—maybe it wasn't all that long ago—where...

You were really concerned about whether you could pay this bill. I know that my wife and I went through those times, and there were moments when God provided in ways that were just out of the blue. It was like, how did that even happen? God provided. However, I can so easily forget that. Then, when something else comes up that seems a little beyond my reach, I think, oh, how am I possibly going to make it through this? This is so terrible. I have to remind myself that God has provided for me.

One of the names given to God in the Scriptures is Jehovah Jireh. It's two Hebrew words that mean "the Lord who provides." He wants us to get to know Him as the Lord who provides. We see this encouragement to remember in the Psalms, from Moses in Deuteronomy, and elsewhere. For example, 1 Chronicles 16:12 says, "Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth."

It's interesting because those exact words are basically a quote from the Psalms. Psalm 105:1-5 states, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known His works and deeds among all the people. Sing to Him; sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works. Glory or rejoice in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord. Seek the Lord in His strength; seek His face evermore." Verse 5, which is exactly word for word the same as 1 Chronicles 16, says, "Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth."

Keep this in your mind today, this week, and for the rest of this month, maybe even beyond that. Remind yourself that a key to gratitude is memory, and a key to happiness is gratitude. There’s a simple equation here: a key to gratitude is memory, and a key to happiness is gratitude. Therefore, if you want to become happy, become grateful. Just like Dennis Prager observed in his book, "Happiness is a Serious Problem," if you want to become grateful, then remember the good things that God has done, how He has delivered you, and how He has provided for you.

Now, with all this as an introduction—long introduction, but that’s normally my way—would you take out your Bibles if you have one? If you don’t, you can raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring you one. Turn to about the middle.

Of your Bible, you will probably be in or very near to the Psalms. Turn to Psalm 100. Psalm 100 is generally considered a Thanksgiving Psalm; in fact, it gets read many times at Thanksgiving or right around the Christmas season, which follows Thanksgiving.

Psalm 100. I’m actually going to ask you to do something I haven't done for a while, but I think it would be good. Would you stand with me? I’m just going to read this passage of Scripture: Psalm 100.

Psalm 100, verse 1: "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has 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 to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."

God, I pray that as we think about this passage this morning together, would You help us to draw out from this passage some principles and some truths that will help us to remember, to be thankful, and to have great joy? God, speak to us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Have a seat. Like I just prayed, we're going to look for some principles and truths in this passage that I think might be helpful for us. As we're thinking about the key to gratitude being memory and the key to happiness being gratitude, the psalmist here, the person who wrote this song or poem, is King David. He is believed to be the author of this passage of Scripture.

He gives, in the opening word of Psalm 100, what is like a general call to worship. This is exactly what Anthony does on a Sunday morning when we gather together. In fact, he even read from the Psalms at the beginning of the service. It’s calling people to worship; it’s saying, "Come before the Lord with joyful singing; give praise to Him."

I will confess, I know none of you have ever experienced this, but there are times when I come in and I’m kind of like, "Me? I’m not really ready to do that. I’m not really in the happy, singy mood." You know, listen, Anthony is one of those joyful, happy people, and I kind of look at him and think, "Well, I’m not really that." I know you’re happy, but I don’t think I’m really there yet. I know none of you are like that because you’re all very happy.

People come here ready to worship. I know you've been prepared all morning; you're just joyful and ready to make a joyful noise. Yes, absolutely, you are!

Like I said, sometimes I'm not in the singing mood; I feel a little blah. So, what do I need to do? I need to bring my heart and mind to a place where I'm actually prepared to make a joyful shout to the Lord. Anthony and David give this call to worship for us: "Come, worship the Lord." But I need to do exactly what Psalm 105 and 1 Chronicles 16 say. I need to remember His marvelous works, which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.

One of the things that I've learned, and I might encourage you to consider doing this if you struggle with being ready to worship God—not just on Sunday morning but throughout the week—is to pray a simple prayer: "God, would You help me to remember what You've done for me?" I have found that this very simple prayer is one that God answers. Help me to remember Your greatness; help me to remember Your goodness, the way You've provided for me, the way You've delivered me. If you've never tried that, I encourage you to do it this week.

Listen, there are going to be some things that happen in your week that will discourage and distract you. That is a prophecy that is certain to come to pass. I'm so certain of it that you're going to think I'm a prophet because I said you are going to experience some challenging things this week. You are, and they will be distracting and discouraging. God wills, desires, and calls for our gratitude, and for me to be able to do that, I have to say, "Help me to remember the good things that You've done."

The psalmist continues, and he doesn't just say it; he commands us to serve the Lord with gladness. Just like King David, there's hardly a week that goes by at Cross Connection Church where we aren't saying we want you to serve the Lord with gladness. We want you to serve the Lord as an usher, as a greeter, in hospitality, in cleanup, on the worship team, in the children's ministry, in the tech team, and in the video team. We want you to serve the Lord with gladness. I know it can sometimes feel like all we're ever asking for is your help, and yes, we kind of are.

I want you to serve the Lord with gladness. You might think, because I certainly have had conversations with some people who do, that they say something like, "Gosh, I really would like to serve the Lord with gladness, but you don't realize how busy I am." I mean, it's hard for me to come here for one hour out of 168. It's hard for me, and you want me to serve the Lord with gladness. I would love to do what you do. I would love to serve the Lord with gladness. I would love to come down to the church and help out and do all those things, but you don't realize how difficult and how busy I am.

I want to free you up today with this reality that is found in the Scriptures. Your job, your schoolwork—if you're in school—the book that you have to read, the paper that you have to write, the project that you're working on at work, or maybe all of the things you have to take care of at home or deal with the kids, all of those things are service to God. Paul says this in Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Giving thanks to God in your work, whatever you do in word or deed, is all service to God. The key to serving God with gladness is seeing everything you do as service to Him. I would suggest, based on what the Scriptures teach, that you consider reframing the things you do in your work—whether it's housework, schoolwork, construction work, projects at work, or whatever it may be. Reframe that and realize that everything you do in word and deed is service to God, and it's giving thanks to Him with your energy, your assets, and your time.

You're serving, and here's the amazing thing: if you will reframe the way you look at the things you do so that you see that all the things you do are service to God, then I suggest that it will inevitably change the way you view your work. You will see your work differently. Not only will you see your work differently, but you will do your work differently. If all of a sudden you're not doing this work just for the man, or for the boss, or for the professor, or for this thing, if all of a sudden you've...

Reframe it and say, "I'm serving God in this." It will change the way you do your work and the way you view your boss, which might be really helpful. I've shared with you before that my dad has this saying: "They did it to themselves." That goes through my mind every time I find myself in the midst of something heavy. I remind myself, "Oh, you did it to yourself."

I've been experiencing this a lot lately because I enrolled in a PhD program. It requires me to get up at 4 in the morning and read thousands of pages every single month. Some of the books I have to read make me think, "This is a dumb book." Don't tell my professors, but I read some of these books and wonder, "Why am I reading this?" I can get really cranky about it, thinking, "This is just dumb and pointless." Yes, I can be like that sometimes.

However, when I reframe it and say, "Lord, I'm doing this as unto You. This is service and worship unto You," it completely changes my outlook. It helps me see my work differently and do my work differently. It changes my attitude about my work and my perspective on my professors as I go through these challenges.

Here's another thing: it changes the way you prioritize your work. Suddenly, as you start to do that, you find, "Wow, I have more time to do some of these other things than I thought I did." In an amazing way, as I reframe my understanding, I remember to serve the Lord with gladness.

He continues, saying, "Come before His presence with singing." Let me remind you that you have the privilege and blessing to come before the presence of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator God of all things. You don't come before His presence as a fearful subject of a petulant king; you come before His presence as a child of the Living God.

Paul, in Ephesians chapter 1, says this: "He chose you, God did, in Him before the foundation of the world, that you would be holy and without blame before Him in love. He predestined you to adoption as sons and daughters by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will."

His will brought God joy and pleasure to make you His child. You weren't forced upon Him; He chose you. He predestined you and adopted you to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. We are accepted before Him.

This is why the author of the Book of Hebrews could say in Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need." He makes the way open and says we can come before His presence with joyful singing. If you start to realize this more and meditate upon it, it will radically alter your attitude. It will change the way you feel, even your gladness and joy.

We have bold access by grace to come before God's throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace whenever we need it, and His grace towards us is abundant and never-ending. Those are things to rejoice in.

The psalmist goes on to say, "Know that the Lord, He is God." This, like everything else, is so helpful and such important knowledge. Why is this important knowledge? Let me ask you: Is there anything in your life right now that feels too big for you? Does it feel too bothersome or burdensome? If there's anything in your life like that, here is something really good to know: Your Lord, He is God. He is the God of gods, the one who made everything. This is the one who is your master, your father.

The Scripture says He is God; everything is under Him. He is the one who said to me, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." If there were ever reasons to rejoice, there are many here in the Psalm.

But the reasons continue. He says, "It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves." This is a freeing truth. It's a freeing truth because we live in a culture that says you need to make yourself something. We are told that there are all these self-made people in our culture, and God, in this passage, says, "No, I want to remind you it is He who made us and not we ourselves."

This simple truth means you don't have to make yourself; you have to be what God has called and created you to be by His grace and by the working of His Spirit. You don't have to make yourself. That is an awesome, freeing truth. He says further, "We are the people, His people, and the sheep of His pasture." We belong to Him; we are His, and He takes care of us like a shepherd takes care of his sheep. This reminds me of Psalm 23, the Great Shepherd Psalm, which says, "He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He restores my soul; He leads me beside still waters; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."

Point number four: There is freedom and joy in knowing the Creator God as your Lord, Father, and Provider. If you get to know the One who made you, that He is your Lord, you serve Him; He is your Master. But even greater than that, He is your Father who knows the things that you have need of before you even realize them. When you get to know Him as Jehovah Jireh, the Provider, it will radically change your outlook, even as you go through difficult circumstances and situations.

There are many of you here this morning who are going through difficult circumstances and situations, whether they are personal issues with health, career issues with work, marital issues, money issues, or issues with your children. You may even have to take care of your parents. Whatever those issues are, God says, "In everything give thanks." You might wonder how that is even possible when these things are burdensome and significant. Well, God says, "I am your Creator God, and I am your Lord and your Father, and I take care of you."

If you can learn to rest in that truth, you will actually experience rest in that truth. It is an awesome reality. What results from the heart of someone who understands this? Psalm 100:4 says, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise."

Courts with praise; be thankful to Him and bless His name. I think that joyful praise and worship is easy when we have this knowledge of all the things we've looked at in this passage. I am not ready to worship God or be thankful to Him until I have remembered Psalm 105:5, until I have remembered His marvelous works, which He has done, all His wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

It would be right to say that Thanksgiving is the heart's natural overflow when the mind is set upon God. Let me say that again: gratitude, Thanksgiving, is the heart's natural overflow when my mind is set upon the goodness and grace of God. It just bubbles up and overflows. Here's the amazing thing: it splashes onto other people. That joyful release of gratitude inevitably splashes onto others.

Someone who comes to mind when I think of this is my mom. Some of you know her, and she's one of those people who just joyfully splashes onto others, whether you like it or not. It's like going to SeaWorld and having Shamu splash all over you. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming; sometimes you might think, "Okay, I've had enough." But it's just overflowing. Why? Because her mind is set upon the goodness and grace of God.

Here's the thing I notice when it's not like that for my mom: it's evident. You can tell when her mind must be in the wrong place because she's not joyfully overflowing that day. But it's a good thing to joyfully overflow onto others. Dennis Prager says, "Become grateful, and you will become a much happier person."

The last verse is Psalm 10:5: "For the Lord is good." Do you know that? A better way of saying it is, "Do you believe that?" I think sometimes our contemplations of God lead us to believe that the Lord is not happy with us. We think, "I didn't do enough. I didn't say enough. I didn't read enough. I didn't pray enough. I didn't give enough. I didn't serve enough." We might feel like the Lord just puts up with us. In reality, the Lord is good; that's how He has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting. Maybe you've sometimes thought, "I think He's kind of on His...".

Last nerve with me, because if I were like I am and I were him, I'd be on my last nerve with me. So we just think, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't ask right now; he's not too happy." No, his mercy is everlasting; his truth endures to all generations. The mercy and goodness of God never ceases. We're told in Lamentations that his mercies are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness! His throne is called a throne of grace, and we can obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. We never get before the throne of God's grace and he says, "I'm really sorry, but Tater just used all of the grace I had." He doesn't do that. He says, "I have more."

Point number five, and I'll wrap it up: God's everlasting mercy and grace compels our continual gratitude and praise. There are so many things that can distract and discourage us. I know there are many of you right now who are distracted and discouraged by various things—worried about the state of affairs in the world, worried about the state of affairs in our nation, worried about the state of affairs in your family, your marriage, your finances, your life, your work, your career, your school—whatever it is. You may feel distracted and discouraged by many things.

But when we refocus and reframe our attention and put it upon God's grace and his goodness, our perspective shifts inevitably to gratitude. Gratitude brings joy. God wills our happiness; therefore, he wills our gratitude. I have discovered from Scripture and experience that gratitude is less of a feeling and more of a discipline. If I learn the discipline of being grateful, it radically transforms my concept of the world. It's a good thing, and I'd suggest it is something we desperately need. Joyful people are attractive people, and I think that joy is one of the greatest evangelistic tools on the planet.

Joyful, there are going to be people around you at work, at school, in your neighborhood, and in your family who might wonder, "What is wrong with that person? They're always happy." It might bother them, but it will also make them think, "How come they're happy and I'm not?" This can create a sense of jealousy. I want to have the ministry of jealousy, where I produce jealousy in other people. They look at me and ask, "Why does he always have joy?" That's what I want. I'm not there yet; I'm seeking that, but it's attractive.

The fruit of the Spirit is attractive: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Wouldn't you want to be around people who embody those qualities? God wants that fruit to be in your life so that people walk by and want to pick it, saying, "I want some of that joy; I don't have it." Would to God that it becomes abundant in our lives. Amen.

Let's stand and close in prayer. Father God, thank You for Your good word. I pray that we would take these things to heart—the simple truths of Psalm 100. At the beginning of this month, during a time that might be distracting and discouraging, there are inevitably going to be challenges before us this week and this month. God, would You help us to set our minds on things above, not on the things of this earth, but to have our hearts firmly seated with You in heaven? You are our Father, You are our Lord, You are our provider.

I pray that You would rejoice our hearts so that we bring to You a shout of praise, even as we are about to sing this final song. Would You stir our hearts, even if we think we don't have a good voice? The passage says to make a joyful noise to the Lord, and some of us are just more noisy than others. So, would You stir our hearts to worship You? We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen."