Psalms 100

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness (Psalms 100:1-2):

Now if you can't serve the Lord with gladness, it's better that you not serve Him. It is a shame and a disgrace that people gripe about what they've done for the Lord or their service for God. But that's usually the result of people being pushed into something that God hasn't led them into. And the church, unfortunately, has been very guilty of pushing people into jobs or into things that the people's heart really isn't in it. People are oftentimes pushed to support a new building program or pushed to support a new budget or something for the church. And everytime the month comes around and you get your little notice that your pledge is due, you get upset, you know, and you write out your pledge and mail it in, but you're angry about it. You've been pressured into it. They caught you at a weak moment.
"Serve the Lord with gladness." If you can't give joyfully to the Lord, you're much better off not to give, because if you give grudgingly, that's going to go against you. That's not going to count. That will count against you. So you're much better off not to give at all. If you can be happy about not giving at all, you're much better off doing that rather than giving grudgingly to God. And that's giving of your time and serving the Lord or giving of your finances or whatever. If you can't give unto the Lord with a joyful heart, if you cannot serve the Lord with gladness, then it's best you not serve Him at all. God doesn't want any kind of grudging in your gifts to Him. God doesn't want your giving ever to be out of pressure, out of constraint, out of someone pushing you. And if ever any of the pastors around here are trying to push you to do something, you come to me and we'll see that it's taken care of.
People come up and say, "You know, we've been coming here for a long time and we really like to teach a Sunday school class, but how do you go about teaching a Sunday school class here?" I said, "You just found out. You got to ask." We won't come around and nail you for anything. You want to do something for the Lord, you're going to have to ask. If you desire to give anything, you're going to have to ask how to do it. We're not going to ask you. You call us. We will not come to people to support God or God's work. That's ridiculous. If you don't, out of your own heart of love and thanksgiving, want to serve the Lord with gladness, then don't serve Him at all.

come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD (Psalms 100:2-3)

Now, here's... Make a joyful noise. Serve the Lord. Come before His presence. Why? Because the Lord,

he is God (Psalms 100:3):

God has rights. We talk about human rights; there are also divine rights. And His rights to our service, His rights to our praise, because He is God. Because He is God He is worthy of our praise. Because He is God He is deserving of our service unto Him.

it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves (Psalms 100:3);

The self-made man. What a tragedy. "It is He that hath made us." When Belshazzar was feasting with his lords at the time of the siege of the Medo-Persian army, and in order to add a new dimension to the feasting, Belshazzar called that they bring the gold and silver cups that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple of Jerusalem and pour their wine in these golden cups that have been sanctified for use in the temple of God. And as they were drinking their wine out of the golden cups and praising the gods of gold and silver, suddenly they had a very sobering experience, because over on the plaster of the wall there appeared a hand and the writing was on the wall, and it began to burn there on the wall and stayed there. Words that they could not understand. "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin." And this king, it says, his joints were loose and his bones began to smite against each other.
And they called for the wise men to come in. They said, "We don't know what it means." Finally the queen said, "There was a man unto your grandfather's reign named Nebuchadnezzar of the children of Israel. God gave to him understanding and visions and dreams and so forth. And they called Daniel in. And he said, "Can you interpret that?" And Daniel says, "Yes, I can, but first of all I want to talk to you, King. Your grandfather was a great king over all the earth and God gave him dominion over the world. And yet, his heart was lifted up with pride. And so God allowed your grandfather to go insane and for seven seasons, he ate with the oxen out in the field. He lived like a madman until he knew that the Lord in heaven reigned over the earth and put on the thrones those whom He would".
And he said, "The very God in whose hand your breath is, you have not glorified." I mean, he really laid the message on the king. "You failed to glorify God. Look, your life depends on Him. You are dependent. He is the One that has made you. Your very breath is dependent upon Him. The very God, in whose hand your breath is, you have not glorified. Therefore, the writing came on the wall and its interpretation is, 'Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting.' And your kingdom will be taken from you tonight. Divided and given to the Medes and the Persians."
But the idea that God in whose hand your breath is. How dependent we are upon God. "It is He that hath made us." And yet that very breath that we receive from God we use many times to blaspheme God. The very breath that God has given to us, we use to utter filthy epitaphs or stories or whatever. What a shame! The very God in whose hand your breath is. And at that time, that king's breath was foul with the smell of the wine. Drunk. And though he was drunk and the breath permeated with the smell of the wine, yet it was the breath that God had given to him. The very God in whose hand your breath is. "He has made us, not we ourselves."

for we are his people, the sheep of his pasture (Psalms 100:3).

You are living in God's earth. You are using and abusing God's earth. "The earth is the Lord's, the fullness thereof; and all they that dwell therein" (Psalms 24:1). You're breathing God's air. You're drinking God's water. You're eating God's food. You're burning God's oil. You're heating your home with God's gas. You're eating God's cattle, God's fish. "The earth is the Lord's." We are actually just grazing in His field. Everything that we have, everything that we see, everything that we're surrounded with belongs to God. And yet, how we abuse it and try to use it just for ourselves. "The sheep of his pasture." Therefore,

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good (Psalms 100:4-5);

He lets you sponge off of Him all the time.

his mercy is everlasting (Psalms 100:5);

Again, look how long He's put up with you.

and his truth endureth to all generations (Psalms 100:5).

So praise the Lord. For what? For His goodness. For His mercy. And for His truth. May God just cause your week to be filled with thanksgiving and praise all week long unto Him. Don't wait 'til Thursday. Get a head start on thanksgiving.
Shall we pray.
Father, we are so grateful that Your truth endureth to all generations. And that we can study Thy truth and learn of Thee. Now Lord, let us put into practice those things which we have learned. May we not be hearers of the Word only, deceiving ourselves. But Lord, let us be doers of the Word. Let us, O God, truly give thanks and praise unto Thee. Honor and glory unto our King. Help us, Lord, to hate evil. Help us, O Lord, to walk with Thee in the beauty of holiness. O Lord, minister to Your people tonight that we might dwell in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. "