Sunday, May 28, 2017 - WHAT TO BRING TO CHURCH?
Pastor Roger C. Marcos
May 28, 2017
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalms 100:1-5KJV
Psalm 100 is a Psalm of the future millennial kingdom it describes what worship will be like in the day when the Lord Jesus Christ reigns in glory and power upon the earth.
We are not in that glorious day right now, but we are in the family of God and we are commanded to gather ourselves together and worship Him in His church. With that in mind, let it be said that this Psalm tells us exactly what everyone ought to bring to church when they come. ..
I. Bring the Right Spirit.
Psalm 51: 10-12, David Prayed for a Right Spirit.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. [KJV]
A. A Shouting, Singing Spirit.
Psalms 100:1-2Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies. In every land Jehovah's goodness is seen, therefore in every land should be be praised.
When all these things are put together, we can see that the Psalmist is calling on the people of the Lord to raise an anthem of praise from their hearts to the Lord. This is a challenge to participate in the public praise of God's Person and works.
B. The Shout tells the Enthusiasm we feel about coming to Worship.
Psalms 95:1 Oh come let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Psalms 98:4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth: Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
C. Singing Speaks to the contemplative frame of MIND we Should Cultivate in Worship.
Psalms 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. 2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And He established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth-Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.
Verse 2 say, Serve the Lord with Gladness.
1 Corinthians 6:2 For you were bought at a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your Spirit, which are God’s.
II. BRING THE RIGHT SUBMISSION.
A. Submit to The Lord.
We are to know that He and He alone is God! Who your God is? Is you God the God of the Bible? Who is your God this morning? You might wonder how you can know. Well, the answer is simple: what do you give the most of your time, attention and money to? Whatever answers that question is your God! Have you made the right distinction and acknowledged God Almighty as the God of your life?
Psalms 100:3Know that the Lord, He is God: It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
B. Submit To the Purpose of the Lord.
We need to realize this morning that God saved us for a purpose. He didn't just redeem us to keep us out of Hell. He didn't redeem us so that we could feel good from time to time. He didn't do it so that we could look down on our long, religious noses at our lost neighbors and feel superior. He saved us so that we might serve Him, He has a plan for your life. He will use you if you will serve Him!
1 Cor. 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain: but I labored more abundantly than they all, YET NOT I, but the grace of God which was with me.
III. BRING THE RIGHT SACRIFICE.
Psalms100:4-5 - Enter His gate with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generation.
In the Tabernacle and Temple days, the priest had better not enter the presence of the Lord without the right sacrifice. To do so meant death, Heb. 9:7. Thank God, we do not have to offer a blood sacrifice this morning! Jesus Christ has already taken care of that forever, Heb. 10:10-14. Notice the emphasis on "one and once". Yet, there is still a sacrifice that the people of God need to bring. It isn't your money, although you should bring your tithes and offerings! It isn't you attendance, although you should be at church at every possible opportunity. There is just one sacrifice the Lord expects every saint to bring to church when they come and it is revealed in these last 2 verses of Psalm 100. We are told to bring the sacrifice of "praise. we are invited to enter "into His courts with praise." Note that we are not just allowed access to the outer limits of His sanctuary, but are invited to walk into the throne room, where we can meet Him in all of His glory!
No wonder the Psalmist challenges us to be thankful and to bless His Name. We are counseled to bring the right sacrifice when we enter. We are told to bring the sacrifice of praise!
Verse 5 gives us three reasons for praising His Name.
A. Praise God For His Goodness - We are told that the Lord is "good." This seems like a limited description for God, but the words means "good, pleasant, beautiful, delightful, glad, joyful, precious, correct and righteous. It can also mean, expensive." Everything God does is an expression of His goodness! We can praise our God because He is good! Regardless of what happens in life, God is good! No matter how things turn out, God is still good! Therefore, praise Him for His goodness!
B. Praise God For His Grace -
C. Praise God For His Guarantee
Conclusion:
What did I Bring to church Today?
My bible, My heart,
Did you bringing the right things to church today? Has the Lord spoken of areas in your life that need attention?
Maybe you are as filled with His praises as you used to be. For some reason, just going to church is more difficult than it used to be for you and you know you need to deal with the before the Lord.
Maybe you have never been saved and you want to get to know this wonderful Lord that the Bible talks about in these verses. You come and He'll meet you right down here. I don't know your hearts today, but I know that some of you need to look at what you are bringing to church.
Are you bringing the right Spirit, the right Submission and the right Sacrifice?