Through Gates of Gratitude

November 16, 2014
Through Gates of Gratitude
Psalm 100                            NOTES NOT EDITED—REALLY!

SIS – We can experience the Presence of God by entering His courts through the gates of gratitude.

The word, “gate,” is a pretty common word in our language.  The dictionary defines a “gate” as, “a hinged barrier used to close an opening in a wall, fence, or hedge.”  There are many synonyms used for gate such as, “gateway, doorway, entrance, entryway, exit, egress, opening, door, portal, or barrier.”  I find it interesting that the dictionary definition uses the idea of a “barrier,” when most of the synonyms have the idea of some type of “entryway.”  Gates can indeed be a “barrier” keeping intruders out, as in “gated community,” but it can also be an opening letting invitees in.

The word is often used in the plural because they often work in pairs.  Church fold most often hear the reference in regard to the “Pearly Gates,” mentioned often in hymns referring to the entrance into heaven.  According to modern impressions, St. Peter monitors entrance through the Pearly Gates.

We all long to pass through those Pearly Gates into Heaven when we die, whether St. Peter is standing there or not.   We all acknowledge that we will, in fact, die one day.  I remember three friends who were involved in a horrible car accident coming home from a camping trip.  They were believers and all three appeared at the Pearly Gates.  St. Peter was there and said, “Could I ask you one question?”  All three men nodded affirmatively.  St. Peter asked, “At your funeral, what would you like to hear people say about you?”  The first man, a doctor, said, “I’d like to hear them say that I was a great doctor and a wonderful family man.”  The second man said something similar, “I’d like to hear people say I was a wonderful teacher, a good husband, and a loving father.”  The third man did not speak up right away.  He seemed to be thinking.  St. Peter said, “Well, what would you like to hear people say as they look down upon you in your casket?”  The third man said, “I’d like to hear them say, ‘Look! He’s moving!”

I don’t usually tell jokes about heaven, and never tell jokes about hell, but I think it seemed appropriate given the theme of this message.  When Christians think of salvation they most often, and almost exclusively, think about “getting through the Pearly Gates into heaven” when they die.  That is the central part of the gospel story to be sure, but not the only significant part.  Jesus did not die simply to get us into heaven when we die, but to get us into the Presence of God while we are hear on earth.  Too many Christians get saved and “stop moving” into the glorious Presence of God.  The Pearly Gates are not the only gates in Scripture.

There is another set of “gates,” mentioned in our text today.  They are not the “pearly gates” leading into heaven when we die, but the “Gates of Gratitude” that open into the Presence of God while we are yet on this terrestrial ball.  Let’s read about the “Gates of Gratitude.”

PSALM 100:    V4 is the anchor point of this verse.  Everything supports “entering into the Presence of God.”  The means to such entrance is “with thanksgiving.”  This gratitude has several components.

1. Shouting (v1)

Verse 1 has been translated several ways in different translations.  One popular translation renders this verse as “Make a joyful noise” (KJV).  Others, like the NIV, keep the idea of “shouting.”  The idea that comes across seems clear:  “gratitude is loud!” 

There is another idea associated with this first word in the Psalm.  The Hebrew structure of the verb adds an idea of “causality.”  The stem of this verb in the original is the hiphil stem.  Now, this isn’t a big deal for most people but it does add a bit of flavor in the original that does not carry over completely into English.  Literally, the hiphil stem would give us the translation:  “Cause noise to be made in all the world.”  There is a “public” element to gratitude to go along with the “noisy, boisterous” aspect.

From this verse we can conclude that gratitude is an “enthusiastic witness to others.”  Christianity is “personal,” but never “private.”  We get these two elements confused.  When we have a deeply personal relationship with God, it will be displayed publicly.  One cannot enter the Presence of God without being changed.  Notice in verse 1 the arena in which our gratitude is displayed:  “all the earth!” 

You cannot get much more public than that!

Our worship services seem so subdued to me considering the “public” and “explosive” nature of what it means to “be saved.”  Salvation, while beginning in a singular, hell-shaking moment continues through a very public demonstration of our faith and allegiance to Jesus as the Lord of Life.  Yet, most Christians are so “subdued” in their expressions of worship.  Most Christians keep their faith to themselves—sometimes over a period of 30 or 40 years, or even longer.  True Christianity is forge in the heart, but it is played out in the marketplace.  In verse 4 we see the mention of the “gates.”

Cities had many gates, but they always had a “main gate.”  it was at this main gate that most of the commerce took place.  It was a busy, boisterous place full of all kinds of activities.  It was the “marketplace” of the city.  This is where we “enter into God’s Presence.”  Not is some quiet chapel of the heart, but in the commercial activities of the marketplace. 

Consider the illustration from the O.T. in regard to Moses entering God’s Presence on the occasion of receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.

There are times when it is appropriate to be solemn and silent before the Lord.  The Psalmist says in another place *****be still ******

Yet, I feel so often our silence or subdued expressions in worship are the result of apathy that, at the root, is a lack of true gratitude.  When we have been saved how can we help but “shout it from the mountaintops!”  I could say much more about the idea of “enthusiastic, even boisterous” praise to God, but we must move on.

“Cause shouting in the marketplace” would be an accurate translation of what God communicates in verse 1.  We should be “making some  noise in public,” which would be an accurate translation also.

2.  Another component of gratitude is SERVICE (v2)

“Serve the Lord with gladness.”

Translations are divided over rendering the first word in this verse in the original Hebrew as “serve,” as in the HCSB, or “worship,” as in the NIV and others.  Both are correct translations and point to the fact that “service and worship” are closely linked.  Hebrew, like most languages, has numerous ways to express thoughts linguistically.  This particular word translated, “serve (HCSB), or worship (NIV)” (עָבַד abad) implies action or effort in response to God’s grace.  It can mean “to labor, or even be a slave.” 

I Christian that is not serving is an “oxymoron.”  I’ve talked about oxymorons before, like “the sound of silence” or “living dead.”  Two words that are opposites used to describe something is an oxymoron.  They just don’t go together.  An “unserving Christian” would be such an oxymoron.

I’ve been in ministry for nearly forty years.  In the churches I’ve been a part of and others I’ve known about, the congregations were made up of what would qualify in a worldly way as, “good people.”  We know that the Bible tells us that that is in as sense and “oxymoron.”  People are NOT good.  We all wear the ragged clothing of sin as long as we are in this flesh.  But, speaking in a worldly since, most church people I know are “good people.” 

Yet, well over 8 out of every 10 church members do not serve the Lord in any significant way.  They are not directly involved even in the on-going support of the church—much less ministry to lost people in the world on an every day level.  Yet, we have a clear instruction here in this passage (verse 2):

“Serve the Lord.”  And not just any service, but
“Serve the Lord, WITH GLADNESS!”

Gratitude requires service.  Entering “through the gates of gratitude” into the glorious Presence of Almighty God happens, in large part, through serving other people.  Our basic nature is not to “serve,” but to “be served,” however.  Consider the Second Great Commandment:

Mk. 12:31:  “Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.”

Jesus understood human nature.  He knew we would always “love ourselves,” but He wanted us to go beyond “self-love” to “serving love.”  Service is at the very heart of Christianity.  Service to God through service to others, out of a deep gratitude for what God has done for us, ushers us into God’s Presence.

3.  Singing is another component of gratitude (v2b)

“Come before Him with joyful songs”

We move through the gates of gratitude into the Presence of God by “singing.”  I mentioned this in a sermon not long ago.  Singing is foundational to “worship,” our highest level of service to God.  I’ve mentioned that the largest book in the Bible is the Book of Psalms.  A psalm is a song.  Music is an essential ingredient to Christianity.  When God strikes upon the strings of our hearts with His grace, the natural response is “singing”—as natural as it is for a piano string or a guitar string to make a sound when it is struck by a musician. 

Notice that part of the natural response, a response of gratitude to God for His saving grace, is a “joyful song.”  Now, I am not talking about all of us being a “Frank Sinatra,” or an “Elvis,” or the gazillion other individuals that make money making music.  Music is powerful. 

Unless you have been living under a rock that doesn’t roll you have heard of “iTunes.”  Soundjam MP (Music Player) was developed by Bill Kincaid and released by Casady & Greene in 1999.  It was designed to play downloadable digital music.  Apple bought it up quickly in 2000 and renamed it “iTunes.”  You can download music for a fee.  Since 2000, 25 billion songs have been downloaded on “iTunes.”

My point is that “singing and music” touches the heart of man like nothing else does.  People listen to songs, write songs, sing songs and play songs on instruments.  Songs can take you to places emotionally you cannot reach any other way.  One place singing takes you is into the Presence of God.  I don’t know any other way to say it but to say it directly:  if God has touched the strings of your heart with His saving grace you are going to want to respond by “singing.”  Now, some of you may say, “But I can’t sing.”  Well, then we an go back to verse one and use our trusted KJV of the Bible that says,

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

That means we can all join in the singing.  Singing is a response of gratitude that will take you into the very Presence of God.  Don’t hold back because you are self-conscious of hearing your own voice.  Let the music transport you into the Presence of God.

Shouting, serving, and singing are all components of a “thankful heart.”  These represent three pathways into the very Presence of God “Through Gates of Gratitude.”  “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (v4).

Another component of gratitude that offers a pathway into God is perhaps the foundation for all the other components:

4.  Surrender (vv 3, 5) 

³ Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His  —

His people, the sheep of His pasture.

………………………………

⁵ For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal;

His faithfulness endures through all generations.

In order to enter God’s Presence we must surrender to God’s Person.  We must “acknowledge” that God “is,” and then acknowledge that God “IS GOOD!” 

Most people acknowledge some form of “Ultimate Being.”  Very few people throughout history have been “atheists.”  A 2012 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that just 6% of the US population are atheists.  World-wide, the percentage would not exceed that, and probably be much less.  Most people acknowledge some “Ultimate Being.”  That is a start, but it is NOT surrender.

Nobody is going to give control of their lives to some “Ultimate Being” that is nameless, faceless, formless and beyond all human contact.  Nobody is going to surrender in sacrificial devotion to an “idea.”

This is why so many people in church—forget about all those outside of church for a moment—struggle to live a sacrificial life of full devotion to God.  They acknowledge God “is,” but they don’t understand “Who” He is or know anything about Him, personally.

Look again at verse 2. It literally says, “Serve YAWEH.”  Verse 3 says, “Know YAHWEH is elohim.”  That is God, the general category of the Ultimate Being, is the personal God, YAHWEH.  Verse 5 says, “YAHWEH is good.” 

Elohim, or God, is “what” He is.  Yahweh is “Who” He is.  Yahweh is the “covenant” (relationship) name of God, given to Moses in Exodus 3 meaning the “Self-existent One,” or as Aristotle described Him (without “knowing Him”), the “Uncaused Cause and Unmoved Mover.”  No person will ever live a life of meaningful devotion—or anything more than religious practice—if they do not know “Who” God is.  And, unless and until, a person acknowledges that God is both Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, and He is the One Who is Good, full and complete surrender will not happen.

Without a full and complete surrender to “Yahweh,” the Creator Who Seeks For Us, we will never experience the rapturous joy of entering into His Presence. 

People who live their lives without a full and effective devotion to God basically do not acknowledge Who God is, or What He has done.  At the heart of the matter of rebelling against God is “ingratitude.”  People who do not live to please God reject the gift that Yahweh provided upon the cross which was nothing less than His Only Son! 

Nobody is going to get through the gates and into the Presence of God without fully surrendering to Who He is and fully acknowledging What He has done.  Oh, there will be some—many in fact—that get through the “Pearly Gates” of salvation that NEVER ONCE experience the rapturous Presence of God by going “Through the Gates of Gratitude.”  When a person who acknowledges God as Lord and Savior, holds back any part of his or her life, they will stand outside of the Gates of God’s Presence. 

If you want to see a model of what I am teaching, google the word “tabernacle.”  The tabernacle had three stages.  The outer courtyard where even gentiles could enter.  Here was located the “brazen altar” representing God’s salvation.  The next stage was the “Holy Place,” which housed the “altar of incense, the table of showbread, and the sacred menorah, or lampstand.”  This is area that the priest on duty would go into to serve.  It represented a step beyond the common Israelite and involved a greater level of surrender. 

A third stage of the tabernacle was separated from the Holy Place (Inner Court) by a veil or curtain.  This third area was called the “Most Holy Place,” or “Holy of Holies.”  This area housed the Ark of the Covenant, the holiest artifact in Israel.  The Mercy Seat, or lid of the Ark, touched the very Presence of Yahweh.  Only one man, the High Priest, could enter and on only one day, the Day of Atonement.  It was the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place that was “torn from top to bottom” when Jesus died (Mt. 27:51).  This means that when we surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we can have full access into the very Presence of God.

This is absolutely remarkable.  It is really unfathomable through human reason alone.  But, it is very real. 

There are many church members who never get past the Outer Court.  Very few surrender to the level of serving as God’s priests in the world as bridges between God and men (or women).  Very, very few people in the church enter the “Most Holy Place” and enjoy the fellowship of Yahweh’s Presence on a regular basis—eventhough, every believer has that opportunity.

Gratitude for Who God is and What He has done moves us into His Presence.  How sad so few of us experience this regularly.  We can experience the Presence of God by entering His courts through the gates of gratitude—any time we want. 

Do you remember a few moments ago when we looked at the dictionary definition of a “gate?”  It was described as some type of “barrier” closing up an opening.  But, we also saw that the synonyms for the word, “gate” (or gates), meant an “entry or doorway”—and opening as well as a barrier.

So, what determines whether the “gates into God’s Presence” are a barrier or a doorway?  The answer is simple:  gratitude.  Gratitude creates an attitude that leads to shouting, serving, singing and surrender which are the keys unlocking the gates into God’s Presence.

I guess that leaves us with a very significant question:  will we go through the gates, or stand outside?  Will become “participators,” in God’s Presence, or remain spectators?  During this time of year we should be especially open to God’s invitation.  The invitation is extended to us all:

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving.”

Be grateful for Who God is What He has done.

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