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Living Hope SDA Church

Chris Holland

Thanksgiving Lamb

What a reminder in a cycle of news that questions who the President will be.

A cycle of news that questions whether this virus is real or not.

A news cycle that questions everything and leaves us wondering, What is true?

There is only 1 thing that it is true, and Jesus, it is you.

As we now approach the Thanksgiving holiday, it is an important reminder to know that true thing.

Because while many of us may feel like We don't have something to be thankful for.

The reality of the truthfulness of Jesus Christ is a reminder we always have something to be thankful for, no matter what circumstance we face.

Heavenly Father, we have gathered here to worship.

Now we are opening your word to study your word and I pray dear God that the spirit of truth would lead us into all truth, that the truth would set us free today.

You know, in the United States, most Americans recognize that the first Thanksgiving was to have occurred sometime around 1621 in the fall of that year in Plymouth.

There in Plymouth, the separatist Puritan settlers, commonly referred to as the Pilgrims, had that first Thanksgiving meal.

There they invited the neighboring Wampanoag tribe to their feast, and they had a harvest celebration.

As a side note, in this world of fake news, there are some even questioning that story now.

It was a recognition of the blessing of God as they celebrated the harvest of God and they invited their neighbors.

However, that is not what led to the first and then annual celebration of Thanksgiving in modern times, but rather Thanksgiving was kind of a sporadic holiday that occurred at various times of the year, and it continued that way for quite some time.

An interesting story is in 1789, Elias Boudinot presented a resolution to Congress that President George Washington should declare a day of thanksgiving and celebrate the creation of the U.S.

And so on October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation that November the 26th, 1789 would be a national day of thanks.

And here are the very words of President George Washington.

"'Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.

Whereas both the houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity, peaceably, to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people of this country." Oh how times have changed.

It wasn't until President Lincoln during the 1860s that Thanksgiving was made an annual holiday.

But this proclamation of George Washington gives us a glimpse into the importance of Thanksgiving and the recognition of God's favor and blessing in our lives.

Today I would like for us to turn and spend time in this passage of Scripture that reminds us of the need for Thanksgiving and points to the Thanksgiving land.

If you have your Bibles, let's open them to Psalm 100.

The 100th Psalm actually seems to be the basis of the doxology that we sing in church.

That doxology was based on a hymn that they used to call the Old Hundredth.

It is believed that this passage of Scripture is actually the most quoted passage of Scripture in Christian churches and Jewish synagogues throughout history.

Some commentators believe that this psalm is actually the doxology to Psalm 95 to 99 and it served as a part of the temple worship.

My own personal journey as I've been reading through the scriptures, I've actually as I've shared previous, I've been listening to the scriptures and I've been listening to psalm after psalm and I actually talked to my wife and I said, what would it be like to preach through all the Psalms?

You know, Pastor Finley and Pastor Martin, that would settle life pretty clear.

You'd have at least 3 to 4 years where the sermon's already done.

The Psalms, and if you do not, and I know, for example, Tommy Thomas reads a psalm every day.

I would encourage you to do so because they are rich.

And this psalm in particular gives us something that maybe I wonder aloud if we might be missing out on as God's last day people.

You see, this psalm, it is believed, would have been sung by pilgrim worshippers as they would approach the temple in Jerusalem.

They would sing out these first 3 verses and then a choir of singers would be in the temple singing responsibly verses 4 and 5 back.

It is a call to gather at the sanctuary to offer thanksgiving and how appropriate is it for us to study thanksgiving because as God's people at the end of time, these thanksgiving thoughts turn our mind toward Jesus Christ, the 1 who is true.

I want to remind you, Hebrews 8.1 says, now this is the main point of the things we are saying.

We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

And it's not just any high priest that is there.

Hebrews chapter 4 verses 14 to 16 tells us, seeing then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points...

All points, tempted as we are, yet without sin.

There is not a situation you have faced that Jesus in principle has not already faced.

And then the commission is to therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain a mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

And then the Apostle Paul writing in Colossians 3, verses 1 and 2 says this, if you were then raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

When we fix our mind on things of this earth, it doesn't matter how good they are, eventually, that person or that thing will disappoint you.

If you have your mind fixed on a beautiful car, it won't be beautiful forever.

You have your mind fixed on a wonderful car, someday that car will run out of gas.

You see, when we set our mind on earthly things, we set our mind on people.

People will disappoint us no matter how much we love them, no matter how much we think they're great.

The commission of Scripture is to turn our eyes to heaven and in our minds turned toward Heaven, toward the sanctuary, it is in the sanctuary that Jesus ministers on our behalf, and in the sanctuary throughout the Old Testament where God settles the disputes and problems of life, it is there that we turn our attention.

Because by coming there, and coming boldly as the Scripture admonishes us to, I wonder if it's possible that we've missed out on a key element of coming to the sanctuary.

And that key element being, do we come as we come boldly with thanksgiving in our heart?

Or do we come boldly always asking God for something?

Treating Jesus as a Santa Claus in the sky, rather than the God who He is.

The Bible says as was read this morning, make a joyful shout to the Lord all you lands.

It is a commission that as we come to Jesus, that we are to make a joyful shout.

The word there, all you lands, it's the entirety of the earth.

And it is in alignment, my dear friends, with the Gospel commission, which tells us to go to all nations.

The word there, nations, is the word ethnos.

It also aligns itself with the first angels message.

This psalm is actually quoted from or alluded to throughout the book of Revelation.

But the commission is that we would make a joyful shout.

What does it mean to make a joyful shout?

Does that mean that we should just stop service here and all start yelling?

Used in a secular environment, it was an announcement of victory.

Yet at the same time, the Greek word that is used to translate this Hebrew word carries with it the connotation of a lamentation.

Psalm 95 gives us a little bit of insight into what this joyful shout is all about.

Psalm 95, just a few pages back, and verse 1 says this, O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

And then just a few chapters back from that, in Psalm 81, verse 1, It further emphasizes what the joyful shout is.

You see The joyful shout spoken of here by the psalmist gives an atmosphere of singing.

Yet, the passage continues and helps us understand that this joyful shout is more than just a vocal homage to God.

Because the passage continues as it's now going to define for us what the joyful shout looks like.

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Thanksgiving Lamb

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