Because You Can Enter His Gates

How should you conduct yourself in worship? Some people stay away from church altogether, not wanting to waste their time with "boring" church services. Others come and sit very quietly as they would in a library. Still others come to church to sing and shout during the worship service. Some look around at those with different worship styles and look down. Others "cut loose" in worship with indifference to those around them. Some would like to sing and shout but stay reserved for fear of offending those around them. What is your style?

Part of the answer is found in how you relate to God. If you have never entered into a personal relationship with the LORD through faith in Jesus Christ, then you may be on the afraid or aloof side of the spectrum. Yet even a believer may know so little about God that he or she sits more in fear than in reverence before God. But the believer who knows that Jesus Christ died on that cross for his/her own sins is able to enter worship with reckless abandon – that is with unrestrained love for the LORD.

Scripture: Psalm 100
(Use the BACK button on your browser to return to this lesson)

Main Thought: Because Christ brought down the wall of sin which separated us from God’s presence, every believer can rejoice in worship – drawing near to God who draws near to us..
 

1. Preparing for Worship (Psalm 100:1-2)

Entering into worship of the LORD should be characterized by exuberant joy knowing that the LORD has torn down the wall of separation between people and Himself, inviting all to enter His presence.
 

2. Purpose of Worship (Psalm 100:3)

As we enter the presence of the LORD in worship, we humbly acknowledge who He really is – the one true and living God who created all things and called us to be His people.
 

3. Power in Worship (Psalm 100:4-5)

The power in worship is found when the LORD Jesus Christ is the focus of our hearts for He is the Giver of all that is good, loving, and true.
 

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. (Psalm 100:1-2, NKJV)

1. Preparing for Worship.

(Psalm 100:1-2)

Entering into worship of the LORD should be characterized by exuberant joy because the LORD has torn down the wall of separation between people and Himself, inviting all to enter His presence.

This "Psalm of Thanksgiving" is one that was used in the Temple services of Israel after all the other sacrifices had been made. Leviticus 11 refers to it as the "peace" offering. It was entirely appropriate, then, after the sacrifice for sin to cleanse the people from their guilt that a time of thanksgiving would take place. Now a study of the words used here in these first two verses is highly instructive. As we will see, the Psalmist speaks of worshiping God with not just a casual "thank you, LORD" but a time of exceedingly great joy!

Joyful Shouts - "Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!" (Psalm 100:1, NKJV)

First of all, note that the word "lands" [776, 'erets (eh'-rets)] is literally translated the "earth." It is a cry to all peoples in all nations all over the earth to make this joyful shout to the LORD. Now this is not simply a joyful spirit inside, or even as the familiar phrase from the KJV, "make a joyful noise." It is actually the word used for a great trumpet sounding to start a feast or the war-cry of an army as it goes into battle [7321, ruwa` (roo-ah')]. This Psalm then opens with a command to all people to enter into the presence of God with a Tarzan-style yell of great joy and excitement.

Joyful Service - "Serve the LORD with gladness" (Psalm 100:2, NKJV).

Joy should characterize all that we do before the LORD. The word "serve" [5647 `abad (aw-bad')] here is also translated "worship" (NIV, NAS). Serve is a literal translation but in the Old Testament, the references to serving the LORD refer to the act of worship.

In Egypt, Moses insisted they take their animals with them because he was not sure how they were to serve the LORD – that is, to make sacrifices to Him (Ex. 23:25).

On Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments which clearly commanded them to worship the LORD God and not to serve false gods.

Just before entering the Promised Land, Moses reiterated the need for the Israelites to love God, to walk in His ways, and to obey His commandments, and to "serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 10:12, NKJV) indicating worship.

Joshua in his final address to the Israelites issued the famous injunction to choose for your self which gods you will serve but, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Josh. 24:15, NKJV).

To serve the LORD is to worship Him. This the context of Psalm 100 and the meaning given here. We are to enter the presence of God in worship with "gladness" or joy. Again, the word conveys the idea of mirth, almost giddiness before the LORD. This can only be possible when you give yourself unreservedly to the LORD in worship. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1, NKJV). The "reasonable service" is appropriately rendered in the NIV and NAS as a spiritual act of worship.

Joyful Singing - "come before His presence with singing" (Psalm 100:2, NKJV).

Again, the word "singing" [7445 renanah (ren-aw-naw')] is a shout for joy or joyful singing. I had an old Sunday School class where we started the morning singing hymns. No matter what hymn we sang, the teacher in the class would sing loud and very much off-key. He would make Johnny Cash sound like Pavoratti. But there was no doubt in my mind this was a joyful shout to the LORD. He was singing loud because of great joy in his heart – this is what makes it joyful singing.

So what should characterize your worship of God? In a word, exceedingly great joy! Why? As the Psalmist alludes to in the first verse, because God has made it possible for every person to enter into His presence free from the stain and guilt of sin through our LORD Jesus Christ. No longer do we fear condemnation from God for in Christ there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). In Christ and through faith in Christ, we have access to God, and even boldness in approaching Him (Eph. 3:10; Heb. 4:16). That should bring great joy to your heart and enable you to worship God at any time, no matter the circumstances.

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. (Psalm 100:3, NKJV)

2. Purpose of Worship.

As we enter the presence of the LORD in worship, we humbly acknowledge who He really is – the one true and living God who created all things and called us to be His people.

Acknowledge God is One (Deut. 6:4) - "Know that the LORD, He is God" (Psalm 100:3, NKJV).
The one thing the nations of this world need to remember – there is but one God who rules over all. The faithful Israelite would recite this each morning to remind him or her of this great truth:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut 6:4-9, NKJV)

They were to do this so that they would not forget God when they entered the bountiful land of Canaan, the Promised Land. In the abundance of this great land, that is what has happened to us. Perhaps each of us needs to take time and ponder for ourselves this great truth. If you do, then you will certainly be able to worship God with joy...And what would be the outcome of the nations knowing and acknowledging that the LORD is God? The nations would know the joy of getting along together rather than fighting for land, power and influence in this world.

Acknowledge God is the Creator (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16) - "it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves" (Psalm 100:3, NKJV).

I was watching a movie about the Nazi holocaust this weekend. It really got to me that one person could treat another like an animal. The barbaric treatment of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis was unbelieveable.

This statement by the Psalmist cuts to the heart of the issue. We are not animals; neither are we our own masters. God is the Creator of life, the Author of life, and the Authority in our lives. We are His, not our own. As the Bible states, "… He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-27, NKJV). There is no room for putting yourself above another person because that person is "different" than you. God has made us all of one blood. If Hitler had believed this one thing, the holocaust would have never happened.

Acknowledge God is our LORD and we are His people - "we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:3, NKJV).

Here is another beautiful truth for every single believer. While the Israelites were God’s chosen people, part of the Abrahamic covenant, the Gentiles were to be blessed as well. When you trust in the LORD Jesus Christ, you become part of God’s family, a child of God (John 1:12). The church of Jesus Christ is that body of believers around the world that belong to Him. Here is what Jesus had to say about His sheep:

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:14-16, NKJV)

So in Christ there is one flock of sheep, both Jew and Gentile believers. We are one body, each indwelt of the same Holy Spirit. What would be the outcome of believers actually believing this truth – that we are not our own but are truly the sheep of God’s pasture? I submit that it would draw us into intense worship and holy living.

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. (Psalm 100:4-5, NKJV)

3. Power in Worship.

The power in worship is found when the LORD Jesus Christ is the focus of our hearts for He is the Giver of all that is good, loving, and true.

Attitude of thanksgiving and praise - "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4, NKJV).

In the Temple worship, Gentiles were specifically excluded. There was a wall around the whole temple complex that kept them within hearing and smelling distance. Yet they were never allowed to go in. The Jewish women could enter through the gate called "Beautiful" and worship in the Court of Women. Herod’s Temple included balconies so they women could stand and look out upon the sacrifices being offered. The Jewish men entered through the women’s court and into an area for them. It was right next to the altar where the lambs, sheep, bulls, and goats were prepared for the sacrifice. They could watch the priests conduct the services and smell the sweet aroma of altar. But only the priests could go past the courtyard to the actual Temple. The priests entered through the doors to burn incense, take advantage of the Table of Showbread, and tend the golden lampstand. But they could enter no further. Only the High Priest, only once a year, and only after being cleansed with the blood of the sin sacrifice to God, could enter through the veil into the Holy of Holies. Every group of people had some exclusion on being in the presence of God.

But now, through Christ our High Priest, each of us is part of God’s family and able to enter into the presence of God directly. The blood Jesus shed for us was shed once for all sins for all people, forever tearing down the veil which separated us from God. So each believer in the LORD Jesus Christ can enter the gates and march into the courts of God’s presence with confidence and great joy. No longer is anyone excluded from God’s presence – for whosoever believes in the LORD Jesus Christ has eternal life and eternal access to God. Praise the LORD!

Gift of thanksgiving and praise - "Be thankful to Him, and bless His name" (Psalm 100:4, NKJV).

Having gone right into the Holy of Holies, you can offer your gift of thanksgiving and praise (to "bless His name" is to praise God’s name). Through Jesus, each of us can offer a sacrifice of praise to God for what He has done for each one of us (Heb. 13:15). Enter the worship of God with an attitude of thanksgiving and a gift of thanksgiving to God in thought, word and deed. Put aside the thoughts of the week. Put aside the worries of life. Put aside the personal inconveniences. Worship is God’s time and your time – time to focus your attention on Him with love, awe and gratitude in your heart.

Reflect on YOUR life: Do you focus on the Giver of all that is good, loving, and true?

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:5, NKJV)

When we draw attention away from ourselves and our worries, and focus on the LORD, we focus on the One who gives to each of us nothing but the perfection of His goodness. We focus on the Creator who loved us enough to redeem us from sin rather than destroy us for rebellion. We focus on the LORD Jesus Christ who was the Incarnation of God’s truth for all time, for all generations. God is good, loving, and faithful to His word. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is good for every person in every generation. You have the awesome privilege of sharing eternal truth with practically anyone you encounter, knowing it is true for that person just as much as it was for you. It is not relative – it is absolutely true for everyone for all time.

With this kind of focus in our worship, we will experience the power of God in our own lives – and see Him change the lives of those who worship with us.

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 1999, Randy Lariscy.