Bible Study - Special (6) In the Abram Series - Give Thanks to GOD - Psalm 100:1-5 - November 21, 2021

Bible Study – Special (6) In Abram Series – Give Thanks to GOD – November 21, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving to all with bountiful blessings from our LORD JESUS!

This is a special lesson for Thanksgiving. The last study on Abram will follow dated November 28, 2021. Our theme in this study is “Our thanks and worship belong to GOD.”

Our focus scripture is Psalm 100:1-5.

I plan to follow up this lesson with our last lesson in the Abram series because it to me is a profound lesson and reveals the Spiritual growth of Abram/Abraham. However, this study focuses on our relationship with GOD and our worship of HIM.

Some attribute Psalm 100 to David but there is no way to be certain that David wrote it. Whoever wrote it revealed their personal discovery of the attributes and character of the One True GOD, Yahweh based upon experience. We do know that David, over his lifetime, had built a personal and enduring relationship with GOD. David knew GOD, not just about GOD and trusted HIM to guide his life and to watch over him. His relationship with GOD began when was shepherding sheep as a young boy. This trust relationship does not come about haphazardly but by design by GOD.

Our first step is to acknowledge the One True GOD, Yahweh, as our GOD through a personal relationship. We do this by placing our faith in JESUS. JESUS was and is GOD in the flesh.

The Apostle John recorded in John 9:19-24:

¹⁹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father^[e] does, the Son likewise does these things. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. ²¹ And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants. ²² The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Life and Judgment

²⁴ “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

In the Old Testament there were many gods people worshipped. Today, there are still many gods that people worship. The question is, have we placed our faith in the worship of the One True GOD, Yahweh, through faith in JESUS? Why? It is because all others gods are false. What does placing your faith in JESUS mean to you? It means Spiritual birth into the family of GOD and eternal life.

Since the beginning of time the ONE True GOD, Yahweh, has revealed Himself to mankind. HIS crowning revelation is when HE revealed JESUS as HIS only Son, Who, willingly came to earth in the flesh and lived upon earth. JESUS was 100% human and was capable of sinning. But HE chose not to sin in order for HIM to be the sinless, perfect sacrifice for all mankind from the beginning of HIS life upon earth to the end.

If JESUS had died upon the cross and been buried and that, was it, then we would have no other reason to believe in him than any other good person martyred. What is the defining difference?

The resurrection of JESUS by GOD, Yahweh!

Why did JESUS choose to give HIS sinless life to redeem all who place their faith in HIM from eternal death? It was because JESUS loves every person and does not desire for any to be eternally separated from GOD or HIM in eternal death/Hell.

When was GOD’S redemptive plan conceived?

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4 - ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 

We were chosen before the foundation of the world. How about that! GOD plans before HE takes action.

But GOD gives each of us the freewill to choose and HE does all within the parameters of HIS Word to lead and guide us to willingly and freely accept JESUS as our Savior. HE does place stumbling blocks in front of us as we journey through life to get us to focus on our need of salvation and the eternal importance of JESUS being our Savior.

Now, that is infinite love. Some may say, “Well, if GOD loves us that much, HE would never allow us to go to Hell!” You are correct. We send ourselves to Hell by refusing to accept JESUS as our Savior. We believe Satan’s lies instead of GOD’S truth. There is no other way to Heaven and eternal life other than through the miracle of Spiritual birth through faith in JESUS – NO OTHER WAY! No person can work long enough and hard enough to earn his or her way to Heaven and have eternal life. Why?

If a person could earn his or her way to Heaven then GOD sent JESUS to earth in vain. Why did GOD send JESUS?

It is because that is GOD’S redemptive plan through the miracle of Spiritual birth. We see this when a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin came to JESUS at night. Nicodemus JESUS the question, as written in John 3:1-2. This reveals JESUS teaching Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and all since him.

3 There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again,^[a] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. ⁸ The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus.

¹⁰ “Are you a teacher^[b] of Israel and don’t know these things?” Jesus replied. ¹¹ “Truly I tell you, we speak what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. ¹² If I have told you about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven —the Son of Man.^[c]

¹⁴ “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him may^[d] have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way:^[e] He gave^[f] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the light and avoids it,^[g] so that his deeds may not be exposed. ²¹ But anyone who lives by^[h] the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God.”

The fact that GOD sent JESUS into the world did not condemn the world. Sin had already sentenced all people to eternal death with no way for them to escape eternal punishment. That is why GOD sent JESUS to freely give HIS sinless human life for all who will place their faith in HIM. It is the shed blood of JESUS that paid the price for sin, in full and opened the path to GOD and eternal life.

It is the miracle of Spiritual birth that releases every person from eternal death to eternal life. No person can earn salvation, it takes a step of faith by accepting what JESUS did for all people. But every person must accept GOD’S gift of salvation.

When we realize the infinite love of GOD through faith in JESUS, we begin to see and comprehend what GOD has done for us. It was something we could never do for ourselves. We were without hope but GOD opened the way to HIM for all people through faith in JESUS.

When we study the life and Spiritual journey of Abram/Abraham, we get to see the love, patience and guidance of GOD. It is all about building the right relationship with GOD through faith, which begins with faith in JESUS. Abram made mistakes but GOD taught him and revealed Himself to Abram/Abraham.

JESUS revealed Himself to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus.

When we realize the love GOD and JESUS has for us, it is only then can we begin to understand and appreciate what GOD and JESUS did for us. This understanding leads us to praise both GOD and JESUS for their boundless mercy and grace for there is no other way to Heaven other than by faith in JESUS.

We read in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5:

5 For we know that if our earthly tent we live in (human body) is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. ² Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ since, when we are clothed,^[a] we will not be found naked. ⁴ Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

How is this accomplished? Let’s consider 2 Corinthians 5:21:

²¹ He (GOD) made the one who did not know sin (JESUS) to be sin^[e] for us, so that in him we (All who place their faith in JESUS)  might become the righteousness of God.

Now, we who have accepted JESUS as our Savior, do we have anything to shout about? Most Certainly! GOD is building within each of us a new tent or a new Spiritual house or body. The instant a Spirit-born person dies physically, he or she leaves their earth suit. I believe moments before the Spirit-born person experiences physical death, their Spirit-born body is released and is in the presence of GOD, JESUS, angels and all of Heaven. We will not be found naked in Heaven and we will not, as Spirit-born people, experience the death of our earth suit (human body).

This Spiritual tent gets us around in Heaven while we wait for JESUS to return to earth at HIS second coming. We who are in Heaven will come back with HIM and receive our Glorified Body.

Let’s read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

¹³ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,^[e] with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage^[f] one another with these words.

Is that worth shouting about and praising GOD and JESUS for looking out for those who have placed their faith in JESUS? Absolutely!!! Could you do this for yourself? NO! Is this worth praising GOD and JESUS for? Absolutely!!!

Now let’s consider the praise of GOD through the relationship the Psalm writer had with GOD through an intimate relationship with GOD.

GOD desires for each of us to learn of HIM by first placing our faith in JESUS. That is ground zero. What psalm would you write regarding your walk with GOD and JESUS? Would it be a psalm of praise or a psalm with many questions? You are writing a Psalm whether you realize it or not.

Let’s read Psalm 100:1-5:

A psalm of thanksgiving.

¹ Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord!
² Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we are his^[a]—
his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever;
his faithfulness, through all generations.

First, we must know GOD. The writer of Psalm 100 was expressing what he had discovered by walking with GOD. What have you discovered about GOD? GOD sent JESUS into the world to live as a human. JESUS, living as a human, means HE can understand what being a human is all about. HE understands why we sin because HE was tempted in all ways like us. HIS understanding is not a license for us to sin but JESUS, our advocate, pleads our case before our Heavenly FATHER, GOD. Why does HE have to plead our case? It is because Satan instantly accuses us when we sin. Satan wants the wrath of GOD to come down upon us. JESUS knows our faith in HIM and is our advocate. In essence, JESUS says, back off Satan because this person is covered by MY shed blood and is not under the law but under GOD’S Grace for eternity. Next case!

Is that worthy of praise and worship? You bet! Could you achieve such grace by your own effort? NO! Are you grateful to GOD for sending HIS only begotten Son to earth to be the Savior of all who will place their faith in HIM? What is your answer? Does your answer result in you praising JESUS and GOD?

Let’s go back to Psalm 100 and read it again and ask GOD to help each of us, who have asked JESUS into our hearts or those who have not, to build the right relationship with GOD through faith in JESUS.

When we know JESUS and not just know about JESUS and we realize what HE has done for us, does it bring the joy of HIS salvation to our hearts and minds? JESUS is worthy of our praise and shouts of adoration.

We who know JESUS can break out in expressions of praise any moment of the day because HE is worthy and HE thinks you are worthy of HIS love and the sacrifice HE made just for you. Oh! You did not know that? JESUS would have given HIS sinless life just for you. If you had been the only person in the eons of time to ever to accept HIM as your Savior, HE would have given HIS sinless life just for you. Now, that is personal and individual.

Please do not reject GOD’S love for you by rejecting the eternal salvation GOD offers through faith in HIS only SON, JESUS. Think about this as you read Psalm 100, again. Consider writing your own Psalm expressing your walk with GOD through faith in JESUS.

Blessings!!!