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PSALM 100

"BE THANKFUL UNTO HIM"

I. GOD'S RIGHTS.
        A. We hear so much today of human rights.
                1. Unfortunately it has become a political issue.
                        a. You begin to question the true sincerity.
                                1. "I heard many cries against the Shaw."
                                2. I have heard nothing from these same sources
                                   against Kohumini.
                        b. Jane Fonda was complaining of how we were violating the human
                           right of the peace-loving North Vietnamese.
                        c. We cut off aid and trade with Rhodesia for the govts. violation
                           of human rights.
                2. I am a firm believer in human rights.
        B. God has rights also based on:
                1. "Jehovah, He is God."  I am a human being.
                        a. By virtue of who He is.
                2. "It is He who has made us."
                        a. Some people would have you believe we made God.
                        b. We recognize a man's rights over his own creation.
                                1. He can protect those rights with patents and copyrights.
                        c. Rev. 4:11 Glory, honor, power.
                3. "We are His people."
                        a. "You are not your own, you have been bought... Glorify God!"
                4. "The sheep of His pasture."
                        a. We are taking His resources.
                                1. "The earth is mine and the fullness. . ."
                        b. We live and graze upon upon His land.
                        c. We may put up fences and wall to stake out our property.
                                1. We demand the rights of ownership.
                                2. God could evict us all.

II. WHAT DOES GOD ASK OF US?
        A. He could demand anything, we owe Him everything.
                1. Any claim God might make on me would be justified.
                        a. Give me your house.
                        b. Give me your family.
                        c. Give me you bank account.
                2. I am a total debtor to God.
                        a. I have been eating His food, drinking His water,
                           breathing His air.
        B. "Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving."
                1. Some of you entered today grudgingly.
                        a. You thought "Woe is me, an hour of boredom."
                        b. You had other plans, but got stuck.
                        c. How evil can a person be?
                2. Some could hardly wait to get here.
                        a. You've been waiting all week for Sunday to roll around again.
                        b. A warm feeling came over you as you entered the doors.
        C. "And into His courts with Praise."
        D. "Be thankful unto Him."
                1. Isn't it tragic that, that has to be a command.
                2. It should be as natural as breathing.
                3. It's that I get thoughtless.
        E. "Bless His Name."

III. THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE SHOULD THANK HIM.
        A. "For the Lord is good."
                1. Aren't you glad.
                2. What if He were bad, hated you.
        B. "His mercy is everlasting."
                1. Look how long He has put up with you.
                        a. Put up with your nasty attitudes.
                        b. With your gripes and complaints.
                2. You had better be thankful He is merciful.
        C. "His Truth."
                1. His truth is embodied in Jesus.
                        a. He said, "I am the truth and the life, no man..."
                2. How thankful I am that He has brought me to His truth in Christ.