Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church, located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee, would like to invite you to listen to a message of Sovereign Grace by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. For information and service times, visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker.

I have a message for us today on the subject of thankfulness. It's going to come from Psalm 100. And I just want to be thankful. I want to declare and promote thankfulness. That's my aim and desire. today.

I want to read, let's read Psalm 100 if you want to follow along with me. Psalm 100 and then we'll break this down verse by verse. The heading under the title says, it is a Psalm of praise. That's what this is. A Psalm of praise.

And verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations.

The first thing I want to point out is all of that is unto the Lord. All of that is unto the Lord. It is all unto the Lord. Verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. unto the Lord. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name we give all the glory. We give all the praise. We give all the thanksgiving to thy name, thy name alone.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Joyful noise right there. When you look up that word in a Bible dictionary, it means the shout of victory. the shout of victory. It literally translates, split the ears, break the eardrum with the shout of triumph and applause. That's wonderful, isn't it?

Over in Psalm 47, Psalm 47 verse one says, oh, clap your hands, all ye people. Shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord Most High is terrible. He is a great king over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us. to a sinner in need of salvation. That's wonderful news. He shall choose our inheritance for us.

The excellency of Jacob, whom he loved, his particular people, he chose Jacob, the trickster, the supplanter. Jacob represents all of God's people. Verse five says, God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, Sing praises to God. Sing praises. Sing praises unto our King. Sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth.

Who's the King? Jesus Christ. He is our God. Verse 7 says, God is the King of all the earth. Sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen. God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham.

FOR THE SHIELDS OF THE EARTH BELONG UNTO GOD, HE IS GREATLY EXALTED."

What a wonderful psalm. What a wonderful psalm. That's what joyful noise means in our text in Psalm 100. That's what it means. Clap, shout, sing in the heart. in the soul, in the inner being, in sincerity, not just with lip service, not just for show. So many people in their religion try to make a show, and it's really more about look at me than look at Christ. and in sincerity of heart, God's people say, it's not unto us, it's all unto you, truly all unto you, all unto the Lord our God, for he is greatly exalted and he is, he is high and lifted up, seated on his throne, reigning, and for that, we give thanks. For everything that he is, everything that he's done, For sinners like you and me, we give thanks.

Back in Psalm 100, verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. And my Bible has a center column, a center margin, and that says that all ye lands means all the earth. All the earth. Now all of this earth does not make a joyful noise unto the Lord. All men and women do not praise the Lord. They do not give thanks to the Lord. They do not bow to him as the sovereign king and savior that he is.

But one day soon, one day soon when time is no more, And the only heaven and earth that exist is the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." God's kingdom. God's new earth. In that day, every square inch of land will be making that joyful noise unto the Lord. The whole earth. The entire earth. In that day, there will be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. That's good news, isn't it? That's a reason to be thankful. That is a reason to be thankful. Every soul there will shout and will sing and will rejoice in Christ our Savior. All the land will. What a reason to be thankful, what a hope, what a hope we have.

Over in Revelation chapter five, it says in Revelation five verse nine, They sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. God has a people scattered all over this world out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Verse 10 says, and has made us unto our God kings and priests. Christ is our king, he's our high priest. And he has redeemed us and made us to be conformed to his image. Verse 10 says, has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth. IN UNITY WITH HIM.

AND I BEHELD AND I HEARD THE VOICE OF MANY ANGELS ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE, AND THE BEASTS AND THE ELDERS AND THE NUMBER OF THEM WAS TEN THOUSAND TIMES TEN THOUSAND AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, WORTHY IS THE LAMB. THAT'S WHAT HEAVEN CRIES, THE WHOLE EARTH OF HEAVEN. WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER AND RICHES AND WISDOM AND STRENGTH AND HONOR AND GLORY AND BLESSING. ALL OF THAT IS UNTO HIM. HE IS WORTHY TO RECEIVE ALL OF THAT TO HIMSELF. DOESN'T THAT SOUND WONDERFUL?

REVELATION 7 VERSE 9 SAYS, AFTER THIS I BEHELD AND LO A GREAT MULTITUDE WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER. Of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God. That means salvation belongs to our God. The credit for who saved us goes to Him alone. Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters. and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

That's a reason to be thankful, isn't it? That is a reason to be thankful. One day, real soon, all of God's elect people chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world Every single one of them out of all nations and people and tongues are going to be gathered together in Christ. And they will all collectively with one heart, one spirit, one mind, They will worship and praise and make a joyful noise to Him, Christ, and Christ alone.

That's wonderful. Back in Psalm 100, Psalm 100, verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands, Serve the Lord with gladness. Serve the Lord with gladness. That means, again, when you look it up in the Bible dictionary, it means be a willing bond slave. I know that's not a word that we commonly use anymore, but that's what it means. That's what it translates. Be a willing bond slave. That means a willing servant. A willing servant, serve with gladness. Serve with gladness.

And I'm gonna tell you that that is a picture of one man, truly one man. Let's acknowledge the great servant, the greatest servant that ever walked this earth with gladness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the man who came from a far place to selflessly, graciously, kindly, humbly, lovingly, willingly, you know, Christ came willingly. He put his own life on the line. He laid his own life down willingly. He was the willing servant. He did that to deliver his people from their sins. He did that to rescue his people from the cross and rescue his people from the wrath of God. He did that willingly.

The scripture says this, Hebrews 12, for the joy set before him. You really think about that. That is wonderful. Why did Christ do this? For the joy set before Him, eternal joy with His people, His redeemed people. It says, for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross of Calvary. He despised all the shame that His people had accumulated. He dealt with it. He put it away. He finished the work of delivering his chosen people from from sure destruction, sure condemnation. He brought all of that destruction and condemnation on himself. And he did that because he was the willing servant of his father. He accomplished the work because he was the willing servant of his father. He was the one who every bit of that work was laid on, and he's the one who successfully accomplished the work and saved. He said, Father, I saved every one of them. That's what he said in John 17. I have finished the work. I have saved every single one of them. None of them is lost. None of them is lost. They're all safe.

And that's so. In what Christ has done, all of his people are safe. Eternally safe. Safe from wrath. Safe from hell. Safe from the adversary. Safe from our own selves. Safe. God the Father said in Isaiah 42, Behold my servant. Speaking of Christ. He said, he shall not fail. And he didn't. And that makes us thankful. That makes us so thankful. He didn't fail. Christ did not fail.

Men stand in pulpits today and preach a message saying Christ failed. They say now salvation is not finished. That's a lie. They say you're gonna have to help Christ. That's a lie. Christ started the work, but he needs you now. He needs your permission to let him finish it. That's a lie. He finished it. He said, Father, I finished the work. From the cross, he cried, it is finished. And it is finished. And his people are saved and secured.

The gospel is not a call to action to do anything or to accomplish anything. The gospel is a declaration of a finished work that Jesus Christ has already accomplished and secured for his people. And every child of God who really hears it and understands it and is caused to believe it says, I'm very thankful. I'm very, very thankful for that.

Psalm 100 verse one says, make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. What a good thing to know. Know that the Lord is God. This is how we can know that the work is finished. This is how we can know everything is secure. He's God. He is God.

What makes him to be God? What makes him to be our God? Christ is who we're speaking of, the Lord. What makes him to be our God? Well, David gave three reasons right here. He's our God because number one, he's our creator. He's our God because he's our creator. Number two, he's our God because he's our owner. Not only did he create us, he owns us. And number three, he is our God because he's our protector and our provider.

Verse three right here says, know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. That makes us thankful, doesn't it? That makes God's people thankful. Why are we his? It's because he made us. He made us. Why are we his? It's because he bought us. He bought us. Why are we his? It's because he carries us in his arms, loves us, protects us, keeps us.

There's a story that is told of a little boy down in Mexico who wanted a kite long time ago. This was a long time ago. He wanted a kite. And he told his dad, he asked his dad if his dad would buy him a kite. And his dad felt awful because he just didn't have the money to buy his son a kite. So he said, I tell you what, son, we'll make a kite. And the little boy was so excited. Yeah, we'll make a kite. So they found some straight twigs and tied them in an A-frame and had some lightweight cloth and they sewed it to that A-frame and they put a tail on it and a string on it. And the dad said, okay, son, you go running. And they let it up and it took off. That kite started flying higher and higher and higher and they let it up and up and up until the string broke. and the kite blew over the trees and it was gone. And that little boy was so brokenhearted and his dad was just so sad for him. And the next day, the little boy was walking in the village and he looked over in a little store and in the window of that store was his kite. And he ran into the store and he said, sir, that's my kite. And the owner of the store said, no son, that's my kite. And he said, but sir, my father and I, we made that kite. And he said, well, I found this kite in the weeds and now it's mine. And if you want it, it's going to cost you two pesos. So the little boy ran home and he said, father, I found our kite. It's in a store in the village. And the man says I can have it for two pesos. So the father reached in his pocket, he pulled out two pesos, gave them to his son, and his son ran back to the store and laid it on the counter, two pesos. And the man took the kite off the shelf and gave it to the little boy, and that little boy hugged that kite. And as he was walking out, that store owner heard him say, you're mine. He said, you're twice mine. I made you and I bought you. And that's what Jesus Christ did for his people. We're twice his. He made us and not we ourselves. We're his people and the sheep of his pasture. He made us, he bought us. That's why we belong to him. That's why he is our God. It is he that made us and not we ourselves. We are bought with a price. We are not our own. That price was his own precious blood. And that's why we're his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Verse four says, enter into his gates with thanksgiving. Enter in with thanksgiving. That word thanksgiving means confession, worship, adoration. It actually means a choir of worship. Enter into his presence that way in your own heart. Buy yourself a whole choir full of worship. Enter into his gates in unity, in harmony. Verse four, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. That means glory. It means glorifying. It means boasting of, lauding, magnifying. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. That means kneel before him. In all things, kneel before him. Job did when he said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. In all things, he knelt before God. The prophet Eli did when he said, it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. God said to Eli, I'm gonna kill your two sons for their sin against me. And that's what Eli said, it's the Lord, let him do what seems good. We bow to him, we bless him, we honor him, we praise him in everything, we give thanks to him.

Now, I have about three minutes left, and I want to tell you this story really quickly. It's one more story on being thankfulness in everything, no matter what it is. Bless his name. A man named George Whitfield, this is a true story. He was a man back in the 1700s, and he was called on to go preach one night in a village that was a good ways away. He was riding his horse, and it was pouring rain on him. just pouring rain and he said he had a bad attitude. He was just riding slowly to go preach and he just miserable, just pouring rain. And he was praying to the Lord asking him, Lord, why all this rain? I'm bearing the burden of having to preach this message. I'm going to your people. I'm, you know, trying to do this in your honor, in your name, why all this rain being poured on me? Just pouring, pouring, pouring. And he said about that time he rounded a corner and a robber jumped out with a flint pistol, 1700s, he had a flint pistol and fired it. But the flint was so wet, the gun wouldn't go off. And George Whitfield kicked that horse and hightailed it out of there, crying, thank you for the rain. Thank you, Lord, for the rain. In everything, bless his name. Bless his name, be thankful unto him.

Verse four says, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name, for the Lord is good. He's good, there's none good but God, but he's good. His grace is good. His mercy is good. His salvation is good. Verse five says, for the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. Think about that. His mercy is everlasting. There's no mercy to be had but the mercy of God and any mercy we see in this world, that's not this world, that's God. That's the reflection of God's mercy in this world.

mercies of God, His mercy that He provided in Christ through the blood of Christ, that's our salvation. And this psalm ends by saying that Christ, who is the grace and mercy and truth of God, all of His goodness will endure forever.

Verse five says, for the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. This gospel has been being declared since man was created. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and God slew a lamb, covered their sin, and gave them the picture of the gospel. This gospel was preached all through the Old Testament. This gospel was preached when Christ came. This gospel has been preached through the writings of the apostles. And in His goodness, it's still being preached today.

THE MESSAGE OF WHO JESUS CHRIST IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR HIS SINFUL PEOPLE. THAT'S THE GOSPEL. IT'S SO GOOD AND THANK GOD IT WILL ENDURE UNTIL THE DAY HE RETURNS. FOR THAT, WE'RE THANKFUL.

YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A MESSAGE BY GABE STONIKER, PASTOR OF KINGSPORT SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH IN KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE. If you would like a copy of this message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, you can call or write to the number and address on your screen, or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.