How Should We Approach God?

[Psalm 100]

Last Sunday, during the English service, I encouraged everyone to live this week by comforting one another through the encounters that the Lord allows, based on Acts 15:22-35. Then, after Tuesday's early morning prayer meeting, I had breakfast and coffee with the couple who serve as the church's evangelists. As we shared fellowship, I realized that, rather than comforting them, I was the one receiving comfort. In particular, the wife of the evangelist shared about the concept of "Coram Deo" (living before God), and we rejoiced and gave thanks to God together as we reflected on the abundant grace that God gives in a life lived before Him. What does it truly mean to live in the presence of God? The life of Coram Deo is living before God. It is a God-centered way of thinking that leads us to live without shame before Him (Internet). When we live in such a way, we are free to approach God in praise and worship with sincere hearts.

Today, I want to reflect on three lessons from Psalm 100 to answer the question, "How should we approach God?"

First, we should approach God with thanksgiving.

Look at Psalm 100:4:
"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name."
When we come to worship God, we should enter His temple with a heart of thanksgiving. Why should we enter the house of God with a thankful heart to praise and worship Him? The psalmist answers in verse 5:
"For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations."
We should enter God’s house with thanksgiving because God is good, and His lovingkindness and faithfulness are eternal. In other words, He saves His people by His goodness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness. Dr. Park Yun-seon said:
"God does not love His saints temporarily and then change His mind. The lives of the saints go through various ups and downs. Their path may sometimes be difficult, and sometimes smooth. But all of this works together for their good, and it is all part of the Lord’s loving guidance. He faithfully cares for us from generation to generation."
Thinking about the grace of salvation given to us through Jesus Christ, we should approach God’s house with thanksgiving to worship Him.

How about you? When you come to the Lord’s house on Sunday to worship, do you come with a thankful heart? Sometimes, it seems that Satan tempts us not to reach the church and turns us back home before we even step into the sanctuary. There are times when, due to quarrels with our spouse, we don't even make it to the church and turn back home. Truly, it is not easy to come to church on Sunday with a heart full of thanksgiving. We may come with a heart filled with complications, worries, and concerns. Yet, in today’s passage, the psalmist encourages us to approach the Lord’s house with thanksgiving when we come to worship. Let us all, reflecting on the grace of salvation God has given us in Jesus Christ, come with grateful hearts to worship and honor Him in His house.

Second, we must approach God with the knowledge of who He is.

Look at Psalm 100:3:
"Know that the Lord is God; it is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."
In this age, which faces the "famine of hearing the word of the Lord" (Amos 8:11), we see the tragic reality that even though people have ears, they cannot hear the Lord's voice. Particularly, our pastors, like the priests of Israel during the time of Hosea, have abandoned the knowledge of God and forgotten His law (His Word), leading the flock to become spiritually starving, lost like sheep without a shepherd, and tormented by Satan's temptations. At this time, we must "know the Lord and strive to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). We must grow in the knowledge of Jesus. Therefore, like the apostle Peter, when Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15), we should be able to confess, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). In Psalm 100:3, the psalmist encourages us: "Know that the Lord is our God." He reminds us that God is our Creator and also our Shepherd. Therefore, we must recognize that we are "His"—"His people" and "the sheep of His pasture" (v. 3)—and we must acknowledge Him as our God, going up to the Lord’s house to offer praise and worship.

Finally, third, we must approach God with joy.

Look at Psalm 100:1-2:
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs."
When we go up to the Lord's house to offer praise and worship, we should not only acknowledge God's sovereignty with gratitude, but also offer our praise and worship with joy. Why should we praise and worship God with joy? There are three main reasons:

1. Because God has saved us: We should praise and worship God with the joy of salvation that He has given us.

2. Because our God cannot contain His joy over us (Zephaniah 3:17). Since God rejoices over us, we should also offer our praise and worship with the joy that He gives us.

3. Because God Himself is our joy. He is the source of our joy, and therefore, we should worship and praise Him with joy in our hearts.

This morning, in a dream, I saw Pastor Kim Chang-hyeok, who has already passed away. His image is vivid in my mind, and I can still hear him saying, "I am not always here." I also saw how tree branches, washed by water, slowly faded away, one by one. Then, with my father in the center, our relatives gathered to sing four hymns. While we were singing hymn 544, "While I Live in This World," I woke up from the dream. During this morning’s prayer meeting, I praised God with this hymn, remembering the pastor and the saints who have gone to heaven before us.

As we live in this world for a short time, let us always sing praises, and when the day comes and the Lord calls us, may we go before Him in glory.

(Verse 4)
"I will leave behind my sighs and wait for the day with no death. When I see the Lord I have longed for, my joy will overflow."
(Chorus)
"I will enter the open gates of heaven, laying down the burdens of this world, receiving the shining crown, and ruling with the Lord."

As the time for our departure approaches, may we thank God for our salvation, praise and worship Him with joy, and approach Him in His presence.

"When the day ends, and He calls, I will enter in glory..."

Pastor James Kim
(With a heart full of gratitude and joy, I pray that we may praise and worship the glorious Lord).