Psalm 100 says, “A Psalm of praise. 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 endures to all generations.” This week we will continue to learn keys to overcoming in our Christian walk from Ps 100. We saw last week in key number one that shouting the praises and promises of God is mentioned many times through out The Scriptures. There is a reason The Bible tells us to hold fast our “confession” of faith (Heb 10:23). Let the redeemed of the Lord “say so” (Ps 107:2). Speak the truth! Shout the truth! Praise God with a loud voice!

The second key is found in verse two, which tells us to serve the Lord with gladness. The Hebrew word for serve means to work, to labor, to be a servant, to be subject to. We are to serve the Lord. Him alone we should serve (Lk 4:8). We are to choose to serve Him today and forever (Jos 24:14-15). We are to love Him and serve Him with all our hearts (Dt. 10:12). In everything we do, we are to do it as service to Jesus; because we receive our rewards from Him - We serve the Lord Christ (Col 3:23-24).

In the New Testament, we are now friends of Jesus, co-heirs to the Kingdom of God, and adopted children of Almighty God. However, as the Apostle Paul stated, we should make ourselves bond servants of the Lord Jesus. Out of our love and affection for Him and all He did for us, we should want to serve Him with gladness! What a joy it is to serve The Lord!

We must guard against being self serving. The flesh does not want to serve, but rather it wants to be served. The carnal man does not to give, he wants to take. Paul said to watch for those who do and say some good things, but they only serve their flesh (Rom 16:17-18). He said of himself, that if he did not yield to the spirit of God, his flesh would serve the law of sin (Rom 7:24-25). The self serving flesh only asks what can I get; instead of what can I give (Mal 3:13-14). We must yield to The Spirit of God, and crucify our flesh daily, so that we may be God serving instead of self serving. We are made to serve God (Eph 2:10, Heb 9:14, 12:28, Titus 2:14), as Jesus gave us example (Mt 25:33-46, Jn 13:4-15, Philp 2:2-11).

How shall we serve God? In gladness! The Hebrew word means with blithesome glee, joyfully, rejoicing, in pleasure. That is how we serve God. We are not to serve Him grudgingly with a hard heart that is far from Him. Our hearts must be behind our service. Yes, we should serve God out of obedience, but He looks upon the heart (Isa 1:11-20, Dt 28:45-47, 1Sam 16:7). When our heart is right with God, it will result in service to Him.

Here are just a few verses about being glad in the Lord: Ps 32:11, 35:27, 64:10, 68:3, 92:4, 104:34, 122:1, 126:3, Philp 4:4. A thankful person is a happy person. An unthankful person is an unhappy person. Be thankful always to God. Be glad to serve Him. Rejoice in all He has done. Be a servant and be happy. This is a necessary key to living the overcoming life. Conquer depression and boredom. Drive away the blues. Do it all by being a glad, thankful servant of God. Self service equals no joy; God service equals know joy. Incorporate this second key into your life, and see what changes it will bring. Until next time, rejoice in The Lord!