Our Father and our God, we want to say a big thank You for the joy of a new beginning; thank You for the journey so far, thank You for Your faithfulness, thank You for Your blessedness, thank You for Your generosity, thank You for walking side by side with us, thank You for not allowing the gate of hell to prevail, accept our praises in the mighty name of Jesus.
Thank You for all that You have done in the past, thank You for what You are doing, thank You for what You will yet do, thank You because You will never leave us stranded, accept our praises in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thank You for this brand new month, it is Your doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Lord, we pray that it shall be a month of great manifestation indeed in our lives in Jesus name. You will move every mountain, You will fill every valley, You will do great things in the mighty name of Jesus. You will visit Your people afresh, You will accomplish newness in every way in the mighty name of Jesus.
In this service today, Father, please move like never before, take all the glory. We pray for all Your children who have been faithful in the payments of their tithes and the giving of the offerings, my Father and my God, I pray that You will always remember them for good in Jesus name. You will make them a delightsome land in Jesus name.
I pray for those who have not had the privilege, Lord in the name of Jesus, in Your own supernatural way, please encounter them in Jesus. Thank You for everything, in Jesus mighty name we prayed.
I welcome every one of you with the joy of the Lord and I wish you a very glorious month of newness. You know what August represents in the life of our vision, it is the end of a year and the beginning of a new one. I pray in the name of Jesus that from now on, God will begin to do new things in your life in Jesus name. And whatever needs to be settled, before this month runs out, whatever that is still outstanding, the Lord Almighty will not allow you to carry over in Jesus name. You will have your blessings in full and it shall be well with you.
[Birthday Celebration]
Please permit me to specially recognize our national elder and his wife, Pastor and Pastor (Mrs.) Ayo Wayas. Thank you very much for coming, their daughter will be getting married in three weeks time, so they need our prayers, they need our support. Please, whatever way you can be of support to them, please don’t hesitate. The Lord will bless you in Jesus name.
Like I told you, the annual convention begins tomorrow; for ministers, it has started already, and because of the intensity of the program and the fact that all of us attention will be required, there will be no weekly services in the course of this week. From tomorrow all through Thursday, there won’t be any weekly service, the next service we’ll have here by the grace of God will be by next week Sunday, and Monday next week too, there won’t be service.
So I want to encourage every one of us to be part of the program. The theme is The Mountain Movers. In Zechariah 4:6, the Bible says, “Who art thou mountain before Zerubbabel; I decree in the name of Jesus that every mountain like situation in your life shall be moved in Jesus name. So we encourage every one of you to be fully involved, if for any reason you cannot be there physically, at least do yourself that favor of being part of the online participants. The Lord will bless you mightily in Jesus name.
As usual, we’ll be expecting our daddy in the Lord to speak to us very shortly, but before then, we’ll serve you with what you call the appetizer. As soon as he comes, we have to quit so that he will take the center stage, and the Lord will bless us in the name of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 28: 47 & 48, because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 48Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. My prayer for everyone under the influence of my voice today is that you will not serve your enemies.
It’s a terrible thing for a man to serve his enemy because you can never serve him satisfactorily. I pray once again for you that you will never serve your enemies in Jesus name.
Last Thanksgiving service we talked about the Value of Contentment and we defined contentment as the inner sufficiency. It is not a reflection of having everything that you want but that inner satisfaction with what you have got, and we also shared with us that contentment is a bedrock of gratitude.
Because when you see those who are contented, they always appreciate God for whatever they have, and consequently, God is always there for them to hear and answer their prayers and of course to enlarge their coast.
Today by the grace of God, I’ll be talking to us on “Thankfulness, the Secret to Godliness.” Thankfulness is the warm glad feeling of being pleased, aware and grateful for good things. Thankfulness means saying thank you when someone helps you or when something good happens to you, while Godliness means devotion and living a life that aligns with God’s standards, wishes and character. It is the quality of being godly, showing deep respect, profound respect for the divine.
When I talk about the divine, we talk about things that have to do with the Almighty God and acting with moral goodness in our everyday life, is also being like God, acting out God’s love because when I say it’s being like God, somebody will say can we be like God? Yes, God wants us to be like Him, He said we should follow in His steps.
As a matter of fact, He has made a better provision to do greater things that He did, so is being like God, acting out God’s love, kindness and truth in our daily thoughts and actions. And I want to say that godliness embodies the eternal values such as righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Ghost.
Godliness is the sum total of a kingdom lifestyle. When you talk about a kingdom lifestyle, talk about kingdoms living, you talk the sum total of a kingdom lifestyle is godliness, and it is thankfulness that unlocks the kingdom of God and His blessings while murmurings shut down the Holy Spirit. It shuts down the Holy Spirit from guiding, it shuts down the Holy Spirit for revealing, it shuts down the Holy Spirit from encouraging or encouragement, and of course, it shuts down the Holy Spirit from ministering to us, and that’s why it’s a dangerous thing for a man to always murmur, you complain, do you know what you are doing invariably? That’s shutting the door against yourself.
And I pray today in the mighty name of Jesus that by His grace, every door that has been shut against any one of us shall be opened in the name of Jesus Christ.
Today I would like to share with you (very quickly) what I call spiritual principles or divine keys to unlocking the wonderful secret about thanksgiving, bringing contentment to our space in our walk with God.
Whatever a few of them we are able to cover, fine before daddy comes on board, if it is two if it is three, and if God permits we’re able to take it all, all to the glory of God. Key number one is the key of gratitude, a heart of thanksgiving.
In the scripture we read, that is Deuteronomy 28: 47 & 48, there we can see a glimpse of the Israelites, the same children of Israel taking for granted the blessings of God and they began to lose their joy. I pray today in the name of Jesus, you will not lose joy. It’s a terrible thing for a man or a woman to lose joy, because there is no way you can lose joy and remain healthy.
They complained and they began to lose joy, and of course when joy is lost, murmuring will come in, complain will come in, and all of these happened because they failed to appreciate what God has done for them. And the moment they started complaining, God stopped their blessings, God paused their blessings. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that you will not be among those whose blessings shall be paused in the name of Jesus Christ.
Brethren, failure to appreciate God’s blessing with a happy heart comes with terrible consequences. I want you to let that sink. Failure to appreciate the goodness of God, the blessings of God with a happy heart comes with terrible consequences. We are all humans, when you treat somebody nice, you expect at least a thank you. In our local parlance, (I may not be able to interpret that), won a ni yinniyinni, ki o le se imii. In other words, one good turn deserves another, I don’t know whether that will fit into it.
It is easy for us to allow an attitude of discontentment and taking God for granted to cause our hearts to grow cold, a lot of people are cold today, their hearts are cold. Why? Because they take for granted the things that God has done for them, they are never contented, they always look at what other people have, forgetting the fact that no two people are called into the same race. Separate we came and separate we will go, don’t allow complaints and murmurings to make your heart to grow cold.
Because thanksgiving on the other hand honors and appreciates God, which of course open the doors to His supernatural manifestations, there’s no way you bless God, there’s no way you count your blessings one by one that God will not bless you anymore. In Psalm 67: 6, it says when we praise God, heaven will yield her increase. So the key to connecting to the heavens is the key of gratitude.
Number two, thanksgiving satisfies the atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to move. In 2 Corinthians 2: 14 – 16, it says, “Now thanks be unto our God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. 15For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish”.
Brethren, there are aromas that surround every believer’s life; you carry an aroma, I carry an aroma, and that aroma is of Christ, is personalized, and that is part of what believer carries as their protective weapons because even when the demon smells that aroma, they say this one is a no-go area.
A positive attitude of gratitude brings what I call a centered aroma of Christ that attracts the Holy Spirit. When you carry the Holy Spirit, the devil cannot come near you, and a positive attitude of gratitude attracts the Holy Spirit. How many of you will want to attract the Holy Spirit today? All you need to do is just by adopting that positive attitude of gratitude everywhere you find yourself.
If you cannot do it to people you see, you cannot do it to God you have not seen. Say thank you to your husbands, say thank you to your wives, say thank you to your parents, say thank you to your daddies when they pay your school fees, it’s not easy; when people give you things, say thank you to them, even your domestic staff when they serve you, say thank you. Thanksgiving has no boundary. I pray in the name of Jesus that God will give us the grace to imbibe that positive attitude from today in the name of Jesus Christ.
In contrast, when we murmur all the time, we attract what I call the demonic realm into our space. Bible tells us that a broken spirit dries the bones; when you murmur, spirit is broken, then you invite demonic realm into your atmosphere, sickness takes over. So it is only through thanksgiving and worship that we’re able to cleanse that dark atmosphere in our space, allowing the Holy Spirit to move to accomplish His works in our lives.
Number three, thanksgiving is the highest expression of faith. Romans 4: 20- 22, it says he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Brethren, as thankfulness is the highest expression of faith, conversely, complaining is the highest expression of unbelief. Show me a complainer, you will show me an ingrate, he’s never satisfied with what he has, but the truth is thanksgiving gives glory to God just like Abraham did.
Brethren, all that God desires in return for the sacrifice Jesus made for us at the cross is for us to be grateful. There’s one of our father who happens to be in the house, he starts his every conversation with ‘thank You Jesus’, if he’s writing to you the first line, the first sentence is ‘thank You Jesus’, when he’s coming to preach, the first thing he’s going to say is ‘thank you Jesus’.
Can somebody say it loud and clear, say ‘thank You Jesus’, is a good thing to say, it’s a good aroma and it comes to God as a sweet smelling savor. Thank You, Jesus, a songwriter says ‘Thank You, Jesus, thank You, I have nothing to give You but to say thank You Lord, thank You, Jesus, thank You’.
Jesus Himself demonstrated this to us that thanksgiving is the highest expression of faith. When you read John 6: 4 – 14, before multiplying the bread and the fish, the Bible says He lifted it and gave thanks to God, and what happened after giving thanks? The whole thing became multiplied.
Thanksgiving is a tool for divine multiplication; it causes what is not enough to become more than enough, it brings enlargement, it brings satisfaction. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that as you brace that spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude today, you will experience monumental multiplication and enlargement in the name of Jesus.
Number four, being thankful is being in the will of God. First Thessalonians 5: 16 – 19, it says, rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you. Being thankful is being in the will of God.\
Do you want to know the will of God for your life? Then go back to that scripture, God’s will for your life is in 16, number one is to rejoice evermore; verse 17, you pray without ceasing; verse 18 give thanks. Are you satisfied? What else do I need to say? Thank You, Jesus. So if you go to 19, it will interest you, let’s see what 19 says, it says quench not the Spirit, anything outside of this is doing what?
Can you quench the Spirit to your advantage or to your disadvantage? My prayer is that you will not be the one that will undo yourself, you will not short-change yourself in the mighty name of Jesus.
Look, the sacrifice of thanksgiving keeps us under an open heaven, while negativity and murmuring quench the Spirit, hindering the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The fact remains that God can turn every situation around in an atmosphere of gratitude. If you read the Bible, there are many cases where God turns situation around. And I pray that today as you praise Him, He will turn your situation around in Jesus name.
Shall we rise on our feet? Shall we just worship God this morning? Can you please pray to God, Father, give me that attitude of thanksgiving, I don’t want to be the one that will hurt myself, I don’t want to undo myself, I don’t want to quench the Spirit. Father, help me Lord Almighty God to connect to Your Holy Spirit, to be the carrier of Your Holy Spirit in the mighty name of Jesus. Let Your word find place, space, adequate space in my heart in the name of Jesus.
And if you are here today, you’ve never at any point in time given your life to Christ, I want to beseech you, this might be the best time. The Bible says the sacrifice of a sinner is an abomination to God.
[Altar call]
You are not here by accident, Holy Spirit brought you here so that your life can be turned around. It’s a season of transformation, God wants to transform your life, He wants to repackage your life. It is unto God you have come and not unto man, and I can assure you your life will not remain the same from today, you will receive mercy, you will find grace in the mighty name of Jesus.
Everything will take a new turn for your life from today in the name of Jesus. God will arrange your path with that heart of gratitude, and as you begin to show gratitude to God, God will continue to expand you more and more, bless you more and more in the name of Jesus. It is well with you today, it is well with you forever.
And for the rest of us, I pray receive the right Spirit for joyful living in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you in Jesus name. You may please be seated.
