Transcript: Seeing With Gratitude
Prepared from the audio, so small errors are possible.
The experience is a meeting organized by the Disciples Christian Network. Be a man encounter God, his presence and his power in an atmosphere of worship and the word. Join apostle Emmanuel as he leads us into an experience with God. Let's get right into the word. Very short, very brief exhortation. As we close the year, in something that I've titled, seeing with gratitude. Seen with Seen. With gratitude. Gratitude. First Thessalonians chapter five verse 16 and verse 18.
Thank you lord Jesus. Rejoice always. Rejoice. Always. Verse 18. In everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. For you. Psalms 100 from verse four to verse five. Enter his gates with thanksgiving.
And his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. And his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 103 from verse one to verse two. Praise the Lord, my soul. All my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the lord my soul and forget not all his benefits. First Chronicles 16 and verse 34.
Give thanks to the Lord for his good. And his love endures forever. Psalm 107 and verse one. The same thing, give thanks to the Lord for his good. And his love endures forever. Ephesians chapter five eighteen to verse 20. Be filled with the spirit. Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord. Always giving thanks to God, the father for everything.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians three and verse 17. And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus. Giving thanks to God the father through him. And lastly, Philippians chapter four and verse six. Do not be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. There is a cry that rises from the heart of many this year as the year draws to a close. And it is the question, what do I have to be thankful for? I mean, I'm hearing testimonies here and there, but my plans have collapsed. The doors have remained shut.
The promises seem delayed in manifestation. The expectations were buried under the weight of disappointment. And Now you are being told to give thanks, not for good things that happened, but for all things, in all things. That means even in the rooms, give thanks. Even in the losses, give thanks. Even in the silence where you expected answers, give thanks. Even in the promises that has been slowing manifestation, give thanks. Even in what seems to be delayed, give thanks. Because the bible does not say, in good things, give thanks. The bible says, in all things, give thanks.
And if you do not understand the mystery that I'm about to unveil to you in this short period, you'll be at a loss for why the bible would instruct you to give thanks in things that are not pleasurable, that are not pleasant. I mean, how can you tell me that a man's life has probably been filled from disappointment to one disappointment January up on the December day and tell him give thanks in all things. Rejoice always. You don't say rejoice always and then when something happens, be sad. Always is always. In good times, in bad times, rejoice always. And the reason why a lot of us will be confused as to why the bible instructs us to do this is because we don't know that gratitude is forced a way of sin before it is a way of speaking. When you think about gratitude, what comes to mind is what you say, what you do, the dances, the songs that we sing. That's the reason why we can be happy and singing and dancing and praising God like this like we're just doing now. Worshiping God like we're just doing now.
And somebody is confused as to why we have to do that because he's thinking about his life and doesn't see any reason why he should dance or why he should sing or why he should speak. So even if he thank God, he begins to wonder for what? And the reason for this confusion is because we don't know that gratitude is first a way of seeing before it is a way of speaking. Many believers think that thanksgiving begins with their mouth. They believe that thanksgiving begins with what they do. But in scriptures, thanksgiving begins with the highs. Gratitude begins with the highs. Until the highs are trained to see rightly, the mouth will struggle to give thanks honestly. That is why two people can stand in the same season, under the same pressure, experiencing similar losses. Yet one is overflowing with thanksgiving, while the other one is sinking into sorrow.
Yet they are going through the same experiences. Experiencing probably even similar losses, similar pressure on every side, pressed on every side. And the other one thanks God genuinely, but the other one is depressed and is sorrowful. And you begin to wonder, but both of us went for the job interview. Both of us lost the job. They didn't call both of us back, but you seem to be happy. You seem to be giving thanks to God. There seem to be gratitude in your approach to life. But brother, what is the problem? But the problem is that that young guy does not know that gratitude is first a way of seeing.
And by that I mean, it is first a way you see everything that happens to you. Glory to God. Amen. The difference in those two people is not circumstances. The difference is perception. Gratitude is not denial of pain. It is the discernment of purpose. And the apostle Paul writes in first Thessalonians chapter five verse 18 that we read, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I want you to read this thing together with me everybody as long as you can see it. One, two, three, go.
Now this instruction is quite radical. Quite radical because it doesn't say for everything, you think. Because if you had said for everything, give thanks, it would mean that for whatever happens to you, give thanks. As though evil itself is meant to be celebrated. It says in everything, meaning with every condition, every season, every outcome, there is a vantage point from which God can be acknowledged, honored, and trusted. Thanksgiving, you see, is not a response to comfort. Thanksgiving is alignment to the will of God. Because Paul does not tie gratitude to success. Paul does not tie gratitude to breakthrough. He doesn't tie gratitude to answered prayer.
He doesn't say when your prayer becomes answered, give thanks. When you become successful, give thanks. When things work out well for you, give thanks. Paul ties thanksgiving to Christ. He says, for this is the will of God in Christ for you. What is the will of God in Christ for you? Thanksgiving in everything. So it ties thanksgiving to Christ. It means gratitude is Christ centered. It is not outcome centered.
For the outcome is not what determines your gratitude. It is your knowledge of Christ that does. Say it with me. The outcome is not what determines my gratitude. It is the knowledge of Christ that does. When you go back to the beginning and trace how God has always trained his people to see beyond immediate outcomes, you'll find that God himself exemplified this in Genesis chapter one from verse two to verse three. The bible says the earth was without form. The earth was void. Darkness was upon the face of the deep. Then God said, let there be light.
Notice that before God ever corrected formlessness, before God ever filled emptiness, the first thing that he did was to introduce light. Light precedes structure. Light precedes clarity. Light precedes fruitfulness. Gratitude functions the same way that light functions in creation. When everything still looks chaotic, thanksgiving introduces divine illumination. It does not immediately change the terrain, but it changes how you see the terrain. And that becomes the beginning of the miracle. Are you with me brothers and sisters? That's the reason why thanksgiving is repeatedly connected to understanding in scriptures.
Psalms chapter 47 from verse one to verse nine. Read everything. The bible says, oh, clap your hands all of you peoples. Shout to God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is awesome. Go back to verse one. I want you to see this carefully. Clap your hands all of you peoples. Shout to God with the voice of triumph. Are you shouting to God and clapping your hand because of what God has done?
Do we shout and clap because of what God has done? Yes. We do. Oh, you see. Now we do. That's the reason why we say testimonies. That's the reason why we clap our hands when somebody say testimonies. When God is good, we clap our hands. When God has healed someone, we clap our hands. When somebody experienced the transformation, we clap our hands.
So we rejoice and we celebrate because of what God has done. But you see, it introduces first. Clapping your hands, shouting to God, not because of what he has done, but because of who he is. It means that gratitude begins by what you know about God, not the outcome of your life. That's what the scripture introduces. Shout to God with the voice of triumph. Why? Next verse. For the Lord most high is awesome. Why are we shouting?
God is awesome. If you cannot shout because God is awesome, you don't understand gratitude. If you wait to shout when your own testimony comes, you don't understand gratitude. If you're waiting for a miracle before thanking God, you don't understand gratitude. Because you see, the bible says, the Lord most high is awesome. He's a great king over all the earth. Our God is an awesome If you're not excited because you're just praising God, something is wrong with you. Because this is where gratitude begins. For God is awesome. Not because he has done you well.
For God is awesome. Not because he has given you a house. For God is awesome. Not because he has given you a child. For God is awesome. Does the Bible not say single barren? Not sing because you are barren. If Paul had said, for everything, give thanks, then you would have been singing because you were barren. You'd have been saying thank you, God, because I am barren. Mm-mm.
It says, in everything. In other words, in that experience, in that situation, not for that situation. In it, give thanks. In it, give thanks. You give thanks because you know that God is good. Because you know that God is awesome. Because you know that he's king that reigns above all the earth. He's a great king over all the earth. Look at the next verse. Now the bible is going to what he will do.
You see, Now the bible is going to performance. But the reason why we are praising and shouting is not because of the performance, it's first because of who he is. He will subdue the peoples under us and the nations under our feet. But is this when we sing? No. It begins by the singing. It begins by the shouting. Next verse. He will choose our inheritance for us. The excellence of Jacob whom he loves.
Next verse. God has gone up with a shout. The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. He then says in verse six, sing praises to God. Sing praises. Sing praises to our king. Sing praises. Are you seeing that? Look at why he says we should sing praise again. Next verse.
One, two, three. Go. Can you see? Everywhere we are singing praises is not because of what he does. Everywhere we are singing praises, everywhere we are thanking him is not forced because of what he does. You need to understand this. You throw your depression away. You throw the afflictions away. You throw the problems away, and you say, in everything, give thanks. Give thanks.
Look at the next verse. God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. Next verse. The princes of the people have gathered together. The people of the God of Abraham for the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted. Can you see this majestic God? Because if you can see him, then what flows out of you is praises, gratitude, thanksgiving. This is the pattern all through scriptures.
It says, for God is the king of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding. It begins with what you see. It begins with understanding. Enlightened eyes to see beyond whatever circumstances you might be in. Are you with me? Because gratitude, you see, arranges the inner world of the man. It aligns your heart. It tests your expectations. It repositions you to see salvation unfolding even if it has not yet fully manifested.
And many people struggle to give thanks at the end of the year because they are measuring their life by unmet expectations rather than by divine preservation. They are looking at what did not happen instead of looking at what did not destroy them. But scripture teaches us that the fact that you are alive alone is a testimony. Have you not read your bible? Lamentations chapter three twenty two to 23. It is by the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. It is by the Lord's mercy. We are not consumed. It is by the Lord's mercy. We are not consumed.
Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. It then goes again. Great is your faithfulness. In other words, the fact that you are alive, the fact that you have not been consumed is a reason to realize that it is because God is faithful. The fact that you have traveled severally and you have not become the victims of the many horrors of the land. Is it not in this year that a sovereign nation wanted to invade another sovereign nation because of the insecurity we had in Nigeria and killings everywhere. No longer became safe to travel. Regulations here and there. Kidnappings here and there.
Lots of fire outbreaks, and just so many things happening. So many things happening, but it is by the Lord's mercies you're not consumed. I was speaking to a colleague who works with me. We're in a different country over a phone call, and we're talking. And we moved into the matters of faith. And as we were discussing the matters of faith, she started referencing how, you know, in their country, they have many gods they worship, many idols they worship. And that even in all of this, there is no assurance of preservation or security. And I said, really? And I started sharing with her the beauty of the exemption we experience because we are in Christ. And she was listening.
Not as though she was interested in what I was saying, but I was I was speaking regardless. When I was done, she just carelessly dismissed what I had said. A month half, you saw the news that there was a cyclone in their country. You know what a cyclone is? Sorry. There was a cyclone in their country. The last time their country experienced any such thing was in 2003 when a tsunami happened. And this was probably 50 times worse than the previous tsunami they had in 2003. The cyclone claimed the lives of literally tens of thousands of people in the city she was living in. Houses were crashing down, collapsing, left, right.
When I got in the call with her, she said, what she was remembering was what I said and not any of the gods she worships. She said she did not know when she started saying, Jesus. It is by the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. It is by the Lord's mercy. We are not consumed. Great is your faithfulness. His compassions fail not. So do you realize that even the air you breathe is a gift from God? Are you grateful for even that? How do you know that when this scripture was being written, it was not written from a place of victory?
It wasn't written from a place of restoration even. When the scripture was written, it was written in ruins. Jerusalem was in ruins. The people were in judgement. The future looked uncertain. Yet Jeremiah's eyes saw mercy where others only saw devastation. It was in the midst of ruins. They had just invaded Israel, plundered Israel. Israel was consumed. Fire burned everywhere.
And Jeremiah sat down, looked around, looked at everywhere, and said it is by the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. For his compassions, they fail not. The gratitude of Jeremiah did not ignore the runes and the rubbles. No. He did not. It only simply disowned mercy. It saw mercy within the rumble. It saw mercy within the rooms. It means that if you are inside that situation, the same way Israel was... Had just been plundered, and a man could see mercy inside plunder.
You see therefore, that gratitude does not begin with what your mouth says. It begins with what your eyes sees. Are you with me? Sitting in the ruins of Jerusalem, city was destroyed. Temple was burnt. People were in exile. The promises of God seemed shattered. Yeah. This guy's eyes found mercy where others only saw devastation. The guy knew that being alive itself is a testimony.
The fact that you are still standing after everything that tried to destroy you is the evidence of God's faithfulness. Jeremiah is saying, all these things try to destroy me, but I'm still standing. God is faithful. God is faithful. Somebody met me some time ago and the person said, Apostolina, have not had a job all through this year. Why is my life like this? And the person went a whole fifteen minutes just complaining, just complaining, just giving all kinds of complaints. And I was listening. And I asked him a question. I said, you've not had a job all through this year?
He said, yes. How then were you surviving? How did you eat? Where do you live? I live by myself. So how did you eat? Why have you not died of hunger? Barring her on the street, looking for a place to live. Then he sat down. He said, can you tell me...
Explain to me how you have been eating in this year. He thought about it deeply and couldn't find any explanation. He said, people just come around. They just give me food. Go out with my friends. They buy things for me. Every day, I always have food to eat. Say, ah, how was your rent paid? He said one of my friends just came around. I was just telling that guy, I didn't find where to live and send me the assurance there the following day.
I said that all of these things, you don't see God's faithfulness inside of it. Gratitude begins with how you see. And all you can see is is is death. All you can see. All you can see is disappointment. You can't see how the hand of God preserved you. You can't see how the hand of God delivered you. You can't see the training happening with you. You can't see that you are in the furnace of affliction. Perhaps what you call disappointment is simply a training.
Perhaps what you call sorrow is simply a furnace where God is forging gold or cleansing impurities. Can you see what God is doing? That's the question. Can you see? Can you see? Habakkuk chapter three from verse 17 to verse 19. Look at what the Bible says. Though the fig tree may not blossom. Nor fruit be on the vines. Can we read it together, everybody?
Everybody, one, two, three, go. Give me NLT. NLT. Go back to verse 17. Give me NLT. One, two, three, go. Next verse. Us. Does it say I will rejoice for the circumstances? Are you seeing him again?
I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. My God. What? Verse 19. One, two, three, go. It's okay now. The Bible does finish. Look at what this young man is seeing. Though the victory may not blow up.
Though the fields are empty and burning. Though the forest is cut down. He says, I will rejoice. I will praise the God of my salvation. What am I saying? The Lord God is my strength. So even though the field... The the fig tree are cut down, this guy is seeing God as his strength. Even though the fields are permanent empty, what he's saying is God making his feet like their feet. Making him walk on high heels.
The reason why you're not grateful is not because good things haven't happened to you. It's because you are blind. This is complete economic collapse that Habakkuk is listing. There's no harvest. There's no income. There's no livestock. There's no visible provision. Everything that was supposed to produce has failed. Every expectation has been buried. The year has ended in total loss, yet his response is not despair.
His response is defiance. Defiance thanksgiving. Yet I will rejoice, not because things are fine, not because he's pretending that the loss did not happen, but because his joy is anchored in God himself, not in what God gives. Are you with me? Not this. Abako never said, I will rejoice when the fig tree blossoms again. He says, I will rejoice though the fig tree did not blossom. This is covenant thinking. This is covenant sin. Are you with me?
This is not circumstantial sin. He's separating God's character from his current condition. He's saying, God is my salvation whether the harvest comes or not. He's saying, God is my strength whether provision appears or not. He's saying, God will make me work on high places whether the year ended in victory or defeat. He has made my feet like hinds feet. Proverbs chapter three from verse five to verse six. The Bible says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. Lean not on your own understanding.
This means there will be moment when God's actions in your life might not even make sense to you. There will be seasons where his timing might contradict your expectations. There will be years that hang without the clarity you wanted. But thanksgiving is the posture that acknowledges him even when you don't understand him. It is trust that operates even in the dark. And Jesus himself taught this mystery when he was feeding the 5,000. In John chapter six and verse 11, the bible says, and Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples. Notice the other. He gave thanks before the multiplication happened. He did not wait for the abundance to be visible before thanksgiving was offered.
He gave thanks before the multiplication happened. Thanksgiving will always precede increase. It won't come after increase. It precedes increase. Gratitude did not respond to the miracle. It provokes the miracle. Many believers are waiting for reasons to be thankful, but scripture shows that thanksgiving often create the environment for God's power to move. That when a man becomes depressed and sorrowful, you are creating an atmosphere around your life that is pungent to the operation of God's power. Thanksgiving creates an atmosphere. Gratitude creates an atmosphere.
That's why in everything, you have to be grateful. Because one of the things you are doing is that you are creating the environment for God's power to operate. Because you have to see the move of the spirit of God in the life of believers is atmosphere driven many a times. And you have to create them at the atmosphere that is conducive for the operation of power around your life. An aura conducive for the power of God to move around your life. And when you go around gloomy, when you go around depressed, when you go around sorrowful, when you go around sad, just because things did not happen as you have planned it. What happens is that you are creating a content atmosphere, an atmosphere that allows for demons to operate freely. So what you see in your life is more bad luck happening, more evil happening, more reasons to be depressed. Are you with me? Because that is the atmosphere you are creating.
That's what many people don't know. When somebody passes a critter and you throw... And you just find it outside, you find it on the bush, usually, you would find flies around it. Is that not so? When your place is dirty, what do you find there? Flies. There are some insects that you always find in the toilet, those tiny mosquito looking insects. You know what I'm talking about? Those things. You find them in dirty toilets.
You find them because you know why you find them there? The atmosphere is conducive for them to flourish because that's what they eat. Do you understand what I'm saying? That's what they feed on. And so they would not be where there is no food to eat. The bible says where the carcass is, there the eagles gather. It is an operation of the spirit that wherever the atmosphere is conducive for spirits to flow, you find the spirits flowing. So if the atmosphere is conducive for demons to flow, you find demons perching because it is conducive for them. You see, the promise, the cause upon the serpent is that dust will you heat. I've told you that there is no serpent that hits dust.
Man was made from the dust of the earth. So what that scripture was saying is the pain of man will become your satisfaction. It means the atmosphere that allows for demons to flourish is pain, sorrow, anguish, gloominess, depression. That's why when you are a sensitive person that goes to an hospital, you'd find several demons there. You can sense demons, the presence of demons there. Why? Because there is pain. There is sorrow. There is anguish. There is there is depression.
There is... It means when a man walks around and this is the atmosphere it carries, what you are saying is, I am shit. Flies come. That's what you're saying. Every simple thing that happens, your mood goes down. It's like a magnetic field. Like an antenna that is up. And radio waves being transferred. And spirits are sensing to listen. Who is calling?
Who is speaking our language? Who is communicating a thing? Who is saying come? Who is saying come? And the demon is passing on its own because he has no place to rest. The former occupant has received light. Light chafing it off. But this one, they just told her no in her place of work or where she wants to go and get a job or the promotion fell through. And she passes them. She's just passing, and there is depression and sorrow.
And she just say, why all these things happen to me? This? Why are they doing that? Why is it? And Neiman are saying, hey. Hey. I smell food somewhere. You know how you can use your nose and trace where suya is burning? You start... You'll be in your room and you say, hey, somebody, somebody is.
Somebody is burning suya somewhere. And depending on how the... How much the thing is calling you, you can leave your house not knowing where the suya is being burnt. And you... Jesus. That's how some people's life call demons today. I know exactly how some people's life call angels to them. It is why the bible continually instructs, rejoice. Rejoice. The joy of the lord.
It is because it creates an atmosphere. Listen. When evil happens, the bible says rejoice. In all things, give thanks. Because even if God wants to operate, God wants to deliver, God wants to break through, there's an atmosphere that God is reliant on. That one will pass through your life, but you're not giving us space to pass through. Because this atmosphere you have created is pointing to my operations. Again and again, you will find it. Rejoice. Gratitude.
Not fall. In. In. I'll bless the Lord at all times. In at all times. In. I get a good job. Oh, glory to God. In. You see, I wanna submit the proposal, and I get that proposal.
Proposal approved, and I get the contract. Millions of naira. Oh, glory to God. Oh, glory to God. God, you are good. In. For some reason, the contract fell through. God was still good. Your circumstances does not alter the nature of God. His nature is consistent.
He is good yesterday, today, and forever. He's awesome yesterday, today, and forever. It will always be good. Your circumstances regardless. It means you must train your eyes to see rightly. What did I say? Because gratitude creates the environment for God's power to move. What did I say? We think it's the other way around. That God's power will move, then I will now be grateful.
That's why the bible says, be anxious for nothing. That instruction is very important because what you are going in for is answered prayers. And he's saying, listen, when what you want is answered prayers, don't be anxious. Anxiety is antagonistic to the answer to that prayer. Be anxious for nothing. It's not a gift than instruction. Refuse anxiety. It's a command. Refuse anxiety. Say, ah, but look at my age, and I'm not married.
Men are not coming to me. Is there is something wrong with me? Is there a problem? But, God, but, God, you said you will settle me. It's not yet my time. Why? What is happening like this? Be anxious for nothing. It is which of you by worrying can add a single cubic to his life? For nothing.
Somebody say for nothing. For nothing. The God who said for nothing knows that there are times where there are problems. Yet it still says they're for nothing. An instruction is a choice therefore not to be anxious. What did I say? It says, but in everything with prayers and supplications, with thanksgiving. In other words, it doesn't say when the prayer becomes answered, offer thanksgiving. It says, offer the prayers with thanksgiving. It means thanksgiving is part of what you are using in the offering of the prayers.
You know why? In fact, go to that scripture. One, three, go everybody. Uh-huh. Not the propositions that are there, but in everything by prayer and supplication. So what do you do in everything? Prayer and supplication. How do you offer prayer and supplication? With thanksgiving. What is the meaning of the with?
It means thanksgiving is the vehicle that carries prayer and supplication. That's the meaning of with. It means prayer and supplication is carried with thanksgiving. Reverend responds when thanksgiving is the atmosphere that carries the prayer and the supplication. You then see why Jesus began by breaking the bread. But before he breaks the bread, what did he say? The bible says he gave thanks. Jesus himself exemplified that principle that what I want is multiplication, but the first is an atmosphere. He gave thanks. He gave thanks.
You see the same pattern at the tomb of Lazarus in John chapter 11 from verse 41 to verse 42. Jesus was speaking, and he got to the tomb of Lazarus, and he was praying. And he says, father, I thank you that you have heard me, and I know that you always hear me. I hope you know that Lavolo was still dead when Jesus was giving thanks. The stone had not yet been removed, but Jesus was giving thanks. The miracle had not yet manifested. Yet Jesus still thanks God in advance because gratitude is an expression of confidence in the God that you serve. The attitude is not the reaction to visible outcomes. It's an expression that I'm confident in the God that I serve, that this thing cannot kill me. What gratitude says is that God is faithful even now.
So for the believer at the end of the year who feels disappointed, who feels weary, who feels sorrowful, gratitude becomes an act of spiritual warfare. Remember that scripture? That though the tree may not blossom, the vines might not have any vines, but I will rejoice. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. This is covenant thinking. In the midst of agricultural collapse, economic failures, visible losses, it then hand causes joy in God himself. And many believers are sorrowful at the end of the year because they are counting what they have lost instead of recognizing what tried to take them out but failed because they cannot see. They are focusing on the doors that closed instead of understanding that every closed door that they even survived is proof that God has a door ahead of them that requires that door being closed for it to open. A family that endured loss can give thanks because preservation is still evidence of grace. Gratitude does not say everything is fine.
Gratitude says God is still faithful. Are you with me brothers and sisters? This is why the bible warns against ingratitude as a spiritual danger. In Romans chapter one verse 21, Paul was the one speaking. And Paul says, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. Nor were thankful. But became futile in their thoughts. And their foolish hearts were darkened. That's what happens to a man who is ungrateful. That's what happens to a man who lives life without acknowledging God.
Ingratitude darkens your understanding. But thanksgiving keeps your revelation alive. And when gratitude disappears, then your confusion will increase. When gratitude comes into your life, clarity becomes the order of the day. And when you start seeing with the height of gratitude, you start interpreting life from the perspective of eternity. You recognize that seasons may pass, but God remains faithful. You recognize that years may hang, but the covenant that God has made over your life continues. Plans may fail, but the purposes of God is still preserved. Thanksgiving is the language of those who know that God is still moving. God is still writing the story of their life.
Even if the chapter feels unfinished, they know that my life is not yet done. It cannot end there because the bible says better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. So this cannot be my end because it's not yet better. The Bible says a little one shall become a thousand. A strong one, a great nation. Thou shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side. It means if I've not seen the manifestation of these things in my life, God is not yet done with me. So this cannot be my end. I cannot logically conclude that God is done with me. There's no logic to it.
Are you with brothers and sisters? Gratitude at the end of the year is not celebration of outcomes. It is a declaration of trust. I might not understand everything that has happened to me in this year, but I acknowledge that God you are good. I acknowledge that you are wise. I acknowledge that you are faithful. And in Psalm 100 verse four, the bible says enter into his gate with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. It is access. It opens the door to deeper communion, to clearer vision, to renew strength for seasons ahead. Gratitude teaches the believer to not just see what life took from you, but what God kept, what he thought, what he prevented, what he's still preparing.
And when your eyes begin to see rightly, your heart finds peace. Your mouth can give thanks in all things. Not because life was perfect, but because God was present inside the imperfection. Inside the imperfection. Thank you, Lord Jesus. This is what thanksgiving does. So the first assignment that a man has is to train his eyes to see rightly. One of my young ladies sent me a message, and she said, apostle, I was supposed to finish with a first class. And I had so planned my life such that the moment I finished with a first class, I start processing my journey abroad. There's one of my friends who is already there who did the same thing I wanted to do so I knew that it was gonna work.
All all I needed was a first class. And if... And in 100 level, my goal was on target. I was on the first class. 200 level, my goal was on target. I was on the first class. But in 300 level, I don't know what happened. My grades were not so bad, but weren't so good either. So I dropped from the first class I was on to a 3.49, which was 0.1 points away from the first class. So I had to leave final year to restore my scores.
And I read, I studied, I did all of that. But it wasn't so good. So I'm ending up with a 3.4 something CGPA, which defeats my intention of a first class. And that would mean that all my plans are now aborted. Now I can no longer go. Now I can no longer this. I'm just depressed. I'm just sorrowful. I was even speaking with my friend yesterday. He was advising me and telling me the steps he took to get to the country that he's now in and telling me, now that you have a first class, and I I I was just ashamed.
I was just there. Could not even tell him that I didn't have a first class, blah blah blah blah blah. And I also the frustration of Jesus. Every time Jesus would look at his disciples and say, oh, you of little faith. Every time Jesus would have to be the one to come and rescue them. I wonder, have I not given you the word? I told you go to the other side. I didn't tell you to come to the middle and die. But you reached the middle and then the storms are everywhere and you're already complaining. Can you not see the one who said go to the other side and hang on to that word?
When Jesus came, Jesus said, oh, you have... As though he was disappointed at them. As though he knew what... He he expected them to know what to do. What am I telling you? When your eyes see wrongly, all you will see are the evil things. It means that young individual never had faith in God. That young individual never saw God. He saw their intelligence. He saw their smartness.
And when the smartness betrayed, it became obvious where their real faith was. If you cannot see well, your interpretation of life will be so skewed. Gratitude prevents that. 10 lepers met with Jesus. And Jesus told all of them, go and show yourself to the priest. This was a ceremonial rite, actually, that Jesus told them to go do. And that's because the priest has to confirm that they've been healed. Sit down. Sit down, please. The priest had to confirm that they've been healed.
So Jesus told them, go show yourself to the priest even though nothing had happened. But they noticed that as they started to walk towards that area, their infirmities started leaving them. They started becoming healed. They started becoming cleansed. And immediately that they observed this, some of them scattered. Said, a lot immediately. But one of them said, ah, the healing has begun. I'm already getting cleansed too. Now turn back to Jesus, went back and found Jesus, and said, Jesus, even before I got to the priests, I found that my my wounds were already healed. And the bible said, he shouted with a loud voice.
He shouted with a loud voice and glorified God. Thank you, Lord Jesus. He shouted with the loud voice and did what? Amen. Next verse. Bible says, he fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. Then he was a Samaritan. I will open it another time. There's a mystery there. Put it sometime maybe next year.
Next verse. And Jesus answering said, were there not 10 cleansed, but where are the nine? That question will always puzzle me. It means when Jesus sent them away, he was expecting 10 of them back. Because even Jesus knew that the healing was not yet complete. Even though they had been cleansed, they had not been made whole. And there are two dimensions to this oneness. The first one is the oneness of the limbs itself. Because when you are lepros, what happens is that your your limbs begin to hit. Is that not so?
Begin to lose your body parts. Wounds everywhere. Losing your hand, losing your fingers, losing... Some, they lose an entire limb. Some lose fingers. Some lose toes, and it becomes open. An open wound, rotten, sometimes sore. And as he was going, what happened was that they were cleansed. It means this wound's closed up. Is that not so?
But that it closed up does not mean that the wound itself or the hand itself had grown back. Because if leprosy has eaten your hand from here and your hand remain here and you're still eating it, and on your way to the priest, you find out that your hand has sealed up. You still have one hand. You just healed. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's like someone that has a breast cancer, and one breast had to amputate it. But now there's no breast cancer. But you still have one... Do understand what I'm saying? That's exactly what happened there.
And the young man came back to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, but there were 10 of you. Where are the remaining nine? Look at the next verse. It says, they are not found and returned. One, three, go, to give glory to God. Save this stranger. It means they are coming back was to give glory to God. And there was none that came back, and many people are like that in life. Next verse.
And he said unto him, arise, go thy way by faith. If he was already cleansed, how come he still needed to be whole? The first dimension of wholeness was the growing back of the limbs. It means it became a whole human being back. It was at this point that the limbs shut out. It was at this point that the hands grew back, and nine of them missed this miracle. Are you with me? The second dimension of wholeness is everything that the leprosy are taken away from him. Because because of leprosy, he had lost relationships. A leprosy person could not interact with people.
Even your family will disown you. Put you outside of the camp because they don't want to be defiled. You cannot worship God with them in the temple. You can't have a business. You can't be employed. You are destined to poverty because you cannot work. Nobody will buy from you. Nobody will employ you. It means your only lot is to beg. Wholeness means that even that one was solved.
Wholeness means that everything that your life needs to be complete has been given. This was what nine people missed out of. That's why I said, gratitude is always the atmosphere that a man creates for God's power to move. And when you are engaging in gratitude, you thank God for even the littlest of things. Even the what? You are grateful to God that when you share your testimonies, somebody will think that it is the old word that was given to you. You mean it's a phone? Because you just got the phone. Somebody just gave you a phone. That's why you are thanking God like this.
You say, my guy, God is good. He? God is good. Oh. And the way you will carry that thing upon your head. You will not undermine it as to mean it's just a phone job. Maybe there are people getting cars. How much is the job service? Not 50,000 naira. Why should I testify?
You see? Don't worry. When when I get a bigger one, I will share what God has done. These are fools. Said it before that if you're not grateful, it doesn't mean that you are grateful. That's the reason. That's the reason. Make it a lifestyle to be grateful. Don't allow depression and sorrow to overwhelm you so much that you lose sight of what God is doing in your life. Don't allow it.
These are demonic things. These are demonic things. These are whispering spirits that whisper things to you to energize sorrow in you. Every time you want to be grateful, every time you think that nothing is going well, then there will just be all those thoughts that come and paint pictures of how bad things are. Make them so big in your mind. And again, you sink back into sorrow. Rebuke those things. Rebuke it. When you notice that there are thoughts coming to your mind, don't encourage them. Cast them out of your mind.
Get out, you devil. Oh, glory to God. Oh, glory. Oh, glory. That becomes your response. When you commit yourself to this thing, find... One of the things you would find out is that almost every day of your life, you will be saying thank you, Jesus. Oh, glory to God. Oh, glory to God. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. You enter into a vehicle and you come out, oh, thank you, Lord Jesus. Everything becomes a reason to be grateful. Everything becomes a reason to seek God because you seek God everywhere. You seek God in everything. It's difficult for people like that live like this to ever be sorrowful. It's difficult. It's difficult.
Thank you in the losses. Thank you because something better is coming. Thank you because you are faithful. Thank you because you are faithful. Thank you because what I have lost is not the best you can do. Because your best cannot be yesterday. Because the bible says the path of the righteous is at the shining light. It shines ever brighter. It means if I lost something, I lost a relationship, I lost a job, I lost a proposal, I lost a contract, it's already in yesterday. And if it's in yesterday, it means that the path of the righteous must be better.
There is something that must definitely be better. Be better. Be better. Be better. I acquired some things recently, and it was so beautiful to behold. And my wife was so happy. And when looking back, and I was just thinking back, and I said, you know, every single phase of my life, every single phase of my life, when I had things that were less impressive than this, In those seasons of my life, those things were the most impressive things I could hold. You didn't get what I just said. That means there was never a season of my life where I was at a phase and I became greedy as to think that God has not blessed me because I don't have what this person has. Do you understand what I'm saying?
So even when I was living in a face me face you, I was still happy. I was still glorifying God because I had a house. I wouldn't leave and then say, ah, this one now, this man of God, look at. He has this thing. It's better. It's it's this. It's that. No. No. We'll leave this place very soon.
We'll go to our own venue. Listen. We'll go to our own venue, and everybody's comfortable, and we're able to do whatever we wanna do. I'm beautified to our taste, and you're walking and there is just excellence everywhere. Don't you think for a moment that this is all the excellence you can afford? No. It's because we are greatly limited in what we can do because it's value is not ours. And so we have to maintain whatever we see. Use them like that. But that will not always happen.
But you know that as we are here, I'm still grateful. You're not getting this. Know I'm saying? Every face I am in every face I am in, as God is building me, as God is growing me, I'm never looking at what one person has and now saying, ah, she be... She... Do we have two heads? What is that? Why do you live your life but nothing is small, ladies, compared? Nothing is small until it compared. No vision is small until it is compared.
No amount of money is small until it is compared. So if it is small, the question is relative to what? Because if you feel as though what God is doing in you is small, then it means that you have started putting yourself in the shoes of somebody else, who you have no idea when God started working with that person. But you think the fact that you are older than them supposes means that you should be having more things than them. Whereas, if you check how long they've been dealing with God, you are a baby beside them. What will it profit a man to compare himself with those you should learn from? And I was preaching some time ago, and somebody mistakenly blocked it out. I met a young man outside. Elderly man mistakenly blocked it out. He said he said he said, was not looking at you.
This small boy. And I smiled. He called his elderly. I smiled. Understand what he was trying to say. But if you had wisdom, you would never have said that in your life. Because a word from that small boy can change your life. And that small boy knows. What is that man doing? He was putting himself and myself side by side.
And he was completing his age and concluding where I was and where he was. And he was looking at... He couldn't understand the disparity. How can this young boy hide all of this? It is fools that do that. The bible says those who compare themselves with themselves are fools. It is what kills gratitude, comparison. Comparison kills gratitude. When you don't understand that our risk in this life is is uniquely different, God is working all of us differently. Our path is different.
That you are siblings does not mean your path is the same. That you are even twins does not mean your path is the same. You can be identical twins. It not mean what God is doing in your life is identical. Everybody's part is totally different. Totally different. And there is wisdom to identify this. It is wisdom to understand this. It is wisdom to know this so that you can remain grateful as God builds your life. So that when your brother gets a car, you can be grateful for them because you know that mine is definitely coming.
What our God is building all of us differs. It differs. It differs. You gather and you are sincerely thankful. Your brother gets married, and you come there and there's no grief in your heart. And you say, child, oh, my own come like this. You have a problem. You have a mental problem. And I say this with... Without apology.
But how will it be difficult for you to be happy for somebody? It's a problem. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It's a problem. And every time somebody does anything good, you must first put yourself in the picture. I said, Mitra, I could have done it. Could have been me. Somebody tells you, ah, sister, brother, someone who has proposed to me, oh, I'm now in a relationship. In fact, he said he wants to marry next year.
Let me thank God oh, and I think now, ma'am, I'm still single. Me, I'm still single. And God says, no. No. No. No. That atmosphere is pungent. That atmosphere is pungent. What we gather around that life is flies, whispering spirits, demons. This is how believers carry demons.
Because you are too full of the spirit for demons to even have... To even come one meter close to you. But when you create an atmosphere that allows for the operation of these spirits, you will host them. They will... We will cast them out of you. Before you leave there, you have collected them back. Why? Because envy, jealousy, comparison, And the demons already know. So the moment we say, out, they just go out. Hang somewhere in the bush, and they are just waiting.
Son is burning one of them. He's saying, hey, I want to go. The other one, they come down and go soon. Has God not been good? Are you where you used to be? Don't you know that everything does not come overnight? Can't you sit down and the child grew? And the child grew and walked strong in spirit. Can you not thank God that you are growing? Can you not be grateful that you are growing?
Is it because you have not turned water to wine yet? The child has to grow. Can't you thank God that you are growing? But there is transformation happening with you. You're defining your life by useless things. The comments of people and all of these things that chokes the presence of God away from your life. Brother, listen to me. Sister, listen to me. Listen. God is doing something unique in your life.
Don't choke it. Don't. Don't. Always ensure that the atmosphere that you carry is pleasant. Do you know that I am repulsed even myself? Because when you find people who carry such demonic atmospheres, a man of the spirit will know. Disarmament of spirit will tell you. Intimacy with the holy spirit will tell you. So when what people come around me, I can't relate with them. I can't relate with them.
I'm allergic to such things. Because I am intentionally intentional about the atmosphere that I create, that I carry. It must always be an atmosphere of his presence so that when I sing, the presence of God is able to permeate the space. There are no obstructions, no impurities. It must become a free flow. And I protect this with all diligence so that I don't even allow people who carry something that is negative, something that is deviant to what I'm carrying. Come near me. I'm not intentional. Tell your neighbor, see with gratitude. When you do and they say, it is time for testimonies, my God.
You will come here and you will not be able to hold your tears. Because all of a sudden you would see. You would see that God has been good. You've been so so good to me. You are doing. Do you know? If you have observed, you will realize that when I'm singing or worshiping God, I don't... I'm not leading you to worship. I'm not. I face heaven, and I'm concerned with my business.
I'm not dependent on you to create an atmosphere. I come with it. This has nothing to do with being quiet. You're an ungrateful person. So why not create an atmosphere that consistently makes your life like someone who has won a lottery? Consistently so. When you talk to people about the goodness of God in your life, they will not know. I will listen to somebody. The person said, don't always be too happy so that those who are meant to help you will not think you don't need help. It wasn't sarcastic.
It was a serious serious advice. So because now, if you live your life as though you don't have any problem and you're always will not receive help from foolish people. Because if I have to be sorrow ful for you to help me, I would rather you never help me. Let my help come from God. Do you know why the bible says praise the lord oh my soul? Forget not. It's because it is possible to forget. And as many of you go on retreats, even I'm speaking, one of the things you need to do is just play play a worship song, sit down, bring back your note, and be thinking to remember the goodness of God upon you. So that you would know how many things you are praising him for. Are you with your brothers and sisters?
Yes, sir. Be that grateful. Be that grateful. Place value on your process. Place value on your journey. Place value on what God is doing with you. Don't pity yourself. If you place value on it, it will show in how you talk about it. I was talking to one of my young men men earlier this year. There was one reminding my leave.
I forgot. It was in my car, and they were driving into my house. As we're driving, I saw a vehicle pass I by, and I asked him, what car do you like? And he told me. I told him I see you in a car before the end of this year. Then how to drive. I kept on going. And he was reminding me about all these processes. I said, wow. Glory to God.
Glory to God. When he came out to Jay Testimony, he said, how does the mind to get something? And I got something. I put on my WhatsApp. I went to his name, typed it. I said, are a foolish person. So want to get something, you got something. That's destiny. I want to get something, I got something. Angels that walk that miracle will now be wondering kind.
There are two things we'll do. Want you to close your eyes and be grateful to God because he's awesome, because he's good, and because he's faithful. Not for what he has done. Just just thank him because he's good, sincerely, Next, I want you to thank him for what he has done because you'll be lying to say you have not done something. Thank him for what he has done. Think. Think. Remember his goodness. Remember. Father, give you all the glory because you're such a good god.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you because you are awesome. Thank you because you are wonderful. Thank you because you're glorious. Thank you because you're powerful. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you because of the word. Thank you because our sight has been trained. Thank you because we are now grateful.
Thank you because depression has gone. Anxiety has gone. Sorrow has gone. In the name of Jesus. Thank you because we are grateful. Thank you because you have helped our hearts. Thank you because you have helped our sights. Thank you because we have been blessed. Thank you because we have received. In the name of Jesus.
Thank you because you've answered our prayers. In Jesus' name, we pray. Thank you for listening to this message. We trust you have been blessed. You can get more life transforming messages from apostle Emmanuel Boluwatife on our Telegram page at DCN Media channel. You can also stream the messages on Spotify, or your Mac, and Apple podcast. Connect with us via our social media platforms on Instagram at d c n underscore nations, on Facebook at disciples christian network, on x at d c m central, and on TikTok at disciples christian network. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel at disciples television. If you have a testimony from this message, you can mail us at disciplescn@gmail.com. God bless you.