WHY WE MUST GIVE THANKS: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE – THANKSGIVING SERVICE FOR THE 61ST INDEPENDENCE DAY ANNIVERSARY OF NIGERIA AND THE 45TH CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN).

THANKSGIVING SERVICE FOR THE 61ST INDEPENDENCE DAY ANNIVERSARY OF NIGERIA AND THE 45TH CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CAN).

THEME: LET US COME TOGETHER THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUILD

MINISTERING: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

TOPIC: WHY WE MUST GIVE THANKS

DATE: 26TH SEPTEMBER, 2021

BIBLE TEXT: PSALMS 67: 5-7

SONG

Glory be to God in the Highest Amen
Hallelujah
Glory be to God in the Highest Amen
For His Mercy endureth forever Amen
For His Mercy endureth forever Amen.

… Repeat!

OPENING PRAYER

Almighty God: The King of Kings, The Lord of Hosts, The Ancient of Days, The One who has No Beginning, The One who has No Ending; Our Saviour, our Healer, our Provider, our Protector, our Hope of Glory, our All in All – Glory be to Your Holy Name.

Thank You for all You have done for us in the Past, Thank You for what You are doing now, Thank You for what You will do in the Future.

Please, accept our Thanks in Jesus Name.

Today, my Father and my God; as we are celebrating the 61st Anniversary of Nigeria and the 45th Anniversary of The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Please give all Your Children “Anniversary Gifts’.

All those who are Participating in this Service or reading now on the Label of DMC; let them go away from here with “Double Blessings”.

In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.

Let Someone shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah!

Wave at one (1) or two (2) People and say: Your tomorrow will be alright – Amen.

And then you may Please be seated – God Bless You (Amen).

We want to start by Thanking the Almighty God for giving me the rate Privilege of Standing here again!

The Last Time that I stood here was during the reign of President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 to 2007) – It’s quite some Years ago.

And I remembered that Day very well that this Altar was going round and round. I had to beg the Engineers that where I came from; if a Man sees that the Ground is rotating, he is saying that he is about to faint.

Maybe that is why the thing is no longer rotating.

I want to greet all my fathers who are here – Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you.

Probably this is because I belong to all of you:

1. I belong to the Anglican as I was born Anglican. My father was a “Lay Reader” way back in the 1940’s.

And one of the Top Anglican Clerics said that: I am an Anglican on a “Missionary Assignment” to The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). That when I finished my Assignment, they will give me a Post – Maybe they will give me “Arch Deacon” in the Anglican Church.

2. I want to thank my In-laws – The Methodist (They gave me my wife some fifty four (54) Years ago).

I want to thank you because after fifty four (54) Years, I’m still on Honeymoon – So, you did a very Good job.

3. I want to thank my fathers – The Baptist.

One of the former Head of the Baptist Church said: That if anyone is Baptised by Immersion and he loves to quote the Bible; he must be a Baptist.

… And so I think that I qualified.

4. I want to thank the Evangelicals because I grew to know too that anybody who loves the crowd, who love to do Mass Evangelism must be Evangelical.

… I belonged into that Class of People also.

5. I want to Thank all the Brothers and Sisters of the African Denominations – The Aladuras’.

I hope you know that my “Spiritual Father” in the Lord was a Prophet of Cherubim and Seraphim Church before he got Born Again and started The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

… So, I’m one of you too – Like father, like son!

6. Definitely, I want to thank The Roman Catholic Church – You are the Mother of all Denominations.
7. And then someone said that if you believe in Miracles and you speak in tongues and you are noisy; you must be a Pentecostal.

… And I believed that I’m in the noisest of them all – Please shout Hallelujah (Hallelujah).

Thank You for asking me to represent you today

Although, when I was being invited, it was to the Thanksgiving Service of The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

If I had known that they are going to include the Thanksgiving Service for Nigeria; I think that I would have dodged because there are certain things that Arch Bishops and Primates can say and get away with but if a Pastor should say the same thing, he will be in soup.

I think that I will dodge as much of that aspect of the Service today.

But I want the Vice President (VP) to Please inform the President that we are Praying and we believed that all will be well – Amen.

Those of you who believed that all will be well; let me hear you shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah!

The Bible Text will be from: Psalms 67: 5-7.

5. Let the People Praise thee, O God; let all the People Praise thee.
6. Then shall the Earth yield her Increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.
7. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the Earth shall fear him.

WHY MUST WE GIVE THANKS?

1. It is a Divine Command.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: In everything Give Thanks.

… It is a Command of the Almighty God because the Bible says clearly there – This is the Will of God concerning you.You have no Choice in the matter.

I have a friend – We were Class-mates, born at the same time and if you are looking for a Man who is an who is an “Incurable Optimist”; he is Number 1 Fellow and he is a Christian.

A. He said that: God says that in everything Give Thanks because God knows that All things work together for the Good to them that love Him.

B. He said that there might be some of the things that on the Surface that you will find it difficult to Thank God for.

But he says that we should obey God and keep on Thanking Him.

And he began to give illustrations:

I. He said for example – When he heard that Nigeria was owing Fifty Five Trillion Naira; he said: Praise God!

But when I looked at him with a question on my face to say that how can you say Praise God for that?

He said because those who are Praying for Nigeria to survive are many.

I said: What do you mean?

He said that the Creditors know that if Nigeria does not survive; they won’t be able to get their money back!

II. He said that when he heard that the Interest we have to Pay on our debts in Nigeria is Ninety Five Percent (95%) of all our Income and that even the Senate has approved that we should borrow more!

… He said: Ha, Glory be to God!

I said how can you say: Glory be to God?

He said that don’t you know that the moment what you are owing is more than the Interest you can Pay, the Creditor has no Choice: It is either they forgive you your debts or you go ahead and declare Bankruptcy.

And if you declare Bankruptcy, that means that they can’t get their money back

They can get angry and then they can come and seize the “Most Precious Thing” that you have.

He said that the “Most Precious Thing” that they can seize in Nigeria is “Aso Rock” (The Official Quarters of the President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria).

And then I said: Well, what is there in that to Thank God about?

He said: Are you not listening to the News?

He said that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (President Muhammad Bihari) said not long ago that he will love to visit Daura (President Buhari’s Hometown and a Town/Local Government Area in Katsina State, Northern Nigeria) every two (2) weeks.

He said that in this situation – If they seize “Aso Rock” (The Official Quarters of the President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria); his Request will be granted as he won’t need to visit Daura (President Buhari’s Hometown and a Town/Local Government Area in Katsina State, Northern Nigeria) every two (2) weeks. He will just move the “Seat of Government” to Daura (President Buhari’s Hometown and a Town/Local Government Area in Katsina State, Northern Nigeria).

And he said to me: Sir, we are All Christians; let us relax because in one way or the other; our tomorrow will be Alright – Amen!

How many of you believed that Nigeria’s tomorrow will be Alright? – The DMC Family Strongly believe so!

Let me hear you shout Hallelujah again – Hallelujah!

… We should Give Thanks to God because this is His Commandments!

2. We should give Thanks to God for His Mercy.

Psalms 118:1 says: We should Praise the Almighty God for He is Good and His Mercy endureth forever.

And Lamentations 3: 22-23 says: It is of the Mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed and it is New every Morning.

Where we are today is simply because of the Mercies of God!

… And that Mercy is going to be renewed every Morning – Amen.

And Romans 9: 15-16 tells us that God said: He will have Mercy on whom He will have Mercy; He will have Compassion on who He will have Compassion.

And it went on to add that it is not of him that Willeth or of him that runneth but of God that showeth Mercy.

Whatever we have achieved these Past Years, whatever we can ever achieved is Principally going to be because of the Mercy of the Lord!

… So, we should Praise Him for His Mercy!

3. We should Praise Him because if you are Ungrateful for what God has done for you in the Past, He won’t do more.

In 2 Chronicles 1: 6-12 – Solomon demonstrated his appreciations for the Love of God by Giving God a thousand burnt Offerings.

And then God Paid him a visit and God asked him to ask for anything that he wanted.

And he asked for Wisdom and Understanding.

And God said: I will give you Wisdom, I will give you Understanding – I will give you what you asked for; those things that you did not ask for, I will add.

So, if we show our Gratitude for what God has done in the Past, then He will do more.

4. And then another reason we should Thank God is that the Ungrateful will always lose what he already has.

In 1 Samuel 15: 1-23 – There was this Young Man who was made a King (The first King of Israel, Saul).

When he became King, he forgot to say Thank You to God and God began to remind him what He has done.

If you ever find yourself in a situation when God begins to remind you of what He had done for you; you know that you are in soup.

So, don’t wait till He begins to tell you that this is what I have done for you.

Tell Him through your Appreciations that you Thank Him for what He has done in the Past!

… By the end of the day; King Saul lost his crown.

5. Finally on the aspect of Thanksgiving – You need to know that if God has been Good to you and you don’t Thank Him; you are going to need Him again in the Future!

If you read Judges 15: 1-19; the Bible tells us about a Young Man called Samson.

He was bound, brought to the enemies. The enemies began to laugh and the Power of God came upon him and the yokes were broken and he destroyed ten thousand (10,000) of his enemies and the rest fled.

And then he threw away the Jawbone of an Ass that God used to bring him Deliverance and he did not say a Single word of Thank You.

But then suddenly, he became thirsty and now he has to face an enemy he cannot see.

Now he remembered God and cried to God for Help.

And God told him to Pick up the same Jawbone of an Ass that he has thrown away – The Jawbone that brought him Victory.

And out of the Jawbone came out water for him to drink.

Nigeria should Thank God for what He has done in the Past; the world should Thank God for what He has done in the Past.

There is always a tendency for us when we are Victorious to think that we won the Victory ourselves!

But then, God has a Way of sending an enemy we cannot see.

We fought Civil War, we have gone through this, we have gone through that, dealt with enemies we can see.

And then God sent Coronavirus – He sent an enemy we cannot see.

And then suddenly, those who have never Prayed before started Praying again!

Let us keep on Thanking God for what He has done in the Past because we are going to need Him again in the Future!

I believed that Half a Word is enough for the Wise!

… That is for The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Now, the Theme given to us is: “LET’S COME TOGETHER THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUILD.

You will Permit me to bring in a little bit of Mathematics into the discussion – You know that I am a Mathematician.

… Once a Mathematician, always a Mathematician!

In Mathematics, we have something we call “SET” – That is the Scientific word for Club.

I mean for example:

Every Number that can be divided by 2 is called “Even Numbers”.

So, if you have a number – No matter how large; if ypu can be divided by 2, you belong to the Set of “Even Numbers”.

If it can’t be divided by 2; you belong to another Set – The Set of “Odd Numbers”.

In the Spiritual; when you cross over from Mathematics to the Bible, we have various Sets.

For Example:

1. We have the Set of Losers – People who are World Champion Losers.

There are several Examples:

I. People like Cain.

He was the first born of Mankind but he ended up a Vagabond.

… He belongs to the Set of Losers.

II. People like Esau.

He was a Man who sold his birthright just for a Plate of food.

The time came for Blessing, he had already sold the Blessings.

… He belongs to the Set of Losers.

III. And there is one Man called Gehazi.

He was the Servant of Elisha – You know the Story of Elisha.

Elisha was the Man who got the “Double Portion” of Anointing of Elijah. And Gehazi was Elisha Servant.

And so if there is anyone who could get the “Double Portion” of the Spirit of Elisha, it was Gehazi.

But he loved money, more than the things of the Spirit and so ended up a Leper.

… He is a Loser and so belongs to the Set of Losers.

IV. Of course, you know their President in this Particular Set – His name is Judas Iscariot.

I don’t need to tell you much about him but the Bible tells us clearly in Acts 1: 15-20 – That this Man was what you could call a Bishop.

He rose to that Level where the Lord trusted him with “Unlimited Resources”.

But you know the end result – He ended up hanging himself.

… He ended up in the Set of Losers.

My Prayer is that all of you who are here today or reading now on the Label of DMC will never join that Club – Amen!

2. But then there is another Set – It is called the Set of Victors. Those who are Overcomers, Set of Winners.

I. People like David.

You know David – He fought Lion and won; fought Bear, won; fought Goliath and won. He even overcame his father In-law.

… He was a Winner!

II. Baetimeaus was a Winner.

3.But why am I telling you about Sets – It is because of a Particular Set called: “The Set of the Almighty”.

You know that the meaning of “Almighty” is Somebody who can do anything!

And of course, there are only three (3) Categories of People in the Set.

… Let’s see how far we can go!

I. God Himself.

Genesis 17:1 – The first time God introduced Himself; He said that I am the God Almighty (The One who can do anything).

Jeremiah 32:27 says: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

And in Luke 1:37; the Bible says that: With God, nothing shall be impossible.

So, in that Set of “The Almighty”; we have God!

II. The next Group of People that are assigned in that Set are those who believes – “Genuine Believers”.

In Mark 9:23 – Jesus Christ said to that Man: If only you can believe, all things are Possible to him that believes. We can build a Tower that reaches Heaven.

If we are United, we can build a Mighty Nation; if we are United, there is Nothing that we want to do that we will not be able to do.

Which brings me to the Conclusion:

I’m going to ask you to do something today – I’m going to give you two (2) minutes to Praise God Himself for all He had done for you.

If you want to retain the Blessings God has given you and you want more as an Individual, you will Praise God.

Then I’m going to ask all of us to Unite in Praising God.

That will bring me back to my Bible Text where it says: Let the People Praise thee, Oh God; let all the People Praise thee.

If we can at least be United in Prayer today; He said certain things will happen – And one of the things that He said will happen is that God will bless us so much that the whole Earth will fear Him.

I am convinced that if we will Praise God together as one today; God will do something not only for The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) but for Nigeria that the whole world will hear about and they will fear our God!

ALTAR CALL

But before I asked you to Praise God; let me make one Final Appeal:

You see the Almighty God said: The Offering of a sinner is an Abomination to Him.

In other words, He doesn’t want a sinner to Praise Him at all.

That means that if you are not sure of your Salvation; if you don’t have that Relationship with Jesus Christ that says to you without any doubt that your sins are gone – Don’t Praise Him!

The first thing that you should do is to surrender your Life to Him – Let Him save your Soul, let the Blood of Jesus wash away your sins and then your Praise will become Acceptable to Him.

After that, you can Praise Him for what He had already done in the Past and then we can all Praise Him together.

Now, I’m not going to ask those of you that wants to surrender your Lives to Jesus Christ to come forward.

I’m going to say there for just one (1) Minute; Please bow our heads.

And if you know that you want to surrender your Life to Jesus Christ; to be really sure of our Salvation – You don’t want to be Someone who just go to Church and yet you don’t know the meaning of Salvation.

If you want to surrender your Life to Jesus Christ now – With all heads bow, if you will just raise your hands wherever you are seated; I will Pray for you. I will ask the Lord to have Mercy on you and save your Souls.

I’m going to give you one (1) Minute.

Now, those of you who lifted your hands – Just talk to the Almighty God: Ask Him to be Merciful unto you, ask Him to save your Soul, ask Him to forgive your sins.

And the rest of us who are sure of our Salvation, for one (1) Minute; intercede for all these People whose hands are lifted up.

And ask the Almighty God that save our Souls to save their own Souls also.

… Intercede for them – You are to love your Neighbours as yourself.

If you have been saved, Pray for the Salvation of those who are lifting up their hands now.

Thank You Father!

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