Transcription
So tonight, I'll be speaking to you on the mystery of gratitude. The mystery of gratitude, a covenant key to scaling unlimited altitude. The mystery of gratitude. When gratitude becomes your lifestyle, you keep scaling higher altitude by the day. The mystery of gratitude. And this entire week has been set up to baptize everyone into the mystery of gratitude, so we can keep scaling higher altitudes by the day.
Bishop Adam was speaking the other time. He said when they came to the church in Kaduna, it was number eight. Church was eight that day. Eight people. The first Sunday attended were eight people. How did we come from eight to where we are today? Among the mysteries delivered is the mystery of gratitude. And I'd like you to please take extreme note of this. And tonight, I'll be showing you what is in gratitude that makes such an enormous force in the word of the spirit. And we're going to read from Psalm 92, verse 1 to 3, and then verse 10 to 15.
"It's a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night." It's a good thing to give thanks and to send presents to His name, the Most High. Go to show forth His love and kindness in the morning, and His faithfulness every night. Understand what happens when we engage in this mystery. "My horn shall be exalted like the horn of a unicorn." Unusual strength, supernatural strength. Unicorn is a symbol of strength. Unusual strength. What is in thanksgiving? Among the mysteries. And thanksgiving is access to supernatural strength. The word changed. "And be ye not sorry for yourself, for the joy of the Lord shall be your strength." You can't be grateful and not be joyful. In fact, joy has gratitude as its taproot. The grateful will be joyful. And joy is a booster of strength, physical, spiritual, and emotional strength.
Let's get back to Psalm 100, verse 4. "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his holy name." So, thanksgiving is your access to His presence. And access to His presence makes all the difference. But the Lord was with Joseph. His presence made a king out of a slave. He became the king of Potiphar's house because the Lord was with Joseph. Genesis 39, verse 5. And then he was in the prison. The Lord's presence was there, and he became an official of the prison where he was a prisoner. That presence translated him from the prison to the palace. And thanksgiving is your covenant access to His presence.
So let's begin. Number one blessing of thanksgiving is access to His presence. Number two blessing of thanksgiving is access to divine strength. And that becomes simple because in Psalm 84, verse 7, "They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." So access to His presence moves you from strength to strength, physically, spiritually, emotionally. Let's talk about spiritual strength. He said, "Thou wilt show me the path of life: for in thy presence is fullness of joy." So revelation becomes natural for you. It flows. Revelation flows naturally from expressions. You don't catch revelation just by studying. "Thou wilt show me." What it shows is what they call revelation. I want to read what to read this information. What God shows is revelation. And those who do know their God they shall be strong and they shall do exploits. Daniel 11:32. Now, that means you are deprived of His presence without the attitude of gratitude. That means you are deprived of strength, spiritual strength, physical strength, emotional strength, without gratitude. So you don't know what you are missing when you are murmuring and complaining about everything. You are only complicating your case.
Gratitude. The first day my wife attended the Kaduna church, because then in the lorry, we were 21 in the service that day, and she couldn't marry my joy anytime I returned home with the size of people that she met. My joy was far above. She met on grant and church was full that day. The following December, before 2019, so God has added two to us. I'll tell you something. My wife sat down thinking I was in Sunday school when the service was ending. But every time I returned back home, the attitude of gratitude so overwhelmed me that you couldn't pick the number from my expression. One person got saved, I will be talking it until the next Sunday. Last Sunday, two people came forward to be saved. Strange, isn't it? And all foolish people say, "Strange, this is strange." With me, I mean, gratitude built this ministry. It's one of the vital cornerstones behind this ministry. This year, we have had to open three more gates in Canaanland to accommodate flow of traffic. And you had the young lady giving her testimony. She bought a bus for her zone, or herself. And he said, "But it was not big enough." So when she got the next morning, she bought another one. One woman buying two buses. What are the men doing? I can tell you, you can plug in because without access to the story behind the glory, you cannot be a partaker of the glory. You need access to it.
Gratitude blesses. Number one, access to His presence. Blesses. Number two, access to divine strength. Thirty years ago, Jesus delivered this mandate. Thirty years after, I have not lost one ounce of energy, but I've gained quite some tons of energy. Thirty years after, I'm far stronger than I was 30 years ago. When he sent me, a very dear friend and top minister of the gospel, Dr. Mike Murdock, he said one day when we sat together for about two hours, we went somewhere and came back. He said, "He can't say that many times and say, 'Praise the Lord, thank you Jesus, praise the Lord, thank you.'" Said the wife, about 72 times. Same. It has become like bread. I have not lost one ounce of energy physically. I have not lost one ounce of energy spiritually. "My horn shall be exalted like the horn of a unicorn." Bless number three. I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Thanksgivingers are ever fresh. There is a fresh oil that answers on the lives of genuine thanksgiving. My greatest problem is when press people or people interview me and ask me about my challenges. I can't put my finger on them. I have a problem putting my finger on, "What are your challenges?" I couldn't locate them. His presence blinds your eyes to things that don't edify. I can't see them. That's why they don't hold. They don't come. I'd like you to understand this. There is fresh oil in the mystery of gratitude. The man David, who wrote that song, "I have found David, my servant, giving me thanks and sending my praises." And with my holy, holy, anointed him. Submit to verse 20 to 24. "With my holy one." About God is always locating thanksgiving to anoint with my holiness. And about anointing him. Psalm 79, verse 20. "The enemy shall not exalt upon him, neither the son of wickedness afflict him." I can tell you this, I have found the thanksgiver and have anointed him with fresh oil. When your life is overwhelmed with gratitude, the oil continues to flow freshly on your life. David said, "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments." Seven times a day. Psalm 119, verse 164. Seven times a day. Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Among the blessings of gratitude is access to fresh oil. What do I call it? Access to fresh oil. Thanksgiving never runs oil dry. Thanksgivers never run oil dry. Thanksgivers never run oil dry. Thanksgivers never run oil dry. From this celebration on your head will never lack ointment again. Your head will never lack ointment again. I have never known a burnout in my life that I got to a point and they call it burnout. No, I'm always burning because the oil that engenders the burning is always there. I enjoy strange physical strength, very strange. One in 30 years I've been struggling to be on leave, and 30 years after, I'm stronger to go live every month. His presence just engulfs me with swell that no man can explain. Last time I had a check, which is traditional to do, they say, "Your blood pressure is like a 20-year-old." There's nothing pressing me in His presence. There is fullness of joy. Understand that there are pleasures, not preachers. People that carry this place, there's no, no pleasure. They don't know pleasure. I've never had a sleepless night in this ministry in my life. My wife has always been here ever since this ministry was on. Never once have we sat up in the night to discuss ministry. No, for what? There is nothing this course is not working. His presence is the cure for pressures. His presence is the cure for pressures. People carry His presence can't be victims of pressures at the same time. Somebody looked at me yesterday and I said, "Brother David, do you ever have problems?" I said, "Maybe you came, I didn't know because you must laugh when you're with me, or you have a problem, even if you have, you drop it first, you laugh, and then when you go, you can work it out." His presence is a stimulant for pleasures, the cure for pressures. And I can tell you this, somebody is walking free finally tonight.
What is in gratitude? Number four. Among the blessings of the mystery of thanksgiving is in that verse 11 of Psalm 92. He said, "In that passage of my eyes also shall see my desires upon mine enemies." Say with me, victory over my enemies. "My eyes shall see my desire for my enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that riseth up against me." It is in thanksgiving that God takes over your battles. Can I hear your amen? And when God takes over your battles, your victory is eternally sealed. Your victory is eternally sealed. When God takes over your battles, your victory is eternally sealed. So you transfer your battles to God. And thanksgiving, every time you give Him thanks for where you are, you remind Him of where next He has ordered you to be. So He clears the barriers to get you there. Every time you thank Him for what He has done, you remind Him of what remains, and He steps in. And when God steps in, the enemy will step up. Remember also the Bible said, "I am yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease." Isaiah chapter 10, 24 to 27. "And that shall sit because of the anointing." Now you see in thanksgiving, you are anointed freshly. Come and say, "Freshly." Fresh anointing will always command fresh victory. Then your eyes shall see your desire upon your enemy. I have found it with my son, my only one. Ever anointed him. "The enemy shall not exalt upon him." I will be done his fault before his face. So by the anointing, your enemies are destroyed. Their hold is destroyed of your life. You see that? So you don't cry about enemies. Just celebrate Jesus, and it takes care of your enemies. Celebrate Jesus from the depths of your heart, then He takes care of your enemies. I believe everything that has ever risen against you will lose their grip of you this time. This is the key to your next level. Come and say, "I must get there." This is the key to our next level. Say, "I must get there."
He said, "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree." Then number two of that verse 12, "He shall grow up like a cedar in Lebanon." That's far above supernatural lifted. How many are ready for that here? Supernatural lifted. From four million return to one million. Blessing to another. Flourish like the cedar in Lebanon. Somebody is taking off now. I said you are taken off to where nobody can explain anymore. You are taken off to a realm that no man can explain anymore. Do you believe that? You are on your Lord. This amen. Let me hear your Lord. This amen. You are on your way to your high places. You are on your way to your high places. You are on your way to your high places. You are on your way to your high places.
So you have access to His presence, access to divine strength, access to fresh oil, access to victory over your enemies, access to supernatural flourishing, access to supernatural lifters. Finally, we have it in verse 14. He said, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age." Supernatural fruitfulness. You'll be commanding results to old age. Old age. Old age. The great man of God, Dr. Casey Price, will be 80 next year. And I gave a call to his office, and they said he's not around. His struggle and it's come back on Tuesday. We'll be around on Tuesday. I say, "Okay, I'll talk over the week." No, it's happening again on Wednesday. Now, at 80, still going in the name of Jesus. That word of prophecy is fulfilled in your life. At the age of 80, John Wesley was still crossing the nations on horseback. Horseback, not a car, not a flight. At the age of 80. Last week I was with the sage Persondella. He will be 80 years a minister next year. 80 years. Eight minutes. He was sent to plant the first church in 1932. He will be 80 years in ministry next year. I will be 12 years old and still had this cup bent to one side as he was answering press interview questions at the age of what he said. "They shall still bring forth fruits in old age." They are still planting churches. His medicine still planting churches. Demand shall still bring. That's not in China. That's not in South Korea. That's not in America. That's in Nigeria. That's illegal here. Shall still bring forth fruits in old age. You shall not die young. Where you are today is by grace. Acknowledge our grace. Celebrate the source of that grace, who is God Himself. And then you are ready for the next phrase.