MIDWEEK
SERVICE AT LORD OF HOSTS MIRACLE CHAPEL.
The teaching today 2nd
Oct, 2019 at The Lord of Hosts Miracle Chapel, plot 116, 5th Avenue,
Beside Okiki Hall, Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos.
Theme: Giving thanks with all
your heart.
Text is from 2 Corr 9:7
“Each of you should give what
you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.” NLT
Thanksgiving is something we
should do every time and day. In the good or in the bad, in the ups or in the
downs, our natural response must be gratitude.
There are examples of people
who uniquely gave thanks with all their hearts in the bible. I have five of
them. The list is not however exhaustive.
1.
Hannah – The story of Hannah is well known.
She is one of two wives of Elkana. While she was barren, her mate Penninah had
children. Hannah was always reviled, maligned and mocked by Penninah because of
her barrenness. This prompted Hannah to go to God in prayers. Her prayer was so
fervent that the priest Eli thought she was drunk too early in the morning. She
asked God for a child (not Children) and made a promise to give God the child
back. God answered her prayer and she fulfilled her promise. She gave with her
whole heart!
2.
David – David danced before the Lord in the
streets as a response of praise to his holy God. David is a man known for
praise. Even in the darkest season of his life, he pointed to the goodness of
God. He gave thanks to God always with his whole heart.
3.
Mary the mother of Jesus – Finding out she was
pregnant with the saviour of the world wasn’t the easiest news to swallow and
the aftermath took some faith. But Mary the young girl chosen to carry the baby
Jesus would exemplify great praise. While visiting Elizabeth who was also
carrying John The Baptist same time, Mary had a moment to sing to the glory of
God in Luke 1:46-55. That song is celebrated today as the canticles of virgin
Mary otherwise known as Magnificat. Mary gave thanks wholeheartedly!
4.
The healed leper – In Luke 17, when Jesus
entered a village there were ten lepers that called out to Him for healing.
Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest and as they did, all
ten were healed. However only one returned to Jesus to give thanks. The other
nine vanished into the crowd, only one gave thanks where thanks were due, and
his healing was made permanent. May we not behave like the nine lepers in Jesus
name.
5.
Jesus – Jesus is God and by that he didn’t
have to give thanks for anything, but he did. Jesus set a remarkable example
for us in many ways but one was in thanksgiving. He was a man who gave thanks
to His father in so many ways.
·
He gave thanks to God as He was surrounded by
thousands of hungry people and five loaves of bread and two fishes were
multiplied to feed 5000 people. John 6:11
·
He gave thanks to God for hearing His prayer
for raising of Lazarus, before Lazarus was raised from the dead. John 11:41
·
He knew the cross was before Him and gave
thanks to His father as He broke the bread and drank the wine with His
disciples at the last supper.
To conclude – We have a
perfect example of righteous living from our Lord Jesus and one thing He shows
us is the position of praise and thanksgiving. In all the instances as
highlighted were instances of tense. The pressure to feed 5000 people, raise a
friend from the dead and face death on a cross will be intense for most of us.
Jesus’ response was not to
panic or run to people but to turn to God. No matter what situation we find
ourselves whether good or bad we should cultivate the natural response of
thanksgiving.
May God help us and give the
grace to always cultivate a natural response of quality praise and thanksgiving
offering to Him all the time in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Sermon by Elder Jerome C.
Njoku.
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