How Thanksgiving and Praise Works for our Victory

Messages for October 2016: Our Month of Victory

Message for Sunday the 9^th of October 2016

Theme: Understanding the Power of Gratitude and Praise in receiving and sustaining our victory

Topic: How Thanksgiving and Praise Works for our Victory

Introduction: Last week, we began to look at thanksgiving and praise and the principles governing their operation to bring us victory. Today, we are going to be seeing their dynamics; how they operate to establish our victory. I believe that an understanding of this truth would help us more than ever to engage this great spiritual weapon with intentionality and precision and put us on a consistent journey of victory in our individual and corporate destinies in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

How Thanksgiving and Praise Works for our Victory: when we want to cook, the fact that we have all the ingredients at our disposal does not necessarily mean that we would be able to deliver results in our cooking without understanding the basic skills required for making a tasty meal. Sometimes, some people may cook better than others even without as much ingredients because of their cooking skills. In the same way the application of these spiritual weapons require some relevant understanding for them to produce even beyond our expectations. To help us with this let us look at four ways they work:

1.     Thanksgiving would grant us access to God’s presence for more of his goodness and mercy to be displayed in our favour. We are told to enter his gates with thanksgiving. In other words, no thanksgiving, no access to God. See Ps.100:4. In other words, we are granted access to Him when we show gratitude for all he has done and is still doing for us. See also Ps.95:2; 1Tim.4:4; and Phil.4:6. When we are thankful, we can sustain our faith as thanksgiving is a major requirement for being established in faith. When we are established in faith, then we can operate in victory all the time.

2.     When we access God’s presence, the next thing we need is to experience His favour towards us. I believe nothing can be greater than having favour with God. This is when God chooses to treat us with preference even when we do not deserve it. A good example is the choice of Solomon as the next king in place of David his father even though it was not his right not being the first son of David. – 2Sam.12:24-25 Also, when Solomon praised God with a sacrifice of a thousand burnt offerings, God was compelled to even visit him and bless him. See 1Kings 3:3-6. To get down nations beyond his capacity, Jehoshaphat’s way to victory was to engage the high praises of God. See 2Chron.20:1-24. Thus while thanksgiving would grant us access to God, praise would cause God to arise and take the reins from us to bring us victory. God fights for us when we praise him just like he fought for Judah in this case.

3.     Then God responds by taking over the battle and fighting in our stead and no one can defeat him who is acclaimed the man of war [Ex.15:3]. In 2Chron.20:17, God told Judah how to go out against their enemies without needing to fight because He would be with them. After due consultation, they saw that it was going to be by praise. See 2Chron.20:13-21. Note here that they also had to specifically praise God for his attribute of holiness. Please understand that it is by the leading of the Holy Spirit we can know exactly the kind of praise that would move the Lord to action at the time of our need. Judah and Jehoshaphat were led to praise God’s attribute of Holiness and the Lord caused their enemies to arise and do to each other what they planned to do to them. Halleluiah!!!  See also Ps.114 and Ps.22:3.

4.     Because He never loses, we win and this makes us more than conquerors! We are more than conquerors because another fights and we cart home the spoils of victory. For instance, Jesus fought for our redemption on the Cross of Calvary and all we need do to be more than conquerors is to receive Him. See John 3:16 and Rm.8:36-39.

As we close for today, please understand that being victorious through thanksgiving and praise is based on cutting the covenant of the new birth with God by faith. If you are yet to do so by making Jesus Christ your Saviour and Lord and you desire to do so right now, you can do it right away by saying the following prayer out loud and you can be saved and receive access to the realm of sweat less victory through gratitude and praise:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.   

Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!