Pastor Akin Osinbajo of The Fountain of Life Church, TFOLC, has described thanksgiving as the link between prayer and answers to prayer, and the precursor to the extraordinary.
He submitted during the Sunday, May 1, 2022, second service held at the TFOLC headquarters in Ilupeju. The preacher spoke on the topic, “Thanksgiving: The greatest weapon and shield on this side of Heaven.”
Pastor Akin Osinbajo referenced Philippians 4:6 while noting that prayer without thanksgiving is like trying to make a phone call without dialing the last digit or imputing the incorrect password to a transaction. Such calls or transactions would never go through, he said.
“It moves the hand of God and keeps hope alive,” he said while citing several examples of how Jesus always gave thanks after praying.
Such instances include raising Lazarus from the dead as captured in John 11:38–44 and feeding the 5,000 recorded in Matthew 14:18–21.
The clergyman also described thanksgiving as a weapon for battle (Psalm 92:1-2). He explained that one of the secrets of David’s exploits in battle was his spirit of thanksgiving. He recalled the story in 1 Chronicles 23:25-30 and how it detailed David’s employment of people who ceaselessly raised thanksgiving to God.
“Whatever battle you face, thanksgiving will help you succeed. It will do the miraculous,” he said.
Furthermore, he revealed that thanksgiving acts as a shield and repels demons and evil spirits. The preacher buttressed this by referencing King Saul’s story as captured in 1 Samuel 16:14-23. The narrative revealed how the evil spirit left Saul whenever David played the harp, giving him peace.
Pastor Akin Osinbajo also read from John 6:43 and 1 Corinthians 10:10 as he admonished the congregation to replace murmuring and complaints with thanksgiving. He warned that murmuring could invoke the wrath of God, citing examples from Numbers 14:1-3, 26-2 when the children of God murmured against God and Moses.
“Whatever your murmurings are, that is what God will do,” he admonished. However, he encouraged the worshippers by quoting Lamentations (3:39–41) which instructs them to lift their hearts in thanksgiving to God rather than complain.
“When you change your attitude, your attitude changes. God will remember you when you change your countenance from complaining to thanksgiving,” he added.
Similarly, he said thanksgiving is the will of God. He noted this whilst reading from 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
According to the clergy, “Give thanks when things favour you and when they don’t favour you. Give thanks even in a hopeless situation. Learn to say thank you for everything. Learn to be grateful to God for everything.”
While quoting from a message on thanksgiving by the Senior Pastor of the church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, he reminded believers that gratitude is a currency that will be spent in eternity.
“The two greatest words on this side of heaven are ‘Thank You’. With over 9,000 seconds in a day, one second a day is not too much to say thank you,” he explained.
The cleric reminded the congregation to thank God and acknowledge Him, reiterating that “we must acknowledge the Giver. Thanksgiving is a debt we owe God”.
Another reason he said believers must give thanks is to preserve God’s blessings, citing Malachi 2:1-3 to caution that lack of gratitude may turn into blessings and curses. Finally, he noted that thanksgiving should never be seasonal but done endlessly.
