Creflo Dollar — Thankfulness
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Isaiah chapter 51, Isaiah chapter 51, I wanna encourage you tonight to not just see Thanksgiving as another holiday, but a power day for you. And that it's something that we not only celebrate tonight and tomorrow, but every day of our lives.
Isaiah chapter 51, verses 1 through 2, he says, "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness," so that would be us, we follow after righteousness, "Ye that seek the Lord. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are digged. Look unto Abraham," he says, "Your father, and unto Sarah that bare you, for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him."
Now, there is absolute authority that is involved in using thanksgiving and giving glory to God. You'll see the New Testament talking about giving glory to God, and when you begin to give glory to God, that becomes one of those steps that will bring you into unlimited prosperity. Again, when I say prosperity, I'm not just talking about money, but I'm talking about success in the word of grace when you begin to understand how vital that is.
And then, in Romans chapter 4, since he says alright, I want you to follow after your father, Abraham. I want you to pay attention to what he did, in Romans chapter 4 and verse 18, let's see why he gave us this instruction to follow after Abraham.
Romans chapter 4, verse 18, he says, concerning Abraham, "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body, now dead when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in faith," and look what he says in verse 20, "Giving glory to God." "He was strong in faith, giving glory to God."
Now, it was his giving glory, or another translation, "Giving thanksgiving," giving glory, it was his giving glory that opened him up for this miracle of being able to see a child at his age being born. It was him giving God thanksgiving by giving him glory, and he was fully persuaded, but what God had promised, he was able also to perform it.
So, nothing had happened, but he kept giving glory to God. Nothing had happened, but he kept giving glory to God. In our lives, we may have not yet seen anything happen, but keep giving glory to God, amen? "He considered not the deadness of Sarah's womb," or for us, we don't consider the deadness of our situations, but we keep giving glory to God. Abraham did not stagger after the promise of God, the Bible says he was strong in faith, but he kept giving glory to God.
He was thankful to God even before he saw what he was believing God for. We got to be thankful to God before we see what we believe God for. He was able to do this by refusing to consider anything that was contrary other than what God said and God's faithfulness.
So, ladies and gentlemen, to be thankful is to be fruitful. To be thankful is to be fruitful, and to be thankless is to be fruitless. So, there's power involved in thanksgiving. You see, until you become thankful, you don't become fruitful. And I believe tonight maybe we should initiate being thankful so we can be fruitful, amen?