Creflo Dollar — The Key to Fruitfulness
Psalm 67, verses 5 through 7 says this, and it's all, you know, giving God praise, giving God thanksgiving, you know, giving God glory. All of these things take place before we see anything, but it helps us to bear great fruit. Chapter 67, Psalm 67, verses 5 through 7, "Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase."
Notice he said praise him, praise him, then shall the earth yield her increase. "And God, even our own God, shall," what? "Shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." As I've been saying over and over again, there is something significant about taking the time to bless the Lord.
There's something awesome about coming to church ready to praise God. There is something amazing about opening up your mouth and giving God thanksgiving. You don't praise after increases come, but you praise before increases come. I believe it's praise that will provoke the increase. Abraham gave glory to God, and what happened? Then God responded.
You see, you know, we're used to the murmuring and the grumblings and the grudgings, all the reasons that, you know, your life may not be shining the way you want it to shine, but you will never be fruitful until you're thankful. I said you'll never be fruitful until you're thankful. You don't give thanks after the fruit, because you don't see fruit without thanks. When your thanksgiving comes and you begin to be thankful, then you begin to see fruit, so thanksgiving comes before the fruit and continues after it. So, until we give thanks, I don't believe you'll see anything multiply.
Ten lepers were all healed, one came back to say thank you. What happened? Wholeness took place after that. There is something so very significant about giving thanksgiving, you know? We've been trying to practice it after each time we hear the Word of God.
We go to God with some thanksgiving, because there's something that's powerful when we give God thanks. Jesus gave thanks over five loaves and two fishes, and it was not enough to feed the multitude that showed up, but he said, "Give the snack to me," and he blessed it, and he gave thanks, and then it multiplied.
If you wanna see multiplication happen in your life, learn how to take what you have, pause, and give God thanks for what you have. Learn how to just pause and say, "Father, I thank you."
You know, I was blown away when we had a guest in New York who said, "Take your hands and clap 'em together." And then she said, "Take your arms and hug yourself." And then she said, "I don't have any hands to clap." She said, "I don't have arms." She says, "I've never felt my hair, I've never felt my face, and I've never been able to wrap my arms around my husband."
When she began to express that, all of a sudden it just came in me. I said I have nothing, nothing to complain about. Are you understanding what I'm saying? Sometimes you don't realize how thankful you ought to be until you can look across the aisle somewhere and see somebody that's nowhere near where you are, and I think we got to learn how to begin to walk in that thanksgiving.
You know, Jesus wants to multiply, and so I believe it's been a very interesting year, but I believe we're headed towards the greatest revival that the church has ever seen, and I think one of the keys to getting there is to start thanking God right where you are, all right?
You might not be where you wanna be, but thank God you're not where you used to be, and you can at least thank God that you're not where you used to be, amen? It's just something about just pausing and then giving God thanksgiving.
Walking around your house, it might not be the dream house yet, but walk around the house you got, and thank God that "I got a roof over my head tonight," amen? All right, tomorrow you might not have turkey, all you might have is some drumsticks. You put some seasoned salt on those drumsticks, you put a little lettuce on the side, and you thank God for that drumstick, you understand?
I believe that multiplication is held back when we hold back thanksgiving, amen? That's so very, very important. So, Jesus gave thanks and, you know, we gotta make sure we do the same thing.