John K. Jenkins Sr - 10 Spiritual Blessings to Be Grateful For (01/24/2026)
Introduction and Thanksgiving Tradition
If you have your Bibles, open them to Ephesians chapter 1. Every Thanksgiving, my family, along with my extended family, gathers at our home, and we have established a tradition. That tradition consists of us gathering around in a big circle in the kitchen, and we ask everyone to share something that they are thankful for. I’ve heard over the years some wonderful expressions of what many people are thankful for. Some are thankful for their job, some are thankful for family. Some of them, when they got a car, said, «Thank the Lord, I got a ride.» They said a lot of various things.
But as I come to this year’s Thanksgiving, I want to challenge my family and everybody here to consider what I’m going to talk about today: that when you express thanks, instead of talking about stuff, can we thank God for some spiritual blessings that He’s given to us? I know it doesn’t come to the front of your mind first. I know it doesn’t rise to the top of you saying something about it, but I thought I would talk to you all about it. I want to give you some options of some things you might want to consider thanking God for.
Paul’s Message and the 10 Points
In Ephesians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, and while he’s talking to them with this wonderful message that he has, he talks about 10 things that we ought to thank God for. Yes, I have 10 points today. I thought y’all would be excited. Don’t worry, I’m not going to spend 10 minutes on each one. I’m going to try not to spend 10 minutes on each one, but they’re all right here in Ephesians chapter 1.
As a matter of fact, I also meet with the managers and department heads of our staff every month, and I start off that meeting with asking them to share somebody that they’re praying for to get saved or any testimonies that they might have about somebody that they want to see get right with God. And then we close our meeting, after we’ve conducted our business, with something that was suggested to me by our director of our counseling department, Dr. Johnny Parker. I’ve adopted it, and at the close of every meeting, I ask if there is anything that anybody has that they’re grateful for.
I’m grateful for these 10 things I’m about to suggest to y’all to consider. I’m just going to walk through Ephesians chapter 1, and I’ll just point out these things in the first 14 verses. And while I’m going through this, can you just see, «Oh yeah, I’m thankful,» and just make a note of it. I don’t know if any other families do what our family does, but maybe when we sit around the table today, I want somebody to shock me and say one of these things.
Starting Ephesians 1
Here’s what Ephesians chapter 1 says. Are y’all there? Yes? All right, let me just start. I’m going to start at verse 1. Let’s just take a look and walk through, and then as I go through this, I’m going to point out the things that I want to talk about.
«Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.»
Let me stop right there: God has blessed us with spiritual blessings. There is more to be thankful for in your life than just the materialistic things that God has brought into the domain of your life. He says with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
1. He Chose Us
Just as He—here it is, number one—chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Let me stop right there. Number one: you didn’t pick God; He picked you. Somebody say, «He chose me.» We have been chosen. I want you to think about the fact that out of all of the people in the world, He picked you. As nasty and evil and contrary as you have been—I thank God He picked me. He could have picked a whole lot of other people. Yeah, there’s a whole lot of other folks that could be standing in this place.
But from the depths of my heart, I want to thank God that He chose me. Is anybody else grateful other than me? And matter of fact, He chose me before the foundation of the world. Before the world was even created, He saw me and picked me and chose me. Somebody ought to be thankful for that. Say, «Thank God He chose me. I got picked. I got chosen.» That’s number one.
2. Holy and Without Blame
But hold up—I wish I could stop right there, but I can’t. He not only chose us before the foundation of the world, but He chose us that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Here’s another blessing: He made us holy and blameless. I know when you look back over your life, you ain’t been holy; you have not thought holy. But here’s the deal: here’s what God does. When He looks at you from His heavenly vision and His heavenly eyes, He does not see how jacked up and messed up you are; He sees where He is taking you.
And I thank God when He sees me, He don’t see all of my mess, but He sees that He is making me holy. Somebody say, «I’m holy. I’m pure. I’m sacred.» Without blame—the word «blameless» means without blemish. He empowered me to be holy and blameless. That’s something to run around this building аbout: that I’m holy. Look at your neighbor, say, «I may not look it, but I’m holy.» And you go ahead and look back and say, «No, you don’t look holy,» but thank God you are.
3. Predestined
In verse 5, He says, «having predestined us.» Let’s stop right there—there’s number three: we’ve been predestined. Somebody say, «Predestined.» Yes, it means to be predetermined, to decide beforehand, to make a decision ahead of time. With the sovereignty of God, He predetermined and already knew and chose us and predetermined. That word «predestined» means He settled the matter.
Yeah, and what’s great about that is when God predestined you, that devil wants to make some of y’all think you can lose salvation and that you can be jacked up. But thanks be to God, He knew what you were going to do before you did it. He knew you were going to mess up. He knew you were going to be a liar. He knew you were going to sleep with that Tom, Dick, and Harry. He knew what you were going to do, but He still predestined, predetermined, and settled it.
We are predestined, and no devil in hell can stop me from being what God has predestined for me to be, no matter what has come down the pike. He has predetermined. Somebody say, «Thank God I’m predetermined.»
4. Adoption
Oh, I wish I could stop right there, but He not only predestined, but He’s predestined us—verse 5—to adoption. He adopted us. Now, what does that mean? I’m glad you asked, because we have been adopted into the household of God. No, we were not originally in the Jewish race; we were not originally Jews. Most of us—there might be one or two that might have been Jewish, but 99,9% of us here, we ain’t Jews.
And God had chosen the Jewish race to be His conduit for His truth in His Word. But thanks be to God, He adopted us and brought us into the family. I know that may not sound exciting to you, but one of the things I learned when I studied about adoption: when God adopts you, it means that He has made a determination that perhaps where you have been or who your parents are or what family you might have been in might not have been able to accomplish what He wanted, and so He moved you to another location, with another place and another family, to help you become what He wants you to become.
I don’t know who’s here that might have been adopted, but instead of complaining that you’ve been adopted, thank God He thought enough about your future to put you in a place where you could become everything He wanted you to become. Babe Ruth was adopted, Nelson Mandela was adopted, John Lennon was adopted, Malcolm X was adopted, Eleanor Roosevelt—wife of the longest-sitting president—was adopted, Edgar Allan Poe was adopted, Jamie Foxx was adopted. All of these people were raised in environments that were not their normal biological parents, and God moved them to another place.
And my natural spiritual authorities would have put me in hell, but God made a decision to move me spiritually to another place. Somebody ought to give God a shout right there. Somebody tell your neighbor, «I’ve been adopted.» I want to give God a shout right now that I’ve been adopted into the household of faith. I wasn’t originally here, but look at me now. Look at where I am now. I’m a child of God. I’m an heir of salvation. I am part of the household of faith. We have been made sons and daughters; we become His children, and we’ve been adopted into the household of faith. Thanks be to God that I’ve been adopted. Tell your neighbor, «I’m adopted.» Go ahead, tell them—that means I’m special.
5. Accepted in the Beloved
I wish I could stop there, but I got more to go. I’ve been predestined, I’ve been adopted. Verse 6: «to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.» I’ve been accepted. I don’t know if you know what it feels like to be rejected by somebody, but thanks be to God, He accepted me. Oh, I wish I had somebody to say Amen. Somebody thank the Lord He accepted me.
I’ve been accepted into the household of faith. When you get accepted, He endows you with special honor. You are highly favored. I got accepted—it means God extended to me grace. And when you get accepted, you get favor. And I want somebody to know, favor ain’t fair.
Some years ago, some of our members went to MegaFest—Bishop Jakes was having MegaFest in Dallas—and they decided while they were in Dallas, they would roll around to The Potter’s House, the church where Bishop T.D. Jakes is the pastor, and get a tour. So they pulled up to the gate and said, «We want to get a tour at The Potter’s House.» And the guard at the gate said, «Well, we’re not open today; we’re closed, so we’re not doing any tours today.»
Then one of them said, «We’re from John Jacobs' church,» and they opened the door and gave them a tour. Somebody look at your neighbor, say, «Favor ain’t fair.» When you get God’s favor, He opens up doors for you that are not supposed to be open. You’re not supposed to get it; you’re not supposed to be there. But when you get favor, when you’ve been accepted—woo, I feel like shouting right now. When I think of the goodness of Jesus, they got accepted because of who they were connected to.
Y’all need to go home and tell your children, «You don’t understand—you get accepted 'cause you’re connected to me.» When you get accepted, you get special honor. That’s what it means: special honor. Somebody say, «Thank God for favor.»
6-7. Redemption and Forgiveness
Here’s number six—this in verse 7. I’m almost finished: «In Him we have redemption through His blood.» Somebody say, «I’ve been redeemed.» Oh, y’all don’t understand—it means I’ve been bought with a price. The ransom has been paid; the price has been paid to take away whatever I’m short of. I’ve been redeemed. That word «redeemed» means to pay the price to take off what’s old, and God has paid the ransom through the blood of Jesus for us to be paid for, bought.
Somebody say, «I’m redeemed. Don’t owe nobody nothing—the devil, I don’t owe him anything.» I’ve been redeemed, and matter of fact, I’m redeemed through His blood. That’s the power of the blood of Jesus.
Here’s number seven, and it’s right here in verse 7 too: the forgiveness of sins. Somebody say, «Thank God for forgiveness of my sins.» That makes me want to shout—that God wiped the slate clean. God forgave me; He freed me from my guilt and shame of my past.
And y’all heard me say this, and I say it every Sunday, and I try to preach it every Sunday, and I make the appeal to let folk know: no matter what you have done in your past, we serve a God who will and can forgive you. I’m just hoping that somebody standing around the table, when they ask what they’re thankful for, I’m hoping somebody will say, «I’ve been forgiven.»
8. The Mystery Revealed
Here’s number eight—it’s in verse 9: «having made known to us the mystery of His will.» Go ahead, y’all missed a good place to shout. We have been exposed to the mystery of His will. What does that mean? It means that there was a time when God’s plan was held in secret and it was not known, but along came Jesus and unveiled the mystery of the Gospel.
Well, what is the mystery? I’m glad you asked. Here’s the secret of the mystery: that we—matter of fact, just jot this down if you want to read the mystery—it’s in Ephesians chapter 3, those first six verses. And here’s what the mystery is: that we Gentiles have been made fellow heirs. That’s the mystery, because beforehand we were not heirs; we were not a part.
But He made known that He opened up the church to us Gentiles. Look at your neighbor, say, «Whether you know it or not, you a Gentile. You an outsider.» And He made known to us; He revealed the secret, the mystery of what His will is. And we are Gentiles—we are fellow heirs, we are of the same body, we are partakers of His promise.
He has made available to us every promise that He made to the Jewish nation—He made it available to us. We the head and not the tail; we are up and not down; we are victorious and not victims. Thanks be to God—He has made us fellow heirs. Every spiritual blessing He has made available to the Jews, He made available to us Gentiles.
9. An Inheritance
I’m almost finished—slide down to verse 11: «In Him also we have obtained an inheritance.» If y’all knew it, that meant you’d be running all around this building. Somebody say, «We’ve obtained an inheritance.» Somebody say it out loud: «I’ve obtained an inheritance.»
An inheritance is a privilege. We’ve obtained it—it’s been assigned; inheritance has been assigned to us. We have a privilege. My children, when they were growing up, they had chores, and if they did their chores during the week, on the weekend when Friday came, they would get their allowance. If they didn’t do their chores, they wouldn’t get no allowance, but if they did, they would get allowance.
But notice it doesn’t say here, «In Him we’ve also obtained an allowance.» He says an inheritance. When you get an inheritance, you don’t have to do anything to get an inheritance. Somebody ought to shout with me right here now.
When I die—and I’m going to die at some point; we hope it ain’t no time soon, but we’re going to die—and when I die, my wife, if she’s still alive, and my kids, they going to cry for about a minute, and when they finish crying, they going to shout because I’ve left them an inheritance. They have an inheritance.
And you know why they got the inheritance? Not 'cause of anything they did, not because of anything they’ve achieved—they get it just because they’re my children. And God says, «I got an inheritance for you just because you’re My children.» Somebody ought to give God a shout. Say, «I am His son; I’m His daughter; I’m His child.» And because I am His child, I’ve got an inheritance.
Somebody say, «Thank God I got an inheritance.» And no devil in hell can take it away. I’ve got an inheritance. Somebody high-five your neighbor, say, «I’ve got an inheritance.» Hallelujah, praise His name, glory to God. Give God the glory and the thanks.
10. Sealed with the Holy Spirit
I got one more—can I give you this last point? I just want somebody around the table to say one of these things—one, just one of these 10 things, along with whatever else they’re thankful for. I know they’re thankful for their jobs and their car, but Lord, if just one of them would say one of these things.
And here’s number 10—it’s in verse 13: «In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed.» Somebody say, «I’m sealed.» Somebody help me shout and say, «I’m sealed.» Can’t no devil in hell take away what God has given to me. I’m sealed.
Woo, as a matter of fact, the Scripture says we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Ghost seals us. Oh, I feel like shouting right now—I feel like giving God the praise that I’m sealed. Somebody say, «I’m sealed, I’m sealed, I’m sealed.» Tell your neighbor, high-five somebody, say, «I’m sealed, I’m sealed, I’m sealed, I’m sealed.»
It’s a done deal. Seal means it’s done—it’s finished, it’s completed; nothing else needs to be done; it’s accomplished. I’m sealed. Whenever you buy a property, when you go to closing on a piece of property and you have a lawyer or a notary public at the closing, after you’ve signed all your papers, the notary public has a responsibility of stamping the papers—that means it’s official—with a seal.
I just had to give God a run around on that: that He’s stamped it with His name and stamped it by the Holy Ghost—that is sealed. Somebody say, «I’m sealed.» My destiny is sealed, my future is sealed, my salvation is sealed. Sealed! Woo, when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all He has done for me, my soul cries out, «Hallelujah! Thank God I’m sealed, I’m sealed, I’m sealed.»
And can’t no devil in hell take it away—it’s a done deal. Somebody high-five two or three people, say, «It’s a done deal—it’s complete, it’s finished, it’s concluded, it’s official. I’m sealed.» Hey, thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Lord! No devil in hell can take what God has given to me. Hallelujah!