Mensa Otabil - Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
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We thank God for taking us through the 40 days of power, which we ended yesterday. We’re still in the greater works season and conference, and we trust God to do great things in your life. I want to share with you an important part of our prayer, and that is the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Jonah chapter 2, verse 9 says, «But I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.» These are the last words that Jonah spoke in the belly of the fish. If you know the story of Jonah, he disobeyed God, and a fish swallowed him up. He was there for three days, and in the belly of the fish, he prayed.
These are the last words of his prayer: «I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.» After he prayed this prayer, God commanded the fish to vomit him out. Jonah committed to thanksgiving because thanksgiving is an expression of faith. At this time, when Jonah says he’s offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, he had not experienced deliverance; he was still in the belly of the fish. But when he committed to the sacrifice of thanksgiving, God then said to the fish, «Release him.» He committed to it before he experienced the release.
Now, what would you do if you were called by your boss, which I believe will happen to many of you? If your boss speaks to you and says, «Listen, you have a promotion, a salary increase, or a bonus coming your way,» and your boss says, «I’ve recommended this to the board, the director, or the MD,» you would not wait to say, «I need to see it before I thank him.» The moment he says that, you say, «Thank you, sir. Thank you, madam. Thank you for this recommendation. Thank you for helping me,» and probably you would go and buy a thank you card to say, «Thank you so much, sir. Thank you so much, ma’am, for recommending me and for the bonus.»
Now, you will do all of that before you receive what he promised. If you would do that for your boss, don’t you think we should also offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving before we even see the things that God has promised us? That’s what Jonah said he would do: «I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.» I like how the Bible puts it; it’s a sacrifice of thanksgiving, which means it was hard to do-to thank God when you haven’t yet physically received what you’re expecting. Many of you are in that place where you’ve prayed for 40 days and 40 nights and sought the face of the Lord. Start offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Don’t wait to see it before you thank God; thank God, and then you will see it. That’s the formula of the Bible.
Then Jonah says something else besides thanksgiving: «I will pay what I have vowed.» Jonah committed to paying his vows. Many times when people expect God to do something for them, they make vows to God, saying, «Oh Lord, if you do this, I will do that for you. Oh Lord, if you answer my prayer, I’ll serve you with all my heart,» and we make all kinds of commitments to the Lord. But often, we don’t fulfill our vows to the Lord. If you’ve made vows to God, if you’ve made commitments to the Lord, if you’ve said, «Lord, if you do this for me, I will do that,» it’s about time that you follow the steps of Jonah and pay your vows. Commit to paying your vows, commit to redeeming the promises you’ve made to God, and then after Jonah did that, God said to the fish, «Release him.»
So his commitment to thanksgiving and paying his vows brought the release. We serve a God of our past, of our present, and our future. He’s a constant God; he never changes, and his principles and methods are the same. Commit to the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Commit to honoring the vows you’ve made to God, and watch what God will do in your life.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are the God of my past, present, and future. I offer my sacrifice of thanksgiving to you and honor my vows. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Well, have a great day, and I trust that your day will end on a supernatural note. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.