Core Values of the Believer - Part 21 - Pastor Philip Steele - September 13th, 2026

Hi, my name is Michelle Steele.

Pastor Phillip and I want to thank you for listening to this message from Life of Faith Church.

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And we've been looking at this that I've called the core values of the believer.

And the Lord had given me seven core values.

We won't go through all of them.

We've been centered up here over the last few weeks on being determined to be thankful.

Determined to be thankful.

Say out loud, I'm determined to be thankful.

And uh we've gone into some of why this is so important.

Uh as far as thankfulness goes, we we spent a number of weeks uh uh looking at being determined to walk by faith.

And of course, we'll never get too far from that because we are a life of faith, and so uh we will just continue with that.

But all of these things, all of these core values, have to do with our faith.

The very first one that we ministered on was being determined to put the word first place.

Put the word first place.

If I'm not putting the word first place, my faith is not going to be strong.

It's not gonna work because the word is the fuel for your faith.

All right, the word is that's how faith comes, by hearing the word of God.

Um we talked about uh for a number of weeks determining to walk by love and walk in love.

Well, Galatians 5, 6 says that's how your faith works.

That's how your faith is energized, that's how your faith operates, is by love, preposition by the channel, the way something operates.

And so then we've got over here into uh being determined to be thankful, right?

Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a faith accelerant.

All right, it's a faith accelerant, it accelerates our faith.

In 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18, the apostle Paul is uh ending this letter to the church at Thessalonica, and he goes through a set of instructions here that will help them grow.

And in verse 18, he says, notice in everything, give thanks.

Hallelujah.

For this giving of thanks is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The amplified Bible says, thank God in everything, no matter the circumstances.

Hallelujah.

And I pointed out when he says, For this is the will of God, the word this, the pronoun this, points back to the giving of thanks as being the will of God.

All right?

I used to tell the Bible school students all the time, don't just read your Bible, read your Bible.

Right?

Because how many times have you heard people say, well, you know, something bad happens?

Well, we're just gonna thank God because he says, Thank God for everything.

It's not what he said.

He said, In everything, give thanks for this, the giving of thanks, is the will of God concerning you.

Hallelujah.

And I made a statement one time, and some people looked at me funny.

There are things that have come into my life.

I'm not gonna thank God for them because there was nothing good about them.

Amen.

I've had people say, Well, what'd you learn from it?

Not to do that again.

That's what I learned.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

You know, a guy punches a wall because he's mad and breaks his hand and say, What'd you learn?

Not to punch the wall or not get mad, right?

But but God didn't teach me anything further than that.

You learn nothing new from the second kick of a mule.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, right?

It was bad the first time, it's bad the second time.

Right?

Hallelujah.

I was out watering my wife's roses one day, and and oh, well, you know, it's been hot, and all of a sudden I felt something biting my leg.

And I looked down and I had wandered into a red ant hill.

Amen.

You say, what'd you learn?

Not to step on that hill no more.

Or wear jeans when I'm watering my wife's roses.

One.

Right?

Now, why is this important?

Because if you get sidetracked, you'll start, you'll start thanking God for things that God had nothing to do with.

And when you're thanking God for something that God had nothing to do with, God is powerless to help you out of it.

Because He didn't do it.

Amen.

No matter what we face in life, we're to remain thankful.

We're not thankful for the circumstances, but thankful to God in the circumstances.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

And notice he says, in everything, give thanks.

Now this should be a given, but he's he doesn't say complain.

Say out loud, no matter what you're facing, don't complain.

See, complaining will do no good.

Hallelujah.

Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

I was looking at this this morning.

And I had said Wednesday night that some number of years ago I'd ministered a series entitled, If you complain, you remain.

Complain and remain.

Right?

I actually think, Brother Brian, I actually think I stole that from John Osteen.

I think I did.

Complain and remain.

And uh, you know, John, Brother John, he used to be on every Sunday morning.

They would come on.

I stole a lot of his messages.

Actually, it wasn't stealing, it was more like copyright infringement.

But anyway, hallelujah.

But my point is, complaining will cause you to stay where you're at.

All right?

Notice 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 10.

He's talking about the people of Israel, and he says, neither murmur you as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

That word murmur means people that discontentedly complain.

Discontentedly complain.

I did a just a brief study on this, and and and again, it was during my morning study time just putting things together.

And just real briefly, and I saw how many times the people of Israel complained.

Right?

God delivered them out of bondage, and the day he delivered them out of bondage, they complained.

Brought us to the Red Sea to die.

And God opened the Red Sea, delivered them, drowned Pharaoh and his army in the sea.

The next day, you can read it, the next day, they get tomorrow, and the waters are bitter.

What'd they do?

Complained, brought us out here to die.

We're all gonna die of thirst.

You would think, now you would think that because they had seen God deliver them and bring them out and drown Pharaoh and his army in the sea and bring them out of bondage, you would think at least they would say, God's gonna do something.

They started complaining.

See, the problem with complaining is it separates you from the ability of God.

Hallelujah.

There was nothing in the natural anybody could do about those waters being bitter.

There's nothing anybody could do.

Moses couldn't do anything.

Nobody could do anything.

If anybody could fix it, it had to be God.

When I fail to be thankful in my circumstances, here's what I'm doing: I'm separating myself from God's ability because nobody else can fix it.

The only person that can fix it is God.

So I need to be thankful.

Oh, hallelujah.

When a person starts complaining, they complain, we complain because of how it feels.

We complain of the pressure, we complain because the challenges that we're facing.

The only one that can fix those things is God.

Amen.

And so he said, don't complain.

Why?

Thanksgiving produces victory.

Thanksgiving produces victory.

We'll see that here in just a little bit.

Complaining produces defeat.

Hallelujah.

If you've ever been around anybody, and we call it negativity, but just a complainer.

Have you ever worked where somebody just complains?

If it's hot, they complain.

If it's cold, they complain.

If they got to work over, they complain.

If they're not getting enough hours, they complain.

If they cater lunch, they complain about what they got.

If they don't cater lunch, they complain about what a cheap place they work for.

Nothing can please that person.

They're not thankful.

If they get a bonus, they complain that it's not enough.

When what should our attitude be?

I'm thankful I got anything.

I didn't deserve nothing.

I'm thankful I got something.

Hallelujah.

You know, they didn't have to hire you.

They didn't have to give you that job.

They don't have to pay you.

They don't have to keep you employed.

That's the favor of God that I'm there.

That's why what did the Bible say?

It said when you go to work that you work for your employer as what?

As you're working for the Lord.

Why?

Because He gave you that job.

He blessed you.

He brought that, He brought that income into your life.

Oh, hallelujah.

When people complain, they distance themselves from the blessings of God.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

I've heard people say before, well, my boss this, and I'll caution him.

Don't say that.

Don't badmouth your boss.

Yeah, but he don't batmouth.

Stop.

It might be true what you're saying, but you don't, what did he say?

He said they complained and they were destroyed.

You know who keeps their job?

The thankful.

You knew right?

Amen.

I told you this story when I worked in the uh in the uh corporate world, secular world, and it seemed like every two weeks there was a report coming down that they were going to close this part of the company, and they were gonna do this, and there was a little short guy, Daniel Van Meter, and he was the company gossip.

Yeah.

And and he always had the scuttle butt, you know.

That's what he called it.

Here's the scuttle butt.

I never knew what scuttle and butt was.

I never knew.

Right?

I I understand now it's the word, it's the gossip, right?

And he would come and say, they're gonna close this down, they're gonna close this down.

And finally, one day I went over and I just sat on his desk and I said, Daniel, let me tell you something.

I said, as long as I'm here, you'll have a job.

He said, What?

I said, God gave me this job, and as long as I need this job, this company will be open.

So I said, as long as I'm here, you don't have nothing to worry about.

Well, he just kind of looked at me.

He didn't understand.

Well, then the Lord told me that morning, he said, February 22nd, 1999 is the last day, your last day on that job.

He wanted me to go in the full-time ministry.

And so I did.

Gave my two weeks' notice and left.

By four weeks later, I had to go back to pick up a vacation check.

For whatever reason, my address had changed, they didn't get it, I had to go pick it up.

So I went in, long story short, I went in uh to get that check.

And I got it from HR, and I'm walking down the hallway.

And Daniel comes out and walks down the hallway and he goes, You know, you were right.

Well, I'm glad to hear I'm right.

I mean, I don't hear that a lot, so what was I right about?

And he said, Two weeks after you left, the word came down, we're closing.

Right?

When you're thankful, the Lord will lead you and guide you.

The Lord will direct you.

Things won't sneak up on you because you put yourself in a position to hear.

But when a person's complaining, all they're hearing is all of their disgust, all of their angst, everything that bothers them.

Is that right?

And what happens?

Destruction can come.

The Bible says, if you read the Word of God, it says that they complained about manna.

Now I don't know how you complain about angel food.

Right?

Because that's what the Bible said.

They ate angels' food.

Isn't that what it says?

And they complained about it.

I don't know how it tastes, I don't know.

I believe it tasted good, but I don't know.

And it says God said, Okay, so they want some meat to go with their manna.

You tell them I'm gonna send quail.

And he sent quail flying three feet off the ground through that camp.

And the Bible says that the person that gathered the least gathered a 55-gallon drum full of quail.

Now, I said this Wednesday, I want to repeat it.

If you ever go to a restaurant that's high-end enough to serve it and order quail, you'll find out how expensive it is.

It's not cheap to eat, it's high-end stuff.

It says they had all the quail they wanted.

Read it in the book of Psalms.

And it says, and while the quail was in their mouth, they complained.

They wanted meat, they got meat, and they complained.

See, why is this so important?

What should have happened when they saw the quail?

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

If I get one, thank you.

Right?

Thank you.

Anything good happens in your life, what's your response?

Thank you, Lord.

You did that.

That didn't just happen.

That didn't just occur.

You did that for me.

Right?

And what does that do?

That sets you up for more victory.

That sets you up for more victory.

It listen, it doesn't matter what it is.

If you're trying to get on the highway and nobody will let you on, finally somebody stops.

Thank you.

Thank you, Lord.

That didn't just happen.

They weren't just being nice.

Thank you.

Yeah, but Pastor, that's no big deal.

It's it sets you up to have the right heart and mindset when something big does happen.

If a person's not thankful for the little things, they're not going to be thankful for the big things.

Hallelujah.

I had this discussion with Liliana in the car line the other day at school.

And we we were talking about some things, and and uh uh we were we were like first in line, which is not unusual for us, but but we were talking about being first in line.

She likes being first or second somewhere around there.

Pastor Michelle picked her up one day and she was like 15 cars back, and Liliana said, Daddy would never let this happen.

It doesn't matter, but you understand.

And so we're standing there, and I said, Well, we're first in line, and she was kind of like, eh.

And I'm like, Well, you know, I mean, that's that's good, right?

And she goes, Yeah, but you know, that's what you're supposed to do.

And I thought, okay, okay, here's my opportunity.

I said, Yeah, I'm supposed to.

But you need to be thankful that somebody will do this for you.

You could ride the bus.

Right?

So you should be thankful that somebody will get up extra early and drive extra miles, right, to get you to school.

And so she kind of looked at me and said, Your teacher.

I called her teacher's name.

I said, you know, she she she teaches you, right?

And helps you.

Yeah.

And I said, You appreciate it, right?

She said, Yeah.

I said, Well, she's just doing what she's supposed to do.

And she said, Yeah, but she's my teacher.

I said, but wait a minute.

Right?

They're supposed to teach you, but you need to be thankful that they will teach you.

If you cultivate that in your life, am I helping you?

If you cultivate that in your life, everything that comes along, you're thankful.

Right?

Everything that comes along?

There may be days that somebody says, Well, you know, how is your day today?

What happened to you good?

And you got to really struggle.

You, you, you are challenged to think of any good thing that happened.

If nothing else, you can say, I'm thankful, nothing bad happened.

Amen.

Why?

Because the thankful get the favor, the thankful get the grace.

If you're thankful, you get the grace of God.

Oh, hallelujah.

Say out loud, I'm thankful.

So, thanksgiving produces victory.

Thanksgiving produces victory.

I said this, and and I and I'm repeating these things because I want you to see them.

I remember when the Lord started talking to me about the call of God on our life.

And uh, you know, Michelle and I, we were just we were just hungry for what God wanted.

It was, Lord, whatever you want for our lives.

And we we were living in a little rental house, and make no mistake, it's the best home we'd ever lived in.

It wasn't anything to think about, but it was great.

It was better than anything we'd ever had.

And I would just get up in the morning and pray in that living room, pray in the Holy Spirit, Father, I just want what you want for our lives.

I wasn't tagging it.

I wasn't talking about full-time ministry, I wasn't talking about just what you want for our lives.

And we're learning all these things.

And God started opening up all these doors and opened up opportunities to be in the full-time ministry and these different things.

I've made it a point every day of my life in the ministry to make sure I thank God that He counted me worthy, placing me in the ministry.

Because you could have called anybody else to do this.

You could have asked anybody else, but you ask me.

And ever what people think of the scope of our ministry, I don't care if just two folks show up.

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that we got someplace that God thought we were worthy and thought we were capable of doing something for Him.

I hear ministers at times they start complaining, complaining about their church, complaining about the people.

You better hush.

You better hush because you don't have to be in the ministry.

Next year, you don't have to be in the ministry.

You could be doing something else.

You just need to be thankful.

I say you need to be thankful.

The minister that I preached for, he had 12 people, 12 regular people coming to hear him preach.

And he would he would complain.

I said, bro, you better be thankful.

You got 12 folk coming to hear you.

Amen.

You got 12 people that think enough of you to show up.

If you're whatever you're thankful about, God will multiply.

Whatever you complain about, God can't help you with.

Hallelujah.

And so, ever what challenges or trials you face, I've heard people say the ministry got so hard, I just got mad at God.

How could you ever get mad at God that saved you, healed you, delivered you, saved you from hell?

How could you get mad at God?

How could you be anything but thankful to him?

I don't understand that.

Ministers, I got mad at God and backslid.

Well, that's I'm I gotta be nice.

As one older minister that I knew, oh uh that that helped us so much in the ministry, somebody would do something and he would say, You were a fool.

Somebody get get mad at God and run away from God because something didn't go right.

That's foolish thinking.

I need to be thankful.

My next breath would not come to me if it wasn't for God.

I couldn't put two sentences together if it wasn't for God.

My hands that produce so much for my family would produce nothing if it wasn't for God.

He blesses the works of my hands.

He the Bible says, He causes my foot to not slip and fall.

He orders my steps.

You didn't do anything based on your intellect or your ability or your strength or your Whatever.

It was all God.

It was all God.

It was the blessing of the Lord on your life.

And for somebody to say, I'm mad at God, and I'm gonna, that's just foolish talk.

That's just foolish talk.

Amen.

God's done too much for anybody for them not to be thankful.

Hallelujah.

First Corinthians 15.

Hallelujah.

And you know, I say that, I understand pressure comes.

I understand challenges come.

You understand?

I mean, I do.

And I understand that that's all designed to draw to move you away from God.

It's all designed to move you away from the answer.

Thanksgiving draws you to the answer.

Complaining moves you away from the answer.

Amen.

When you don't know why a certain situation has happened, be thankful.

Don't enter into all the questions.

There was a minister one time, he told the story that he had some ministers over, and they were talking about certain things in the Bible.

You know what?

They would call hard things, hard to understand.

And they were all saying, Well, this is my opinion, and this is my opinion, and this is my opinion.

Well, they never come to any conclusion.

And he said he had settled in, was going to sleep that night, and the Lord spoke to him and said, Would you like to know something?

And he said, What's that?

He said, You are further from the answer than you've ever been.

Right?

When I'm not thankful, I get further from the answer than I've ever been.

Right?

Because who gets the grace?

The thankful.

Right?

Who gets the answers?

The thankful.

I'm thankful.

I had an employee in the church one time, and I had to uh to talk to them.

And I said, uh, uh, I need to put your position on pause for a few months because there's some things the Lord wants us to do.

And and and and and it in reality, we didn't have a lot for them to do.

Some things had changed.

And they looked at me and they said, Well, can I keep helping here?

And can I keep doing this?

And can I keep doing that?

And that not, they not only did they not slow down, they added things to their volunteer list to do at the church.

And when I was praying, and the Lord said, Now I want you to bring that person back on paid staff, he said, and you tell them when you tell them they can start back, you tell them the reason why you're rehiring them was because their attitude was right.

I've talked to other people and said, we need to do this for a time being.

No, I'm I'm not doing that.

If I'm not gonna get paid, I'm not gonna do it.

Well, I see.

Now ask now, ask yourself, now why were they here?

Why were they doing anything?

Because they were thankful?

Because they were getting paid.

Is that right?

This is important.

Because if you want increase in your life, you your your thanksgiving has to increase.

The Lord said this one time.

He said, Would you like to know how to increase your capacity to receive?

And the minister he said that too said, Yes, Lord.

And the Lord said, you have to increase the level of your thanksgiving.

Brother Jerry always said this.

He said, He said, when your attitude of thanksgiving increases, you can count on it.

The blessings of God will begin to increase in your life.

Oh, hallelujah.

Am I helping you?

1 Corinthians 15, 57.

Notice what it says.

It says, but thanks be to God that gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So thanks be to God.

Why?

What does he give us?

Victory.

Who gives us victory?

Who gives us victory?

The Lord gives us victory.

So what are we to him?

Thankful.

Why?

He gives us victory.

Right?

So ever what you're dealing with, ever what you may deal with, what happens through God?

You get victory.

Hallelujah.

We thank God that gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, one translation says.

We thank God that gives us the victory.

In 2 Corinthians 2.

Again, he says, now thanks be to God that always causes us to triumph in Christ.

Always causes us to triumph.

So if I triumph, there's a reason.

There's a cause.

Who is it?

God.

Right?

Not my wisdom.

Now you need to use your wisdom.

Not my effort.

You need to put in your effort, but who causes the victory?

Christ.

God.

And what do we do?

We give thanks.

Amen.

So you get up in the morning and you say, Thank you, Lord.

Everything's going my way today.

It's not just a faith confession.

You're basing it on being thankful because I'm thankful everything's going to go my way today.

Because I'm thankful.

Amen.

Victory is mine today in Christ.

Hallelujah.

Now that sounds elementary until you start hearing people talk about blue Monday, terrible Tuesday, wacky Wednesday.

Amen.

Freaky Friday.

And then they get to the weekend like, oh, thank God I'm at the weekend.

And then what do they do?

They complain because the weekend's what?

Too short.

They complain, gotta work five days, only get two days off.

If you start watching unthankful people, they don't do as much as they say they do.

They don't do near as much as they say they do.

You see somebody that's thankful for their job, they're putting in eight hours a day for eight hours pay.

If you come and you say, I need you to work a couple hours over, three or four hours over, yes, sir.

Whatever you need, why I'm thankful.

At least I got a job.

I'm working.

Is that right?

Because they they realize I'm thankful.

He said, I'm thankful because he always causes me to triumph.

Always at all times.

The Greek says, every win.

What that means is whenever.

Right?

I'm thankful whenever.

Why?

Because he always causes me to triumph.

Hallelujah.

Look at your neighbor and say, I know why you always win.

God causes you to triumph.

So many good things are going to happen to you.

So many good things are going to happen to you.

Oh, hallelujah.

Why?

Because he causes.

He's the instigator.

He is the mechanism that makes this happen.

He causes me to triumph.

Oh, hallelujah.

The word causes means to give the victory.

He always gives victory.

So thanks be to God that always at all times gives us victory.

Always at all times gives us victory.

So always and at all times that there's been victory, he caused it.

Hallelujah.

Thanks be to God that always gives us the victory.

So Paul says, no matter what I face or when I face it, God gives me the victory.

And notice, thanks be to God is present in both verses.

So what does that mean?

Thanksgiving is the key to victory.

Thanksgiving is the key to victory.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

You know, of course, the pastor and Miss Jeannie will be with us next week on Sunday evening.

And every time they're in the church, I'm just thankful.

I get to help them.

I'm thankful.

And here's why.

I remember this would have been, well, it was the, it was the uh, it would have been the camp meeting the year before Brother Hagin passed away, so it would have been 2002 was the camp meeting.

And uh we went to Rayma camp meeting, and uh, of course, we're not in the position we're in now, and uh so we couldn't stay for the whole week.

We could only we we would get there, we would drive up usually Sunday evening after church because it's in Tulsa, and we were in the we were then in the Kansas City area, and so we would drive, and we would usually stay Monday and Tuesday, and maybe Tuesday and Wednesday.

And uh that that was about it.

And that year we went, and his his his uh program for camp meeting was always faith in praying, faith and prayer in the morning, and then the Holy Spirit in the evening.

And that's what the Lord told him to do.

Well, preaching that morning, the first morning we were there, were happy and Jeannie Caldwell.

I'd never heard him minister live.

I'd heard him say some things on you know on tape, but he ministered that morning on five ways to plant your faith.

And you know, I've said for years there's a voice that God wants you attached to that will just speak to you.

Right?

I sat there in that camp meeting, and it was like I had never heard anybody teach on faith before.

Five ways to plant your faith and how not to have roller coaster faith.

Right?

Well, I remember sitting there in that camp meeting thinking, man, it would be wonderful to have a relationship with people like that.

Right?

And I went, I went and and and went to their table.

The the church had sent, I say the church, they they had set aside some funds for us to buy some product while we're there, and I went back there and uh went to his table, and the first thing I bought was eagle leadership.

Very first series I bought of his.

And that first tape, uh uh maybe it was a CD, it might have been a tape, but 12 acres of vision, 12 acres of vision.

I'd never heard any minister preach on vision until then.

Changed my life, radically transformed my life and my thinking.

It made me think bigger.

He was making me think bigger and didn't even know me.

I didn't meet him until 2010, when we went on VTN.

We've been on VTN since 2010.

That's a long time.

And and when I met, when I met him, I just knew there's something here.

But you got to understand, every time they come to our church, I'm thankful.

Because you brought them into our life.

You gave us that opportunity.

Every time I get to go and help and serve, I'm thankful.

I've had people say, doesn't, you know, doesn't that kind of thing get old?

And isn't it laborious?

Listen, it is what it is.

I'm thankful.

Because God could, the Lord told me one time, he said, when when my pastor was standing in my office in the Kansas location, he had come to minister.

Miss Jeannie was not in a position to travel then.

You remember some of the things that the Lord delivered her out of, and and the tumor that she had on the brain and these different things.

She was right in the middle of dealing with that.

And a freak storm had hit in Kansas, and so we're kind of, you know, kind of have he's not gonna be able to stay for the evening.

We got to get him back to the airport, blah, blah, blah.

Well, we're standing in the in the office, and he told us in the office, this was 2013, that he was gonna be trans uh transitioning uh in the ministry.

And he said, we're gonna be doing a lot of traveling.

And and up out of our spirit, Michelle and I both asked this question Well, who's gonna help you?

And he made the statement, uh, we don't have anybody help us.

And the Lord spoke to both of us and said, That's your job.

That's your job.

Right?

And without saying too much, we've endeavored to do that, right?

And still are endeavoring to do that.

But here's the thing.

I was asking the Lord one time.

I was flying to him uh with him to Jasper, Alabama, and uh we were we were going there to minister, and when we got there, I'll say this.

He would never say it, but I can say it.

And they didn't treat him right, and I didn't care for how they treated him, right?

I mean, I was like Jesse.

I felt my cajun coming up, my Tabasco, right?

And I'm not even cajing.

Amen.

Right?

But anyway, I was sitting on the front row and and the Lord said something to me.

He said, service is seed.

And he said, every time you sow a seed of service into your pastor's life, you are receiving far more than you're giving.

And he said, You should be thankful for every opportunity.

And I was praying about that one time.

And I said, Lord, I'll do anything you ask me to do, but you know, why us?

I mean, you know, we're the ones that people looked at and said, You're the bottom of the barrel.

And you know what the Lord said?

He said, I ask other people to do it and they wouldn't.

He said, I knew you would.

I'm thankful.

See, I don't know everything, but here's what I know.

If God asks you to do something, do it and be thankful that he asks you.

Amen.

Are you following me?

See, I look at it like this, and the Holy Spirit has me saying a lot of different things today, but this is gonna help us.

When my pastor picks up the phone and calls me and says, Hey, can you help me do this?

Here's now this is me.

You do whatever you want.

I consider that God asking me.

I don't have to pray about it.

I don't have to pray about it.

You told me to help Pastor.

That's my job.

Yeah, but what if you got something on the counter?

Clear it.

Why?

He asked.

I'll give you an example.

I was driving down the road just not too long ago, and and I was talking to one of my associate ministers, and and it came up, it was Pastor Cole.

Well, I said, Let me call you back.

I clicked over, he said, Hey, on sudden, sudden, sudden day, these three dates, can you do this?

Yes, sir.

Do you need to look at your calendar?

No, sir.

It's done.

He said, Okay, that works.

Quick conversation.

I I hung up with him, I called my wife.

I said, On these certain dates, I'll be doing this.

She said, Oh, we got this, this, and this.

And I said, You know what to do?

She said, Yeah, I'll clear them.

See, because God asked me, right?

God, and and to say no is to be unthankful for the opportunity that he gave me.

Right?

That that takes people away from this idea of, well, you know, the Lord's been dealing with me.

Do you know, do you know that to constantly delay doing what you know God is dealing with you about is to be unthankful and ungrateful for Him asking you?

If God has asked somebody 16 times to do something and they're dragging their feet, that's ungratefulness.

I need to be thankful and sign up.

I might not can do it right away, but I can say yes right away.

Kind of quiet in Zion, but you understand?

That's where a lot of people miss it.

I'll reference my pastor again.

One time he made a statement he was ministering, and he said, he said, I would rather act quickly and miss God than sit and do nothing.

Right?

And be disobedient.

This is important.

Why?

Because that's how Thanksgiving is.

I'm thankful for everything God has given me.

If he's given me an opportunity to minister, to help in the church, I'm thankful.

If he's given me an opportunity to work in the church, I'm thankful.

If he's given me an opportunity, I'm thankful.

Why?

Because I he doesn't have to use me.

And that doesn't matter what it is greeter, usher, A.

V.

Praise and worship, uh, teaching in a class, teaching kids, teaching students.

What I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that you considered me worthy and gave me this position and this opportunity.

Oh, hallelujah! And what will he do?

He'll give you victory through that.

I say he'll give you victory through that.

So no matter what I face, I get the victory.

No matter the circumstances, if I'll remain thankful, I will always come out on top.

Say it out loud.

God always gives me the victory.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

Say that one more time.

Say no matter what I face, if I stay thankful, I'll come out on top.

Oh, hallelujah.

If I'll just stay thankful.

Amen.

Folks, when I've missed it before, I've missed it before and had to go repent to the Lord.

And I went with this attitude.

I'm thankful that I can come ask you to forgive me.

I'm thankful that you said you'd forgive me.

I'm thankful that you said you'd turn this around.

I messed it up, but you're gonna fix it.

Oh, hallelujah! So what am I the the thankful get the victory?

The thankful get the provision.

The thankful get the provision.

You know, I found it interesting.

When when you look at, and I'll give you these verses, you can write them down, we're not going to turn to them.

For instance, in in uh Matthew 15, and I believe it's 36, and then John 6, 11, are the accounts of Jesus feeding the 5,000.

And I found it interesting that in both of those instances, in both of those instances, it says that Jesus took that those uh uh bread and fish and blessed them and gave thanks.

Gave thanks.

What followed it?

Multiplication.

Why?

The thankful get the provision.

The thankful get the provision.

And then in in Mark 8, 6, when he fed the 4,000, he did the same thing.

Blessed it and gave thanks.

Hallelujah.

I know that Jesus was giving thanks because he's our example, but there's power in thanksgiving.

All of the stories that you've heard over the years, you've heard numerous stories.

For instance, about George Mueller that had that children's uh orphanage in England, and and uh uh all of the Reese Howells intercessor, that was a wonderful man of prayer.

And we hear those miracles when they didn't have food to feed all those children.

And so they would just put the bowls and the plates out in front of them, and then they would say, now we're gonna thank God.

We're gonna thank God for provision.

And see, we get a couple chapters ahead because we know what always happened.

Somebody would knock on the door, somebody would bring the money, somebody would bring what they needed.

But what preceded the check, the knock, the thing, thanksgiving.

What if they'd have just wrung their hands?

I don't know what we're gonna do.

We got all these kids to feed.

God asked us to do this, and he's not done what he said he would do.

No, they just stayed thankful.

They stayed thankful.

I learned a long time ago, when you see something that's a deficit, start thanking God for the provision.

Start thanking God for more than enough.

Because it doesn't, if if you investigate it and you find out there's something you need to change, go ahead and change it.

Do what you need to do.

Then thank God for the provision.

Amen.

So the thankful get the provision.

The thankful get the favor.

The thankful get the favor.

I was at Sam's yesterday.

Yesterday was a very busy day.

We had uh Lily is in cheer, and so we had a uh a game in Bigelow.

I had to go to Bigelow and and uh and and watch that game, and and uh so you know that's up early in the morning and doing all that.

And so then we get back, and Saturday is my Sam's Club day.

All right, I go stock up on things at Sam's Club.

Pastor Michelle just got in from California on Friday, so I didn't want her to running around, so I went to Sam's and and and and got all that.

Well, I'm at Sam's, and and you know how Sam's is busy, busy, busy.

Amen.

And and and a lady came, one of the ladies came, one of the employees came, and you could tell she didn't want to be there, you could tell it was like it was like I'm coming on shift, and I don't want to really be here.

And so she relieved the guy that was checking out, and she looked at me and said, Is this you?

I said, That's me.

Right?

And and I thought to myself, now this is how I think you do whatever you want.

I thought to myself, now this can go good or it can go bad, and uh I'm in charge, right?

And so she's, you know, she's she's scanning things and just kind of, and I just looked at her, I said, Are you having a good day?

And she looked at me, and it's like she had to process that.

And she went, Well, I guess it's all right.

How about you?

And I said, Well, yeah, you know, I'm I'm having a good day.

Amen.

And the more I sat and stood there and talked to her, just the friendlier she got.

Ma'am, by the time we now she was an older lady, and and by the time we got done, she's calling me baby.

Here you go, baby.

Here you go.

Thank you, baby.

Right?

Well, I I I decided I got an opportunity here.

I can I can be ungrateful for her attitude, or I can be thankful.

Right?

Because what what did the thank the thankful get the favor?

So we're thankful.

Am I helping you?

I heard Brother Moore tell a story one time.

They were uh at an airport, and it came across, you know, the loudspeaker, this flight has been canceled.

You know, you should go to the ticket agent, blah, blah, blah.

And he said, I was there and I was behind a bunch of people, and he said, They were mad.

I need to get here, and you're causing me to be late.

And he said, the lady was just working, and she kept looking up and said, I can't help you.

I can't help you.

And they would get mad, and she said, I'm sorry, nothing I can do.

And they'd leave.

And he said, three or four went like that.

And he said, We're just back here praying in spirit.

And he said, I got up there to the uh ticket counter, and he said, I looked around and said, Ma'am, I know you are having a bad day.

He said, But can you look and see if there's anything possible that you can do to help us?

He said, She never even responded to me.

She was just typing the whole time I was talking.

And he said, All of a sudden that printer printed this out, and she handed me my tickets and my boarding pass that go right down to that gate.

I got you on that flight.

And he said, I just looked at her and she said, I could have done that for all of them if their attitude would have been right.

Thankful.

Thankful.

How could you be thankful in that case?

Here's the thing: was there a reason the flight was delayed?

Was God keeping me off that flight?

I need to be thankful instead of pushing my way into something that God might be trying to rescue me out of.

Oh, hallelujah.

Amen.

Look at Acts 27.

I got a lot of stories, and I'll just keep telling them if we don't stay with the word.

I learned that.

I learned a lesson.

I was flying with Pastor Caldwell, Michelle and I to Canada.

We were going to uh Canada to preach at Craig Fields Church.

Uh Craig and Jennifer Fields, they're part of uh of uh Fresh Oil Fellowship with us with Pastor Nancy.

And uh we were going there to minister at his church, and we were sitting there in the airport, and it said it came over the line that our flight had been delayed and that we were going to another gate.

And uh, you know, I'm thinking, okay.

And Pastor looked at me and he said, Well, what do y'all think about that?

And I knew what he meant.

Not what do I think?

What do I think?

So we all just took some time and prayed about it.

Do we need to keep pursuing this?

Right?

And we all got a clear witness in our spirit.

We're gonna go on, go with it.

And of course, everything went right.

I learned that.

When something like that comes up, just don't press into it.

I need to say, now, Lord, what we are are you trying to stop something?

Are you trying to uh uh help us avoid something?

And then be thankful.

Don't complain about the delay.

Be thankful.

Hallelujah.

Acts 27, verse 18.

Acts 27:18

Now you remember Paul is on this ship, and it says, we were being exceedingly tossed with tempests.

The next day they lightened the ship.

The third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship, and when neither sun or stars, we and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away.

Hallelujah.

I know we've all listened we've all been in situations where it looks like there's no hope.

But you know, Paul's writing this by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he says, all hope was gone.

No hope.

They have just unloaded all the stuff on the ship by their own hands, right?

But after long abstinence, they'd been fasting.

Paul stood forth in the midst and said, Sirs, you should listen to me and not loose from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

Now I exhort you, now watch, be of good cheer.

For what?

They're still in the storm.

There's still no hope.

But he says, You be of good cheer.

There will be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.

Why, there stood by me this night, the angel of the Lord, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul, you must be brought before Caesar, and God has given you all that sail with you.

Wherefore, or because of that, be of good cheer.

I believe God that it will be to me even as it was told.

Oh, hallelujah.

Cheer in both of these instances means to be joyful.

Be joyful.

Hallelujah.

Joyful people are thankful people.

If you're joyful, you're thankful.

Amen.

Joy and thanksgiving go hand in hand.

What I'm thankful for, I'm joyful about.

What I'm joyful about, I'm thankful for.

You have to have joy to be thankful.

There are no joyful grumpy people.

Right?

There are no joyful grumpy people.

I mean I'm joyful.

No, no, you're not.

Grumpy people are never thankful.

They'll complain and criticize, but they're never thankful.

When we're thankful and joyful in the circumstance, then the power of God shows up.

Amen.

Brother Jerry came home from vacation one time from Hawaii.

And uh his office manager, he said, I'd gotten in, and he said, My office manager called me and said, Can you meet with me?

And he said, Yeah, uh, you know, come on over.

So he went over to his house and he proceeded to tell him that they were now at this time understand this was in the 1970s.

So this these numbers are not as big today, but nonetheless, they were$100,000 behind on payroll taxes.

Sister Teresa, I don't know how you get behind$100,000 on payroll taxes, but you don't have to be taking them out.

That's one thing we know.

But the point is, he said, we're$100,000 behind on payroll taxes.

And Brother Jerry thought, I thought, what a wonderful thing to be faced with.

And he went through a number of things that he thought, you know, punching him, different things.

But he said, I went to pray about it.

And he said, I told him, let me let me pray about it and I'll let you know.

And he said, the Lord took him to these verses and said to him, Be of good cheer.

And he said, I said, Lord, my ship is sinking.

There's nothing to be of good cheer about.

And the Lord said to him, The ship is sinking, and you can stop it by being of good cheer.

Man, that impacted me.

You can stop it by being of good cheer.

Amen.

You can stop it by being joyful.

You can stop it by being thankful.

Right?

It may be something you've never been in before.

It may be something that's been prolonged.

Lord, I'm thankful.

If anybody can fix this, it's you.

Amen.

Pastor Michelle tells the story about us believing for one of our children that the Lord has done a wonderful work in her life.

We're so grateful, right?

She's a million miles from where she was.

And when I say that, I mean, Miss Evelyn, our prayers are working.

Amen.

A million miles from where she was.

And uh man, we were right in the heat of this thing.

We were right in the middle of it.

And that's the time that the Lord asked me.

I was praying.

I was praying fervently.

He did two things to me.

I was praying fervently in the Spirit.

And I was, you know, you could tell I was praying hard because my face showed it.

And the Lord came into my prayer time.

He said, Philip, your face is all scrunched up.

And I thought, well, I'm praying.

And he said, the look on your face is evidence of where your heart's at.

He said, What is there in believing?

I said, Joy and peace.

He said, Is that the face of someone who's in joy and peace?

And then the second thing, I was praying this a couple days later, and I was praying earnestly, and he came to me and he said, Philip, he said, What's my job concerning this child?

I said, Save them and restore their life.

He said, What's your job?

I said, believe you.

He said, Then you do your job and let me do my job.

Right?

And so I decided right then and there, I'm not, I'm not touching it no more.

I've I've cast the care of it onto you.

I'm gonna surround them with faith and love, and that's what I'm gonna do.

I'm not losing another night's sleep.

And I went to bed and went to sleep.

And I did that for about a week.

And Pastor Michelle, you you've heard her tell the story.

She's laying there awake.

This child's on her mind.

And she said, she looked over at me and I'm asleep.

And she said, the Lord brought it to her and said, That's what you need to be doing.

Now I'm not putting myself up as a super spirit.

I'm saying I've learned some things over the years.

If anybody's gonna save that child, it's God.

I can't do it.

I can only cast the care of it over onto the Lord, surround them with faith and love, keep them covered in the Word, keep my words right about them, not undo what God's trying to do with my words, and believe God.

Amen.

Well, when she called, she called and said, I went to church today and gave my life back to the Lord.

The only thing that came out of our mouth was, thank you.

Lord, you did that.

Thank you.

Listen, I didn't ask.

Is it Baptist?

Is it Pentecost?

You went, you gave your life, I don't care.

Thank you.

Right?

Thank you.

I've learned so there's something to be of good cheer about.

Your ship is sinking, being of good cheer will stop it.

It'll turn things around.

Oh, hallelujah.

So no matter what I'm dealing with, I can stop it through joy and thanksgiving.

I can stop it through joy and thanksgiving.

Amen.

Look at Acts 16.

There's always something to be thankful for.

Amen.

Always something to be thankful for.

Glory to God.

I remember back, well it wasn't, thankfully it wasn't in the summer, before summer, towards the end of spring, and our our our I say our air conditioner went out.

Actually, the evaporator coil went out on our unit, on our uh air conditioner, and uh we had to get it fixed.

But we were because of the backlog, we were like a week without air conditioning.

And and you know, I mean, hot is hot, you know.

I mean, there's a reason we like air conditioning, right?

And so it was still about 87, 88, and so you know, you're in you're in a house and hot air, you know, rises, it's gotta be, you know, and so it's hot.

And and but here's what I'm thinking.

I've got to find something to be thankful for.

Because God can speed this up, or it can be delayed.

So we just started thanking God.

Lord, thank you that we have ceiling fans.

Thank you, Father, that we have windows that we thank you that it's cool in the evening and we sleep well.

Right?

Amen.

And I and and and you can do whatever you want to with this.

I believe it got cooler in the evenings so we could sleep better.

Just be thankful.

And you know, as we were thankful, God brought good people to help us.

God brought good people that would give us discounts and dividends.

Not what we asked for, right?

Our air conditioner here in the other side of the in the office area uh went out.

Amen.

We oh, it's hot.

We had to send the employees home a couple days early because it's hot.

And we're we're praying, Lord, what are we doing and how do we do this?

And everybody we talked to said, well, this is broken, this is broken, this is broken.

And we called, uh, actually, we called Brother Ralphie's company, lock hard heat and air.

And uh your brother came out, and he's looking, and he's looking, he's checking things.

He goes, No, your freon's great, and that it's the filter, just the filter.

Change the filter, there started working.

Right?

Amen.

But then it went out again, and and and and uh somebody said, Well, it's it's this, and and you know, so we said, Well, we'll call Brother Lockhart again.

We had him come out, and I had seen this happen.

Well, you you know, on on your unit you got this this float, and the water backs up, it shuts the unit off so that it doesn't flood your attic.

Right?

Well, that that line is plugged.

He just took some air and blew up in that line, and here come the water.

Amen.

Now I'm not saying this for any other reason.

What other people said was going to be thousands of dollars didn't even cost us hundreds of dollars.

Because we just determined to be thankful, and God brought the right people that were what?

That were honest, that have integrity, and didn't want to mess you around.

They wanted to do the right thing.

That's what God will do for you.

It may look like everything's going south.

Nope, nope, be of good cheer.

And be thankful.

Let me finish here in Acts 16.

Now I know when I said let me finish, you you're that's that's a problem, I understand, because it's so good.

But we'll be back here next week.

Now, if you can be here tonight, we'll be here tonight.

If you can't be here, watch us online.

Acts 16, verse 25.

Acts 16:25

And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.

Now we're going to continue here for a minute, but there's two things to see here.

How many times in church have you heard people say, at the midnight hour?

Well, he tells us what we're supposed to be doing at the midnight hour, praying and singing praises to God.

Is that right?

Not sitting up wringing our hands.

What are we going to do?

He says at the midnight hour they prayed and sang praises to God, and the prisoners heard them.

One translation says the prisoners were listening to them, enjoying their singing.

That's the men's quartet here at the church.

They were listening to us and enjoying our singing.

Amen.

We only had a trio this morning because Brother Joe wasn't there, but he'll be back tonight.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake.

So the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed.

Whew.

They prayed and sang praises.

You cannot praise God without being thankful.

Now you may look at their situation and think, what'd they have to be thankful for?

Well, if they're like the disciples when they were beaten, they were giving thanks that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ.

Not for the beating.

They didn't say, Thank you, Lord, for this beating.

They said, thank you that you counted us worthy to suffer shame for your name.

Paul knows he's in prison.

Silas knows they're in prison for doing what God told them to do.

Don't get mad at God because they're in prison.

Man put them in prison.

But notice who got them out.

Man might put you in your circumstance, but God, who always gives you the victory, will bring you out.

Amen.

They were only doing the right thing.

And they got in trouble for doing the right thing.

Amen.

You have I've known people, they'd buddy up with you if you'd lied to them.

But if you tell the truth and be in integrity, they don't want anything to do with you.

Well, people might do you wrong, but God will bring you out.

Amen.

When we're thankful, notice, he said, as they prayed and praised God, immediately the doors were open and everyone's bands were loose.

Everyone's.

When we're thankful, all the doors open.

All the chains fall.

Amen.

Everything changes.

Why?

Because I'm thankful.

You cannot get a more impossible situation than this.

But yet we see something.

The thankful receive the deliverance.

The thankful receive the deliverance.

Every time you're faced with an impossible situation, just raise your hands and say, Thank you, Lord.

Nothing's impossible with you.

I thank you that nothing is impossible with you.

I'll share this story with you as we close.

And I've told you before, but I'm going to reiterate it.

When I was uh received a phone call from Joshua Yocam, Joshua Yochum is a young man that lives in Kansas City, Kansas, him and his wife, uh Missy, and uh they were expecting their first child, and they had the baby after we moved here, and when they called me and they said, uh, we need you to, we need to talk to you, we need you to be in agreement with us.

And I said, Well, what's going on?

Well, the baby was born with half its heart missing.

And when I say half its heart missing, it was there, but they considered half the heart missing because the the uh basically what it's called is that he had an intact septum.

All right, an intact septum uh at the right ventricle.

Well, you you know, your body, the the blood flows through your body, it's it's goes in that motion, and the blood pumps through your body, through the right ventricle of your heart, it's oxygenated and it goes to the rest of your body.

Now that's a real layman's view of that, is what I've learned.

Well, he was born with no right ventricle.

Intact septum is what they call it.

So, in essence, the doctors said half his heart's missing, and then this is what they said, not in essence, in plain English, he has 0% chance to live.

Zero percent cannot live.

Why?

Because there's nothing we can do.

He cannot live.

And they told this precious couple, they said, so what we think you need to do, because the machine is is keeping him breathing, we're gonna take him off the machine.

And the doctor said, he won't live more than 10 minutes.

And you can wrap him up, and so your last memory of your child is not with tubes and all this, right?

And I understand what they were saying.

They were very gracious, very kind, they weren't hard-hearted.

But he said, I need to know what to do.

Man, you talk about the gravity of the position you have in people's lives when they say, our baby has been given 0% chance to live.

What do we do?

I said, Let me pray about it.

I said, first of all, I'm gonna agree with you that this fear and this worry will go away, and then let me pray about it.

And so I started praying about it.

I went to my wife's office and I explained the situation.

And uh we started praying about it, and up in both of our spirits, but it came to her first, was this they cannot tell them what to believe.

Right?

And so we prayed about it some more and I went and called him back and I said, Josh, what are y'all believing for?

He said, This is what we're believing for, restoration.

This is what we'd like to see.

I said, Okay, then they cannot tell you what to believe.

I said, in the natural, they cannot make you take your child off that ventilator.

They can't do that.

At least not right now.

I said, so they can't tell you what to believe.

I said, so you need to tell them that you're gonna keep your child where they're at and you're gonna believe God.

Well, of course, they thought they were in shock.

They thought they're not thinking right.

So they were very kind to them.

Thank God they were in a place that they were very kind to them.

We just I say we, they, we helped them, but they believed God.

Right?

I showed them in healing school the picture of 10-year-old Jalen who's 10 years old now with a perfect heart.

But they said it was impossible.

Zero percent chance to live.

When you look at a situation like that, what else can you do but thank you?

You did that.

Right?

So every time you hit an impossible situation, I'm not saying it's a good feeling or it's a good thing, but it puts you in a position where you're totally in God's hands.

And if you're in God's hands, he said, Whatever you ask me, I'll do it.

I'll bring you out.

Every situation that you see in the Word of God, when people have their back to the wall and they believed God, God always brought them out.

Why?

Because that's what he does.

He says, I'm your champion, I'm your way maker, I'm your God, I'll bring you out.

I'll hold your hand, I'll lift you up, I'll bring you through the flood, I'll bring you through the fire.

Don't worry about it.

And even listen, even if they form weapons against you, they won't prosper.

My job is to stay thankful.

You can even go to God and say, now, Lord, they're forming weapons, but I thank you that none of them are going to prosper.

I thank you that you are my deliverer.

Will you sing that song in church?

My deliverer.

Amen.

He's my deliverer.

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful.

And so when you keep that in your mind, I was talking to Lily the other day, and she was reminding me when she was in the hospital, she had gotten so sick, and uh she'd got contracted strep throat, and of course, had a little fever with it, and that was starting to wane off.

And what happened was there was something going around.

I actually got a call from the Centers for Disease Control because uh uh through that that set that uh strep throat, septus set in.

I don't know how all that works, but it piggybacked onto that that uh strep throat.

And uh, you know, I'm believing God and we're declaring the word.

I had to go out of town, and uh Pastor Michelle called me and she said I took her to uh Arkansas, uh the children's hospital, and uh went to the emergency room, and they put her in the hospital.

She was pretty sick.

And of course, we had everybody believing with us, but here's my point is uh every time, every time we we talk about that, every time I look at Liliana, I'm like, Lily, I'm thankful.

The Lord healed you, the Lord, the Lord healed you.

And she we were listening to a song the other day that she likes, and it's called Two-step the Enemy.

And uh the the course of it goes, I won't dance with the devil, but I'll two-step the enemy, right?

Because the only spirit I need is the one inside.

I don't need Jack from Daniels, right?

Because the Spirit's living in me.

Amen.

And and and and and uh moving my two feet, my cup's gonna run over, right?

And we were sitting in the car line the other day, and she goes, Dad, you know that's what the devil wanted to do to me in the hospital.

He wanted to stop my two feet from moving.

And I said, Yeah, and she was sitting there, she goes, but look, they're moving.

I'm just dancing and shouting.

Because they they would come in and make her get out of bed and move because that septus wants to sit in your joint, you can't move.

And so they would come in and have her jump up and down.

She said, she said something to me.

She said, Dad, I didn't feel like moving.

I didn't want to move, but I knew I had to move to get my healing.

Right?

Now, I'm not bragging on my child, I'm just trying to explain something to you.

That that maybe a little bit.

Anyway, let me go over here where they're not so malvy, right?

Did y'all come with him?

Oh no.

Anyway, I'm joking.

Anyway, my my my point is is when when you stay thankful, you see the impossible change.

Because I'm thankful that I serve the God who said, with me, nothing's impossible.

Hallelujah.

Let's bow our heads today as we prepare to close.

Father, in the name of Jesus.