El Olam | Rev. Abiodun Adesanya

Theme: ELOLAM – The Everlasting God

Focus: The Why of Thanksgiving

🔑 Opening Thought

• Thanksgiving is not just an event—it is a response to who God is.
• Today is Thanksgiving Sunday, and we acknowledge:
  • God’s faithfulness
  • God’s goodness
  • God’s sovereignty

🧭 1. Understanding “ELOLAM”

Meaning: The Everlasting God

• God has no beginning and no end
• He existed before the beginning began (Genesis 1:1)
• He remains unchanging and ever-present

Key Truths:

• God has never been weak or strong — He is simply God
• He does not increase or decrease
• He does not evolve — He is eternal and constant

👉 “He was there in the beginning—and He is still here now.”

🙏 2. Why Do We Give Thanks?

✅ A. Because Everything is a Gift from God

📖 Ecclesiastes 5:18

• Everything we enjoy is given by God
• Life, health, family, achievements = gifts

👉 If it is a gift, the right response is: THANK YOU

✅ B. Because God is Sovereign

📖 Psalm 75:1–7

• Promotion does not come from man
• God:
  • Lifts one up
  • Brings another down

👉 “But God is the judge.”

✅ C. Because God Gives and Takes Away

📖 Job 1:21

• “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away”
• Yet Job still said:
  👉 “Blessed be the name of the Lord”

✅ D. Because God is Everlasting

• His position never changes
• He needs nothing from man
• He owes no one explanation

👉 Thanksgiving is not based on circumstances
👉 It is based on God’s nature

🧠 3. Understanding God’s Nature

📖 Revelation 4:11

• Everything was created because God wanted it

Powerful Insight:

• You exist because God wanted you
• You are not an accident
• You are not a mistake

👉 “I am created because God wanted me.”

⚠️ Important Reality:

• God does not need man to be God
• We exist for His pleasure, not ours

🔥 4. The Incomprehensible God

God is:

• Inexplicable (cannot be explained)
• Unfoldable (cannot be fully understood)
• Mysterious

👉 You cannot fully explain God—you can only reverence Him

🛠️ 5. God is the Creator — He Knows Everything

📖 Job 38

God asked Job:

• Where were you when I created the earth?
• Who set the boundaries of the sea?
• Who controls life and death?

Key Insight:

👉 The Creator understands what the created cannot

💡 Illustration:

• The one who built something knows how to fix it
• God created you → He knows your life completely

⚖️ 6. God’s Sovereignty Over Life

• God knows:
  • The beginning
  • The process
  • The end

📖 Job 38:17
👉 God knows the gates of death

🔑 Truth:

Nothing happens outside God’s awareness

👉 If God wanted it different, He would change it

🙌 7. Thanksgiving is the Will of God

• Not based on:
  • Comfort
  • Convenience
  • Circumstances
• But based on:
  👉 God’s will and nature

❤️ 8. Practical Application

What should we do?

1. Give thanks in all things
2. Recognize God’s hand in everything
3. Stop questioning God’s decisions
4. Live in humility and reverence
5. Fulfill the purpose for which God created you

🎯 Key Declaration

👉 “I am created because God wanted me.”
👉 “Everything I have is a gift from God.”
👉 “God is everlasting—therefore I will give thanks.”

🔚 Conclusion

• God is ELOLAM — the Everlasting God
• He does what He wants, when He wants
• He owes no explanation

👉 Our response:
Thanksgiving

🙏 Closing Prayer Point

• Lord, give me understanding of who You are
• Help me to always give thanks
• Let my thanksgiving be acceptable before You