Thanksgiving, the Believer's Secret Weapon

There are evenings when the atmosphere of a church shifts for a single reason: the people choose to say thank you. That's what happened at ICC Montreal, during the special thanksgiving service led by Joseph MOUSSIO. The message isn't a general speech about gratitude. It's a direct invitation: give thanks, now, even before you see the answer. Because thanksgiving carries a power that most believers underestimate.

If you're in the habit of crying out to God only when things go wrong, this message will stop you in your tracks. Joseph MOUSSIO shows that the believer's most effective weapon isn't drawn in tears or complaints, but in gratitude. And he demonstrates it through three passages that run through the whole sermon: the ten lepers, the multiplication of the loaves, and the resurrection of Lazarus.

Outline of the message

1. The attitude of the tenth leper: coming back to say thank you
2. Thanksgiving, the secret weapon Jesus drew
3. Give thanks in all circumstances: the command of 1 Thessalonians 5
4. Our debt to God after the revival camp

1. The attitude of the tenth leper

The sermon opens with a prayer that sets the tone: "We come with the attitude of the tenth leper." Joseph MOUSSIO points back to that scene in Luke 17:11-19 where Jesus heals ten men suffering from leprosy. Only one comes back. Only one falls down to give thanks.

This image runs through the whole service. Nine were healed. Only one was restored. And the distinction matters. You can receive healing in passing. Restoration comes when you take the time to turn back and say thank you. This is the attitude Joseph MOUSSIO offers as a starting point: don't just settle for receiving God's blessings, turn back and express to him the gratitude he's waiting for.

He then asks a question that frames the whole message: "Beloved, are you giving thanks to your God? Are you showing him your gratitude?"

2. Thanksgiving, the secret weapon Jesus drew

Joseph MOUSSIO uses a powerful image: thanksgiving is a weapon. It's not drawn as a last resort, it's drawn first. And he gives two biblical illustrations.

First, the multiplication of the loaves. Five loaves, two fish, more than five thousand people to feed. What did Jesus do before the crowd ate? He gave thanks. It's in the thanksgiving that the miracle was birthed. "Simply because he gave thanks," Joseph MOUSSIO repeats.

Second, and this may be the most powerful passage in the message: the resurrection of Lazarus, in John 11. In front of the tomb, Jesus doesn't shout first. He doesn't weep out of sadness. He weeps because of the unbelief of the people around him. Then he does something that changes everything: "Father, I thank you."

"He draws the secret weapon, he pulls it out, and Jesus' secret weapon was thanksgiving."

Once the prayer of thanksgiving is spoken, Jesus calls out: "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man obeys the voice of a man. Where people were expecting healing, God had planned resurrection. Joseph MOUSSIO draws a direct application for the listener: whatever situation looks dead in your life (your career, your marriage, your family, your health, your finances), the weapon to draw isn't complaint, it's gratitude.

3. Give thanks in all circumstances

The sermon builds on a passage Joseph MOUSSIO reads aloud: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Three verses, three attitudes of those who experience the miraculous.

Verse 16 · Rejoice always. When everything is going wrong and you refuse to complain, you're sending a signal to your God. You're telling him: "I believe you're bigger than this mountain. I refuse sadness because I know in whom I've believed." This refusal puts the Lord on alert. Where the devil hoped to see you curse God, like Job's wife (see Job 2:9-10), you choose joy instead.

Verse 17 · Pray without ceasing. You've prayed, you've sighed, you've interceded, you've fasted. You still don't see anything. One last weapon remains.

Verse 18 · Give thanks in all circumstances. This is the fatal weapon. The one that brings desolation into the enemy's camp. Joseph MOUSSIO stresses that your God doesn't sit enthroned in the midst of pleading, but in the midst of praise: "When you choose to say thank you in advance, while you still haven't seen anything, you're building him a throne."

And when God sits enthroned, he judges everything that isn't of his nature. Everything that's against his will. That's where the reversal happens.

4. Our debt after the revival camp

Joseph MOUSSIO gives this service a precise framework: ICC Montreal has just gone through a revival camp marked by the visit of a servant of God. The preacher, who followed it online, describes a man of exceptional depth, of sanctification and consecration that moved him deeply. And he draws a straightforward conclusion: if the Bible asks us to give thanks even when everything is going wrong, how much more when God has just visited us in such an intense way.

"Beloved, we have a responsibility. We have a debt to our God. And that debt is our thanksgiving."

This is no longer an option, it's a duty. After a visitation, the only fitting response is gratitude. The sermon closes with a call to conversion for those who have never given their life to Christ, and with a declaration of restoration: like the tenth leper, don't just receive a passing healing, come back to be restored in everything, in your health, your finances, your family, your household.

Key takeaways

• Healing can be received in passing, but restoration comes to those who turn back to say thank you.
• Thanksgiving is a weapon, not a courtesy. Jesus drew it in front of Lazarus's tomb before speaking to death.
• Your God sits enthroned in the midst of praise, not complaints. Giving thanks builds him a throne.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 isn't advice, it's a command: joy, unceasing prayer, thanksgiving in all circumstances.
• After a visitation from God, the only right response is gratitude.

Personal application

• Is there a situation in your life where you've been crying out to God for months without ever thinking of drawing the weapon of thanksgiving?
• Are you more like one of the nine lepers who went on their way after the blessing, or the tenth who came back to say thank you?
• What situation looks "dead" in your life today (marriage, career, health, family), that you can start giving thanks for, even before you see the answer?
• What recent blessings have you not taken the time to clearly express to God?
• How can you, this week, make thanksgiving your first response rather than your last?

Scriptures cited

• Luke 17:11-19 · The ten lepers and the one who comes back to say thank you
• John 11 · The resurrection of Lazarus
• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 · Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances
• Lamentations 3:22-23 · The Lord's compassions are new every morning
• Psalm 63:4 · Because your love is better than life
• Job 2:9-10 · Job's wife: "Curse God and die"
• Luke 15:7 · Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents

FAQ

Why does Joseph MOUSSIO call thanksgiving a "secret weapon"?

Because Jesus himself drew it in front of Lazarus's tomb, in John 11. Before calling the dead man to come out, he says: "Father, I thank you." For Joseph MOUSSIO, it's this prayer of thanksgiving that prepared the resurrection. Thanksgiving isn't a religious courtesy, it's what opens the breach through which God intervenes.

How can I give thanks when everything is going wrong in my life?

The sermon answers from 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances." Giving thanks doesn't mean denying your situation. It means telling God: "I know the situation is disastrous, but I give you thanks because I believe in your faithfulness." It's a signal you send to God that you refuse to be brought down by your circumstances.

What's the difference between being healed and being restored?

Joseph MOUSSIO builds on Luke 17. All ten lepers were healed. But only one came back to say thank you, and he was restored. In other words, healing touches the illness, restoration touches your whole life: health, finances, family, household. And it's the attitude of gratitude that makes the difference.