I CAN REMEMBER THE DATE OF 90 PER CENT OF ALL THE ENCOUNTERS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE, ENCOUNTERS ARE NOT CHEAP TO FORGET.
ENCOUNTERS PROVOKE A STRANGE OBEDIENCE IN YOU
OBEDIENCE IS SWEET, I HAVE NOT SEEN EVEN GHANA OR BENIN REPUBLIC IN FOUR YEARS BECAUSE I AM UNDER INSTRUCTION NOT TO LEAVE THIS COUNTRY.
- Bishop David Oyedepo at Mid-Week Communion Service, Faith Tabernacle Canaanland
We must maintain a covenant mentality in our walk with God or we end up frustrated. God will not do what we are yet to obey as He commands, no matter the amount of prayer and fasting. That is why we have many prayer warriors that are weary (1 Samuel 15:22-23).
No spiritual virtue is a substitute for obedience and no excuse or explanation is tenable with God for our disobedience. Saul said “we brought this things to sacrifice to our God” what was the instruction? Destroy everything. To sacrifice to God, it looks justifiable but not with God. No excuse is tenable with God for our disobedience. God does not force obedience on any one, it is simply a choice that individuals make. ‘IF’ makes it a choice. Church Gist. Obedience speaks louder than voice. “Cast your net to the right side” he did and he caught a great multitude of fishes. Abraham stepped into generational blessing through his obedience without a voice. “Get out of thy father’s house to a land i will show you” he departed, “Circumcise all the male born in your household” he did it right away. “Sacrifice your only son that you love Isaac” he got up early the next morning. He wasn’t chatting “Oh God remember how I waited for this gift where you said “in Isaac shall my……”. Obedience without voice gave Abraham his place in destiny.
“Go round the wall of Jericho seven times, for the first six days no sound, no voice. On the seventh day go round the gate seven times and then let a loud shout”. They did not ask “what if they throw stones on us from the wall, what if they fire us” they just walked round the place and the walls of Jericho sank. Delight some obedience provokes supernatural manifestation.
Supernatural supplies answers to our obedience. God speaks to you “I want you to take that step” and you take it , He unleashes supernatural blessings on you. That is how the widow of Zarephath got it. She was feeding fat for three and a half years in obedience to an instruction, that’s how the Prophet’s widow came out of lack.
When our obedience is complete, all our oppositions bow (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). That is how much among many others that obedience is worth. No short cut, whatever he tells you to do, do it if you don’t want to remain in the same situation. Church Gist. It may not make sense but it guarantees huge results, it may not be high sounding in the eyes of men of small minds but it never lacks proofs. They were laughing them to scorn until they tasted the wine and changed their minds.
Lets run through the characteristics of the obedience that works. The obedience that works is characterized by the following,
- Revelation Rooted Obedience
Not just doing what they say, you have a revelation of it rooted in Scripture.
- Prompt obedience
Delayed obedience can be costly, it robs us of our best in God. Abraham get up, he departed. Prompt obedience. Whosoever steps into that pool first is made whole, it’s not just stepping in, it is stepping in promptly. Any truth of scriptures you don’t run with instantly the fire goes out. You may not catch it again.
- Willful obedience
- Love motivated obedience
Not things motivated obedience. (1 Corinthians 13:1-4). - Unreserved obedience
Unadjusted obedience; you just take it raw and swallow it how He said it. You may have several views but it won’t change what God commands. Pocket your views.
- Practical Obedience (James 2:18)
- Cheerful Obedience
When joy withers, harvest is lost. Serving Him without joy is a curse. Get excited. It is a privilege of divine election to serve God. Get excited serving God, you don’t need to be pushed.
Deuteronomy 28:47-48
I got that in 1977, I can remember the date of almost 90 per cent of all the encounters I have had in my life. The ones I don’t know the exact date, I remember the month. Encounters are not cheap to forget at all.
I was 20 years old when I found out that as the partridge sits on eggs, and hatches them not; so he that gets riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. (Jeremiah 17:11). Church Gist. Bright light that makes me look away from whatever is not mine forever. I don’t want anything to cut short my life, I don’t want to end up as a fool. I was 20 years old and I am now 25. That is what encounter does, it stirs one strange obedience in your life.
- Good conscience-based obedience. Not hypocrisy, not ‘make them see me’ kind of obedience.
1 Timothy 1:19
It takes good conscience based faith to command results. - Fear free obedience
Job 3:25
Job surrendered to fear and he also surrendered to torment. Peter subscribed to fear while walking on the sea then he began to sink. - Resolute and Unwavering Obedience.
Daniel 3:16-18 - Tireless obedience
Most of the time you are just about getting there when the devil wearies you to rob you of your inheritance. (1 Corinthians 15:58, Habakkuk 2:3). Tireless obedience is key to arriving there.
Now with an heavenly vision on Church Growth when Jesus said Stand up and follow me, big drama. Afternoon, about 12:30pm and we were in prayers when Jesus said stand up and follow me and I did, and I was following him and he said “Stop and turn back” as I did he showed me a layer of thick darkness on the road to the church and said that is the blindfold that the devil used to misinterpret what Him, Jesus was doing in this church. Church Gist. It was like He stood and said “deal with it”. I said you darkness, there is a light that shines and darkness cannot comprehend it, get off the route in the name of Jesus and I saw it rolled away like a carpet. What a drama, I wasn’t sleeping, I was walking. You can’t be sleeping while you are walking. He sat down with me and told me four things to do to keep the Church growing, at that time we were just 24. I did 16 seminars back to back every weekend and we rose to 90 in July, come and see celebration. We ordained our first set of deacons, Bishop Aremu was one of them. The highest attendance we saw that year was 154 at our anniversary and then we began to grow. You can’t win the race without patience.
I had a live encounter with the word of prosperity 1982 but my salary was still #300 in 1984, #1680 in 1987, yet I had live revelation of prosperity taught me by Jesus. The seed was taking it’s time in the ground. Obedience kept working and working. See obedience two years ago planted 5,000 churches, we obeyed and he did it. Last year, In spite of COVID-19 he still delivered 10,404 churches in spite of the lockdown, you can’t lock down the truth. Church Gist. Then double number of cells this year and we have crosses 20,256 new home cells. Please embrace obedience, only obedience will change your story. 50 years in church won’t change your story, real callings from heaven won’t change your story.
Come down to Lagos and we obeyed, we did not argue or try to explain. Now, come to the forest, come and wrestle with beasts this is the place. No matter what He said, he can still say something else. Where your obedience stops is where your blessings stop. 100 years in church won’t change anybody’s story but obedience of one month can rewrite anyone’s story.
“Don’t leave this country” Yes Sir. First year, second year, third year, fourth year, Yes sir. Most people thought I will be in Maryland I can’t because I am under instruction. I can’t go to Benin Republic because it is outside this country, I have not seen Ghana in four years. Bus can go there, Hilux truck can go there but I am under instruction. Obedience is sweet.
Ask God for a fresh endowment with the Spirit of Obedience. What to say and what not to say, what to do and what not do. Ask God for a fresh outpouring of a spirit of obedience.
We live in a Kingdom that operates on keys. Keys that allow you access to your privileges in redemption. The keys of the kingdom that allows you lock what you don’t want and open what you want.
Luke 11:52
Revelation equals key but holding the key in your hand without engaging it, can that open any door? That’s how we are, many believers have the bunch of keys in their hand but they are still locked out. They think the door will open on it’s own accord. Keep playing the fool, you will sleep outside. The key is in your pocket and you except the car to start. Church Gist. Revelation without application equals frustration. One hundred days of prayer and fasting won’t change your story as far as financial prosperity is concerned. All this ‘somebody is fighting me’ is not true, you can’t fight the covenant and win. It’s stronger than the worst demon on earth. It’s the strongest covering anyone can have. Operating by the word puts you permanently in charge.
Consistently sow, not in season only both in season and out of season. That is where we are as a church. We are just under an open heaven through the application of the covenant of abundance. We have never had debts to clear and we are not joking, we are just enjoying Him level by level. Church Gist. What has gone into that project is more than Faith Tabernacle, you can’t tell me the story I was there. I know the story more than any of you and I know what it took to build Faith Tabernacle and He has done above that in this new project.
Come under an open heaven, you won’t know stress. You know this place is not under any financial stress because if we are, you will know because they will tell you “Folks we are under pressure, there is danger in the offering. Three banks are running after us, please help God. Hold meeting in your house tonight and see how much you can raise God is dearly in need”. You will never hear that here. Nobody is carrying anything, Jesus is the one carrying everything by simple consistent obedience.
- As we partake of the communion tonight, the obedience order of Christ that enthroned him eternally be infused into every one of us.
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