(WHEN WE STARTED) PEOPLE THOUGHT WE WERE PREACHING AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY
CHRIST IS NOT AN AMERICAN; AMERICANS HAVE NO INPUT IN THE BIBLE
I AM SENT AS A PROPHET, GOD’S AGENT TO REWRITE THE STORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN BRANDED AS POOR AS CHURCH RAT FOR AGES
EVERY COMMANDMENT OF SCRIPTURES IS ABSOLUTELY TO YOUR BENEFIT; DEVELOP YOUR CAPACITY FOR OBEDIENCE
SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE IS COSTLY. IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY ELSE YOU WILL BE A LIABILITY
RAW BIBLE BASED CHRISTIANITY IS WHAT HAS ALWAYS WORKED, WILL ALWAYS WORK AND WILL NEVER STOP WORKING
UNTIL YOU OBEY THE LAST INSTRUCTION FROM GOD YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED FOR THE NEXT.
OUR MINISTRY HAS PROVED THAT BLACK IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH LACK.
PEOPLE FROM AMERICA AND EUROPE ARE JUNKETING FOR JOBS AT THE ARK AND BEING PAID IN THEIR OWN CURRENCIES
WHITE IS ALSO NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH WEALTH. THERE ARE AS MANY POOR PEOPLE IN THE WEST BUT THEY WON’T SHOW THAT ON TV.
THEY ARE HOMELESS ON THE STREETS, SLEEPING UNDER THE COLD AND DYING IN WINTER
WE HAVE SEEN FOLKS FROM JAPAN, CHINA, AMERICA AND EUROPE COME TO THE ARK PROJECT AND ARE SURPRISED SUCH A STRUCTURE IS ONGOING IN AFRICA.
FORGET ABOUT WHERE YOU LIVE, WHERE YOU STAND WITH GOD IS MORE IMPORTANT.
YOU HAVE STRUGGLED ENOUGH; THE TIME TO FAVOUR YOU HAS COME!
THE TOPMOST EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR WILL BE LOCATED IN CHURCH IN THESE LAST DAYS!
THE ARK IS GOING ON AND WE HAVE NOT RAISED AN OFFERING ONCE. THERE ARE 129 ESCALATORS AND TRAVELATORS!
WHEN WE SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH OUR GOD GIVEN RESOURCES, WE ARE EMPOWERED TO KEEP WALKING IN FINANCIAL FORTUNE
ONLY SEEDS SOWN IN LOVE COUNT WITH GOD. LET YOUR GIVING BE LOVE MOTIVATED
IF YOU ARE WALKING IN THE COVENANT, WHATSOEVER YOU DO, IT SHALL PROSPER
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE FOR THE FINANCIAL GIANTS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST IS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON THE EARTH
– Bishop David Oyedepo on ‘FUNDAMENTALS OF KINGDOM WEALTH 5’ at Midweek Communion Service || LFC Canaanland
Prayer: Speak to me Lord, I am ready to obey
Two kings came to Elisha seeking direction. Elisha said, “if you’re not for Jehoshaphat the King of Judah, I will not have looked to thee or speak to thee.” He doesn’t speak to every Jack and Harry. “I don’t know why I am not hearing you.” Church Gist. What he told you last did you do it? Until you obey the last you are not qualified for the next. That Scripture shows that God does not speak to the Jack and Harry; he speaks to those who are ready to obey him.
Good news: Every commandment of Scriptures is absolutely to our benefit. None to God’s benefit. You want to be further humbled? None to the benefit of the Church. Absolutely, totally for our benefit. Deuteronomy 28:1; Joshua 1:8. Enjoy obeying God; God is getting nothing from it. You and I are getting everything from it. Develop your capacity for obedience; be delightsome about it. He is not a task master, he is a loving Father. He has me and you in mind all the time. There is nothing we do that will make God more than God. Church Gist. There is nothing we don’t do that will make him less than God. His name is the “I am that I am.” You obey me? I am; disobey me? I am; insult me? I am; you do like this (demonstrates) to me? I am. You fold your finger? I am. He is the I am that I am forever. Stop pulling your shoulder because you are wearing 3 – piece coat. Your posture won’t reduce God, your disposture won’t diminish him. So settle down. Every Word from Genesis to Revelation is addressing your well being, future, destiny, posterity and eternity. What remains? They call it, “all the words of this life.” Settle down. All these professional Christianity won’t work. Raw bible based Christianity is what has always worked, will always work and will never stop working.
Prayer: Grace for delightsome obedience to every word you speak to me from your Word.
Those who don’t hear the written word how can they tell me that they hear Rhema? Rhema from where? Who will give it to you?
Let me start by saying this: I am not a teacher / lecturer of prosperity. I am sent as a prophet, God’s agent to rewrite the story of God’s people who have been branded as poor as Church rat for ages. “Get back home and make my people rich.” I didn’t say that to myself, he said it to me. I said, “me? Make anybody rich? How?” He said, as poor and making many rich. 2 Corinthians 6:10. Church Gist. One time out of my zeal and genuine heart for you I said, God if you won’t bless them, stop blessing me.” He said, I can’t stop blessing you as long as you keep doing what makes me bless you. Tell them to do what makes me bless you so they can be blessed with you. There is no game in this thing Sir.
A friend of mine called me sometime last year I think and he said, I am just reading Kenneth Hagin’s books now. I said, so? He said, you didn’t tell me these things are there. I said, you were not willing to hear. 40 years after! People thought we were preaching American Christianity. Church Gist. I said, “Christ is not an American or you don’t know History?” It’s Bible faith. Americans have no input in this Bible. The Holy Ghost breathes through ordinary men – farmers, vine dressers, all that stuff to bring about the living Word of God.
So tonight we looking at, “Fundamentals of Kingdom Wealth.” Let me come to this very quickly: Spiritual ignorance is costly. Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 5:13. There is no apartheid in knowledge: you don’t know what somebody else knows? Learn from him. Many people are jumping out of the dunghill into the palace through the teachings of this month – for those who care for it. Church Gist. We were reviewing some programs today at LDC and I said look, these courses are too many for these things. You can’t teach everybody everything. No, you’ll be a liability.” Being taught everything that will make you fulfill destiny? No. Tell them what books to read and forget it my friend! Can I teach you on leadership for 4 hours? No! You ask how many years I learnt it and I am still learning. Then you won’t read anything and you sit down there and be writing notes. Whether you are writing even the right one or not, I don’t know. It’s so important to take responsibility.a What you don’t know, you don’t know. Church Gist. What you won’t learn, you can’t know. What you don’t know, you pay for it and it can be very costly. Ignorance is a costly asset. No one should toy his life with it.
If the foundation is destroyed the righteous can do nothing. So the issue of fundamentals of covenant wealth is very vital. It is very vital. Galatians 3:13. The Bible says Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us. Galatians 3:14. God wants to bless us after the order of Abraham. That is generational blessings. If you are Abraham’s children, you do the works of Abraham. Don’t just sing the songs of Abraham. Abraham’s blessings are mine, that doesn’t bring anything. You do the works of Abraham. Church Gist. Our ministry has proved that black is not synonymous with lack. People from America and Europe are junketing for jobs here at the Ark and being paid in their own currencies and white is not synonymous with wealth. There are as many poor people in the West but they won’t show that on TV. They are on the streets, sleeping under the cold and dying in winter. Everybody that is not an area boy here has a covering on his head. Your uncle, your nephew, somebody will call you, come and stay here jare. You are redeemed an asset, not a liability. You are to sweeten this world not to make it sour. The salt of the earth. The light of the world to show the way to go for others.
By way of introduction, we have the heritage of financial fortune in redemption. He became poor that we through his poverty might be made rich, so it is not an ambition. It is not being ambitious, it is being knowledgeable. Wealth is not the ambition of the redeemed, it is his birthright. Revelation 5:12. Already settled, at his resurrection, this sevenfold package was delivered as the birthright of the redeemed. Church Gist. If as many as received Him to them gave He power, to them have He wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessings. That is you God is talking about. No one beginning with you and your lineage will be termed a beggar, lack and want will not be named with your lineage. Wealth is my birthright in redemption, it is not my ambition, it is not my crave, it is my heritage.
FUNDAMENTALS OF COVENANT WEALTH. Psalm 11:3. We are God’s building, foundation is very crucial to any building. A faulty foundation makes a building uninhabitable. It becomes a death trap. We need a healthy foundation to enjoy this provision. Church Gist. Therefore building on a strong foundation of the Word is wisdom. I love the way it was said in one of the teachings, you lay up His Word first in your heart and then you lay up gold as dust. His Word first and then His blessings next. Job 22:24.
Here are some fundamental facts to note about the covenant of financial fortune.
1. We must understand that it takes giving God the first place in our financial stewardship to be empowered to flourish in hard times.
Talking about hard times in Matthew 24, He said this is the beginning of sorrows. The days of darkness and gloominess are here. The tempo thereof will keep increasing, we need to take a covenant cover in redemption not to end up as victims in these horrible, horrendous times. Proverbs 3:9-10. Church Gist. You will be filled with plenty, in famine, you will be satisfied. When you give God His rightful covenant place in your financial stewardship like your church is enjoying forever.
Matthew 6:32-33. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things that are causing unrest, anxiety and apprehension will be added to you in grand styles. Who is benefiting, the pastor, God, the Church or you? You, my friend. The famine on ground will never touch some people, it will never touch them, you will think they are magicians. No! It is covenant exemption. Church Gist. We have seen folks from Japan, China, America and Europe come to the Ark project, “what! What! In Africa?”. Forget about where you live, where you stand with God is more important. Your covenant stand with God is greater than any nation on the earth. Wherever the sun shines, it works. Stop running from pillar to post to be blessed, do what it takes to be blessed.
Fundamental facts to note about the covenant of financial fortune.
2. The last days according to biblical prophecies shall be days of Earth shaking move of God that shall lead multitude to salvation. Haggai 2:3-9; Micah 4:1-2. Earth shaking! God building palaces across the nations. But like we all know, this divine agenda will require heavy financial resources for delivery. Church Gist. He knows the end from the beginning so the closer we are to the end, the more he will be releasing his fortune from Heaven through covenant reliable hands. Hands that can be trusted to use it for His purpose. Zechariah 1:17. Haggai 2:8. This is why God is all out to empower His people for supernatural wealth in this last days so they can become channels for the release of His silver and gold ordained for the building of the end time Church. The purpose is not to show off, to be a big boy in town. Church Gist. The purpose is to be sold out to God with his resources in your hand. It’s not your own, it’s in your hand.
So how disposed any believer is to this purpose will determine how much can be entrusted in his hand. It’s not gonna be determined by an pastor or any committee. God shall continue to raise financial giants in His Church through the covenant of seed time and harvest in these last days like never before in History. Somebody who was lecturer one for God’s sake and then, suddenly he became senior lecturer and 5 quantum leaps in one year! How? Church Gist. Hepatitis B: he just brought 3 souls to Church and Hepatitis B disappeared. So addiction to the cause of the Kingdom will keep changing people’s story in all areas. So when you are addicted to the Kingdom with your God given resources, he keeps changing your position. “It’s not enough, I don’t have enough” that’s why you are always there.
– Your story is changing! Financial giants are rising that will humble the proud of this world.
– The topmost employers of labour will be located in Church.
They were job seekers before; covenant practices just catapulted them. So we must understand therefore that the primary purpose for the financial giants in the body of Christ is for the advancement of the Kingdom of God on the Earth. This understanding must sink deep into our heart for you to be a beneficiary of these awesome days of financial fortune. We are all aware of this: can you imagine a project of that magnificence is going on and we have not raised an offering once! Church Gist. Come on now! Isn’t God awesome? And Naira is just tumbling against Dollars and you’re dealing with heavy dollars with those equipment. 129 escalators and travelators! The thing is just going and we are just smiling. Some don’t know even where the place is now here because when they come to Church they just enter the car (and are driven). They don’t know where the place is until when we are dedicating. Some fellows don’t know where Covenant (University) is o – members of this Church. They just think it’s somewhere somewhere so they just drive. Covenant? Where is it? I can’t blame you because somebody perhaps brought you or you are running to go and catch a flight somewhere.
– So that’s how quiet your rise will be. There will be no noise Sir! Zero noise!
The wealth transfer from Egypt was noiseless. Church Gist. When Pharaoh woke up, “ah! We are finished. The Treasury is finished.” He pursued them unto his own death.
– You have struggled enough; the time to favour you has come!
This is why our understanding of the purpose of financial fortune in the Kingdom is vital to determining our level of access to this realm of supernatural prosperity in these last days. Don’t count yourself out! Somebody says, “but I am a Pastor…” Okay, am I a farmer? What are you talking about? Get on board my friend! “Well I am a carpenter.” Church Gist. And so what? The wealthiest man at a point in the world was a furniture dealer. May be he doesn’t even know how to build anything. Anybody in the Covenant has secured a future with God. If you walking in the Covenant, whatsoever you do, it shall prosper. No need to beg for anything!
When we seek first the Kingdom of God with our God given resources, we are empowered to keep walking in financial fortune. Between 1 Kings 3 to Chapter 10, the man Solomon was an amazement. Church Gist. The Queen of Sheba came and said, “the spirit in me left. I have never seen that magnificent wealth in my life and that dimension of wisdom.” He made silver to be as stones in Israel. Everything was gold.
– That’s where you’re going!
God will only entrust His riches I to the hands of those He can trust to use such wealth for His purpose. Can I be trusted? How much He can trust you and me will determine how much He will ever entrust into our hands. Luke 16:11. Church Gist. How rich we are towards God will determine the dimension of prosperity we can ever walk in. Luke 12:21. How rich we are towards God and the affairs of His kingdom will determine the extent of our access to this dimension of financial fortune. Giving is absolutely to our benefit not God’s. Whether we give or not, God remains the I am that I am. Church Gist. Exodus 3:14. Take pleasure in it; be full of Kingdom dreams and you’re heading for a financial kingdom boom. 1 Kings 8:17; 1 Chronicles 28. You can’t but know what is in your heart.
Now listen to me: before I had the first bank account I was already dreaming of building Churches for Jesus. I wasn’t called to ministry. It was in my heart that if you ever bless me Jesus, (I hate this proverb – as poor as Church rat) I want to be building you Churches. Church Gist. What’s in your heart? Is there any kingdom dream there? Oh, the dream of the car to ride, the place to live in and all that stuff. Those are all additions that come through His favour. There are many kingdom dreamless believers. Church Gist. There is nothing about God that is in their dream yet they want everything from God.
Let’s conclude: only seeds sown in love count with God so let your giving at all times be love motivated. Whether to God and the affairs of His kingdom, to the poor, to your parents, let all your givings be love motivated or they are wasted. Church Gist. 1 Corinthians 13:3. So God is not begging for someone to come and help him; he wants to help you.
We must also continue to sow as a privilege, not as a burden. You see those folks in Malachi 3, it’s not just because they were not tithing, they were tithing mournfully.
“What has happened again?
They said we should bring the tithe.
Tithe for what?
They won’t allow someone to rest.” Malachi 3:13-15. They were grumbling against God. They said, “you haven’t heard anything, we are still coming.” If you don’t sow as a privilege, you have averted the blessing. The blessing is not there. Sow as a privilege. I had a very interesting experience. I saw a young chap at the gate of Covenant during school time, wearing a tattered dress and holding a bottle of unfinished bottle water, maybe he picked it up and was just going around in rags. I asked the driver to stop. Why are you not in school? Where are your parents? He said my mother is on the field there. Where are your siblings? They are all there, that is where we sleep. What? I said they should go and look for a house for them. Church Gist. I called one of my sons to go and look for a house for them and while we were planning to get her furniture, somebody met her and said Papa got you a house, I will provide the furniture. Do you think we are doing anybody a favour? No! Somebody else is there. If I didn’t meet him that day somebody else will meet him. Somebody will meet the mother. What is their name? I don’t know but as soon as I got them, they moved to a camp house at my expense. They can’t sleep outside. You are the child of the King. So you better change your approach, if you see it as a burden don’t do it. In fact, you need to quickly know that it is not your money, you were given. 2 Corinthians 4:7. If they sack you will you have money? If your business crashes will you have money? The grace that sustains you on your job, sustains your business in going is the grace that supplies you the money. Of His grace have we all received, not that we got it from where else. Understand that you are a steward of His resources. It will blow your system and open it up to blessings because it is your turn to be blessed. You are hitting the covenant highway already.
In conclusion, beware! Financial gains such as cheating, killing, stealing, fraud etc don’t fly in the covenant. Don’t cause trouble for yourself Don’t steal and come and give God part of what you stole. You are only reporting yourself to God. ‘I stole so much but I want to share it with you’. Do you know why people are struggling? Some of these things they don’t mind it oh. What makes a thief is not where you steal from, it is the act of stealing. You steal from your father, you are a thief. From your mother you are a thief, from your company, from your office, you are a thief. From the government, you are a thief. Do you know why? The curse of the law is on the house of the thief. Giving is to bring blessings but stealing brings curses. Zechariah 5:1-4. Stealing brings curses. What is the cure? Contentment. 1 Timothy 6:6. Godliness with contentment creates a future. Be satisfied and contented with such things as ye have. Church Gist. Be contented with such things as ye have. This Church was in a store that had no cross ventilation. You sweat out of a three-piece suit. Heat like an oven. Then we began to grow and came outside, open-air service. We were starting service at 5:30am to beat the sun in the North. Then suddenly, God blessed us and we built a grass cathedral in Kaduna town. In the town, the largest grass cathedral in the world built at the cost of 23,000. I was part of those who were tying the ‘zana’ to the polls. Now you are building churches around the world, buying churches everywhere around the world. That is where we started. Can I tell you this? My peace has been intact. My rest has been in place. No temptation to borrow to make anything happen. Contentment! Nobody steals to give, you steal to keep. Can you find an armed robber who says he is stealing to pay his neighbour’s school fees? No! He is stealing for himself. Fraudsters are doing it for their own gain and the bitter end comes, he is in prison for life. Contentment! You stole somebody’s car. You will give cars out tomorrow why are you stealing cars today? Contentment is the cure for such vices.
Beware of prosperity abuse. That is using God-given resources to pursue ungodly things lest God turns His back on you as it was with Solomon. You all know it takes money to marry three hundred wives. It is abuse. Raw abuse! He built a shrine for all his strange wives, a minimum of three hundred shrines. He built one temple for God with God’s money and three hundred shrines for his strange wives. God said, let me punish this boy. He sent adversaries against him till the day of his death. 1 Kings 1,9,14. May God not turn His back on you. When you stop building for God, you start building for the devil. There are no two ways about it. What is the cure? Self discipline. Church Gist. All things are lawful for me but not all things are expedient. 1 Corinthians 6:12. I will not be brought down under the power of any. I will only choose what is profitable, what will keep me in favour with God and man. Ecclesiastes 10:16-17. Self discipline is cure for outlandish living. The prodigal son wasted his money on riotous living. After that, he began to be in want. Caution! By grace, we have sustained God’s financial fortune for 42 solid years. You can sustain it, ups and downs are caused by us, not by God. My children will never go to school if I will need to take church money for them to go to school. I will be their teacher at home. Wake up and let us walk straight. National cake is national poison. What can I get from this company? Company poison. Steal from your family – family poison.
COMMUNION MINISTRATION
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Lift your hands and ask the Lord for peace to cover the length and breadth of Nigeria in the forthcoming elections. Let His choice come up at all levels. Church Gist. Speak peace to the country. Before and after this coming election, we decree the peace of God. Let your peace reign.
Operation Hit Your Target is ongoing, it is a prophetic operation, it is not let’s keep busy. It is God who created this opportunity for those who care to plug in. Please let’s plug in. I took my first step in my immediate environment and I got 12 souls saved and 2 rededicated their lives to Christ. People who work within my premises. Interestingly, people hear about being born again but they don’t have proof of new birth. By their fruits, we shall know them. Being born again is not an emblem, there are proofs. Church Gist. If they are not there you are not born again yet. Please take care of your immediate environment in your homes, your workplace, mind every level of person in there. Every soul is equally important in the sight of God. Most people that end up in the palaces, they started in the manger. Mind the lambs, mind the sheep. God does not reward efforts made, He rewards results obtained. You must obtain results this time. Others have been sharing testimonies, they must hear your own this time.
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