THE YEAR IS ALMOST COMING TO AN END AND PEOPLE INSTEAD OF COUNTING THEIR BLESSINGS ARE COUNTING THEIR LOSSES.
THEY MURMUR AND COMPLAIN THEIR WAY OUT OF GOD’S AGENDA.
IT IS THE END OF THE YEAR AND GOD ALWAYS RESERVES THE BEST FOR THE LAST.
satan WANTS TO ROB YOU OF YOUR BEST BY BRINGING YOU OUT OF THE REALM OF CELEBRATING GOD TO COMPLAINING AGAINST GOD.
THE YEAR IS NOT OVER, GOD CAN MAKE ANYTHING HAPPEN IN ONE DAY.
EVERY REMAINING DAY OF THE YEAR MUST BE CHARGED WITH PRAISE.
TODAY MANY PEOPLE GO TO CHURCH BUT THEY DON’T KNOW THE MEANING OF BEING BORN AGAIN.
THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A NEW LIFE.
TO BE BORN AGAIN MEANS TO BE MANIFESTING THE NINE ‘FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT’ NATURALLY.
THE PRINCE OF PEACE IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL KNOWLEDGE.
UNTIL ONE IS BORN AGAIN HE LACKS PEACE. PEOPLE HAVE THINGS BUT THEY LACK PEACE.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE MONEY, HOUSES, POSITIONS BUT LACK PEACE. THEY ARE MOSTLY ON ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS.
– Bishop David Oyedepo on ENCOUNTER WITH THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL KNOWLEDGE at Second Pre-Shiloh Encounter Service: Encounter With The Covenant of Peace Service || Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland First Sunday Service || 5th November 2023 ||
You are returning home today with a raw baptism of peace that will calm every remaining storm in your life. Church Gist. Peace that will make God take over your battles and give you victory always.
Jesus speak peace into every life today. Let that peace calm the storm in every life. Let this order of peace make you take over our battles and thank you for doing it. Church Gist. In this great month of praise let every hanging prophetic blessing on anyone’s life be fully released.
The prophetic word for the month is PRAISE FACILITATES FULFILMENT OF PROPHECIES. Every prophetic word in your life that is yet to be made manifest shall be fully made manifest this month. God is bringing everyone out of the valley into our high places. Church Gist. God is turning everyone’s mourning into high joy. He is turning everyone’s sorrow into multiplied joy. Today will be a day you won’t forget in a hurry. Something original, something undeniable shall be imparted on everyone’s life.
In this Covenant of Peace Service, we shall be looking at the subject captioned ENCOUNTER WITH THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL KNOWLEDGE. So get ready for that peace that passes all knowledge. Peace that may not be explainable but it is not deniable. The evidence is there, you can’t tell how the fountain flows but it is flowing. Church Gist. It is that kind of peace that is returning with you today. The fountain of peace shall be established in your heart and it keeps springing up day and night and in season and out of season. You never know depression anymore. Your heads will not be bowed down anymore in the name of Jesus.
Isaiah 54:10. God always speaks to the future. God has a package called the covenant of peace. Ezekiel 34:25-26. Church Gist. Something amazing is coming your way. Jesus came and said, “I am that fountain of peace”. John 14:27.
By way of connecting us to the theme of the month, in the course of the Spiritual Week of Emphasis, we examined some fundamentals on how faith enhances the fulfilment of prophecies. The End Time Church is a highly prophetic church. The Bible is a book of prophecies, it is called the more sure word of prophecies. This is God directly speaking to our lives, our destiny, our posterity and our eternity. Church Gist. Psalm 12:6. It has been tried in fire seven times and is in its purest state. This is all about what God can do and will do as we believe. Every prophetic word demands praise for delivery. 2 Chronicles 20:17. A word came down to Judah that they do not need to fight in that battle. They should set themselves in praise and God will take over their battles. 2 Chronicles 20:22. As they began to praise God, God stepped in, took over their battle and none of their enemies escaped.
Praise is a requirement to see prophecies fulfilled. Isaiah 38:4-5, 19-20. Hezekiah had to sing to see that prophecy fulfilled. We can’t complain to see prophecies fulfilled, we celebrate God to see Him fulfil His Word in our lives. Church Gist. May everything that complains and murmurs in each one be destroyed today. Murmuring only messes up issues, complaining complicates them but praises commits God to fulfill His Word in our lives. May each one in this month experience praise as an addiction all the days of our lives.
We must beware of the tricks of the devil. The year is almost coming to an end and people instead of counting their blessings are counting their losses. People are made to keep counting their losses instead of counting their blessings, so they murmur their way out of God’s agenda. It is the end of the year and God always reserves the best for the last. Satan wants to rob you and me of our best by bringing us out of the realm of celebrating God to murmuring and complaining against God. 2 Corinthians 11:3. Psalm 65:11. That is why the end of the year is for most people a season of complaining. Church Gist. I have worked from January to November and I can’t see anything whereas he is just about to see a breakthrough. Satan says “Complain the more. Complain more and more.”
Number 11:1. God is always displeased when we complain. He has done so much for us but the enemy wants to blind our minds from seeing it. He has done nothing for you but you are still breathing. He has not done anything for you but you are still wearing clothes. He has done nothing for you but you still ate last night, many people have eaten this morning. You still drove your car down here. You paid your way to come to Church and He has not done anything for you. You go to work every weekday. Come on, give the Lord praise. May no one here be deceived anymore.
Habakkuk 2:2-3. The year is not over, He can make anything happen in one day. So don’t let any devil disconnect you from your source of grace. Our God is the God of all grace, don’t frustrate the grace of God please. 1 Peter 5:8. I believe God’s best is always reserved for the last. Church Gist. I refuse to miss God’s best in these last moments of the year. Someone here got a job on Christmas Day. Isn’t that strange? On Christmas Day when everybody has gone home. Allow God to visit you, don’t turn God off. Give no place to the devil.
That is just connecting you to what this month holds, every day must be charged with praise in your life. Every remaining day of the year must be charged with praise. Church Gist. Praise is a required channel that will ensure the fulfilment of God’s agenda for your life for the year. So give it to Him and you will be glad that you did.
Again, today is our Covenant of Peace Service and we will be looking at the subject and we are going to see God manifest Himself in very strange ways today in the name of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God to which you belong is a Kingdom of peace. Romans 14:17. Church Gist. Those are the forces at play in that Kingdom. When you are born again, you are translated from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His own dear Son where what reigns is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
God cut a covenant of peace with mankind through the shed blood of Jesus. Colossians 1:20. So when you are washed by the blood, God cut a covenant of peace with mankind through the shed blood of Jesus. This order of peace is that kind that puts a man at rest in the midst of the storm. Christ was asleep in the hinder part of the boat when a great storm arose. Church Gist. Jesus the Prince of Peace came on the scene “Peace be still” and there was a great calm. At peace under impossible circumstances. That is the kind of peace you are going home with. It is defined as great peace! Isaiah 26:3. Perfect peace! It is the order of peace that passes all knowledge. That is unexplainable but undeniable. Philippians 4:7. Available only from one source, the source is Christ.
Interestingly, Peace is one of the vital proofs or evidence of redemption. Galatians 5:22-23. Remember He calls it the “fruit” – One! With nine components in it. That is the spiritual DNA of a born again child of God. That is his new culture. When you are born again, those nine proofs of your newly generated spirit begin to manifest in your life. Love, joy, peace… Is the new lifestyle of a believer. Church Gist. It oozes out of you without struggle if you are truly born again. Today people go to church but they don’t know the meaning of being born again. They have never experienced a new life. To be born again means to be manifesting the nine fruits of the Spirit naturally. It is in you! Faith is in you at new birth. Meekness is in you, not pride, not pomposity, not arrogance. Patience is in you, you are not in a hurry to enter into horror.
Please understand that the nine itemized fruit of the spirit is a definition of our new lifestyle as believers. So when these things are going low and low, there is a disconnection gradually. Going… Going… Gone! Church Gist. You find the love of the Lord going down, the joy of the Lord going down or the peace of the Lord going down, you are going… going.., you better return before it is gone. It is no guesswork. The fruit means the proofs. The proofs of a new regenerated spirit.
In this new kingdom, Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and His name is called Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6. Church Gist. If you are in that Kingdom, you are under the rule and the reign of the Prince of Peace.
What are the wonders embedded in peace?
1. Peace is a medium through which God takes over our battles.
We have heard this severally, until we hold our peace God can’t fight for us. Exodus 14:14. Until we hold our peace He cannot fight for us. Anxieties and apprehensions put God off, they are all manifestations of unbelief and doubt. They that believe have entered into rest. Church Gist. When there is no rest there is unbelief. Nothing can get God to work outside of faith. Isaiah 53:1. God can’t take over our battles until we hold our peace. That is the core wonder of this covenant of peace. When peace is in place, God takes over our battles.
Did God fight for them or not? He did. God took over, He went in front of them and the sea saw them and fled. Church Gist. They didn’t push the water, they didn’t pray, they held their peace and God took over. In the same way, all barriers before you will clear off like a dream of the night.
2. God’s manifest presence.
Psalm 46:10. Be still and watch me manifest myself. Be still and I will show up! Be still and the Gentiles will know I am your God. Psalm 23:4.
What are the covenant requirements for operating in this realm of peace?
1. Be born again
Until the Prince of Peace comes into our hearts, this order of peace is inaccessible. It cannot be experienced. Revelation 3:20. If you open your heart, I will come in and establish my fountain of peace on your inside. So when one is born again the Prince of Peace has entered into his heart. Peace becomes his natural experience. The peace of God that passes all human explanation becomes his experience. As I said, the nine fruit of the spirit constitute the spiritual DNA of every believer. That is why the Bible says “If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature.” These nine fruits are not found in natural man. Since after the fall man lost out of this culture. Love! Joy! Peace! Long-suffering! Faith! Meekness! He has lost out. Everything went dry. Church Gist. Goodness, no! After the fall “Adam where are you?” he said “Catch my wife, she is the one”. Everybody entered into his own shell. They don’t care what happens to another person. “If you eat this fruit, you will be like God” so they ate it. Pride! Meekness is out! All these nine treasures went bankrupt at the Fall. Until one is born again, he cannot be restored. Until one is born again he lacks peace. People have things but they lack peace. They have money, houses, positions but they lack peace. They are mostly on antidepressant drugs. The Prince of Peace is the only way to the peace that passes all knowledge. That is why new birth is the gateway to this order of peace that makes God take over our battles.
Matthew 7:20. New birth is not an emblem, it is a new way of life. So we have this barometer, we can check where we are standing per time and where the fire is burning low, we can check. Where is my love for God? We can check. Church Gist. Where is my joy? Where is my peace? Where is my meekness? Where is my faith? Where is my goodness? Where is my discipline? If you can’t find it, then something needs to be done urgently.
1. Be filled with the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost helps to fire the peace of God in us. Romans 14:17. Peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. You find two men locked up in prison and they are singing. Is that where to sing? Peace and joy! They were going to bring them out the following day to be killed. Peace and joy! Did you notice that Peter was sleeping between two soldiers? They stood over him like this. An angel had to tap him to wake up. Is that where to sleep? Peace that passes all human explanation, that is the meaning. Church Gist. The Holy Ghost had come in Chapter 2, Peter was arrested in Chapter 12, he was asleep. It was like they were pointing a gun at his forehead. Just move and we shoot you but Peter was fast asleep. That is peace. That is the order of peace that passes all human explanations. The Holy Ghost is the one that launches you into that order of peace.
Some will vow that what we are telling you here is not true. “How can somebody be doing what he is doing and he says he is at peace? He is not telling you the truth.” How can you be on a plane that is about to crash and you are taking snacks? What kind of life is that? It is a lie. It is not true. Can you believe that? Are you daft? Church Gist. How can your wife be dying and you are travelling around the world? Are you a wizard? It’s not true. He can’t understand that we have this fountain inside us when Jesus comes into your hearts and you are not faking it. The peace that passes all human explanations becomes manifest in your life. Somebody is being infused with that peace.
That is how to experience God’s raw intervention. Our daughter was dying and I sat down on my chair in my office, “Jesus, there must be a way out.” And He smiled on me “Son, there is a way out.” You know I am a man of God. Who made you a man of God? You are telling God that you are a man of God? Which man of God are you? You are telling God who made you his servant that you are a man of God. Which man of God are you? Church Gist. Are you the uncle of God? Some people have overrated themselves so much, they just lose their peace for nothing. Jesus there must be a way out. He fired three scriptures that lightened up the atmosphere and sent darkness packing. God will visit you. Be still, you will know that I am God.
2. Be committed to the study of the Word.
2 Peter 1:2. Grace and peace multiply by the knowledge of the Word. Daniel 11:32. Grace and peace multiply by knowledge. Church Gist. 2 Timothy 2:15. Psalm 119:165. They respond to issues with the Word of God at work in them.
In 1992, 1st of March the Lord visited me in my devotion very powerfully that morning. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, so did their fathers to the first prophets till they sent them to their graves. He said unto me “Develop yourself to enjoy persecution. They are coming from very close people to you. Church Gist. If you don’t want to be persecuted, then you don’t want to be blessed. One hundredfold of blessings equals one hundredfold of persecutions.” It was a visitation. 1st of March 1992. Then we had that mid-year assault from 1992 to 1997 without me lifting a finger or raising a voice. Great peace have they whose mind is stayed on you and nothing shall offend them. Immediately, I saw every attack as an opinion to which every human is entitled. It is not human right, it is divine right. Jesus said I am going to pass through here and they said he can’t pass. He went through another way. Jesus oh! Peter said let’s call fire. He said no! They have a divine human right. Church Gist. A divine right to express their opinion. So when you think that somebody is insulting you, he is only expressing his opinion in a harsh form. It is not the expression, It is his opinion! That he shouts doesn’t mean that it means anything. It is an opinion. “I believe that you are stupid”. That means in his opinion you are a stupid man. It is his own opinion, just make sure you don’t behave stupidly otherwise he will be right. It is an opinion. To be crying over somebody who insulted you yesterday is not normal.
In our days before now, it was newspapers that counted, there was no electronic anything. If they sell the paper today that says you are a fool, it won’t sell tomorrow. It has a one-day lifespan. It is a one-day insult. No matter what you do, you can’t sell yesterday’s paper today. Magazines had a lifespan of one month for those who were printing one month those days. Some were printed for three months until they all disappeared one by one. Develop yourself! Psalm 119:165. Watch how God came in. Because we maintained our peace in that storm, the Church began to skyrocket. That led us to Canaanland. From 2.3 acres of land to 530. Church Gist. Peace is good. Let God take over your battle instead of disturbing yourself and sending harsh messages around. “Was it me you called a fool yesterday? You are a double fool. I will fight you to finish.” He now replies to you and says “You are bigger than a fool. I made a mistake, you are the biggest fool in the world.” “You call me a fool? You are a bastard”. Then you are tweeting, Instagram early in the morning.
Continue to keep your mind and affection on things from above, you will be at peace. Colossians 3:1. You will enjoy unbelievable peace on the earth, seek things that are from above. Make the things of God your focus for living, you will be at peace. Church Gist. 1 Chronicles 29:3. David was the one who testified Psalm 119:165. His affection was set on the House of God so he enjoyed great peace.
3. Be committed to following the leading of the Spirit.
Isaiah 48:17-18. God always leads in the path of peace. When peace is lacking, watch it! Where peace is missing, watch it. Psalm 85:8. He speaks peace. God speaks peace to His people. I remember in those days before we began construction here, I would come into the site and return home and tell my wife I could feel God here. I could feel God’s presence here. I will walk through the bush in the night and there was no sense of fear. I could feel God here. He leads always in the path of peace. I knew when He said to me “This is the place. His peace just dominated the entire environment.” He leads in the path of peace. You won’t suffer crisis anymore.
Those are covenant terms for operating in this realm of peace that is beyond human explanation and understanding. They look at it as fake, it can’t be real. Is that human? We are not human. We have changed status. We are now a new creature. We are now a peculiar people. We are only wearing the same flesh as they do but we don’t have the same inside. Something has turned on the inside. May this peace of God be everyone’s portion. Church Gist. Please understand this. How far can we go without His presence? We are required to be still If we must experience His presence. How far can we go in the battles of life without His intervention? For by strength shall no man prevail. For that reason, calm down your future is sure. Peter slept between two soldiers a night before he was to be killed. God took over and sent an angel to tap him “Peter get up and get out from here. Where were the soldiers? They were under vertical sleeping spirit. Church Gist. They stood and slept. Peter stood up and he said “Tie your sandals well, don’t rush. Check yourself in the mirror and follow me. Peace brought God to the scene.” You heard Paul say “Cheer up! An angel of the Lord appeared unto me tonight and said there shall be no harm. We will lose our goods, we will lose the sheep but no loss of lives.” In the midst of the storm, he could hear the voice of the angel. That is peace. It provokes divine intervention. That is your new realm.
Some kidnapper carried one of our daughters here. Our little child in the Children’s Church. I said, “Relax, this child will come back”. One year, two years passed and the man came by himself. He said he saw me chasing him about in the night with a sword. He said “I know I will die.” I said Yes, you will die. Church Gist. For you have made the parents cry for two years plus, you will die. But the child came back. Peace! It is not being jittery. Jesus, they took your turtle dove from your house. Who should be bothered? You. Thank you Jesus the child is back. Just be at peace. That you are palpitating won’t solve the problem. Be at peace! It is a new dawn for you! Your story has just changed.
4. Beware of minding things too high for you because it robs people of their peace.
If you go to rent a house that is beyond your income, you have sold out your peace. How can you get sleep in a house that is beyond your income? Who blinded your mind? How did you go to price the house? Minding high things robs people of their peace. Psalm 131:1-2. Church Gist. If you want great peace stop toying with what robs you of peace. Don’t have one million and be pricing something of ten million. How do to want to start negotiating? How will they bring the price down to one million?
Now watch, one of my friends came to our house in 1990 and said “You can’t be living in this place” and they said they found a place in Ikeja that was 45,000 per annum. I asked, “Is the building for sale?” They will send for me in the village. If you don’t know what you are doing, please come home. No! I will never be tempted to do it. In 1986, the church wanted to rent a house. We had 5,000 budget and there was nobody in the world who could move it up. If they say this house is 5,500 that is not our house. Look for the one that is 5,000 or 4,500. You can save 500 naira. Church Gist. I have never prayed for house rent in my life. I rent houses that don’t need prayer. Stop exercising yourself in matters too high for you. Many young people can never start businesses because they want to start on top. What do you need? “First, I need a car. I need an apartment in Victoria Island and then I need three staff.” Eh hen? Who are you? Are you a staff or a staff owner? People just disturb themselves for nothing.
I told you a humourous story before. I told one of my sons to get me three pairs of shoes. He came back and said he saw one that was very good. I asked how much and he said #700. I asked if the shoe had an engine. Does it have an engine that when you enter it, it will carry you to where you are going? We were outside the country one time with a friend of mine. We didn’t have any meetings that night so we walked around the places where they sell things in the hotel and he said to me “Brother David, do you like this ring?” I said God forbid. Church Gist. The amount there will build a church. He said he liked it and I said well done. If you close my eyes, I won’t. If you give me the money I will tell you to go and give the money to God. For me to wear a ring that will be costlier than a house? No! Which finger will I put it on? When you put pleasure before labour, you will live under pressure. Many young people today are under pressure, they put themselves there not the devil. Proverbs 21:16-17. The moment you are after pleasure before labour, you are creating space for pressure. You are creating a future of pressure. Church Gist. Wake up! Speak to yourself. No one can get you out of it. Some fellows don’t have money to train their children in Nigeria, they now borrow money to train them abroad. What is the matter? What are you looking for? “It is my son who says he must go.” Let him ‘must pay.’ Let him pay. People just put themselves under pressure for nothing. I have never prayed for school fees in my life, my children will go to a school I can pay for without pressure. I need my prayer for more important things. Wake up!
Proverbs 24:27. You don’t build your house before your work. You build your house from the output of your work. A great future awaits you. Church Gist. You will not see off your birthright for peace for a morsel of meat. You will not keep going after things too high for you.
Can I close with this and I am speaking to this generation. Proverbs 30:13. That is the generation we are living in. Building towers in the sky. Somebody came to me that he wanted to go into ministry and he has found a place in Victoria Island. He said he had walked around the place. I said he shouldn’t walk around the place at night because even the realtor would not discuss it with him. He doesn’t look like someone who has the means. He was going to start a ministry and where he will start is Victoria Island. Church Gist. That time there was no Lekki. He now saw a building and said the Lord told him that is where the church would be. I said well done but don’t go in the night. The maiguard may use a bow and arrow to attack you. They won’t even discuss it with you because you don’t look like it. Can you imagine a person barefooted to the shop and is pricing a brand new Mercedes Benz of 210 million naira? What is the price of this car? They say what is your problem? If we tell you what do you want to do with it? Your peace is restored at last. You never run out of peace anybody. The fountain of peace is restored in your soul. On that platform, heaven will start fighting your battles.
– You never lack divine intervention again.
– No force of the wicked shall prevail against anymore.
– As God takes over, your victory is guaranteed. Church Gist.
– Divine presence will make a difference in your life.
– As you maintain your peace, God will keep manifesting Himself to you.
Watch out! From now your sleep shall be so sweet.
– No more sweating out of bed again.
– No more weeping behind closed doors again.
– No more air of depression around your life again. Church Gist.
– Anxiety and apprehensions are over in your life today.
– Today marks a new dawn of rest in your life.
Whatever God can do should give you rest. Ask yourself about that challenge, can God do this? If the answer is Yes, go to bed. Church Gist. Cast your cares upon the Lord for He cares for you. He wants to carry it, let Him carry it so you can be at rest.
Prophetic Declarations.
Peter said, “Such as I have I give unto you”. I have experienced unusual peace in my life which is not by any strength or skill, it is simply the gift of God at work in my life. His gift is for every believer.
– I decree that the same peace granted me by the gift of redemption be manifest in your life. Church Gist.
– The days of high temperatures over issues of your life are declared over in your life.
– The days of tension and unrest are declared over in your life.
There is a peace that comes from serving God. “He gave them rest roundabout.”
– Grace to secure yourself in that realm of peace through tireless stewardship in advancing the Kingdom of God, receive it right now.
– I decree that the end of the year package ordained for you by God who crowns the year with goodness, you will not miss it. Church Gist.
– Every upsetting issue around your life is declared over.
– Everything militating against your peace in Christ is rooted out.
– You will not miss out on divine intervention again.
– In your state of rest, your long-awaited miracle job will manifest.
– In your state of rest, your miracle marriage will be made manifest.
– In your state of rest, the peace you have been looking for will be restored. Church Gist.
– In your state of rest, your business shall pick up again.
– Your heart shall no longer be troubled. The peace of God that heals troubled hearts has come into you today.
– Your heart will no longer fail you for fear.
Watch out, from this moment the kind of peace you have never imagined shall be manifesting in your life.
#BishopDavidOyedepo
#SecondPreShilohEncounterService
#CovenantofPeaceService
#FaithTabernacle
#SupersonicSunday
#LFCWorldwide
#RedeemedtoFluorishinHardTimes
#5thNovember2023
#ChurchGist
