Felix Adogbeji and Daniel Breakforth
Part 4
We have just concluded a series showing 70 similarities between Archbishop Idahosa and Bishop Oyedepo. Actually we pinpointed over 80 similarities. We only limited it to 70.
Archbishop Benson Idahosa and Bishop David Oyedepo –
Spirit of boldness
The Miraculous
Grace for Speed and Supernatural Supplies.
a) Bishop David Oyedepo is a lifetime student of Archbishop Benson Idahosa. At the time Bishop Oyedepo was instructed to go and meet Archbishop Idahosa, he didn’t want to go because of the kind of attacks on the Archbishop by the media. David Oyedepo wanted to avoid such scandals. Little did he know that in future he would be attacked way more than that. He eventually went to meet Idahosa and even mentioned how he felt. Trust Idahosa, he shrugged it off! Those who backbite remain at the back!
Today, the lion nature of the Archbishop is evidenced in the life of Bishop Oyedepo. He speaks with boldness and authority without fear or who is offended just like the Archbishop. We live in a world where people are scared of addressing bad governmental policies but Bishop Oyedepo is a man who has stood out. He speaks and confronts the power that be in the government without fear. He is always a voice that addresses government bad policies. He was a prominent voice during Covid 19 pandemic where Church gatherings were suspended. He was all out at the government and Living Faith Church and churches pastored by the Sons of Bishop Oyedepo like Enenche and Ibiyeomie were among the very first to resume full fledged services and even held Shiloh while many other major churches delayed for a few months. During the massacre of Christians in the North during President Buhuari’s administration, his voice was among the loudest in addressing them even when many Christian leaders were silent. He spoke greatly against the boko haram insurgency to the chaffin of many. No wonder he was dreaded by government officials. In fact for 8 years, tie Government of President Buhari never had the simple courtesy to wish Bishop Oyedepo a happy birthday but today, not just the whole nation but the whole world is wishing Bishop Oyedepo a happy birthday days before the main date.
b) The Miraculous
Archbishop Benson Idahosa was a man known for operating in the miraculous sweatlessly. Operating in the supernatural was like a natural habitat for him. His Meetings were always characterized with strange manifestations of miracles, healing, deliverances, signs and wonders. The grace for the miraculous upon the Archbishop rubbed off on Bishop Oyedepo on the 22nd of May, 1987 while he was watching the clip of the 1985 Liberty Stadium, Ibadan Crusade. According to him, he was consumed with passion because of the huge number of people he saw who were afflicted. He broke down in tears and began asking God ‘what way would you use me to be part of the army that will bring solutions to the masses of afflicted people in the World?’ As he was praying, he heard the footsteps of an invisible man on the carpet in his room. The steps were majestic according to him and suddenly, he felt a hand on his back and something ran down his spine. That was a flow of divine virtue that launched him into the realm of the miraculous. The next day, which was a Sunday, as he was welcoming people to the Service, the power of God broke out and diverse healings and miracles erupted as a result of the encounter he had the previous night. We have heard and seen strange testimonies from the Ministry of Bishop Oyedepo ranging from miracle conceptions without ovaries, raising of the dead, restoration of sanity, restoration of sight, HIV patients healed, all kinds of terminal diseases healed and many others. Indeed Bishop David Oyedepo is a man who flows in the realm of the supernatural.
c) Grace for Speed and Supernatural Supplies.
The Archbishop was a man who commanded unusual speed and enjoyed uncommon supernatural supplies. The remarkable growth of the Church of God Mission International founded by the Archbishop was a testament of the speed at work in the life of the Archbishop which is still seen today even after his transition. The Church that started in a store in the City of Benin has tremendously grown with over a thousand Branches planted across Nigeria and some other countries. This can also be seen in the Bishop Oyedepo led Living Faith Church, one of the fastest growing Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria where 15,000 new churches were planted in less than 2 years.
The Archbishop is fond of quoting Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus” in his teachings. This was because he enjoyed supernatural supplies from God. Bishop Oyedepo contacted the grace for supernatural supplies from diverse encounters with the Archbishop. On one of the days, after returning from a missionary trip from the United States, the Lord instructed him to give every seed he was given from the trip to the Archbishop. He obeyed and on giving the seed to the Archbishop, the Archbishop placed the seed back in his hand and declared upon his life “‘these hands will never know lack.” Since then till date, he has never lacked and this he often mentions during his teachings “I don’t beg, I don’t borrow and I don’t lack.”
At another time in 1990, the Archbishop asked him if he would be able to meet him in Makurdi where he was going to hold a crusade? He responded, yes sir. He drove 6 hours from Kaduna where he was based at that time to Makurdi to meet with him. The Archbishop was surprised that the Bishop could make it due to the short notice. He exclaimed, so you came? He asked him to kneel down. He laid hands on him and declared ‘from today, I impact upon you the spirit of on time, before the needs arise, the supply will be waiting.’ This declaration was to further cement the grace of supernatural supplies upon the Bishop. Wonder where the resources that built the Faith Tabernacle came from? It was supernatural supplies because there was no provision for it in that year’s Church Budget. Two months to the dedication of the Faith Tabernacle, it seemed that the resources to complete the Building were not available but the Bishop made a profound statement “if God created the entire World within 6 days, 2 months – too much” and indeed the supplies to finish the Building came forth. Despite the economic crisis facing the World, the Ark Project is going on smoothly because of supernatural supplies from Heaven. In fact the dedication date has been fixed for 2025 and coincidentally it will also be dedicated in November, same month in 1986 when Archbishop Idahosa dedicated Faith Arena.
Finally, there are many other graces enjoyed by Bishop Oyedepo. At the start of his call into ministry, he studied 39 biographies. Is it Apostle Babalola, Oswald J Smith, Smith Wigglesworth, T. L Osborn, E. W Kenyon, A. W Tozer, William Branham, A. A Allen, Oral Roberts, David Yonggi Cho, Samuel Sadela, Billy Graham, Morris Cerullo or Reinhard Bonnke?
The list is endless.
However if you are passionate about seeing is write about any of them, you can either send us the write up or sponsor the research and either will be much appreciated.
God bless you.
Happy 70th Birthday to Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo
Indeed who you follow determines what follows you.
