DON’T EVER THINK YOU ARE YOUNG, YOU ARE GETTING TOO OLD.
WITH MY PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT ON THE STREETS, I HAVE SEEN 94,503 SOULS BROUGHT TO THE LORD BETWEEN 2015 AND 2019.
Bishop David Oyedepo at CHoP
*However, this passion for souls started in 1973 when I was 19.
*I wasn’t baptized in the Holy Ghost (then), so all these things we are carrying about, you just need a heart for God.
*Young people: the best time to start is now.
*We are on a ‘Go Again’ mission.
*Soul winning is not for a season; it is for a lifetime.
Paul said, “I may be bound but the Word of God is not bound.
During lockdown, business breakthrough (documented testimony).
During lockdown, pregnancy breakthrough (documented testimony).
Nothing can lockdown the Word, so there is no circumstance or situation that can stop God’s Word from having its way. Obedience of faith will pave the way for anybody, anywhere and at any time. Obedience of faith will change the story of anybody, anywhere and at any time.
Prayers: Ask God for grace for obedience as you receive His Word in your private devotions, in your meditations, in the Services in Church, in the Cell Fellowship meetings, in the Covenant Hour of Prayer. Lord, I ask You for grace for obedience to Your Word at all times, in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, visit us as individuals again this morning, in Jesus precious name.
OBEDIENCE: GATEWAY TO CHANGE OF LEVELS (OR CHANGE OF STORY)
Obedience may not make sense but it guarantees results. Which one do you want? To make sense without results or to make no sense and get results.
“Fill the water pots with water”: it didn’t make sense, “we are looking for wine, you are asking us to fetch water” – John 2:7. But they got wine from that instruction that didn’t make sense.
“Go to Nineveh and preach to them the preaching that I command you”: they said, “what is the preaching Sir?” Tell them in 40 days, they are all dead.
He went 3 days, “40 days, you are all dead!!” He didn’t even say, ‘Repent’, yet they repented including animals. Nobody ate or drank for 3 days in Nineveh and God turned their captivity around. His instructions may not make sense but they always guarantee results.
A man was born blind, 40 years old and Jesus now plastered his eyes so he can be double blind and said, “go to the pool called Siloam and wash” – John 9:7
Is there no water here? No, the pool called Siloam, that is where the water is; he went and washed and came back seeing. It didn’t make much sense.
A great man came from Syria and went to meet Elisha. Elisha said, “I can’t see him, tell him to go to Jordan in the public place there and dip himself 7 times and will be clean” – 2 Kings 5:10
He was very angry, he didn’t know who came: Chief of Army Staff of Syria. “I have swimming pool on the first floor of my house and in my bedroom. Anti-leprosy treated pool and then I will now go to…No. He doesn’t know who he is talking to.” The little girl said, “you are the one that is leprous, not the man. Do what He says. He went, dipped himself, the 7th time, his flesh returned like that of a child.
Obedience may not make much sense to our little sense because His ways are higher than our ways – Isaiah 55:8-9
You tell somebody in my village that somebody went to the moon, they will say, “it is not possible. Where would God be?” because they don’t know of any other planet other than the earth.
There are things that God says which is far above us, all we need to tap into the blessings of this is obedience. Church Gist. Simple obedience. Only God could have said, “this is the place”, when we came down here. There was no life here but demons and animals and you say, “this is the place”, far away from every human being, is that how to plant a Church?
His instructions may not make sense but it guarantees results.
-You will not miss your place.
Your little sense and my little sense will not block our access to God’s agenda.
Very quickly, Moses is known to be a dedicated lover of the people of God. He chose rather suffer affliction with God’s people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season – Hebrews 11:24 to end.
He chose: his heart was after God’s people. His life went after the afflicted people of God and you know the story how he saw one Egyptian molesting one Israelite and dealt with the other one. When the thing was known, he fled. Then God met him 40 years after. When he was young, he couldn’t get the job done. He said, “Get down to Egypt and bring my people out”, because his heart was still after them, even when he fled for his life. His heart was still after them.
Anyone with a heart for God’s people has a heart for God – Matthew 25:31-40
Anything we show forth to His people, we are doing it for Him. In other words, Moses’s heart was after God in spite of his ordeal. He was said to be a general in the army of Egypt, but he became a Cattle Rearer, yet his heart was still after the people of God who were suffering. He was an unusual lover of the afflicted.
Exodus 2:21-24
At a point, Moses demanded that instead of destroying these people, take my name out of your book. That is talking about somebody who is all out to see God’s people free, at the expense of his own life – Exodus 32:31-33
Take my name out of Your Book, what am I doing there? – Exodus 32:32
His heart was selflessly panting for the liberation of God’s people.
We discover therefore from scriptures that every dedicated lover of souls usually ends up a giant in the Kingdom.
Moses was very great – Exodus 11:3, Deuteronomy 34:10
There was a cupbearer by name Nehemiah who heard of the affliction of God’s people in Jerusalem and was in a fast for 3 weeks with weeping and tears – Nehemiah 5:14. Church Gist. From a cupbearer, God made a Governor out of him. He never looked for it, he just wanted the reproach of God’s people to be off and God said, “Okay, I take away your reproach also.” Unusual favour located him and that is what is behind the kind of testimonies that we hear in this Church since the Wonder Double agenda and people now knew that your love for souls brings you into favour with God – Psalm 102:13-15.
When you keep panting after souls, you are stirring favour from God in your direction. Church Gist. A lot of young people are here today, this the best time to begin.
Daniel 12:3
We have an open-ended commandment: Go to all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15-17
You don’t lack the miraculous, you don’t lack the supernatural pursuing after souls. They follow you – Mark 16:17. You say, “well, He said that to the Apostles.”
Mark 13:37 – everything He said to them (Apostles), He said to us. We are Disciples of Christ, we are followers of Christ, that is the meaning.
A man made a feast and then at the time of supper, he sent for those who were invited to come and they gave one excuse or the other – Luke 14:17-23
Gather the maimed, the people that are not worthy to be invited: Bring them, I want everybody. Every soul holds the same value with me.
We are on a ‘Go Again’ mission – Luke 14:21,23. It is not for a season, it is for a lifetime.
Go again until there is no place anywhere for anyone to sit in my house; go again until there is no place until there is nowhere to stand, go again until there is no tree anybody can climb. Church Gist. Go again. Keep going.
As you keep going, God keeps changing your level. Your level: it keeps changing.
This is very important, the capital proof for our love for God is out love for souls.
“Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?
He said, “I love You”: Go after my lambs” – John 21:15-17
No grammar here, go after my sheep. God’s capital proof of our love for Him is our love for souls. God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten sons – John 3:16
That is God’s greatest on the earth. The salvation of the souls of men. When you partner with Him, you are proving your love for Him and He has vowed to decorate your life.
1 Corinthians 2:9, Romans 8:28, John 14:21
You always end up decorated going after souls.
Young people: Hear me, you always end up decorated. Your destiny ends up decorated. Your destiny becomes enviable when you choose.
Moses chose, not that it happened. He chose.
“Choose ye this day whom ye shall serve”
It is the capital proof of our love for God. 1973, I was 19 years old and I was in that village. Then I asked if there was any Church there and they said no. I knelt down in the little hut. I had never lived under grass in my life but I said I was going to live there. I said, “Jesus, see that I don’t leave this village like this.” I was going to be there for 72 days and Jesus built that Church. I wasn’t called to Ministry but my passion for souls was intact. Sir, I wasn’t baptized in the Holy Ghost, so all these things we are carrying about, you just need a heart for God. Church Gist. Moses had no Holy Ghost, he just had a heart for the afflicted people. I just had a heart for God. Hear what happened: I went out of that village without a dime but with my glorious destiny delivered. The villagers gave me a lantern, said, “the light you brought to our village, let it shine round the world. That is where I believe that I encountered destiny by an uncheckered passion for souls. The light is shining.
Now this morning, I don’t know how many Nations are hooked on this Covenant Hour of Prayer: maybe 50, maybe 100, maybe 170. Everyday. Somebody in Japan is hearing now.
The light you brought to our village, let it shine round the world.
We built a Grass Church: great.
The place was jam packed when I was leaving: great.
I was in tears of emotion leaving those village people. But I left off with destiny in my hand. Wake up. Don’t ever think you are young, you are getting too old. Without a heart for God, the struggles of life continue.
Everybody needs a heart for God and this is the best time to start. 45 years ago, I signed up on Matthew 6:33 as my lifestyle. I called it the Jackpot of life – seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things that others are dying to get, God told me, “that others are dying to get it, I will add them to you for free. You won’t need to beg me for it, just keep my Kingdom for living.”
45 years after, I am still singing. Your heart for souls is a proof of your heart for God and your heart for God guarantees an enviable place for you in destiny.
By the grace of God, I saw with my eyes and with my practical engagement, about 94,503 souls brought to the Lord between 2015 and 2019: that I went to the streets, I led the outreaches, I did the teachings, I did the invitations. My God! Now that passion started in 1973. That passion is still working till now. This year alone, our team brought in 110,665 into the Kingdom. Not Church outreach, members of the Church are all out, but this is my team that God helped me to put together and 26,346 of them are in Church.
Without a genuine passion for souls, any believer’s future is limited. Wake up. It is not for want of what to do, it is a proof of where your heart is.
Now there is a spirit of disobedience. I cast it out of every life this morning – Ephesians 2:2
Now there is a spirit of obedience – Ezekiel 36:27
-I decree a fresh release of the spirit of obedience upon every soul hearing me this morning.
Again, without a genuine passion for souls, any believer’s destiny is limited – 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Everyone here this morning, please note, it is a lifelong requirement – Acts 26:22. It is God’s commandment to every child of God. Don’t think you now have experience; you don’t need that anymore.
God said to me,” there is a place for you on top if you are interested, 1984.”
I said: I am interested Lord. He said, “whatever I tell you to do, do it”
Whatever He tells you to do, do it: not I am interested by words.
Prove that you are interested in the place for you on top, by doing what He tells you to do where you are now and He keeps changing your level little, by little, by little until He sets you above all nations of the earth.
You are going somewhere.
All this, ‘Give me, Give me’: that is not the way to live Sir. Just pursue after God and goodness and mercies will be pursuing after you. Favour will be pursuing you on their own.
1977, I read from A.W Tozer’s book, ‘The Pursuit of God’, one scripture just came alive strong. “My soul followeth hard after thee oh God and thy right hand upholds me” – Psalm 63:8
And the Lord said to me, “the harder you follow Me, the higher you fly.”
People are busy following after nonsense, day and night: Oh God, water; Oh God, bread; Oh God, groundnut. Every day!! It is time for a change.
Prayers: Ask God for renewed passion for God which you prove by your renewed passion for souls.
Ask God for renewed passion in your soul for Him. In Jesus precious name we have prayed.
-Today will be great for every one of us.
-The Youth Alive Convention that is ongoing will be greater today than yesterday.
-Every session shall be charged with life.
-Every participant will return as changed persons.
-Excellence will become the new identity of everyone and the name of the Lord shall be glorified.
SPEAK TO THE DAY
Awesome Day, Awesome time
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