WHY ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF TITHE?
BISHOP OYEDEPO WAS ABLE TO BUILD 100 CHURCHES IN ONE YEAR BECAUSE HE MADE A COMMITMENT TO BUILD CHURCHES FOR GOD EVEN BEFORE HE HAD A BANK ACCOUNT.
FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE IN THIS KINGDOM IS AN ENTRUSTMENT.
HOW BISHOP OYEDEPO GOT AN ENCOUNTER FROM OSWALD J. SMITH BOOK IN 1976 THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE.
HOW BISHOP OYEDEPO’S COVENANT EXEMPTION MENTALITY PREVENTED A POTENTIAL PLANE CRASH.
MY REACTION WHEN THERE WAS HEAVY TURBULENCE DURING A FLIGHT.
YOUR LOVE FOR GOD KEEPS GOOD ON YOUR PATH.
OUR CONNECTIVITY TO GOD THROUGH OUR PURSUIT OF THE LOST IS WHAT GIVES US ACCESS TO THE FLOW OF HIS POWER.
EVERYONE THAT BECOMES AN INSTRUMENT IN THE HAND OF GOD BECOMES AN EXHIBITION OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD.
EVEN WHEN FAITH DOES NOT MAKE COMMON SENSE, IT WILL PRODUCE UNCOMMON RESULTS.
BELIEVING IN MIRACLES WILL REQUIRE THAT WE SUSPEND OUR NATURAL SENSES AND INTELLIGENCE.
ANYONE THAT WILL EXPERIENCE THE SUPERNATURAL CANNOT OPERATE ACCORDING TO HUMAN SENSES.
WHEN YOU GET COMMITTED TO KINGDOM ADVANCEMENT PRAYER, YOU BECOME AN ADVERTISER OF DIVINE POWER.
YOU DON’T POSE INTO POWER, YOU SERVE INTO POWER.
WHEN YOU ARE CONNECTED TO GOD, YOU ARE CONNECTED TO POWER.
WHEN KINGDOM DREAMS SATURATE YOUR HEART, EVERY OTHER THING WILL BE RUSHING IN YOUR DIRECTION.
IF YOU ARE TRULY BORN AGAIN, THERE SHOULD BE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE.
EVERYONE THAT IS A CHILD OF GOD IS ORDAINED TO BE A PECULIAR PERSONALITY.
- Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr on OPERATING IN THE SUPERNATURAL 3C at Covenant Day Of Exemption Service || Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland|| 15th September 2024 || Third Sunday Service ||
Our line of teaching for this month has been “OPERATING IN THE SUPERNATURAL” and in our Sunday Services, we have been looking at this teaching.
- I believe God that for each one of us, by the encounter we are having today, our lives shall become exhibitions of the supernatural!
We begin first of all this morning by trying to address the question ‘what is a miracle?’
What Is A Miracle?
A miracle is a manifestation of God’s response to our faith in His Word and His prophets. Romans 4:17-21. Church Gist. From this Scripture, it is clear looking at the example of Abraham and Abraham’s experience of the miraculous or the supernatural that Abraham invested his full faith in God’s Word.
Now listen, even when faith does not make common sense, it will produce uncommon results. He said, “against hope, he believed in hope.” It was not sensible for Abraham at the age of 100 to be anticipating the arrival of a child. But Abraham believed what God had said. Church Gist. He dared to believe it. There was nothing that was allowed to pervade his faith. His faith was completely fixed in what God had said.
God’s Servant said in the first 2 Services, “only those who believe in miracles will ever experience them.” And you see, believing in miracles will require that we suspend our natural senses, our natural intelligence. 1 Timothy 6:20-21…they have missed road on faith because they have given themselves to the things that make natural sense. Church Gist. The prophetic promise of God given to Abraham had not changed even though it seemed as if his physical condition had changed. Every year, he was getting older but the promise was never ever wearing out. What God had said still stood in spite of his condition.
That is why, anyone that will experience the supernatural cannot operate according to human senses. What God says must be superior and that’s what provokes the miraculous. So miracles like we said, are the manifestations of God’s response to our faith in His Word (what He has said) but also, His response to our faith in His prophets. Church Gist. 2 Chronicles 20:20. So investing our faith in the prophets of God that are placed over us is one of the vital triggers for the miraculous.
- For somebody hearing my voice this morning, as your faith gets fixed, I see miracles rushing in your direction!
So, a miracle is simply the manifestation of God’s response to our faith in what He has said and in the prophets that He has sent to us. Church Gist. That is the trigger point for the manifestation of the miraculous.
Now very quickly, to operate in the supernatural, we must be committed to Kingdom advancement endeavours. Church Gist. And we’ll look at it from three very perspectives this morning.
Three Dimensions Of Our Engagement In Kingdom Advancement Endeavours
- Soul winning. Proverbs 11:30, Daniel 12:3, Matthew 10:1,7-8. Church Gist. So, preaching will come before the healing.
- I pray for somebody hearing my voice this morning that that passion (that zeal) for the pursuit of the lost will be fired up afresh in our lives!
You see, there is nothing that God will not do through a person that is committed to seeing the lost saved. There is nothing that He will not do and the reason is because one of the sickles for the salvation of the lost is the manifestation of the supernatural. Church Gist. So God looks for those who are ready to be on go in order to ensure that they become instruments for the manifestation of the supernatural. This is why Jesus will only empower those that He is sending. Luke 9:1-2. Those who were going were the ones He was empowering. So as we get committed to going, we get connected to His power.
The good news is this, you cannot be an instrument for God without being a first partaker of what He is using you for. When you become a channel of the supernatural, you become a partaker of the supernatural. Church Gist. You cannot see a pipe that is connected to water that is dried. Why? As long as the water keeps flowing, it keeps the pipe continuously moisturized. In the same vein, God begins to use you for healing others – you can’t be tormented by sickness. He begins to use you for delivering others – you cannot be tormented by devils. He begins to use you for raising others – you cannot be demoted by the enemy.
You see, every time your life becomes an instrument for God, your life becomes a manifestation of that which He is using you to do. God does not use men and drop men. No! Church Gist. He uses men and raises them. Everyone that becomes an instrument in the hand of God becomes an exhibition of the goodness of God.
- That will be somebody’s experience from now!
God’s Servant has shared this testimony with us many times how that at the age of 19, he went to a particular village. He went there preaching the Gospel, seeing souls saved and at the end of his time in that village, a Church was raised. And a few years after that, he got an encounter in 1976 from the book of Oswald J. Smith on Matthew 6:33 and the mentality of Kingdom advancement commitment came alive – 1976. Church Gist. Here we are, 2024 – the zeal burning hotter than ever. No wonder, we are seeing wonders like never. Why? Because the passion of the lost continuously on fire. That’s what it takes…2024, it’s still running. No wonder, the wonders are still flowing. Because, no matter how big a wire is, it is harmless until it is connected. It is the connectivity that determines the flow of electricity. In the same vein, our connectivity to God through our pursuit of the lost is what gives us access to the flow of His power.
- I pray again that for each one of us, the grace to remain connected as we get committed, may that grace come afresh upon each one of us!
What an opportunity that this ‘One Week Sacrifice for Souls’ offers us to dive so we can get connected? Church Gist. And we’ll begin to see God manifesting His wonders not only through us but also in us.
- That will become your experience from now in the name of Jesus.
- Praying Kingdom advancement prayers. Our commitment to the advancement of the Kingdom of God in prayer is one of the platforms for the triggering of the supernatural. Church Gist. Matthew 6:6,9-10…that is Kingdom promotion prayer and when we engage with that kind of prayer, the Bible makes us to understand that even though the prayer may be in secret, the reward of that prayer will always be open.
Nobody may see the man that is praying but no one can doubt the testimony that is showing. When your testimony begins to come forth, it is an evidence of what has been invested in the secret. Church Gist. Now listen to me very carefully, when it comes to our Kingdom adventure, people may not see the input but they cannot doubt the output. When things begin to come out of our Kingdom advancement endeavours, it becomes too big to ignore.
- I pray for somebody hearing my voice, by your engagement particularly starting from this week, your testimony will be too big to ignore! That’s what happens.
As we get sold out praying, we find out that the platform for the miraculous is created. Check it, you will discover from Scriptures, every time prayer went ahead, miracles began to follow after. Acts 3:1,6-8. As they prayed, miracles began to happen. Acts 5:12-16. Church Gist. Commitment to Kingdom advancement prayer brought about an eruption of power. Acts 4:23,29-33. They got committed to Kingdom advancement prayer and they became advertisers of divine power. That’s the difference maker.
So when it comes to our individual lives, we must ensure that the Kingdom of God is front and center on our prayer altar. “O Lord God, let souls be saved. Let the bondages of the wicked be broken over the lives of men.” Church Gist. You are praying, you are pouring out your heart to God. As that becomes your lifestyle, wonders become your identity. As that practically becomes your lifestyle, wonders become your identity.
I was reflecting and I remember some years ago, I gathered a few of us just about 4 of us and we would pray. We were praying continuously but particularly on Saturdays. We would stand before the Lord in prayer engaging all for the advancement of the Kingdom. Most of the times, we are there 6 hours just praying and advancing the Kingdom forward every Saturday. Church Gist. That continued for about (may be) 2 years thereabout and not long after that, we all dispersed – different locations. And I began to track, the 4 people that were in that prayer consistently (all the time), there is none of them whose testimony can be said to be ordinary. Their lives just took dramatic turns. Things that are incomprehensible particularly at where they were then, within two – three years, each one just began to take flight. Why?…The man becomes powerful not because he has power but because he is connected to a power source.
Now, listen to me. If a nail is connected to a transformer, how much power is in the nail? As much power is in the transformer. Is it true? If you disrespect the nail because it is a nail and feel that you can touch it because it is a nail. What will happen is that what is inside the transformer will show you that, yes, it is a nail but this is not an ordinary nail. This is a connected nail. Church Gist. Now, when you are connected to God by a life of commitment in the advancement of the Kingdom, you look like a man but you are not an ordinary man. You look like a woman but you are not an ordinary woman. Those who tried to disrespect you like an ordinary man or ordinary woman will soon discover that by experience, you are not ordinary. Why? You are connected to an unlimited power source. That is why you don’t pose into power, you serve into power.
Your insignificance is of no consequence when you are connected. It’s of no consequence. A nail is to be hammered. Is that not the reason for a nail? You put a nail, you hammer it into something. But when it’s now connected to a transformer, it’s now respected because of where it is connected. What other people should have been beating (gbam gbam) now, because of where it is connected, it now carries a new level of respect due to its connectivity. Church Gist. You who should have been beaten by the devil (gbam, gbam, gbam) when you are connected to God, you are connected to power. You become an untouchable entity on the Earth.
- That will be somebody’s experience from now!
- Financial stewardship. We have an example in David in Scriptures. 1 Chronicles 29:3-12. This one Man gave more than the entire Nation gave. His heart was sold out to God. You see, financial stewardship is one of the platforms of our commitment to serving God. Church Gist. Huge finances will be required in building the latter house. The Bible is very clear about that. Zechariah 1:17. So God will be utilizing finances for the building of the latter house.
Now listen to me very carefully, it will help us. God does not need what you have. Haggai 2:8. God does not need what I have. In fact, what I have has come from Him. Church Gist. What God does through our commitment to the advancement of the Kingdom is to prove us as to whether we are set to be custodians of His treasure. It’s to prove us whether we are set to be custodians of His treasure.
You know when you send somebody on an errand, you give the person an amount of money and you know the amount of what you have sent him to do, what it should cost. And the person comes back and gives you an explanation as to why what he has spent is more than what you ask him to spend. Even if you don’t fight him, you will not trust him. Why? Church Gist. You have tested him. Everything that is in your hand is a test. God uses it to test you. When He says, “take this. Go with it but my own is the tithe – 10 percent, bring it back to me.” And you say, “Lord, I know it’s supposed to be tithe o but things are tight.” What have you now done? You have proven to Him that He cannot trust you.
Listen, financial abundance in this Kingdom is an entrustment. Luke 16:11. You see, so many people today are playing all manner of games with God. Looking for ways…today, you know one of the big debates is “tithe – tithe is Old Testament.” Why are you arguing about the subject of tithe? Church Gist. Somebody gave you 100 percent and said, “bring me 10 percent” and your argument is about why the 10 percent is not really necessary. “You know it must have been from the law.” God says, “no problem, you want to keep the 10, you will lose the 100.”
Every commandment of God is a test. You pass the test in order to secure the real thing. In order words, He said, “look what I have given you is just unrighteous mammon. There are true riches available and those true riches cannot be accessed until you pass the test. That is why we must get committed and sold out to advancing the Kingdom of God with our resources. Church Gist. Get sold out, take advantage of Kingdom opportunities. Don’t say, “thank God, they are doing transportation at the hub. This zone, I’m not paying anybody’s transport again.” No! It’s a test.
One of us was paying transportation for getting buses and somebody in the zone told her “is it not too much? What you are doing, is it not too much?” That is somebody discouraging another one from their commitment to God. Church Gist. She continued and they have been waiting on God for the fruit of the womb – the miracle landed. Because the supernatural always responds to our obedience.
So, load your life with Kingdom dreams. God’s Servant has said, “that before he had a bank account, he was believing God, Lord, should you bless me? I want to build you Churches.” And suddenly, we have seen within a year, a hundred Churches built. You see, God is always looking for those He can entrust. You know, there are so many people when they envision the blessing of God, all they see is their own personal enjoyment. “If I should see money now, every week, I would be traveling to one-one country per week. Church Gist. I will go on 7 weeks vacation. Nobody will see my brake light. This enjoyment, we will enjoy it till enjoyment knows that we are enjoying it.” Now, that is the image and the picture that some individuals have about blessing. But load your life with Kingdom dreams. Load your life. Let it be loaded with Kingdom dreams and watch how God begins to make a wonder out of you.
- For somebody hearing my voice today, I see grace coming upon each one of us to become Kingdom dream minded in the name of Jesus!
Be Kingdom dream minded. Let the dream of the Kingdom be continuously saturating you. Keep thinking. How can I advance the Kingdom with my resources? That’s what makes a difference. Church Gist. That is what makes a difference in our adventure. So keep looking for opportunities to invest in the advancement of the Kingdom. Don’t let frivolous things occupy your mind.
Listen, when the Kingdom thing comes to your heart, then other things will come to your life without struggling. When Kingdom dreams saturate your heart, every other thing will just be rushing in your direction. Matthew 6:33. Church Gist. Let the Kingdom continuously be on your mind. Keep thinking, what can I do to advance the Kingdom? What can I do to move the Kingdom forward? What can I do to move God’s agenda forward? And you will just see things working together for your good.
- That will be your experience from now in the name of Jesus!
Now, today is our Covenant Day of Exemption. It is important for us to understand that spiritual understanding is vital to commanding the supernatural. Now listen carefully, God has an agenda of exemption and we have seen this all through the ages. If you look at the children of Israel in Egypt, you will see one exemption after the other. He exempted them from plagues of swarm of flies, death of cattles, hail and tempest, gross darkness and sudden death. Church Gist. Everyone of these plagues, God exempted His own people. That means that no matter what is happening in our world, there is a plan of exemption for you.
We had a testimony in the first Service that was read to us. This sister said that her sister called the daughter and told her “tell your mom that there is fire burning in the building where her shop is.” And by the time they got there (I have not seen this kind of thing), fire burnt the top floor, the ground floor but the floor where her shop was, that shop was exempted. The top floor of the building burnt, ground floor of the building burnt but the floor was exempted. Church Gist. How the fire flew because this one now is a vertical flight. It flew. You know when you are burning something from ground, it should burn up gradually but it flew and left that floor where her shop was and jumped to the top floor. Top floor burnt, ground floor burnt but shop floor remained untouched. Why? Exemption seal!
Now, listen. God knows how to deliver the godly from all temptations. Church Gist. No matter what it is that is happening in our world, God has a way of escape, particularly and peculiarly packaged for you and for me.
- My prayer is that for each one of us, no matter what is going on in our world, each one of us shall be exempted!
That’s our ordination in Christ because everyone that is a child of God is ordained to be a peculiar personality. Church Gist. 1 Peter 2:9…an individual that is set apart.
- That will become somebody’s experience from now!
How Do We Actualize This Exemption Package?
- Be born again with the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. John 3:5,7. Now if you are born again, there should be manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23. So be born again and let the evidence of your salvation show forth. Church Gist. Let it begin to show forth – fruits that demonstrate your true root. If you are rooted in God, you should have fruits in your life and those fruits are evidenced in that Scripture. So be born again with evidence of the fruit of the Spirit.
- Have a revelation of your exemption rights in Christ. Let it come alive in you. Have a revelation of your exemption rights in God. 1 Peter 2:9. Be conscious of your exemption rights. Church Gist. Acts 27:25…there will be no loss of any life. I believe, I am conscious of it. So you need a revelation of your rights of exemption. A revelation!
I have shared with us before, I was on a flight and on that flight, one of our pastors was also there along with the wife on that same flight and the flight, there was heavy turbulence. Can I tell you something? If you want to see people who are posing, afraid, be on a long flight and let the plane be shaking. You know if a car is shaking, you park. When a plane is shaking, you can’t park. Everywhere, people were praying and praying. A young man was seating in front of me (young boy) and he heard the woman beside him praying and groaning. As she was praying, fear entered his heart. Young boy began to pray and asked God for forgiveness and so. Church Gist. Fear had paralyzed him. So, I looked around the aircraft, I smiled. I said, “what did Jesus do when the storm was raging?” He slept. So I reclined my chair and I slept. Why? I can’t crash. It’s not possible. It’s not. You know why? There is a mentality of exemption inside of me. I can’t be on the aircraft and the aircraft crashed. Paul said, “I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me.”
We have a covenant for example of long life, 120. We saw somebody here last week, 110 standing on the altar. God is already showing us the picture. Church Gist. So when you have a revelation of exemption, you are so conscious of it and you become untouchable by the enemy.
- Stay in love with God. Romans 8:28. Your love for God keeps good on your path.
- Engage the covenant of seedtime and harvest. Church Gist. You see, our covenant practice in our resources among other things provokes exemption on our behalf. Malachi 3:10-18, Malachi 4:1-2.
- Develop a covenant exemption mentality. Proverbs 23:7. Have a covenant exemption mentality. That’s one of the difference makers. Your mind is completely different. You are saturated with an exemption mentality. God’s Servant said, “they were traveling on a flight and suddenly, he saw the aircraft seemed to be moving slower than before. So he went forward and asked the pilot – pilot, what’s going on? And the pilot said, we have lost an engine and like he said humorously, the pilot was sweating.” Church Gist. When the person who is the one who is flying is the one who is already afraid and sweating, then those who are following the flight should be busy praying. So he told the pilot, “no problem. Turn back, let’s get back to Lagos.” And he got into the cabin and asked those who were in the cabin, “will you like some snacks?” They said, oh, yes! We want some snacks. Everybody was eating. “Oh, what’s going on Sir?” We are just going back to Lagos. One engine has failed, only one engine was flying, right?
Nobody knew that an engine had failed whether in…even if you are praying secretly, when there is a challenge and you decide “look, I won’t tell anybody” but you want to be praying secretly, everybody will know that something is wrong. By the time you are in a corner and saying “gru, gru, gru.” They say, what’s happening? You say nothing but there is a serious issue. But they were there eating snacks. Why? Covenant exemption mentality. To show what the devil meant, as soon as the aircraft landed, the second engine went off. Covenant exemption mentality! That’s what keeps you on track and gets you off what the enemy has intended.
- I like you to understand, every device of the wicked shall be disappointed in the name of Jesus Christ!
In conclusion this morning, we must understand that the mystery of the anointing oil which is the mystery we are going to be partaking of today, is ordained for a seal of exemption from the horrors of the day. Psalm 105:13-15. It is a seal of exemption.
- Today, you are going to be exempted!
- No evil will come near your life again in the name of Jesus Christ!
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