IF YOU ARE NOT BORN AGAIN YOU CANNOT ACCESS THE SECRETS OF GOD
PROSPERITY IS NOT A CITIZEN OF ANY NATION, THE GREEN PASTURE THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS WITHIN YOU.
IT IS YOUR STAND IN THE COVENANT THAT DETERMINES HOW GREEN YOUR PASTURE WILL BE.
IT IS NOT IN A NATION, THERE ARE VERY POOR PEOPLE IN EVERY NATION, THERE ARE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN EVERY NATION.
THERE IS ALSO NO POOR NATION WITHOUT RICH PEOPLE IN IT.
WHEN I UNDERSTOOD THAT I CAME FORWARD WITH THAT STATEMENT, “LACK IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH BLACK NEITHER IS WHITE SYNONYMOUS WITH WEALTH.”
THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WHITE AND THE BLACK, THE SAME LORD OVER ALL IS RICH UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM.
I RETURNED FROM A MISSION TRIP YEARS AGO AND MY WIFE SAID SHE HAD A MISCARRIAGE, I SAID ‘THAT CANNOT HAPPEN! CAN I HAVE MY FOOD PLEASE?’
IT ENDED THERE, THERE WAS NO PRAYER POINT ANYMORE.
YOUR BATTLES ARE CURRENT, YOUR FAITH MUST BE CURRENT. YOU BETTER BUILD YOUR FAITH BEFORE THE DAY OF BATTLE
WHATEVER CANNOT STOP THE WAY AGAINST GOD CANNOT STOP THE WAY AGAINST FAITH FROM ACCOMPLISHING ITS MISSION.
AS A MAN YOU ARE STOPPABLE, WHEN YOUR FAITH COMES ALIVE GOD TAKES OVER.
WE ARE NOT PRAYING ANYMORE FOR MULTITUDES, WE HAVE MULTITUDES, WE ARE PRAYING FOR RECORD BREAKING MULTITUDES.
WE ARE PRAYING FOR INNUMERABLE MULTITUDES THAT WILL MAKE THIS PLACE LIKE A CITY WITHOUT WALLS.
– Bishop David Oyedepo on UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF FAITH 2′ at Midweek Communion Service || LFC Canaanland
The Word says “The righteousness of thy testimony is everlasting, give me understanding and I shall live”. Psalm 119:144. Give me understanding and I will have them replicated in my life. Give me understanding and I will see them happen to me. Every testimony of scriptures is prophetic with the capacity to reproduce itself in whosoever believes. Church Gist. In case you don’t believe in the testimonies of others, there are a lot of testimonies in this place that are ordained to replicate themselves in our lives. Lord grant me understanding tonight to see your hand as revealed in scriptures made manifest in my life. Every word of scripture is ‘Ye’ and ‘Amen’ in Him, there is no error in them.
Lord Jesus, tonight appear to each one of us. We are in this awesome season, let no one miss your ordained portion for individuals this time. Grant us all it takes to maximize this season in our lives.
Congratulations! You will never be found on the street corners again or on the byways. Welcome to your covenant highways of life as ordained for each one of us this year.
UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY OF FAITH is the teaching series for our midweek services this month. 1 Timothy 3:9. That clearly defines that faith is a mystery. You can’t make a philosophy of it. It is beyond a belief system or psychology, its manifestations are beyond human comprehension. Through faith they crossed the Red Sea as on dry ground, the Egyptians wanted to cross the same way but the force that made them cross was not at work for the other people so they all drowned. Church Gist. Through faith, they quenched the furnace of fire that naturally fries flesh. They were unfryable it is not explainable. Those who never entered, who threw them inside were dead. The heat killed them outside. Faith is a mystery. Because knowledge shall increase, the love of many shall wax cold. Stop trying to take the Word of God to a laboratory, it is beyond it. Faith calls those things that be not as though they were and they come to be. Faith is the mystery.
Sarah had passed the age of menopause for a long time. It has ceased to be with her after the order of women. No ovulation, no eggs. Abraham was over yet Idaac came. Faith is a mystery. All this knowledge of chemistry, engineering, architecture, etc. has confused many people. Church Gist. They think that is knowledge. This place is built on nothing, is that how things are built? Just by the Word that you cared to believe. Then His hand came in to do it, faith is a mystery. Don’t ever engage your intellect to appraise the truth, you will miss it. “Be ye not afraid, believe only”. Then it happened.
What is a mystery? A mystery can be defined as a hidden kingdom secret that is accessible to only the redeemed. Mark 4:11. They only hear the story, they don’t understand the meaning. Only the redeemed that are members of God’s own household. That has been brought out of darkness to light can access the mysteries of the kingdom. It is not for the Jack and Harry. Can I tell you this? You can’t have faith except you are born again. Church Gist. What you have that you call faith is a belief system. God can do it, Yes! Why will He do it? What has He said for you to do in order for Him to do it? He doesn’t know. I am just believing God. Believing God for how? The proof of salvation is all over the place, if you are not born again, you can’t access the secrets of the kingdom of God. They will just be stories.
A mystery can also be defined as a divine secret embedded within the pages of scriptures among others. The Word is just stirred up and as it breaks forth, faith is stirred up in you. Church Gist. Just to know what God says. So it is not something from somewhere that you are looking for. “I wish I had money to travel”. You don’t have to travel, you travel through the bible. When I saw many years ago, Romans 10:12 – there is no difference between the Jews and the Greeks. The Holy Ghost said to me “There is no difference between the white and the black, the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him”. Church Gist. Prosperity is not a citizen of any nation, the green pasture that you are looking for is within you. It is your stand in the covenant that determines how green your pasture will be. It is not in a nation, there are very poor people in every nation, there are homeless people in every nation. There is no poor nation without rich people in it. That is when I came forward with that statement, “Lack is not synonymous with black neither is white synonymous with wealth.” Mysteries of the kingdom. Ephesians 3:1-5. It is amazing, these things are in the Bible. Some insights that have added so much value to your life are from here.
Interestingly, Mysteries are wrapped up in biblical simplicities. They always appear too simple to be true. 2 Corinthians 11:3. Simplicity! That is why not many supposed wise men are called. No! Simplicity! “you are going to build the Tabernacle in one year” Yes Lord! And then you are stupid enough to go and start drawing lines. How much do you have? He didn’t ask me. A mystery may not make sense to a natural man but never lacks proof because they are largely authenticated by testimonies. John 10:37. You may not be able to comprehend what I am saying but see the effects of it in what I am doing. 1 Corinthians 2:14. Church Gist. A natural man can’t embrace it because they can only be spiritually uncovered but whenever faith comes alive, victory comes along. 1 John 5:4. Above all, you take the shield of faith and you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil. ALL! God will bring an end to every assault of the wicked on your life as your faith comes alive this time. When we engage the covenant of scriptures believing, victory is guaranteed, the devil notwithstanding. Isaiah 14:24. When we stand on the covenant of scriptures on any issue believing, delivery is guaranteed the devil notwithstanding. 2 Timothy 2:13. Ever faithful, ever sure.
As long as our obedience of faith is in place regarding any covenant of scripture, the devil is completely out of the equation. There is no reference to the devil or His activities. Deuteronomy 28:1-2. I will set above all nations of the earth without taking permission from any devil and his cohorts. Just stand on the truth believing and to believe is to obey what God demands of you. Church Gist. James 2:18. I will show you the demands of Scripture on that issue of my life. Hebrews 10:38. So keep your faith alive and get the devil off the situations of your life. When your obedience is fulfilled, you will avenge all the disobedience. Obedience of faith is key to a triumphant life of the kingdom.
What is faith? Faith is an unstoppable force in the world of the spirit. Whatever cannot stop the way against God cannot stop the way against faith from accomplishing its mission. Mark 10:27. Whatever can’t stop the way against God can’t stop the way against your active faith on any issue of your life. As a man you are stoppable, when your faith comes alive God takes over. Isaiah 53:1. So He reveals His arm and whatever cannot stop God from having His way can’t stop faith from accomplishing its mission. Strong faith alleys all fears thereby conferring Dominion on the redeemed. “Why are you fearful oh ye men of little faith”. Little faith can’t handle the storms of life, so wake up and build strength into your faith against the day of battle. Church Gist. Build strength, Jesus awoke from the sleep and rebuked the sea and the storm and there was a great calm. He said your little faith is what was overrun by the storms of life. If you faint on the day of trouble, then your faith is small. Proverbs 24:10. You build faith against the day of battle. We were on a narrow bridge not by design but by one of those mysteries of the night. We were driving around 1am or there about in the morning and coming in from Kaduna down to Kwara, we were on this narrow bridge and we saw another lorry had entered from the other end. It can’t take two under any condition. So one option is to dive into the river and become a boat or go for a head-on collision and pray your last prayer. Suddenly the thing in my spirit spoke up “I will give my angels charge over you to bear you up on their wings when you are on a narrow bridge, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”. It is a flash that came from within. Authority came with it. How we passed that bridge, if God plays the video back in heaven we will know. Without a scratch. You better build strength against the day of battle.
I returned from a mission trip and my wife said she had a miscarriage, I said it cannot happen. Can I have my food please? It ended there, there was no prayer point anymore. The faith that destroys barrenness has been built over time in ministering to people, in studying the Word so it is not something to toy about. Build strength! A number of books were recommended, many have never opened one. Some read it in maybe 1995. Church Gist. If you write an exam in any area where you are first class that you read last in 1995, you will be last class. In fact, they can arrest you. You won’t know anything, you will just be writing nonsense. You better make your faith current. You better build currency to your faith. I will show you what I wrote this morning in my studies. Your battles are current, your faith must be current.
Let’s pardon the man Job because he had no Bible but he said “The things I greatly fear have come upon me”. When there is no faith, there will be fear. Nature abhors vacuums. You are either filled with faith or filled with fear or you are either half filled with faith and half filled with fear. It is also trouble. Church Gist. So fill your heart with faith by engaging in the studies of the Word of Faith. You can’t study the word of famine to build faith, you study the word of faith to build faith. You can’t build strength and skill in Engineering by studying literature. You study engineering to build skill in engineering. If you don’t study the word of faith, you can’t build faith.
What makes faith a mystery? Let me tell you this, you can’t breach faith oh, you have to teach it. Faith comes by hearing and understanding the Word of God. It is not something to preach and everybody is shouting “Yea! Yeah”. That is not faith. You have to be taught, I have to be taught. They taught me. Church Gist. I stayed in their class, I allowed them to teach me. The Holy Ghost was helping me to understand what they were saying. Anything Hagin said that I didn’t understand “I know I am growing. I know he is right but I didn’t understand this one.” Not that ‘this is wrong’ who are you? What do you know? Hebrews 6:12.
What makes faith a mystery?
1. Faith draws on the power of God to accomplish the impossible.
Remember the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus said somebody touched me and virtue is gone out of me. She drew virtue from Jesus by her touch of faith. You know why I call it a touch of faith? Peter said we are all touching you. No! Somebody’s drawing. Faith draws on God’s power to make the impossible happen. That is what makes faith a mystery. Church Gist. The power of God is a major factor that defines the mystery status of faith. It draws on God’s power. I once defined faith as a living force drawn from a living Word that produces living proofs. You can’t hold a weapon and not know. You can’t! God delivered Daniel from the den of lions because He believed in his God so the power of God took over in the den of lions and they became harmless. They became like domestic cats.
2. Faith commits God’s integrity to confirm His Word.
Numbers 23:19. We are talking about God who cannot lie. Titus 1:2. We are talking about God for whom it is impossible to lie (Hebrews 6:18). Church Gist. So when our faith comes alive, God’s integrity is provoked to perform.
3. Faith also quenches all the fiery darts of the enemy no matter where the attack is coming from (Ephesians 6:16).
Daniel 3:14-28. We are told that Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury. Faith has graduated to trust, you can’t do anything about it. Psalm 125:1. It is time to build strength to your faith to upgrade it to trust. The trust level is the level you need to be. Even if our God does not save us, we will never bow to your image. Did He step in or not? Nebuchadnezzar said, “They trusted in their God. Church Gist. Anybody who says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we will kill him. This God can kill everybody here”. They took me over Babylon. It has the capacity to quench all the fiery darts of the devil. Before this month is over, there is no arrow of the devil that will have a mark on your life again. They will all be back to the sender sevenfold.
4. Faith engrafts the redeemed into divinity.
Romans 11:17-23. When faith comes alive, you and I are grafted into divinity. We become partakers of both the root and the fatness of the vine. We grafted into divinity. Faith engrafts believers into divinity. When you are in faith, you are operating in a divine realm thereby empowering us to command the impossible. You are off the natural, when faith comes alive you are operating in the supernatural. You are grafted into God. Church Gist. What flows from God and in God flows through to you. So you are operating in that class. John 14:12. When your faith comes alive, see yourself grafted into divinity. See yourself operating on a divine frequency. See yourself commanding dominion on a divine frequency. That is what makes faith a mystery.
Finally, faith triggers the fulfilment of prophecy. Luke 1:45. Whatever God says He will do, only the hand of God can get it done. We secure the hand of God by faith. Isaiah 53:1. 1 Kings 8:15,24. It takes the hand of God to bring His Word to pass. His Word is according to His size so we don’t have the capacity or the resources to bring His Word to pass but when our faith comes alive, He stretches forth His hand to bring His Word to pass. I will be teaching us that on Sunday. Mind what God says to do, leave what He says He will do to Him. Why are you struggling with what God said He will do, you can’t do it. There is nothing He tells you to do that He has not given you the capacity for. Church Gist. His commandments are not grievous, they are within your reach if you choose to. Being in fellowship is within your reach, it is not that someone is pushing you or someone is not pushing. They go from strength to strength when they go to fellowship and you are not going so you go from weakness to weakness. Paying your tithe is within your reach if you choose. But you may also choose to buy guguru with it and entertain guests with it and be omo jaiye jaiye in town and be developing poverty on your own. It is all within your reach. Leave what He says He will do for Him, you can’t do it. Prophecies cannot be fulfilled by your energy. God, you said you are going to build us a Tabernacle, No! Do what He says to do and leave what He says for Him.
Nobody can see prophecies fulfilled in his life without faith. That is how important faith is because this whole book is called the Book of Prophecy. Church Gist. It is not just prophetic, it is the book of prophecy. God’s agenda is laid out here for whosoever is interested. Revelation 22:19. So it is all prophetic.
Now as we round up, let’s examine the NOW mystery of faith. When faith leaves the now realm it has been reduced to hope which can be deferred. Proverbs 13:12. Hebrews 11:1. So it is a NOW force. Faith sees the evidence before it happens. 2 Corinthians 6:2. Church Gist. It is a NOW force. The day you choose to believe that Jesus died for you and Jesus died to save your soul and you are quickened to repent is the day you are saved. The day you choose to believe in the message of the gospel is the day He saves you.
In conclusion, we have a one-year lifeline in the Abrahamic covenant. This may sound strange to you but it is very important. For example, we saw how God’s promise to Abraham concerning Isaac came to pass at the set time within one year. “I will return at the set time next year” _ He did and it happened (Genesis 17:19-21 21:1-6). We also saw how Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. From scripture, we understand that every child of God is a seed of Abraham. Church Gist. Galatians 3:29. The redeemed are also the children of promise like Isaac. Galatians 4:28. According to one of the parables of Christ, every year is the year of the redeemed. Luke 13:6-9. We have a yearly covenant with God for undeniable proofs in our life which they call fruits here. So every year is the year of the redeemed. When he chooses his year, God performs His word. We choose our year.
Remember in Deuteronomy 15:1, at the end of every seven years there shall be a release and Jesus came to set the captives free. Not seven years, every year he sets people free. He sets people free every day. So God has ordained a year of release for the redeemed. May this year be chosen by you as your year of release. When one’s year of change of story comes as triggered by the individual’s obedience of faith God steps in to stop the way against the adversaries. Isaac sowed in that year, Isaac wasn’t watching. Isaac sowed and received the same year a hundredfold. It is our sacrificial engagement with God and the interests of His kingdom that defines our year. It is not waiting and watching. When your choice is made the devil is finished. Deuteronomy 30:19. Anyone that cares to choose this year as His year of release, you shall experience undeniable release from everything that constitutes captivity in your life. It is a choice to make. The year you get out on the field to farm is your year of harvest. You can wait till forever praying for harvest, you will be wasting time. If you don’t go to the field and do all that you need to do, you won’t have any harvest. Every year is your year, the year we choose to engage becomes our year. Every year is ordained the year of the redeemed but the year individuals choose to engage is their year. Church Gist. The year you choose to honour God is the year you are honoured. I Samuel 2:30. Job 36:11. The year you choose to serve Him, you have committed Him to make you spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasure and you keep doing that, it won’t stop. My prayer tonight is that each one will be awakened to make this year, his year of next level turnaround. Isaiah 63:4. When your year comes, He rises up against your adversaries. He executes vengeance on them. When the year of Israel came and they chose to serve God, God executed vengeance upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. When their year came, God stood up. Let my son go, anybody that wants to stand in the way I will drown him in the Red Sea. When you make a choice, your enemies are finished. When you make a choice of your year, forget about your adversaries. Can I tell you one more time before I close? Leave God’s side to Him, do what He says to do. You can’t do what He says to do. All those amazing prophetic pillars that have come to pass at various stages of this ministry, we didn’t pray for anyone. We didn’t pursue anyone. We were just pursuing what He said to do and He began to bring them to pass for only Him can do it.
We are therefore admonished to make the most of OPERATION HIT YOUR TARGET with the required sacrifice. “Actually I was supposed to do outreach last week but I was so busy. The week before that, I had so many engagements. I think Papa should understand us, people are busy. Papa doesn’t know. You know he doesn’t go out.” Well done! God knows what is going on in you, your heart is not there. With the required sacrifices, you sow sparingly you reap sparingly, you sow bountifully you reap bountifully. You can’t get more out of it than what you put in. There is nothing extraordinary on its own; it is your extraordinary input that makes it so. So wake up. Hear the question I asked myself this morning: The big question now is ‘Do I really love God?’. Church Gist. You know Jesus asked them “do you love me?”. I asked myself this morning, do I really love Jesus? I said my Lord Jesus, you know that I really love you. Can you love something and not know? You are my very reason for living, you are my only stake in life. My very breath loves you and the interest of your kingdom. Lord Jesus, remember how I signed up to make you my reason for living back on the 12 September 1976 and your grace has helped me doing the same till this day. Like Paul the Apostle, by your help I have continued till this day witnessing to both great and small. I love you Lord Jesus with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind and with all my strength and this my soul knows very well.
Here is the mystery: according to the scriptures, our faith will never deliver beyond the level of our love for God. Galatians 5:6. There is no cajoling about it. Faith works by love, faith works to the level of our love for God. Paul, a love addict of God said “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Let’s come awake. Ask yourself this question that I asked myself this morning. Do I really love God? Whosoever keeps my commandment is the one that loves me, not whosoever is singing, clapping and dancing. John 14:21. Do I really love God? Ask yourself before you sleep “Do I really love God? Where is the proof of my love?” Let us not love in word but in truth and in deed. 1 John 3:18. All of the mystery of faith we are talking about, without love it won’t deliver. It takes love. Ephesians 3:17. Church Gist. That is engraftment by love and faith is a mystery of engraftment. That engraftment is facilitated by love for God. Everything God says soothes me, what you say is your cup of tea. I told one of my sons today that people abusing me are wasting their mouths because I am hearing. The people praising me, I am not hearing so my head cannot swell. When you know you are grafted, I am wrapped up and bundled up in Christ, your faith will be working like fire. I sat down here and said “Jesus give me a thousand souls this month” and He did. After about three weeks, I said give me a thousand souls this week and He did. When love is genuine, prayer gets answered like fire.
The Bible says the just shall live by his faith. If Jesus prays for you and me, it won’t work without our faith. He did it in Nazareth but it didn’t work. So everybody must build faith into his spirit man. Church Gist. Your faith is your breath, when your breath ceases life is gone. Build strength to your faith. Listen to faith materials, read faith books from people who have proved that faith works. Watch out, it is finally your turn.
– May this be your year indeed.
– May this season be a season of undeniable proof.
– May your heart be connected to your heavenly father in truth and in deed.
– May each one’s love for God remain alive.
– If you make this year your year of sacrifice, your star will shine.
– Many shall testify after the order of Isaac this year and it won’t stop this year, it will be forever.
We are not praying anymore for multitudes, we have multitudes, we are praying for record breaking multitudes. Church Gist. We are praying for innumerable multitudes that will make this place like a city without walls. This coming Sunday, Acts 13:44 shall be enacted.
– Your sacrificial engagement will come with undeniable proof.
– Many have reached their benchmark of four, as you step out from service to sacrifice, there shall be a turnaround.
– Your mouth will be filled with singing and will be filled with laughter.
– They will be talking of the acts of God in your life, in town because God will openly decorate you.
– All through this year, there shall be no mishap in your family.
– The scourge of mourning and wailing are over.
– Your life will never lack testimonies again.
– Every prophetic word in your direction shall be fulfilled this year.
– Be blessed and remain blessed in Jesus name.
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