Sunday Inspiration With Bishop David Oyedepo: Accessing God’s Plan From The Book

May 21, 2017 – Sunday Inspiration With Bishop David Oyedepo: Accessing God’s Plan From The Book

We understand from scriptures that every man’s vision is contained in the Book called the Bible. In other words, the Bible is the custodian of God’s visions, plans and purposes for our lives (Isaiah 29:11-12). For instance, it was said of Jesus that He discovered God’s vision for His life on earth, in the volume of the Book. At another time, Jesus read from the scriptures and said, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

This implies that there are things written about us in the Bible that await our discoveries (Psalms 40:7; Hebrews 10:7; Luke 4:14-21).  Furthermore, this Book of vision shows us who we are in Christ, what we are worth in redemption, what we can do, and how to do them in order to fulfil God’s plan and purpose for our lives (Joshua 1: 8; Deuteronomy 28:1). Here are three illustrations that help us to see the Bible as the custodian of God’s plan for our lives:

• The Bible is the Creator’s Manual for Living: We recognise from scriptures that God specifically made us in His image and after His likeness. Thus, we are His products; His people and the sheep of His pasture (Joshua 1:8; Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 2:1, Isaiah 14:24; Psalms 100:3). We also discover and pursue His plan and purpose for our lives from His manual; the Bible.
• The Bible is the Spiritual Water that shows us what we look like: We understand from scriptures that the Word of God is water and reflects our nature in Christ. Just as our reflections appear when we look into a bowl of water, our true identity in Christ is also revealed to us when we study God’s Word. As an illustration, a story was told by Kenneth E. Hagin of a lion cub that was captured and made to grow among sheep. It lost its identity by virtue of the environment it found itself, until the day it saw its reflection on the surface of the water. That day, it regained its identity and confidence, and stood its ground when the other sheep fled from the appearance of a lion. This illustration helps us to understand that when we look into (study) God’s Word and believe what He says about us, He confers us with dominion over every torment of wickedness (Ephesians 5:26; Proverbs 27:19).
• The Bible is the Spiritual mirror that reveals (shows) the actual worth of the Redeemed: When we behold God’s picture for our lives from the mirror of the Word and take responsibility as contained therein, that picture becomes a reality in us (James 1:22-25; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Let’s examine two pictures of who we are from scriptures:

• From scriptures, we discover that every child of God is Redeemed a Spiritual Lion:

Before the fall, man was the king of all creation. But after the fall, he was dethroned and became a victim of the wickedness of the devil, until Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, came to restore man to his dominion and Christ-like status. As a result, every child of God is redeemed a spiritual lion, and ordained for dominion over every situation and circumstance (Revelations 5:5; John 17:18; Hebrews 2:11). Furthermore, just as the natural lion was created for dominion in the animal kingdom, so is every child of God created for dominion in the world of the spirit (Proverbs 30:29-30; Genesis 49:8-12).

But, what does it take to manifest our Lion Nature?

Firstly, we must understand that the dominion of a lion is a function of its strength, and its strength is a function of the quality of meat that it feeds on. “Meat” here connotes principles from the Word of God (Jeremiah 15:16).

There are four levels of nutrition in the Word of God:

• The water level of the Word (Isaiah 55:1, 10-11).
• The milk level of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).
• The meat level of the Word (Hebrew 13: 9).
• Strong meat level of the Word: “Strong meat” here implies scriptural mysteries that confer masteries (dominion) on the redeemed (Hebrew 5:13-14; Psalm 45:3-5; 1Corinthians 2:9).

However, we must recognize that the Bible is sealed to everyone that is not redeemed. Until we are born again, we cannot access the sealed plan of God from the Bible. This is because, only the redeemed has access to the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Mark 4:11; John 1:12).

Are you born again? If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, you can do so as you say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: Understanding Vision• Understanding Divine Direction. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org