Bishop David Oyedepo: Encounter With Destiny Through Divine Wisdom!

Signs & Wonders (Sunday, April 2, 2017)

Encounter with Destiny through Divine Wisdom!

By David O. Oyedepo

And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned (Isaiah 29:11-12).

According to scriptures, the destiny of the redeemed is like a book made up of chapters, which opens up one chapter after another by applied revelation. As it is written: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18; see also Proverbs 4:18).

We also discover from scriptures that every encounter with the Word is an encounter with destiny. God’s agenda is according to God’s capacity and God has no match among men. No one has the capacity to deliver a divine plan except God. Therefore, the chapters in the race of our destiny are only accessible by encounters with the Word.

We understand from the Word that every child of God has a glorious destiny in Christ because redemption is a call to glory and virtue. Therefore, we are not permitted to be victims of shame and reproach. Jesus was reproached for our sakes, consequently, we don’t have to bear reproach anymore (Romans 8:29-30; 2 Peter 1:3).

We also have an enviable destiny in redemption. Concerning Isaac, the Bible records: And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possessions of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:13-14).

The Bible further says: Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise (Galatians 4:28).

Thus, just like Isaac, we are ordained to be envied and not to be pitied.

Furthermore, we understand that every child of God carries greater potentials than all the Old Testament saints. Jesus said concerning John: Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matthew 11:11).

That means, every child of God carries greater potentials in Christ than all the Old Testament giants such as Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph, Solomon, etc. In fact, Jesus said: “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42).

Inside every believer is a greater than Solomon potential. That is a pointer to the amazing potentials that redemption has deposited into our lives. All we need is insight to know our worth in redemption and take responsibility to see these potentials translate to realities in our lives.

Moreover, every child of God is ordained as a pacesetter and a trail blazer. This means we are ordained as record breakers and new record setters. According to scriptures, we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world and cities set on hills that cannot be hidden.  Salt is said to be a major base of all pharmaceutical products and salt deficiency affects the body’s health dangerously. Thus, we are preservatives of the dying world; so, the world will always need us. That means, we are not burdens but blessings to our generation. All we need is to keep loving God and we won’t stop being wonders to our world. The Bible says: …Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9; see also Matthew 5:13-14).

We are also ordained kings and priests to reign on the earth. . “…And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

That means, we belong to a royal family and we are not permitted to be peasants on the earth.

But to have Encounter with Destiny, One must:

❖ Be Spiritual: It takes a spiritual mind to move from one level of glory to another. In other words, we must be spiritual to have an encounter with destiny or we will be stagnated in life. It is impossible to access God’s plan with carnality because His plans are spiritual and only the spiritually minded can access them (Romans 8:6; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Isaiah 55:8).

❖ Be Prayerful: More often than not, encounters with destiny emanates from the prayer altar. That means, the altar of prayer is the altar of new chapters to God’s people. Thus, the more prayerful we are, the greater our access to the things of the Spirit of God (Genesis 32:24-28; Jeremiah 33:3; 1 Corinthians 4:9-10).

❖ Be Spiritually Sensitive: Every word from above opens a new chapter to a man’s life. This is why it is important to be spiritually sensitive so that we can hear from heaven from time to time, as God can speak to us at anytime and anywhere (Galatians 5:25; Revelation 1:10).

❖ Be God loving and Kingdom Advancement Passionate: Every lover of God changes levels without sweat. It is impossible to seek first God’s Kingdom and not end up as a first class citizen of the earth. Every time we carry the affairs of the Kingdom in our hearts, we keep doing well in life and everything that others are ‘dying’ to get will be added to us in the process. Moreover, when it is in our hearts to keep promoting God’s Kingdom, He will keep changing our story (1 Kings 8:17-18; 1 Chronicles 29:3-6; Matthew 6:33; Romans 8:28; Philippians 1:21).

However, to see destiny fulfilled, one must remain steadfast in the faith because no ‘off and on’ believer has a future. We must, therefore, keep obeying God, as consistency is the rule of the game and every new chapter in our lives must meet us on duty (Matthew 24:13, 45-46; Romans 4:17-21; Hebrews 6:12, 10:38).

On the other hand, it is important to understand that we also require divine wisdom to encounter destiny. We understand from scriptures that divine wisdom, which is from above, is superior to all other kinds of wisdom. As it is written: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy@ (James 3:17; see also Proverbs 3:17).

Let’s recognise that divine wisdom engenders mighty works, which makes men exclaim. For instance, concerning Daniel, the Bible says: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers” (Daniel 5:11; see also Mark 6:2; Matthew 13:54).

By reason of divine wisdom at work in Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar made him the master over the magicians and all others, because he excelled far above them. Also, the four Hebrew boys were said to be ten times better than their colleagues.  The Bible records: “In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm” (Daniel 1:20).

Furthermore, Solomon was said to be wiser than all men, including the ‘biggest brains’ of his days. As it is written: “…there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:34).

The above biblical examples unveil men who engaged divine wisdom towards every situation that confronted them and in return, they encountered destiny. Thus, divine wisdom, which is superior to all other kinds of wisdom, has the capacity to make us stars on the earth, if only we commit to meeting the demands of operating therein.

But, what does access to the wisdom from above demand?

❖ Tireless commitment to the study of the Word: God’s Word is the conveyor of the wisdom of God; it is God’s wisdom in print. Jesus referred to the Word as the wisdom of God. As it is written: “Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute” (Luke 11:49).

When we hold the content of the Bible dear to our hearts, we will be as smart as the angels of God. Hence, our commitment to the study of the Word empowers us to operate in the realm of divine wisdom (2 Peter 3:15, 16; 2 Timothy 4:13).

❖ Joy and Rejoicing: It takes joy and rejoicing to access God’s presence. That’s why the devil continues to depress believers in order to block our access to the wisdom of God which will pave the way out of any predicament. The Bible says: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalms 16:11; see also Psalms 100:4; Philippians 4:4).

Joseph was among the most excited slaves in captivity. In fact, Potiphar’s wife preferred him to her depressed husband. Also, while in prison, he was the joy of the prisoners; he cheered up other inmates, even as a prisoner sentenced unjustly. Joseph was never depressed and as a result, he had unusual access to the wisdom from above (Genesis 39:7-8, 40:6 & 8).

Those who are always joyful are not without challenges; they are only smarter than their challenges. The devil will rob us of the best in life if he can succeed in keeping us depressed. The fact is, we cannot be oppressed until we are depressed; because depression is the bait that facilitates oppression. It is, therefore, important to remain joyful so as to maintain our access to divine wisdom (Isaiah 12:3; 2 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

❖ Impartation of the Spirit of wisdom: Joshua was filled with the Spirit of wisdom because Moses laid his hand on him.  However, impartation does not only come by laying on of hands, it also comes through prophetic declarations (Deuteronomy 34:9; Ezekiel 2:2; 1 Timothy 4:14).

But, to keep the flow of divine wisdom, one must continue to acknowledge God as the source. Every time we don’t give glory to God for His great acts in our lives, He turns the blessings into a curse. This is why we must keep acknowledging God as the source of the wisdom and understanding that is at work in our lives in order to sustain the flow. When we stop acknowledging God as the source, the fountain dries up. Thus, God must be given all the glory for every winning insight that comes our way. God will always resist the proud and give more grace to the humble. Our pride should therefore be in God, Who did it and not in our skill or strength (Jeremiah 9:23-24; Malachi 2:2-3; James 9:23-24).

In conclusion, the Bible which is the Word of God, is God’s wisdom bank and remember, every encounter with the Word is an encounter with destiny. Thus, it is impossible to flow in divine wisdom and encounter new chapters in destiny without a genuine commitment to the words of Scripture. Therefore, as we commit to the study of God’s Word and apply ourselves to our findings, I pray that we will begin to walk in divine wisdom, culminating in encounters with destiny in Jesus’ name! Remain ever blessed!

Jesus is Lord!