BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

B V O V : 5 u nderstood t hat, I never wor r ied about money again." The results have been astounding. Right in the middle of one of the most financially poor places on earth, Jesus has added enough to Bishop Oyedepo's ministry to build—debt free, by faith, and without any American money— wel l over $50 0 mi l l ion wor t h of facilities, including not only a church but a major u n iversit y. Litera l ly hundreds of thousands of people are being taught e WORD of faith there. ey're learning the laws of prosperity, putting them into action, and they're becoming what's being called "the new Nigerian middle class." e initial 500 acres Bishop Oyedepo bought out in the bush country, which at the time was populated with nothing but a bunch of mostly unfriend ly animals, has expanded to encompass more than 10,000 acres. Now called Canaanland, it's become a city. riving and prospering in the midst of a natural economy that's famous for poverty, it's a testimony to the fact that God doesn't need the earth's economy to get things done. He has His own economy and it will prosper anyone who walks by faith in His WORD! Worry Is No Laughing Matter "Well, Brother Copeland," someone might say, "Bishop Oyedepo is an inspiring example, but I'm just not wired like he is. I couldn't say like he did that I'm never going to worry again. My parents worried; my grandparents worried; and I've always followed in their footsteps. Sometimes I just laugh about it and say, 'What would we do without good, old worry?'" You wouldn't be laughing if you k ne w w h at wor r y w a s doi n g to you. Worry is stealing from you the abundant life that belongs to you in Jesus. It's an absolutely deadly habit. It's also a sin. According to Romans 14:23, which was written to the early Church to address the question of eating meat that had been offered to idols: "He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Or, as e Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, translates it, "e man who has doubts (misgivings, and uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats…stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful]." ink about that. Whatever does not originate from faith is sin. at means all doubt, all unbelief and all worry is sin. "What?! Are you saying I can't worry about anything at all?" You can if you want to, but it's sin. Why? Because it's based on fear, and fear is of the devil. Just as faith comes from hearing and meditating on e WORD of God, fear comes from meditating on satan's lies. It walks hand in hand with unbelief and the Bible calls it evil. I realize evil is a strong word, but I didn't come up with it. e Bible refers to it that way in the account about the GOD DOESN'T NEED THE EARTH'S ECONOMY TO GET THINGS DONE. HE HAS HIS OWN ECONOMY and it will prosper anyone who walks by faith in His WORD! e it h e r. T h e b e l i e v e r s t h e r e a r e s e r i o u s l y h u n g r y t o h e a r T h e WOR D of God. They're so full of expectancy, God is moving among them constantly in signs, wonders a n d m i r a c l e s — a d d i n g t o t h e church daily as He did in the book of Acts. What opened the door for all this to happen out in the midd le of a Nigerian jungle? One man got a revelation of his covena nt w it h G od a nd d a red to step out on it. One man put worr y beh ind h im once a nd for a l l, a nd simply trusted God to do what He s a id He wou ld do. Ta l k a b out a mar velous example of faith! David O yedepo has proven T he WOR D will work any where for anyone who will believe it. For years, he's called Gloria and me "Mom and Dad," because right after he went into ministry he read two of our books. Somehow, he got hold of God 's Will Is Prosperity and e Laws of Prosperity and The LOR D used them mightily in his life. During our recent visit, he told me again how it happened. "As a young minister I' d already come to understand The WORD of faith about healing and so forth, but I didn't yet understand the prosperity part. So I took my Bible and those two books and spent some time alone— fasting and seeking e LORD about it. As I was reading God 's Will Is Prosperity, I realized that prosperity is a covenant. It's promised in The WORD, and since all God's promises are yes and amen through Jesus, it belongs to every believer." For Dav id O yedepo, f rom t hat moment on the matter of finances was settled. " I have a covenant w ith Jesus! " he ex pla ined. " It says, 'Seek f irst t h e k i n g d o m o f G o d a n d H i s righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry…' (Matthew 6:33-34, New King James Ve rsion). Once I t r u ly

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