Pastor Faith Oyedepo

A Glorious Beginning (Part 1) By Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: A Glorious Beginning (Part 1)

Happy New Year and welcome to your year of Dominion! I see you taking charge of every area of your family life thereby culminating in success in Jesus name! I shall be teaching on: A Glorious Beginning! As someone rightly said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today” I want you to know that there is need to set the pace for that glorious family life you hope to see this year. Let me show you a few things to do.

Give yourself to fasting

I will like to define fasting as ‘deliberately doing away with physical food so as to pay more attention to spiritual things. Fasting, therefore, is a spiritual device that keeps you in tune with God. What better way to start the year than focusing on God! You can set time aside to fast, pray, study God’s Word and spend time worshipping Him. The Bible says: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke (Isaiah 58:6)? We see clearly from this scripture that fasting comes with a lot of benefits. Some benefits of fasting include:

  1. Deliverance: Jesus told His disciples Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Mathew 17:21) this means that some opposition will not give way except by fasting and prayer. I don’t know the kind of yoke that is ravaging your family life, I see your total liberty being established as you engage in a fast.
  2. Revelation: When you fast, as you spend time studying God’s Word, you will receive revelations from His Word that will give you a better understanding and help build your faith. Fasting also enables you to hear clearly from God and provides answers as you seek direction from the Lord on the way forward on any issue of concern to your family life (Isaiah 58:8-9).
  3. Favour: Fasting and prayer is a platform for securing God’s favour. Queen Esther declared three days fast. After the fast, she received divine favour (Esther 4:16-17; Esther 5:2-3). God’s favour will be evident in your family life as you engage in a fast!
  4. Fulfilment of prophecies: We pray and fast for speedy fulfilment of prophecies (1 Kings 18:41-44). The Bible says for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29: 11). As you engage in a fast, expect all the plans of God for your family this new year to receive speedy fulfilment!

Also Read: Sustaining a Godly Home By Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Let go of Unforgiveness

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32).

Unforgiveness is the unwillingness to forgive offences against you. It is a situation where an individual refuses to let go of negative emotions such as revenge. It is one major crack in the wall of many families today. It causes husbands and wives to hold on to issues, offences, misunderstandings and various hurts of the past; and before you know it, the family is torn apart.

Understand that it is the root of bitterness that grows into the tree of unforgiveness. Wherever you see unforgiveness, know that bitterness is at its root. Unforgiveness is wickedness! An unforgiving wife, husband or child is a wicked person and the Bible say that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11) Do not be identified with the wicked. The incident in Matthew 18:23-35 is a good example. A man who was owing 10,000 talents begged his creditor to be patient with him till he was able to pay back the money owed, and his creditor forgave him the debt. But this same man saw a fellow servant who owed him only 100 pence, and refused to forgive him and threw the man into prison. As a result of his unforgiveness, he was classified as being wicked and His Lord was angry with him.

Unforgiveness invites God’s anger. That servant never enjoyed his master’s forgiveness. The same way, unforgiving people never enjoy forgiveness from God because what you sow is what you reap (Genesis 8:22). You must be willing to forgive others just as Christ forgave you even when you didn’t deserve His forgiveness. When we forgive, we are acting as Christ would act and fulfilling his desires for us.

Forgiveness is the only way to move forward if we are not to be imprisoned by the past. but it is the only way to give your relationship the blessing of a fresh start and new beginning. Remember you can’t start the next chapter if you keep re-reading the last one. Learn to instantly forgive each other. In fact, you can go a step further by learning to forgive even before offences are committed. Receive grace to do so in Jesus’ name!

A glorious beginning starts with Jesus. If you are not yet born again and you desire to do so right now, please pray this prayer with faith in your heart: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are born again and now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

“Please click HERE to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.