I Am A Child Of Destiny by Bishop David Oyedepo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

I Am a Child of Destiny

The prophetic focus declared is this: I am a child of destiny. Shame and reproach are not part of the package that belongs to a believer. There is an enviable destiny in Christ, after the order of Isaac, who grew so great that the Philistines told him to leave because he had become mightier than them. Believers are not redeemed to be pitied, but to be envied.

There is also a royal destiny in Christ. Galatians 4:28 reminds us that we are not redeemed unto slavery but for enthronement; royal blood runs in the spiritual lineage of every believer. There is a mountaintop destiny, redeemed as a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, carrying what might be called topmost genes. And there is a prosperous destiny in Christ, since Jesus became poor so that believers might be made rich.

These are great lines of destiny, but actualizing them requires guidance. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we behold Him as in a glass, we are changed from glory to glory. Isaiah 60:1 says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." Access to light is what launches a person into their glorious destiny; increasing light, walked in, produces increasing glory.

Every step taken in life is either a step forward or a step backward; there is no neutral step. That something seems right does not make it right; what matters is getting it right from God. Jeremiah 2:14-17 asks why Israel, though not a servant or a homeborn slave, was spoiled and robbed, and answers that it was because they forsook the Lord their God when He led them by the way. Isaiah 42:24 echoes this, that it was the Lord against whom Israel had sinned, because they would not walk in His ways. When His leading is ignored, trouble is procured, often without the person even being able to identify the source of the trouble.

Three Ways God Leads and Guides

1. Through Sincere Inquiry

   Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Only those who ask are, in most cases, entitled to answers. Securing God's leading often comes simply by asking which way to go, and asking sincerely, since God knows whether a question is genuine or whether the answer has already been decided in advance.

   1 Samuel 23:2-4 shows David inquiring of the Lord whether to attack the Philistines at Keilah. When his men expressed fear, David inquired again, and the Lord confirmed that He would deliver the Philistines into their hands. Later, after Ziklag was raided and David's men wept until they had no strength left to weep, David still inquired of the Lord whether to pursue the raiders, and the Lord answered that he should pursue, and David recovered all.

   God's voice often comes as a still, small voice, as it did to Elijah, rescuing him from despair after the fire, the earthquake, and the wind had all passed without revealing God's presence (1 Kings 19:11-13). In a generation full of noise, with little room to think, creating a quiet space to hear from God matters more than ever. John 8:7 recalls how, while accusers were making demands around Him, Jesus quietly wrote on the ground and then said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone," before the situation resolved itself. Proverbs 18:1 says that through desire a man, having separated himself, seeks wisdom, and wisdom is profitable to direct.

2. Through the Ministry of Teaching

   Isaiah 30:20-21 says that though adversity comes, "thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it." Sometimes, while listening to anointed teaching, a person finds the very answer they had been asking God for, simply through the unfolding of the word.
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   Bishop David Oyedepo

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   2 Chronicles 15:3-6 describes a season when Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law, and trouble inevitably followed, with no peace for those who went out or came in. No one can train themselves into greatness alone; an upcoming giant requires giants who have gone before to train them, and no one can coach effectively in an area where they have shown no expertise.

   A personal testimony illustrates this: while reading a book on following God's plan for one's life during a season of grief, direction came not through a direct request but through that teaching, leading to a specific instruction to repurpose an existing facility rather than acquire new land. What followed was a building project completed at what felt like angelic speed, dedicated within the same year it began, because the direction had come through the ministry of teaching.

3. Through Joy and Rejoicing

   Psalm 16:11 says, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy." The path of life is located in God's presence, and access to that presence comes through thanksgiving and praise, as in Psalm 100:4, entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." A person cannot lack access to the path of life if they have gained access to His presence, and gladness of heart, not merely the outward appearance of joy, is what opens that access.

   Isaiah 30:29 speaks of having a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, with gladness of heart, and the Lord causing His glorious voice to be heard. David never lacked access to the path of life because joy and rejoicing were his lifestyle; he declared in Psalm 34:1 that he would bless the Lord at all times, and in Psalm 119:164, that he praised God seven times a day. A life marked by genuine joy and rejoicing carries God's presence in a way that pushes back the works of darkness.

Proofs of Being Led

When God leads, He also teaches the one being led how to carry out what has been assigned. Isaiah 48:17 says, "I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." Genuine divine leading is never a matter of receiving a general direction and then filling in the details with human wisdom alone; God instructs in both the direction and the method. A major building project on the church's property was completed within a single year, without a conventional construction approach and without any contractor willing to take it on under normal terms, because the way to accomplish it was given step by step, and the result stood as a testimony that it had come from God.

A second proof of being led is liberty of spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Proverbs 3:17 adds that God's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace. By contrast, in Acts 20:22-23, Paul described going bound in the spirit, not knowing what would happen to him except that the Holy Spirit testified that bonds and afflictions awaited him in every city; where liberty of spirit is absent, danger may be ahead. A personal account describes visiting a forested site at night before construction began on a major project and feeling such peace there that it was shared at home as evidence that God was already present in that place. When God is leading, there is a sense of being pressure-free and unburdened, and missteps are avoided.

A Heart for God: The Anchor of Destiny

Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good to those who love God; love for God is the anchor that makes that promise operative. This validates what Jesus identified as the greatest commandment: to love the Lord with all one's heart, soul, and mind, upon which, together with loving one's neighbor, all of the law and the prophets hang (Matthew 22:37-40). No matter how many scriptural principles a person engages with, without a heart for God, there is no anchor, and any storm can dislodge them. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him.

A heart for God produces a lifestyle of obedience, which scripture ties directly to elevation: "If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God... the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth" (Deuteronomy 28:1). John 14:15 and 1 John 5:3 both connect love for God with keeping His commandments, commandments that are not grievous to those who love Him.

John 15:14-16 records Jesus calling His disciples friends rather than servants, because a servant does not know what the master is doing, but a friend is told. The mark of friendship with God, drawn from the commandment in this passage, is being chosen and appointed to bear lasting fruit. John 21:15-17 records Jesus asking Peter three times, "Lovest thou me?" and each time responding to Peter's affirmation with the same instruction, to feed and tend His sheep. The clearest proof of genuine love for God is a genuine passion for souls, visible in prayer, in zeal, and in the drive to see people saved. Psalm 91:14 says, "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

Serving as the Pathway to a Kingdom

Luke 22:25-30 records Jesus telling His disciples that, unlike the kings of the earth who exercise authority over others, those who have continued with Him in His trials would be appointed a kingdom, with Christ Himself serving as one among them. Mark 9:35 says that whoever desires to be first must become last of all and servant of all, and Mark 10:44 repeats that whoever would be chiefest among them must be servant of all. How fruitfully one serves now determines what awaits in the future; this season calls for being found faithfully engaged, not asleep, while others advance.

On a personal note, God does not promote groups; He promotes individuals. He does not bless or honor groups as such, but individuals within them. There is a personal package, with each person's name on it, attached to this season, and it will not be missed by those who position themselves to receive it through sincere inquiry, attentiveness to teaching, joy and rejoicing, obedience, and a genuine heart for God.