Unveiling the Power Factor of Redemption — Bishop David Oyedepo – AYAC 2024

Event : Annual Youth Alive Convention 2024
Theme: Empowered
Topic: Unveiling the Power Factor of Redemption
Preacher: Bishop David Oyedepo

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to manifest as sons of God (John 1:12).
It’s important to be empowered and stay empowered in increasing dimensions. Salvation without empowerment will result in frustration. After teaching the disciples for three and a half years, Jesus said, “I can’t guarantee your triumph; tarry in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), so that you can secure your place and space. Meanwhile, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

As many as received Him first, to them gave He power. Second, men and brethren, what shall we do? Repent, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. There are different experiences: salvation and empowerment. Salvation qualifies us for empowerment, but it’s not empowerment itself. You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you; it’s a different experience.

The falling away of many in these last days is largely a result of a lack of empowerment. They can’t stand the storms or withstand the evil day because the emphasis is shifted from empowerment to teaching. Teachings are toothless without empowerment. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14), and His words were with power (Luke 4:32). With great power and authority, He cast out evil spirits (Luke 4:36).

It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life.
It is the spirited war that counts. The quest for empowerment is dying; the church is full of theologians. It’s time to return to the source. Creation began with the move of the Spirit; it’s when God moved upon the deep and then God’s word came, empowered by that Spirit, to create. Christ was unrecognized for thirty years until power came. The disciples were fearful and jittery in the upper room, but when power came, they were transformed.

There is a need to renew your quest for empowerment to concentrate on a level of many fulfillments and triumphs. My prayer is that every single person in this convention, both here and around the world where we are gathered, will not leave without a genuine experience of baptism in the Holy Ghost and connect to the channel of continuous infilling so as to remain in command. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:4–5. You don’t wish to be empowered; you set yourself for empowerment.

O Lord my God, the psalmist said (Psalm 63:1–3), “I want to see Your power, see Your glory,” and the word says (Psalm 89:20–24), “Now that’s empowerment.” You thirst for it, and when it comes, you command dominion. My soul thirsted for Thee.

Everyone craving empowerment on this mountain, you are returning a changed person. Empowerment turns believers into another man. He said, “And thou shalt be turned into another man.” It turns men into another man.
They couldn’t recognize Peter anymore. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, knowing they were ignorant and unlearned men, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Christ. They were operating on the frequency of Christ with authority (Acts 4:13). That’s what empowerment does; it turns you into another man. You emerge a surprise to yourself. That shall be your experience here!

The things we say may look ordinary to people, but because of the Spirit behind them — the Spirit of God behind those words — they bring about unusual things. It’s your turn!

It is the power factor that differentiates Christianity from other faiths. It’s that power factor that differentiates your life from others. My prayer is that no one returns home the same way they came. But the covenant foundation for empowerment is salvation: repent and be converted, which means to be saved, and then you qualify to be empowered. Then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37–39).

Men and brethren, what should we do? Repent and be converted, and then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The reason many people don’t get baptized is that they haven’t really repented. They will try to conform.

No one is a candidate for a kind of empowerment until they have genuinely repented. I had a very interesting experience because of my evangelical background. I did not believe that there was any need for baptism in the Holy Ghost. We were told that when you are saved, you can’t say “love” without the Holy Spirit, so you already have the Holy Spirit. Because that was what I was taught, I followed them and was teaching it. One day, I said to myself, “What if they are right after all?” I said, “Holy Ghost, if You are anywhere, baptize me by the Spirit.” No one laid hands on me.
A friend came to tap me for a meeting. In a little bit of time, as I opened my eyes, I began to speak in tongues fluently. From that day till now, it’s as automatic as that. Are you truly converted, that’s where the question is: have you repented, and are you really converted? Empowerment is an automatic gift; it follows you when you are truly converted.

A young man read my book *The Miracle Seed* in 1985. He was a Catholic boy. He got a copy of the book and was moved by the Holy Spirit, I believe, to a mountain near his home. He read the book. In chapter one, he gave his life to Christ. In chapter three, he got filled with the Holy Spirit by himself, speaking in tongues. Today, he has a network of churches.

You can’t be genuinely converted and be crying and begging for the baptism; it is the birthright of every child of God. But that’s where many stop until the while is gone. Take note that empowerment is in levels. They received power on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8; 4:33; Ephesians 1:19), the exceeding greatness of His power, which erupted when He raised Christ from the dead. We have the exceeding greatness of His power — call it exceeding great power. So, you move from power to great power, from great power to exceeding great power, and you move from there to the realm of the power of the world to come.

They brought a young child to me on Wednesday. He had died when he was four years old, and God raised him back from the dead. Now he told his mother, “The only gift I want is to be taken to Papa. He is the one I saw that said I should get back.” I was speaking here; he was standing there. It was him I saw that said I must get back.

Fear is a robber; it’s a tormentor; it’s a destroyer. Job said, “The things I greatly feared have come upon me” (Job 3:24–25). Every man is a victim of his fear. That’s how much we need the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:18 says, “Fear has torment,” so fear torments its victim. When Peter saw the storm, he began to sink. Fear drowns destiny (Matthew 14:30). That’s how much you and I need the Holy Spirit to be free from the torment, the robbery, and the destruction that fear brings. Fear ensnares the destiny of believers (Proverbs 29:25). It ensnares destiny, gets you stranded. Most people are running up and down; behind depression is fear. The uncertainties of tomorrow and the sole aim of depression is suicide. What are you still doing here? You don’t have a future. It is the fear of failure that makes a failure.

No, there are giants we can’t enter, and they never did. They saw the good land, they saw the good fruit, but fear wouldn’t let them in. You have a great future; may fear not rob you of your great future (Numbers 13:17–33; Numbers 14:1–3).

It is the fear of lack that makes a pauper. There was famine in the land; it was a grievous famine (Genesis 47:15). But in verse 27, Israel dwelt in the same nation, had possession therein, grew, and multiplied exceedingly in the midst of the heated famine. The covenant was their stronghold, and they were gloriously exempted. You shall be exempted. Amen!!!

It is the fear of sickness that makes one sick. It is not death that kills; it is the fear of death that kills. You are driving, and suddenly you find yourself heading for a head-on collision, and you are already praying your last prayer, “I think it’s over. Thank You, receive me into Your kingdom.” Fear is one of the worst enemies of man; there is no known technique to overcome it. It is the Spirit of power that can subdue the spirit of fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power to subdue the spirit of fear. So, it’s not just a state of the mind but a spirit.

You find Peter saying, “We cannot but speak those things we have heard and seen.” That’s not the Peter we used to know who was swearing before a little girl. He faced the whole crowd and said, “We cannot but speak those things we have heard and

seen. We cannot!! You can’t stop us. Who are you?” Something has gotten into him. May that same force get into you today (Amen).

This is why we need to keep praying for continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit, because the more filled we are with the Holy Spirit, the more fearless we become, and the greater command we gain of the supernatural. It is fear that makes believers lose their authority to command the supernatural. They are the ones who are speaking boldly in the Lord, fearlessly. That’s the meaning, and God began to bear witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands (Acts 14:3). Speaking boldly in the Lord, speaking fearlessly, no one can command the supernatural with fear. He said, “I would boldly speak the word, and signs and wonders may be done by the child of the holy child Jesus.” The place was shaken where they were gathered together, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Great grace was upon them all — great grace, great proofs, great proofs emanating.

That’s how much every one of us needs the power of the Holy Ghost actively at work in our lives to subdue the horror, the devastation, the destruction of the spirit of fear. Again, this kingdom is not in words but in power. The world is waiting for the manifestation, the demonstration of the sons of God. They see the sons of God holding the answer to their problems, so they are waiting. I, therefore, decree in the name of the Lord Jesus that every genuinely thirsty soul here will return empowered into the next level. You will return empowered into the next level. You will return empowered into the next level.

For the few moments that we have, listen: the Holy Ghost is the fire, the word is the wood. So, for everyone baptized in the Holy Ghost, as the word goes forth, the fire burns higher. You are casting new wood into the fire; the fire keeps burning high. My God, interestingly, “Is not My word like fire?” His word was like fire shut up in my bones. I could not forbear (Jeremiah 20:9). No one can stay empowered without the word. As He was speaking these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them. So, the Holy Ghost resides in the word (Acts 10:44). It’s not just about crying for empowerment; it is knowing how to keep the fire burning. Leviticus 6:12 says, “The fire upon the altar shall be burning; it shall not go out.” But the priest must burn wood on it every morning, every morning, every morning. We find the fire by the word. We find the fire by the word. Young people, hear me: your time is being molested by all kinds of junk. The fire of the Holy Ghost is only found by the word. I still read daily and I write daily, and I’m not busy. I keep thanking God for the grace for sustainable relevance. I still read daily and I write daily. You can’t have the word and sustain the fire.

And what more, the Holy Spirit is our access into the deep things of God. I am sure we were having a session on that in the course of this convention. He provides us access to the wood to keep the fire burning. When He comes, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things you have heard of Him. Yes, we need a thirst and a longing for change of levels in the school of power, but we need the fire to sustain. We need the word to sustain the fire.

Finally, you know that we are not entitled to new wine with an old lifestyle. New wine must be put into new wine skins, and He sanctifies us by His word to keep us to access new wine. No man puts new wine into old bottles; as the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. You can’t access the new wine with an old lifestyle, and the word comes in and sorts it out. That’s why it’s a whole lot of responsibility to stay empowered. My prayer is that no life here shall be molested, and no one among us will end his life in regret. Regret not selling your birthright for a portion of meat. In the name of Jesus, your tomorrow is great. What you do with today is what defines your tomorrow. Your tomorrow is great, but what you do with today is what defines your tomorrow.

Your tomorrow is not a chorus; it’s a responsible possibility. Someone said, “As the morning shows the day, so the child shows the man.” Playboys today don’t impart their world tomorrow. It takes a serious approach to secure a glorious result. All sports stars began their journey early. Yes, sir, this is your best season. If you miss heavy connectivity with God at this time, God have mercy. Remember now, therefore, the Lord your God in the days of your youth before the evil days come.

You marry, you dismarry. You marry again, you dismarry. Say, “Is Christianity really real?” No, you are fake. You are not genuine.

Someone may be here and just put his hand in his pocket. Let’s go and see what they’re talking about. Who are you pulling your shoulder to, one by one, not group by group? God is with us on a one-on-one basis. Look to Abraham, your father. “Behold the one I called alone and blessed.” God spoke to me that you are absolutely responsible for the outcome of your life, whether you are empowered or not. Today, it will show tomorrow.

I give you power over the scorpions of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Empowerment is to keep you from being molested or assaulted. Seek empowerment. Engage with it to keep your life empowered. Keep fanning the fire of the Holy Spirit by regular consumption of the word, bringing Him new wood to keep the fire upon Him. That’s your job, sir.

Finally, good news: I’ve written unto you, young men, because you are strong. You are in your era of strength, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. You are in your era of triumph. Pay attention and take position. You are in for the best of times. Love not the world and the things of the world. The love of the Father is not in him. All that is in the world includes the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. They rob people of their great tomorrow. You will not be robbed.

How many can see the need for the infilling of the Holy Ghost? Let me see your hands. How many understand now that baptism in the Holy Ghost is not the end of the road but the beginning of the race? How many desire next levels of empowerment on this mountain? That’s what you will have. That’s what we have now.

Before we close tonight, please listen to this. What shall we do? Repent and be converted to become a candidate for empowerment. That’s the due process. You desire empowerment to be free from the assault of the wicked one. Repent and be converted, and you become a candidate for empowerment.

No one empowers the dead. You don’t empower an unborn child. Repent, be converted, and then you become a candidate for empowerment. Don’t miss AYAC 2024; it’s ordained by God for empowerment into a world of exploits, a world of meaning, fulfillment, accomplishment, and securing your place in eternity. Don’t miss it for anything.

So, if you are in this service tonight, in this convention, this opening night, wherever you are around the world hooked onto this service, you say, “Jesus, I want to repent and be converted. I must not miss my place in the empowerment agenda for this convention. Lord, I’m here. Save my soul, forgive my sins, and grant me a brand new beginning.”

You’ll find someone here talking about being a drug baron; somebody has come and said, “Computer scammer,” and Jesus set them free. He is still setting people free today. Illegitimate wealth is a curse; don’t handle it, don’t look for it. There are too many legitimate platforms for making a great living in every nation. Just get empowered; it secures your place.

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