Understanding Our right to Health in Redemption by Bishop David Oyedepo
Topic: Understanding our right to health in redemption!
Welcome to another exciting week! I hope you were blessed by last week teaching. Today, we shall focus on: Understanding Our Right to Health in Redemption!
From scriptures, we discover that God entered into covenant relationships with His people as recorded in the Old Testament. One of such covenants is that of good health. As it is written: And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee (Exodus 23:25). This connotes that as long as we are in God’s service; sickness, disease, affliction and any such evil shall not and cannot have dominion over us. However, it takes a regenerated heart to serve God. Thus, let’s briefly consider how sicknesses and diseases came into the world.
How did Sickness enter into the World?
Through sin: There was no sickness in the world until Adam sinned. Before this time, Adam was in a state of perfect and absolute health. He did not know sickness. He was always strong, hale and hearty. There was no symptom of headache or fever. It was when he sinned that sickness came in. An unregenerated man is not entitled to divine health. The Bible says: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Man cannot enjoy divine health except the sin problem is dealt with. There is no way a man that is sin-ridden can enjoy divine health. He has to first submit himself to Jesus Christ, then he will have access to God’s provision of divine health (Colossians 1:13).
Understanding Our right to Health in Redemption by Bishop David Oyedepo
Through the curse of the law: In Deuteronomy 28, from verse 15, the curses of the law are clearly outlined. The truth is that every form of sickness comes under the curse of the law but thanks to God that one of the things Jesus dealt with on the cross is the curse of the law. For it is written: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree (Galatians 3:13). The reason Jesus went to the cross was to avert all curses of the law and sickness is one of them. Thus, it is time to react violently against sickness.
Through satan: It has always been the devil who afflicts people with sickness. In Job 2:7, the Bible records that satan smote Job: So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. In the new testament, Jesus talked of a woman who had been bound by satan: And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day (Luke 13:16)? Jesus truly recognised that satan is in active partnership with sickness. But I have good news for you. The devil is no longer a problem by virtue of the victory of Christ on the cross; we are more than a conqueror over sin, sickness and the devil himself.
Understanding Our right to Health in Redemption by Bishop David Oyedepo
Thus, if sickness is taken away, all we have left is health. Therefore, everyone involved in God’s service is entitled to divine health. But the question is, are you in His service? The term of the covenant is service to God. If that is successfully carried out, then God will take care of His own side. For it is written: …a faithful ambassador is health (Proverbs 13:17). A faithful servant of God is healthy. That means he is an embodiment of health. Remember, at redemption, we are all ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Therefore, health is ours by right. It is not a special favour from God, it is not for a selected few; it is ours by right on a covenant basis. God has a duty to make us healthy and stay so. He has made everything available to guarantee that. Therefore, it is our responsibility to walk into it and enjoy it.
Also, the fulfilment of this covenant of health was clearly manifested in the lives of the people of Israel, that is the Church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38). As long as they obeyed God and were in His service, He upheld the covenant of health He had earlier made with them. The Bible records: He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes (Psalm 105:37). The Psalmist is talking about the Church in the wilderness. He is giving an account of how God brought them out with strength and throughout their 40 years journey; there was no sick person among their tribes. Note that this was a Church in the wilderness under the ministration of death with the old covenant. If the ministration of death could be that glorious, such that there was no feeble person among their tribe, how much more shall the ministration of life excel in glory. The figurative Church had no sickness. Thus, the real body which is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ should not have any such thing! Jesus was with them as a Rock; He is now with us as the Living Saviour. He is exalted and set on the right hand of Majesty on high. God’s divine purpose for the Church is to stay in divine health.Furthermore, at creation, God created man with everything that was necessary and He saw that it was very good but He provided no means for healing because man was created in God’s image and needs no healing.
In summary, if we have been set free from these three sources of sickness; they have no power, authority and right over us. Hosea 4:6 says: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… However, we will not be able to act on these facts until we come into the full knowledge that we have been redeemed and exalted above all these sources of sickness. Thus, you must be born again. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so.
Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!” For further reading, please get my books: Keys to Divine Health, The Healing Balm, The Miracle Meal and Fulfilling Your Days. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org; Face book: www.facebook.com/davidoyedepoministries/; Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin
Understanding Our right to Health in Redemption by Bishop David Oyedepo
Bishop David O. Oyedepo is a Nigerian Christian author, architect, preacher, and the founder and presiding bishop of the mega church, Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel