Bishop David Oyedepo: Maintaining divine health!

Topic: Maintaining divine health!

We recognise from scriptures that God’s divine purpose for the Church is to stay in divine health. This is why God has made a sickness-free provision for all His people and He wants us to know and walk in that. As it is written: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth (3 John 2).

Essentially, God has done everything possible for us to be in good health. That is why Jesus came. However, there is no short-cut to divine health as there are basic rules to it. If we must get divine health, we must follow the rules faithfully, with determination and zeal. Remember, God is not the author of sickness, the devil is, and he is still in the business of planning and devising new diseases, to release into the world. However, to avoid being a victim of unsteady health, it is important to know our right to health and maintain it. Therefore, to stay healthy, we must engage the following:

The Word of God: For the believer, the Word is the source of life. If we are cut off from it, we are removed from the source of life and that will kill us fast. Unfortunately, many people handle the Word with levity. They allow their Word study to be interrupted anyhow. This is not profitable for us. Look at the example of Mary and Martha; she gave herself to cooking, while her sister sat at the feet of the Master to learn. As a result, Jesus answered and said unto her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus told her, one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that part. It is time for us as believers to do the needful by getting acquainted with God through His Word. Let us understand that God’s Word is the only medication that does not only heal but helps us stay healthy. We need to get acquainted with it through studying and hearing. By this, our health is sure to be secured and stable.

Faith: For us to maintain our health, we must be in faith always as it is dangerous to wait to be afflicted with diseases before putting our faith to work. That is one way we can keep sickness off our lives.

Fasting: This is another weapon that must be engaged to stay healthy. Many Christians think fasting is optional. However, Jesus did not give us that impression. As it is written: When ye fast. Not ‘If ye fast.’ (Mathew 6:16). It means fasting is a compulsory part of the Christian walk. Obviously, if we have really given ourselves to prayer and fasting, we will notice the refreshing that follows and our health comes back to us with vigour.

Diligence: A lot of people are sick and weak because they are lazy and idle. It is commonly said that the devil finds work for the idle hand. The truth is, if we are always lazing around, the devil will affect us and strike us at a time we do not expect. Therefore, in maintaining our divine health, hard work is inevitable. Just like an unused and uninhabited building rot easily. Similarly, our bodies are God’s building which we are not to leave idle. God wants us to contribute to maintaining our divine health through hard work. When we do, our sleep will be sound which will in turn help our system to improve.

Wisdom: Wisdom is another important point we need to know. It is also indispensable in all areas of life. Interestingly, hard work must be merged with wisdom. Thus, we do not need to overwork ourselves unnecessarily. This is because when we do, our health is affected adversely. This is why wisdom is essential in all endeavours. If we ignore it, we will most definitely run into difficulties.

Confession: The Bible says life and death are in the power of the tongue. Therefore we must speak health always. We should recognise that the Word of God spoken boldly in faith is a creative force. Therefore, we should speak it loudly and boldly from the heart.

Love: We need a large heart to love the brethren. This will definitely work to our advantage. Remember that we are not losing anything by loving. Everybody, who is acceptable to God, should be acceptable to us. When we do, this will in turn help us overcome lots of difficulties in life.

Holiness: There is no way we can persist in sinful habits and expect to be in divine health. If we are not serving God in holiness and purity of heart, we cannot expect Him to minister divine health to us. Remember, sin brought sickness into the world, so sin must be completely eliminated if divine health is to be established in our lives.

Holy Communion: This sacrament is a way of showing faith in the finished work of Christ in our health. As often as we do it, we show the world and confirm in our bodies that Christ has taken our grief and sorrows in His body and His blood is transfused into our veins.

The Holy Spirit: The ministry of the Holy Spirit is more than what many believers think it to be. Among others, He is the seal of the Godhead in our health. Furthermore, He is the Chief Executive of God’s plan and that includes divine health.

Fellowship: This is the New Testament Mount Zion outlined in Hebrews 12:22-24 and Obadiah 17. According to these scriptures, in Zion, our constant health is guaranteed. We go from strength to strength by appearing before God and innumerable company of angels.

The truth applied and received accurately, will lift us to a place of total health. I pray that as you applied these truths, you will stay in health and always.

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 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., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 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.