Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo: The Epitome of a Divinely Guided Leader

“We get nothing done except as commanded”- Bishop David Oyedepo

Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo, born 27 September 1954, is a Nigerian preacher, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, and Presiding Bishop of the Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The church is also known as Winners’ Chapel International. The Winners’ Chapel International Network of Churches is located in over 300 cities, in all states of Nigeria and several cities across over 45 African nations, in Dubai, the United Kingdom, and Europe, in Asia, and in the United States and Canada.

Oyedepo has been regarded as one of the pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa, and has been referred to as one of the most influential preachers to originate out of Nigeria. He is the Chancellor of Covenant University and Landmark University, and was named in 2011 by Forbes Magazine as being the richest pastor in Nigeria. Oyedepo studied architecture at Kwara State Polytechnic Kwara State, North Central, Nigeria. He also received a PhD in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, US.

In August 1982, Oyedepo married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith Oyedepo). They have four children together namely David Jr, Isaac, Love and Joyce. David Oyedepo Jr and Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth Copeland.

When David Oyedepo was asked about how they get things done cheaply in his ministry, his reply was “we do nothing except as commanded by God”.

Leadership is God’s gift to mankind. It is so because God our creator is not the author of confusion. God cherishes organization and this was shown at the time of creation. Things were done meticulously and steadily bringing about the beauty of creativity.

Only those who are led by God can lead people successfully. Only the sons of God can lead the sons of men. If you are therefore a child of God, you are expected to behave the ‘god’ whom you are and not just believing Him (God). Until you get to the level of believing to behaving you cannot be said to have manifested the traits of your father, the creator of the heavens and the earth.

“Believe Me that I am in the father and the father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father” (John 14:11-12).

Attaining a position of authority is not without a purpose. It is either that one is there for the declaration of God’s praise or that one has been raised up for destruction. In either of the two cases, the Mightiness of God is revealed. For the purpose of proving God’s powers Pharaoh was raised and truly, fear gripped all the opposing nations after God had dealt with Pharaoh and the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. As far as God is concerned, His very heart desire for His children is that they might declare His praise (Isaiah 43:21).

How does a leader live up to God’s expectations?

The leader who wants to please God must be ready to fear God and depart from evil. That is to say, that he should seek wisdom and understanding and find them.

“To fear God is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).

Any leader who fears God automatically has understanding and with that he can draw out the counsel of God from within his own heart, except if he has not genuinely accepted and confessed Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.

“Counsel in the heart of Man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out” (Proverbs 20:5).

With the access that you have to divine counsel, you need no Ahitophel by your side, and if God be on your side who can be against you?

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven” (Mathew 5:13-16).

That exactly is what Bishop David Oyedepo is, not just to the Winners family in particular but to the world in general. He is indeed one of God’s generals, sent forth to liberate mankind from all oppressions of the devil. He is indeed the sent. He epitomizes a city that is set on a high hill that cannot be hidden. You are to be the source of attraction and envy to your generation. Not everybody will be able to access you because of where you are positioned. Unless many get to you they won’t be satisfied and comfortable, for you are to them a living spring. You cannot access God and be accessed cheaply by men. It is not a matter of pride and arrogance on your part, but lack of understanding on the part of the people particularly on how to reach you.

“The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city” (Ecclesiastes 10:15).

Truly they have heard about you and are anxious to get to you, but lack of courage and revelation to get to you is the problem. The Queen of Sheba summoned courage before she could get to King Solomon. She did not go to him empty-handed but with gifts. Consequent upon her visit, she returned home richly blessed.

The city is a place where destinies are corrected, made alive and not destroyed. It is the place of joy where people’s problems and sorrows flee away and pressures are replaced with pleasures for people. Ruins are also re-built there to the glory of God.

Because of the significance of the city, which is you, the devil does everything possible to hinder people from reaching you. Saul would not have rested so soon from his labor and discovered God’s master-plan for his life if he had not reached Samuel.

“Thus says the Lord God; ‘On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt” (Ezekiel 36:33).

Today is your long awaited day to gain admission into the city, not just entry this time, but living there until you become the city yourself in Jesus Mighty name. Ungodliness is a barrier to enablement, remove it.

“You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).

Why are you still on that same spot? Begin to move now.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2).

The guided leader allows the Holy Spirit to quicken his mortal body always. He rules in the fear of the Lord and does not take undue advantage. He is no longer an ordinary spiritual leader or a politician as the case may be, he is a source and a statesman respectively. He is loving, kind, full of compassion and straightforward. He strives to satisfy the people and is seen doing just that to the best of his ability. His ability is not of man but of God. He provides the basic needs of the people. He leads by example and not precepts. He welcomes criticisms and is not destructive. He reverences God and acknowledges the place of wisdom and divine guidance.

Solomon’s personal earthly efforts did not make him. He was made by the encounter he had with the Almighty God of Israel. That encounter however marked the beginning of his greatness.

“Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son saying, ‘I go the way of all the earth, be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may fulfil His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, He said, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover, you know also, what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peace time, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. Therefore, do according to your wisdom, and do not let His gray hair go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother. And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bathurim, who curse me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him, but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood” (1 Kings 2:1-9).

If Solomon had limited himself only to David his father’s words of encouragement and instructions, he would have ended up living a life of deprivations. He would have been working by his earthly wisdom, which could have taken him nowhere as it eventually proved at the beginning of his reign. The assignments of assassination and kindness to people given to him by his father did not give him the required wisdom and understanding needed for a breakthrough in the task of leading successfully the people of God, the Israelites. Solomon would have failed as a leader had he not discovered himself in relation to his deficiencies – the greatest of which was divine wisdom to please God.

“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, Ask! What shall I give you? And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart. You have continued this great kindness for him and you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ‘Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child, I do not know how to go out or come in. and Your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore, give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours? The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him; ‘Because you have asked this thing and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words, see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked; both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days” (1 Kings 3:4-13).

God was impressed because Solomon, unlike the leaders we have today, who can kill to amass wealth, did not think less or low by asking for money or the heads of his opponents. Instead, he invited God into his Kingdom, having acknowledged Him as the king of kings. Humble yourself so that God can exalt you. Your making is not in that your ‘hot seat’, nor in the power that people give and take, but in following God. Your making is not in the electorate but in God. Find God, get God and get good. Every good gift, every perfect gift, is from God the father of lights with whom there is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the Wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with Him.

Similarly, Bishop David Oyedepo in 1981, received a vision from God in an 18-hour long encounter, to liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith. This is the inaugural vision that led to the founding of the Living Faith Church World Wide (LFCWW), first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981. Two years after, on September 17, 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, ordained David Oyedepo and his wife, Faith Abiola Oyedepo, as pastors and also officially commissioned the newly started church. Five years after, David Oyedepo was ordained a Bishop.

Living Faith Church (AKA Winners Chapel) started in Kaduna, but David Oyedepo moved to Lagos, to start a new branch after receiving an instruction from God to reach out to the population in Lagos. The church grew to become the International headquarters of Living Faith Church, with a constantly increasing flow of crowds spilling over to the adjacent roads, and on decks of uncompleted buildings nearby, compelling people to stand for hours to listen to his teachings. This led to the building of the renowned Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seater capacity church in Ota, Ogun State, as instructed by God.

David Oyedepo is an acclaimed author and publisher who has written over 70 titles apart from periodicals. He is also Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of his ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through God’s grace upon him, Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Model Schools have been established to equip the youth for impact. Currently, the Living Faith Church has embarked on the building of another church structure, which is a 100 seater capacity sanctuary, which is now at the verge of completion christened as The Ark.

“I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound Wisdom, I am understanding, I have strength: By me kings reign and rulers decree justice, by me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.” (Proverbs 8:12-16).

History does not die. A good name is better than silver and gold. Be a visionary and a wise leader, for such the Father seeks in the kingdom.

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me. He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain” (2 Samuel 23:2-4).

Permit me to humbly submit that I am by the grace of God, a privileged beneficiary of the grace of a God upon the man of God, Bishop David Oyedepo, having attended the World of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) of the Living Faith church at the Iyana Ipaja campus, Lagos, in 1997 and graduated with Grade A distinction. I am yet to recover from the impact.

As Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo turns 70, on September 27th 2024, we of the Giantability Media Network, publishers of Living Hope Magazine, and owners of Giantability TV and Giantability Forum, rejoice with the Oyedepo family and the Winners family worldwide, even as we wish him a glorious and memorable birthday.

The GUIDED LEADER is a just and righteous Leader and Bishop David Oyedepo fits in aptly for this description, his righteousness being of God, who is the caller and the doer.

By Samuel Tunji Adeyanju