The Force Of Freedom Order Printed Copy

Author: David Oyedepo
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Inspiring, I was much impacted.

- olaniran ibikunle (6 months ago)

Inspiring, I was much impacted.

- tii patrick (a year ago)

About the Book

"The Force of Freedom" by David Oyedepo is a book that explores the power of freedom in all areas of life, including spiritual, financial, and personal freedom. The author emphasizes the importance of breaking free from limitations and realizing one's full potential in order to live a fulfilling and purpose-driven life. Through biblical principles and practical insights, Oyedepo guides readers on how to tap into the force of freedom to achieve success and happiness.

John Newton

“Amazing Grace” is one of the most beloved hymns of the last two centuries. The soaring spiritual describing profound religious elation is estimated to be performed 10 million times annually and has appeared on over 11,000 albums. It was referenced in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin and had a surge of popularity during two of nation’s greatest crises: the Civil War and the Vietnam War. Between 1970 and 1972, Judy Collins’ recording spent 67 weeks on the chart and peaked at number 5. Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Elvis are among the many artists to record the song. Recently, President Obama burst into the familiar tune during the memorial service for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a victim of a heinous church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. The song was written by a former enslaver Ironically, this stirring song, closely associated with the African American community, was written by a former enslaver, John Newton. This unlikely authorship forms the basis of Amazing Grace, a Broadway musical (written by Broadway first-timer Christopher Smith, a former Philadelphia policeman, and playwright Arthur Giron) which tells Newton’s life story from his early days as a licentious libertine in the British navy to his religious conversion and taking up the abolitionist cause. But the real story behind the somewhat sentimental musical told in Newton’s autobiography reveals a more complex and ambiguous history. Newton was born in 1725 in London to a Puritan mother who died two weeks before his seventh birthday, and a stern sea-captain father who took him to sea at age 11. After many voyages and a reckless youth of drinking, Newton was impressed into the British navy. After attempting to desert, he received eight dozen lashes and was reduced to the rank of common seaman. While later serving on the Pegasus, an enslaved person ship, Newton did not get along with the crew who left him in West Africa with Amos Clowe, an enslaver. Clowe gave Newton to his wife Princess Peye, an African royal who treated him vilely as she did her other enslaved people. On stage, Newton’s African adventures and enslavement are a bit more flashy with the ship going down, a thrilling underwater rescue of Newton by his loyal retainer Thomas, and an implied love affair between Newton and the Princess. Newton converted to Christianity after a miracle at sea The stage version has John’s father leading a rescue party to save his son from the calculating Princess, but in actuality, the enterprise was undertaken by a sea captain asked by the senior Newton to look for the missing John. (In the show, the elder Newton is wounded during the battle for his son’s freedom and later has a tearful deathbed scene with John on board ship.) During the voyage home, the ship was caught in a horrendous storm off the coast of Ireland and almost sank. Newton prayed to God and the cargo miraculously shifted to fill a hole in the ship’s hull and the vessel drifted to safety. Newton took this as a sign from the Almighty and marked it as his conversion to Christianity. He did not radically change his ways at once, his total reformation was more gradual. "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterward,” he later wrote. He did begin reading the Bible at this point and began to view his captives with a more sympathetic view. In the musical, John abjures slavery immediately after his shipboard epiphany and sails to Barbados to search for and buy the freedom of Thomas. After returning to England, Newton and his sweetheart Mary Catlett dramatically confront the Prince of Wales and urge him to abolish the cruel practice. In real life, Newton continued to sell his fellow human beings, making three voyages as the captain of two different vessels, The Duke of Argyle and the African. He suffered a stroke in 1754 and retired, but continued to invest in the business. In 1764, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and wrote 280 hymns to accompany his services. He wrote the words for “Amazing Grace” in 1772 (In 1835, William Walker put the words to the popular tune “New Britain”) It was not until 1788, 34 years after leaving it that he renounced his former slaving profession by publishing a blazing pamphlet called “Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade.” The tract described the horrific conditions on the ships and Newton apologized for making a public statement so many years after participating in the trade: “It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.” The pamphlet was so popular it was reprinted several times and sent to every member of Parliament. Under the leadership of MP William Wilberforce, the English civil government outlawed slavery in Great Britain in 1807 and Newton lived to see it, dying in December of that year. The passage of the Slave Trade Act is depicted in the 2006 film, also called Amazing Grace, starring Albert Finney as Newton and Ioan Gruffud as Wilberforce.

God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life

How do we choose what path to take? We have more opportunities than any generation before us. Technology, material wealth, and a global interconnectedness presents the average American Millennial with more potential than our parents could have ever imagined. In this cacophony, we routinely wonder — and worry — what direction our lives will take. For the believer, we are told to trust God and know that his will is perfect. Pulpit axioms and best-selling books echo themes to the effect of the Lord’s words to Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). God desires good for his children (Romans 8:28). This theme is repeated throughout his word and is true. But Paul has more specificity to add to God’s will for our lives. Paul states it in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God — your holiness.” The Plans You Have for You I hate everything the prosperity “gospel” stands for, but too often I live like one who believes it. When I think about God’s good plans for me, I picture getting married and raising a family as soon as possible, becoming a mid-level manager by 30, and retiring comfortably at 60. In other words, my way of viewing God’s plan for me looks oddly like the American Dream. These things are all good gifts, and there’s nothing immoral about wishing for a comfortable life in the right context. In fact, we should pray that God blesses us and his people. The problem arises when we wish for such temporary things more than the ultimate joy received through sanctification. The reality is that for most of church history — and in most of the world today — Christians have been severely oppressed, marginalized, and killed for their beliefs. Observe the lives of the early apostles; almost all of them were martyred. For most Christians, seeking God’s will doesn’t look like fretting over career decisions, but learning how to live for God’s glory when the stakes are high and the costs steep. Life Coach Or Lord? We often want God to be our life coach rather than our Lord. We want a pastor to give us three to five helpful tips on how to live an easier life, all the while forgetting that our mission is to exalt God. Instead of letting his glory to shape our desires and ambitions, we too often expect him to reveal his minute-by-minute instructions for our lives. We expect him to spell out everything. We crave the personal comfort of knowing our destined five-year plan over faithfully trusting him the next five years. Slowly, we forget that faith might look messy, and that we might not have our entire life plan unveiled to us immediately. Sometimes, we must step forward with both confidence and uncertainty. We forget that, while God has conquered death through his Son on the cross, we still live in a fallen world and are amid a spiritual war between good and evil. We forget that he’s sovereign over us. God’s Wonderful Plan for Your Life God does have a wonderful plan for your life. But for the believer, that plan is salvation from his wrath that we justly deserve. And it is indeed a wonderful plan — while we merited eternal punishment, God satisfied that payment through his Son. God’s wonderful plan for our life is that we continually surrender the evil desires of our flesh and conform more to his image. God’s wonderful plan for our life is that we repent, believe in him, and fight sin through his power. God’s wonderful plan for our life is sober-mindedness, sexual purity, and that we “walk not as unwise, but wise, making the most of our time because the day is evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). God’s plan is that he may be most glorified in us through us being satisfied in him. As Christians we know that true happiness — the truly wonderful life — comes from true surrender. Free to Trust God So, what would it look like to reconstruct how we, as believers, view God’s will? His word says that “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6), and to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). How ought we make decisions in this light? In the here-and-now, it can be difficult to decipher what he’s telling us. In times when God seems to be speaking to us in a faint whisper, we must realize his primary will for us: holiness. This realization is tremendously freeing. Instead of being stuck in paralysis of deliberation, we can take the next step forward. We begin to recognize that what is on this earth is fleeting. We don’t have to fret in indecision, futilely trying to interpret God’s will as if it were a complex puzzle. When we have the choice between good options concerning careers, jobs, places to live, and the like, we can decide confidently knowing that God wants our holiness regardless of our context. We don’t know what the future will hold, but we know that he is good and will bring what he began to completion (Philippians 1:6). If we pursue holiness first, wherever we may end up will be of some importance, yet ultimately trivial. Before every big decision, surrender to God and pursue holiness. Trust the Lord and his promises to make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5–6). Article by Daniel Hess