`THE 4TH MAN

`THE 4^TH MAN

Many times I hear of the parlance “between the devil and the deep blue sea” I sincerely wonder about the seeming hopelessness of the victim. The surging waves of an intimidating volume of water threatens to swallow whatever it comes across. An option of a looming “cartoonic” representation of the devil is neither a better bargain.

Life situations abound that pose like the victim is left with no option than his/her precarious fate. At such, there is no opportunity of snooping for any ray of light to suggest freedom; the tunnel seems endlessly dark. These are dead-end situations!

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were left with no option of life if they disagreed with King Nebuchadnezzar’s dictates. ...“if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Daniel 3: 15.

What a coincidence! The “God” of these three Hebrews does not get into a boat until it is sinking and threatening to throw overboard its occupants. “I AM” shows up! The 4^th Man comes to rescue when you have thought all hope is lost!

Worthy of my notice is that at every instance that a person or group of persons resolve not to compromise their stand despite threat to life or denials of entitlements, they always overcame!

When Queen Esther resolved …“I will go unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish” Esther 4: 16. Excuse me friend, she risked a death verdict, but she turned out to be a signatory to the death warrant of the hunter of her soul.

Fraternal Connection, this is a winning principle for overcomers. It is the champion’s recipe. The Shepherd boy (David) ignored that he was not equipped with physical war paraphernalia, he aimed at Goliath, having on mind that …“I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defiled” 1Samuel 17: 45.

Daniel’s friends said …“if it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will rescue us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up” Daniel 3: 17 & 18.

You may wonder that your deliverance is long overdue, The 4^th Man is waiting for you to defile ALL odds, let your faith insult your challenge, you are meant to cling steadfastly to your hope. Has He not promised “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze, for I AM THE LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, you savior” Isaiah 43: 1-3.

When the fiery furnace of life’s battles loom at you, The 4^th Man will surely show up to rescue you. He will rescue you regardless of the limitation your temporary mind can see!

This 21-day fast and prayers, long as you loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke (Isaiah 58: 6). In clearer terms, you are commanded by God to forgive ALL offences, then your pursuers will always testify that The Lord your God is with you and the shout of a king is among you (Numbers 23: 21)

Your adversary will confess that …“Lo, I see 4 men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of THE 4^TH is like the Son of God” Daniel 3: 25.

THE 4^th Man of the fiery furnace, rescue me! When they torture me without a cause; When upon life’s billows, I am tempest tossed; When I am discouraged, thinking all is lost; When the cross seems heavy, I am called to bear; When I look at others with their lands and gold; COME TO MY RESCUE! For you have paid ALL that was my debt, you have …“disarmed the powers and authorities, you made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” Colossians 2: 15.

A Covenant Child will arise and on the pedestrian of faith and absolute confidence (TRUST) in The 4^th Man, affirm that  …“Our God… (The 4^th Man) … is able to deliver me from the burning fiery furnace” Daniel 3: 17.

I charge you to arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you- rise to a new life! Shine and be radiant with His Glory, for your light has come and the Glory of The 4^th Man has risen upon you!

Rescue me, The 4^th Man! Rescue me, Jesus!

ayanfeLAMPROS

WHY JUDAH? WHY YOU???

WHY JUDAH? WHY YOU???

Do not wonder about the interrogative. It is not in the least rhetoric. It is an aspect of our Christian walk, that which we cannot lay aside- in fact, it is the central point of our faith, the core essence of the most holy faith, the faith of our calling by The God of the trinity...Scriptures forewarn “Be careful therefore that the light in you is not darkness” Luke 11:35.Judah was the fourth son of Jacob by Leah. His destiny was unaffected by family rivalry, the previous three sons were to seek man’s favour but Judah was indeed Leah’s firstborn for God’s purpose. He was the only one who stepped into the blessings of the firstborn and one through whom the messianic line was perpetuated...The God of Abraham, The God of Isaac and The God of Jacob became The God of Judah! The name of the tribe descended from Judah; Judah was the first tribe authorized to take possession of its assigned territory after the initial conquest of Canaan (Joshua 14: 6 – 15: 63). Caleb was one of the twelve spies and was of Judah’s tribe. Judah occupied one of the largest land measuring from the dead sea west towards the Mediterranean sea about 30miles to include the Negeb; a length of about 80miles; included with that of Judah was Simeon’s territory.Not until David was made king of Judah at Hebron, that the prophesy of Judah’s pre-eminence began to manifest. In fact, Judah’s good king Hezekiah brought about spiritual revival to the land.But Manasseh (Hezekiah’s son) of Judah built baal altars for worship and even set up idolatrous practices in the house of God, he made his sons pass through fire, used enchantments, consulted with familiar spirits and tradition tells that he martyred the prophet Isaiah!That was a king of Judah! He derailed when he fell short of God’s glory... Regardless of whatever God might have in the past done through you, He is still no respecter of persons, “therefore let ANYONE who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall into sin” 1Corinthians 10: 12.Watch out for how you have been faring in the faith! Have you also began to set your affection on the cares of this world? “Will you also turn back?” Will you also adopt worldly cultures into our Church council? Have you also begun to set up strange fires in your heart? Will you also maltreat and extort fellow Christians? Will you also measure false measures?You Judah! You that is called by God’s name, “beware lest there be in you a wicked heart which refuses to cleave to Him, leading you to turn away from the living God” Hebrews 3: 12.You Judah! You beloved of God, the same intensity with which God loves is the same measure with which He frowns at sin! Therefore, “look well to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in those things, hold to them, for by so doing, you will save both yourself and those who hear you” 1Timothy 4:16.As we prepare for another season of prayers and fast, we must abstain from evil. It is a time we are required to humble ourselves. It is not enough to dress as one mourning for sin, without any real sorrow for them. Jesus made the same point when He insisted that those who fast should not do so in any ostentatious way if they must avoid hypocrisy (Matthew 6: 5&6, 16-18). God should be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth (John 4: 24).“Is not this, the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry... when you see the naked, to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood (your fellow covenant connection in Christ)... then you will call and The Lord will answer” Isaiah 58: 6-9.Note this, after you have done all that God had commanded,  ...“everyman who eats sour grapes, his own teeth shall be set on edge... behold the days are coming says The Lord, when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Judah... I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts... for they will know me, from the least of them to the greatest... I will forgive their wickedness” Jeremiah 31: 30-34.You Judah, You beloved people called by His matchless name, you have been a reproach, but  “as you have been a curse and a by word among the nations, o house of Judah (o beloved of The Most High), so will I (The Lion of the tribe of Judah) save you and you shall be a blessing... in those days, ten men out of all languages... shall take hold of the robe of a covenant child of God and say: Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you” Zechariah 8: 13 & 23.  

ayanfeLAMPROS