FAITH BY WORKS (1)
TOPIC: FAITH BY WORKS (1)
TEXT: DANIEL 3:1-30
MEMORY VERSE: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” – Daniel 3:17
Evangelist Niyi Adedokun in his evergreen song titled, “Olorun Semi” (God Offends Me) shared a story of a king who wanted to know a true and genuine man of God. In the song, he narrated a story of a king whose daughter is ready to get marry, the princess approached her father and told him, it is time for me to get marry and I would love to marry a man of God, so as my father, I need your counsel and direction. The king promised the princess that he would get a man of God for her to marry, but who is a man of God the king pondered. The king called on the chief hunter in the town and told him, God offended me and I will love to revenge. Therefore, the king commanded the chief hunter to help look for a man of God next Sunday service. What you will do is to carry cutlass, knife and gun and stand in the city centre, any Christian you see that want to enter the church, ask such that is he a man of God because God offended you and you are here to take a revenge. Whosoever that do not deny God, bring him unto me.
To cut the long story short, very early on Sunday morning, the chief hunter went to stand at the entrance of the church; all the choir members including the instrumentalists denied God and ran away at the face of death. Women, men, elders with their big Bible did not also wait; the elders said, we are just elders and not God and since we are not God, we cannot take God’s punishment. The pastor in charge surprised many, when the chief hunter threatened to kill him; he changed his voice, he said, I am just a mere missionary here and did not sign death warrant by accepting to serve God.
It was not long that a brother called Faith enters with songs of faith in his mouth and as usual, the chief hunter bragged, threatened this man, and asked if he is a man of God, and that he is ready to kill anybody who professes to be a man of God. Brother Faith answered in affirmative, I am a man of God, whether in life or in death, nothing will separate me from the love of God. At the end of the day, the king gave out his daughter in marriage to brother Faith for proclaiming his faith, even in the face of death. The above story is the case of most Christians today, they profess Christians but in practice, unchristian. Many Christians had bowed to mammon, fame, promotion and opportunities and many have turned to herbalists for help, many people have joined secret cults and many are scam businesses. Are you a Christian? What evidence do you have that people can call you a (wo)man of faith? Check yourself and consider your ways.
The three young Hebrews refused to bow to the golden image king Nebuchadnezzar had set up, in the face of the burning fiery furnace and intimidation, they totally trusted in their God and proclaimed that He is able to save them and if he refused to save them they are ready to die for what they believe. Do you have the same kind of faith? Where is your faith? Is yours a living faith? If you cannot demonstrate your faith in the face of trial, hunger, temptation, scarcity, poverty and jobless, then you are a mere Christian. Heaven do not recognize you. What surprised me most about the three young Hebrews, in the face of the burning fiery furnace, they confidently told the king, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter; our God is able to save us.
Word Affirmation: "The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." - Zephaniah 3:17 (Don't just say it, mean it!)
“By not having strong faith or wait to the end, many have lost promotion; many have lost their miracles and wasted their destinies just because they could not hold on to God and His words.”
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