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WATCHMAN CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL MOVEMENT
FIRST FRUIT FASTING FELLOWSHIP NOVEMBER 2024 EDITION Day 3
Theme: The Great Friend From Heaven
Texts: Jn. 1:1-5, 9-14; 15:13
Topic: JESUS, THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Subtexts: Mal. 4:1-3, Matt. 4:12-17, Jn. 8:12
In this 2024 penultimate corporate first fruit fasting exercise, we have seen The Great Friend From Heaven
Jesus, the Son of man which was a title that expressed His humanity and humility. Then, we explored
Jesus, the Son of God which revealed Him as the express image of God’s essence; who though stepped down to accomplish the program of the God’s head is at par with the Father. His exclusive relationship with the Father as the only begotten Son grants Him the capacity to bring others unto sonship or membership of the divine family (Rom. 8:15-17, Gal. 4:1-6).
Today, we shall see Jesus as The Sun of righteousness. The prophet Malachi spoke of the day of the Lord when judgment will be meted to the ungodly world while the Sun of righteousness will appear with healing in His
wings unto those that fear the Lord; and shall turn the table in favour of the righteous (Mal. 4:1-3).
Who is the Sun of righteousness?
Matthew, in chapter 4:12-17, wrote of the effect of Jesus’ ministry in an erstwhile dark geographical entity namely the shining of a great light (cons. Gen. 1:14-16). The relocation of ministry from a potentially volatile area to Galilee is instructive to God’s child at times of danger (Pro. 4:7, Matt. 10:23a).
And in John 8:12, The Lord revealed Himself as the Light of the world who illuminates His followers to enjoy the real life.
Our message shall come under the following points:
- The wings of the Sun of righteousness
- The wisdom of the saint of the present day
- THE WINGS OF THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Since man became aware of his habitat, the sun has been recognized as playing a pivotal role in life. It is seen as the centre around which all
things revolve. It’s mystery led to the its mystification and adoration as a deity by the pagan world.
In reality, the sun is a mighty ball of burning gases in thermo nuclear fission, weighing about 330,000 times more than the earth, with a volume of one million three hundred thousand times that of the earth, and located at the center of the solar system.
Howbeit, the term sun of righteousness’ is a metaphor for the great spiritual light that emanates from Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:12 -17; Jn. 1:4,5; 8:12; 9:5). It is in like positive sense that the Lord God is described as a sun and shield (Ps. 84:9-11). His majestic ministry in His first advent when He came as a Lamb aligns with the designation sun of righteousness (Acts 10:38) and His second advent when He shall come as a Lion, and the given Son shall much more depict this metaphor (Isa. 9:6, Zech. 14:16-20, Rev. 5:5).
What then are the
wings? The word wings in Mal. 4:2 came from The Hebrew word
kânâph (pronounced
kaw -nawf) which means an edge, or extremity; (of a bird or army) a wing; (of a garment or bed clothing) a flap or tassel, skirt (as in 1 Sam. 15:27; 24:4,5; Hag. 2:2).
The Jews were instructed to put tassels of twisted cords fastened to the 4 corners of the outer garment as a reminder of covenant obligation (Num. 15:38- 40; Deut. 22:12 cp. Zech. 8:23). So they saw this hem or edge of the garment as a memorial or symbolic of the word of God/divine covenant, hence the effort by some to touch it (Matt. 9:18-22; Lk. 6:19).
NB: Though Jesus observed the Old Testament requirement (Gal. 4:4,5) He criticized those who wore excessively long tassels to call attention to their piety (Matt. 23:5).
The word
‘healing’ in Mal. 4:2 came from the Hebrew marpê (pronounced
mar-paý) means curative, (concretely) a medicine, (abstractly) a cure, (figuratively) deliverance. It was also translated remedy.
It can then be concluded that there is healing, health, remedy, deliverance in the word of God emblemized by the wings or tassels (Pro. 4:20-23; Acts 10:38).
- B) THE WISDOM OF THE SAINT OF THE PRESENT DAY
While we discourage the pursuit of signs and wonders, since signs should rather follow the believer (Mk. 16:15), we must not fail to draw lessons from challenging manifestations/acts. The act of the woman with the chronic issue of blood teaches us that faith and purpose driven acts can birth exceptional supernatural experiences when nothing seems to be happening (cons. Lk. 8:43-48).
One’s knowledge determines one’s quality of life and the value one places on the WORD determines, how much one will get out of it (Pro. 24:3,4; Jos. 1:8; Ps. 1:1-3, 119:103,128,162).
The value that one places on a servant of God determines the grade of blessing that can be drawn from him (2 Kgs. 4:3-18; Phil. 4:10-19). Those that were familiar with the Lord Jesus saw Him as the son of the carpenter and got nothing thereafter, at a time multitudes were getting ecstatic blessings from Him (Mk. 6:3-5 cp. Mk. 7:24-30; 5:22-41; Matt. 8:2,5-13).
While there is ministerial decorum, the simplicity or seemless availability of a minister should not devalue him (cp. Mk. 6:4). Our Pauline ministry should not make the ministers of God look cheap as Apostle Paul did not look cheap to those that understood the worth of a servant of God (cons. Phil. 4:10-19 ct. 1 Cor. 9:11-15).
The devils are working relentlessly at this end time to erode the things of value in God’s kingdom like marriage, respect for authority, order, support to the work and house of God; soberness/evangelism (cons. Heb. 13:4, 2 Pt. 2:10-13; Rom. 13:1; 1 Cor. 14:33; 2 Cor. 9:8; Mal. 3:8-10; Acts 26:25)
The watchman must be sober and vigilant more than ever as we see the signs of the end becoming clearer than ever (Matt. 24:32-33; 1 Pt. 5:8).
We must return to the consecration, commitment, exceptionality and intentionality that the ministry was known for (Rev. 3:1-5; 1 Cor. 9:16,17,26)
As a believer engages in fellowship with the word of God (reading and meditation), habitual prayer, and addicted in the work of God’s vineyard amongst others, the healing from the wings of the Sun of righteousness will pervade in all aspects of life (2 Cor. 8:9)
The watchman must remain on the height to optimally enjoy the healing in the wings of the Sun of righteousness.
