DIRECTIVES FOR THE TEACHERS

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2 DIRECTIVES FOR THE TEACHERS I n preparing for the Bible Study Class, it s very important that all Cell Leaders and Bible study class teachers listen to the audio message - The Fourth Man, available for download on the Pastor Chris Digital Library. They should also personally study this outline in preparation for the cell meeting. During the meeting, please ensure your members have their bibles and all the scriptures in the outline are read; members have to look into their bibles while the scriptures are read for proper assimilation. Please note that all scripture references are in the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise stated. In addition, don t rush through the subject as you teach; remember that our intention is to have every member of the class understand the subject matter so that they can understand what the Bible teaches on the subject. 1 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

3 Last month, we reviewed in detail the Message of the Year 2019: The Year of Lights ; this rightly positioned us to shine brightly this year. This month, we would study a teaching message titled: The Fourth Man. This study would be divided into 2 parts, so as to properly cover the subject. PART 1 (February Week 2) 1. The First Man (Joseph, Son of Jacob) 2. The Second Man (Joseph, Mary s Husband) PART 2 (February Week 3) 3. The Third Man (Joseph of Arimathaea) 4. The Fourth Man 2 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

4 INTRODUCTION THEME SCRIPTURE For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2: G od s desire is to have all men saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. That s why we preach the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is God s instrument for change, and it s important we are conscious that there is no other way to salvation except through the Gospel. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). This Gospel has been committed to your trust, and God is depending, trusting and relying on you to tell it to everyone in your world. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). 3 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

5 Thus, our study on the Fourth Man expounds on three important men in Scripture that were given responsibilities directly related with preserving God s people and making sure the gospel of Christ is established in the earth, and how they handled the responsibility. This study will awaken and increase your passion for soul winning in this year of Lights, as well as deepen your convictions about the Gospel committed to your trust. Therefore, we would commence our study from the first man named Joseph. 4 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

6 THE FIRST MAN (JOSEPH, SON OF JACOB) THEME SCRIPTURE And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. Genesis 45: I n the days of Jacob, the Bible shows that there was a severe famine all over the face of the earth, including Canaan where Jacob and his family dwelt (Genesis 41:56). God s vision to multiply Israel as the sand on the seashore and make her descendants great as He told Abraham was at stake. God therefore needed a man who could be trusted to help Him preserve Israel and to make His vision for Israel come to pass, and He found a man named Joseph and committed to him this great charge of preserving a posterity for Israel. What a responsibility! All of God s vision for Israel was in Joseph s hand; he could either destroy or protect it. He went through the ordeal of being sold as a slave by his brothers, wrongly judged by Potiphar, and put in prison. When he later became Prime Minister of Egypt, second in power to Pharaoh, he could have decided to take revenge and destroy his brothers because of what they did to him; nevertheless, he had respect for his calling, knowing that what God 5 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

7 wanted him to do was a gift of trust. In Genesis 45:5, he reminded his brothers saying, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. Hallelujah! Joseph obeyed God and through him, Israel was preserved and the vision of God prospered. 6 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

8 THE SECOND MAN (JOSEPH, MARY S HUSBAND) THEME SCRIPTURE An angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him Matthew 2: I n the Scriptures, we find at various times that God entrusted men with His Word to carry out His purposes and vision in the earth. This tells us how important man is in God s agenda, so much so that when the Lord Jesus Himself was born and His life was in danger as a young Child, God didn t send an angel to protect Him, rather He entrusted His safety to another man in Scripture named Joseph. God gave Joseph an instruction to secure the child and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). He depended on Joseph s obedience to His Instructions for the safety and preservation of His Son; this means that the salvation of the world was in Joseph s hands! There was a genuine threat to the life of Jesus, and once again, God trusted a man to keep Him safe, and preserve the salvation of mankind. 7 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)

9 CONCLUSION THEME SCRIPTURE And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it... Ezekiel 22: G od has entrusted the Gospel to you today, will He find you trustworthy to act swiftly like He did with the first and second Joseph? This is the year of Lights, thus, clarity has come, leadership has come, empowerment has come, and you have been set for signs and seasons. Tell of His good news everywhere, because God is depending on you to reach those in your world with the gospel of salvation. 8 T h e F o u r t h M a n (P a r t 1)