God’s Messenger
NOTE: Rejection of God’s message is not against the messenger but against God.
What did Jesus say to at least thirty-five pairs of His followers before sending them out?
(NASB) Luke 10:10-12 “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
12 ‘I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.”
What does God’s messenger know? The message God is sending to people who need to hear it.
What does God’s messenger not know? How that message will be received.
What does the messenger need to do, whether the message is received or not? Be faithful in giving out the message, the Good News of faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how it is received.
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. He gave dire warnings to his people and they rejected him and the message. How did Jeremiah react to rejection? He wept; yet he was faithful in saying God’s truth and warned the people, repeatedly.
If you are being rejected, ostracized, persecuted, etc. because of your belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, REMEMBER: God is being rejected!
Jeremiah wept for his people, when reading some of his warnings, the idea comes through that he spoke with tears on his face and in his voice.
Great preachers have been known to speak with tears when they give out dire warnings of God’s judgment to those who do not know Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer. God’s love does that!
The messenger is not responsible for the reaction of people; he/she is responsible to God for giving out His words of truth.
What is the message? “…the kingdom of God has come near.’
To whom do you need to tell that “…the kingdom of God has come near”?