Did You Get My Message?

Matthew 11:10
This is the one about whom it is written: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”

If someone is really trying to reach you they will make sure they leave you a message. Oftentimes, when people call me and don’t leave a message, I think to myself they must not have wanted anything. However, if it is someone I’m in close relationship with I will call them back if I see that I missed their call. There are so many ways to leave a message these days that we are without excuse in being reached. We have cell phones, answering machines, voice mail, text messages, Tango, Voxer, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, etc. If somebody wants to reach you they can get you but it’s also necessary for you to receive and respond to the message. It can be frustrating when people leave you a message and you don’t respond. It can also be detrimental for you because the message they left might affect your future.

Every day, every week God sends out a message to his people via text. God leaves us a word in the text of his Holy Word and it’s often delivered through his messengers, prophets, preachers, and teachers.. God leaves you a message because he cares about you and he wants to prepare you for your future. In Jeremiah 29:11 God said, “I have plans for you, plans for you to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” But the next verse God tells Jeremiah that he has to return the call. “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

God’s messages fall into one of three categories according to Paul as found in 2 Timothy 4:2 when he tells Timothy to Preach the word in season and out of season. He says the word of God should:

1. Correct—when God gives us a message it’s to correct our course before we self-destruct.
2. Rebuke—when God gives us a message it’s because we’ve already messed up and he loves enough to discipline us.
3. Encourage—sometimes God simply sends a message to strengthen us when we get discouraged.

God always sends out a messenger to prepare you for what’s next in your life but you have to check your messages. Jesus was talking about John the Baptist as the messenger of God who prepared the people for his arrival. He wanted to make sure the people knew what a gift they had in John and if they had gotten his message. When you get a message, make sure you:

1. Receive it. Write it down let it get in your spirit so that you know the word. When you hear preaching or teaching you should take notes so you can process what’s being said.
2. Review it. Go back and listen to messages again and again. That’s why you should purchase sermons or go to our New Direction Christian Church App to listen to sermons over and over again to make sure you got it.
3. Respond in a timely manner. Whenever you hear a message there is something you are supposed to do that is time sensitive. Respond ASAP.
4. Return the Call. Once you get the message there is somebody that you need to reach out to with the message you got. Jesus told his disciples, “Go therefore and teach all men whatsoever I have taught you.”

Dear God,

Thank you for sending your messenger ahead of me. I got your message and I’m doing everything to carry out what you asked me to do. Keep talking to me because your servant is listening.

In Jesus Name,

Amen