HOARDING MESSAGES- Daily devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Eccles 7-9
HOARDING MESSAGES Saturday, March 27, 2010
MEMORIZE: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14) READ: Jonah 1:1-5 As a servant of God, you would be asked to deliver messages to people at certain times. When the message to be delivered contains elements of good news, you would be happy to do it. But there are messages that are difficult to communicate. When God is bringing judgment on someone, the recipient of such a message may not find it easy to communicate. Sometimes, you may have to pray hard or trust God for wisdom before delivering God’s message to prominent or influential people. Some believers are still hoarding messages meant for people. One characteristic of a bonafide servant of God is the ability to deliver God’s message whether good or bad, at the right time. A preacher was invited to preach at a revival meeting in Arkansas USA, when he was transported to Heaven. There, he met with patriarchs of old and in particular Paul, who told him never to change the message because of the hearers but to deliver it exactly as God has given it. Some messages are colored, disfigured or manipulated in such a way that by the time they get to the receiver, they would have changed their original form. As a servant of God, you are the channel. Your business is not to tamper with the message but to allow it to pass through you like a radio transmitter. How do you disseminate Heavenly messages today? When God sent Jonah to deliver a message on the impending judgment of God on the people of Nineveh, he refused. He chose to flee to another direction because he had turned himself into a judge - believing he could decide whether to deliver the message or not. Although he preferred seeing God’s judgment on Nineveh, he however had no right to hoard that information. Hoarding it brought untold hardship to him and those with him on the ship. Are you hoarding the salvation message from those that are about to perish? It will cause you lots of trouble. Has God sent you to deliver a message to your enemies? He has a purpose for it. Obey Him today. Refusal to deliver Heavenly messages to those we are sent has robbed many Christians of their blessings. God has sent you with the salvation message to every sinner around you; how many of them has heard that message from you? Do you distort the message when delivering it? ACTION POINT:The ability to deliver a Heavenly message to the earthly recipient without any form of distortion is a mark of faithfulness. How faithful are you?