Jeremiah 26:15
“But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.”
We live in times when if you don’t like the message, it is easy to move to another messenger who will give you a message that you do like. Churches, and I use that word loosely, abound everywhere. What I have seen happen with many Christians is, instead of dealing with their own issues that have been discovered, they would rather go to another church hoping this new pastor won’t be as “restrictive” as the previous one. The problem that these Christians face is that the messenger was not the problem, the problem was the listener who wouldn’t repent.
Jeremiah faced the same problem in his day. Judah wanted nothing to do with Jeremiah’s message. They were so angry with Jeremiah that they wanted to kill him. They thought that changing the messenger and the message would eradicate the truth of Jeremiah’s message. Jeremiah told them that they could kill him and bring in a messenger who would tell them what they wanted to hear, but that still would not change the truth of what he preached unto them.
Christian, changing the messenger is never the answer to fixing your problem. Just because you don’t like what the preacher says doesn’t make what he said wrong. Too many Christians want to change their messenger instead of facing their sin problem. You will still have to face sin’s judgment until you face your sin problem. Getting rid of the messenger doesn’t change the truth. You can run and hide, but God’s Word still remains the same. Galatians 6:7 is still true when it says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Getting rid of the messenger and the message doesn’t change the laws of sowing and reaping.
Go ahead and bury your head in the sand, but that doesn’t change that you have a sin problem. Go ahead and change churches or move to a different location, but you are still going to have to face your problem at some point. You can criticize the messenger and belittle the message, but God’s Word will still be honored and you will have to face your sin.
Let me encourage you to stop avoiding the message of the messenger. Just because you don’t like what God’s Word says doesn’t make the message wrong. You can run from the messenger, change messengers and attack the messenger and his message in an evil way, but you are still going to have to face the fact that the messenger’s message was right. Stop avoiding and attacking and start repenting and living right. That is the action that you should have concerning the message of the messenger.
What are you going to do with your sin? Are you going to bury your head in the sand and act like you didn’t hear the message or are you going to have a tender heart and face your sin? The answer should be the latter. The next time you are tempted to attack the messenger, consider the message and look at what you need to change. Always remember that when you are attacking the messenger, you are attacking the source that gave him the message and that is God. Don’t make that mistake! The best reaction to a convicting message is to change your actions.