{"id":202,"date":"2014-10-23T00:06:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T04:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/?p=202"},"modified":"2015-10-17T09:13:57","modified_gmt":"2015-10-17T13:13:57","slug":"i-am-just-the-messenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/i-am-just-the-messenger\/","title":{"rendered":"I Am Just the Messenger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-206\" src=\"http:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2-300x251.png\" alt=\"Messenger\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2-300x251.png 300w, https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2-768x644.png 768w, https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2.png 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I am just the messenger.\u00a0 I have been entrusted with the most valuable and urgent of messages, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>It is not my responsibility to be certain that the recipient likes the message, agrees with the message, nor responds to the message.\u00a0 I cannot avoid giving the message because I fear it may be rejected.\u00a0 I cannot fail to deliver it because I am unsure if it will be well-received.\u00a0 My success or failure is not found in the responses of those to whom I deliver the message, simply in whether or not I deliver it.\u00a0 I am just the messenger.<\/p>\n<p>I have no right to change the message to make it agreeable, or acceptable.\u00a0 I have no right to alter any terms, nor to offer any promises or assurances not stated therein.\u00a0 I have no right to insert my own opinions, ideas, or views.\u00a0 I do not need to \u201cpretty it up\u201d, nor \u201cwater it down\u201d. \u00a0I am just the messenger.<\/p>\n<p>I must deliver this message clearly, concisely, consistently.\u00a0 I must speak it fully and faithfully.\u00a0 I must recognize its urgency, and act accordingly.\u00a0 I must convey it honestly and honorably.\u00a0 I must not be distracted, deterred, or delayed.\u00a0 I must not fall into wickedness, falter when I am weak, nor faint when I am weary.\u00a0 I must stand firmly, walk circumspectly, and run patiently.\u00a0 It must not be of any consequence to me the location to which I am assigned, the language in which I must speak, nor the length of time which is required to deliver it.\u00a0 I am just the messenger.<\/p>\n<p>I am to deliver the message I have been given, by the method I am instructed, for the purpose it is intended.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t my message; it is His.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t my method; it is His.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t my mission; it is His.\u00a0 I should have no motives, other than to fulfill His will.\u00a0 I should seek no honor if it is accepted, nor feel shame if it is refused.\u00a0 I am just the messenger.<\/p>\n<p>It is an honor to do His work.\u00a0 It is a privilege to be commissioned to deliver such an important message.\u00a0 If it is rejected, I should not be surprised.\u00a0 He was rejected.\u00a0 If it is scorned, I should not be shocked. \u00a0He was scorned.\u00a0 If it is mocked, and I am mocked along with it, I should bear it gladly, knowing it is not for my sake, but for His.\u00a0 Will I be despised for bearing His message?\u00a0 If I bear it faithfully, it is certain that I will be despised by many.\u00a0 Will I be misunderstood?\u00a0 Falsely accused?\u00a0 Counted a fool?\u00a0 Doubtless I will. But there will be some who will receive it gladly.\u00a0 There will be some who will be eternally grateful.\u00a0 There will be some who will be encouraged.\u00a0 There will be some who will join the ranks, and gladly take up the message themselves.<\/p>\n<p>And one day, when I stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to give account, I hope I will hear Him say, \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant.\u00a0 Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.\u201d\u00a0 With grateful heart, I will kneel before Him and praise Him for His goodness, His grace, His Gospel, His unspeakable gift, knowing I am worthy of nothing, for I am just the messenger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.\u201d (Rom. 1:16)<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!\u201d (Rom. 10:15)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am just the messenger.\u00a0 I have been entrusted with the most valuable and urgent of messages, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not my responsibility to be certain that the recipient likes the message, agrees with the message, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/i-am-just-the-messenger\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[46,42,1],"tags":[68,74,88,87],"class_list":["post-202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotional-thoughts","category-inspiration","category-uncategorized","tag-faithful","tag-gospel","tag-jesus-christ","tag-messenger"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Introducing-2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4L3GS-3g","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christiancompositions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}