Signs of a Good Message

Talk is cheap. And isn’t it uncouth that every Tom, Dick and Harry think they know the Bible? Isn’t it? Today I want to help you see the underlining embodiment of a very good message, so that if you hear one, you can easily tell; this is a good message. There are five credible signs to look for in a good message, these are what I call: The Five Ingredients of a Good Message. 1. A Good Message Carries Life/It Is Spirit-Filled: A message in this context is God’s word spoken or delivered to you by His messenger. And one major component of that message is life. The messages of God are intended to give us life. Jesus said “…The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life” – John 6:63. The word of God isn’t an ordinary letter it is a Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6.) However, most people only read the letter but never decipher the Spirit. Of such the Bible says: they are always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:7.) The fact that you learn or read the letter of the word doesn’t mean you know the truth of the word. The message you hear, does it carry life? 2. A Good Message is a Template for a Doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16): A doctrine is a guiding principle for living. It is that good thing you think about and act upon (Phil. 4:8). Now, a doctrine is more profitable when it is based on the word of God. So, a good message should be what you can make a doctrine; a profitable doctrine. A profitable doctrine is message/word made, while an unprofitable doctrine is man/world made. The message you hear, can you make it a doctrine (a way of life?) If someone says after all king David a man after the heart of God was an adulterer, so why should we not fornicate – you should know that is madness and not a message. Or like ‘they’ always say, Jesus turned water to wine (John 2), so we can drink ourselves to stupor – you should know that is foolishness (an unregenerate mind.) Can these two ways of thinking be a way of life for a Christian? Certainly not – it’s a bad message, a bad news, and a very bad way of life. Such groups of people know nothing, and they are thorns in the body of Christ. I’ll deal with this better in how to interpret the bible. 3. A Good Message Reproofs: To reproof is to rebuke someone for wrongdoing. If you do wrong, and all you hear is carry on, it is not easy you know – you’re in trouble. Because that’s not a message from above; maybe it’s from abroad (an imported, American-modeled message.) The word from God should reprimand you: open your eyes to see your nakedness (how divinely impoverished you’re); and then give you a clear cut clue to what you should do. 4. A Good Message Corrects: A good message should correct you and put your life on the right track. Any message that makes you think or act silly is silly. A divinely inspired message has in it the ingredient of correction. A good message has the capacity to make your life right, proper and acceptable – that’s if you’re fortunate to hear one and also receive it. Because it is one thing to hear a good message, and it is an entirely different thing to receive a good message. How do you receive a good message? Simple, believe what it says and do it. How do you believe? Change what you do, and start doing what God says. 5. A Good Message Instructs: To instruct is to teach, train and educate someone. Meaning instruction is education. As a result, a good message should educate you – deliver you from ‘divine illiteracy.’ A good message does not just give you life nor form the basis of a doctrine, it doesn’t just reproofs and corrects; it also instructs – teaching and telling you exactly what to do about your life and with your life in other to please God. The ultimate thing about a Christian message is that it is sourced from the word of God, and the word of God is God himself (John 1:1.) And the aim of every message no matter what we tag it; holiness message, prosperity message, faith message and the likes is to turn people to God. That’s the real gospel (turning many to righteousness); against such there is no good news. Once that is not the case, then our generation is in more trouble than the others. The message you hear will either make you or mare you. You have a choice!