Rejection is and can be a horrible thing to deal with, in these days of uncertainty the last thing anyone wants to deal with is rejection. We could be hit with an object before we have to deal with the sting of rejection, we could even deal with things said about us, we could deal with gossip but not rejection. Rejection is a terrible feeling and it is very much real, it isn’t imaginary or made up, and the truth is that people who feel rejected hate the feeling.
People often have a hard time believing that Jesus understood rejection, they question the heart of our Savior when they are going through a time of feeling rejected asking questions of how can God let this happen or if God loves me why do I feel the way I do? And this is their reality no one can tell you otherwise when your going through it because this battle of fighting though rejection is absolutely real and when we feel the way it is as if we are on our own island of rejection. No one else is with us, no one else feels the way you do, no one understands you. Beloved there is one who the Bible bible says has gone through the terror of time to defeat that wicked spirit and His name is Jesus Christ.
Rejection is a hard emotion to deal with and an even harder message to hear. When we are faced with rejection, it can be a hit to our ego, or it can make us question if we are good enough. The greatest successes will be the first to tell you that they would not be the people they are today without having to face rejection head on and deciding whether to throw in the towel, or what different they need to try.
Sometimes what we learn from rejection, ends up ultimately making us the best version of ourselves, and in the best possible position. So don’t be upset when people reject you because the reality is that nice things are rejected all the time by people that cannot afford them.
Jesus beloved was rejected, yet He is everything that we need, He was desired by man the Bible says yet was loved by God. And so we are confronted with this truth and now have to make a decision but the problem is we feel alone on this island of rejection.
1st Point “Why have you forsaken me?”
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?””
??Matthew? ?27:46? ?NKJV??
Life is difficult only because people make it that way, people create the world they live in. Problems will always be a part of our make up whether they come from us or those that we love we will have moments of joy and moments of hurt but it is a reality, that we are confronted with the spirit of rejection only when things seems to be going sour, right, think with me for a moment when we are at our high time we have those around us with the high fives and the smiles but very seldom does anyone really stick around when we are in our valley. Unfortunately even those that we love and say they love us will often have rejected us when things go downward. I want us to go to the garden of Gethsemane. We are looking at Jesus praying and being ready to taken away to be killed, He is with His disciples those who have said we will never leave you those who He loved and invested in and has given His time for and yet the Bible is very clear that the moment of confrontation, the moment things got tough and they felt helpless they began to fear exceedingly to a place where their fear overcame their faith and love for Jesus and fled and left Him to Himself. Think with me for a moment now Jesus is on His own island of rejection.
“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.”
??Matthew? ?26:47-56? ?NKJV??
At this point, all the disciples scattered, running for their own safety. A few (Peter and John, at least) followed back to see what would happen at a distance. None of them stood beside Jesus and said, “I have given my life to this Man. What you accuse Him of, you may accuse me of also.” Instead, it was fulfilled what Jesus said: All of you will be made to stumble because of Me (Matthew 26:31).
“We never know our hears upon the prospect of great trials, until we come to grapple with them, and to be engaged in them. These disciples had all said they would not forsake him; when it comes to the push, not one of them stands by him.”
Think with me how Jesus had to process this rejection, He knew it was going to be this way yet He had a human side to Him that He too felt the sting of what many of us deal with on a daily basis. Those that have promised us loyalty have now fled from our side and now we battle trusting anyone. Hearing the lie that your not good enough or that something is wrong with you whispering in your ear just as the devil tried to whisper to Jesus in the garden when He was fasting the forty days and nights. See beloved the devil doesn’t play fair and strikes when comes to you as a friend when all along He is a deceptive murderer who just wants to take the very fight out of you to destroy you from your calling. How does he do it by making you believe a lie and placing you on the island of rejection.
What is on the island of rejection? What’s on it? On this island there is abandonment, refusal, frustration, disappointment, regrets, feeling of alienation, failure, disownment, disapproval and other things as well that we should not have to deal with and when we are on the island of rejection we are crying out just as our Savior did screaming My God, my God what have you forsaken me?
2nd Point “I will never leave you nor forsake you “
A young preacher-to-be, having passed his doctrinal examinations, faced his trial sermon. In a large auditorium sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen. When he stepped into the pulpit, the vast room and the searching, critical eyes caused him to falter. Two weeks later his name appeared among the l05 rejected for the ministry that year. Later that day he wired his father the one word, ‘Rejected,’ and sat down to write in his diary: ‘Everything seems dark but He knows best.’ Quickly came the reply: ‘Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven.’ Dad.
We are in this place of rejection and now our minds are racing, things that we never thought of before have now become part of our make up in our minds, we are battling who could we trust, sizing up the situation and now we are ready to take on whoever we need to in our own strength because remember every one deserted you. Only to see we have done little to no damage. Because on this island of rejection because we felt rejected even by God we don’t pray to Him as we should so we are fighting a battle that isn’t ours. Think with me for a moment of what Peter did in the garden.
With one sword, Peter was willing to take on a small army of men, yet he couldn’t pray with Jesus for one hour. Prayer is the best work we can do, and often the most difficult.
With his sword, Peter accomplished very little. He only cut off one ear, and really just made a mess that Jesus had to clean up by healing the severed ear (Luke 22:51). When Peter moved in the power of the world, he only cut off ears. But when he was filled with the Spirit, using the Word of God, Peter pierced hearts for God’s glory. “It would have been far better if Peter’s hands had been clasped in prayer.”
See beloved when we go off the flesh we make a mess out of the situation see beloved the island of rejection in an island that those who forgot to pray to God still occupy. When you allow the spirit of rejection to have a hold of your heart, you cant see God. When rejection has covered your view you cant see God and so you don’t pray.
Listen to me God said I will never leave you nor forsake you, and when He said it He meant it, He didn’t say that just to watch you fall onto that island of rejection after a shipwreck, no He gave you a life saver to get you to safety and to remind you that even though you have messed up I will provide a way for you, after you made the wrong turn I will cause you to go right, see we have to process life through God’s eyes and not the lies of Satan. He said I will always be here for you. The question is do you believe it?
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
??John? ?14:18? ?NKJV??
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””
??Hebrews? ?13:5? ?NKJV??
And so we are left with this truth to digest that through the mishaps and the rejection of other God still loves us enough to remind us that even though you might be rejected on earth I have made a way for you to be accepted in Heaven and I did with my son Jesus Christ. The question will you accept the invitation?
3rd Point “Don’t marvel that they hated you they hate me first and I have a plan for you”
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
??John? ?15:18? ?NKJV??
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
??Jeremiah? ?29:11? ?NKJV??
Rejection beloved is a part of this worlds make up, it is full of rejection every where you go, that is why people reject others because they too have been rejected and so this saying stands true that the victim becomes the victimizer but the same stands true with the saying do unto to others. So if we were to find ourselves accepting the love of God through Jesus Christ and being embraced by His loving arms how much easier it would be for us to give to others what we have received
The must come a time when we have to look at the grand scheme of things and ask the question what does God want out of me? Think with me for a moment. Does God want me to live in rejection, fear, anxiety, does God want me to live in regret and shame, hatred and neglect? Absolutely not, God in a God of miracles and holy desires to fill us with the wonderful things his purpose has to offer and yet we find ourselves on the other side of this because of the lies of the enemy trying to pull us onto the island of rejection. This is not God’s plan, God in accepting and God is not down upon us with eyes of hatred but with grace calling out to us in our most vulnerable time whispering in our ears I’m am here to save you and accept you if you would accept me.
Beloved you might not know what the future holds but you must step forward with grit anchored in grace.
“Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
??Matthew? ?21:42? ?NKJV??
Think with me for a moment, the Bible says the stone that the builders rejected has become the great of the least and this was the Lord’s doing and it was marvelous. Listen to me if you haven’t heard anything else when everyone else has decided to reject you and has decided to put you aside God is planning to make something great out of you. Do you hear me this morning Gods work is marvelous so don’t be perplexed when your not accepted by the world or those who are apart of it because God is not of this world but wants to save it. See as I close beloved God in scripture has made it very clear that when he does something it is to the fullest and so don’t be like those who pursue the flesh you would only go but so far, those who follow the world you will only go but so far but be what God has called you to be and embrace the promises of God so you can experience the wonders of a mighty Savior this morning. God is about accepting what others have rejected. You do not have to live and die in the island of rejection rather be saved from this perverse generation and receive Christ this morning.
A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper, and the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. “Young man,” said the professor, “if you can tell me something God can do, I will give you a big, shiny apple.” The boy thought for a moment and then replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!”
God is a God of the miraculous beloved be blessed and come into all God has for your life.
