INTRODUCTION
• PC VIDEO
• SLIDE #1
• One of the most difficult dark emotions we can deal with can be the issue of rejection.
• I bet every one of us has felt the sting of rejection at some point in our life. I would imagine there may be many here today who are dealing with the aftershocks of feeling the sting of rejection.
• I think we can all relate to the deep hurt that comes with rejection, the loss of confidence and sometimes even the desire to no longer live life.
• One of my friends in High school took his own life when his girlfriend broke up with him over the phone, he then went and got his 4/10 and killed himself while on the phone with her.
• Fred was a very nice looking young man who never really felt the sting of rejection.
• Not all go obviously go to that extreme, but many still suffer from the pain of rejection even many years after it happened.
• Today we are going to examine Luke 9:1-6 along with a couple of other passages to see that the hurtful issue of rejection be dealt with.
• Being rejected by someone does not have to mean the end of the world for us.
• Let’s turn to Luke 9:1-6
• In this passage, Jesus us getting ready to send out the 12 Apostles to ministry. He is giving them instructions as to how to carry out the mission.
• SLIDE #2
• Luke 9:1–3 (ESV) 9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.
• Let us begin by see that…
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
We can better handle rejection if we…
I. Understand what is truly important.
• This message is a bit difficult for me to deliver because I do not want anyone to think I am downplaying the hurt that comes with rejection or the emotional scars that can left behind.
• I faced a lot of rejection as a youth; I was not one of the rich kids, although we were not poor by any stretch.
• I was not in the “in” crowds, I always felt like I was on the outside looking in.
• This was one of the reasons I loved sports, especially football. On the field I was at the very least their equal, plus I got the put the wood to folks on the football field!
• One of the things that can help us deal with rejection is by knowing what is really important.
• Jesus is getting ready to send the Apostles out on an important mission. The work was going to be difficult, not everyone was going to be receptive.
• If the Apostles were not aware of what was important, what do you think would have happened when they come across their first rejection?
• They may have given up or they may have gotten so fixated on the one who rejected their work they may have stopped until they could figure out why they were rejected.
• The mission was important, rejection was going to be part of the mission, later we will look at how Jesus taught the Apostles to deal with rejection.
• When we think about it, when someone rejects us, in the big scheme of things, there are more important things.
• For my friend Fred, was got dumped by a very pretty girl when he was 15 that he had dated for a few months.
• Sure the rejection hurt, but for Fred, he had a great future ahead of him, there would be plenty of other pretty girls, but he could not see that.
• If we allow ourselves to get blinded by the sting we feel from rejection, we can miss what is really important in life.
• SLIDE #4
• Romans 8:31 (ESV) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
• As I matured I realized that all those folks who would not include me in their group were really not that important.
• What is important is pleasing my God and my WIFE! They are what matter.
• I have had a few rejections in my ministry, they do hurt, but ultimately if I can look in the mirror and know I did what God called me to do, I cannot be hurt be the rejection.
• Jesus reminds us of this in Luke 10:16
• SLIDE #5
• Luke 10:16 (ESV) “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
• People get rejected all the time, it hurts but we need to realize something else.
• SLIDE #6
We can better handle rejection if we understand that…
II. God accepts what man rejects.
• One of the things I learned over time was that no matter who rejects me, God accepts me!
• WE see many examples in the Bible of this.
• In the Old Testament when God was going to replace Saul as King, he sent Samuel to the house of Jesse because one of Jesse’s sons was going to get the call to be King.
• Let me read from 1 Samuel 16.
• 1 Samuel 16:1–12 (ESV) 16 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
• 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
• SLIDE #6
• 1 Samuel 16:7
• People reject people for all the wrong reasons. God will not reject you, He knows your name!
• WE also have Jesus dealing with the Woman caught in adultery in John 8.
• The Pharisees and others wanted to stone her for her sin.
• They wanted to reject her and kill her. Jesus said he who is without sin, you cast the first stone! They all walked away.
• The Jesus tells her in verses 10-11
• SLIDE #8
• John 8:10–11 (ESV) Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
• Jesus accepted her but He also told her to make some changes in her life.
• The Apostles were not the most desirable folks. Jesus embraced them and used them.
• God accepts what man rejects. Jesus Himself was rejected by man, but accepted by God!
• When a person rejects you, remember, God accepts you!
• Let’s go back to Luke 9, we will finish with verses 4-6
• SLIDE #9
• Luke 9:4–6 (ESV) And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
• SLIDE #10
We can better handle rejection if we listen to…
III. How Jesus tells us to handle rejection.
• Jesus tells the Apostles what they are to do WHEN they are rejected, He tells them to shake the dust from their feet as a testimony against them!
• The disciples were not to see or feel this as personal rejection or as personal failure. They were to see people rejecting God’s kingdom.
• Shaking the dust off their feet showed that they separated themselves entirely from every particle that had to do with the village.
• The gesture was a way of communicating that they would have nothing more to do with the town, as it stood self-condemned.
• SLIDE #11
• Acts 13:51 (ESV) But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.
• Paul and Barnabas were run out of the district so they did what Jesus had commanded in Luke.
• So what is Jesus saying? When we are rejected, we need to leave and go on with life.
• That is not an easy thing to do, but we need to work really hard at not letting one who rejects us ruin our life.
• When we are rejected, see it as a sign that we do not need to be with that person or in that situation.
• Instead of thinking, how bad off I am, think about what a great person the one who rejected you will be missing!
• You are valuable in God’s eyes and if the one who rejects you cannot see that, then you are better off without them.
CONCLUSION
• Rejection is and can be very hard to deal with.
• Failure to deal with rejection can change the course of our life. Just because someone rejects you does not make you a failure or a reject, just maybe the problem is with the one who rejected you!
• Jesus will never reject you, no matter what you have done.
• The door to Jesus is open, will you come in?
• Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, Go and sin no more!
• Jesus loves you and He wants to best for you, so come to Him and let Him change your life so you can reach your fullest potential!
• Do not let rejection from the world make you think you are rejected by God!
