Thursday, September 7, 2017

Accepting and Moving on From REJECTION as a Christian #JustBeingHere #Rejection





Blind Rejection


Paul's conversion from Saul to Paul is astounding and at times undervalued for what it really meant.
Being a man in good standing in society and flipping his thoughts and opinions to something so foreign to popular thought of the times is something we really just cannot imagine, though we may think we can.

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And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” Acts 9:20-21
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Message Rejection


One particular instance of Paul's desire to change the minds of others to what was now undeviating truth to himself can actually give us some insight to dealing with rejection.
Paul travels to Antioch with Barnabas and preaches to Jew and Gentile alike. They want to hear more, but the crowds are so filled with Gentiles that the Jews loose it . One would think they would rejoice and accept the completion of the law which held them in place for so many long years, but what was their response?

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On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you[f] a light for the Gentiles,
    that you[g] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[h]

Acts 13:44-47
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Dust off Rejection

 

Being rejected is a hard thing to move past


When we are rejected for something as important as salvation it can be even harder. We, who are giving our testimony may pour out our hearts and souls in love for others to just begin to see and accept the Savior, yet we can be "contradicted and abused".

How do Paul and Barnabas deal with this ?

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50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:50-52
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 It's truly comforting to see Paul using tactics similar to what Jesus dictated to those he personally sent out when placed in a situation like this.

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But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ Luke 10:10-11
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We are called to do as Paul did, claiming Jesus as our Savior, but at times the crowd we are bringing this message to will be like that of these Jews in Antioch. We have an interesting choice to make.
We can let the rejection of others cause us to quit all together, we can constantly beat our words upon stone hearts, or we can accept that we have no power to change others and move on to a different crowd, just as Paul did.

Invitation Rejection


The message Christ gave about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a wedding feast really showed how this hardship would happen.

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Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
Matthew 22:1-3
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Those who were set to be invited refused to come, even after a second personal invitation. Those invited to the feast explained that they had more important things to do.

If we understand the importance of a wedding and see the enormous disrespect given by those invited, then we can be even more shocked to realize this is a spiritual example of how the Kingdom of Heaven is rejected. Paul's rejection of his message by the Jews really begins to come clear understanding it through this parable, especially when we see the depth some of those invited to the wedding feast treated the servants of the one throwing the feast.

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“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Matthew 22:4-7
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God Encourages Thru Rejection


Paul was often sought after by those who were Jewish, claiming Paul was breaking laws and deserving of death, but the message of Jesus being Christ was never quenched from his lips!

God is an encourager, He will always desire us to continue in His work no matter the opposition.

God encourages Paul in Corinth:
 
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And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Acts 18:9-11 (emphasis mine)
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Paul clearly went from those who were properly invited to those in the streets, just as was talked about in Jesus' parable. Is there some other group we should turn to when we have been rejected?

Should we be turning to others?

 

The answer has a yes and a no.


The No?
The kingdom of heaven is here now, as well as to be later. We are to a point where every person is eligible for acceptance. It may have been Paul and Peter, as well as a few others, who opened the door to move from the chosen of God, but the banquet is ready and set for all those willing to accept it now.

The Yes?
We can move from those who, right now, do not wish to accept the message and turn to others, but no longer letting classifications keep us in bounds for who can know and accept this wonderful news!

We should be prepared for acceptance or rejection, but fear neither. We should be ready to shake the dust from us and let the message sink in or wash off those we have provided it to.

Are you wearing the right thing?


The final thing we must all be certain to do is be dressed for the occasion:

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“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:11-14
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Could it be called unfair to do this to someone who was only pulled from the street to attend a wedding?
Certainly they just did not have the time to get ready, or maybe they just lacked the resources? Can we not give the benefit to those in this case?
No. It seems not.
When Paul diligently began to seek and teach the gentiles, they took to the message and changed themselves according to the truth being given to them. Obviously not all of them, but they were grateful for the chance to be accepted.

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46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you[f] a light for the Gentiles,
    that you[g] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[h]
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

Acts 13:46-49
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As we personally accept this wonderful gift we need to do the same.

Preaching it is one thing, living it is another


Be certain to be dressed for the part in speech and in behavior. It IS important.
Standing by this integrity will help you when things are tough, and always know there are people willing to hear the message of Christ.

Have you ever been rejected for your message of Christ? What did you do in response?



Derek is a Children's Pastor and Men's Leader in his home church, Mechanical Designer @ T-tek, Book Reviewer, and Prestidigitator. He is a Fantasy reader, Whovian, and Funko Pop and Toy Collector. Derek lives in Alabama with his wife and four children.
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