7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Romans 15:7
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Acts 2:46
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:6
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
But sadly, there are times when fellowship is broken, and we suffer rejection. There are times we bring it upon ourselves with our words or actions. Depending on the maturity of the offended party, true repentance can be met with varying degrees of being restored to fellowship.
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Galatians 6:1
Often, the offended party simply does not wish to forgive, and so there are very convenient labels such as "they are not truly sincere", or "they are just sorry because they got caught". It lets them off the hook. I personally feel it's much better to be caught and end up sorry than to NOT be caught, and continue in sin or in some particular offense!! Sometimes, we just don't even realize the gravity of our own bad behavior until we do "get caught". Revelations that come by way of exposure are painful, but they get the work done in leading us godly sorrow which brings us to repentance!
Rejection can happen because of personal flaws which are not sinful in and of themselves, but are nevertheless off-putting. These often have to do with a person's upbringing, and can cover a wide spectrum of grievances from having bad hygiene issues to being too insecure or self-conscious, or overly conceited with an entitlement attitude that makes people want to run the other way. Unclean spirits very familiar to these flaws can attach themselves to a person, and are usually generational in nature, and these need to be cut off in the Name of Jesus before the pattern of rejection caused by these things can truly be broken in a person's life.
Then, there are times when we are rejected because spirits of jealousy are at work. These spirits are insidious in infecting the body of Christ with discord, and have the ability to take half-truths, and turn them into fully-loaded vehicles carrying every reason in the world to shun a person. I've seen this spirit at work in churches to cause constant turmoil and "whisper campaigns" going in a congregation. God bless the shepherd who can see this wolf in the midst, and protect the flock from this devouring, even murderous spirit.
6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Song of Songs 8:6
Rejection can also happen because it's part of God's weaning process in your life. It could be that God is causing the umbilical cord to be cut from the thing that birthed you that you might grow and mature in God.
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. Isaiah 28:9
If you've been rejected, you can usually find yourself fitting into one of these categories. If you've done every thing you know how to do to fix the problem (prayed and followed scriptural principles), and you still find yourself rejected, it is time now for you to see the BLESSING in rejection!!!
But, before I share with you what I very clearly heard the Spirit tell me this morning is the "blessing in rejection", I wish to make sure that you realize I am not speaking of forsaking godly principles, and good spiritual groundwork that may have been done in your life through the very same ones who are rejecting you. It's important you see the Lord as the source of those things, no matter whom He used to get you rooted and grounded in Him.
This is the blessing in rejection: When you have been rejected, you are no longer beholden to those who have rejected you. You are FREE to pursue God in a way that you were not when you were bound to those who held your soul captive in relationship to them. The very rejection that brought your soul low in sorrow and pain and grief can be the very thing God uses to catapult you into His will in a more perfect way, and into a more productive mode of thinking and doing things that will bring blessing to your life, and the lives of others, too!!
When you love someone, it's simply human nature to wish to please that person. You may even make some personal adjustments to facilitate the relationship. You may hate country music, but if you fall in love with a cowboy, you might quickly learn to develop a taste for it. You may decide it wouldn't be so bad after all to trade your 4 inch heels (nowadays probably 6 inches) for a pair of cowboy boots. And riding around in his pick-up truck may make you as happy as a lark while your flashy red convertible sits in the driveway.
But, when that man rejects you, you may do cartwheels trying to get back into his good graces. When reality hits that the relationship is OVER just what are you going to do when you finally accept that he is gone, and gone for GOOD??? Most likely you're going to throw out the cowboy boots, put back on your 6 inch heels, and take a ride in your convertible with the top down singing Motown music! Being rejected can bring you to the place of being free to BE YOURSELF. What a burden lifts when you can just BE YOURSELF!!! Those boots really were soooo uncomfortable!!! And that truck got me sick to my stomach every time we bumped along on those back country roads! And I just love wearing this red scarf that matches my sporty little red car perfectly!!!
I recall a little scene in my own life. There was a song that I particularly liked. I liked the words. I liked the music, too. Then a sister in the Lord whom I highly respected told me the song was silly and "soulish". Knowing what a powerfully anointed woman of God she was, I immediately rejected that song NOT because it was truly "soulish", but because I was seeking to please her, and did not want to be rejected by her. Well, that woman did end up rejecting me, and after much prayer and agony of soul and then coming to the realization the situation would not reverse, what a victory when I could sit down at the piano, play that song again, and be totally blessed by it...even though maybe she was right. Maybe it WAS silly and soulish. It still ministered to me!!! Being rejected by that woman set me free, released me, from being overly concerned about her opinion of things.
Let me ask you this question: How long are you going to continue in a pattern of trying to please those who have rejected you? You owe them nothing but to behave yourself in a civil manner should you happen to find yourself in their company. Beyond that: absolutely nothing. I am not suggesting this attitude of heart in any belligerent or arrogant manner. Rather, it's to be done in a spirit of humility, quietly pulling in the reins of your own soul.
2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Psalm 131:2
When you keep trying to please someone who refuses to be pleased, you are simply leaving your soul wide open for more hurt. If you have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying here, you will release yourself into what God has for you in the way of relationships that may prove to be much more enduring, and beneficial to your spiritual life over the long haul.
Not only does rejection set you free to BE YOURSELF, it also RELEASES YOU to spiritually explore new godly options in worship, fellowship, and fresh and new ways and methods of doing things that pertain to your spiritual life, your walk with God, and the outworking of His kingdom through your life. I have seen some people who have learned this principle. When they got delivered from trying to please those who rejected them, a whole new world opened up to them!!! New doors of fellowship opened up to them. They began to have ears to hear a "new sound". They started going to meetings they would never have gone to in the past. They started listening to preachers who were even "black listed" in their former sphere of fellowship, to find they were not heretics, but true servants of the Lord!
On the subject of rejection, Jesus spoke these words:
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Matthew 10:14
Jesus is speaking very specifically here regarding the rejection of the gospel message. But there are some principles to be learned from this scripture. Jesus told the disciples to "shake off the dust" of their feet. When one goes into a place, whatever is on the ground will no doubt stick to the sole of the shoe in some measure, and even more so to bare feet, being mingled to whatever was on those feet prior to going into the place.
Dust speaks of the earth, which speaks of the flesh. We are of the earth, earthy. From the dust of the earth, God created man. So, in essence, what the Lord is saying is to shake off those soulish things, those fleshly things that happen in our walk (our fellowship) that precipitated the spirit of rejection so that we can be free of those things!
Don't let the soulish and carnal ways (dust) of those who do not receive you continue to cling to you. Shake it all off, and get on with your life!!!
Father, in the Name of Jesus, I ask you to cause Your people to see that there is a blessing in rejection. When we have done all we can to restore fellowship, and yet it seems the doors have been shut in a way that no man can open them, we recognize Your hand in all of it, and we ask You to turn the rejection into a great spiritual RELEASE. We trust you to show us very clearly what is ahead, and let us cling with a tenacity to the new hope You're giving to our lives in the same way we've clung to the past in all of our trying to fix things that were not meant to be fixed, but rather released to You. Let all these things be done in Your Name, and for Your glory. And this is the day the Lord hath made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it!!! In Jesus Name, Amen and AMEN!!
SUGGESTED READING: Ephesians 2:1-6. Allow the Lord to drop into your spirit the rich truth that the spiritual releases He brings into our lives even through that ejector seat of rejection are hastening the reality of our being quickened together with Him, and seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus!!!
SUGGESTED READING: Ephesians 2:1-6. Allow the Lord to drop into your spirit the rich truth that the spiritual releases He brings into our lives even through that ejector seat of rejection are hastening the reality of our being quickened together with Him, and seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus!!!
Amen and Amen!!!
Always your sister in Jesus,
Clo D.