Gaylord Diaz's Blog

THE DEMONIC ROOTS OF REJECTION

Unfortunately, rejection is a strong, deep-rooted problem. In a sense, it’s hard to get rid of it because there’s such a strong spirit of condemnation, unworthiness, and unbelief that keeps a person bound in perpetual rejection. We can preach and counsel till the cows come home, but the problem remains because of the spiritual, or rather, the demonic,  root of the problem.

You see, rejection is not just a human feeling, emotion, or mentality. It’s a demonic oppression. There’s a demon called the spirit of rejection whose sole task is  to make you feel rejected and make you think you’re rejected. Now the spirit of rejection doesn’t work alone or by itself. It works in tandem with other demonic spirits. That is, when you’re dealing with a spirit of rejection you’re dealing with several other spirits as well. Here are some of them.

• A spirit of unworthiness. This demon does what its name is. It convinces you you’re no good and unworthy of God. Unworthy of any of God’s goodness. This spirit makes you feel so utterly worthless that you don’t see any value in your own human life.
• A spirit of condemnation. The sole task of this condemning spirit is to make you feel and think you’re condemned and unforgiven by God. One way it does this is by constantly recalling your past sins to mind and reminding you of these sins that you despise and regret.
• A spirit of unbelief. Your initial and continuing refusal to accept God’s forgiveness and love has opened the door to demonic oppression whereby a spirit of unbelief has bound you from believing and accepting God’s undying love for you. You see, whenever you’re in unbelief about anything, there’s a demonic spirit at work. 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks about the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. A spirit of unbelief, I’m saying, is keeping you from believing what you want so much to believe but can’t, namely, that God loves you and has forgiven you.
• A lying spirit. 1 Kings 22 speaks about a lying spirit that spoke through Ahab’s false prophets. This lying spirit gave Ahab good news when, in reality, the news was really bad. This spirit, you see, said all kinds of things that just weren’t true or right. That’s the nature of a lying spirit. When it comes to rejection, a lying demonic spirit is telling you all kinds of things that just aren’t true. He’s telling you that God doesn’t love you, He’s mad with you, He hasn’t forgiven your sin, He doesn’t want you, and more. Brethren, there’s a lying spirit talking to you.
• A tormenting spirit. This demon’s purpose and goal in life is to torment you, confuse you, and make you believe that God hates you and is against you. He’s driving you to depression and insanity.
• A suicidal spirit. In many instances, this spirit of self-destruction takes over after all the other spirits that we’ve mentioned above have done, and succeeded in, their work of convincing you that God is done with you. The Devil, brethren, is out to kill and damn you. Death by suicide, he’ll say, is the only way you’re going to get rest and relief from life’s troubling torments. You’ll be at peace when you’re dead. Friends, don’t believe it a a word of it. Suicide isn’t the answer. Christ is. Don’t let the Devil rob you of your life and your chance to be set free from his torments!

Rejection, I’m saying, is of the devil. You don’t have to take my word for it. Most anyone with the baptism of the Holy Spirit can testify to the reality of demons and their works in the lives of people, even God’s people.

A lot of you are probably having a hard time with this, so I feel a need to talk to you about demonic oppression for just a bit. Have you noticed that, besides teaching, Jesus spent all His time healing and casting demons out of people? He’s commissioned us to do the same, Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17. The commission, brethren, tells us that there are demons in people, even God’s people, and it’s our job to get them out.

I know you want to be humble about yourself. But it’s not God who’s telling you you’re unworthy and no good. It’s not God who’s telllng you you’re rejected and unloved. It’s not God who’s telling you you’re unforgiven. God’s said the exact opposite in His Word! God isn’t going to contradict His Word. He isn’t double tongued. He isn’t a two-faced liar. Friends, it’s these demons who are messing you up, the demons we listed above.

You’ll recognize the source of rejection by taking a good, long look at the fruits and results of rejection in your life. You’re confused and tormented. You’re
constantly battling doubt, fear, and a lack of faith. You can’t believe God. You don’t commune with God. You hardly talk to Him. You’re overtaken with too
much grief and sorrow for sin. You live without joy in the present and without hope in the future. You’re discouraged, condemned, and defeated. You don’t have
any good to look forward to. You’ve wrestled with rejection so much that you think you’re going crazy. You can’t stand it. You want blessed relief. But the
peace you seek is lacking and elusive. On and on we can go. Look at what rejection has done to you.  You think God’s behind that rejection? You think God wants you to live this way? Brethren, you’ve got it wrong. Completely, severely, and totally wrong!

John 10:10 tells us, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. It’s the thief, the Devil, who’s at work in your mind, your heart, and your emotions. It’s the Devil who’s killing you emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And because your psyche is all messed up, your body is paying for it. That’s what the many sicknesses or afflictions you’re battling are all about. Rejection’s eating away at your body, your heart, your blood pressure, your bowels and intestines. Rejection’s left you fatigued and physically spent. You’re wore out. Brethren, this isn’t of the Lord.

Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, John 10:10. Jesus wants you to live an abundant life. Brethren, WHEN LIFE ISN’T FILLED WITH ABUNDANCE, WHEN IT’S FILLED WITH DARKNESS, DEATH, AND DEFEAT; THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS THE DEVIL AT WORK. There’s spiritual, demonic oppression involved in rejection and you, my friend, must get delivered. In Biblical language, you’ve got to rebuke and cast these demons out.

YOUR SIN AND GOD’S LOVE

Many people do not believe that God loves them, they have a hard time accepting God’s love, because they believe they’re so unworthy of God’s love. Why are they unworthy? Because they’re sinful and imperfect. They’ve sinned.

But, brethren, GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU ISN’T CONDITIONED ON YOU BEING SINLESS OR PERFECT. IT NEVER WAS. IT NEVER WILL BE. If God’s love for you was conditioned on you being perfect or good He wouldn’t have loved you in the first place because you weren’t good;  you were a sinner. But God loved you as a sinner and it is a settled truth that He won’t quit loving you now that you’re a son.

Now if you’re in a habitual state of sin, that is, you’re continually sinning, then repenting, then committing the same sin again, then repenting; it’s as if you have no control, but you’re enslaved or compelled to sin; then you do have something to be truly concerned about. God doesn’t hear, or answer, the prayers of those who continually sin. Psalm 66:18 tells us, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. John goes on to say in 1 John 3:22, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. It’s not our purpose today to talk about Christians who continually sin. This is another sermon for another day. If you’re not a habitual sinner, this sermon is for you. The Lord’s talking to you.

None of us are perfect. None of us are sinless. Even after years in God’s family, all of us are still capable of sinning. We strive not to sin. We don’t want to sin. But the fact of the matter is, from time to time, we’ve all sinned.

Now when you sin God is displeased with you. God hates sin. And yes, God does get mad. His madness or anger, however, isn’t sin. He could get mad and still not sin. But God’s anger or displeasure doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you anymore. He’s grieved with you when you sin, but His grief doesn’t mean He’s quit loving you. Brethren, His compassions fail not.

When your children disobey you, you’re grieved. But do you know what? You still love them. Why? Because they’re your children. You love them no matter what. You would even die to protect them. You may be angry with them, you may be displeased and disagree strongly with what they’ve done. But the bottom line is, you still love them.

Brethren, God’s love for you is something like this, only more and a lot greater. Just as your children’s misbehavior doesn’t end the love you have for them, so your own misbehavior as God’s son or daughter doesn’t end the love He has for you. GOD, BRETHREN, LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT. HE KEEPS ON LOVING YOU EVEN WHEN YOU’VE SINNED. EVEN WHEN HE’S ANGRY WITH YOU.

Now you need to know that when you sin there are consequences you’ll have to suffer. God’s anger doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you. But it also doesn’t mean He won’t discipline you. You discipline your children when they misbehave. Guess what.  God does the same thing with you. He disciplines you when you miss it or when you mess up. God’s love, you see, doesn’t mean He won’t ever discipline you. It doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to suffer the consequences of your sin. You will suffer. You will be disciplined. But only because God loves you.

Hebrews 12:6 reads,  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. God’s discipline is meant to drive foolishness out of you and make you a better Christian. Hebrews 12:11 goes on to say, Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

So what’s the point in all this? The point is, when you sin God’s not pleased with you. But the fact of the matter is, He still loves you. He still wants you!

If you’re not in sin right now, if you haven’t committed any sin lately, then there’s no separation between you and God. The fellowship between the two of you is intact. You see, so many people think God’s mad with them. Mad about what? If you haven’t sinned lately, then there’s nothing for God to be mad about! He isn’t mad with you. To the contrary, God is pleased that you’ve been good.

People think that God’s mad with them because of a sin they committed a long time ago. But brethren, if you repented of that sin, God forgave you. Do you know what God did with that sin? He removed it and buried it “out of His sight.” Psalm 103:12 comforts us with these words, As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  Micah adds, He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). God, my friend, has gotten rid of the sin. Every past sin that you ever committed, which you have confessed and repented, has been gotten rid of!

Now this word subdue in Micah 7:19 is an interesting one. The word in Hebrew is kabásh and it literally means to tread down. On the one hand, it means to disregard and pay no attention. And on the other hand, it means to subject or subdue. In other words, when God forgives your sin He subdues it, He keeps a lid on it, He keeps His foot on it and keeps it from rising to the surface to remind Him of it. God, brethren, forgets your sin, He pays no mind or attention to it. Brethren, FORGET YOUR SIN BECAUSE GOD HAS. Let go of it because God has. Why would you want to remember it and why would you want to call it to God’s attention again? Condemnation, you see, makes absolutely no sense at all. Condemnation isn’t rational. It’s insanity.

Other people think that God has refused to forgive a particular sin that they committed, the sin is still unforgiven, therefore, God’s mad with them. For some, it was a sin of murder. Others had an abortion. Some went into a fit of rage and permanently injured a loved one. Others were too strict and unloving that they drove a son or daughter away from the Lord. Some committed adultery. Others robbed a young man or woman of their childhood innocence or virginity. On and on we could go.

Brethren, sin is a bad thing. God doesn’t like it. It’ll send a person to Hell in a heartbeat. But that’s just the point. God doesn’t want you to go to Hell. He sent Jesus to die for you to save you from Hell. He loves you enough to die for you and He loves you enough to forgive you.

Psalm 103:2-3 exhorts us to Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: {3} Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. God forgives, brethren. HE’S A FORGIVING GOD. Maybe you’ve forgotten that. But God doesn’t want you to forget: Forget not all his benefits.

The promise is, NO MATTER WHAT SIN IT WAS THAT YOU COMMITED, IT WAS A FORGIVABLE SIN AND GOD FORGAVE IT. He forgiveth all thine iniquities.  Do you know what this verse of Scripture tells us? It tells us that THERE IS NO SIN THAT GOD WON’T FORGIVE.

I know the Bible says there’s one sin that God won’t forgive. It’s the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31-32 talks about it. That’s another sermon for another time. In fact, I’ll be blogging about this sin in the very near future.

This one sin aside, there are a lot of terrible, horrific sins that’s been committed in this world. But the promise of Psalm 103:2-3 is that NONE OF THESE SINS ARE UNFORGIVABLE. God, brethren, forgiveth all thine iniquities! This Scripture ends the notion that there are some sins that God won’t forgive. No matter what the sin was that you committed, it was a forgivable sin. If you repented of it and asked God to forgive you, then you need to know that He forgave you and you stand forgiven right now. That’s a Thus Saith The Lord direct from God Himself. You’re forgiven!

Brethren, if God forgave every sin you committed, if He forgives every sin you commit, then who are you to say God hasn’t forgiven this or that particular sin? Who are you to stop God from forgiving you? God says He forgives all thine iniquities. You say He hasn’t forgiven this one iniquity. You’re calling God a liar! Who are you to tell God what He can, and cannot, forgive? Are you God’s boss? What insolence and presumption! Condemnation, I’m telling you, is pure lunacy.  

We talked about a sin that you committed a long time ago. Now let’s talk about a sin that’s more recent. If you sinned recently, did you repent and ask God for forgiveness? If you did, then you need to know that God has forgiven you. He doesn’t hold on to your sin and remember it. He gets rid of it. And He holds absolutely no grudge against you. 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. IF GOD REFUSED TO FORGIVE YOU HE WOULD BE UNFAITHFUL AND UNJUST. HE WOULD QUIT BEING GOD. Brethren, would God quit being God just because of what you’ve done?  No way! Of all the billions of people that have lived on earth, with all the billions of sins that have been committed by people, God has still remained God. He’s still God today! Which means He’s still just and forgiving. Brethren, you serve a very forgiving God! Bless the Lord!

You see, brethren, God’s faithfulness and justice demand that He forgive you. But more than that, God wants to forgive you. He doesn’t forgive grudgingly or hesitantly. He loves to forgive. Do you know what this means? It means you don’t have to beg, plead, or convince God to forgive you. He loves to forgive. He’s glad to forgive.

Now brethren, if God has forgiven you, how can you be unforgiven? If God has forgiven the sin, how can the sin be unforgiven and be held against you? Condemnation, you see, doesn’t make any sense at all because once God has forgiven you, you’re forgiven. You don’t remain unforgiven!

Here’s an analogy to drive the point home. When you sin it’s like playing in mud. You get muddy all over. But when you repent and ask God to forgive you, God washes the mud off you and you’re clean once again. When God cleans you, you’re clean. It’s like the showers or baths you take. When you come out of the shower or bath, you’re clean. You’re not dirty anymore. Are you dirty and muddy when you come out of the shower? Of course not. How absurd. Brethren, that’s the way it is with God’s forgiveness. WHEN GOD FORGIVES YOU, YOU’RE FORGIVEN. YOU DON’T REMAIN UNFORGIVEN!

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 5. The Devil plays a very real part in rejection. It can get scary if you don’t know about demonic oppression. But it’s real. I’ve seen it first hand lots of times. It ain’t fairytale or make believe. Getting rid of rejection involves getting rid of the demons behind it. So check in next time and let’s send those demons out into the deep. Swine provided free of charge.

GOD’S LOVE THE REMEDY FOR REJECTION, continued

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS SACRIFICIAL.  Do you know how much God loved you as a sinner? You might think not very much since you were a sinner. But the truth of the matter is, God loved you very, very much! Ephesians 2:4 tells us that God loved us with a great love! But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. GOD DIDN’T JUST LOVE YOU: HE LOVED YOU A WHOLE LOT. And that was when you were still a sinner! Reading verses 4 and 5 together: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, {5} Even when we were dead in sins.

God loved you so much that He sacrificed His own Son on the cross to save you and have you. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now how much did God love Jesus? Do you think He didn’t love Jesus very much? Brethren, God loved Jesus infinitely. And the magnanimity of God’s love for you is seen in the fact that He sacrificed His own Son to save you.

You see, God loved you. But as a sinner you were estranged, separated, and alienated from Him. The Bible says, The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies (Psalms 58:3). You were not only estranged, but you were condemned to die an eternal death in Hell: For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

But God came up with a plan whereby the wages of your sins could be paid without you having to pay it and die for it. God would send His Son Jesus to suffer the penalty of your sin. Jesus would die in your place! Isaiah 53:5 tells us that he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. Verse 8 goes on to say, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Verse 11 continues, he shall bear their iniquities. And concludes with verse 12, he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The point I’m trying to make is, God not only loved you: He loved you a lot and He loved you enough to send Jesus to die for you so that you could be saved. The point is, GOD DIDN’T WANT YOU TO GO TO HELL. AND GOD, MY FRIENDS, HASN’T CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THAT: He still doesn’t want you to go to Hell. His love has done, and will continue to do, everything to keep you from spending an eternity without Him. You’ve got a part to play in this, but this is another sermon for another time. The important thing here is for you to recognize God’s love for you and see the magnanimity of that love.

THE RESULTS OF GOD’S SACRIFICIAL LOVE.  Now that God has saved you, there are all kinds of benefits you enjoy in this hour. For example,

You have been reconciled to God. You and God are no longer enemies, but friends! Colossians 1:20-21 reads, And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. {21} And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (you.) Jesus puts it this way in John 3:18, He that believeth on him is not condemned. Brethren, are you a believer? If you are, then you should know that you are no longer condemned in God’s sight! You may not be perfect right now. God knows that. But the point is, you’re not condemned. Romans 8:1 says the same thing: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. No condemnation now!

You have been accepted by God. Jesus, brethren, didn’t die so that you could be rejected by God. He died so that you would be accepted by Him! Ephesians 1:6 comforts us with these words, he hath made us accepted in the beloved. There are two things in this verse that I’d like for you to see. The first is the fact that God has already accepted you or made you accepted. Your acceptance isn’t in the future, it’s not reserved for sometime in the future, and IT’S NOT DEPENDENT ON SOMETHING YOU’VE GOT TO DO. YOU’RE ACCEPTED RIGHT NOW! Brethren, God’s not rejected you! He’s accepted you! You stand accepted in His sight this very hour.

The second thing worth noting here is the meaning of the word accepted. You see, accepted  in the Greek means more than just acceptance. It means to be favored and shown favor. God, brethren, not only accepts you: He shows you favor. He does good things for you. He bestows His goodness and kindness on you.

It reminds me so much of the prodigal son come home. Do you know what the father did when his long-lost son came home? He showered him with goodness: Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: {23} And bring hither the fatter calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: {24} For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found (Luke 15:22-24). Brethren, when God accepts you, He does all kinds of good things for you! When you became a Christian His heart was full of joy. And, like the father of the prodigal come home, He hasn’t regretted you becoming His son. He has no regrets.

You have access to God. You can go to God with any need. You can come before Him at any hour of any day just to talk to Him and commune with Him. Ephesians 2:18 tells us, For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. God, friends, hasn’t denied you access to Himself. He doesn’t want you to isolate yourself from Him. He doesn’t want you outside the throne room. When Christ died, the veil in the Temple was rent (Matthew 27:51). Whereas only the High Priest could enter in the Holy of Holies, which was God’s presence; now everyone of His people could enter into His presence. Everyone has access to His throne. You’ve been reconciled to Him and He wants you to come to Him and fellowship with Him.

God invites you to come to Him and ask Him for anything you need. God knows you have needs. He knows there are things you would like to have. God wants you to come to Him in prayer and ask. Hebrews 4:16 exhorts us to come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Now the thing that I’d like for you to see in this verse is the fact that when you come to God in prayer, you do not come in vain. When you come to the throne of grace, you obtain mercy, you find grace. You see, God wants you to obtain, to find, to have, to get, whatever it is you need. Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 7:7, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Brethren, God wants to bless you, do good things for you, and give you those things you have need of or desire. You serve a good and giving God!

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS UNENDING! God’s love for you is eternal and undying. He will not quit loving you, He will keep on loving you, and He will love you no matter what.

John 13:1 means so much to me. It reads, Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Jesus knew everything about these men. He knew one of them would betray Him. He knew one would deny Him. He knew they all would desert Him in the Garden. He knew all the sins and mistakes they would henceforth and ever commit. But do you know what? Jesus kept right on loving them. He refused to quit loving them. And none of their sins, failures, or human weaknesses deterred Jesus from going to the cross for them. None of what He knew convinced Him not to love them anymore.

God’s love for you, dear friend, will never come to an end. Jeremiah puts it this way: It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. {23} They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). Why is the Lord’s love for you unending? How is it that God could continue to love you in spite of your weaknesses and sins? Brethren, He continues to love you no matter what because His love for you is sovereign and unmerited. YOU HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS LOVING YOU. He loves you because it pleases Him to love you. His love for you isn’t conditional, it isn’t dependent on how good you are. Remember, He loved you while you were a sinner and unsaved.

So often, our love for one another or for people in general is conditional: I’ll love you if you love me back, or I’ll love you as long as you’re good and do what I want you to do. What happens when people mess up? So often, we quit loving them.

God’s love for you, brethren, isn’t like this. God keeps on loving you no matter what. Your sins do not deter Him from loving you. His compassions fail not. They are new every morning! Do you know what every morning means? It means GOD’S COMPASSIONS ARE WITH YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE. THERE IS NEVER A DAY, NOT ONE, WHERE GOD WITHHOLDS HIS LOVE FROM YOU AND REFUSES TO LOVE YOU. BRETHREN, GOD LOVES YOU EVERY DAY. INCLUDING TODAY!

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 4. I’ll be looking at how your sins affect God’s love for you. Wow! It’s going to be so exciting. I can’t hardly stand it! Bring a  futon. God’s going to floor you! (A mattress will work as well.)

THE PROBLEM

Many of the problems that Christians face today can be directly attributed to rejection. For example, (A) Rejection and Christian Fellowship.  Some people quit coming to church because they labor under the weight of condemnation or rejection. Maybe they sinned or they’re just not spiritual enough. Maybe it’s their skin color or the fact that they’re poor. No matter what the reason may be, there’s condemnation and rejection at work in their hearts. They don’t feel accepted. And so, as a consequence, they quit coming to church. They don’t want to talk to the brothers or sisters. Some even go so far as to withdraw from other Christians and refuse to fellowship with them. For them, being around Christians or hearing a sermon reminds them too much of their failures. It brings bad memories and a renewed feeling of guilt and conviction. So they quit coming to church and fellowshipping with believers. Rejection often leads to alienation, isolation, friendlessness, and loneliness. Asocial, or antisocial, behavior is often the result and byproduct of rejection.

(B) Rejection and the Quality of Life.  People who suffer rejection aren’t happy or joyful. They tend to be bitter, resentful, and critical because of the way they think they’ve been mistreated or rejected by others. They’re confused and tormented. They want to believe God’s forgiven and received them; they want God’s forgiveness and acceptance. But they just can’t bring themselves to believe or receive it. They’re up and down. One moment they’re on top of the world and victorious. Next thing you know, they’re down in the dumps, feeling defeated and discouraged. Rejected people aren’t stable. They don’t have much hope of the future. They don’t have anything good to look forward to. Life isn’t about living: it’s about surviving.

(C) Rejection and A Distant Walk with God.  Rejected people don’t have much of a personal walk with God. Their relationship with God lacks the warmth, intimacy, and joy that’s characteristic of any kind of friendship. They don’t pray a whole lot because they don’t think God will hear their prayer. God’s not listening. They think God’s mad at them because they haven’t been good lately. Rejected people don’t believe in a good, gracious, loving God. They don’t believe that God is going to do anything good for them because they’re so unworthy of His goodness. The more they fail God the more distant they become from Him.

(D) Rejection and Christian Loyalty.  People who battle rejection compromise what they believe or know to be the truth, they compromise their Christian virtue or morality, because they want so much to be accepted by people. They know that if they remain faithful to the truth or the Lord they’ll be rejected or persecuted. Young people especially face this struggle and temptation. Unless they give in to sexual pressure they’ll be rejected and friendless. People who battle rejection don’t want to be rejected: they want to be accepted. Being accepted means more to them than being true or moral. And so, young people will sacrifice their virginity for acceptance; older people will sacrifice their faithfulness for deliverance from persecution. Rejection, I’m saying, is one factor that leads people to compromise Christian truth and morality.

GOD’S LOVE THE REMEDY FOR REJECTION

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS SOVEREIGN AND UNCONDITIONAL!  God’s love is His remedy for rejection. Christian man, woman, or child, God loves you! I John 4:10 reads, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. Verse 19 goes on to tell us that God loved us first, before we ever decided to love him: We love him, because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). You see, God’s love for you wasn’t conditioned on your love for Him. God didn’t look down through the corridors of time and decide to love only those who loved Him first. The fact of the matter is, none of us loved God! Not when we were sinners. We only came to love Him because He first loved us: We love him, because he first loved us.

Friend, God’s love for you wasn’t conditioned on you returning or reciprocating that love. God didn’t make a deal with you and said, “I’ll love you if you love Me back.” God chose to love you because He wanted to. His love for you is sovereign and unconditional. It has nothing to do with you loving Him back or you being nice and good to Him. GOD’S LOVE, FRIEND, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU DO, DON’T DO, OR FAIL TO DO. GOD LOVES YOU JUST BECAUSE HE WANTS TO.

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS UNMERITED!  God’s love for you did not begin when you decided to become a Christian. He loved you long before you were even saved. Romans 5:8 reads, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, God didn’t start to love you when you decided to get saved. His love for you wasn’t conditioned on your righteous behavior. It wasn’t based on how good you would be or how good you would turn out. God loved you even when you were still a sinner!

What’s really amazing to me is, ALL YOUR SINS COULDN’T STOP GOD FROM LOVING YOU. ALL THOSE YEARS YOU SPENT IN SIN DIDN’T GET GOD TO QUIT LOVING YOU. He kept on loving you in spite of your sins. Do you know why? Because His love for you was sovereign, unconditional, and unmerited. Now, brethren, if God could love you when you were a sinner, why is it so hard to believe that He would love you now that you’re His son or daughter? What sort of God is He who loves a sinner, but hates a son or daughter? No, brethren, God loves you!

Coming Up On My Next Blog, Part 3. A continuing look at God’s love. If you just take God at His Word His love will set you free from rejection. Come on by and see just how much God loves you. Yes, you.

INTRODUCTION

There are different types of rejection. One is personal rejection. This is where you feel like no one loves you. Everybody’s rejected you.

The rejection could come from a spouse or your parents; your siblings or classmates; your peers or coworkers; your teachers or employer; or from any number of people.

A person who’s suffering personal rejection tends to be unhappy and depressed. Friendless and socially isolated, therefore lonely. Withdrawn. Introverted. Insecure. Lacking in self-confidence, hope, or optimism. Has a hard time loving or being in a lasting romantic relationship. The lack of love, friends, and acceptance makes a rejected person bitter, angry, and resentful. Alarmingly, in more and more cases, violent.

Rejection is pandemic and rife. So many people battle it. I wish I could talk to you about personal rejection. I want to see these people get the help they need. But, alas, I’m not a trained psychologist, much less a professional one. I’m just not equipped or in a position to help you right now.

I’m a minister. And the rejection that I’d like to treat is spiritual rejection. It’s the belief or feeling that God’s rejected you. He doesn’t love you. You’re not forgiven. You’re not saved. So many of God’s people battle spiritual rejection. Believe me, as a minister, I know.

In dealing with rejection we’re also dealing with condemnation, unworthiness, and false humility. The four generally go together and work together. So when you find one of these maladies at work, chances are, you’ll find the other three close at hand. I’d like to talk to you about rejection, condemnation, unworthiness, and false humility. Because it gets rather tedious to always say rejection, condemnation, unworthiness, and false humility, I’ll use the word ‘rejection’ alone. Keep in mind, however, that when I talk about rejection I’m also talking about condemnation, unworthiness, and false humility. Let’s get started.

DEFINITION

FALSE HUMILITY.  Not wanting to be proud, people will sometimes go to the opposite extreme and adopt a wrong, false, or unscriptural, view of themselves.

For example, many Christians see themselves as sinners saved by grace. It’s true that we were all sinners before we got saved. And it’s true that we have, at times, sinned even after we were saved. But while we were sinners at one time, by God’s grace we’ve been made sons of God. John 1:12 reads, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. When we got saved we didn’t remain sinners: we became sons.

I John 3:2 goes on to say, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. What are we now or in this hour? Are we sinners? Brethren, that’s not how God sees us! He sees us as sons, not sinners!  Your false humility is a contradiction to what God has made you and called you. Closely related to false humility is unworthiness.

UNWORTHINESS.  Because a person sees himself or herself as sinful or corrupt in God’s sight they feel they’re unworthy to receive any goodness or blessings from God. They believe God’s goodness or blessing is earned. How? By being righteous and good. Therefore, since these people see themselves as sinful or woefully imperfect, they don’t believe they merit any goodness from God. Thus, people who battle unworthiness are very hesitant to pray or ask God to do anything good for them. They spend their time trying to earn God’s blessings through a life of piety and good works.

CONDEMNATION.  When a person has sinned, especially when he or she knew better, they battle condemnation. They have a hard time forgiving themselves and receiving God’s forgiveness.

Now any person is capable of battling condemnation. But those who are perfectionistic and who have high standards, morals, or expectations of themselves are especially vulnerable to condemnation.

The sin involved could be recent or it could be one that was committed many months or years ago. It could be something big or something really small.

Regardless, condemned people have a hard time believing they committed such a sin and they have a hard time believing God would forgive such a sin. As far as they’re concerned, God hasn’t forgiven them. Thus,  they don’t see themselves as being forgiven. Hence, they labor under the weight of guilt and condemnation.

REJECTION.  Rejection is the feeling or belief that you’re not loved, wanted, or accepted.

There are many reasons why a person is rejected. Some of those reasons are physical: people are rejected because they’re fat or ugly, because they’re short or have big ears or a big nose, because they’re a girl and their father wanted a boy. Others are rejected for behavioral or personality reasons: they’re dumb or hyperactive, they talk too much or aren’t interested in sports or sex.  People are rejected because of their race, skin color, or nationality: they’re black, Hispanic,  Asian, or white. Others are rejected because of their religion: they’re Jewish or Muslim, Christian or heathen. People are rejected for socio-economic reasons: they’re poor or affluent, they’re commoners or high society. There are many, many reasons for rejection and I’ve only touched on some of them.

Unfortunately, feelings of rejection don’t necessarily disappear when a person gets saved. Often times, these feelings are carried over into Christianity.

A substantial number of God’s people believe that God has rejected them. There are two underlying reasons for this rejection and the first is (1) an unscriptural view of God. People think that God must be like people. If people reject them because they’re fat or poor, then God must reject them too. In this way, MANY PEOPLE WHO SUFFER REJECTION HAVE A NOTION OF GOD THAT JUST ISN’T TRUE. Their “God” is not the God of the Bible.

This is seen in the second underlying reason for rejection, which is (2) personal inadequacy or misconduct. People think God has rejected them because they’re sinful and unworthy, they haven’t been good, they haven’t lived up to God’s demands. God, in their view, isn’t a very forgiving God. He doesn’t love or want sinners. He’s interested only in those who are good and obedient. Therefore, since they’re sinful and imperfect, God doesn’t love them. Here again, we see that PEOPLE WHO SUFFER REJECTION SUFFER FROM A WRONG VIEW OF GOD.

Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 2. We’ll see how rejection affects the way we live our Christian life. It may explain a few things that you haven’t been able to put your finger on. See you then.