Rejection

The words of Jesus on the cross as 'He took our sin in his body so we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds we are healed.'

1 Peter 2:24

Amp: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me - leaving me helpless, forsaking and failing me in my need".Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46

What does it mean to be forsaken:

FORSAKE:
Dictionary: Give up, renounce, withdraw help or companionship from.

Hebrew: Azab - to loosen, to relinquish, to permit, to release, to set free, to leave, to forsake, to abandon, to leave behind, to omit, to relax, to be forsaken, to be abandoned.

A forsaken people have no future and therefore rebel and do their own thing, ignoring sense and reason very often these people will go into rebellion that always leads to destruction. We have to choose to do the right thing and enter into God's acceptance or stay as we are and lose all sense of quality in our lives.

The promise of God as scripture says is very reassuring:

Hebrews 13:5-6 : Amp:
[5] "For He [God] Himself has said "I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not, in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you nor let [you] down, [relax My hold on you] assuredly not" [Joshua 1:5]
[6] "So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say "The Lord is my helper, I will not be seized with alarm, I will not fear or dread or be terrified. What can man do to me".

Jesus had to identify with everything that we would endure so He could be that help which we need in every circumstance. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus became aware of the hardest part of His mission here on earth. To take our sin He would for those moments be separate from God for the only time in all eternity, because our holy God cannot look at sin.

Matthew 26:36-46 Garden of Gethsemane

Luke 22:44 Amp:
"And being in agony [of mind] He prayed [the] more earnestly and intently, His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground".

Sometimes in the depths of our rejection we endure a loneliness and pain that is unbearable, and when we are rejected we quickly take on a burden which is not ours to carry and fall into a trap of using our hurt and damaged emotions in a negative way instead of allowing the acceptance of Christ to break through into our lives. We need to know that Christ is always willing to receive us and reassure us of His acceptance.

Rejection causes these physical reactions:
Refusing Comfort, Rejection of Others, Harshness-Hardness, Scepticism-Unbelief,
Aggressive attitudes, Swearing-Foul Language, Argumentativeness, Stubbornness - Defiance,Rebellion, Fighting.

These in turn lead to Self Rejection and Fear of Rejection and also Fear of Acceptance.

This month we want to look in particular at the subject of Self Rejection.

Self Rejection often presents these problems:
Low self image, Inferiority, Insecurity, Inadequacy, Sadness [Grief & Sorrow], Self accusation, Inability or refusal to communicate, fear of failure, fear of others opinions, other fears, anxiety, worry, depression, negative attitudes, pessimism, hopelessness & despair.
All of these of course have nothing to do with the fruit of the Spirit: [Galatians 5:22-23] Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness & Self Control.

With Self Rejection, it is very important for us to look at the power of the spoken word, especially how we speak about ourselves.

We often need to break the power of the spoken word before a certain healing or deliverance can take place. Spoken words can bind and affect across generations and often have a very strong effect on people's lives. We need to recognise that, as surely as the power of confession brings forgiveness and healing Proverbs 28:13, James 5:16, 1 John 1:9, so also it is the opposite with spoken words or curses. We can see how the spoken word can control our lives either for good or bad James 3:1-12.

God spoke the world into creation by the power of His spoken word Genesis 1.

Jesus - when they were crossing the lake said to the disciples "Let us go over to the other side" -Mark 4:35. The disciples panicked when the storm blew up. They did not realise the same person who said "Let there be light" also said "Let us go over to the other side". They were going to the other side whether it was on the water, over the water - or under the water! This is all by the power of the spoken word by someone with authority.

It is so important to keep a positive confession at all times. That is to speak scripture out aloud as it applies to each of us:
Proverbs: 4:20-24, 12:18, 15:4, 18:6-7, 18:21.
Matthew 12:36-37

God spoke when Jesus was baptised in Luke 3:22 "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Remember it is for freedom that Christ has set us free Galatians 5:1.

Also on the mount of Transfiguration Matthew 17:5 'This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’

Inner Vows:These are caused by words or statements that we constantly confess over ourselves. We believe them and then they ensnare us.
Inner Vows and Self Imposed Curses can be very binding and often very hard to discern or break down. These are a direct result of Self-Rejection and indeed cause further Self -Rejection.

We can see just by our very words we can become ensnared

a] "I'll never be any good" - Hopelessness, despair, sicknesses
b] "I'll never forgive myself" - Death, alienation, self-hatred, self-rejection
c] "God doesn't love me" - Loneliness, abandonment, orphan spirit
d] "I hate myself" - Death, bitterness, self-rejection
e] "No one loves me" - Self-pity, jealousy
f] "I wish I were dead" or "I would rather die than do that" - Death, suicide etc.
g] "I don't like my nose" - Rejection, self-rejection, self-pity, false guilt, estrangement, sicknesses
h] "I'm always broke" or "I'll never have enough" - Poverty, ill health, desperation, striving
J] "I wouldn't be seen dead in that" - Death, shortened life span
And of course the one we all say in the playground - "Cross my heart and hope to die."

We need to ask the Lord to train our speech so as not to bring Self Rejection upon ourselves. Rather by a positive confession from the word of God we can live the lives that God intended for us.

Scriptures such as Psalm 118:17-18, and Psalm 139:14 are good scriptures to use in the lie of rejection and establishing the truth of acceptance.

Promises:
Romans 4:21,
"And being fully assured that what He had promised He was able to perform".

2 Corinthians 1:20
"For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us".

Galatians 4:5-6: Adoption Romans 8:15: Adoption

2 Corinthians 6:18:
"And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me says the Lord Almighty". Galatians 3:26

If you study these scriptures and below and believe in the promises contained in them you can experience real freedom as the truth of Gods word comes into your heart.

I Am Accepted in Christ Jesus:
John 15:15 - I am Christ’s friend.
Romans 5:1 - I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17 - I am joined to the Lord and I am one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 6:20 - I have been bought with a price. I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27 - I am a member of Christ’s body.
2 Corinthians 5:21 - I have been made righteous.
Ephesians 1:5 - I have been adopted as God’s child.
Ephesians 2:18 - I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19 - I am of God’s household.
Ephesians 2:19 - I am a fellow citizen with the rest of the saints.
Ephesians 3:12 - I may approach God with boldness and confidence.
Colossians 1:14 - I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:10 - I am complete in Christ.

Maybe you have realised that you need to be released from the power of your words or the words of others. Start to believe in what God says about you in the bible. If you have not invited Jesus into your heart this would be your first step. Peter said of Jesus
'You have the words of eternal life' John 6:68

The Lord Jesus is ready to help you as soon as you ask to know Him as Lord. Jesus Christ has paid for your sin, my sin and every ones sin by living a life free from sin and dying in our place so that we might know forgiveness of sin, and freedom eternally from the power of death.

Remember you can only deal with your own sin. Everyone has to answer to God for what they have done, but God is merciful and will forgive them too, when they are ready to come to Him. He will always accept you, and makes you the offer now of real, genuine love and resurrection life.

You need to say sorry to God for having offended Him by your sinful actions, and choose to walk in His ways instead. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins, repent of your sins and tell God you need His help to stop living in a way that pleases you, and tell him you want to live to please Him.

Invite Jesus Christ to come and be Lord of your life. Thank Him that He has bought you back from the road of darkness and destruction by giving His life for you, and releasing you from the burdens of rejection, guilt and shame. Bringing you fully into His wonderful light. Thank Jesus for this, and acknowledge His death and resurrection and ask His Holy Spirit to come into you right now and give you the power to change and you will find real acceptance in Him and He himself will show you the way forward.

Next step is to tell someone you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and find a church that really loves Jesus and lives for Him.

It will not be easy but will be the greatest and most joyful decision you have ever made.

If you have made this decision today E.Mail us and we will send you a Gospel of John and some helps to get you started in your new and exciting walk with Jesus.