Rejection

"And the L-RD said unto Samuel.........they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." I Samuel 8:7

Rejection is something that cuts to the heart. I think all of us have experienced rejection at some point in our lives. It is human nature to want to be loved, accepted, have our opinions considered and valued. Rejection hurts.

Our L-rd understands rejection.

Consider these Scriptures:

I Samuel 10:19a---"And ye have this day rejected your G-d, Who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations...."

II Kings 17:15a---"And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He testified against them; and they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the L-RD had charged them, that they should not do like them."

Isaiah 53:3---"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."

Jeremiah 8:9---"The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the Word of the L-RD; and what wisdom is in them?"

Luke 17:25---"But first He must suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."

Mark 12:10---"....The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner...."

Those of us who are trying to do right and live for the L-rd are going to suffer rejection! If people reject the L-rd, they will reject us as well. We are in good company if we are rejected for doing right, and for speaking the truth of the Scriptures.

The thing to remember, though, is what G-d reminded Samuel----that the people were not rejecting him, but they were rejecting the L-rd G-d, Jehovah!!

And so it is today as well.

All of us who are saved are called of G-d to something. We may not all be in "the ministry" in an official capacity, but we are all called to be witnesses of the Truth. We are all called to be separate from the world and to live for the L-rd in whatever capacity He deems to use us.

The problem is, that so many, many of us who call ourselves Christians have not grasped that; or we do not want to acknowledge it.

Instead of fearing G-d, and living accordingly, we fear the world and its rejection of us!

Hey--it's OK to be rejected by the world! It's far better to have favor with G-d!

But, sady, I think more often than not, we are like those in Samuel's day who:

"...followed vanity and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the L-RD had charged them, that they should not do like them."

That the Word of the L-rd is constantly being rejected by Christians is evidenced in the lives of us who claim to be believers!

Whether we realize it or not, most of us are Christians of convenience. Our priorities are self-centered, not G-d-centered. We are in the Word so little, that the enemy has blinded our eyes to our malnourished condition.

Look again at the above Scripture---the Israelites went after the heathen that lived around them even though G-d's command to them was to not do like them. They hated G-d's prophets and persecuted them terribly. But it really was G-d Whom they hated and rejected!

Just for the sake of consideration, let's observe what the heathen do today. You fill in the blanks here.

Now, think about the average Christian life today.

Are we doing any different than the heathen around us? Most of us today have a very cavalier attitude toward many things that the L-rd holds sacred:

* Meeting together on the first day of the week---this wasn't a duty or obligation of drudgery---this was the highlight of the week for the early believers! Hebrews even commands us to meet together even more often in the last days!

* Considering our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit----yet we abuse it with various substances and adorn it with pagan symbols and worldy attire that screams out anything but "Holy unto the L-rd"!

* Speaking things that bring reproach upon the Name of Christ, whether foul language, inappropriate joking, hateful things from our hearts, deriding those who try to do right.

* Aligning with causes and others who hate G-d and His laws in the name of tolerance.

* Participating in activities which draw our hearts away from G-d, and set us up to stumble.

We attack those who step on our toes spiritually. Pastors who preach against sin get maligned as too old-fashioned. Bible teachers who warn against worldy alignments are labeled as judgmental and unloving.

People flock to churches that provide entertainment and feel-good messages, while Bible-preaching churches find that Christians---even their own members---cannot endure G-d's Word because it is esteemed so little.

Those who would not think of missing work or being late Monday through Friday find it difficult to arrive for a 10:00 am Sunday School class.

Please, let's be honest with ourselves and with the L-rd, and repent----for the time is truly at hand, dear Friend.

Paul said, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" Paul knew well how the Israelites treated G-d's prophets. He knew that the same held true for him. He reminded those Christians in the book of Galatians that they were not angry with him, but with the Truth of G-d's Word!

The Bible warns us of the consequences of this kind of rejection! Something we seldom consider. If we did, perhaps we would conduct our lives much differently.

I Samuel 15:23---"Because thou hast rejected the Word of the L-RD, He hath also rejected thee from being king."

II Kings 17:20---"And the L-RD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of the spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight."

Jeremiah 6:19---"Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it."

To whom much is given, much is required!

Those of us who have been so blessed, should remember from Whom those blessings flow!

Our blessings are to be used for the L-rd, not squandered on our own lusts.

Those of us who have been given and entrusted with much need to remember that we also have much to lose, as did Israel!

Hosea 4:6---"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...."

This lack of knowledge was without excuse. The Israelites had the Scriptures and the Prophets of G-d. It wasn't that they were deprived; it was a lack of their own choosing. They heard the Words of G-d, but didn't listen.

Isn't this like so many of our churches? The Word of G-d is taught and preached---but where are G-d's people? Whether they are elsewhere physically or mentally, they are rejecting G-d's Word. But we, too, are without excuse!

The Israelites, G-d's chosen people, rejected the Word and refused to heed and obey it. Let's look at the rest of Hosea 4:6:

"....because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee....seeing thou hast forgotten the law of they G-d, I will also forget thy children."

Oh the consequences of rejecting G-d's Word in our lives!! Not only did the L-rd reject His own people.....but He also forgot their children!!!

How many of us have prayed for our children's salvation, and then prayed for G-d's favor upon them as they grow up? As parents we all want our children to be happy, do right, have G-d's blessings. But, this doesn't happen because our children are so wonderful, and cute, and bright, and talented, and precious to us!

G-d's blessings upon us and our children are a direct result of how we respond to His Word.

Do we treasure it? Not as some sentimental good-luck charm, but as the true, Holy, powerful Word of G-d?

Do we read it? Do we heed and obey it's precepts and teachings? Do we make it our very life?

We would do well to consider what the L-rd says in Revelation 3:15, 16:

"I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

We are today, in this Laodicean age, lukewarm Christians. We want to ride the fence. We want the blessings of faithfulness without being faithful. We excuse ourselves and rationalize our behavior. A dangerous thing.

We reject the teaching and the preaching of the Word, perhaps without realizing that we are doing so. But the end result is the same.

Why do we do this? Because we despise G-d's Word and do not esteem the L-rd as we should. Our flesh wants to be pampered and to have the favor of the world. How unlike Moses we are! Hebrews 11 reminds us this of Moses:

"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of G-d, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible."

When the time comes that we must either stand up for our faith and take rejection and even persecution, or do what is convenient, rationalizing our motives, just what do you think we lukewarm Christians of today will do?

We must examine our hearts! Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not eat of the king's meat. When the time of temptation came, Daniel withstood the temptation. He had already purposed in his heart----he didn't wait to make up his mind when temptation was thrust upon him.

G-d knows the truth of our hearts. After all, He is the One Whom we will stand before and give an account. We may fool others and even ourselves, but we cannot fool G-d!

If we are Christians who are on the fence, neither cold nor hot, going through the motions, not really in the battle contending for the faith alongside our other brethren, we are, in fact, rejecting G-d's Words. When the time of testing comes, we will be no different than the Israelites, offering up their prophets to the enemy, and trying to blend in with the heathen.

We need to remember Who we are rejecting.