Facing Rejection

Acts 4:23-31

How do I handle rejection? Well, I Googled it to see what kind of answers I would get. And one of the first things that came up wasn’t an answer, but rather things that I should understand about rejection. They called it the five stages of rejection. Stage one is denial, which is basically rejection of the rejection. Stage two is anger. That’s when we get mad at ourselves or at the people who rejected us. Stage three, they called bargaining. That’s when you replay the scenario in your head over and over again, and you think about, oh, if I just would have said this, if I would have done that, then maybe it would have turned out differently. Stage four is depression. That’s when we get sad about what happened. And then stage five is acceptance. That’s when you accept the situation for what it is, and then you start to think about ways to move forward. Now, as I was reading these things on this website, it was basically saying that you need to recognize these things, and it’s okay to be okay with these types of feelings. It’s fine to feel this way. But I need to push back on it just a little bit, especially the one about anger, because anger is sinful. And yet we’ve all been there. Whether it was a romantic interest or a job that said no, or maybe it was a social group that says no, you can’t hang out with us. Whatever it was, rejection hurts, doesn’t it? So how do we cope with it? What kinds of things do we do? Well, as I was looking at the various websites, and I was looking at the answers, they all more or less gave the same kind of self-help answers. Think positively. Surround yourself with people who care about you. Write down your experience in a journal, and then list all the things that you’re proud of. List all the things that you’re good at. Do something fun. Do something that you find relaxing. Okay, that sounds great, but when rejection happens, you’re not feeling too good, are you? And I don’t think these things naturally come to mind. And when we’re feeling bad, do we immediately want to do something that’s productive or something that’s destructive? I don’t know about you, but if I look inward at myself during this time, I rarely find any kind of help. Especially when I get rejected for sharing my faith in Jesus. Have you ever tried sharing your faith in Jesus, and then have it completely backfire? Maybe you have a childhood friend who’s agnostic or an atheist even. And whenever you talk to this person, somehow the topic of God always comes up. And then you share the hope that you have in Jesus, and then you immediately get shut down. They say something like, well, I just can’t accept that there’s only one way to get to heaven. Or you Christians are a bunch of hypocrites and bigots, and you’re behind all of the oppression and warfare throughout human history. Have you heard something like that? Or maybe you have a brother or a sister who used to go to church as a child, but then later on they dropped off. As far as you can tell, they don’t have a relationship with Jesus, but they grew up the same way that you did. So what happened? And this type of rejection really hurts, doesn’t it? Because we want that person to be in heaven too. I think we can all relate to these types of rejection in some way. But there’s one type of rejection that I don’t think many of us have experienced. And that is physical persecution for the name of Jesus. I don’t think any of us have been thrown into jail for talking about Jesus. But the same cannot be said for other Christians all around the world. For other Christians in different countries, they not only get thrown into jail but they’re killed because of Jesus. And just because these things happen in other places, doesn’t mean that it won’t happen here. When Jesus says that you will be brought before judges and counsels to answer for my name, he doesn’t limit it to one area of the world. So don’t be surprised when that happens here in the United States. Peter and John were not surprised. Peter and John in the book of Acts chapter four, they were arrested for talking about Jesus and for healing a paralyzed man. They were brought in by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was Israel’s high court. They were made up of elders, priests, and teachers of the law. And many of them were Sadducees and Pharisees. And so when they brought in Peter and John, they asked them, “Who gave you permission to do these things?” And Peter and John say, “It is by the power of Jesus of Nazareth, “the one whom you crucified “and whom God raised from the dead, “that this man now walks.” And then they said, “Salvation is found in no one else.” Well, the Sanhedrin didn’t like this one bit. You see, not only did Peter and John show them their guilt, but these were uneducated nobodies. How dare they speak to the Sanhedrin like that? And the Sanhedrin didn’t know what to do about it, because it was clear that that paralyzed man was healed, a man who had been paralyzed since birth. Many people witnessed the miracle, and many people believed in Peter and John’s message. So if they were to punish Peter and John right then and there, the people wouldn’t stand for it. So ultimately, they decide to let Peter and John go. But before they go, they tell them, “Don’t talk about Jesus anymore.” And what did Peter and John say? “Judge for yourselves, whether it is right for us to listen to you or to God.” So then Peter and John go, and they return to their base, and they tell everybody what happened. And what’s the first thing that they do? They pray. But maybe this prayer doesn’t sound like a typical prayer to us. Because what they do is first they acknowledge God as the creator, and then they quote Psalm 2 to him. And they talk about how God fulfilled his words in Psalm 2, governing everything by his power. And then they don’t really ask for much, but they do ask for even more boldness to speak God’s word and for God to work through them so that more people come to faith. And then we’re told that God immediately answers their prayer. It says that their house was shaken and that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and that they spoke God’s word even more boldly. And then guess what happens in the very next chapter of Acts? The disciples get arrested again for talking about Jesus. It’s amazing. It’s amazing when you consider who it was that was preaching Jesus boldly. Remember Peter denied Jesus three times on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion? And we have often been like Peter from time to time, haven’t we? We reject Jesus too. We also deny him, don’t we? Whenever we decide that we’re just not gonna read the Bible or we’re not gonna go to church because we feel like something else is more important or even though we have the opportunity to talk about Jesus, we’re not going to because we don’t wanna suffer inconvenience or embarrassment. Or have you ever read or heard something in the Bible that made you recoil because you wanna do the exact opposite of what it says to do? Don’t commit adultery. Well, I kinda wanna lust. Don’t drink too much, but I do wanna drink too much. Don’t covet, but I do wanna covet. Don’t gossip, but I do wanna talk behind someone’s back. This is because we still have that sinful nature inside of us that we constantly fight against, that sinful nature that rejects God. And so not only do we reject God often in our thoughts, words, and actions, but we also reject God whenever we don’t go to Him first, whenever we’re rejected because of Him. Martin Luther in his explanation to the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods,” says that whenever we have troubles and we don’t bring them to God first, but instead go to someone or something else, that’s equivalent to idolatry, to rejection. So when we treat prayer as this last-ditch effort, instead of the first and best thing we can do, that’s rejection. That’s idolatry. And so let us recognize this, brothers and sisters, and let us repent. Let us realize that we are completely dependent on Jesus, and we can’t do anything without Him. Especially when we know that the world will continue to reject not only Jesus but us until He comes back. And so the words of Psalm 2 still hold true. And so until Jesus comes back, we need Him. So when you are rejected because of Him, follow these three steps. Number one, go to Him in prayer. Number two, remain in His word. Number three, repeat steps two and three as often as necessary. (congregation murmuring) But as an extra word of encouragement, brothers, and sisters, remember that God the Father rejected His one and only Son on the cross so that He could accept you and me. Jesus willingly suffered rejection on the cross so that we would be accepted and have peace. So when you are rejected, run to your heavenly Father for that is who He is through Jesus Christ our Lord. And approach Him with confidence and He will give you even more confidence and He will give you the Holy Spirit. Amen.