May 31, 2014 "Overcoming Rejection" Pastor Howard-John Wesley

girl if you weren't so young I stab you in your leg when you're saying God Oh God Lord we sent your presence in this place and how we honor you worship and adore you and cast all our love before you and thank you God for who you are we come to acknowledging and admitting that we are helpless of our own accord we need your Holy Spirit and your word to guide us on the right path Lord in this moment I ask that you take my head in my heart speak through my mind in my mouth let there be no gap between your will in my words we invite you and invoke you oh god implore you to speak for your servants are listening the name of our Jesus and our Christ we do pray and the redeemed of the Lord said amen I had prepared all week to teach from a different passage but as became aware of the choirs that would be here tonight and this being our Children's Day weekend there's a word that the Lord placed on my heart and I asked for your prayers as we seek to allow the Lord to have his way I'm going to invite you if you will to turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke those who've been with us in Bible study know that Matthew and Luke are very parallel than they're telling of the stories of Jesus what you find in the ninth chapter of Luke you also find a parallel passage in Matthew chapter 10 although we lay a foundation from the Gospel of Luke I do invite you in your devotional time to read it's parallel partner and the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in Luke the ninth chapter there's a word I believe that's relevant for all of us but in particular for the youth who are among us Luke chapter 9 beginning of verse number one we invite those who have clay able to join with us as is our custom to stand to reverence the reading of God's Holy Word from Luke chapter 9 beginning in verse number one in the ninth chapter the Gospel of Luke begins in verse number one the word Lord says then he meaning Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick he said to them take nothing for the journey in the staffs nor bag nor bread nor money and do not have two tunics apiece whatever house you enter stay there and from there depart and whoever will not receive you when you go out of that city shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them so they departed and went through the towns preaching the gospel and healing everywhere as you keep your Bibles open you may be seated tonight I want to teach and talk from the subject overcoming rejection overcoming rejection I had an occasion a few weeks ago dealing with my oldest 10 year old that left a very indelible impression upon my life there getting ready for a major field trip that they take towards the end of the year and it's part of the field trip they have a walk that they take with certain partners they have to partner up to take a walk in the woods as they explore Michelle as he was getting ready for this trip he decided who's going longshot for his first time and asked one of the young ladies in the class to take the walk with him I felt kind of conflicted about this but I thought I'd prepare him Joe the best way I could how to ask the question to take the walk we picked him up from school today that he had asked the question he was in tears and I asked him what was wrong he said I asked her and she said no his little heart was broken at 10 years old that he'd been rejected I realized then what some of us still deal with today and that is that getting over rejection is one of the most difficult things we have to do in life no matter how old you are how many seasons of life you live through doesn't matter what ladder you've climbed in life at the end of the day none of us like to be rejected there's something hurtful and yeah I say even a harmful when you realize that what you want didn't want you that you applied and didn't get in that you dreamed about it but it never showed up you prayed about it but it never happened I suggest to you tonight my brothers and sisters that there's at least one somebody on this place is still carrying some baggage in life because at the end of the day what you really wanted didn't want you as bad as you wanted it and there's nothing that hurts her and harms us more than being rejected as a matter of fact having a door slam closed in your face can alter your journey of life forever maybe that's why when Jesus gathers his disciples together here in Luke chapter 9 that's also recorded in Matthew chapter 10 you'll find that ultimately what he's trying to do is to prepare them for how to get over the reality of rejection see if you will Jesus gathering these twelve disciples together to send them out on a pre apostolic run to see if they can handle the authority that he's given them to cast out demons and to heal the sick by this point in their journey they've seen Jesus work miracles they've seen him cast out demons they've seen him give sight to the blind and now Jesus wants them to know that the same things I do I'm giving you authority to do so he gathers these disciples together and the Bible says the beginning verses of Luke chapter 9 that he grants unto them power and authority to do the very same works Deacon Johnson that he's been doing he tells him I want you to go out now I want you to go and practice some of what you've been watching lay hands on the sick cast out demons preach the gospel and watch what happens and notice as he gathers them together in his parting instructions and what to teach them how to do and what to do and how to be what he's called them to be noticed that he gathers them together and he doesn't teach them how to preach doesn't give them instructions on how to raise an offering doesn't school them on how to handle church business meetings doesn't give them any advice on how to counsel those who are conflicted no when Jesus gathers them together and gets ready to send them out into the world according to Matthew Matthew adds something that Luke leaves out Matthew says that Jesus looks at them and says just know I'm sending you out as sheep among wolves Jesus wants including them into the rough reality right at the beginning that I'm sending you into a mean world that the world is filled with folk who will try to devour and destroy you as a matter of fact somebody you can just whisper an Amen right there because you don't need a Bible or preacher to tell you that the world is filled with folk that are use you abuse you and think nothing of you the world is filled with folk who have nothing else on their mind but to take what you have to ruin your day to steal your joy to disturb your peace the world is filled with some mean and some ugly folk says I'm sending you out as sheep among wolves and if I can testify and 42 years of age the sad reality is that some of the wolves look like she you'll get that when you get home there are those who look like they've got your back only to stab you in your back I come by the tail especially these high schoolers that every smiling face ain't your friend everybody in your corner ain't got your back anybody in your crowd in on your side you've got to come to the reality that the world is filled with folk who will use you and think nothing of you and so in order to prepare these disciples for the rough reality that they're dealing with this is when he tells them listen go into a town find somewhere to stay don't take too much and if the folk won't receive you on your way out brush the dirt off your feet keep on Stephanie he Clues them into something that they may not have known and that is that even though you've been called in commissioned and even though you're saved and sanctified even though you carry a Bible and you go to church and you worship Jesus every weekend he wants them to know that the world will not be filled with smiling faces and open doors that no matter how big your Bible is no matter how much you love the Lord the reality is there going to be moments in your life where you are rejected where people don't accept you where people don't believe in you everyone is not going to pat you on your back everyone it's not gonna blow sunshine in your face everyone is not going to open their arms and their doors you're going to apply and you're going to be turned down you're going to desire and you're not going to get it you're going to dream for it and it's not going to happen you're going to pursue it and you will not achieve it you're gonna want it and you will never get it there going to be some moments but no matter how gifted how talented how young how strong how beautiful you think you are doors will be closed people will not receive they will not be open and Jesus wants his disciples to learn you got to get over being rejected because he understands what many of us do right now as that closed doors can sometimes keep you from trying again when folk don't want you it can hold you hostage to that place for the rest of your life and so Jesus gathers these disciples together let them know listen I can't promise you that everyone's going to love you I can't promise you that every door is going to be open I can't promise you that people will openly receive you and have an appreciation for what you bring to the table but if they don't let me give you some strategic advice on how to handle life when life has presented a closed door to you can I give you four things that Jesus teaches us about living through rejection about getting over closed doors about what to do when what you wanted didn't want you here's what he says first of all watch this he says number one I want you to be cautious of your connections I want you to be careful about who you connect yourself to if you read Matthew's version we get home in Matthew 10 when Jesus sends the disciples out here's what he tells them when you go to a town Judy here's what he says find a worthy house to stay at by implication there will be some homes in that town that are unworthy of your overnight presence okay you get it that you can't just stay and hook up with lottie dottie and everybody because everybody is not worthy of being in relationship and connectivity to you and you've got to be careful of allowing yourself to be connected in unworthy situations ah there are some situations that are not worthy of who you are there are some people who are not grateful for what you bring there some jobs that cannot appreciate what you do and you've got to be careful of allowing yourself to be connected to things and people that are not worthy of who you are so the very first thing you've got to do is have an appreciation for what you bring to the table notice that before Jesus sends them out he already granted them power and authority he says listen before you begin deciding who to connect yourself with you got to realize that I've already invested some things in you and what I put in you is too great for you to allow it to be connected with just anybody okay okay yelling it'll be like Jesus did in Matthew chapter 7 this one Jesus says watch this watch this don't cast your pearls y'all read your Bible before swine who live with it with JJ said JJ said don't put your pearls before swine there's really two things that come out of that number one you got to know when you're dealing with swine because the problem is that swine can appreciate pearls and there's no reason for you to take that which is valuable and offer it freely in the presence of someone that doesn't have enough divine discernment to really understand what they are dealing with huh you got to know when people can't appreciate the gift the talent the beauty that you bring to the table and if they can't appreciate it they're not worthy of being in connection with you but watch it the real issue real issue is not just you lacking discernment about swine but you lacking discernment about pearl come on come up with stink a pond the real problem is not that you didn't know who or what she or he was the real problems are you didn't know who you were you didn't have an appreciation for your giftedness you didn't have an understanding of your anointing you didn't really understand the value of what God has given unto you and so Jesus says listen before you hook up with anything or anybody you got to do some self-assessment and realize that God has granted you power and authority that makes you disqualified to hook up in certain situations I don't know who this is for but I came by to preach right here in this point push the button preach pastor here it is it is not arrogance it's just awareness I'm not arrogant but I know who I am I know what God has given me I know what the Lord has called me to do and when I have some self awareness of my giftedness it prevents me from just hooking up with anything or anybody all right I'm not conceited just confident and at a certain point in your journey of life you've got to tell yourself I'm too gifted to deal with this kind of stuff I've been through too much to keep playing games at this stage of life I've lived through too much to deal with just anybody at this stage of life God has done too much for me to put up with this kind of drama and this type of nonsense then that I'm too gifted to walk in a situation like that is there anybody here that you don't need nobody to tell you how gifted you are in God you have some self-awareness that says I can't just walk in anything so merciless little you ought to be cautious of your connections as you go out in life don't just hook up with anything make certain you know who you are before you freely volunteer it in anything why since number two he says this brother but you just be cautious of your connections wife number two he says listen I want you to learn to brush off the bitterness can I teach real quick here's the problem with being rejected rejection ultimately brings a sense of offense to my life how could you not want me how could you not want this I mean what's show problem and and the offense is that something or someone didn't want us and don't let the thing or the one choose someone else how does she get the job why he with her come on in Saturday night comes and and there's an offense that comes across my spirit when I've been rejected now there's great book out I want to recommend to you by an author Carl John Bevere B e ve R is called the bait of Satan and what John Bevere argues is that offense is Satan's number one tool to detour the body of Christ because when you've been offended if you don't get over it offense leaves the residue of bitterness and bitterness creates the stain of anger and rewrite and press play that offense leaves the residue of bitterness and bitterness causes the stain of anger and you can always tell people who have not gotten over being rejected because they're so bitter or angry that even twenty years later they're still talking about it so you could engage them in a conversation about the weather and some ways somehow they always navigate back to something or someone that rejected them that didn't want them that closed the door on it and you realize there is a smoldering anger and bitterness that is left a stain over their life that continues to show up because they didn't do what Jesus said and Jesus says this listen if somebody don't want you if something doesn't receive you if they send you the rejection letter if they won't take you in listen when it's time to go don't just walk out you need to learn them brush that residue off of you so that the bitterness does not set in on you so listen you got to brush it off watch what he says not only for your own good because let me tell you you can never progress in life if you're still staying with bitterness over something or someone that did not receive you he says listen don't just do it for good watch what Jesus says brush it off as a testimony against them don't know misses right there in your Bible that when you get over it and don't allow it to make you bitter or angry you are literally testifying against them one more time when you don't allow it to sit in your spirit and when you keep on moving in life and when you refuse to be bitter based upon a closed door you are literally testifying against the one who closed the door because they thought the closed door would make you lay down and dime they thought the rejection letter would make you give up and quit they thought saying no would make you throw in the towel but when you get over it and keep living your life you are testifying against them that when you continue to press through rejection this is where you're ultimately saying watch this you're saying that the one who rejected you doesn't have the final say over you okay okay okay okay I'm gonna help you out let me help y'all some some of y'all little slower Saturday you are none big football fan you know Cowboys my favorite teams I got to be honest come on out ain't all that ain't necessary all that ain't necessary don't make me have an altar call don't make me have altar call now you gotta know that I grew up loving Cowboys and one of the favorite players of all time you know Tony Dorsett but I gotta be honest he's not my favorite running back favor running back for all-time favorite back of all time being raised on Southside Chicago I just gotta be honest my favorite running back was a brother who played for the Chicago Bears or jersey number 34 came out of Jackson State University what's the number for a draft pick in the 1975 drive with three-time NFL MVP hall-of-famer Super Bowl MVP 1985 his name was Walter Payton Walter Payton had the nickname something y'all young for don't water Peyton's nickname was sweetness cuz we ran the ball it was he was just so if you ever watched Walter Payton films you'll find that when Walter Payton got hit and not talking back in the day back in the NFL back in the 80s when they didn't have all the safety rules they have now that's when they really hit hard you'll see and highlight films Walter Payton taking some vicious heads and you'll notice that whenever Walter Payton got hit the first thing he would do was jump up and run back to the huddle no matter how bad they hit he jump up and run back to the you never ever saw Walter Payton limb you never saw him lay on the ground no matter how vicious the hit he would jump up and run back to the huddle when they inducted him in the Hall of Fame they did an interview and they asked him about it one of the sports where I said listen listen I know you had to get hit hard I know you had to be broke and I know you want to limp why is it that whenever you got to hit hard you would jump up and run back to the huddle and this will walk Bates said he said cuz I had to make certain the one who hit me didn't think he hurt me and even if I got to fake it I'm gonna make certain that they know they didn't hit me hard enough to keep me down I don't know who this is falling a Saturday night but don't you let them think they got the best of you jump yourself up and keep on running in life because you cannot hurt me enough to keep me down I need somebody that's been rejected to just jump yourself up and run back to keep on going in your world til I preach the milk said let's brush that off don't let them think they got the best to you girl get your head on get yourself back in the gym sailu said rush off the bitterness because she's about your connections what's third thing he says up this deep this deep so you're quite right here Joe learn to take the loss best piece of advice I ever got in college learn to take a head-on now let me tell you why no one shouts right there because rejection is an offense to my pride remember remember Jesus has given them power and authority before they even left and it's tough to be gifted by God and still be rejected because pride can't understand how the door would be closed I got all the right criteria the right credentials look right got it going on how could they not want me and you've got to be very careful my brothers and my sisters because pride says that I'm too gifted not to get what I want probably believes that if you want it it should want you pride says with my resume when I apply I ought to get in price sense with all that I've got going on from me when I knock on the door it ought to be open and pride will keep you in a place where you've been rejected because pride has to figure out why home he's fat spring breeze surprise says I'm not walking away until I understand why I didn't get it and you become held hostage because you need an explanation as to why even with your gift in your resume and your anointing and your beauty and your youth and your strength there's somebody else got what you thought you should have and the devil then keeps you held hostage because pride will not let you go I came by today to tell you learn to take the loss hear me doesn't matter how gifted you are doesn't matter what the Lord has done in your life I want you to know every job will not be prosperous every relationship won't work every friendship won't last forever everything you desire will not be good for you you're going to make bad decisions and one of the greatest things you've got to learn how to do is take the loss so here's what Jesus says to him so listen he says in verse number 4 go somewhere stay there and watch this Joe know when it's time to leave don't stick around in a place that's rejected you know when it's time to leave look Dawg you with him go file a grievance don't beg and plead pack your stuff up and know when it's time to leave take the El accept the loss and keep on moving well she says cuz in order to get over it you got to get away from it that if you stay in it you'll never get over it the only way to get over the rejection is to get out of the place where you rejected and keep moving into something else cuz as long as you stay there you'll never get over it stop begging and pleading calling and telling everybody about it somebody say take the L take the L take the loss keep on movin because you got to get away in order to get over it you know some of y'all remember I shared this with you that that I remember when I was potty training I'm a youngest and I was really proud that when you finally got it and said look daddy I wanna good bathroom he knew he had to the bathroom we are the movie once so he said daddy I got a bathroom so I take him up with the bathroom and late ladies you all know this but in the men's room we got we got big boy stars and got little boy stalls we got big boy we got little boy stars little boy stars for little boy so Cooper goes over to the little boy's stall to do what he has to do and when he's done because I've taught him properly you're supposed to flush the toilet one of my pet peeves people who don't flush toilet so it does does we have to doing a little boy stall he's got first toilet he's looking around and there's no handle plus toilet so he's confused daddy there's no handle I said something this ain't like the till we got home this has automatic sensor he said without the toilet flush I saw you guys do is walk away if you walk away it'll flush itself if you stand right there it'll stay right there but if you want to get rid of it if you want to get over it if you want to find a new day you got to learn to just do me a favor know somebody tell them take the L take the L jump just walk away I'm done I'm done you know I'm trying I'm trying to get ready for our power so I'm trying to you know condense my sermons get ready for full-out see me after church mark is on an apology up is it because of your connections learn to brush off the bitterness sin number three learn to take the loss watch number four this is deepness this the shout right here he says perceive another possibility can I give you the shout he tells him in verse three four and five folk may reject you but look at verse number six you ready here it is so they departed and went through the towns oh y'all slow you missed it is they departed and went through the towns a long time they departed and went through the towns okay for those that's plural I mean they didn't just get held up in one town they realized that if this town didn't receive the gift of what we have to bring that there must be another town we can go to and use what the Lord has given us and so I'm not going to get held up in one place when I realize that there must be another place that the Lord has ordained for me to walk in I talked us in KY a little while ago and I want to reiterate it here tonight the problem with most people is rejection is that they ask their own question they ask the question why when you should be asking what's next that the real thing you need to understand is not why I didn't get it which really never sends okay Lord what's next for me because I refuse to believe that this closed door is the only thing that God has in store on the agenda of my life my brother my sister when I feel this in my spirit I feel like preaching because I've said to you time and again and I want you to tweet this out correctly God always has another possibility it doesn't matter what door has been closed God always has another possibility God has another job God has another program God has another school God has another boo God has another application God has another bait God has another opportunity God always has another thing in store for you so how dare you sit in act all dejected and depressed simply because one door was closed in your life don't you know that God is the ruler of the heavens and the earth that he is able to make something out of nothing and if he could create the heavens and the earth out of nothing surely he can create another opportunity in your life can I preach rou quick disaster Chris I'm gonna take a Gallup poll I need a sermonic survey real quick I'm asked you to raise your hand if I'm on your street how many people in here today believe that God is sovereign okay put your hand up again how many people leave that God is omnipotent he'd do anything okay okay how many people believe that God is in control of your life okay Pretender how many people leave that God orders your steps how many people believe that God numbers your days how many people leave that God can do anything but fail okay if you believe all that here's a question I have to ask you could it be that the rejection was the sovereign will of God could it be could it be that the closed door was not the enemy but the closed door was the hand of God to keep you from going in a direction unsettling on something less than what God had ordained for you and God had to reject you in order to redirect you what let me get on I can I give it to you in Twitter form let me give you the tweet for the night you ready here's the tweet for the night here it is God will break your heart so he can blow your mind that he will crush a dream you have so he can open your eyes to the beauty of something better that he has ordained and in store for you as a matter of fact about five folks on your view right now that can look back over something they really really wanted and the Lord closed the door on it but what the Lord redirected you to was ten times better than what you wanted in the beginning and I thank God for the ministry of rejection I thank God for closed doors in my life is there anybody here that can thank God for good no cuz that broke your heart so he could blow your mind somebody said I know he'll do it I know he'll do it can I share live into my testimony with you Deacon's get ready listen right open the doors the church don't share testimonies you when I graduated out of seminary in 1997 I was summa laude Victor Valley dick Torian Martin Luther King's scholar at Boston University School of Theology I was it fourth generation Baptist preacher the name wesley means something in Chicago the church that I had been raised in as a child its pastor died and they had an application process and I submitted my name because I prayed and I believe that the Lord called me back to that church on the south side of Chicago where the name wesley means something i walked in that interview with my valedictorian summa laude Martin Luther King's scholar self sat to interview for church just about 600 folk that I've been raised and what what a beautiful story child raised in Sunday school at this church now pastoring I got up that Sunday after the interview digging Johnson and I preached like I know how to preach the best I could preach I pretty so hard my soup was wet all the way through I sweated out everything I had I hollered all over God's creation two sisters fell out in the aisle handful of folks join church and in that moment a sister got up because it's a Baptist Church she said I make a motion that we make him pastor you do that in the Baptist Church you know a congregation on the height of me preaching say yes indeed we want him to be up high what a beautiful story the church I was raised in on the south side of Chicago where the name wesley means something with my valedictorian summa laude and Martin Luther King's scholar self fourth-generation baptist prodigy preaching I was it's y'all it was the shortest tenure of a pastor in the history of church hear me doesn't system a demotion the church voted and I was elected pastor about 127 p.m. the very next day at the Deacons meeting Deacon Dodie Edward Nash who now rests with the Lord you can go to our - servant digging meeting and said I'm nullifying by the power invested in me as the chair of Deacons I am nullifying that vote cuz that boy can't handle six hundred members on the southside of Chicago where the name Wesley I was pastor for 24 hours didn't even give my name on front of the church and he said that boy can't handle 600 members and I was crushed Lord you can have this I didn't go to school all this time to be pastor for 24 hours and told I can't handle 600 members so last Sunday when we took in member number six thousand three hundred and twenty seven I look back and I thank God that I couldn't handle 600 members because that wasn't what God had in store for my life and every now and then you ought to just look back at a door that was closed and compare it to what the Lord has done and bless God then he had something better in store for you yes you got perceived that there's another possibility that maybe I'm closing this store that's not where I want you to be but but if you will get over the rejection if you won't allow yourself to become bitter if you'll drop your pride the Lord will redirect you and our sister was right when she said the greatest place in the world is in the will of God there is no better place understand in the will of God you

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Length: 42min 4sec (2524 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 04 2014