The
greatest rejection a Christian can ever go through is the rejection from the
Church. Once a person turns to a Christian one of the main purposes of his or
her life is to find their place in the body of Christ. Whether we like it or not,
Jesus is coming for His church, not for individual people scattered here and
there. Our existence and growth, our true purpose, and everything are found in
the body of the Church.
At times,
we might drift away for seasonal conflicts or because our obedience to the Lord
forces us to do so. In such cases, we should know how to part for a particular
season and then find our way home.
A question
kept coming to me, “aren’t they using me???”. When waves of the sea hit us we
should realize that our church life is similar to the journey Rebecca went to
see Issac on a camel. We can imagine what it would be like traveling through
the wilderness on a humpy camel. Getting a people choice award is not an option
once we cross over our honeymoon time with the Lord. We’d be busy in a purpose-driven
life. And our purpose can bring misunderstandings and conflicts. But how we
tackle all those help us to adhere to the Church life, Bethel, than rejecting
the goodness and power in it.
In this
let’s consider a few matters.
How to
prioritize my vision and get along with other brothers and sisters, if the majority
is going in a different direction than mine? Whether to cut off when the “they
are using me” call hit my boat? Importance of handling rejection and How to
handle it? How to fly on top of the wind?
Well,
knowing one’s specific calling is not a day job. I know a quiet few people who
knew the purpose of their life the day they met Jesus as their savior. That does
not apply to the majority. we serve others and assist others and one day
realize what we are called to do is the story of the majority of people. We
read the situation of the Madian in the book of Songs of Soloman who forgot to
take care of her vineyard because her mother’s sons made her take care of their
vineyard. Have we ever been put in forced labor by our mother’s sons?
We know
that Joseph had only one brother through his mother and 10 brothers through his
father. From the story, we know the difference between our mother’s sons and our
father’s sons. We usually expect hardships from our father’s sons and it hardly
affects us since the value we put on their opinion is comparatively lower than
the value we put on our mother’s sons. Since such a scenario is mentioned in
the word of God, being used by one’s mother’s sons, we should consider it in
prayer on how to tackle it when it happens.
In my
experience, my mother’s sons had two kinds of anointings. One group had a Moses
anointing and the other, Joseph. When I was nearing a decision making, God
offered me both and asked me to pick one for myself. My choice was the third
one and I decided to stick on with that. God agreed to enable me by His grace
to pull it through by asking, “the cost for what you asked is paying the price
of both Joseph and Moses.” Since grace enables me, I didn’t find a reason to
back out.
If we have
to help someone to the extent of getting an appreciation from an eternal point
of view, we must first get captivated with that vision and anointing. There are
times, people called me, “doormat” because they felt I was getting used by my
mother’s sons. How much ever I tried to convince them that I was doing my part
in the body of Christ, they couldn’t understand my angle. So I respectfully but
sternly told them to back off from my path and I moved on.
When it hit
your boat, how will you handle it? The answer is, do not cling to your right to
yourself. Throughout the journey of working in your brother’s vineyard,
practice the value of the sermon on the mount.
See things
from God’s point of view, each time I practice the values mentioned in the
sermon on the mount, he is finding the vessel he is looking for. I am getting
shaped by all the twists and turns in that journey when my brother’s vineyard
gets better shaped. So, it’s a win for both parties.
Where can
one find closure in working one’s brother’s vineyard? while I will say, you
know it when you know it because of the new covenant God made with us, we all
know. Our born-again spirit knows. At times, our feelings claim, “it is enough
for me… I am done…” in such scenarios, I suggest, “you walk two miles with
someone who asks you to walk a mile with them”.
How will we
cut this thin line of separation? A nugget from Dr. KO John, check whether you
are sharing someone’s vision or their load of sin. Know your brother’s vision
and help him/her but never carry the load of his sin. How will one understand
the difference between these two? Your born-again spirit knows, still, pray.
You will know. He will let you know. His burden will be easy and light. The
moment we cross over the restrictions under the yoke of the Holy Spirit and try
to help someone as if we love them more than Jesus loved them, we will know the
difference in the weight of the yoke.
So, the two
cases in this journey are one, the pain of our transformation since ministry is
the transformation of the minister. Second, how not to be used by satan while
we work in our brother’s vineyard.
Let’s talk
briefly about how to clean the gutter of our life during this journey. I read
God’s Remedy for Rejection by Derek Prince and re-consider my life. Revisiting
our life chapters again and again periodically helps us stay washed. A word you
heard from the stage, hit your head like a hammer, what would be your reaction
to it? Let me tell you, I will write it down and pray, “Lord, why those words
pricked me? Is there any foreign body staying inside my heart to respond to it
and hurt me?” a periodic gutter cleaning is needed for any worker of the Lord
the stay alive even they are in the center of God’s perfect will for their
life.
Whatever we
do, there is no guarantee that the others will drive according to the rules.
Once a local church gathered a meeting and decided that they are not participating
in my father’s funeral. Only a few willing hearts came to help us out in our
time of trouble. I was asked by a pastor not to come to church 3 or 4 times
repeatedly. He never gave me a proper reason for my question, “why?”
How will
one handle it and still have the choice to be unconditional because he or she
is also a blood-bought member of the family? Well, we should never pull a pity
party but hit the throne room and get soaked by the love of Jesus for us. Once
filled with His love, it overflows eventually. The law of the life of Christ
Jesus in me won’t let me stay the same. Nothing can stop us from loving someone
if we are connected to the source, Jesus. What others did or didn’t won’t
affect our actions if we won’t let it happen. To handle rejection, we don’t
need to know the reason for which they rejected us. We can still forgive them because
the forgiveness of the Father flows in and through us.
This is
where someone asked me where will we stop being a doormat. The answer is very
simple, reconsider the objectives of our vision. When right and wrong pull and
push from both sides, keep your eyes on your vision. Keep reachable milestones.
When the wind toss, focus on fulfilling those objectives in prayer and trust in
the One who called you. One day, we too could say, “I am unoffendable”.
After you
did everything from your side and still your brother is the same old mean
person who wants to cut you off without giving you a reason, then, pray for him
or her. If you have read the book “God’s remedy for Rejection”, you know that
defensiveness is a part of being hurt by something else, and it's just
convenient to take it on you.
Relationships
should be initiated, maintained, and fulfilled by God. Stay away from
situations not initiated by the Lord, you can stay away from being hurt by
people who act out their emotional outbursts for their lack of fellowship and
prayer.
Next is the
hurts from otherness practiced by a well-known person. I would call it
problatunity. A well-known person with a team of his own can fight against one
feeble human with all their networking skills and strategies. But always
understand that it demon intimidating you through people and if you walk with
God, one you is enough to fight all those till you see His Kingdom coming true
in this world not only in its power but in its richness.
