The Rejection (Part C)

I don't want to come up and say, let me tell you about all the, you know, the daggers and stabbings and bad things people say, they don't know what they're talking about, my side of the story is right and theirs wrong. Instead of doing that, I'd rather say, let me tell you about some of the pain and how to push through it. Because one day I'm going to stand before Christ and I don't want him to say, you were almost there kid, till you got that whole feeling hurt thing.

And then you stop. Who bewitched you? This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Today, Pastor Rick will continue teaching in Mark chapter six and his message called The Rejection. But we understand the intensity behind these simple words. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with griefs. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. They missed it. They blew it.

It was right there, eye to eye, and they missed it. And some of us are the same way. There are people that take care of us, that love us, that look out for us, that pray for us, that work with us, and we just don't appreciate them. I'm not saying all of us are like that, but all of us have the potential to be that way. And some of us are like that from time to time.

And I hope none of us are like that all the time. Samuel experienced this rejection. Yahweh said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people and all that they say to you, on that matter. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them, how that must have been just a javelin in the belly of the Lord. They've rejected me, Samuel.

Samuel will say, I know, but I feel like I'm rejected too. Because he was. He was that attached to God. You didn't get to reject God without rejecting Samuel. And Samuel felt it. David, how many Psalms does David write?

You get to think, David, does everybody hate you? Because every Psalm, they're after me, the bulls of Bishan have surrounded me because he understood he got it. I think sometimes he wrote vicariously. He wrote on behalf of someone else who he knew was suffering. And he put it down in his writing because he knew it himself. He experienced it firsthand and often enough, he knew that there were people that were not loyal to him as king. Even though he was loyal to Saul, the maniac of Gibeah, so disloyal to the honorable, yet they tolerated and even celebrated fools. Paul had to put up with this.

Remember, what is this theme? The rejection. Paul says this to the Corinthians, to some of them. Because remember, in the Corinthian church you had the wackos who he needed to bring down, which I believe he did. Then you had the troublemakers, and then you had the solid believers.

That's the Corinthian church. And he writes this to them, to the group, one of these things, if the shoe fits, wear it kind of a thing. But in grace and love, not a mean spirit, if the shoe fits, wear it. It's like, listen, if this is you, and you see that, then fix it. That's the idea with love. He says, for you put up with fools gladly.

Now you all don't do that. Since you yourselves are wise, for you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one slaps you in the face, that's what he says, second Corinthians 11 19 and 20. Where's the discernment?

You let people abuse you, but a righteous teacher comes along, and you'll have none of that. You get the sarcasm? Not sardonic. He's not trying to wound them. He's trying to snap them out of it. What could they say when they read that? It hurt Paul to write that.

He says, you're putting up with these people, and you're attacking me. Paul tried, he made a quick trip to Corinth to try to fix things. It was a disaster. He started that church. How did that happen? The great apostle Paul, who else was teaching like Paul? Who else was doing miracles like Paul? Who else was handpicked like Paul? How dare somebody reject him?

And they did. Verse five. Let me pause here. When I was preparing for this, I said, Lord, I do not want this to be a sneak autobiography of the sufferings of a pastor. I want this to remain true, but let me tell you what happened to me once.

I'm kidding. Because it's not just for pastors. It's for all of us. If my Lord had his feelings hurt, I want to know how he dealt with it. If Paul had his feelings stepped on in the interest of his Lord, I want to know what he did with it. Because here's Paul praying for these people, loving them, with them in sickness, with them in lawsuits, with them in whatever they had to do, with them as slaves, and many of them turned on him nonetheless. Verse five. Now he couldn't do no mighty works there except that he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them. Thank you, Lord. He was still the Lord. He says, okay, fine.

You don't believe, but this one does, and this one's not going to suffer because you don't believe. And he ministered to them, Stephen. Stephen, in some of his last words, it cost him to correct the guilty, did it not? Cost him his life. He said, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit.

As your fathers did, so do you. May it not be us. May we not resist the Holy Spirit. Ananias, when he was sent to Paul to minister to him and then baptize him, he did not resist. He just questioned. He said, Lord, this guy's killing Christian. You sure you want me to? We got the right guy. I just want to make sure I understand this.

I don't want to go to the wrong address. And of course, the Lord says that he's a faithful servant of mine. You're going to show him how much he's going to suffer for me. And Ananias was off. He was, he's going to suffer, right? But anyway, still verse 5 says, he touched those who believed in spite of those who did not. He touched them. Read again verse 5. Now he could do no mighty work there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.

To be touched by Jesus, can you imagine? They didn't have the scriptures and the knowledge we have. Verse 6, and he marveled because of their unbelief.

Then he went about the villages in a circuit teaching. Now this is the marvel of disappointment, not delight. This is a negative impression they left on him. This, he didn't go, wow, that's how you do it.

It was, wow, that was bad. They admitted to the miracles. They admitted to the teachings and they still turned on me like that. Those who rejected him, they couldn't stop him. That's the lesson. The rejection. What's the lesson? He continued ministering. He did not let that stop him. Being, getting your feelings hurt, being made bitter is a powerful force.

It can knock you out of the race. So the writer says, let us, you know, laying aside the sin that so easily ensnares us, let us run with diligence the race that is set before us, laying aside the sin that so easily trips us up. Whether it's your sin or the sins of others, Christ's response to their rejection is fine.

The work goes on with or without you. He went about teaching because ignorance could not be ignored by him or by God. You know, there's a saying, you think education is expensive? Try ignorance. It's true.

This is consistent with his deity and that's what catches my eye when I read this. So I don't want to come up and say, let me tell you about all of, you know, the daggers and stabbings and bad things people say. They don't know what they're talking about.

My side of the story is right and theirs wrong. Instead of doing that, I'd rather say, let me tell you about some of the pain and how to push through it. Because one day I'm going to stand before Christ and I don't want him to say, you were almost there, kid, until you got that whole feeling hurt thing. And then you stopped. Who bewitched you? Having begun in the Spirit, were you made perfect by this kind of behavior?

I don't want to hear that. And so I take the pain knowing, knowing that he knows what he's doing and I'm submitted to that whether I like it or not. And what can hell do against a Christian who thinks that way? So he concerned himself with the Word of God and he taught God's Word. Matthew 4, Jesus answered and said, and this is basic, but we need a reminder, it is written. This is the scripture. This comes from the Word, from the throne of God from the mouth of God.

It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Remember that the next time you think that I need more than Bible, I need this and I need that.

Yeah, you do need those other things perhaps, but you need the Word of God always. No matter what, don't let Satan steal, wash or spill the wind from your sails. Verse 7, and he called the twelve to himself and began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. So there you are in hell and you're not the people but hell itself, the inhabitants say, ha ha, we shut them down in his own hometown and then word comes back but now he's twelve times stronger. He's sending out the apostles and he's giving them specific instructions. If Nazareth did not want to hear it, he had others who would and he had so many that he had to deputize his men, his servants. That's what the servants are. Began to send them out two by two. It's better to go out two by two.

This is an excellent pattern for us. One to encourage, one to support, one to even give you mild nudges of rebuke. We gain so much by another person's interaction, not too much of the time but enough of the time. I think a pastor in preparation for a sermon for example, that's a filtering time. It's a time where he filters out a lot of stuff that he can't say that he shouldn't say and brings in stuff that he can say and must say and that is the companionship of the Holy Spirit with him. For all of us, going at it alone is not the ideal.

It has to happen sometimes but it's not the ideal. Deuteronomy 17 comes on the strength of two or three witnesses. He continues here in verse 7, and gave them power over unclean spirits. Was there this heightened demonic activity in the days of Christ? Some good Bible teachers believe there were.

I don't think so. I think what happened is that the unclean spirits are still here with us today. Don't think that we need to see them running around with pitchforks and axes attacking people.

It's very subtle. For example, those who run tweeter and mug book, these people have unclean spirits. I mean Nancy Pelosi, she's got an unclean spirit.

Christ would liberate her from that if she would just let him and she's not the only one. We have whole parties of people out there. Nazi Germany was a whole nation of people with an unclean spirit.

De Fira. I mean it's just goofy almost except it was too violent and malicious to be laughable. Those who gobble up lies and spread them. Someone's, you know, attacking somebody for trying to say life begins at conception and then physically attacking them. Are you telling me that person doesn't have an unclean spirit? They get so bent out of shape when they're confronted with morality. They get violent. Want to riot. What would happen a few weeks ago if Christ were walking through Portland casting out evil spirits?

So my point is I don't believe that there was this heightened activity. I think it's here with us to this day. And we defeat it with truth and those who we cannot minister to the truth, what do we do? Christ tells us walk away.

We'll come into that. Verse 8. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff.

No bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts. But to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. Now we have some, I guess, conflicts on the surface here because the taking of a staff and sandals is permitted here by Mark but it is prohibited on the same account by Matthew and Luke.

Which one is right? Well when Matthew says, Jesus speaking to them, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, plural staffs, sandals, and extra repair. These are backup sandals.

These are backup staffs. These are backup clothing that Christ is prepping. He says, listen, I don't want you packing heavy. I want you going light.

I want you to trust me. Well he's sending them out. Okay, so he says, I'm going to send you out. And they start packing and he knows they're going to do this.

So he gives them his orders. So I don't want you packing as though you might run out of something. You know, some of you when you travel, you overpack, do you not?

Some of you take like five bottles of mouthwash just in case you run out of one. I'm just kidding. But we all understand this. Here it is staff, singular. In Matthew and Luke it is plural. You say, who takes an extra staff?

One commentator actually brings that up. Who takes an extra staff? Well, look at it this way. If you're an outdoorsman, in those days, and you can't just go and buy one at, you know, the outdoor shop. If, you know, carrying a knife and whittling one down is just not an option for you. They only had two swords amongst them, incidentally. And you needed this staff also for self-defense.

Not only against brigands on the road, but wild dogs, wolves, anything that would come against you. This was an important tool. And they do break. You stir a fire with your staff long enough, their tip is going to break.

Soon, I mean, you know, just using it, it's going to break. And so if I were them and I said, my staff, I use my staff, thy rod and thy staff, I'm taking an extra one. It wouldn't take a lot to strap that over your shoulder. It'd be part of your little backpack. And so I think what is happening here is Mark is giving us the initial command and the prohibitions are what we're also getting in some of the other accounts and that there is no contradiction here whatsoever.

They were to trust for their provisions according to his instructions. If I have sandals and I'm going on a trip and I'm worrying about one of those leather straps, I mean, what happens if you go, when I was in sales, I travel around a lot. I didn't sell anything. I just traveled around. And I remember one trip my shoelace broke. I could just go down and get another shoelace. But what if I couldn't?

I'd look like a goop like Ellie Mae from the Clampetts if I put a rope through my laces or something. So I'm just saying these things are readily available to us and they were not to them. And if they're being sent out, I'm taking a backup pair of shoes.

And even the military can issue you two pair of boots when you join because they're that important. And so that is my accurate unraveling of that verse and I'll now wait for the applause. Verse 10, and he said to them, in whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart.

And say they were not to go into a town and relocate. You know what, I like that guy's house better. He asked me last night, come over, I'm going there. He's got a pool.

I mean, it'd be crazy not to go. And Christ is saying, I don't want you to do any of that. Now he's going to modify all of this later in the ministry towards as he closes in on the cross. Luke 22. Luke has this account plus the one we're reading in Mark. And Jesus said, he said to them, when I sent you without money bag, knapsack and sandals, and we're not to think they went barefooted, did you lack anything?

They said nothing. Then he said to them, but now he who has a money bag, let him take it and likewise a knapsack. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

Pretty radical. He's reversing everything because he's preparing them for resistance, for opposition. And he's telling them, I need you to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

I need you to be prepared. The sword. I've used this example before. Christian churches in the Sudan who did not have an armed guard were slaughtered and the ones who had armed guards were bypassed. Churches today, they should have means of protecting themselves from those who are wicked. We are not to use the sword to spread the gospel as Islam, as the popes have done. We are not to use violence to preach Christ. There is no record in the book of Acts or Revelation during the great tribulation period of the apostles or the martyrs weaponizing themselves to defend themselves in their faith. However, the Lord does not rule out times of self-defense. And when the disciples said to him, we have two swords, he didn't say, get rid of those things, trust me.

He just moved on. If you invade my home and I'm next to stuff, there's going to be a lot of hate and discontent coming your way. It's your own doing. But I'm not going to let you come in and molest my family. What kind of witness for Christ would that be? So there you have, we are free to protect ourselves when possible under certain conditions though, such as with Stephen and James and Paul, we're not. And those Holy Spirit will guide us through those details. Verse 11, and whoever will not receive you nor hear you when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Surely I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day of judgment than for that city. And so there it is, he says, don't waste time. Those whom you can't reach, move on. You cannot force them into the kingdom. Sodom and Gomorrah did not have the chance that these folks are getting and to reject the message that you're giving them is going to be actually, they're going to be held accountable for the light that they refused. When he says shake the dust off your feet, don't let that stuff cling to you.

Make this statement to them that you denounce any association with their rejection and you salvage nothing from them. Unfortunately that I think many times we in Christianity don't learn this lesson. We look to salvage and we look to kind of buddy up with the, with those who reject Christ. I mean on doctrinal issues and how we conduct ourselves. Verse 12, so they went out and preached that people should repent.

Always. Repentance is the vanguard of the message. The impenitent cannot be saved. You cannot say, yes, I gave my life to Christ.

He is Lord and Savior, but I'm really a good guy and because that's, I really don't need him as a savior. You, you must come face to face with your sin. John 16 verse eight and when he has come, that is the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world of sin. That's what calling the people to repent is all about.

Peter did it. He said, repent the times of refreshing may come and we are to do it too. If the person doesn't want to hear that there's sinners before a holy God, then we shake the dust off our feet. If they don't want to hear what we're going to do.

We put tracks in their sandwiches. Verse 13, and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil, many who were sick and healed them. Now the idea of the oil, it's not the same word for oil that is creos with, which is used for Christ.

It's a different word. My point is there's no power in this oil. It is more for care. They're ministering to people. That's why it says anoint with oil many who were sick and heal them. They're separate. It's not a magic oil. You rub it on and then you'll feel better later.

That's not the idea. The idea is that you, you, you deal with the spiritual ailment of demons and you minister to the people with care. Ergo the oil and symbol of the oil. And I could go into a whole long thing.

I think we did it with James. And then, and then there are the healings. The Good Samaritan, of course, he bandaged the wounds of the injured man. He poured oil and wine on his wounds and he took care of him. And it tells us just like that.

And I'm going to read it. Luke 10, 34. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

And he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And so there's not this impersonal, you know, I'm just doing this for Christ kind of a thing. There's also ministering to the person as a person. Well, the lessons coming out of this in closing is those who preach Christ, whether from a pulpit or from wherever you find yourself, will from time to time suffer rejection and hurt, sometimes more than others. Sometimes just in the work of ministry as a believer, whether it is in the church or not, you're going to suffer hurt.

What are you going to do with it? You're going to turn tail and run or, because you're just going to get hurt the next place eventually and turn tail and run there too probably. That's your learn. Another lesson we get is the work goes on nonetheless. The workers are sent out in loyal service. They're expected to obey what they were told and to carry out their mission.

And they'll come back and they will report on the victorious service for the Lord. My last point to revisit is I believe that all of us from time to time should re-familiarize ourselves with the definition straight out of the dictionary of the word loyalty. Because you just can't do much where there's no loyalty. You see a strong church out there that sticks to the word, that works to love people, that works to minister. It's because they have loyal people there. Because without loyal people, loyal to the Lord, loyal to each other, loyal to truth, to the mission. Without that, what can you do?

Nothing. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Mark. Cross Reference Radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville in Virginia. To learn more information about this ministry, visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. Once you're there, you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. You can search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. That's all we have time for today, but we hope you'll join us next time as Pastor Rick continues to teach through the book of Mark, right here on Cross Reference Radio.