The one thing we can be guaranteed of in terms of the promises of God is that before receiving them there will be a period of waiting. That period of waiting is usually the hardest for most of us.

Q: Is it possible that we can do the will of God, that we can be obedient and still not receive the promise?

A: Yes! We have need of patient endurance so that after we have done God’s will we receive His promise. We need to do the will of God, and then continue with endurance while we wait however long it take before we into the promise of God.

As I reflect on many in our congregation and community and our church in this season, I want to encourage us all regarding standing firm in faith. Continuing to stand and believe and trust God through whatever challenges come our way. We have national challenges, power challenges, work place challenges, school challenges, relational challenges, family challenges, personal challenges, financial challenges, church challenges. None of us are immune or exempt from facing challenges in this life! It is important that we learn to standing firm in the face of resistance and opposition. Stand firm when things don’t go as we thought they would or even should. Stand firm in the face of difficulties and trials. Stand firm in the face of sorrow and loss. Stand firm in the midst of the battle. Stand firm when what we thought would transpire didn’t. Stand firm when we face infirmity or delay, disappointment or heartbreak. Stand firm when we are waiting for the breakthrough or victory.

As we think of mothers this Mothers’ Day, I believe it is useful to reflect on the nature of the rejection they experience. It is important for mothers to process this rejection effectively and for the rest of us to minimize the rejection we inflict upon them. We live in a society where there are many social ills amongst young people, but there seems to be a paucity of research around the impact this has on the mothers of these young people. High risk behaviour amongst young people today is causing extreme anxiety in mothers. Disrespectful egalitarian mindsets have resulted in a lot of mothers feeling frustrated, hurt and drained. Teenagers often withdraw socially from their families and start spending more time with their peers. The result of this is a deep sense of loneliness and even fears of complete abandonment on the part of the mothers. In this message I am going to highlight some research findings with regards to the impact of rejection on mothers today. I will also share some biblical principles that will equip us in relating aright to our mothers and mothers in society. I exhort you to repent if you see that you have not been relating in a biblically honouring manner to your mother and mothers in general.

We cannot talk about rejection without unpacking what it means to be accepted by God. The degree to which we have a revelation of God’s love and acceptance determines the degree to which we experience freedom from the fear of rejection from man.

Ps 27:1-2 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Ps 56:11 In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

When we are afraid of someone, we are afraid of specific things. It’s useful knowing what these things are. Often we fear their indifference, disregard, disapproval, or their judgment. We are free from the fear of rejection when we make God our light, our salvation, and our stronghold. So, we are not just saying to them, “you don’t define me!” but we are also saying, “God defines me.” This happens when we hide in God, as shown in verse 6.

Ps 27:6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

One of our goals when dealing with people, is to reinforce to them how God sees them. When they interact with us, they should quickly realise that “I am loveable”, “I am accepted for who I am”, “I belong”. Their self-concept is their own responsibility, but I am accountable to God for the degree to which I reflect His heart towards them. There are different types of rejection people face. Rejection by family, rejection because of ethnicity, rejection at school, rejection for their faith, rejection in ministry, rejection because of age, and rejection in the corporate world. Acceptance from man is often fickle. I have experienced many types of rejection but through it all have known and experienced God’s delight.

God’s Hope |The Anchor Of Our Soul

Research has shown that rejection is the root cause of a lot of depression, anxiety and many other mental health challenges. Prolonged rejection and social isolation often results in low self-esteem which is a precursor to drug addiction, violence and other social ills. When we examine the prevalence and the consequences of rejection like this, it becomes very clear that the Church needs to give people tools to deal with it. Firstly, we must not be the perpetrators and secondly we need to know how to process it when it comes. Some people have become mature in how they deal with rejection whilst others have very low emotional intelligence in how they process it. It’s important to note that we all have different levels of need for inclusion. Instruments like FIRO-B actually measure such levels and help us to be gracious towards those that have this need more deeply ingrained in their personality than we do. I am a big includer but have a very low need for inclusion. The result is that I tend to process rejection and exclusion positively whilst someone else can be stung by similar events. As we do this study we will examine various faces of rejection, such as betrayal, abandonment, neglect, disapproval, exclusion and disregard in everyday life. It’s important for us to also examine the traits that develop in many people as a result of rejection experiences. Some develop a mental stronghold that causes them to reject themselves before they can be rejected. This person becomes socially isolated and detached. Others struggle with a persecutory super ego (intense feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame for trivial things), where they are self-critical and obsessed with the misbelief that the whole world is against them. If this persists, one can become oppressed by a lying spirit of rejection. We will discuss this in the course of this series. Some become vulnerable narcissists who are fixated and obsessed with the number of imaginary enemies they have. The point is that the way we process rejection affects our levels of Christlikeness and the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. This series seeks to help believers develop a robust theology of rejection, and life skills to process it when it occurs.

In his book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism", Tim Keller states "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead."

In my message today we will focus on a well-known passage of scripture that has even been called “the resurrection creed” because of its creed-like structure. It is one of the earliest and most significant confessions of faith in the Christian tradition.

In this message we will focus on three frequently asked questions with regards to the Last Days and Eternal Judgement. 1. What will our resurrection bodies be like? 2. Who is the Antichrist? 3. Why would a loving God send people to hell?

Referenced links:

Bill Scheidler, Basic Doctrine 2 Lessons 19-24:

http://www.churchleadershipresources.com/Curriculum/Basic_Doctrine_2/Notes/Basic_Doctrine_2_Teacher_A4.pdf

The End of the World. Teaching Series by Gareth Lowe:

https://gochurch.co.za/end-time-series/

Alan W. Gomes. 40 Questions about heaven and hell:

https://www.amazon.com/40-Questions-about-Heaven-Hell/dp/0825442761

John Blanchard. Whatever happened to hell?:

https://www.amazon.com/Whatever-Happened-Hell-John-Blanchard/dp/

0852343035

DOCS:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FP-Mqt2qQmTSka_CGLddjSd9QfkcT-2mVt-iws_P_-Y/edit?usp=share_link

Eschatology, the study of end times, is one of the most debated topics in Christianity. Many believers hold different positions on this and sadly it has divided the Church unnecessarily. These differences are typically to do with the timing of the “rapture” and which aspects of the last days are symbolic and which ones should be taken literally. Another major area of contention is to do with the nature of the great tribulation and the role of the Church and Israel in that time. Nevertheless, it is important for us to know what the Bible actually says about these things and not to become sensationalist based on the latest conspiracy theory, novel or movie we have watched on the topic. It’s crucial for us to rightly divide the Word of God and remember to interpret it based on what the author was saying to the initial recipients, the historical context and also in alignment with other passages that may be clearer. Sometimes we have an inflated view of the importance of our own generation that we assume everything written will manifest in our day. In philosophy people speak of the teleological question. This is to do with where we are ultimately going. Teleios is the Greek for “brought to its end, complete or finished.” The teleological question is to do with ultimate destination and how things will end. In essence, how will this earth as we know it, be wrapped up? In this message we will be answering some key questions to do with last things. These are questions that even the disciples asked Jesus.

Mt 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” – Paul Nyamuda