The Rejection and The Praise of Man

These are the main points from the book Dealing with the Rejection and Praise of Man by Bob Sorge that I just read. This helped me personally but it also applies in ministry and how we respond to people (and their responses to us). I wanted to share these with you all.... If this whets your appetite to learn more, I highly recommend that you read this book (it's short! :^) God bless. Kayla

1.All of us will know rejection until our dying day. It's an unavoidable dynamic of our human existence.

2.No one knows rejection better than Jesus. Jesus proved that even if you're perfect you'll be rejected.

3.The more like Jesus you become, the more rejected you'll be.

4.If we respond properly to rejection, we gain eternal treasure.

5.Rejection is one of God's specialty tools in the school of the Spirit, reserved for those He especially likes.

6.Rejection is a trial-but the acceptance of the Father is the healing ointment.

7.Rejection stings, but it doesn't have to wound your heart.

8.We must forgive those who reject us.

9.We must learn to believe and receive the Father's love.

10. When God accepts me and approves, I need acceptance and approval from no one else.

11.Although I need only God's acceptance, I desperately need proper relationship and connection to my brothers and sisters in Christ.

12.One of the greatest challenges of Christian maturity is to make myself vulnerable to your kindness and affection while not allowing myself to be wounded by your rejection.

13.Its a sign of maturity when we can receive correction without interpreting it as rejection.

14.You won't be healed of rejection by analyzing the source of your rejection, but by looking at your Source of acceptance. Whose acceptance do you seek?

15.When I yearn for your acceptance, I open myself to your rejection.

16.You cannot seek the acceptance of both God and man. You cannot serve two masters.

17.Rejection and praise are opposite ends of the same continuum with identical root issues.

18.Two reasons why we should not be touched by the praise of man: people are undependable, and the opinions of people are insignificant.

19.The fear of man (the desire for man's praise) is a snare. (see my last blog "The Trap").

20.Jesus did not receive the honor of man

21.When we're energized by men's praises we lose our discernment.

22.Don't receive the cheap replacement of man's praise when you can contend for the highest praise- the honor of God Himself

23.To feed off the honor of man is idolatry.

24.When I no longer receive the praise of man, I become free of all men- free, that is, to love all men equally and unconditionally.

25.Living in a place where we are totally free from the praise and rejection of man is a lifetime pilgramage.

26.I do not seek the praise of other people, but I do seek to honor and encourage other believers as much as possible.

27.I can praise others by giving thanks to God for what His grace has accomplished in their lives.

28. We should affirm what God is doing in those around us, even when we see their shortcomings.

29.When you praise me, I do not receive your praise, but I do receive you.

The Trap!

Jeremiah 17: 5-8
“ 5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Proverbs 29:
“ 25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

Psalm 25:
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land

Proverbs 27
“ 21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.

The fear of man versus the fear of the Lord has been a subject that has been working in my heart lately. The acceptance and praise of man compared to the acceptance and praise of God has taken up my thoughts a lot lately. There are so many scriptures about this, these are just a sampling… But I am so convicted, and so encouraged. God is revealing His heart to me. That’s always exciting. It’s always been there in His word, but I guess it’s fresh to me just now.

The fear of man is a snare! It's a trap! Those who trust in man, will be trapped into barreness and isolation and unaware of the blessing of God, unaware of prosperity, even when it’s right in front of their face. I think the reason for that is because they aren’t looking for it in God… they are looking for it in man. I've been guilty of this. When will we learn? The best friend, the most loving family member, the Godliest saint, will each disappoint us and even at times (unknowingly or knowingly) may reject us… Why? Because they are not God. HE alone is trustworthy and pure of heart. Man may try, but we will always come up short.

Jesus said, “I do not receive honor from men.” (John 5:41). He didn’t say, “I don’t go around seeking the honor of men”. He said He did not even receive it! Why? He knew what was in man’s heart. He knew that the same crowds who were singing “Hosanna” one week, would in the next week be screaming, "Crucify Him!" He knew that even His closest friends who swore their undying love and devotion, would deny Him and reject Him when their own lives were put in jeopardy. He knew what was in man’s heart. And we should too. And He also knew what was God’s heart. And we should too! Jesus chose to not trust in man. He chose to not fear man. We should too.

But in choosing the praise of God alone, in choosing the fear of God and not man we are not to form a “me and Jesus club”. Although Jesus knew what was in man, He still chose to partner with us and He has commanded us to not forsake assembling together and working together. He could have done it a lot faster and better without us. But He’s chosen to use us… That amazes me. That testifies of His love for us and His surprising enjoyment of us. We are to work together as a Body, to lift each other up and to encourage and to bless one another… but our approval and acceptance is going to have to be found completely and only in Him.

We are to fear Him alone. We are to seek His approval alone. And why would we even desire to rely on the praise and approval of man when we can have the highest honor of His, “Well done thou good and faithful servant”? Yet the sad truth is that most of us do seek the praise of man over the praise of God. "The one whom we fear, is the one whom we will serve". And a man cannot serve two masters…

In his book Dealing with the Rejection and Praise of Man Bob Sorge asks, “Are you trying to please God or man? Do you seek acceptance from man? When people compliment you, does it strengthen your sense of self-worth and self-fulfillment? Do you feed off the praise of man? “

Bob Mumford once said, "Praise is food for God, but poison for man". It is one of the biggest tests that reveals who we are looking to, whom we fear. The praise of man is a snare! The fear of man is often the result of rejection that drives us to seek man’s validation. Am I significant? Am I loveable? Am I of value? Those questions can only be answered through the revelation of the love and acceptance of God.

In Ephesians, Paul talked about being “rooted and grounded in God’s love”… That’s stability. Then obedience and the fear of the Lord will come more naturally… It is a joy and a pleasure to serve someone who you KNOW loves you and accepts you! Out of Relationship, will come obedience and holiness…

I do not want to be defined by the approval or rejection of man any longer. I do not want to trust in man. I do not want to be led by the fear of man or to waste the time I've been given seeking man's praise and avoiding their rejection. I want to be free from this common snare. Satan cannot make us sin, but he surely can lure us into his traps. I believe that the fear of man/ the seeking of man's approval is one of satan's most successful traps that he uses against the body of Christ. I want to steer clear of this path and to travel down the Lord's highway of holiness.

So I want to invite you to join me in this quest to know the fear of the Lord, to seek after only His acceptance. When we are rejected or praised by men, we need to consider the source- yes to be appreciative of the encouragment- but to run to our only true Source. If we fear and trust in Him, if we seek to please Him alone and not people (whose opinions and moods can change from moment to moment and who in their flesh may reject us) – in Him we will find security, confidence, fulfillment and joy! And His rewards are not fleeting, but eternal and everlasting! I want that! Amen!

The Shift!

I know it's been forever and a day since I posted a blog but in case anyone ever checks this anymore... :^)... I wanted to share this word my husband gave in June of this year. I have heard this same word in various different forms by different prophets and ministers all summer long... God must be speaking. Let's listen!

6/12/2007 Keith Johnson. A Shift

"For the last month or so I have felt that the Lord has been speaking to me that there is a significant shift that is taking place. It is a time of corporate and personnel shifting and realignment within the Body of Christ. Realignment and reassignment. The Lord has been training us to keep our eyes off of any natural or physical circumstances and to keep our ears inclined to what the Spirit is saying and to discern what is taking place in that realm. We are in a time of significant shifting and realigning. To not discern it properly causes an unsettling, to discern with spiritual ears makes it an exciting time because we have placed our lives in His hands. Many have suffered through a long birthing process, it is not that you have done anything wrong, but the discipline of the Lord has been on you to train and prepare you. Anyone who has a knowledge of warfare knows that without discipline battles will not be won. In that birthing process many that have been overlooked, by design, and have felt like the invisible man will be released into their God appointed purpose. You have not been overlooked says the Lord, I have kept you hidden, like an arrow in the quiver. Some of you can be classified as a “secret weapon” a kingdom minded arsenal. "

Let's not grow discouraged in the change... let's respond to God. Let's say "Yes Lord!" to Him as He realigns us... May the flood of God move things from where they are to where He wants them, in our lives, in our churches, in our cities, in our nations... Let's choose to not resist and to allow Him to reposition us. Amen!

Drawing Near To the Light

Psalm 56:13 says… “You have kept my feet from slipping, so now I can walk in Your presence, in Your life-giving light.”

God’s word says that His presence is like a light… I’ve been thinking on this for a couple of days. His presence is like a light. A light reveals, and our response is that either it draws us, or it repels us. When you turn on the outside light at night, moths and bugs usually flock to it. They are DRAWN to the light. But also, when we turn on a light in a dark place, like my shed or outside storage room, roaches run for cover… They are HIDING from the light... In Luke it tells of the time when Jesus was in the boat with the disciples and they made the miraculous catch of fish (one of His first miracles that they saw), Peter’s response was, “Please leave me Lord. I am too much of a sinner to be around You.” Thankfully Jesus’ response to him was, “Don’t be afraid.” And Peter and the others left all and followed Him.” They chose to draw near. I just read this morning the account of when Jesus cast the legion of demons out of the possessed man of Gadarenes, how the locals, even after viewing the formerly demon-possessed man, clothed and in his right mind sitting at the feet of Jesus, how they begged Jesus to please LEAVE the area… And He did! Their response was to move away from the Light, or rather to ask the Light to move away from them! The Israelites at Mt. Sinai were given an opportunity to draw near to the Living God, but they pulled away in fear and (basically) said, "Moses, YOU tell us what He says. We prefer to stay at a distance and not get too close." Oh mercy! And my question is- what will our response be to His presence? Honestly, there have been times when I wanted to run. I might not actually run or consciously ask Him to leave, but I would busy myself with GOOD things. Ministry things. Nothing wrong with that, right? But like with busy Martha and worshipping Mary, what did Jesus say the better thing was? Mary's way-To just sit at His feet, to gaze into His face and to just enjoy His presence- to WORSHIP! As the sense of His presence is increasing in our worship services, it is a choice we have to make to draw near and to really FOCUS on Him when there is so much in this life, even good things that can distract us and take our attention away. We don't need to wait for Sunday morning or Wednesday night to worship. Fellowshipping with Him should be a part of our life, just as fellowshipping with our family members is... This is a challenge and I am praying for this to become to me as natural as breathing!

I’ve been thinking about this for some time and praying that the Lord could really help me to focus my FULL attention on Him during corporate worship and during quiet times of fellowship with Him. Pastor Ralph encouraged our worship team a couple of weeks ago with this also. You would think that for Christians that would be an easy thing for us to do. But it’s possible for us to be busy FOR God and yet miss Him entirely.

During a church service, how is it that we would never think of visiting, talking and taking care of business (I need to talk to this person and give them this or that), during the preaching but we feel totally comfortable to do that during worship time? We have no problem giving the Pastor our full attention during the time of hearing the word of God. But during worship, we will visit and go in and out of the sanctuary rather than giving our awesome, holy God our FULL attention during HIS time. Worship is all about Him and nothing else. It is HIS TIME. If we had an audience with the President of the United States, would we not give him our full attention? Would we be distracted? Would we say, "excuse me Mr. President" and then go busy ourselves with something else, while he waited for us? I don't think so. I think most of us would count it a privilege to have an appointment with the President and would honor that time, focus on him and him only and remain with him during his appointed time. So why, when we have an audience with the King of kings and the Lord of lords, do we treat that time as common and optional? How much more should we honor and value the time in our services set aside to focus on and to draw near in worship to our God. He certainly was focused on us when He sent His only Son to die so that we might have life. Don't we at the very least owe Him our uninteruppted, full attention? These are questions I ask myself... I don’t mean to sound judgmental or legalistic. God knows we have to take care of our children and often have to deal with things like that during worship time but I’m more talking about an attitude of the heart. Worship isn't meant to be optional. Worship is high on God's priority list. It is a time to focus on Him alone, not on the songs, the worship team or the pastors. In the Church (the Body of Christ as a whole, not just our church) there is often a casualness about worship and what it really is. I’ve heard and I believe that the Lord is restoring worship to its proper place in these latter days. Like it was in the days of the King David and Solomon, worship is meant not as entertainment or as a nice way to warm up a church service but rather it is a vehicle to transport us into the glory of the Living God! Whoa! Into the presence of the Living God! Into His Light! How can we treat that casually, take it or leave it or come in and out of it? Why would we want to?!

Pastor Ralph shared with our worship team how as worship leaders, rather than us LEADING the congregation into the presence of God, it’s more like we BRING the presence of God down to the people. I’d never thought of it like that before. Worship prepares hearts for the message of the Word and opens the way for the prophetic. Elijah (or was it Elisha?) asked for a minstrel to play before he gave the word of the Lord to the king. When we have been in a time of worship, we have been with God. We have focused on Him and have put everything aside for a period of time to draw near Him and to give Him what is due Him. Our hearts are enlightened, softened and prepared and we are better able now, to receive the word of the Lord.

The Bible says that God INHABITS the praises of His people. And the devil doesn’t like that ONE BIT! He’s going to do everything he can to distract us from coming into the Light, from focusing and truly worshipping God as He deserves. We usually have enough sense to not be tempted with BIG sins, but it’s the little distractions during worship that trip us up and get our eyes on anything but God. Believe me, I know about those! Even as a worship leader I have to fight often to stay focused. The devil is afraid of the Light, like those roaches in my storage shed! It EXPOSES him and he likes to stay hidden so he can do his dirty work. He is afraid of the presence of God and what will happen when God's people really come together in the light, in unity and worship the Living God corporately. He's going to fight us tooth and nail to keep that from happening because he knows how powerful our worship is.

But as I said before, God's presence is increasing in our church. I am challenged in that we have an incredible opportunity RIGHT NOW to press in, to draw close during this time in a way we’ve never had before. My prayer for myself, my family and our church is that we would RECOGNIZE this open door and the times we are in and we would CHOOSE to focus on God, even when it’s hard, in order to draw near to Him during this time. For He promises that when we draw near to Him. He draws near TO US! Praise the Lord!

As we sang last night- “I want to be with You where you are Jesus”.

“God where are You? We want to stay in step with You. Where are you taking us? We do not want to be busy doing other things, distracted by even ministry things and good things and miss where You are! If You do not go with us, we will not go. But if Your cloud moves, we want to not be so busy that we aren’t aware that it has moved and remain where we are… still here, still taking care of business as usual, but not moving on and being where You are. Open our eyes Lord. Forgive me for when I have not really been focused on You but rather on the things OF You. As the sense of Your presence in our church increases, may we make the right choice and draw near--even when we feel uncomfortable with the Light of Your presence revealing our heart to us. May we not busy ourselves, distract ourselves, scurry away from the light (like those yucky bugs in my outside storage room) but rather draw nearer and nearer… even when it’s uncomfortable. For we want to be with You where You are Lord. In Your glorious revealing, cleansing, life-changing presence. Help us Lord to draw near to Your Light. Thank You that You will! Amen”

Quotes on this subject: (added 4/03/07)
"The devil is aware that one hour of close fellowship... with God , is able to pull down what he hath been contriving and building for many a year." John Flavel

"As Christ is enthroned in worship, Satan is dethroned in the heavenlies (see Ps 22:3, 149:5-9). As we lift up the Son, we pull down the serpent!" Dutch Sheets

On the Word...and Chocolate...

I was talking to a friend today about how in studying the Word, (which of course we need to do), that we not analyze it so much that it becomes dry, dead law rather than nourishing life and warm light to our souls. Yes, I value the Word and the study of the Word. But can we dissect it and analyze it so much that it becomes more of a specimen under a glass than the living, breathing, personal Word of the One we love, the One we desperately need to hear from and the One we exist for?

This discussion with my friend reminded me of something I read once in an old book I have by Corrie Ten Boom. She was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp in World War II, having been imprisoned for helping the Jews. After her release (her sister and father died in the camps), she traveled the world telling her story and preaching the Gospel. Here is an account of her that I am reminded of. I couldn't find the book I was looking for in my bookshelf, but I did find this account online.

The story is told of the time Corrie Ten Boom was to speak to a group of theologians after the war. She first passed out Dutch chocolate to each person there - a real treat in those days. After they had eaten it she said, "No one said anything about the chocolate." Someone protested that they had indeed thanked her for it. She replied, "I meant that none of you asked me how much sugar was in it. Or what kind of chocolate it was. Or the order in which the ingredients were added together. Or the temperature of the mix. Or where it was made. You just took it and ate it." Someone in the audience replied, "And it was excellent." Corrie Ten Boom then continued holding up her Bible, "And in the same way you should read this! Stop analyzing it or you will never be nourished. Pick it up and read the Word of God!"

The story of Corrie Ten Boom and chocolate, illustrates the need to read the Bible in a personal way, to let the Spirit speak through the Word, to make it part of our daily devotions without over-analyzing its ingredients. This approach leads to a deepening of spiritual life. Corrie Ten Boom urged the theologians to read the Bible in that way. She does so because theologians, and many of us, read the Bible too much in an analytic manner. We apply a critical, scientific attitude toward it, in an attempt to understand what it says. Such a manner of reading may nourish the intellect but can become a dry intellectual process that leaves the soul barren...

In recounting this story, I am reminded that- yes, I am to read the Word, study the Word, know the Word and DO the Word. But in so doing, am I operating in the Spirit of the Word when I technically pick it apart and impersonally slap it onto a hurting friend's painful situation like a band-aid on a tumor? Heaven forbid!

"Father, may Your Word go down and burrow into the deepest place of our heart of hearts and find good soil to nourish it's growth. May it spring up from that place and spread throughout, choking out the weeds (the lies) that may grow there. May Your Word shine like the penetrating noonday sun into our souls, burning away the fog of confusion and penetrating every crevice where the creeping shadows have tried to hide. And Lord, please, please, please give us illumination of Your life-giving Word and the Spirit behind it, so that we may wield it carefully and compassionately and know it, as we know Your very heart. In Jesus name. Amen"

"The Hall" !

Hello… I wonder if anyone ever checks this anymore since I tend to take so long between posts! :^)… I wish I could write just a little something each day like my other seasoned blogger friends, but the daily details of my life aren’t too exciting and my observations on things seem to take too long to form in my mind… Is it my age? I know I had a birthday recently, but… mercy! I saw an ad yesterday on TV about some game you can buy that sharpens your mind and helps with your memory… I thought- I need that! I really do!… So I guess it’s not just me! That comforts me a little… but only a little! :^)

I do think that a lot of my muddle-brainness (a new word! Yay!) comes from where I am in life. I like categories, labels, titles… where am I Lord? Which season is this? Am I here or there? I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps I’m neither here nor there! I’ve been hearing a lot of prophetic words about ‘transitions’. I can relate, but what are we transitioning to? There IS the sense of change in the air, yet I’ve felt that for quite some time… I’ve become accustomed to it, perhaps have grown tired in it and have lost the sense of anticipation… At first waiting expectantly… then waiting… waiting… waiting… sigh… waiting… yawn…waiting… I am reminded of the ten virgins in the Bible. They were waiting for the Bridegroom. Some grew tired, they were lulled to sleep in their waiting… then when the transition began, they were dull, sleepy, unprepared, and they missed Him!

I heard a teaching at Brownsville about being in “the hall” of transition. In a house, you have many rooms… You have the kitchen, where people gather and eat. You have the living room where they sit and fellowship. You have the bedroom where they rest. Then you have THE HALL…. What do we do in a hall? Do we sit down? There are no chairs in the hall… There isn’t a bed in the hall… There’s not a stove or a table in the hall…Compared to the other rooms, a hall seems kind of pointless. But wait! It does have a purpose… it is to get you from Point A to Point B. There’s no escaping the hall. If you want to get from the bedroom to the kitchen in my house, you must access the hall… The chairless, empty hall… I never sit in the hall… I keep moving… It is a necessary passageway… I guess it would be kind of abrupt to walk out of my private bedroom into the very public kitchen… The hall sort of gives me time to adjust… I enter the hall with purpose, not just to hang out or to rest, I am moving towards something… Transitioning...

So having said all of this- I am in the hall… I have been for a very long time. All I know is that it must be a very long hall! :^). Keith has been in the hall longer than I have… We have recently become very discouraged and disappointed that we are still in the hall. Perhaps that’s why I have neglected this blog … It seems there have been no great revelations to share from this hall…nothing much to see, nothing much to report… Discouragment often hangs out in this hall... Who wants to hear about that? Confusion also.... I have wondered at times if the enemy was in this whole hall business. Perhaps he even built the hall! He certainly seems to prolong it at times… Although I know that everything in our lives is Father-filtered, our enemy has certainly whispered in our ears that this hall will go on forever… We might as well SETTLE down here, lie down, give up and stop moving… But NO! The hall is meant for movement. You must not stop moving in the hall. That's what it's made for! And the hall eventually does lead to some place else, IF we don’t stop….We are NOT meant to be here forever….But at times we MUST be...

However, there is something very good about this hall after all…. He is here. There are fewer distractions in the hall. It is here that the Lord teaches TRUST. He whispers to those of us in the hall, ”Will you trust Me?” When we don’t see the end, yet we wouldn’t ever want to go back to where we were before- will we still trust Him? Is He trustworthy? Now to this I have a definitive, non-muddled answer- YES! Absolutely, completely, totally- YES! We may not know where this hall is leading us, but we do know Who is with us, Who loves us, Who won’t disappoint us and Who has a great plan for our lives-beyond the hall and even IN the hall! A better plan than we could ever ask for or imagine. He is the Master-builder of this house. His ways are infinitely higher than ours. And He is our Hope! I want to finish this post today with the words from a song that I wrote several years ago when I was in another darker “hall”. Sometimes, in the hall, all we can know is that He is good. He is true….but friend- that is enough! God bless!

“When my dreams are passing by,
And disappointment steals my song
I don’t understand Your ways
And I doubt all that I’ve known
Just one thing, I know to be true… Is You

When my plans have come to nothing.
Hope deferred it clouds my view
When I don’t feel so special
And my thoughts become confused
Just one thing I know to be true…. Is You

You are true, You are true. And my hope is in You
You are righteous, You are just. In Your word will I trust
For Your love won’t let go. And that’s all I need to know.
You are true… Lord… You are true.

Only You can satisfy, in this world of constant change
Seasons come and go but I
Know Your word remains the same
Just one thing I know to be true… Is You

You are true, You are true. And my hope is in You
You are righteous, You are just. In Your word will I trust
For Your love won’t let go. And that’s all I need to know.
You are true… Lord… You are true.”

Faith: On a tightrope with God!

I wanted to share something I read recently in LIFE BENEATH THE SURFACE by Mike Pilavachi... It's a simple illustration but it really spoke volumes to me about faith. (I do good with simple!) I hope it will bless, convict and inspire all who read it as it did me.

"Blondin, the famous French tightrope walker, strung a cable across the Niagara Falls. There's a huge crowd watching. And as they watch, he walks across and all the way back like he was out for a Sunday stroll. The crowd goes wild.

He says to them, "Do you believe that I could walk across to the other side with this wheelbarrow? And they all cheer and scream and say, 'Yeah! We believe that you can walk across there with the wheelbarrow.' No problem. They've seen him walk it easily. It shouldn't be too much harder. They believed he could do it.

Blondin then says, 'Okay, you believe I can do it. You've seen me walk across there. Who's going to get in the wheelbarrow and come with me? And there was a deathly hush.

See, it's a different thing altogether isn't it? You can believe that he can do it. But when it comes to believe in him, there's an element of personal commitment being called for...

Face it , most of us wouldn't trust Blondin to give us a ride over Niagara Falls, and similarly most of us get a little shy when we feel one of those 'divine opportunities' coming our way. Our reaction is nothing new: When writing to the Early Church, James pointed out, 'You believe that there is one God. Good! even the demons believe that and shudder.' There's a long line of people who 'believe in God,' but the one that really matters is the line marked"... And Are Prepared to Do Something About It.'

The praise of the spectators 160 feet below meant nothing to Blondin when they refused to trust him. The praise of God is worthless if we are not prepared to hop into His wheelbarrow...

Will we trust Him? Do we truly believe He is able to get us to the other side? More thoughts on faith later...

Blessings! KHJ