Rejection is one of the deepest pains that we face in life, and the way that you respond to it will make a huge difference in the direction your life goes. In today's episode, we explore how Jesus taught us to handle rejection in our ongoing study through the Gospel of Mark. Today's sermon clip is from Mark 6, where Jesus is sending out the 12 on their first mission, and he promised them, you guys are going to face rejection. and then he taught them how to handle it. So let's look at this clip. Stick around to the end because after the clip, I'm going to give you some practical ideas on how to enjoy God's approval on your life. Welcome to the Food for Your Soul podcast, where we apply the word of God to the hearts of men and women to stoke the fires of your delight in Christ. Here's your host, Dr. D. Richard Ferguson. If the people listen, Jesus said, if they listen to you, stay there, stay in that house. If they don't listen, shake the dust off your sandals, get out of there, move on. Verse 11. I want to come back to that rejection piece because that's a theme in this chapter. Jesus was just rejected in Nazareth, right? He had just been rejected right before this. Now the disciples, and it would be right before that, he was rejected in the Gazarenes. They said, get out of here, after he drove out the demons. And before that, he's rejected, and they're going to kill him. And he's just one after another. And in the next paragraph after this, next week, we're going to see John the Baptist not only be rejected, but decapitated, arrested, and his head chopped off. So rejection is a major part of Christian ministry. It's part of being a Christian in the world. You're going to be rejected. Jesus was rejected. You're going to be rejected. When that happens, don't get discouraged. Don't get discouraged. And one thing that's remarkable about Jesus, and that struck me this week, and I'm just going to close with this, but if you've nodded off, then wake up just for a moment for this, because this is worth waking up for. Think about how often Jesus was rejected. Everywhere He went, He was rejected. So I'm gonna call this one, this last one, Jesus the Rejected. I realize that doesn't start with a P. If you want a P, then how about Jesus the Persevering Pariah. That's the only one I can come up with. Because He was a pariah, right? He was an outcast. But He persevered. He delivers that whole region from the plague of those demons, and they say, get out. One rejection, he goes to his own hometown, get out. One rejection after another after another. And he persevered. He never got discouraged. He never gave in to discouragement. And let me say this to you. If you don't think that that affected him emotionally, think again. Our natural response is to just say, well of course Jesus didn't get discouraged. He's the Son of God. He's not going to get discouraged. I'm not Jesus, though. I'm a weak, frail person. Never do that. Never distance yourself from Jesus' humanity like that. Listen to Hebrews 12.1. Let us run with perseverance. How? Let us fix our eyes on Jesus who endured the cross, consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. See, if we're going to persevere, if we're going to learn from Jesus' example, we have to understand that it was just as hard for Him as it is for us. If we place Jesus in some special category that doesn't relate to our weakness and our struggle, then we're going to miss the whole grace of gaining perseverance from watching how Jesus persevered. Because, well, He's Jesus, I'm not. We're going to lose the comfort from knowing that He can sympathize with us because He's been through it. He understands how hard it is when you're a weak human being to keep going when you keep getting rejected. Jesus was a normal human being with normal human emotions, and if you are a human being, even a sinless human being like Jesus, still, rejection is painful and discouraging, especially when it happens over and over, and especially when it comes from your own friends and family. There is no question in my mind that Jesus, in times like this, felt like quitting. I'm sure of it. After what happened in Nazareth, he had to just, it just didn't seem like he could do this anymore. He was a normal human being. He didn't have any special protection from God against feelings of discouragement. He had to fight discouragement the same way we have to fight it. And if anything, it was harder for him, not easier, harder for him because he suffered worse injustice than we'll ever suffer. And he understood the spiritual consequences of rejecting the gospel more than we'll ever understand. So it was more sorrowful for him. But he never gave up because he kept his eyes on the joy set before him, Hebrews says. And we can persevere like that too, even when we're rejected, if we keep our eyes on Him instead of on the people rejecting us and opposing us. It's natural to want acceptance. So much of what we do every day is based on our desire to be accepted. by people, from the way we dress to what we do with our hair, our speech patterns, our facial expressions, the way we act. We work so hard at fitting in and being accepted because being rejected is just so painful. There's nothing wrong with that desire, but here's the question that we have to make sure that we ask ourselves. Whose acceptance am I seeking? The hard fact is you're going to be rejected by someone, either by God or those who hate God. Obviously, if they hate God and you're like God, you're not gonna be able to please both them and God. You're gonna be accepted by one, rejected by the other. You long for acceptance, that's great, but make sure your acceptance in God's sight matters to you more than acceptance in people's sight. Make sure it's God's acceptance that you're seeking. And only when you're satisfied with being accepted by God, like if He accepts me, that's enough. I don't need anyone else to accept me. Only when you get to that point will you be able to handle being rejected by the world. So here's a good exercise for you. Every time you find yourself thinking about your appearance or anything else that might make you acceptable in the eyes of people, your intelligence or the way you come off, anything like that, give equal time to thinking about what pleases God. So if you're a woman, for example, you look in the mirror, breathe a prayer like this. Father, thank you for the beauty you've given me. Help me to enjoy this beauty that you've given me rather than being discontent and complaining about what you haven't given me. Strengthen me today to be able to use this beauty for the purpose for which you gave it. I don't know if you've ever thought about your beauty that way. You have a role in contributing to the wonders of the creation. And so just say, God, I know I have this role. Enable me to fulfill that role today, to use my beauty for your glory. Now, you can pray the same thing about your intelligence, your gifts, your passions, your money, anything else that God has given you. What would it look like today for the things you do and say to be acceptable in God's sight? Thank you for listening. If you found today's episode edifying, why not share it with a friend? A simple post on social media can change a person's day. This season, the Food for Your Soul podcast features excerpts from our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. Over 130 expository sermons covering every verse. You can find those and hundreds of other sermons for free download on drichardferguson.com. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord always, and set your mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.