Faith, Rejection, and God's Redemptive Journey
Summary
In today's gathering, we celebrated the profound journey of faith and transformation through the story of Bear, who publicly declared his faith in Jesus through baptism. This act of obedience and commitment serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of taking steps of faith without delay. Baptism is not just a ritual but a declaration of one's decision to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. It is an invitation for others to also consider their own journey and the steps they might need to take in their faith.
We then explored the theme of rejection and how it is a common experience in life, whether from friends, employers, or society. The Christmas story of Mary and Joseph highlights this theme, as they faced rejection and hardship, yet remained faithful to God's plan. Their story is a testament to how God can use even the most challenging circumstances for His purposes. The birth of Jesus in a humble manger, amidst rejection, points forward to the ultimate act of sacrificial love on the cross. It reminds us that God often uses our traumas and rejections to bring about His redemptive work.
The shepherds, considered outcasts in society, were the first to receive the good news of Jesus' birth. This illustrates how God often chooses the marginalized and overlooked to be the first recipients of His grace. Their encounter with the angels and the newborn Savior transformed them, prompting them to share the good news with others. This pattern of God using the unlikely and the broken is seen throughout the Bible and continues today.
As we reflect on these stories, we are encouraged to see our own pain and rejection as opportunities for God to work through us. Just as the early Christians, despite facing persecution, boldly shared their faith, we too are called to be witnesses of God's love and grace. Our brokenness can become a testimony of God's healing and redemption, drawing others to Him.
Key Takeaways:
1. Baptism as a Declaration of Faith: Baptism is a significant step in a believer's journey, symbolizing a public declaration of faith and commitment to follow Jesus. It is an act of obedience that invites others to reflect on their own faith journey and the steps they need to take. [34:12]
2. Rejection and God's Redemptive Plan: Rejection is a common experience, but God can use it for His purposes. The story of Mary and Joseph shows how God can work through difficult circumstances to bring about His redemptive plan. [53:11]
3. God's Use of the Marginalized: God often chooses the marginalized and overlooked to be the first recipients of His grace. The shepherds, considered outcasts, were the first to hear the good news of Jesus' birth, illustrating God's inclusive love. [01:07:28]
4. Transforming Pain into Testimony: Our pain and rejection can become a testimony of God's healing and redemption. Just as the early Christians boldly shared their faith despite persecution, we are called to be witnesses of God's love and grace. [01:11:30]
5. God's Sovereignty in Our Brokenness: God can use our brokenness and trauma for His purposes, turning them into opportunities for growth and witness. By trusting in His sovereignty, we can find hope and healing in the midst of life's challenges. [01:18:27]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[34:12] - Bear's Baptism Story
[37:53] - Understanding Baptism
[51:26] - Responding to Rejection
[53:11] - Mary and Joseph's Journey
[54:38] - Prayer for Guidance
[55:47] - Exploring the Gospel of Luke
[58:05] - The Journey to Bethlehem
[59:30] - No Room in the Guest Room
[01:00:54] - Rejection and the Barn
[01:03:16] - The Christmas and Easter Connection
[01:04:54] - God's Sacrificial Love
[01:07:28] - Shepherds and the Good News
[01:10:26] - The Humble King
[01:11:30] - Early Christians' Boldness
[01:13:14] - Embracing Our Brokenness
[01:15:58] - Invitation to Follow Jesus
[01:18:27] - Using Pain for Good
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Luke 2:8-20 - The story of the shepherds receiving the good news of Jesus' birth.
2. Romans 8:26-28 - The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and God works all things for good.
#### Observation Questions
1. What was the significance of Bear's baptism as described in the sermon? [34:12]
2. How did Mary and Joseph experience rejection, and what was their response according to the sermon? [53:11]
3. What role did the shepherds play in the story of Jesus' birth, and why is it significant? [01:07:28]
4. How did the early Christians respond to persecution, and what was their motivation? [01:11:30]
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why might God choose to reveal the birth of Jesus to shepherds, who were considered outcasts in society? [01:07:28]
2. How does the story of Mary and Joseph illustrate God's ability to use rejection for His redemptive purposes? [53:11]
3. In what ways does the sermon suggest that personal pain and rejection can be transformed into a testimony of God's grace? [01:11:30]
4. How does the sermon connect the Christmas story to the Easter story, and what does this reveal about God's plan for redemption? [01:03:16]
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own journey of faith. Are there steps, like baptism, that you feel called to take but have delayed? What might be holding you back? [34:12]
2. Have you experienced rejection in your life? How can you see these experiences as opportunities for God to work through you? [53:11]
3. Consider the marginalized or overlooked people in your community. How can you be a bearer of good news to them, as the shepherds were? [01:07:28]
4. Think about a time when you felt broken or in pain. How might God be using that experience to bring healing and hope to others? [01:11:30]
5. How can you trust in God's sovereignty in your current challenges, and what steps can you take to find hope and healing? [01:18:27]
6. The early Christians were bold in sharing their faith despite persecution. What fears hold you back from sharing your faith, and how can you overcome them? [01:11:30]
7. Identify a specific area of brokenness in your life. What practical steps can you take this week to invite God to use it for His purposes? [01:18:27]
Devotional
Day 1: Baptism as a Bold Declaration of Faith
Baptism is more than a mere ritual; it is a profound declaration of one's faith and commitment to follow Jesus. This act of obedience signifies a public acknowledgment of a personal decision to embrace the teachings and path of Christ. It serves as an invitation for others to reflect on their own spiritual journey and consider the steps they might need to take in their faith. The story of Bear's baptism is a powerful reminder of the importance of taking steps of faith without delay, encouraging believers to act on their convictions and publicly affirm their commitment to Jesus. [34:12]
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4, ESV)
Reflection: What is one step of faith you have been delaying? How can you take action today to publicly affirm your commitment to Jesus?
Day 2: Embracing Rejection as Part of God's Redemptive Plan
Rejection is a universal experience, yet it can be a catalyst for God's redemptive work in our lives. The story of Mary and Joseph, who faced rejection and hardship, illustrates how God can use difficult circumstances to fulfill His purposes. Their journey, culminating in the birth of Jesus in a humble manger, points to the ultimate act of sacrificial love on the cross. This narrative encourages believers to view their own experiences of rejection as opportunities for God to work through them, transforming pain into a testimony of His grace and redemption. [53:11]
"For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons." (Psalm 69:7-8, ESV)
Reflection: Think of a recent experience of rejection. How might God be using this situation to bring about His purposes in your life?
Day 3: God's Grace for the Marginalized
God often chooses the marginalized and overlooked to be the first recipients of His grace. The shepherds, considered outcasts in society, were the first to hear the good news of Jesus' birth. This illustrates God's inclusive love and His tendency to use the unlikely and the broken to fulfill His purposes. Their encounter with the angels and the newborn Savior transformed them, prompting them to share the good news with others. This pattern of God using the marginalized is seen throughout the Bible and continues today, reminding believers of the value and potential in every individual. [01:07:28]
"Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?" (James 2:5, ESV)
Reflection: Who in your community might be considered marginalized or overlooked? How can you extend God's grace and love to them today?
Day 4: Transforming Pain into a Testimony of God's Redemption
Our pain and rejection can become a powerful testimony of God's healing and redemption. Just as the early Christians boldly shared their faith despite persecution, believers today are called to be witnesses of God's love and grace. By embracing our brokenness and allowing God to work through it, we can draw others to Him and demonstrate the transformative power of His love. This perspective encourages believers to see their struggles not as obstacles, but as opportunities to showcase God's redemptive work in their lives. [01:11:30]
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names." (Psalm 147:3-4, ESV)
Reflection: Reflect on a painful experience in your life. How can you use this experience to testify to God's healing and redemption?
Day 5: Trusting in God's Sovereignty Amidst Brokenness
God can use our brokenness and trauma for His purposes, turning them into opportunities for growth and witness. By trusting in His sovereignty, believers can find hope and healing in the midst of life's challenges. This trust allows individuals to see their circumstances through the lens of God's greater plan, recognizing that even in the midst of pain, God is at work. Embracing this truth can lead to a deeper faith and a more profound understanding of God's love and grace. [01:18:27]
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." (Psalm 34:18-19, ESV)
Reflection: In what area of your life do you need to trust God's sovereignty more fully? How can you begin to surrender this area to Him today?
Quotes
"Hi, Glenn Orbert. Nurse. No, that's great. I've had the privilege over the last couple weeks here. And finally, this last week, actually getting to sit down over a coffee to get to know Bear a little bit better and to hear a little bit of his story. And today, what we're really here to do is to celebrate his story of faith and his declaration of faith today. And so, Bear, can you tell us, first of all, when is it? When is it that you gave your life to Jesus? When" [00:34:12] (35 seconds)
"And I think that's something important for all of us. I know sometimes we can go. We can go a long time without deciding to get baptized when we give our lives to Jesus. But I want everyone here to know that if you're a follower of Jesus, if you've made that commitment, you don't need to wait. In fact, we've got extra baptism shirts. And so, if you're somebody that's just like, I can't wait anymore. I need to get up here right now. Just go and whisper to Pastor Embry at the back there that you want to get baptized. And, I mean, I'll pop back out of the baptism tank. We can do this whole thing again today. That's fine with me. Right? But in any case, we've got a video that we're going to run telling you a little bit more about what baptism is while we get ready to baptize. Bear." [00:35:36] (46 seconds)
"Despite your company's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet with my needs at this time. Therefore, I will initiate employment with your firm immediately following graduation. I look forward to seeing you then. Best of luck in rejecting future candidates. Sincerely, Mark Taylor. If only we could respond this way to rejection, right? Right? But I think every one of us, I mean, if you've been in this world long enough, you've experienced rejection." [00:52:00] (39 seconds)
"At Christmas season, at the Christmas season, I believe that Mary and Joseph would have really liked to rejection, some rejections, you know? I bet they would have. I mean, last week we talked about the fact that, you know, with Mary and Joseph, Mary, she accepts the Lord's favor, right? He says, hey, favored one, I'm going to bless you with a child who's going to, you know, save the world. And she's like, right on. I don't know how it's going to work, but let's, let's, sure. Sounds good." [00:53:11] (37 seconds)
"And the idea here is that they're showing up to the family residence and they're told there's no room in the guest room. Now, sure, let's give the family the benefit of the doubt. There's a lot of people coming home. Maybe grandma and grandpa showed up. But am I the only one that feels like if you've got a lady who just walked 28 miles and she's in her final like week of pregnancy? That maybe for one night you say you can have the bed, right? But no, no, rejected, rejected. You know what though? There is some room in the barn." [01:00:39] (45 seconds)
"You can sleep with the animals. Isn't that just what you always wanted? You're pregnant. They won't give you the guest room. They reject you from your own extended family. And then they say, but at least you can go into the barn. Where all those smells are. Anybody been to a farm recently? You know? The sounds. Animals aren't quiet. The discomfort. Ow, this straw. It's poking me and it's wet. Wait, wet? What? And labor starts. No midwife. No doctor. No anesthesia. No sterile hospital. No hospital room." [01:01:24] (46 seconds)
"Here's the amazing thing about the Christmas story. See, the Christmas story, it points forward to the Easter story, right? To Good Friday, to Easter, to what Jesus did on the cross. But the fact is, is that Jesus's story of sacrificial love started before his birth or before his death, even before his birth. God cared enough to allow his heart to be broken. And as we read the story of the Old Testament, that first part of the scriptures, what we see is that God selects a people, Israel, through whom he's going to play out all of this redemptive story." [01:03:16] (45 seconds)
"And he says, I selected you as my people. Here are my requirements. And he relates them to being in the kingdom of God. How much sacrificial love does God experience towards his people, Israel? Well, they keep rejecting him and he keeps running after them and they reject him again. In fact, it gets so bad that he decides that he needs to hire a prophet. And by hire, I mean, basically tell the prophet that he's going to be a prophet and he doesn't make money. But he essentially hires a prophet and he's like, listen, I need to get my point across. I want you to marry that prostitute." [01:04:54] (40 seconds)
"But God can use even the worst rejection. He can use even the worst circumstances you could go through. He can take your traumas, those really bad ones that you don't like to talk about or really do like to talk about, either one, and he can use them for good things. Let me show you right on the heels of this. What do we see? That night, there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them, don't be afraid, he said. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. And you will recognize him by this sign. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others. The armies of heaven were gathered, and the angels were gathered. The angels were in heaven, praising God and saying, glory to God in highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. And when the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. And so they hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby lying in the manger." [01:06:00] (89 seconds)
"After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what had happened. And the angel had said to them about this child, all who heard the shepherd's story were astonished. But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Here's what I see. God often uses your trauma to bring others in. He does. There's the shepherds. Now, despite the fact that King David had been a shepherd in general, in society, in Jesus's day, they were poor. They were uneducated. They were looked down upon by others. They smelled like animals." [01:07:28] (51 seconds)
"And man, isn't this the story of the early Christians? Who were Jesus' followers? His closest disciples. Well, let's see here. We have fishermen who were so bad at fishing that they kept on coming home with absolutely nothing in their nets. There's like two stories, separate stories in scripture telling us that they couldn't catch anything with nets. So not very good fishermen. And he's like, well, come follow me, right? What else do we have? We have a lot of people who are not good at fishing. We have a tax collector. So the guy's loaded, but everyone hates him. So he calls him like, that's a guy that you really want on your side. You know what I mean? Huge following of women. Again, outcasts of society, uneducated in that day and age. Yep. Okay. That's great. Like, it's just a, it's a ragtag crew. Someone should make a movie about it, you know? And there they go. They changed the world with this, with this ragtag crew who watches Jesus' teachings, the miracles he does, his trauma on the cross, his death, and then his resurrection as he overcomes death itself." [01:11:30] (65 seconds)
"That no matter what is going on in life, we can lean on the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Lords, that despite the turmoil around us, as we lean on him, as we say, yes, Lord Jesus, I need you. Bear the burden with me. Give me wisdom. Lord, I'm so broken and torn up inside, and he says, let me hold you. Let me hold you in my arms as we walk together. That you're never alone. That in your brokenness, Jesus, through his sacrifice and his resurrection, became the doorway from death into eternal life, from brokenness into wholeness as we walk this life and share the message to others until one day when Jesus returns again, or we end up in heaven. Whichever one comes first, praise the Lord, we find ourselves, no longer broken, no longer experiencing pain, but in perfect and complete wholeness" [01:14:39] (61 seconds)
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