Why Do People Reject Jesus?

Why Do People Reject Jesus?

Dr. J. Mike Minnix, Editor, PastorLife

Introduction

Psalm 2

Why do people rebel against the Lord? Let’s look at three points found in Psalm 2 that answer this question. In essence, Psalm 2 reveals the mistakes that people make in regard to choosing the proper place and proper people needed to live a life that is blessed, meaningful, and filled with purpose. There are reasons people reject the Lord - so, let's look at thre first mentioned in our text.

I. Associations are Misplaced

In essence, people oftern reject Christ because they choose the wrong friends, and it should be noted that many tragedies begin at this point in one's life. Wrong association can lead temptation, aberration, and finally termination (death). Wrong friendships have led to the downfall of many people, some of whom had incredible spiritual privileges in their early.  Take Judas as an example, he walked with Jesus and rubbed shoulders with the men who would change the world with the Gospel message, but in the end he chose to associate with the enemies of God and look what it cost him.

One most choose friends carefully. Think with me about four kinds of friends one can have in this world.

A. Evil Friends That Lead to Trouble

Remember Ahab. Elijah said of him that he had caused Israel to sin against God. In fact, his reign was so devastating that it appeared that all of Israel might depart from God because of him. But the Lord raised up a prophet named Elijah who called the people back to God and called Ahab to account before the Lord. (See 1 Kings 21:21ff) Take a look at Mount Carmel and the death of those men who linked up their lives with Ahab - they died in a blazing fire of judgment.

B. False Friends Lead to Deception

Someone has said, "An open enemy is far better than a false friend." Another saying among leaders is this: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!" How true that is. Some who appear to be friends may in fact be working against you behind your back. Using prayerful discernment when choosing friends is important. You can't know the character the everyone, but God does. The closer to Him you are, the greater the chance that you will know your enemies. Jesus was not fooled by Judas - He knew his character all along.

Judas was a false friend.

Delilah was a false friend.

Psalm 41:9 speaks of a false friend who rose up against David.

The believer has a Friend closer than a brother in Jesus - but we must be careful of other friends - for some of them are false.

C. Godly Friends Lead to Blessings

(Use David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi as examples)

Good friends are hard to find, especially in bad times. Jonathan was a good friend to David during the very difficult times in David's life.

Ruth was a special friend to Naomi. How wonderful that Naomi was wise enough to include Ruth in our return to Bethlehem. When there was little food to eat and not much of a future for Naomi, Ruth proved to be an incredible blessing.

A good example of how hard it is to find a needed friend during difficult times comes from the life of coach Pepper Rodgers. "A few years back Pepper Rodgers was in the middle of a terrible season as football coach at UCLA. It even got so bad that it upset his home life. He recalls, "My dog was my only friend." I told my wife that a man needs at least two friends and so she bought me another dog.'" James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 227.

D. The Heavenly Friend Closer Than A Brother

In John 15:15 and Proverbs 18:24 we read about the Friend who is closer than a brother. Above all else, everyone needs this Friend, Jesus! He is a friend who will never leave you nor forsake you.

He is Lord

He is Sovereign

He is Savior

He is Master

He is King

He holds many other titles, but one of the sweetest titles is “The Friend Closer Than A Brother” or "the friend of sinners." In all the associations you form, none is so important as knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

But, look further at our scripture and note …

II. Ambitions are Misleading

The writer of Psalm 2 reveals that the people who live a life of failure – a life without God – have wrong ambitions. Note what these wrong ambitions are …

A. Power

Control and freedom are at the heart of man's rebellion against God. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden because they wanted the power to determine their own decisions. Man wants to be his own boss. What he does not realize is that one only finds real life in giving it up. When we turn our lives over to Jesus, we don't lose our lives, we gain full life here and eternity when this life is over. Listen to what Jesus said, “If a man saves His life, he will lose it, but if he loses his life for My sake, he will find it!”

What power does a man really have? Even a giant feels the pain of a bee sting. A single fly caught in the throat of a millionaire can kill him.

Chuck Colson once said, "Power is like drinking saltwater, the more you drink the more you want."

The Jewish Talmud states, "Ambition destroys the possessor."

One great problem with mankind is that we seek power rather than simply attaching ourselves by faith to the all-powerful God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

B. Pleasure

Jeremiah 5 tells the story of the broken yoke as an example of how the people in his day had broken from God to indulge in adultery. God seeks to restrain our desires so that we do not destroy ourselves, but often we think God is trying to keep us from enjoying ourselves.

Imagine a little child who finds a knife that has fallen to the kitchen floor. Its gleaming surface appears to be the perfect plaything. The child reaches for it, but just then mom reaches down and picks it up, saying, “No, no! You can’t have that.” The child wrinkles up his brow and cries with howls of rebellion. Sadly, the child has no idea what his mom just saved him from.

In life, God seeks to keep us from those things that will destroy us, but sadly we seek to throw off His restraints so that we can play with the world's knives.

C. Possessions

The world is in a mad dash for all they can obtain of this world’s goods. I watched a game show years ago on television that allowed the winner to run through a store and put all he could obtain into a grocery basket in a declared number of seconds. It was amazing to see the wild expressions of the anxious runner hurling himself down the aisles to get items in that grocery basket. He was congratulated for all he won, and he looked in the basket with glee at all he obtained. But, think about it, in a matter of days or weeks all the items he obtained would be gone - used up. That is like life without God. It is a mad dash for stuff that will not last and will not matter one hundred years from now. On the other hand, what you have in Christ will never age, decay, or die.

D. Pride

Philip of Macedon, wrestling in the ancient games, was thrown into the sand. Rising, he saw the mark his body had left on the ground. It is said that he exclaimed, "How little a parcel of earth will hold us, when we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole world while living!”

Take the four greatest rulers, perhaps, that ever sat upon a throne, and consider their power and ambitions:

1. Alexander

It is said that when he had so completely subdued the nations that he wept because there were no more to conquer, and at last he set fire to a city, and died as a drunken man.

2. Hannibal

He filled three bushels with the gold rings he had taken from the slaughtered knights but died at last by poison administered by his own hand, unwept and unknown, in a foreign land.

3. Caesar

After having conquered eight hundred cities, and dyed his garments with the blood of one million enemies, he was stabbed by his best friends in the very place that had been the scene of his greatest triumph.

4. Napoleon

After being the scourge of Europe, he died in banishment on an island, nothing more than a conquered man and a captive of others.

Godly ambitions are good, and desiring to be your best in school, sports, education, employment, and even income, is not an evil in itself. However, ambition without God can be deadly.

But now note a third mistake.

III. Awareness Is Mistaken

Missing or mistaken information can doom a person and their plans. On January 28, 1986, NASA launched the shuttle orbiter STS-51-L, also known as Space Shuttle Challenger. Within 73 seconds of leaving the launch pad in Florida the shuttle broke apart, killing everyone onboard. A flawed O-Ring was the culprit; however, the shuttle was launched in weather that was clearly too cold. Over 30 million Americans, including thousands of school children around America, watched in horror as all on board the shuttle plunged to their deaths. Within one hour of the horrible accident over 250 million Americas had heard the news. Bad news travels fast! The truth is this accident was avoidable.

Listen carefully – the greatest mistakes you can make in your life are of eternal consequence, and they are avoidable. Many people ruin their lives and go out to meet God unprepared because of three simple mistakes.

In our text we note how those mentioned here made horrible, costly, and deadly decisions.

A. They were Unaware of or were Rebellious toward the Plan of God

We read in Isaiah 57 about the plans of God. His plan is to restore, to redeem, and to remove the sins of the unrighteous; however, there must be a contrite heart for this to take place. Many people are unaware or simply in full rebellion regarding God’s plan to forgive sin and give them eternal life.

Also, note that…

B. They were Unaware of or are Rebellious toward The Wrath of God

The Lord sent His Son to be the Redeemer of all who believe upon Him. Yet, when He came, evil men sought to destroy Him. They crucified the Son of God. Acts 2:22-24 explains that God raised Christ up from the dead ...

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power."

The attempt was made to destroy the Savior, and it failed. What will be the end of those who reject the Son of God and side with those who seek to annihilate Him from their lives and the lives of others? They do not realize that a day of wrath is coming. In that day the Lord will become furious in a moment. It is interesting that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Lord will come for those who know them and will rescue them out of this sinful world. But in the same moment, in the same twinkling of an eye, the wrath of God will come upon the unrepentant. Let every believer in this room rejoice that you are on the right side of the coming moment. Let every person without Christ consider his or her dangerous position right now. You are a moment, a mere heartbeat, from meeting the full judgment of every sin you have ever committed.

Turn to Christ now. The Lord asks, at one point in the Old Testament, "Why will you die, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." It is not God's will that you perish but that you live your best life in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

In 2 Peter 3 we read about the scoffers in the last days. We are told that mockers forget what happened in the past to those who doubted God's warnings. God loves you, but His offer has a limited time for acceptance.

Finally, note that …

C. They were Unaware or were  Rebellious toward The Blessings of God

Note the word "Kiss" in our text. What does the word Kiss mean? It means to touch, it also means to catch fire. The "kiss" the Lord simple means to have a passion for the Lord. Even the saints of God can have a new passion, a new zeal, a deeper fire in their hearts for the Lord. Kiss the Son of God. Let the small flame in your heart turn into a blazing love for Christ. Reach out and touch Him like the woman with the issue of blood. Kiss Him, like the woman who kissed his feet and wept because her many sins had been forgiven her.

Another meaning of “kissing” the Son is to grasp and lay hold of.  It means to grasp and not let go. Someone well said, "You can't shake hands with a clenched fist." Indeed, you cannot hold onto Jesus with the world in your hands. Jesus opened His hands to take the nails for you, so why not open your hands to take hold of Him and the salvation that He offers.

Conclusion

Kiss the Son!

i. Let it be  A Kiss of Reconciliation

It means to send up the white flag and surrender to His Lordship. Remember when Jacob met Esau, they kissed.

The Prodigal Son, when he arrived home from the far country received the kisses of his father.

In 2 Corinthians 5 we are said to have the ministry of reconciliation. Indeed, anyone who comes to Christ has been reconciled to God.

ii. Let it be A Kiss of Dedication

In ancient times people would kiss the feet of a king. It was a sign of homage, of devotion, of total commitment. In a figurative way, we need to bow before Jesus in renewed devotion.

iii. Let it be A Kiss of Adoration

A kiss speaks of love - a love like that of Mary who came and fell at His feet, kissing them.

The songwriter penned,

"Oh, for grace to love thee more!"

Let that be our theme today

He came as Savior

He is now the Seated Intercessor in Heaven

He is coming as the Sovereign Lord of glory

Let us come to Him in new devotion, love, and spiritual passion.