Have you ever been in the “groan zone” – it’s where you sigh more than you speak; when your inner agony is so deep that you’re literally at a loss for words, you can’t even express what you’re actually feeling; when you cry and ask “Why?”; when you’re so confused that you just don’t know which way to turn; when you’re tempted to give up praying all together.
The Church is filled with people who come from various levels of faith. Some have been Christians for many years. Some are in a state of exploring. Some have just recently accepted Christ and still have a lot to learn. For the most part, and with regard to the essential issues there is agreement, it’s in the disputable matters that we find the tempest in the teapot. Sadly many Christians can be very critical, negative, and condemning. That is, if you don’t believe exactly as they believe then you won’t make it to heaven. And that’s not what Christianity is all about!
Rejection has a way of destroying a person's life in a way that few other things can. In fact the number of people who are affected by rejection is staggering. One highly experienced deliverance minister notes that spirits of rejection are among some of the most common demons that he has encountered throughout his ministry. It seems that almost everybody is affected by rejection to some degree. It's vital for us who are in a living relationship with Jesus, to understand, as well as work through this if we want to be all that God has created us to be. Overcoming rejection and the effects of a mistaken identity is absolutely essential. Sermon by Calven Celliers Download the Summary
We need to understand the important distinction between conviction and condemnation. If you don’t understand this distinction, then you are probably going to spend a long time wasting a lot of energy on false guilt. Conviction, the conviction of the Holy Spirit who abides in us as God’s people, is when you feel bad for a sin that has not yet been confessed. That is the key. He convicts us until we come to that point when we confess the sin and turn from our wicked ways. Condemnation feels very similar but the difference is that it is feeling guilt over confessed sin.