File size is important. There is a limit of ~120MB for a single file. In my case, .gitignore using Visual Studio had the file listed, but the file was still committed. When using the git cli, we can get more detail information about the error.
pre-receive hook declined was as a result of the big file. Basically validating the push.
To resolve it, I removed the last commit using:
git reset --soft HEAD~1
I then excluded the file from the commit.
Note: Use HEAD~N to go back to N number of previous commits. (i.e. 3, 4) Always use the --soft switch to maintain changes in the folder
hope it helps.