Judges 11:1-40

Introduction: The definition of REJECTION is “the absence of meaningful love.” Do you feel loved? How can we OVERCOME feelings of REJECTION? Jesus was rejected. And yet He came to His own and His own received Him not  (John 1:11). When we feel unloved, it becomes difficult to love others. In the Old Testament during the days of the Judges, there was a man named Jephthath who discovered three (3) ways to OVERCOME REJECTION.

1. Instead of REJECTION, Love OVERCOMES obstacles and turns them into opportunities! (Judges 11:1-3)

“1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. 3Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.”

• Rejection keeps the score (v2)

“……and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.”

• Jesus settles the score with LOVE! (Rom 5:8; 1 John 4:10)

2. Instead of staying Hurt and in Pain from REJECTION, Love REACHES OUT to restore relationships! (Judges 11:4-11)

“4And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 5And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: 6And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 7And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? 8And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.”

• Be ready to step thru the door of opportunity (vv 4-6)
• Be ready to release and reach out (vv 7-11)

3. Instead of staying bitten with bitterness (REJECTION), the Love of Jesus flows in and looks to flow out! (Judges 11:12-40)

“12And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? 13And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 14And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 15And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:…..

“21And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 23So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands.”

Conclusion: REJECTION is real! But the LOVE of God thru our Lord Jesus Christ is more powerful than that! Once we experience the LOVE of Jesus, there is “No Situation” that can come to a child of God without it first going thru our Father’s hands in heaven; Next, there is “No Tribulation” that can overtake a child of God because in Christ we are more than conquerors; and finally, there is “No Power” that can separate a child of God from our Lord Jesus Christ because of His LOVE! Will we turn our Obstacles into Opportunities? Release our resentment from Rejection and turn it into Restoration? Perfections into God’s purpose & power?