From Rejection to Redemption: Jephthah's Transformative Journey

1) "Have you ever faced rejection? Rejection. Told no. Got cut. Told no thanks. Been told you weren't good enough, or otherwise been sent along your merry way with a thanks but no thanks. You know, today if you try out for a team at your school or here in our community, you'll get a text message, an email, or maybe a phone call to tell you you didn't make it or did make it. Do you know what we did when I was a kid? You tried out for a school team. You had to go up to the school, walk up to the door, and look at the piece of paper that they publicly taped for everyone to see. That was one of the most dramatic scenes in all the world. You'd have people, like, crying off on one side and people, like, celebrating off on the other. It was horrible. But unless you made it. And it was great." [27:02] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2) "Too often, wouldn't you agree, people are rejected in like manner. Maybe it's skin color, or maybe it's accent. Maybe it's location of birth, or your last name, or appearance, or a disability. But too often, rejection happens and it's no fault of the person being rejected. Sometimes the rejection isn't even intentional. People just want to be with people that are like them. And it isn't malicious, but it's rejection all the same. And before we talk about how to deal with that, how to deal with rejection, be it your fault or not your fault. Realize that the God of the Bible does not discriminate. In fact, he has a habit of choosing those that others do not." [33:04] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3) "The reality is that even if you faced rejection, both of those identities can exist. In the same person. A mighty warrior and the son of a prostitute. You can be both things. Because as one pastor said, We are all products of our past. But we are not prisoners of our past. This may be a reality. This may be the truth. This may be how you were born. This may be what you look like. This may be what your family name is. Or reputation is. But that does not have to determine all that you are. Where we come from does not have to determine what God is going to do." [36:08] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4) "Too often, when we have made ourselves out to be the victim and identified in our victimhood, we dream of the day where we can ensure that they feel the same pain we felt. We dream of the day where we can inflict pain on them and we can, we feel like we're going to assuage our own pain by them experiencing pain. Do you know what almost 20 years of pastoring has taught me? That that path only makes it worse. It only makes it worse. Even if you're successful in that, you will not experience the freedom you think you will experience. Trust God to bring the justice that's not up to you. Remain in the Lord and trust Him." [46:25] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5) "I'm not here to give you some kind of prosperity-type message about how if you've been rejected, you're gonna become a leader, you're gonna become famous, you're gonna become rich. You might like that message, but that's not the message here. That's not the message of the Bible. It's simply this, that we find our identity not in our past, not in what others say that we are, not in our mistakes or our social status or our achievements. We find our identity in the Lord. And who knows how He will use you. But don't let the enemy get a victory in your life by convincing you to be defined by your victimhood, your rejection, or your mistakes. He is the one who determines our identity and our destiny." [49:01] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6) "You can identify as a throwaway garage sale item, but God sees the Picasso that He made. The uniqueness, the purpose, the real identity. And what does that mean for you? It means we have to remain. We abide in Him, in Him, in us. We remain in Him so that we're ready to respond as God prepares to use you. I don't know when, I don't know how, I don't know what it looks like. It's unique to you and the opportunities and the way that He made you, something He foresaw in your future. He's the one who knows that, but we remain so that we're ready when it comes that we're ready to go." [51:55] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)