THE ROSE THAT GREW FROM CONCRETE!
Judges 11:1-6.
"Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.
4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”
Luke 1:37.
"For with God nothing shall be impossible."
The Despised Who Became a Ruler!
The first information the Bible give us concerning Jephthah is that he is “a mighty man of valor”, the same thing God said about Gideon. But mighty men of valour rarely come from a life of comfort and ease. Jephthah had a rough beginning. The circumstances surrounding his birth was unpleasant. His mother was a prostitute and he was the product of a "one night stand." He had a scandalous birth.
Jephthah was not to blame for his birth, he had no say over who his mother or father was. He was just a victim of circumstances. But he suffered greatly for the sins of his parents.
Jephthah may not have been planned by his parents, but he was not an accident—and neither are you! Your birth was no mistake. You are not a bastard! Your parents my not have expected you, but God, the Creator, did. He was not caught unaware or surprised by your conception or birth. In fact, God expected it. “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Psalm 139:16-17).
Beloved, regardless of your past, you are going to be successful. It doesn't matter the circumstances concerning your birth, your parentage or your position in the family, you are going to be great. All those who have despised you or the events leading to your birth, will soon gather to celebrate you, in the mighty name of Jesus!
Unlike many men today who walk away from children born under such circumstances, Gilead, to his credit, takes full responsibility for his act. When Jephthah was born, he takes him into his home and effectively raises him as one of his own. Gilead may have been an adulterer, but he was a responsible father. The other children from his legal marriage, however, weren’t quite as open and accepting. Jephthah's presence in the home was a constant reminder of his parents’ sin.
When these half brothers grew up and conscious of their father's properties and not wanting to share any of it with the illegitimate one, they chased Jephthah out of the home, “You shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.”
The Pain of Rejection!
Rejection is a killer of enthusiasm, hope and potential. It is a cruel and degrading experience. It hurts. It shatters. Occasionally it kills. These are moments when, instead of getting the support or confirmation needed to boost you forward, you get disapproval. And this creates a wound in the soul that is difficult to heal. In the loneliness and the hurt, we imagine that we are the only ones who have been hurt, but we're not. Rejection is a common experience. And that includes Jesus Christ, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46.
Symptoms of Rejection?
1. Sorrowful.
2. Feeling of sadness.
3. Bitterness.
4. Unnecessary Suspicion.
5. Discouragement.
6. Always moody.
7. Not trusting anyone.
8. Self condemnation.
9. Self Pity.
10. Rebellion.
11. Misbehaviour.
12. Inferiority Complex.
13. Over Sensitivity.
14. Seeking for attention always.
15. Always wanting to draw sympathy.
16. Frustration.
17. Failure.
18. Stagnancy, and
19. Suicidal Tendencies.
Dealing with Rejection?
1. Accept rejection as a part of your journey, a momentary bump in the road to your destiny.
Hence, you have a choice to either allow that bump to derail you and walk around wounded, or you can choose to move forward. Cry if you must, but allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you.
2. Forgive yourself as well as those who hurts you.
3. Pray. Take authority over the strongman of rejection.
4. Focus on God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice.
5. Define your identity by God’s Word. Stop agreeing with the enemy or other people’s negative opinion of who you are. Refuse to be discourage.
6. Entrust yourself to new opportunities God may have for you.
7. Praise the Lord through it all.
8. Choose to get better, not bitter. Refuse to remain a victim.
See the rejection as a door that God shuts to protect you from making a mistake. See the rejection you've suffered as a door God closed to point you in a new direction.
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.” Psalm 118:22.
1. Every, label, incision or mark or rejection in my life, be remove now by the precious Blood of Jesus.
2. Powers creating enmity between me and my divine helpers, your time is up, release me now in Jesus name.
3. Yoke of collective rejection afflicting my life, break and die, in the name of Jesus.
4. I break the curse of rejection and loneliness, operating in my life, in Jesus name.
5. Every altar of rejection, erected against me, be destroy now, in Jesus name.
This is what God is asking me to tell you, yes, I mean you, "you may have been rejected, you may not have been given any share or inheritance in your father's house, but since you are mine, I am going to bless you beyond expectations. Keep believing in Me, your latter end shall be greater than your beginning!"
Jephthah Became an Outcast!
Homeless and driven into a life on the street, Jephthah lost connection and communication with his father's household, but he kept communicating with God. The rejection he faced propelled him to work harder and smarter. Soon, his strength, bravery and intelligence is noticed by other outcasts and they gathered around him. These outcast were the people society didn’t want; the people that didn’t fit in; men, women, children, the poor, the rejected, the debtors, mercenaries, renegades, and all kinds of people homeless and despised by the society.
Do you ever feel like an outcast or a castaway? Have you ever felt forgotten, broken and alone? Have you ever been excluded, looked down upon, or ignored by family and friend? Do you at times feel you are unwanted in a place? Do you have a feeling people are just tolerating you but they don't really care? Has your family, friends, the church and the society given up on you? Imagine being all alone in a crowded place, everyone else is talking excitedly, except you. No one is saying a word to you or, acknowledging your presence. Have you been forced to become an introvert even though you are naturally an extrovert? Sometimes, even in a family setting or church gathering, you may feel like an outcast, unloved, unwanted and a nuisance.
But, God is saying today, you are loved! He sent His Only Son to die for you, yes I mean you. Come to Jesus today. He cares about you. You are not an outcast or an outsider in Christ. We are all part of His glorious family.
"For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” Jeremiah 30:17.
By divine purpose and providence, Jephthah the outcast, became a powerful prosperous man.
Beloved, you’re going to face rejection, disappointment and failure at some point in your life's journey, if you haven’t already. But just because you experience these doesn't mean God has rejected or abandoned you too. He's still working! God's working behind the scenes, through the difficulties to produce in you the character necessary to prepare you for the glory He has prepared for your life. God may be using the difficult roads you're travelling in today to lead you to glorious destination! His plans are so much more than you could ever imagined.
When you build a daily relationship with God, you become unstoppable! Nothing whatsoever can stop you from fulfilling the dreams God has deposited in you.
Jephthah became a rose that grew from the concrete!
Some years later and facing impending calamity, Jephthah's half brothers and the elders of Gilead who once despised, rejected and ejected him are now requesting that he returns as a deliverer and a savior.
The difficult roads that he travelled led him to a glorious destination. The difficult circumstance of his life shaped him to be the exact leader Israel needed at that time.
Child of God, a time is coming when the very people who despised you will be crawling to you for help. When that time come, show them the love of God. You're blessed to be a blessing! God doesn’t place us in positions of strength and authority so that we can take revenge on those who hurt us. Be a blessing to those around you, even to those who treated you badly.
The Rose of Sharon!
"‘I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys,” Song of Solomon 2:1.
Roses are literally the queen of flowers. When we think of flowers, roses often come to mind first. It's beautiful, very pleasant and delightful to the eyes. Roses yields a most excellent scent.
The Lord Jesus expresses his own excellency, by comparing himself to a Rose, the "Rose of Sharon." Someone once noted about Him, "what good can ever come out of Nazareth?" John 1:45–46. Surely, the Savior would come from Jerusalem, Hebron, or some other prominent city in Israel, but not the dusty Nazareth. This tiny farming village, high on a hill and far from the main trade routes, was the last place anyone would look for the Messiah.
Yet, Nazareth was the place of His birth. More than 2000 years after His death and ascension, that Man who was born in a small sleepy village with a narrow road, is still being spoken and written about today. Jesus became a Rose that grew from the concrete.
You are a Rose! Your village may not be visible on Google Maps but you are a miracle waiting to happen. God is going to elevate you despite the shaky situations around you. He is about to lift you up from the same environment where everyone else gave up on you. God is set to make you victorious from those battles that want to consume and push you into extinction. He will make you a king from the same place "your" Herod has been plotting your downfall. There is a king and queen inside of you! There is a crown waiting for you at the end of your struggles. There is a new level of greatness waiting for you, only if you don't quit. The place of your birth and the circumstances of your birth will not deprive you of your royalty. Your Rose will bloom.
The Concrete We Need to Overcome To Rise as Roses?
1. Ignorance.
As someone has rightly said, "when the purpose of a thing is not known abuse is inevitable." Ignorance is an enemy of progress. It get you stuck in complacency and obscurity.
2. Sin.
"Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you." Jeremiah 5:25.
Sin is a heavy weight, it hinders flight. Sin stalls progress. It blocks paths. Sin deflates hope. It suppresses potentials. Sin prevents breakthrough. It provokes hostility. Sin limits capacity. It aborts dreams. Sin restrains the hand of God. It renders efforts fruitless. Sin is a sinker! It is like a quicksand. Each day you fall farther, making it difficult to escape.
Ask God to reveal hidden areas of sin in your life, and make a habit of confessing your sins to God during your quiet time. Then receive His forgiveness and grace to do better.
If you fall back into sin, quickly find your way back to God, and ask for forgiveness.
3. Diversion.
To be diverted is to be turned away from what is your primary goal, task or assignment.
It is something designed to take your aim or attention away from the main road.
4. Fear.
Fear is a spirit. It is a spiritual attack to steal peace and destiny. Fear hinders progress. It has kept many people in captivity. Many men and women who ought to be doing great exploits for the Lord and in life, are merely existing instead of living. You must deal with the spirit of fear.
(Read my earlier sermon on "The Spirit Called Fear").
5. Prayerlessness.
Prayer empowers the fulfilment of prophecies. It cancel evil prophecies and birth the good ones. Prayer can turn a hopeless situation around. It activates the power of God. Prayer made the sun to standstill. It turned the counsel of Ahitophel into foolishness. Prayer is a weapon against the forces of evil. It forces us to wait for God's will. Prayer opens our spiritual eyes. It enables us to move forward. To rise from the concrete, you need to be immersed in prayer daily.
6. Laziness and Procrastination.
Laziness is the killer of hope and dreams. It makes one to be nonchalant to something important. Laziness is to fail to do what is to be done when it needs to be done. God doesn’t bless laziness; He only blesses hard work.
Procrastination is a killer of opportunities and open doors.
Before the day begins, consider what you need to accomplish that day and commit to doing those things in an orderly time frame.
7. Wrong Positioning.
God has a place for everyone. There is a place we must be to receive God's blessings, presence, protection, and provision. Pray to position yourself correctly.
8. Lack of Faith.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. You must refuse to doubt! To doubt is to consider unlikely, to have uncertainties, hesitant to believe, to distrust, to speak words of unbelief and to be fearful of. Have a blind faith. When you doubt God, you let your circumstances control you.
9. Satanic manipulation.
Stones and sticks are thrown only at fruit bearing trees. The purpose of this manipulation is to stop your progress and block your star from shining. Watch and pray!
10. Wrong Mindset:
The Bible says that we should put on the mind of Christ. We must acquire the mindset that “we can do all things through Christ." Take charge of your thoughts.
Beloved, great tragedy happens when a tree dies in a seed!
God created you great, therefore you cannot die unfulfilled and unknown.
This greatness isn't a function of your background, but of God's design for you. Today, you may be unknown, unemployed, rejected, disappointed, or frustrated. Your family status may not even be good enough but this cannot undermine your destiny.
The mercy and compassion of God overrides your past, mistakes and errors. Grace enables you to make it, no matter what. God's grace is still available to everyone.
Arise above limitations and obstacles. Holding on to the past is to carry around excess luggage. Keep your eyes on the prize! You can’t look back and go forward. What lies ahead of you is more exciting and valuable than what lies behind you. Where you’re going is far more important than where you've been. Get ready to move from rags to riches. Get ready to rise above your roots. Get ready for your Cinderella story!
1. Be born again.
2. Repent from sins.
3. Draw nearer to God.
4. Always be ready, expectant and prepared for divine change.
5. Avoid diversion.
6. Refuse to be comfortable in "your comfort zone."
Develop a plan for improvement and never accept failure.
7. Associate with successful people.
8. Be faithful in the little things.
9. Always renew your thinking in good things.
10. Have faith in God.
11. Believe in yourself. No more barriers.
"He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them." 1 Samuel 2:8.
Deliverance Prayer to Break Out of the Concrete:
1. O Lord, take me from where I am to where You want me to be, in Jesus name.
2. O God, make a way for me where there is no way, in Jesus name.
3. My Father, give me the power to be fulfilled, successful and prosperous in life, in Jesus name.
4. I reject lack and poverty in Jesus name.
5. I break, every yoke of failure and poverty in my life, in Jesus name.
6. Blood of Jesus, destroy all the legal ground that the enemy has against my life, in Jesus name.
7. Every access to my life by the enemy I block you today, in Jesus name.
8. O God My Father, promote me beyond my widest imagination, in Jesus name.
9. Problem that came into my life by my parents or personal decision, go now, in Jesus name.
10. I will not squander my divine opportunities, in Jesus name.
11. I shall not be a wandering star, in Jesus name.
12. My effort shall not swallowed by the wasters in the name of Jesus
13. You my glory! Arise, break out, break through and break forth, in Jesus name.
14. You my glory that had been buried like that of Lazarus, come alive now, in Jesus name.
15. O God, raise a voice to speak for my elevation, in Jesus name.
16. O God, when you take me to my wealthy place, help me not to forsake You, in Jesus name.
17. Thank God for answering your prayers.
