Awakened to Grace

Chad Roberts: Welcome to Awakened to Grace. I'm Chad Roberts and I'm so glad you're joining me today. Have you heard about my partnership with Lifeway and the new book that I am about to release called Blind Faith: Seeing God Through Darkness? This book will release nationwide on March 10th, 2026. But in the world of books, preorders are everything. They matter so much. Large chains and retail chains, they base their decisions upon preorders.

If you're someone that follows Awakened to Grace, if you're someone that we have spoken into your life, we help you grow spiritually, you could help me out so much by preordering this book. It really goes a long way. I want to invite you to visit my website blindfaithlaunch.com and help us launch this book successfully because we have a great message of hope and we want to spread this message of hope as far and wide as we can. I hope that you will support it because you are a big part of that. Go today to blindfaithlaunch.com, preorder your book, and help us make this launch a success.

And you've tried to reconcile. You've tried to talk to them. You've tried to offer an olive branch and they will not have it. You know what the scriptures would say to those situations? Romans 12:18 says, "If possible, be at peace among everyone as much as it depends upon you." Now, that's a good word. Amen. There are some people you just can't be at peace with. I love that clause, if possible. If it were possible, I would. I've tried to reconcile, I've tried to talk, I've tried to be at peace.

So those of you that you have tried to bring reconciliation but the other person won't allow that, stop letting that steal your peace. Be at peace with yourself that you have done what God's required of you and now as much as it depends upon you, you're at peace. Can we receive that today? Amen.

So verses 12 through 28, he does his best and war is inevitable and they are going to go to war. The other side won't have it. They won't listen. They won't reason. Verse 29 is a really interesting verse. So let's understand the text. Verses 1 to 5 is his rejection. Verses 6 to 11, the tables turn. Verses 12 to 28, he tries to be at peace. The Ammonites will not allow it. Now verse 29, look what happens. The Spirit of God comes upon him.

Now I want to show you why that is a remarkable verse. The primary difference in the Old Testament and the New Testament, one of the most incredible truths, one of the most stark contrasts is that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not live, he did not dwell in people. So if the Holy Spirit was to empower or if he was to influence or if he was to guide or if he was to comfort or if he was to help or strengthen an individual, he would rush upon them.

The beauty of the church age, and the church age is from the day of Pentecost to the rapture of the church. That is the church age. That's the New Testament era. That's the New Testament blood-bought church. And what happened on the day of Pentecost is not only like a mighty rushing wind did the Holy Spirit rush upon them, but with tongues of fire he indwelt them. Amen.

So do you know what that means? That means that people that are born again, you who are born again, the Holy Spirit indwells you. That means he strengthens you. That means he guides you. That means he encourages you. That means he sustains you. That means he comforts you. That means he anoints you. That means he equips you. The Holy Spirit does everything you need to walk in godliness.

What Jephthah experienced one time, you and I experience daily. Amen. Have you ever thought about that? We walk in it daily. For as many as are the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. So watch what happens. I like it when I know you're with me. You with me this morning? Amen. This just is extraordinary to me because the Spirit of God rushed upon him. He did what was not needed. He negotiated with God.

He made a vow, but in reality what he did is he bargained with God. And it's something that you and I do often. I want us to learn today that we may avoid his mistake. Jephthah said, "God," now remember he's already got the Spirit of God on him and he says, "God, if you will allow me to win this battle, I will do this for you." I've tried to remove out of my prayer vocabulary the word if. The word if is never good in prayer.

Do you remember Mary and Martha? "If only you had arrived sooner." I try not to use the word if with God at all because if usually carries conditions. And I don't want to have conditions with God. If Jephthah had truly trusted the character of God, if Jephthah had truly trusted the will of God, he would not have tried to negotiate the outcome. He would have known God is good. He wouldn't have manipulated things. But do we not do the same thing so often?

"God, if you'll answer this prayer, I will..." That's a negotiation. And I know you've told your kids what I tell my kids: I don't negotiate with terrorists. I don't do it. And yet how often do we negotiate and bargain and barter with God? "God, I will if you will." That's not faith. Not faith. And Jephthah, his fatal flaw here is he should have said, "I'll win the battle because I have the Spirit of God upon me."

Brothers, sisters, you and I have the Spirit of God within us. Why are we worried about the outcome? Why do we not trust God for the outcome? Sadie so often says, "Do you know what the opposite of faith really is? It's control. It's control." And so often we try to control God and we try to control the outcome by negotiating with God. Let's don't make that mistake.

So verses 30 and 31, he makes this very foolish, this very reckless vow. He tells God, "If you give me the victory, the first thing that comes out of my house I will sacrifice as a burnt offering." What in the world was he thinking? Well, scholars tell us that in these days it would not have been uncommon for the family to bring in the sheep and to bring in the goats at night. Not only for warmth, but primarily for safety from wild animals. I think we could understand that.

And then of course if you bring in your sheep and your goats for safety and warmth, what would be the very first thing you would do in the morning? You let them out of the house. Most likely Jephthah knew that this was the family's routine and most likely Jephthah pictured in his mind those little sheep and little goats coming out of the home and he thought to himself, "The first one I see, that's what I will sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord."

Foolish, hasty, emotional, reckless. But how many of us have often been foolish, emotional, reckless? I think we resonate with him. God did indeed give the victory, not because of what Jephthah vowed, but because it was his will. And see, that was the mistake of Jephthah; he never should have doubted the will of God. God would have brought good success because that was his will. He doubted God's goodness.

So God does indeed give him the victory. He does return home and what is the first thing out of his house? His one and only child, his daughter. Apparently she was Pentecostal because she came out with tambourines and singing, so that tells us a little bit of their background. I imagine his heart sank. The scripture says he ripped his garments, which is great anguish. And he tells his daughter, "I have made a vow to God that I can't reverse."

Now let's understand a couple of things. Scholars debate, they're fifty-fifty back and forth on whether he did or he didn't. Let me tell you my problems with the idea that he did. I've got several problems with it. Number one, God says very straightforward in the book of Deuteronomy, multiple times in the book of Leviticus, as well as the book of Jeremiah, that he strictly forbids the sacrifice of children. Period.

That was a pagan custom and it's satanic and it's wicked and it is nowhere in the nature of God. It is nowhere in the character of God and it is nowhere allowed in the word of God. So my first problem with this is if God expected Jephthah to fulfill a foolish vow, why would he expect him to do contrary of his word? That's not the nature and character of God.

And neither is it for us. We cannot sin knowingly, sin with a high hand, and then turn around and say, "God, bless my life." Because God will not do opposite, God will not do contrary to his word. It's forever established and settled in heaven and he won't break it. So because this would have broken the clear commandment of God, I don't think this would have taken place.

My other problem with this is there is a stickiness to verse 31. I just want to bring it to your attention because I think it's very plausible. The word and. When he says that he would dedicate the first thing out of his house and sacrifice it as a burnt offering, there's a stickiness with this word in the original language of the Old Testament, which is Hebrew. The word for and is a "vav" and there it can be translated as "and" or it can be translated as "or".

So some scholars read this as, "I will dedicate to the Lord whatever comes out of my house or sacrifice it as a burnt offering." That seems more plausible to me. My third problem with this text is that the scriptures never tell us that he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. I think it would have closed that loophole if that indeed happened. I don't believe that it did.

My last issue is this. You still with me right now? A few technical things in it, but I think it's important for us to understand the text. In this day particularly, every daughter wanted children, every father desired grandchildren. It was the family inheritance. Everything was family. Scholars believe, and I believe this, that what Jephthah did is he dedicated his daughter to the service of God in the tabernacle as a virgin for the rest of her life.

Now you read the text, she requested to go away for two months to do what? To mourn her virginity. This was a major thing. This was a tremendous sacrifice. Now while we believe God would not do contrary to his word, I think what comes into alignment with the rest of his word, what's in the flow with the rest of the scripture, is that God strictly forbids the sacrifice of children. He would not have expected this from Jephthah.

But also I would note this. When God demanded Isaac of Abraham, God prevented it. But what is in alignment in the scriptures? Isaac was willing. He was willing to be sacrificed for his father and for God. And what do we see in this text? She says, "Allow me to mourn for two months." This young girl was willing to obey her father and to give herself to the Lord. See how it's in the same pattern, it's in the same flow as scripture and not contrary?

My last and final part of this is the scripture goes on to say that the women of Israel from that time on commemorated her sacrifice. I do not believe that they would have celebrated, commemorated a human sacrifice. I think that's another indicator that she was dedicated to God as a virgin and not killed and burnt and sacrificed.

So why do these things matter today for us? Well, let's recap for a moment. Jephthah experienced deep hurts and deep wounds and deep rejection in his youth. He was expelled in his adulthood, cut off from the family inheritance, run out of the region. Then when they needed help, the tables turned and they came and sought him out. Rather than letting bitterness and letting resentment eat away at him, rather than letting that resentment steal his future, he chose instead the great and high call of God upon his life.

He tried to be at peace with others, but he couldn't help it. They wouldn't be at peace with him. So the Spirit of God rushes upon him. Even in that, his imperfection, he didn't trust that. He needed to bargain with God. He made a reckless and foolish vow and there were great consequences to what he did. Lifelong consequences for what he did.

But here's the most stunning thing to me above it all. Even though it's easy to see Jephthah's flaws and even though it was a faith that falters, when the Holy Spirit decides to paint for us portraits of faith, he includes Jephthah. Even in his reckless, foolish, hasty, emotional decisions. You know what I think it does? I think it's a forever testament that God never writes us off because we were reckless or foolish or hasty or emotional.

There may be things you're dealing with right now, there may be consequences you're suffering right now because you made a snap emotional decision. There may be things right now, consequences that you're living through because you made reckless, hasty decisions. Let me tell you, precious brother, precious sister, God has not written you off today. He's not written you off. Your family might have written you off. You may have written you off, but God has not written you off. You may have been rejected by others, but I'll tell you this: you're accepted by heaven. You're accepted in the beloved today.

With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, do you resonate with Jephthah? I know I do. God, forgive my emotional, hasty things. Help me to forgive those who have wronged me and been hasty and reckless with me. Lord, I'm asking you right now, whether in the building or online, this be a time right now of deep mercy, great forgiveness, tremendous healing, soul healing.

With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, in May of 2024, so many of you know, you were here, I suffered a vicious infection in my left foot. I went through wound care and hyperbaric oxygen and all this stuff. I did that from May of '24 and I was not discharged out of wound care until January of '25. And then I was so shocked, I was so stunned, I was so disappointed when after being discharged out of wound care, I was back a few months later in March.

And now here I am from March until now. Matter of fact, I go this Tuesday to wound care. And I have to go and they have to cut on me and do maintenance and they've got to treat me and they've got to do all these things. I'm just, I look at it and I go, "I should be past this by now. I should be past it." Some of you don't understand why you're not past certain traumas. You're not past certain hurts. And it's just like you feel stuck, like you can't get past it.

The Lord wants to help you today. What I've had to do is I've had to adjust my perspective. I've felt so many times, if it takes this long... they tell me all the time, "Chad, don't watch the clock. Watch the calendar. It just takes a long time." And I think to myself that if it's this hard to heal a body, a physical wound, how much more difficult, how much longer does it take for an emotional wound, a soul wound to heal?

So whatever you're facing today, whatever you're dealing with, give it to the Lord today and say, "God, you understand these things and what I'm going to do is I'm going to forgive and I'm going to be whole, I'm going to be healthy, I'm going to walk in forgiveness, I'm going to choose joy. I am not going to be a person of resentment." Jephthah could, but he didn't. He chose the call of God above the opinions of others.

God, give us the grace to do the same. Thank you for every person here, every person listening, watching. Work in our lives and, God, let our faith be that of the Hall of Faith even with all of our faults. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.

Did you know that I'm a pastor, husband, and father of four who suddenly went blind in 2018? Today I teach people how life is not random, but is actually orchestrated by God for a great purpose. Learn more about my story and Awakened to Grace at chadroberts.org.