Good evening, everyone. Let's turn to Judges, chapter 11. Who is this chapter about? It's about Jephthah. The theme of this chapter is "Not Afraid of Death, Having Dreams, Having Faith, Birth Background Does Not Affect God's Use of You." Jephthah was used by God, and he had some virtues worth learning from. Why did God use him? Why not others? Actually, after much consideration, He could only choose him. In that generation, Jephthah had some qualities worth pondering. I believe that birth background does not affect God's use of you; what affects God's use of you is who you are as a person. So the key is what kind of person you want to be.

I. Jephthah's Background

What kind of person was Jephthah? Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. You know, in that era, not to mention that era, even if we go back fifty years, do you know what the community was like? For example, if we lived in bungalows, the old men and women would sit at the door with small stools, of course, not in winter; they would stay indoors in the cold weather. When someone walked by, these old men and women would watch him and start to comment. "Oh, the Zhang family, the Li family," that's how the environment was.

So imagine Jephthah, the son of a prostitute. His upbringing was very difficult. When Jephthah walked by, those old women would sit together and say, "Oh, that's Jephthah. Did you know that Jephthah's mother was a prostitute? She somehow got pregnant and then gave birth to him." Do you think Jephthah looked good when he walked by? He didn't.

Jephthah barely grew up in his home, growing up with the children his father had with his legitimate wife. Jephthah suffered quite a bit. But I think Jephthah's growing up process was quite interesting. What was interesting about it? Even so, he wasn't deeply wounded. If he had been deeply wounded, what do you think would have happened to him? If he had been deeply wounded, he would have either become decadent or something else. Anyway, he would have been wounded, and he certainly wouldn't have been healthy.

I ask you, among us, some brothers and sisters grew up being discriminated against and have accumulated many bad habits. But what was Jephthah's strength? You say what you want, I'll do what I do. He was a mighty warrior. How did he become a mighty warrior? Think about it. If he had become decadent after being discriminated against, that would have been bad. Although Jephthah was discriminated against from childhood, he did not discern good and evil. He still had a drive in him; he was a very strong-willed person.

If Jephthah had discerned good and evil, he would have killed all his father's other sons. Anyway, they couldn't beat him. But he was a mighty warrior. I'll tell you what happened. Jephthah worked hard, really hard. He thrust his hands into the sand, and both hands became iron palms. He punched trees, and the bark was broken, but his hands were still fine. He was highly skilled in martial arts, but he did not harm his father's other sons.

Actually, Jephthah really wanted to prove himself, but did he prove himself? He did. Remember, many people want to prove themselves, but after proving themselves, they become rotten. They can only prove that they are rotten because they are unwilling to work hard. A person must have faith, and his faith comes from practice. So Jephthah kept practicing, preparing to be used by God in the future. Was he later used by God? He was.

Jephthah was an Israelite, so he was a mighty warrior, but he was driven out of his home and could not inherit his father's property. I tell you, it's not something to boast about if a person becomes wealthy by inheriting property. He is wealthy because his father is wealthy. That's not very meaningful. For example, there was a man named Lin Zexu, who also studied hard in his youth, studying diligently for ten years.

Lin Zexu had a very powerful saying. What was it? He was not a rich second generation. Lin Zexu said: "If my son is like me, why should I give him money? If my son is not like me, why should I give him money?" These words are excellent. So among us brothers and sisters, if you are preparing wealth for your children all day long, that is the worst choice. What's the use of having money in your family? A spendthrift can squander all the money, and that money may bring disaster. So the real thing to cultivate is this kind of character.

Education is not about learning knowledge, but about cultivating character. If you cultivate a person's character to be like Jephthah's, can he not have a future? The son of a prostitute can still become successful. You look down on him because you look at Jephthah's mother; you respect him because you look at the person, Jephthah is amazing. When the Gileadites and Ammonites came to attack the Israelites, wanting to seize their property, they thought of Jephthah.

What was Jephthah's strength? He seemed weak at home, but he was powerful outside. He was very good at fighting the Ammonites. Unlike some of us who are kings at home, tigers in the den, and monkeys at the doorstep. Jephthah had a lot of character, a real man, not a king at home. What is a king at home? What is a monkey at the doorstep? It means being powerful at home but weak outside, good for nothing. Jephthah was weak at home but strong outside.

Jephthah was the child of a prostitute. Growing up, although he experienced a lot of unfair treatment, every bit of it became the driving force for his growth. Do we have this kind of character among us brothers and sisters? That is, turning all these bad things into the driving force for our growth. Jephthah was amazing. He was not afraid of death and had a dream since childhood, to be used by God.

I tell you, if a person has no dreams in his heart, how can God use him? If you don't want to serve God, why would God call you? If you want to serve God, God may not necessarily call you. If you don't want to serve God, why would God call you for no reason, only to be rejected? God says, "Come and serve me." And the person says, "I don't want to." God doesn't do that kind of thing. God picks from the earth. When the Israelites were beaten by the Ammonites, no one could stand up. Jephthah said, "I'll do it. Aren't you making me a commander?" Jephthah was a mighty warrior.

Jephthah was driven out of his home. He didn't want to inherit his father's property. Why? He had integrity. I ask you, when Jephthah was driven out, did he get a penny from his father? No. What about his father's money? His father's money went to his other sons, the children of his legitimate wife. How did Jephthah earn money? He started from scratch. Brothers and sisters, I must tell you, it is difficult for a person with character to be poor.

As a result, Jephthah was quite resourceful. What to do without money? But he had martial arts skills. I guess he went to Tob and probably opened a martial arts school, teaching martial arts in the small woods every morning, and also practicing himself. Some bandits went out to fight and were beaten black and blue. Someone said, "There's a Jephthah over there, he's highly skilled in martial arts. He used to be beaten black and blue, but now he beats others black and blue." The bandits heard this and said, "Hey, we want to learn from Jephthah."

Did the bandits have money to follow Jephthah? What if they didn't have money? He took these bandits to the market and said, "Is anyone bullying you?" The person said, "Yes!" Jephthah said, "I'll protect you, you pay protection money. I won't bully you, and no one else can bully you." As a result, Jephthah became a security guard. He opened a security company and a security bureau. Jephthah's family became richer and richer, and his reputation grew. With his growing reputation, he opened a martial arts school, a security bureau, and collected protection money. This Jephthah was amazing, and then he became famous. I ask you, if you are not famous, will people come to you? If you are beaten black and blue all day long, you still want to protect others? Forget it.

The Gileadites, the other sons of his father, the elders of Gilead, came to Jephthah and said, "Come and be our commander." Jephthah was famous. What was his strength? He never bullied his subordinates, nor did he bully his father's other sons. He took good care of his subordinates and was a very capable leader. So how is this kind of thing cultivated? It is cultivated day by day. Unlike some of us brothers and sisters who say, "I want to serve." As a result, his pastor arranged a service for him, and he talked nonsense, never learning, and said blindly, "I tell you, you can only come to me, you can't go to our group leader, you can't go to our pastoral district leader, you can only come to me."

I was thinking, this is control, what is this? Can this be service? It can't be service. After the pastoral district leader contacted him, he asked the person being served, "Did you say anything bad about me?" Brothers and sisters, tell me, can this person be a leader? He has no sense of security, doesn't study, talks nonsense, scrolls through Douyin, and then when he pastors, he tells a few Douyin stories and jokes, or he has no sense of security, or he talks nonsense. After talking for a long time, people don't understand anything, and he still says, "Why don't you understand?" It's terrible!

Jephthah later became a gang leader, and it was hard to tell whether he was black or white. Anyway, he was both black and white. But one thing is that this Jephthah really had the ability to lead his subordinates well. Think about it, if you can't do anything yourself, you say, "I'll take you to get rich." You're going to take people to get rich? Forget it, I think you should get rich first, you're good for nothing. One thing is very good, that is, lying. Who do liars like to lie to? Liars like to lie to friends the most. I tell you, classmates, Christians, anyway, these people, liars like to lie to the people around them.

So what I hate the most is when a Christian leader does business with the people below. I let you come to pastor, or did I let you come to do direct sales? You have developed all the people you pastor into your direct sales downline. Isn't that troublesome? Either sell insurance or sell health products. I let you spread the blessings of Jesus. Someone has a stomachache, and he says, "I have health products here, do you want them?" These things he does are just a scam.

So Jephthah's background was not good, but it didn't affect him. We brothers and sisters must receive my belief, never pass the buck, put the blame on our own heads. I tell you, your father cannot affect your destiny, your mother cannot affect your destiny, your teacher cannot affect your destiny. The only thing that can affect your destiny and affect your being used by God is yourself. Have you put the blame on your head? If you have put the blame on your head, then we will wear the blame as an official hat, wear the two ears of the blame well, and add a golden bell, then won't we become a commander?

We brothers and sisters must know that what affects God's use of you is yourself, don't pass the buck. Some people say, "Oh, my pastor didn't arrange for me to serve." There are many services that don't need to be arranged that you don't do, so do you have to arrange them? We must have faith in our hearts. You must know that God will not make mistakes. As long as you have this heart, one day God will use you.

When I used to go to church, I studied the Bible in a group. The group leader, the things he studied were completely irrelevant, talking about everything. Even if he had taken good notes of the pastor and repeated them, it would have been fine, but he was talking nonsense. At that time, I made up my mind, I said, "We pastoral district leaders must keep an eye on these group leaders who are talking nonsense, you must know that they are talking nonsense." At that time, I longed to be used by God. After the group leader finished sharing, he said, "Do you have anything to add?" Oh my god, I thought, "How dare I add anything? I'm not the boss." I said tremblingly, "Give me a few minutes."

The group leader said to me, "Give you two minutes." Then I have to use it well. If you give me five minutes, then you have to use it well. Anyway, he will never give me half an hour, because it's only half an hour in total. This doesn't affect me, but in my heart, there is a deep thirst. Isn't it that people didn't give me a stage later? I created a stage myself, and then I founded Chinese Mingding Destiny, and it became bigger and bigger. I don't care, I have a thirst in me. Look at the things we do, right? That is accumulation bit by bit, distributing food in due season. We brothers and sisters absolutely do not lack spiritual food.

Jephthah did the same, and I did the same as Jephthah. I learned from him, not Jephthah learned from me. But one thing is that faith is very important, persevere until God uses you. Jephthah never said, "God, why don't you use me yet?" Did he? No. If he said that, it would be bad. God said, "Forget it, like you, this is not called thirst, this is called nonsense."

I think it's very interesting, doing it, doing it, God will definitely use you. You must believe that God is sitting on His throne, hoping that people can be down-to-earth. If you are a gang leader, can you take good care of your subordinates? Some gang leaders specialize in gnawing on their subordinates, gnawing them until there are no bones left, no meat left on the bones. Just like what Micah said, the leaders of Israel gnaw on their subordinates, gnawing all the meat off the bones of the Israelites. If everyone is like this, then isn't that terrible?

Jephthah practiced hard, so we brothers and sisters, don't just thirst for service, but practice yourself in a down-to-earth manner, that is called true thirst. When God really gives you a chance, then you have to say to God, "Look, you need this kind of person, I am this kind of person." When a company needs to recruit a talent, you say, "I am this kind of talent!" Doesn't that close the deal immediately? You also found a job, and the company also found a talent. You dedicated yourself to God, and God also found His own heart. If the probationary period is not passed, then isn't that terrible?

Jephthah's background story is over, does it affect God's use of him? It doesn't affect him. What's so great about a prostitute being your mother? It doesn't matter if you have a prostitute mother, it doesn't matter if you are driven out of your home, practice a skill in a down-to-earth manner.

II. Jephthah Was Not Afraid of Death

Even if Jephthah became a gang leader, God still used him. I tell you, he was a very skilled gang leader. If you are a gang leader, opening a martial arts school and a security bureau is a matter of life and death. There are people beyond people, and there is heaven beyond heaven. One day, someone came and said, "Jephthah, come out! I want to compete with you." Do you come out or not? Do you go on the ring or not? If you say that your disciples are beaten to the ground, and the person who came to challenge you runs away, can that work? Otherwise, you can't continue your business.

So Jephthah was not afraid of death, that's not a joke. Jephthah was like Huo Yuanjia, you know? He also had to go on the ring. I tell you, opening a martial arts school is not a joke, opening a security bureau is not a joke. It's like going on the ring according to the rules of boxing, playing MMA, playing UFC, that's not a joke, that's real. If you get knocked out, you may not wake up. If you are locked up, you may not be able to breathe. There are people beyond people, and there is heaven beyond heaven. I tell you, Jephthah, oh, it's not easy, he went through many life-and-death trainings.

I tell you, whether a person is afraid of death or not depends on when you encounter things. You usually say, "I'm not afraid of death!" That's useless. Some people say, "I'm not afraid of death." He had all the symptoms of cancer, but nothing happened, he still lived peacefully and didn't die. Some people, as soon as they have the symptoms of cancer, oh my god, they check left and right, and the examination fees alone cost a lot. After the examination, they have to say, "Teacher, pray for me." I said, "If this person is afraid of death, what should I do?" If a person is afraid of death, can he live? A person gets COVID-19, has difficulty breathing, and immediately goes on a ventilator, and is rushed to the hospital, as if the hospital is his savior. I think it's a very hateful habit for people to be afraid of death.

When the elders of Gilead came to Jephthah and said, "Go and fight the Ammonites. If you win the battle with the Ammonites, you will be our leader." Jephthah thought, "You want to use the knife of the Ammonites to kill me?" Jephthah is not a pushover, Ammonites? He has this kind of attitude inside. In front of the two armies, who lives and who dies is not clear. Jephthah saw that the Israelites were so rotten, he rushed up alone and everyone behind him ran away, surrounding Jephthah layer upon layer. With all your skills, can you beat thousands of troops? That's not a joke.

Rushing to the front of the two armies, no one can say what the outcome will be, and the bullets don't have eyes. Oh, Jephthah agreed, and he went. I ask you, would a person who is afraid of death dare to go? Can those of us who are afraid of death go? If Christians are afraid of death, they cannot serve God. There are many Christians who are greedy for life and afraid of death. I tell you, those who are kings at home cannot cast out demons, but they can cast out pastors. They can't deal with demons, but they can deal with pastors, and they can choke me so that I can't catch my breath. They are so powerful.

Jephthah was not a monkey at the doorstep, not a tiger in the den, not a king at home. He was powerful when he went out to fight the Ammonites, so God used him. If a person is greedy for life and afraid of death, it is very difficult. I give you a suggestion, don't be afraid of death! Because being afraid of death is useless, being afraid of death only attracts ghosts, nothing else. Like me, I'm even afraid of living people, because living people are very bad.

Some people are not only afraid of living people, but also afraid of dead people. Can the dead people get up? They can't get up. The Bible has already said that the cowardly will be thrown into the lake of fire. People cannot be afraid of death, if they are afraid of death, they will definitely be finished. Can everyone understand this now? Some people say, "Teacher, I am naturally timid." Then start practicing now, take out the courage you used to argue with me! Some people say, "Teacher, are there still people arguing with you?" I said, "Oh, I am often argued with, argued with to the point where I am speechless."

Jephthah had a lot of skills, but he was weak at home, because what's the use of taking out your skills when facing your family? Those who have no skills are skilled at home, that's evil. You slowly ponder this, those who have no skills outside, for example, your children, have no skills outside, have no skills in making money, but are very skilled at mooching off their parents.

Those who are not good outside, who can't earn money, oh, they are very powerful at home, saying, "Give me money!" His mother is already so poor that as soon as she sees him, she thinks, "Oh, I must not let him know how much money I have." His mother knows very well: "I can't let my son know how much money I have, it will be troublesome if my son knows." Have you heard this story? Every day, you see this kind of drama being staged at home.

We brothers and sisters begin to practice a skill, and don't care about face outside. You have skills, you have abilities. Remember, it's not that people with abilities are ability-oriented. Everyone write this sentence down, a person with faith must have abilities, and a person without abilities must have no faith. You slowly ponder this, you can't be afraid of death.

In the past few years, I have seen many of these pastors, these people in the church, and the pastors, if they die, they die, why treat them? Isn't God our greatest doctor? Those people said, "That won't work, I have to find the best doctor, find the best medicine." That's the medicine that kills you the fastest, oh, I sigh, it's so good to be like me.

Someone can testify for me, can prove that I am not afraid of death, and I don't put my life in the hands of doctors. Doctors charge money for curing you, and they also charge money for not curing you. It has nothing to do with them if they cure you, it's my own recovery, and I still have to give them money. It definitely has something to do with them if they don't cure you. Money is not important, the suffering is deadly! Like me, I always want to die but can't, it's very good, this is not being afraid of death.

III. Jephthah Had a Dream

Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord delivers them to me, I will be your head!” (Judges 11:9)

How do I know Jephthah had a dream? Jephthah thought: I didn't just start thinking about being your leader today; I've been preparing for this day for a long time. Why did I develop all these skills? Why did I open a martial arts school? Why did I start a security company? Why did I gather a group of bandits? I was training my leadership abilities. I hope that one day, when God looks down from His throne upon Israel and wants to raise up a judge, that person will be me—how wonderful that would be!

Jephthah had this desire to be a leader. If you want to be a leader, you need to know one thing: you have to prepare. Some people say, "No, I desire to serve." But what do you have to serve with? I say, "Come and train first." They say, "I don't have time to train." You have time to serve but not time to train? That's strange to me. If you don't practice offstage, you'll get beaten up onstage, right? Do you think you can just babble and the demons will let you go? It's a real battle. Jephthah actually had this desire to be a leader; he believed that God would use him one day.

Brothers and sisters, we must understand that if you want to lead a Bible study, practice well beforehand, not onstage. One minute onstage takes ten years of practice offstage. If you don't practice offstage and then practice onstage, it's troublesome—won't you get beaten up? That's a ring, not a stage. Even a stage requires ten years of practice offstage for one minute onstage. There's plenty of time to practice. I can tell you, the origin of Chinese Mingding Destiny comes from my desire. I've been desiring to be used by God for many years.

Like us, who are immigrants, everyone needs to know the place of immigration. Some people say, "Then why did you immigrate?" Because China was poor in those years, so people didn't look up to it much. When China started to become strong, the immigrants felt better and benefited a little. So, in these past years, desire earnestly, be grounded, and don't be a dreamer. If you are a dreamer, you should buy a Voyah Dreamer car, because you are a dreamer, and this car is made for you. Every day is full of empty and false words, and you don't know anything.

Oh, I want to immigrate to the moon—that's a good dream. Oh, I want to live on Mars—then I think you should live on Venus. I even want to go to the sun, which is hotter than a smelting furnace. So, Jephthah had a dream, and why did he put in the effort? Everyone with a dream puts in the effort. It's not sudden; it's not that you only put in the effort when there's a stage. In the past years, I tell you, I've read three copies of the Chinese Bible until they were worn out, and I've read one copy of the English Bible. My memory isn't very good, but when I open it, I still recognize everything and remember it. I lament that a true dream is one that is grounded in reality.

IV. Jephthah Knew God's Works Very Well

The first thing Jephthah did was send messengers to the king of the Ammonites, and then he gave a long speech, from Judges 11:12 to 28. What did he talk about? He talked about the history of Israel. How did the Israelites treat the Ammonites? How did they treat the Moabites? Where was the border of the Ammonites? Where was the border of the Israelites? The Israelites went around them before entering the Promised Land and did not harass them.

Moabite king, do you still remember? There was a greedy prophet and a Moabite king who wanted to oppose Israel—one was Balak, and the other was Balaam. Do you remember? Then Balak hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. They didn't provoke you; why did you curse them? The Moabites were descendants of Lot. Why did Lot's descendants have to oppose Abraham's descendants, the Israelites? As a result, God was greatly angered.

I think Jephthah not only practiced martial arts but also studied and had cultural lessons. He was a cultured person. You thought he was just a gang leader? He was cultured and spoke with reason. I tell you, you can't go to war without a justified cause.

Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against me in my land?” And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.” Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the Ammonites and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the people of Ammon, but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. And Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our place.’ But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before his people Israel and shall you possess their land? Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has driven out before us, we will possess. Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war against them? While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not recover them within that time? I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him." (Judges 11:12-28)

You know, Jephthah had a clear grasp of history. You thought it was just this little passage? The entire story of how the Israelites came out of Egypt and entered the Promised Land was in Jephthah's heart. That is to say, his desire to serve God and be used by God had been there for more than just a day or two. Remember, we must not be ignorant; we must be well-rooted in the Word of God. Never be ignorant; use our time to do what is right.

Jephthah understood the history of the Israelites and also knew the borders of the Ammonites. Now he had a justified cause: you came to attack me, you came to invade me, and I will drive you out. This Jephthah was powerful. What happened later? The Spirit of God came upon Jephthah. Why? Because God began to use him at this time. Then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead and went from Mizpah to the Ammonites.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:30-31)

Thank God! Such was Jephthah. Did he win? He won. God gave the Ammonites into his hand. Our next battle is to continuously expand and recover lost territory, moving forward in faith. These next years are years of expansion. We have been preparing for so many years. Next, we will fight some tough battles to recover the Promised Land, the land that should be ours but has not yet been recovered.

What is that land, you say? If you still have an evil spirit in you, occupied by evil spirits, I tell you, that is unpossessed land. Now take back the land and dedicate it to God. If you are poor and often disturbed by the devil, being harvested by the devil, then you must drive out the devil and not let the devil steal your blessings again. That is the Promised Land; it must be recovered. If you are often sick, you need to recover it and drive out the devil. So, I think there are some among us who are not blessed, who are often struggling, establishing their own righteousness. You take all these back and dedicate them to God.

Jephthah had a dream, and he was used by God. Let us boldly dream that all unpossessed land will be recovered piece by piece and dedicated to God, becoming holy. Can we declare to the dark forces in this world that they have nothing in us? Why do we have so many problems in our families? Problems with children, finances, and health? Why so many? Because there is still much unpossessed land.

Let us have a dream before God, even a dream we have with our eyes open. It is a determination in our understanding, like Jephthah. We know clearly that God wants to give us the Promised Land. This is how we will begin to continuously expand, conquer territory, and take back what belongs to us.

V. Jephthah Was Very Trustworthy

I tell you, a person without trustworthiness is difficult to be used. Without trustworthiness, how can there be faith? Some people often use God to play games. I ask you, when Jephthah went out to fight, did he know if he could return safely? That was war; it was not a joke. It was not like going into an MMA ring, where you can tap out and give up. If you tap out on the battlefield, it's useless. It's a real battle, and you don't know when a blow will fall on your head or neck.

So, before Jephthah went out, I guess it had something to do with his background as a gang leader. He was a very interesting person who liked to make vows. Why did he like to make vows? This is closely related to a person's historical background. Jephthah said, "God, although I am not afraid of death, I still hope to return safely from the Ammonites. I still hope the Ammonites will be delivered into my hands. If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, whoever comes out of my house to greet me first, I will dedicate to you and celebrate with me that God has given us victory."

As a result, his daughter came out, and she was his only daughter. Jephthah only had one daughter in his life. Think about it, as a father, he only had one daughter, and she was very lovely. He offered her as a burnt offering. Oh, when Jephthah returned, God had delivered the Ammonites into his hands. But his daughter came out to greet him. Jephthah never dreamed that his daughter would come out. He tore his clothes and said, "I am in trouble! I am in so much trouble!"

Jephthah said, "I made a vow to the Lord. Oh, why did I make this vow? Couldn't God have delivered the Ammonites into my hands without me making a vow?" But in that situation, my faith was really too weak. I said, 'Whoever comes out to greet me, I will offer to God as a burnt offering.'" I tell you, this father did well.

And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:36)

How did Jephthah raise such a child? It was because Jephthah had been very trustworthy in these past years. His promises were fulfilled, and he did as he said. He was a very trustworthy person. Jephthah was not only trustworthy to his gang members; he was also trustworthy to the people around him. He was trustworthy even when collecting protection money from merchants. He was trustworthy when running his security company; he would not embezzle. As a result, he taught his daughter to say that if you make a vow to God, you must fulfill it.

Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” He said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months. And she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. And she had not known a man. And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. (Judges 11:37-39)

Do you know what a burnt offering is? It is burned. How great! I think Jephthah was trustworthy to such an extent. Thank God! Jephthah set a very good example for us. If you ask me, was she really burned? She was really burned. Later, there was a custom in Israel that every year the daughters of Israel went to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. Not easy, right? Not easy. But we must know that to be used by God in one's life, to be dedicated to God in one's life, is infinitely good.

We are talking about "Fearless, Dream-Filled, Faithful: Background Does Not Hinder God's Use of You." Can you raise your faith within you? Actually, dying this way or that way, dying sooner or later, it's all the same, but dying dedicated to God is always the best. I see that everyone's worldly concepts have not been removed yet. From now on, start to desire, start to have dreams, start to no longer fear death, and start to be grounded. In the past, whatever our family background, whether we were rich or poor, whether we had this or didn't have that, none of these are important. What is important is that we have a heart to be used by God. Amen!

May God bless everyone!