1 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,120 We got some good TV speakers, don't we? 2 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,200 Hey, good morning everybody, welcome to Saint City. 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:13,960 If I don't know you, my name is Brandon. 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:15,720 I'm so glad that you are here today. 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,760 We're going to open up the book of Joshua today in God's Word. 6 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,400 So if you got a Bible, turn to Joshua or go to the table 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,960 contents and find if you don't have a Bible, we actually have 8 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,600 one in a seat nearby in front of you on the floor there. 9 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,360 And it's on page 179 of that Bible. 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:31,960 When I get up to talk, when anybody gets up here to preach 11 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,400 at Saint City, what we do each and every week is we open up 12 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,200 God's words. Why? 13 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,800 Because our words aren't all that important. 14 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,520 But like the Apostle Peter said, like to whom else would we turn 15 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,920 that has the words of life? And we believe that that book 16 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,480 that is on the floor there in your hands today, guess what? 17 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,800 It has the very words of eternal life itself. 18 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,480 That immortality is found in the belief in Jesus. 19 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,000 And we believe that you can have that and experience that for 20 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,000 yourself. And so we turn to his words for 21 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,680 life in our life with Jesus. And so we open that up and just 22 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,680 a moment, I'll meet you there. What I'm realizing right now in 23 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,960 my life is that sometimes you just have to risk it all, OK? 24 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:14,320 You just got to you got to send it. 25 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:15,800 You got to risk it all to have it. 26 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:17,440 Some of you, like I'm looking at the college students right now. 27 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:19,520 I'm like, you just got to risk it and go ask that girl for her 28 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:20,760 number. You know, I'm saying you just 29 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,000 got to risk it, but I was watching Deal or No Deal 30 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,200 recently just as like I was conjuring up this image of 31 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:28,840 risking it all. I don't know if you remember 32 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,080 this show, but it was hosted by the bald headed beauty known as 33 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:33,840 Howie. He's our bald king, right? 34 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,080 We love him in the bald world. He pulls it off. 35 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,720 But Howie, what he'll do is he does something dramatic all the 36 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,520 time and Deal or No Deal, Deal or No deal's this game show 37 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:47,000 where you have a briefcase beside you and there's like 2530 38 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,960 briefcases before you. And you have to decide if the 39 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,760 value of what's in your briefcase and the numbers that 40 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:55,840 you know that are worth those briefcases. 41 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,240 You're like, hey, is this briefcase going to be worth more 42 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,320 than either the briefcases that are out there or the deal from 43 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,680 the banker? And so you work your way through 44 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,760 and you're like, hey, what is my briefcase going to be worth 45 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,680 taking that offer or grabbing one of those briefcases? 46 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:12,440 And you do this again and again and again and again. 47 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,840 What will happen is in the show is how he does something super 48 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:16,800 dramatic. He'll look at you and he's like, 49 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,040 everything in life has a turning point. 50 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,320 Is this yours? Are you going to take the 51 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,680 $500,000 offer or are you going to bet that you have the 52 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,560 $1,000,000 case? And then inevitably they'll 53 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,720 like, open up their case and it's like a $5 case. 54 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,840 And you're like, oh, my gosh, the anxiety of just turning down 55 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,520 a half, $1,000,000 for five. Yeah, sometimes you got to risk 56 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:39,240 it, right? You got to risk it all to have 57 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,840 it all. And the crowd, as he's chanting 58 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:44,400 that, he'll be like, hey, crowd, what? 59 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:45,920 What you guys who've seen the show, you know it. 60 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:48,880 He'll be like, hey, crowd, should they risk it all? 61 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,960 And the crowd will like chant, and they'll get really into it. 62 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:54,720 And sometimes the risk is worth the reward. 63 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,000 They're like, hey, that's that deal's only worth $20,000. 64 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,040 There's 17 cases up there worth more than $17,000. 65 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,680 I am not taking that deal. What happened spiritually is 66 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:07,480 something similar at times, I believe. 67 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,200 And it's the problem that many of us face each and every week 68 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,840 is that many of us are unsure or unclear if going all in, if 69 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,920 risking it all for Jesus is actually worth it. 70 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,320 Is it worth risking it all for Jesus Christ? 71 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:29,080 Is it worth it? Is it going to be something 72 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,280 we're look back on with regret? Is it going to be something that 73 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,600 we years from now look back on and go, wow, I made a dumb 74 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,240 decision by giving more of my life to Jesus, risking it all on 75 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,320 the reality that he died on a cross, he rose again and he 76 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,360 ascended to heaven never to die again. 77 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,400 Is that worth risking my whole life on? 78 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,120 Is it worth risking my image and my career? 79 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,600 Is it worth risking my finances? Is it worth risking it all on 80 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,400 Jesus Christ? Am I willing to bank my life on 81 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,400 Him and His claims? I think we find ourselves asking 82 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,120 that question. I think we find a character 83 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:12,480 right here in Joshua chapter 2 that was asking a similar 84 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,920 question. The central question for today 85 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,519 that I want us to focus in on together is this, does faith in 86 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,519 Jesus mean I have to risk it all? 87 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:24,040 It's a question Rahab, our main character, is going to be asking 88 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,120 herself, and it's a question we have to find an answer for, for 89 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,920 ourselves together. In fact, that is my goal this 90 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,720 morning is that you would leave here with clarity and with 91 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:38,280 confidence and with conviction to an answer to that question. 92 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,160 So let's go to God's Word, Joshua chapter 2. 93 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,640 But before we do, actually I just want to pray for us as a 94 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,520 church family as we come before God's Word. 95 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,320 Will I just be able to pray for us as a church family before we 96 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,280 go to God's Word? Would you join me right now? 97 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:57,720 Lord, here we are as people here in Tempe, AZ asking and 98 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,160 believing God, that you can still speak, you can still move 99 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,000 in hearts. And so, Lord, I pray and I ask 100 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,480 God that you would shake, shake us. 101 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:14,360 You'd shake us from whatever apprehension, whatever obstacle, 102 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,640 whatever interferes with us living a life of worship unto 103 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,080 you, whatever prevents us from having faith in you. 104 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,360 Oh God, would you give us great faith today for the person who 105 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,440 has unbelief? Lord, would the simple prayer be 106 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,760 I believe, but help my unbelief and God would you make me as a 107 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:41,320 messenger so small and your message so big that people would 108 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,000 hear and experience the glory of who Jesus Christ is and what 109 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,840 he's done for their life in Jesus name, Amen. 110 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:51,680 Joshua chapter 2 verse one says this and Joshua, who is the 111 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,520 successor to Moses, who is the new leader of the people of 112 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,560 Israel. He, the son of Nun, sent two men 113 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,680 secretly from a city that I would like for you guys to 114 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,520 pronounce. Actually, if you have your 115 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,400 Bible, you're laughing because the city Hashitim, as spies 116 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,880 saying, go view the land, go view the land, especially a city 117 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,960 called Jericho. And they went and came into the 118 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,800 House of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. 119 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,160 And it was told, the king of Jericho, behold, men of Israel 120 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,400 have come here tonight to search the land. 121 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,440 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying, Bring out the men 122 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:30,840 who have come to you who entered your house, for they have come 123 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:35,240 to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two 124 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:37,480 spies, the men and he, and she'd hidden them. 125 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,000 She said, true, the men came to me, but I did not know where 126 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,720 they were from. And when the gate was out to be 127 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:43,120 closed at dark, the men went out. 128 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,280 I do not know where the men went. 129 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:47,960 Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. 130 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:50,760 But she had brought them up to the roof and hit them with the 131 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,560 socks of flax, that she had laid an order on the roof. 132 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,120 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as 133 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,480 the Fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone 134 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:01,760 out. Let's stop right there and let's 135 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,440 ask ourselves the next question. If we're asking ourselves the 136 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,480 question this morning of is Jesus worth banking my life 137 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,440 around? Then let's ask ourselves this. 138 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,560 Do we realize the risk of staying? 139 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,280 Like what is the risk of staying put where we are? 140 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,320 I think a lot of times when people are considering Jesus, 141 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:24,440 when they're considering their faith in him, they are realizing 142 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,280 the risk of going all in on being a Christian. 143 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,760 But they are not realizing the risk of actually staying in the 144 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,480 space and in the mentality in the lifestyle that they 145 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,280 currently find themselves in. That there's actually a risk of 146 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:41,160 staying put, of holding on to your briefcase just as much as 147 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,920 there is grabbing a new one or taking the deal. 148 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,840 I think we see in this first initial section here 3 149 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,160 unavoidable spiritual laws that Rahab discovers for herself and 150 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,120 that is true for us. The first unavoidable spiritual 151 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,520 law is that judgement is coming. Judgement is coming. 152 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,360 Rahab. Before the men lay down, she 153 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,800 came up to mum in verse 8. Now she came up to them on the 154 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,520 roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you the 155 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:18,080 land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us and that all 156 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,520 the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 157 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,160 Rahab is realizing something that the people of Canaan, her 158 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,760 people, guess what judgment is coming for them. 159 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,880 These people, these Canaanites, they're child sacrificers. 160 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:42,280 They are evil, wicked people. Herself, her career, not exactly 161 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,320 an honorable one. She's a prostitute, The oldest 162 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,640 profession they call it right? She is deeply aware that 163 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,840 judgement is coming, not just for her, but for all the people 164 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,920 of Jericho, and that she is recognizing that. 165 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,840 Wait a second, this God who is with the Israelites? 166 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:02,720 Everywhere the Israelites go, guess what? 167 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,480 The people melt before them. The land is theirs. 168 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:08,800 If their God says they have it, they get it. 169 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:15,240 And judgement is coming for every single person in Jericho. 170 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,560 Now that is not only true for Rahab, that is a spiritual law 171 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:24,960 that is true of the world. Romans 3 says that nobody is 172 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,360 righteous, no, not one, because of the reality that each and 173 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,480 every single one of us was born in sin and chooses to sin, 174 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,600 therefore is worthy of God's judgment that we don't just 175 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,720 stand accused, we stand condemned because of our sin and 176 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,800 we are in deep need of salvation. 177 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,160 And Rahab realizes something. She realizes the second 178 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,720 spiritual law that I can't save myself. 179 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,200 Not only is judgement coming, but Rahab realizes something. 180 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,200 She's like, wait, these Israelites are about to come 181 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,600 into our city, they're about to take over. 182 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:03,000 And sure, I could stand the post of my house with a sword, and 183 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,080 that's not going to go so well. I'm like picturing verbal meme 184 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,040 right now. I'm like picturing Jon Snow and 185 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,280 he's like, got all the army coming at him and he's got the 186 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,160 sword raised. Like, that's Rahab trying to 187 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,200 save herself. It's just not going to work. 188 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,440 It is a suicide mission to try to save yourself. 189 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,840 And she realizes it. Not only is the judgement 190 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,120 coming, Rahab is deeply aware of the reality. 191 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:33,160 She can't save herself. Once again, that's not just true 192 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,960 for Rahab. That is true for every single 193 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,080 one of us. That staying put is fatal. 194 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:47,760 That it is a horrifying thing to fall into the hands of a holy 195 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,440 God. Staying put is dangerous. 196 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,080 I've never lived in Florida because I am deathly afraid of 197 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,640 hurricanes. We get all the perks of the 198 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:01,480 sunshine here in Arizona, none of the natural disaster, thanks 199 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:03,480 be to God. But if I were to live in 200 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,120 Florida, I could tell you how I'd operate. 201 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,400 I would not be the kind of person who fled hurricanes 202 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:10,560 because I'm the skeptic by nature. 203 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,600 It'd be like, hey, time to board up your windows. 204 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,960 Time to run. I'd be like, meh, we'll risk it 205 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,840 for the biscuit. We'll stay here. 206 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,000 And I can tell you with certainty, as I look over my 207 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,960 wife Maddie, she's like, we would absolutely not be those 208 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:24,400 people. We would be going to Georgia, 209 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,680 we'd be going to Mississippi. We'd go somewhere other than 210 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:29,920 Florida. I know this is true because in 211 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,080 college often times my fire alarm would go off and I lived 212 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,080 on the 15th floor of my dorm and on the 15th floor of my dorm at 213 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,240 3:00 AM when the fire alarm went off, I never went downstairs. 214 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,560 If, if, if this is how it ends, so be it. 215 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,960 I'm I'm called to die right here and now staying put though in 216 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:55,160 Florida, staying put in my dorm had danger to it. 217 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:58,240 And I'm concerned for some of you today. 218 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:01,720 I'm concerned that you're not realizing the risk of staying 219 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:06,080 put where you are spiritually, that you think that staying 220 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,200 where you are with Jesus is enough, that there is no danger 221 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,880 in just letting him be a part of your life. 222 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,000 If Jesus is not Lord of it all, he is not Lord at all. 223 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,400 Listen to me closely. Staying put has grave 224 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,000 consequences. Judgment is coming. 225 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:35,320 You can't save yourself. But here's the third spiritual 226 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,360 law. God must be kind to us. 227 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,920 He has to be kind. He has to be gracious. 228 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:51,920 He has to make a way where there is no way, otherwise we are 229 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,440 stuck in the risk, stuck with the grave consequences. 230 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:01,800 God has to be kind to us, otherwise the risk of staying 231 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:08,920 put will leave us without hope. So my second question for you 232 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,200 guys, is this a God worth risking it all on? 233 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,160 If I'm you and I'm in the seat today and I'm like wondering if 234 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,040 where I'm at with Jesus and I'm thinking to myself, hey, what 235 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,760 does faith in him look like in my everyday life? 236 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,360 Will I be asking myself that question? 237 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,080 Is this God worth risking it all on? 238 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,720 Will I regret it? Will I think back and wonder if 239 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,720 it was worth it? Well, I think Rahab thinks he's 240 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,600 worth it. I think He gives us 5 241 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,720 attributes. We learn about God in verses 9 242 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,240 through 11. She said to the men, I know that 243 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,280 the Lord has given you the land. The first thing we learn about 244 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,920 God is He is in charge. Another word for that is He's 245 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,400 sovereign. He is sovereign. 246 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,840 He rules over the land. That land, the promised land is 247 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,080 actually God's. Jericho might inhabit it, but 248 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,880 they do not own it. They are renters from God 249 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,120 Himself and He's decided no longer is it yours. 250 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,160 You are abusing the land that I gave you. 251 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:07,400 You are not operating in holiness. 252 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,760 You are not reflecting my image, human beings. 253 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:13,040 So guess what? I'm going to give it to my 254 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,560 people, the Israelites. He is in charge. 255 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,520 It is His land to give. He is sovereign. 256 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,320 He is in charge. The second thing we learned is 257 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,520 that He is powerful. Look back at verse 9. 258 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,640 The Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has 259 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,600 fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land will 260 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:40,520 melt away before you. Rahab realizes something that 261 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,640 when the Israelites fight, they do not lose. 262 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:52,960 Their God is the undisputed champ of winning battles, and 263 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:59,840 their hearts melt because of it. They cower in fear. 264 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,520 They're hoping that that God, the Jericho people are hoping 265 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,880 that God will change his mind because they know if this battle 266 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,080 starts, it's a battle they're going to lose. 267 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,800 I mean, look what he she says next, verse 10 for we have heard 268 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,200 how the Lord, she calls him Yahweh. 269 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,160 By the way, God's personal name, recognizing that she actually 270 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,040 believes in him, doesn't just know about him, but actually 271 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:23,680 believes these things to be true about him. 272 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,880 He dried up the water of the Red Sea. 273 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:33,200 Pause. He dried up the water of the Red 274 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,040 Sea. How many seas have you looked 275 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:41,040 at, spoken to and dried up? None. 276 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,320 I imagine you could even look at a puddle and let that happen. 277 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:54,080 God looked at the Red Sea in Exodus and he said part. 278 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:02,280 He's that powerful. If God can do that, what can he 279 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,200 do to the city of Jericho? That's what Rahab's feeling. 280 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:13,920 If you're that powerful, if your God is that strong, we're in big 281 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,400 trouble. Not only do we learn that about 282 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:19,600 God, we also learn that he is big. 283 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,520 So the Israelites, what they did to the 2 Kings and the Amorites, 284 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,920 Rayon the Jordan to see Han and AOG, whom you devoted to 285 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:28,360 destruction. I'm in verse 11 now. 286 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,960 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted and there was no 287 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,400 spirit left in any man because of you. 288 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,080 For the Lord your God, He is God. 289 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,080 Where? In the heavens above and on the 290 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,360 earth below. What is she saying? 291 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,360 She's saying every other God that I've heard of isn't this 292 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:52,600 God. They're all ants compared to 293 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,240 him. So what happens when you feel 294 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,680 really, really small? Your heart melts. 295 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,520 There is no courage to fight because you're no longer 296 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,640 fighting the people of Israel. You are fighting against God 297 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,680 himself. And he is big. 298 00:17:10,599 --> 00:17:13,319 However big you think God is, he's bigger. 299 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:20,599 He is infinite, He is self existent, meaning he doesn't 300 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:22,800 need anyone or anything to exist. 301 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,640 He didn't need anyone to create him. 302 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:29,200 He's eternal. He is omnipresent, meaning he is 303 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,680 everywhere all at once. He is omnipotent, all powerful. 304 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:39,320 He is omniscient, knowing things beyond any human comprehension. 305 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:46,440 This is God, He is that big. And when you come face to face 306 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,280 in a fight with God, guess what? Your heart melts. 307 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:55,840 And so is Rahab's. He is big, He is powerful, He's 308 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:57,640 in charge. But look at verse 12. 309 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,760 He's also kind. Now then she says, please swear 310 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,200 to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you, you will 311 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:09,800 also deal kindly with my Father's house. 312 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,160 That word there in the original language is the same word that 313 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:19,320 we get for God's steadfast love, his covenant love. 314 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,120 It's the Hebrew word has said, and what that means is, is what 315 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,400 she's saying is, Hey, I want to enter into eternal relationship 316 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,960 with this God. I want his your God to be my 317 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,960 God. And for that to happen, He needs 318 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,080 to be kind to me. You need to be kind to me. 319 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,920 You need to be loving to me. I know I'm an outsider. 320 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,040 I am not born of the people of Israel. 321 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,280 I did not wander in the desert for 40 years. 322 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,040 But guess what? I believe and know that your God 323 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,960 is the real God. Listen to me. 324 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,120 You might not have grown up in church. 325 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,040 You might not have been around the things of God before. 326 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,680 You might think it's only for the people who are clean and 327 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,040 pure and they grew up in it. But listen to me. 328 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,680 God loves outsiders and He welcomes them in. 329 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:08,440 He is kind to anyone who would call upon His name to be saved. 330 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,640 That's who He is, and that's what He does. 331 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,640 He is kind because He's also a missionary God. 332 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:19,040 I don't know if you've ever thought about this as an 333 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:24,720 attribute of God, that He is a missionary God, but He is 334 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,840 fulfilling a promise here in saving Rahab in Genesis chapter 335 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:30,680 12. You can write down that like 336 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,200 Genesis chapter 12, he promises Abraham. 337 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,720 At that point in the story, he's known as Abram. 338 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:40,160 His name changes at one point, but Abraham is promised that 339 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,240 through his lineage, all the nations of the earth will be 340 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,680 blessed. The people of Israel aren't just 341 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:48,280 to be blessed. There's intended to be a 342 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:54,360 blessing to the world that anyone who wants to live unto 343 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,480 God in worship can be an Israelite. 344 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,760 And I think that many of us when we're doubting God or wrestling 345 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,200 with God or we have friends that wrestling with God, we think of 346 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,880 God like some cosmic tow truck, truck like driver. 347 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,920 OK, I was talking to Tanisha this week and I'm putting her on 348 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,200 blast. I'm so sorry, T, you're not even 349 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:16,920 here today. But she was over at the 350 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,800 Chick-fil-A over near campus. And it says very explicitly on 351 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,160 those signs, do not park here unless you're a Chick-fil-A 352 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,720 customer. Now, if you're in downtown Tempe 353 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,200 very often, you know, parking is hard to come by and that parking 354 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:35,080 lot normally fair game. OK, not this day, not for 355 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:36,560 Tanisha. Poor tea. 356 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,960 She goes about and she goes, she literally goes across the street 357 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:41,640 to a different restaurant. First she was going to go to 358 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,720 Chick-fil-A, but she went somewhere else 1st and there was 359 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,040 a tow truck driver waiting there for her. 360 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,480 Being as petty as can get. I'm sorry if you're a tow truck 361 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:50,400 driver, by the way, I'm not trying to offend. 362 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:54,080 But this guy, he's sitting there waiting for her car and makes 363 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,000 her pay on the spot before he tows it away. 364 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,000 That that's like so petty and vindictive and there's waiting 365 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,280 for you to do something wrong. I think many people think about 366 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,840 God like that, especially the God of the Old Testament, let's 367 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,000 call it. He is the same yesterday, today, 368 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:12,800 and forever. I think many people think that 369 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,880 we're in Joshua right now, that we think God is different here 370 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,040 than he is when Jesus arrives in the New Testament. 371 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:24,520 This is the same God. This is the same God who loves 372 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:30,280 people regardless of ethnicity, regardless of story, regardless 373 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:33,840 of background. This is the God who is a 374 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,960 missionary God who is willing to save Rahab the prostitute. 375 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,680 And all it took was an admission that this God is who he said He 376 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,280 is and that she needed His grace and His kindness. 377 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:56,880 Upon her life. Rahab realized that this God is 378 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,840 a missionary God. So is God worth banking your 379 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:02,960 life on? I would say yes. 380 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:09,440 That this God who is in charge, who is powerful, who is big and 381 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,800 kind and seeking after you as a missionary, guess what? 382 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:16,520 He loves you enough to come save you from your sin. 383 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,320 That it might not be God doing the talking right here through 384 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:27,560 the spies, but it is nonetheless an opportunity and an invitation 385 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:32,560 for Rahab to take hold of life eternal, offered to or through 386 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:37,280 God. This God is worth it. 387 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:43,480 His judgement on sin is just. You cannot save yourself. 388 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,480 But He is loving and kind and seeking and saving the lost. 389 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,040 Even in Joshua. This is who God is. 390 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,840 So what grants us God's kindness in our life? 391 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,920 What grants us our his kindness in our life? 392 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:00,720 Well, we're going to keep reading the story. 393 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,400 What's question three, Question 3. 394 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,760 Now as you're taking notes, is this what grants us the kindness 395 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,720 of God? Let me show you in the text, 396 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,960 verse 15. Then she let down the spies by a 397 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,440 rope through the window, for her house was built into the city 398 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,600 wall so that she lived in the wall. 399 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:26,720 And she said to them, Go into the hills, or the pursuers will 400 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,040 encounter you and hide there three days until the pursuers 401 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,280 have returned. Then afterward you may go your 402 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,960 way. The men, they say to her, We 403 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,280 will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you 404 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,440 have made us swear. Behold, when we the Israelites 405 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,160 come into the land, you shall tie underlying this, this 406 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:48,560 scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, 407 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,280 and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, 408 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,840 your brothers, and all your father's household. 409 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,440 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the 410 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,400 street, his blood shall be on his head and we shall be 411 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,000 guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone 412 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,760 who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 413 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,240 But if you tell U.S. business of ours, then we shall be guiltless 414 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,000 with respect to your oath that you made a swear. 415 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:14,520 And she said, according to your words, so be it. 416 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,040 Then Rahab sends them away. And they departed, and she tied 417 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:23,840 the scarlet cord in the window, despised the part, and went to 418 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:25,880 the hills, and remained there three days until the pursuers 419 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:27,720 returned. And the pursuers searched all 420 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:32,280 along the way and found nothing. Then the two men returned. 421 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,240 They came down from the hills, passed over, and came to Joshua 422 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,840 their leader, the son of Nun. And they told him all that had 423 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:40,440 happened to them. And they said to Joshua, Truly 424 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:45,040 the Lord has given all the land into our hands, and also all the 425 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,480 inhabitants of the land melt away because of us. 426 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:54,520 So what does Rahab do? What are we supposed to do with 427 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,880 the opportunity for the gospel? Is there A to do list to do? 428 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:03,440 Is there much to be done? I think it's actually really 429 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,200 simple in the Bible. How do you receive the kindness 430 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:11,360 and grace of God? It's simply this. 431 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,240 Faith with God means risking it all to have it all. 432 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,640 Faith with God is risking it all to have it all. 433 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,680 Rahab risks everything by turning to God in faith. 434 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,200 Her faith is simply the act of saying I'm going to hang this 435 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,200 scarlet thread, that this God is who he said he is, despise and 436 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,720 do what they said they do, and I and my family will be spared 437 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,040 from the judgement. It's just faith. 438 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,560 In fact, that's all Rahab's ever honored for in the Bible, her 439 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,240 ethics here with lying. That's under debate, much 440 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,440 debate, and Christians land on all sides of it. 441 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,120 Personally, I land on the spot where she shouldn't have lied, 442 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,520 but I understand it and God's grace is real and big. 443 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,440 But I think that God never condones her lying here. 444 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,320 He never says, hey, it's a good thing. 445 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,920 What's commended in Hebrews 11, what's commended in the book of 446 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,360 James, what's commended for her being in the genealogy of Jesus 447 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:17,000 is her faith, her trust that God is who he said he is. 448 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,480 And I think there's five aspects of her faith that I want to show 449 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,160 you right there in the text. Once again, it's ordinary but 450 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:28,360 biblical faith. The first thing is, is she 451 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,600 risked her allegiance. She risked her allegiance. 452 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,480 The king of Jericho knows these spies have come. 453 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,160 He knows that they're in, they're in the city of Jericho 454 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,360 and he's got Intel saying that they went to her in her house 455 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,560 and she's willing to risk her allegiance to the people of 456 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:54,960 Jericho, to the God of Israel. Our decision isn't very 457 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,560 different. Now, we might not be risking 458 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,640 necessarily our allegiance to our country or to our neighbors, 459 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,480 but there are allegiances you have that are on the table when 460 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:06,880 it comes to risking it all for God. 461 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,880 Maybe it's to your family, to your career, to your image. 462 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,280 Maybe it's to your friends and your relationships. 463 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:22,840 I don't know what allegiance you hold dearest and deepest, but I 464 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,960 know this. It's in competition with a good 465 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:32,840 and great and powerful God that there is a line in the sand. 466 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:38,200 Those who are still in rebellion against God and those who are 467 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:47,520 waving His flag in His Kingdom. Rahab was willing to risk her 468 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:52,760 allegiance in faith. She risked it all, risking her 469 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:59,160 life on the reality that she would have life from God. 470 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,200 She doesn't just risk her allegiance though. 471 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,800 She surrenders whatever is between her and God. 472 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,160 She surrendered whatever was between her and God. 473 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,560 She's going to lay up the spies on the roof with the flat. 474 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:18,760 She's going to give away whatever she can so that 475 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,680 whatever's between her and God, she's not going to play it safe 476 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:25,240 anymore. She realizes the judgement is 477 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:26,640 coming. She can't save herself. 478 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,680 So what's she going to do? Hey, God, I'm banking my whole 479 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:35,840 life on the reality that you are who I've heard you to be, that 480 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:41,280 you are who you say you are. We would call this playing it 481 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:47,520 safe, the idea that we might not actually go all in. 482 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:49,480 We're going to hedge our bet a bit against God. 483 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,480 We're going to hold a little bit back. 484 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,680 We'll go to church on Sundays, maybe a small group throughout 485 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,320 the week. Maybe we'll listen to Christian 486 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,440 music on the radio or podcast even. 487 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,680 We cannot give God a part of our life and expect Him to give us a 488 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:11,040 whole eternal life. Jesus Christ is the greatest 489 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:15,720 treasure this side of heaven and the next. 490 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:19,720 The pleasure of living with God as a part of your life will not 491 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,600 exceed the treasure of living life with Jesus Christ as Lord. 492 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:29,840 We hedge our bets and surrender often because we are doubting 493 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:34,440 the reality that the pleasures of this life, that they're 494 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,640 better than the treasure of knowing Jesus. 495 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,240 I get it. This is me, this is my story. 496 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:49,400 When I was 18 years old, I was headlong head first, going after 497 00:29:49,560 --> 00:29:57,520 the things that this life offers you, wealth, beauty, success, 498 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:02,680 power. My heart was drawn to it. 499 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:09,400 And as an 18 year old raised in the church, I believed that. 500 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,280 Guess what? Like I thought to myself before 501 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,880 I was saved, there is no way that going all in on Jesus is 502 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:19,200 actually worth it. Those Christians who take him so 503 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,520 seriously, here's what I thought. 504 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:26,640 They're losers. God doesn't actually want that 505 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,440 much of your life. He just wants to be a part of 506 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,760 it. When Jesus is your greatest 507 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:40,280 treasure, when you truly believe in Him like that, He becomes the 508 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:45,240 Lord of your life and you are willing to surrender whatever He 509 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:50,360 asks you to. Give that going into ministry, 510 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:52,680 starting a church like we have here. 511 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,800 It was God once again asking me to surrender in faith to risking 512 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,040 it all again. That the faith that saved me, 513 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,720 risking it all, banking my life on the reality of Jesus. 514 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,720 It doesn't just save, it also sustains you. 515 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,400 So listen to me, Christian faith isn't over yet in your life. 516 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,360 You still need to continually risk more and more for Jesus. 517 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,880 That comes through financially with your treasure. 518 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,760 It comes through with your talents. 519 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,440 It comes through with your time. This is what it means to have 520 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,880 live a life of faith. It's saying God, I don't see 521 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,200 what's on the other side of this, but I will continually 522 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,400 risk it all because you are the God who I came to believe in 523 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:39,360 when I got saved and you are the God who I know to be now and you 524 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,000 are trustworthy of holding my life in your hands. 525 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:51,240 He's worth surrendering to. She compassionately also Rahab 526 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:56,280 two more things here on rehab in her risking at all ordinary 527 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,880 faith is just compassionately looking to save others. 528 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,120 Did you notice that she has a whole blurb about her family? 529 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:04,240 Hey, my father, my brother, my sisters, my mom. 530 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,920 Hey, can you get them saved too? Can you spare them? 531 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:09,400 That's one of the first questions you should ask as 532 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,280 being a saved person is who in my who is in my life that I 533 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,880 would love to see be spared of the judgement of God. 534 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,960 There's this magician. I think it's it's either tell or 535 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,040 a pen. I don't remember which one of 536 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:24,200 them. I never I always mix them up, 537 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,800 but they're popular for looking at magicians shows. 538 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,320 And one of them says this in regards to Christians. 539 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,520 He said I don't believe in the whole God thing. 540 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,680 But here's what I do believe that if you believe that my 541 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,960 life, my eternity, is going to be completely and utterly 542 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,320 judged, that there is an eternity apart from goodness and 543 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,680 you don't have the courage to tell me about it, that has to be 544 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:51,920 one of the most cruel and unloving things I've ever heard. 545 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,600 That there's a train about to hit me and you stay silent. 546 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:05,520 What are you doing? Oh, would we be a people of 547 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,600 faith St. City, a people that see the 548 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,080 train coming and constantly say, hey, guess what? 549 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:17,040 Salvation is available to all, Rahab. 550 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,360 That's what ordinary faith looks like, and it looks like obeying. 551 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:21,560 She does the very thing. She lays the scarlet thread out, 552 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:25,040 she obeys God, and then she reaps the reward of seeing God 553 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,440 come through on His promises. Faith is simply just that. 554 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:33,080 Most of the time it's just taking God at His word and 555 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:39,920 acting upon it, knowing that He promises a good result in your 556 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,920 sexual purity. It takes faith to believe that 557 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,840 He promises a good result for your obedience, in your 558 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:50,640 financial integrity, in your relationships, and seeking 559 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:56,000 forgiveness in the way that you're raising your kids is 560 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,080 taking God at His word and trusting that He knows what it's 561 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,040 like to have a good marriage. He knows what it takes to be a 562 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:03,760 good parent. He knows what it takes to be a 563 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,000 good college student. He knows what it takes to have a 564 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,639 life of flourishing. Would you trust Him and take Him 565 00:34:10,639 --> 00:34:15,560 at His Word? Rahab is proof positive that 566 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,400 it's not where you start, it's how you end. 567 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:28,679 He started with a horrible career of being used like an 568 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:31,560 object. But I found something 569 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:33,280 fascinating this week in studying Rahab. 570 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:37,000 Rahab is the mother of a guy named Boaz. 571 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:40,360 Some of you know who Boaz is because you've read a lot of 572 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:42,679 your Bible, but Boaz is the husband of another major 573 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:47,440 character named Ruth. Boaz and Ruth are the great 574 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,800 great grandparents of King David, who is the great, great, 575 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,520 great, great, great, great, great granddad of Jesus. 576 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:03,040 That Rahab, the prostitute that she lives her life. 577 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,720 And as yours goes on and as the book goes on, she's going to be 578 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:10,520 saved from the battle of Jericho and she's going to marry a man 579 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,320 named Salmon, not a fish, just a tough name. 580 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,280 He's named Salmon. But what I learned this week is 581 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,960 that Salmon, according to Jewish history, is one of these two 582 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:32,320 spies that the home where she was used and broken, God 583 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:40,640 redeemed. God's not done with you yet. 584 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,560 However your story started, it doesn't have to be how it ends. 585 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:50,560 She is in the lineage of Jesus Christ and the reason we have 586 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,560 Joshua 2 in our Bible, It's not every single one of us could 587 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,760 look at it and look at the story of Rahab and go Jesus Christ 588 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:01,560 loves people from all stories and backgrounds. 589 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,680 He came through all kinds of people, for all kinds of people. 590 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,760 He is Jesus Christ. And that is really the story of 591 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,520 Rahab. There's three main characters in 592 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,680 the story. There's the rescuer, there's 593 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,520 Rahab, and there's us, the reader. 594 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,760 Jesus is not obviously glaring on the text. 595 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,080 He's not like the one talking. But make no mistake, the book of 596 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,520 Joshua is helping us see the reality of a man named Jesus 597 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,920 Christ who would come. It is foreshadowing for us that 598 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:32,040 the hero of the Bible ultimately is Jesus Christ. 599 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:34,440 And he's not here for the spiritually clean. 600 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:37,400 He's not here for the one who think they have it all together, 601 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,040 but rather he's here for the ones who would humble themselves 602 00:36:40,240 --> 00:36:43,560 and look to him and say, save me, for I am a person who needs 603 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:46,480 saving from my sin, from your judgment. 604 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,880 Rahab was a liar and a harlot, but her hope wasn't in stacking 605 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,400 her good deeds. It was in looking to a person 606 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:57,240 named Jesus Christ, the hero of every person's heart who is 607 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:00,440 saved. He is the great rescuer, the 608 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:03,720 great Redeemer, and that is who she is looking to in this very 609 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:06,120 moment. I hope you are seeing him 610 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:09,360 clearly that the story of Rahab is not about the city of 611 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:12,600 Jericho, it's about the sin inside of its walls. 612 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,040 That this story is not about crossing the Jordan River. 613 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,320 It's about crossing from death to life. 614 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,920 That the story of Israel and Joshua is not ultimately about 615 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:27,080 the rest and joy of the Promised land. 616 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:31,480 It is about people receiving the rest and joy of being saved by 617 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:35,280 Jesus Christ. Christian, do you marvel at the 618 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:39,120 mystery of the Gospel? Once again, this is your story. 619 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:44,880 For those still on the outside, do you believe it that Jesus is 620 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,120 worth banking your life on? He is the rescuer who came to 621 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,760 save every single Rahab, even you. 622 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:58,520 And so I think this leads us to three quick pieces of our 623 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:01,320 discipleship, how to be learners and followers of Jesus. 624 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:04,280 This is wrong. close the three areas of our discipleship that 625 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,560 God is speaking to directly. First. 626 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:09,920 I think it speaks to our walk. So Christians, listen, this is 627 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:12,520 for you. Are you praying that God would 628 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:17,600 save more Rahabs in your life? The person far from God, the 629 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:20,080 person who you think is impossible for God to save. 630 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:22,360 Are you actually praying for that, or are you just thinking 631 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:25,520 about it? Are you actually taking time to 632 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,040 beg God to save the Rahabs in your life? 633 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:35,320 But also, do you actually believe God is trustworthy for 634 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:36,800 the risk he's asking you to take? 635 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:41,440 What risk is God asking you to take still, still going to take 636 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:42,720 faith? It's still going to take risk. 637 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:44,320 Where in your life is that going to happen? 638 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:45,680 It's going to happen in your finances. 639 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:46,760 It's going to happen in your purity. 640 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:47,720 It's going to happen in your marriage. 641 00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:49,080 It's going to happen in your parenting. 642 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,680 Where in your life is it going to take faith this week? 643 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:55,560 Because I promise you, faith is on the table once again for you 644 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:59,320 to believe in God and take Him at His Word to obey Him. 645 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,000 In fact, that's just what faith is. 646 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:06,720 It's just the next step of obedience and that's how we walk 647 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:13,240 with Him. 2nd, and I thought it buried just its own point is 648 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:16,960 just it affects our witness. Are you willing to risk your 649 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:25,560 reputation, perhaps your job, perhaps that promotion your 650 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:28,680 image and telling others about Jesus? 651 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:32,520 I think we get quick to rationalize that. 652 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,280 We're quick to write it off and say God wouldn't really want me 653 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:43,000 to. Rahab was willing to risk it 654 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,640 all. She committed treason against 655 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:51,680 Jericho. I just wonder if you're willing 656 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:54,080 to take risks this week and telling others about Jesus. 657 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:58,440 And finally, I'll borrow a line from Howie here. 658 00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,000 Everything in life has a tipping point. 659 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,640 And so for you who are here today and you realize that Jesus 660 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,040 has just been a part of your life. 661 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:10,960 That you actually haven't risked anything on His reality of His 662 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:14,960 resurrection yet. Are you willing to risk it all 663 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,640 to have it all? Are you willing to put your 664 00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:21,920 whole life on the table, your whole eternity on the hope of 665 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,280 Jesus Christ? Are you willing to do it? 666 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,440 There's some of you here today that I believe God is going to 667 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,080 save. That you are realizing that the 668 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,640 judgement is coming and you've been trying to save yourself and 669 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,760 all you can do is cry out to God for salvation in His kindness 670 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:42,520 and grace to you. You're realizing the Rahab in 671 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:47,920 you and you've only given a little bit, but I invite you 672 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,440 today to risk it all, to have it all. 673 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,280 I think Jesus is worth it. That you would grab hold of the 674 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:58,240 scarlet thread that runs all throughout the Bible. 675 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:02,400 It is the story of Jesus Christ, the scarlet thread that every 676 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:06,040 person calls upon to be saved. If you believe in your heart and 677 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:10,280 confess your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, Romans 10 says 678 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:16,560 you will be saved. So I'm going to pray for us and 679 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:21,320 then we're going to take communion together and I'll lead 680 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:22,360 you through that in just a moment. 681 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:23,160 You pray with me first.