MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Anyone who enters this house will be saved, no matter their past | Pastor Will Hawk | August 17th, 2025
What if your greatest shame became your greatest testimony? The story of Rahab challenges everything we think we know about who belongs in God's family.
Joshua 2 takes us to an unexpected location—the house of a prostitute in Jericho—where two Israelite spies find refuge as they scout the Promised Land. But this isn't just any woman; Rahab is a foreigner who demonstrates extraordinary faith despite her background. With soldiers searching the city for these men, she hides them and makes a stunning declaration: "I know that the Lord has given you the land...for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
The beauty of this narrative lies in its contrasts. Rahab likely learned about God through conversations overheard from clients—her very brokenness positioned her to hear about God's mighty works. When she lets the spies down from her window with a scarlet cord, she becomes the means of salvation not just for herself but for her entire family. This cord, reminiscent of the Passover blood, marks her home as a place where anyone who enters will be saved from coming judgment.
Throughout Scripture, Rahab continues to be called "the prostitute" even while being honored in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11). Why? Because "in Christ, your past must be remembered as a testimony, but it will never define your future identity." Her story culminates beautifully in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, where she appears simply as "Rahab"—the mother of Boaz, a man of exceptional character, and an ancestor of Christ himself.
This powerful message reminds us that faith often exists in simple acts of sacrificial kindness, that no one is beyond redemption, and that God delights in writing incredible stories through unlikely people. Where might you be hiding your past and wounds instead of putting God's incredible grace on display? Your story matters, and it might just be the testimony someone else needs to hear.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Please turn in your Bibles to Joshua 2, 1-11, which is on page 178 in the Pew Bibles, and follow along as I read God's Word. The son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying Go view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. It was told to the king of Jericho Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
Speaker 1:And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went, pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. I do not know where the men went, pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
Speaker 1:So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan, as far as the fords, and the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out, before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. Amen.
Speaker 2:Much appreciated. In case you don't know, christine was given the text to read a couple of weeks ago and as soon as she got it, I think did you text me right away and say you've got to be kidding me. Okay, so the reason is not because there are words in it that are hard to pronounce. Her husband has studied Hebrew. He can help her with that. The reason it's hard is if you actually correctly pronounce one of the first difficult words in verse one, it would cause some of you to blush, and I think it's important that you know that Christine intentionally mispronounced a city that you will find in verse one, to make life a little bit easier on all of us. Anyway, I find that a little bit easier on all of us, and so, anyway, I find that a little bit fun and fascinating. Out of curiosity, we're going to see how many of you guys were here last week and how many of you who were here last week paid attention. One question I would love feedback on this. I'm going to try not to make it a difficult one. It's okay to get things wrong at church. This is where we come to get right, not to prove we're right. The main thing that was repeated over and over and over in Joshua, chapter one. What came before what we're about to lead was be blank and blank. Fill in the blanks, be and blank. Okay, way to go. Team. All right, we're in a good place, we're in a really good place. Before we dive in, let me just give you guys sort of some closing of summer and entering in fall heads ups. So obviously the room's pretty full. We're pulling in chairs. If you're planning on pulling into the parking lot at nine o'clock and grabbing a cup of coffee and a donut and dropping off your kid and getting a good seat, you have more faith than most. Okay, so just a couple of tidbits. We're going to try to squeeze into the room while it is so hot outside. If we have to open those back doors, it makes everybody a little muggier, and this many people make it warm in the building anyway. I'm very much looking forward to, and somebody who knows weather better than I being able to open in the building. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to, and somebody who knows weather better than I being able to open up the doors. But I'm guessing we got a month. Does that sound about right? And so just know, we're gonna be squeezing, probably for the next month before it cools off. But then also know, second service does tend to be lighter, and so if you feel a little crowded or if you dropped your kid off in a room that seemed more crowded than you would like, just know that second service tends to be lighter than first service.
Speaker 2:Here's what we're going to start with today Be strong and courageous. And here's the great news, god's people are. They get it right. This time. This second generation figures it out, and we go into one of the coolest stories in the book of Joshua. Today.
Speaker 2:I want to begin with a question, and I would love for you guys to answer. You're going to answer by phone, if you have it, so grab your phones. There's a little QR code that I've got up on the screen. I make this joke all the time. If you're about to take a picture of that, ask the young person next to you how those things work, and they will be happy to show you, and then you can take them out to lunch and make a friend today. Here's my question If you were to pick a man from Scripture for your daughter to marry now, if you're single, you can pick for yourself, but I tried to come up with a question that anybody could potentially answer.
Speaker 2:If you were to pick a man from Scripture for your daughter to marry, or for you to marry, who would you pick? I left this open-ended, okay, which means don't ruin this for everybody. The 3% of you who think it's very funny to put in responses that ruin it for the whole crowd. All right, I've got somebody. Like previewing them, but don't make their job more difficult than it has to be. If you were to pick a man from scripture for your daughter to marry, who would you pick? Joshua 2 begins in an unlikely place, but it ends in an even more unlikely place. This is where it begins. Men who are strong, men who are courageous, men who are trusting in the Lord show up and they spend the night at the house of a prostitute whose name is Rahab.
Speaker 2:In the event. By the way, I can tell I'm transitioning faster than y'all. Y'all think you have really cute and clever answers and I can read it on your faces right now, just so you know. You're not as cute as you think. All right, we begin in a. You're not as cute as you think, all right, we begin in a place you would not expect the Bible to begin.
Speaker 2:Certainly, if this story is going to go in an upward, encouraging, enthusiastic way, why on earth, in the early beginnings of God's people going into the promised land, would we begin here? Why would we start in the home of a prostitute, of a woman named Rahab? Let me just begin, because I'm not going to make a big point out of this. Throughout the entirety of the morning, there is not a single soul in this room, there is not a single person that you know. That is beyond the grace of God. That is one thing that Joshua 2 screams out loud. You have never been, will never be, have never known and will never know someone that the grace of God cannot rescue. And if you can't pick it up by verse two, you certainly excuse me, by verse one, you certainly will by the end of our chapter. And then this incredible woman, rahab, shows some pretty incredible faith, all tucked into verses 8 through 11. Are these statements of faith? Now, you need to know Rahab was not just a prostitute. She was also a foreigner. Which means sometimes we read the Old Testament, we just assume well, if their name's in it, then they're one of God's people. Not the case. She was not one of God's people. She was one of the Canaanites. She was not somebody who would have grown up into fear and the admonition of the Lord, and yet she has some incredible statements to make.
Speaker 2:Before I point out those, I do want to make one theological point, and I've put it in bold on the screen. Lots of people struggle with what we are going to read as we continue through the book of Joshua, where God calls his people to devote entire cities to destruction. I'm going to go in more depth when we get to chapter 6, because we see this actually pan out. But just in case you're not here, I want to give you a theological tool to put in your sort of toolbox so that if anybody ever comes up to you and says you know I could never really follow the Lord or the God of the Bible, how could I. He's a genocidal, angry God. I just want to give you one quick tool to put in your back pocket, and it is this when you see the term devoted to destruction, most of us focus on the destruction, but notice the word that comes first devoted.
Speaker 2:If we think of somebody being devoted to something, do we think of that as a warm thing or a cold thing? We tend to think warm. What do we call the time that we spend with the Lord at the beginning or the end of the day? Our devotion, our devotional, and so these two terms sitting side by side, it really should jar us a bit. What I want you to recognize, though, is that there is just as much about devotion as there is destruction. This is not about God's people winning a war as there is destruction. This is not about God's people winning a war. This is about the removal of a little g, god that will cost people their souls. This is about worship more than it is about anything ethnic.
Speaker 2:I'll give you one quick example out of Deuteronomy 13. You have to pay attention when you read it, though. If you hear in one of your cities, so this would be a city of God's people. If you hear that in one of your cities, which the Lord, your God, is giving you to dwell there, that certain worthless fellows have gone out and serve other gods. If they have devoted themselves to someone other than the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the creator of the universe, god, you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword.
Speaker 2:The point here is God is not picking and choosing based on ethnicity. What he is saying is if you are going to be devoted to things that are going to steal your soul away from me, steal the souls, souls of your children, steal the souls of the people that are inhabiting the land around you. God is going to bring judgment, but it isn't a guarantee that judgment has to come. That's what we see in the book of Jonah An entire city that was going to be devoted to destruction, and then their hearts change. If you want to go a little deeper on this, notice verse 17,. None of the devoted things.
Speaker 2:So this is saying in these cities, there are actual physical things that are drawing people away from God, and God doesn't want them to. I love this. Stick to your hand. In other words, when we find ourselves in a culture, if you find yourself. In a household where God is not worshiped and God is not praised, sticky little physical realities will try to become your God. It is why God's word is constantly concerned that our possessions not possess us, and I want you to see that from the outset. When you see this term devoted to destruction, this isn't about something ethnic so much, it is about something worshipful. But I do want you to see what Rahab puts on display for us.
Speaker 2:Here is this foreigner who is a prostitute, but notice the words that come out of her mouth. I know that the Lord has given you the land. I know that the fear of you has fallen on us. I know that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. These two spies come to her house and she says listen, I don't know a lot about you, but I do know something about your God. I know that God has already determined that my house is not going to have my family's name on it in the days ahead. I know it's going to be yours. I am convinced. Fear of your people is running rampant through the city. Our hearts melt when we think about you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea, that whole book of Exodus. We've heard about it. Not only that, we have heard how you defeated the two kings of the Amorites who you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it verse 11, our hearts melted. There was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord, your God. He is God in heavens above and the earth beneath. She begins giving us hymns of praise falling from the mouth of a foreign prostitute.
Speaker 2:If you really want to have fun with this text, you need only ask yourself one question how does Rahab know all of this? How can she possibly know all of this? I'm not looking to poke on any touchy internal. You know whatever situation's going on in your life, but can I just tell you women did not get the news back then. It's not how it worked. They were not in your life. But can I just tell you women did not get the news back then. It's not how it worked. They were not in the know. They were intentionally left out of the know.
Speaker 2:Additionally, she's in a different country. How does she know that the hearts of soldiers are melting? How does she know that all of the people are fearful? Can I give you my guess and what some commentators think. Her customers talked about it in front of her. In all likelihood she knows how good and big and powerful God is because in her brokenness she has heard this soldier who is trying to find comfort in the only way. He knew how, by coming to her, she may have listened to two or three men sitting outside her door talking about these very things. It was her brokenness that actually prepared her for usefulness.
Speaker 2:Why was it that we wanted Natalie to share today? Is it because I didn't know all that was going to be in there for me? Just so you know, I didn't say, hey, could you slide some in it's raise time in about a month and a half? I didn't ask for any of that. Why? Because I wanted you to realize that many times, following God and serving him is small. Following God and serving him is small, simple, although risky decisions, and when we do those things, there is a story that God desires to write for you. That is better than you could possibly imagine, but you'll miss out on it if your ear isn't to the ground, if your eye isn't looking.
Speaker 2:She knows that the Lord is God in heaven, above and earth below. She has beheld who he is. She has believed that. This is true. But has she become? That's our definition of a healthy Christian. Behold, believe become. But has she become the woman that God desires her to be? Not yet, but, boy, is she on the right way?
Speaker 2:When you read a passage like this, what needs to stand out to you is how amazing and providential God is putting on display His mercy to foreigners and people whose sin is as apparent as hers. And this is strategic. But it's not just strategic because of where her address is. Her mailbox actually matters in this text. It's strategic because it's telling you no one is foreign from God. He knows you well. No one's depravity is too depraved. He sees it and he loves you. Anyway, I know that the Lord has done these things. She has heard these stories from some of the worst places, but she never saw it with her eyes.
Speaker 2:There's a guy who struggled with that. His name was Thomas. Thomas, I was thinking about you when I put this up. It's a weird thing to me that Thomas is a common Christian name. He does not get the best rap. Anyway, I just think that's cool.
Speaker 2:Jesus said to him being Thomas have you believed? Because you have seen me? Thomas shows up Jesus has been resurrected. He's heard the stories but he hadn't seen Christ yet. And Thomas goes and he looks at Peter and he looks at John. He's like guys, here's the deal. I'm not gonna believe that Christ has been resurrected unless I put my finger in the holes of his hand, unless I see the holes in his side. And Jesus then shows up and he says hey, come on, thomas, let's get awkward, right, this is going to make the book, let's do it. You want to see, get real close. And then he looks at him. He says have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen me physically and yet they have believed. By the way, this is Rahab. If you want to see you in this, you could probably see yourself there. But first Peter's a little bit better.
Speaker 2:Though you, christian, have not seen him, you love him. Do you realize how profound that sentence is? For you to love someone that you have never seen? There is a fair chance that if Jesus was not in a new body, if Jesus did not have glory exuding from him, that you would walk by him and not even notice. The Bible tells us, as ordinary as you could imagine, but though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him. You rejoice with joy that's inexpressible and filled with glory, and in so doing, you obtain the outcome of your faith the salvation of your soul. Here we find that faith doesn't require sight, as much as we may want it.
Speaker 2:She knows that the Lord is in charge, which is why, in verse 12, she doesn't want the men to promise that if she takes care of them, they will take care of her. She says no, no, no. Swear to me by the Lord, swear to me by the one who created all things. Swear to me by him that, as I've dealt kindly with you, you will also deal kindly with my father's house. And give me a sure sign that you will save alive.
Speaker 2:My notice on the screen, if you would. She is going from. Will you save me too? I want you to save my whole father's house. I want my father and my mother, I want my brothers and my sisters, I want all who belong to them, to be saved from death. I know you're going to win, because I know your God, and your God doesn't lose. You may screw it up, but your God's not going to screw it up and I'm telling you, swear to me by him. I don't need the promise of a soldier, I don't need the promise of a spy. I don't need the promise of all of your people or your greatest leader. You swear to me by the God that you trust in that. I'm trusting in that if I help you, you will help me.
Speaker 2:And when you help me, this young woman who may have very likely been looked down on by her family, whose father may have looked at her profession and wondered where did I go wrong? Whose mother may have looked and said what have we done? Our child could not have strayed any further. There's a world in which they may have even encouraged it. I don't know. Remember these are not God's people. This is in a city that is living completely opposed to God's ways. Her brothers, her sisters, all of the conversations that would have been had at Christmas and Thanksgiving and birthdays about Rahab. Now this woman becomes their lowercase s Savior. She does what they could not, and these spies say to her in verse 14, our life for yours, even to death. In other words, if you die, we die. We're going to take care of you as much as we take care of our own lives. If you do not tell this business of ours, and when the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.
Speaker 2:She may have disgraced her family, but something else is about to happen, and I don't know if you've noticed that, but what these guys just said is so very different than the first generation. When the Lord gives us the land, this was the confidence that these spies' fathers did not have. They were not strong and courageous, but they are. Do you want to know why? Because the faith that Rahab had fueled their own. When they heard from a foreigner that already her people are terrified of the God of the Bible, all of a sudden their faith begins to grow. What a change, what confidence. So she lets them go after this promise has been made. She let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them go into the hills or the pursuers will encounter you. Hide there three days until the pursuers have returned, then afterward you may go your way.
Speaker 2:I love thinking about how this worked out. Her house was built into the city wall. That was a very common thing. You would build walls back in that day that were quite thick. If you had the means, you would make them literally thick and solid. But many fortresses were built with a gap between the wall and people lived in it. Rahab lived. This is why I say her address her mailbox was strategic.
Speaker 2:When these spies come, they have an ally right on the edge of the territory that they are coming into, right on the edge of the fortress. But I do love thinking about Rahab letting these guys down out of the window. It's just cool to me. How did that work out? I'm not going to guess that Rahab was jacked and she's like go ahead, boys, I'll keep an eye out for you. She probably ties this rope off and all of a sudden these guys just start scuttling down the wall and she says now go and stay hidden for anybody pay attention. How long? Three days Now. If you're not paying attention, if you read your Bible quickly, you're going to be prone to miss things like this. These three days matter. The spies were hunted. Men If caught. Their fate was certain death. Humanity, similarly, is constantly being chased by death.
Speaker 2:We went this past week to a funeral on um Monday and Tuesday in Texas. About two months ago, I shared with you about a woman who, uh, we have gone to camp with for a long time, whose husband has cancer. He passed away about two weeks ago. He's a couple of years older than me, has children. My children's age loved the Lord, fought cancer once, went into remission for 10 years, got cancer again, fought it for five years and then lost the fight on this side of eternity and won it. Forevermore in Christ. And we go to this funeral and it is the most worshipful thing that I have ever been a part of. That was connected with a funeral like this. This man had shared his testimony after his first bout with cancer. He thanked God for his cancer because he did not believe he ever would have come nearer to the Lord had it not been for that. It changed him in all of the best of ways.
Speaker 2:All of these incredible moments being shared their refrigerator is. I would recommend this practice. By the way, I can't put stuff on my refrigerator because my wife likes the kitchen to look a certain way. One side of our refrigerator can have magnets, the other does not, and that's just like how it works in our house. But if I had spiritual freedom in my own household, what I might do and what this family did, is they put prayer requests on one side of the fridge and then, when God answers them, they move to the other. I'm going to try to say this without losing it. One of the prayer requests that they moved a week ago was God, will you heal daddy? Well, they wanted it here, but they moved it there.
Speaker 2:You see, when these three men shuttle down a wall and they run out and they hide it in the woods, they hide under impending death for three days. This is exactly what we see with Christ in the grave. This is exactly what we see with Jonah in a whale. This is exactly what we see all over scripture. That three days is representative of death coming but not finding Romans 6.23 reminds us the wages of sin is death. I have great news for you If you've never sinned, you're going to live forever. I look really forward to seeing that, but none of you are going to make that cut and, whether you realize it or not, death is chasing you.
Speaker 2:The question is have you found a place to hide that actually hides you from death? There is one and it is here, and Christ went into the grave for three days as death pursued. And if death cannot find him and he has paid your penalty, death will not find you. Instead, the free gift of God being eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, will be given to you. Life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, will be given to you. I will say, because of the faith of these spies, I think they had a great three days. This is speculation.
Speaker 2:Let me step away from the pulpit here for a moment. I'm going to guess Rahab hooked them up with some food I'm going to guess they had bread and cheese and who knows what else to drink, depending on your theology and they went out into the woods for three days, knowing our God is going to give us this land, knowing the faith of this woman has increased my own. Knowing we get to be a part of something that people are going to talk about for thousands of years, that gets to be our story. As they sat around, maybe a campfire looking up at the stars for three nights, a campfire looking up at the stars for three nights, and then they return, the men said to her we will be guiltless in respect to this oath of yours that you have made a swear Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie the scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. And I can't go into this whole thing. What does something red hanging over or near a window remind you of Passover? Yeah, yeah, yeah, time out. You'll get to see that in the weeks ahead.
Speaker 2:But if you think there's not even more incredible biblical story tucked into this, you would be missing it. You shall gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers and all your father's household. Did you hear it expand? At first it was just Rahab, then it's her mom or dad, or brothers and sisters and their people, then it's the entire father's household. What you should be hearing when you read this is the creaking of the hinges of the door of eternity, opening wide even to the foreigner and even to the prostitute.
Speaker 2:Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood be on his own head. That's very Passover talk and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we will be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made a swear and she said according to your word, so be it. Then she sent them away and they departed and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. It would be there for only a matter of days, but in the event that you didn't hear the doors creak, open even more. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, all of a sudden, salvation that was pointed at Rahab. That then goes to her mom and dad and family who may have been very disappointed in her, and she becomes a savior of that family is then expanded to their children as well. But by the time we get to the end of this story, please look at the word on the screen. Anyone who comes into this house, though death may be chasing them, will be saved. Let me interpret that for you.
Speaker 2:If you think, walking through those doors as you coming into this house, you have not understood scripture. If you think this house is the only house to walk into to find salvation, you have not understood the scripture. What's happening here? Are you coming into not a building but a home, and are you part of the family of that home? This is the spirit of God opening the doors to any who would say I know that I have sinned. I know that death is chasing me. I fully expect to live a full, long life. I hope death has to run really hard to catch me. But if it catches me in two days when I take a funky turn off of the yellow light, I want to know that I am protected from that enemy who pursues me. Anyone is welcome to come into the house. And what does it look like? It looks like knowing who dad is. It looks like changing your name. It looks like more than beholding who he is and believing who he is, but becoming who he has called you to be. That is what faith actually looks like. And for her it didn't take much. It took one conversation and one act of sacrificial kindness. This is the end of the chapter.
Speaker 2:They departed, they went into the hills and they remained there three days until the pursuers returned. And the pursuers searched all along and they found nothing. Because they were hidden for three days under the providence of God. Because they were hidden for three days under the providence of God. Then the two men return. Can I just tell you this is their best day. They get to walk up to Joshua, the new leader of God's people, they get to deliver good news, faithful news, be strong and courageous news, and they tell him everything. Then the two men return. They came down from the hills, passed over, came to Joshua. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills, passed over, came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them.
Speaker 2:Now are these guys married? Maybe, but whether they're married or not, there does need to be an explanation as to what they were doing at the prostitute's house. He's like all right, look, we're gonna get the whole story straight here. We did what we were supposed to do. The fact that God used something unusual to us. We are seeing it as unusual too. But might it be that salvation is widening and widening, and widening? And they said to Joshua we have faith, we have faith in God, we have faith in you. We're ready to be strong, we're ready to be courageous. We believe our people will as well, because, truly, the Lord has given. This is them saying God has made a promise and we believe he's gonna keep it. All the land has been given into our hands and all the inhabitants of the land are gonna melt away before us.
Speaker 2:This is a great story. It doesn't make many of the coloring sheets, just so you know it might make it once they get to the woods. It doesn't make it when they're hanging out with Rahab. Rahab begins as a prostitute and that part of her life may never have been forgotten. All of the conversations likely had after God's people move in, rahab, her family, her household and anybody else who hid in that home become a part of God's people. But if you think for a minute, when they were traveling together, she didn't overhear. Hey, isn't that the prostitute? Hey, isn't that the woman? I mean, do you know what her background looks like? You?
Speaker 2:ever hung out with church people, all right, on a Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday or Saturday, all right. Just so you know we're not perfect. She probably heard about her story from whispered, dark, shady corners for the rest of her life, and the Bible doesn't hide it when I tell you a part of her life may never have been forgotten. I mean it. This is chapter 6. And who is she considered in chapter six? Rahab the prostitute, verse 17. The prostitute's house, verse 22. Rahab the prostitute, verse 25. Timeout flag on the field. New identity in Christ. Should we just call her Rahab Like? Can't we move there, god's word? Were there so many Rahabsabs and that was the only way? No, no, not that Rahab the prostitute one. Was that the only way? Couldn't they have been the one with the scarlet thread in the window? Can't we use that as a moniker instead? But the Bible doesn't. In fact, the Bible really doesn't. All the way in Hebrews, all the way in James. Do you see who she is by faith? Rahab the prostitute, james 2,. In the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute? Why does this name chase her? Can I tell you why? I think? I think this name chases her for a very good reason.
Speaker 2:These verses that I just put up for you are praising her. Why would the Bible call her Rahab the prostitute, while it is lifting her up as an example of faith and an example of good works? And that's exactly what's happening. Hebrews 11 is the hall of fame of faith. All of the best examples of people who had faith in God. They find themselves in Hebrews 11. And so does she. By faith, rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Do you see how simple her faith was? She gave a welcome to those who needed it. She didn't go to seminary, she didn't have to go on a big missions trip, she didn't have to raise a lot of money. She didn't spend 40 hours a week praying. No, she gave a friendly welcome to people who needed it.
Speaker 2:James, chapter two James being the book not on faith but on works. And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified? And in the same way, was not also Rahab the prostitute justified seen as guiltless by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Why does this not fall off of her name? Because in Christ, your past must be remembered as a testimony, but it will never define your future identity. If you try to scrub from your name all of the brokenness that was built up under it, you are not making yourself look better. You are making God's grace look smaller. That's what happens.
Speaker 2:Parents, just one big piece of advice to you Do not hide your past from your children. To clarify, I'm not saying at lunch today you sit down with your five-year-old and you talk about your college days. It's not what I'm saying Might be interesting, I'm not recommending that. But as they grow in the faith, as they grow in their understanding of grace, do you not know that they are going to have the same questions that you had and have? Is my sin too big for God? He knows what I think, he knows what I say, he knows what I mumble that no one else hears. And when a mom and a dad who have a faith that is strong and courageous can say son daughter, let me tell you where I came from. When we do that, it doesn't diminish us, it expands the grace of God. Parents, don't hide your stories. Roommates, friends, leaders in your schools, coaches, whatever. Do not hide your story in Christ. Your past must be remembered as a testimony, but it will never define your future identity.
Speaker 2:There is one place that I know the prostitute falls off, and it's the coolest part to me of the whole thing. This is where we see it fall off in a screen that is far too small for you to be able to read. I know that I'm going to zoom. This is Matthew, chapter one. It's known as the genealogy of Jesus. If you don't trust me, look it up in your own Bible.
Speaker 2:Rahab may have began as a prostitute, but this is how she is remembered. This, all of these names, are how we get from, how we get to Jesus. Look at 18. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. How do we get there in scripture? Well, we go through a bunch of names. We got Isaac, we got Judah, we've got all of this.
Speaker 2:I just want you to notice Let me zoom in real good. I want you to notice verse five In Salmon, the father of Boaz, by Rahab. That one little phrase tells me a couple of things. Rahab gave up her old ways. Rahab married someone, marry a believer, believed in the God of the Bible, and when they had a child, do you know who their child was? Boaz. Now that may not matter to you, and if you don't know who Boaz is, I would recommend a book of the Bible called Ruth. It's pretty great, ladies. It's got to be in your top three. All right, esther, ruth, psalm, proverbs 31,. All good, just keep it in the top three.
Speaker 2:She not only gave up her old ways and got married, she had a child. And when she raised that child, she raised him to be, in my estimation, one of the greatest examples of godliness that we find in all of scripture. And who raised that man? A prostitute who was foreign to the knowledge of God? That's who does it. And if you want to know something even cooler, why was it when Ruth showed up? We're going deep Old Testament. If you're not tracking with me, let's get coffee or lunch. Why was it when Ruth showed up late at night and laid at Boaz's feet? He didn't take advantage of her Because his mom had been taking advantage of her whole life, because his mom had been taken advantage of her whole life. Most people look at this and they jump to the fact that Rahab was a great, great grandmother of David. David's awesome kills giants. But he also has a pretty sundry past. Boaz, her son is the example you want, and this happens when we do not hide who we are from our children and from those around us.
Speaker 2:I asked you a question at the beginning and it was this I have no clue what you guys answered and I'm about to find out and, I'll be honest, I'm just a little bit nervous. Let me make sure I don't screw this up. Thank you to the over a hundred of you. All right, I love this. Alright, okay, hang on, I'm doing it different. Y'all don't do anything. I Wanted to try. I wanted to try something different today and see if it works, and it didn't. But I still love technology. Okay, nope, how dare you? Let's see what Josiah's viewing history is. There we go. I should be able to zoom. I'm sorry. How do I do this? Boop, no, nope. Well, whatever, there we go. All right, everybody, give yourselves a hand. You nailed it. Way to go. Well, not everybody, just those of you who put Boaz, okay, or Jesus. I'll take Jesus, boaz and Jesus, all right. As much as I would love to pause and talk about all of the folks, oh, uriah is a really good pick too, all right.
Speaker 2:When I look at this, here's what I want you to realize when I think about who it is that Rahab turned into. There is one place where that name falls off. And that name falls off when you get to see the family that she was a part of. When it comes to her faith, her history is remembered. When it comes to her past, her history is remembered when it comes to the example. Her history is remembered when it comes to the example that she set in her works. Her history is remembered, but here, as an ancestor of Jesus. Rahab the prostitute is her past, but that is not her future anymore.
Speaker 2:Thomas Watson puts it this way when God calls a man, when God calls a woman, he does not repent of it. God does not, as many friends do, love one day and hate another. God's call is founded upon his decree. He decreed that Rahab the foreign prostitute was going to be the savior of the nation, and his decree is immutable. It's unchangeable. Acts of grace cannot be reversed. God blocks out His people's sins, but not their names. He made you exactly who you are. He knows your past better than you know it, and if you want that piece of your name to fall off, let it fall off only in one place.
Speaker 2:I'm in the family of God, but everywhere else. Let me tell you who I was, because when we hide our past and we hide our wounds, what we're ultimately doing is hiding God's grace, and I tell you this because y'all are great at this. I'm not saying this as a conviction, I'm saying this as an encouragement. You are a people who open yourselves up and say let me tell you who I was. Let me tell you who I still am, but let me tell you whose I am, because I know what I will become. This is the hope that we have in God. This is the hope that we have in Christ and this is the hope that we have in the gospel Band. If you guys want to go ahead and come on up, feel free. I've got a couple of questions I want you to ponder as the band plays in the background, behind me, and then we will stand and praise God for who he is.
Speaker 2:For Rahab, faith existed in one simple conversation and one act of sacrificial kindness. Might we be over-complicating faith in Jesus. What is a simple, sacrificial thing that God may be calling you to? Where are you tempted to hide your past? Where are you tempted to hide your wounds? How, instead, can you put God's incredible grace on display and do you believe that God wants to write an incredible story through someone like you? I can tell you he does. I can tell you he does, I can tell you he is. I can tell you half the stories in this room. I'm not allowed to, but I can. His grace is unbelievable, and if you have not found it yet, let today be the day where who you are doesn't fall off, but who you will become absolutely changes. Let today be the day that you are written in the family. You are under the household of faith. Let today be the day that death pursues, but you know that because of the work of Christ, in three days you will be protected from it. Let's worship together, as we're ready, a God who deserves it.