Makin A Comeback Rahab the Prostitute 3/15/15 -Themes: Faith, Restoration Scriptures: Joshua 1, 2; Hebrews 11; James 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Intro: Comeback Story: - The Pursuit of Happyness is a movie based off of a man named Chris Gardner who in 1981 was living in San Francisco trying to make ends meet. -After seeing a man step out of a brand new Ferrari and understanding what he did for a living, Gardner vows to do the same become a stockbroker. -During that pursuit, he has to deal with many challenges, -Being a single dad, pressures at work, homelessness. -At one point, he and his young son spend the night in a public restroom at the mass transit station. -It was one of the lowest points of his life. -Gardner eventually does go on to be a stockbroker forming his own multi-million dollar company. --------------------------------------------------- -The character we are going to talk about today probably felt like they had slept on the floor of a public bathroom. -Before I begin, let me give you the background to the story we are going to talk about today. -Moses has died and Joshua has now been entrusted with leading the people of Israel. -Joshua was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent into Canaan to scout out the land. -Joshua 1:1-9 (NLT) After the death of Moses the Lord s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses assistant. He said, 2 Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites. 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. -So Joshua sent out 2 spies to scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River. -They stopped at a prostitute s house named RAHAB -RAHAB is the person we are talking about today.
-Rahab made a living by selling her body to men. -She lived on the outer wall of the city. -When men who had traveled from great distances would come to her walled city, all she would have to do to let them know that she was available was pretty herself up, lean out her window and call down to them. -How many men do you think she has corrupted? -How many homes do you think she has destroyed? -How many marriages has she ruined? -How many families has she torn apart? -Speaking of family, her family also lived in the city. (Father, mother, sisters, brothers and their families) -What would make her choose that lifestyle when she had family to take care of her? -Think about her guilt, shame, indifference to her position in society. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -God sends these 2 scouts to her house for 2 reasons. (1) Covering since it was common for strange men to be in there, no one would suspect. -But they did suspect -Joshua 2:2-7 (NLT) But someone told the king of Jericho, Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land. 3 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land. 4 Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn t know where they were from. 5 They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them. 6 (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7 So the king s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. -She lies. Why? -She does it at a great risk to herself if she s found out. -Handing them over endangers them. Lying endangers her and them. ------------------------------------------------- (2) Calling Rahab had already declared her faith in the Lord. -God knew what was in her heart. That s why he sent those men to her. -Joshua 2:9-21 (NLT) Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 I know the Lord has given you this land, she told them. We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.
12 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families. 14 We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety, the men agreed. If you don t betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the Lord gives us the land. 15 Then, since Rahab s house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. 16 Escape to the hill country, she told them. Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way. 17 Before they left, the men told her, We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. 18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives must be here inside the house. 19 If they go out into the street and are killed, it will not be our fault. But if anyone lays a hand on people inside this house, we will accept the responsibility for their death. 20 If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way. 21 I accept your terms, she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window. -Notice, they didn t talk her into following the Lord. She declared her faith to them. -She risked her life in hiding them. -Shows that she no longer feared man or worshipped man. She now only feared and worshipped God. -God knew that and God rejoiced in that. -Your Past Does Not Define Your Future -It is your current attitude and availability toward God that defines your future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Thoughts to Consider (1) God Works Through People We Are Inclined To Reject -Many of us would have cast her aside as a lost cause, unworthy of love, a hopeless case. -She was known to the world for her profession, but God knew her because of her faith. -Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. -No one is too far gone for God. -All He wants is for you to demonstrate faith in Him. -Nature forms us, sin deforms us, the world conforms us, education informs us, but faith transforms us. -This is what we all need. Transformation. -Don t reject those that God has not rejected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) God s Grace Extends Way Beyond What We Deserve -Her legacy -Rahab is one of only 2 women mentioned by name in Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith for her heroic deed.
-Joshua 6 records that she was saved along with her family and she lived among the Israelites for the rest of her life. -Matthew 1 records that: -A man named Salmon married her. -Gave birth to a son named BOAZ -BOAZ married RUTH -Eventually King David came along (she was his great, great Grandmother) -Her daughter-in-law was Ruth and her great, great grandson was David. -Best of all, Jesus, the Messiah, comes from her lineage. -She was happy being rescued, but God had way more than that in store for her. -Our legacy in Christ (saved, blessed with every spiritual blessing, adopted by God, indwelt with the HS, forgiven, loved by God) -God s grace extends way beyond what we deserve! (3) The Church Must Always Be A Refuge For People Like This -God welcomed her, not judged her. -If the church cannot be a refuge for people like this then we need to close our doors. -Many would assume that Rahab would never be interested in God but she was desperately looking for Him. -If we shut our doors to her, how can she ever find Jesus? -The church is for broken people. -Jesus did not cast them aside or condemn them. -He loved them and restored them. -We must do the same. (4) Her Stigma Is Forever Remembered To Show That God Can Use Anyone -James 2:25 (NLT) Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. -2 examples of faith in that passage are Abraham and Rahab the Prostitute. -You say, Well that s sad -No, it s a reminder that God can redeem and use anyone. -Also, guess who else is attached to her name? Jesus. -That s the meaning of the red cord hanging outside of Rahab s window. -That is a picture of Jesus. ------------------------------------------- In GENESIS Jesus is the Ram at Abraham s altar In EXODUS He s the Passover Lamb In LEVITICUS He s the High Priest In NUMBERS He s the Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night In DEUTERONOMY He s the City of our refuge In JOSHUA He s the Scarlet Thread out Rahab s window In JUDGES He is our Judge In RUTH He is our Kinsman Redeemer In 1st and 2nd SAMUEL He s our Trusted Prophet And in KINGS and CHRONICLES He s our Reigning King In EZRA He s our Faithful Scribe In NEHEMIAH He s the Rebuilder of everything that is broken
And in ESTHER He is Mordecai sitting faithfully at the gate In JOB He s our Redeemer that ever liveth In PSALMS He is my Shepherd and I shall not want In PROVERBS and ECCLESIASTES He s our Wisdom And in the SONG OF SOLOMON He s the Beautiful Bridegroom In ISAIAH He s the Suffering Servant In JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS it is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet In EZEKIEL He s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man And in DANIEL He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace In HOSEA He is my Love that is forever faithful In JOEL He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit In AMOS He is our Burden Bearer In OBADIAH He is our Savior And in JONAH He is the Great Foreign Missionary that takes the Word of God into all the world In MICAH He is the Messenger with beautiful feet In NAHUM He is the Avenger In HABAKKUK He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival In ZEPHANIAH He is the Lord mighty to save In HAGGAI He is the Restorer of our lost heritage In ZECHARIAH He is our Fountain And in MALACHI He is the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. In MATTHEW Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God In MARK He is the Miracle Worker In LUKE He is the Son of Man In JOHN He is the Door by which every one of us must enter In ACTS He is the Shining Light that appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus In ROMANS He is our Justification In 1st CORINTHIANS He is our Resurrection In 2nd CORINTHIANS He is our Sin Bearer In GALATIANS He Redeems us from the law In EPHESIANS He is our Unsearchable Riches In PHILIPPIANS He supplies our every need And in COLOSSIANS He s the Fullness of the God in human flesh In 1st and 2nd THESSALONIANS He is our Soon Coming King In 1st and 2nd TIMOTHY He is the Mediator between God and man In PHILEMON He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother And in HEBREWS He s the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant In JAMES it is the Lord that heals the sick In 1st and 2nd PETER He is the Chief Shepherd In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd JOHN it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love In JUDE He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints And in REVELATION, lift up your eyes O Church, He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords-the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End and the One who is coming again! It s all about Jesus. -He forgives, He restores, He changes, He loves and He never fails. -He s willing to use you if you come to Him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bridge Group Questions: (1) What impacted you most from this week s sermon?
(2) Just for speculation purposes, why do you think Rahab turned to prostitution and not to her family? Are there people in your family that you don t like to associate with? (3) What do you think about her lie? Was it justified? Is lying ever justified? What do you think God thought about it? (4) Rahab already had faith in God before the spies came. Are you quick to judge people before you know what God is doing in their hearts? What should you do instead? (5) God s grace extends to us far more than we deserve. How was this true in Rahab s life? How has this been true in your life? (6) Do you think our church is a safe place for people like Rahab? If so, how do we do a good job of that? If not, how can we do a better job? (7) Be on the lookout for Rahab s this week. Let them know how much God loves them! Pray for those opportunities.