Joshua Chapter 2:1-13

There is coming a time where you will no longer be able to make changes. I don't know what that day, when that day is for you or for anybody in here, but I know that that day is coming. When you go to be with the Lord, it's too late. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. Right now, you have the time and opportunity to make changes in your life.

There is coming a time when you will no longer be able to make changes. Stay tuned today as Pastor David encourages us in seizing opportunities as he continues in the book of Joshua chapter 2. But before we join Pastor David, have you ever experienced a time when you felt spiritually drained? Well, the Bible holds the cure that will bring joy and vitality back into your life. That's why we want to send you a copy of Pastor David McGee's video message, A Checkup from the Neck Up. In this inspiring teaching, you'll find biblical truths that can restore your spiritual health. A Checkup from the Neck Up is our way to thank you for your gift this month to help more people on this station and beyond cross the bridge from death to life.

So please visit crossthebridge.com to get your copy of A Checkup from the Neck Up. Now here's David McGee with his teaching, Now is the Time. In Joshua chapter 2 verse 1, Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia grove to spy secretly saying go view the land especially Jericho. So they went and they came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. Now most of us are familiar with the fact we're going verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We went through the first five books of the Bible. Joshua was a helper to Moses and then when Moses passed away, Joshua became the leader of the people. Notice that it says Joshua sent out two men and it's interesting because it doesn't say that he tried to recruit somebody.

It doesn't say that you know he went into a group and tried to ask for volunteers. Now this is important to me because this is something God is speaking to me about because in a passage that I you know I've read it so many times but I never noticed something and that's in Luke chapter 6 verse 12. It says now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God and when it was day he called his disciples to himself and from them he chose 12 whom he also named apostles. Now I've read that passage a lot maybe hundreds of times but you know what I noticed just the other day what Jesus did not do. Jesus did not go in front of the the now check it out the apostles or the 12 that were called the disciples were all the people who were following Jesus okay. But notice what Jesus didn't do. Jesus did not get out in front of the crowd and go I need 12 volunteers. I need 12 people that will follow me into this apostle thing.

Now why is that important? Well to me because that's what we've been doing here. We've been asking for people to volunteer without really communicating to them that this is a necessary part of your discipleship. You need to be serving the Lord.

If you're not let me I'm just in boldness hey you know it says here be bold be strong. If you're not serving there's something wrong. Now either I haven't done my job or you've misunderstood something I've communicated or you have just well to be honest you have selfish reasons for not serving. And we're going to talk about those and we're going to discuss those because this is part of how we lay down our lives. Now guys if we went through everybody in here would have a good excuse for not serving.

Well I'm so busy I got this I got that I got to do this I got to do that. We all could come up with excuses why we shouldn't serve but you know what they all fall and clatter to the feet of Jesus because none of those really work. Well I just don't have the time. You don't have the time. What if Jesus would have approached His ministry that way?

Where would we be? Well He didn't have the time to go to the cross and die. He couldn't fit it into His schedule. See it doesn't work does it? Now we are supposed to be going from being saved to being a disciple and that's that's just what's supposed to happen. Now maybe at this point you're going wow you're you're like you're like pressuring me to serve. Well yeah I am because look I you know I don't want you to be okay just being a pew potato and just being saved and not functioning in the body of Christ.

I don't want you to be if this makes you uncomfortable praise God. That's what it's supposed to be doing. Now the reason that it's probably freaking some people out is because this doesn't happen in churches. It doesn't happen. It should happen. It's going to happen here going in the future.

But it doesn't usually happen. But here again Jesus chose these 12 disciples just like Joshua chose these two men and it's kind of cool because apparently He learned something from Moses because notice something He chose them and sent them out secretly. In case they came back with a bad report Joshua's going to tell you don't tell everybody.

Just tell me if you got something bad to say well we'll just keep it here. But anyway and it says He came to the house of a harlot named Rahab. Now you know what's interesting I've heard all kinds of sanitized versions of this. Oh when it says harlot it means innkeeper. You know I've read all these bizarre things it's like no it doesn't.

Now to be honest there's some there's some there's some uh width in the definition but we're going to look at some other passages before we close that make it pretty plain that it she was what it says she was. And what an awesome plan. Let me ask you a question. If you wanted to send your two spies to somewhere in town where nobody was going to be asking questions of who's going in and who's coming out is that not the perfect place the house of a harlot? Yes sir we noticed you were in the house of a harlot we'd like to get your name and find out where you're from. Ingenious plan.

Ingenious plan. Verse 2 and it was told the king of Jericho saying behold men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country. So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying bring out the men who have come to you who have entered your house for they have come to search out all the country. I understand when it says king of Jericho there were local kings back then and so this guy was kind of like the king of the city if you will. And verse 4 then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said yes the men came to me but I did not know where they were from. So Rahab told the king a lie. Now I'm not going to justify her actions but what we come to see later in this is that maybe this was a case of of what's termed sometimes civil disobedience.

In other words she felt like it was what she was to do before the Lord was to hide these two men and so that's what she did and to be honest it was probably not that foreign of a concept to Rahab to kind of hide who was in her house. I mean it's not that much of a stretch of an imagination for a harlot not to you know tell who who was in there. So verse 5 and boy isn't this just a stretch can't you just feel everybody in there being uncomfortable.

I can't believe he said the word harlot can you believe we're in a church. It's in there guys. We're not skipping it we're going right through it. Amen.

Or oh me. Verse 5 and it happened as the gate was being shut when it was dark that the men went out where the men went I do not know pursue them quickly for you may overtake them. So she's not only saying that they weren't there but she's also kind of throwing this guy for a loop and trying to get him to to chase them where they're not. But she had brought them up on the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax and which she had laid in order on the roof. Now when you go to Israel and I think everybody ought to go to Israel but when you go there what you notice is there's a lot of flat roofs so if you're sitting there thinking my goodness how did they get up on the peaked roof.

They weren't peaks they were flat and they used to take stuff up there to dry and this is a case where the flax is drying out there and she hid them beneath the flax. Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan to the fords and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out they shut the gate. Now before they laid down she came up to them on the roof and said to the men I know that the Lord has given you the land that the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land are faint-hearted because of you.

This is interesting to me for a lot of reasons. See Rahab came to the realization to put it simply she realized she was on the wrong side. She realized that she was a Canaanite and and probably as a harlot she wasn't just a prostitute but she was probably at that time the Canaanites were heavily involved in what was called temple prostitution. In other words part of your service to the the pagan deity or the you know little god with a little g was to actually be a prostitute both male and females and she figured that you know what I'm on the wrong side because God has given these people that are coming into the land the land and you know what and here's a key thing guys she made the decision to change while she still had the time to make the decision to change. See we're going to see in a couple chapters that had she waited and then you know all of a sudden the Israelites are pouring into the city the battle's on oh wait a minute guys I want to join your side it would have been too late.

It would have been too late. The life lesson here is right now you have the time and opportunity to make changes in your life but there's coming a time when you will no longer be able to make changes. There is coming a time where you will no longer be able to make changes. I don't know what that day when that day is for you or for anybody in here but I know that that day's coming. When you go to be with the Lord it's too late and see the thing is we don't know when that time is and that's part of the beauty really is that you need to be living in a way that's prepared because I'm sure that there's going to be a lot of people there at the throne of God going oh man you know what give me one more chance and probably at that point you know the Lord will go okay you know what let me let me show you something Michael roll the video that we look how many chances you got before you came up here. I told you over and over you know I had that cracked pot I tell you over and over that you needed to make changes and you you didn't listen and now it's too late. See because the thing is we sitting here as the body of Christ and you know what we hear what we should do a lot but are we making those changes are we really doing it or are we just hearing it. See we can actually become kind of inoculated if you will to the truth we hear it oh yeah I should be doing oh yeah oh yeah I should be doing that too oh check should be doing that yeah oh boy all right where you want to go for dinner careful right now tonight you still have the time to make changes I'm talking about serving tonight some I'm going to be talking about discipleship I'm going to be talking about active faith you have the opportunity to make those changes you can do it now. Again if she'd have waited it'd have been too late and I think you know there's there's some stuff that's left out of this chapter understand that we're not told how they met we're not told what that discussion was that conversation but obviously there were some conversations between the two men and Rahab and Rahab had heard from other people. You're listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge. He'll be back with more powerful insight from God's word in just a moment but first your enemy the devil doesn't want you to experience the life-giving truths of God's word he wants to rob you of the full life God wants for you but you can overcome his attacks because there is supernatural power in the word of God that's why we want to send you Pastor David McGee's video message called a checkup from the neck up this powerful resource will show you how to revitalize your spiritual health and grow in your faith daily by meditating on God's powerful word a checkup from the neck up is our way to thank you for your gift this month to help more people on this station and beyond cross the bridge from death to life so please visit crossthebridge.com now to get your copy of a checkup from the neck up now back to today's message verse 10 she continues for we have heard how the lord dried up the water of the red sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan Sihon and Og whom you utterly destroyed so she says you know what we heard about the red sea thing they heard about the red sea let me ask you a question at this point how long ago was the red sea it's about 40 years ago 40 years ago they heard about the red sea they heard about the God of the Israelites who was God and God waited for 40 years before he finally shut down Jericho and brought the walls crashing down in his mercy he waited and he waited and he waited he'd already waited 400 years before the red sea and after the red sea it was another 400 another 40 years that's a long time and God is so merciful and some so many times we think well God's merciful in the new testament now God's merciful period he's merciful he's merciful in the Hebrew scriptures as well what we refer to as the old testament he's merciful in there too because he waited while these people were being so godless while they were sacrificing their babies and doing all these weird sexual rituals and rites God waited and he waited and he waited and he came to the point he said you know what that's enough I gave him a chance to repent they didn't do it how did Rahab know these things how did Rahab know these things well I mean the answer's simple and it's fairly obvious somebody told him somebody told her now it might have been these two guys I get the feeling she had heard part of the story before why somebody told her what are you what are you emphasizing that guys you gotta be telling people now I know you know I'm not gifted as an evangelist I'm not gifted to stand up in front of people and stuff I'm not asking you to do that I'm asking to tell your story to somebody well I don't know that many scriptures well you can learn scriptures but don't let that hold you back tell your story life lesson is tell your story to those who don't yet know Jesus tell your story to those who don't yet know Jesus you know why because there's a power in your testimony when you sit with somebody you go you know what I I boy I I used to feel this way I used to be so lonely until I met the Lord and now I'm never alone anymore you know I used to be bound up in this and you know what I'm not bound up in that anymore I've been set free and there's something that when one person speaks to another heart to heart there's something about what happens there see they might historically question this or question that but they can't really question your experience with the Lord they can't say oh no you're not oh yeah yeah you're still lonely well you're you're still as you share your heart you can say no no I used to be like that no I'm not saying a perfect no I still mess up well I don't know I don't know if I could I can do that well here's another solution we you know we want to make a place where you can invite unbelievers for them to come here we've it's not an accident now don't don't read into anything that I'm saying here we're we're not going the way of seekers sensitive I think to a certain degree those churches asked the right right question but they came up with the wrong answer but we have a place where unbelievers can come and they can hear about the love of the Lord and the truth of the gospel and I for one I've been in churches for so many years where I couldn't do that I just I couldn't ask an unbeliever because I knew how bad I felt in the services and I knew what was going on and I had you know brother shared with me was inviting talking to somebody about church and she said why don't I get dressed up go church he said well praise God you don't have to get dressed up come to our church really yeah I mean if you you can't get dressed up and that's fine that's good but you know you run the risk of standing out a little bit well I don't like it when uh when um when they just hit you hit you up about money the whole service I mean we don't pass the plate we have boxes in the back we believe a believer's supposed to give but wow I just don't like the yelling I don't like the way preachers yell at you and stuff well praise God our pastor he doesn't yell at you he doesn't yell at you no he just kind of sits up there and explains what's in the Bible so I don't like the way preachers yell at you so sometime over the next couple weeks this lady is supposed to come check us out probably just out of weird curiosity you know I've never heard of what are you sure this is a church praise God tell your story tell your story man have you been burnt in churches and you felt horrible and now you come here and you actually enjoy it and and God is ministering to you and you're learning to work tell somebody that's not a hard story to tell that shouldn't be a hard story to tell somebody and you never know who's going to be encouraged by that you never know who's left the church because they've been disillusioned because some of the things I've just mentioned and tell tell them tell them what God is doing in your life tell them what God has done in your life tell them what God is doing in your church and and when you do that guys don't let me let me say this don't don't be an Eeyore when you do this don't you know if you can just think a tigger before you start there don't be like oh we go to church every Sunday and boy he he talks and talks and talks and you don't want to go do you probably not when you ask him that way but if you say hey man this is it's refreshing it's different do you want to go you'll go check this out oh well it sounds different okay and that patient persistence and you never know it might be the 118th time that you ask somebody to come with you that they come and praise God praise God and and you know what I know that some of you have this but we're not all doing this and we could all do it better I mean I it was interesting on on on Sunday you know somebody came through and said well I came and I brought my mom and then you know she brought daddy and then she brought my brother and you know we had the whole family there man it was awesome it was very cool that's the way it's supposed to go that is the way it's supposed to go verse 11 and as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath man what an awesome confession from this lady who's been at the very least a prostitute very likely a temple priestess to say you know what I've been serving the wrong little god's your God is God what an awesome confession for her to go from where she would go from where she was to here when I can't believe these men were talking that prostitute that's just so wrong here's something that I'm puzzled with and I've been thinking a lot about lately how did the church go back up back up let's look at Jesus you look at the life of Jesus and you can see sinners flock to him they flock to him now they they weren't comfortable with their sin don't get me wrong but they flock to Jesus and you know who was really turned off by Jesus prideful religious people so let me ask you a question I'm struggling and grappling for the answer how did we get how did we get from there to where we are now where the opposite is true in most churches where the religious prideful are very very comfortable and those who are sinners feel like they can't go how did that happen I don't think it was by design guys I don't think it was we've almost painted the picture that it's some exclusive club that if you're good enough for long enough you might be able to join the church the body of Christ was never meant to be a museum of saints it was supposed to be a hospital for sinners that's what we're supposed to be here and it gets more interesting let's read on verse 12 now therefore I beg you swear to me by the lord since I've shown you kindness that you will also show kindness to my father's house and give me a true token and spare my father my mother my brothers my sisters and all that they have and deliver our lives from death she's interested in seeing her whole family saved now this is I believe the first conversion if you will of a gentile that the bible has obviously Rahab was a gentile and she's not converting to Christianity Christianity has not hit the scene yet she's converting to Judaism which was the forerunner of Christianity it's two-thirds of the Bible it and God cool because you know what we can't drum up a lot of pride about our first gentile convert can we oh yeah well you'll see this man he was very he was very spiritual very scriptural he was studying the scriptures and and this man came up and he converted it was it was glorious we can't say that the first fruits of gentiles being converted prostitute no it gets even better than this in a little while but you know what's cool is look what these guys didn't say to them well Rahab you know we would we'd love to hook you up and we'd love for you to join our exclusive little club but you know the problem is uh well you're you're a prostitute and you know we just simply don't let prostitutes in our club did they do that no no did Jesus do that in john 8 no he didn't do that do we do that yeah we do yeah we do i do chances are you've done something just like that maybe maybe somebody said hey you know what do you got to do to be a christian and maybe you were young maybe you didn't understand and you said oh well you know um well sir i you know i noticed you were you were smoking reefer over there that's got to stop before you can become a christian you can't can't be doing that now and we get to cart before the horse and people think oh i got to change before i become a christian well problem is if you've ever tried to change your behavior on your own and in your own strength you couldn't do it so guess what we just did we just set up an impossible hurdle for them to get over before they can become a christian no one's past mistakes keep them from following or serving god friend do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven you can know right now i want to lead you in a short simple prayer simply telling god you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him please pray this prayer with me out loud right now dear jesus i believe you died for me that i could be forgiven and i believe you were raised from the dead that i could have a new life and i've done wrong things i have sinned and i'm sorry please forgive me of all those things please give me the power to live for you all of my days in jesus name amen friend if you prayed that prayer according to the bible you've been forgiven you've been born again so congratulations friend you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make god bless you if you prayed that prayer with david for the first time we'd love to hear from you you can call us toll free at 877-458-5508 to receive our first steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with christ modern life just keeps getting busier and busier by the day as a result a lot of christians are missing out on the life-giving nourishment of daily time in god's word that's why pastor david mcgee wants to help revitalize your spiritual health by sending you his video message titled a checkup from the neck up this resource shows you how to meditate daily on god's word so that his truth can transform your life a checkup from the neck up is our way to thank you for your gift this month to help more people on this station and beyond cross the bridge from death to life so please visit crossthebridge.com now to get your copy of a checkup from the neck up you know each day comes with its share of stresses so what better way to wake up than with an encouraging word from the lord visit crossthebridge.com and sign up now for david mcgee's email devotionals each devotion includes scripture and a message from the heart of david mcgee it's easy and it's free sign up today at crossthebridge.com and be sure to join us next time on cross the bridge as we continue in the book of joshua we'll see you then