Remembering Rahab, Part 2a

Joshua chapter 2 is where we're at. We've been here for just a couple of weeks and we want to be able to use this chapter to help you understand some things that are very significant for your life. We've been studying the life of Rah and how God used her in an incredible way despite her past because of her commitment to follow the Lord God of Israel. And we have sort of ended with the fact that Her name is one that's going to be a memorial name. It's a name that's lasted forever, according to Joshua chapter 6, verse number 25.

That she is named among Israel even to this very day. And the reason she is. Is because of her commitment to the Lord God of Israel. And so we're using this time, this opportunity, now that we're studying the life of Joshua, to help you understand the significance of a great name and what it means and what God wants to. To do in the life of an individual who's committed to them. And so we concluded last week by looking at some of the conclusions about what Rahab's life taught us concerning what God wants to do with us.

And we told you last week that. Your past does not proscribe God's provision for your eternal life. In other words, we told you because of the life of Rah, we are able to understand that no matter what your past is, it never Keeps God from providing for you that which you ultimately need, and that is eternal life. And no matter what her past was, and she was a harlot, God sa her soul. And therefore, no matter what your past, no matter what your sin, no matter what you have done, or no matter how many times you've done it in the past, none of those things are going to keep God from saving your soul because our God is a great and wonderful God.

We also learn from the life of Rahab that your past does not preclude God's purposes for your personal life. God had a great purpose for Rah, a purpose that she didn't even comprehend during her earthly ministry. But went way beyond her life because she was in the line of the Messiah and she was used in a great way in the kingdom of God. We also learned about Rah that your past does not prohibit God's protection of your physical life. We saw where her life was protected. All the walls came tumbling down except the wall that Rahab's house was located at.

And God was able to protect her because God is a merciful, kind God. Protected her and her family as well. We also learn that your past does not preempt God's promises. For real life, Rah learned what real life was all about, and it wasn't the life of harlotry, it wasn't the life of prostitution, it was a life Serving the Lord God of Israel. And we spend a great amount of time looking at that life and what it means. What is that abundant life? And what is that real life that God wants to give you?

Because our God is a great and wonderful God. And then we also learn from the life of Rah that your past does not prevent God's praise. For your spiritual life, we looked at Hebrews:, James chapter 2, verse number 25, because God would praise her spiritual life. She's in the hall of faith. She's compared to Abraham and his faith because she lived a life trusting in the Lord God of Israel. And we've kind of taken off from that or springboard from that to help you understand that you need to have a name that lasts forever.

We talk about a name of an individual. We're talking about the character of that person. Rah's name, by the way, is from the Egyptian god Ra. And because she was an Amorite and she was an idolater, her name means fierceness or insolence. She was a woman who disregarded the God of Israel until she found out about the God of Israel. And I believe another reason her name is mentioned so often in the Bible is to help you understand how the Lord God of Israel takes one who is insolent, who is insubordinate, who is fierce toward the God of Israel, and melts their hearts.

And saves their souls. And that's what God did in the life of Rah. And yet, her name is memorialized in Scripture. Because she has a name that we talked about last week that's written down in glory. If you're going to have a name that lasts forever, number one, it begins because it's been conceived in spirituality.

When you give your life to God, your life chang. The Bible tells us that a good name is better than a good ointment, that the righteous are remembered forever, and that a good name is to be desired more than great riches. It all sends us Around the character of an individual, what his life is like. And Rah's life changed when she gave her life to the Lord God of Israel. But it changed when She was, as we would say it, born again, or where she gave her life to God. And so.

In order for you to have a name that lasts forever, it must be conceived in spirituality. And we took you all the way back to Revelation chapter 2 to help you understand what the Bible says in verse number 17: To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white.

Stone and a new name written on that stone. We talked about how a white stone symbolizes purity and the fact that you're not guilty, and God gives you a new name. And the Bible says over in Revel 3, verse number 5: He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white.

White garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. To have a name written down in heaven is to have a name written in the book of life. Now the question comes, when is your name written? In the book of life, some people believe that your name was written in the book of life when you are born again. God writes your name in the book of life, and Revelation 3 tells us that He'll never erase that name from the book of life.

But that's not when your name is written. The Bible says in Revel chapter 13, verse number 8, these words.

And all who dwell on the earth will worship him that is the Antichrist, and everyone whose name has not been written. From the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. Your name, if you're born again. Was written in the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world. God doesn't write your name in when you're saved. He already knows who's going to be saved because he's already chosen those to salvation. Over in Revelation 17, verse number 8, it says this.

The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder. Those whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. So there you have the re-emphasis that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world if you are born again. Over in Revelation chapter 20, it says this. Verse number 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, in whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. And the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which are written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were. Jud every one of them according to their deeds, and death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life. He was thrown into the lake of fire. Now, Revelation 20 is about the great white throne judgment. At the second resurrection, all those who were not born again are raised and they are brought before the great right throne judgment and the books are open.

The books are not the book of life. The book of life, too, is open, it says, but the books were open. Those are the books that record all the deeds of the unsaved dead. And God judges them according to those deeds. But their names were not found written in the book of life, the Lamb's book of life. You see, your name was recorded in eternity past. But you don't realize it until you're born again. And that's why the new name is conceived in spirituality. See, everybody has a name that your folks give you, right?

Everybody has a name their friends give them. Everybody has a name their foes give them. And there are some who have a name their Father in heaven gives them. And that's the new name written on the White Stone. It's the name He will confess before His Father who is in heaven. It's a name where the name of his God, Revelation 3, is written on your forehead, and the name of his city, the city of Jerusalem, and his new name is written on you. You see, in order for you to have a life that's memorialized for all eternity, you must be born again.

You must have the life of God in you. And when you have the life of God in you, everything changes. Rahab was a woman who was an idolater, but when she realized that the Lord God of Israel was the one true God, she gave her life to him, and all of a sudden, everything changed about her. Why? Because her new life was cons. In spirituality, it was conceived when the Spirit of God began to rule and reign in our life, just like it happens with you and me. God's Spirit rules and reigns in us, God lives in us, and everything begins to change.

And that's the new name. And so if you want a name that lasts forever, it's conceived. Spirituality. It's conceived at the moment the Spirit of God begins to indwell your life. And that happens when you give your life to Christ and the Spirit of God takes up residence in you. and lives through you. That's last week's lesson. Point number two.

To have a name that lasts forever, not only must it be conceived in spirituality, but it must be characterized by integrity. It must be characterized by integrity. I believe Rah was a woman of integrity. Say, well, how can she be a woman of integrity? She lied. Yes, I know she lied. But you also must remember she was a new believer, right? She didn't have the Ten Commandments. So how would she know the commandment that says, Thou shalt not lie? She couldn't read it and say, oh, okay, I guess I can't lie now.

She didn't have those things. All she knew is what Joshua 2 tells us about what she believed about the Lord God of Israel and how they were doomed, the Amorites were doomed to destruction, and how the God of Israel. Lord open up the Red Sea. So she had heard about the miracles of God, and somebody had told her about this God of Israel. And she says, That's the one I need to serve. That 's the God I need to follow. Lord God, have mercy upon me. And she gave her life to God because He Hebrews 11 and James 2 tell us that she had faith in God before the spies ever arrived in Joshua chapter 2.

She believed. She had faith. She had great faith. That's why she's in the hall of faith. Great and awesome faith. Because she served a great and awesome God. And so I believe she was a woman of supreme integrity. Why? Because she would do anything for her God. She would. She would do anything for her God. And did she lie? Yes, she did. Does that make her right? No, it doesn't. But we told you before, the last two weeks, we'll tell you again: God never commended her for her lies. Never commended her for that.

But you know that when you first give your life to Christ, sometimes it takes a while for things to turn around, doesn't it?

They turn, but you don't know always what to do at the right time. The more you know, the more you're accountable for, right? And then the more you begin to change, because the Spirit of God begins to change your life. She acted on what she knew, but she did know this: that the Lord God of Israel was the one true God. And we've got to ask ourselves the question, is my life characterized by integrity? The word integrity, of course, means wholeness, right? It means completeness. That means everything adds up to everything else.

That means I am equal in the d as I am in the light. A person of integrity is the same at home as he is at church. The person of integrity is the same at church as he is at work. There is no difference. There are a lot of people who pray our Father on Sunday but live like orphans the rest of the week. I know that went over your heads, I know. You didn't quite get that, I know. Some of you did. But isn't that not true? They live differently than they live on Sunday. That's not the life of integrity.

That's not a whole life where every part of everything touches every other part and it's all the same. Remember the book of Daniel? Turn to the book of Daniel for a moment, Daniel chapter 6. It says this about that man, Daniel. Verse number 4, it says, Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs. But they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.

There was nothing about him, and there was nothing in him. That they could hold to his account. Folks, that's the men of integrity. There's nothing about you, and there's nothing in you that someone can point to and say it doesn't match. Because of Daniel it matched. It goes on to say this, verse 5. Then these men said, We shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law. Of his God. See, the only way they could bring him down was to bring him down according to the law of his God.

Daniel was a man of supreme integrity. He would refuse to compromise the law of God to serve his own purposes. That's the man of integrity. And if you want a name that lasts forever, if you want a name that's memorialized like the name of Lazarus, if you want a name that's memorialized like M Mary of Bethany. We'll talk about her next week. Or if you want a name that's memorialized like Rah or those in the Hall of Faith, you must be characterized by integrity. Everything matches everything else. The Bible says in Job 1, verse number 1, these words about that righteous man.

It says that Job was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil. That's what a man of integrity does. He's upright, he's righteous, and he turns away from evil. It says over in Proverbs 20, verse number 7: a righteous man who walks In his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him? You want your children to be blessed? Then you walk in integrity. You make sure everything matches. Folks, this is so important. This is so important. Sometimes I wish that I could just spend. Week after week after week after week, talking about how it is you match your home life with your church life, with your work life, with your recreational life.

So everything is the same. Everything's the same. Because, folks, people are looking at you. Your kids are looking at you. They're watching everything. And the Bible says, for the man who walks in integrity, his sons are going to be blessed.

Why? Because they're going to see a consistent model. They're going see something they need to follow. They're going to see a life of consistency, a life of integrity that will speak volumes to them. And I am so convinced that it's not so much what we say to our kids, it's how we live our lives in front of our kids that makes the difference. You can sit down and you can have devotions with your kids every day. You can pray with your kids every day and yet destroy all. That you say and all you pray about because you live differently than how the Word of God teaches.

They're looking at that saying, Well, this is what the Word of God says, but you don't do that. Why should I follow that? That is the most important thing to be able to match your walk with your talk. The Bible says over in the book of Lamentations, the fourth chapter, 13th verse, that a whole nation was destroyed because of the sins of the prophets and the iniquities of her priests.

It's important to have leaders who are characterized by integrity. That's why in 1 Timothy 3:2, when you choose elders, they need to be above reproach, right? Because you see, you've got to be careful. That men who lead in the church are men of integrity. Their lives are true to the Word of God. And if you don't watch out for that, it'll infiltrate your church and begin to destroy it from the top down, just like it did with Israel. They were destroyed because of the iniquities of the priests. Because the sins of the kings.

Same with you in your family as a mother and as a father. You need to make sure you live a true and holy and pure and righteous life. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4, verse number 1.

Some words that I think are important when it comes to understanding a life of integrity. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. That's a verse that speaks to one's integrity. To walk is another word for talking about your daily conduct, and the word worthy is the word that means to be of equal value. Okay? So your walk needs to be equal to your To your talk, your conduct needs to be equal to your conversation.

Your position in Christ needs to be equal to your practice for Christ on a daily basis. That's what it means to walk worthy. And that's why the Apostle Paul would say over in Ephesians:. Say, therefore, and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer, just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, and they having become cowardly.

Have given themselves over to sensuality for the practices of every kind of impurity with greediness, but you did not learn Christ in this way. The worthy walk is a different walk. It's a separate walk. You ought to walk separately from the Gentiles. You ought to walk differently than the Gentiles walk. And then he goes over and says in Ephesians chapter 5, verse number 2: Therefore be imitators of God, his beloved children, and walk in love. In other words, the worthy walk is a love-like walk. You walk.

In love as God Himself is love. And he goes on to say in verse number eight that we are to walk in light. We are to have a bright walk. We are to shine as we walk. Go on in verse number 15 of Ephesians 5, he says, You are to walk circumspectly, you are to walk wisely, not as As a foolish man, but as a wise man. Over in Galatians:, he says you're to walk in the spirit, so you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. John says in 3 John chapter 3, these words. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

So you're to walk truthfully, dependently, brightly, wisely, circumspectly. You are to have the kind of walk that is different and separate from everybody else. But that walk is to equate on the same level as your conversation. In your talk, in your position in Jesus Christ, walk worthy. Walk equal to your calling. And the Bible speaks of our calling as one that's a holy calling, one that's a heavenly calling. We are to walk worthy. How about you? Sometimes it's always good to have a gut check and determine whether or not I measure up to what the Bible says.

Do I do what God says in His Holy Word? Is my life characterized by integrity? Now if that wasn't convicting enough for you, point number three will be If you want a name written down in glory That's memorialized forever, it's conceived in spirituality It's characterized by integrity.

And number three, it's committed to purity. It's committed to purity. And folks, this is so, so crucial today. It was crucial in Paul's day. It says crucial today. Remember over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4? Verse number one, Paul says, Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you, just as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk.

They have a walk that's pleasing to God. And as a Christian, don't you want to please the Lord God? Don't you want His blessing upon your life? Don't you want Him to be pleased with how you live your life? Paul is commending them for how they are walking because they are pleasing God in their conduct. He says that you may excel still more. There's always more you can do because you're not perfect. You still sin. Then he says, For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification. That is, that you abstain from sexual. Immorality. That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as We also told you before, and Sol warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul says, This is how you walk. Not in imp, but in sanctification. Each man, each individual, should know how to possess his own vessel. Each individual should know how to discipline his own life, his own body. Listen, the opposite of discipline is disaster. If you can't discipline your life, if you can't discipline your body, you will live a disastrous life. Discipline is so important. That's why the Bible says, dis yourself unto godliness.

It's so important. Bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness profits for all things. Why? Because it lasts forever. It lasts forever. And we need to be people who are committed to a pure and holy life. We are committed to purity. That's why the Bible says to be holy as the Lord God Himself is holy.

Paul told Timothy, 1 Timothy:, he needed to be an example. In his purity, he said, Let no man despise your youth, Timothy. Don't let no man look down upon you. If you don't want people looking down upon you, this is what you do: you be an example in your life, your speech, your love, your faith. In your purity. If you're an example in those areas, people are not going to look down upon you. They're going to respect you. They're going to honor you because of your commitment.