Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Joshua chapter 2, reading
from our text, the last part of verse 12. Rahab's words to
the spies, give me a true token. The whole verse reads, now therefore
I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed
you kindness, that he will also show kindness unto my father's
house and give me a true token. Joshua chapter 2 and verse 12. Rahab, unless she was, say, 50
years of age, would have only heard by report and not actually
heard at the time in her lifetime of what had happened some 40
years before when the children of Israel had come out of Egypt
and gone through the Red Sea. God had divided the Red Sea,
he'd slain the Egyptians, and he'd brought the children of
Israel through the wilderness. And her and her people had heard
what God had done for his people. They also knew that He had promised
them the land of Canaan, and that He had commanded them to
destroy all the inhabitants, to dispossess them, and to take
their land. She was under the sentence of
death, and she knew it. And yet God had directed these
spies to her house, she'd received them, and now she wanted from
them that token for good, that evidence that she would be given
her life and those of her loved ones. And she begged this of
them and she gave them, gave her that token, that assurance,
that it would be well with her. Now, Rahab, these things came
to pass. That token was a true token that
was given her. We'll look at this more closely
later. But we read how that when they
did come into the land, she and her house were saved and God
honoured that token, miraculously so, because her house was upon
the wall and the walls fell flat when they came into the land,
but not that part of the wall. A token given by those servants
was honoured by their God, and her life was given her. And she remained amongst the
children of Israel. In fact, as married to Salmon,
she was in the line to Christ. It was a great encouragement
for us as Gentiles, a Gentile there plucked out of the midst
of those that were under the sentence of death, those that,
you might say, naturally speaking, had no hope, no prospect of life,
and yet given life. It is a wonderful encouragement
to us to seek life. There's many instances in the
scriptures like that. I often think of the Ninevites,
because Jonah was sent to them And you think, where is there
any good news that Jonah had to bring to them that in 40 days
that the city would be destroyed? The good news was in the 40 days,
that it was not immediate, there was given a time in which the
Lord gave them repentance. And Jonah, he said that that
was his saying in his own house. why he fled at first, because
he knew if God sent a minister, then he would send repentance. And there is an expectation,
and as we gather in these Gospel days, where the Lord has given
the word, and he's brought his servants, that the Lord will
bless that word. May we each be desirous like
Ahab, because we ourselves are under the sentence of death.
We are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity and death is before
us all and after death the judgment. And we also need that assurance
that it shall be well with us. We know that before death comes,
before we are called to stand before God. And so I hope we
can find in the passage before us this morning some encouragements
and some helps. And if there are those here that
have this petition like Rahab, give me a true token that the
Lord will either give it this morning or be a means of showing
that he has already given you such a token and guide to what
is a true token and what is not. a true token. So I want to look,
with the Lord's help, firstly, at tokens and signs, and then
secondly, true tokens of salvation, and based on Rahab's account,
but consistent with the teaching right throughout scripture. So
two main points. Firstly, the tokens and signs. Right at the very beginning of
the Word of God, we are introduced to the idea of a token. And what is a token is not actually
the thing, but it represents it. And especially in scripture,
it is those tokens that God has chosen and God has given to represent
something else. You remember when the world was
destroyed by the flood? After the flood, the Lord gave
a token. He said, I do set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be for a token between me and the earth. And that when I bring a cloud
upon the earth, it shall be a token that the world will not be destroyed
by water anymore. And God said that he would look
upon it and he would remember his covenant. Now we can look
upon it, but we're told that God looks upon it and God is
remembering his promise. Now there are local floods, but
not a flood like Noah's flood to destroy all of the earth.
And so we are clearly shown here's a token, which is the bow, and
what it is a token of, that the world would not be destroyed
again by water. The most solemn thing, isn't
it? that the so-called pride movement should take that beautiful
sign, that token, the rainbow, and use it as setting forth something
so vile and so evil. And also, during the pandemic,
that the NHS also used that rainbow. And in one sense, even though
it is done by wicked men or people not knowing what they are using,
why they're using it, God is setting before men what his token
is. Satan will always try and twist
and abuse if God gives good music, then Satan brings his satanic
music. If God gives a pure word, Satan
will bring the impure word. If God gives a pure love, Satan
will bring an impure love. He will take all of the things
of God and he will mar them and twist them and turn them about
to be defiled. And it doesn't take away that
God gave the token of the rainbow, and what a solemn thing, at the
Judgment Day. All have looked on that, whether
in the sky or in any other place, God will say, I have set it there,
that is my token, and that is my token of my covenant, and
you have turned it about, you've used it for your own ends, and
led away from me and not to me. How much more shall that be to
condemnation? So we have that as a rainbow,
as a token. Then we have when the children
of Israel came out of Egypt, then there was the Passover instituted. And the Lord told the children
of Israel to slay the Passover lamb, to put the blood on the
doorposts and upon the lintels of the houses where they were,
and they were to shelter in those houses and to eat the Passover. And the Lord said that the blood
was to be a token over the houses where ye shall dwell. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. And that, again, is in the very
words that God uses. He has chosen the blood as the
token of that covenant. And that, of course, follows
right through the Word of God. And we'll see it later with Rahab,
with the scarlet line. The line that runs right through
the Scriptures is the precious blood of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. and so that again we have the
token and what it sets forth. We have David in the Psalms and
he is asking also for a token in Psalm 86 and verse 17. He says, show me a token for
good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed, because
thou, Lord, hast holpen me and comforted me. And it is very
obvious from that token that it's such a thing that his enemies
and those that hate him shall actually see it. It's a very
obvious thing. And it is very obvious that God
has helped him and comforted him. He won't have to say to
his enemies, God is on my side, they will see it. And of course
with the children of Israel, their enemies, they could see
it as well. King Saul could see that God
was on David's side, and the more that he saw that God was
prospering him and favoured him, the more he was frightened. This
is a prayer of David. This is David's psalm. And how
often it was that how the Lord dealt with David, it was clear
not just to him, but to his enemies. that God was his helper and on
his side. We think of Psalm 126, where
the people of God shall say, He hath done great things for
us, whereof we are glad. And where even their enemies,
the heathen, shall say, He hath done great things for them. And
it is seen by God's people, it is seen by those round about
as well. We think of the token in John's
epistles, the first epistle of John. We know that we have passed
from death unto life in that we love the brethren. A scriptural
token. Love to the brethren, and God
says, that is a token that you have passed from death unto life. God has chosen it. Inspired,
infallible Word of God. And so, our text, it implies,
because it says, give me a true token, that you could have tokens
that are not true tokens, something that you take as a token, but
God has not given it, God will not honour it, and those that
are resting in it, resting in it to their own shame. We do
not want false tokens. We want something that God has
given, especially in salvation, that He has shown in His Word,
like we have said in John, passing from death unto life. We know
that because we love the brethren. Those are true tokens. They are tokens that are related
to what actually we are seeking. It's not a foolish thing. It is not saying, well, If I
am a child of God, and if it was raining outside, then make
the rain stop. If the rain stopped, that does
not prove you or me to be a child of God. It's a completely unrelated
thing. When Abraham's servant was coming
seeking a wife for Isaac, and he prayed for a token at the
well, but what he was asking for, he was asking that the woman
that came would go the second mile. that when he asked her
for a drink, he would give it him, but then would go and ask
that she would give it for his camels as well. He didn't want
any woman. He wanted one that was virtuous,
one that would be a good wife, one that had a heart to go that
second mile. And he had that answer. And you know when he related
it to Bethuel and Laban, Rebekah's brother and father, and they
said the thing proceeded from the Lord. They could see by what
had actually happened. his coming to the well, the meeting
together, his prayer, the prayer being fulfilled, going to his
master's brethren, they could see that this thing was of the
Lord. And so a token is not to be something
that is unrelated. You might get someone and they
will say, I have had a word from the Lord that I'm a child of
God. But you look at their life, and
they don't love the people of God. They're troublemakers. They
don't read their Bible. They're inconsistent coming into
the house of God. They do not walk in the commandments
of the Lord. And you say, well, your token,
your word from the Lord is not bearing any fruit. You don't
look like, you don't act like a child of God. And there might
be someone else, and you say, What's your testimony? And they
say, well, I can't speak of any words from the Lord at all. But
you look at their life, and you look how they love the people
of God, and love the word of God, and how they listen to the
word of God preached, and you see all over them that they are
the people of God. They have the love, the drawing.
They have the marks of the Spirit's work in them. And yet, For them,
they might not see that mark upon their back at all. But to
have regard to what the Word says as the true tokens of a
child of God, then you can see more clearly that they truly
are. And so that is why we need a
true token. We want something that God will
honour. that God has already joined in
his word with his people as what are the marks and evidences of
his grace, of his work in the soul. Remember in the Psalms
it says he shall give grace and glory. No good thing shall he
withhold from him that walketh uprightly. Those true tokens
will be then accompanied by the fruits and the works of grace. Well I want to look then secondly
at true tokens of salvation. I want to bless it or base it
upon the account here of Rahab. There are seven really points
that are bound up with Rahab's account which we can say are
consistent right through the scriptures as accompanying God's
work of grace. They constitute that true token
that will result, like Rahab, in being saved from death. Now
I know all of us, we must die, but when we think of the Apostle
Paul, where he says, absent from the body, present with the Lord. When we think of Stephen, who
was being stoned, who, as he was being stoned to death, he
looked up and he saw the Lord standing at the right hand of
God. Not sitting, as he ascended up
and sat on the right hand, he was standing to receive Him.
And we are told that he fell on sleep. Death loses its sting. We have that in 1 Corinthians
15. the victory over death through
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, perfumed the grave and brought
that his people, that death for them, it shall be the way that
this corruptible puts on incorruption, this mortal puts on immortality. Instead of in this world that
is under the curse, we're to be with Christ, which is far
better. Instead of being where Satan
tempts, where there is illness and sorrow and all of the things
accompanying this world, he shall wipe all tears away from their
eyes. And the way to that is through
death. It is a desired haven. for the
people of God, those that have the faith that triumphs over
death and gives joys like those above and is having a true token
that when that is lively, when that is precious and faith is
strong that death then it loses its great terrors. It is the
last enemy but we're able to look beyond that and to look
to Christ and desire to be with Him. Our Lord says, Father I
will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am
that they may behold my glory. So what are the tokens here? Well, one of the tokens, the
first one, would be that she, Rahab, realized that she was
under the sentence of death. You might say, well, all of the
country was in fear of this. They were all in knowledge of
this. But it wasn't working the same
with them all. and certainly the spies were
not sent to them all. But it is a vital thing that
those that are saved know first that they are lost, that those
that have given a token of life know also first that they are
under the sentence of death. You cannot say that the Lord
is your saviour if you cannot tell what he has saved you from. It is a vital thing that first
of all we know we are sinners. The hymn writer says sinners
can say and none but they how precious is the saviour. And our Lord says that it is
not the whole but the sick that need the physician. is not the
righteous but sinners that are called unto repentance. And so, the first real mark is
that God will convince of sin, he brings under the sentence
of death, the Apostle Paul, a Pharisee as he was, He says that when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died, and that which was
unto life I found to be unto death. Now in many ways, with
Paul's example as a Pharisee, we can be like this. When we
are brought up under the sound of the truth, we trust in our
own works, we trust in our chapel going. When our children were
small, we used to drive to chapel. And we'd have two little ones
in the back, the most self-righteous little ones out, denouncing this
person and that person for working on the Sabbath day and for this
person doing wrong. And we thought, well, how have
we brought these two up? They were like that. And my dear
daughter, when she was three, she refused to wear a head covering
at all in the Lord's house. So one day she was standing on
the Lord's day looking over the neighbours and she was denouncing
him for working on the Lord's house. What's he doing wrong? Why shouldn't he be doing that?
Why shouldn't he? Well, it's in the word of God. It was also in the word of God
that you should wear a head covering, a hat in the house of God. And
you're not, so you're just as bad as that neighbor. And from
that time she's been very, very strong. Even in worship where
they don't wear a head covering, she insists upon it. You can
be so self-righteous when the Lord tells the parable of the
prodigal son. There's the two sons. There's
the one that goes away and then he's brought back. There's the
one that never went away. And he wondered why he wasn't
rejoiced over. Why his father never bought the
best robe for him. the eldest son's spirit, the
self-righteous spirit, and dear friend, really guard that, is
more needed than just chapel going and brought up under the
sound of the truth to be a token of life. You question, you ask,
have you been brought in as a guilty sinner, a hell-deserving sinner? Have you been brought to see
that your righteousness and your good works are as filthy rags? They will never, ever be as a
title to heaven on its own. You may not have gone away, and
bless God that you haven't. Don't ever think, well, I can
go away, I can do what I want, because God will bring me back.
No. Bless the Lord if he has kept you at the means of grace. But look for more than that.
More than that. Rahab, she had this token. If
you feel you haven't had that, ask of the Lord. Lord, convince
me of my sin. Others speak of it, the minister
speaks of it, but I don't feel it, and I don't see it. Ask that
the Lord would make you to see it, and make you to feel it.
For Rahab had this. And then the second thing was
that she was blessed with believing in the true and the living God. We have that in verse 11. She says at the end of that verse,
for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth
beneath. She believed in the true and
living God. And when those spies came to
her, she received them. And this is where we would use
those tokens that, especially in Rahab's case, are given specifically
concerning her. And that is in Hebrews 11, where
she is told, it is said, by faith, in
verse 31, by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them
that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. No, she hadn't believed. She
could have destroyed them straight away. She would have not received
them. But this is the inspired word of God. She received the
Lord's people in peace because she believed in their God. Now, I just want to say here
because, and we'll come up with some of the other points, you
might have thought as we read this account, well, Rahab was
lying. She lied about having the spies,
she lied about them going away. Is it right to tell lies? And let's say this, it is never
right to tell lies. The scriptures, even in this
account, it is not endorsing the telling of falsehood and
of lying. And yet, in this fallen world,
there are some times that you can balance two evils. Perhaps
in the war time, where some of you may have read of Corrie ten
Boom and there were others that hid Jews from the Nazis. And they had them hid in basements
and in various parts of their home. And those Nazis came to
the door and they asked, have you any Jews here? Now, in that
situation, would it be right for her to say, well, yes, we
have. They're down in the basement. What good would it have done
her to be hiding the Jews, to be keeping them, and then actually
betray them to the Nazis? And yet when we think about it,
there'd be very, very few times in the lives of the people of
God that they'd ever be put into a situation like that. And so
that's why you might say, She was blessed in spite of her lies
and actually her actions were demonstrating her true faith. But we shouldn't take license
from that. I think another illustration
with Jacob. Jacob made out that he was Esau
and he told many lies saying that I am thy son, thy son Esau. He deceived his father. He would
have got the blessing, that first blessing, even if he hadn't have.
God had promised it to him and he would have had it. He did
not have to lie to obtain it. But you think of what Jacob reaped
when he went to Laban. Laban deceived him in the matter
of Rachel and Leah. How keen that friar was to be
deceived in that. Laban changed his wages Ten times! And then his brethren, his sons,
deceived him in the account of Joseph, made out that he'd been
slain, bought the garment with the blood on it, and deceived
him for 20 years. He felt that he was dead, but
he was alive in Egypt. The way of transgressors is hard. If you want to imitate Jacob
in his lies, then expect Jacob's lot in what you read because
of those lies. So let us not think that this
account or Jacob's is endorsing falsehood or telling of lies. It is not. Rahab, of course,
was not. of Israel. She was not under
the law in that sense as well. But the scriptures are very clear
that what she did was through faith. And that is what motivated
her to receive the spies and to act as she did. The third thing was that she
was seeking a true token. That is our text. Give me a true
token. Not only did she feel her being
under the sentence of death, not only did she believe in the
true and living God and receive the messengers of the true and
living God, but she wanted from them a true token of life for
herself. How does that find us this morning? As you come into the house of
God, Do you have any petitions before the Lord? Do you have
any desires that the Lord would speak to you? You know, she received
the token, the token of the promise and the scarlet line, all through
the servants, but the Lord honoured that. If you and I are given
true tokens, Through the ministry, it'll be through the Lord's servants,
but as far as they are true to the Word of God, they are true
tokens. There is joining together the
Word of God with experience. We preach the experience of the
Word of God. Not just any experience, Christian
experience, the experience of the Word of God. Where the Word
of God speaks about conviction of sin, we speak of those who
are convicted under sin. Of those who do have a need,
that do desire salvation, who seek salvation, who ask it, who
want to know that it is well with them before they come to
die. that Christ has died for them. He has put away their blood.
Their sins are put away. They want to know this and she
desired this true token. I hope that there are those here
that desire this or can look back maybe many years, and had
some sweetness driving along actually, going back over this
and thinking, you know, some 30, 40 years ago. And especially
when the Lord begins with us, there are those things that are
done, they are very clearly done, and how we react to the Word
of God that is actually given to us. And those are sweet times,
and it may be a token this morning, a renewed token. The Lord's people
wanting a fresh token is that the Lord brings to their remembrance
what he did for them at the beginning of the way that affected their
choices, affected what they did, affected really the rest of their
lives. You know, Paul could say, what
I am, I am by the grace of God. And I can say, without the grace
of God given to me 40 years ago, my life today would be very,
very different. I would not be where I am now. My whole life would have been
shaped very, very differently. And so, it is a blessed thing
to just seek a true token And in the context of Rahab here,
really looking at many things in her life. If those of you
perhaps looking for one thing to be said or one token, the
Lord may give it you by shining upon all that he's done and owning
it as his work and consistent with the word of God and with
what he does with his people. So maybe desire a true token
but not be dictators and say, I want this, I want that. Preahab,
she just says, I want a true token. Not specifying what that
token shall be but as long as it is true, as long as it is
from the God of heaven and we'll be honoured. The fourth thing is that she
is justified by her works. And again, this is where we can
come to the word of God itself in the book of James where Rahab
is actually mentioned. And in chapter two, and of course
James, he is very much emphasizing that faith without works is dead. And so he says in verse 25 of
chapter 2, likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified
by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them
out another way. And he has explained in the earlier
part of this chapter that works or faith without works is dead. He says, Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, that he is accounted free from condemnation,
free from guilt, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the
altar? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Scripture
was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed
unto him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God.
See then how that by works a man is justified, not by faith only. Now, we are told earlier in Hebrews
11 that Abraham believed that God was able, even if Isaac had
been slain, to raise him from the dead, because the promise
was to Isaac. But Abraham didn't sit at home
and say, Lord, I believe that You were able to raise Isaac
from the dead. It's not necessary for me to
go and offer him up. I don't need to obey. I don't
need to go. What happened anyway? He actually
actioned. He did it. He didn't just have
an empty faith. And in this chapter as well,
it speaks of those that have a brother or sister that is naked
or haven't got food. And those who just say, well,
just go away, and you'll be filled, and you'll be clothed, but you
don't give them the food or give them the clothing, then that's
just an empty faith. There's not works with it. You're
not providing that which they have need of when you have the
means of giving it to them. And James is very clear on this. Remember in the letters to the
churches in the Revelation, The Lord always is saying, I know
thy works. I know thy works. All the time
He's looking at the fruit, not works to obtain salvation, but
the works that are the fruit of salvation, the fruit of love. By thy works ye shall know them,
or by their fruits ye shall know them. And so she had this token
in that she was justified by her works. The next is that she
obeyed the word that was spoken to her. She put the line that
was in the window She gathered her family together. She did
exactly what was said to her. It is one of the marks of the
people of God as obedient children. Not fastening yourselves according
to your former manner in your ignorance, but as he which hath
called you is holy, so be ye holy in your manner of conversation. The Lord was obedient, obedient
unto death, even the death of his cross, and that which he
works in his people. is obedience to him and to his
word. When the apostle Paul saw that
he was, had his eyes opened, the first thing was, Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? And he is able to testify he
was obedient unto that direction, unto that heavenly vision. We
are to be guided by the Word of God. The Word of God is to
be a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path. We are to obey
that and not man. The Lord gave in Deuteronomy
a test to his people. He said, if there is a prophet
that arises from you and he gives you a sign and he comes to pass,
and it is a sign to lead you away from the true and living
God, you shall not listen to that prophet, you shall not obey
him, For the Lord thy God giveth you to prove you whether you
will obey my word or no. So the Lord is contrasting signs
or to the word. Never be intimidated by someone
who says I have a word from the Lord or I have a sign and this
has happened and this has come to pass when you can prove that
what they are doing is contrary to the word of God. God will
never lead his people contrary to his word. You should be able
to test all what people do by the word of God. You should be
able like the Bereans when Paul preached to search the scriptures
daily whether these things were so. Not to have where it speaks
of those that have men in admiration because of advantage. I have
a degree in theology and I know the Scriptures better than you
and I know this and that. No, the simplest child of God
with the Word of God will know the right way in obeying the
Word of God and following that. Well Rahab, she had this mark. of obedience. May we be obedient
to the revealed will of God. The next thing is that she sheltered. I believe those spies, when they
saw that scarlet line, they remembered what had happened in Egypt. They
remembered what was signified by the scarlet, by the blood.
They knew that God had honoured that sign. They gave her that
same sign. She tied it in the window. She
wouldn't have seen it, she would have just seen the top perhaps,
but there it was in the window. And God honoured that. She sheltered
beneath it. Now in the Gospel way, this is
to shelter beneath the precious blood of Christ. That is our
only hope, our only shelter. This is why the Church of God
has it set before them constantly in the Lord's Supper. This do
in remembrance of me. This cup is the New Testament
in my blood, shed for you. It is a reminder, it is Christ
that died, yet rather risen again. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. And we think of right at the
beginning with Cain and with Abel. Cain, he brings the fruit
of the field, something without blood, something of his own handiwork. God is not pleased with that.
But Abel, he brings a lamb, and the lamb is slain, the blood
is shed, and God is well pleased with that, because it is setting
forth the sacrifice that he would make, his only beloved son, the
eternal son of God on Calvary's tree, would shed his blood for
Abel's sin, for the sins of all of his people from the beginning
of the world to the end. Old Testament saints, they looked
through the types and the shadows, through the sacrifices, they
looked to what Christ would accomplish, the seed of the woman to bruise
the serpent's head. And in believing they died and
they trusted in that. We look back, we have clearer
light, we have the Gospels, we can clearly see what was fulfilled
at Calvary and the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed.
and is rising again, giving assurance unto all men. In one sense, that
is a token, and another token is the Holy Spirit sent down
from heaven, I'll pray the Father, He'll give you another comfort,
another spirit, tarry at Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high. Those tokens are given to the
Church of God universally, if you like, but we need that personal
token, a personal trust, a personal sheltering beneath the precious
blood of Christ. There is no other place to shelter,
there is no other hope but that the blood of Christ was shed
for us. The Lord says, I lay down my
life for the sheep. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also must I bring. That is Jews and Gentiles,
the two folds, one fold. And he testifies, I have a commandment
from my father to lay down my life and take it again. He lays
down his life to redeem the people of God. Now, Rahab, she trusted
in that. And that must be a vital token
for us each. Where is your trust? Where is
my trust? Is it in our own works? Is it
in our own obedience? Or is it in Christ's precious
blood? In Christ's obedience, clothe
and wash me in his blood. So shall I lift my head with
joy amongst the sons of God. As the hymn writer puts it, So
then there's another token, a last one we might say, and that is
that she desired the salvation of her household. And I believe
I was thinking back when the Lord first called me and the
many letters and attempts I made to try and convert my own brothers
and family. And there is that desire, and
the Lord, when He healed, when He blessed those on earth, He
said, go home to thy friends and tell them how great things
He had done for thee. When we know the pearl of great
price, when we know the blessings of Christ, there's that desire
that others know as well. Those four lepers at Syria, They
found great treasure. They started to put it in their
tent. They said, we do not. Well, this is a day of good tidings. Let us go and tell the king's
household. They didn't want to hide it.
They wanted to spread that. And so our Lord says, and go
ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that is baptized shall be
saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.
And though the blessing to be upon the priest's word, lo, I
am with you all the way even unto the end of the world. And
if we know the danger, you know, if you see someone standing on
the edge of the cliff and you know that they're danger, and
you know that by calling to them you may be able to bring them
back, they may not listen, but you would try, wouldn't you,
to stop them from falling over And so if one tests the reality,
the work with us, is not to think, well, this faith just belongs
to Bethel Chapel Luton, it doesn't matter about anyone else, or
it doesn't matter about my other loved ones or friends. you still
have a burden for others because you know the worth of a soul.
God's people know the worth of a soul and they know the danger
that they were in and that others are in. And there'll be that
desire like I have. I'll bring in my family, I'll
bring in my mother, my father, my sister, all of them if I could. We know of course we do not have
power. But it's a blessed thing that
we are placed in families as to be a witness, a salt and light,
yes, in the world, but immediately in our families. And many of
us will have family gatherings where we are gathering with many
unbelievers. May we always remember to adorn
the faith that we have and the doctrine that we have in our
walk and conduct. You think how Ruth was drawn
to Naomi. One of the tokens here, the marks
of loving the people of God. Well may we be a people that
so show forth our faith and love to the Lord that there be others
that desire our walk and our God and our hope. On our token,
Paul said of Agrippa, who said he'd be almost Christian, he
said, I would that thou would not be but almost, but altogether
such as I am, but not this chain. And it's good if we were able
to say we want others to have the blessings that we have, but
we wouldn't wish on them our afflictions and our trials and
our besetting sins. But the blessings the Lord has
given us, we desire for others as well. And Rahab, she had that
as well. True token. You might say, have
you given some seven or so points? When the Lord works, he works
in all of these points. He doesn't just work in one part.
He doesn't just make a Christian for today in Bethel Chapel, but
when you go to work tomorrow, you cast that off. You're not
a Christian anymore. Or when you're at home, you're
the same person all the time as one that has been called and
washed and cleansed and walking in the ways of the Lord. Well,
may the Lord give us and give you a true token as dear Rahab A true toker. Amen.