Let's read from Psalm 130. Psalm 130. Been under the weather a little
this week, so please excuse my hoarseness and graveliness. Psalm 130. Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
eyes, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand? But there is forgiveness with
thee that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul
doeth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the
Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say, more
than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the
Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous
redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. Let's pray. Evening, everyone.
It has really been wonderful to be here. It was wonderful
to be with you this morning, and I so appreciate Obie and
Stacia taking care of us and their hospitality, and it's wonderful
to be here tonight. And I really do thank the Lord
for you. I really do. I'm thankful to
see you, and I look forward to the time where there's no separation
anymore, where I just see you. That's it. But between now and
then, I appreciate every opportunity. Turn with me, if you would, to
Joshua chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2. There's a song
that most everybody knows. I would say most everybody knows
this song and it says, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me. When God reveals to us what absolute
wretches we are, and that has to be revealed to us. We have
no idea. But when God does finally reveal
to us what absolute wretches we are, that's the moment grace
becomes amazing. That's when it becomes amazing.
Just amazing. That God would show grace to
such a wretch like me. We're about to see the story
of a woman named Rahab. All I want to do is simply tell
the story. I just want us to look at the
story. This woman named Rahab, and the scripture makes no bones
about it. This woman was a wretch. This was a wretched woman. She was a harlot. But something
happened to her. Something happened in her. Something happened for her. And
it's called salvation. After we look at this story,
I believe we're going to relate to this woman. I really do. I
believe we're going to rejoice with this woman. And I believe
we're going to find the same hope that she found. I titled
this A Harlot's Hope. A Harlot's Hope. Now look with
me here at Joshua 2. I want to begin in verse 10.
Rahab said, 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 unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the
other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed."
An entire nation of people. were slaves to another nation
for 430 years. God's people, Israel, they were
the slaves to the Egyptians for 430 years. And you know that
information got out. Alright, now the Declaration
of Independence was signed about 200 and something years ago.
Word got out. We're a country. Alright, twice
that long. 430 years. You know people knew
that Israel were slaves to Egypt. That's a long time. That's a
long time. It was common knowledge. Moses
went in, the Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh and he said, God Almighty
says, let my people go. And all of those great plagues
came on Egypt. And you know that got out. People
heard about that. All the water turned to blood.
The locusts, the darkness, the death, that got out. And then
the day came when God delivered His people, they literally just
walked right out of Egypt. They were under bondage for 430
years. God said, today's the day, and
they just walked out. Walked right out. Pharaoh went
after them with his army. God opened up the Red Sea, allowed
all of His people to safely pass over, and then closed the sea
up on the entire army and they were gone. Pharaoh's entire army. I'm sure after that, people started
saying, where's Pharaoh's army? What happened to Pharaoh's army?
All the soldiers, all the horses, all the chariots, they're dead. They all died. God literally
killed them, drowned them in the sea. Well, after that, Israel
continued on their journey and they came to another country
another nation, and we can read about it in Numbers 21. We're
not going to go there, but it's in Numbers 21. Moses sent a message
to the king of this other nation. His name was Sihon. And Moses
said to King Sihon, let us pass through your land. We'll just
pass right through, that way we won't have to go all the way
around. He said, we won't take anything out of your fields,
we won't take anything out of your vineyards, We won't drink
any water out of your wells. We'll stay on the highway and
pass right through your borders." Sihon said, no, and he gathered
his army together and he went out to fight with Israel face
to face and God said, start killing them. Israel smote every single
one of them with the edge of the sword and took all the land,
gone. Then they continued on their
way. And this king named Og decided he wanted to pick a fight with
them. They weren't even coming near Og. But he decided he wanted
to pick a fight, so he showed up with his army. And God told
Moses, fear him not. I've delivered him into your
hand and all his people and all his land. That's what God told
Moses. You're going to do the same thing
to him that you did to Sihon. Same thing. So Moses told all
the people, start killing him. Israel started slaying with the
sword. And they didn't stop until there
was none left alive. As these accounts became known,
word got out. Word started to spread, city
after city. As these accounts got out, it
became clear, Israel is coming to the Jordan River, city after
city. Rahab knew along with everybody
else, they are coming to Jericho. It was just on the other side
of the Jordan River. God in all of His purpose, in all of His
glory, In all of His victory is coming right through this
place. God is coming through this place.
This sinful woman knew that. Destruction is coming to this
place. Destruction is coming to this place. She heard and
she knew the God who holds life and death in the palm of His
hand. is coming to this city, and He is going to deal with
us. Now look with me at verse 1.
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy
secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they
went and came into an harlot's house named Rahab, and lodged
there. What good kind providence comes
from our God. Good, good kind of all the houses
they could have gone to. Joshua, the captain of the hosts,
he's the one who represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who
is ordering and controlling the whole thing. He sent two servants. We're going to call them mercy
and grace. He sent two servants. He said,
you go spy out what I'm about to conquer. They came straight
into that sinful harlot's house named Rahab. Fear struck that
woman. Absolute fear struck that woman.
She thought, they're here. They're here. God is here. That's what happens when mercy
and grace comes to a sinner. That's the first thing that happens.
Fear strikes that person. Absolute fear. She thought, He
is upon us. He has found us out. That's what
happened. He's found me out. He's upon
me. Verse 2, And it was told the
king of Jericho. Here she is in Jericho. It was
told the king of Jericho saying, Behold, there came men in hither
tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country. And
the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the
men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house,
for they be come to search out all the country. They said, Turn
those men over, they've come to kill us. It was told the king
that they went to her house. And they said, Turn them over,
they're here to kill us. But do you know what God convinced
this woman of? Through what she heard. Through
what she heard. She knew, we're dead anyway. We're dead anyway. If God has
purposed to take this land, He's taking it. If God has purposed
to conquer this place, He's conquering it. And if I try to resist His
will, He's just going to kill me with the rest of it. I have
one need in this matter. I have one hope in this matter. Verse 4 says, The woman took
the two men and hid them and said thus, There came men unto
me, but I know not whence they were. And it came to pass, about
the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men
went out. Whither the men went, I know
not. Pursue after them quickly, for
you shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to
the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued
after them the way to Jordan unto the fords. And as soon as
they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the
gate." You know what she did? She lied. She flat out lied. Isn't that what she did? She
lied. There is no hiding it. This woman's
a sinner. This woman's a sinner. They were
about to take away from her the only hope she had. She could
not allow that to happen. She had one hope, she had one
need, and at all cost, she had to have it. I pray that God has
given me one hope and one need, and at all cost, I have to have
it. She had to have it. So did Jacob
when he lied to Isaac. He flat out lied, didn't he?
That man's a liar. That man's a trickster. That
man is a supplanter. But he had to have the blessing. So did David when he lied to
God's priest. He had to have the bread. You
remember when David went up and lied to God's priest so he could
have that showbread? The kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence and the violent take it by force at all cost. I have to have it. I have to
have it. You cannot take this away. Rahab knew that her life
was on the line here, so she hid God's men and she bowed to
God's will and God's purpose. She went and laid down. Those
men are still up there hiding on the roof. And she started
thinking about the reality that God was coming through. And so
do I. And so do you. God is coming
through this place. I don't know when. It may be
in about 15 minutes. In 15 minutes, the roof might
blow off this place. And if so, we may all cry, Behold
the Lamb of God. God is coming through this place.
This woman's laying there thinking God is coming through this place.
God is coming through this place. She started wondering what is
going to happen to this place. What's going to happen to this
place? I think about that with Kingsport. You know, the Lord
called me to move to Kingsport. I take that calling very seriously.
This message, I take it so seriously because I wonder what's going
to happen to this place. What's going to happen to these
people? Here she's laying here wondering, what's going to happen
to my family? She's not in religion at this moment. She's not playing
games at this moment. God is about to come through
this place. And He is about to wipe this
place out. And the fear of the Lord set into this woman. She
started realizing every soul in this city is going to have
to deal with this God. Every single soul. And this is
what she knew. I don't have a hope. I don't
have a hope. I'm not one of his people. I'm
in Jericho. I'm not one of his people. And
of all people here, I deserve his favor less than anyone. I'm
the harlot. I'm the harlot. I'm the worst. This is what she knew though.
God's men are in my house right now. Mercy and grace are here
right now. Right now. They may not ever
be here ever again, maybe not ever again, but they're here
right now. My only hope is to beg them for
my life. That's my only hope. If they
say no, I have no hope. But they may say yes. They may
say yes. My only hope is to get up and
go beg them for my life. It finally sunk in. Today is
the day of salvation. Isn't that such a wonderful thing
when that happens? God moves on the heart. God strikes
fear in the heart. And a sinner realizes, I am without
God and without hope in the world. But there is salvation right
now. Today is the day of salvation. This woman started realizing
that. She got up out of her bed. She
went up to the roof. Verse 8 says, And before they
were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof, And she said
unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land,
and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants
of the land faint because of you. 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 unto the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly
destroyed. And as soon as we heard these
things, our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any
more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God,
He is God, in heaven above and in earth beneath." That's one
of my favorite verses of Scripture. The Lord your God, He is God. He is God. Your God, the God
of Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. He is God. He is God. He is the
Sovereign God. I see, I know that He is going
to do as He will with whom He will. I see that. I see that. I've heard the truth and I bow
to it. I realize this is my only hope.
I want to beg this Almighty Sovereign God for mercy. I want to beg
this sovereign God to shed his amazing grace on me. This is
my only hope. I'm begging. This is my only
hope. Verse 12, Now therefore I pray you, swear unto me by
the Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that you will also
show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token,
and that you will save alive my father and my mother, my brethren,
my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from
death. She said, Because I fear this
God, And because outside of His mercy and His grace, I have no
hope, I'm begging. I'm begging, please spare my
father. And see if you can enter into
this. Please spare my father. Please spare my mother. Please
spare my brothers, my sisters, my children. Lord, I know you're
a God of mercy. Would you please show great mercy
in spite of us? Would you show great mercy? Please,
please. Once a sinner sees the sovereign
God, that's what that sinner will start doing. Lord, please,
please. All of this, I know you're happy
with me. I got a resume I've typed up.
Let me give it to you. That goes out the window, doesn't
it? Please, Lord, please. Please save us. Save us. I see the truth. I see the destruction
of this place. Verse 14, And the man answered
her, God's servants, mercy and grace, answered her, Our life
for yours. That's the answer she got. Our
life for yours will be your surety. If you utter not this our business,
And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that
we will deal kindly and truly with thee. This is a God of vengeance,
this is a God of wrath, this is a God of sovereignty, but
this is a God of mercy, and this is a God of grace. Verse 15 says,
Then she let them down by a cord through the window, for her house
was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. And she
said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet
you, and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers
be returned, and afterward may you go your way. And the men
said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou
hast made us swear. They said, You can count on this
oath. You can count on it. You can
take this covenant to the bank. As the God of truth liveth, It
will be upheld. It will be upheld. And they said,
this is your token. Verse 18. Behold, when we come
into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in
the window which thou didst let us down by. This red way of deliverance. This bright red line of escape. They said, you put it in your
window. Lift it up for everybody to see. Put it in the window.
Don't hide it under a bushel. Don't put it in the box over
there in the corner. Put it in the window. Claim it. Confess
it. Cling to it. What does that red
line represent for harlots like you and me? That's the blood
of Jesus Christ. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That scarlet red way of deliverance. The only hope any sinner has
is for that blood to be bound in the window of the heart. That's
the only hope. They said this is your token,
this is your surety. You cling to this scarlet line,
don't let it out of your sight. Don't let it out of your sight.
Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line
of scarlet thread in the window, which thou didst let us down
by, and thou shalt bring thy father and thy mother and all
thy brethren and all thy father's household home unto thee. And
it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house
into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will
be guiltless. They said the only safe place
to be is in the house that has the scarlet line. That's the
only safe place to be. That house is Jesus Christ. This is still God's commandment
to His people. This is still His commandment.
God is coming to this city. God is coming through Crossville,
Tennessee. Kingsport, Tennessee. Every city
in between, God is coming through this city. The only safe place
to be is in Jesus Christ. He said, when we come through,
if you or any member of your house is found outside of the
house, they will die. They will die. We'll be guiltless
in killing them. But they said in verse 19, they
went on to say, whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his
blood shall be on our head if any hand be upon him." Here's
what it all boils down to. The soul that is outside of the
blood of Jesus Christ is going to die in his sins. But the soul
that is inside the blood of Jesus Christ has the promise of God
Almighty. He said, when I see the blood,
when I see the blood of my Son, when I see that scarlet line,
I'll pass over you. I'll pass over you. And if thou
utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath,
which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, According unto
your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they
departed. And she bound the scarlet line
in the window. And they went and came unto the
mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were
returned. And the pursuers sought them
throughout all the way, but found them not. So the two men returned
and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to
Joshua the son of Nun. and told him all things that
befell them. And they said unto Joshua, Truly
the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land, for even
all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us." Go on
through. It's ours. Victory is ours. Alright, well, I wonder what
happened. They said go on through. Go take the land. I wonder what
happened. I wonder if their promise held
through. They're coming through to wipe
it out. I wonder if God's covenant held true. Look with me at chapter
6. Joshua chapter 6, verse 12 says,
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took
up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests, bearing seven
trumpets of ram's horns, went before the ark of the Lord, went
on continually, and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men
went before them, but the reward, or the rest of the nation of
Israel, came after the ark of the Lord, the priest going on
and blowing with the trumpets. And the second day they compassed
the city once and returned into the camp. So they did six days. And it came to pass on the seventh
day that they rose early about the dawning of the day and compassed
the city After the same manner seven times, only on that day
they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass, at
the seventh time, when the priest blew at the trumpets, Joshua
said unto the people, Shout, for the Lord hath given you the
city. Verse 20 says, So the people shouted when the priest blew
at the trumpets, And it came to pass, when the people heard
the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great
shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went
up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the
city." Now, wait a minute. They went around the city one
time for six days. On the seventh day, they went
around the city seven times, and the priests blew the trumpets,
and the people shouted with a shout, and the wall fell down. Alright,
now hold your place and go back to chapter 2. Verse 15, chapter
2 verse 15 says, Then she let them down by a cord through the
window, for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt
upon the wall. Her house was on the wall. You
know what that means? When God gave them the city,
the trump of God sounded, the people of God shouted, and the
entire wall of Jericho fell down flat except for one little sliver. It had a red cord coming out
of it. Go back to chapter 6. Verse 22 says, But Joshua had
said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into
the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all
that she hath, as you swear unto her. And the young men that were
spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her
mother, and her brethren, and all that she had. And they brought
out all her kindred and left them without the camp of Israel.
And they burnt the city with fire and all that was therein,
only the silver and the gold and the vessels of brass and
of iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. And
Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive in her father's household,
and all that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel even unto
this day, because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent
to spy out Jericho. Now, I'd like for us to take
just a minute and enter into something. I'd like for us to
enter in just a moment with the heart, if the Lord will let us.
We know the story. But I'd like for us to enter
in just a second to the reality of what happened to them. This
is their salvation. This is their salvation. I was
thinking about everything that they experienced, everything
that they felt. Put yourself in their shoes.
Just for a minute, just enter in to this family. Enter in to
this house. Enter in to the fear that was
overtaking these people. The absolute fear. Enter in to
them looking out that window and seeing the whole nation of
Israel gathered there. Enter in to them watching them
walk around that wall one time. And then they come back the next
day and they watch the whole nation of Israel walk around
that wall. And here they are sitting in this house. And then
they come back the next day and the whole nation of Israel walks
around that wall. I can see Rahab's dad. I can see Rahab doing this, but
I can especially see Rahab's dad constantly checking the rope. Is it tight? It's still tight.
I can see the whole family, they watched that nation of Israel
go around that wall. I can see the whole family sitting
Rahab down and looking her right in the eye and saying, now Rahab,
you tell us again, what did those men say? You tell us one more
time, what did God's men say? They said this is it, right?
Nothing more, nothing less, only this? We don't have to do anything
in addition to this, right? It all hinges on this, right? I mean, our lives are on the
line. Rahab, are you sure? Are you
sure? I can put all my hope in this
scarlet line. Are you sure that I can put all
my hope in this scarlet line? On the seventh day, there they
are looking out the window, Israel marched around that wall seven
times. I can see them waving the rope. Do you remember the rope? We're
pleading the rope. We're begging for mercy for the
rope's sake. God be merciful to us for the
rope's sake. They heard the trumpet of God.
All of a sudden, here they sit waiting. Here they sit waiting. All of a sudden, they heard the
trumpet of God. They heard the shout. They felt
the wall start crumbling down. And they cried, Lord, save us. And He did. As soon as the rumble
died down, they looked over at the window and hanging on the
scarlet line was Mercy and Grace. And they said, come with us.
Every soul in that house laid hold of that scarlet line. and
escaped. There was one way out. The scarlet
line. Every soul that laid hold of
the scarlet line escaped the wrath to come. Every soul. Chapter 6, verse 25 says, And
Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household,
and all that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel, even unto
this day." You know what that means? That means she dwells
in the beautiful city of God right now. She is there right
now. It means the salvation of God
is salvation indeed. Eternal life in the blood of
Christ is eternal life indeed. As I head on back to Kingsport,
God's coming through Kingsport. God's coming through Crossville.
God's coming through Kingsport. This is what I leave us with.
Cling to the line. Cling to the line. Cling to the
blood of Jesus Christ. Make all your hope being found
in the blood of Jesus Christ. All of it. He will save you. Every soul that clings to the
line will be saved. Every soul. You live and believe
in Him and you'll never die. You will never die. That is God's
token and His promise to us. That's His promise to us. Let's
cling to it. I mean, I don't care how old
you are. I don't care how young you are.
Cling to it. Cling to it. All your heart.
All your life. And He'll save you. May the Lord
bless His Word.