Now, turn with me to Joshua chapter
2. Joshua chapter 2 starting in
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
a harlot's house named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was
told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither
to-night of the children of Israel to search out the country. And
the king of Jericho said unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the
men that are come to thee, which are entered into thy house, for
they be come to search out all the country. And the woman took
the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto
me, but I wist 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 watch
not, or I know not. Pursue after them quickly, for
ye 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. And before they
were laid down, the two men, 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 of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye
utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had 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. 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 ye will save alive my
father and my mother and my brother and my sisters and all that they
have and deliver our lives from death. And the man answered her,
Our life for years, if ye 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. 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
ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We
will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us
swear. Behold, when we come into this 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
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. And
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall
be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 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. Wednesday night during Donnie's
message, he made mention of the shadows that we cast upon others
as we walk through this world. He particularly called mine to
Mary and how many lives she touched and Henry Mayhem and just how
many of us have been touched by his preaching. When he made
these comments, it brought to mind an article that I read a
little while back about a child that suffered from night terrors.
This child and her mother had established a routine that whenever
she was awakened by these fears, she would talk to her mother
about it, and then she would go write in a journal. And after
this episode that the mother was writing about in this article,
one of the phrases she wrote was, don't trust the shadows. There's great wisdom contained
in this statement. How many people do you know who
trust in shadows for the salvation of their souls? Am I or are you
trusting shadows for salvation? Will you join me this morning
and ask yourself, as I ask myself, where does my trust lie? In trying to answer this question,
we'll first have to define trust. Then we'll look at some of the
things that we as men put our trust in. And finally, we'll
see who deserves our trust. For many years, the saying, Jesus
is the answer, has been posted on billboards, church signs,
bumper stickers, tracks. And often when I've seen that,
I've thought, yes, but what's the question? The same thing
occurred to me when I was thinking about trust. What exactly is
trust? The dictionary definition speaks
of truth, reliability, strength, and ability. And many times in
the scriptures, When I found the word trust, it was referencing
a refuge. So when I ask, where does my
trust lie? I'm asking, do I have a refuge? Do I have a refuge that is true,
that is strong, that is willing, that is able to provide a refuge
for my soul? In this passage of Joshua 2,
we have a twofold trust. to be truthful, to have the strength
and ability of character to protect their presence. They believed
that she was able to deliver them from the city, for if they
were caught, they would certainly be put to death. Rahab put her trust in the spies.
She believed them to be truthful, that they would fulfill their
promise that they were strong enough to protect her house from
the judgment of Israel. Both of these parties placed
their trust in the other to the saving of their lives. They both
sought a refuge. Question before you and I today.
Am I trusting? Am I depending on the ability,
the truthfulness, the reliability, and the strength of shadows to
save me from certain death? Now, the Scriptures provide us
with many things we are not to place our trust in. And I know
from experience that I have, and all of mankind, by nature,
put their trust in these very things that the Scriptures tell
us not to. But instead of looking at all of these individual things,
I've divided them into three broad categories. Wealth, idols,
and men. Proverbs 11.28 says, He that
trusteth in his riches shall follow. And our Lord said in
Mark 10.24, How hard is it for them that trust in riches to
enter into the kingdom of God. We trust our riches to save us
and to escape the penalty of sin, which is death. We can watch
the wealthy among us as they go in for their surgeries to
have their faces lifted, their tummies tucked, to try to escape
the ravages of age. And when they find that that
doesn't work, they'll build themselves a memorial, they'll make a library,
they'll give to a hospital so that their name will be enshrined
forever, at least to their way of thinking, and that they won't
be forgotten. That's the abundant wealthy.
What about those that are less monetarily wealthy? Do they put
their trust in wealth as well? Yes, these people often look
to the scriptures concerning the widow that casting in her
two mites into the treasury. And they trust in the fact that
they give to their church or some charitable organization.
And that's going to be their refuge for their soul. They've
done these good things. Turn with me to Psalm 115. Psalm 115 verse four, excuse
me. Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but
they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk
not. Neither speak they through their
throat. They that make them are like unto them. So is everyone
that trusteth in them. I've been blessed to have been
raised under the gospel preaching all my life. And I have often heard preachers
warn against idols and the worship of idols, as they should. But I can remember sitting in
those services and thinking, I don't worship idols. We don't have any pictures in
our house. We have no statues. We have no crosses to put around
our necks or in our ears. I don't have any idols that I
worship. Psalm 115 describes those idols
that are made of men's hands. Our idols are anything that takes
away from God's glory. It doesn't have to be seen. America's idols most often are
not seen at this time. They are the Jesus of man's imagination. This is that Jesus who loves
everyone. He wants to save you if you'll
just let Him. He has made salvation possible
and He's standing at your heart's door, knocking and begging to
be let in. But you know what? If you don't
let Him in, He loves you anyway. And there are thousands, perhaps
millions, that this morning are worshiping this little Jesus. And even those of us who have
been so blessed to have been raised under the sound of the
gospel, we have these idolatrous gods of our imagination, and
we put our trust in them until the Lord has mercy upon us. Look over in Psalm 118, Psalm
118 verse 8. It is better to trust in the
Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in
the To this very day, I find this
to be a great weakness of mine. I tend to place my trust in other
men who are nothing but the dust of the ground. Especially when I was younger,
sitting in those worship services, I trusted in my family. My parents
are saved. I'll be saved too. You ask the
average person on the street if they have a hope of glory.
And oftentimes you might receive a response that goes something
like, well, my granny's in heaven and she's looking over me and
she's OK, so I'll be OK too. We trust in our families. We
place our trust in the princes of this world and our world leaders. Jericho placed their trust in
their king. He had raised up the army. The
walls of the city were built. They placed their trust in their
king. Israel's help was from the Lord,
not some earthly king. And we tend to place our trust
in that prince of Ophelia, those that we hold in high esteem.
And which can we hold in higher esteem than those who come and
preach the gospel of God's sovereign grace to us? We have a tendency
to place our trust in these men. Paul lodged his complaint against
the Corinthians for this. For some of them said, I am of
Paul. Others said, I am of Apollos.
Should I place my trust in any preacher? whether it be Donny,
Bruce, Todd, Henry Mahan, Charles Spurgeon. They're all men just
like I am, and they're in need of a great Savior. And if by some miraculous way
I have failed to capture you placing your trust in any of
these things above, You can't escape this one. I place my trust
in myself. Me, who can't keep the simplest
promise of, well, I'm going to diet this week and I'm not going
to eat a piece of chocolate. If any man treated me the way
that I treat myself, that I have failed so many times, I never
speak to Him again. And I keep turning back to this
wretched flesh, time after time. This flesh, with the breath of
my life, is in the hand of God. I can't draw my next breath,
lest He allow it. And yet I'll turn and trust myself
again tomorrow morning. Turn over to Philippians chapter
3. It's not just those of us today
that have this problem. Paul placed his trust before
he was converted into these same things. In verse 5, Paul says, He trusted
in his family. He was circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew
of Hebrews. And he made the law one idol
as touching the law, a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness, which is in the law. He says,
I was blameless. Since Adam's fall, all men have
placed their trust in these things, in their wealth, their idols,
and in man. And what do all three of them
have in common? Nothing but shadows. They have a resemblance to that
which provides a refuge, but they have no substance. This
world is like the little girl with the night tears, full of
terrifying events. Adam's fall resulted in the curse
of sin, death upon all. We are all condemned, we have
all defied God, and we all deserve His wrath. Just like the citizens
of Jericho, this world knows that judgment is coming. Turn
over to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, verse 1. The heavens declare the glory
of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth
speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no
speech, nor language, where their voice is not heard. All men are
without excuse. All men know that God's judgment
is upon this world. Now turn over to Romans chapter
one. Romans chapter one. Verse 18, Romans 1, 18. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because that, when they knew
God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Knowing that this judgment is
coming, what shall we do? Seek a refuge, a trusted refuge
to escape the wrath to come. And what better refuge than the
refuge that God Almighty puts His trust in. In Job, speaking
of God, we read, He put no trust in his servants, and his angels
he charged with folly. And again, Behold, he putteth
no trust in his saints. Where is God's trust placed?
Ephesians 1.12, that we should be to the praise of his glory
who first trusted in Christ. God the Father places His trust
in Christ. Now all of the trusts before
that we've read about this morning needed a refuge. Does God the
Father need a refuge? No and yes. No, God the Father
does not need a refuge for His own holy person. But yes, God
the Father needs a refuge for His will to be accomplished.
There was a time, if you can call it that, when there was
God. It was God and Him alone. Before anything that was made,
God determined or purposed within Himself that He would glorify
Himself and exalt His Son by people that He would call to
Himself. It was then, at that time, whenever
it was, before the beginning, that God trusted in Christ to
complete His purpose. And everything since then, Satan's
fall, Adam's creation and his rebellion, us meeting together this morning,
all of that is working together to the glory of God and for the
good of his elected people. If God placed his trust in Christ,
we would be foolish to not do the same. You remember how Rahab
and the spies were certain to be killed if they were without
trusting in one another. That account is but a shadow. It's a type. It's a picture of
the trust we need to have in Christ. But it doesn't give everything. No pictures in the Old Testament
do. So you and I are born dead in trespasses and sins. come forth speaking lies. And
it is only because God has a people that He has chosen to redeem
to Himself that we are not consumed. Our Lord is just and He can by
no means clear the guilty. Are you and I guilty? Oh yes. All have sinned. Can God freely
forgive the guilty and allow that guilty person to be counted
holy? who have sinned? Not if he is to remain God. His
justice must be satisfied. How then can man be found just
and holy in God's sight? Only if he is found in Christ
Jesus, the God-man. God, being spirit and life, is
incapable of death. Man, being flesh, is incapable
of life. These two met in one, Jesus of
Nazareth. He, being God, could not sin,
but being man, he could suffer and die for his people. God made him who knew no sin
to be sin for us. On the cross, God placed my sin
and the sins of all those that He chose upon His Son. He bore in that body my sin. him that was due to me. Justice
pierced him, and by the blood that he shed he slew the enmity
between God and men. He took my sin and suffered the
penalty that I owed, and now justice carries no threat to
me." He not only took my sin, but
he imparted his righteousness to me. He justified me. Todd was here a few months ago
and he gave us a definition of justification. A new history. Christ, by His death and His
resurrection, has given me a new history. My history of sin and
rebellion against my Lord and my Creator. He washed away and
he bestowed unto me a history that says holy and righteous. A shadow provides no truth. It's
unreliable. It bends and moves to whatever
it falls upon. It has no strength and it's unable
to provide a refuge. What of Christ? Can he meet the
requirements for a trusted refuge? Is he reliable? Some 2,000 years
ago, a man walked this earth who looked no different than
any other man, but he was not a son of Adam. He was the Son
of God. He is the Son of God. He came
in a body that was prepared for him from the foundation of the
world, and he came for one purpose. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. God's only begotten Son veiled
His glory and came in the likeness of sinful man. He was rejected
of the world and nailed to a cross where He suffered and shed His
blood. The Son of God died to save sinners. He's reliable. Is He able to save? The disciples
asked him the same question, and he replied, With men this
salvation is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Christ, because he is God, is
able to save. Does Christ have the strength
to save? Not only did the Son of God die,
but after three days, by his own power, He walked out of the
tomb he was laid in, and he is now seated at the right hand
of God, making intercession for those he died for. He ever lives
to ensure his death was not in vain. Those that he came to save,
they shall be saved. And is Christ true? He said,
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with
me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast
given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world. He, Christ Jesus, is the very Word of God. All that he
says is true and must come to pass. He is truth. Where does your trust lie? Do
you trust the shadows of man, idols, works, the law? Or do you trust in the one God
trusts, Christ Jesus? Trust is an individual's responsibility. I can't trust for you, and you
can't trust for me. Likewise, nothing I say or do
will cause you to trust in Christ. Those who do trust Him They do
so because He has revealed to them that they are great sinners
in need of a great Savior, and that He is. Christ came into
the world to save sinners, not everyone. Do you need a refuge? Have you been made to see that
you're a sinner in need of salvation? If not, Call upon him today. Ask him to reveal to you your
lost estate and his glorious person. The people of Jericho
knew of the events that had occurred that led to Israel's leaving
Egypt. They knew of their battles during
the 40 years of the desert, and they knew that Israel was headed
toward their city. Rahab told the spies to hide
for three days before returning to Joshua. That means that Israel
was probably at least a day and a half's journey from Jericho
at that point. And between the time that the
men returned to Joshua and their attack or their march upon Jericho, the Israelites crossed over Jordan
They were circumcised and healed. They celebrated the Passover.
And they encompassed Jericho for seven days. The walls of Jericho did not
fall until that seventh day. I tried to imagine what Rahab
was doing during this time. I can't imagine she sat idle,
knowing Israel was coming, knowing that that city would be destroyed. She had the promise of the spies
that all that were in her house should be spared. And when the alarm went off, her house was full. For she had
told everyone she loved and cared about their safety in my house. When Israel comes, come to my
house." So Israel walked around the walls.
They didn't fire an arrow. They didn't make any attempt
to go through the walls. They just walked around it and
blew a trumpet. And I imagine with each passing
day, more people left Rahab's house. There's nothing special
happening here. Israel cannot get through these
walls. Look at them. They're just walking
around outside. They've not even fired a shot.
Our walls will hold. And she pleaded with every one
of them that left that house, stay. Judgment is coming. Safety is only here. But they wouldn't stay. They
trusted the shadows of those walls. I, Donnie, Todd, Bruce, we all
have the same message as Rahab had. Judgment is at the door. This world is under the curse
of sin. And one day, we will stand before
the Lord God. Salvation is of the Lord. where
you find life. Rahab's house was upon the wall.
From the inside of that city, it looked exactly like every
other part of that wall. But there was a scarlet cord
hung out a window that Israel could see. Rahab's house was protected by
a covenant that was made. refuge. Christ Jesus came into
this world as a man. There was no beauty about him
that we should desire him. But all who are found in him
will be spared from the collapse of this world. Come to him. Come as you are, a sinner in
need of salvation. Lay down your warfare and find
rest in him.