No Perfect People #2

Sorry for the delay. Here is is, # 2 in our series. Enjoy

 

            Last Sunday Morning we kicked off a brand new sermon series here at the Ridge. This series is perfect for each one of us.

It’s perfect for those of us who aren’t perfect—and if you’re keeping notes, that’s every one of us.

The series is called: “No Perfect People allowed” and it is a reminder to all that God will go anywhere to find His children and bring them home.

Just look at Matthew. He was a tax collector. He was despised by his own people.

Then Jesus walks up to him, knowing who he is and what he’s done, and says to him: “Follow me….” (Matthew 9:9c, NIV)

At once, Matthew leaves his old life behind and he is changed forever. God altered Matthew’s life; and God wants to—this very morning--- alter your life.

You see, not a single person in this room is perfect, but God is perfect and He calls all of us to follow Him.

This morning, we are going to look at an Old Testament story of God using an imperfect person—a woman no less—to help accomplish His perfect plan.

This, again, is a reminder, that God will go there in our lives. He will touch that untouchable thing that we hope no one will ever see.

Just as an aside, the person that we are going to examine this morning is mentioned again in the New Testament. One of those places is in the family tree of Jesus.

Again, we have God reminding us that there is no such thing as perfect people.

If you have a Bible, you can follow along by turning to Joshua 2:

“Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.”

So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.

² But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”

⁴ Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from.

⁵ They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.”

 ⁶ (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.)

⁷ So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.

⁸ Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.

⁹ “I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.

¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt.

And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.

¹¹ No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (NLT2)

the Book of Joshua is, as you may know, the 6^th book of the Old Testament.

The first 5 books are called the Pentateuch. Those books were written by Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Moses was the man chosen by God to lead God’s people out of captivity and into the land that God had promised to give them.

You know friends; this is still God’s pattern today. He wants to take us out of captivity and lead us into freedom.

Paul said: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free….” (Gal. 5:1a, NIV)

God longs to see people set free. This is the message of this church.

Remember our 20x20 challenge? We are asking God for 20 changed lives, we are asking God for 20 baptisms this year.

We are asking for this because God wants to see people come out from captivity and live in freedom!

We don’t have to be stuck in reverse, we can move forward in faith, and with God’s help, this is what we will do.

The last book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy, ends with Moses seeing the Promised Land but not being able to enter in.

We are also told in this book that: “There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” (Deut. 34:10, NLT2)

Moses was a tough act to follow!

But Joshua, having received a call from God, sends two spies into the land to check it out.

The two spies turn on their GPS’ and head for their first rest stop of the day.

They go directely to this spot, because strange people often frequent this spot.

It’s interesting to note that God was already at work in Rahab’s life. She had heard of Joshua’s God. She had heard about the crazy awesome things that God had done.

She was amazed at how God had opened up the land and parted the Red Sea for the people to walk through.

She had heard about Joshua’s God and was stoked that He was coming to her.

Something inside of her was filled with hope. She had heard of this God and she wondered if this God could change her.

You see up until this point in her life, she was known by her label. We all have labels, and labels are hard to shake.

ILLUSTRATION- growing up in school, I was always known as the “short fat kid”. I was made fun of on a weekly basis, and I was even given a label by some bullies.

            Several people used this label, and it made me super upset because I was labelled in a way that I didn’t want to be.

            Even now, my stomach turns inside of me when I think of all the labels that I had as a kid growing up.

            Rahab had such a label. She was a prostitute. A hooker. A “sex-trade worker.”

            Despite her label, she works for God. Please don’t miss what’s taking place in this story: one of the key characters and the key developments in the story of Israel is God using a foreign prostitute to help pave the way for His people.

            Just as we saw Jesus eating with the sinniest sinners of His day, we see it again: God will go anywhere; God will do anything to bring people who are far from Him back home again.

            God will use anyone to accomplish His perfect plan, even those of us with a label. He used a prostitute to end 40 years of wilderness wandering.

            There are some people who wouldn’t enter a church if they knew a prostitute was there. Israel entered the Promised Land because a prostitute was there.

            God used a woman with a label to teach us an important truth: Anyone can be forgiven of anything!

            God used Rahab as part of His plan. He included her in the family tree of Jesus, and God included her in the Hall of Faith found in Hebrews chapter 11!

            God will go anywhere; God will do anything to bring His children home.

            When the king heard that some strange people enter a strange house, he began to ask questions.     He sent foot soldiers to Rahab’s house to ask her these questions. She lied to these men and sent them out on a wild goose chase.

Rahab took a giant risk. She heard about this God and she believed that He was the real deal and she stuck her neck out for Him.

She beleved that she didn’t have to carry her label one second longer.

She didn’t have to be a hooker for the rest of her life. She believed that God could change her forever.

She even makes a declaration to this fact“…the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11c, NLT2)

Rahab had heard about this God, now she was meeting this God. Rahab realized that she didn’t have to carry her label any more.

Maybe you’re carrying a label today. You’re doing your best to hide it from all of us, but God sees it.

Maybe you’ve tried all the other things that the world has to offer, seeking to get rid of your label, but it still hangs off your neck.

God placed the story of an imperfect woman in the Bible to remind us that He will, that He can, use anyone if they are simply willing to trust in Him.   

Rahab chose to walk away from the label that had defined her life for a long time.

Rahab chose to proclaim that God is the supreme God, and there is no One but Him.

She chose to let go of her past and let God change her forever.

When we are willing to put the past behind us; when we are willing to move forward in faith, we will be able to be used by a perfect God.

Rahab was a prostitute but she was used by God. I was the short fat kid, but I am being used by God.

You might be a tax collector, a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer.

Who you are is not who you have to be. You can be who God says you areà forgiven.

You don’t have to carry your label with you for the rest of your life.

The Blood that Jesus shed for you and for your sins covers your every label; it covers everything you’ve ever done.

This doesn’t mean that we have a free pass to live in sin for the rest of our lives.

Paul said to the Roman church: “…Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Rom. 6:1-2, NIV)

If you are truly thankful for the grace of God in your life, you will, with help from God’s Holy Spirit, life your life in a way that is pleasing to God.

If your old label happens to show up again, you have the assurance that God’s grace will cleanse you of your sin, because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

God wants us to know that no matter what our label is, He can and will use us for His purposes if we are willing to give Him our label.

No matter what our label is, God can change our lives forever.

No matter what our label is, we can find forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

No matter what we may have done with our lives up to this point, God is ready and willing to use us to alter the course of someone’s history.

You see, the story of Mathew the tax collector, the story of Rahab the prostitute, is the story of God using imperfect people to accomplish His perfect plan.

God will go to great lengths; God will do great things—such as keeping His people in the wilderness for 40 years—to change the life of one woman with a label.

To those of us with a labelà and we all have oneà Has God changed your future by forgiving your past? Has God given you a new label?

It doesn’t matter what you have done, it doesn’t matter who you are, all that matters is that you can, like Rahab, proclaim that God “...is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11c, NLT2)

God uses imperfect people to accomplish great things. He used Matthew, Rahab, me, and He wants to use you.

If you have never exchanged your “sinner” label for a “forgiven” label, this is the time, this is the place.

If you are still dealing with a certain label, even though you have given your life to Jesus, this is the time; this is the place to receive God’s grace once again.

The band is coming to lead us in our prayer time, and as they do, I want you to think about the labels that you are carrying today.

Do you need help getting over your past?  Do you need to shake a certain label?

I want you to know that you can’t do it alone. You need God’s help. You can’t change your past, or your future, without the help of God.

Jesus was given to those of us who need help getting rid of our labels.

There are no perfect people allowed in the kingdom of God, but there will be people who have labels.

Have you, will you, give your label to God?