Mt. Carmel Church | Your Story More Than A Post Part 1
Welcome to the roads, all of you. Here are first time guests and our online viewers. Can we take a moment and welcome all of them this morning? Come on, give him big Rosewell go. Yeah, glad to have you guys with us. So great to be here with you. My Name’s Chad, my wife, Mt. Carmel Church dawn of the pastors here, so I’ve haven’t got a chance to meet you. Yeah, look forward to the opportunity to do that. We’re excited about a new series we’re starting today called your story more than a post your story more than a post, so if you get your bibles out, your sermon notes out of your worship Guide and make your youversion Bible App, you can also open that up. The sermon notes are available for you there under the events section, and just follow along, take some notes because notetakers are world changers, so we’re looking forward to that and you can open up your bibles if you got them to Hebrews chapter six. Hebrews chapter six. We’re just excited about the Bible and what God has to say. Your story more than a post. I don’t know if you’re like me, but whenever I’m taking a selfie or a video, it is very rare that I get it on the first take.
It’s very rare. That can be enough. I’m taking you. Maybe you’ve seen some of the videos that I put out and you like, Oh man, I could never do that. No, you really can. After 18 times you can do it. You can do it. You know, I, I did one the other day with Lucas and uh, you know, working with the Costar, it’s four years old is, uh, is unique, you know, cause I, I gave him his lines and you know, I told him like, okay, here’s what I want you to say when I want you to say it. Mt. Carmel Church. And so, um, so you get there and you get ready to go. So I’ve got the long part and I’ve got all thought out what I’m going to say. I’ve got a lot. I got to get through, you know, I wouldn’t want to miss anything.
And so I, you know, I hit, I hit record and I’m, and I’m going, I’m giving my spiel and he looks like Dad, am I supposed to say it now? I’m like, no. Okay, stop, delete. Okay. Remember what I said, you know, do that at the end when I say when I point to you is like, oh, Mt. Carmel Church. Okay, good. Alright, here we go. Alright, so go through it. I’m going through the Hey dad, what am I supposed to say again? Okay, stop, delete. Now listen, son, here’s one we never happens. So when you see that vinyl recording, I want you to know there’s more to the story than what you just saw at sometimes in our world with, with pictures and images. I mean, how many of you ever seen a picture of someone maybe of their business, their family, their house, their car, maybe their body or what are their fam, their picture of their family?
And you thought, oh, you’re just feeling a little envious of that right now. I’m not even sure in our day and time how many, how much you can trust, have any picture. You know, I got what pictures are actually real, you know, there’s so many ways that you digitize them and make them look awesome. Make their teeth look like they’re just so wide. You’re like, wow, that’s bright. That’s good. Great teeth there. You don’t have to make their eyes look all. Mt. Carmel Church. Or something like that. Or maybe you’ve seen that perfect family picture, your perfect vacation picture. They’re all on the beach and they’re all dressed alike. Are they have their white shirts and everybody’s spawning. They’re jumping at the same time. Everybody’s looking great. I want you to know that behind every picture like that there’s a store because you know those, that husband and wife, they at this point, the vacation, they may not be on speaking terms at that moment. The kids were probably fussing and fighting right before the picture arguing with each other and mom said, just let this. Let me get the picture. I want the picture. And then you can go do whatever you want. There’s a story behind every picture
in rns, social media world. You know, nowadays you’ve got to. You can post to my story or your story, and so it’s a place where you can post videos or images about things in your life and what’s going on in your life. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s cool. You can follow other people and follow their story and follow what’s going on, but what I would I could be concerned about is that we get so caught up in following other people’s stories. We forget to write our own. I’m all for following other people’s stories and keeping up with what’s going on, but. But I want to make sure and ask this question, who’s writing your story? I don’t want to be one who follows and reads other people’s stories and I forget that I have a story that the world needs to hear. You have a story that the world needs to hear.
I’m nobody. Nobody cares about me. I want to follow those rich and famous people. Oh, they’re doing all these exciting things. I don’t ever do anything, but you have a story. Sometimes stories, you know, we take snapshots and we see a story and image and, and sometimes we don’t. We don’t understand that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. That image could be either good or bad. There’s a guy by the name of Dyson, I don’t know if you’ve heard of dyson vacuum cleaners. Anybody heard of that? Dyson vacuum cleaners. Well, you know he’s. He’s worth $5,000,000,000. That’s a pretty cool snapshot, right? $5,000,000,000. But what we don’t know maybe is that Mr Dyson, his, his ingenuity, his design for the vacuum cleaner that became so famous and made him that $5. Billion Dollars. Net worth came after 5,216 failed
attempts
over 15 years. I want to make sure I got the number right. I don’t want to short change them. You have $5. Sorry. Five thousand. One hundred and 26 failed prototypes over 15 years. I’m just begin to wonder how many times during 5,000, 126 failures. He have
the thought, maybe I should do something else. Maybe I should quit and do something else. Over 15 years. Five thousand. One hundred and 26 times this thought came. I’ll never get it right, but little did he know that
5,000, 100, 26, 21 to quit. He was one trial away from $5,000,000,000.
I don’t know what your situation is or what your story is, but I want you to know that you may be one decision one day away from a drastically different story than what you know right now just because you’re not seeing the results you want. Sometimes there’s more to the story or maybe it could be a bad side of the story. Maybe your snapshot is a Mug Shot.
See, when you see a mug shot, you need to know that there’s more to the story. You don’t know everything that’s behind that mug shot. You don’t know what all is in their life, what’s going on. You see a mug shot. We want to cast judgment and determine who that person is. Don’t judge just by one image in one snapshot. There’s only one reason I don’t have a mugshot somewhere. It’s because I didn’t get caught doing some things that should have gotten me a mug shot. That’s the only reason, so we’ve got to be careful that we don’t judge our life or the life of others by one snapshot. There’s more to the story. So Mt. Carmel Church now let’s look at what the Bible says about this in Hebrews chapter
through six. Here’s a biblical principle I want to give you this morning for ensuring that your story will be a successful one. Now, you may be here and you may be saying, Chad, my story right now is an epic failure. I mean, Mt. Carmel Church the worst season of my life
have failed at marriage. I’ve failed at business, I’ve failed in, uh, in my education. I’ve lost a loved one. I am at a place right now that this is the worst. I want you to know that your story is not over the final chapter two, your story has not been written and just because you may be in a season right now for Rebif is a picture is taken. This would be your worst moment. There’s coming another day, another opportunity and the rest of the story can be changed. But here’s some things that I think has to happen. Let me give you some things quickly out of Hebrews six and then we’re gonna. Go to a story in the Bible that a exemplifies this. Verse Nine says, but beloved, we are competent of better things. We are competent, better things. We’ve got to be confident of better things. If we’re going to make our story a success story, Mt. Carmel Church
the first thing we need to do is we have to be confident of better things. We have to have an expectation. Three things I think of fall in line with this. We need to have. What’s a positive life stance. I think this would help help. A lot of people need to adopt an overall positive life stance in three areas. Number one, our attitudes. We need to have a positive life stance on our attitudes. In other words, we should believe and be confident that better things are happening. We need to have a good attitude. A positive attitude goes a long way, but having a positive attitude helps the people that want to be around you. Just being positive. Being Debbie Downer or Donny Downer or whatever, a positive attitudes or attitudes has to be fuzzed. Number two, assumptions need to be positive. Assumptions need to be positive. Sometimes we assume the worst, and Mt. Carmel Church then the third thing is our expectations, so our attitudes, our assumptions, and our expectations, they need to be positive.
If we’re going to be competent and better things, if we can share, our story is going to change. We have to have this, and I’m going to lay this out in the message for you. Understand the first step is you have to be confident of better things than where you are right now. If your story is not in a good place to be confident of better things will. I don’t see how I didn’t say you had to see how I didn’t say. You have to know all the details. I just saying you have to be competent of better things. It’s going to get better. My attitude, my assumptions, and my expectation. Some people have adopt in our critical world, they’ve adopted this idea that I don’t want to get my hopes up because I don’t want to be disappointed, so they walked in negative attitude, negative assumption, and negative expectation all the time, and they justify it because they say, I don’t want to be disappointed. Guess what? Mt. Carmel Church You’re going to be disappointed. No matter whether your attitude is negative or positive. I would just rather feel good about it.
I actually hear people say, well, I know she don’t want to get my hopes up. I think we do need to get her hopes up. I think this world needs some hope. I think some of your coworkers need some hope. I need some. I think some of your family, man, I believe our government needs some. Whoa. I need society needs some hope, so who’s going to give it to him? Not People that have negative something. I knew it was going to be that bad. I knew it was going to work out wrong. I knew it was going to be terrible. I knew it. I knew you didn’t know. Look at verse 10, for God
is not unjust to forget your work and your labor of love, which you have shown toward his name and that you’ve ministered to the saints and do minister, and we decided that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope. There’s that word, the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. Everybody say end until the end, until the end, until the end, the same. You show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, until get it. So in other
words, how many people have a problem with finishing what you start? You don’t have to raise your hand, but gender, you’re, you’re, you’re one of those that you start strong, but then you tail off. I’ve got great intentions. You know I’m going to get on that new diet plan. I’m going to get it on that new exercise program. I’m going to get into that new growth program. I’m going to read more books. I’m going to take care of myself. I’m going to get more sleep. I’m going to read my Bible more. Pray more. Yeah. I’m going to do that. I’m going to do this thing. Yes. I’m all in. What you talking about? Talk to me. And then day two comes a day two swings around and you’re like, oh no, wait a minute. I’m not. I’m not feeling it today. You came strong out of the gate. I’m a clean out that garage. Just sir.
And just not today. Today I’m going to get through this. I’m going to overcome. I’m not gonna. I’m gonna. I’m gonna. I’m gonna Change. I’m gonna overcome. Uh, we got to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, until the end. We got to make sure we get there because sometimes we’re not going to feel it in the moment, but we got to believe we’re going to get there in the end. Keep pressing through something. God showed me just a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure how I’m going to use it, but I’m throwing it in today just as bonus. But I was dealing with something and I wasn’t feeling it and I was just kind of down and so I was kinda getting discouraged and Dah, Mt. Carmel Church. And he said, Chad, how long are you gonna? Ask or require a permission slip from your feelings to believe what I tell you.
Yeah.
How many times do we ask for a permission slip from our feelings before we’re bold? How long do we ask for a permission slip for our feelings before we get past tragedy? I’m all wait till my feelings tell me it’s okay. We may be waiting a long, long time. How long are you going to wait for a permission slip from your feelings to believe what I say? Well, I’m so you can be courageous or you love someone until you forgive someone. I’m just gonna wait until I stop waiting for that permission slip. Because if we’re going to change our story, we can’t wait for our feelings to tell us when it’s okay to change. We can’t wait for our feelings to give us the green lights. Okay, you can get over it now. That may never happen. There may be a point in our life where we have to decide right in the face of the opposite of our feelings and say, today’s the day I’m going over. Today’s the day. I’m changing. I didn’t wait for you. You come along if you want to, but I’m going to change,
so we got to have that mindset about st diligence of hope to the ends. Look on verse 12, that you do not become sluggish or lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Here’s the three things that I felt like are helpful in our story. Number one is we got to be confident and better things. Number two, we got to use our faith. He said, imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. If you and I are going to inherit the promises of God, we’ve got to imitate people who do it this way. They do it. Number one, they believe in confident or competent of better things. Gonna Happen. Number two, but they used their faith. They believed God. Faith is we walk by faith and not by sight, so we can’t wait. We can’t wait for the census to tell.
It’s okay, and then the third part is through faith and what’s that p word? It’s almost a cuss word to some of your faith and faith and patience. Faith and patience. Patience for patients should be a four letter word it. That’s what it ought to be. How to be a fourth faith and patience, but what patience means if we understand it correctly, it’s okay. Patients means that we are consistent and constant. That’s what patients mean. Patients means and the face of opposition. You stay the course. That’s patience. That’s patients. So how am I going to inherit the promises of God now? Because my feelings told me it’s okay, but because I get up everyday and I’m constantly and consistently the same, I get up and open up my bible app or open up my Bible and I read the Bible and I pray and I give God my heart today. Every day I just keep doing it. What? I don’t see any difference. I don’t see any results. I’m going to keep doing it anyway. I don’t see any results from my food all the time, but I keep eating, so now those three things, we’ll see how it applies. The Bible is filled with stories, wonderful stories of people whose life was more than a snapshot, and today I’m going to talk about one of my favorites. If you go over to Joshua Chapter two, I want to. I want us to talk about a hero in the Bible, maybe an unsung hero, maybe a hero that some people might find it awkward to talk about. This hero that I’m going to talk about today may challenge some religious
thoughts, maybe some religious proper feelings, I’m sure, Mt. Carmel Church but I want to be real because I believe your story is real and I believe the world is full of people who have a real story and they feel disqualified because they think their stories should be more like someone else’s. So let’s talk about Rahab. Rahab, if you found Joshua chapter two, look at verse one. It says, here’s the backdrop of the story. Let me set the stage for you. The children of Israel are getting ready to go into the promised land. They’re just crossing the Jordan and so they’re sending out spies into the spy, out the land, and they’re wanting to check it out and they want to see what’s going on and they’re going to come in and conquer and they’re right by the city of Jericho member. Maybe you’ve heard the story of Jericho had these big walls around it.
They shouted, trumpet sounding. The walls come tumbling down. It’s that Jericho that there’s fighting out there checking out. So that’s the story. That’s the stage. Look at verse one. Now Joshua, the son of nun sent out to men from Acacia, grow to spy, secretly saying, go and view the land, especially Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rehab and lodged there. Now time out, time out. We’ve got children of God, men of God going to spy out the land, and God has the audacity to direct them to the house of a harlot. Maybe you don’t know what a harlot is, a harlot, according to the Hebrew, the word means to commit adultery, but not just adultery, not like a slip up or mistake. This means Wonton wonton acts of violence that means no limitations and no boundaries. It means scandalous. We’re talking about a prostitute. We’re talking about a woman who lived a lifestyle who sold herself and used herself for financial gain. God’s sins, men of God to her house to lodge there. What kind of righteous man or woman would be caught dead anywhere close to a Harlot’s house, let alone go inside and spend the night.
This sound scandalous. What is going on? The story is amazing. We’ve got a harlot. We’ve got children of Israel. We got guys staying there. Is this a romance novel? No, it’s the Bible.
Here’s something interesting you need to know about Rahab. Rahab, according to rabbinical tradition and Jewish tradition, was one of the four most beautiful women in all of the Bible and all of history. According to Jewish tradition, she was one of the foremost beautiful women, Sarah Wife, Abraham, Rebecca wife of Isaac. Both of them lied, let’s called them their sister because they were so beautiful that they know their hotness, made them intimidated, so they were like worried that people would want to kill them and take their wives. That’s how beautiful Sarah and Rebecca were. The third one was esther. We know about esther, beautiful, knock out beautiful woman, but the fourth one was rayhab the Harlot, one of the foremost beautiful women and all of Israel’s history, so I thought that was interesting that this woman with all of her beauty, we don’t know the story on why rayhab was doing what she was doing. This is why you gotta be careful. You don’t know the story. You don’t know
rayhab wanted to do what she’s doing. You don’t know if she asked to do what she’s doing. Well, she. You don’t know her story. The Bible doesn’t tell us the backstory. All it tells us is that ray have at this moment, at this snapshot, is a harlot. Can you imagine the posts on her story during this time of her life? We couldn’t show them in church. You imagine the post that she made. She’s in a place, for whatever reason, Mt. Carmel Church
she’s
in a business where she is profiting off of the lusts of men, which unfortunately is an easy place to make money in our society,
pornography, sex industry, all of these things. Why is it such a multimillion dollar, even billion dollar industry is because the lusts of men, the lust, and I’m sorry, I’m just picking on mail because I am one, but I’m just talking about the lust is cost, so she’s in that situation. I don’t know why she’s there. She’s just there. This is her picture. I just want to make sure you know who we’re talking about and what she does for a living. This was not the woman, Mt. Carmel Church the setting in church. This is a woman that’s in the business and so they sent them to her house. Let me move on to. Maybe you’re getting uncomfortable about that, but this is again where they can say, send her into her house. Why do. Why do they go to the Harlot’s house? Couldn’t they go to a hotel?
Think about it. Nobody’s going to get suspicious about strange men coming and going at all hours of the night from the Harlot’s house. Were who? Those. Oh, they’re going to rehab sales. Okay. I know what’s going on there. I don’t know what’s happening there. I know they’re good. So they sent them there for discretion. So this is why they’re there at rehabs house. Okay, you got that picture yet? They’re re hubs. House. You know what ray hub does for a living. Okay. She’s a harlot. If that makes you uncomfortable, use the word prostitute. If that makes you uncomfortable. There’s other words we can use, but let’s just stay focused Mt. Carmel Church on words that are more palatable to our online viewing audience
and only reason. The reason I’m setting the stage because I want you to see who she becomes. Mt. Carmel Church. I’m just this in here now. Not to demean her. Talk about her. I just want you to know where God’s brought her from because the story of Rahab. Can I just insert this right now? The story of Rehab is not about her heartlessness. The story of Rahab is about his redemption, so you’ve got to see that your story is not the snapshot of where you are right now. I don’t care if you’re in the worst place in your life right now. You’re watching your so far from God euro. It doesn’t matter. God is big enough to touch you right where you are and change your identity. So look at verse three. Look at verse three. So the king of Jericho, center rayhab saying, bring out the men who have come into your house
for they have come to search out all the country than the woman took the two men and hit them. So she said yes, Mt. Carmel Church the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark that the men went out where the men went, I do not know. Pursue them quickly for you may overtake them, but she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof than the men pursued them by the road. To the Jordan and to the Ford’s, and as soon as those who pursue them had gone out, they shut the gate. I want you to see some powerful in verses three through seven in these verses. This is where rayhab chooses sides. This is a prostitute in her land.
She, she was 10 years old according to Jewish tradition, 10 years old when the Jews left Egypt, Mt. Carmel Church so she could be somewhere around 45, 50 years of age at this point, but she is in this place where she’s grown up and lived in this society, lived in this area all of her life. It’s who she was. Everything around her she’s familiar with, she’s comfortable with and these two guys come into our house, strangers one night and all of a sudden the king comes and says, Hey, we know you got some spies in there. Send them out. For some reason she chooses loyalty to these two strangers over her entire city.
You know the risk behind that. She could be killed if they would find them up. They’re hidden underneath the glass. They’re not going to say, Oh, Ray Avenue, little jokester. That’s not how it’s going to go down. She chose sides. Mt. Carmel Church She made a decision. This is who I’ve always been. This is what I’m comfortable with. This what I’m familiar with, but. But there’s something about these two guys. It speaks to me. I’m not sure what it is in verse seven. Doesn’t tell us yet. So we got to read more to see what happens. So now go to verse eight now before they lay down. So I remember they sent them outside. She sent them on a wild goose chase. She’s like, Oh yeah, I sit about. They took off him go data away. Somebody you don’t get my cartoon reference. But anyway, take
that away. And so she sent them on this wild goose chase. Man, I got to get new material. So Mt. Carmel Church that’s now before, before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof. So she, she comes up to them. Look what she says. She said to the man, I know that the Lord has given you the land that the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabits of the land or fainthearted because of you, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the amorites side, I’m sorry, on the other side of the Jordan Sahan and og whom you utterly destroyed, and as soon as we heard these things would happen. As soon as we heard these things,
our hearts melted. Neither did their remain any more courage in any one of us because of you. Why? For the Lord your God, he is God in heaven, above and on Earth beneath. Who’s who’s preaching this message? Who is this anointed woman of God who’s Preaching The Gospel? It’s the harlot.
The heart is speaking truth. Why? What happened? Liquid? She says in verse nine, she says, Mt. Carmel Church I know she didn’t say I’ve heard she didn’t say. Some people say, she says, I know that the Lord has given you the land. How does she know that? Look at verse 11 for we have heard, and then verse 11, as soon as we heard these things, what happened in her industry, it’s not that uncommon for rayhab to hear a few things as people pass through the neighborhood, as people come into her place of business. People talk, Mt. Carmel Church pillow talk.
I told you I’m gonna. Test your boundaries. So all these years of talking, hey, there’s this group of people called the Israelites. It’s group of people called the Israelites and they, they, they were slaves in Egypt, but they left Egypt because all these plagues happened and man, it didn’t affect any of Israelites, but it happened in all the people of Egypt and and somehow they made it out of there and then they got to the Red Sea and they were trapped and they were cornered. Pharaoh was chasing them down, but then all of a sudden this dude that leads him called Moses, he lifted up this stick and the waters parted. I’m serious. I’m saying they parted. I’m not lying, Joe. I’m telling you. They parked it. That’s what I heard from him who said, told me who sold. I heard of four people straight, so then water parted and then pharaoh chase them into the water on dry land that you’re right in between there and then when they get to the other side, Egypt was still there and then they lifted the stick again and the water’s collapsed on him and drowned all of Pharaoh. You would not believe it. It was amazing. And after they got through all of that and then they come into this new land and you know how the camera, you know how tough the amorites are? Nobody defeats Amarillo. I’d say, Mt. Carmel Church Oh man, you know how they just threatened to everybody come to the bullies of the neighborhood. Cy Hawn and all these people? Well, they defeated them. It killed all of them, and now they’re coming to our town.
I believe somewhere on hearing all these stories, it created faith in rehabs. Heart. Mt. Carmel Church How do I know this? Because Romans chapter 10 tells you. It says, how will people believe unless they hear, how will they hear without a preacher? She had people that didn’t even know they were preachers preaching to her, telling her about the promises of God, telling her about the faithfulness of God, telling her about the Israelites, tell her about what happened, and then Romans 10, 17 says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Somewhere along the line versus nine, 10 and 11, she had heard these things, and now she comes to a place that I know. This is a a heartless woman that was raised in Canaanite who all they serve, bail Astra, the god of the stars, big served all of these canaanite gods. She was raised in this culture, but in this moment she said, I’m willing to forsake everything I’ve ever been taught because I believe your God, the God of Israel. He is the only Lord God in heaven above, on Earth beneath. Mt. Carmel Church That’s a huge statement from a Canaanite Harlot. Something happened on the inside of her that she was willing to leave her life behind because I have this feeling about Rehab. I don’t think rayhab liked her life.
You know, she didn’t live a popular life. You know, ladies, Mt. Carmel Church if you look that good, not other ladies like you. Oh, come on. Okay. Okay, let’s see how it is. I’ll go on my own. So you know when she looked that good and you have a place of business like she had, you know the other ladies don’t like you, you and none of them inviting you over for tea. They’re not inviting you to be a part of their clubs because they’re afraid and they may even have an idea that there are certain that their husbands are probably visiting your establishment. She was not popular. Come on people. You Go. Can we just talk about something about going to heaven that’s just is making me
feel awkward. I’m feeling a little bit uncomfortable in here. Know Mt. Carmel Church what we’re wanting to do in this series is realized there’s a real word or real world with real stories and not all of them are saved and grown up in church their whole life.
So Rehab I believe, had something in her heart. I wish I knew more of her story and someday I will. I believe Rehab didn’t like what she was doing. I believe Rehab didn’t want to do what she was doing and she was looking for a way out. I believe she had hope on the inside of her. I believe she looked in the mirror everyday. I don’t have any conference, any confirmation of this. This is just my own interjection. I believe she looked at herself every day and said, that’s not who you are. I believe she looked at herself every day and she got done with a client and she felt a vast emptiness on the inside of her. She said, there’s got to be more to my story. There’s got to be more to my life. Certainly there’s more to this, and these men came in of who she’s heard about and it spoke to her and I believe God spoke to her and said, this is your ticket out. Mt. Carmel Church Rayhab, take it and run with it. So she hit him. She hit him. Look at verse 12, so now therefore I beg you. Here’s his rehab talking. She tells them, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house and give me a true token. Give me a true token. Verse 13, and spare my father,
my mother, my brothers, my sisters and all they have all that they have and deliver our lives from death. Notice what she said, delivered our lives from death. She believed that she and her family did not side with the god of Israel. They were siting with the with the end result of death. She believed that if we choose the god of Israel were choosing life. We believe if I choose to stay where I am, I’m choosing death. I want to get out of here. If I choose to serve the god of Israel, Mt. Carmel Church I’m choosing life and not only for me but for my whole household. It makes me think of a scripture in acts where it says you and your whole household will be saved. It makes me think that whenever we choose God, we are choosing life. We are choosing hope for the future. I got to go on. I don’t have time for that, but we understand that this is her choice. Look at verse 14. So the man answered her, our lives for yours. If none of you tell this business of ours, if none of you tell this business of ours. In other words, if you don’t rat us out,
and it shall be when the Lord has given us the land that we will deal kindly and truly with you.
Mt. Carmel Church.
Verse Fifteen, then she let them down by a rope through the window for her house was on the city wall. She dwelt on the wall. She dwelt on the wall. When I read this, I just kept reading that phrase. She dwelt on the walls. He dwelt on the wall, a wall, like a fence of boundary, and I felt like God said to me, how many people are living on a wall? How many people are living on a fence? Not all the way in, not all the way out. She lived on a wall. Her heart was for something different, Mt. Carmel Church but she lived in this miss. She lived on a wall. How many of you are living on a wall right now? You’re not all the way in for God, but you’re not all the way out of God. You’re trying to play the fence game. You’re trying to.
I come to church, but I know I’m not sold out. I want to be a good person, but I’m not wanting to give my whole life to Jesus. Listen, living on the wall, living on the fence is a miserable existence. It will not work for you. It didn’t work for Humpty dumpty and it will not work for you. You can’t live on the wall. You can’t live on a wall seekers. Something’s going to happen. Eventually, Israelites, we’re going to show up and when they showed up, she was going to have to choose a side. Eventually Jesus is going to return. You can own. He’s going to show up. See, Joshua is the Hebrew home. As doesn’t take too long. Time Joshua the Hebrew name for salvation also for Jesus. Joshua came to bring salvation for those who would believe in grab hold of it. Jesus is coming back and he’s bringing salvation to those who believe in grab hold of it, Mt. Carmel Church but you’ve got to embrace it. You’ve got to know salvation has come to town. You got to get off the fence. You got to get off the wall and you’ve got to go all in for Jesus. You can’t live on a wall and go to heaven. You got to be either in or outs. All right, so we’ve got to move on for that. So now, now let’s go to verse 16. Yeah. She said to them, get to the mountain. Let the pursuers meet you. Hide there. Three days less.
The pursuers meet you. Sorry. Hi there Mt. Carmel Church Three days until the pursuers have returned afterwards, you may go your way. So the men said to her, we will be blameless of this oath of yours, which you have made us swear. Unless when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. And unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and your father’s household into your own home. So shall it be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house, into the street, his blood shall be on his own head and we will be guiltless and whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. If a hand is laid on him, and when you tell this business of our, if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath, which you have made us swear that she said according to your words, so be it. And she sent them away and they departed and she bound the scarlet cord in the window. The scarlet cord, the scarlet cord makes me think of the scarlet letter.
Hester Prynne, Mt. Carmel Church the scarlet letter, the scarlet letter assign of shame. Too many times for women, red light districts. These are not compliments or places of of of honor. So this scarlet cord,
why would it be okay to write to wrap a scarlet cord and raves were nobody’s going to think you’re thinking about it because they’re going to look at that scarlet cord go, oh, that’s habs place as just a sign. You can go in there and you can as business. Mt. Carmel Church. Yeah. You can go to us. The scarlet cord
was a sign of shame or wasn’t
because the word scarlet in the Hebrew. I like this. This is the word that means Simpson.
It’s the color of blood crimson. It made me think of a song. Jesus paid it all. All to him. I owe. Sin has left its crimson’s stain, but he washed me white as snow. So now and it made me think about when they said over every hang those scarlet cord there. So they said, we will not be held accountable if everybody’s not in your house. If we don’t see that scarlet cord when we come back, then we’re not held to our oath, but if we see that scarlet cord than everybody that’s in your house, under that protection, they all get saved. Hm? What’s that? Remind me of. Reminds me of exodus when the. When the death angel was passing over and they said, Mt. Carmel Church put the blood on the door posts of the lamb and everybody that’s inside the house, the depth will pass by. It will pass over you and everybody in the house will be saved. What else does that make me think of the blood, the blood of Jesus, that when Jesus comes back, he sees the blood applied to our hearts. Everybody.
Does Jesus see the blood in your life or the stain of sin in your life? See, because the crimson cord could have been assigned of her failures, but instead it was a sign of her redemption. Look what happens. Be finished with this, the scarlet cord versus a jump to chapter six, verse 22, but Joshua said to the two men who had had spied out the country, go into the Harlot’s house and from there bring out the woman, Mt. Carmel Church all that she has as I, as you swore to her, and the young men who had been spies went in, brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers and sisters,
she had so they brought all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel, but they burned the city and all that was in it with fire men. There’s more things I could go into here. Symbolism, but all that time, only the silver and the gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the House of the Lord and Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus, spared rayhab the harlot, her father’s household, Mt. Carmel Church and all that she had so she dwells in Israel in the presence of God to this day because she hid the messengers from Joshua and sent to, sent to spy out Jericho. So here’s the subtitle, the message Rehab from Harlot to hero
hero. Well, why do you say he wrote? Well, two reasons in Hebrews chapter 11. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 is infamous for the heroes of the faith. Great men and women of God listed in here. And you’ll find somewhere around verse 31, Mt. Carmel Church it says, by faith the Harlot rayhab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. Turns into the heroes of faith. She’s listed in Hebrews
to 11, the scandalous woman.
You want one better in matthew chapter one, if that one didn’t do anything for you in Matthew Chapter One. That’s all right. I’m Matthew, chapter one. I want to read you. These are in the begets. You know the section of scripture that you skip over and you don’t read any of those names. Well, you might want to reconsider because liquid bound. Verse Five, remember it says that she dwelt in Israel. After she left, she went into Israel. She changed her life. Mt. Carmel Church I told you she wanted a way out. She got her way out in the form of a guy by the name of Sal Mon [inaudible]. In verse five it says, Sal Mon Begot Boaz. Boaz. Boaz Begat Boaz by.
By who? Yeah, that Rayhab, that rayhab. That rehab
brought Boaz into the world. Oh, you don’t know both edited, do you think for you? Okay, let’s keep reading. Well, Boaz, her son, be got obad by ruth roof rayhab. Here’s something I’m going to throw all four of the ladies. This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ list to hear all four of the ladies listed in the scripture are foreigners. They’re not Jewish born women. These are foreigners that are
brought into the lineage of Christ. You know what that tells you, what? It tells me that anybody can come into the family of God. It doesn’t speak to exclusion and separation. It speaks to grace and inclusion. So we bought a bigger route, or sorry, Boaz obed by Ruth Obad. Jesse and Jesse Begat David the king. So the great, great grandmother of King David, the King David was a harlot from Canaan land Mt. Carmel Church from Harlem to hero. Why? Because God’s not wanting to leave you where you are. Mt. Carmel Church Your story is not completely written just because she’d taken snapshots in Canaan land, and this is who our life is. Now she’s taken snapshots that I’m the great, great grandmother of King David. What you talking about now? Come at me, bro. Talk to me. Who am I? Yet? Jesus came from my lineage. That’s who I am. That’s who she’s taken. Snapshots. I’m in. Hebrews chapter 11. Did you see that? I’m not a harlot anymore. I’ve been redeemed by this, by the Crimson Court that hung in my window.
Now this story is powerful in the Bible, but these stories are powerful in the Bible. They’re also powerful with people right here in our midst. I want you to check out this video of a person who also made a change in their life. Check it out real quick. Mt. Carmel Church
Hi, my name’s
Benjamin Bolan, and
this is my story. So whenever, whenever I was a kid, you know, we, we didn’t go to church all the time, but part of the time whenever we would go, we went to, Mt. Carmel Church to a charge that was a branch of the Mormon church. It was something that, that just really didn’t take root because I was young and you know, getting out of high school and everything. I had gotten, gotten into drug abuse and had gotten addicted to drugs and had a very foul and vulgar mouth, you know, and you know, you hear people say that, you know, man, you’ve got to at Parsons, got a mouth that would make a sailor blush. And I was just very worldly and, and very, um, you know, living, living my life for myself and that feeling, you know, that it was always just, you know, lingering of man, there’s gotta be more to life than this.
I believe that there was a god, but I just didn’t really know God. I didn’t have a relationship with God, you know, through the, through the course of all of that, I finally, it hit, heard, heard from God and he was telling me that, you know, hey, you know, it’s time to grow up and it’s time to get your house in order. So I started coming to church here at the roads with my parents about two and a half years ago. And I remember the first time that I ever walked through the front door that I knew that something was different, that this was not like anything I’d ever experienced before. Once I finally made that decision that I’m going to give my life to God, Mt. Carmel Church I’m gonna, I’m gonna. Let him have my life and do things his way, the way that the way that he wants me to.
And it was something quite spectacular. The changes started taking place. You know, like I’d mentioned, you know, I had a foul mouth and man I, I had an addiction to pornography and, and that was something that I dealt with for years and had even tried to stop on my own and once I finally decided that I was going to give my life to God, that I remember I woke up one morning and I didn’t use foul language anymore. It just, it wasn’t there, it just didn’t come out. Mt. Carmel Church the addiction to pornography to just gone just that same, the same time that was gone. I didn’t, I didn’t even have to walk that out. And that is the difference is, is used to. I used to enjoy doing things that were wrong. There’s been times, you know that yeah, that thought has crossed my mind is like, man, I just give up and quit, you know, this is hard. But then I realized give up and go back to what, what am I going to go back to there? There is nothing to go back to. You know, you are right where God, God wants you and that that’s who I am. That’s who I am now. I’m not who I used to be. I’m a new person. I’m a new creation in Christ.
Notice what he said,
so that’s not who I am. I’m a new person. I don’t know what your story is. What I want you to know that who you’ve been is doesn’t have to be who you will always be. As I was preparing this, I was thinking about my story and as I started preparing it and I just started weeping at my desk and I was thinking that if my story would get played on the screen, oh, the snapshots of different times of my life. There would be times that I would want. Everyone was watching. If I thought about my kids this, I thought about it. I thought if my kids were there, haven’t thought of times in my movie, my story, what I would, what I would have wanted to say a group. Look away. Don’t look. Don’t look at your dad right there. Don’t look at heavy. Look away. You don’t want to see that. Oh, this part. Can we fast forward? Mt. Carmel Church How can we skip this girl? Don’t look. Don’t look at Dad, smelled my best as I thought about those moments. Just said, Jed, your story is your story because here’s the question. Is Ray have a harlot or is she a hero?
You said, well, she was both. What’s her story?
You Mt. Carmel Church said the difference is the story is not about the heartlessness of Rehab. The story is about the greatness of my ability to redeem it. I don’t want you to be ashamed. I know there’s going to be proud of all moments of our story, but he said, your story is an example of my redemption. It’s a testimony. If I can take the person who had those scenes in their life and put them on a platform and preach to people, do you know my story? You don’t know. You Think, oh, I could never be like you don’t know my story. You don’t know where I came from. You don’t know this, the movie reel of my life and you think yours is so much worse. I could never be like Kim, oh, I could never have that vacation picture like that. You can have it.
You just got to choose to get off the fence. I’m never gonna get past this moment. God, I’m never gonna. Get past this issue. I’m never going to get you can you can, but you got to choose every day you to make choices, so I don’t necessarily want my kids to see all my story, but I want them to hear about the one who redeemed. I want them to know that the story is not how bad I was. That’s not. Some people want to tell their stories and they want to do it. To kind of Brag on how bad they were. The story is not how bad I was. Kids. The story is how good he.
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