SERMON: THE SPY IN HALFWAY
Things that people trust in:
Themselves (Proverbs 3:5 – 6)
Their Walls (Jeremiah 7:3 – 6)
The Lord
Title: The Spy in Halfway
Text: Joshua 2:8 – 14
MP: Salvation is only found when you let the Savior in.
Outline:
1. Introduction
a. Ted Griffith Story
b. Reaction to fear = Trust something to save you
c. Save you = Salvation
d. What do you put your trust in?
2. Most of us put our trust in ourselves
a. Mitten – only as good as her last fight
b. Sunday School for Atheists
c. Proverbs 3:5-6
3. The People of Jericho put their trust in their walls
a. Just another form of trusting yourself
b. The Temple Sermon
c. The Church vs. Jesus – We’re only as good as what we practice
4. Rahab put her trust in the LORD, and it saved her
Ted Griffith lived in Halfway during WWII. Right after Marvin passed away, she told me the story of the day a stranger came down The Plains Road. It was getting late, he was tired, and he needed a place to stay. Mr. Griffith knew that the Bible was unequivocal about hospitality – you took in the stranger, cared for him and fed him. That’s just what someone who loves Jesus does.
Well, Mrs. Griffith was not so happy about the situation. After all, you never knew who it was knocking on the door. There are bad people out there. There are reasons to be afraid. But Mr. Griffith would have none of it. He opened the doors, gave him dinner, and let him sleep in the barn. He left in the morning: grateful for the hospitality he had been shown.
A few days later, some men from the Department of War came through Halfway as well. They said that a German spy had been passing through and wanted to know all they could. I don’t know what Ted Griffith said, but I can imagine a little bit how he felt. In spite of the war, Ted Griffith had been a faithful witness to his Lord. He had shown compassion and hospitality, traits that his Lord called for, even to his enemies. And in spite of the war, Ted and his family had been kept safe – they had experienced a salvation of sorts.
In our text this morning, we have the story of woman who also took in some spies. Rahab, too, was going to going to experience a salvation of sorts, because she understood that in the end you have to invite someone in. Halfway was never particularly great danger of being overrun by Germans, but Rahab was not in nearly as safe a position. We were an ocean away from the fighting. Rahab was made ten miles from the front line.
Everybody in the city of Jericho was afraid. Our text is clear – they’ve been hearing about these Hebrews and what God has done for them. He split the Red Sea, he killed opposing kings before them, and now they were just a few miles away on the other side of the Jordan River. Now, I’ve been to the Jordan River, and make no mistake – we’d call it a creek. If nothing but a creek stands between you and bunch of people who seem to have a way of, shall we say, upsetting the status quo, I’d feel a bit unsafe too.
But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how close you can see it – we always live in a world that is unsafe. We are no more safe from terrorists than we were on September 10th. Our mortgages and credit cards will always be at the whim of Wall Street. Our families are always at risk. We all live in a world where you should be afraid – as Yoda might say, be very afraid.
But as Christians, because of the person we let into our hearts, we can know that no matter what happens around us, we will be saved. Our bodies may or may not be destroyed, our families may or may not stay together, our pocketbooks may or may not stay full. But who we are will be rescued ultimately from every danger, if we are willing to ultimately stay close to the God who saves us.
That is what salvation means – we will be rescued. We have a ‘Yeshua’ – someone who will save us. Whether we pronounce that word “Yeshua” as “Joshua” as we did in the Old Testament or “Jesus” in the new, we have a conquering general who keep us close. Times and circumstances may not be what we want, but who we are remains unchanged because we belong to the one who will keep us held tight.
Rahab was a prostitute – a wicked woman who lived in a wicked city. If you know one thing about Jericho, you know that it fell. But even in the midst of losing her city, she kept her family because she kept them in the Lord. And in the end, that family was the line through which Jesus himself chose to come, in order that we all might be saved.
The question is, who or what will we let in – What do we think will keep us safe? Notice, if you will, three things that people thought might keep them safe in this story.
Themselves
Now, I don’t know about you, but Rahab and the spies both seem like pretty with it kind of people. They don’t needlessly put themselves in danger, but if they find themselves there, they know how to handle it. You’ll notice that Rahab gets a command from the king to tell his guards whatever they need to know about the spies. And yet, she is totally comfortable in a bald face lie. Like last week, if you can’t trust a prostitute, who can you trust? No – Rahab is a woman who knows how to take care of herself. And, if you’ve got some spies who know where they want to spend the night on their recon mission, you get the idea they know how to take care of themselves too.
But ask me, how far does it really get them – this trusting in themselves? It might let them escape, but just by the skin of their teeth. And that’s the problem – self-reliance is good for making do, but ultimately one day, it’s going to catch up with you.
I told you last week that one of my cats probably got taken by a fox. I had three – and Mitten was the one who had the most survival skills. She was the one who could actually catch mice and sneak up on things. But in the end, if you’re living in your own power, there will always be someone better, someone quicker. And you’re only as good as your last contest.
Time Magazine had a great story last week that if nothing else should make you laugh. The title is “Sunday School for Atheists.” The upshot of the article is that atheists have figured out that Sunday School is a great way to transmit values to your children – to give them the skills they need to live. So, some of them are trying to set up Sunday School for atheist kids. They learn to love themselves and to question everything. I just wonder what happens when they learn to question the person that says, love yourself!
Both Susan & I read that article and we said, “They want the benefits of Jesus, but they don’t want Jesus. Sorry, but it just doesn’t work that way.” The truth is that Jesus comes with a price – allegiance to him. But that price is worth it, especially since he paid it. I’m pretty self-reliant – but in the end, it’s really a fool’s bargain, because being reliant on God is the only thing that will really save me.
A simple word to the wise, one I suspect you’ve already heard. Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
The Walls
Now, the people of Jericho thought their walls would keep them safe. Really, it’s just another form of trusting in your own works – but it bears thinking about separately.
The people of Jericho had put six thick feet of rock and stone between themselves and every other enemy they had ever faced. Every other time it seemed to do the “trick.” And so, why not rely in what seemed to have worked all along, right?
Well, the problem with a wall is that even when circumstances change, the wall does not. Our God may be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but he understands that we are different. A wall that protected us one day can not necessarily be relied on the next. But a general who protects that wall can adapt both himself and us to the new situation.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Very few of us literally put up walls to keep ourselves safe. But you need to ask yourself, are you relying on things that have “always worked?”
Now, listen to me fully on what I’m about to stay, because this could get a little bit scary. It is possible to put our faith in a church instead of Christ. In the same way that Jericho put its faith in walls, so too we can think that our churches can save us. They can’t. I can’t. Only Jesus can.
When the Jews were about to be conquered in Jeremiah’s day, they thought their Temple was going to save them. They didn’t care to actually let the message of Jehovah change their hearts – but they assumed that if they had their Temple, they’d always be safe. So listen to what Jeremiah tells them in Chapter 7:
Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever
You see, they had a strong belief in this “magic” building, but the magic only went so far. The Temple – even the church – is only good insofar as the message of the Lord is proclaimed in it. Salvation by grace alone is what I try to preach. That’s what we believe, and that’s what saves us.
Two hundred twenty years on, I have a reverence for this pulpit and this sanctuary – but our trust must always be in the Lord, or else this too will fall. The magic of salvation isn’t that some institution will be preserved, but rather that the saints (you and me) who live in it will be.
We who are dead in our sins will have life and have it abundantly, not if we come to church but only if we come to Jesus. Jesus is the one who saves us in the midst of the storm. Jesus is the one who will hold us tight even as we cross the river of death.
The Lord
You see, salvation – rescue doesn’t always mean that we won’t see destruction – Rahab sure did. But the text says very plainly that in the end, Rahab put her trust in the Lord. It wasn’t even in these spies – they gave her the means, but she said: I trust in the Lord.
Rahab’s city ended up crumbling down. You probably remember the story – the Israelites come and they have the silliest battle plan ever. They march around the city for 7 days, and on the 7th day they blow their trumpets. It’s a battle plan so stupid even Hitler wouldn’t have tried it. But God told them what to do and they did it. And you know what? It worked.
God doesn’t just call you to rationally accept that his precepts are superior to the nearest competitor. He calls you to trust in him no matter what the circumstances look like.
Maybe you think that if you could just get the right education, a lucky break, you could make it. Well, you can’t you’ll still be stuck. Maybe you think the church is a place for losers – or even worse, hypocrites. Maybe you even think that God is your enemy. If that’s the case, my friend, switch sides!
In the end, you have to let somebody in the door. You are going to extend your friendship to someone. Every single person you meet could be a spy for God. The question is: will you show compassion or a closed door? When Jesus himself comes, will he want you to be in his family or not?
Jesus wants to save you, but you need to trust him to let him do that. You can, but first you have to open the door.
Would you pray with me?
-----------------
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, December 9th, 2007
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Advent Litany Isa 52:7; Luke 2:10-11, 14
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #278
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Hymn #372
“Our God Reigns”
*Hymn “Sing We Now of Christmas” #275
*Hymn “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” #251
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow / Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host / Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Scripture Joshua 2:8 – 14
Sermon
“The Spy in Halfway”
Invitation Hymn #273
“Good Christian Men, Rejoice!”
*Benediction
*Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ our Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
ADVENT LITANY
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of great happiness, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
This morning we light the candle of salvation, good news which shall be to all people.
Fear not! For behold I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all men. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased!
JOSHUA 2:8 – 14
8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
December 9th
Christmas Pageant @M’burg
Christmas Party @ 6:00 (here at the church)
December 16th (Yes, it’ll be a busy Sunday )
Linda Garrett preaching;
Short business mtg to follow.
Middleburg Cantata 11:00,
Marshall Cantata 6:30
Dec. 22nd
Marshall Cantata repeats 6:30 @ Cmty Center
Dec. 24th
Christmas Eve Service @ Marshall – 6:30pm
If you have bought a gift for the Rectors, please see
Bill Matlack.
PRAYER LIST
Martha Puryear, Susan Schulz, Warren Lee, Brandi Rector & daughter, Irene Griffith, Cory Keely, David Witt, Larry Morrison, Debbie Morris, Joanne Glascock, Jeff Coleman, Zane, Bruce, Steve, Long Branch, Marshall, Little River, YWAM, Episcopal Church
