God can use the Rahab in us
Joshua 2:1-4 &12-14
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. : Go look over the land, he said, especially Jericho. So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 2 - The king of Jericho was told, Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land. 3- So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab; bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land. 4 - But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, Yes the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
12-Now then, pleases swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign. 13-that you will spare the lives of my father and mother and brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them; and that you will save us from death. 14-Our lives for your lives they assured her. If you do not tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.
Subject: You don’t have to be perfect to serve God!
Let us first set the setting.... paint a picture in your mind of the time period and location. We are in the great city of Jericho. A city on the plains just West of the river Jordan and Northeast of Jerusalem. A city of great power and wealth guarded by a great wall. Within these walls and I do mean literally in the wall itself of Jericho lived the heroine of our topic this morning.
Rahab, a woman who is listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Rahab is noted as a character in the story of Joshua and his conquest of Jericho. Rahab, a woman utilized in God’s scope or plan. By the way, did I mention that Rahab was a harlot, a prostitute, a lady of the night, a strumpet, a Jezebel, a hooker, a hussy, a wench, and a loose woman. Rahab was not what one would call respectable or acceptable by standards set by society. In fact, throughout the centuries, Christian commentators have attempted to explain away this seemingly inappropriate woman. Many scholars such as Josephus refer to Rahab simply as an innkeeper. However, if we refer to the corresponding scriptures Hebrew 11:31 & James 2:25, such an interpretation cannot be maintained. Rahab doubtless was an innkeeper, and her establishment no doubt was a cafe’ as well as an inn. Nevertheless, she was clearly a woman of ill repute as well. However, Rahab’s unacceptable behavior did not procure God from using her. In fact, because of Rahab, the spies of Joshua were able to go undetected in the city of Jericho and obtain vital data in order to destroy the wall and conquer the city. Let us allow the potency of this fact to be absorbed. Let’s contemplate upon just how God used what many would call a nobody to put his plan in motion. Rahab was not a high priestess. She was not of royal lineage. Rahab was not of great wealth or high education. She was a woman who heard of this Great God we serve, and decided she wanted to do the same. She professed of having a change of heart when she heard of the Red Sea evaporation. She proclaimed of how her hardness had melted when she heard of God’s Greatness. Now Rahab did not experience these events first hand. She knew nothing about God. She had no knowledge of his teachings. She was not aware what was required of her to be forgiven of her sins. Regardless, she had the resolve to expect the unexpected because she had heard of the greatness of God. Because of her newfound faith, she was able to a) convince her family to have enough courage to not reveal or release the spies to the kings men. In addition, b) hide these spies, when the king sent out guardsmen to capture and eliminate. Rahab had enough faith to believe that these men of God would indeed allow her and her family to be spared.
Each of us has a little Rahab in us. None of us are exactly where God wants us to be in our life. Some of us have things in our past that we actually feel will prohibit God from loving us. Each of us has fallen short at some time or the other. However, these actions will not preclude any of us from obtaining grace from God or keep him from using us in his perfect plan. God can use the Rahab in Us! God can use anyone and anything to obtain an end result. If God can make a rock praise him, surly he has the ability to use these broke down vessels of ours. God can use the Rahab that is in us!
Many of us refuse to step out on faith because we are afraid that our past will only allow us to fail. We are oft times afraid to attempt to take on God’s challenges out of fear of not succeeding. But the word says he uses ordinary people. It is not necessary to have letters or hyphens after our name. It is not a prerequisite to have title or fame. God simply wants us to be open to his will. He needs us to be receptacle of his way. He is asking us to let him use the Rahab in us!
Understand God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things! The Lord is under no command or obligation to follow a certain criteria in finding the person to fulfill his plan. He uses our imperfections and limitations to exemplify his omnipotence.
What am I saying? Simple = we don’t have to be perfect, but we must be willing! One thing that stands out and is a matter of importance in the story of Rahab. God is not deterred by our inequities. For surely Rahab was not a prime example of living Holy. In fact, until she had heard the story of Abraham and Isaac, she had no belief in God. However, she had a change of heart, and a level of faith began to grow within her; thusly allowing God utilization. See we often fail to understand that God sees and knows our heart and the level of our faith and acts accordingly. We forget this oft times and in our forgetfulness, we limit the God who never gets his facts mixed up.
Think about it, we pass by Rahabs everyday of our lives. Discounting their worth and necessity. Oft times condemning them in our minds with a snort of disdain. However, God sees beyond the dirty exterior and gazes upon the heart. God looks past the dusty alfresco and views the level of faith within. God gazes beyond what we know we have done, and sees what he knows we can do. Just as with Rahab, he does not condemn or have disdain for us and our inequities, he offers us an opportunity to reach up and obtain his gift of salvation. God can use the Rahab in us!
He is not attempting to wait for us to become perfect and in possession of only pure thoughts and unmixed motives. If he were to do that, we would all be in a fix. For no human will ever truly be rid of all that is not of God. Despite our flaws, chips, cracks, and irregularities; God can utilize us as instruments. God can use the Rahab in us!
Yes none of us are perfect, but in our imperfect state - God can use us. He is looking past the reasons that may have caused others may shun you. He looking past the reasons some use to avoid you. He sees something much more precious than what others may observe. We must understand it is not about who we think we are. It is not about how others may see us. Our strive should be focused upon trusting God enough to do his bidding in spite of our circumstance. God can use the Rahab in us.
Therefore, no matter what your shortcoming is, God wants you to understand that your inequities are forgiven because you have accepted him. Your flaws have been blotted out once you surrender to him. Your shortcomings are erased once you profess the Lord as your savior. Why? Because God sent his son not to condemn but to give abundance. He sent his son from heaven to the earth to show us a perfect way. Though we will never be without flaws, the gift of the savior obtained us an avenue to receive God’s grace. Accepting his grace allows him to use us. God can use the Rahab in us. God sent his son from the earth to the cross so our souls would be saved! Giving the alcoholic and the company president equal playing ground - each one loved no more or no less. Each one can be used because of God’s provided mercy through the death of his only begotten son. The level of our faith is the factor to being useful to God, not the lack of a shady past. God can use the Rahab in us. God sent his son from the cross to the grave from the grave to the sky to confirm that though he sits high; his compassion allows him to look low. Our messed up past can not cripple us. Our troubled background can no longer disable us. Our transgressions cannot trip us. Our wicked ways of yesterday will not prohibit God’s utilization of us. Once we accept him as the head of our lives, his gift of salvation is given. Our surrender enables him to use us. God can use our brokedness. God can use the Rahab in us!
