Joshua chapter number 2 and verse number 1. We're starting our series on Rahab the harlot. And this was kind of a, just a little insight here, this was a kind of spur of the moment decision. I want to, and I've been working on preparing a series on the life of Moses. and that'll be probably fairly lengthy. But I was reading about Rahab and just stirred my heart about maybe trying to squeeze a little series in here and just look at the life of this gal, Rahab. Joshua chapter number 2, verse number 1, we're introduced to her. This is her first mention in Scripture. It says, "'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 they came into a harlot's house named Rahab and lodged there." Of course, the context here is Israel has just crossed the Jordan River, or they're about to cross the Jordan River, and they are sending these spies into Jericho, that's going to be the first town. And so that's what the context here is, they get to Jericho, they're spying it out, and they end up at this lady Rahab, the harlot's house. Now if you would, turn with me to Hebrews chapter number 11. All the way back, Hebrews chapter 11, and verse number 31. Hebrews 11, 31. The Bible says, by faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believe not when she had received the spies with peace. So here's this reference back to the text we just read, a brief reference there. Then if you would come to James and chapter number two and verse number 25, James 2.25. The Bible says, likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way. Rahab the harlot. What I want to consider tonight is why in the world should we study, take time, and do a series on Rahab the harlot. Let's pray and we'll consider that. Father in heaven, I ask you to bless now our study of this remarkable woman. I pray that there would be lessons here from her life and principles that are given to us in your word that would help us. to understand You and Your plan for our lives, Your power in our lives. I ask, dear Lord, with all my heart, that You would please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I yield my will. Present my body anew and pray, dear Lord, that you would be the speaker tonight, that you would speak your word through me and help us, Lord. Open our eyes to see how this applies to our individual lives. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I like reading my Bible. I can honestly say my morning time reading the Bible has become one of my favorite times of the day. Just reading Scripture has become such a blessing to me. And as you read through the Scriptures, one of the exciting things about the Scriptures is you see these people, you come across these people, both Old and New Testament, who have experienced extraordinary conversions. I mean, they come to Christ, they come to faith in God, and there is a powerful change in their life. And now some people get saved in the Bible and there's no big outward transformation. Their conversion isn't as dramatic as some others. For instance, King David. Everything we know about David is he raised in a godly home with a good daddy, Jesse. He was taught from a small child to fear God and live for God. And whenever he came to faith in the Lord and the coming Messiah, there wasn't any big, at least we don't see any major transformation in his life. It was just a deepening, a reality to something that he had always been taught, and then it becomes real to him. I thought of my father, when he got saved, there was no major outward transformation in his life, at least not from my perspective. He was a good man. He was an honest man, a hard-working man, and faithful in so many ways. Religious, believed the Bible, read the Bible, went to church. But you can be religious and be lost. And you can be a good person, and yet if you don't have Christ, end up separated from God for all eternity in hell, in the lake of fire. So Daddy got saved when I was 10. There was no outward change, but there was an inward transformation. There was a reality now of what he was doing outwardly now became reality in his heart and life. So, what I'm trying to say is this, some people will get saved, they'll come to faith in Christ, or the Old Testament faith in the Lord and the coming Messiah. There's no real dramatic conversion in their life. However, There are a number of instances in Scriptures where people's faith in God absolutely transformed them 180 degrees. Can you think of anybody in Scripture? I'm going to open up here a little bit. Anybody in Scripture who had a dramatic, transformative conversion to the Lord? Paul. Of course, he's one that comes right to mind. A self-righteous, proud, Christ-hater, church-hater, persecuting Christians, even to the extent getting women, casting them in prison, responsible for the death of who knows how many believers, simply because they were disciples of Christ. And here, In Acts chapter 9, on the road to Damascus, he meets face to face with Christ. He's saved and his life is completely transformed. And if you read a little bit beyond that, the believers were afraid of him when he started coming around. We heard of him. He's the one that's killing Christians. And they said, he that once persecuted Christ, Persecuted Christians is now preaching Christ. What an amazing story, what an amazing testimony. The power of God to transform a life, completely make it different. Can you think of anyone else in Scripture? I've got several listed here. Zacchaeus was a wee little man. And what a transformation, stealing. Wealthy through deceit and dishonesty and embezzlement. And man, the guy gets saved and one of the first things he says, everybody that I stole from, I'm giving back four-fold. And life completely changed. What a powerful testimony. What a testimony to the power of the Gospel of Christ. Just believing on Jesus completely transformed him. Who else? The blind man and Christ healed and made him see. How about some Old Testament characters? The jailer at Philippi, he was going to kill himself. Change. I'll give you a few that I put down. What about Naaman? Commander in a Syrian army. I mean ungodly. As we study the life of Rahab a little bit, we're going to see how corrupt, how wicked the society was of the Syrian society and the Canaanites. I think it's hard for us to grasp how depraved these societies really were. We're going to get into that later on in the series. But Naaman, ungodly man, hard, but he was a leper. And I tell you, the great thing about that story is I can't get over that little maid that just spoke up for the Lord, an old name, and get saved. Life changed. Who else? Anybody else? In the Old Testament, I'd put down Nebuchadnezzar. He sees those boys in the fire. He's telling everybody, you worship me, you bow down to my idol here and pagan idol worshiper, wicked murderer. And he sees those three boys in that fire because they wouldn't bow down. He throws them in the fire and he sees the fourth one with him that looks like the Son of God, he says. And then afterward he makes the statement, he says, I know that the God is the true God. and his life has changed, he's transformed. How about any others? Anybody think of anyone? Elijah, we don't know much about his salvation. He was a Tishbite, and so somehow his life was changed. I got one more down here. Mary Magdalene, possessed of at least seven devils. And you can imagine the lifestyle that goes along with that. Now think about me, when you read of these folks, other than maybe the little children, you read about these folks in the Bible that are possessed with devils, there's a reason for that. That people are possessed with it. It doesn't just happen. They're leaving doors open. Somehow, someway, they're allowing that to take place in their life. I'm convinced of that. The maniac of Gadara, there's another. transformed lion. And so, the power of faith in God, the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, what an amazing thing. So that brings us to Rahab. Rahab the harlot. What a testimony of a lady, a woman, that hears of Jehovah. And she's heard what He's done to the Egyptians. Rumor got around. Forty years ago, they heard of that. And then how God took care of the nation of Israel and destroyed their enemies that opposed them as they went through the winters. How God provided for them. And she's heard of Jehovah and she believes. Faith cometh by... She heard what God was capable of doing, and she puts her faith, and God changes her life. And so, now don't misunderstand, every conversion, every person that gets saved, that is a miraculous display of the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether there's a dramatic outward change or not, salvation is not something that can be worked up. is the power of God to save a soul. Can a leopard change its spots? No. And a sinner cannot change our own sinful nature. It takes the power of God to do that. So every salvation, every conversion is a testimony of the power of the Holy Spirit to change the very nature of a person. Now, we're looking at Rahab. And here's my question, as I said, why should we study the life of Rahab? Why should we take the time to go through her life? Well, I got several reasons, and I don't know how long the message will be tonight, I don't think it'll be long, but several reasons. If you have your Bibles there, turn with me to 2 Timothy, chapter number two. 2 Timothy, chapter two. Why should we study the life of Rahab? Well, number one, I put this down, we're instructed to in Scripture. God tells us to. Would you agree with me? If God tells us to do something, we ought to do it. Look with me at 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 15. Notice what it says. What's the very first word in 2 Timothy 2 verse 15? Very first word. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So the last statement in that verse tells me what I'm supposed to be studying. The word of truth. And so God tells us, as Christians, we are to study the Word of God. Question, is Rahab in the Word of God? Yes! And so if we're going to obey God, if we're going to do what God instructs us to do and study to show ourselves approved, then we study the life of Rahab. Come over to chapter 3, if you would, and notice with me verse number 16. So we're supposed to study the Word of God, the Word of Truth, Chapter 2 tells us. Chapter 3, verse 16, all Scripture, how much Scripture? All Scripture. Does that mean obscure books in the Old Testament? Yes. Does that mean the genealogies and first chronicles? Yes. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, now look at this, and is what? profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why? That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. In other words, we study Scripture so that we can be good Christians. We can live for God and serve God. And he says, all Scripture, that tells me, verse 16 of chapter 3 here, tells me that we can learn something about God studying the life of Rahab. All scriptures give me inspiration. Profitable for doctrine. That's teaching about God, about his power, about how he reacts to people in different ways. For doctrine, for reproof. You know what? We study the life of Rahab, we're gonna have some things show up in our life that need attention, that need to be adjusted. for correction, for instruction in righteousness. We're going to learn from Rahab some ways how to live for God. So one of the reasons we ought to be studying the life of Rahab along with these other series we do is because God tells us to. We're instructed to there as individuals and as a church. How many people here believe the preacher ought to study the Bible? I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel, whatever that is. I wouldn't give you a rotten egg for a preacher who doesn't study the Bible. But by the way, how many people think the church folk ought to study the Bible? Yeah, all of us. Number one, we ought to study the life of Rahab, first of all, because we're instructed to in Scripture. I put down this, we ought to study her life because of her extraordinary faith. Now if you would, come back to Hebrews. We read this a few moments ago, Hebrews chapter 11. What do we often refer to Hebrews chapter 11 as? The hall of faith. Football has, the NFL has a hall of, has a, what do they call it? Hall of fame. Different organizations have a hall of fame. These people, it's not fame that they're put in here for, it's their faith. Hall of Faith. And so we refer to it that, again, verse number 31. By faith, I have that underline encircled in my Bible. By faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab. In the Hall of Faith. If you'll study chapter 11, this Hall of Faith very carefully, there are only two women named in Hebrews chapter 11. Now he references down below there, verse 35, he says, women in general receive their dead raised to life again. He's referenced, but they're not named specifically. There's only two women named specifically in this hall of faith. The first one, if you would, look back there in verse number 11, is Sarah. Verse 11, through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised. So we have Sarah and we have Rahab. There are probably no two women in Scripture that are so different. between Sarah and Rahab. Sarah was, as she's given in scripture, now she wasn't perfect, and we go back and we can see some flaws, but that's true for all of us. Sarah was, for the most part, a very godly woman. And she's praised for her godliness. She was very faithful to her husband. She was pure. We have no reason to believe that Sarah was not a very pure, godly lady that loved God, knew the Lord, Her husband Abraham was the first generation of God's people. He is the man that the nation of Israel, God used to establish, to originate the nation of Israel. Some of the greatest promises in all of Scripture were given to Abraham and Sarah. I can see Sarah being in the hall of faith. What an amazing woman. What a godly woman, the wife of Abraham. And then the polar opposite, on the exact opposite of the scale of society. Sarah was wealthy. Sarah was highly respected. Sarah was godly, as we said. We believe she's a very pure woman. Then you go to the other end of society and we find this gal Rahab. She's pretty much the exact opposite of Sarah. We don't know anything about her family. As far as we know, if she had a husband, we know nothing about him. We don't see any respect, any promises. She's living, and again, we're going to look at this maybe next week or the following week, but she's living a very ungodly life. She's a harlot. We're all adults here. We know what a harlot is. We know what that involves. We know the type of clientele she would be dealing with. Again, we're gonna study this a little bit, but back then, as it is pretty much today, they try to make it different, but really pretty much outcasts of society. Sarah was respected. I would venture to say Rahab was probably not too respected. And so you have these two exact opposites, polar opposites. Sarah Godley, impure, dignified lady. Rahab, probably, perhaps, what we would say dirty, live in a dirty light. Sold her body for money. And polar opposites, they have absolutely nothing in common. Their background, their associations, But they did have one thing that connected them. They had faith in God. They came to learn to trust God. They came to learn to fear God and believe Him and trust Him with their soul and with their life. And two women mentioned in the book of Hebrews Hall of Faith, Sarah and Rahab. I don't know about you, but that encourages my heart. It doesn't matter what a person's past may be. And sometimes, anybody here, the devil ever get all over you about your past? Anybody here a devil, something, maybe you did something stupid, maybe you failed in some way, maybe like me, you lived a horrific life for a while. And man, sometimes the devil jump all over me. And I don't know, I read about Rahab and my heart is encouraged that God can save someone like her, God could save someone like me. Isn't that something? The power of God to change a life. Oh, I can see Sarah. Man, what an amazing woman. But Rahab, that's the power of God. That's the grace of God. That's the mercy of God. And so we ought to study Rahab because she has extraordinary faith. She wasn't raised in a Jewish home. She wasn't raised being taught the things of God. She wasn't raised teaching the know Jehovah. Sarah was, for the most part. I mean, she was with Abraham for a good while. And so, we ought to study her, but first of all, because Scripture tells us to study all of Scripture, and she's in it, so we need to study her. She's a Bible character. We ought to study her because Hebrews uses her as an example of extraordinary faith in God, and how her faith in God saved not just her soul, it saved her life and her family's life. I put a third reason down we ought to study the life of Rahab is because the example of her testimony. If you would, come over to James 2. We read just a brief portion. I want to start reading in verse 21. James 2. Now, you need to understand what James is doing here. We don't have time to expound on this whole text, this whole passage. But just to understand, James is not saying that we're saved by works. The way he words it a few places, if you don't get the whole context, you can misconstrue it and sound like, well, I believe and then I have to work to be saved. That's not what he's saying. In fact, let me just take a moment. If you would, come back to verse number 18. It kind of explains this whole context. He says, "...Yea, a man may..." What's that next word? "...say, Thou hast faith, and I have works." And this is what James is saying. Here's his argument. Show me thy faith without thy works. And his point is what? You can't do that. You can say you have faith all you want, but that doesn't prove you have faith. The evidence of my faith, the display of my faith, the manifestation of my faith, isn't what the words come off my mouth. It's the life I live. Anybody can say anything, right or wrong. You show someone whose life has been changed. You show me somebody that's living for God in opposition and difficulty. You show me somebody that the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God is true in their life. That's not something you just say. That's something God does in your life. And that's the point that James is making here as our testimony is what verifies our claim to having faith. You follow what he's saying everybody? Because if you don't understand that then you misconstrue some of the statements he makes. Now look at verse 21. Now he's illustrating that point. And he's going back to the Old Testament. He picks out two people to illustrate the fact that faith is not just lipping words, just saying stuff, but that faith has an impact in the life that affects how that life is lived, the works that that life produces. Look at verse 21. Was not who? Abraham our father, now look at the words, justified by works. He's not saying Abraham was saved and justified in the eyes of God by his works. He was justified in the eyes of man. His profession of faith, his claim to have faith in God was justified, verified, proven by how he lived his life. And he uses Abraham as an example. He says, when he had offered up Isaac, his son, upon the altar, seest thou how faith wrought with his works, how faith produced that life? God said, Abraham, take your son, offer him up as a sacrifice on the altar. Didn't make any sense. Apparently it violated all right and wrong and everything. But Abraham had faith. And he believed God, and he went and did what God said, trusting that God knew what he was doing and God had a plan. So the fact that he took Isaac up on the mount, the fact that he went through everything God told him to do, was testimony, was evidence of the fact that he believed God. You with me? Everybody follow what I'm saying? He wasn't saved by doing that. That displayed his faith. And his works were justified. And I put in the margin of my Bible, beside verse 21, in the eyes of man. That's what justified. See, is that how faith wrought his works? And by works was faith made? made perfect, verse 22, and his scripture was fulfilled, which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness, the believing God, and he was called the friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified in the eyes of people. Not faith only, not just saying it, verse 18. Now look at verse 25. He goes back and he pulls another Old Testament character out. There's hundreds of people in the Old Testament he could have used for example, but he picked two. Abraham, and look, verse 25, Rahab. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works. She believed God. She hid the spies. That faith in God was displayed, was justified. She hid the spies. She covered for them. She saved their life. She put the scarlet rope out later when they invaded Jericho. And she did all these things as a result, as a testimony, as proof that she had faith in God. Faith in God. Listen, Mt. Lake Independent Baptist Church, we can tell our community we have faith in God all we want, but if we're not living it, that testimony is meaningless. What we say is meaningless. Right or wrong? How many people on the job talk about God, and then they live no different than anybody else, and they're just as corrupt, just as dishonest, just as dirty as anybody else, and their words fall on deaf ears, they're meaningless. And he says, Rahab is a testimony of genuine faith. You can see it in her works, how she displayed her actions. Now this is what I find interesting. Of all the people in the Old Testament he could have chose to illustrate the point he's making, he picks Abraham and Rahab. In Hebrews chapter 11, there's only two women mentioned directly as having faith in God. Sarah and Rahab. Isn't that something? Rahab, in Scripture, is associated with two of the greatest, the greatest couple of faith, perhaps, in all of Scripture. Abraham is referred to as the father of the faithful. Now look at verse 25. That first word there caught my attention. He's talking about Abraham and the tremendous faith he has. And even when told to do something that made no sense, that seemed completely contrary to what was right, Abraham trusted God, did what God said, God came through and had a purpose for all of it. And then verse 25, look at the word, likewise. I got studying that word likewise. Now think about this. This is Rahab the harlot. We're going to study what she came out of. And he says likewise, that word likewise means in an equal way, in the same way. You know what James is saying? He was saying that Rahab's testimony was just as powerful, just as significant as Abraham's testimony. Isn't that something? Sometimes we think, oh man, that guy, he's something else. He's gifted and boy, everybody knows him. Man, what a great Christian she is. And man, she's just powerful. What great faith. And here I am, just an old sinner. And I'm here to tell you, God looks down and He sees a dear young lady or a dear young man or somebody that had a rough time and went through some ugly stuff, and they put their faith in God. And God says, that faith is equal in my estimation as the one that everybody thinks is so great. Our relationship with God is not based upon how great we may be or how un-great we may be. It is based upon our faith in Him. For by grace are you saved through faith. Period. no matter who we are or how great we are. Oh man, what a great home they grew up in. And thank God for it. Listen, it's better to have a good home than a bad home. Amen? But if somebody comes out of a bad home, they can be just as valued by God, just as powerful a testimony as someone that comes out of a good home. You follow what he's saying? That's Rahab's testimony. That's what she tells us. That's what we learn from her life. I used to often say I'd give my testimony, and years ago, early on, I was foolish. I went into all detail and stuff, and that was foolish. But I always said it takes just as much blood of Jesus Christ to save the good kid as it does to save the bad kid. It's just a much amazing power of God in saving the one that lived a good, clean, pure life and the one that got involved in garbage. It's the same power of God. It's faith in God that makes the difference. And so I just found it fascinating that Rahab is associated with Sarah and Abraham of all people. In fact, he says here, James says, in the equal manner, equally, her faith and testimony is just as powerful. Her testimony was equal to Abraham's, the same quality as Abraham's. Would you agree with me? That's a pretty good reason to study this gal's faith. I'm looking at her and James says, God says her faith is equal to Abraham's faith. Wow, I want to know something about her faith. I want to know something about who she is and how this all came about. Because I want my faith to make a difference. I want my faith to be strong in the Lord. Are you with me? One, God tells us to study all Scripture. And Rahab is in Scripture, so we ought to study her. Number two, her extraordinary faith We ought to study it because of her extraordinary faith. And for the example of her testimony is the third reason. The example of her testimony. I got a fourth reason. This one boggles the mind. If you would, come to Matthew chapter number one. Now, maybe we should have studied what she came out of and what this lifestyle was. that she is saved out of. And it may make this a little bit more significant. But in Matthew chapter number 1, look with me if you would. Well, I'm going to start reading in verse 1. Matthew chapter 1. How many people ever read the genealogies in Scripture and say, I can't get anything out of that? Ah, if you pay attention, there is jewels Great lessons, examples in these genealogies. Look at verse 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. There's Abraham again. So this is the Son of God. This is the Savior of the world. This is the Prince of Peace. This is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we have his genealogy here. Let's read down through this. Abraham begat Isaac. All right, Isaac, good guy, right? Powerful faith. Man, what promises God gave Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob. Now, Jacob was a rascal, but he was exceptional. Jacob begat Judas, or Judah, and his brethren, Judas, that's the new version of Judah, New Testament, begat Phares, and Zarah of Tamar, Tamar was the Old Testament spelling of that, and she was a bit of a mess. Pharaohs begat Esram, and Esram begat Aram, and Aram begat Amenadab, and Amenadab begat Nisan, and Nisan, not Nissan, that's a car, Nisan begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat..." There's Rahab in the list, the genealogy of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Isn't that something? The Prince of Peace. And there's Rahab. There's Rahab. Her name's listed with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David. Just a woman that somehow got caught up in awful sin. She put her faith in God. God changed her life, and God used her in an eternally significant way. She had no idea at the time, I'm sure, but God used her, God used her. Faith in God. When we think of Rahab, this is the first thing that ought to come to mind when we think of Rahab, a woman of great faith. Great faith in God. I'll put a few things, and I'll end with this. I'll put a few things down about having faith in God that we can see from Rahab's life. Number one, and we'll get into more detail in the coming weeks. But number one, faith pleases God. Hebrews chapter 11, we're told right up front. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. You say, Preacher, I could never please God. Yes, you can. Have faith in God. Rahab pleased God. She put her faith in God. Let Him have His way. She trusted Him. Followed His instructions. Did what she knew she should do. And God was pleased with her life. He honors her three times in the New Testament. In amazing ways. Would you agree it'd be something if God would compare your faith to Abraham's faith? Wouldn't that be something? To Sarah's faith. That's what He does with Rahab. So faith pleases God. You want to please God, just trust him. Take him at his word. Follow his instructions. Lord, I trust you. I don't understand everything. I don't always know how to work out, but God, I'm going to trust you. I'll trust you. And that pleases our God. Number two, faith is honored by God. God honors faith. Over and over and over, Jesus would say, in Mark 11.22, He said, have faith in God. But over and over through the Gospels, He's urging people, trust God, have faith in God, believe. God honors faith. God honors faith. I can testify to the fact that God honors faith. There have been times I trusted in myself and I did things my own ways, and without fail, I've regretted every single time. Can I get a witness? I've never regretted trusting God. I've never regretted just waiting, having faith in God. He has honored that every single time. Amen or not? Sure. So number one, faith pleases God. Number two, I put down, faith is honored by God. And I like this one. And this is the one we pick up here from Rahab. Faith in God puts our past behind us. How many people would like to have your past put behind you? Rahab's faith in God. Rahab, because of her faith in God, she was not defined by what she was. She is now defined in Scripture by what her faith did for her. Now here's the question I have, and I'll be honest with you, I really had to wrestle with this a little bit. Why is she referred to in the New Testament as Rahab the harlot? She was one, but why does God keep that tag on her? Rahab the harlot. I'm positive one reason God does not keep that tag on her. It is not to shame her. I'm positive of that. God doesn't refer to her as the harlot because He wants everybody to know what a shameful life she lived, what a shameful person. He doesn't do that. God doesn't shame His people. So why is that name there? Why would He keep that tag on there? Can I tell you? This is a conclusion I came to. Not to shame her for her past, but to exalt God for His grace. And He wants everybody to know for all eternity what He is able to do to somebody that completely messed their life up and how He is able to take them and compare them to Abraham and Sarah and use them in the lineage that brings the Savior of the world into humanity. Rahab the harlot. Dennis the drug addict. So-and-so the thief. So-and-so, the drunkard. Yet faith in God changes that, everything. Isn't that something? We don't have to be defined by our past. We give God the glory for what he's doing in the present. Faith connects me to the one who can transform my life. Say, preacher, there's things in my life that I sure like to see changed. I'm telling you, faith in God can do it. God can bring that about. Even after we're saved, we're supposed to walk in faith. That brings that constant transformation, that constant conformity to the image of Christ as I just trust God and follow His instructions and heed His warnings and claim His promises and God works in my life and molds me and changes me, can change my life. Faith in God can change my home. I tell you, homes need the Lord. We live in a day when homes and marriages desperately need faith in God. Just trust God and do what He says and follow His instructions, heed His warnings, claim His promises, and what can happen in my home. And faith in God can bring revival to a church. I thank God for the preaching last week. That was powerful. But I tell you, it's what we do with it. Yes, Lord, You're right. You dealt with my heart. I'm going to trust You. And we can see revival in the coldest, deadest church. Revival can come if God's people just learn to trust Him. Have faith in Him. Rahab the harlot. And the one thing that stands out as I started studying her life, all through Scripture, is her faith in God. Faith in God. Faith in God. What do you face Him? What are you dealing with? Trust God. Trust God. Let's pray together. Father in Heaven, I pray that we'll be able to learn from Rahab what it means to believe, to trust, and then to act on that faith and live it out in our lives. I wonder with heads bowed, eyes closed, I wonder if there will be any saying, I'd like for you to pray with me. I have some area in my life I really need God to help me. I need some things changed. And you'd say, pray with me that God will help me trust Him and just take Him at His word and let Him lead me and direct me. Any like that? By the uplifted hand, God bless you, hands all around. Truth was known, probably every one of us have areas we need to grow in. And it begins with faith, just like Rahab, just faith in God. Father, bless her invitation. Help us to follow this example in Jesus' name. Amen.