How to Make Your Life Count

A. Background to passage: Rahab was a pagan prostitute, an unlikely candidate for the next linchpin person in the fulfilling of the promise of the land. A person who’s legacy did not end because of a faded beauty in a house of ill-repute, but in the genealogy of Jesus. She is noted in the NT on multiple occasions as an example of faith followed by actions. How did she go from a nobody to a somebody by kingdom evaluation? A zero to a hero?

Joshua 2:1–14 ESV

And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 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. 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. 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. 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 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.” 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.”

B. Opening illustration: “Desire that your life count for something great! Long for your life to have eternal significance. Want this! Don’t coast through life without a passion...You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them.” The preacher who spoke in the Primitive Methodist chapel at Colchester, England, on January 6, 1850, when Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted, was the Reverend Robert Eaglen, the sermon was based on Isaiah 45:22, and one can see the tremen­dous consequences of this one sermon, preached by an obscure minister

C. Main thought: Three ways a prostitute shows us to make our lives count

1) Embrace the One True God (v. 8-11)

Joshua 2:8–11 ESV

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 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. 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. 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.

1) Embrace the One True God (v. 8-11)

Rahab explains to the spies that the people in Jericho had heard about the Red Sea (40 years earlier) and the Amorite kings overthrown, and their hearts melted, and they she knew that God had given them the land (how did she know?). She also made a confession. She called God by his name, his covenant name, and declared that he was God “in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” Not a regional god, not a national or ethnic god, but the One Sovereign God of the universe.

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Isaiah 46:9–10 ESV

remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

John 17:3 ESV

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Illustration: heartbreak of the lost people in line yesterday.

Application: God worked in her heart, and she believed on him, repented from her Canaanite religion, and immoral profession, confessing Yahweh as her God. Think of all the work of God in this scenario—He didn’t have to choose a prostitute, didn’t have to choose Rahab, didn’t have to have the spies walk into her home. This is just like us. We are all following our own gods before Christ. We hear the message of forgiveness and the love of God through Jesus, and the call to repentance and faith in Christ. The beginning of your active impact, your lasting imprint, your unwasted life is your decision to follow Jesus. Have you put your faith in him.

2) Risk It All for Him (v. 3-6)

Joshua 2:3–6 ESV

Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

2) Risk It All for Him (v. 3-6)

In this moment of belief, she immediately put herself in a dangerous position. She told the king and his personal guard a lie. You may say that it looks like everything turned out just fine. But truly consider her situation in a city neighborhood, house on the wall. When the royal FBI come in the door with the king himself, you don’t think everyone takes notice. All the people around that could have overheard something, seen something, then once the secret was out… The bottom line is that she was taking a huge risk, but she deemed her life worth it.

Acts 20:22–24 ESV

And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Hebrews 10:34 ESV

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.

Revelation 2:10 ESV

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Illustration: “A choice lies before you: Either waste your life or live with risk. Either sit on the sidelines or get in the game. After all, life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn’t promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn’t be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that really? It’s a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and really full, and it’s certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to.” -Piper, story of the child who said to his mother that they need to take in the young woman who was nearly full term pregnant living in a homeless camp, in a cardboard box.

A safe life is one that will make little impact. Risk is right! Risk is necessary! It may the the risk of sharing Christ with a neighbor or coworker. It could be the risk of taking on a ministry within the church. It could be seeing that the school board or the school needs a believer to shine for Christ intentionally to witness and share. It could be your business taking one the primary purpose of making disciples, secondary to making money. It could be going on a mission trip that you are uncomfortable doing. It could be making a difficult decision in a relationship. It could be supporting a missionary, or taking in foster children, or working in a community organization. We are called to come and die to ourselves, our desires, our fears, our comforts, and there we will find life. Those who lose their life for Jesus will gain it, but what will it benefit a person to gain the world and lose his soul. Walk the difficult path. Go where there are no places to lay your head. Let the dead bury their dead, forsake all that you have, and follow him with reckless abandonment.

3) Endure as a Disciple (v. 14, 21)

Joshua 2:14 ESV

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.”

Joshua 2:21 ESV

And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

3) Endure as a Disciple (v. 14, 21)

Rahab could have decided it would be in her best interest to double cross the spies. Prepare the city for the invasion. Exercise her loyalty to her city and people. She could have lost heart and changed her mind. It would be at least 10 days until Israel got to Jericho. Then she would have had to watch them march around the wall for 6 days. The palace guard may have come back during that time. Someone could have had loose lips in the family.

Biblically, endurance is a demonstration of genuine faith. Short-term faith, fruitless faith, non-transformational faith, superficial faith is not biblical faith. We should be concerned about our own salvation if this is what we see. Weak faith and struggling faith is not the same.

Hebrews 3:6 ESV

but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

Hebrews 3:14 ESV

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Hebrews 6:11 ESV

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,

Hebrews 10:35 ESV

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Church after church in Revelation, Jesus’s passages about the end times.

Illustration: I can give you names of people down through my life and ministry who have not endured. I can give you some great saints who have started well and finished well. I can give you names of those who came to Christ, stumbled for a season, then returned to him. That is what I pray for those who have fallen away.

Application: We are told to continue throughout our life to continue to pursue Christ. Theologically, when you are genuinely saved, you cannot get lost again. However, fear comes upon me when I hear another regular response on food distribution day: I have a relationship with Christ, but it was along time ago. Let me tell you that if you can have some sort of Christian religious experience, and yet never experience a relationship that brings you to be associated with a body of believers somewhere, you should be worried. The opposite is also true, you can have an experience, and then attend church faithfully all your life, an not have a saving relationship with Christ.

There may not be a set means, a special way that all must follow, but our walk with, relationship with, must be long-term. Ups and downs, yes. Weaker and stronger, yes. Struggle and falls, yes. But enduring throughout your life. Church, this is why we catch people when they fall. It takes a community to mature each other, disciple each other, encourage each other, counsel each other, pray for each other, lock arms with each other, ministry to and with each other. We endure together.

Closing illustration: Do you know Paul Henderson? He’s a Canadian hockey legend who scored the winning goal against the Soviets in 1972 with thirty-four seconds left on the clock. He’s also a Christian who’s used his influence since then to share Christ with thousands of people.

You might be thinking you could never be a Paul Henderson. Maybe. Maybe not. But you could definitely be a Mel Stevens. Mel Stevens was a regular guy who loved Christ. And he was courageous enough to knock on Paul’s door and say, “Paul, you’ve got to get to know Jesus.” Mel gave Paul a Bible. He walked him through the Gospel. For over two years, he answered Paul’s questions. Until one day, Paul decided to surrender his life to Christ.

Maybe you can be the father of Martin Luther who didn’t understand, in fact, was terribly enraged by Luther’s vow to go train in ministry at the university, then enter a monastery. Of course, Luther is responsible directly for the Lutherans, and indirectly for the Methodists.