UNLIKELY FAITH

Hebrews 11:30–31 CSB

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.

Main Idea: God uses the unlikely to bring glory to himself.

Key Question: Do you ever feel like God can’t use you?

1. Unlikely faith comes at unlikely times. (v. 30)

Hebrews 11:30 CSB

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.

Joshua 6:1–21 CSB

Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.” So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” He said to the troops, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord.” After Joshua had spoken to the troops, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the rams’ horns; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the rams’ horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark. But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there. Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, and the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times. After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent. But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it. For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.” So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the ram’s horns, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.

Mark 9:24 CSB

Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

Luke 17:5 CSB

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

2. Unlikely faith come from unlikely people. (v. 31)

Hebrews 11:21 CSB

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

Joshua 2:1–11 CSB

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut. Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of 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 Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.

Luke 19:10 CSB

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Matthew 9:13 CSB

Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

God used prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, murderers, fisherman, adulterers, small boys, old women, those with speech problems. God uses the misfit, the broken, the outcasts, the weird, the misfortunate, the rich and the poor. He uses red, yellow, black and white. He uses the biological and the adopted. He uses the pretty and thank GOD uses the ugly!