Heroes of the Faith Pt. 6: Finish Your Story

Joshua 2:11-18, 21 NLT - 11 No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. 12 "Now swear to me by the LORD that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that 13 when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families." 14 "We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety," the men agreed. "If you don't betray us, we will keep our promise and be kind to you when the LORD gives us the land." 15 Then, since Rahab's house was built into the town wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. 16 "Escape to the hill country," she told them. "Hide there for three days from the men searching for you. Then, when they have returned, you can go on your way." 17 Before they left, the men told her, "We will be bound by the oath we have taken only if you follow these instructions. 18 When we come into the land, you must leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window through which you let us down. And all your family members--your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives--must be here inside the house. ... 21 "I accept your terms," she replied. And she sent them on their way, leaving the scarlet rope hanging from the window.

1. Are we defined by our beginning?

• Rahab was a known prostitute in Jericho.

Are we declaring His praises and Glory even when we are not where we ought to be?

2. The Scarlet Rope

Joshua 6:25 NLT - 25 So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.

• Covenant and Grace

• Deliverance from Sin

• The Blood of Christ

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV - 18 "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

2Corinthians 5:17 NKJV - 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Philippians 3:13-14 ESV - 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

• God can take you from a place of despair and brokenness and can bring you to a place of prominence and wholeness!

How are you going to finish your story?