Would You Welcome Spies?
Anton Topilnyckyj · Tidal Church Miramichi · August 9, 2026 · Heroes of the Faith series
Anton Topilnyckyj looks at Rahab in Joshua 2 and Hebrews 11, showing how her faith believed God's word, acted at great cost, trusted His promises, and changed her story. God can rewrite any past and use anyone who trusts Him.
More from Anton Topilnyckyj · The Heroes of the Faith series
Topics: Faith, Grace, Identity
Transcript
[0:00] Good morning, everyone. That is a big announcement with Pastor Sean and Esther having the baby. And, you know, most of us didn't realize that Esther was pregnant until the last month. I mean, I was more pregnant than she was, but it's a wonderful thing. I have another big announcement. It wasn't there. I wasn't going to share it with you. But 45 years ago, I was going to work. I was in the military, and I had the fuzz on my neck. And so I asked Louise if she could take the razor and cut it, and she cut me. And so I just said, never again would I ever know that happened. But yesterday, I needed some trimming underneath, and I couldn't see it. And I gave her the razor, and I stand before you today uncut, shaved, and that's a big deal.
[0:53] That's trust. So I thank you for that. But we're happy through our service. We've heard some wonderful things about God. Psalm 63, what you read, which is beautiful, a great reminder. Our songs tell us to trust in God, to love God. He's so good. He wants us to trust in Him, and sometimes the world drags us away, or interferes with us, or stops us from doing it. But no matter what, I heard this thing this week from a pastor. He's a Scottish fellow, and he said these words. Because, you know, sometimes we get worried about our performance and what we do for God, and we have to do this.
[1:42] And he said this, that no matter how good you were last week, it didn't bring you any closer to God, and His esteem, and His love for you. No matter how bad you were that you think you were last week, it didn't take you any further away from God. Because it's from the cross that our salvation came. It's from the blood, and we've been redeemed and saved. And so it was all God's work. It was all Jesus' work had nothing to do with us. It doesn't mean just go out and party hardy and do whatever, but it's we get beat up, and something happens, and we snap at somebody, or we do something, but we forget, you know, that we're human beings, that God still loves us, and He's not going to shy away from us just because we did something stupid, or said something stupid.
[2:32] Well, we trust in the Savior. The cross is our starting point and our ending point. And yes, we get to be good. We get to do all these things. But just remember, it's not by our works, but by the works of the cross and the blood of the Savior. So we've been going through Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, all the big names, and what's really important about this thing is there's examples of people who displayed faith through their life without actually seeing the end result, without actually, they made the commitment to God to do something or say something or be somebody, and God said, I'm going to turn this around. I'm going to make something great happen, but they died before it happened.
[3:20] But they walked through life with faith, constantly trusting that God said, do this, so I'm doing it. And so now we're at Chapter 11, and I don't know if you know it, but in the Hall of Fame that's in Hebrews 11, there's two women mentioned. There's only two women mentioned there, and it's not a bad thing. The first thing would be Sarah, the first person mentioned. I do want to point out the fact, so she went in faith. She followed her husband because God said, go here and I'm going to bless you, and through you, and really with Sarah, you're going to conceive a child that's going to make a great nation. She was an older woman, and she laughed at that when God said it, and there were some consequences.
[4:06] But I want to remind you, it's nice that Shawn and Esther had a kid. Well, we need to step up the game a little. There's some elderly people I've been talking to here for seven years about stepping up and having another child, you know. No pressure, no pressure. But if you feel that's what God wants, then, you know, it's great. As Pastor Sharon said, one at a time, well, that's all right. That's all right. Don't come speak to me afterward and be angry at me before I say that, okay? So I want to talk to you today about Rahab. And Rahab has a very interesting life. She has a story. In Hebrews 1131, identifies her like this. By faith, the prostitute Rahab, because she whelp the spies, was not killed with those who are disobedient.
[4:58] And so her story, there's a long story in Joshua. Chapter two has the beginning of her story. Chapter six talks about the ending. But they kind of not really emphasized the fact she was a prostitute, but she was somebody that maybe society wouldn't have looked on very well. Maybe in history, we condemn people like this. But could I tell you what? Yeah, she was a working woman. She had her own house. She had it in the best part of the community right up against the wall so she could see out and she could see in. And she was a kind person. And God chose her for something very special. So she's not the type of person you would expect to find in this hall of faith, like listing a prostitute.
[5:46] We wouldn't expect to do that. And I don't want to keep on saying that word. The fact is, she ran a business that was a little different than what we would expect. But the thing is, God chose her regardless of her past, regardless of what was going on. He chose her for a reason. Joshua was about to come over the river and take over the land that God had promised them. And she lived in one of the cities where God said, that's going to be destroyed. A city that didn't trust God or believe in God, and that was Jericho. So what she did, she made a choice about this. She made a choice that when she went there and she was part of this whole adventure, she chose God over everything else. And I'll explain that a little bit more.
[6:31] What she did is she heard and she believed that God was the true God and the one and only God, and she responded to that. So let me pray very quickly. And I ask this Holy Spirit that you remind us this week, not only of this story that I'm about to share, these words I'm about to share, but these songs we sang. This Psalm 63, if we go home and read that, I remember that God is better in life. And so I just ask the Lord to be with us today to remind us and bless us with your words that I'm reading for everyone. So let me get a drink of water first. I have allergies. I don't know why.
[7:16] It always seems as I come up to that door. So I have a Kleenex and I've been wiping my eyes and I'm not a compassionate pastor. I just have allergies. The last time I spoke, I couldn't see my notes. And so today I took a pill, brought an extra pair of glasses and a Kleenex. So if I cry, that's the reason why. But let me just tell you this story. So years ago when I was a kid, I was a boy scout. And my friend and I, Joe, we were working on a badge. It was a navigation badge. And the requirement for this badge was for us to be put into the woods and over a four-day period go from point A to point B. And in parts of the woods, there'd be drops of food and whatever. So we had to follow this. We were 14 years old.
[8:03] Maybe in today's world that wouldn't happen, but they just threw us out and left us alone. So we went walking. We were allowed to take whatever we could carry, which is a tent, some utensils. Of course, guys, we didn't bring any extra underwear or socks. Like, who needs that? They're good for a month. So we don't need any of that stuff. But we had a compass and a map. And so we hit the woods and we go out there and then we come to our first stop that we wanted. And it was in the woods and so we set up the tent. And then we set everything up and we had a meal. And it was getting dark and so we figured we better do all this before it gets dark. And so as this was happening, my friend Joe, he prepared the meal and we finished it and I offered to do the dishes because that's who I am.
[8:49] I do the dishes all the time. Louise is going, I thought we're not supposed to lie in church. So anyhow, what I did is I'll just go back to this little creek that we had passed earlier and I'll just walk there and I'll do the dishes. So I went in and I washed the dishes and I'm all happy and I'm ready to go back to the campsite and I turn around and it's pitch black because it was cloudy. There's no light coming through. It was dark. I have no flashlight. I have nothing. And of course you're standing there and your imagination goes wild. And I hear things creeping in the woods. I hear the wind cracking. And it's like, oh my goodness. And I thought if I go the wrong way, like I'll be lost for a while. And so I'm sitting there and I'm thinking about it. And I'm not going to say I prayed.
[9:35] I didn't do that. I just sat there and I thought about it. And then I seen a flicker of light. And I looked towards the light and in my mind I said, that's the campfire. And so I believed that was my place of safety. I believed that if I followed that light that I would be in a safe place. And so I stood there with my dishpan hands wondering why I put myself in this dilemma. So I started walking towards the light and the noises were still there. And it was still dark. And I was still creeped out. But then I went in and lo and behold I walk up and there's Joe lighting a fire. And I was okay. And of course I didn't tell him anything about what happened. That I was scared or anything like that. But I stepped out in faith.
[10:22] I'm not saying faith in God. Faith in an understanding because there could have been somebody else in the woods lighting a fire. But I stood out in faith. And you have experienced faith in your life. You probably don't think about it sometimes. Everybody always uses the analogy of I have faith that my car will start. I go in, I don't know anything about my car. I don't know anything about its operations. But I have faith that it will start. So we do little things like that. We do this. And the chapters that we're reading in chapter wants us to have faith in God's promises and to trust him and to act on it. And so the promises are, well scripture is full of them. And there are things like this. It's like we're just sang a song. God was so good. We look around and we say, well there's war.
[11:08] Well God didn't cause the war. But God wants what's good for us and what's going on. And so the faith that we're talking about today is faith in God. Still have faith in your car. Still do that. When you go out at night, turn the lights on. Have faith that the coyote won't come out and get you. But I'm just saying, we've experienced already and now we're invited to have faith in God. So what I want to do first is do a quick rehash of Joshua 2, 1 to 24. That's not a rehash because we haven't said it yet. But what I want you to do though is I do want you to read it. I do want you to read the whole story. And I was going to read the whole thing but it's long. And Pastor Sean already warned me on how much time I have. So I'm just going to be very careful.
[11:55] So here's an overview of her story. Joshua was about to conquer the land. So he sent two spies to explore the land of Canaan. Specifically Jericho. God told him to send somebody to Jericho. So the spies went in to the city and they ended up at Rahab's house. The king of Jericho heard about the spies in the city and he knew that they were coming to take the land. So he went and sent a note to Rahab, send those guys out. And what does Rahab do? She says, oh, they're gone. They're not here. They were here and then they left. And if you go left, you'll find them. Oh, I don't know if it was right or right. You'll find them. Meanwhile, she had them hidden up in her roof and doing this.
[12:40] And why did she do that? Well, it tells us that she says, she talks to the spies and says, you know what? We have heard what God has done for you. We have heard how he parted the Red Sea. We have heard how he conquered or you conquered kings and city and everybody here, their hearts have melted. They were afraid. But I tell you, I believe your God is the God. I don't want to trust him and I'm not going to turn you over. But what you do is when you come and take over this city, don't touch us. Don't touch my family. And so they tell him, they say, okay, that's good. You believe in the Lord is the God of gods. You trust in God, not with any background, not with anything else. She just heard and she's responding to what God had told her.
[13:26] So she says to the spies, could you promise to not hurt my family? And they said, what you do is you take this red cord and you hang it out your window. And we'll know that that's time to come. But also when we come to take the city, nobody will come into that house. So gather your parents, gather your family and get them in the house and you will be saved. You don't trust God because you are doing something here. So today when we talk about faith, we talk about some genuine faith. She didn't go to Bible school. She was in a pagan city. She heard things like this, but she heard that the God of the universe had parted the Red Sea and give everything to the Israelites, whatever they wanted.
[14:11] They were going and they were going to conquer more. And she didn't do it to hide in a sense from, oh, just save me and I won't rat you out. And she trusted God had something more to offer than the life she had. So she said, I heard what the Lord has done for Israel and I trust him and I believe in him. Everyone around her, they knew that the Israelites were coming to take the city. But they lived in a walled city, a very thick walled city and what they did is they didn't care. They heard the same news about the parting of the Red Sea. They heard the same news about the conquering of the different kings and so on that they believed that their walls would protect them from anything.
[14:57] Rahab, she just trusted God, not the walls. She said, he's coming. He's going to take over and I trust the God who will do what he said he's going to do. So as I went through Rahab's story, there's four things that I had picked up about faith. And I'll just share with you and I won't go overly long on this. So I'm going to read something from Joshua 2, 8 to 11. And the little title I have here says, faith begins when we believe God's word. So 8 to 11, it says this, Before the spies laid down for the night, she went up to the roof and said to them, I know the Lord has given this land to you. And the great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.
[15:48] We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to Sion and Og and the two kings of the Amorites, East of Jordan, with whom you completely destroyed. Well, we heard of this, our hearts melted, and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven and above and earth below. So she's saying this, she's going on this. So what happened is she didn't see parting of the red seal. See, she didn't see it either. She just simply heard what God had done. Everyone in Jericho heard the same news that she did. And she responded by saying God is the God of all. He's the wonderful God.
[16:34] The people of Jericho, the heart of their hearts, they said the wall protects us. Rahab, she opened her heart to God in the word and what she had heard. Romans 10, 17 says this, and I think you may have heard this before. Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Our faith comes when we hear what God does. What he says, this book is full of promises. It's full of failures in life. And how God said, no, that's your fear. Put aside. I'm going to change you. I'm going to use you. And so goes like this. Faith begins really when we begin to believe what God is saying. You know, every Sunday people come here and they hear God's word.
[17:21] Some people leave here unchanged. Others allow God to transform them. That was a prayer we heard earlier today. Transform us, change us. Not make us into superhumans. Not make us super holy that we get the club jacket. But to change us so that we trust and believe in God. You remember when Jesus was healing a man's son? And Jesus says to him, if you believe, it can happen. And he says, Lord, I believe. Help me with my own belief. So what happens? Like human beings. Yes, we do things. So we trust it. And I believe my car is going to start. I forgot it's 20 years old. And this is the dead of winter. And it won't happen. But I just believe it's going to happen. But that's what God is asking about, believing our cars will start.
[18:10] He's saying, believe and trust in me that I've come, as Jesus tells us, so that we can live life to the full. It doesn't mean we'll have luxury vehicles. It doesn't mean we'll have beautiful houses. It doesn't mean that we'll be handsome, like some of us. It means that I will help you see that this is a great world, that the world around you can be good, and you can make a difference in it. And so he said, we come to have life to the full. Rahab never seen the miracles. Everybody had heard about the miracles. And Rahab said, I trust in the Lord. He's my God. The question we have here, when you're reading your scripture, and when you're hearing somebody preach, or if you're listening to songs, the question is not, it's not this question, have I heard God's word.
[19:04] The question we have to ask ourselves, where we leave here, is have I believed it? Have I believed what God said? Have I believed that Jesus came so that he could instruct us on the kingdom life, so that he could be the final sacrifice, so that we didn't have to do it. We didn't have to go through all these rituals. We didn't have to do that. He did it. He said, just trust me. I have opened the relationship to heaven again. I have created this barrier that used to be there. I've knocked it down so that you can spend time in worshipping God. The next point that I had found out is that, listening from Rahab's story, is faith acts even when it seems costly. If you go to Joshua 2, 4 to 6, this would be a quick one there.
[19:57] But the woman had taken the two men and hid them. She said, yes, the man came to me. So this is right afterwards. The king, he puts us through this declaration saying, Rahab, send these men to us. We know they've come to spy and do this. And she says, yes, I knew they were here. She had taken them. She hid them. She said, yes, the men came to me, but I don't know where they are now. He said, at dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. They may catch up with them. But she, in fact, had hid them in the roof there. So she act. Rahab hid the spies. She went against her king. She didn't know the consequences of that. It could have been her death. But she trusted something that God was inspiring in her heart.
[20:46] She trusted something that was happening. This decision to hide the spies could have cost her everything. Her life, her family. And she wasn't just agreeing with God was good. She was obeying God. The Israelites said, we're coming. We're going to do this. Do you want to have a look? And she said, I know God's given you this city. I know he's given you this country. And so I want to be on the side of a God who is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the one who can guide our path. Today, faith requires us to do things like stand up for truth and a culture that rejects the Bible.
[21:31] It doesn't mean we stand on the three corners slapping people in the head with the Bible as they walk by. But we have family. We have friends. We don't have to compromise. We don't have to look for the fight, but we'd be prepared for it because we know in this society, the fight is what everybody's looking for. Oh, it's a sunny day. It is not a sunny day. It was a day that used to be another day before it became a sunny day, so don't... Silly things like that. You see it all the time. YouTube, every social media thing, it's not about sharing some truth. It's about fighting somebody, offering an opinion, which we're all entitled to. And so the idea is, do I want to look for the fight? Do I want to be prepared?
[22:16] We are told in scripture to be prepared to answer in case we're asked. This week in Camp Bula, they had the apologetics teacher down there sharing people some truth about the scripture because right now, if you go on social media, you'll get such a twisted view of scripture because everybody wants their five minutes of fame, and they'll take one word from a passage and change the whole Bible because of it. So what does that mean? That means you have to pick up your Bible. You have to read your Bible. You have to talk with each other about what you're reading and helping each other. And yes, as pastors, we get to share something, but you know what? It doesn't make us any more special than you.
[23:02] You sit down, you sit with friends, and you read it. And so faith is not agreeing because you'll read something. He's going to expect you to act. Faith requires us to forgive somebody who has hurt us. We trust that that's what God wants. We trust that that's the best thing because sometimes we carry this grudge forever and ever, and it destroys us. Faith requires us to do something when it's costly, which means sharing Scripture with family and friends. And of course, you have to be very wise on that. I always tell people when Easter and Christmas comes around, what a good time to tell the truth of the story. And yes, I was telling somebody earlier that my son had gone to a Christian school in Quebec, and around November, they told him there was no Santa Claus.
[23:54] And he was five years old, and he was like really skeptical and angry and stuff like this. And he said, you know what? Let me just see who's here. There is no guy like that. That's a great little story that we made up, but there is a story of Christmas that is so important to hear, and we get to share that. And we actually get to share the story of the St. Nicholas Fellow. We get to share the story of how Christmas happened. It's so different the way we celebrate today than it was 50, 60 years ago. And so it's this opportunity. And so we have to take that opportunity because it could be costly. We could be ostracized by even our family. But we're not doing it to fight. We're doing it to help them know that God is good and God is greater than life, as we heard earlier.
[24:46] And then we have to obey God if it costs us popularity or comfort. And that means he expects us to do something and read it in Scripture, and then we go on and look for another translation to make sure that doesn't mean what I think it means. And then we find the best translation says, no, have fun, life's a party. It's like, oh, what translation is that? But Scripture tells us to do things. It guides us. The biggest thing, love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's the great message of Scripture. And they want us to do this. And yes, people bother us. I talk to us all the time that you're standing there rubbing your hands and say, boy, I love to slap that person. I love to slap that, because they're nuts. There's something going on, but we're guided to say, no, I need to love them.
[25:33] Now, love them means, see ya, I'm out of here. I'm not going to fight with you. I'm going to go away. I'm going to avoid confrontation. When I go home, I'll pray for you, but other than that, I'm not going to talk to you because you scare me and you don't want to hear the good news. And many times I say this, before we go out, we're the second witness of the kingdom. The Holy Spirit's the first one. He's out there prepping people to hear our story. We ask for divine interventions. Lord, when I go into town today, just set me up to have a conversation with somebody about anything, about anything, and I start this friendship. And if the gospel comes up, good. But let me just show them that I care and I love and I want to do things for them. So just as Rahab, she found this red cord hanging from her window, red like the blood sacrificed by Christ.
[26:31] She has this. She found safety with that. She found the safety knowing that this cord was there because she knew that God keeps promises and God said her and her family will not be harmed because of what they did for them. You know, sometimes when we hear the promises of God and he tells us about this, and you can imagine God said to her, put this cord on your window. And all her neighbors walking by and go, what is that? What is that red cord? They don't really want to know. But she had visible proof hanging there that she trusted God. She had visible proof there that no matter what God was going to come through with a promise, with a promise was because you trusted me because you helped my people, I will not harm you or yours that you keep under the roof.
[27:24] But she stood there and she was in town. The wall was still standing there. The city life went on and on and on and life seemed very normal for people. But she had this red cord knowing that one time in the very new future, God's people will come and take over the city because God had given it to them and He promised it to them. She found safety there trusting in God. Sometimes, you know, when we pray and we're asking God and He says, you know, you promise if I bring everything to you, you'll answer this, you'll do this. And sometimes we pray and we're still waiting. And you know how many times I've heard stories of somebody who's come up and like we had our baptism last two Sundays ago and they've come up and said, I found out my grandmother had been praying for me for 30 years and then she passed away.
[28:19] And she didn't see me this day being baptized. So grandma prayer was answered, but she didn't see it. And that's what happens with us sometimes. We are used to instantaneous responses. We look for the answer right now, but sometimes we have to wait. And sometimes when we're waiting, we're struggling. We're struggling in this economy, it's tough. We're talking about housing prices, growth. And it's tough and I trust God. And I say this, but I'm hungry again. Again, I'm hungry. I can't pay my phone bill, which is the basic necessity. So we trust God that something's going to happen and maybe somebody will connect with you. But I don't know what the answer will be. But we just say God is good. I've heard several of our friends who have been immigrated, who have immigrated to this country talk about, we just said God would say, just go here and I'll trust you.
[29:13] And some of them lived in some pretty shabby accommodations and you know, many of them in the room and somebody are walking around wondering like, I can't get my PR, I can't get my citizenship. Like what is going on? God invited me here, but in faith they came and in faith they stay. And in faith some are rewarded and some are still struggling, but they still trust God. Faith says, I will trust God before I see an answer, before I see the outcome I'm going to trust that he is looking after my interests and my care. And the last point that I've seen from this, and it's interesting about Rahab, and this comes in chapter six of Joshua. So let me get my teary eyes to turn the page.
[30:04] So Joshua 22 to 25, and what I say here, faith changes our story. When we have faith in God and put everything in, our life changes. Something is different. And so we go on from there. So 22 to 28 says this, Joshua said that the two men who had spied on the land, go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong with her in accordance with your oath to her. So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. Then they burnt the whole city and everything in it.
[30:51] They put the silver and gold and articles of bronze. But Joshua spared Rahab, the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her because she hid the men of Joshua who had sent spies and she lives amongst the Israelites today. So her life changed. She became something different. I don't know if you know her history. So she became the mother of Boaz, the great-grandmother of King David, and most importantly, through the lineage, is the family line of Jesus Christ. So God changed something. She didn't know that. She just knew that God was God and all powerful and all loving, and things changed in her life.
[31:36] And because of what she did, well, we stand before Christ now. We stand before the gift of grace that he has given us. And not that if she didn't go with another story, that doesn't even matter. She did. She lived with the Israelites. She became with them. And through her family, we have this salvation that we have because God kept a promise to a prostitute who lied to her king. And so that's not what I'm saying. Start your own business. Start going around telling lies. What I'm saying is God used and changed this woman and changed her life. And you know, maybe in our life, we've done some stuff that are, well, we've made mistakes. We all have made mistakes. And maybe you failed at doing something.
[32:23] And maybe you lived far away from God. Your past might explain where you've been. Your past explains where you've been. But it doesn't determine where God can take you. I want to tell you that. I want to remind you that no matter who we are, who we were, when we stand before the cross and say, I believe, I have faith in Christ because of the sacrifice that he made. It redeemed me. And it changed me into a person who is going to, well, at a minimum, see eternity with God. And still have a life on this earth that pleases and honors him and herself. God can change you.
[33:08] He can do this. And that's the story with Rahab. And it was faith. And how much faith do you have? Well, we've heard the story about the mustard seed. And we worry about that. We try to measure it. We try to do it. And then we do things like works. Oh, I have faith. I trust God. I'm going to serve here. I'm going to do this. We are so grateful that people step up and sing in our church and serve in our church or run the sound boards and take time with the children and the nursery. And we appreciate that. But we appreciate it. And God says, you chose to believe my son was the savior of the world. That's what he loves. And that's what he appreciates. Many people wait for God to prove he's the king of glory. Hey, if he does this, I'll stop, you know, doing something.
[33:59] We wait for an answer. But Rahab, she showed us that faith often means taking God's word before we see an outcome, before we see anything like that. The walls hadn't fallen. The battle hadn't been won. But Rahab believed that the God of Israel was faithful. Faith is not knowing about God. It's placing our lives in his hand. And that's tough sometimes. And that's a big commitment sometimes, because it might mean you have to change something or do something. But don't worry about that part. Don't worry about that. Think about faith. Think about your belief in Christ. Think about God. I don't understand this, but your word says, I sent my son to the cross to be the last sacrifice required so that we can be reconciled and you can be the person you are meant to be.
[34:55] And that's what God wants to do. He wants to change you to be the person he wants you to be. Or you. Well, not even what you think you could be. That's what he wants to use you for. Like Rahab, put your faith in God. Trust him. Obey him. Hold onto his promises, and he can rewrite your story. He can change your life. He can remind you that salvation is yours. And it comes not at a cost for you, but a cost for Christ. Let me pray as our praise team leads us into the last song that we're going to sing. I do want to say faith is about listening to God's word, which means you're going to have to open this book.
[35:47] And you're going to read it, and you'll see stuff, and then you're going to get bogged down in Leviticus. You're going to do that, but don't worry about that. Start with the New Testament. Start reading the Gospel of John and what Jesus did. Start reading about this, and then everything else makes sense. You can see that from the garden to the cross was a plan that God had to redeem us, to change us so that we could have eternity with him. He allows us to make our own decisions, but the decision he wants for us is to choose him over everything else. Let me pray. Father, thank you for the testimony of Rahab. Thank you that you see beyond our past and call us to a future shaped by faith.
[36:33] Give us courage to trust you and circumstances seem impossible. Help us believe your word, obey your voice, and hold firmly to your promises. May our faith influence our families, our church, and our community. As you transform Rahab's life, continue to transform ours through Jesus' name, through Jesus Christ, and in his name we pray. Amen, amen.