Family Tree: Rahab | The Reset Button | Greg Ford | One Church
ICEBREAKER
Share one of your favorite Christmas Traditions
MESSAGE NOTES
The Family Tree
[Matthew 1:3-5]
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Time marches on…can’t stop it, but sometimes you can almost slow it down for a few seconds…this is one of those times…look at a bigger picture of the past, present, & future
[Joshua 2:8-11]
8 Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. 9 “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. 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.
[Joshua 2:15-16]
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.”
Thinking- Saying- Doing are all aligned
[John 3:16]
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
[Ephesians 2:8-9]
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
[Romans 10:9-10]
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
[Hebrews 11:31]
It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
[James 2:14-16]
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
[James 2:17-20]
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
[James 2:25-26]
Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
God can use whoever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants.
[Matthew 1:5]
Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Salmon shows up I Chronicles
I’m sure others viewed her forever as a prostitute, but she found a man who saw her as a woman of faith. Some will try to define you by your past, but God will send others who will see you in your faith
You can scower the scriptures & you won’t find the names of the haters
The actions that your faith will lead you to take will lead you away from the old. They overshadow the old…it’s not too late
Ra- the derivative of a pagan god, pagan land, pagan parents…nothing going for her that anything to do with Jehovah, didn’t go to Sunday school or sing in the choir, she wasn’t a missionette, but God was getting ready to use her. That’s how good God is!
Don’t define yourself by what you’ve done with your life. Define yourself by what God has done with your life.
What God can do with your life…He can turn you around
[Romans 12:1-2]
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
She knew who God was, she knew who she was, and she trusted God with her very life.
It’s not too late
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Like Rahab, has people labeled you by your past or your family, explain?
What limits do you need to break off of your life to live out who God says you are?
When Pastor Greg says faith without work is dead, how does that make you feel about your faith journey?
Does your Thinking, Saying and Doing align? If not, what can you do to make a change?
What can you do to be apart of God's mission, through faith?
Further Study: Joshua 2:8-16, Hebrews 11, James 2:14-26, Romans 12:1-2, I Chronicles 2:51