Spies and Allies (Part A)

Can't use hand-to-hand face-to-face if you can only be sent to people you like because you don't like the other ones because they're in the darkness that they need to be brought out of it.

I need you to do it.

So, to learn to love people without letting out biases blind us. It is going to take work is not going to come easy, because again the flash is not subservient to the spirit if it doesn't have to be this is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Joshua.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's turn to the book of Joshua chapter 2 for a brand-new message called spies and allies spies and allies. That's an original. You cannot use it. Subjugation of the flesh, the sinful nature that is of course the application that we are concentrating on in this study of Joshua was book. Of course our flesh that sinful side of us does not respect the spirit does not respect the rights of Jesus Christ in us will defy it every chance it gets. Just mostly through an impulse or just some craving and Scripture of course is filled with helpful information with illustrations of straight out words of wisdom all sorts of assistance is gathered from the Scriptures to fight this flesh of ours and yet it still doesn't die and I believe that goes great honor to Jesus Christ in the life of the Christian who struggles to get the upper hand and does not, but goes to their graves struggling because of their love for him and that is also brought out throughout Scripture and doesn't say in the heart of Peter demand man like Peter is just such he was so love with the Christ.

And so we take courage from these lessons that are here.

They are very meaningful.

What what what what would happen to Christianity and to Christians if we did not have these lessons well, God save the souls of the spy of the spies in the sense of their lives in going into Jericho by using. Of course Ray hot have.

I'm thinking most of us know the story. So God saves those the lives the souls not the spiritual and spiritual context with the lives of those spies and yet he then saves the soul spiritual part of Rahab herself and so they find this friend and an unsuspecting places and so we look at verse two. There's a lot here to go through Joshua the son of nun sent out to men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly saying go view the land, especially Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. While I believe this account of the spies is a parentheses to the command that Joshua was great that gate. He gave the people chronologically will give the people when he said three days we crossed Jordan so they're not yet in the promised land there outside in the sending of the spies happens earlier when the spies come back and then then the story resumes the Bible. This is so typical of the writers of the Scripture to really not care for criminology. They knew what was happening, but they were thinking what you know what several thousand years from now.

Others might not know what were talking about. Then on seemed to be moved by that you have to do the detective work is probably it's really a little thing except for me. I just have to have it fit as best as I can see so I can see what's happening and there learn thing about myself and about God and about other people and what to do with it. In response, so I've taken more time and that that I should have so well. I also should add most other commentators are wrong. They like good because when Joshua says three days we crossed Jordan.

That's the anchor that doesn't move. There's no indication that that is adjusted so everything has to now fit around that what the most commentators then do is they start adding the days well it really wasn't three days it ends up by the time Dick and I and I reject that approach and I say that because you probably listen, go to your study Bibles and and there's a lot of good information there. But when I usually point that out the wrong people. But anyway so God sends these two spies and really did not spies cloak and dagger. This is a reconnaissance mission. They gathering military info to take back so that the Joshua will have better information not going blind for the invasion really God is above all of it and say here you will need to much of that I'm going to interfere with this battle. In an extraordinary way in which he does not do all of the other battles that are coming up Jericho has to fall, no question the Jews cannot go into the promised land and begin the conquest with against all the other Canaanites and peoples of the land with Jericho intact because they would then be ambushed from the rear and they would have forced that would really be bad. So it has to go down. Joshua doesn't know how it's going to happen yet. And even when he finds out it unless he is told right out by God, which in this case and believe he is. He doesn't know how many troops he's going to lose. Please, not reckless because God's given him a promise when the night is go watching in the matter at all these men get killed were going to take Jericho would be a lousy approach and I think it is a great lesson and that alone is Christians when we go forward. We don't just assume are God's with me. I do whatever I want to do. I can be reckless and sloppy I don't have a responsibility except to just believe it's not always the case, God sent to angels into Sodom and Gomorrah to rescue souls before judgment fell. He is sending to spies will refer to them as such throughout the easy route into Jericho. And of course there will be souls rescued thereto before the judgment falls on this walled city in the great tribulation. To come before the judgment really intensifies God will send his two witnesses, and because of their work. There will be many souls saved during that judgment.

The Jews were not to make treaties with any of the people in the promised land.

They were to evict them by sword and that is it. However, they were not prohibited from making converts and Rahab is going to of course be a convert to Judaism and of course he shows up in the line of Messiah. By the time we come to the book of Matthew and as with Sodom and Gomorrah Gomorrah. It is a story of judgment, but not without mercy, and such is the way our God conducts business. There is a lesson of one of many from just the second chapter in the first verse. The Acacia Grove. Of course, is the base camp east of Jordan unit when you stand on the promised land side.

The west side of Jordan. You can look rivers not that big it's big enough to be a river is not a puddle but you can look over and you see Jordan when you as you move to the South in the desert area. You can see that high table playing. It's like a mountain but it's flatness on the other side.

That's where Lot pitched his tent and pasted toward Sodom. The Jews were to move out of Atlanta as we discussed last session, there were those who wanted the un-promised lands and may we not forget that lesson is says here in verse one to spy again military scouting, a reconnaissance mission is is closer to it, but because they were amongst the people. It's kind of a mixture of things Rahab and her family being saved is the product of Joshua sending out spies and not taking his mission lightly.

He's not sending out a fact-finding committee committee as Moses sent the 12. Incidentally, those 12 were not supposed to give their opinion of what they could and could not do their assignment was to come back and verify that the soil was rich, the land was wonderful and they came back and they did say that they even brought fruit evidence of it, and yet they added but forget about it. We can never take it and that that was a tragedy, and that brought so much grief to so many. But that is not the case this time Joshua is not asking their opinion about if or if not, gathering. As I mentioned military information and he would, he will do the analyzing and what to do with it will find Joshua concerned about this Jericho even through chapter 5 easterly, take this, going up. How are we going to do this not suffer catastrophic losses.

That's what generals do. I guess when the invasion of Kuwait. They will brace for over 20,000 dead troops about on our outside and allies that didn't happen. More like 100 new invasions of Normandy, for example, the thousands at work were killed there.

So this is any commander with a soul is concerned about this and we should be mindful in the study of it because you can come under hardship in life and get the impression God doesn't care this to Jake up your Jacob had a lot of hardship and I want to beat up on him and he cried out.

He said all these things work against me and Job.

Of course Joe walked up to the line right one step further, he would have been in blasphemy, but he does not cross the line but he says God he hates me he runs at me like a warrior.

He just won't let up his arrows and he just let him have it businesses the suffering and the misery that he was going through so we we come to a scripture we want to say I don't want to ever think like that when I go to hardship, one understand that there are things that I are bigger than my understanding, but the things I do understand. That's where I will.

That's where I will set up my my camp and trusted God knows and he cares.

Joshua does care and our Jesus cares even more so.

He says go view the land, especially Jericho. As I mentioned could not as a high-value objective. It had to go down so they went in, came to the house of the harlot named Rahab, and large there will evidently her residence was also a large area and in and where else would they go to the mayor's house. Everybody knew they weren't from around those parts, and so they go to the public place, which is this sort of hotel restaurant that they find themselves the most logical star stop to make.

In the story supports this, of course, Rahab. One of the heroines of Scripture, she of the Old Testament. In particular, she had the diversified to diversify her income. She was an innkeeper and she was also the textiles, linen to be specific in flax and then of course she had this immoral side job that the of course we don't make need to make much common one except may not be among us and all of us. We met and we don't share each other's sin necessarily, but we have enough of our own sin to damn our souls and that always causes us to pause before being self-righteous, pointing at other people and not ourselves, that we all know that you point at someone else you got three fingers pointing back at you. So I always use all my fingers pointing Matthew nine verse 13. Why did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus died only for one kind of person the bad ones because there are no time. E.g. he died for the sinner and not only do we see our righteousness out good deeds like filthy rags, very filthy rags before God, but bad deeds or even cause worse and yet he doesn't give up on us in Zechariah we see the high priest in the vision of the prophet Zechariah and he is clothed in filthy rags and the Lord, you know, he deals with Satan whose accusing Zechariah of this filth in the Lord says is a brand plucked from the fire from the burning and then of course he says take off those filthy garments and clothed him with the unit with the with the righteous garments, and so three out throughout Scripture we we are reminded constantly of God's goodness. Sort of like when you're traveling on a long road somewhere in your you. Not sure if you going in the right direction or even if you're in the wrong road and not a GPS, making that outdated, but in the days of paper maps, you can because they are we on the right road and then you see a marker or something's okay were going good. What a relief.

What God gives us those kind of things in life to reassure us that we are going the right way with him and with these two men coming into her large, she probably never really had good boys come in like them which would've contributed to her being drawn to their faith. I mean if they had come in and said they were in a place of immorality. Let's join it seem she might not have had the reaction that she did to their arrival. The fact that these men were focused on what they were called to do. No doubt appealed to her verse two and it was told the king of Jericho, saying, behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.

Jericho is a type in Scripture of a doomed world world under destruction and judgment from God because of his iniquity. Let's not forget the people in this land were not good people minding their own business living peacefully amongst each other.

That is not the case. They were violent they were immoral. What they did too little babies when they didn't want them is unspeakable this course, historians would would be quick to cover that up if they could, because it would put the Jews in a right just like and and these people in there in the true cast a true shadow that they cast and that was one of iniquity. So Jericho, a type of the world and the destruction that is coming. Rahab is a type of the soul delivered from the midst of that world of event judgment. The coming destruction since she is the sinner and type saved by faith.

And so every body that I think is saved becomes endearing to Rahab of their honest investors again self-righteous if they think they're better than everybody else and Jesus couldn't wait to save them and that kind of person is going to have problems all the way through this and there's a lot of bad Christianity out there is a lot of people convinced that they're wrong is right, but the facts the facts will boom you know just wisdom is justified by her children. Jesus said the facts will prove or disprove all these nonsensical approaches to Christianity where people can come away with from the Bible is very easy to twist Scripture. Satan did it there in the wilderness with Christ. Of course the cultures they do it and we come across the false teachers and Peter and then again in first John and the Pharisees and the Judaizers in the days of Paul and we find out they're all twisting Scripture to their own satisfaction. Jesus at 14 righteous works. Are you trying to stop me. I look at what I'm doing and listen to what the prophets are saying you're asking me if on the price. I told John the Christ in you still receive it.

You've made up your mind I can't be the price because you don't like me and that can be a ticket to hell and eternal hell.

There a lot of people outside these walls they don't like Jesus. A great many of them have never met the real Jesus there reacting to some heretics, presentation, or some overzealous yet long presentation of Christ. How many people have been raised in an Christian homes summon solid homes and still they depart, but then there are others that were raising wacky homes and they depart. It is up to us to bring the light maybe maybe listen to this may be there's some backslidden Christian out there and their parents praying that God would bring a righteous soul into their child's life.

Maybe you or I can be that person.

Maybe you or I can be dispatched like an angel from heaven into the life of some apostate or or backslidden's child and win them out of darkness. That is a prayer God make me a messenger to extract from the jaws of hell. Some child that she landed in the snare of the devil. What a glorious picked. Imagine entering heaven with that with that ribbon on your chest.

You know the song ballad of the Green Beret put silver wings on my sons chest make him one of America's best.

I should be singing armies.

It's a beautiful song. I think, and it it excites patriotism, of course, but is also it is, it excites an unknowable spirit is nothing wrong with that as long as is not against Christ.

But how much better to say to the Lord put the messenger of God. That ribbon on my chest that you can send me out on a noble work or surround criticizing the pastor first four or some other Christian just say the way they were dressed today this bigger things to do than that then the woman took the two men and hidden them, so she said yes.

The man came to me, but I did not know where they were from that she's risking everything on the basis of this spiritual discovery. She has made she's put the information together. She has the same information. Everybody else in Jericho has what she does with it is entirely different. She brings her whole family into this believers, we often through history in Scripture and to this day. Often we benefit from some unbeliever helping us putting themselves at risk for us.

Moses, of course, floating on water to Pharaoh's daughter and she fished them out of the Nile. Esther, of course, her husband and how he was very much a part of the defense of the Jews, as we listen to Rahab we get the feeling that she didn't care too much for the people of Jericho.

Maybe she was mistreated enough that she was ready she was right well are they not people in the world that have been treated by the world so poorly enough times that ready to come out of it but they don't know how is no light. Jesus said you are the light you cook it about you. Our mission here is not to seek and destroy. It is to seek and rescue that is so very good at the top of us without love. You can do it, so I wasn't a Megan hospital call once I made quite a few of them could walk around the hospital is evident that more than that one letter that will play where my Megan hospital call and I see a Muslim working there woman she's got the headscarf one now. Do you think my first feeling was that of love. I'm not telling you what it should've been.

If it wasn't, that's what Jesus means when he says love your enemies, I can't use you hand-to-hand face-to-face if you can only be sent to people you like because you don't like the other ones because there in the darkness that they need to be brought out of it.

I need you to do it. So, to learn to love people without letting out biases blind us. It is going to take work is not going to come easy, because again the flash is not subservient to the spirit if it doesn't have to be.

It cannot force it to be, well, Rahab, should we get the feeling. As I mentioned, she wasn't fond of the place.

The people there but salvation is now knocking on her door and the spies knew God's hand was in this. I don't know that they knew it right away, but by the time this is over and they report to Joshua in verse 24 they listing God. God was all over this. They knew they should've been caught and executed if not tortured. First, verse five, and it happened as the gate was being shut when it was dark, the men went out where the men went do not know pursue them quickly, or you may overtake them so she's lying to them. Of course, and it is nighttime and she saying, "I come looking for the mentioned and they went out the gate of the city.

Thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Joshua cross reference is the teaching ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you're interested in more information about this ministry, please visit our website cross reference radio.com find additional teachings from Pastor Rick available there also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast by doing so you will be notified each new edition of cross reference radio.

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