Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): Christians aren't just nicer people, they are transformed people. Listen to Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: Thank God for the transforming power of faith. Nature forms us. Sin deforms us. Schools inform us. Prisons reform us. The world conforms us. But Jesus transforms us. He changes us by His power, and that's what the gospel is all about.

Guest (Male): Christians are not just nicer people, they are transformed. Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring insightful lessons in biblical teaching from Pastor Adrian Rogers. Faith has the incredible ability to radically and dramatically change people.

In Joshua Chapter 2, Rahab the prostitute was transformed by faith. She was a Canaanite woman living in spiritual darkness, but after God saved her, she became part of the bloodline of Jesus Christ.

Rahab's transformation reveals four things about the power of faith. If you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews Chapter 11, look at verse 31, as Adrian Rogers shares part one of Transforming Power of Faith.

Adrian Rogers: Take God’s word and find Hebrews chapter 11. We’re continuing our series entitled Champions of Faith. Hebrews chapter 11 is God's Hall of Fame for those champions who are put there because of their faith in Almighty God. We have enjoyed this series, but today we come to an unusual person that we’re going to celebrate and learn from.

Would you believe it, she is, at least was, a harlot. What today we would call a streetwalker or a prostitute. And God saved her. God radically, dramatically transformed her, and now she finds her name here listed in this 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews. I call her the shady lady of Jericho.

We're going to learn today about the transforming power of faith. Faith has power, incredible power to radically, dramatically change a prostitute back in that time or in this time. A lady that I know who is a great testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ and one of the finest soul winners in America is named Iris.

Iris was a prostitute before Jesus saved her. Iris said this, and it’s always lingered deep in my heart. She said, "When I learned about the Lord Jesus Christ and someone witnessed to me and led me to Christ, I got on my knees a filthy prostitute, and I arose a virgin in the sight of God."

Do you believe that is possible? It is absolutely possible. Let me give you a verse of Scripture that will back it up beyond the shadow of any doubt. First Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 through 11. Paul says, "Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." God says if this is your lifestyle, you're lost and hell-bound.

But now listen to this. He says in verse 11, "And such were some of you." Not such are some of you. Did you hear? "Such were some of you. But ye are washed. Ye are sanctified. But ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God."

Washed, justified, sanctified. No longer a prostitute, now a saint in the house of God. Thank God for the transforming power of faith. Nature forms us. Sin deforms us. Schools inform us. Prisons reform us. The world conforms us. But Jesus transforms us.

He changes us by His power. And that’s what the gospel is all about. Christians are not just nicer people, they are transformed. They are absolutely new people. Think about this person, this Rahab the harlot. We’re going to learn later that she was a pagan living in spiritual darkness.

She was a prostitute living in sinful degradation, and she was a Canaanite destined for sure destruction because the judgment of God was upon the city of Jericho where she lived. And yet, God saved this woman. And would you believe, she’s listed here in the Word of God as one of the heroes of the faith, a champion of faith?

Rahab, delivered from judgment. Rahab became the great-great-grandmother of King David. She married one of the princes of Israel. She is a part of the bloodline of our Savior. This woman who was a harlot, no longer child of hell, a citizen of heaven. Not walking the backstreets of Jericho, but now she’s walking the streets of gold in heaven.

How did it happen? It is the transforming power of faith. And by the way, in order to understand all of this, you’ve got to go back to the book of Joshua, chapter 2. So just turn left in your Bible and keep going for a long time, and you’ll come to the book of Joshua, somewhat near the front of the Old Testament.

Joshua chapter 2, we’re going to find the story. I want to give you the background. The children of Israel have come out of the land of bondage, out of the land of Egypt, and now they are right on the threshold of Canaan. Only the River Jordan stands between them and the Promised Land.

General Joshua wants to know what is on the other side of the river. So he sends out some special ops, a special operational force, to go across and to reconnoiter and to spy. He takes some men, we call them today spies. They went over to spy out the land.

And they cross Jordan and go into Jericho, which was the first formidable city there. Jericho, great in antiquity, one of the oldest cities on the face of the earth, and great in iniquity. And God was going to destroy Jericho and bring judgment upon Jericho.

And so they go to Jericho, and they end up there seeking refuge in the house of Rahab, who, as we have learned, was a harlot. Now, I want you to see four things that God did to transform this woman. The first thing I want you to see is what I’m going to call the confronting power of the providence of God.

Look, if you will, in verse 1. "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, 'Go view the land, even Jericho.' And they went and came into an harlot’s house named Rahab and lodged there." All right, now look, if you will, in verse 4.

"And the woman took the two men and hid them and said thus, 'There came men unto me, but I wist not and knew not whence they were.'" Now Joshua says, "Go spy out the land." They come to a particular house. Here’s the question I have for you. Was that by mere chance?

Was that a coincidence? Was it happenstance? No, it was the will of God, and it was the providence of God. And as you read the story, you’re going to find out that the hand of God is here providentially working. Adrian, why do you say that? Well, first of all, this woman was under deep, deep conviction.

There’s no doubt about it as she had a heart hungry to know God. And also, the Bible teaches that these men who came to her were messengers. I’ll talk about that later on, but we’re going to see that it was not mere chance that brought these men to the house of Rahab. It was the providence of God.

Now let me tell you how the providence of God works. God works on both sides of the equation. God will find a person whose heart is tender, a person who wants to know God, a person under conviction, a person seeking God. And God will take a witness, a messenger, a soul winner, and work in that person’s heart as well as he works in this person’s heart.

And then God gets the two together. We call that divine providence. The Bible is full of all of those kind of stories. For example, the Bible tells over in the New Testament about Philip, who was a deacon. He was down in Samaria, preaching in a revival crusade, and God was doing great wonders and works.

But God, by the Holy Spirit, said to Philip, "Philip, I want you to leave Samaria and I want you to go down toward the Mediterranean, toward the land of Gaza, and there I want you to go." He went under seal orders, not really wondering why he went.

And when he got down there in the desert, there is a man of great authority, great wealth, and great prestige and influence. He’s riding in a chariot. He is the treasurer of the nation of Ethiopia, and he had been to Jerusalem to worship. And now he’s returning back to North Africa.

He’d been to the most religious city on the face of the earth seeking God, but the wells of religion were dry. Would you believe he’s reading the prophet Isaiah? And God says to Philip, "Go join yourself to that chariot." Now Philip had to run. Here was an opportunity on wheels.

And Philip made haste and joined this man and witnessed to him, and this man got saved. Tradition tells us that this treasurer was the one that opened up North Africa to the gospel. I want to ask you a question. Was that mere chance? No, that was providence.

You read about the Lord Jesus Christ making a journey, and the Bible says that Jesus said, "I must needs go through Samaria." Was that geographical? No, the easier way was another way. Why did He take that mountainous route, and why did He take the route that would go through a hostile city?

Because there was that Samaritan woman there whose heart was so hungry. She wanted to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus met her, shared with her. She brought revival to the city of Samaria. She also, most likely, was a fallen woman as you read the context there.

Do you think that was by happenstance? Do you think it was by happenstance that Paul met Lydia there by the river and opened up the city of Philippi to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Do you think it was just by happenstance that there was a soldier named Cornelius, a Roman army officer?

The Bible says that his heart was hungry to know God. And God took Simon Peter the apostle who was full of prejudice and didn't want to have anything to do with the Gentiles. And God worked on Simon Peter, and God sent an angel to Cornelius, and God got the two together, and Cornelius got saved.

Happenstance? The providence of God. God works on both sides of the equation. I was with a friend, we went out soul winning. We had an address. We got as lost as a goose in a snowstorm. We could not find the address. We went round and round.

Finally, we ended up, it seemed like we were almost in a pasture. We went out down a dirt road and came to a little cottage. I didn't even know that there’d be a house like that in the great city of Jacksonville. It was a one-room house, unpainted weatherboarding.

The car just came up there in the front, nowhere else to go except just turn around and go backward. No other road. It was just there, the end. We said, "Well, our time is gone. We’ve got to go back to the meeting. Let’s just witness here, whoever is there."

We went and knocked on the door. An old man came. His name was Mr. Pew. Had white beard, kind of hunkered over like this, very much up in years. We said, "May we talk to you about Jesus?" He said, "Certainly." Mr. Pew, are you saved? He said, "No."

Well, do you know how to be saved? He said, "My father was a preacher." I said, "Your father was a preacher and you're not saved?" He said, "No." Do you want to be saved? "Yes." When are you going to be saved? "One of these days." Mr. Pew, you’re not getting any younger.

Would you like to be saved? "Oh," he said, "if I only knew how." We went in there and shared with that man. Little one room, the kitchen was in there, the bed was in there. Just one room. I remember kneeling by that bed with Mr. Pew, and he wept and sobbed and wept.

I thought he would shake the house down as he prayed and gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Do you think it was just by accident that we got lost? No, because we were being guided. It’s the providence of God. Now let me tell you how God works.

God works on both sides of the equation. God finds somebody whose heart is tender and ready toward him. God gets a soul winner who's moving in the stream of the spirit, and God gets the two together. Out yonder in our city, God is preparing the hearts of many.

When you're in the stream of the spirit, ready and available, you might be surprised how God would use you. You see, Manley Beasley used to preach here. Many of you remember Manley Beasley. He’s a dear man of God, a great man of faith. Manley used to say, "You get right with God, you have to backslide to keep from winning souls."

God is looking for people whose hearts are tender, people that he can guide and steer, people who are hungry to know the Lord. It’s the providence of God. Do you think it is by happenstance that you're here today? I don't think so. God wants you saved.

The providence of God that confronted her, that's the first thing. Now here’s the second thing I want you to see, and that is the Spirit of God that convicted her. This woman is under great conviction. Now the question is this: how did this pagan Canaanite woman, how did this prostitute get under such great conviction?

Well, it’s quite easy to see. Let’s look, if we will, in verse 9. "And she said unto the men," that is these spies who found their lodging there at her house. She said unto the men, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land." I want you to notice the conviction she’s under.

"I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you." Now watch, watch her conviction now. "For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." What a statement.

God, He is God, in heaven and earth. He is the God of might, the God of miracle, the God of power. How did this woman know this? Because she said, "We have seen what God has done for His people." We’ve seen how God opened the Red Sea. We’ve seen how God piled victory upon victory.

We have heard what God is doing for you. What convicts people? How does the Holy Spirit of God do it? He doesn't do it in abstraction. He does it through people who are living and walking in victory. Now here’s the big question: would anybody fall under conviction because of your life?

Would anybody say, "I know that there’s a God because I can see what he's done for you. I can see what he’s done for that church. I know that there is something about your life that is inexplicable, unexplainable, apart from the hand of Almighty God."

What is there about your life that makes you different from your neighbor? What is there about you that cannot be explained apart from God? The only right that we have to ask anybody to believe anything we say is that they see in us something that is different.

You see, folks, we are witnesses. But not only are we witnesses, we're part of the evidence. We're part of the evidence. Why should a person say, "You want me to be like you? There’s made no difference in you. Why should I believe in your God? I can’t see any difference in you."

On the Day of Pentecost, back over in the New Testament, the early church was coming together. It’s the birthday of the church, the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has come with mighty signs and wonders. There is an indoor cyclone that fills the house like a mighty rushing wind.

The people begin to speak in languages they had never learned. And the Bible says that those people, unsaved people there, were amazed. And they said, "What does this mean? What meaneth this?" And then in a few more verses, they ask this question: "What must we do? What must we do?"

Two questions. Question number one: what does this mean? Question number two: what must we do? May I submit to you that the problem in the modern church is we're trying to get them to ask the second question before they've ever asked the first one.

I want them to look at your life, my life, and say, "What does that mean?" I cannot understand, this is amazing. We ought to be living amazing lives. When we begin to live amazing lives, people will be asking, "What must we do?" Right? How did the Holy Spirit of God convict her?

While she saw what God had done in the heart and lives of his people. Now there was the confronting power of the providence of God. There's the convicting power of the spirit of God. Now I want you to notice thirdly, the confirming power of the word of God.

Because people are not going to be saved apart from the word of God, no matter how you live. They can see the power of God in your life, but they still need a word from God. Now continue to listen in Joshua chapter 2, verse 11. "And as soon as we had heard these things."

Now what did she hear? She’d heard what God had done for his people. "Our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord.

Since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token." That is, show me grace, kindness, and give me a token of it. "And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death."

The men answered her, "Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business." That is, if you do not disclose that we’re here, we will lay down our lives for you if necessary. "Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, that when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee."

Now skip on down to verse 21. Here’s the key. "And she said, 'According unto your words.'" Now underscore that. "'According unto your words, so be it.'" And she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the scarlet line or cord in the window.

Now you say, "Pastor Rogers, was this just a conversation?" No, it was a message from Almighty God. How can you be so certain? Well, put in your margin James 2, verse 25. "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers?"

Now they're not called spies. They're called messengers. They were there with the word of God. She received the messengers. And again verse 21, "According to your words." These men were speaking to her the word of God. They were divinely appointed by providence to bring to this woman the word of God.

You say, "Pastor, are you certain that she was convinced by the word?" Absolutely. Because the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 17, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." You cannot have faith until you get a word from God.

You might as well try to ice skate on hot water as to have faith without hearing from God. Here was a woman confronted by the providence of God, convicted by the spirit of God, and confirmed by the word of God. Now she believed. Well, in order to believe, you have to have something to believe.

Hebrews 11, verse 31, "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not." She was confirmed by the word. She did believe.

Guest (Male): Coming up tomorrow, we'll hear part two of this important lesson. But maybe today you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus. We'd love to offer an insightful resource on our website. It’s the Find Answers page. There you'll discover resources and materials that can answer questions you may have about your relationship with God.

We also want to invite you to check out our Grow Your Faith page, where you can get grounded and dig deeper in the scriptures. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Find Answers or Grow Your Faith. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Cary Vaughn: Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you.

To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD, that’s 1-877-LOVEGOD, or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee, 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Adrian Rogers.

Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry, and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated, right here on Love Worth Finding.

Guest (Male): As America approaches 250 years, a lot of people are asking the same question. What does it really mean to live as a Christian here today? Not just in theory, but in everyday life at home, at work, in a culture constantly shifting.

That’s why we want to invite you to join us for the Faith and Freedom journey for this defining moment in our nation. This six-week journey will walk you through teachings of Adrian Rogers on how to be a Christian in America.

Filled with scriptures and guided prayers for our nation, Faith and Freedom is designed to help you grow deeper in your faith and live with confidence as a follower of Christ. Search for My LWF wherever you download apps and begin the Faith and Freedom journey today. And thank you for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.