How to Break Free From Your Past Identity | A Cloud Of Witnesses

In Hebrews chapter 12, we start in January, this study on the 52 central key figures of Scripture who played a heroic and very valuable instrumental roles in God's redemptive story. And it's as you get to know their story, the overarching narrative of the Bible begins to clarify and Scripture becomes less daunting. And so we have been going individual by individual through Scripture. And today we still find ourself in the book of Joshua. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead to Joshua chapter two. And I will say on the front end, I'm just going to give you the big overarching idea. So for the person who wants to take a nap and maybe check out for the next 30 minutes, here is the big overarching idea. And that is what you are known for doesn't have to be what you're remembered for. Okay, what you are currently known for, it does not have to be what you are remembered for. Every single one of us goes through seasons and maybe you find yourself in one of those predicaments where based on the decisions that you've made or the things that you've participated in, maybe the regrets that you've carried or some of the pain that you've caused, whatever it may be, you might find yourself in a season being known for some negative things. And that can come with shame and that can come with a bunch of regret.

But what you are known for, whatever negative reputation or labels you carry, it does not have to be what you are remembered for. And we actually see this all throughout history, don't we? Individuals who have really redemptive stories where you start out in one place and you assume one thing about them, but then you see their whole story play out and you realize they really had a turnaround in a pretty impressive way. I think of individuals like John Newton. John Newton was a slave trader who then becomes an abolitionist who also writes the song, Amazing Grace. It's this big pendulum swing in his life. You've got someone like an Abraham Lincoln who was known for being a melancholy individual who had multiple failures in leadership, who then somehow becomes one of the greatest leaders in our nation in a very pointed time and was very instrumental in some really important ways. I think of people like Chuck Colson, who was a part of the Watergate scandal. In fact, he had the nickname, The Hatchet Man. And this guy would go on to face the consequences of his decisions, but ultimately, he would then also find a prison fellowship and lead decades of fruitful ministry after he himself encountered this living God, Jesus, which is amazing.

I think of people like a C.S. Lewis, this influential atheist who was a very known and outspoken skeptic who also gives his life to Christ. And you can find so many stories like this, whether they're faith-related or not. I once read an article that said early on, Walt Disney was criticized that most of his original, initial ideas and business plans lacked imagination. And this guy goes on to create Disney, one of the most creative companies in history. And that is really the theme and really the pattern that we are going to recognize in the life of the individual that we're looking at today. I would say that this person truly does go from a house of shame to the hall of fame. And what she was known for does not become what she is remembered for. And there's something in this that I think can encourage all of us. If you have your Bibles, again, Joshua chapter two, beginning in verse one, it says, "'Then Joshua, son of Nun.'" Who were his parents? He didn't have none, right? "'Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent two spies "'from Shittim.'" Now that's a tricky one. You gotta be careful there. You wanna really make sure you sound that one out. "'Go look over the land,' he said,

"'especially Jericho.' "'So they went and entered the house "'of a prostitute named Rahab, and they stayed there. "'And the king of Jericho was told, "'Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight "'to spy out the land.' "'So the king of Jericho sent his message to Rahab, "'Bring out the men who came to you and enter your house, "'because they have come to spy out the whole land. "'But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, "'and she said, yes, the men came to me, "'but I did not know where they had come from. "'At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, "'they left. "'I do not know which way they went. "'Go after them quickly. "'You may catch up with them.'" But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof. So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the forge of the Jordan. And as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut. Verse nine, before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, I know, now look at this, she's gonna start out very personal, very singular, and then her statements are gonna become more plural. But initially she says, I personally know

that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 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 Sahan and Gog, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. And when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord, your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. And so here we are introduced to Rahab, the prostitute. Now for the parents in the room, take a deep breath. I am not going to be breaking down that term. I will entrust you as the parent to decide how that gets explained in your household. But for the mature in the room, we understand the term. This woman had a pretty known profession, a pretty disgraceful lifestyle. It was wrapped in immorality, it was wrapped in shame and her reputation was all throughout the community. And it is very apparent this woman was boxed in to her role as a prostitute. And you can jump to a passage like this and think, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is going on, right? I say often that just because something is in the Bible does not mean it is endorsed by the Bible.

And sometimes you will come to portions of the text that maybe seem X-rated, portions of the text that come with things that make you feel uncomfortable or nervous. And it is in those moments that once more you have to take a deep breath, open your hands, humble yourself before God and his word and see what truth is he trying to reveal in our lives. It makes me think of my wife, I love my wife. And as most of us are trying to do in marriage, we are trying to love our spouse into their potential. Anyone got a spouse that makes them better? Come on, wave at me, show of hands. Yeah, all of our spouses are in many ways there to help make us better. And my wife does so in a lot of ways and probably one of the most consistent, intentional, thoughtful ways that she is trying to help me improve is in the area of my driving. Come on, anyone married to a spouse who provides feedback and just some consultation as you're driving? It never ceases to amaze me, every single time we get in the car and I set out to drive somewhere, she manages to save our lives at least five times. It's amazing. Now, what's also astonishing to me is I have never personally ever been in a car accident my entire driving journey. Somehow when she's not in the vehicle, I'm doing just fine.

But when she's there with me, she is saving all of us. I'm hesitant to say that, I know pastors aren't supposed to be superstitious. Maybe I'm a little like Michael Scott from The Office where he said, I'm not superstitious, I'm just a little stitious. And when I say I've never been in an accident, I'm tempted, my flesh wants to knock on some wood. But in all reality, I do think in most cases, in those moments where Kristen is throwing her hands on the dash and she's screaming out, look out, careful, watch out. In my perspective, it is a matter of perspective. She has been looking out the window, she has been talking to the kids in the back, she has been staring at her phone and she looks up and she sees brake lights and for the first time, she's noticing the car in front of us is stopping, whoa, careful. But from my perspective, I've been staring at the vehicle the entire time. This is under control, I am managing things just fine. Kristen and the kids attended last night, the Saturday night service and we went out to dinner afterwards and they're like, yeah, dad, maybe. We're not about to get in as many car accidents as mom thinks, but she does make sure you don't miss your turn and we get lost all the time.

So she is a help. But again, I think you come to passages like this and maybe you've not been paying attention and maybe you've not been following the story the entire time and then you bump into a moment where God uses a lying prostitute in his story of redemption and you think to yourself, whoa, what is happening here? And in many ways, it is a matter of perspective. From God's perspective, things are under control and things are moving forward according to plan and he is managing things just fine. And there are some things about Rahab that I think would just serve all of us well to consider this week as we study her story and we discuss it in our life groups and we lean into how does this inform God's work in my life? That's eventually what it's intended to do as we get into God's word. The hope is that God's word would get into us. As we read their story, it informs our own. And the first thing I think we have to just pay attention to is her reputation. Have you ever considered what your reputation is? How would the people in your life describe you? How would your coworkers describe you? How would your social media followers describe you? How do people label, define, and explain your life? And I think having a good name

is something we should all strive for. Scripture tells us to do so. I would also say, though, to assume that you have full control over your reputation is a naive thing. You can go through life and realize that you can live a life of integrity and try your best to honor God, though you're still imperfect. You can do a fairly good job of walking a straight and narrow line, but there will still come times where people will develop their own interpretations and their own opinions and criticisms of you, and you will discover that those things often spread by word of mouth. And when you may be walking around assuming that your reputation is one thing, you're called to discover that others have different views about you. I wonder if anyone here has ever discovered the gap between their reputation and their reality. You know, John Wooden, the iconic legendary basketball coach who won multiple championships with UCLA, he said this, "'Character is your true permanent self. "'It's built on values and actions, "'whereas reputation is merely the fickle, "'often inaccurate perception others hold of you.'"

And we are gonna go through life as Christians and as followers of Christ, trying to honor God, maintaining a good, incredible name, but at the end of the day, you will fall into people-pleasing if you are trying to masquerade and perform for every audience you come encounter with, trying to shift their perspective on you every time you turn around. That's gonna be exhausting. You are gonna find at times your reputation is going to be marked with unfair and inaccurate criticism. And then there are gonna be times where the criticism is actually accurate, but sometimes we can reinforce those things in each other's lives in harmful and unproductive ways. Rahab was a prostitute. Everyone thought she was a lost cause. Everyone thought she was too far gone outside the reach of God's tender mercy, yet we find that once again, God uses people you would not expect. And I just wonder, again, as we gather, how many of you are assuming you are outside the reach of God's grace, that you are a lost cause, too far gone, or who in your life do you place in that category? God can never work in their life. Redemption can never really take place

in that type of situation. Well, Rahab, she flies in the face of this. And I was thinking about this issue of just reputation and how do we live out of our reputation? How do we maintain a good name, but also just accept the fact that at times people are gonna get it wrong about us? And how do we not get discouraged when the criticism at times is accurate, but it's not final? And how do we overcome the labels that are placed on us? A couple of distinctions. I would say one is knowing the difference between objects and subjects. What we tend to do is turn a lot of people into objects where we have them fully figured out and we assign a label to them. And once they have a clear definition and a label, then they're manageable. I know what to do with you. It's a set and settled idea in my mind, but a subject is something you learn. If you go to school to study history, well, there's a lot within that subject that you can learn. And when it comes to people, we would do a far better job of approaching one another as subjects rather than as objects. This is not somebody who is completed. This is another individual who is a work in progress, who is also navigating and traveling through this broken, inconsistent life, trying to figure some things out. And chances are if you were to get to know their story, your opinion on them would change. Have you ever discovered that it's really difficult to hate someone up close? You've got all these strong opinions, and you scoff, and you point the finger, and you well up in pride, and you cast judgment on individuals. And then the moment you sit down to coffee with them, and the moment you hear about their upbringing, or the moment you hear about the trauma that they've endured, or the abuse they experienced, or the things that they had to endure, suddenly your heart begins to soften. And it is learning to see individuals as a subject and another person living this life

out that you and I get to learn their story. Maybe another clarifying distinction would be to know the difference between definitions and explanations. We love to define things in cute, orderly ways. We want things to be neat. We want things to have clear boundaries and clear labels. But an explanation is different than just a black and white definition. I would say that a definition, it draws a boundary, where an explanation, it builds a bridge. A definition, it gives you a label, but an explanation, it offers you the logic. It explains why an individual is the way they are and why they're acting maybe the way they're doing so. And it makes me think about just how our lives play out relationally. Most people in your life are scaffolding. God brings people into our life in really precious and providential ways that God uses them to help build and shape our lives, but what happens when a house is built? The scaffolding goes away. And that may sound like a savage thing to say, but truly, sincerely consider your life. Who in your life has been with you the entire story? Who was with you when you were in elementary school? Who was with you and knows the story of your upbringing? Who walked the halls with you of those awkward middle school days? Who journeyed with you as you figured out young adulthood and decided what career you would pursue? Who was with you when you stood at the altar and made a vow? Who was there when you first told someone that you bowed your knee to the lordship of Christ? Who was with you when you welcomed children into the world or when you discovered that illness? And what you discover is most people were not with you or are not going to be with you the entire story. This is sometimes what creates an unnecessary tension in our relationships. The moment someone steps out of our lives for different reasons, we always assume poorly of either them or us. And sometimes our lives come in parallel for a season, but God continues to move us forward at times in different directions. And most people who come into your life will not be a part of your life for its entirety. And so what happens is when people only experience you in seasons, they develop snapshots. They view your story in scenes. And the moment someone has a snapshot, a limited perspective on you, and they just view your life in the limited scenes that they were able to witness firsthand, well then they reduce your life to a simple sentence by which they can explain you. And this is how reputations get shaped and formed and narratives get spread. Because someone reduced your life to an inaccurate sentence. And here's the thing, when you and I go through life just accepting it, playing into the cast role that someone has tried to force us into, well the moment you do so, you in many ways are accepting a life sentence. You are going to find

yourself living enslaved and in bondage to a label that God does not desire for your life. And this is where You know, Scripture constantly is referencing the fear of the Lord. Now, for the person who's new to Scripture, they will misinterpret that and they will think that this is meant to endorse some fear that has us constantly trembling and suspicious of God's character as if He's out to get us and He's carrying lightning bolts around looking to throw them at each and every one of us every time we make a mistake. And so we go through life afraid of God. It's not what it's meant to mean. The fear of the Lord is to endorse the utmost reverence and respect for God. And what you discover is it is the fear of the Lord that often serves as the remedy for the fear of man. People are gonna have their opinions. People are gonna have their perspectives. For Rahab, she was a prostitute and most would have assumed lost cause is good as done. But God had a different plan for her life. And it is the fear of the Lord that really carries the greatest weight in her life. My question for you would be the same. Which carries more weight? God's opinion of you? What He proclaims over your life?

Or the fickle, inconsistent, and maybe even unfair and inaccurate opinions of others being cast upon you? She had a reputation and it was something she had to overcome. And most of us, myself included, will find that in this life, there are gonna be things that you bump into that you are gonna have to overcome some things in your reputation, amen? And that is what happens for her. Again, what you are known for does not have to be what you are remembered for. She was known as a prostitute, but she will be remembered as a instrumental hero. What's happening in the story? God has passed the baton from Moses to Joshua. Joshua is now charged with the task to take the Israelites into the promised land. They are gonna cross the Jordan. And their first hurdle, first obstacle in opposition is this mighty fortress named Jericho. It's a powerful country. And in that era of history, a country or nation's walls really established its might, its power, its security, its identity. And so they cross over and they face this pretty significant challenge. And it is right off the bat that God chooses to once more use someone who you would not expect.

Uses a woman with a pretty embarrassing past to be a powerful hero in the story. So again, whatever others say about you, turn up the volume on what God says more, amen? You are a child of God. You are a son, a daughter. You are an heir to the kingdom. You are loved. You are chosen. You are appointed. You have been anointed for a calling and God's destiny upon your life. And you have an eternity that has been secured. You are deeply valued and you carry the thumbprint of heaven upon your life. And that amazes me. The next thing you have to pay attention to is her revelation. She has this aha moment. There's that statement where I pointed out, she starts out in the singular and then she goes to the plural. Hey, we have all heard, but I know that your God has given you this land. This woman has a revelation. Recently, I was playing pickleball with my daughter, Presley, who's seven years old. And I found that the most productive way to do so is to not play against each other, but to play on the same team.

Rather than making it a contest of who can score the most points, let's make it a challenge. How many volleys can we have in a row? And so the other day we were going back and forth on the pickleball court and we were somewhere in like the 30s and the 40s, which I will tell you, it changes the way you play the game when your hit is trying to set the next person up for a good hit as well. That could maybe be a great approach to life. And we were fumbling every time we would get into about the 30s or the 40s. And then we get on a really good streak and we get to 57. And for the first time, it was dad who made the mistake and dad hit the ball straight into the net. And my seven-year-old goes, bro, focus, right? You ever found that your kid can say the word bro? in so many different ways, and somehow we know what is being implied by that one word, bro, focus. And again, you come to this story and there's details that can be distracting. This woman has a pretty embarrassing label that she is living out. And one of the first things we do or see is her lying about hiding these individuals. And individuals will be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here?

Is God endorsing this or is God endorsing that? And they get distracted. And I think sometimes we also might need a seven-year-old in our scripture study to say, bro, focus. What was this woman's revelation? Verse nine, she says, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We've heard how you've dried up the water of the Red Sea and how you came out of Egypt. And she runs down this list, but I love how she ends it. Or says, when we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord, your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. That's an amazing revelation. This woman is living in a pagan country, no exposure to the things of God. She's not being raised in a godly household. She's surrounded by idolatry and wickedness and all the things that were encompassed in Jericho. And she is living out this lifestyle that is contrary to God's desires for her life. Yet still in that context, God reveals himself to her. And she has this epiphany that illuminates a truth in her life. Wait a second, there is a God. He is the God of the heavens and the earth.

And he is for you and he has given this land over to you. She has an amazing revelation. When was the last time you had a revelation? When was the last time God illuminated some truth in your life that struck a chord and cemented itself deep within your soul that left you forever changed? I once heard a pastor say that many people are going to miss heaven by 18 inches. A lot of people go through life with this cerebral, intellectual, logical understanding of God, but it never goes from information into true transformation. It never drops from their head to their heart where it ultimately starts to transform their life from the inside out. And God's desire is to have your heart. And God's desire is to make himself known and to reveal himself to us. In fact, the pages of scripture open with the God making himself known. And the full revelation of God is found and fulfilled in Christ alone. And it is learning to embrace and journey along with a God who wants to open our eyes and illuminate our heart to more and more of his truth. God is in the business of bringing about revelations in our life. And this woman has a revelation. What I love about it is she is clearly

a part of the opposition. She represents the enemy. The Israelites are coming into town. They are going to square off with Jericho of which she belongs to. And she says, we, as your enemy, as your opposition, we've heard. We know what God has done in your life. We see how he has worked in mighty ways. It's undeniable. And I love that because it makes me think of hell hearing our testimonies. Have you ever considered the fact that maybe, just maybe, your opposition and your enemy has a better theology than you do? Sometimes we wake up naive to the fact that God is still on the move working in and through our lives. But I believe that there are dark and evil forces that are constantly fully aware. Wait a second, if these children of God wake up and discover all that he wants to do in and through their life, we are doomed. Your enemy knows your story. Your enemy knows your testimony. And they know what God has already done in your life and what he seeks to do in your life. And it is terrifying, the opposition. And this woman is surrounded by people who have all heard the same thing.

We've heard, we know, we were. told, but she makes the one personal ownership statement, but I know. And that's really what draws every single one of us into a personal relationship with God. It's not a group consensus. It's not something that we take by popular vote. No, it's something that we make by personal choice. I personally believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Son of God, and what He did on the cross was sufficient, and He paid the ultimate price and the ransom for me, and He did what I could never do for myself, and what He did was enough. My sins are covered. My eternity is secured. Jesus Christ has got the job done. I believe that. Whether that's popular, whether that's embraced by a multitude or not, I know He's God, and that's where she's at. What's interesting is God's about to bring judgment upon this nation of Jericho, and what you see in Scripture is every time God begins to shake something, He always seems to save someone. This woman is in the midst of a unique situation. She's got a personal predicament that's coming with some challenges, and she's got a national predicament

that's also creating some inconveniences, and God can still be good to you even though you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation that God is addressing. Whenever God shakes something, He always saves someone, and you can be positioned inside what God is judging and still be rescued by what God is doing. It's an amazing detail. The third thing is her response. How is she responding here? And again, people are going to raise questions about the lying. Anytime I've ever taught on Rahab, I've received a number of emails about how do you explain God using a woman who's lying? Personally, pastorally, I would say I read this story very similar to how I read some of the Holocaust stories of individuals who risked their life to hide Jewish individuals within their home who would tell the authorities no one was there. It reads very similar to me. But what I would say is in no way is God endorsing deception. No way is God endorsing lying. What you have here is once again, God's tender mercy on display. He does not wait for perfect theology. He does not wait for flawless behavior. He meets her in the motion. She has a limited understanding.

She's coming out of a pagan culture. She doesn't know any better at the moment. And church, I would just say this, just because you don't know any better doesn't mean you can't do any better. And God will meet you in the motion. And he does not expect you to get your life fully figured out and to pass some litmus test and have all the answers and a perfect, flawless life before he says, okay, you now as an elite religious person can now be a part of my group. No, he says, bring all your brokenness, bring all your shame, bring all your shortcomings, bring all your pain, all your confusion, bring all the lies that have tripped you up throughout your life, bring all of it. Because here's the thing. When you bring the real you, you discover the real him. You can't encounter the real God of the Bible if you will not present the real you to himself. That is what brings his authenticity into play in our life. And this woman is, she's met in the motion. But her response is amazing to me because what is the focal point between the Israelites and Jericho in this battle? The walls. God's gonna give one of the most bizarre and oddest military strategies you've ever heard of. And he's going to send out a marching band to just walk around the walls.

And then they're gonna blow some horns and the walls are gonna come tumbling down. It sounds like a terrible strategy. And like most situations in faith, God often calls us to do the improbable all so he can do the impossible. And the walls are the main focal point in this story. Well, as you read through all of Joshua chapter two, which I would encourage everyone to do this week, where is Rahab's house? It's in the walls. The very wall. walls that establish stability, safety, security, national pride, self-control, self-reliance. And this woman lives in the walls and she decides to lay down her trust and confidence in the system and structure that she's living in and to pursue this God with reckless abandon. Okay, I'm placing my trust in Him, not in this fortitude that I'm living in. It's amazing that she does so. When was the last time you looked at your confidence and considered where do I place most of my hope? Where do I feel the source of my safety, security, and wellbeing coming from? What is it that truly guides and shapes and fortifies your life? Is it a system or structure of this world or is the God of the universe? And she decides in this moment,

my entire living is anchored in this structure, but I'm choosing to lay that down because I believe God is a better option. We're all gonna discover that at some point. You can either be humble or at some point, you can be humbled and you can either discover the reality that there is no one like this God and nothing in this world can offer what He does. And she does so. There's a detail as it goes on, I didn't read it quite frankly because I would probably get distracted. I could preach for an entire message just on the scarlet cord that she ties on her window. The scarlet cord was there to signal and to identify her house for the spies. It was a way of tethering her house to God's promise. When you consider your own life, in what ways are you visibly tethering your life to the promises of God? What ways are you visibly tethering your house and your family to the visible promises of God? Look what it says in James chapter two, verse 25. James is about to make his iconic statement that so many people quote and they shoot it off like a Bible bullet. Hey, faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead. And most people are completely unaware of the progressing thought that supports that principle.

James says, in the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous? What a statement for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. She responded, there was a visible sign that she was tethering herself to God's work and promises. What are the visible signs that are bridging the gap between your beliefs and your behaviors that are tethering your life to the promises of God? The fact that you're here at church is a great start. Maybe it's joining a team. Maybe it's going on a missions trip. Maybe it's joining a life group for the first time. Maybe it's participating in a local outreach or tithing for the first time. What are the things that you are doing that says, hey, I'm tethering myself to the promises of God? And this chord, it marked the difference between destruction and deliverance. Think about it. This woman is living in the same city about to witness the same judgment, the same group of people collapsing walls, all of it. She wasn't in a different location. What was different for her was her identification. I now identify with this God and I'm anchoring myself to him and that distinguished and separated her experience.

Where others were experiencing destruction, she experienced deliverance. And lastly, you have to see her redemption. What did God do in her life? As I said, and as we've pointed out almost every week throughout this study, we are going through this scripture narrative story of redemption where we are looking at this cloud of witnesses, Hebrews chapter 12, verse one. Therefore, since we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, well, that is the tagline summarizing statement to Hebrews chapter 11, which is known as what? The hall of faith. goes down the list and it is one hero after another by faith, by faith, by faith. And there's this interesting deviation that takes place in the text. As it goes through the heroes of the faith, it does so chronologically. And then it shifts from doing so chronologically to doing so theologically. Here's how I'll show it to you in verse 29. It says, by faith, the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after the army had marched around them for seven days. By faith, the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

You can almost miss it. Which happened first? Did the walls of Jericho fall before she met with the spies or after she met with the spies? After. Everything up until this point has been sequential. Everything up until this point has been chronological. The Red Sea, it should read the Red Sea, Rahab, and Jericho. Instead, it reads the Red Sea, Jericho, and Rahab. It goes from chronological to theological, and these things do not happen by chance or are not random in Scripture. God is trying to get a message across. This woman is the final hero whose story is elaborated on in the hall of faith. You get to the end of the hall of faith, and what do you find? God not drawing our attention to a king, not drawing our attention to a priest, not drawing our attention to a prophet. No, you get to the end of the hall of faith, and the final exhibit is a prostitute. This is a powerful statement. God is trying to land a message for every single one of us, and it had me thinking about art exhibits. I loved experiencing those. We recently had a former staff member who took this wonderful research project with IU, and it has to do with the arts, and he recently invited me to this exhibit

that he's hosting, and I had been just kind of thinking about how do you plan out an exhibit? I find that anytime I bump into something like that, I go down like a wormhole, and so I was reading about art exhibits, and one thing I came across was the strategy and the thought that is given to the final exhibit. Here's a statement. I'll just read it as it came to me. It says, in the great galleries of history, the final piece often says the most. The final exhibit doesn't just close the show. It interprets everything that came before it. When an artist builds out an exhibit, the last thing they want you to see is the culmination, the explanation of what has been building to that final thing that you experience. And that is what is happening here in the hall of faith. You get to the end, and God places in the final exhibit someone who was considered a lost cause, someone who was considered too far gone, and someone who had a very embarrassing reputation. But what you are known for does not have to be what you are remembered for, and as history would advance, the tax collector Matthew would pick up his pen and begin writing his gospel. And in Matthew chapter one, he lays out the genealogy of God. Matthew was a tax collector, meticulous in his record keeping and he goes down the list of this is all the grandparents

and uncles and aunties and everyone who played a part in bringing Jesus Christ into the world. And you get five sentences in to the gospel of Matthew. Verse five, and whose name do you find in Jesus's family tree in genealogy? Rahab the prostitute. What you're known for does not have to be what you are remembered for. Reputation is what people call you, but redemption is how God refers to you. This woman went from labeled to listening to leaping to legacy. And she finds herself in the family of God and every single one of us, again, despite who you are, where you've been, what you've done, we too can experience the same, amen? Would you stand to your feet and pray with me? Listen, we're all gonna have to endure this stuff, but again, crank up the volume on the voice of God in your life. You are loved, chosen, and dearly valued by the creator of all things. Heavenly Father, God, we just thank you for your word. We thank you for your instruction. And once more, we thank you for people like Arahab, whose story is so authentic and so real. And once again, we find you not sidestepping the mess, not trying to really clean up the story to make it palatable. No, God, you came for the real us

and you meet us in our predicaments, in the midst of our brokenness, despite the stains and the shame that we carry. And God, you set us free and deliver us from the bondage of unproductive and maybe even at times inaccurate and unfair labels. And God, it's when we entrust our lives into your tender care that we discover you truly are able to do the unthinkable and you can move people from a house of shame into the hall of faith. And God, we just stand amazed by that. In Jesus' mighty name we pray, amen.