you
Welcome to Verity Baptist Church Manila
Let's start our first service and let's get our hymns and turn to hymn number 166
Let's sing a song I will praise you
I will praise you
Couple tips
Diapers
Snacks
Water
First Aid
Second Aid
Third Aid if necessary
You cannot be too prepared for this
Trust me, I've learned via experience
But it's going to be a great time here today
Current upcoming series
Alphabet of Bible Doctrines
We're taking a break today because both sermons are Mother's Day themed
Starting next week is going to be the book of Matthew
Information on our group chat
And then on the back there's a place for notes
For both of the sermons here today
So at this time we're going to have the ladies choir
Perform for us
We'll be right back
Joshua
Joshua chapter 2
right after the five books of the Bible
the sixth book in the Bible
the book of Joshua
Joshua chapter 2
and we will only be reading
verses 1 down to verse 11
Joshua chapter 2
verses 1 to verse 11
Please say amen if you're there
Amen
Joshua chapter 2 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
a heartless house named Rahab
and lodged there
And I was told the king of Jericho, saying
The older came men and hid there tonight
of the children of Israel, to search out in the country
And the king of Jericho
sent it to Rahab, saying
Bring forth the men that have come to thee
which were entered into thine house
for they have become to search out all the country
And the woman took the two men
and hid them, and said to us
There came man to me, but it was not
once they were, and it came
to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate
when it was dark, that the men went out
whether the men went
I what not
Pursue after them quickly
for he shall overtake them
But she had brought them up to the roof of the house
and hid them with the stalks of flax
which she had laid in order upon the roof
And the men pursued out to them
the way to draw them into the fords
and as soon as they which pursued after them
were gone out, they shut the gate
And before they were laid down
she came up unto them upon the roof
And she said unto the men
I know that the Lord had given you the land
and that your terrors fallen upon us
and it all didn't happen to the land
faint because of you
For 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 unto the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon, and Og
and we utterly destroyed
and as soon as we had heard these things
our hearts did melt
neither did there remain any more courage
than any man because of you
For the Lord your God
is God in heaven above
and on earth beneath
Bless the ring of God for let us pray
Lord God in heaven we thank you Lord for this day
Thank you for giving to us
Please bless Lord for this day
Give us good weather for our sovereignty and our fellowship
Lord later on
Thank you Lord for this beautiful day that you've given to us
and also Lord to celebrate for the mothers that you have for this day
We love you in Jesus' name we pray, Amen
Alright we're here in
Joshua chapter 2
and as I said both sermons are
Mother's Day themed here today
and quite honestly you're probably not going to understand
how this is Mother's Day themed until about
15-20 minutes into the sermon
and I'm preaching about the character by the name
of Rahab here
in Joshua chapter 2 so notice what the Bible says
in Joshua 2 verse 1
In Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shechem
two men despised secretly saying
Go view the land, even Jericho
and they went and came into an harlot's house
named Rahab
and lodged there and Rahab is a very
famous character in the Bible
and whenever you hear the name Rahab
you immediately in your head think
Rahab the harlot
that is how she's known
that is what she's well known for
the Bible mentions in the Old and New Testament
you hear Rahab you think Rahab the harlot
verse 2
And it was told the king of Jericho saying
Behold there came men in here tonight
of the children of Israel to search out the country
and the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab saying
Bring forth the men that are come to thee
which are entered into thine house
for they be come to search out all the country
So there are a few men that come in from Israel
to spy out the land and to prepare
for battle and they come to
Rahab's house and she brings them in
and then the king says hey
bring these men to us
Now here's the thing
Rahab is risking her life
by protecting these men
If the king says do something
you do it
Imagine if our country was at war with another
country and someone from the other
country came and then the president says hey
bring those men out right now
and you disobey
The best you can hope for is going to prison
Right? I mean you could easily be killed
for disobeying what the leadership
and authority of the country says
Verse 4
She's saying I didn't know where they came from
Verse 5
So she's saying I didn't know where they came from
and they already left
Where the men went I don't know
I'm not sure where they went
Pursue after them quickly for you shall overtake them
And she's saying the men came
I didn't know why they were here
and then they left
Just go quickly so you don't miss them
Right? Rahab is lying
There's really nothing she's saying here
that is actually true
and this shows you actually an exception
where lying is not actually a sin in this instance
To protect somebody else's life
in a life or death situation
There are a few exceptions in the Bible
and here's an exception
where she flat out lies
and we're going to see later the New Testament says
that she did well by lying about this
to protect these men
Then it says here in verse 6
Go to verse number 9
Why would she do this?
I don't think these two men really knew what was going on
They come immediately to kings after them
and she hides them
and they might be thinking we might die here in a second
we might get arrested
and she hides them, she lies about it
and sends these people out of there
to protect these men from Israel
Why would she do this? Verse 9
I did on the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side
Jordan, Sihon, and Og whom he utterly destroyed
and as soon as we heard these things
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 an earth beneath
Now look, everybody who gets saved
whether the Old Testament
or New Testament
they get saved because somebody gives them
the plan of salvation
I believe she's already saved at this point
I don't believe these two men get her saved
She seems to be saying
I already believe in the true God
She's already saved at this point
and yet in this chapter we see
it's not Rahab who used to be a harlot
It's Rahab the harlot
She is a saved woman
that is a harlot
She's a saved woman
who is a whore
who is a prostitute for a living
Now look, you can't pick
much worse jobs
than that to make money
I mean, every single day
you're prostituting your body
for the sake of making money
I mean, that's a pretty major sin
but if somebody is saved
living as a prostitute
you know what that teaches us?
You do not have to repent of your sins
to be saved
I mean, all of us are sinners
but most of us don't have major sins like that
in our lives
and here's a woman that is a prostitute
presently, not Rahab who used to be a harlot
and yet she believes
and guess what?
She didn't repent of her sins
She is living in major sin
and yet she is saved
Why? Salvation is based on faith
You say the brother stuck you
I mean, works are the evidence of salvation
Well, where's the evidence of her salvation then?
Because she seemed to be doing the exact same thing
she did before
But you know, this also teaches us something else
Not only do you not have to repent of your sins
to be saved
it also shows that if you don't start being around
God's people
you're not going to change
because Rahab does change
and we're going to see that in this sermon
but she doesn't change until she actually leaves Jericho
You say, why?
Because if people get saved and they hang out with the same
ungodly friends
they do the same things they've always done
they don't start reading the Bible
they don't hear good preaching
they're not around God's people
they don't change at all
Look, if we get a drunk saved later today
and he doesn't start going to church
I would bet that he's probably still a drunk
in five years
Why? Because if he's not around God's people
why would there be a change?
You don't change by getting saved
and not being around God's people
You change when you get saved
and then you're around God's people
and others around you motivate you to serve God
I mean, people in this room could say
yeah, you know what, I read the Bible
I used to read the Bible
Why? Well, you always knew you needed to read the Bible
but when you're around others that read the Bible
what do you do? You do likewise
Right? You probably go so many more than you used to
Why? It's not like you just learned
that we're supposed to go so many
when you came to our church
you already knew that
but you do it more because that's what people do
Right? You end up being
like the people that you are around
and Rahab gets saved
living in prostitution
and she doesn't really make any change
until she's around
God's people later on
as she leaves Jericho
Go to Joshua chapter 6
Joshua 6
Joshua chapter 6
Joshua 6 verse 17
The city shall be accursed even it and all that are therein to the Lord
only Rahab the harlot shall live
she and all that are with her in the house
because she hid the messengers that we sent
The Bible still
refers to this woman
as Rahab the harlot
It's going back to this woman from Joshua 2
Short time later on
she is Rahab the harlot
and she has spared physical destruction
because she hid the messengers
Go to Hebrews chapter 11
Hebrews 11
You say, brother, just a second
what kind of a Mother's Day sermon is this?
Right?
Well I told you the first 15 minutes you're going to kind of wonder
like what is he talking about?
Right?
Hebrews 11 verse 31
The Bible says
and this is here in the hall of faith as we call it
it says here in Hebrews 11 verse 31
By faith the harlot
Rahab perished not with them that believed not
when she had received the spies with peace
and so it refers back to this woman
in Hebrews 11
once again, Rahab the harlot
or here it says the harlot Rahab
Here's a woman that is a harlot
and she has spared physical death
perishing physically
because of the fact she hid
the messengers
and once again she's Rahab the harlot
mentioned in the New Testament
Go to James 2, we're going to see the last reference
in order of the books to this woman, Rahab
Rahab 2 verse 24
Rahab 2
verse 24
And the Bible says here
in James 2 verse 24
You see then how that by works a man is justified
and not by faith only
This is of course a famous scripture for people that are
unsaved or people that try to say
works are part of salvation
and they'll say well see you're not just justified by your faith
you're also
justified by your works
and they'll say well before God
you're justified by faith and works
and you know what actually the statement I just said
I agree with that statement
but here's the thing
we're justified by faith in terms
of heaven or hell
we're justified by works in this life
the physical blessing
or destruction upon our lives
she was justified by works
in the eyes of God
because she's a saved person that would have died
and gone to heaven if she did
not hide the messengers
yet James 2 teaches we're justified
by works in the eyes of God
in this life you're right
because it says here in verse 25
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works
she was justified by works
when she had received the messengers and had sent them
out another way and guess what
you reap what you sow my friend
in this life you're justified
by your works
you say well it sucks you but I believe in Jesus
whatever I want you can do whatever you want
and go to heaven because you're justified by faith
in terms of heaven or hell
but in terms of this life you are justified
by your works
and look you know man may say
I have faith but if you have no works
it is not going to spare you from the judgment
of God he shall have judgment
without mercy if you show no mercy
if you don't have works in this life
and we ought to tremble with the judgment
of God just like the devils tremble
knowing who the true God is
and God will judge you
in this life
this is not about
going to heaven or hell in James 2
it's about having God's blessing upon your life
because what's the book of James about
Christian living
it's not the book of John
it's not the book of Galatians or Romans
that is all about salvation
it's about Christian living and guess what
you are justified by
works in this life before
God because if she did not
have the works in Joshua 2
what would have taken place?
She would have died with everybody else
even though she was saved and they were unsaved
and look as a saved person
if you live the same life
as unsaved people
why would you think that God is going to
spare you from His judgment in this life?
I mean look if you're
serving God and doing right
unless it is God's will
I don't think that you're going to die in a car crash
suddenly as a soul winner unless it was God's
will for whatever reason that we won't fully understand
but if you go out drinking
and then you drive
don't be surprised
if you crash and die then because you're doing
what everybody else does
and just because you're saved doesn't mean that God
is going to spare you from judgment
no you are justified by works
in this life
before God and the reason she was
not killed is because
she had works
here's the thing
regardless of what she did she could have lived as a prostitute
until the day she died she would have gone to heaven
because we are justified
by faith before God in terms of
heaven or hell but realize we're justified
by works in this life
and that is why she was not destroyed
not because she was saved
being saved did not stop her from physical destruction
in Jericho
her works are what saved her from
physical judgment
verse 26
for as the body without the spirit
is dead so faith
without works is dead also
people say well you know you can't have
faith without works you can't have a dead
faith and go to heaven here's the comparison
you have an alive faith
and you have a dead faith
this phone is
alive you say what's your proof
see you can see that
it's working right
if I poured water on this phone
what would you say about
this phone it's a
dead phone why
it's not producing anything it doesn't turn on
but here's the thing whether
it's a dead phone or an alive phone
it exists
right it's not like if I
poured water on this it's like some sort of magic
trick like where is it
I mean it still exists
whether you put water on
it or not and so it doesn't really matter
in terms of heaven or hell if you have an alive faith
or a dead faith
because if you have faith that's what saves you
he that believeth on the son half everlasting
life faith alone
will save you but if you
don't have an alive faith in this life
god will judge you and
Rahab was spared because
she not only believed
but because she had
works right
let us make a clear distinction between
what justifies us in terms of heaven
and hell and what justifies us
in terms of god blessing our lives
look my children and my children
no matter what they do
but if they disobey me
and they act malikut
I'm not buying them Dutch Mill
I'm punishing them
right it's the same thing with god
we reap what we sow be not deceived
just because you believe you're also
going to reap what you sow in this life if you live
a bad life and Rahab
was justified by works
in terms of god sparing her
physically from perishing
but being spared spiritually
from perishing whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but of everlasting
life now turn your Bible to Matthew 1
Matthew 1
now I said
that James 2 is the last
reference to Rahab in the Bible
but that's not quite
true because here's
the thing Hebrews 11
is referencing
back to Rahab the harlot
it's talking about
what she did when she was
a harlot
James 2 is doing what?
it's referencing
back to when she was
a harlot it's not saying that in the book of Hebrews
she's still a harlot obviously she's passed away
at this point it's referencing back
to what she was in Joshua
chapter 2 so honestly
the last reference we have to Rahab
in the Bible is really Matthew chapter 1
because Hebrews and
James are referencing backwards
and Matthew is really the last thing
we see about this woman
this is what it says here in Matthew 1
verse 1
the book of the generation of Jesus Christ
the son of David the son of Abraham
Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob
and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren
and Judas begat Pharaoh
and Zerah of Thamar and Pharaoh begat Esrom
and Esrom begat Aram
by the way some of these names are spelled
a little bit differently from what they were
in the Old Testament here's the genealogy
of Jesus Christ here
verse 4
and Aaron begat Amenadab
and Amenadab begat Nahasen
and Nahasen begat Salmon
and Salmon begat Boaz
of Rahab
Rahab
was the mother
of the character Boaz
I should say
from the book of Ruth
and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab
and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth
and Obed begat Jesse
now turning back to Ruth too
let us look at this character Boaz
Boaz is a pretty common famous character
he's a great man in the Bible
and his mom was
Rahab
but here's what I'm saying
it's saying Rahab the harder because it's referencing back
really what she becomes is Rahab the mother
that's really how we should remember her
now the Bible calls her Rahab the harlot
I'm not saying we shouldn't do that
it's a great illustration of salvation
is completely free
and we see that but what we see is
she didn't actually stay a harlot
because when she joined God's people she changed
and she became Rahab
the mother and she actually became
a very good mother you say what's the proof
the proof of that is Boaz
you don't accidentally
raise a Boaz
now obviously it's not just the mom
obviously her husband did a good job
as well they did a great job in a team effort
of raising Boaz
what I'm saying is the Bible specifically
mentions her name
because it could have just said
and salmon begat Boaz and you would never
know who he begat
Boaz of
but the Bible actually tells us
and it wants you to know that Rahab
is the mom of
Boaz Ruth chapter 2 verse 1
and
Naomi had a kinsman of her husband
a mighty man of wealth of the family of Lamelech
and his name was Boaz
and Ruth of Moabites said unto
Naomi let me now go to the field and glean
ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall
found grace and she said unto her
go my daughter and she went and
came and gleaned in the field after the reapers
and her half was the light on the part of the field
belonging unto Boaz who is of the kindred
of Lamelech this is the start
of learning about Boaz in the Bible
what do we see from these first couple verses
here's a man
that is very successful
financially
he is a mighty man
of wealth
he's prosperous
he's respected
people like Boaz it's clear from the book of Ruth
he is very successful
financially in this life
now of course we're going to learn he's also very
spiritually godly as well
he is successfully financial
he's a very successful person but notice what he says
in verse 4 and behold Boaz
came from Bethlehem
and said unto the reapers
the Lord be with you and they answered
him the Lord bless thee
Boaz would be a man that would be considered
respected and thought of very
highly in society
a reaper would
not be thought of so
highly in society
they'd be looked at in kind of a lowly
setting like it's not a
a successful job
it's not successful what they're doing
that they're kind of failing in life
Boaz would be very well respected
the reapers would not necessarily
but Boaz shows up and what does he say
he says the Lord be with you
it's kind of like saying the Lord bless you
God bless you
can you imagine if you showed up to work
and your boss is incredibly rich
and at the first thing of the day he says
hey you know what God bless you
I hope God's blessing your life I hope things are going well
that's not exactly what you would expect
you know like a Donald Trump
or a rich whomever in this world
a Bill Gates to do
you don't expect Bill Gates first thing in the morning
saying hey you know what I've been praying for you
I hope God is blessing your life
that's probably not how they introduce
themselves in the morning in fact a lot of
people that are leaders in this world
financially and successful in companies
a lot of them are pretty wicked people
right? but the first thing
Boaz does is you know he just says hey
the Lord be with you
and they answered him the Lord bless thee
you can see that this is a man that has integrity
he's not just successful and respected
he's a man of integrity
he's a man of character
he said where did he learn that from?
probably from his mom and dad
seems like his parents did a pretty good job
actually raising him
go to verse number 11
and Boaz answered and said unto her
it hath fully been showed me
all that thou hast done under thy mother
in law since the death of thine husband
and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother
and the land of thy nativity and art
come unto a people which thou knewest not
heretofore
the Lord recompense thy work and a
fair Lord be given thee of the Lord God of Israel
under whose wings thou art
come to trust
now you know the story of Boaz and Ruth
of course they end up getting married at the end
but Boaz is not necessarily the first in line
to preserve the genealogy
to preserve the family name
but he ends up marrying her and I believe he already
has an interest in this woman
and a large reason why is because she's a godly woman
here's a godly man
wants to get married and he finds a godly woman
and another way to think of this
is in many ways
Ruth probably reminded him a lot
of his mom
you say why?
grew up in a wicked country
rightly Ruth is from Moab
which if you just said you were from Moab
during that time period people would look down on you
regardless of how godly you are
right?
I mean she would be looked down on
because her husband passed away
even though that's not her fault
she'd still be kind of looked down on for that
and her name would just not be looked at
I mean
Boaz thinks very highly of her because
she left a wicked land to serve God
not everyone would necessarily think the same
thing about her
and you have Rahab, his mom
very similar
now the difference is there's no indication
Ruth was living a wicked life in
Moab
certainly Rahab was living a wicked life before
she moved but here's what I'm saying
in many ways Ruth probably reminded
Boaz a lot of his mom
Rahab and she lived in a
wicked land and she left it to serve God
but here's the thing
if you don't raise your kids correctly
they're probably not going to be looking
for a godly person to marry
if you do raise your kids correctly
that's probably the number one
thing they're looking for
the number one thing I want
for my kids and the person they marry is
they marry someone who loves the Lord
you say well what if they love
the Lord but they don't have a lot of money
that is
what the Lord would tell you
now obviously
we need to work hard and try to be
successful in life but what I'm saying is
the number one most important thing is
do they love God
that is the number one
thing and Boaz is looking for a
godly wife to marry and
Ruth probably reminds him a lot of
his mother turn your Bible
to 1 Timothy 1
1 Timothy chapter 1
so here's what I'm trying to say brother Shucky
here's what I'm trying to tell you
your past life
does not have to hold you back
from serving God today
I mean we're in a room
full of plenty of people here
I don't know everybody's story and of course
we don't believe in bragging about sins from the past
so we're not going to know that and you know
praise the Lord for that because God wipes the
slate clean we ought to do the same thing
right
I don't know the past of people in this room
but I guarantee there's people in this room
that used to be drunks
used to
fornicate
used to do all manner of sins
I'm sure in this room
right and that's not something we need to know
the past is the past but here's what I'm
saying your past sins don't have to hold
you back now
whatever you did five years ago
whatever you did ten years ago whatever you did
a couple months ago I mean if you change it's done
right
notice what it says here with Paul the Apostle
in 1 Timothy 1 verse 12
and I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled
me for that he count
me faithful putting me into ministry
who was
before a blasphemer
and a persecutor and injurious
but I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly and unbelief
why did Paul obtain mercy
because he did it ignorantly and unbelief
but also he was before a
blasphemer
it was something from his past
but he changed
Rahab was
a prostitute
Rahab was a harlot
Rahab was a whore
those are words that when you even say
them it sort of makes you a bit
uncomfortable because it's such a strong word
that's what the Bible says Rahab was
in the past
you say well Brother Stuckey how could she raise
a Boaz because that was her past
not a present
I mean of course if you are pleasantly
living in sin you're not going to do a
good job raising your kids
but the past is the past
your past will not
prevent you from serving God today
Paul the Apostle
why was he so great for God
because the past was the past
right
turn your Bible to Philippians 3
Philippians
chapter 3
you know I'm not trying to sit here and sound like a
watered down non-denominational preacher
but you know this is true
the past does not have to hold you back
and here's the truth
some people need to just forgive themselves
for things they did five years ago
and forget about it
and realize
it's done
notice what it says here in
Philippians chapter 3 verse 11
if by any means
I might attain under the resurrection of the dead
not as though I had already attained
either already perfect but I follow after
if that I may apprehend that for which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus
brethren I count not myself
to have apprehended but this one
thing I do
forgetting those things which
are behind
and reaching forth onto those things which
are before
that's why Paul the Apostle was able to press for it
in his life was because he was able to
forget about the past
I mean there's literally people that will
get saved and then say
I could never be a soul winner because I used to
be a drunk
what does it have to do with being a soul winner
today
now if you're currently a drunk you're right
you can't get somebody
saved if they're not sober much less
if you're drunk yourself while you're preaching the gospel
right
that's your past that's the past
it's not going to stop you from serving
God today
right whatever you did in the past forget about it
Paul said I forget
the things which are behind and reach
forth onto those things which are before
you cannot reach forth
if you're holding
onto your past
and inside of your mind
you literally cannot press
forward if you're
feeling guilty about things from ten
years ago
feeling guilty about things from twenty years ago
and I get it
if you have sins in your life
especially if they're major sins it might be
hard to
forgive yourself and you know you think of the
story of Joseph in the bible his
brethren after their father dies they
still feel guilty they still don't know if
they've been forgiven and decades have passed
and you're like
obviously what they did was extreme
but there's people in this life where they don't forgive
themselves and they think about things they did like
man I can't believe I did that
you know in 2010
it's like that was thirteen years ago
it's like forget about the past
your past is
the past and leave it in the
past and then Paul says
I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God
in Christ Jesus go to Isaiah 43
Isaiah 43 in
your bible Isaiah chapter 43
by no means am I trying to
make light of sin
what I'm saying is if you've gotten
it right
it's done with
it's over
it's in the past
leave it in the past
I'm sure and you know here's
what probably a lot of people think like man
people don't realize everybody at a church
is so godly but me I used to do
all these things in the past
actually that's because nobody at a church brags about
their sins
there's probably a lot of people that are not proud of things
that they've done and look we should not be proud
of sins we've committed in the past
we should feel shame and embarrassment about it
but we should let the guilt
go and realize hey you know what
I've already gotten right with God I'm not doing
it today it's in the past
and just leave it in the past
Isaiah 43 verse 18
remembering not
the former things neither consider
the things of old
I will do a new thing now it shall spring forth
shall ye not know it I will even make a way
in the wilderness in rivers in the desert
go to verse 25 Isaiah 43 verse 25
I even I am he that broadeth
out thy transgressions for mine own sake
and will not remember
thy sins
see God forgets about your
sins they're gone
they're done
you know a lot of Baptist churches and other
churches will teach well you know what when you get
to heaven there's gonna be like this
big you know broadcast
of all the sins that you've ever committed
you better make sure that you're serving
God because they're gonna show everything
everything you did I mean
when you're six years old
and you know you threw a pencil at another
kid it's like that's gonna be on there
right everything you did in your
whole life well that's not what
the Bible teaches God
says he's not gonna remember
now if I'm trying to motivate you to serve
God what I'll say is you reap what you sow in this
life you're justified by your works in this
life so don't commit sins now
but God's not gonna broadcast everything you did
think about this
what parent wants to broadcast
the sins of their children
is that how you feel about your kids
well let me tell you about what
Zeph did well let me tell you about
what Christabel did why would I want to do that as a parent
no parent
wants to broadcast the sins
of their children God's not gonna broadcast
or embarrass you because if you're
saved you're his child
he's not gonna broadcast them to the
world to see he will not
remember he's going to forget
well here's the thing if God is
completely forgiving you and forgetting
about it maybe you ought to forgive yourself
also
maybe you also ought to forget about things that you've done
wrong in the past and realize it doesn't
matter what you did five years and ten
years ago what are you doing now
look I'm sure that the
moms and dads because it's really
a sermon that can be applied both ways
the moms and dads
I'm sure all of us did things that we're
not proud of things that we
do not want our kids
to repeat
here's the thing if you're not doing
them now you can teach your kids and
help them not make the same mistakes you did
right
I mean your sins in the past they are in
the past and God will not
remember them turn your Bible to
Proverbs 31
God's not going to remember
our sins
we should forgive ourselves and forget
about it and not carry guilt if we've
gotten right with God especially if it's from a long time
ago I mean literally in this life people talk
about things like they did like
30 years ago and it's like they
can't let things go
and it's like man 30 years ago was a long
time right you know
yesterday you know when the men were you know
staying at the building as the wives went out bowling
we were talking about things you know from our past
that we used to enjoy we were talking about Super Mario Kart
and we looked on Google that was from 1992
it was like literally
31 years ago I'm like man I'm
pretty old now right
I remember playing that as a kid
but it's like things from 30 years ago it's in the past
right
now here's the thing I don't think
you should necessarily run from your past
either though what I mean by that is you know what
I tell my kids you know what
listening to rock music is ungodly
it's wicked
it's you know music that praise the
devil it's nothing that a Christian
should listen to even though I was guilty
of that in my past
and I want to help
teach my kids don't do the same thing that I
did right
but you can forgive yourself
because it's done
what are some things what are some sins people
carry around well one thing might be alcohol
alcohol
right
drugs smoking
you know anything that we would be labeling
as you know a vice a
right I mean those sorts of things
where people could carry around guilt and say
man I can't believe you know I used to drink
or I can't believe I used to do drugs
I can't believe I lived that life that the world
is living that's what the Bible says in Proverbs
verse 31
verse 4 this is what the Bible says about
alcohol it is not for
kings O Limuel
it is not for kings to drink wine nor
for princes strong drink now my opinion
is that I mean
I believe Solomon wrote this book
I believe Limuel is
in an endearing term
that Bathsheba the mom of Solomon
is actually giving to her son like maybe she calls
him something different
but regardless of whether you think that or
not here is a mom
telling her son who's a king you know
it's not for kings to drink
wine nor for
princes strong drink it's not
for you that are successful to drink
alcohol it's not for you that's
a king you say why would it be wrong for a king to
do this lest they drink
and forget the law
and pervert the judgment of any of the
afflicted what law would they be forgetting
well I mean the land
of Israel was living under God's law
they'd be forgetting
the words of God the law of the
Lord right as the Bible says
so by the second why should a
Christian not drink because they'll forget God's
law because
alcohol gives you boldness to do stupid
things you would never do if you were sober
it's compared to the Holy Ghost
what does the Holy Ghost do it gives you boldness
to do things that you would never do
if you were not filled with the Holy Ghost in a good
way what does alcohol do
it gives you boldness to do stupid things
that you would not do if you were not
drunk
it's going to cause you to forget the law
I mean go drink
and don't be surprised if you're destroying your
life don't be surprised
if all of a sudden you find a funny hey let's just
burn down a building hey let's
just commit adultery let's just steal
something from 7 Robin
those are the stupid things people do
when they're drunk
right I mean I know so many stories
in my life of people that did stupid things
when they were drunk I mean several stories I
know from college of people I knew
I know multiple stories
of guys that got drunk in college
and then all of a sudden they woke up the next
day and it's like
who's this person beside me
they had no idea
one of my friends from high school he woke up
there was a guy next to him
and he was too drunk even to
realize that is that what you want to do
get drunk
to the point that you you know
okay with another guy without even realizing
it
oh boy we're really missing out because we're not
drinking red horse right
we're really missing out on what the world
has to offer
is that what you want to do with your life
or you end up with someone you don't even
know and all of a sudden they're pregnant it's like
man I didn't even know what happened
is that what you want to do as a guy is that what you want to do
as a woman just go and
just fornicate your body away while you're
drunk things that you would not do when you're sober
but that is what alcohol
causes people to do
but I know a story
someone who was in my Spanish class in
college I've said this story a few times
and this person got stabbed
to death while drunk
him and this other drunk guy
got into a snowball fight
and then somebody pulls out a knife
and it was like a big murder trial for a year and a half like
who's knife was it was it self defense
or was it murder
and they ended up ruling after a year and a half it was
self defense but it's like
regardless what caused that
was it a snowball no it was called alcohol
because
nobody would pull
out a knife unless they're an idiot
unless they drunk
alcohol over
a snowball fight
somebody throws a snowball at you
and then you pull out a knife
but that's what you do when you're drunk
right
alcohol will cause you to act
like an idiot
let me tell you something
it's not worth the risk just because of
peer pressure because this is why
a lot of people drink merely
because of peer pressure they don't want to do it
but everybody else is doing it and say okay
I'll do it too well you don't know what you might
do with your life
and here's reality
in today's world people might think it's
funny to just kind of spike a drink so you end
up doing a drug and then you're just passed out
this happens in real life
baba says here in verse 6
give strong drink
unto him that is ready to perish
and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts
let him drink and forget his poverty
and remember his misery no more
people try to use this passage to justify
drinking saying actually
you know what you should give strong drink
and alcohol to those that are ready to perish
his
mom is mocking alcohol
she's saying it's
not for a king or a prince
or someone who's successful
he's like give strong drink unto
the person ready to die
because his liver is destroyed from alcohol
give strong drink
unto the unbelievers
let them drink
give strong drink unto them
let them run unto those that be of heavy hearts
do you really think the Bible is saying
hey if you're sad
just get drunk
is that what the Bible is saying?
or is the Bible mocking drinking alcohol
hey those that have heavy hearts
those that are sad
it's because they're drinking
look the last advice I would give to someone who's depressed
oh just get drunk
is that really what you think the Bible is teaching?
does that make any sense?
I mean it only makes sense if you want to justify your drinking
what she's doing is
mocking it
it says here in verse 7 let him drink and forget his poverty
why does she say poor?
because people that drink
are poor
I'm amazed
we go sowing in some areas that are
pretty low income areas sometimes
people that have nothing
and they're gambling away all their money
and they're smoking and they're drinking
and I'm just thinking
wouldn't you want to save up some money to fix your house?
save up for some food
or something like that
but no let's just drink away my souls
so I can forget about my misery
here's the thing
I'm not miserable so I don't want to forget about my life
why would I want to forget about my life?
but alcohol causes you
to remember your misery no more
I don't live a miserable life
by the stock I mean how can you live without drinking
because I enjoy life
I don't need booze to feel better
I feel perfectly fine
right?
and this passage is mocking alcohol
here's the reality
there's people in this room that used to be drunkers
there's people in this room that used to just
socially drink alcohol
there's people in this room that used to just socially drink all the time
because everybody else was doing it
there's people in this room
that probably used to do drugs
used to smoke regularly
and look I don't know your personal life
if you've got these sins in your life
get right with God today
but if this is something from the past
it's the past
right?
but here's the thing
what happens to a father that says
son, don't drink alcohol
while he's drinking
because you know that's what a lot of drunkards say
they tell their kids
don't drink, it's going to destroy your life
don't smoke, it's going to destroy your life
what's that kid
probably going to do?
exactly what mom
and dad do
why? because every daughter wants to be like
their mom
every son wants to be like their dad
right? I mean I overheard a conversation
last night between my wife and my son
Zeph, and Zeph was saying
I want to be exactly like dad
you say why? because that's what kids
want to do when they're young
every boy wants to be like their father
every girl wants to be like their mom
what example are you setting
to your kids? now here's the thing
when I tell my kids
hey, don't do this, I used to do that
that's what losers do
and I used to be guilty of it, don't do that
I'm not presently in that sin
it's not going to prevent me from raising my kids
in the right way
if you are doing those things
you're not going to be a Rahab
but if it's your past
you can still be a Rahab as a mom
turn your Bible
to 1 Corinthians 16
1 Corinthians 16
1 Corinthians 6, not 16
1 Corinthians chapter 6
now the other thing
that she warns her son about in this passage
is give not thy strength unto women
we didn't look at that for the sake of time
but basically don't just go and just
marry a bunch of women
just find the right person
stick with them
and unfortunately, assuming I'm correct
this is Bathsheba and her son Solomon
her son didn't really follow that advice
he said, why didn't he follow that advice?
well, I mean, his father David
was not exactly innocent
at any point of his life until he got a lot older
from being guilty of that
he married several different women
so it's going to be kind of hard to raise your kids
if you're guilty of it
so he doesn't take heed to the advice
despite the fact we have the Song of Solomon
which is like the great love story in the Bible
and yet later on in the life of Solomon
obviously he went the other route
and that's another thing
that people could hang onto
is sexual sin from their past
fornication
adultery
pornography
anything associated, these are things
that people could be guilty of
and they could hold onto that sin
statistically over half of children
in the Philippines are born out of wedlock
over half of children
so realistically that means
a lot of people in this room were born out of wedlock
and realistically there's people that were guilty of this sin
before they got right with God
either before they got saved
before they got right with God
or they got guilty of from the past
and here's the thing
if you're guilty of that from the past
I'm not trying to criticize you or beat up on you today
I'm trying to help you raise your kids
not to make the same mistakes
that you made
realize this
Rahab probably heard a lot of sermons
against sexual sin
and you know what
sometimes that might strike a chord on the inside of you
because it's something you used to be guilty of
and I realize that
and I preach on it
even if you're not guilty of it now
it might cause kind of a reaction on the inside
and I would just say
you have to learn to live with that
because you're always going to remember that
it's like a scar that might never go away
but you can still forgive yourself
and realize it's in the past
I'm not trying to bring up your past sin
and make you feel horrible
I'm trying to say, hey, you raised your kids in the right way
not to make those mistakes
and in this room there's plenty of people
plenty of people will probably get you
fornication, pornography
all kinds of sexual sins
obviously if you're getting that today
get right with God
and make sure your kids don't go
down the same road
but here's the thing
if it's in the past
it's in the past
God already forgave you
He's not remembering it
and nor should any of us bring up
other people's sins from their past
people's past are their past
and it's done, you don't have to make them feel horrible
like they're a terrible person
the past is the past
but you individually forget about those things which are behind
it says in 1 Corinthians 6
verse 15
know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ
shall I then take the members of Christ
and make them the members of it Harlot
God forbid
know ye not that he which is joined to it in Harlot
is one body, for to saith he shall be one flesh
but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit
flu fornication
every sin that a man doeth is without the body
but he that comitteth fornication
sinneth against his own body
the Bible says that when you fornicate
it's kind of like a special sin
sexual sin
something that sticks to you
because when you get married
two become one
and so if you're fornicating with someone you're not married to
and then you end up marrying somebody else
it's just something that has a different effect on you
the Bible says
the Bible says you sin against your own body
and by the way
you say what are abusers of themselves
with mankind
cross reference in the same chapter
people that choose to commit sexual sin
somebody abuses you
sexually, that's the word you'd use
you can abuse yourself by just fornicating out your own body
it's not talking about a homosexual
in 1 Corinthians 6
abusers of themselves
well those that are sinning against their own body
by being joined unto others
are not married to
any sexual sin would be what that is referring to
as we cross reference in this chapter
verse 19
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you
which ye have of God
and ye are not your own
for ye are bought with a price
therefore glorify God in your body
and in your spirit which are God's
look
obviously someone like Rahab
she did that for a profession
a lot of people
I'm sure that's a scar that never really goes away
it's like a
wound that probably keeps coming up
where she probably felt guilty a lot
over things that she had done from her past
but here's the thing
obviously she was able to let it go
to some degree because she didn't
she didn't allow it to stop her
from raising her kids
and what I'm saying is there's probably moms in this room
who worry like I don't know if I can
do a good job raising my kids
I've only been saved for a year
I didn't grow up as an
independent Baptist
I mean I just got saved
recently I used to drink I used to party
I used to commit all these sins
that's not going to stop you from raising
your kids
because if you put your past behind
you and you teach your kids to read the Bible
go to church
obey God's commandments
go soul winning guess what happens
if you're doing the same they're going to read
the Bible they're going to go to church
they're going to go soul winning why
because that's what mom and dad
are doing
return your Bible to
Deuteronomy 6 we'll close up
Deuteronomy 6
Deuteronomy chapter 6
if anything
when you teach your kids you can tell them
you know what this is the result of not
reading the Bible and hearing good preaching
that you end up committing these sins just like
everybody else and it's a good warning to your kids
hey you know what you need to read the Bible everyday
because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did
when I wasn't serving God
but your past does not
have to affect your future unless
you let it affect your future
there's literally people that feel guilty about
you know going to church
because of sins they committed in the past
that they're not doing now
people that feel guilty about going soul winning because of
sins they committed years ago
people that feel guilty are like man I could never preach
a sermon because you know ten years ago
I did this
well I can't raise my kids because I used to commit
all these sins it's like I'm not going to do a good job
as a mom or as a dad what I would say is
your past is your past
and if it didn't stop
Rahab from raising a Boaz
and
I would imagine that probably
Rahab was more guilty than anybody
in this room of major sins in her life
that could hold her back
I would say that Paul the Apostle in terms of men
was probably more guilty because of the fact he was
persecuting Christians than anybody
else it didn't stop Paul the Apostle
from being the greatest missionary
greatest evangelist greatest church
starter soul winner and everything like that
it didn't stop Rahab either
from raising a Boaz and she did
such a good job that her son realized
you know what I want to marry a godly person
that reminds me of my mom someone who
serves God and loves God and
has that as their focus and then he ends up marrying
Ruth which I would presume in this
new competition on YouTube your favorite female
Bible character I think Ruth is
probably going to beat Mary
it's going to be down to those two for sure
I mean if a lot of
Catholics vote in the poll then Mary will win
but otherwise I think Ruth is going to take that
I could be wrong but
Ruth is the only character in the Bible
ever called a
virtuous woman
she's the only one
we think of the Proverbs 31 virtuous woman
and who's the only woman ever called a virtuous woman
I think she's the only virtuous woman don't misunderstand me
but she's the only woman called a
virtuous woman and it's like
her mother-in-law was Rahab
right? I mean that's
kind of astonishing I remember when I first realized that
I was like wow you know it's just
cause you know with sections like Matthew 1
you could easily just kind of
read over cause you're like alright let's get to the
exciting stuff I'm trying to
motivate you to memorize Matthew 1 1
through 17 you know next week
that's why I'm talking about it but
this one says in Deuteronomy 6 verse 6
and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart
and thou shalt teach them diligently
unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou
sitest in thine house
and when thou walkest by the way and when thou
liest down and when thou
risest up you know the Bible says
we need to diligently teach our children
the word of God and what's
correct and what's wrong and you want any
mom or any dad
that raises their kids
in this way you're gonna
have an impact on your kids
right cause the Deuteronomy
6th person is not someone who's presently
living in sin you're not always gonna talk about the Bible
if you have major sins but if you
have major sins in your past and you got rid
of them and now you're
starting over and fresh I mean God's
forgiven you you let go of that guilt
yourself and you raise your kids it is not gonna
stop you from raising a Boaz
it's not gonna stop you from raising someone
who loves God your past sins
do not have to affect you say
what's the proof of that brother Stuckey
Rahab the mother cause the last reference
we have of Rahab Matthew 1
cause Hebrews 11 and James 2 are looking
back to the Old Testament Rahab
before she got right with God
the last reference we have is Rahab the
mother and if Rahab
who was a harlot and
became a great mom
could end up being a great mom
any mom in this room is capable
of it if you put in the time
you put in the love
and you put the effort into your kids
let's close in word of prayer your heavenly father
thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting
to see this great character in the Bible Rahab
God I ask you to help all the moms and also the fathers
in this room help us
to raise our kids to serve you and
to love you help us to raise
and teach our kids not to make some of the
same mistakes that we made in our past God
I ask you to help the kids in this room
grow up and be the next generation of
soul winners and people memorizing the Bible
and preachers and eventually
even pastors and people doing
great and mighty works for you God I ask you to help
all the moms and dads in this room in Jesus name we
pray Amen
We hope you on the part of Jesus name
Everybody sing
Oh