Pastor Paul Brown
September 19, 2021 - W2138

“Reverse the Curse, Lessons from Rahab the Harlot"

 Friends: Guardians & Guardrails

Pastor Paul Brown

September 19, 2021

Aloha and welcome, New Hope Oahu--those present and online! We're so glad that you are worshipping with us today as we continue our series Guardians and Guardrails; and the title of my message today is, "Reverse the Curse." 

Some of you may be feeling lonely, brokenhearted, and thinking that you've been cursed, saying, "God, where are you?"  May I tell you there is hope in Jesus Christ!  In fact, if you're feeling this way Jesus says, "You're in good company because I am close to the brokenhearted!" He is close, not far away!  

From the beginning of time there's been a sickness called sin! We see that from Genesis 3 to the book of Revelation, and the ultimate wage of sickness is death--separation between God and us!  The good news is that there is a Healer in the house who reverses the curse! As I pondered on this subject, I realized that the mortality rate right now--vaccine or no vaccine--is a hundred percent!  No matter what happens, we will all one day stand before God and give an account of our deeds--only Elijah and Enoch made it out!   

Ephesians 2:1-5 NIV says: "¹As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which...you followed the ways... of the ruler of the kingdom...who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  ³ All of us also lived... gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts...[and]were by nature deserving of wrath." ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

Because of God's great love for humanity, Jesus came and became the curse by dying on the cross on our behalf and reversed the curse that was meant for us!  

Galatians 3:13 NKJV says: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')." 

We have sinned because we failed God's perfect law: If we lied, we became a liar; if we stole, we became a thief; if we thought of somebody in our minds and hated them to the point of death, we become a murderer!  God says, "I know that you've fallen short, but by His grace, you are saved!" God doesn't just say we have eternal life; He reverses all curses that were made for your destruction.  

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV says: "⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast." 

We can only receive God's grace through faith--it's the ultimate equalizer.  It doesn't matter your race, class, money, or lack of money! God says everyone that needs grace has already received grace through faith in Jesus Christ! We now see everything through the lens of Grace--the gospel. Paul wrote most of his epistles while hungry in prison, but his epistles are of joy! When we receive Grace, the curse is reversed, and death becomes life, and we have joy!  

2 Corinthians 5:6 MEV says: "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." 

Whenever Paul was thrown into prison, he would tell the guards about the Lord and saved them all!  That's frustrating.  You can't move a person like that because with each persecution, he reversed the curse and changed everything because he saw everything through the lens of Grace!

You may be feeling that you don't deserve grace because you've done too many things and feel "That can't be for me. If you knew me, you would know that I can't be saved!" The only common denominator for all the heroes of the Bible is that they were all sinners saved by grace! David was a murderer and adulterer; Jacob was a swindler; Paul was a persecutor of Christians; and the person we'll be talking about is Rahab the harlot--the prostitute! She would probably be on Restaurant Row today doing her thing, never thinking for a second that she would be considered as a person of faith--but guess what?  Rahab is seen in Matthew 1, the book of James, Hebrews 11, and in Joshua Chapter 2...

Joshua 2:10-11 NIV says: "¹⁰ 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ 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."

This is so crazy that Rahab the harlot is showing us something and says, "I'm living in Jericho, one of the most fortified cities of the time, and I know your God is one true God--not like the idols and she risks it all for our God!  If she were caught, she would probably be destroyed, including her family, but she risks it all!  CT Studd says, "The gamblers for gold are many, but where are the gamblers for God?" We always win when we gamble for God, that when we trust God and turn from our ways to His ways, He reverses the curse!  What was meant for our destruction, God converts it into our good.

1. Trusting in God is Not Only Letting Go; It Is Also Taking Hold

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV says: "⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

There are certain things in our lives that we must let go, such as, our ways of dating, relationship, being in love with our wives or husbands, and adopting the ways of God!

Proverbs 11:5 NIV says: "The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness."

 We must let go of our ways and take hold of His way. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end.  

James 2:16-17 NIV says: "¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

If our faith is not followed by action, it's dead.  In fact, the word of God says that our faith is visible--not invisible.  You can see faith because it's evidential in the life that you live. Faith is evident in the way that we live, love, and care for people.  Live out what you believe, and it becomes true in your life.  We must let go of the way we've been doing things and say, "Lord, would you show me the way to care for my life, show me the way to care for my husband/ wife show me the way to care for my children in this difficult season in life."  Look to Jesus.

2. Prayer Is Not Pulling God Down but Allowing God to Pull You Up

I believe there are levels to prayer or to your relationship with God.  The first level is like a duty.  You see God out there, but you're not really a part of the family.  You're not really experiencing what God wants to do in your life; and I believe that one of the best ways we can experience God deeper is through prayer.  

Luke 11:1-4 NIV says: "¹One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” ² He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father,hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. ³ Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴ Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

God has given us the framework of how to pray:  First say, "Our Father." That brings so much peace.  Then, "Hallowed be your name," He has a name, is intimate, a healer, and His name is Jesus Christ, and He wants to develop in us a heart of adoration.  Second, pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Sometimes, it's difficult to pray that because what if that means for me to die to myself, and say, "I'm sorry." Third, petition the Lord and ask for your daily bread, what you need. Fourth, forgive considering the forgiveness God has given you. Each step brings you not just to a destination, but a transformation.  He's changing the way we think.

3. Repentance is More About Heart Transformation Than Behavior Modification

God is modifying our hearts, not just saying stop sinning.  He's modifying the way we think about prayer, marriage, and what's going on in our lives. I'm always amazed as I watch a buoy get knocked around by a big wave, boom, and it goes right back to where it's supposed to be--again and again! I was wondering what causes the buoy to go through so much abuse and still be stable and steadfast?  It's tethered and anchored to something that's heavier and stronger than itself--the anchor is like God's promises, it's immovable--and I'm tethered to Him!  

When we get hit by bad news and pushed back, we're holding on to the promises of God, saying, "You're a faithful, God.  You'll never leave me nor forsake me."  Boom, we get hit again with something about our family or a sickness, and say, "No, I know there's healing in my God."  I pray that we would be people like a buoy that holds on to the promises of God even when we go through storms. So, if God is about transformation, then repentance is not just behavior modification--it's heart transformation.  

Romans 12:2 NIV says: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." 

God doesn't only want us to stop sinning, He wants to change the way we think about sin altogether. Maybe you have difficulty trusting God, tell Jesus, "I have such a hard time trusting you, would you change my mind and let me see as You, see?"  That's repentance.  It's not just saying I'm going to stop, but you're saying, "Lord Jesus, would you change my whole perspective and change my heart?"  God is changing our minds to see sin as sin, that it leads to death! Grace and righteousness lead to life and they reverse the curse!  

King Nebuchadnezzar did some great things, and he praised the Lord of lords and the King of kings, Yahweh. Then, he totally forgets and thinks that everything that happened in his life is because he did it. He literally looks over his kingdom and, in that moment is thinking--not saying, "All these things that I've done!"  The word of God says...  

Daniel 4:31-32 NIV says: "³¹ Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earthand gives them to anyone he wishes.”

We will all go through valleys and hardships, but when we trust in God, He gives us grace, and we have eternal life! He says, "Death, no! To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!  God in His grace can reverse the curse!" 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. The Bible says, "'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." How was the curse broken?     2. How did the apostle Paul reverse the curse whenever he was thrown in prison?

3. What is the common denominator for all the heroes of the Bible?

4. Trusting in God is not only letting go; it is also __________    ___________.

5. If God is about transformation, then repentance is not just behavior modification--it's heart __________________.