The Thread - Dan Watson

0:15 I love Palm Sunday I love that we just heard the account of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem we heard from Anthony and we heard from Ella reading Matthew chapter 21 and Matthew chapter 21 just part of it from first a since a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of them and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. You know, Palm Sunday is a moment of celebration. Picture it. The streets are full in Jerusalem. The atmosphere is charged.

1:09 The crowd is there with expectation and anticipation of a king to come. And Jesus enters Jerusalem. And the people respond with a cry that captures the longing of a human heart. They shout, Hosanna. Which means, save us. Save us now. And they're not wrong for praising. They're not wrong for asking for saving. They're not wrong for asking Jesus to save them. But there is a tension in the moment. There is a tension in the air that they do not yet understand how that salvation will come to pass in a few days. They're asking a big ask. And sometimes if we're honest, that's just not their story in the city of Jerusalem. That's our story too right here in Fayetteville.

2:04 how often we've asked God to move but already decided how it should look like how often we cried out for rescue but only in the form we're comfortable with and the form that we understand in our human minds you see the crowd here in Jerusalem expect a certain kind of saving a certain kind of deliverance they expect visible power political overthrow and immediate change they expect a king who will rise up and fix everything that's wrong around them. But God is working according to a deeper plan, my friends. And you and I got to understand that God is working according to a deeper plan in our lives. And there may be things that we're asking and we're crying out for, but God is saying, hey, hey, hey, it is gonna look different. And Palm Sunday is not just a celebration, but it is also a revelation.

2:58 It reveals the longing of a human heart and the surprising way that God answers that longing. You see, all throughout Scripture, God has been showing His people that He not only saves, but He shows them how He saves. He's been placing signs and images and pictures and accounts all across Scripture. It's kind of a pattern that points us forward to what He would only do through Christ on the cross. Thank you. to help us better understand Palm Sunday kind of need to go back and look at this great picture from God that he has already given and we've been in the book of Joshua and I kind of want to camp there a little bit today in Joshua chapter 2 it's the life of Rahab and God gives us a preview of his salvation through the life of a prostitute he shows us that even in Joshua chapter 2 his salvation is received by faith and faith alone and what is faith Hebrews 11 verse 11 tells us the faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance in things we do not yet see faith is trust is confidence is assurance and I want to give us free things from the life of Rahab's account, but we see this great faith at work in order to be saved.

4:37 So Jesus, as we open up this text in Joshua chapter 2, I pray that we would be humble enough to learn from a prostitute. who has put her faith in you. Speak to us today, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, Chloe. Don't go too far. We're not going to be long. The first thing I realize about this, what we look at is trust. We must trust before the outcome. Trust before the outcome. Let me read this. We understand this because if you've been part of the collection that we've been going through in church, we've been going through the book of Joshua. And Joshua has been said by the Lord that he would be given the land. And so he crosses the waters God makes a way. And then he gets to Jericho, which we looked at in chapter 6. And he takes the land in Jericho.

5:33 But before there, in chapter 2, they had to spy out the land to see what's going on. And in order to get into the land, they had to work with someone. and the person they work with is a woman, prostitute woman called Rahab. And Rahab has these two spies in her house that spy out the land and stay in there. And this is where we get to in Joshua chapter two, verse eight. Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, 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 have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for when you came out of Egypt and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of Amorites east of the Jordan, who you completely destroyed.

6:28 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. so before we talk about that account and and any more where it goes without we got to understand a little bit about Rahab like I said Rahab is a prostitute living in Jericho she is not part of Israel she's not on the inside of the covenant she is a woman on the margins on the edge she is morally broken she's got sin she is socially exposed and spiritually outside the people of God, and yet that woman hears, the scripture tells us, what God is doing. And so she hears what God has done, that God dried up the Red Sea, that God had destroyed kings. She hears of his power, his authority, and she comes to a conclusion, the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below.

7:32 literally by what she has only heard. I also want you to know today that if Rahab can be used by God, a prostitute woman on the outsides of society, outcast and marginalized, then guess what? Every single one of us can be used by God. It doesn't matter what your past says about you. It doesn't matter what people say about you. It doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done. God is in the grace business and he wants to use every single one of us today.

8:06 But also I want to put this out to us, that this woman on the outside outcast, what did she do? She heard, which means that some people had to be talking about what God is doing, which means that for everyone else who is in the family of God, we never got to see, stop talking about what God is doing. We've always got to keep talking about the miracles and the wonders and the ways that God is moving in your life. Has anybody got testimony in this place? She hears before she sees and she believes before she receives. And yet she trusts that He is God. And so let me ask you today, what are you waiting in your life to see before you trust God? What are you waiting to see before you rest in Him?

9:04 What outcome do you need before you're convinced that he is God and God of your life? Because Rahab, friends, she had no guarantees. She didn't know what the outcome would be. She didn't know the timeline. She didn't have any clarity. What she had was a conviction about who God is from what she had heard, and she made a move. She made a move by what she had heard because she had a conviction. Listen, if this room went suddenly dark just right now, and all the lights went out, and it was pitch black, thank God I've got my phone with me, and I've got a torch. Now, the light has completely gone out in this room, and so I can't see any of your faces anymore. And before, I could see Joe Castillo right up there at the back, in the back corner.

10:00 but now I can't see him. But what I can see with my flashlight is I can see just enough light in front of me to take a step. And if I keep using the light that has been given in front of me, I can keep taking a step and I can make my way and progress in life and keep moving forward. But if I wait for all the lights to come on, I'm gonna stay in the same place, in the same condition, in the same way that I was, but I've just got enough light to make a move. You see, some of us, we're asking, we can put the lights back on. Some of us, we're asking for more light before we do anything. God, give me the writing on the wall before I take a step. But what God has already given you is a word.

10:54 What God has already given you is what you have heard him do in the past. What God has already given you is his character. And so the truth is, do we trust his character to take a step of faith without seeing the outcomes just yet? We gotta be people who live by faith. This is how God works. He doesn't flood your life with clarity. He doesn't give you the Ryans on the wall all the time, but he gives you just enough light for you to make the next move. have you heard that he's a good God well then you can trust him have you heard that he's a comforter then you can rest in him have you heard that he's faithful then you can abide in him oh you've heard enough to be able to take your next move in life and what he's calling you to do where he's calling you to go and how he's calling you to live by what you have heard. You don't need the five-year plan. It's good in a business strategy sometimes, but it's not what we need. Because if God showed you everything, friends, that would not be faith. It would only require agreement. It would not require faith. You see, Rahab did not have the full picture, but she didn't know how it was going to unfold. She didn't know when Israel would come or what that would look like, but she had enough light to make a decision, and she moved. And the people in Matthew 21 in Jerusalem, at this exact moment on Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry, the crowd had enough light to shout, Hosanna. Save us now. Because they knew that Jesus mattered.

12:36 They knew that he was sent from God, but they did not yet know how he would save them. They did not yet know that in a few days time he would be hung from a cross for their sins and for the sins of the world. They had light, but not just the full picture of faith. It's not God showing you everything. Faith is trusting him with what he has already shown you or already said. And so what do they say to Rahab that shows that she's got just enough faith to make the next move? In verse 18 of Joshua, The spies say, unless we enter the land and you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. And so these two spies give Rahab this piece of scarlet cord. It's a rope. And the spies tell Rahab to hang it down from your window because judgment is coming on the city.

13:34 And we know that Joshua and Israel advance and take the land and kill everybody inside. and her safety would be tied to one thing and one thing only, this piece of rope. The second thing I want to let you know is trust what looks unexpected. Rahab trusted in what looked unexpected. Picture it. It's a piece of rope, dyed red, hanging from a window. Rahab's house was on the inside of the Jericho wall hanging from there against that visible extended outward and exposed. In a sea that faces destruction this cord becomes the divided line between life and death. And she can look at that cord and go this is what is going to save me.

14:32 The two spies you're giving me this piece of cord and you're telling me that Joshua and his men are coming in to take this land and kill everyone and this piece of cord, if I hang it from my window, is gonna save me. It's gonna be the difference between life and death. Yes, it is. If we look at the scarlet cord, throughout scripture, the color begins to gather a great meaning. It carries the weight of blood. of sacrifice, of cleansing, of covering. Look at Passover and Exodus, where blood marked the doorposts to the sacrificial system of atonement. To God teaching his people that judgment is real, but guess what? Also is covering.

15:26 The cord, my friends, it matters. It could look so insignificant, so unexpected and so small, but yet it carries so much power. You know, when Joe and I got married 18 years in June, 18 years we celebrate in June, we got married in 2008. We were young and she was beautiful. She's still beautiful. We were in love, still in love, 21 years old, walking down the aisle. And listen, we was broke as a joke. We didn't really have much money. And I bought my wedding ring.

16:21 You remember this? We went into a place, going to pick up my wedding ring. My wedding ring was cheap anyway. It was like 20-something pounds, right? It was cheap. We were young. And then I think I went to buy it, and it was on discount. It was on sale. So I got it for like 14 pounds. I was like, no, I'll give you the 20, please. Like, just take it. So I had this ring, and anyway, that I think went green and broke. And I got this other ring, and this was a friend of mine started a business and made rings and jewelry and stuff. And very, very cheap, very, very cheap ring. But this ring by itself carries no weight, no significance. It's actually cheap. Like it's really cheap. This is probably about $30. Yeah, if anyone wants to buy me a wedding ring, I'll take it. It's about $30. But this ring by itself, friends, has no real significance, no weight. But let me tell you, when this ring is placed on this finger, it changes everything.

17:24 It symbolizes and signifies this masterpiece is not available. It belongs to that masterpiece over there. I'm a taken man. Listen, I could be out. I'm like, ah! You know what I'm saying? So stay away, ladies.

17:48 By itself, it carries no weight. but when it's placed in the right place, when I use it correctly, when I wake up in the morning, I put it on, it carries so much weight and so much significance. Rahab's scarlet cord by itself carried no weight. If she left it in the house, it would do nothing for her. But when she obeyed what the spies had said and put the scarlet rope outside the window, it carried massive weight. It was the difference between life and death. And Rahab could have looked to that cord that was given and said, really, this is what you're giving me. This piece of red cord, this is what you want to use to save my life and save my father's life and save my family's life. This is what you're using. And they say, yes, yes. And so often, man, we can look at what God has placed in our hands, that God has placed in front of us. And we can say, God, really, this is what you're using. This is what you're using for your promises to come to pass. This is what you're using in my life. This is how you're bringing the answer. This is how you're bringing the miracle. And so often we can overlook what God has given us because it did not meet our expectations. You're waiting for something else. Maybe Rahab was waiting for the spies to take her out with them.

19:16 But they said, no, stay here and hang this red cord. Matthew 21, as Jesus arrives into Jerusalem, that's exactly the tension. For years, they've been weighing for the Messiah. They've been weighing for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They've been weighing for their Savior. They're expecting a king to arrive with power. and dominance. And in their mind, salvation would look like a military leader riding on a war horse surrounded by strength and an army dripping in wealth, ready to overthrow Rome and establish visible control. And instead they get Jesus on a donkey. I don't think that's what they were expecting.

20:05 Not because Jesus lacks authority, friends, but because he's revealing his nature, His authority through his nature of his kingdom, the upside down kingdom. He comes in humility, not as a spectacle. He comes in powerful peace, not as a aggressive force. And you can almost hear the crowd murmuring in this place. This, this is the guy who's gonna come and save us? Hosanna.

20:34 On a donkey? In that robe? He got that robe from the flea market. this guy is going to save us? Yes. Because salvation does not come in the way that you expect. It came in the way that you needed. it's not built from earthly things. It is sent from above. I look at Rahab and I realize a third thing is this, that trust what comes from above. Trust what comes from above. Listen, I'm a strong swimmer. I'm a strong swimmer. You know, I was a PE teacher. I had to do my, you know, lifeguard thing a long time ago. I was a strong swimmer.

21:30 But anyway, my grandma, she lives, she just celebrated her 88th birthday on Friday. So happy birthday, grandma, if you watch this. My grandma lives in a place called Bournemouth, which is on the coast of England, down by the sea. And just near that coast, there's a place called Durdle Door. It's like picturesque. It's amazing. and it's this big rock that's like been shaped with this door and they call it Durdle Door. And so you can go through it anyway. Out maybe like a mile plus is this big rock from the shore. And so on my 17th birthday, I drove down to Durdle Door with my best friend and we went swimming. And so I'm out there, I'm swimming and like I'm a decent swimmer, decent swimmer.

22:24 And I'm out there and my friend makes it to the rock. And I underestimated how far it was. And I underestimated how strong the currents were. And I underestimated how not good a swimmer I am. And so I'm swimming and I'm getting there. And then suddenly my body just like stiffens up. And I start swallowing water. And I start to drown. Like literally, I'm 17 years old, my birthday. I am drowning. And I can't make noise. The waves are crashing. And I don't know what my friend saw, but he got to the rock and he looked back and he saw me. And the next thing I know is that I feel this hand coming from nowhere, grabbing my neck, pulling me up and getting me safely back to the rock.

23:27 Saving my life. Dave Parrish, if you watch this, thank you for saving my life. but I was drowning, friends. And by myself, listen, I would never have made it. I would not be here today if I was trying to rely on my own strength in my own way. I needed Dave Parrish to come down and pick me up from the depths of that water and put me on a rock. We can't self-rescue, friends. we needed someone to come down. And scripture is clear that the deepest problem that we face is not external, the things happening around us in our world. The deepest problem we face is internal. It is a sin problem.

24:20 It is a drowning in our own mess. Ephesians 2 verse 1 says this, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ. Listen, we're not people who needed slight improvement, slight alterations. We're people who needed resurrection. We're needed people who needed to go from death to life. We're needed people who needed someone to lift them up out of the water so that we could breathe again. True friends, we don't climb our way to God. We don't swim our way to God. God had to come down.

25:08 He had to come down. John 3, 13 tells us, No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. and friends this is where the Scarlet Fred gets interested this is where the Scarlet Fred becomes more than just a sign because just as that Scarlet Fred hung from Rahab's window as a visible sign for her rescue in Joshua chapter 6 Christ came down from heaven as the visible and final sign of God's rescue for you and I and all of humanity listen let's read Matthew 27 verse 27 29 grab this said the governor's soldiers took Jesus into Praetoria and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put on a scarlet robe. Could have been any color, but it was a scarlet robe on him. And then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. And they put a staff on his right hand. Then they Listen, without the Fred, friends, Rahab and her household would have been destroyed in the city that God had given Joshua and the men.

26:49 The punishment was real. The judgment was real. The danger, it was immediate. There was no time for talking it out and having a conversation. Ah, I forgot to hang the scarlet thread. They needed a rescue.

27:11 And friends, this, this is the gospel. That God doesn't stand at a distance and tell you to swim and climb to Him. He came down into this world, into our brokenness, into our sin, into our need. And he made a way, he offers himself as the thread for all humanity. This is Jesus.

27:42 Matthew 27, 21. This is what they could not yet see on Palm Sunday, the great triumphal entry. They're shouting, Hosanna, save us. But the answer to their prayer was deeper than they imagined. They wanted rescue from wrong. But Jesus came to rescue them and rescue you and me from sin and death. And bring us into relationship with the Father once and for all. He was not entering Jerusalem. when he was coming from heaven, moving toward the cross. And it is only because of the blood of Jesus shed on that cross that we can have life.

28:37 Hebrews 9, 14 says, How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our conscience from the acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God? is only because of the blood that was hung on a cross that you and I do not end up in death so that we may, for the rest of our days, serve the living God. Not that we may sit back, kick back, relax, just have a nice little life here on earth. No, that our life on earth serves the Savior, serves the living God because what he has done Hebrews 9 22 says because without the shedding of blood friends there is no forgiveness without the scholar being shed there is no forgiveness There is a greater friend and his name is Jesus, covered in scarlet blood for the sins of the world to save and redeem the lost.

29:53 It was a picture in Joshua chapter 2 of what was going to come in the gospel. Because one day, friends, salvation would not hang from a window, but it would hang from a cross. there would not be in one house but it would be for all of the world there would not be hidden in a wall but it would be lifted up for all to see not for one family but for anybody, everybody who would believe who would place their faith in Jesus. See, Rahab trusted what was hanging outside her window as the sign of rescue. And we have the gift to trust what was hanging on a cross 2,000 years ago outside the sea walls for our rescue and for our saving, our redemption.

30:50 Who do you trust today? What do you trust today? Hosanna! blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord they are shouting the right words but they did not yet understand what salvation would require they did not yet know that the one entering on a donkey had come down from heaven and do for them what they could not do for themselves that Jesus came and did for you what you could not do for yourself. did for me what I could not do for myself, not in my own strength, not in my own successes, not in my own ways.

31:42 There is no way. I needed a scarlet thread. And Jesus on the cross is the...