LOOKING AT LIFE
THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS

January 14, 2001 am
MF Blume


Joshua 2:1-19  And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.  And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night 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. And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye 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 after them the way to Jordan unto 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 hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:  And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.  And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.   And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.  And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.  Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and  whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.


This is a familiar story of the time when the Exodus journey was coming to a completion. The amazing thing about her salvation was that her house was atop the very walls that were specifically said to have been thrown down on the seventh day of Israel’s march around the city.
Joshua 2:15  Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

Joshua 6:20  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Not only did she have faith to hide the spies against the threat of death, in order to save her life, but she had to look down at the wall that she was living on top of, and believe that though the rest of the wall would fall, her house would be saved by simply putting a red thread in her window.

The thread was placed in her WINDOW.

God is trying to tell us something here in this story. Every one of us can say that we lived lives in which, somewhere along the way, we were violated and abused. Even after we are saved, our lives can continue to be violated and abused. Canaan represents the fullness of Christ. What I am going to teach today is not only truth for the Christian to be able to deal with things in life and mature in God, but it is good news to the sinner who needs to hear what difference Christ makes in your life after He saves you.

So we have a people of God and a harlot, now, coming into the land of Promise where God would have them set up the temple and enjoy a kingdom of God with all enemies conquered.

There is a place that God has for us in the Spirit — a state of living — in which He will bless us. You know, the Bible speaks of a rest for the people of God. Regardless of your past, like this harlot, you can leave it all and come into salvation with God. But you need to keep in mind that you are serving God.
Hebrews 10:29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Live right before God. Mike Almon told me about some studies in university he learned and how that psychologists speak of a PERCEPTUAL GRID. A perceptual grid will cause people to also take ordinary things of life, such as a discussion with somebody, and assume people are concocting a conspiracy against them, as they reinterpret every word to be an intended attack in some manner against them. That is rather humourous, but it shows how that somehow these people assume so much bad about what another is saying, that they twist and wring discussions all out of proper proportion into monstrous schemes against them. Your perceptual grid is standing in the very means by which you hear and see everything. When people actually do work against you and say words that are meant to offend, you need to translate it all through the blood of Jesus into thoughts such as...

Yes, I may have that weak area in my life.

James Cleveland wrote this song.

Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet.
Please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet.
When he gets through with me, I shall come forth just like pure gold.

He wrote:
If you should see me -- that I am not talking right.
If you should see me -- that I’m not walking right.
Please be a little patient with me.
God is not through with me yet.
When he gets through with me I will be what He wants me to be.

This kind of thinking shows that the believer takes criticism, agrees with it, but doesn’t allow others to upset them, because they know what the blood of Jesus did in their lives.

Even the devil will try to lie to us and put thoughts in our minds that are meant to condemn us. Who does this devil think he is? And when we see somebody do something that we would normally assume to be against us, even when it may not be, we remember that so long as we are not able to read minds we cannot know for sure. We need to mature in love and not think evil and translate everything somebody says to us in a negative way. Lets see everything through the blood of Jesus, with the knowledge of what Jesus did for us as believers. You know that God’s word says it is foolishness to always be trying to correct others in their Christian lives. Some are so concerned that people know what they truly meant or intended. The abuse of the harlot was going to cease. The people who run us down have the problems. Sister Mean taught me that when we see problems, think of the person’s past. But the most important thing to know is that all your upsetting episodes are due to not seeing life through the blood. Oh, you may still have financial burdens and may be persecuted. You need to see life through the blood.

SERMONS