Complete Obedience in Faith, Even When It’s Risky

God’s call does not always come at a convenient time. The call of God presses against dug-in heels, excuses, fear of relationships lost, and all the reasons somebody says, “Why me? Why now?” Joshua’s story begins with a people who had seen God part the Red Sea, provide in the wilderness, and still struggled to trust Him when the next hard thing came.

God tells Joshua that His presence will go with him just as it went with Moses. Joshua responds by sending two spies into Jericho, a city locked up tight behind enemy lines. The spies obey, even when obedience carries them into a dangerous place and into Rahab’s house of all places. God shows that complete obedience is not halfway, not 99 percent, and not negotiating with heaven until the terms feel safer.

Rahab’s scarlet cord becomes the sign of rescue for everyone gathered inside her house. The scarlet thread points ahead to the blood of Jesus Christ, shed to set captives free from sin. Rahab’s faith does not begin with perfect knowledge or a cleaned-up life. Rahab hears what God has done, confesses, “The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and earth beneath,” and responds to the light she has been given.

Rahab’s story knocks down every excuse. God takes a former prostitute from pagan Jericho and places her in the family line of King David and Jesus Christ Himself. God can redeem the broken, the forgotten, the sinful, and the person convinced that a reputation or a past has made them unusable. Grace does not deny the rough edges, but God keeps working until grace cleanses, heals, and sets people free for His glory.

The house of Rahab also raises a hard question about family and priority. The call to gather family into the house of God cannot keep getting traded away for one more game, one more weekend, or one more compromise. The next generation learns what matters most by watching what gets treated as priority number one.

Obedience may lead into smoke, fire, risk, and lonely places, but God leads His children through. The faithful dog waiting by the lunch pail pictures the kind of faithfulness Christ seeks when He returns: not greatness, popularity, or a fancy tombstone, but somebody found faithful. Faith takes the next step, even when it feels risky, because God said to go.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God wants complete, not partial obedience. God’s commands do not leave room for endless bargaining. Hesitation often sounds reasonable, but it can become a way of resisting what God has already made clear. Faith listens for God’s voice and takes the next step without demanding every detail first. [41:55]
• 2. Grace can use the most unlikely. Rahab’s past did not get the final word over her future. Her response of faith opened her life to God’s redeeming work, and God placed her in the lineage of Christ. No person’s shame, failures, or reputation stands beyond the reach of God’s mercy and purpose. [53:36]
• 3. Gather family around God’s priority. Rahab brought her household inside the place of refuge before judgment came. Family values are formed not merely by what is said, but by what receives first place when schedules and desires compete. A home that serves the Lord teaches the next generation where life and rescue are found. [47:17]
• 4. Faithfulness matters more than recognition. The faithful dog stayed where its master placed it, and that obedience became its rescue. Christ is looking for lives that remain ready, serving, trusting, and obeying when He returns. A life may contain failures and rough edges, yet still be remembered as faithful to the Lord. [59:31]
• 5. Faith takes one risky next step. Joshua’s spies, Rahab, and every obedient believer face the question of what God is calling them to do now. God does not always reveal the whole road before asking for movement. One step of forgiveness, surrender, witness, or service can become the beginning of a changed life. [1:02:46]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:11] - Why Obeying God Feels Hard
• [38:00] - Joshua Called to Lead
• [41:16] - Spies Enter Jericho
• [41:55] - Complete Obedience to God
• [44:48] - Rahab and the Scarlet Cord
• [47:17] - Gathering Family Into God’s House
• [49:48] - Obedience in Difficult Places
• [51:12] - Rahab’s Faith and Redemption
• [55:08] - Obedience Brings God Glory
• [59:31] - Found Faithful When Christ Returns
• [1:02:03] - Taking the Next Step of Faith
• [1:04:59] - A Call to Surrender and Prayer

Bible Reading

Joshua 2:1-24
“And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out. Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window. They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.” [38:00]

Hebrews 11:31
“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” [53:36]

Matthew 1:5
“and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,” [53:13]

Observation questions

1. What actions did Rahab take to protect the spies, and what did she ask from them in return?
2. What specific instructions did the spies give Rahab for the rescue of her household, and what role did the scarlet cord play? [44:48]
3. What had Rahab heard about the Lord and His people, and what confession did she make about God? [52:08]
4. When the spies returned to Joshua, what report did they give about the people of Jericho? [57:14]

Interpretation questions

1. Rahab had not grown up among God’s people, yet she responded to what she had heard about Him. What does her response show about faith beginning with the light a person has been given? [51:25]
2. The scarlet cord marked the house where rescue was found. In what ways does this sign point forward to the rescue from sin offered through Jesus Christ? [46:23]
3. Hebrews 11:31 remembers Rahab “by faith,” while Matthew 1:5 includes her in the family line of Jesus. What do these passages say about whether a sinful past has to define a person’s future? [53:36]
4. The spies entered a dangerous city, and Rahab risked much by helping them. What does this account teach about why obedience to God can feel costly, yet still be worth it? [50:02]

Application questions

1. Is there an area where God has already made the next step clear, but fear, comfort, or the possible cost has caused hesitation? What would complete obedience look like in that situation? [36:11]
2. Rahab’s story leaves no room for the excuse, “My past makes me unusable.” What shame, failure, reputation, or label can make it hard to believe that God can still redeem and use a person? [53:36]
3. What does priority number one look like in your household when work, sports, entertainment, travel, and worship compete for time? What are children, grandchildren, or others close to you learning from those choices? [49:38]
4. Who in your family or close circle needs continued prayer and a loving invitation toward Christ? What is one practical way you can keep pointing them toward the hope found in Him? [01:05:06]
5. Faithfulness is more important than being impressive, popular, or highly recognized. If Christ returned today, where would you most want to be found faithfully serving and obeying Him? [59:51]
6. What is one risky but obedient next step God may be calling you to take—such as forgiving someone, sharing your faith, serving, turning from a sin, or surrendering an area of your life? [01:02:46]