1 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:12,840 Amen. Thank you, John, Thank you, 2 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,760 Praise team. Also want to say just a big 3 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:20,400 thank you to Steve Hawkins and Danny Barker, who both stepped 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,240 in for John and I last week. If you were here and while we 5 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,720 were away and served the body so well, I'm so grateful for so 6 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,159 many, so many faithful leaders in our church that that just 7 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,760 allow a ministry to continue on. So without a pause and so 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,040 grateful for y'all. If you have your copy of God's 9 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,040 word, go and make your way to Ruth chapter 2. 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,680 We resume our series through this Old Testament book that we 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:46,760 titled When God writes your story. 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,760 Ruth chapter 2. We left off, I think after verse 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,200 seven couple weeks ago. We're going to pick up in verse 14 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,400 8 and following and finish Ruth chapter 2 This morning, though, 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,640 I want to begin like this just about asking a couple questions 16 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,040 to set the stage. I don't want you to answer out 17 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:04,280 loud. Normally I'd love for you to 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,080 answer out loud, but I want you to just answer these personally 19 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,320 for yourself. The first question I want to ask 20 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,600 you is, is God kind? I really want you to ask that 21 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,920 and answer that yourself. Is God kind and haven't thought 22 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:20,240 about that and answered that question. 23 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,240 I'd I'd like to ask you a second question. 24 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:28,040 Do you believe God wants to be kind to you? 25 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,480 First, you believe God is kind and 2nd you believe God wants to 26 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,720 be kind to you. Now, the first question may have 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,920 been easy to answer because you might just have immediately kind 28 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,440 of from your gut said yes. But if you're probably being 29 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:52,160 honest, many in the room probably had a harder time, 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,560 maybe couldn't say the same answer to the second question 31 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,240 that they said to the first question. 32 00:01:57,240 --> 00:01:59,760 Because maybe there's some doubt, maybe there's some 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,800 struggle, maybe there's some disbelief or really lack of 34 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:07,880 belief that God wants to be kind to you personally. 35 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:11,240 Let me just ask it through the lens of a couple different 36 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,240 Christians to try to help you make a comparison. 37 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,880 First Christian, I'll tell you about to see who you most 38 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:19,800 identify with. Christian number one or 39 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,400 Christian #2 really Christians, plural number 2 when we get to 40 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:25,120 that one. But the first one is a man who 41 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,320 is a well known Christian man that lived in the 20th century 42 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,720 and later on in life, he was known for walking the beach on a 43 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,120 pretty daily basis that was close to his home. 44 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:35,640 Other people would walk the beach. 45 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,920 They knew him, they were locals. And one man asked this Christian 46 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:40,840 man one day, friend. And he said, he put it like, 47 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,080 this is not the way we ask each other this, but it's the way 48 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:44,840 they did it in this day, in this place. 49 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,760 Friend, how are you keeping? That's like saying, how are you? 50 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,520 How are you keeping? And the response of this 51 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,800 Christian man back was, oh, friend, I'm not keeping. 52 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:02,960 I'm being kept. Friend, I'm I'm not doing good. 53 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,960 God is doing me good. Friend. 54 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,720 I don't have any goodness in me, but God in his kindness is being 55 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:16,320 good and kind to me. That's Christian number one. 56 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:22,320 Number two, there was a pastor who invited and LED a number of 57 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,680 the men in his church on a retreat, a man's retreat, and 58 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,640 pretty soon into the retreat he felt led to ask the men, How 59 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:37,000 many of you men feel like God just barely tolerate you? 60 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,520 Half the men in the room stood up. 61 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,680 I believe God may be kind. I just struggled to believe God 62 00:03:52,680 --> 00:04:00,480 really wants to be kind to me. This sermon is for those of you 63 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:06,360 that struggle to believe God wants to be kind to you. 64 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,400 And I hope from Ruth chapter 2 you're convinced. 65 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:16,079 And not only is God kind, but he deep down with all of his heart 66 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,279 wants to be kind to you. I want you to listen and follow 67 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,840 along as we read beginning in verse 8 of chapter 2. 68 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,800 The Bible says this. Then Boaz said to Ruth, Now 69 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,160 listen my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave 70 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,480 this one, but keep close to my young women. 71 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,560 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go 72 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,480 after them. Have I not charged the young men 73 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,320 not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to 74 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,880 the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. 75 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,320 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said 76 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,360 to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should 77 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,080 take notice of me, since I am a foreigner? 78 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,560 But Boaz said to her, All that you have done for your 79 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,120 mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told 80 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,000 to me, and how you left your father and mother and your 81 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,840 native land then came to a people that you did not know 82 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:14,880 before the Lord. Don't miss this, The Lord repay 83 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:19,480 you for what you have done, and a full reward be given to you by 84 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:24,400 the Lord the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come 85 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,680 to take refuge. And then she said, I have found 86 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,040 favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me and spoken 87 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,800 kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants. 88 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,400 And at meal time Boaz said to her, Come here and eat some 89 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:41,360 bread, and dip your morsel in the wine. 90 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,400 So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted 91 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,560 grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some 92 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,600 leftover. And when she rose to glean, Boaz 93 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,200 instructed his young men, saying, Let her glean even among 94 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,760 the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 95 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,240 And also to pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it 96 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,720 for her to glean. And do not rebuke her. 97 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,520 If you've not been with us this first part of Ruth, it'd be 98 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,480 helpful to get just a little bit of review if you remember that 99 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,920 during the entrance to the promised Land, God led his 100 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,240 people with the clarity of understanding. 101 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,200 You obey me and follow me and I'm going to bless you, but if 102 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,680 you turn your back on me, I'm going to do some things that are 103 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,640 going to make life be hard to get your attention, to turn your 104 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,960 heart back to me. And what's happened is the 105 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,840 people were not faithful to God. God has done those hard things 106 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:33,760 to get his people's attention to turn their eyes of their heart 107 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,680 back to him. That one particular thing in 108 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,720 this case was a famine. There's no food, everybody's 109 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:39,920 hungry. What God didn't want him to do 110 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,200 when they are these hard things came was leave and run off to 111 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,120 some other land that was not promised to them. 112 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:48,120 But one man by the name of Elimelech and his two boys and 113 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,560 wife decide to leave. That was not a not a good 114 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,800 decision. They go to the land called Moab. 115 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,000 They worship false gods and Moabs gods, not promised to 116 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,160 dwell with this people in Moab. But that's where they go. 117 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,840 And 10 years later, after some bad decisions, you have both the 118 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:05,800 husband and his two boys have both passed. 119 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:08,640 The two boys had married Moabite women. 120 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,240 That was not a decision that God had told his people to do, but 121 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,880 they did while there. And one of those daughters in 122 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,120 law now of Naomi decides to go back to her home, her family and 123 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,400 worshipping her little G gods. But Ruth, on the other hand, 124 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:27,080 that this book is named after a Moabite widow says no, I'm not 125 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,880 going back to my people, to my family, to my home or my gods. 126 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,280 I'm turning to the one true big G God. 127 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,640 I'm giving him my whole heart life and not full surrender. 128 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,800 She vows herself to him and seeks to live for his glory and 129 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,040 for his name and to follow him the rest of her life here. 130 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,320 And so here's what happening. When they move back, when Naomi 131 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:51,400 and Ruth go back to the promised land, they're two destitute 132 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,840 widows. Somebody's got to get up and go 133 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:57,480 to the grocery store, which was in the field. 134 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,360 Somebody's got to go reap the the poorest of the people in the 135 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,720 land could reap the edges because the harvesters were 136 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,280 supposed to leave enough behind. Ruth didn't know which field she 137 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,200 would go to, but the Bible says she just so happened. 138 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:11,440 We talked about that. Do you remember? 139 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:13,560 But nothing just so happens, does it? 140 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,920 She ends up in a field by the name owned by a man by the name 141 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,400 of Boaz that we just read about. And if you remember a couple 142 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,200 weeks ago, when Boaz shows up to survey the business and what's 143 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,720 going on, the first question out of his mouth was not how's 144 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,760 business house profits, How's the harvest? 145 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:31,880 How much money we're going to make today? 146 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:35,919 The first question out of his mouth was, whose young woman is 147 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:38,600 this? There's somebody there he 148 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,280 doesn't recognize. He knows his people. 149 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,679 He doesn't know this person. He's never seen her before and 150 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,120 he's caring about, wondering about, curious about the people 151 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:47,680 around him. Whose young woman is this? 152 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:49,160 I don't recognize her. Whose daughter is she? 153 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,680 Whose wife is she? He's told she's the widow. 154 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,840 She's the she's the daughter-in-law of Naomi who's 155 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:59,720 come back in return and notice what Boaz called her as soon as 156 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:01,280 we read verse 8. Then Boaz said to Ruth, Now 157 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,800 listen, my what? My daughter. 158 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,960 That's not what you would expect Boaz to say upon meeting this 159 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:10,360 stranger. By the way, he's already heard 160 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,720 about her every the the whole town's talking about Naomi and 161 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,680 Ruth and what God had done and how God's brought them back. 162 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,960 But their situation and, and now here's Ruth and they've heard 163 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,720 about her kindness to, to Naomi. And Boaz, of course, was not 164 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,640 just any person, but part of the Limelux family. 165 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:28,520 He would have been a relative of the Limelux. 166 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,680 He's heard how Ruth, this Moabite daughter-in-law of the 167 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,200 Limelux, has been so kind to a member of his family, a Limelux 168 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,920 wife, Naomi, and he's now treating her immediately, 169 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,400 immediately like what? A foreigner or like family. 170 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,760 Immediately like family. All of a sudden, the kindness of 171 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,760 Boaz is expressed as he's treating Ruth like family. 172 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:56,440 Boaz's kindness continues when he invites Ruth to remain in his 173 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,920 field. And so he's treating her like 174 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,200 family. And now his kindness, he's 175 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,120 promising her secondly, provision. 176 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,840 And then his kindness picks up more speed when he informs Ruth 177 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:11,200 he's instructed his men not to touch her. 178 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,600 I think perhaps you could say Boaz was the first employer to 179 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,840 implement a no harassment, anti harassment policy in his 180 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:21,560 workplace. Say, why was that necessary? 181 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:27,000 For the same reason it's necessary today, looking out for 182 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,560 her, not just treating her as family, promising her provision, 183 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:33,920 but also promising protection. Boaz isn't done yet. 184 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,520 He then tells her to drink the water his young men have drawn. 185 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:40,560 Now, if you don't live in the 1st century, you'd read right 186 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:42,320 past that. Who was supposed to draw the 187 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:43,840 water to drink, the men or the women? 188 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,960 The women, He didn't say, hey, go draw the water for my men. 189 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,120 He said drink the water my men are drawing. 190 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,080 All of a sudden, he's treating her as an equal. 191 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,240 He's elevating her status, if you will. 192 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,600 He is recognizing her worth. He's treating her like family. 193 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,280 He's promised her provision. He's promised her protection. 194 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,520 Now he's using his power to prosper her. 195 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,320 This becomes even more clear in verses 14 through 16. 196 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,680 Now he invites Ruth to eat with him and his workers again. 197 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:16,400 If he lived in the 1st century, but you wouldn't read right past 198 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,440 that. For the Moabite widow to come 199 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,960 and eat with the Israelites and be treated as an equal with them 200 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,920 would have been culturally outside the norm. 201 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,360 This is something that's breaking all the rules. 202 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:30,400 And she eats not only till she's satisfied but has leftovers 203 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:32,400 she's able to take back to Naomi. 204 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,440 And then he provides her with a bonus and says to his workers, 205 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,640 leave extra behind. Let her glean not just from the 206 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,520 edges, but from the best parts of the field. 207 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,200 The kindness of Boaz sounds a lot like the kindness of who. 208 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:53,000 Let me ask you like this. Is Boaz being kind to Ruth or is 209 00:11:53,000 --> 00:12:04,600 God being kind to Ruth? Yes, both right and what he's 210 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:06,680 doing. You see the kindness of God 211 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:09,600 coming through the kindness of Boaz here. 212 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:15,240 Yahweh does not God does not owe mercy to Ruth the Moabite us no 213 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,480 Moabite in fact was to enter the assembly of Yahweh to the 10th 214 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:20,200 generation. But if you're remembering if 215 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,080 you've kept up from what we've covered so far, what did Naomi 216 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,680 pray would be true for Ruth. It's in chapter 1 verse 8. 217 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:29,280 You can look back at it if you want to look at listen to this 218 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,800 prayer. May the Lord deal kindly with 219 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,080 you as you you have dealt with the dead and with me. 220 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,680 But Naomi prays for her daughter. 221 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:40,360 May the Lord deal kindly with you. 222 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:45,320 May God be kind to you as you've been kind to the dead and with 223 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,480 me. How does Ruth respond to the 224 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,280 kindness of God? Through Boaz verse 10, it says. 225 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:55,320 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to 226 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,880 him, Why have I found favor in your eyes that you, that you 227 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,720 should take notice of me since I'm a foreigner, Why would you 228 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,520 be kind to me? Boaz, who am I? 229 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:10,000 I don't deserve this. I haven't done anything to to to 230 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,840 to earn this. I don't understand why. 231 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:16,840 Here's why. Verse 11 and 12 we'll read it 232 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,280 again. But Boaz answered her. 233 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,240 All that you've done for your mother-in-law since the death of 234 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,680 your husband has been fully told to me how you left your father 235 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:28,120 and mother and your native land and came to a people you did not 236 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,000 know before the Lord. The Lord repay you for what 237 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,720 you've done and a full reward be given to you by the Lord the God 238 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,040 of Israel under and don't miss that phrase under his wings. 239 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:44,600 You have come to take refuge. He says Ruth, you've been kind 240 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,800 to your mother-in-law when you could have walked away from her. 241 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,200 Ruth, you walked away from your family. 242 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,360 You left your home. You left your land to come to 243 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,520 the promised land. You left to commit yourself to 244 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:56,640 God's people. Most of all, Ruth, you committed 245 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,720 yourself to God. You gave yourself and said I'm 246 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,360 going to look to him and him alone for my protection and 247 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,480 provision and peace and prosperity. 248 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,280 Ruth, how did you think God was going to respond to you? 249 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:14,120 Now he doesn't say that literally, but that's what he's 250 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,480 asking, right? Ruth, how did you think? 251 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:24,760 Did you believe God was kind? Ruth, did you not believe God 252 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,320 was going going to be and wanted to be kind to? 253 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,360 How did you think God was going to respond, Ruth to you when you 254 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,000 committed your life wholeheartedly to Him? 255 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:37,720 Did you think God would hold out on you? 256 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,560 Did you not think He would draw you close as His own and hold 257 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,040 you as precious in His sight and provide for you as He's 258 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,240 promised? Did you think God did not would 259 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:53,240 not be kind? Ruth, do you believe God is 260 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,160 kind? Do you believe God wants to be 261 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,880 kind to you? Ruth, you trusted God to write 262 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,360 your story. What did you think God was going 263 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,520 to write? Just like a mother eagle, a 264 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:15,400 mother bird holds and protects, refuges her young under her 265 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,120 wings. Ruth, God does the same for 266 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,160 those who seek refuge under His. The first thing I want you to 267 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,960 write down is when God writes your story, He rewards those who 268 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:33,440 take refuge under His wings. He rewards those who take refuge 269 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,120 under his wings. Y'all, the reward of 270 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:41,280 wholehearted commitment to God is God's wholehearted commitment 271 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,480 and kindness to you. It's not because we deserve it. 272 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,080 It's the result of simply entrusting ourselves to Him by 273 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,400 faith. I love Psalm 91 one through 2. 274 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:53,760 I think it's on the screen. Listen to what it says here. 275 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:59,160 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the 276 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:03,160 shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my 277 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,480 refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. 278 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:09,840 Can I just ask you a few simple questions here? 279 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:17,360 Where are you dwelling? Where are you seeking refuge? 280 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:22,760 Whom are you trusting in? To whom have you entrusted 281 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,080 yourself? I want to ask it like this. 282 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,040 Remember Boaz's original question when he first saw Ruth, 283 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,960 but he didn't know who she was? Remember what he asked? 284 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:43,640 Whose young woman is this? That that, that question is 285 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:45,600 really the question of the entire book. 286 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:53,040 Whose young woman is Ruth? Can I? 287 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,800 Can I ask it personally? Whose man or woman are you? 288 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,840 Ruth was one who now belonged to Yahweh because she had entrusted 289 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:03,920 himself and taken refuge under his wings. 290 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:06,440 Is that who you are? The question of your life, 291 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,839 bigger than the question of the book of Ruth, is, Whose man are 292 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,480 you? Whose woman are you? 293 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:13,760 To whom do you belong? Whom have you entrusted 294 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,040 yourself? Where have you sought refuge? 295 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:17,720 Where have you sought your identity? 296 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,319 To whom have you committed yourself? 297 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,839 And how do you believe? If you've committed yourself to 298 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,560 Him, how do you believe He's going to respond to you? 299 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:30,720 Whose are you? Are you his because you believed 300 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,960 He's kind and He wants to be kind to you? 301 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:37,560 God is not only kind, He is supremely kind. 302 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,560 And when God writes your story, He rewards those who take refuge 303 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,960 under His wings. Listen to verses 17 through the 304 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,200 end of the chapter. So she gleaned in the field 305 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,080 until evening, and then she beat out what she had gleaned. 306 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,080 And it was about an IFA of barley. 307 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,880 And she took it up and went into the city. 308 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:58,480 And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. 309 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,440 And she also brought out and gave her what food she had 310 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:06,240 leftover when she had eaten with Boaz and his reapers, and after 311 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:07,880 being satisfied and brought it to her mother-in-law. 312 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,320 And said, and her mother-in-law said to her, where did you glean 313 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,840 today and where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took 314 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,000 notice of you. And she told her mother-in-law 315 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,640 with whom she had worked, and said the man's name with whom I 316 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,600 work today is Boaz. And Naomi said to her 317 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,720 daughter-in-law, may he now she's praying a blessing, asking 318 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,480 a blessing upon him, may he be blessed by the Lord, whose 319 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,400 kindness there's that word again, has not forsaken the 320 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,080 living or the dead. Naomi also said to her, the man 321 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,040 is a close relative of ours, one of our Redeemers. 322 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,200 And Ruth the Moabite said, besides, he said to me, you 323 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,040 shall keep close by my young men until they finished all my 324 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,160 harvest. And Naomi said to Ruth, her 325 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,960 daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter, that you go out with 326 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,240 his young women, lest in another field you'd be assaulted. 327 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,640 She kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning into the 328 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,880 end of the barley and wheat harvest, and she lived with her 329 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,960 mother-in-law. Ruth worked all day long. 330 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,000 By the time she was done, she'd worked so hard and been so 331 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,440 productive. Basically it says she had the 332 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:13,400 equivalent of what is almost 6 gallons of barley, which is not 333 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,920 just like the, the, the, the, the stalk and the chaff and all 334 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,080 that. No, that's after reaping it and 335 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:23,360 gleaning it, and then after separating the stalk and the 336 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:27,000 chaff from the grain. She'd have had about 30 to 50 337 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,400 lbs of barley to carry home. That's a day's work right there, 338 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,120 and quite a productive one at that. 339 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,280 She not only carries the barley back, but she also carries the 340 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,920 leftover roasted grain she had from Boaz the night before the 341 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,560 day or earlier that day. And remember what Naomi had said 342 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,040 back at end of Chapter 1. Listen again to it. 343 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,440 Ruth, 120 through 21, says do not call me. 344 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,240 When she showed up in Bethlehem and saw all her friends, and her 345 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,320 friends saw her, and they called her Naomi. 346 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,200 That's her name. And it means pleasantness or 347 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:01,560 sweetness. But what did she say? 348 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,680 Don't call me pleasantness or sweetness, call me Mara. 349 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,600 That means bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly 350 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:09,800 with me. I went away full. 351 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:10,880 Here's the phrase, don't miss it. 352 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,720 I went away full, but God brought me back. 353 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:15,760 The Lord brought me back. Whose fault is it? 354 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:23,360 God's brought me back. Empty and yet now here Naomi is 355 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,240 seeing 6 gallons of barley. Day one I didn't know where 356 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,120 Ruth, her daughter-in-law, would show up to reap. 357 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,280 And now leftover roasted grain ready to eat that she can eat 358 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,600 now. No longer empty, being full. 359 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,320 Naomi asked where did you glean? Where have you worked? 360 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,560 And blessed be the man who took notice of you. 361 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,560 His name was Boaz, Ruth says, and Naomi asked that he be 362 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,400 blessed by God. She had prayed earlier and asked 363 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,040 for Ruth to be blessed with kindness and rest. 364 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,720 Is God answering that prayer? Yes. 365 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:57,800 Now she's praying for Boaz to be blessed with God. 366 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:01,320 Will God answer that prayer? Yes. 367 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,720 Then did you see what Naomi said about God? 368 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:09,840 Notice this statement here. His kindness has not forsaken 369 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,600 the living or the dead. You know that biblical word for 370 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,760 God's kindness? It is a word that is hard to put 371 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:22,960 into human language all that it means, but it is in essence 372 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:31,360 God's promised desire and plan to give you all of His goodness, 373 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:36,400 all of His loyalty, all of His faithfulness, all of His love, 374 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:42,880 all of His care, no matter what it cost him to provide it to 375 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,880 you. I'm not talking about when he 376 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,160 feels like it. I'm not talking about when you 377 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,040 feel like you've earned it or been good enough. 378 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,160 God's kindness to us in the covenant we have through his 379 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,360 Son, and even in kindness in the old covenant, looking forward to 380 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,960 Jesus now in the new covenant, looking back to when Jesus came 381 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,880 in forward to when he came. God's kindness He's promised us 382 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,560 is His wholehearted, all of God commitment to be God for us no 383 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,160 matter what it cost him kind of kindness. 384 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,920 May God's kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. 385 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,080 Who's still living? That's Naomi and Ruth. 386 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:17,760 God's kindness has not forsaken them. 387 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,520 Who's dead? That's Elimelech, Maelon and 388 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,480 Killian, his sons, even though they've paid a high price for 389 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,080 their consequences of their sins. 390 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,520 So it seems by their choices, at least from the outside looking 391 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,920 in, God's kindness has even not forsaken them. 392 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,720 How so? Because God's kindness is 393 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,080 preparing A Redeemer to continue their name and their family line 394 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,240 and inheritance. And despite the consequences of 395 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,400 their sin, God and His kindness is still not cutting them off. 396 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:47,160 He's aligning a future for their family. 397 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,600 We see that verse 20, Naomi says this man is a close relative of 398 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,280 ours, one of our redeemers. Now again, you got to be 399 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,600 thinking, what does that mean to be a Redeemer? 400 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,240 There's 22 ancient practices overlapping here to understand. 401 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,920 One is Leverett marriage, right? When a woman would lose her 402 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,520 husband, they had the the closest male relative would have 403 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,440 the right responsibility to marry that widow to raise up 404 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,880 descendants and carry on the inheritance and the family name. 405 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,120 All right, that's a little weird sound of the day, but it worked 406 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,680 real well back then. All right, so that's Leverett 407 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,520 marriage and then this idea of a Redeemer, someone when there was 408 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,360 great loss or tragedy in the family, one again, a close male 409 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,040 relative that had the right and responsibility and the means of 410 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:33,120 doing it could step in and buy back, purchase back what would 411 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:38,440 have been lost for the family if they did not redeem or provide 412 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:43,320 for or take care of themselves. Naomi's saying Boaz is one of 413 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,640 our close kinsmen. This is why he's got a kinsman 414 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,040 Redeemer. He's one who can be a son-in-law 415 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,880 to me, Ruth. He could be a husband to you, 416 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,400 Ruth, redeeming you, redeeming me again. 417 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,760 Who is Boaz sounding a lot like again? 418 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,760 As a Redeemer? Sounding a lot like God, right? 419 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,480 You see, number 2, when God writes your story, he doesn't 420 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:07,680 just I want you to listen closely to this. 421 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,200 When God writes your story, He doesn't. 422 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,800 He doesn't rewrite our past, but He does redeem it. 423 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:21,400 When God writes your story, he does not rewrite your past, but 424 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,080 he does redeem it. What do we mean by that? 425 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:30,800 You know, this reality of God is one of the most amazing things 426 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:32,840 about the power, goodness, and greatness of God. 427 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,680 God does not rewind the past and let us relive it. 428 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:43,400 God does not remove all the consequences of our past sin. 429 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,320 God does not rewrite our past, but in his power and in his 430 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,400 crazy and in his goodness, he redeems it. 431 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,160 And the truth is, God can redeem anyone from anything. 432 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,920 Anyone from anything. In fact I read a story this week 433 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,000 I want to tell you about that just again blew me away about 434 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,760 the power and goodness of God to redeem. 435 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,320 When you go to the beach, I recommend you take a good book. 436 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,280 I took one with me given by one of our church members. 437 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,040 If y'all have other good ones you want to share with me, just 438 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:11,160 let me know. I'll give it back to you. 439 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:15,320 So this one is titled Defying Jihad. 440 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:21,320 It's the story of Esther Ahmad. Esther Ahmad was born in 441 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,280 Pakistan to a Muslim family. She was the 3rd in the line of 442 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,440 three daughters. All those daughters were 443 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,480 unwanted by their father who only wanted sons. 444 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,600 By the time the 3rd girl came along, he would not even look at 445 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,360 his newborn daughter. He wouldn't even recognize that 446 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:43,640 she belong to him. In fact, it was so tragic that 447 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,600 she became known as the daughter that would not be looked upon by 448 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,480 her father. You can imagine the hole in the 449 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,240 heart of this girl as she grew up despised and unwanted and 450 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,760 loved by her father. They were a Muslim family. 451 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,760 The mother was devout, the father was not so much devout 452 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,640 until a very militant radical group moved in and began to 453 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,280 influence their neighborhood. And under that influence, her 454 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:10,280 father became more and more radicalized and militant. 455 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,000 And it infected not only the father but the whole family. 456 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,560 And it affected Esther Ahmad, whose name wasn't Esther at the 457 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:22,120 time, as an 18 year old girl. She was so affected that at the 458 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,400 age of 18 she volunteered herself for jihad. 459 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,840 She figured it. She found out that in the 460 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,040 teachings of this militant group that according to their teaching 461 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,560 that if she would wage war in jihad, taking out as many 462 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,080 infidels as possible with her life, she would secure heaven 463 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:44,880 for her family and for herself. And finally, she thought, find a 464 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,520 way into her father's love and into Allah's approval. 465 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,840 So she volunteered herself. She would do it as an 18 year 466 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,120 old girl. Two days before she was to leave 467 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,360 to be trained in jihad, she had a dream. 468 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,880 I want to ask you again, is God kind? 469 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:11,200 Does God want to be kind to you? Does God want to be kind to an 470 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,960 18 year old girl? Two days before shipping off to 471 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:19,000 Train for Jihad, she had a dream about Jesus. 472 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,280 In the days that followed the dream, she was able to tell the 473 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:27,800 people that were supposed to come pick her up. 474 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,400 She needed more time to process because all the sudden her eyes 475 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,720 and her heart were being opened to something she'd never never 476 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,680 considered. She started reading the Quran 477 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:39,960 like she had never read and begin picking it apart and 478 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,760 seeing holes in the arguments and in the the logic. 479 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,800 And then she had a mother who had a heart condition and at the 480 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:48,880 hospital in the lab there was a man she met by the name of John 481 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,720 and she found out this man's was a Christian. 482 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:52,200 It was the first Christian she'd ever met. 483 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:54,680 And John had a Bible. He wouldn't let her have the 484 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,320 Bible, but he'd let her come to the lab and act like she was 485 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,560 waiting on a patient so she could read the Bible. 486 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,960 Long story short, Esther Ahmad becomes a Christian, marries 487 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:09,160 that Christian named John has to flee for her life from her 488 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:10,840 family. Her father put a price on her 489 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,080 head. After many years from 1 country 490 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,320 to the next, she finally made it to America and God did not 491 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:23,160 change her past. She signed up for jihad, but God 492 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,520 redeemed it and this is the story of that redemption. 493 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:32,000 Is God kind? Does God want to be kind to you? 494 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:35,720 Does God want to be kind to an 18 year old who's going to take 495 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,240 out as many people she thought were infidels as possible? 496 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,640 Friends, God is not only kind, he is supremely kind. 497 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:46,440 I want to, I want to finish like this. 498 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,760 How could it be? This is where sometimes we lack 499 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:51,560 some clarity and we just can't understand. 500 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,520 But this is this is this is, this is the beauty of the power 501 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:57,520 of God. How can it be? 502 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:03,400 Back to Ruth, how could it be that it was a mistake to move to 503 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,400 mow out that we're pretty clear on that for Elimelech and his 504 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:08,760 family. How could it be that that was a 505 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,760 mistake? And how could it be a mistake 506 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,440 for the boys to marry outside the revealed will of God? 507 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,080 And at the same time God take all those mistakes and the 508 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,960 people involved in them and by the power of heaven work 509 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,000 redemption. How is it? 510 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,720 And how is it to the degree that God redeems? 511 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,080 He doesn't just he doesn't just do it to some degree, but the 512 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,440 very woman God said was forbidden to marry, He takes and 513 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:36,960 redeems to such a degree. Y'all you turn to your New 514 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:40,160 Testament and her name is in the line of the ultimate Redeemer, 515 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,880 the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Son of God, King 516 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:48,120 Jesus. God didn't change your past, but 517 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:52,920 He did redeem it. Do you believe God is kind and 518 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:55,240 He wants to be kind to you? God's not going to rewrite your 519 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:56,680 past. He's not going to write. 520 00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,560 He's not going to remove all the past mistakes. 521 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,920 But if you trust Him and believe He's kind and wants to be kind 522 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,920 to you and take refuge under His wings, He can redeem anything, 523 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,680 anyone from anywhere, and write the story for His glory and your 524 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:11,880 good. Do you believe that? 525 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,120 Why should you trust God to write your story? 526 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:22,240 Why should you? Because God wants to be kind to 527 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,080 you. That's why you should trust Him. 528 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,480 Because he wants to be kind to you. 529 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,080 Can I ask you this question? Who's man? 530 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,960 Who's woman are you? Where have you taken refuge? 531 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,200 Listen to this. Like Ruth. 532 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,800 Like Ruth, we were outcast, despised and children of 533 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,960 disobedience in our sin. Like Ruth, we've been left poor, 534 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,280 defiled by our sin, disgraced and spiritually starving. 535 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,400 Just like Elimelech's family, we've left God's will. 536 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,320 We've all disobeyed and moved to the land of Moab at some point 537 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,360 in some way in our own lives. And yet, just like Elimelech, 538 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:08,680 we've all died in our sins. And yet, like Ruth, God did not 539 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,280 leave us without a Redeemer. Not one named Boaz, but a much 540 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:19,480 better one by the name of Jesus. And by taking on human flesh, 541 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,560 living among us, Jesus gained the right to redeem us. 542 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,360 And Jesus didn't just leave us a little extra barley. 543 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:33,360 You know what Jesus did? He took on human flesh so he 544 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,440 could be for us the bread of life. 545 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:44,080 The bread of life. Have you trusted Jesus to be the 546 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,760 bread of life for you? Have you given yourself to God 547 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,280 and taken refuge under His wings, knowing He's kind and 548 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:55,560 wants to be kind to you? Do you need to ask God not to 549 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:57,040 rewrite something? Because He's not going to 550 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,960 rewrite it. He'll do something better if He 551 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:02,960 lets you rewrite it. You'd get the glory. 552 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,760 But if He redeems it, who gets the glory? 553 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:09,760 He'll do something better than rewrite. 554 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,480 He'll redeem if you only come and trust Him. 555 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:14,920 John and praised Him are going to come out. 556 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,280 I want to ask you right before we stand and sing, do you need 557 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:23,320 to trust the Redeemer to redeem you, to save you, to commit 558 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,680 yourself wholeheartedly, to come and take refuge under his wings 559 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:28,560 through Jesus Christ? If you'd never made that 560 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,920 decision, you may not have had a dream like Esther Ahmad had. 561 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,600 You don't have to have a dream. The Word of God tells you 562 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,480 plainly and clearly. For God so loved the world that 563 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:39,640 he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever would believe in 564 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,480 him should not perish but have everlasting life. 565 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,960 Do you just need to come and say, Kyle, I believe, I believe. 566 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:47,840 Do you want to come and just get on your knees or stand here at 567 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,440 the altar and say God, I got a part of my past I've been 568 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:56,240 ashamed of and I dare would not put it in the book, but maybe I 569 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:57,840 haven't believed you're willing to redeem it. 570 00:32:57,840 --> 00:32:59,480 I just want to ask you to redeem it today. 571 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,880 Maybe you just want to come ask God to help you believe that he 572 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:12,200 wants to be kind to you, to say Lord I, I believe, but help my 573 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:16,360 unbelief, help me trust you. Heavenly Father, I want to pray 574 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,360 that as we respond to your kindness today, that you would 575 00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:23,920 show it to us, that you would help us full wholeheartedly to 576 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:26,600 believe it, To put our self in it. 577 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,000 Father, not to run from our past, but to run to you. 578 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,760 Not to run from our mistakes, but to hand them to you, not to 579 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,440 be ashamed of them, but to be unashamed of You and your power 580 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,000 to redeem even that which we could never change. 581 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,840 You can use even our mistakes, not that it makes them right, 582 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,400 but you can make right out of them. 583 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,480 Father, it's an amazing thing. And we prayed that we would do 584 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:52,760 just that and be ambassadors of that truth to those who need to 585 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:54,680 hear it. I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 586 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:56,880 Church, would you stand with me? We're going to sing together. 587 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,560 We're going to respond. Encouragers will be close to the 588 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:01,360 front. Some are in yellow shirts. 589 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:02,880 Here you come. We'll pray and talk with you. 590 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:03,320 You come.