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Good morning. 
Today we're starting a series 

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out of the book of Ruth in the 
Bible. 

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And I want to start just by 
telling you I there was a man 

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and his wife and they had this 
great opportunity to go to the 

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Holy Land. 
And so they took the guy's 

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mother-in-law with them. 
They went to the Holy Land, just

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the guy, his wife and his 
mother-in-law went to the Holy 

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Land. 
It was the trip of a lifetime. 

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They get to got to go see 
everything. 

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And so they went over there and 
everything was going good. 

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They're, they're seeing the Holy
Land and all this stuff from the

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Bible. 
But then a tragedy struck and 

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the mother-in-law passed away on
the trip to the Holy Land. 

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And so the people met with 
officials there. 

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And the official said, well, you
have a couple options. 

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The first option is you can pay 
$15,000 and we will ship the 

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mother in law's body back to the
States where you can bury the 

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mother-in-law in the States, or 
you can just spend $500 and your

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mother-in-law can be buried 
right here in the Holy Land. 

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It's a special place and, and 
the man didn't even take a 

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second to think. 
He said, listen, we will pay the

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$15,000 to take her back to the 
States. 

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And the the official said, what,
like I can't, why wouldn't you 

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want to pay less money and have 
your mother-in-law buried here 

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in the Holy Land? 
And the man said, well, about 

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2000 years ago a guy died and 
was buried here in the Holy Land

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and three days later he came 
back to life. 

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And I can't take that chance. 
I told him in first service is 

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going to be much more awkward 
telling this in second service 

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with my mother-in-law in the 
room. 

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All joking aside, you know, Ruth
is the story of of Naomi, the 

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mother-in-law of Ruth. 
And by the way, I want to say 

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I've got a great mother-in-law. 
If I'm going to tell a joke like

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that, I should go ahead and say 
I am blessed. 

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I don't feel that way, but the, 
the story that we're going to 

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look at is, is the book of Ruth.
So today we're going to be in 

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Ruth chapter 1. 
And Ruth is the story of Naomi 

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and Ruth and Boaz. 
And it's this incredible story 

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in the Old Testament that we're 
going to look at. 

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And I'll just tell you, the more
I've studied it, the better it's

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gotten. 
And, and can I just encourage 

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you with this, that the more you
study God's word, the deeper you

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get into it, the better it is. 
If you read it, it's good, but 

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I'm telling you, the more you 
get into it, the deeper it gets 

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and the more the Holy Spirit 
wants to speak to you and work. 

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And so today's message in in 
Ruth chapter 1 is called Choose 

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Love. 
And we're going to look at the 

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choice that we can choose love. 
Would you stand with me and 

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honour God's word? 
And just a warning, I don't 

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usually read full chapters, but 
this is a story and I want you 

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to hear the full part of it. 
So we're going to read all of 

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Ruth chapter 1. 
It's a little bit long, but we 

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stand because we believe that 
the Holy Spirit wants to speak. 

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And my prayer is and I feel like
the Spirit is already moving and

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speaking today. 
So my prayer is that the Spirit 

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will speak to you and and that 
God will be very real to you. 

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His word Ruth, chapter one verse
one says in the days when the 

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judges ruled, there was a famine
in the land. 

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So a man from Bethlehem and 
Judah, together with his wife 

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and two sons, went to live for a
while in the country of Moab. 

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The man's name was Elimelech, 
his wife's name was Naomi, and 

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the names of his two sons were 
Maylon and Killian. 

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They were Ephrathites from 
Bethlehem, Judah, and they went 

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to Moab and lived there. 
Now Elimelech Naomi's husband 

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died and she was left with her 
two sons. 

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They married Moabite women, one 
named Orpa and the other named 

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Ruth, and after they had lived 
there about 10 years, both 

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Maelon and Killian also died, 
and Naomi was left without her 

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two sons and her husband. 
When Naomi heard in Moab that 

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the Lord had come to the aid of 
His people by providing food for

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them, she and her daughters in 
law prepared to return home. 

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From there. 
With her two daughters in law, 

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she left the place where she had
been living and set out on the 

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road that would take them back 
to the land of Judah. 

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Then Naomi said to her two 
daughters in law, Go back, each 

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of you, to your mother's home. 
May the Lord show you kindness, 

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as you have shown kindness to 
your dead husbands and to me. 

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May the Lord grant that each of 
you will find rest in the home 

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of another husband. 
Then she kissed them goodbye and

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they wept aloud and said to her,
We will go back with you, to 

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your people. 
But Naomi said, return home, my 

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daughters. 
Why would you come with me? 

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Am I going to have more sons who
could become your husbands? 

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Return home, my daughters. 
I am too old to have another 

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husband. 
And even if I thought there was 

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still hope for me, even if I had
a husband tonight and then gave 

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birth to sons, would you wait 
until they grew up? 

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Would you remain unmarried for 
them? 

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No, my daughters, it's more 
bitter for me than for you, 

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because the Lord's hand has 
turned against me. 

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At this they wept aloud again, 
and then Orpa kissed her 

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mother-in-law goodbye. 
But Ruth clung to her. 

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Look, said Naomi, your 
sister-in-law is going back to 

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her people, and her gods go back
with her. 

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But Ruth replied, Don't urge me 
to leave you or to turn back 

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from you. 
Where you go I will go. 

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Where you stay I will stay. 
Your people will be my people, 

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and your God, my God. 
Where you die I will die, and 

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there I will be buried. 
May the Lord deal with me, be it

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ever so severely, if even death 
separates you and me. 

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When Naomi realized that Ruth 
was determined to go with her, 

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she stopped urging her. 
So the two women went on until 

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they came to Bethlehem. 
When they arrived in Bethlehem, 

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the whole town was stirred 
because of them, and the women 

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exclaimed, Can this be Naomi? 
Don't call me Naomi, she told 

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them. 
Call me Mara because the 

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Almighty has made my life very 
bitter. 

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I went away full, but the Lord 
has brought me back empty. 

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Why call me Naomi? 
The Lord has afflicted me. 

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The Almighty has brought 
misfortune upon me. 

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So Naomi returned from Moab, 
accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,

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her daughter-in-law, arriving in
Bethlehem as the barley harvest 

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was beginning. 
You can have a seat now. 

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Listen, there's four chapters. 
We're going to do a chapter a 

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week. 
This is an incredible, 

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incredible story. 
And, and this is a story of 

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God's faithfulness and it's a 
story of the way that God works 

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through ordinary people who 
choose love. 

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The, the time frame of this is 
the time of the judges. 

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Most people believe that this is
the early time of the judge. 

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So the period of the judges was 
about 400 years after God had 

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delivered his people into the 
promised land. 

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There was a time of about 400 
years where they didn't have a 

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king or a leader and the people 
would go through this cycle, 

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it's called the cycle of 
retribution. 

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And and this cycle was that the 
people would get comfortable or 

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would forget about God and they 
would mess up and then they 

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would get cast into a bad spot. 
So they would mess up, they 

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would get in a tough spot, they 
would cry out to God. 

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God would save them. 
Everything was good. 

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They would get comfortable, they
would forget about God. 

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They would do their own thing. 
They would get cast into 

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difficulty. 
They would call out to God. 

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God would save them. 
Are you getting the point? 

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It was a cycle over and over for
400 years. 

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This is so this happens at the 
beginning of this, this time of 

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the Judges. 
And this story focuses on a 

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family. 
And, and I think if you really 

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dig deep, you would find that 
this family is right in the 

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middle of this cycle. 
They're right in the middle of 

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this cycle of choosing their own
path, finding themselves in 

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trouble, calling out to God, 
being saved. 

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And, and so the more you study 
this, I'm telling you, the 

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better it is. 
Before we jump into it, we're 

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going to be looking at a lot of 
names today because the names 

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here are very significant. 
They tell us a lot about this 

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story. 
So first I want to start with 

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Naomi and Elimelech. 
The name Naomi, it means 

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pleasant pleasant. 
The name Elimelech means God is 

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king. 
So what does this tell us? 

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This tells us that they were 
God's people that that their 

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their parents named them because
they were God's people and they 

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were obviously, I mean God is 
king, pleasant. 

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They they had good names. 
What we find pretty quickly in 

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the book of Ruth is that they're
not living up to their names. 

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Do you know what your name 
means? 

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Anyone. 
They weren't living up to their 

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names. 
Naomi's name was pleasant. 

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Chapter 1 didn't seem so 
pleasant for Naomi, did it? 

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Elimelech's name is God is King.
But what we see early on, and 

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there's three things we're going
to talk about and then and the 

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first thing is this. 
Elimelech and Naomi were not 

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faithful to God. 
God was good. 

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They were God's people. 
They were from so, so I told you

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this is right after God's 
delivered the people into the 

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promised land, and that's who 
they come from. 

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So these are God's people named 
Pleasant and God is my king. 

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But Elimelech and Naomi, we're 
not faithful to God. 

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As we look through the story, we
see clues that tell us this. 

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Quick, five things. 
Five things we see in the text. 

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First, let's keep on this name 
trend. 

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They had two sons. 
So remember pleasant God is 

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king. 
Now let's look at their sons 

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names, Maelon and Killian. 
Maelon means sick or sickness. 

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Killian means death or 
destruction. 

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Thanks, mom, appreciate it. 
So, so we go from from pleasant 

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and God is king to sickness and 
death. 

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Does this not tell us something 
about where they were when they 

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had their children? 
It tells us that the the land 

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was in a famine. 
And so obviously it was a tough 

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time. 
And this tells us just from the 

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names of their sons that they 
were in a place of despair and 

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they weren't in a place of hope 
and and, and, and faith. 

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They were in a place of 
darkness, so they named their 

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sons. 
I thought I'd have some fun. 

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I'd never looked up my name. 
You know what Alex means? 

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Defender of mankind. 
We are doomed. 

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It means helper. 
I thought I would dig a little 

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bit deeper, so I looked up Dale.
Pastor Dale. 

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Dale means valley. 
I don't know what to do with 

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that. 
Dale means Valley. 

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Brad. 
Pastor Brad. 

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Brad means wide. 
Sorry, buddy, I didn't come up 

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with it Wide. 
Pastor Shane, you know what 

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Shane means? 
Gift from God. 

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There we go, Shane. 
You might have won that one. 

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There's a lot in the name. 
And, and I just think, man, 

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they, they, they pleasant and 
God is king, but they name their

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kids sickness and death. 
Something's obviously off here. 

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That's number one. 
Number two, they left God's 

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people. 
They didn't trust that God would

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provide for them in this time of
famine. 

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So I told you, this is probably,
I don't, we don't know the exact

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date, but it's probably the 
beginning of the period of the 

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judges. 
And the reason that we conclude 

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that is because Boaz, who will 
come into the story in chapter 

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2, is the son of Rahab who 
helped the spies come into the 

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land. 
So we're a generation removed 

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from there. 
And so it's at the beginning of 

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this period. 
But but think about that. 

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What that means is that God has 
been faithful and LED his people

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all the way to the promised land
not long before this. 

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God has done awesome things and 
provided and we get into Ruth 

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chapter 1 and there's a famine 
and what do they do? 

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They take off. 
Hey, thanks for leading me to 

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the promised land. 
You did some great things. 

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But I think we're going to go 
somewhere else because I think 

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we can fend better for ourselves
elsewhere. 

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So #1 we see the names of their 
sons #2 we see that they, they 

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left God's people in God's 
place. 

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But #3 they didn't just leave. 
They went to an enemy land, 

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Moab. 
Moab was not a friendly place to

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God's people. 
These were enemies. 

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This, this is like transferring 
from the Ohio State to Michigan.

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That's what we're talking about 
here. 

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It's not just that they left, 
it's that they went to the enemy

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territory. 
They took off and they went to 

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mob the Moab. 
The Moabites were long time 

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enemies of God's people. 
They were known for being 

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incestuous people and they 
worshipped a different God, 

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Kimosh. 
So these were not godly people 

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and they left. 
Things were rough. 

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They didn't trust God to provide
and so they left God's place and

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00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:59,360
went to Moab #4. 
When they got there the the sons

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were married to Moabite women 
Orpa and Ruth. 

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Now if you study Scripture a 
little bit deeper, you would 

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know that around this time God 
had been very clear that the 

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people of God were not to marry 
people from these other nations 

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because it opened the door to 
idolatry and trouble in 

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Deuteronomy Chapter 7 that that 
said do not marry people from 

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00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,440
other nations. 
So not only do they name their 

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00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,640
sons sickness and death, not 
only do they leave God's 

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00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,840
promised land and lack trust, 
not only do they go to the 

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enemy, but then they marry their
sons to women from the Moabites.

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Then the last thing we see and 
we're going to Fast forward for 

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00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:51,200
this number 5. 
This is after Naomi goes back to

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to God's place, to Bethlehem, 
says when she got back there, 

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they said, oh, this is Naomi. 
This is pleasant. 

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Listen to what she says. 
Don't call me Naomi pleasant, 

250
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:11,200
call me Mara because the Lord 
has made my life very bitter. 

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I went away full, but the Lord 
has brought me back empty. 

252
00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,080
Why call me Naomi? 
The Lord has afflicted me and 

253
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the Almighty has brought 
misfortune upon me. 

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00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,160
And so Naomi says don't call me 
pleasant, call me Mara. 

255
00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,760
Which means bitter. 
Sounds like a lovely person to 

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00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,800
be around, doesn't it? 
You know, some people like that.

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00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,320
So don't call me pleasant, don't
call me by my name, my good 

258
00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,480
name, call me better. 
But there's so much more in 

259
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,000
this. 
I mean, they're in this cycle. 

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00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,120
And this is something that in 
all honesty, I think we're good 

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00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:55,120
at as as God's people, we tend 
to be in this cycle as well. 

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00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,280
We choose our own way. 
We don't trust God to take care 

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00:15:58,280 --> 00:15:59,960
of something. 
We go our own way. 

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00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,920
We sin, we fall short, and then 
we find ourselves in trouble. 

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00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,240
And and, and what does Naomi 
say? 

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00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:12,880
She says God did this to me. 
Call me Mara because God has 

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00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,720
made me bitter. 
He's afflicted me. 

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00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,400
She says I went away full. 
No, she didn't. 

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00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,840
She named her sons sickness and 
death. 

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00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,040
She says I went away full, but 
God has brought me back empty. 

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00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:32,520
Mara, bitter guys, when we 
choose our own way and we find 

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00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,440
ourselves in trouble, we're 
pretty good at thinking God's 

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00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,320
turned on us. 
I got good news for you. 

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00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,520
God has not turned on us. 
God is faithful. 

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00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,760
God is good. 
And so that brings us to the 

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00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:54,360
second thing, the second point, 
and that's the first good thing 

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00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,640
that Naomi does in this story. 
That's that she turns back to 

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00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,320
God and her time of need. 
I told you there's a cycle. 

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00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,920
We choose, we mess up, we get in
trouble, we call on God. 

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00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,839
That's where we are here. 
Naomi chooses. 

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00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:14,720
She says I'm going to go back. 
I'm going to go back to the 

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00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,000
promised land. 
I'm going to go back. 

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00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,599
Now. 
Let's not give her too much 

284
00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:24,160
credit here because it says here
she went back because she knew 

285
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:26,440
what was happening there. 
She knew that God was taking 

286
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,760
care of people was providing. 
In fact, look, verse 6 when 

287
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,240
Naomi heard in Moab that the 
Lord had come to the aid of his 

288
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,080
people by providing food for 
them, she and her daughters in 

289
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,720
law prepared to return home from
there with them. 

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00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,600
She went left the place where 
she'd been living and set back 

291
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,080
on the road to the land of 
Judah. 

292
00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,760
And so this isn't just oh, I was
wrong. 

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00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:49,040
I got to come back. 
This is, oh, God's taking care 

294
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,040
of people. 
Now I'm back in. 

295
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,320
Listen, can I, can I say 
something real quick? 

296
00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:03,280
As much as that seems wrong, I 
want to tell you that that God 

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00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:09,680
welcomes us. 
See, Naomi felt that God had 

298
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,840
turned his back on her. 
She says God's afflicted me. 

299
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:20,000
God's turned on me. 
God has made me empty, guys. 

300
00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,760
The truth couldn't be further 
from that. 

301
00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,560
In fact, we we know that God was
working all along to bring her 

302
00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,240
back. 
Because God is not against us. 

303
00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:39,200
God is for us. 
God loves us and we had strike 

304
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:44,160
one the names strike two leaving
strike three going to the enemy 

305
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:48,560
strike four marrying the boys 
off to to people from Moab. 

306
00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,960
Strike five called me bitter. 
I mean strike after strike after

307
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:54,800
strike. 
I mean she's almost to two outs 

308
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,480
in baseball. 
Any of you ever feel like you're

309
00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:07,400
on out 5678910112050 I got 
really good news for you today. 

310
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:13,040
No matter where you've gone or 
what you've done, you can always

311
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:17,880
turn back to God. 
You can always turn back to God.

312
00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,960
This this story actually reminds
me of the the prodigal son where

313
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,520
a similar situation. 
He says I want to do it on my 

314
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:26,080
own. 
He takes in his inheritance. 

315
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,200
He squanders it. 
He lives in filth. 

316
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:32,000
He he's at hits rock bottom and 
he says I got to go back because

317
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,440
I realized I was better off and 
guess what, when he comes back, 

318
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,680
the father doesn't say shame on 
you go back. 

319
00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:42,120
He says, come on, because that's
our God. 

320
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,600
And so can I just say if there's
anyone in here that feels like 

321
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:56,600
they're on strike 15 or 20 or 
God loves you, you can always, 

322
00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:01,560
always turn back to him. 
Not only that, I believe that 

323
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,960
God is drawing you back to him. 
God loves you. 

324
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,800
He's for you. 
That brings us to the third 

325
00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,120
part. 
And this is where we get to 

326
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,680
choose love. 
This is when the first hero 

327
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,480
emerges in the story and it's 
not Naomi Pleasant. 

328
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,720
It's not the good girl that grew
up in God's, you know, Holy 

329
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:30,240
Land. 
It's not the girl that grew up 

330
00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,160
in the in the promised Land that
grew up knowing the stories of 

331
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,800
God's faith. 
When it's not Naomi, it's Ruth, 

332
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,840
the Moabite girl. 
It's not the one you think it 

333
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:46,080
would be, but the first hero in 
the story is a girl from Moab 

334
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,640
who grew up in the enemy land, a
land that was terrible, that 

335
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:54,600
they worshipped false gods, a 
land that was not a good place. 

336
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,560
And she didn't grow up knowing 
all about God's faithfulness. 

337
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,880
But we see that she chooses 
love. 

338
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:06,480
And so Ruth shows love to Naomi.
Are we been looking at names? 

339
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,800
Do you know what the name Ruth 
means? 

340
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:14,160
It means friendship. 
She did live up to her name, 

341
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,640
verse 11. 
But Naomi said return home, my 

342
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,360
daughters. 
Why would you come with me? 

343
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,240
Am I going to have sons who 
could become your husband's? 

344
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,080
Return home, my daughters. 
I'm too old to have another 

345
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,160
husband. 
Even if I thought there was 

346
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,320
still hope for me, even if I had
a husband tonight and gave birth

347
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,240
to sons, would you wait for them
to grow up? 

348
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:34,680
Would you remain unmarried for 
them? 

349
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,920
No, my daughters, it's more 
bitter for me than you, because 

350
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,520
the Lord's hand has turned 
against me. 

351
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,360
At this they wept aloud. 
Then Orpa kissed her 

352
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,360
mother-in-law goodbye and but 
Ruth clung to her Look, said 

353
00:21:45,360 --> 00:22:00,200
Naomi, your sister in 
Where you go, I will go. 

354
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:06,600
Where you stay, I will stay. 
Your people will be my people 

355
00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,400
and your God, my God. 
Where you die, I will die, and 

356
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,600
there I will be buried. 
May the Lord deal with me, be it

357
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,720
ever so severely, if even death 
separates you and me. 

358
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,120
And when Naomi realized that 
Ruth was determined to go with 

359
00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:24,640
her, she stopped urging her. 
Guys, this is incredible. 

360
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,080
It's not Naomi the the person 
that grew up in the Promised 

361
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,560
Land, the one that knew the 
stories of God's faithfulness. 

362
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:40,120
It's not Naomi that's the hero. 
It's Ruth, the Moabite girl who 

363
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,200
grew up in a bad place, who 
didn't know who God was. 

364
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,160
Oh, man, this is so great. 
I want you to hear this. 

365
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:51,200
No matter if you've got 20 
strikes or 30 strikes, if you 

366
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:54,600
grew up a Christian and you've 
blown it or you've wandered, 

367
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:56,960
you're never too far to turn 
back to God. 

368
00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,720
But here's the second truth. 
You can turn to God no matter 

369
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,360
whether you've grown up 
Christian, whether you've heard 

370
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:08,760
about whether you've gone to 
church for 50 years. 

371
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,400
This could be your first time in
a church. 

372
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,720
This could be your first time 
hearing about God. 

373
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:21,000
Here's the beautiful part. 
If you choose to walk with him 

374
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:26,440
in obedience and love, God will 
bless you and give you life. 

375
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,200
So here's the deal. 
Some of you may be Naomi here 

376
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,080
and you're on strike 20 and you 
need to turn back today. 

377
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:38,200
Some of you may be Ruth, and 
today might be an opportunity 

378
00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:45,720
for you to say I'm in. 
If I choose love, your people 

379
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:50,160
will be my people. 
Your God will be my God. 

380
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,400
There's no better choice you can
make today, guys. 

381
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,200
Whether it's turning back or 
whether it's committing for the 

382
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,480
first time. 
There is no better choice you 

383
00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:03,080
can make than to choose love. 
This text has been used at 

384
00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,200
weddings. 
This saying from Ruth, I mean, 

385
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,240
it is through the years. 
Become famous. 

386
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,360
Where you go, I'll go. 
Where you stay, I'll stay. 

387
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:15,760
I'm with you. 
Your people will be my people. 

388
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:17,760
Your God. 
My God. 

389
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,680
What? 
Why did she choose? 

390
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:23,880
It doesn't tell us exactly why 
Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi.

391
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:28,280
Is it because she deserves it? 
No. 

392
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,600
Sorry. 
I didn't mean to stump you there

393
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,280
with a 50% question. 
Yes or no? 

394
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:33,640
No. 
She didn't deserve it. 

395
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:37,680
Naomi didn't earn it. 
In fact, we've seen she's let's 

396
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,840
just look at, let me, let me 
take a step back for a second. 

397
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,440
Think about this. 
We've already got 5 strikes, 

398
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,160
right? 
And then Naomi is here and she's

399
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:48,440
saying I'm going to turn back to
God. 

400
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,160
I'm going to go back. 
But even in that, she continues 

401
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,440
to urge Orpa and Ruth to get out
of there and go take care of 

402
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,240
themselves. 
This has been the problem the 

403
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,960
whole time. 
You're trying to do it your way.

404
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,800
You're not trusting God. 
And so even on the way back, 

405
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,080
even in her decision to turn 
back, she says, I'm turning 

406
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,600
back. 
I got nothing else but you guys.

407
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,080
You guys go back your own way. 
Go take care of yourselves. 

408
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,120
Go find husbands in your own 
land. 

409
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,640
It even says go back to your own
gods. 

410
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,760
She still doesn't get it. 
She still doesn't get it. 

411
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:30,240
Does she deserve it? 
No. 

412
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,120
Was Naomi just so much fun to be
around? 

413
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:40,560
Call me Mara bitter. 
I'm afflicted. 

414
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,080
You don't want to be around me. 
I'm the whore. 

415
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:45,800
I'm terror God has turned 
against you got. 

416
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,600
You guys have been around. 
Some people like that, right? 

417
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:52,560
It's not fun. 
Did she deserve it? 

418
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,600
Was it just that, you know, she 
was so great that Ruth couldn't 

419
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,840
bear to not be around? 
No, I, I here's what I believe. 

420
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,640
I believe that God was working 
in Ruth's heart. 

421
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,280
And Ruth chose what she believed
was the right thing. 

422
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:13,440
She chose love, not because it 
was deserved, not because it was

423
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,320
earned, not because it was 
convenient. 

424
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,360
It could mean it could mean 
disaster for her. 

425
00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:22,920
It could mean that she would 
spend the rest of her life 

426
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:27,760
looked at poorly and in another 
land, that she would be lost, 

427
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,240
basically. 
But she chooses because she 

428
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:35,360
believes this is what's right. 
Where you go, I'll go. 

429
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,160
Where you stay, I'll stay. 
Your people will be my people, 

430
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:46,560
and your God is my God. 
She chose love. 

431
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,040
Think about it. 
All through the story so far, 

432
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:55,240
Naomi and Elimelech have chose 
themselves, have chose their 

433
00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:00,200
path. 
Ruth says no, I choose love. 

434
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,520
I choose to put others first. 
I choose obedience. 

435
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,120
What a beautiful thing guys. 
Here's the good news. 

436
00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:14,960
God can work His plan through 
anyone that is willing to follow

437
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,600
Him, to be obedient and to love 
others. 

438
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:20,960
I don't care where you've been 
or what you've done. 

439
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,760
I don't care where you grew up. 
I don't care what your 

440
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:28,320
background is. 
If you choose love and obedience

441
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,800
to God today, God can do 
incredible things. 

442
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:34,960
We're going to go through the 
last three chapters in the next 

443
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:36,840
few weeks. 
I wish I could do them all today

444
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,640
because you'd see all the good 
things that God does through the

445
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,000
choice of Ruth. 
But here's what where we want to

446
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,360
end today. 
I want to ask you to choose 

447
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,760
love. 
Why don't you stand with me? 

448
00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:55,600
Worship team, come on up. 
We're going to finish out by 

449
00:27:55,600 --> 00:28:01,240
singing I Speak Jesus. 
And as we sing this, I just want

450
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,600
to encourage you to respond to 
God's word. 

451
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,880
I really believe that God is 
here and that he's speaking and 

452
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,240
maybe some of you are here and 
you would say, hey, I've tried 

453
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,760
doing it my way. 
I've missed it. 

454
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,840
I've gotten off the path. 
It's time to turn back. 

455
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:22,800
If that's you, don't hesitate. 
Turn back. 

456
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:27,640
You're never too far gone. 
God is here and he's drawing you

457
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,400
to Him. 
If there's anyone in here that 

458
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,240
you've never made a commitment 
to God, you've never said, I'm 

459
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,120
with you, God. 
I choose love. 

460
00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:40,200
I choose obedience. 
Today can be your first time and

461
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,280
you can sign up and get on this 
journey and God will give you 

462
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,400
such great things. 
God will give you love in life. 

463
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,840
I'm not saying it's going to be 
perfect and every day it's not 

464
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,760
prosperity gospel. 
It's that God will show you the 

465
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,760
right way to go and the right 
way to live and He is always 

466
00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,320
faithful. 
Today I want to ask you to 

467
00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,760
respond to God's word. 
Maybe there's some stuff in your

468
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:03,240
life that's been really 
difficult. 

469
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,640
Maybe there are some people in 
your life that have been 

470
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,960
difficult. 
Maybe people have hurt you. 

471
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:15,240
Maybe people don't seem to 
deserve your love and your 

472
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,320
grace. 
Today I want to ask you to 

473
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:23,120
choose love, not, hey, you've 
earned it. 

474
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,640
But listen, because I choose 
God, because I choose obedience.

475
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,160
Where you go, I'll go. 
Where you stay, I'll stay. 

476
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,040
Your people are my people. 
Your God is my God. 

477
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,520
If we can get there, guys, I 
promise you His spirit's going 

478
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,760
to be poured out in incredible 
ways. 

479
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,960
I want to encourage you as we 
sing this song, respond to God's

480
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,960
word. 
If God's speaking to you, don't 

481
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:48,280
hesitate. 
You can come to an altar. 

482
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,920
It's a great place to pray. 
There's no shame in it. 

483
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,360
It's a place to say yes. 
It's a place to lay down what's 

484
00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:59,080
going on. 
Let's choose love today. 

485
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,280
Father, if there's anyone here 
that needs to turn back to you, 

486
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,720
I pray that they would be 
obedient and come back to you. 

487
00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,400
Now. 
If there's anyone here that's 

488
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,360
hearing this for the first time 
or has never chosen to walk with

489
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,880
you, I pray today would be the 
day that they choose to walk 

490
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,840
with you. 
If there's anything in our lives

491
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,120
that we need to surrender, I 
pray that we would surrender it 

492
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,640
now. 
Put our trust in you and choose 

493
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,000
love. 
We love you, Lord, we give you 

494
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,960
everything. 
We speak Jesus over everything 

495
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,600
in Jesus name, Amen.