The Book of Ruth - Part 3

We have been in the book of Ruth studying it out and I've been doing a bit of a slow roll deep dive through that. So it was two Wednesday nights ago we started walking chapter by chapter through the book of Ruth and I hope about you but I've been enjoying it. You guys have been joining study slowing down going through it. There's a lot in that book in it. I love this story because what I what I see there and I hope that you picked up on it is God is quietly walking through the ordinary lives of people in ordinary circumstances.

But through those things we can see that he was outside of time orchestrating all these events that were not just happen chance but they were divinely put there by God. So over the last two weeks of this series we've been going through this incredible story of redemption watching it unfold. Ruth chapter 1, everything was about returning. As you remember, Naomi and her husband IMC decided to leave Israel because there was a famine going on. And I know oftent times in my life and being raised around the church, this story sometimes gets gets portrayed in a way of them making a bad decision.

But I'm I'm of the opinion that I don't know that we can always say that. And I know there's a lot of things that happen to them that seem like, well, you probably could blame it on a bad decision. But where would you and I be? Where would you and I be when there's a family? When your family's looking at you for for some food, and they they found food in Moab. Now, I know Mo the Moabites are not not highly favored. In fact, that God had quite a bit to say about them.

And I'm not going to get into the details of that, but that's where our story began to unfold at the beginning as they made their way to Moab. And it was there they did find food and provision. But while they were there, Naomi's husband and Ic died. But then in the midst of a tragedy, her two sons ended up finding wives. And and and in in my mind, as I'm going through the narrative of this story, I begin to think, well, at least something good's coming about.

There's there's there's an opportunity for a future generation to come to pass. Maybe it isn't the way it should have unfolded, but at least there's something to hope for because sometimes we look for anything to hope for, right? So, as we're reading the story, just a few few verses in, we start to see that a lot of bad happened, but at the same time, there's still some good to hang on to. But then one verse later, it says that her two sons die, and we're like, man, this is rough.

This is bad. This is a difficult situation. That's that's our introduction. We're basically about five verses in to Ruth chapter 1, and there's been a lot of life lived because sometimes life just happens really quick to us in ways that seems to overwhelm us. And I don't know about you, but if we're I feel like if we're being honest, we read this story and we have a hard time hard time not allowing our heart to go out to Naomi and even to Ruth and and Orpa, her other daughter-in-law that's there.

But then the word comes out that there's bread back in Israel. And she decides to, hey, you know what? We're going to head back that way. And she does what any good person would do. She looks at her daughters-in-law and says, look, here's the deal. This situation's been bad. We've had a lot of difficulty. We've had a lot of frustrations and I'm going to go back to where I came from and I'm not expecting you to make this journey with me. There's nothing tying you to me.

My sons are dead. Just go back home. Go back to your people. Go back to to everything that you know, everything that you're familiar. No hard feelings. I think this is the best decision. And for a while, the the the daughters-in-laws seem to follow her. And then they have a conversation. Then they have a cry fest because sometimes ladies just like to cry. I feel like I'm qualified to say that. I have lived in a household of women and sometimes I get emotional too.

I think the estrogen's just on me. There's a little cryfest that goes on and then we read this verse and it says that that Orpa decided to leave. But then there's word that says Ruth clung to her. So we're starting to see this dynamic begin to unfold. And that's the story that you and I have been unpacking for the last couple of weeks is what was it about Ruth and and and her relationship with Naomi in the middle of some difficult situations. And it's actually a very beautiful story.

So last week in chapter 2, we see things go a little bit different. Ruth went looking to help. I love that because she didn't just sit back and expect something to happen to her. She took action. She decided, "Hey, we we can't just sit around here in this house. Just because we made it back to Israel doesn't mean things are going to work for us. We can at least do something." Ruth says, "Hey, you know what? I'll go out and see if I can find a field."

Now, culture dictates, and I I tried to unpack this last week, and I would encourage you to go back because I'm not going to rehash last week's lesson, but just listen to it if you haven't already, because there was provision set up by God as people who own fields and were growing harvest that they were not to reap the corners. They were not to pick up everything that was there. It was basically God's way of saying, "Hey, I have the ability to provide for those who have had uh unfortunate events happen in their life."

Now, the deal was you still had to go get it. It wasn't a hand delivered, right? So, I kind of emphasized the importance of it's important for you to do something for God. Do what you can do. Keep praying and asking God to help you as much as God will help you. And God is always desiring to help us. But sometimes the help that God sends is to give you the strength to go do something. Amen. That's really good. I'll amen myself. I'll high-five myself.

That's a good word. Do something. So, we see that Ruth had it in her to go do something. She says, "I'm going to go find somewhere that maybe I can help." Because it it says at the end of chapter 1 that they had arrived in Israel at harvest time. Another hope that was there. So they arrived at harvest time. So she says, "Hey, I'll go and see if I can maybe glean." Now again, she's a Moabitete in Israel. So she had a little bit of negative stigma that was there, but we see that her character kept shining through.

We're going to re realize the importance of that character here in just a few minutes as we go through chapter 3. But in chapter 2, as I was covering last week, it says her hap was King James language or New King James would be seen by chance. Now, I don't believe in chance. I don't I believe in I believe in divine interruptions. And I think if you went with me through last week's lesson, you would agree with me that God was orchestrating her steps because she ended up being in Boaz's field.

And as you're going to see, Boaz was a character that is very important in the narrative of this story. He was the one who actually ended up being kin to her. And we're going to unpack this a little bit more tonight. And I told you last week that this week's really exciting because there's so much implication and not only to what we can see that was happening in Naomi's life, but more importantly in Ruth's life, which I feel like most of us tend to identify with.

She didn't realize that there was a redeemer that was about to step into her life in a very powerful way. And that brings us to Ruth chapter 3. Now, Ruth has returned, but she has experienced God's providence, and she has received the favor of Boaz. But she has still not been redeemed at this point. She's just had somebody be kind to her. And I like kindness, but kindness is not redemption. Kindness is not redemption. She's not been redeemed. So, tonight's story moves from the field of the redeemer to the feet of the redeemer.

Because there comes a moment when faith has to move beyond simply receiving God's blessing. There comes an opportunity for you and I that we have to understand this. In order for me to fully embrace all that God has for me, it's going to require me to be fully surrendered to him. Everybody say fully surrendered. >> Fully surrendered. >> Fully surrendered to God. Not in part, not in peace. As you've heard me say many, many times if you've been around here any length of time, you've heard pastors say this.

He's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. He's not going to be Lord in peace. He's not going to be Lord in part. When he went to Calvary and died on the cross, he didn't half go. He didn't give an arm or a leg. He wasn't playing the hokeyp pokei. That's funny. It's okay to laugh. But he went completely. It was complete surrender. And I love what God always does. He does the difficult job first before he ever asks of us.

He always goes ahead and says, "Look, let me go first. Let me show you my desire." My desire is complete surrender. Because he said himself, if any man's going to come after me, right? Jesus words, red letter words. Any man's going to come after me, let him deny himself first. You got to deny yourself and then do what? Take up his cross and then do what? >> That's the order. That's the order. And we're going to see those exact words I just spoke to you right there.

We're going to see this play out in the story of Ruth. So Ruth chapter 3, we're going to pick up tonight. Ruth chapter 3, verse number one. And I'm sorry, my lovely assistant is working the booth tonight. So you guys got to hear me read the verses. I hope that's okay. Ruth chapter 3:1 Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her, "My daughter, shall I shall I not seek rest for thee that it may be well with thee." Naomi recognizes that something needs to happen because we end chapter two with her continuing to go into the field.

It said that she finished reaping with her or going up there and collecting with through the barley harvest and then and there was another harvest that came into play that was there as well. So, the time has passed and she's continued to get up every morning and she's continued to go out and collect. Again, she's done her part. They're praying. They're depending on God, but they're also doing what it is that they can do. And because of this, chapter 3 starts off with Naomi saying, "Look, you've been working really hard.

Can I not find some rest for you because I I see what you're doing." And she's she's a person who's aware of her situation. She's worked, she's served, and she's stayed faithful. And Boaz has been kind because I'm going to read I'm going to go back to chapter 2, read verse 15 to 16 for you just to just to kind of paint the narrative for us tonight. Verse 15. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheav and reproach her not."

Verse 16. And let let fall also some of the hands full of purpose for her. I love that passage. I said it last week. Because she was willing to go out. Boaz was making sure that there was hands full of purpose in the field for her. See, if you're not willing to work, I'm a big believer. I think this verse validates it. You're going to miss the purpose. You're going to miss the purpose. So, you got to get up and go on the field.

You got to put in a little sweat equity. Amen. >> You guys okay tonight? >> Need to pass out some espresso shots tonight. Get y'all cranked up. It's going to be good. Naomi understands that Ruth cannot spend the rest of her life simply gleaning in the field of the redeemer. There's more than just coming to church. Amen. Church is good. Like, I'm glad you come. I'm glad you're here on Wednesday night that you're showing your devotion. But there's more than just coming on Sundays and Wednesdays.

There's more than just gleaning. There's living a life that's fully committed to God. And this is what we're seeing portrayed in front of us in this chapter. In chapter number three, at some point, her relationship with Boaz has to change. And I think there's something here for all of us. It's possible for you and I to spend our entire lives around the things of God without ever completely surrendering oursel to God. This is what happens often times when people come in and when they first interact and have a connection with God, it's mind-blowing for them.

They've never experienced anything like it. They never never felt his presence that way. They never felt his love that way. And and and think with me for just a minute. For those of us who've been serving the Lord for a while, if you roll back and remember your first encounter with God, that was something special there. You remember that altar experience? Do you remember it? Do you remember that when he filled you with his spirit? Do you remember that day, that night, whenever it was?

You remember that? You forever changed. And if you'll be honest with you, you had a lot of exuberance. You had a lot of excitement. There's a lot of energy about doing something for God. But isn't it amazing what we get used to? And it's not that we don't enjoy the presence of God, but we don't always act like we did when we first came in contact. So having said that is I feel that I have witnessed in my lifetime of ministry. I spent more of my life in ministry than not.

I have watched people they start to grow with God and somewhere along the way they just kind of plateau. Now I'm going to tell you as pastor that's one of the most frustrating things is to watch someone just plateau. It's almost like they've said I've arrived. It's like I know the Ten Commandments and I know what to do in church. I know when to raise my hands. cuz I know when to amen even when I'm not listening. Don't act like you don't know that.

You know, you can sense and feel. You can be a million miles away. You can be going through your shopping list for Walmart click cart and you just sense it. Throw out an amen. Amen. That's right. That's good. Preach it. If I was to quiz you on what I just said, you'd be like, "Pastor, please don't do that." Yeah. Now, again, I'll put both my hands in the air. guilty is charged. That's my point is sometimes if we're not consciously doing our part to grow, we won't grow.

So, I feel like what we're seeing in this story is this parallel of Naomi, who's the older woman, right? She's the mother-in-law that was there. She's seeing what Ruth is doing and she's saying to her, "Hey, look, at some point I got to get you past the point of just going out and getting the handfuls for you just to have that goosebump check at church. You need some depth at some point." What she's trying to say get to is like, "We need to get you to where we can be redeemed more than just working in the field.

We got to get you through the progress of actually being redeemed. There's where the story's going. So, you can enjoy God's provision. You can experience God's blessing. You can gather handfuls and even sit at his table and still never completely place your life into the hands of the redeemer. And that to me is the story of chapter 3 and Ruth is realizing and understanding that sometimes you have to get to a place of being uncomfortable to be fully committed. As I've said many times, we often have an area or two of our life where we're really glad God's in control, whatever yours is.

Like, Lord, when it comes to this, like you're fully control. But then there's other areas of our life when sometimes we're a little bit hesitant because if we're honest, we feel like we're doing a pretty good job of it. Like, Lord, I need your help over here with this area. I need your help with my health because it's bad. Or I need your help, Lord, with my finances because it's out of control. I need your help over here, whatever it is. But the other areas were like, you know what, God, it's okay.

It's okay. I know you probably have something you want to say to me about that, but I'm okay. But what we're going to see here in this story is there there comes a moment if you're truly going to be allowing him to be Lord of all of your life, you got to position yourself at his feet to allow him to completely cover you. Ruth had to trust the process. Verse number three of chapter 3, again Naomi is still talking to Ruth. Wash thyself therefore and anoint thee, and put thy raignment upon thee.

And it shall be when thy when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall he he shall lie, and thou shalt go in and uncover his feet, and lay thee down, and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. Now, to our modern ears, this seems a little bit strange, but we got to make sure in this story, as with most Bible stories, that we don't read our culture backwards into theirs. We don't take our experiences or what we think's going on and we read it into the story.

Let the story tell the story the way it was meant by the by the writer that was there. Naomi's instruction were consistent with the customs of that time and they were designed to preserve Ruth's moral integrity. And I bring that up for a reason because there's going to be a minute in the story you be like, "Well, that sounds a little odd. That sounds like maybe that's a little little risque." But that's not the case. Let me unpack it for you. Ruth would remain at Boaz's feet and nothing about the request required sexual compromise or immorality.

This isn't about seduction, ladies and gentlemen. This is about surrender. I'm going to say that again. This is not about seduction. This is about surrender. Naomi is guiding Ruth toward a moment when she will present herself to Boaz and ask him to be fully responsible as the kingsman kinsman redeemer. But Ruth must decide whether she trusts Naomi enough ultimately if she's going to trust God in this process. Now again, we have track record that God's been with her right the time they left Moab.

And she she made this declaration which is was was a pretty powerful thing for her to say like wherever you go, your people will be my people. Your God's going to be my God. I'm willing to walk away from all this. That seems great in the moment. But in the process, we see that God is working with with Ruth and growing her in her ability to trust him. But as most of us in this room can attest, you and I have had those trials that we've went through and we look backwards on them with with with 2020 vision and say, "God, you've been faithful."

But let's be honest, most of the time we're in the middle of the trial. We don't always say that. And isn't it interesting how with each new trial, God has a way of stretching our faith in a way that has never been done before. It would be awesome if the process was always the same. That would be great. I don't know why he doesn't do that, Randy. be great when it come around the corner like all right I remember being here before so I'm going to God you you brought me around the corner again I'm going to trust it but usually he always has a new twist a new dynamic a new frustration a new hurt a new hiccup a new pain is always there why because he's growing us in our walk with him in the process we are becoming more and more like him and God has a great ability to act like he's God and likes to determine what it is that we can handle what we can't handle what it is we need to go through in order for us to become more like him.

That's what's taking place in this story. She's made some big strides and she's taken some great leaps from leaving Moab to where she is now. But we're going to see here's another moment because this is beyond just having provision for the day. More than just living in the moment. And there's a whole story from here for me to unpack for you guys that I don't have near enough time tonight to even go into the depths of it. But far too often you and I settle for just a handful when just a little bit of daily provision when God has so much more in store for us.

We shortside oursel when we're not willing to be fully compliant and obedient. And that's not prosperity doctrine. That's scriptural truth. We're seeing it played out in this chapter that is there. This is another moment where Naomi is trying to guide Ruth through this process where Ruth's going to have to determine, am I going to listen to her? Am I going to trust her? Am I going to be obedient or am I going to not? because it's up to me to make the decision. Now, what I love about this is as Naomi is guiding her, Ruth has to decide if I'm going to trust is God going to be enough?

And I love how she responds in verse number five. And she said unto her, "All that thou sayest unto me, I will do." Again, here's another powerful moment of a few words that come out of her mouth. It's just shocking. Who is who is this Ruth? Who is this woman of faith who wasn't raised in the culture of the society of the day? She wasn't raised around God, right? Moab had all these other gods and all these other idols over there. But here's this woman who's saying, "I'm going to follow you.

I'm going to go wherever you go. I am knit to you. I'm clinging to you. I'm I'm I'm hanging on to you. Wherever you go, that's where I'm your God is going to become my God." And in this process, she's listening and she's obedient and she's compliant in along the way, every step of the way. That's surrender. She didn't say, "I'm going to think about it. She didn't say, "I'm going to do the thing that makes sense to me." No, she didn't say, "I'm going to do this as long as it's comfortable."

She simply says, "I will do it." Her confession became action. And that's the difference between believing something and surrendering to something. Real faith doesn't just agree with God. Real faith obeys God, even if you don't fully understand it. I know in my life there's been some times that God's walked me through some difficult situations and I didn't understand the process. I didn't I'm being transparent with you. I didn't I was I was very frustrated what was going on. But I knew enough to say to God, Lord, even though I don't understand it, I'm going to trust you because you have proven to me through my life that you are faithful.

I know I say that a lot from the pullpit that he's a faithful God, guys. But at some point, you have to just determine whether you understand it or not that he's faithful God, that you can trust him, that he's good. I mean, think back across your life. How good has God been to you? Answer that question with me just a minute. How good has God been to you? Look backwards in your life. I'm not talking about what you're facing right now. I know there's some situations in the room.

Stop thinking about now. Think about what has happened in your life. Has he been faithful to you? Has he been faithful to you? Has he been faithful to you? Yes, he has. The fact that you're in this room tonight is proof positive of his love and his faithfulness, his devotion. Because if the enemy had his way, you wouldn't be here tonight. >> You wouldn't be here. He's a good and a faithful God. you can trust him. So that's why the the old prophet Jeremiah as he wrote in Lamentations as he's watching the city walls being tore down around him, he he comes through all that lamenting and it's it's a hard book to read.

We get to that one part where he says this I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope. It's because of your mercies that we are not consumed. Because thy compassions they fail now. They are new every morning. Great. In the middle of everything burning down around him. What's he doing? I'm going backwards in my life. Sometimes it's good to go backwards and remember how good he's been to you. To remember the past victories and the times he had did answer your prayer and when provision came out of nowhere and when there was hands full of purpose in the field that you were able to pick up.

You didn't deserve it. You didn't earn it. You shouldn't even be there. But yet there you are in the middle of the field and and you're you're picking up the things that he's blessed in your life. Why? Because he's a good and a faithful God. I think we ought to worship him right now. Jesus, you are good. We love you. We worship you, God. We don't deserve you, God. We haven't earned your goodness, but I'm so thankful for you and your faithfulness in my life.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Surrender is not always comfortable. Have you noticed that we can be stubborn? You need to agree with that because it's truth. You don't have to point fingers at anybody else. I wasn't talking about the other person. I'm talking about you. You can be stubborn and I can too. I don't always like surrendering. Think about what Ruth's been asked to do. She has have to make herself vulnerable. She's got to go back to Boaz, which has always been so good to her.

But do you think about that now? All you introverts for just a minute. Think about this. Think about having to go back again. And some of you be like, you know, I just starve. Yep. I just starve. You just soon starve to ask somebody. But but she's going to be obedient. She's going to have to go ask him to become her redeemer. And she has absolutely no guarantee of what he's going to say. Now, I don't know about you, but that's uncomfortable for anybody when you don't know what the person's going to say, but that's what she's been asked to do.

Surrender is always uncomfortable because surrender means giving up control. And oh my, don't we like control? Yes, we do. Yes, we I got like five people nodding their heads. Yes, we all like control. We do. We want to be in control. We like obedience when we can see how everything's going to go and if it's going to work out the way we think, then we're okay with I can be compliant if I know how it's going to work. But if I can't see it, I don't know.

There's something to me like, I don't know about that. But isn't it always interesting how God has a way of not telling us? He just simply says, "Trust. Trust. You're going to have to trust me in this process." There are moments when faith says, "God, I don't understand all this, but I trust you." And some of the greatest moments in our spiritual lives begin with the simple words, "I will do." I will do. I will do. I'll forgive. I'll let go. I'll take the next step.

I'll answer the call. I'll obey your word. I'll surrender what I've been holding on to. I will trust you with the outcome that I can't see. That's what obedience is about. Let's go to verse number six. Because what we're going to see is she's going from the field to his feet. And she went down into the floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. So now she begins to walk towards something in the threshing floor. Think about how far she's come.

Again, she's left Moab. Now she's in Bethlehem. She entered Boaz's field and before that day was over with, she was sitting at his table and now she's going to be going to his feet. This is spiritual progression that's going through in this chapter. Often times it's easy for you and I to parallel this same walk that we have had ourselves with God. Return brought her home, but providence brought her into the field. But now surrender is going to bring her to the feet of the redeemer that is there.

And that's where everything begins to change because ultimately redemption doesn't happen because of how much Ruth can gather in the field. Here's a note for you notetakers. Redemption begins when Ruth places herself at the feet of the one who has the power to redeem. I'll say that again. Redemption begins when Ruth places herself at the feet of the one who has the power to redeem her. Otherwise, she's just gathering what's and she's dependent there. But there's something about understanding this process of like I got to get to his feet because I need redemption.

So we're going to read this at the feet of the redeemer. Verse number seven. And when Boaz had eaten and drank and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn. She came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her and laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid and turned himself. And behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, "Who art thou?" And she answered, "I am Ruth thy handmmaid.

Spread for listen to this. Spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmmaid, for thou art a near kinsman." Now Ruth at this point has done exactly what Naomi has asked her to do. But this is where the tension's in the story and this is what happens often times when you and I read too fast. We miss this point of what's going on. So stop for just a minute and think about this process. She's went there. He's asleep. She's uncovered his feet and he awakes and it says he's afraid because there's a strange woman at his feet as every man should be afraid if there's you wake up and there's a strange woman at your feet.

That's the Bible. You should be asking who are you and what are you doing? But she says this when ask she makes her request spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmmaid. That phrase can sound strange to us but the meaning is powerful. That Hebrew word that's translated skirt is kaf. And there's so many so many parallels in scriptures about what's going on here. This is a moment. In fact, this even goes back to chapter 2 because Boaz in acknowledging her when she entered the field even references this exact purpose when he says in Ruth chapter 2 verse number 12, "The Lord recompense thy work."

This is him talking to Ruth and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. There's something about that phrase, the terminology that is there, abiding under the wings of the Almighty. It's coming into, ladies and gentlemen, this is about an establishment of a covenant relationship. This isn't something dirty. This isn't something perverted or perverse. This isn't something sexual. This is something that's about a covenant relationship. Naomi understood this when she when she realizes what what what the process and where Ruth's at and she understands who Boaz is and she recalls back that this is IMC's kin.

She starts connecting the dots, right? She starts realizing, hey, even her language is ba I'm blessed. You remember last week we talked about how she used that word blessed. She went in and she she was basically saying, don't call me Naomi, right? I'm empty. But the language changed at the end of chapter two when she says, "Now I'm blessed." She's blessed by because she realizes that God's been working in the background of her life the whole time because God's always working in the background of our life.

But in the process of what's going on, she begins to realize, hey, there's an opportunity here. So Ruth, listen to me. Listen, listen to my words carefully. This is what you need to do. You need to go to his feet. You need to uncover them. You need to sit there and you need to wait. And when the moment comes, you need to ask him this question. I want to live under the wings of your provision that is there. In other words, I want I want I want to have a covenant relationship with you.

There's something about when you and I come to God and we ask him, Lord, I want to have a covenant relationship. I don't want to treat you just like I treat a bottle of Advil when I something's going wrong in my life. When I have some pain, I have some aches, I want I want I want to reach out to you. No, no. A covenant relationship is is I'm giving all of me to all of you. That's what a covenant is. It's not a piece or a part.

It's a contract in with God. We cannot connect this moment again without understanding the power of the process. Boaz has already prayed, Ruth, may God cover you under his wings. But now Ruth is essentially coming back to Boaz because of the information she's gotten from Naomi and she's saying, "Boaz, I want to be a part of the answer. I want you to be I want I want to be a part of the prayer you've already prayed over me. Spread your skirt over me. I want to enter into this relationship.

Cover me." Not a sensual scene, but a covenant scene. Ruth is asking Boaz to cover her, to take responsibility for her, to bring her under his protection, for him to become her redeemer. This is a picture of the Jesus Christ in our life because all of us need what Ruth needed. We need somebody to redeem us back to have a right relationship. Take what I'm about to say the right way. And I mean no, I don't mean this to sound any other way or irreverent or disrespectful.

This isn't about me accepting him as my Lord and Savior. I say this with all respect. the audacity that I would accept him. I can't believe that he would accept me. Not not that I have to accept him now. I have to believe in what he did. I have to have faith in the finished work at Calvary. But guys, this is more than just me receiving him. This is about you and I. And you're going to miss the boat on this. Is I'm telling you, there's so many in mainstream Christianity that are missing the boat on this.

And again, I'm not meaning to be mean. I'm not meaning to be disrespectful. I'm meaning to stay in the word of God. This is about a covenant relationship. And if you miss the importance of being in a covenant relationship, then all you have is a casual acquaintance. And you sometimes feel his presence. Please know my heart when I say that. I I don't mean to cause any division. I don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings, but I'm telling you, this story that's unfolded in this little four chapter book, there's so many parallels into our relationship with God.

there. There comes a moment when it's more than just me feeling it. It's more than me just having a one-time altar experience. It's more than me just being baptized in Jesus name. All those things are essential. But a covenant relationship is something I'm a part of every day of my life. Every day I make a commitment to keep my end of the bargain. Because here's what I know. He always keeps his. >> God always keeps his end of the bargain. This goes back. This goes way back.

Okay? And again, I don't have near enough time to unpack this stuff, but I would encourage you to go back to look at at Abram's life when God's establishing the Abraic covenant with him and he puts him to sleep. You remember the story in the Bible? He puts he puts Abram to sleep and then he has before that he has him sacrifice these animals. He splits them in half and then then then he puts Abram to sleep over to the side and then he comes down and he walks between the two covenants.

So that that whole covenant relationship that is there in the in the Old Testament is basically when you had that kind of a covenant relationship. So Jonathan be like you and I been doing this. Okay. Say, "Hey, we we're going to have a relationship." All right. We're going to take this little turtle dove. Okay. This is this is kind of cruel, but listen. This is my friend Jonathan. I met Jonathan. Wave at everybody. Jonathan. Jonathan. So we got a turtle dove and I tear it in half.

>> I know. And I set it between us and here's what I do. So I got a piece of dove here and a piece of dove here. And then in the middle you and I shake hands. What we're saying is we're making a covenant pact over whatever that it is we're doing. And may it be done to us what was done to that dove if we don't hold up our end of the bargain. >> Okay? >> Does that make sense? >> So God had all these Thank you, Jonathan.

God had all these sacrifices there to ask Abram, remember the story. He's having to beat the birds off. >> So then he puts Abram to sleep because this is what he knows. Abram, you're a good dude, but there's no way you can keep your end of the bargain. So much good stuff in this. I got I get excited because I don't have enough time to unpack it, but you should go read. It's a really good story. So God stands on one side of the covenant and then he walks through the flames and the sacrifice to the other side of the covenant to keep both sides.

And because of that, he makes Abraham a unilateral recipient of a covenant that he couldn't keep. You know what's exciting is because he's saying it's not dependent on you. >> We can't keep it. we're not good enough. We don't have the ability to do it. So, he already knew that. He forordained these things. So, he said, "Look, I'll keep both ends of the agreement." How do you do that? Calvary. >> It was a foreshadowing of Calvary when he walked through those things in the sacrifice.

He was foreshadowing that there's going to come a day when I'll die on the cross for you because you can't keep the end of the bargain, Abraham. You don't have enough in you to make it happen. So, I know that I'll go ahead and take your place >> while we were yet sinners. >> Yeah. He died for us. >> This is what's going on in Ruth. She's coming into a situation where she doesn't have the ability to redeem herself. It's not within her right.

She's a Moabitete. She's disqualified by everything that's in the scriptures. She shouldn't even be there. But Boaz is having mercy because she's being obedient to what her mother-in-law is telling her to do. This is so powerful because she's willing to be compliant and obedient to every step. Even when it doesn't make sense to her, she goes in and uncover. You think about this. You sleeping up on a man, sneaking up on a man who's asleep and you're going to uncover his feet in the middle of the night.

That's kind of a scary situation. I don't know that I would handle it very well if you uncover my feet in the middle of the night. Just saying. But she was being obedient. Then he woke up and said, "Who are you?" And she said the thing, "I want you to spread your skirt. I want to enter into a covenant relationship with you." You're going to see how he responds because it's beautiful. It was a type and a shadow of what was to come. That's why guys, this living for God business is serious business.

That's why you got to be willing to sacrifice at all. Sister Kennedy, it's not peace or part. You got to go the whole end. You got to got to push all your chips in. You can't hold something back. Because to hold something back is to negate your end of the part of the covenant relationship. God already took care of the penalty for us. Redemption begins when we stop trying to cover ourselves and ask the redeemer to cover us. You can't be good enough. You can't you you you can't be good enough.

But he was. Calvary was proof. When he said it was finished and the veil ran from top to bottom, he did what he said he was going to do. He finished the work. Now you and I have to do our part. The safest place was at Boaz's feet. Very powerful the way she positioned herself. She didn't come demanding. She didn't come negotiating. She doesn't come telling Boaz what she deserves. She comes in humbly surrendering and trusting the process that was there. And throughout scriptures, the feet become a picture of humility, worship, and surrender, independence.

Stay at his feet. Stay at his feet. Ruth's future is about to change. Not because she has become more powerful, but because she has placed herself near someone who has the power to redeem her. Sometimes we spend too much time trying to get stronger when what we really need to do is get closer. You need to get closer. You need to get closer to his presence. And you need to get closer to his word. You need to get closer to the feet of Jesus.

Because there are things that we cannot fix by trying harder. You can't repair it by just having determination and grit. There are things that only the redeemer can do. Understand your place. Understand your part. Sometimes it's about fully surrendering, saying, "God, I'm going to do what I can, but I know I'm limited in my abilities. So, I am trusting you to get me through." He sees her character. This is why I said it was important. the life she's been living and the things that she's been doing is so important.

That's why your everyday life matters. Look at verse number 10. And she said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter." This is this is Boaz talking to her. He said, "Blessed be thou Lord, my daughter, for thou has shown more kindness in the latter than in the beginning." He's saying, "Look, you're being kind to this old guy. And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do to thee that all that thou requireest. For all the city of my people do know that thou art a virtuous woman."

What? No one in Israel is going to call Moabitete virtuous. No, no, no. You go study out the history. It was God who said Moab is my wash pot. That's God. That's what God views it. But she wasn't going to be labeled by anything that that something else stick on her. She determined, I'm going to do the right thing. I'm going to make right choices. I'm going make right decisions. Because of that, she was known as a virtuous woman in Israel. So when the request was made because of her choices and her decisions to continue to do the right thing even when it didn't make sense.

That's why I'm telling you obedience guys is better than sacrifice. Obedience that's the word of God. Even when you don't understand, even when it doesn't make sense, even when you think you're about to miss out, you be obedient >> because obedience has a way of opening doors you could have never opened for yourself. She would not be at the feet of Boaz and she would not be getting the reception she's getting had she been disobedient. But because she was willing to step out and take a chance, because she was willing to be compliant, because she listened to her mother-in-law's word, because she did everything she was supposed to do, it is said of her that thou are known as a virtuous woman.

He didn't reject her. Instead, he honors her because of her faithfulness and her character and reputation. It matters. Ruth had been faithful in Moab, faithful on the road, faithful to Naomi, and faithful in the field. And now that character follows her into this moment. Now listen to this. Here's another note for you notetakers. You never know when today's faithfulness is preparing you for tomorrow's opportunity. You never know when today's faithfulness is preparing you for tomorrow's opportunity. Boaz gives Ruth these words she need. I will do to thee all that thou requires.

Did you hear that? How powerful is that? Who's this Moabitete widowed girl who's coming in that? And she's saying, "I want you to be my redeemer and spread your skirt. Cover me." I mean, there's a moment right there. She's saying these things and she has no guarantee that he's going to respond in a favorable way. But what we see is divine provision and protection unfolding because she's done her part. Guys, you have to be faithful in your everyday life. I didn't say perfect. You know, the enemy likes to tell you about every time you mess up and all of a sudden try to disqualify you.

This is not about perfection. This is about being obedient. If you mess up, get up, ask for forgiveness, and move on. Don't stay down on the ground. Don't get down. Like we all make mistakes. We all make We all have moments of frustration. We all have moments of failure. But don't let those things define you. She wasn't defined by the mistake. She was defined by her decisions and obedience. A virtuous woman from Moab because she was willing to do the right thing. I will do it.

comes a point in our walk with God where our confidence has to shift from what am I going to do to what the re what can the redeemer do she can't redeem herself she can't she can't do that she cannot settle the legal claims she cannot secure her own future but Boaz can and more importantly for you and I Jesus can aren't you thankful for that are you thankful that he can settle the issue that he has the ability to take care of us he can forgive what we cannot erase and restore what we cannot repair he can break what we cannot break and redeem what we cannot I redeem.

So maybe the prayer of this this this section in the Bible here is not simply just cover me, but it's cover all of me. Cover my past and cover my weakness and my family and my future. Because when you finally get to the feet of the redeemer, you're in the right place for everything to begin changing. You got to learn to trust the redeemer to finish it. Look at verse number 12. And now it is true that I am thou near kinsman. Now this is this is the part that's really cool in the story.

All right, this is some fun stuff right here. How be it there is a kinsman nearer than I. Try this night and it shall be in the morning that if he will perform it unto thee the part of the kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman part. But if he will do the not if he will not do the part of the kinsman to thee, then I will do the part of the kinsman to thee as the Lord liveth. So just when everything's kind of settling in, Boaz kind of drops his bomb on her.

I'm willing. However, technically there's somebody who's closer relative than me. This speaks to the character of the redeemer because he's not willing to short circuit or shortcut. He's willing to continue to stick to do the right thing. He intends to honor the law and protect the Ruth's reputation and settle the matter properly. And I think this gives us an important principle. God does not need to compromise his character to fulfill his promise. That's important because sometimes you and I come up with some crazy hairbrain ideas about what God should do.

But I want to tell you, he is not going to compromise his character to fulfill his promise. Just because you can't see how it is going to happen doesn't mean it's not going to happen. God keeps his word. God honors his word. To a true redeemer, it's about doing it the right thing because the right thing always brings you the right outcome. And it's not a delay and it's not a denial. You and I struggle with that because we like a right now God.

And he is a right now God, but his timetable is always different than our timetable. And that's usually the part that gets us spun up the most is when it doesn't happen when we feel like it needs to happen. Now, you don't have to raise your hand, but everybody ought to raise their hand. How many of you have been impatient and frustrated with God's timing? You know, it wasn't near enough raised your hand. 100%. We all we all every one of us have been frustrated with his timing.

But again, I remind you, look back in your life. How many times did it show up at the right time? It wasn't your timing. It wasn't when you wanted. It wasn't when you circled the date on the calendar, was it? But when it showed up, it was when you needed it the most. When it made the It didn't make sense in the moment, but it sure makes sense now when you look back. There was things that play, things going on, things that he was orchestrating that you didn't have a clue about.

Just like Naomi and Ruth, they didn't have a clue. They thought, "The Lord has left me." Naomi's words, "I've come back empty. God doesn't care. Don't call me Naomi. Don't don't don't refer to me that. You call me Mar. You call me bitter. I'm not blessed. God doesn't care. I've lost it all. I have no hope. There's no future for me. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong." Every time the enemy tries to tell you it's over and there's no future for you, he's a liar.

He's a liar. He's a liar. God is working in the background of your life. He's putting stuff in a field you haven't even been to yet. >> Why? Because he's a redeemer. >> He's a redeemer. What our God specializes in is redemption. Don't ever ever discount or get so frustrated that you walk away from God because I promise you, you're only short in yourself. Now, imagine how Ruth must have felt. Just think about it for a minute. She's went through all this effort, right?

She's made her way to the feet of Boaz and she finally worked up the courage in the middle of the night to uncover his feet and have this awkward conversation with him. And then he says, "I will do what you ask." But we always hate the little conjunctions, don't we? There's one more issue because just when you think the answers arrive, sometimes another obstacle shows up. Isn't that frustrating? Yes, it always is. A delay is not the same thing as a denial. A delay is not the same thing as a denial.

A delay is not the same thing as a denial. Boaz is backing away or excuse me, isn't backing away and he isn't reconsidering. He isn't losing interest. He's simply saying, "Hey, there's something that we have to do the right way." This is where faith in our lives, ladies and gentlemen, has to mature. It has to mature. Sometimes we pray and we obey and we surrender and we still have to wait. Not because God has forgotten us, but because there are things he's handling that we can't see.

We've already seen that in the narrative in the first two chapters that God was working in the background. He's still going to be working in the background. She just has to be patient. Ruth leaves with evidence. This is so good. Look at verse 15. Also, he said, "Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it." And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Boaz sends her home with provision, even though the matter isn't finished yet.

Ruth gets to go home and have evidence that she carries with her that he intends to keep his word. I love that. I love that. How many times How many times have you and I come into a church service? How many times have we been in our in our prayer closet on our face and we didn't get the thing we thought we were going to get, but we got something. We got a word. We got a verse. We got a text message from a friend.

We got a phone call. What was that? He was scooping out a measure and saying, "Hold out your veil. I'm going to give you I'm not going to let you go home empty-handed. That's the God. He never let you go home empty. I wish there was more people excited about that. He didn't send her back home. The harvest time was over. Think about this. The harvest was done. They were having the final celebration of the harvest. That's where she's at. That the party was going on.

He says, "Look, take your veil down. Scoop it down. I want you to go home. I want you to know that I'm not going to forget about you and I'm going to do my part to make this happen for you and to show you how committed I am. I'm going to give you a gift so that you go home and you're not going to be empty-handed because God doesn't send you home empty-handed. He always gives you something. There's always an anchor to hang on to because of how merciful and kind our God is.

Now, she didn't get the whole answer. She didn't get the full picture, but she got enough grace and enough peace and enough provision, enough evidence that if he was going to be faithful, he's still working. Now, here's the part that I love. Go to verse number 18. She's back to Naomi, right? She says this, Naomi's speaking to Ruth. Then she said to talking to Ruth, "Sit still." Everybody say, "Sit still, >> my daughter, until thou knowest the matter will fail. For the man will not rest until he has finished the thing this day."

To me, I feel like of all of the words that are in this chapter right here, that's probably the most powerful that he she says, "Look, you just need to sit still." Sometimes faith has to be put in action, right? We we we we already witnessed this. She says, "I'm going to go find a field to glean in." She's willing to work. She's not willing to set by and just let life happen to her. She's willing to put in the hard work. She's willing to be diligent.

and she's willing to do what she knows she she can do and depend on God. But there came a moment and there sometimes this happens and I feel very strongly I'm speaking to somebody in this room that you've been working, you've been gleaning, you've been working the fields, you've been working the harvest, but there comes a time in your relationship with God that sometimes you just have to sit still. As the word of God says, be still and know that I am God. Because sometimes you can get so focused doing the work of God that you can miss the hand of God and the will of God in your life.

You can in fact you've heard me say this before. If the devil can't make you bad, he can make you busy. Either way, he accomplishes the same thing. Your relationship is broken. Naomi, her mother-in-law thankfully was had enough wisdom in her life to say, "Look, you got to calm down. He's already given you some provision. He's already given you protection. He's already given you his word. You need to sit still and let him He will not rest. The words he will not I'm speaking to somebody.

God is not going to rest until he brings to pass the thing he said he was going to do in your life. He's not going to rest. But there's a comes a time when you need to do your part and just sit still. It's a word for somebody. I don't know who I'm talking to tonight. Somebody needs to receive that word. You just need to sit still. Mature faith knows the difference. There's a time for faith to move and there's a time for faith to wait.

There's a time for faith to move and a time for faith to wait. Mature faith knows the difference. Ruth and Naomi now have to wait because Boaz will not rest. You got to let the redeemer work. She can't go to the city gate. She can't negotiate. She's just a Moabitete. She has no legal right to do that. She has to let the redeemer do what the redeemer has to do. And you're going to find out more about that next week. As I come to as I come to a close tonight, when you've done all you can do, at the beginning of Ruth chap Luke chapter 3, Ruth is still working, right?

She's listening and she's obeying and she's moving and doing everything she knows to do. But by the end of the chapter, Naomi tells her, "You got to sit still." Verse 18. To me, if I'm being transparent with you, this is the hardest kind of faith. It's the hardest. I feel I feel better when I'm working. Even when I know I can't do it, it seemed there's something about me being in motion and being in action. It kind of gives me a better mindset. Some of the most difficult moments in my faith walk with God have been the moments when he just said, "I just need you to sit.

I just need you to sit right there on your hands and trust me. There's absolutely nothing you can do. I'm the one that has to do the work. Those are the hardest moments. So, whoever I'm speaking to in this room, whoever is watching online, listen to me right now, I'm here to give you a word. God's saying, "Sit still. Sit still. Sit still. Be obedient in this." This whole chapter turns around when Ruth placed her feet herself at the feet of Boaz. She came in saying, "Cover me."

And he said, "I will do it." That's the beauty of a redeemer. But as I end this tonight, surrender changes the question from what can I do to how can I be obedient? Sometimes that requires you to sit still. So maybe the question for you tonight is not what else can you do. Maybe the better question is have I really put this at the feet of Jesus? I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is for you. I don't know what I don't know what you're facing.

But I feel in the Holy Ghost tonight the importance of telling somebody to sit still. There's nothing that you can do in this moment. You're going to have to trust. You're going to have to be obedient and just let him work it out on your behalf. The redeemer will not rest. He will not rest until it's done. As you stand with me tonight, there comes a point where faith stops trying to control the outcome and it starts trusting the redeemer. You've prayed You've obeyed.

You've surrendered. And then you hear Naomi's words when she says, "Sit still." They're waiting. But we have to trust that the redeemer is not going to rest until this matter is settled. And I promise you, God is working in the background of your life. He's working in the background of your life. So, as we as we close in prayer tonight, I'm I want you to do something for me. I'm going to be praying words, but I want you to be, as I'm praying, I want you to be thinking about the faithfulness of God in your life.

Be like Jeremiah. Recall it to your mind and bring that hope back because you've been so busy doing that somewhere along the way, you've lost the sight that the redeemer is still working on your behalf. He's asking you to stop. He's asking you to sit still. Jesus, God, you're so good. I'm so thankful for your word and your truth that is in the scriptures that we get to pull out and glean from. God, I pray tonight. I pray tonight for those that are in this room and those that are watching online, God, those that are listening, Jesus, that you would just allow them to have some peace right now in their spirit, God, in the midst of a storm, in the midst of a of of a set of circumstances that don't make any sense, Lord, that there's just a peace that passes human understanding that they would know with that peace, God, you are working in the background of their life.

And sometimes, God, there's things that we just cannot do. We have to sit in obedience. I pray, God, that you give someone confidence and a boldness and the courage to trust the process, Lord, that you could remind them again of the goodness and the faithfulness and the things that you have done for them time and time again. And that they would trust like never before what you're doing in their life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.