What a wonderful song. Turn with me now, if you would,
to the book of Boaz, also known as Ruth. having a Bible study on husbands
love your wives. That's what our Bible study was
just on. Husbands love your wives. That made me think of a great
story that God recorded in His Word of one particular man and
his love for a woman who was made to be his wife. This story is told over the course
of four chapters. So we're going to skim all four
chapters, and here's what I'm going to ask you to do. Ask the
Lord to give you a special attention. I have to move quickly. But I
pray the Lord will make it to be a blessing. I want to look
at the whole story, not part of the story. I want to look
at it start to finish the whole story. So I pray the Lord will
open it up to us and help us. This story begins with a family. A man named Elimelech, his wife
Naomi, and their sons, Mahlon and Kylion. A family. A family
who lived in Bethlehem, Judah. The house of bread. That's what
Bethlehem, Judah means. But a famine came. And this family
made the decision to leave the house of bread, Bethlehem Judah,
to move to Moab, the land of the incestual son of Lot. You got Abraham and Lot. Lot's
incestual son, Moab. Now that is a spiritual picture
of the fact. that all of mankind has fallen
into sin. That's what this story is. It's
a spiritual picture. We're going to look at it as
we go through it. This is a physical story. And we're going to dwell
on a spiritual picture. This family went down into Moab
just like man fell down into sin. And that move downward ruined
both of them. And I could spend hours talking
about man's ruin in sin, but I don't have time. Suffice it
to say, it ruined them. It ruined this family, physically,
and it ruined all of mankind spiritually. Look with me at
verse 1. Now it came to pass in the days
when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and
a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country
of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name of
the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi, and
the name of his two sons, Mahlon and Kileon, Ephrathites of Bethlehem
Judah. And they came into the country
of Moab and continued there. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband,
died. And she was left and her two
sons, and they took them wives of the women of Moab, The name
of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth, and they
dwelled there about ten years. And Malon and Kylion died also,
both of them. And the woman was left of her
two sons and her husband. Elimelech, Malon, and Kylion,
they all died. Everything was ruined. That's
what happened when man fell into sin. He became ruined. to the point that He died. That's what happened to mankind
when He fell in the garden and sinned against God. He did not
receive a slap on the wrist being sent on His way. He died. He spiritually died. Now, if there was no gospel,
If there was no glorious news of Christ, the story would stop
right there. That'd be the end. We would close
the book and we'd go home. We'd go down and eat. Y'all,
let's all go eat. We would declare that God created
man in His goodness. Man began walking uprightly in
the goodness of the Lord. dwelling in the land of God's
favor and provision. Man was a living soul, dwelling
with God in the house of bread. But because of the wickedness
of man's heart, he rebelled against God, and he fell into sin, and
he died. And if there was no But God. This story would end right there. But God. Do you not adore those
two words? But God. Naomi going down into
Moab with her husband. It does represent man's fall
into sin. But blessed be the name of the
Lord. It also represents God's goodness
in going down into the cesspool of sin where His people were
so He could deliver His people out. She went down into Moab. While
Naomi was down there in Moab, she was united with and she became
the helper and the guider of a woman named Ruth. Naomi had to go down to Moab. She had to get Ruth out. She
had to call Ruth out. So through the rest of this story,
Naomi is going to lead Ruth and point Ruth in the one direction
that she needs to go. Therefore, I want us to see her
to be a picture of God's Holy Spirit. That's what she is. The Holy Spirit of God who comes
and gets God's people and calls them out, brings them out of
that horrible place where they are, and leads them to liberty,
leads them to redemption. God's Spirit does that by making
His people willing in the day of His power to go. Look with
me at verse 6. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law,
that she might return from the country of Moab. For she had
heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited
His people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out
of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with
her. And they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's
house, The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the
dead and with me. The Lord grant you that you may
find rest, each of you, in the house of her husband.' Then she
kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept." This
is what she told them. She said, "'Daughter-in-laws,
I'm leaving here, and following me brings no promise of worldly
gain.'" I don't have any more sons for you. You stay here,
you find husbands here. If you're searching for the riches
that this world can offer you, you need to stay here. Verse
14. And they lifted up their voice
and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave
unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Return thou
after thy sister-in-law. She said, Your sister-in-law
is gone back. Will you go away also? This is
what the Spirit says to the called sinner. Will you go away also? And Ruth, representing a chosen,
called child of God, one who has been given a heart hear this
and respond to the work of God, create and enter. This is what
she said, verse 16. And Ruth said, entreat me not
to leave thee or to return from following after thee. She said,
please don't ask me if I want to leave you ever again. She said, for whither thou goest,
I will go. And where thou lodgest, I will
lodge. Thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die,
and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also, if aught but death part thee and me. Has the Spirit of
God provoked us to say that with Ruth? Can we say with Ruth, one thing
have I desired? That will I seek after. I want
to dwell with you. I want to follow you. I want
to be with you. Verse 18. When she saw that she
was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left speaking unto
her. So they too went until they came
to Bethlehem. And it came to pass when they
were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about
them. And they said, is this Naomi? And she said unto them, call
me not Naomi, that means pleasant, call me Mara, that means bitter. for the Almighty hath dealt very
bitterly with me." The Spirit is the one who takes the declaration
of the gospel and reveals it to the sinner. First, the sinner
hears about substitution. Okay? This sinner in just a moment
is going to experience something called substitution. But first,
the child of God hears about substitution. And the Spirit
of God reveals what God did for His people, His substitution. If we want to know what the gospel
is, it's substitution and satisfaction. Christ being made the substitute
for His people. And in the process, satisfying
God on their behalf. That is revealed by the Holy
Spirit through the declaration of this right here. This is what
the Spirit reveals. The Almighty hath dealt very
bitterly with me. Verse 21, I went out full and
the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye
me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the
Almighty hath afflicted me? That is the declaration of substitution. That is the glorious announcement
and revelation of the gospel that God's chosen people, here
and through that declaration, are called out of darkness into
His light. If God would reveal that, If
God would bless it and God would reveal that, it would open blind
eyes. Through that declaration, God's
people are brought to this place right here, verse 22. So Naomi
returned and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her,
which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem
in the beginning of barley harvest." They came to a place where food
was thriving and plentiful. Chapter 2, verse 1 says, "...and
Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the
family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz." Every time I
hear this name Boaz, something happens in me. Once you learn who this man is,
honestly, once you realize who this man represents, doesn't
it thrill your heart to just hear his name? At the hearing of that name,
aren't you humbled? What a precious name. What a
sweet name. What a powerful name. This mighty
man of wealth represents our Savior, our Defender, our Redeemer,
our Friend, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Naomi represents God's
Holy Spirit. Boaz represents God's Holy Son. And Ruth represents God's chosen
sinner who's about to be saved. Chapter 2, verse 1. And Naomi
had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the
family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess
said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears
of corn, after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said
unto her, Go, my daughter. Ruth said, Let me see if I can
go find a field where the owner will let me beg from it, let
me glean from it. And Naomi said, Go. You go. This is God's path of providence
and predestination that the Spirit of God instructs the chosen sinner
to walk in. Yes, you go that way. You go. In predestinated persuasion,
the Spirit said, Naomi said, you go right there, verse 3.
And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And her hap was to light on a
part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred
of Elimelech. It just so happened, Naomi led
Ruth to the field of Boaz. And for every chosen sinner, the Spirit of God leads that
sinner to one field. The field of Christ. Not any other field. Not any
of the other fields of religion. The field of Jesus Christ alone.
Verse 4 says, And Boaz came from Bethlehem. What a picture of
Christ he is. He came from Bethlehem. And said
unto the reapers, the preachers, The Lord be with you. And they
answered him, The Lord bless thee. That's what happens in
preaching. The Lord is with them. And their message is, The Lord
bless you. Verse 5, Then said Boaz unto
his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is
this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered
and said, It is the Moabitish damsel. that came back with Naomi
out of the country of Moab. And she said, I pray you let
me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So
she came and hath continued even from the morning until now, that
she tarried a little in the house. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest
thou not my daughter? Go not to glean in another field. Neither go from hence, but abide
here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field
that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged
the young men that they shall not touch thee? And when thou
art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young
men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and
bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I
found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge
of me, seeing I am a stranger?" Boaz, representing Christ, saw
her, spoke to her, and declared grace to her. before she ever
saw Him or did anything to try to win His favor. Every bit of
that grace and kindness shown to her was of Him. It was all of Him. Verse 10,
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou
shouldest take knowledge of me? See, and I'm a stranger. That's
what happens to God's people. It's not a lifting up, it's a
humbling down. when God reveals these things,
all of a sudden she has realized something. When grace comes to
a sinner, it causes them to see who they are and what they are,
and see who He is and what He is, and they cry, I'm a beggar. She saw she's a beggar in His
field. And she was unworthy of being
there because she's a stranger. A heathen before him, that's
what stranger means. And she said the same thing that
every child of God says when they realize who they are and
who Christ is and what kindness and mercy and grace he has shown
to them. She said in verse 10, why have
I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge
of me? Why me? Before God reveals the truth
of who Christ is and the truth of who a sinner is, everybody
thinks, why not me? Why not me? But once they see
His holiness and once they see their own sinfulness, they honestly
say, why me? Why would you do this for me?
I know, I acknowledge what I am before you. Why me? Verse 11. And Boaz answered and said unto
her, it hath fully been showed to me all that thou hast done
unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband, how
that thou hast left thy father and thy mother in the land of
thy nativity and art come unto a people which thou knewest not
heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work
and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under
whose wings thou art come to trust. He said, it's because
a righteousness has been laid on you. He said, it's because of who
you've been brought to trust in. Under whose wings thou art
come to trust. Verse 13. Then she said, let
me find favor in thy sight, my Lord, for that thou hast comforted
me and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thy handmaid. That
word friendly means to my heart. You've spoken to my heart. Though
I be not like unto one of thine handmaids. You know what that
means? That means she's fallen in love
with him. You're speaking to my heart. That's what all of
God's people do. Seeing His love and His kindness,
they fall in love with Christ. They truly fall in love with
Christ. She said, You've spoken friendly unto thy handmaid, though
I be not like unto one of thine handmaids. Verse 14, And Boaz
said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread,
and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers,
And he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed
and left. She sat by the preachers, and
he fed her." And that's what happens in the life of God's
people. They sit by the Word of God being preached, and Christ
feeds His people. Verse 15. And when she was risen
up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men saying, let her glean
even among the sheaves and reproach her not. He said, you let her
glean anywhere she wants to glean. Verse 16, and let fall also some
of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them that she
may glean them and rebuke her not. I would love to spend the
rest of the day on this verse, but what he was telling his preachers
was, his reapers was, as you're sitting there gathering, you
drop piles behind you, handfuls of purpose, and do not say to
her, you're not allowed to touch that. Not only do you let her
glean wherever she wants to glean in my field, you pour grace on
top of grace and rebuke her not. Verse 17. So she gleaned in the
field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it
was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up and went into
the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and
she brought forth and gave to her that she had received after
she was sufficed. And her mother-in-law said unto
her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day, and where wroughtest
thou? Blessed be he that did take knowledge
of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law
with whom she had wrought and said, the man's name with whom
I wrought today is Boaz. And I can only imagine Naomi's
response. Naomi said unto her, daughter-in-law,
Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness
to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The
man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. The margin says, He's the one
who has the right to redeem. Naomi said, Ruth, do you realize
where you ended up? You ended up in the field of
the only man who has the right to redeem you. What she said was, welcome to
the gospel, Ruth. Welcome to the gospel. Verse
21, and Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt
keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good,
my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet
thee not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens
of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat
harvest and dwelt with her mother-in-law. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law,
said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that
it may be well with thee? Isn't that what the Spirit says
to God's people? And now is not Boaz of our kindred with whose
maidens thou wast? Behold, he wenteth with barley
tonight in the threshing floor. Wash thyself therefore and anoint
thee, put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor,
but make not thyself known unto the man until he shall have done
eating and drinking. And it shall be when he lieth
down that thou shalt mark the place where 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.' And she said unto
her, All that thou sayest unto me, I will do. The Spirit of
God makes the child of God ready, adorns everything that's needed
to make the child of God acceptable, and then sends the child to Christ. And that sinner is willing in
the day of the Spirit's power. Verse 5 says, She said unto her,
All that thou sayest unto me, I will do. And she went down
unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law
bade her, And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was
merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn,
and she came softly and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
She came humbly, quietly, lowly, 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, thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over
thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. And he said,
Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed
more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch
that thou followest not young men, whether poor or rich. She went in, and she uncovered
that skirt and laid down, and this is what she was saying to
him, Will you have me? And that's what every child of
God says to the Lord Jesus Christ. In humility, there is no arrogance
in approaching Him. Will you have me? She said, I
love you. I need you. You are the only
one who can redeem me. That's what the sinner cries
to Christ. You're the only one who can redeem me. Will you have
me? Will you please have me for your
own? Verse 10, He said, Blessed be
thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed more kindness
in the latter end than at the beginning. Inasmuch as thou followest
not young men, whether poor or rich, and now, my daughter, fear
not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest. For all the city
of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now
it is true that I am thy near kinsman, howbeit there is a kinsman
nearer than I." That is God's holy law. God's law has to be
satisfied first before any redemption can take place. If we get anything
this morning, get this. God does not sweep sin under
the rug. God does not just look at a sinful
soul and say, you know what? Why not? God is holy and He cannot
do that. He cannot do that. The law has
to be satisfied. The law has to say, worthy, acceptable,
yes. It has to say perfect. Come on
in. Verse 13. He said, Terry, this
night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform
unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman's
part. But if he will not do the part
of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to
thee, as the Lord liveth, lie down until the morning. He said,
Ruth, everything concerning you is going to have to be examined.
And this is the case for every soul here. Everything concerning
you is going to be examined. Have you ever sinned or not? That's what the law wants to
know. Have you sinned or not? Here's the answer. Yes. I'm a
sinner. You're a sinner. If the law looks at a person
and says, there's no sin here, you are worthy of redemption.
He said, great, that's wonderful, come on in. But if the law looks
at you and says, you are unworthy to enter into heaven because
you have committed sin. You are a sinner against God,
unworthy of redemption. He said, if the law says that,
I will step in. I give you my word, he said,
as the Lord liveth, you just lie down and rest. Verse 14. And she laid his feet until morning,
and she rose up before one could know another, and he said, let
it not be known that a woman came into the floor. And 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, and she went into the city. And when she came to
her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And
she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said,
These six measures of barley gave he me, for he said to me,
Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law." Christ gave that sinner fruit
to bring back to the Holy Spirit. What was that fruit? Faith. To believe on Christ. The faith
of Christ. When faith is given, it comes
from Christ. It's the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe
on Christ. That's the promise, that's the
down payment. What's it called in Ephesians?
The earnest. I'll do this for you. Faith in
Christ, verse 17. She said, these six measures
of barley gave he me, for he said to me, go not empty unto
thy mother-in-law. Then said she, I can't pass over this. This is
my favorite verse in the whole thing. Then said she, sit still,
my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. For
the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this
day. This is the cry of God's Spirit
to every elect sinner. You sit still. It is going to
be proven to you that it is finished. Your redemption is about to draw
nigh. Chapter 4, verse 1. Then went Boaz up. Our Lord said, if I be lifted
up, if Boaz is lifted up, redemption
is coming. Verse 4 says, Then went Boaz
up to the gate, and sat him down there. And behold, the kinsmen
of whom Boaz spake, came by the law. Unto whom he said, Ho, such
a one, turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.
And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye
down here. And they sat down. Christ had
a meeting with the law. A transaction is about to be
made between Christ and the law. If you want to know how salvation
took place, it's right here. Christ had a meeting with the
law. Verse three, and he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that
is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of
land, which was our brother Elimelech's. And I thought to advise thee,
saying, buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people.
If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it. But if thou wilt not redeem
it, then tell me that I may know. For there is none to redeem it
beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. The law said, I will do what
is right and honorable by the Holy Spirit of God. Whatever
the spirit requires, that's right by me, verse five. Then said
Boaz, what day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou
must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead,
to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. He said
the Spirit is bringing a chosen sinner to this equation. An elect
sinner is going to be brought into this transaction. And if
you can justify this sinner and redeem this sinner, then do it.
Verse 6, And the kinsmen said, the law said, I cannot redeem
it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou
my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem it." The law cannot clear
a guilty sinner. You know what that means? We
don't go to heaven by obeying the law. That's what it means. We don't get to heaven by doing
the do's and don'ts of the Bible. We have done nothing but sin
against the dos and the don'ts of the Bible. If we did them,
great. But we haven't. Therefore, the
law cannot clear any of us. The law cannot mar its holiness
by saying, I will accept sin. It cannot justify, it cannot
claim, it cannot own, it cannot redeem. So in what the law could
not do, Christ said, I'll do it. I will
mar myself. I will pay this price that nothing
and no one else can pay. And that's what Christ gave for
the redemption of His people. It was a price that nothing and
no one else could pay. He gave His reputation. He gave
His place. He gave all the riches of heaven. Though He was rich, yet for your
sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be
rich. He gave His body. He gave His blood. He gave His
life. He gave Himself. That's what
only He could give. The spotless Holy Lamb of God
gave Himself for the redemption of His people. Now this was the
manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning
changing. For to confirm all things, a
man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor. And
this was a testimony in Israel. That's how they operated back
then. That was their promise. A man would pluck off his shoe
and say, this is now yours. And it was a promise. It was
a covenant of promise. Boaz said, I promise before God
and all these witnesses, I'll do it. I'll take her to have
and to hold from this day forward. Verse 8, Therefore the kinsman
said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. The
promise was fulfilled, the transaction was complete, and the cry concerning
redeemed Ruth was, free from the law, O happy condition. The Lord Jesus bled and there's
remission, cursed by the law, bruised by the fall, but Boaz
redeemed me once for all. Verse 9. And Boaz said unto the
elders and unto all the people, ye are witnesses this day that
I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilon's and
Mahlon's of the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be
not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of this place
you are witnesses this day. And all the people that were
in the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. The Lord make
the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah,
which too did build the house of Israel. And do thou worthily
in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. And let thy house
be like the house of Phares, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of
the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was
his wife. And when he went in unto her,
the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women
said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee
this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer
of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law,
which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath
born him. And Naomi took the child, and
laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women
her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to
Naomi, and they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse,
the father of David." That is a husband's love in the redemption
of his bride. That's what Christ did for us.
Through the guidance of God's Spirit, we were brought to the
love of our Redeemer, and the union of our Redeemer, and the
fruit of that union with our Redeemer. And I love the thought
of this. Every time that I see Irene with Weston, I think of this. Look at verse
18. Now these are the generations
of Phares. Phares begat Hezron, and Hezron
begat Ram, and Ram begat Amenadab, and Amenadab begat Nashon, and
Nashon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. David was the great
grandson of Ruth. And can't you see Ruth bouncing
David on her knee saying, let me tell you the story of my Redeemer. Can't you see that? That's what
all of God's people do. That's what we're doing today.
Telling the story of our Redeemer. I will sing of my Redeemer and
his wondrous love to me. Don't we all sing of His love?
Thank God. What a love it is. Thank God. Now, before Brother Eddie comes
to close a song for us, while we sing, if any of you ladies
need to go make things ready downstairs, you're welcome to
do that. And then after the song, I've
asked Brother Cody Henson if he would come up and lead us
in prayer and give thanks for the food. All right, Brother
Eddie, you come.