I bring greetings from two of Grace
Preachers. I talked to Brother Norm Wells
this week and he said to greet all of you with love and he's
looking forward to meeting everyone next July and Lord willing. And I also talked to Brother
Donnie Bell, had a great talk with him, and he sends his love. And he said, make sure you greet
them all for me. And I said, well, we all love
you. And he says, I love you all too. So just to give you
guys a heads up on how Donnie's. And actually, Donnie and I had
a talk about the bulletin. If you look in the bulletin today,
it's all preachers. It's all preachers who have gone
home to be in glory. And the reason I did that is
to show us that the truth never changes. The same gospel that
these men preached is the same gospel I preach, and the same
gospel Donnie preaches, the same gospel Norm preaches, the same
gospel Drew preaches. The gospel's timeless. It's timeless,
beloved. Donnie and I were rejoicing in
that. The timelessness of the gospel. It's marvelous. And it's just a blessing. It's just a blessing. I had now,
I had Brother Tim read Ruth chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, because that's
where we're going to be today. So turn, if you would, to Ruth
chapter 1. Ruth chapter 1, the name of the
message is The Confession of a Believer. The Confession of
a Believer. Ruth chapter 1, verses 1 to 14,
or 14 to 17, I'm sorry, is where we'll be looking. And they lifted up their voice
and wept again, And Oprah 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. And Ruth said, Entreat me not
to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. 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. Now here before
us we have one of the most wonderful portions of Scripture. It's just
beautiful. Ruth is confessing her faith
in the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of the elect. And we have before us a confession
of a believer in Christ. Now, people hear what's preached
to them, and they know what the pastor teaches them, And unfortunately,
preachers over the years have neglected the Old Testament for
many, many years. They've taught that the Old Testament
is a book of history. Or it's a book of romance or
proverbs. When I was in religion, that's
what they taught. Book of stories, but they neglected
to preach Christ. And it's only when I started
listening to Grace preaching that I heard, wow, they're preaching
Christ in the Old Testament. Now last Sunday night, we looked
at how Christ is revealed all through the Old Testament. The
Law and the Prophets, they testify of Him. Remember, we saw that
the revelation of God is that He reveals Himself to sinners.
But Christ expounded to the two on the road to Arimaeus the things
concerning Himself, from the Prophets, from the Old Testament. And a lot of times in religion,
The Bible characters of the Old Testament are exalted, or some
historical event is exalted, rather than the Christ of the
Old Testament, rather than preaching Christ. So they look at the Old
Testament as stories of Israel and their history, rather than
a picturing of Christ, all through the Old Testament, all through
the sacrifices. And how in the Old Testament,
Israel is a picture of the Church. and of how Christ preserves His
church. And even the atonement, even the sacrifices, right? All
the sacrifices that were done in the Old Testament were only
for Israel. That picture is limited atonement,
beloved. So it's a picture. Israel is
a picture of the church. And some see the Old Testament
as history rather than pictures and types and shadows. Well,
today we'll look at Ruth's confession, which is really a confession
of believers. See if we can't see ourselves in this. Now, Naomi
was a woman who believed God. And after a time of great trial,
she returned to the people of God in the place of blessing. And look at Orpah. She's a picture
of a false professor of Christ. And look at 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. Orpah had affection for her mother-in-law. Obviously, she kissed her. But
note what the text says in verse 15. Behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Orpah had affection for her mother-in-law,
but not for her God. She returns back to the false
gods of her youth. And Orpah represents those who
profess faith in Christ, but do not preserve in faith. No
doubt, she heard all about the God of Israel. She heard all about, she may
have even, who knows, she may have said, well, I'll cast myself
upon him. Like many do, right? Or, you
know, we got it nowadays, people pray a prayer. Oh, you're saved. So no doubt that Elimelech and
Naomi would have talked about the God of Israel in their home.
They would have talked about it and worshipped our great God
and King. So both Ruth and Oprah had heard
about the God of Israel and had witnessed Him being worshipped
by His people. And Scripture says, Behold, thy
sister-in-law has gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Orpah returned to the gods of
her youth and went back to the people that she was raised among.
She had no faith in the God of Israel, no faith in him. Her ties were greater with the
world as her heart was there. Her ties were greater with her
people and her gods than the God of Israel. Look at Ruth 1.6. Then she arose with her daughter-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. Verse 7, Wherefore she went forth
out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law
with her. They were both going with her at first. They were
both going. And they went on their way to
return unto the land of Judah. And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law,
Daughter-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." Verse 10, and they said unto her, "'Surely
we will return with thee unto thy people.'" They both were
desiring to go back with her. to her people. Turn, if you would,
to Luke, Chapter 8. Orpah is like those who the seed
falls among the stony ground. Her professed faith has no root.
It's not real. Now, they may tarry with God's
people and be with God's people. But look at Luke, Chapter 8.
Look what happens. Verse 4. There's no root to the
professed faith. It's not real. Luke 8, 4. And when much people
were gathered together and were come to him out of every city,
he spoke by a parable. A sower went out to sow his seed,
and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden
down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon
a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because
it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. And other fell
on good ground. Good ground. How's that ground
good? It's prepared ground. God's people are prepared ground.
It's prepared ground. Who prepared it? Did the ground
prepare itself? Remember the garden? Remember
the sermon on the garden? Did the garden? Brother Tom,
your garden, you had to prepare that. That ground can't prepare
itself. You had to go and till it and
get it ready and plant the seeds. And then it sprung up. Prepared
ground. God's people are prepared ground. God prepares the ground. Another fell on good ground,
and sprang up, and bare fruit, and hundredfold. When he had
said these things, he cried. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. And then our Lord tells his disciples what these parables
meant. Look in verse nine. And his disciples asked him,
saying, what might this parable be? They didn't have a clue. And he said unto them, And he
said, unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of God. Look at that. It's revealed to you. It's a
revelation, beloved. To know the mysteries of the
kingdom of God, but to others in parables. So he's going to
reveal to them. He's not revealing it to everyone,
is he? But he's going to reveal it to his disciples, what this
parable means. that seeing they might not see, and hearing they
might not understand. Now, the parable is this, the
seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside, are they
that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word of their
hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock,
are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and
have no root. Oh, they receive it with joy,
But there's no roots. There's no root to the faith. Which for a while believe, and
in a time of temptation, fall away. There's no root to the
faith. They on the rock are they which
when they hear, receive the word with joy. Oh, I'm sorry. Verse 14, and that
which fell among the thorns are they which, when they have heard,
go forth and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures
of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the
good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having
heard the word, keep it and bringeth forth fruit with patience. That
ground is prepared ground. It's been tilled by the gardener.
See, the sower, the gospel preacher, he's just sowing. Sowing the Word of God. But the
gardener, he prepares that ground to receive that Word. Isn't God
wonderful? Isn't he marvelous? So there are many orpas who,
because of adversity and excitement, run well for a season, but in
time, like Demas, they forsake the Lord. And they forsake his
gospel. And they forsake his people.
Because they love the world. And they go back to their old
ways. Frequently, they forsake Christ
with a pretended kiss of friendship and love. Today, Lord willing, I'll preach
Christ from this wonderful proclamation by Ruth, who is one who the seed fell
upon good ground, prepared ground. She's been granted faith and
she's been granted repentance to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ is our great sovereign God and King. Now let's look
at Ruth 1.16 and remember this, Ruth was chosen of God. She was
an object, Ruth was an object of the love of God from eternity. From eternity. She didn't know
it, did she? When she was born into the world, she had no clue.
When she was growing up in the world, She had no clue. She was
following false gods and with her people who were also following
God, and she was blinded to the things of God. But God's love was set upon Ruth
from eternity, just as God's love is set upon every one of
His people from eternity. from eternity. Brother Jay, you're
a professed believer. God's love is set upon you from
eternity. From eternity, brother. It's
marvelous. When we think about it, it's
absolutely incredible. But God's love is set upon his
people. It's set upon his people. Look
at Ruth 1.16. Ruth was a chosen of God, an
object of the special grace of God, electing grace, free grace,
which is only found in Christ and Him alone. And she was born
again by the Holy Spirit of God, converted by the grace of God
in Christ. Nothing she done. Nothing she
done. And God had providentially had
her marry one of Naomi's sons. Isn't it marvelous? They weren't
even supposed to marry Moabites. They weren't supposed to. But God in his providence, one
of his sheep was over there in Moab. He brings her into a family
that worships him. And look at the response. She's
converted by the grace of God in Christ. And let us look at
this and see if this, what Ruth says here is not what we as believers
say to Christ. Brother Henry Mahan, this is
where I got the idea, the seed thoughts for this message. I
was listening to a sermon by Henry and he bought out what
I'm going to preach in just like a 45 second part of another message
that he was preaching. And I just looked at that for
about an hour, and just stood there, or just sat there, and
looked at the scripture, and then looked at the commentators,
looked at other, and was just amazed, because I had never seen
it in this way before. Look at this. And Ruth said,
and treat me not to leave thee, or return from following after
thee. 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,
if aught but death, part thee and me." And when she saw that
she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left, speaking
unto her. So let's look at the first point
of Ruth's statement here. She says, Entreat me not to leave
thee, or return from following after thee. This is a confession
of every believer to Christ. Entreat me not to leave thee.
This is what every believer says, Oh Lord, don't leave me to myself. Don't leave me to myself, Lord,
I beg. Don't ever leave me. Don't ever
leave me. We cling to the Lord Jesus Christ. We cry out to Him. Entreat me
not to leave Thee. I'll return from following after
Thee. Oh Lord, don't ever leave me
to myself. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
13.5. Look at this wonderful portion
of Scripture. Do you know the Lord will never
forsake His people? And I mean never. He will never forsake His people.
He will never forsake the people. Jesus Christ will never forsake
those who were given to Him by the Father. Absolutely never. So with what Ruth said in mind,
and treat me not to leave thee, or return from following after
thee. Look at this, Hebrews 13, 5. Let your conversation be without
covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have.
For He has said, who? God. God has said this. God incarnated in the flesh.
God has said this. The great King, the Lord Jesus
Christ, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I will never
leave thee. And never is in the triple. I've went over that many times.
Never, not ever, never. I will not in any way fail you.
He'll never fail us, will he? Never. Or give us up. He'll never
leave us to ourselves. He'll never leave us without
support. Ever. I will not, I will not, I will
not. Never. In any degree. Leave you helpless
or forsaken. Never. What comfort for God's people.
What rest for our souls? And it's only found in Christ.
It's only found in Him alone. And think of this. We who are
saved are kept. Why are we kept? I'll never leave
you. You are forsaken. Never. Those God saves, He keeps. He keeps us. Isn't it marvelous? What great comfort. What a God.
What a God. What a Savior. What a Redeemer
is Jesus Christ our Lord. And He is the only hope for sinners. We who are saved, right? We're
saved sinners, aren't we? We don't have any other hope.
We don't have any other hope. May God reveal to you. If you're
a lost sinner, may God be pleased to reveal to you, if it's His
will, that He's the only hope for sinners. Because we who are
saved, we're saved sinners with one hope. Christ. Christ and Him alone. Christ
paid the debt that God demanded for me at Calvary's cross. Heaven
forgive me for all my trespasses. All. What a God. What a Redeemer. Our text continues. 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. Now God's people
will go wherever the Lord Jesus Christ leads us. They will not,
or they'll forsake their families and friends, they'll forsake
the false gods that they once worshipped, the idols of their
birth, and they'll follow the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Now think of this. Is this not what we say to our
King? Where you go, where you lead me, I'll go. Where your home, God's churches,
I'll be there. Your people should be my people. My God, my God. Oh, we forsake the idols of our
youth and birth and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we
desire to sit under the preaching of the gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace. That's what we desire. Do you
desire anything else? When you come to church, what
do you want to hear about? Sir, we would see Jesus. Preach
to me Christ. Preach to me Christ. Tell me
about my Redeemer. Tell me about it. We had a conference
in Oregon and Donnie Bell was our speaker. And I said, Donnie,
the motto for the conference is, Sir, we would see Jesus.
And he preached Christ to us. And it was marvelous. We rejoiced. Because that's what God's people
want. We want to hear about Christ.
Turn, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 11. Do you know that
Moses forsook the riches of Egypt? He forsook exactly what Ruth... Think of
this too. Ruth said this. For where thou
goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God. Now Moses, some say,
was next in line to become Pharaoh. Some say that. And he forsook
all the riches of Egypt. Look at Hebrews 11, verses 24
and 27. He said what Ruth said. Where
you lead me, Lord, I'll go. And where your people are, they're
my people. Look at this. But by faith, verse
24, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the
son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for
a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt. Think of that. Egypt was very wealthy. All the
treasure house, he esteemed Christ more. More than all the riches. than the treasures in Egypt,
for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook
Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as
seeing him who is invisible." Moses forsook all to be with
God's people. And think of this with Ruth.
Though the road before her was unknown, she trusted God. And though she
should never see her own country again, that she desired to be with God's
people in the very where he was being worshipped, no matter what
the cost. I know some of you experience the same thing as
me, that we are closer to our church family than we are to
our own family. Why? Because we have the same
Father. We have the same Lord. We have the same Spirit. We're part of the same body. Our unity is in Christ. It's
in Him. Do you know I was reading some
quotes from old church fathers from like 300 and 250 A.D. and
150 A.D. and one of them said this, we are the set apart ones. God's
people are set apart. We're called out. We're called
out. And we're family, beloved. We're
family. And we choose to be with the
people of God, sometimes over our own family. Our text continues. Look at this.
So knowing that Ruth left her family, left all that she knew,
Knowing that she'd never see her country again, she desired
to be with God's people and to be where he was being worshipped
no matter what the cost. And wherever God directs, he
takes us, the believer desires to have communion with none but
him. Now look at this though, our next text ties right into
what I was just saying. Thy people shall be my people.
Here before us in our text, we have God's people, a confession
of fellowship, one with another. We say, Lord, your people are
my people. Your people are my people. Isn't
it not so? The believer proclaims that God's
people are my people. And we're brought together in
one body. One family. All in Christ. He's the head. And we're the
body. And let us remember this too,
that Ruth's character is not the cause of God's grace to her. Ruth's character is not the cause
of God's grace to her. Her character before us in this
text is a result of God's grace in her. She's born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. And every believer feels this
way. Every believer, like every believer,
what she was, what she was confessing, was the result of God's grace. She's born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. Now, what happened to Orpah? Off she went, back
to her gods. Back to her people. But what
happened to Ruth? Well, as I said, that seed fell
on good ground, beloved. Prepared ground. Born again in
the Holy Spirit of God. And she confesses her faith in
the God of Israel. Her faith in the God of Israel. God's people are the ones a believer
desires to fellowship with. and to talk with. Why? Because as we talk, we're delighting
in God. We can freely talk to each other
about what we believe. And it's wonderful. It's sweet
fellowship. We rejoice in our great God and
King. We rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in what
He's done for us at Calvary's Cross. Dying and bleeding is
our substitute before the wrath and justice of God for our sins,
which are imputed to Him. And then His spotless, perfect
righteousness is imputed to us. And we get together and we talk
about this, did not your heart burn within you? Oh my, Christ
died for my sins. I want to talk with other believers.
I want to be around God's people. I want to rejoice with you in
what He's done. Who made you to differ? Who made
you to differ? God. And only Him. And we rejoice in that. We love
being with the Lord's people. As I said, because we have the
same Father, the same Savior, the same Holy Spirit dwelling
within us, And one day, we're all going to be in glory together.
Ain't it going to be marvelous? Wouldn't it be wonderful? Seeing
our Savior face to face, rejoicing, praising Him for what He's done
for us for eternity. Oh, my. Our text continues, and
thy God, my God, Not only are the people of God
her people, but she confesses faith in the one true God, the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And if you are saved, you're
God. The Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth confesses, in thy God, my
God. Not the gods of the Moabites,
not Kimesh or Balapur, or the gods of the Moabites, but Jehovah. The God of Naomi. The God of the people of Israel. The God of all who believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth is turning away from the
false gods of the Moabites, which all they are is vanity and lies. And she is proclaiming that she
loves and adores the God of Israel, the only living and true God. And she will trust in Him alone.
She has cast her eternal soul upon Him. And she desires to serve Him.
She desires to be with God's people. She desires to be ruled
by Him. She is casting herself fully
upon the Lord, which is exactly what every believer does. We cast ourselves upon Him. She has been granted faith to
believe. Now, who made her to differ from her sister-in-law?
Who made her to differ from her brother-in-law? Only God. She's no more deserving than
her sister-in-law, isn't she? Who made you to differ, believer
in Christ? Who made you to differ? Who made me to differ from my
two brothers? And my mom, and my dad, and my aunts and uncles? As far as I know, I'm the only
one the Lord saved in my family. Who made me to differ? I'm no
better than them at all. As a matter of fact, I'm probably
worse. But who made me to differ? God
and Christ. And if you're saved, rejoiced,
beloved, God has made you to differ. There's no difference
in us, right? God didn't look down through
time and see who would choose Him. No, when God chose us, He
chose us dead in trespasses and sins, beloved. He has mercy on whom here have
mercy. She's been granted faith to believe in the God of the
Bible. She's been granted faith to believe in Him, the one true
and living God. The one who the Bible proclaims
is a God of mercy. He's a God of mercy. And He's a God of truth. And
He's a God of grace. And He's also a God of justice
and fury. And He's a God of goodness and
severity and love. He's the God of heaven and earth. And this is particular distinguishing
grace which Ruth has received, and which every believer receives.
Thy God shall be my God. And by God's grace and mercy,
this is what God's people proclaim. A soul that is truly bought to
Christ affectionately loves Him and wholeheartedly cleaves to
Him. We cleave to Christ, trusting in the strength of divine
grace to keep us. And we follow Him. Who do we
follow? The Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And believers delight in Him.
We delight to rejoice in our God. We delight to rejoice in
God the Father for choosing us in Christ. We delight to rejoice
in the Son for redeeming us by His own precious blood from all
our sins. We delight to rejoice in the
Holy Spirit for regenerating us. for regenerating us, born
again of the Holy Spirit of God, for making us new creatures in
Christ. We delight, we rejoice because we could never do it
ourselves. We delight that God has saved us from all our sins
because we can't save ourselves from one of our sins. We delight that he's given us
a new heart in which we cry out with Ruth these words of confession,
thy people shall be my people and thy God my God. What a picture of mercy. What
a picture of the mercy of God to poor, undeserving sinners. As I said, Ruth was no more deserving
of God's grace than any of the Moabites. But yet, God had mercy
upon her. Let's look at verse 17. Where
thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do
so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. Now
she was determined to abide with Naomi unto death, to die in the
same country, to be laid in the same grave, in the hope of rising
together at the resurrection of the just, and having no regard
at all to the sepulchers of her fathers. No regard at all which
people of all ages desire to be buried with their kinfolk,
right? With their family. She left it all. And let us think of this in light
of we who believe. You know we're crucified with
Christ. When He died upon that cross, we died with Him. When Jesus died on the cross,
He died as the head and husband of the body of His people. He died for His people. He hung there our substitute.
He hung there the substitute for His people for whom He died.
And every individual member of His mystical body was crucified
with Him. Turn, if you would, to Galatians
2.20. Just as when Adam, our father, fell in the garden, when
he sinned, all his natural seed, then in his loins, sinned with
him. We were equally involved in all
the eventual consequences of that sin. It's imputed to us,
isn't it? So in like manner, when Christ died for the sin
of His people on the cross, all His spiritual seed were in Him. and partook in all the blessedness
of it, that is to say, in all the benefits of it, while he
alone had all the glory. And this Paul proclaimed by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God in Galatians 2.20, look at this,
I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, in the life which I now live in
the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And every believer says that,
for me. He died for my sins upon that
cross. And I'm crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live. And then, turn if you would to
Romans chapter 4. As Christ was raised for our
justification when he rose from the dead, we were raised with
him. And you know where the head is,
the body will soon fall. Where's the head? He's in heaven. He's in glory. The body will
soon fall. Look at this. Romans 4.25. So we're crucified
with Christ, and then he's raised for what? For our justification. Look at this. Who was delivered
for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.
And then scripture says we're seated in the heavenly places
with him. God is satisfied. This text here,
who was delivered for our offenses, right? Galatians 2.20 says He
gave Himself for me and all the elect. We know that's us. Who was delivered for our offenses,
for my sins, for the sins of all His people, for the sins
of all His people in heaven, for the sins of all His people
who are on earth, and for the sins of all who are yet to believe.
For all His sheep. See, this is why we're fully
confident that Christ will get every one of His sheep. Every
one. God is satisfied. This verse
in Romans 4.25 just screams of the satisfaction of God with
the sacrifice of Christ, who was delivered for our offenses
and was raised again for our justification. The wrath and
justice of God has been satisfied. The law for the people of God
has been fulfilled by Christ. How? When he died on the cross. His laws being fulfilled by his
life and by his death. And then when he died upon that
cross as our surety and our substitute before God, he has put away all
the sins of his people. And he has paid in full everything
that God demanded for the sins of all his people. Oh, if I could just rest. Oh
my, isn't it wonderful news though? Isn't it wonderful? Isn't it
beautiful? It's incredible. And do you know
that as a result of what Christ has done, that there is therefore
now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus? None. Why? Why? Because God is satisfied. He's satisfied with the sacrifice
of Christ. He's paid what God has demanded. Christ has paid what God has
demanded for the sin of all his people, and then he rose from
the dead for our justification. So that both in the death and
resurrection of Jesus, the safety of the Lord's people is secure. It's secure. There can be no
separation from Christ and no interruption to a perpetual justification
in Him. Isn't it amazing? He has brought out, beloved,
and He has brought in everlasting righteousness. A perfect, pure righteousness
which God demanded. Christ wrought it out and it's
imputed to his people. And it's upon all and to all
who believe upon Christ. And what's our conclusion with
this? Salvation is of the Lord. It's
all his doing. And this is the God that Ruth
is now resting in. She's forsaken the idols of her
youth, the gods of her people, and she's resting and trusting
in the one true God. And is this not, I ask you this,
beloved of God, is this not the God who you rest in? We rest in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is God incarnate in the flesh. And we rest and repose in our
wonderful Savior. We rest in Him both in life,
and we also rest in Him in death, don't we? He gives His people dying grace.
And then we desire to commune with Him. We desire to behold
His face. We desire to pass from... We
always look at when we die, We're dying, right, but do you
know that we're actually leaving the land of the dead, spiritually,
and going to the land of the living? The land of everlasting life. Entering into the land of the
living, eternal life with God. In glory. I remember Donnie Bell
called me right after, just minutes after Sister Mary went home to
be with the Lord. And he said, well, she just started
living. She got home. And think of this, what a miracle
of grace our salvation is. What a miracle of grace our regeneration
is. Sinners are granted faith to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we're glorified to be
with Him for eternity. In closing, I'd like to look
at Ruth 1.14. Look at Ruth 1.14. And we'll look at one word in
verse 14. I'll read the verse, but we're
closed with this one precious word, clave. Clave. Look at this one word here. And
they lifted up their voice and wept again, and Oprah kissed
her mother-in-law, but Ruth clave unto her. The word cleave in
the Hebrew here means to cling, stick, stay close. To cling,
to cleave, to keep close, to follow closely, join too. Oh, is this not what we do, we
who believe? Is this not what we do with our
blessed Savior? We cleave. We cleave to our great King.
We no longer trust in our own works. We no longer trust in
anything that we do at all. And we cast our eternal souls
upon Him. We even cast all the affairs
of our life while we sojourn here upon Him. We cleave to the
Lord Jesus Christ. We are dependent upon God for
all things, spiritual and physical. And I'll tell you, all that a
sinner needs is found in Christ. All that a sinner needs is found
in Christ. And we live a life, after the
Lord saves us, of cleaving to the Lord. We cleave to Him. And He says, I'll never leave
you. And He takes us home to glory when we die. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's God's work alone. And we
who believe this wonderful truth confess that Christ is our all
in all. That He's our all in all. And
as I said, we spend a lifetime of cleaving to Christ. Salvation
is of the Lord. Praise His mighty name. Let's
go, Lord, in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
who believe come before Thee with thankful and grateful hearts
that we were once like Ruth, once fallen after the gods of
our youth or our imagination or even whatever our family professed. But you, by your distinguishing
grace, you've made us to differ. You sought us out. We were running
as far as we possibly could from thee. And you sought us out. You drew us by your precious
Holy Spirit to you, Lord Jesus. Regenerated us. And we'll give
you all the glory. And we'll give you all the praise.
And may our mouth be filled with joy and praise this week as we
contemplate and meditate upon the wonderful things that you've
done for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.