Let's stand together again. We'll
sing hymn number 229 in the hardbacked hymnal, 229. Tell me the old,
old story of unseen things far above. ? Of Jesus and his glory ? ? Of
Jesus and his love ? ? Tell me the story simply ? ? As to a
little child ? ? For I am weak and weary ? ? And helpless and
poor ? Tell me the old, old story of
Jesus and his love. Tell me the story slowly that
I may take it in. ? That wonderful redemption ?
? God's remedy for sin ? ? Tell me the story from then ? ? For
I forget so soon ? ? The early dew of morning ? ? Has passed
away ? ? Tell me the old, old story ?
? Tell me the old, old story ? ? Of Jesus and his love ? ? Tell me the story softly ? ?
With earnest tones and praise ? ? Remember I'm the sinner whom
Jesus came to save ? ? Tell me the story always ? ? If you would
really be in any time of need ? ? Tell me the old, old story ?
Tell me the old, old story ? Of Jesus and his love ? Tell me
the same old story ? When you have cause
to fear ? That this world's antiquity ? ? Is costing me to care ? ?
Yes, and when that world's glory ? ? Is dawning on my soul ? ?
Tell me the old, old story ? ? Christ Jesus makes me hear ? Please be seated. I hope that I can do that right
now. Tell you the old, old story again
and again. Never tire of it, do you? I know
I don't. Never tire of talking about Him
and preaching Him. The dew of the morning does fade
away by noon, doesn't it? We have to keep coming. That's
the way Peter put it. He said, to whom coming. The religious world talks about
when they came to Christ or when they got saved as if it was just
some sort of past tense event. We keep coming to the same place,
same person. Let's open our Bibles together
to the book of Ruth. Ruth. We've been affectionately referring
to this book as the book of Boaz because surely he is the central
character. Boaz is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Ruth is a picture of you and
of me, a Moabitist. stranger, one who has no claim
on God, one who is dependent completely on his grace. And
now Ruth has found her way in God's providence to Boaz's field
and she's gleaning in his field, picking up grains of wheat and
barley and That's what we do every time we come to Bethlehem,
Judah. This is the house of bread. The
Lord Jesus Christ is our bread. He is the bread of life. He doesn't
just give us life. He is our life. And so as we look to God's word,
whether it be the book of Colossians or whether it be the book of
Ruth or Genesis or any place else in the scriptures, we're
always looking for our Boaz. We're always looking for Christ. I've titled this message, When
God Speaks. When God speaks, I want God to
speak to me and I want him to speak to you. We're not talking
about an audible voice. We're not talking about some
sort of, you know, esoteric experience. We're talking about something
much more life-changing than that, and much louder than an
audible voice. We're talking about when the
Spirit of God speaks to the heart, and when God confirms to our
hearts that we are His. and he is ours. That's what we
read in the Song of Solomon. I am my beloved's and my beloved
is mine. Look with me at verse eight of
Ruth chapter two. 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 should not touch thee? And when thou
art athirst, go unto the vessels and drink. of that which the
young men have drawn." Here's a picture of God speaking,
and I hope that the Lord will speak these same words effectually,
irresistibly, and convincingly to our hearts this morning. When
God speaks, we read in Hebrews chapter 1, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake unto our fathers by the prophets.
Now this is one of those times, this is one of those divers manners,
this is one of those sundry times when God is speaking to the people
of God in types and shadows. Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his son. When God speaks, he always speaks
by his son and about his son. Turn with me to that passage
in Hebrews chapter one. Look at verse two. He hath in
these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. This, the
Son of God, is the brightness of the glory of God, and the
express image of the person of God, and has by himself held
up all things." Here's how God speaks. The writer of Hebrews is referring
to is creation. When the earth was without form
and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And just
like Michael, I appreciated the analogy you made of being rich
and being sick, because this book has spiritual meaning. When the earth was without form
and void and there was darkness upon the face of the deep, That's
our spiritual condition. We are without form. We are void,
empty, and there's nothing but darkness. And God said, let there
be light. God spoke, and light came. And that's our hope now, that
God would speak, that Boaz would speak to Ruth, and that light
would shine in a dark place. in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that we would see something of the glory and of the grace
of God. When he speaks, that's how he
speaks. He speaks by his word and he
speaks of his word, of his word. In the beginning was the word.
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. So it was the
Lord Jesus Christ all the way back there in Genesis chapter
1 who spoke and said, let there be light. It was He that was
the light itself. If you go to Genesis chapter
1, you'll find that on, it wasn't until the fourth day that the
sun and the moon and the stars were created. So, Who was the
light the first three days? It was Christ. He is that light. And he gives order and form to
those who have none. And he gives light to darkness. He's spoken to us by his son. Will you turn with me to the
book of Deuteronomy? I want to show you something
that's Very glorious and very important. Deuteronomy chapter
18. Deuteronomy chapter 18. Now the Lord, everyone claims to
be speaking for God. Do they not? It doesn't matter
of the religious flavor or the denomination or the, everybody
claims to be speaking for God. How do we know? The Lord's told
us to try the spirits to see whether they be of God. He's
not talking about some nebulous spirit. He's talking about speaker,
those who are speaking for the voice of God. How do we try them
to see whether they be of God? The Lord has warned us on numerous
occasions. Many false prophets have gone
out into the world. So what has the Lord given us
in His Word as a standard by which we can judge whether or
not this man's speaking for God? And here it is in Deuteronomy
chapter 21. Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning verse 21. And if thou say in thine heart,
how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? How
can we discern whether or not this is not of God? When a prophet speaketh in the
name of the Lord, if the thing followeth not, if what he's declaring
doesn't come to pass, If it's not brought to fruition, if his
prophecy is not fulfilled, nor come to pass, that is the
thing which the Lord hath not spoken. But the prophet hath
spoken it presumptuously, and thou shalt not be afraid of him.
So if a man declares something from God, And what he's declaring
from God does not come to pass. Then we know that he is a false
prophet. How does this relate to the gospel? Well, the very, very first promise
that God gave after the fall. was that the seed of the woman
would crush the head of the serpent. Is that not the promise of God?
So if a man stands and declares that prophecy as the promise
of God, how many times we read of the Messiah, the Christ, the
anointed one who would come in the fullness of time and would
save all of Israel. And no Jew to this day believes
in a Christ who is not a complete success. I told y'all a couple
times this story. Trish and I were talking to a
Jewish lady several years ago, and she was complaining about
her Jewish friends not being, they were being hypocritical.
She said, you know, I've got friends that say they're living
kosher lives, but I know they're not. And she said, nobody can
keep the law. And I said, well, why not? And
immediately she said, you're right. You're right. She said,
and the difference between you and me is that you think he's
already come and I'm still waiting on him. Now that was a Jewish
lady living in our city this day. No Jew has ever thought
of a Christ who would not be successful in keeping the law
and in saving all of Israel. And the only difference between
them and us is that we know he's already come and they're still
waiting on him. So, if a man says that he's speaking
for God, and he declares a Jesus who was not completely successful
in accomplishing the salvation of his people, he's a false prophet. And that pretty much encompasses
95% of Christianity, or maybe more. False prophets standing in congregations
this very day talking about a Jesus who wants to save, but he can't
bring it to pass unless you do your part to make what he did
work for you. That, my friend, is a false prophet. That is a prophet who is declaring
a promise of God which has not come to pass. We declare a successful Jesus. One who actually put away all
of the sins of all of God's people by the sacrifice of himself once
and for all. That what God promised the Lord
Jesus Christ is the yea and amen of all the promises of God. All the promises of God in Christ
are yes, and all promises of God in Christ are complete. Now there's a prophecy that has
come to pass. And when the spirit of God convicts
us of our sin, because of our unbelief, and of our righteousness,
of our unrighteousness, because the Lord Jesus Christ is our
righteousness, and of judgment, Now what the Lord said, it's
expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the comfort
of will I. But when he comes, when he comes,
he will convict you of your sin, because you believe not on me,
of righteousness, because I go to my father, and of judgment,
because the prince of this world has been judged. He's been judged
once and for all. What the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
on Calvary's cross was successful. That's how we know that God has
spoken. God has spoken when the Lord Jesus Christ gets all the
glory. All the glory. The natural man wants to take
some of that glory to himself, doesn't he? And the false prophet
is more than happy to give it to him. So when God speaks, He speaks
by Christ. He speaks of Christ. He speaks
of the successful redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he always speaks first. Now we read in the Bible that
we are to call upon the name of the Lord, but the only way
that we can call upon him is if he effectually calls us. Calling
upon the name of the Lord is not the cause of God hearing
us, it's the evidence that we've heard Him. It's the evidence
that we've heard Him. He calls us effectually by His
grace, and the result of that is that we call upon Him. Let
me show you that. Look at verse 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth." Now,
Boaz has already taken notice of Ruth before she ever took
notice of him, and now Boaz is speaking to Ruth before she speaks
to him. She would not dare go to the
owner of this vineyard. She's a Moabitess. She's a beggar. She's a gleaner.
Maybe she's seen him by now walking around, you know, with his garments
and entourage, whatever, she would never dare approach him.
He approaches her. And that's always the way it
is. We love him because he first
loved us. We call upon him because he first
called us. He always does the speaking first. And here again, we find a message
that's contrary to modern day religion, because what does modern
day religion say? If you just pray this prayer,
God will hear you and he'll speak back to you. And so the burden of responsibility
for salvation is not on the Lord, it's on man. Boaz spoke to Ruth. And there's our hope. The Lord
would take notice of us and that he would speak to us. And if
we believed on him or called upon him, it's because he has
spoken. It's not in order to get him
to speak. Look at verse 10. After Boaz
speaks in verses 8 and 9, Then she fell on her face and bowed
herself to the ground and said unto him, Why have I found grace
in thy sight, that thou should take knowledge of me, seeing
that I am a stranger, seeing that I am a pagan Gentile, an
undeserving sinner? Why would you speak to me? And
that's always the case, isn't it? When the Lord told the disciples,
I must needs go through Samaria, There's a woman there that I've
got a divine appointment to meet at the well. And at high noon,
she shows up and the disciples are down in Sychar and the Lord's
sitting there by himself waiting for her. Did she speak to him? No, she was at the well in the
middle of the day because she was ashamed to meet there early
in the morning with the other women, having been married five
times. You can just imagine the reputation
that she had in town. She didn't want to be around
anybody. And there he sat. And he spoke to her. Give me
to drink. Give me to drink. And he said
the same thing that Ruth said, how is it that you, a Jew would
speak to me, a Samaritan? And the Lord said, Oh, if you
knew, if you knew who it was that speaketh unto you, you would
ask of him and he would give you living water. But you don't
know. But you're going to, I'm going
to reveal myself to you and you're going to, you're going to ask
him. He always speaks first. He always speaks first. When
he arrested Saul on the road to Damascus, it was the Lord
that spoke before Saul spoke. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? He takes the initiative. If he didn't speak first to us,
we would not have any interest at all in him. And therein gives him All the
glory. In Genesis chapter 6, it was
the Lord that spoke to Noah when Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. In Genesis chapter 12, it was
the Lord that called Abram out of the Ur of the Chaldees, the
father of the faithful. And it's still the Lord doing
the calling. What's the importance of this?
The importance of this is that we don't speak of, well, you
know, I invited Jesus or I called on the Lord and he saved me.
No. God called me out of darkness into his marvelous light. God
took notice of me, a stranger, a Moabitess. God actually spoke
to me. Why would he do that? Why would
he do that? You see, the religious world
is presenting a God who's running around desperately trying to
speak to men who won't listen to him. A frustrated God, a defeated
God. When our God speaks, he gives
ears to hear. When he calls, we call upon him. Boaz spoke. to Ruth. The Lord was passing
by the table of a money changer by the name of Levi, and he looked
at him and he said, follow me. And immediately Matthew got up
and followed Christ. Oh, his call is effectual. His
call is irresistible. The voice of God cannot be ignored. When God speaks, He shuts us
up to Himself. He doesn't give us options. What a mercy it is when He does
that. I want you to also notice that
when God speaks, He speaks affectionately. Affectionately. Never been a big fan of fire
and brimstone preaching. You know, I want to be passionate. I want to believe what I'm preaching. I want to come from my heart,
from God's heart to your heart. But beating sheep into submission
or putting them under the burden of the law, is not the means by which God
saves his people. It's the love of Christ that
constraineth us. It's the goodness of God that
leadeth to repentance. The threats come from the law.
And here's the thing about the threat of the law. The threat
of the law, which every parent has used with their children,
might curb behavior for a little while. until the law is out of
sight. A simple example of that. Aaron,
you've seen, Aaron's a police officer. Police car pulls up
behind you, what's the presence of the law? What's it do? You
back off, you make sure you're right, you're within the limits
of the speed, and then the police officer's gone and you're back
to where you were. That's the effects of the law. But grace. Grace changes the
heart. And when the heart's changed,
the whole man's changed. We're not interested in just
washing up the outside of the cup. The Lord said to the Pharisees,
He said, you're like washed cups that are full of corruption.
You're like whitewashed tombs. You know, you've dressed up the
outside, but the inside is full of dead men's bones. We need
God to do a work of grace in our heart. And when he speaks,
that's where he speaks. He doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't make his voice known
in the streets, Isaiah chapter 42. He doesn't go around pleading
and begging and threatening men to let him have his way or else.
Look at the way Boaz spoke to Ruth. Look at verse 8. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest
thou not my daughter? My daughter? What great affection does a father
feel for his daughter, eh? My daughter, I'm not here to
beat on my daughter, I'm here to comfort her and encourage
her and love her." His tone was affectionate. Oh, we don't need to be rebuked
and rebuffed. The Lord does that. The Lord
rebukes and rebuffs the self-righteous. Those who don't see themselves
like Ruth saw herself. Ruth saw herself as undeserving,
moabitist, a stranger. Why would you show any mercy
towards me? Especially affectionate mercy.
Why aren't you here to rebuke me and correct me for being in
your field? No. When the Lord spoke to the Pharisees,
That's the ones he called whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones. That's the one he called hypocrites.
That's the ones he called devils. And he rebuked them sharply.
But the publicans and the harlots, they were drawn to him. Sinners
don't feel threatened in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They don't feel threatened. their love, and he says to them,
oh, my daughter, come unto me. Oh, you that labor in a heavy
burden, I'll give you my rest. My yoke is easy, my burden is
light. Oh, I'm here to, when the prodigal,
when the prodigal came home, he thought, You know, I'll just
go and beg that my father will let me go into the barn, you
know. Maybe he'll let me sleep out
there with the servants and the animals, and maybe he'll have... And the father was already out
in the road waiting for him, and he saw his son coming from
afar, the scripture says. And he ran down the road, and
he kissed him, and he loved him, and he lavished him. And he brought
in a robe, and ring, and shoes, and belt, and he dressed in it.
This my son who was lost is now found. That's the way the Lord
meets sinners. If you want to come to Him on
the grounds of your self-righteousness, He'll meet you with the law.
And the law will do nothing but judge. The law will do nothing
but condemn. But if you come on the basis
of grace as a sinner, He will meet you with mercy and with
love and with affection. And that will break the heart. That will break the heart. Let
men in religion try to curb one another's behavior by the whip
of the law. It is the grace of God. It is
the goodness of God that we find in Christ. And harlots and publicans
are drawn to him. Hosea chapter 11, verse one says,
oh, I drew you as cords with a man and bands of love. Bands of love. Turn with me to
Titus chapter three. Titus chapter three. Right before Hebrews, Philemon
actually. Titus chapter three. Look at
verse three. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lust and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after
that the kindness and love of God, our Savior, toward men appeared,
not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according
to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and
the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Herein is love. Not that we loved
God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be the propitiation
of our sins. God is love. It's the love of
God that breaks the heart. The law never changed the heart. I think about what Peter did
when he denied the Lord Jesus Christ with cursings three times. And now the Lord has been flogged
and beaten, had his beard ripped out. He's had a crown of thorns
beaten into his skull. He's a bloody mess. And Pilate
brings him out. to show the people in hopes that
it would assuage their anger toward him and that they would
finally say, well, yeah, okay, that's enough. He brought him
out and they said, behold the man. Look at the man. And on
his way from where he'd been beaten out to where Pilate presents
him, he walks through the praetorium, the Roman praetorium. And guess
who's standing there? By an open fire, warming his
hands, Peter. And the Lord looked at him. He set his eyes on him. What
do you suppose the eyes of Christ looked like in that moment? Do
you suppose there was a hint of disappointment, disgust? I
told you so. No. No. No, it was nothing but affection.
Nothing but, oh my daughter, I'm doing this for you. I'm doing
this for you. It's okay. It's okay. I've prayed for you. I'm going to bring you full circle.
I'll bring you to repentance. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Had the Lord given him any other
look, Peter wouldn't have been moved to weep bitterly. No, it
was the look of love that broke his heart. Nothing's changed. Nothing's changed. When Nathan,
David sinned with Bathsheba, I used to think when I was preaching
under the law that Nathan came to David that, remember Nathan
said he gave David a scenario of a man who had one ewe lamb
and a visitor comes and the man who owned a whole flock and a
visitor comes to him and he goes to his neighbors and he steals
the ewe lamb from his neighbor and slaughters it and feeds it
to his guest. And he tells this to David. And
David, enraged, says, execute the law. Take him fivefold from his sheep
and give to the poor man and lock him up. Put him under the
law for what he's done. And I used to think David stuck
his finger, Nathan stuck his finger in David's chest and said,
David, you're the man. I don't believe that for a moment. Nathan, brokenhearted, tears
in his eyes, looked at David with compassion and said, oh
David, don't you know that that story was about you? It was about
you. And David wrote Psalm 51. David's
heart was broken. Never a man spake like this man
before. Yes, he speaks with authority,
and he speaks with strength, but he speaks lovingly and compassionately,
and he still speaks the same way. He takes away our choices. Coming
to Christ is not a choice. It's not a decision. The only
way you, you and I have a choice for the Lord Jesus Christ or
something else, we will always choose something else. Choice
implies two or more options. And we all make choices every
day. Thousands of them, we make choices.
What to say, what to speak, which way to turn, what to put on,
what to eat. I mean, you know, because we have options. Salvation is not of him that
willeth. Why? Because if you don't have a choice,
it's not an option. You've been shut up. You've had all your options taken
away from you. What a blessing it is when God
does that. When God speaks, he leaves us
with nothing but Christ. Nothing but Christ. Or to whom
shall we go? We've got no place else to go. You've shut us up. We have no
righteousness outside of Christ. We have no place else to go.
You've made us to believe on you. That's why the prophet said,
turn me Lord and I shall be turned. Make me to believe and I'll believe.
Call upon me and I will call upon thee. Lord, you've got to
do it. Salvation is of the Lord. That's one of the glorious things
about afflictions. And an affliction is not just,
well, you know, I'm having troubles and I finally took my hands off
of it. I quit trying to fix it. Well, that's part of it. But
that's not all of it. It's not that you quit trying
to fix it. It's that you've been set up to Christ. You've got
to have Him. You've turned to Him. He's all
you have. The only wisdom, the only comfort,
the only righteousness, the only hope that you have is found in
Him. That's what Boaz is going to
do for Ruth now. Look, God's speaking. God's speaking. Is he speaking right now? Boaz, verse 8, said to Ruth,
Hearest thou not my daughter? He speaks to her affectionately,
but he also, one of the ways that God shuts up his people
is by asking them questions. And he's not asking us questions
in order to get an answer, because he's ignorant of it. You know,
I was thinking, I don't know much about what it is to be an
attorney, but I do know this about attorneys. An attorney
in a court of law would never ask a defendant or a witness
a question that they didn't already know the answer to. It'd be foolish
for them to do that. Then you're introducing something
into the courtroom that you weren't planning on. So you only ask
questions that you already know the answer to. When the Lord
Jesus Christ asked us a question, he's not looking for information.
He already knows the answer to it. He's putting us in a place
where we can do nothing but answer. He's shutting us up to Christ.
Look what you said. He didn't say like we say to
our children when we put them under law. And sometimes it's
necessary to put our children under the law to curb their behavior
for a short period of time. But just know that if you don't
spend time with that child and explain to them and loving them
and showing them grace and explain to them why this is necessary,
all you've left them with is the demands of the law. You're
just going to drive them into a horrible, lawless life. You've seen it. Children that
grew up under the law and all of a sudden they become adults
and they just, out in the world. He didn't say to her, uh, I'm
the owner of this field. I demand that you'd listen to
me. He said to her, Ruth, can you
hear me? Can you hear me? Are you listening? Look, then said Boaz to Ruth
in verse 8, Here is thou not, my daughter? It's a question. Questions are meant to cause
us to think, to expose the truth. The Lord often, does that. I wish I could preach more that
way. I wish I could preach to give the obvious answer to the
question to you, to where you shut up. There's only one answer
to this question. The Lord was perfect at it. The Lord said, when they said
to the Lord, by what authority do you do this? And the Lord,
I'll ask you a question. He answered a question with a
question. John the Baptist, was he son of God or was he son of
man? And they got to talking, we can't answer that question.
Because if we say that he was son of God, then the people are
going to want to know, why didn't we listen to him? When he pointed
to the Lord Jesus Christ and said, behold, the Lamb of God
was taken away the sins of the world. But if we say that he's
a man, the people loved him. And we're going to lose our following
if we say that he's a man. And so they said, we don't know
the answer to that question. And the Lord said, neither will
I answer your question. The son of David. What? Whose son was he? Or what think
ye of Christ? Well, he was the son of David.
Well, if he was the son of David, then why did David call him Lord? Why did David call him Lord?
And that whole passage of scripture ends with this, and no man durst
ask him another question. He shut him up with their questions.
And he shuts us up with the questions. He shuts us up. He says things
like, will you lead me also? Are you able to drink from the
cup that I'm gonna drink from? Oh yes, Lord, we're able. The
Lord said, and you shall. You shall. I'm gonna drink the
bitter dregs of God's wrath burying your sins on Calvary's cross.
And as I, as I die, you will be dying. That's why Paul said,
I am crucified with Christ. You're going to drink from that
cup. And you're going to know something about the baptism that
I'm going to be baptized with. And we're going to observe baptism
this morning. And what a glorious picture of our death, burial
and resurrection in the Lord Jesus Christ, our union with
Christ. But he asked questions. When
the Lord spoke to Saul, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Was the Lord needing information? No, no. This is the way he speaks. He
speaks in such a way as to shut us up to the only answer, the
only answer. What does he speak? Look at verse
eight. Go not to glean in another field,
neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. You're
not in this alone. I have other maidens that are
here and they're gonna support you and encourage you and they're
gonna pray for you and bless you and you them. Got no place, no place to go. The Bible says that we must,
through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. Turn
with me to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Look with me at verse 7. Cast
all your care upon him. All your care, for he careth
for you. He careth for you. You're in
a place where you don't know which way to go. You've been
shut up. Cast your care upon him. He careth
for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfastly in the faith. How is it to resist Satan in
the faith? In the faith means you're looking
to Christ. You're looking to Christ. You're not resisting
the devil in the power of your determination and your will.
You're resisting him in your weakness. And in your weakness,
his strength is made strong. Knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Child of God, these afflictions
are common to all men. Common to your brethren. God
is faithful. He's faithful. He will not suffer
you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will
with the temptation provide the way of escape. that you might
be able to bear it. Christ is the way, the truth,
and the life. He is our escape, isn't He? You see the Lord's still speaking,
isn't he? This is what the writer of Hebrews
was talking about in Hebrews chapter one. God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake to our fathers by the prophets
in times past has now spoken unto us by his son. So now in
light of the gospel, in light of the finished work of Christ,
in light of the revelation that God has now spoken unto us by
his son, we understand the full meaning of these types and shadows
and pictures. That's what Hebrews chapter 11
is all about. All the Old Testament saints
who suffered affliction. And then Hebrews chapter 12 begins
with, seeing therefore that you are compassed about with such
a great cloud of witnesses. That's what that's what Boaz
is saying to Ruth. Stay here with my maidens. They'll be here to help you,
and you them. Lay aside every weight, and the
sin which dost so easily beset us. looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising its shame. He looked to the father. He believed God. That's what
the Lord's encouraging us to do. And what a blessing it is
when he shuts us up and ask us questions. Now I'll close with
this. I'm sorry, we've gone a little
bit too long here, but look at verse nine. Let thine eyes be
upon the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have
I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? Now
you remember we saw these reapers as the ministers of the gospel. And they're not here to beat
the sheep. They're here to speak to them. Tell them about Christ. Tell them what God has done for
them. We don't shame the sheep of the
law. You know, how many times have
you listened to a preacher and you thought, well, I wish I was like, I wish
I wish I could live the victorious
Christian life that he's living. Preacher that leads you with
that thought has not been honest. He's not been honest. This is
a struggle that we all go through, looking unto Jesus. Now his responsibility is to
point to the Lord Jesus Christ and say, behold, Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. I've told
my men not to touch you. And I've also told them that
when you see them drawing water, go and get some. Is that not what we're doing?
I've been drawing water from the well many hours this week
to prepare for this morning. Many hours. And I hope and pray
that this well has been opened like Rebecca's well was opened
and the water was made available. Drink the water of life freely,
freely. Our Heavenly Father, we pray
that you would speak effectually to our hearts. Lord, if you speak,
all will be well. And like Ruth, we can't imagine
why you would speak, except it be for Christ's sake. There's
nothing in us that would obligate you in any way. Lord, for Christ's
sake, speak to us. We ask it in his name. Amen. 268, let's stand together. In his ? Much more can he say than to
you he hath said ? ? To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled
? ? Fear not, I am with thee, O ye not dismayed ? I will still give thee gain,
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld
by my gracious, omnipotent hand. When through the deep waters
I call thee, Rivers of love shall not be overflown,
For I will be in thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee
thy deepest distress. and improve thy retrials, thy
pathway shall not. The high praise of salvation
shall be thy supply. The flame shall not burn, my soul Please be seated. Adam's gonna bring special music. Dark the stain that soiled man's
nature Long the distance that he fell Far removed from hope
and heaven Into deep despair and hell But there was a fountain
open And the blood of God's own Son Purifies the soul and reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone Praise the Lord for full salvation
God still reigns upon his throne And I know the blood still reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone Conscious of the deep pollution,
sinners wander in the night. Though they hear the shepherd
calling, they still fear to face the light. It's the blessed consolation
that can melt the heart of stone. That sweet balm of Gilead reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone Praise the Lord for full salvation
God still reigns upon His throne And I know the blood still reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone All unworthy we who've wandered
And our eyes are wet with tears As we think of love that sought
us Through the weary, wasted years Yet we walk the holy highway
Walking by God's grace alone Knowing Calvary's fountain reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone Praise the Lord for full salvation
God still reigns upon His throne And I know the blood still reaches
Deeper than the stain has gone When with holy choirs we're standing
In the presence of the King And our souls are lost in wonder
While the wide road choirs sing Then we'll praise the name of
Jesus With the millions round the throne Praise him for the
power that reaches Deeper than the stain has gone Praise the Lord, praise the Lord
for full salvation. God still reigns upon his throne,
and I know the blood still reaches deeper than the stain has gone. Thank you, Adam. I'm thankful
that there is a cleansing power that goes deeper than our sin. And Caleb, what a blessing. I remember when your mother was
expecting you. And I preached a message on Joshua
and Caleb. being the only two that survived
the wilderness wanderings coming into the promised land. And Joshua,
the same name as Jesus, representing the Lord Jesus. And Caleb, representing
the church. And Caleb's name translated means
a faithful dog. And so Hugo and Zobey were there
when I preached that message, and they came to me a week or
two later, so we decided to name our baby Caleb. And here he is
25 years later. Brother, we love you. We're thankful the Lord has kept
you faithful here to here. And I'm thankful that the Lord
has put on your heart and spoken to you, given you a desire to
profess Him in baptism. Union with Christ. When Christ
died, I died. When Christ was raised from the
dead, I was raised from the dead. Christ's life is my life. That's
what baptism is a picture of. So Caleb, we baptize you, our
brother, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
buried with Christ. In baptism, and raised to walk
a new life in Christ Jesus. In all God's people said, Amen.
Let's stand together. Scott, would you close us in
prayer, brother, please? Heavenly Father, we rejoice this day in You. Our
Father, who is our Savior,