Ruth chapter 2. Now, we have been in Ruth for
a while and we've seen Boaz, who is truly the central figure
of the book. Boaz. He's the kinsman redeemer. And he's a picture of Christ,
who is the one of whom the whole Bible is concerned. All the Scriptures Christ said
speak of me. And that's the case with the
book of Ruth. Christ is our Boaz. He's our
kinsman redeemer. And then we have Ruth here who
is a picture of a child of grace who's being drawn and taught
to rest in Christ by the grace of God. She's being drawn to
Boaz just like a sinner is drawn to Christ. She's being taught
who Boaz is, just like God teaches us who Christ is, being taught
her need. And Naomi is the mother-in-law. She's a picture of God's church,
those already called by His grace, who are used of God to teach
His babes that He's drawing. She's a picture of the church. Now, Boaz had Come to Ruth at
that little house at the edge of the field." A picture of Christ
coming to teach His child in this little house at the edge
of the field. And He told her, He drew her
to His table. You remember? She came and sat
down at His table and feasted with Him at His table. And then
He commanded her to glean in His field. Told her not to go
in any other field, stay in His field. with his maidens. And
he told his young men, he said, now you let her glean. Don't rebuke her. Don't reprove
her. You let her glean in this field. And not only that, you
drop handfuls of purpose for her. You drop purposefully drop
food for this woman right here. That's what God's preachers are
to do. Now we're going to see what the sinner will do When
Christ speaks this word effectually in the heart, Boaz told her to
glean in his field. Look at Ruth 2 and verse 17. So she gleaned in the field. Boaz told her to, so she did. And when Christ commands this,
this is what you'll do. You'll glean in his field until
evening. And she beat out that she had
gleaned, she threshed it, And it was about an ether of barley,
about a bushel, when she got finished. Now, has Christ commanded
you to glean in His field? Here it is right here. This is
the field we're talking about right here. This is His Word.
This is where you glean right here. When He starts calling
you, He starts giving you an interest in this book right here.
Right here. I remember whenever I didn't have any interest in the
Word of God at all. And then I can remember, I don't
know exactly when it was, but I just remember a season when
it was quite a while before I professed Christ that the Lord began to
give me a desire to look into His Word and I began to see something. He began to feed me, give me
some handfuls of purpose. And it became a delight. And
notice here now, when she started gleaning in that field, she didn't
just glean a little while and stop. She gleaned till evening. This is the day of grace right
here. This is the day of grace. And
when God works this work in us in the beginning, we start gleaning
in His Word. And we don't stop gleaning in
His Word. We continue to do it till this day of grace is over.
And gleaning is such a good picture of searching the Scriptures.
has got a lot of books with that title. Gleaning. Gleanings in
Genesis. Gleanings in the writings of
Paul. And gleanings, gleanings, gleanings. That's a good picture
of what it is to search God's Word. And Christ will see to
it His child receives handfuls of purpose. He went home with
a bushel full of barley. He's going to make sure you have
plenty. Now, who does the Lord call His child to find? Who is
it that He causes us to always look for in His Word? This is
the difference between a naturally religious man and the one in
whom God has begun a work of grace. Here's the difference.
The child of grace is looking for Christ in the Word. The man
that's not been born of grace is looking for what he must do.
Christ said, you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have
life. You think this book is telling you something you should
do that will give you life with God. But this book, these Scriptures,
are they which testify of me, He said. And it won't come to
me that you might have life. But to believe the report of
God, we start looking for Christ in the book. That's when the
book will open up, because He's the key. He opens the whole book. Now look at verse 18. She took
it up, went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she
had gleaned. And she brought forth and she
gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed." Now,
you get this picture. Now, get the picture. A young
person or an older person, but just beginning, God just started
teaching them something. I can remember doing this right
here. I went to my pastor. My pastor happened to be my grandfather,
so it was comfortable. I could go down to sit by his
garden and talk to him. I'd go down there and I'd start
showing him some things that I was gleaning. And this is what he'd do right
here. This is what Naomi did. This is what a believer does
that's been grown by God's grace. And here's this new believer
start talking about some things that they see in the Scriptures.
Listen to what Naomi did. Verse 19, "...and her mother-in-law
said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day?" Naomi knew where
she had been. Naomi knew who it was she had
been to. "'Where wrotest thou?' she said. Blessed be he that did take knowledge
of thee." Notice she puts that in the right order, because that's
the order of grace right there. Ruth didn't take knowledge of
Boaz. Ruth didn't even know who Boaz was. But Boaz took knowledge
of her. And that's the order of grace.
We don't take knowledge of Christ first. He takes knowledge of
us first. And you see Naomi here? She's hinting around at this.
She knows who this is. She wants to see if Ruth knows
who this is. Now watch. And she showed her
mother-in-law with whom she had wrought. And she said, this man's
name with whom I wrought today is Boaz. And Naomi couldn't stand
it any longer. 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. Naomi said unto her, The man
is near of kin to us, one of our next kinsmen. She said, this
is the near kinsman. She said, that one you're talking
to, Ruth, he's the one who has the right to redeem. He's the
one who has the right to redeem. He's got the right. He's got
the ability. What we need to find out, what
you need to find out, is if he's got the willingness. That's what
you need to find out. Is he willing? Is he willing? And Ruth the Moabitess, she said,
well, he said to me also, thou shalt keep fast by my young men
until they've ended all my harvest. Now, first of all, Naomi here
is a type of the church. Now, she's the type of those
already regenerated that already know Christ. Now, watch what
she does. Naomi, verse 22, said to Ruth,
her daughter-in-law, it's good, my daughter, it's good, my daughter,
that thou go out with his maidens. You obey him that they meet thee
not in another field. Don't you be caught in another
field. You obey Boaz. You go to his field with his
maidens. And so she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean
unto the end of the barley harvest, and of wheat harvest, and dwelt
with her mother-in-law." As witnesses of Christ, we are to tell needy
sinners to obey the Word of God, to obey Christ. That is what
we are to tell. See, this is where salvation
begins right here. We come into this world, born
of Adam, sinners against God, rebelling against God. Oh, we
might become religious, and we might use his book, and we might
go through the outward motions of religion. But inwardly, we're
doing nothing but rebelling against God. Trying to come our way,
by our will and our works and our wisdom, just rebelling against
God. But when God begins to work,
the first thing that's necessary is obedience. To listen to Him. Trust Him. Obey Him. And the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To be given a reverence
to look to Him and listen to Him and heed Him, that's the
beginning. And she tells her, now you listen to Him. You listen
to Him. And that's what we're to tell
sinners. To glean in His field alone. This is the book of salvation
right here. Don't go get the Koran. Don't
go get the philosopher's books and whatever. This is the field
right here. Don't be caught in another field.
This is the field right here. And that's what we're to tell
them. Glean in this field. Now, here's what good witnessing
is right here. She told Ruth who Boaz was. The first thing we're going to
tell her, now you need to obey the Word. See, until you're convinced,
and it takes God to convince you that this is the Word of
God, it won't do you any good. When I talk to somebody, the
first question I have for them is what Naomi said here. Are you obeying God? Do you believe
this book is the Word of God? If they don't, there's no point
in talking, because I'm talking out of this book. And if they
don't believe this is the Word of God, we've got nothing to
talk about. So that's the first thing. And then as soon as she
had that settled, she said, now let me tell you who he is. Let
me tell you who Boaz is. Look here. Ruth 3, verse 1. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law,
said unto her, My daughter, Shall not I seek rest for thee, that
it may be well with thee? And now, is not Boaz of our kindred
with whose maidens thou wast?" You see, we tell needy sinners
who Christ is. He is the Sabbath rest for His
people. That is who He is. He is the
Sabbath rest for the weary and the heavy laden. That's who He
is. For those burdened with the rules
and the commandments and the doctrines of men and the doctrines
of false religion, the do, do, do, they never let you rest.
You've got to always be doing something. You've got to get
more righteous and more holy and more, more, more, more, more.
You've got to be doing, doing, doing always. You can't rest.
And you've got Satan climbing all over that, telling you, yes,
you've got to do something. And you fear death and you fear
the grave, and you fear hell, and you just think, I haven't
done enough, haven't done enough, and you can't rest. Believing
Christ is to rest from everything about you. That's what it is. Faith in Christ is to rest from
all your wisdom, all your works, all your doing, for acceptance
with God. The person that's still thinking
I need to do a little something. If I don't do this, I can't be
saved. I have to have this in addition
to Christ or whatever. That person is not believing
Christ. That person who thinks that they've
got to do something to get more and more and more holy, they're
not resting in Christ. Because believing Christ is to
rest in Christ from all your works. To rest in Him. He said this, come unto me and
I will give you rest. And you'll find rest for your
soul, for your heart. You'll find peace and contentment
knowing you can rest now. It's finished. It's finished. Safe and secure in Christ. You
can then say, it's well with my soul. because He's given me
rest." So we tell sinners who He is. And we tell them this. We tell them that He is the Redeemer.
This is where the rest is. He's the Redeemer. She said,
"...is not thou as of our kindred with whose maidens thou wast?"
Well, I showed you in the law, where God provided that law,
where if a man had sold himself to where he was bankrupt, he
was insolvent, he was so in debt, he could not pay what he owed.
It was the mercy of God to give a law so that that man could
actually sell himself to somebody and serve under that person. But here was another thing God
provided. He provided a law of a kinsman who could redeem that
person, who could go and pay all his debts for him and buy
him, purchase him out from under that bondage that he had sold
himself into. And that was to picture the need
of every sinner that God shall save. We need for God to redeem
us because we cannot pay. We're insolvent. We're bankrupt. To be redeemed requires that
you have to die under the curse of the law and satisfy eternal
justice. You can't do that. I can't do
that. Even if we perish and go to hell,
we won't ever satisfy eternal justice. That's why it's eternal. But Christ is man. He became a man so He can lay
down His life in the place of His people. And He's God so He
can satisfy eternal justice. And He has redeemed us from the
curse of the law being made a curse for us. Everybody He died for,
He redeemed them. They will never suffer the curse
of that law. Because they're redeemed. And
then, redemption requires also that we be redeemed from the
bondage of our nature. We can't make ourselves believe
God. We've got to be redeemed from
the bondage of our sin nature. Christ is the only one that can
do that. If you and I don't... A new man's got to be created
that didn't exist before. That's Christ in you. He's the
only one that can come in and be that new man in you to make
you will and do the pleasure of the Lord. And then lastly,
redemption involves us being redeemed from all sin's consequences
out of this cursed earth into the glorious liberty of the children
of God in resurrection. And you and I know we certainly
can't resurrect ourselves from the grave. If you can't do one
thing in salvation, you can't do any of it. It's got to be
done by Christ. He's the one. He had the power
to come into this world and to lay down His life and to take
it again. And He says, and I'm going to
do that for all my people. He's the Redeemer. We tell these
ones that have A new interest in Christ. We tell him who he
is. He's the Redeemer. He's the Redeemer. And then we
tell needy sinners where he's to be found. Look here. Naomi told Ruth where Boaz could
be found. Verse 2. Ruth chapter 3, verse
2. She said, Behold, he winnoweth
barley tonight in the threshing floor. When Christ finished the
work of redeeming all his people, He came into this world and he
said, I must be about my father's business. And among the last
words that he spoke was, It is finished. And the Hebrew writer
says, And when he had by himself purged our sins, only then did
he sit down. The work was finished. And he
sat down at the right hand of the throne of grace. And if you
want to find Christ, you're not going to find Him here. You're
not going to come down to the front and find Him here. You're
not going to find Him jumping through some hoops like a little
puppy dog that the preacher tells you to do. You're going to find
Him at His throne of grace. Go to the throne of grace that
you might find grace to help in time of need. That's where
you're going to find Christ. And right now, I'll tell you
what He's doing. He's doing what Boaz was doing.
He's threshing in his threshing floor. You want to find him? Go to the threshing floor. Some
of you have come to the threshing floor today. And he's threshing. You know what he's doing? His
fan is in his hand. You know, when you thresh, the
threshing floor had a loose floor in it. And they'd bounce that
floor like this, so all the barley would go up in the air like this.
And as it would go up in the air, what it was doing was the
kernel was being separated from the chaff. And the winnower sat
there with a fan, and he waved that big fan like this so that
the chaff, because it's light and has no substance, it blows
away. And when it gets done, all that's
left is the pure fruit, the barley. That's what Christ is doing through
this gospel. He's threshing. It says his fan
is in his hand, and he'll thoroughly perch his floor and gather his
wheat into the garner, But He'll burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire. He's calling His saints, His
people. He's sanctifying them and calling
them. And all the rest are chaff being
blown away. And we tell sinners, now, you
want to find Him? Go to His house. Go to His Word. Go to His throne of grace. That's
where you're going to find Him. And then we tell sinners that
they must repent from all their works. And they must come down
to Christ's feet in submission to Him, believing He alone can
save them. This is what we tell sinners.
Why tell a dead sinner that? Because God said to. He said,
can these bones live? Tell them to live. And He said,
while you're telling them to live, I'll give them life. And
we tell sinners, repent. And while we're telling them
to repent, He gives them repentance. And we see it pictured here.
Look at Ruth 3.3. She said, Wash thyself therefore, and anoint
thee, and put 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 lie down,
that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie. And thou
shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down." Lay
down at his feet. And He will tell thee, what thou
shalt do. I like how that's worded. He
will tell you not what you ought to do. He will tell thee what
thou shalt do. He's going to tell you what you
shall do. Remember that woman at the well?
This man told me everything, everything about me. He's going
to tell you what you shall do. We see urgency in this. You see
that urgency and earnestness to obtain favor from Boaz. God
grants repentance in His child of mercy. He uses His church
to preach the Word. Repent from your sin. Wash you
and anoint you and put on your garment and get down to Christ.
And as that Word is going forth, Christ speaks effectually what
He did in Isaiah 116. He says, Wash you and make you
clean. Put away the evil of your doings
from before mine eyes and cease to do evil. And the Word of Christ
spoken in the heart That is the granting of repentance. You'll
turn when He turns you. And we say, come down. We are naturally on our high
horse. We're naturally solid horses
riding high, thinking we're somebody. He says, come down. And He brings
you down. He brings you down. Remember
that harlot with that box of ointment? She came into that
house. She was a sinner, Scripture says.
It means she was a harlot. You know how she knows she was
a harlot? She did something that only harlots did. She came into
that house with that box of ointment. She had been working her occupation
and saved up a year's worth of wages and bought that ointment. And she came in there to that
house where Christ was. She heard where Christ was. She
came to where Christ was. And she came into that house,
and she stood at his feet, behind him, weeping. And she began to
wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs
of her head. Her hair was loose and flowing.
And in that day and time, in that culture, you know what that
meant? A woman was a prostitute. And she dried his feet with her
hair, and she kissed his feet, and she adored him with that
ointment. And that Pharisee stood there looking at her hair. That's
all he could see was her hair. That's all he could see was her
hair. If this man knew what this woman was, he would rebuke her. Christ said, no, you're the one
I'm going to rebuke. I've come in this house. You
didn't wash my feet. You didn't do a thing for me.
This woman right here came to me broken, bowed down at my feet
in love and gratitude, and she's forgiven. She's forgiven. You see, God doesn't look on
the outward. He looks on the heart. On the heart. And the
heart's what matters. She was in submission, even though
outwardly she might not have looked like she was in submission.
She was in submission. Where did Mary sit? At Christ's
feet. At Christ's feet. Martha, bless
her heart, she was up in her heart trying to serve and help
and do everything, but she got frustrated. And she was covered
about with all this. And she said, Lord, don't you
care? Mary's not even helping me. He said, Mary's found that
part that's necessary. She's found that thing. That's
the thing you've got to have. She's sitting here at my feet.
Martha, you're cumbered about much serving. Are you cumbered
about thinking that salvation is in serving God? First things
first is to come down to His feet and hear His Word. That's first things first. Now,
secondly, we see the heart Christ gives to the true sinner. In
chapter 2 and verse 23, go back up there now, Ruth did exactly
what Naomi said to do. She kept fast by the maidens
of Boaz, and she gleaned into the end of barley harvest and
of wheat harvest, and she dwelt with her mother-in-law. She did
what Naomi told her to do. And then when Naomi told her
Boaz was the kinsman-redeemer, that she must come down to his
feet and wait on him to tell her what to do. Doesn't all that
sound strange? You know, this gospel sounds
very strange to that one that God just started working His
grace in. It sounds strange. But what did she do? Verse 5,
Ruth 3, 5, And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto
me I will do. And she went down unto the floor.
You see, it wasn't just in word, it was in deed. That's what James
is talking about. She didn't just say she believed
with the mouth. She went and bowed. She went
down to 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 she laid herself down
at his feet." Ruth, here's a picture of a child whose heart's been
broken by the irresistible grace of God. She's a little baby in
Christ. Now, don't misunderstand. Don't
forget this. She's got to be around probably
25 or 30 years old. She's a widow. She had a husband
back in Moab, remember? Naomi's son. So she's not 18 or 19 years old. She's not a little girl. She's
a woman. But boy, she's obeying Naomi
and she's heeding this word like she's a little child. Like she's
a little child. She went down, she did everything
her mother-in-law told her, and she laid down at this man's feet.
Remember Naaman the leper? He thought he was a king that
just happened to be a leper. But he was a leper that just
happened to be a king. And that's the case with most
of us. We think that we're somebody that just happened to be a sinner.
No, we're just sinners. You might happen to have some
position in his life, but we're just sinners, that's all. And
so how'd he come to Elisha? He came with all his pomp and
all his entourage, and he came up there and he thought, boy,
this prophet's going to come out of that house and kowtow
to me, see all my wealth, and he's going to, boy, that's what
all false prophets have done to him. Because they wanted his
money. Elisha didn't even go out to
him. Elisha sent a message out there and said, tell him to go
to that Jordan River and dip himself seven times in that Jordan
River. And it made Naaman so mad. He was so angry with that. All the rivers that I could dip
in, all those fine Damascus rivers I could go dip in, those fine
Gentile rivers I could go dip in, he wants me to go dip in
this little, muddy Jordan? I despise that river. That river
was a picture of Christ in his blood. That's the heart of proud
man by nature. I'll do anything but that. And
finally, somebody reasoned with him and said, if he'd have told
you to do some great thing, you'd have done it. Isn't that so?
You tell sinners to do some great thing and they'll do it. They'll
walk on crushed glass if you tell them to. But stop working
and believe Christ. Oh, I can't do that. And it makes
them angry. Finally, you know what happened?
He went down. And when he went down, he was
cleansed. He was cleansed. I'll tell you
something. If you're lost, if you're lost,
if you're in real danger, just physically, you'll listen when
somebody gives you instruction on how you can be saved. You'll
listen to them. When you really know you've got... If I don't
listen to this, I'm fixing a ferris. You'll listen. Well, it's the
same spiritually. When are we going to listen to
God? When God's made us to see. We're, like Jonathan Edwards
said, we're hanging by a spider web over the fires of hell. And God will be just to snap
it right in two. When you see that you need Christ,
and He's your only hope of salvation, that's when you start listening
to the gospel. And she did. And Christ said this, He said,
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom
of God as a little child shall have no wives in earth therein.
That little child, that's a little child back there. You tell him
something, he may believe you. He's got no reason not to believe
you. Tell him what to do, he's going to do it most of the time. That's what we're talking about,
a little child. That's how Christ said He received the kingdom,
like a little child. Not arrogant, haughty-like name,
and like a little child. Thirdly, we see the sinner's
plea for mercy. Look here, Romans 3.8. It came
to pass at midnight that the man was afraid, and he turned
himself, and behold, this woman was laying at his feet. And he
said, this is the first question he asked her, Who are you? Sinner, who are you? You think
about that question. Who am I? Who are you? Has God made you ask that question
about yourself? Who am I? Listen to what she answered.
I am Ruth. I'm that Moabitess, that stranger. I don't have any claims in Israel. She's like that Canaanite woman.
Remember that one that came? He said, I'm not a scepter to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. She said, Lord, even
the dogs get some crumbs from the Master's table. She's saying,
I'm just a Gentile dog is all I am. I'm just a dog. I'm penniless. I've got no claims
on you. I'm poor. I'm bankrupt. I need
redemption. I'm Ruth. And she said, But I'm
thine, handmaid." You know what she's saying? Remember he told
before, you go out here with my handmaids. She's saying here,
I'm nobody, and I'm nothing, and I got no claims on you. I'm
just a sinner. But I'm yours. I'm your servant. I'm here for you to do with me
whatever you will. You remember that leper that
came and bowed down to Christ? He said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean. That's her heart right here.
I'm yours. If I perish, if you want to cast
me away, you've got every right. But I'm here and I'm yours to
do with me what you will. That's how you come to Christ.
And look what she said here. Then she made her plea. She said, spread therefore thy
skirt over thine handmaid. Why does she say therefore? Because
I'm the one you bid to your table. You called me to your table.
You spread your feast before me. You fed me and sufficed me. You told me to glean in your
field. You told me not to go anywhere else. You're the one
I was told to come to. And now here I am. And you're the only one that
has the right to redeem. And I believe it. I believe you're
the only one that has the right to redeem. I believe you are
my kinsman redeemer. Therefore, because I'm yours,
cover your handmaid with your garment. That covering of that
garment would signify what a woman's wedding band signifies in our
day. Marry me. Take me to yourself. Provide. It's what a husband
is to his wife, what Christ is to the church. Give yourself
for me and provide all for me so that I can rest in you. So
that I can be saved by you and provided by you and protected
by you. Cover me with your righteousness.
That's what she's asking. On what grounds should she ask
this? What grounds dare she ask this?
For thou art a near kinsman." You are the one. You are the
one. Will you save me graciously?
You're the one. She said what that sinner said.
Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner. You don't call that out to somebody
unless you believe they're the only ones that can have mercy
on you. Now lastly, what happens to sinners who come to Christ
with no merit in themselves, seeking mercy alone? What happens?
Verse 10. And he said, Blessed be thou
of the Lord. Blessed be thou of God, of Jehovah,
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. There's a bunch of young men
out here in this field you could have went after, but you didn't
go after any of them. You didn't respect any of them
persons. You're not doing this out of
respect of persons. It's not just simply a fear of
hell that you're doing this for, just to get something so you
can get heaven. You're doing this because you
really believe me and adore me. That's what he's saying to her.
And he says, and now my daughter, fear not, I will. Fear not, I will do to thee all
that thou requirest." Not, I'm going to do what she asked me.
There might be something that she don't know to ask. He said,
I'm going to do everything that you require, that's required
of you, I'm going to do it. For all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. Though as did this first,
he praised and he glorified the Lord for blessing her and bringing
her to him. You know what Christ does? When
you come to Christ, you know what He does? Why was He sent
into this world? Why is He the mediator of His people? To glorify
the Father. You know what He does? He praises
the Father. He glorifies the Father. He did
it when He walked this earth in John 6. He said, No man can
come to Me except my Father draw him. And He said, All that the
Father giveth to Me shall come to Me. And him that comes to
Me I will in no wise cast out. He said, blessed are you of my
Father. You've come to me. You've been
blessed of my Father. And Christ says to every true
mercy-beggar, fear not, I'll do everything that is required
of you. Why? Because he entered covenant
before the foundation of the world, promising the Father he'd
do it. Because he's doing it for his own namesake, his own
glory's sake, to uphold his justice and his honor and his law and
his holiness and his total character and glory. Because He came to
the cross and He paid everything His people owed. Because He's
worked every bit of it to bring you to Him. So when you come
to Him, He says, fear not, I will do everything that's required
of you. I've already done it. And I'll continue to do it. And
here's another reason, because all the city of my people have
seen what I've done. And they know. They rejoice over
one sinner that comes to repentance more than 99 that need no repentance. Isn't that what Christ said?
There's rejoicing in heaven. He said, all the people of my
city know. They know. They've seen what
I've done in your heart. I've made you virtuous. Virtuous. Now, sinner, are you guilty?
Are you guilty? Is there anything you can do
to save yourself? You beg to see you can't do one
thing? Are you apprehensive? Are you fearful to come to Christ? He never turned away one sinner
who comes empty asking mercy. Listen to this. Who is a God
like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage? That is, his
elect. He retaineth not his anger forever,
because he delights in mercy. The whole reason Christ came
It's because God, He's not going to be angry with the wicked forever.
He delights to show mercy. And He's going to show it to
His people. Every sinner that comes to His feet, broken, begging
mercy, here's the same reply. Fear not, I'll do all that's
required of thee. Not just some of it. I am the
Alpha and the Omega. I'm the beginning and the end.
I'm the author and the finisher. I am your salvation. I'm going
to do it all. Do you realize that's what it
is to trust Christ? If there's anything left to you,
you're not trusting Christ. He's all our salvation. A to
Z. So, listen to what he says now.
I've been sitting here preaching to you for 37 minutes, and here's
what I've been telling you. I've been telling you what Naomi
told Ruth in Titus. I've been telling you this. Let
the wicked forsake his way. Are you the wicked? Not everybody
is the wicked. Oh, they're the wicked. They've
just not been made to know it by God. But are you the wicked?
Have you been made to know you're the wicked? Let the wicked forsake
his way. And the unrighteous man his thoughts.
And let him return unto the Lord. And he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
Amen. Let's stand together, brethren. Oh, Father, we thank you one
more time. What beautiful pictures. Thank you for grace to see this
and delight in it, rejoice in it. Lord, we ask you now to make
us come to your feet. Make us bow to Christ. you might
receive all the honor and the glory, and that he might receive
all the honor and the glory. We need for you to do everything
that's required of us. We pray, Lord, now you draw your
babes to you, and draw those that have been in the faith for
years, and draw us like newborn babies. Make us desire this word
just like a baby. Thank you, Lord. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.