Okay, turn with me again tonight
to Ruth chapter 1. Verse 1, now it came to pass
in the days when the judges ruled, the previous verse in Judges
chapter 21, verse 25, if you turn back a page, you may not
have to turn. We know that in the days of the judges, there
was no king in Israel. And in those days, every man
did what was right in his own eyes. We saw that all throughout
the study of Genesis. And this is in the days of the
judges. It's no different. Came past
when the judges ruled. that there was a famine in the
land and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to sojourn in the
country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name
of the man was Elimelech. This certain man named Elimelech
thought he was doing what was right when he took his family
to Moab. And the name of his wife, Naomi,
and the name of his two sons, Mahlon and Chileon, Ephrathites
of Bethlehem, Judah. And they came into the country
of Moab, and then we sadly read, and continued there. And Elimelech,
Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. And
they took them wives of the women of Moab. The name of the one
was Orpah, and the other, name of the other was Ruth. And they
dwelled there about 10 years. And Malan and Chilean died, also
both of them, and the woman was left of her two sons and her
husband. Then she arose with her daughter-in-laws,
that she might return from the country of Moab. Now look at
this, for she had heard in the country of Moab, how that the
Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. That's the gospel. You and I
don't turn over a new leaf. You and I don't make a decision
to have life. You and I don't earn, deserve,
or merit salvation. We here, right where we are,
We hear in the place that we reside, we hear in the land of
our sin and Moab, so to speak, how the Lord had visited his
people in giving them bread. First, we see the exclusiveness
of our redemption. We see how particular our redemption
is. People say, you know, I can go
along with four points of Calvinism. Well, first of all, Calvinism,
as we've said many times, is not the gospel. If you don't
see Christ in the five points of TULIP, then you've missed
the gospel. But how people can say, I don't
like particular redemption. Oh, I love particular redemption.
The Lord visited His people. Did you notice that? He visited
his people. The Lord didn't visit the Moabites.
The Lord didn't visit the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites,
the Hiabites, or the Jebusites. He visited his people. And what
did he do? He gave them bread. We know who
that bread is. It's Jesus Christ, the bread
from heaven, the bread of life. And this is what Naomi heard.
And this is what all his people hear. God has provided bread
from heaven. Listen to Isaiah chapter 42,
verse two. Speaking of Christ, the prophet
Isaiah, under the inspiration of God, said, he, speaking of
Christ, shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be
heard in the street. Jesus Christ is not trying to
get folks' attention. Now you and I may try to get
folks' attention, sometimes in most ridiculous ways. But Jesus
Christ is not trying to get men's attention. He's not pleading
with men to let Him have His way. Christ is not desperate
to save. He's not wringing His hands on
heaven's portals, hoping that somebody will believe Him. Perish
the thought. That's not the Christ and the
God of the Bible. He has the power to save whom
He will, and He visits His people. That's important. He came to
save His people. He knows His sheep. He knows
where they are. He knew that He had two sheep
here in Moab, and He calls them to here. Lord's not trying or
wanting or endeavoring to get people to believe in Him. He
visits His people and giving them bread. He comes to His people
and He gives them Himself. He's the bread of life. The bread
from heaven. Look, hold your place here. Turn
with me to John chapter 10. You know these verses so well,
but I want you to turn there and look at them. John chapter
10. We know what John chapter 10's
about. It's about the good shepherd
and his sheep. Look at John chapter 10 for a moment, verse 14. The Lord Jesus speaking here, he
says, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and have known
of mine. He calls them my sheep. You see,
they're his sheep. They're his people. And then
he says in verse 16, and other sheep I have, which are not of
this fold, them also I must bring. Why must he? Because they're
his sheep. They shall hear my voice and there shall be one
fold and one shepherd. Jesus Christ is the sole shepherd
of this fold. This is his fold made up of his
sheep. Look at verse 24. Then came the
Jews round about him and said unto him, how long dost thou
make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. And Jesus answered them, I told you and you believe not.
The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me,
but you believe not because, here's why, you are not of my
sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father, which gave," now look
at this, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. It's God that
gives the bread of life. God the Father gave Christ, not
to the world, but to his people and the world, every kindred
tongue, nation, men out of, men and women out of, every kindred
tongue and nation, not every kindred tongue and nation and
tribe, no. God gave Christ the only true
and good shepherd, and he said, my sheep I must bring. Why? Because He's gonna save
every single one of them. All that the Father giveth to
me shall come to me, and I'll in no wise cast them out. You
know, some things are a must. They will, hear my voice. It's a must. I know them. He's
saying, I've always known them. They follow me. There's no life
in any other. We've got to follow Him. I give
unto them eternal life. He's the only one that can. If
we are to receive eternal life, Christ must give it to us. His sheep He must bring. And
if a man or woman dies in unbelief, it was because they were not
of His sheep. Paul wrote in Romans chapter
three, verse three, he said, for what if some did not believe?
Shall their unbelief make the faith of God of non-effect, God's
faithfulness, truth, the hope of assurance found in Christ
alone. Does it become ineffective because you and I don't believe?
Well, absolutely not. He's God. His will is accomplished
in the armies of heaven among the inhabitants of the earth.
Our Lord's in the heavens. He's done whatever He's pleased.
Whatever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, earth, all
the deep places, that includes hell. And Paul answered his own question
there. He said, God forbid, yet let
God be true. Yea, let God be true, but every
man a liar. Now those words without effect
means useless. Our unbelief doesn't make void
God's salvation. If it did, we'd be God. The unbelief
of the lost does not change God. It doesn't abolish, it doesn't
destroy, it doesn't make void the salvation that Christ wrought
for who? His people. His people. I love the verse of Scripture
found in Genesis 21. I was reading through it last
week, read it many times. But it's talking about Sarah,
the Lord promising Abraham and Sarah a son. And verse one of
Genesis 21 says, the Lord visited Sarah, That's what we're talking
about. The Lord visited in his people.
The Lord visited Sarah as he had said. And then it says the
Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. I thought, well sure,
he's God. That's right, he does. As he
said and as he's spoken is how it's going to be. The Lord told
Moses, go and gather the elders of Israel together and say unto
them, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac
and Jacob appeared unto me saying, I have surely visited you and
seen that which is done to you in Egypt. And the people believed,
and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children
of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they
bowed their heads in worship. The Lord has visited His people. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
for he had visited and redeemed his people, Luke 168. A few verses
later, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day spring
from on high hath visited us to give light to them that sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into
the way of peace. The Lord did that. The Lord gives. Salvation is of who? The Lord. The Lord. Naomi heard all the
way over Moab how the Lord had visited His people in giving
them bread. Christ did not come to seek and
to save those who are well, those who are not sick, righteous in
their own eyes. He came to seek and to save them
that were lost. Christ came to save those that
were sick and in need of a physician. If you have no need, then Christ
did not come to save you. He came only to save his people,
and every one of them has been made to see their need. Well, Brother David, everybody
has a need. Yeah, but not everybody sees it. Not everybody knows
it. This answers the question that
sheep often ask, why did he visit me? You know, I hear believers
everywhere I go say, you know, the Lord's grace is just, I just
can't believe he saved me. Why did he visit me? Because
I'm one of his. Thou shall call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people. from their sin, Matthew 121.
It pleased the Lord to make you His people. The Lord doth put
a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Why did the Lord
deliver Israel out of Egypt? Because they were His. He put the difference between
them. The Lord's people will hear His voice and they're gonna
leave Moab They will, for they must return to Judah. That is where Christ the living
bread is. Now, the grass may look greener
in Moab. We often see, we often think
that. We say, well, the grass just
looks a little greener there, but you can't eat green grass
and live. Only Christ, the bread of life, the bread from heaven
can give you life and sustain you. I've got to get to where
He is. Ruth one verse six again, for
she, Naomi, heard how that the Lord had visited his people and
giving them bread. While living in the country of
Moab for 10 years, having lost her husband and now her two sons,
Naomi hears something. What did she hear? She heard
how God had visited his people and giving them bread. And Naomi
is drawn to return. We are not giving much dialogue
as to what went on in her mind, but the next thing we see is
that she going home. She going to Bethlehem, Judah.
And we know that the Lord drew her. He was drawing her home. We will only return to the estate
that Adam lost when we hear that the Lord has visited his people
and we, his people, are drawn by him to him. No man, no woman,
no sinner. The Lord Jesus said this. Can
or will come to Christ except the Father which sent the Lord
Jesus to his people, draw them. Isn't that a wonderful word,
draw? Except in another place, he said,
no man can come except it were given unto him of the father.
He's the one that gives. We read that in Ephesians too. That word translated draw in
the English is the Greek word called helco and it means drag. Now our will by nature is not
to come. We must be made willing in the
day of His power. God deals, God draws, God even
drags us to Him by delivering to us the revelation of our need. Now, there's not gonna be anyone
who is dragged to heaven or dragged to Christ apart from being made
willing by God. We're gonna be willing, but wandering
sheep are gonna be fetched. And sometimes I'm sure that a
shepherd may, well, we know that the Lord Jesus put the one sheep
that was lost on his shoulders and carried him all the way back
to the fold. That's not dragging, that's carrying. But I'm sure that there's been
some sheep that a shepherd's had to drag home. Come on, you
little rascal, we're going home. But we're made willing in the
day of his power. Not my will, Lord, but Thy will
be done. That's where the Lord brings
us. Naomi was fetched. She was drawn by the grace of
God. The good shepherd must fetch
his sheep. Them he must bring. He must need
to go through Samaria. He must need to send his spirit
to Moab. There's a woman named Naomi that
he must bring home. There's a woman named Ruth that
he must redeem. Naomi and Ruth are His people. And the God of heaven must need
redeem them by a kinsman redeemer. That's my story, that's your
story. This is our story. It's a story of love. It's a
story of mercy and grace and compassion and redemption. Verse
seven, wherefore? And you know what wherefore means
is this is the reason, this is the cause of Naomi leaving Moab
and returning to Bethlehem, Judah. Because she heard how the Lord
had visited his people and given them bread. Naomi desired to
return because of what she heard and all the simplicity of the
gospel. It's not about what we must do.
It's not about what we should do. The gospel is not about what
we don't do. It's the good news of what God
has already done. What has he done? He visited,
past tense, his people in giving them bread. That word giving,
that's such a beautiful word. It doesn't mean God gave and
gives no more. It doesn't mean God will give
this if this or that is done, it means that God has given and
He's still giving. He's giving. Continuous giving,
isn't it? We need continuous giving. We
need continuous grace. We need continuous mercy. I was
saved, I am saved, and I'm being saved. to whom coming. We keep coming. We come today,
we come tomorrow. Salvation was, is, and always
will be of the Lord. God will not leave his own in
ruin. Moses said in Deuteronomy chapter
six, and he brought us out from thence that he might bring us
in to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. And
then Peter said, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly, his
people, out of temptations and to reserve the unjust until the
day of judgment to be punished. God has everything in control.
Everybody that God has willed and ordained to save is gonna
be saved. Every single one of them. This is the gospel message. The Lord has visited his people
and giving them bread. Salvation is something Christ
did for his people before the world began. Look at verse eight. Let's read a few verses here.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, go return each to her mother's
house. The Lord deal kindly with you
as you have dealt with the dead and with me. You've been kind
to me and my husband, my two sons, and going back home. And the Lord grant you that you
may, verse nine, grant you that you may find rest, each of you
in the house of her husband. May the Lord send you new husbands. And then she kissed them and
they lifted up their voice and wept. Oh man, can you imagine
how emotional this time was? And they said unto her, surely
we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, turn
again, my daughters, why will you go with me? Are there yet
any more sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? Turn
again, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have
a husband. And if I should say I have hope,
if I should have a husband, also tonight, and should also bear
sons, would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would you
stay for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters, for agree
with me much for your sakes that in the hand of the Lord, that
the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.' And they lifted
up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law,
but Ruth clave unto her. Here we find Naomi encouraging
both her daughters-in-law to return to their families. She
commended them. She thanked them. She kissed
them goodbye, but both of them declared their allegiance to
Naomi in verse 10. Instead of seizing the opportunity
to proselyte these two emotional and weeping sinners, she did
her best to discourage them from coming with her. What an opposite
of religion today. It wasn't that she didn't want
these two young women to leave their paganism and to worship
the true God. She didn't want them to come
based on the emotions of the moment. Weeping and crying, it's a sad
time. And religion would say, that's
the time to strike. Just the opposite of religion
today. Dim the lights, soften the music, plead with sinners
to come, create the mood, and they'll come with their feet,
but they won't with their hearts. She would not have them to leave
for her sake. She wanted them to leave for
their own sake. for their own salvation. She would have them
to know that it would cost them everything to serve the Lord.
They would have to desire the bread from heaven for themselves. They would have to find value
in Naomi's God for themselves. There's a great difference between
profession and possession. The believer willingly gives
all for the pearl of great price. If not, they will not have it at all. You gotta give it all. For which
of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth
the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Naomi was making
sure that these two women counted the cost. You see, it's no profit
to start and not finish. They're gonna have to see their
own need. They're gonna have to see their own guilt. God must reveal
to them their own sin. You can't discourage one that
the Lord's called. That's what we have here. We
have two women. One of them was discouraged and
went home. The other one claimed to Naomi
and to Naomi's God, as we'll see. One of these women was a
professor and the other was a possessor. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law,
but it was a kiss of departure. But Ruth Clave, unto her. Oh, she wouldn't let go with
Naomi. No kiss of departure for Ruth. She wasn't going anywhere.
She's going with Naomi. Orpah did with Naomi as Demas
did with Paul. Having loved this present world,
she departed. Orpah means stiff-necked. It means declining. Many seem
to love and embrace the gospel for time, but then the fire of
a trial comes, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches,
cause them to return to the supposed safety of their former estate
and religion. The gospel does not promise fortune,
doesn't promise health, it doesn't promise wealth, even though there
are certain denominations that have made it all about those
things. It is not about them at all. But if you follow Naomi, if you
follow Paul, if you follow Christ, the only promise that's given
is grace sufficient. My grace, Christ said, is sufficient
for you. In this world you shall have
tribulation. And you shall. In this world you cannot serve
God and mammon. Can't do it. Come and dine, dear
sinner, not on the leeks and garlics of Egypt, but on the
light bread that men naturally hate. The light bread, the Lord
Jesus Christ, they call it light bread, that many hate is what
we love. It's how we find life, it's where
we get our sustenance. It's sufficient enough for today.
God's gonna send fresh manna for tomorrow, and that'll be
sufficient for tomorrow. We can't gather more than what's
sufficient. To whom coming is unto a lively
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and he is
precious. This is a continual thing. In God's kingdom, there's no
tearing down the barns and building bigger. God always gives enough,
and it's always a sufficient amount. Paul cried out unto the Lord
three times to remove that thorn in the flesh, whatever it was. And Christ said my grace is sufficient
for you. And it is and it's sufficient
for you and it's sufficient for me no matter what we're going
through. Some of us are going. Some of you are going through
tough times. His grace is sufficient. Lean
on him, trust in him, keep looking to him. Orpah saw. Something in Naomi,
but it was not worth the pain. Ruth saw everything in Naomi.
She would go with her if it cost her everything. Is it not so
with you, dear believer? Where else will we go? Will you
leave us on the Lord Jesus? Where else will we go? You've
got the words to eternal life. Life is in you, nowhere else.
Where am I going to go? Many in religion see value in
an imagined Jesus. They love the fact that he feeds
them. They have made him their king. For that reason, they make
him king to serve their bellies. That's what the Lord told them.
You don't seek me because of who I am. You seek me because
of what I can do for you. But the child of God, those God
calls His people, those God makes His subjects, not they Him their
king. We don't make Him king. He is
the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We didn't make Him
anything. He made us His subjects. In Him is the forgiveness of
sin. In Him is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
In Him is everything. He's a friend closer than a brother. In His face, the glory of God
is revealed. He fulfilled the law's strict
demands by the sacrifice of Himself. And many stiff-necked and declining
orpahs will go their way, but where else would His people go
when He, Christ, has the words of eternal life? Who's interested in the Lord's
bread? Who's interested in Jesus Christ, the bread of life? Not
Orpah. And that's what Naomi says in verse 15. And she, Naomi,
said to Ruth, behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people
and unto her gods. She had bred a plenty in Moab
and she's gone back too. Like the men on Mars Hill, she
had a God for every occasion. The Moabites had a God for this
and a God for that. Just like those men on Mars Hill.
And in case they missed one, they said unto the unknown God.
And that was the only God, the one that was unknown to them.
But he's not unknown to his people. Is He? No. He makes Himself known,
doesn't He? For His people is elect, His
sheep is beloved, have been brought low, and they've been made hungry,
and they've heard how there's bread in Bethlehem, Judah. The Lord has given His bread. And they say, I gotta go. I gotta
have that bread. Gotta have it. And the news that the Lord had
visited his people and given the bread of life is nothing
but good news. It's gospel news. That's what
the gospel is. Everyone who is thirsty, whosoever
they are, whether an Israelite like Naomi or a Moabite like
Ruth, whosoever, that's not a dirty word. If they are thirsty, if
they are hungry, if they're thirsty and hungry for righteousness,
good news finds its way to Moab where they are. It found its
way to me. And the amazing thing is, is that
it brings us to where it is and reveals it to us. It crosses
our path with a preacher, with the gospel. And He causes us
to believe by giving us life, by breathing the breath of life
into our dead soul. There's bread, there's living
bread, eternal bread in the land of Judah, where He, Christ, who
is that bread, shall be praised. That's what the name Judah means.
He shall be praised. And He shall be. Wherefore, based
upon what's been revealed, based upon the glorious and wonderful
news of God giving bread, God giving Christ, Naomi and Ruth
went out from the place where they were. The revelation of
the gospel requires a verdict. I remember years ago, Brother
Mahan telling me as a young, inexperienced preacher didn't
know nothing. He said, preach for a verdict.
Preach for a verdict. Okay. Who's on the Lord's side? How long were you haunted between
two opinions? Choose this day whom you will
serve. That's preaching for a verdict.
Joshua said, I choose the Lord. He said, I won't halt between
two opinions. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That's what Ruth said. Look at verse 16. 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, and 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 ought 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. You can't eat the Lord's bread
at the hog trough of Moab. And you can't dine with the king
if you're residing on a dung heap. God is going to lift the
chosen beggar, the needy and begging sinner from the dung
hill. He's going to set them among princes. Better than that,
he's going to set them among the king of kings. Ruth was steadfastly
minded. She couldn't be discouraged.
You can't discourage a believing child of God. You might discourage
a professor of grace, but you're not going to discourage a possessor
of grace. When Naomi saw Ruth's steadfastness,
that she was strong in her resolutions, and she was determined not to
go back to her own country, but to go forward with her, what
did she do? Then she left speaking unto her. She just showed up. She said,
amen, so be it. Let's go. I'm not going to discourage
this young woman. Are you steadfastly minded? Are
you resolved? Am I? Every child of God sings,
I am resolved to go to the Savior, leaving my sin in strife. And
we are. He's the true one. Christ is
the true one. Christ is the just one. He has
the words of life. I'll hasten to Him. Steadfastly
minded. Not discouraged in the way. I'll hasten to Him, hasten glad
and free. Jesus, He's the greatest, He's
the highest. I'm gonna come to Him. I'm gonna
come to Thee. If He bid me come, if He's drawn me by His grace,
if He's empowered me by His Spirit to come, I will come. I'm steadfastly
minded to do so. I am resolved. Verse 19, so they
too went until they came to Bethlehem. Now the believer's profession
of faith in and to Christ is found in Ruth's words. The profession
proves our possession of Christ. Lord, entreat me not to leave
thee or to return from following after thee. We just read that. For whither thou goest, I will
go. This is what we pledge to Christ as possessors of grace.
Lord, where you lodge, I'll lodge. Your people be my people. That's
why we meet together. That's why we don't forsake ourselves
in assembling them together. Because we know we've passed
from death to life by our love for the brethren. Where thou diest, I'll die. There will I be buried, the Lord
do so to me, and more also if ought, but death part thee and
me." And friends, that's the beautiful thing about believing
and trusting in Christ. Death will not separate and cause
us to depart from Christ. It'll join us to Him and with
Him forever and ever and ever. Death is but a promotion. He
that hath the Son, have life. If we have Christ, we have life,
and we're steadfastly minded, we shall not be moved. God is
in the midst of her, speaking of the church, she shall not
be moved. God will help her, and that right
early. The psalmist said, he only is
my rock and my salvation, he is my defense, I shall not be
moved. Who's gonna move me? If God before
me, who can be against me? Who can move me if God is my
rock and salvation and my defense? Well, may God be pleased to make
it so for His glory, our good, and for Christ's sake.