Go back to the book of Ruth now,
chapter 2. Ruth chapter 2, the title, the
matter, the subject, is Keep Fast by the Maidens of Boaz. You stay right there, is what
Boaz said. You stay right there now, don't
you leave. You hold fast. You keep fast. You stay there. Don't go anywhere
else. He kept telling her that. Look
at verse 8. Boaz said to Ruth, Are you listening
to me? Here and now, my daughter. Go
not to glean another field. Neither go from here. Don't leave
here. Abide. You just stay here. Fast. By my maidens. Look at verse 21. Ruth said to
Naomi, he told me, thou shalt keep fast by my young men, that's
the reapers, until they've ended all the harvest, until this thing's
over. You stay right there, don't leave
now. So she did. Verse 23, she kept fast by the
maidens of Boaz to glean until it's all over. It was just about
over. And so is this life. If you want Christ, if you need
Christ, if you know and love Christ, you must keep fast by
the maidens of Christ. You must hold fast the profession
of your faith, steadfast unto the end. You must be where His
people are. You must. If you need Christ,
You must keep fast by His people because that's where He is. That's
where He's found. That's where grace is found.
If you want grace, you're going to have to look for it where
He is, where His gospel of grace is, where He is preached. where Christ is fed upon, his
body, his blood, where his people reap, where his people glean,
where his people fellowship around him. This whole story is about
Boaz. I mistakenly sent the bulletin
out the first time. Did you notice my typo? The text was Boaz 2-8. Well, that was a good mistake,
and it was not a mistake, really. We don't know who named the books
of the Bible. John and I were talking about
this before the sermon. I don't think the Holy Spirit
named these books. The translators did. But this
story is not about Ruth so much as Boaz. He's the principal figure
here. John would not have allowed them
to put his name at the top of that book, would they? Matthew? A publican? No, no, no. This book is about Jesus Christ
from start to finish. God wrote this book concerning
His Son. Okay? Here's the point, and this is
what struck me. Stay fast by the maidens of Boaz. This room right now is filled
full of the maidens of the Lord Jesus Christ. His daughters,
the daughters of Jerusalem, the daughters of Judah, the bride,
the wife of the Lamb. This room right now is full of
those people. I know this. This is the house
of bread. This is the threshing floor,
which speaks of Christ and Him crucified, where He was threshed. Out comes that blessed bread
of life from Christ crucified. This is where grace is found.
You want to find grace in the eyes of the Lord? You go where
the gospel of God's grace is preached every time. Don't shout,
preach. No, I'm going to shout it. Because
when this whole thing is over, it's a rubber ball. You heard
that story? You've heard it here many times. Zerubbabel, who laid
the foundation stone, who is Jesus Christ, just like Melchizedek,
just like all of the Josephs, and on and on it goes. They're
all pictures of Jesus Christ. Boaz, this story is all about
Jesus Christ. But Zerubbabel laid the foundation
in Zechariah, and it says he's going to lay the headstone when
this is all over. The finished work with shouts
of grace unto it. Grace. This thing's about grace.
We preach grace, and that grace is in Jesus Christ. You've got
to hear the gospel of God's grace, which is Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. There is no other message. There
is no other favor with God. There is no other bread. Where
He is. Keep fast by Christ's church,
His true people. Keep fast by His people, those
that Paul said have three marks, the marks of the true circumcision
of God. They worship God in the Spirit,
from the heart, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, who takes the
things of Jesus Christ and shows them unto us. They worship God
in the Spirit, None of this wildfire and fleshly enthusiasm. And they
rejoice in Jesus Christ. He is their cause for rejoicing.
He is their reason for meeting. He is the reason they come to
worship God. And they have no confidence in
the flesh. No confidence in the flesh. No flesh. Get the flesh
out of worship. God's not where flesh is. Not
where fleshly worship is. He's where Jesus Christ is preached. Stay fast. Don't leave. Boaz said, don't go to another
field where he's not, where his gospel's not preached, where
bread's not being served, his body and his blood. Don't go
there. Stay right here. Am I making myself clear? He
kept saying this, didn't he? He said, are you listening to
me, daughter? And she went home and told her
mother. Mother-in-law. She said, he gave
me express commandment to not leave here and stay right here
by his maidens. A maiden is a young virgin that
is set apart to be the servant of her master and her mistress. We have some 80-year-old maidens
in here. Yes! Yes! All of God's people,
male or female, are His maidens, and they're all young. They're
His little children. Are you a little child? Are you
a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Has He made you a bond-slave? Huh? Do you belong to Him? Do
you have that yoke upon you? Oh yeah, you do. Right back there
sits three 80-year-old maidens. Virgins. You know that He's going to present
every one of His, though they be Rahab's, though they be Tamar's, though
they be Bathsheba's, every one of them are going to be presented
under the Father's cherished virgins. Without spot, without
blemish, without sin, with no record on their past. blotted
out. Does that sound good to you,
Rahab? Ruth? Then stay right here where
His people want to hear that and must hear that and can't
abide anything else. Where they must have Christ lifted
up high and lifted up so they can look to Him and find grace
to help in time of need. a bondslave, a loving, willing,
devoted servant of Jesus Christ. As the eyes of a maiden look
unto her mistress, so our eyes look unto thee, O Lord, until
you have mercy upon us. Is that why you come here? Is
that what you find here? Well, if you found it here, why
would you go elsewhere? I'm not talking about this place.
There are other parts of His field. The earth is the Lord's
and the fullness there. The world belongs to Jesus Christ,
but only parts of it are where His gospel is. And it's pure
blessed heaven! You just so happen to wind up
in the field, the church, the place where Boaz is. Boaz's name means strength. His name means strength. Listen,
Psalm 18. Somebody read this. John, did
you read this the other day? Somebody read this. The Lord is my rock, my fortress,
my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler,
the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I'll call upon the
Lord who is worthy to be prayed, and I'll be saved from my enemy.
No other way. He's my strength. Boaz. The pillar, one of the pillars
of the temple has the name Boaz. Look at our text. Now that's
the intro. You just heard the gospel. Because
the gospel is a person. The gospel is not what you do,
it's what He has done. The gospel is not in a place,
it's in a person. But I tell you what, I'll tell
you where He is. There's a place that He's chosen to put His name
there, and that's where He is. And that's where you'll find
grace, and that's where you'll hear the gospel of God's sovereign
grace. And it's not everywhere. And if you find it, it's right
there. Chapter 2. Naomi had a, and Naomi. Kind of like Ephesians 2 in it. And you. Hathe quicken. You were dead. You know this whole story of
Ruth began with a man that died and left his family in ruin.
And this whole book begins that way. And then it goes on, the
whole rest of the story is about a Redeemer. A man becomes the
Redeemer of two fallen women. And you know what it ends? It's
ruined, redeemed, and you know what it ends with? New life. Regeneration. Because a child
is born and a son is given to be the king. That's what this
book is all about. Not just Ruth, Boaz, but the
whole Bible. Naomi had a kinsman. Keep saying
that. Has a kinsman. Verse 3, of the
kindred of Elimelech. Naomi said to Ruth, that man
is our kinsman. He's our kin. This is not country
talk. This is Bible. He's our kin. He's our next of kin. He belongs to us. We belong to
Him. And God was manifest in the flesh.
It says in Galatians 4, when the fullness of time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to do what? Say it. Let the redeemed of the
Lord say so. Made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law. Somebody pointed, Sister Kate
pointed to that first article, Law and Grace. Do you know the
difference? Is that important? That's why Christ came. We're
under a curse. People don't know it. People
everywhere under the law. They want to be under the law.
They don't hear it. They don't know it. They're not hearing
the gospel, Brother Kelly, that tells them, you don't want to
be under the law. You can't keep the law. You've broken the law.
Every one of it. But that's why Christ came, to
redeem us from the curse of the law. Oh, Sister Hope, Brother
Tom, you hear that over and over again, don't you? Not doctrine. It's a person. The Redeemer. To redeem us from the curse of
the law. Why? How? Made a curse for us by hanging
on a tree. You know that. You know these
things. But I'm going to keep telling
them. This is the theme of eternity. And you hear it over and over
again, in this part of the field that belongs to Bowhead. Don't
get away from that. We're not redeemed by the works
of the law. We're redeemed one way, by the
precious blood of the Lamb. He came to redeem us. Back in our text, Naomi had a
kinsman. A kinsman redeemer. A mighty
man of wealth. Of the family of Elimelech. His
name was Boaz. A mighty man. Boaz was a mighty
man. A strong man. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is almighty. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God
Almighty. Is that important? Our Lord said
in John 8, 24, if you believe not that I am, you will die on
your sins. If he's merely done all he can
do, the rest is up to you. You're going to die in your sins. If he hadn't done all that needs
to be done for us, we're going to die in our sins. But I'm here to tell you. I'm
here to tell you every time. Christ said, it's finished. He
finished the work. That's what Naomi said to Ruth.
That man's not going to rest until he's finished the work.
You go where he is, you lie at his feet, and he's going to tell
you what he's going to do for you, not ask you to do something
for him. He's going to tell you. You lie at the feet of Jesus
Christ, and you're going to hear the blessed gospel of not do,
do, do, but done! Not go to work. Rest! Not now
if you'll just, no, I did this, Christ said. You just lay there
while I go and meet that nearer kinsman. You just rest at my
feet and you just hear while I deal with the one that has
something against you. Do you need to hear that? Boy,
if you're a hell-deserving sinner, you need to hear the gospel of
Christ. Every time. You don't need entertained. You
need edified, built up on this most holy faith, don't you? Don't have to holler, preacher. I know it. It makes me want to holler. Boaz is a mighty man. Our Lord Jesus Christ is almighty. He said, all power is given unto
me in heaven. It's another Jesus that they're
talking about today. That's another field that doesn't
belong to Boaz. You hear me, daughter? He's a man of wealth. Oh, the
unsearchable riches of Christ. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. And you and me and our children
and everybody that has breath belongs to Jesus Christ. We're
in His hands. Our breath is. Now, who does
that make you want to turn to? Who does that make you call upon?
Who does that make you trust? Who does that make you look to?
Who does that make you want to listen to? The Surgeon General
or the great physician? Huh? Listen to me, daughter.
You abide where his maidens are because that's where he is. And
that's where you're going to hear his voice. That's where
he's going to come to you and speak to you personally like
he did to Ruth. He spoke to her heart. She said,
you've spoken to my heart. Yes! He said he would. My sheep
will hear my voice. But you're going to hear him
where he is. Naomi and Ruth, well, Boaz. Boaz was born in Bethlehem. This
is no coincidental. Born in Bethlehem by the purpose
of God. That's where the city of David
is. That's the house of David. The house of bread. Christ was
born in Bethlehem. He's the son of David. He's David's
Lord. He's our bread. And wherever
he's preached, that's the house of bread. Bethlehem is a house
of bread and Christ is our bread and that's where we find bread
if you're hungry. Boaz is the son of a harlot named
Rahab. Is that important? Look at the
lineage of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1. Rahab's mentioned there. Ruth's mentioned there. A heathen. A harlot, yes, born of a woman
in the likeness of sinful flesh, numbered with the transgressors,
yet without sin. The story here, Naomi and Ruth
are two sinners, two widows, no husbands. Their husband died. In Adam, all die. It's a lie of Satan to say, you're
not dead. That's what he's saying in other
places. Not in Boaz's field. Your husband, the one you came
from, your father, Adam, is dead. In Adam all die. There's only
one way to be made alive. Two women, widows, both of them,
poor, down and out, far off. They're in Moab. Far off from
the house of bread. Far off from Bethlehem. Far off
from Boaz. Naomi left. She was there. And she left the
house of bread. She left where Boaz, her Redeemer,
was. She left. Oh, it's a fearful
thing to depart from the living God. You know where you'll end
up? With the heathen. Dead. Down and out. With nothing. Far
off from God. You know what your hope is? But
God. in His great mercy will bring
you low, will bring you down, will afflict you, make you empty. Look at chapter 1. Naomi said
in verse 21, I went out full and the Lord hath brought me
home empty. Unless God empties you, of this
world, of your sin, of yourself, of everybody and everything,
unless God empties you of your religion, gets rid of your false
religion. Did Naomi go to church somewhere
in Moab? Surely she did. Ruth did. Orpah
did. They had God's plural, but they
didn't have the true God. Where was He? In Bethlehem. But
they left that. Naomi left that. And worship
went to the place Of her choice. Why would anybody leave where
Christ is, where the gospel is? It's a sad thing. It's a tragic
thing. It's going to end up bad. Unless
God, in great mercy, brings you back to where the kinsman redeemer
is proclaimed. where his maidens are, fast by
his side. Two sinners, two widows, poor,
down and out, but God chose them. God wrote this story. He purposed
this whole story before the world began. He gave these women their
names. Everything about them was ordained
down to the hairs on their head. Do you believe that? Everything
in this story was ordained according to the purpose of God, and so
is everything on the top side of God's area. It's not happenstance,
it's not luck, it's not chance, it's not faith, it's not your
will, it's God's will. He worked at all things under
the counsel of His will. And for His people, He chose
His people. And everyone He chose, He loved. And He ordains them, and He brings
every one of them low. For God to bring you high, He's
got to bring you low. He made them poor and needy.
This gospel is for the poor and needy. He's got to make you see
that you have nothing, you are nothing, you know nothing, you
can't do anything. This gospel for the poor and
needy, that you might be made rich. And what is our riches?
What makes us rich? It's not what? This is not a
gospel of health and wealth, materially speaking. This is
a gospel of Christ, the unsearchable riches of Christ. It's for the
poor and needy. He made them empty in order to fill them. With all the fullness of God.
What is the fullness of God? One word, somebody tell me. Brothers and sisters, are you
listening to me? Daughter, are you listening to me? There is
nothing, there is no one, there is nothing else on this earth
with any value whatsoever. Christ is all. He's all the fullness of God.
He's all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He's peace. He's joy. He's contentment. He's
comfort. He's security, not riches. There's no security in riches.
There's no hope and help in the President of the United States,
but there's all hope, all help, all security in the most high
potentate, Jesus Christ. Who preached that recently? There's
not going to be a man standing in this pulpit that's not preaching
that. That's what this is about. That's what this Threshing Floor
is about. Tell me, maidens of Christ, is that not what you
want to hear? It's not who? Christ is all the fullness of
God. Until we're emptied of self,
of this world, of others, you won't need Christ. Do you hear
me? You won't seek Christ, you won't
need Christ, and He won't have you until you become nothing,
until you have nothing, until you don't want anything to do
with anyone or anything until you have Christ. Do you hear
me? He's not going to have you if
there's anyone above Him. His name is Jealous. He's not
going to do it. If anything or anyone has your
affection and your attention and is your life, you don't have
Christ. He that hath the Son hath life.
Our Lord said, except you forsake all that you have, you cannot
be my disciple. But he that hath left father
and mother, husband and wife, son or daughter for me and the
gospel, he said, you have it all. Isn't that what Boaz said
to Ruth? It's been told me that you left
everybody to come here. And now he said, I'm giving it
all back. Both women were brought very
low. Naomi left. She brought herself
into this position. Naomi left the gospel. And she
brought herself low. She said, the Lord has dealt
bitterly with me. He brought me back. No, no, the Lord has
been greatly merciful and gracious to bring you back. He shouldn't
have. He didn't have to. Did he? He could have left you
right there in Moab to die with Orpah. He could have left Ruth
right there in Moab to die with her sister-in-law, with her gods,
with another husband who would die eventually too. But God. But God. Both women. Naomi, both of them
are far off. Look at verse 2. So Ruth the
Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the field and glean ears. Let me go find something. Some
corn. After him and whose sight I shall
find grace. She said, go, my daughter. Do
you know what I want, young ladies? I'm going to call your name.
Emma, Olivia, Abby, Daisy. You know what I want for you?
You know what I want for you? I want you to find grace. I hope you find a husband someday,
but I hope he's a gracious husband. I hope he knows the Lord Jesus
Christ. Don't look for a husband anywhere
else. He's not going to treat you like Christ treats you. I want you to find grace in the
eyes of the Lord. I want you to marry and be married
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek ye first the Kingdom of
God and His righteousness. That's Jesus Christ. If you don't,
the Lord is going to leave you in this world. And you'll perish with it. How
do I know? That was just like him. Young men, I'm talking to you.
Luke, I'm talking to you. Jacob, Andrew, are you listening
to me? Chance, Max, listen to me now. I want you to find grace in the
eyes of the Lord. I want you to know Jesus Christ, whom to
know is to have eternal life. I was just like you. I was made
to come and sit and hear this gospel by my parents. I had no
interest. I couldn't wait to leave. But God. You know, I haven't
been always a preacher. I wasn't born a preacher. I didn't
always wear a suit and tie and stand up and talk about Christ.
There was a time when I had no interest whatsoever. None. This was the last place I'd expect
to be. This was the last thing I'd expect
to do. This was not the occupation that
I wanted to pursue. But I pray God, I ask my Lord
all the time, every day, on your behalf, Lord, let him find grace
in our lives. Lord, speak to him before it's
too late. Lord, take him out of this world.
Don't let him go. This world is strong. It gets
a hold of you. How do I know? I know. Brothers,
John, Kelly, Ron, Amen. Strong. If God doesn't have mercy
on you, if God doesn't lay hold of you, if you don't lay hold
of Jesus Christ, this world is going to get a hold of you and
drag you down with it. Are you listening to me? I'm sitting right there thinking,
Lord, don't make this be a sermon. Speak to somebody. If you don't
come to know Jesus Christ, if you don't confess Jesus Christ,
He's going to deny you when He comes. He's coming. Might be
tomorrow. Might be today. I'm telling you
the truth. So help me God. You don't need a husband. You
don't need a wife. You don't need a house, a good
job and lots of money. But you need Jesus Christ. I'm
telling you. The truth. Old people, how close
are you to meeting Jesus Christ? Would you leave Him now? Can
you hear me? You're right on the verge of
eternity. God help us. Naomi was a faithful mother-in-law
finally, eventually. Oh, she fell. She left God. But
the Lord brought her back then. So what's her one concern? What's
her one hope? What's the one thing she's saying
to her daughter-in-law, Melanie? What's one thing? What are you
teaching your children? What are you speaking to them
about? What are you discussing in the house? Huh? What are you
showing them about your life? Your resolve. What are you devoted
to? Huh? Your grandchildren. What
are you telling your grandchildren when you talk to them? Are you
talking about the kinsmen of the Redeemer? Are you talking
about the Kingdom of God? Huh? That's the one thing they
need. This barley harvest is about
over. The harvest is about over. We're not seeing it early on
even in this church. We're seeing people confess Christ.
We were filling this pool up, weren't we? Where are they now? The harvest is about over, people.
A dear brother, pastor of a church, faithful pastor of a church,
has been there a long time. He said, I'm so discouraged.
He said, the old people have fallen asleep. The young people
are not interested. He said, I'm so discouraged. The harvest is about over. How do you know when you've found
grace? Naomi said, I want you to find
grace. How do you know when you've found grace? Look at verse 3. She went. She went. And where'd
she come? She came. She went out. She came, and she gleaned in
the field after the reapers, and her habit just so happened.
And she landed on a part of the field belonging to Boaz, the
only person that could save her. You know how you found grace
in the eyes of the Lord? The lot is cast to the left,
but the whole disposal there is of the Lord. to Christ. If you come where He is, you've
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. If you come to where His
gospel is preached and you hear His blessed voice, you've found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. And you're going to hear His
voice. And He's going to make promise to you. And He's going
to redeem you. Hath redeemed you. These reapers,
did you notice, you know, they're mentioned eleven times. Eleven times in this one chapter.
Reapers. Who are they? They're gospel preachers. A reaper,
you know what he does first? He sows. You reap what you sow. He that goeth forth weeping,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with joy,
bringing his sheaves with him. Reaping. You reap what you sow.
This word is the seed. It's the gospel. It's the Christ,
the woman seed. And the gospel preacher does
nothing else. Nothing else. The reaper, the
sower, does one thing. He sows the Word of God, which
is Jesus Christ, whom you need to know, whom to know is to find
grace, is to find life. Be redeemed. We sow the seed. I'm preaching right now. And
I'm begging the Lord to give the increase. I'm preaching the
Word of God, which is the power of God and salvation. It pleased
God. The world by wisdom knows not
God, but it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching. What
the world calls foolishness. To save them that believe. This
is what God uses. This is what God uses. Men. He
said young men. Reapers. Not women. Men, young
men, to sow the seed and reap. And it says here in our story
that Ruth did what Boaz told her. Stayed by the maidens and
she's sitting right beside the reapers at the table. That's
where she wanted to be. That's where she needed to be. Boaz said to her, I've given
the young men commandment. I've charged them, verse 9, not
to touch you, not to harm you, but to feed you and to water
you. When you're hungry, when you're
thirsty, I've told them to feed you and to water you and not
hurt you, but rather help you. Paul one time said, you know
what manner of men we were among you, for Christ's sake. Not after
your money, not flatterers, not entertainers. We do one thing,
feed. This whole story takes place
in Bethlehem. This whole story takes place
in the house of bread. This whole story is around Boaz's
field, the barley field, the harvest, the threshing floor,
where Boaz is. This whole story is about him,
his maidens, his kingdom, his glory, his honor. And this whole
story, this whole shooting match, as Barnard used to say, this
whole universe, the meaning of life is Jesus Christ. He that
hath the Son hath life. The church of God is the part
of the field. We're in the world, but we're
not of the world. A part of the field where His
word is, where His gospel is, where the bread of life, where
Christ is. I love this. Look at verse 4.
And behold, she went out there, and Boaz came. She's looking
for grace. So she goes, and she just happened
to lie on this field that belonged to Boaz. And you're not here
by accident. And Boaz came. You want to find Christ? I'll
tell you where He is. Where two or three are really
gathered in His name. Where God is, where Christ is,
the church of God is those that worship God in the Spirit. For
the Father seeketh such to worship Him. And they'll find Him. And they'll hear from Him. What
a kind man. Don't you love this story? Boaz
said, The Lord be with you. Can you hear His blessed voice?
Can you hear His precious voice? He's a kind man. He's a loving
man. He's a merciful man. He's a gracious
man. Though a mighty man, He's a merciful
man. Though a great man, He's a gracious
man. Though above them all, He's with
them all. Right there amongst them. Walking
amongst them. The Lord be with you. Can you
hear their response? Can you hear them talking to
one another? Boaz is coming. Here he comes. Those that love
Boaz will be right there, won't they? The maidens of Boaz. What about you? What did you
come to hear this morning? What did you come to see? If you came to hear Jesus cry,
have you heard Him? Amen? Yeah? Yeah, you're right. You have son. If you have Christ,
you have life. If you have Christ, you don't
need anything else. You don't. You don't need to
hear anything else. I'm telling you the truth. Boaz set his eye on this lady. Boaz set his affection on that
heathen girl, Ruth. Boaz took notice of her long
before she took notice of him. What is man that thou art mindful
of him? When she found out Boaz looked at her, with affection,
and that Boaz chose her to do all these things for her. She
said, why have I found grace in your hand? She said, I'm not
like your other maidens. I'm just a lowly, I'm a black
sheep. I'm not like them, honey. Boaz was the son of a harlot. He received sinners. I just bet
you he didn't speak to any self-righteous people in the field. He's angry
with them. Sinners? Whose maid is that? Whose damsel is this? The reaper's
answer. She's a heathen. The Lord said,
ask Me and I'll give you the heathen. And they said, well,
she's been here. She came. Why does anybody come
to Christ? Because the Father gives them
to Him. No man can. No man will. But everyone he
does, everyone he gives, comes to, where do they come? Christ. She came, she's continued. She's
staying right here. She won't leave. We've told her, we're closing
up shop. It's time, we've got to go. We've got to close the
door. She won't leave. That's a good
sign. There was a time I couldn't wait
to leave. And now is the time. I can't wait to get here. And
I don't want to leave when I come. Anybody? Old maidens of Christ? Is that you? If you go out there,
it's heathen land, isn't it? And so he told her in verse 8,
Abide here fast by my maidens. Let your eyes, verse 9, be on
the field that they do reap. Go after them. Follow them that
follow Christ. I've charged them concerning
you to feed you, to water you, to take care of you. And she
fell on her face. Oh, I've found grace. In verse
13, she kept pleading, Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord.
You've comforted me. Oh, is this gospel of comfort
yet? He's spoken to my heart, she
says, friendly, that's to the heart. Does God, does He speak
to your heart? With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. Believe what? What? Who? Christ. People, it's not
just a phrase, it's not just a catchphrase, it's not just
a doctrine, it's not just, you know, we have this little niche
or this little cliché that we preach Christ and we believe
Christ. God's people really and truly worship and believe Christ,
that Christ really is all. And He is really all that His
preachers preach. And He is really all that His
people want to hear and need to hear. Yes, they are. It's
so. And so she sat, verse 14, at
mealtime. Boaz said unto her, You come
to mealtime. When the food's being served,
you come. What you do, Irene? Where is Ruth? It's mealtime.
Boaz is there. Where is Ruth? Right there. Sitting
beside the Reapers. Sitting beside the Maidens. Is
she happy? Says she's just satisfied. She's
just satisfied. Are you happy right there? You're
sitting there by yourself. No, you're not. No, you're not, Sister Ruth. Your little cat, we named her
Ruth. She named well. Her hat was the light on this
field. where a man that knows Christ took mercy and had grace
upon her and took her in and fed her. I am not going to let
anybody harm her. And she comes boldly. Boaz told
Ruth, come on in boldly. Come in. Sit right here. Come
boldly. You have free access. Not only
permission, but I said, come! She said, I'll be there. And
she came and she sat and she's so happy. And Ruth, I have to
get her out of my study every day. Ruth, you've got to go.
She said, I want to leave my side. How about you? Draw me
nearer. I am thine, O Lord. Abide with me. Fast falls the
evening time. The darkness deepens. Lord, with
me abide. Is that what you said? So he said that. He said, you
abide right here. You abide right here. Verse 13.
Verse 14, you stay right here. And verse 16, don't you love
this? He told his young men, don't reproach her. If she's
come to me, don't reproach her. Don't put her to shame. Don't
rebuke her. You just let handfuls of purpose fall on her. She's hungry. She's thirsty.
You just give her all she needs. Of what? The bread of life. So
she gleaned. Boy, was she full. She came empty,
now she's full. She went home. Naomi, look at
verse 19. Naomi said, Where have you gleamed?
She said, Blessed is he that took knowledge of thee. Aren't you glad you chose that
field? No, she didn't choose that field. Did she? She didn't choose Boaz. Who chose
her? Let's ask Ruth. Ruth, did you choose Boaz? Really? I'm a nothing, a nobody, from
nowhere. I didn't know whether I was coming or going. But God. Aren't those your two favorite
words, Sister Ruth? But God took notice of me, set His affection
on me, called me, spoke to me, fed me, brought me into the part
of His field where His gospels pray. Aren't you blessed? Blessed,
blessed, blessed. They kept saying, Blessed be
He. Verse 19. Blessed be He that did take knowledge
of thee. There's a good song. I'm going
to write a song. Blessed be He that took knowledge of thee.
Blessed be He that hath chosen thee. Blessed be He that hath
kept mercy on thee. That's our song. Verse 20. Blessed
be He of the Lord, who hath not left
off his kindness." That's great. And so she repeated, verse 21,
he told me to stay right here, so that's where I'm at. That's
what I'm going to do. And she kept fast by the maidens
of Boaz, verse 23. Oh brethren, I was going to have
you turn in closing to Hebrews 10. There's a reason why it says
this. It says hold fast to profess your faith. Hold fast to Christ. Hold fast. And then verse 25
says, let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. You know that? Doesn't that go
well with it? Hold fast to Christ. You go where
He is and you don't forsake that assembly. If you do, you're going
to forsake your own mercy and your grace. Why should she stay there? Because
that's where Boaz is. That's where she's going to hear
Him. She's going to see His glory, commune with Him. That's where
Christ is. That's where Christ is preached.
Why should we stay where the gospel is? Because that's where
we'll be fed if you're hungry and thirsty. And you'll be filled
with what? His glory. Not chaff. Wheat. Why should we stay where the
Gospel is preached? Because that's the fellowship
of God's people. Sweet communion. It's like the
blessed oil that runs down the head, under the beard, even the
skirts of our high priest. There is where God has commanded
the blessing. Why should we stay where Christ
is, hold fast where His people are? Because there's security.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Boaz is not going to
let anything happen to Ruth. Got a hedge about her. And all
the maidens know it. Because that's where happiness
is. The reapers are happy. The maidens
are happy. The servants are happy. Everybody's
happy where Boaz is. He is their happiness. Do you like this? You hold fast. You hold fast to Christ. And
where Christ is, that's where his people are. You can't separate
them. You can't leave his people. You'll leave Christ. You can't
leave his church where he's found. You'll leave Christ. Where's
Boaz? He's where his maidens are. Where
are his maidens? Here where Boaz is. You come
to 35 Avon Street to look for me. If you come there, that's
where I am. Not now. I will be. That's where
I'll be, okay? You know who else will be there?
My bride. You can't have me without her. You can't have her without me.
They're one. Right? We're not glorifying the
church. We're glorifying Him who glorifies
the church. Who redeemed the church. And
He said, where two or three are gathered, that's where I am. You need Christ? Then go where
He is. And you stay fast right there. Don't leave. Alright, let's sing
a closing hymn.