Alright, go back with me to the
little book of Ruth. Little, but oh so great. This just might be my favorite
story. It wouldn't take much for me,
for us to go through this again. Blessed Book of Redemption. Read
verses 15 through 17 again. Ruth's confession, entreaty,
request, desire. Behold, Naomi said, your sister-in-law
has gone back unto her people, her family, and her God's return
after thy sister-in-law. Ruth said, oh, entreat me not
to leave thee. or to return from following after
thee, but whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest,
I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God, and where thou diest will I die, and there
will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also, if anything but death. Part thee and me. The Lord kill
me. That's what she's saying. The
Lord separate me. Nothing but death. Part us. Anything
but death. Now, we're just going to stay
in this chapter this morning. The whole story is here. We're
not turned to many Scriptures. Maybe one or two at the most.
And my hope and my heart's desire is that Ruth's heart's desire
is your heart's desire. That Ruth's request is your request. That Ruth's plea is your plea. That Ruth's entreaty is your
entreaty. God, there's many stories within
this story, okay? Many lessons to learn here. And
I've got to be careful not to dwell on them, but much to learn
here. The first lesson, look at verse
1. It came to pass in the days of the judges ruled, there was
a famine in the land. Famine in the land. All over
the land. And people, this was, I think,
about 1,300 years before our Lord. This was the exact time,
as mentioned in the book of Judges chapter 6, Gideon, Gideon. And that's significant. Significant. Because what was going on in
Israel at the time. But it says in verse 1, 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 two
daughters. Bethlehem, Judah. Bethlehem, Judah is where God's
people were. Scripture talks about a remnant
according to the election of grace. God had a national people,
Israel, but His true people were a remnant. They weren't all Israel,
they were of Israel. Just because they were born in
Israel doesn't mean they're true Jews. Paul wrote about that.
He said, He's not a Jew which is one outwardly. But he's a
Jew which is one inwardly. Circumcision is of the heart,
not the flesh. Not outward. Not keeping the
law. It's Christ dying for you. But Bethlehem, Judah. Some of you recognize that name.
Judah. That's where Christ was born.
That's where David was born. The last word or last name in
this book of Ruth is David. It ends with David. It's all
about this woman, Ruth, and I've got to go on, but she's in the
line of David, the seed. Well, Bethlehem, Judah, was the
elect tribe, the place where David was born, where Christ
was born, and that represents the church of God. Where Christ
is, where His people are. The remnant according to the
election of God. Where Christ is. Now listen to
this. I'll read to you. It says, The
Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob. Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God. And he says, Of Zion it shall
be said, This and that man was born in her. The highest himself
shall establish her. The Lord shall count when He
writes up His people that this man was born there. Boaz was
born in Bethlehem, Judah. A remnant. That's God's people. That's where Christ is. There's
a remnant. Listen carefully. All throughout
the book of Deuteronomy from chapter 12 on to chapter 17,
I forget how many times it says, that it says there's a place
that God has chosen to put His name there. To put His name there. A people that bear His name,
bear His honor, bear His glory, that worship Him in spirit and
truth, that know His Son. He said, I forget how many times,
from Deuteronomy 12 to 17, do whatever you can to get there.
He said, go there and dwell there. That's where I'm going to be.
And don't leave. Don't leave. For anybody or anything. One place, He said, sell everything
you have and go there. Take your children. Take everything
you have because that's where God is. That's where the blessings
are. That's where God is worshipped. You need to be there. Don't leave.
Elimilech. His name means, God is my King.
I believe the man was a believer. Naomi certainly was. He left. This is the first lesson. Don't
leave the way the gospel is. Hebrews says if you sin willfully
after you've received the knowledge of the truth, that means leave.
forsaking the assembly, Hebrews 10, as a matter of some of you,
there's no sacrifice of sin. There's no gospel anywhere else.
Don't leave. You'll end up like left. Why? Because there's a famine. Well,
that's a good reason to leave. No, it's not. No, it's not. Scripture says better is the
middle with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble
therewith. Where do you end up? Moab. Heathen land. God's not there. You say God's everywhere. He
is, but the worship of God is not. The blessings of God are
not. The gospel of God is not. The truth is not. This man, because
of famine, took his family. You see what happened? You see
what happened? He died. His sons died. I don't
believe his sons were believers. Their names mean sick and destroyed. Ruth's name means friend. Orpah's name means stint in that. Isn't that amazing? God puts names on purpose. Well,
don't leave where the Gospel is. Many leave the Gospel for
fleshly reasons. There are no good fleshly reasons.
There are no reasons to leave the Gospel. Many leave for jobs,
marriages. Few forsake all for the gospel. Many forsake the gospel for all
things. And our Lord said this in dire
warning, if any man will find his life, he'll lose it. Find
your way in this world. Go and pursue the things of this
world. You'll find that, but you'll lose your soul. But if
any man will lose his life, forsake his life, forsake everything,
Take up His cross and deny, deny, deny Thyself and follow after
Me, you'll find it. Life. Well, Elimelech died. Verses
3 and 4 in our text, chapter 1. Elimelech died and Naomi was
left with just two sons. Well, they took two wives of
the women of Moab, which God expressly says over and over
again, don't do this. Over and over again. Over and over again. Our Lord
said, how can light have fellowship with darkness? It can't be done. Can two walk together? except
they be aggrieved. Can't do it. Can Christ have
fellowship with Baal? Cannot. Cannot. It's impossible. And our Lord said, don't give
your sons, don't give your daughters to marry unbelievers. They'll
take their hearts away. Our Lord said that over and over
and over again. God is true. His promises are
true. Two women. His sons married two
women. Both of them heathen. Both of
them idol worshipers. Both of them, neither one of
them knew the Lord. Neither one of them knew the
Lord. You say, well, the Lord saved
one of them through... The Lord told us what to do and
what not to do. Now, are you going to take your
chances or are you going to take Him at His Word? Say, I have
a 50-50 chance. No. There's only two women in
this store. But the ratio is more like 90-10.
A remnant. A tenth. This is all through the Scripture.
And for every one person, that a believer is married, an unbeliever,
and the Lord has saved, nine others leave the Gospel. I'm telling you the truth. I'm
telling you the truth. So help me, God. And you have
God's promise. You have His blessed promise.
Whether you're a believer or not, if you find a man or a woman
who knows the Lord, I mean the God of Israel, the God of the
Bible, really knows Him. And how do you know? He'll be
talking about it. He'll be talking about God's
sovereign mercy and grace to him. He'll be talking about God
electing a people. He'll be talking about Christ's
blood. He'll be talking about Christ's righteousness. That's
how you know. He'll be interested in the true worship of God, not
playing games. You'll know. If you find a man
like that, you find a woman like that, God will bless it. Yes, He will. We have so many
examples in here of that. A few where the Lord has been
merciful and gracious to their heathen, but so many that the
Lord was not. You take the Lord at His Word,
they take your chances. What will it be? That's another
lesson to be learned here. A dire lesson. This ended bad. They all died. And you don't know until it's
over about Ruth. The story of Naomi and Ruth and
Boaz is the story of Scripture. The story of salvation. Ruined,
redeemed, regenerated. You know that? Tulips right here
in the first chapter. Oh yeah. Total depravity. Heathen women in a heathen land. Total depravity. Unconditional
election. Why did Ruth return? God chose her. There's only one
reason. Why did Ruth make a choice? Because
God chose her first. Unconditional election. Particular
redemption. How do you know Ruth is one of
God's elect? Because I know her Redeemer liveth.
He's waiting on her. He's in Bethlehem, Judah. It
just remains for her to meet Him. She's going to meet Him.
That's her whole purpose for existence. That's particular
redemption is what that is. Irresistible grace. Wow! Who made these two to differ?
Who made Ruth say, I'm not leaving you, Naomi. I'm going where you
are. You're God's my God. You're people
are my people. I'm leaving my idols. I don't
need a husband. I need God. And yet Orpah said,
oh, you know, I love you, Mom, I've got it so good here. And
there's eligible bachelors here. And I want to have children. And I'm just going to stay here.
I love you though." Who made the difference? Irresistible
grace. The Spirit of God drawing one
and leaving the other. Particular redemption. I mean,
preservation of the saints. Preservation of the saints. It's
all here. Ruth said, I'm not leaving. I'm going with you. I mean, I'm
leaving, but I'm not leaving you. And you can't... I'm staying
with you. Till death do we part. That's salvation. That's this
whole story. Sovereign elect in grace. Two. This is all through the Scripture. It begins in the Genesis. Cain and Abel. One brought blood, the other
brought works. All religions are right there. Who makes the
difference? Why do some people bring their
work and some people come only one way, by Christ, His blood,
His righteousness. Why? God. God chose them. Jacob and Esau. One hated the birthright. One
wanted nothing to do with the things of God. All he cared about
was hunting. God was his belly. This world
was his playground. He didn't care anything about
worshiping God. Jacob wanted that birthright more than anything.
Who made the difference? God said, Jacob have I loved,
Esau have I hated. And it's right here, Ruth and
Orpah. Verse 4, these two women, Ruth
and Orpah, the name of one was Orpah, the name of the other
was Ruth, as I said, stiff neck. It's her name, Orpah, and Ruth
means friend. Didn't our Lord say that He hid
these things from the wise and the prudent? He hides these things
from the world. Not many wise men, not many mighty,
not many noble to call, but God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world, things that are naught, to bring to naught things
that are. Things that are nothing, nobodies
from nowhere. They're all heathen when he finds
them. But God hath chosen. You see
your calling bread? Is that you? Do you know that
you didn't choose Him, but He chose you? Huh? You know that.
God's people all know that. There's no argument there. Oh,
my. And one was named Ruth, chosen a friend. A friend means female
friend, doesn't that? Female friend. You know, all
of God's bride, Christ's bride are Ruth's chosen female friend. Our Lord said, I tell you everything
because you're my friend. That's what the Lord said. They were
both Moabites. They were both idolaters. They
were both born and raised and lived in pagan religion. Both of them. Probably both sincere. Ruth was probably just as sincere
in her religion as Orpah was. And unless God had chosen Ruth,
she would have died in sin just like Orpah. They both heard of
the true God. Elimelech came there and Naomi.
Naomi is a believer. And you can't be a believer and
not come out somewhere. Naomi had to follow her husband,
and she did. And I'm quite certain, knowing
Naomi, that she told these girls about the God of the Bible, about
the Redeemer, about the birthright. And one of them will believe.
One of them will leave her idols, one will confess the true God,
and one will go where the Lord's people are and meet and marry
her eternal husband and die happy and live forever. The other will stay among the
heathen, among her idols, perhaps remarry another a believer, perhaps
prosper in the world and have more children, would die in sin
and unbelief without God, without hope, without Christ. Who maketh thee to differ? Ruth was chosen by God, made
willing in the day of His power. That's Psalm 110, verse 3. Chosen
by God, taught by God, drawn by the Spirit of God, given a
new heart, a new mind, made willing. Look at verses 8 through 10.
Now, Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, Go, return to your mother's house.
The Lord deal kindly with you. You've been good daughters-in-law
to me. You've dealt well. You've been good wives to my
sons, to your husbands. And the Lord grant you to find
rest, each of you and the spouse of your in the house of your
husband, a fine new husband. And she kissed them and they
lifted up their voice and they wept. Both of these girls loved
Naomi. There was a natural affection
there and great emotion. Emotions were high at this time.
Tears flowing, hearts breaking, sincere affection. pain and suffering, sorrow. They lifted up their voices and
said, well, this is a sad scene and Naomi is leaving. And they said unto her, verse
10, both of them, and they meant it, surely we will return with
thee unto thy people. We will return with you. You know, many, if not most,
in religion are sincere. Paul said, In Romans 10, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
I bear them record they have a zeal for God. They're very
sincere, very zealous. But they don't know God. They
don't know the God of the Bible. They don't know the Christ of
Scripture. They're not saved. They don't have the righteousness
of Christ. They're going about to establish their own. That's
religion in a nutshell, isn't it? That's the truth as opposed
to error in a nutshell. You either have the righteousness
of your own or the righteousness of Christ. You're either covered
by the blood of Christ or you're covering yourself with fig leaves.
And you can be sincere all you want, but it won't save you.
They're sincere and they're emotional and they have real affection.
Seem to love the Word of God? Look at verse 11. Naomi said,
Turn again, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are
there yet any sons in my womb that they may be your husbands?
Verse 14. So they lifted up their voice
and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
good-bye. And never see her again. I thought about this. You know,
these girls aren't related. Orpah and Ruth are not related.
There's no blood kin there. Neither are they related to Naomi,
but by marriage. Okay? They're called in-law. Law won't hold you together. Law won't hold you together.
Love will. Grace will. Only when He becomes your love and your
life, your family. Well, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
goodbye and it says in verse 15, she went back to her people
and her gods. And Naomi said to Ruth, go follow
your sister. Go back and follow your sister
to her people, your family. Go back to your mom. Ruth had
a mom and a dad. Naomi wasn't her mother. She
was a mother-in-law by marriage. She had a mother and a father.
Sisters and brothers? Probably. Friends? Absolutely. Born and raised there in Moab.
Went to high school there. All her friends. All the advantages. All the things that she was interested
in. Grew up interested in. That's her hometown. Orpa too. And Naomi said, go back to your
people. Go back to your family. And go
back to your gods. She had a God. It wasn't the
God of the Bible. She had a religion. It wasn't
a true religion. She had a hope. is a false refuge. Turn with me one place, John
chapter 6. John chapter 6. Our Lord said
the same thing to His disciples in John chapter 6. In John chapter
6, our Lord said many things. And we just might start going
through the book of John soon. I'm real inclined to do so. But
in John chapter 6, if you want to hear the Lord's doctrine,
you read The Gospel of John. John chapter 6, he said many
things, and in the end, many turned back. John chapter 6, look at verse
35. The Lord said, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me
shall never hunger, he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But
I said unto you, you also have seen me and believed not. He
looked around, a large crowd, he said, you don't believe in
that. Verse 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me. That's election. God has a people
and He gave them to me. They belong to Him. He said in
John 10, my sheep, the Father giveth me a sheep. They're His. He gave them to me. And all that
He gives to me will come unto me. And him that cometh to me
I will no wise cast out. See right there is election,
redemption, preservation, Persevere. And this is His will,
verse 39, which He hath sent me. Of all which He hath given
me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last
day. God's sovereign will, God's sovereign purpose, God's sovereign
power is electing a people, giving them to Jesus Christ to save.
He came to save them. He saved every one of them. He
won't lose a one of them. That's His glory. That's His
power. That's our hope. That's our salvation. Not in
keeping ourselves, but in Christ keeping us. He said, all that
the Father gives me will come to me, all he gave to me I will
save, they'll be with me, I'll raise them up in the last day.
Hell or high water can't stop that. That's good news isn't
it? If you're a sinner, if you're
a Pharisee, you don't like that. If you're a Pharisee, don't talk
to me about sovereignty, talk about my will. Don't talk to
me about God choosing a people. Let me tell you how I chose Him. Verse 43, our Lord said, murmur
not among yourselves. Verse 44, no man can come to
Me except the Father which hath sent Me. Draw him. He won't come
unless God brings him. He will not do it. That's what
he said. You will not come unto me that
you might have life. And no man can except God draw
him. Preacher, what's the point? This is what Christ said. Do
you want to hear what Christ says? Do you want to hear what
God says? Do you want to believe what God says? Do you want to
believe the truth? Do you want to know the truth
that will set you free? And our Lord says, I will raise
him up. And he said, verily, verse 47,
oh my, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on
me hath everlasting life. Why does someone believe? Because
they have life. Faith doesn't give life, it's
proof of life. When a child is born, which comes
first? That they recognize you? They call, they cry, they hunger,
they thirst? And then life? No, no, no, no. Life. Someone gave them life,
gives birth to them. They come out, and proof of life
is, wham! They call, they cry, help me! That's how you know life has
begun. They opened their eyes, and my
daughter was born, and they handed her to me, and her eyes were
closed, and they flicked her on the feet. They used to spank
on the bottom. Somebody said, they slapped my
mother. But they flicked her on the feet. It had to cause pain. Why? To see that she's alive. When
they did that, she started crying. And a true born-again child of
God has this, they mourn over their sin, they feel this thing
called sin, and they grieve over it, and it gives them great pain. Like David gets thee of thee
only by sin. God beat me. And they cry. Then
they cry. What has happened? Life has begun. Eternal life. And they cry, and they never
quit crying. I cried when I was born, and I cried just last night,
and just this morning. What? Same thing. God have mercy. Hunger, thirst, all these things.
I give unto them, He said, they have life. And I give unto them
eternal life, they'll never perish. I've got to hurry. Look at verse
60. It says, many of His disciples, when they heard this, they heard
these things. This is a hard saying. Who can
hear it? Brother Stephen, over in John
8, the Lord said to the Pharisees, why is it you can't understand
My Word? He said, because you can't hear
it. You don't hear it. People see it and read it and
say, I don't see it that way. No, you're blind. But when God
opened your eyes, you can't see anything else. He said, he that
is of God's Word, heareth God's Word. He that is of God, heareth
God's Word. And he went on to say the Spirit,
verse 61, does this offend you? Does this offend you? We need offending, don't we?
We're an offense to God. I read on. He says the Spirit, verse 63,
profits nothing. I mean, the Spirit that quickeneth
the flesh profiteth nothing. The flesh profiteth nothing.
The flesh profiteth nothing. The flesh profiteth nothing. Nothing you ever do will account for anything before
God. Nothing. Only what Jesus Christ
does for you matters. It will get you accepted by God. will get you into heaven. Only
what Jesus Christ does for you. That was it. They couldn't take
any more. And it says in verse 66, From that time many of his
disciples went back, they seemed to be his disciples, and walked
no more with him. Where'd they go? Back to their
idols. Back to their profession. I had you know, I believed on
Jesus years ago, and I believe, and I made my profession of faith,
and I'm saved. I don't care what you say. You
don't care what the Son of God says? Then He doesn't care about you. And our Lord turned to His disciples,
those twelve, verse 67, and said, will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Lord, not Jesus, but Lord, my sovereign, to whom shall we
go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We were dead until you found
us. We wouldn't have come unless you'd called us. And we believe
and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living
God. Our Lord answered them and said, Have not I chosen you twelve? That's why you believe that.
Will you also go away? Go. Go back to your former religion,
Robin. Go back to your family. Go back
to your people. That's what they believe. Go
on. Go. Ruth and Naomi just insist,
go. I'm just a poor old woman. I'm
going to be on a pilgrimage. I'm going to be sojourning. I'm
going to be walking through the wilderness. This ain't going
to be no smooth path from here on out. This is going to be pain
and suffering and trial and tribulation. I'm going to a land you've never
been before. Will you go with me? Like Rebekah. Remember Abraham's
servant came to that well, came to a well, and said to Rebekah,
will you go? Will you go to a place you've
never been, to meet a man you've never seen, with a man you hardly
know? Will you follow this man, this
poor old man? And on this long pilgrimage,
she said, I will. And so did Ruth. And let me close
with these words. The words of Ruth are my words. The words of Ruth are the entreaty
of every single believer. The words of Ruth are the heart's
desire of every true elect born-again child of God. And I hope and
I pray that this is your heart's desire right now as I speak,
as I read, that this is your heart's desire. If it's not,
I pray that He'll make it so right now. And Ruth said in verse
16, "'Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following
thee.'" What she's saying To her, to
Naomi, is what every child of God says to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Naomi, right here, represents the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
what every child of God says to the Lord Jesus Christ. You're sovereign. It's your decision,
not mine. It's your word. If you tell me to leave, I'll
leave. But if you'll please, don't let me leave. Don't let
me leave you. I don't want to leave you. Just
let me follow you. If you don't give the Word, if
you don't sovereignly woo me and draw me and call me, if you
leave me to myself, I'll go back to my idols. I'll go back to
my family. I'll go find an unbelieving husband. And I'll never meet
Boaz. Please, just say the Word. Follow me. Will He? Everyone that asks,
He will. This is the Father's will, that
everyone seeeth the Son and believeth on Him, they have everlasting
life. Our Lord said, I give unto them eternal life and they shall
never perish. If He wills, If He gives the Word, you'll follow. Following Him. In the Revelation, it says, Who
are these? A great number, like a sea of
faces, a sea of glass, a great number. It says, Who are these?
And the angel said, You know. He said, These are they that
follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They're following Him. And she
said in verse 16, entreat me not to leave, but just give the
word. Please, don't let me leave. Don't tell me to leave. Tell
me to follow you. Call me like you did Simon Peter
and Andrew and James and John. Call me. And whither thou goest,
I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. Wherever your gospel is, I'm
going there. Wherever your gospel is, I need to hear it because
I'm hungry. I'm thirsty for the gospel. I need it. Wherever you
dwell, that's where I want to be. I want to leave this world. Dwell
with your people, city of refuge. Read on, and thy people shall
be my people. Thy people shall be my people,
my true family. I have brothers and sisters.
I have a mother and a father. They don't believe the God. They don't believe you. I do. And I don't need them, but I
need you. And I'm willing to leave them.
I'll leave them just to be with you." Now that is a true child
of God. And she said, "...thy people
shall be my people, thy God my God." What she's saying is, I
used to have a God. He's not God at all. Every single
person that comes to know the living and true God renounces
their own religion. Every single one. You know, that's
what you do when you get in this pool. And so many in here were
baptized in false religion, professing a false Jesus, you know, made
your decision and all that, and He said, if you'll be baptized,
you'll be saved. How many in here did that? I
did it as a young man. I didn't know Christ. But when you hear of the living
God and the true God and the true Christ, the truth, you'll
renounce it all and say, I didn't know God. I didn't know God back
then. It was another Jesus. That was my decision. You know
why Ruth is saying all this? Ruth is making a choice. Yes,
she is. You say, she's made a choice. She made her choice. No, she
made God's choice. She made God's choice. You see,
God made her His choice, and therefore she has no other choice.
She has no other choice. Aren't you glad? Our Lord says, You will come
unto Me. They will come unto Me. And He says, Come. You say,
What? Well, you say, I'm... You have no other choice. He
made the choice for you. Aren't you glad? We sing that
song, Oh, happy day that fixed my choice. You do love me, don't you? Yes,
I do. Didn't before. I do now by your grace, by your
sovereign power. Thy God is my God. She rejected
her former God, her former religion that was an idol. She rejected
her former profession of faith. She now believes and trusts the
living and true God. She says, my family doesn't know
Him. And to Christ we say, to the Lord Jesus Christ, thou art
my Lord and thou art my God. And she says, oh my, to Naomi
what we say to our Lord Jesus Christ, where you die will I
die and there will I be buried. I am crucified with Christ, Paul
said. Bearing with Him. That's what
baptism is all about. That's what baptism is all about.
If you do not confess the Lord Jesus Christ in public baptism.
That's the public confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's telling everybody, my hope, my salvation is completely
100% in Jesus Christ and Him alone. That I want to be crucified
with Christ. I deserve to be killed because
of my sin. But Christ is my substitute.
Christ is my blood atonement. Christ is my righteousness. And
I want to be dead to this world like Noah in that ark. Crucified
with Christ. I want to be dead to the world.
And I want to live in a new kingdom with God. I want to be with Christ
forever. And I confess Him before everybody.
And anyone that doesn't do that doesn't know God. And our Lord said, if you don't,
I'll deny you. When it comes time for the day
for me to separate my sheep from the goats, I'm going to say unto
them, you didn't confess me. You didn't own me. You didn't
come out from the... Your family and the idol worshippers, you
didn't renounce your God. It was all a sham. It was all
a hoax. You didn't believe me. And I don't know you. Depart
from that. Like Orpah. Depart. But to Ruth. Come, you blessed of my Father,
into the Kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of
the world. Come, you blessed. After this
is all over, Boah had said to Ruth, it hath been shown me what
you've done. How you forsook your parents,
forsook your family, and followed a fellow believer And the Lord
will reward you. What was Ruth's reward? Boaz. And it says, oh, I love that,
it says that Naomi couldn't talk her out of it. She saw that she
was steadfast like Simon Peter. Go! No, Lord, no. Can't do it. Can't go. Can't go. If you can
leave, you will. If you can leave, you will. This is our hope. If you belong
to the Lord, Christ said, I'll never leave you, nor forsake
you. You may leave me, but I'm going to bring you back. I'm
going to draw you back. And you'll never perish. And
so it says they went. They took off. You know, it wasn't
a short journey. Orpah counted the cost. Oh, no,
I love this world too much. I want to be married and have
children. That's what my heart's desire. Naomi said, no, I want to be
in God's Kingdom. I want to be a child of God.
I don't want to have children. I want to be a child of God. Will I
ever get married again? Oh, she did. Oh, she got married
alright. Oh, she got married alright.
This thing ends happily ever after. Let me go ahead and tell
you in case we don't get to it. This thing ends wonderfully.
They come back into town, two poor women with nothing. Naomi had it all wrong, didn't
she? The Lord was against her. Oh no, Naomi. No, no, no, no,
no. God's never against you. God
took your husband. God took your sons. God took
everything away from you and brought to bring you to Jesus
Christ. No, nothing's ever against you,
Naomi. Don't ever say that again. He
gave you Ruth, didn't He? He's going to give Ruth. to Boaz,
her kinsman and Redeemer. And when it's all over, the Redeemer
is coming. You'll see His face and you'll
say, oh, the Lord has done all things well. And blessed be His
holy name that He chose me, that He loved me, that He called me,
that He separated me, that He made the difference between me
and my sister-in-law and caused me to leave my family and leave
my idols and come to Christ. The Lord gets the glory. Is that
your hope? I hope it is. Let's sing a closing hymn.