The Kinsman Redeemer

Q: What does the Bible say about redemption in Ruth?

The Bible presents redemption in Ruth through the figure of Boaz, the Kinsman Redeemer, illustrating God's sovereign grace and love. The story of Ruth centers on the theme of redemption, particularly the role of Boaz as the Kinsman Redeemer. In the context of ancient Israel, a Kinsman Redeemer was expected to help family members in distress, particularly in purchasing the family land and marrying the widow to preserve the family line. This narrative foreshadows the ultimate redemption found in Christ, who, through His work on the cross, redeems His people from sin and death. Ruth's loyalty to Naomi and her faith in God exemplify the response of believers called to trust in their Redeemer for salvation.

Q: How do we know God's love is sovereign?

God's sovereign love is evident in His choice of the elect and His redemptive plan, as shown in the story of Ruth. Sovereign love refers to God's unconditional and particular choice to save a specific people out of sin and death. In the story of Ruth, we see God's sovereignty through His providential direction of events: the famine that drove Naomi back to Bethlehem, Ruth's gleaning in Boaz's field, and ultimately, Ruth's inclusion in the lineage of David and Christ. This illustrates that salvation is not based on human choice but rather on God's predetermined plan rooted in His mercy and grace. This insight into God's sovereign love encourages believers to trust in His unfailing promises.

Q: Why is knowing our condition as sinners important?

Understanding our sinful condition is crucial to appreciate God's grace and the need for redemption through Christ. The recognition of our condition as sinners is a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith. It positions us to understand the depth of God's grace in sending Jesus as our Redeemer. In the narrative of Ruth, the realization of need for a Kinsman Redeemer mirrors our need for Christ — we cannot redeem ourselves. The bad news of our sin prepares our hearts for the good news of redemption, highlighting that Christ's sacrifice on the cross satisfies the demands of the law that we could never fulfill. This understanding fosters true humility and reliance on God, essential for receiving the gift of salvation.

Q: What role does perseverance play in faith?

Perseverance in faith is evidence of true saving faith and showcases God's work in the believer's life. Perseverance is the continual faithfulness to trust in God throughout challenges, demonstrating the genuineness of one's faith. In the story of Ruth, her commitment to Naomi and her decision to stay in Boaz's field reflect a faith that endures. This type of faith shows its virtue through action and reliance on God's provisions. According to the Reformed understanding, true faith inevitably perseveres because it is upheld by God’s sovereign grace. Ultimately, perseverance not only glorifies God but also assures believers of their salvation, as it confirms they are among the elect.

Q: Why is the story of Ruth significant to Christians?

Ruth's story exemplifies God's redemptive plan and illustrates the inclusion of Gentiles into God's covenant community. The story of Ruth is significant as it reveals God's character and His plan for redemption not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles. By bringing Ruth, a Moabite, into the lineage of David and ultimately Christ, the narrative underscores the theme of God's inclusive and sovereign grace. Ruth's faithfulness and devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi serve as a model for the church. It emphasizes themes of loyalty, redemption, and the workings of God's providence in uniting all believers as one family under Christ. This story provides believers with hope and assurance of God's commitment to His promises.

Good morning. It's a blessing to be here with
you again and Paul and And his family, we love to have them
come to Yucatan. And I think he's really got a
burden for the people in Latin America trying to learn Spanish
language. It's a long, hard task to learn
a foreign language. I noticed out on the plaque out
there in front of the churches, 1963. I guess that's when this building
was finished. But, you know, we have a ministry. We have a ministry. And that
ministry is to show forth the praises of Him who has called
us out of darkness into His marvelous light. And that's what we want
to speak of and glorify in our lives. We have nothing of ourselves
to glory in, only in Christ. And this church has a ministry,
not just Paul Mahan's ministry. It's our ministry, your ministry. God has placed His treasure in
earthen vessels, or clay pots. Clay pots, that's what we are,
clay pots. And that's what we can come together
to worship the Lord and declare the virtues of him. Paul wanted me to tell you something
about Mexico, about the work in Mexico. Well, it's God's work. It's his ministry. And we're
his servants. And we don't preach ourselves,
and we don't want to preach ourselves. But we preach Christ Jesus the
Lord and ourselves your service for Christ's sake. That's what
I want to be, Christ's servant. What greater service could we
be in? I guess it's being heard back there.
I don't know where to turn this off and just try to speak or
leave it going. I think you're hearing me, but I'll go on. Y'all know that my son Cody,
he's preached here, hasn't he, pal? He's been a blessing to
us in Yucatan. He's down there now taking care
of things, and he'll be up here later on. But it's wonderful to have my
son Cody there with his family, and the Lord has blessed and
raised up local churches there in Yucatan. It's the precious
thing when God raises up a church that preaches the gospel, loves
the gospel, loves the truth. The love of the truth is the
love of the truth. It's God's truth. It's his love,
his sovereign love, his sovereign grace. A lot of religious people don't
love the truth. They don't receive the love of
the truth, and that love is sovereign love, and that love is particular
redemption, and that's the love that we preach. He has the mercy
on whom he will, and people hate that, hate that love, and they
don't want to hear about it. But that's the love that we rejoice
in, because we know there's nothing in us. It's not because we love
the truth so much. the love of the truth came to
us in power and revealing Christ to us. In Yucatan, we live in
a tropical place. One of the most beautiful things
about the tropics is the clouds. It takes a lot of humidity to
make beautiful clouds. When I can, during the rainy
season, in the evening when the sun goes down, I like to sit
and watch the clouds, because what isn't a cloud? Without the
sun, it's nothing but just an old, dark cloud. But when that
sun goes down, and the light of that sun shines on those clouds,
it just brings out all kind of color, and that color's not in
the cloud. It's in the sun, it's in the
light. And God is revealed and manifest
in our hearts and shined in our hearts the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God through his gospel in all the scriptures.
This morning I want to try to speak to you from a book of Ruth. I know it seems like the ladies
love this book of Ruth, but I do too. The book of Ruth. And I had someone read this one
time, and afterward he told me, he said, that's a pretty story.
It has a heart-rending history there. But what's it
doing in the Bible? What is it all about? Well, that
book of Ruth, as the Holy Spirit will align our hearts to see
the glory of our Redeemer. And through this prophetic type
of the history in the book of Ruth. And may the Lord bless
us as we look at this book of Ruth. Now, the theme of this book is
the Kinsman Redeemer. That's redemption. That's our
greatest need. A proper person is not interested
in redemption. He doesn't know he's being dug,
do they? I have sad news come from Mexico
of a boy that has left the church there in Mérida. He's been coming
for a long time. And listen to the gospel priest. And I know Cody preached in the
gospel, and I preached Christ. I preached salvation by grace
in him. But he loves it. He said he was
going to this other church because he wasn't learning anything there.
He wasn't learning anything. I think he's learning more than
he realizes. What he's learning, there's nothing
in him. People don't want to hear that.
And it's an awful thing to leave the gospel. And why do people
leave the gospel, come to a church like this and hear the gospel
preaching, and then leave? I believe I know what the reason
is. It's because this gospel to those that perish is a savor
of death and the dead. But to those who believe it's
a sweet Savior of Christ, of life and the life. And a person
won't sit on the gospel very long unless they come to know
the Lord Jesus Christ, because they can't find anything in the
gospel that makes them feel good about themselves. I don't have
anything to feel good about myself, but I feel wonderful in Christ. He's the fullness of the Godhead
body, and I'm complete in Him. And Him is the fullness of joy,
and He's right here on earth. Pleasure is forevermore. This
earth is filled with the goodness of the Lord, and we enjoy it.
We enjoy it. I was out at Falls, and I just
loved to listen to the silence, just enjoy that. And people wanted to get off in a
big party or something, I'd rather just sit and listen to the songs
and see the glory of God in all his handiwork. But there's no
greater glory, manifest of God, of his glory, than in Christ
Jesus and the gospel. And I know that's what that young
boy is thinking. He just can't have any good feeling
about himself listening to the gospel. I always said that we're the
circumcision, the circumcision of the heart. God has opened
their hearts and worked in their hearts to reveal Christ to them,
and we worship God in truth and in spirit, and we glory in our
Lord Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh. Let me get into this book. I'll
never get through it if I don't get started here. This is a beautiful
book. It's a prophetic type of—it's
an unending story for God's believers. It has a happy ending, and I
like stories with happy endings. And it has a happy ending, and
it applies to every one of us who are believers. It applies
to all God's elect. Those who know Christ have a
happy ending that never ends. Now, in the Book of Acts, it
starts out, Now it came to pass in the days that the judges ruled,
that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem,
Judah, went to sojourn into the country of Moab, and his wife
and his two sons. This man lived in Bethlehem of
Judah, and there is a promise in scripture about about Bethlehem
and about Judah. The Scripture of the Prophets
says Jacob, or Israel prophesied in Genesis about Shiloh. It said that the legislator and
the lawgiver would not part from Judah until Shiloh came. Shiloh comes. time quoting scriptures in English,
or even reading. It seems like it's just so foreign
to me. And it is foreign to me, but
I'll do my best, just as I can. But he was living in a place
of blessing, sir. God had promised that Shiloh,
the Messiah, the Christ, would come through the tribe of Judah. And there came a famine in the
land. You know God's going to try his people. He tries our
faith that it might be manifest, not because he wants to see if
we have faith, because he's the author of faith, and it's his
work in us. It's the faith of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's because of his faithfulness
and his faith, and he's the author of our faith. It's because of
him, the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have believed in him,
and he's the author and finisher of our faith. But he lived in the land of Judah,
and he had a wife and two sons. His name was Elimelech, and there
was a famine in the land. God tried his people. And this
man, he gave up hope there, and probably it was Naomi also. She
said, Oh, I'm getting so tired of this. Let's go off down to
Moab. Moab was a place where there's
something going on down there, but Moab were the descendants
of Lot, and they were under a curse of God. This was when this happened. about three generations or four
generations after Lot had went into Moab. And the descendants
of Moab were under a curse. And he took his two sons and
his wife, Naomi, and went down to Moab with his eye on the things of
this world. It's pitiful to see people leave a place leave a
gospel church and go off for the things of this world. I tell
you, we'd better be careful. We'd better be careful. It says there that it talks about
in Thessalonians, because they receive not the love of the truth,
God shall send them a strong delusion that they might believe
a lie and be damned. What's that lie they believe?
They believe a religious lie concerning concerning salvation
and that's all that, but they believe a strong, God
sends it, that they believe a lie and be damned. A person that
don't continue in the truth and persevere in the truth. It just
reveals, it reveals that they've never known the truth. But Elimelech
went off down to Moab and took his sons with him, and Elimelech
died. They were down there ten years,
and while they were there in Moab, after Elimelech died, his
two sons married some Moabitess women. And it says they dwelt
there about ten years. And the two sons died. I won't
attempt their names. I can say their names in Spanish,
but I can't say them in English, because I get all mixed up. I just don't remember. I used
to read that as English, but I just won't even attempt to
say it. There are two sons of Lemonade, and they died and left
these two women that they had married and his mother without any support of any kind. It says, And the woman was left
of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law,
that she might return to the country of Moab, For she had
heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited
his people and given them bread." That's how God calls out his
people. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God. She heard this good news about
God had visited his people with bread in Moab. Bethlehem is a
house of bread. And they were just going through
a little trial there, and they left it. And now she's here,
and with God's blessing, she's willing to go back. And her two daughters-in-law
want to go with her, and one of them was named Orpha, and
the other was named Ruth. And they went forth—wait a minute. Wherefore, she and her two daughters-in-law
were with her, and they went on to the way to return them
to the land of Moab." I'm reading like a fifth grader. A fifth
grader's reading better than that. That's amazing. This is my native
tongue. But Naomi told her daughters-in-law,
now you go back to your gods and your people. I'm an old woman. Now, Naomi knew about kinsman-redeemer. That was the law of Israel. God
established this as a type of redemption that's through Christ
Jesus. She knew about this law, but
she knew she was an old woman. wouldn't be ever in the hope
of any kinsman redeemer wanting to marry her. But their daughters-in-law didn't
know anything about it. But Orpah, after she told them,
you go on back, because there's no hope in me, she lost all hope. And he said that Orpah kissed
her mother-in-law And she went back to her gods and to her people.
But Ruth clave to her mother-in-law. But Ruth clave unto her. Verse
14. And even though Naomi encouraged her to
go back, Ruth wouldn't turn around and go back. And Ruth said, Entreat
me not to leave thee. are to return from following
after thee. For whither thou goest I will
go, and whither thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall
be my people, and thy God my God. Whither thou diest will
I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also if thou art but dead part thee and me." Now, most people
only use this text in marriage. But this is a good example of
these two women as a type of the Church of Christ, Gentile
and Jew. Ruth represents the Jews, God's
elect among the Gentiles. Naomi, being a Jew, she represents
the Church of God, His elect among the Gentiles. Well, it's kind of like patting
your head, I sit like this, and rubbing your stomach, and then
all of a sudden, a sudden change of sequence, you know, that's
what I'm experiencing right now. My son-in-law, my grandson down
in Mexico, I have two grandsons and a granddaughter about the
age of Hannah. And he speaks Spanish very well. He's been there four years now.
And he came in from school, and his mother talked real good Spanish. Oh, she was raised down there
when I was, Cody also. But he came in from school. He
was excited about something that happened in school, and he was
talking to her real fast in Spanish. And his mother just looked at
him and said, Son, what are you doing talking to me in Spanish?
Talk to me in English. He said, Oh, Mama, it didn't
happen in English, it happened in Spanish. You really don't know what I'm
talking about, do you? It's been happening to me for
36 years in Spanish. I'm trying to make excuses for
myself, I guess. I apologize for myself. But this
is a good example of there's one body, one Church, made of
all God's elect and all nations and tongues and all places. And they all sing the song of
redemption. In heaven and on earth, we sing
of him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And he's made us priests and
kings will reign with him on this earth in the New Jerusalem. And we are all priests. Every one of God's people that
are saved and know the Lord Jesus Christ are priests, and he's
the king priest. And we have a minister here on
this earth as the priest of God. And that's why we're all ambassadors.
We have this ministry, and God has committed unto us the word
of reconciliation. Now, let me go on. It says that
Ruth and Naomi set out on their journey back to Bethlehem. As
they were coming into the city, verse 19, they went until they
came to Bethlehem. And as they were coming into
Bethlehem there, they—some of the people saw Naomi, and they
could see she's this old woman that's been—lived a hard life. And they were shocked, and they
recognized, it's—could this—is this Naomi? Is this the young
lady that was so—so, what would you call her? That's what sand does to a person. I've seen, I noticed the other
day at Donny Bell's, there was an elderly woman, I don't know
how old she was, she must have been, I'm 66, she must have been
about 80, she got up and sung a special. And you know, God
gives a believer a beauty about them, don't they? And I said
to myself, what a beautiful woman, and she's singing this song of
redemption. But Naomi here had lived a hard
life, and away from the—walking after the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. But she's going
back to Bethlehem, and they say, Miss Congeniality, that's the
word I was looking for, congenial, pleasant. She said, No, don't
call me that. Call me bitter, bitter, for the
Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and
the Lord had brought me home again empty. Why then call ye
me Naomi? Seeing the Lord had testified
against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me." She looked at them as afflictions,
and they were. But the Lord was working all
these things for her good, and to bring her to her Redeemer. And that's what Paul says. Those
that love God, all things work together for good to them that
love God, who are the call according to his purpose. The bad things,
all things work together for the good of those that are God's
elect. We love him because he first
loved us, and he's working these things in this life all for his
glory. We might be conformed unto the
image of Christ. And this is the work of salvation
in the heart of every believer, God bringing us to our Redeemer. The blessed
man is the man that the Lord has taught. And those that have
learned of the Father have come to Christ. As the psalmist said,
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and cause it to approach
unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. She doesn't know it yet, but
she's greatly blessed here. It's a blessed thing when a person
is taught what he is. And I'm thinking about David
that went away. Maybe he's learned, I don't know.
But he wasn't happy there. It's just bitter to him, this
gospel of salvation in Christ, life in Christ. and his condition as a sinner
condemned by the law, not being able to do anything acceptable
unto God. He wanted to hear something that
made him feel good about himself. If you're looking for that, you'll
never find your Redeemer. If you're looking for a church
that makes you feel good about yourself, you'll never know the Redeemer. It's good news, but we need to
learn the bad news first. And the bad news is that all
we like sheep have gone astray, and all the thoughts of our heart
and the minds of the nations are enmity against God. And that's
what Nicodemus learned, yet be born again. Well, the Lord is
working this miracle of in her heart, bringing her to Christ,
bringing her to her Redeemer. And they came to Bethlehem, and
it was the beginning of the barley harvest. And it says that Naomi
had a kinsman of her husband's mighty men of wealth, and of
the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boris. Now, Ruth didn't know anything
about this Law of the Pensioner and Redeemer, but I can imagine
as they were coming into Bethlehem, it was the harvest of the barley.
And in every part of it, people were out harvesting the barley. And Ruth had probably told her
about this. And so those out there, those women out there
behind the reapers, they are gleaning. And they have a—under the law,
they can do that, and that's the law of the land. And Ruth
talked to her mother-in-law and said, Let me go. Let me go out there and get in
one of those fields as a cleaner. And she says, Let me go, and
after—of the person whom I in him in whose sight I shall find
grace." God's people want to hear grace, don't they? I don't
want to hear anything about merits. I want to hear grace, the grace
of God. My only hope for salvation is
in grace. I don't trust in anything I've
done or am doing or ever will do. I trust in what He did, what
Christ did on Calvary, and I trust in His grace. He's my Redeemer,
and that's who I'll try to preach. In this message, Ruth was concerned
about grace. And she went out and came and
gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her hat was, the
light on the part of the field belongs to Boaz. It says her
hat was. It wasn't any accident, was it? It was directed by God, ordained
of God, and she was directed to the field of Boaz. If you
think back in your life to the believers, think back of the
grace of God that worked in your heart before you ever knew the
Lord Jesus Christ, how blessed it was to save you from destruction. You men, you've passed times
when you were so close to death. God
spared you, delivered you. And you didn't know him, you
didn't know the Redeemer. It wasn't an accident. It wasn't
an accident. But her help was that she got
on the field of Boaz, The capataces, or the foremans
of workers, that were in charge, whose damsel is this? Now, he
already had, he knew about Ruth, and he knew about Naomi. It says
that on down in verse 11, it says, And Boaz answered and answered
and said unto her, It hath fully been shown thee all that thou
hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband."
She had identified with Jehovah, the God of Israel. Jehovah, Jehovah
the Son, is our Redeemer. And she identified with the God
of Israel, Jehovah. And she had identified with Ruth,
the old man, and she had come to that country. And he says on down, that the
Lord recompensed thy work, and a full reward be
given thee of the Lord. God of Israel, under whose wings
thou art come to trust." Now, when he came out to the
field, Boaz set his eye on her, and he spoke to her, spoke to
her, spoke personally to her. It says on there on it, spoke
to her heart. I'm so glad that God set his
eye on me before I ever knew him. When did God set his eye
on us? Before the foundation of the
world, God shows us through Christ, even before the fall. Because
his love is eternal, you see? It started back before time and
eternity. And this—his—the love of the
truth of the gospel was here. But it began to be revealed in
its promises in the Old Testament, even after the fall of Adam.
It was promised that in the sea, and that's talking of Christ
in the sea, promised to the woman that God would destroy Satan
and the quirks of the devil and Satan. And that sea promises
Christ. I lose myself in the English,
I lose myself. Let me see if I can get back
here in the scriptures. But he spoke to her heart and
noticed the effect here in her. Then she fell on her face to
the ground and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine
eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am
a stranger? The pastor was talking about
a person's trying to be humble. I had some fellow one time tell
me, he said, I've made a vow I'm going to be more humble.
I said, don't do that. You're defeated before you ever
get started. I'm going to be more humble. Blessing of the
poor in spirit. Now, God gives us that poor in
spirit. And she had been taught of the
Lord. She had learned of her own condition
in poverty. And she says, Who am I? Why have I found grace in thine
eyes? We can't find anything within
ourselves. It's all in Christ. It's all in God's good pleasure. He's chosen us and redeemed us
and called us by his grace. had given us the Holy Spirit
in our hearts as our comforter and teacher, and she fell on her face and bowed herself to
the ground. That wasn't any false humility,
that was just humility. That's like John when John saw
the glory of the Lord, and he felt like a dead man. He was
an apostle, and the Lord touched him and said, Fear not, for I
am he. There was dead, but I am alive
forevermore, and I have the keys of hell and of death. Well, anyway,
Boaz told her to stay in his field. He said, I've commanded
the men not to touch you. and said, You stay right here.
Now, there was a lot of fields around there, but there was only
one field that had a Redeemer in it, and that was the field
where she had just luckily came to. Now, she—God led her there. And he's saying, Stay in this
field. Then at the end of time, he gave her some special food
there. Here's a little courtship going
on here. He said he reached her some corn,
and he commanded the servants not to touch her, and let her
glean among the sheaves, and then leave her some handfuls
of purpose. Leave them for her, and don't
rebuke her when she gets those handfuls of purpose, and put
their own purpose. I thank God for those handfuls
of purpose. I thank God for the support of
this church. Years ago, when I was in Mexico,
I used to have to go to the post office every day to see if we
got anything in, because we lived close, you know, real close.
And our kids one time said, Daddy, why don't all these other people
here, why don't they go to the post office? He thought that's
where you go get money, the post office. But those handfuls on
purpose is a wonderful answer, and you experience it in your
life, and God puts them in our pathway. But after the day was
over, she had reaped more than usual, the usual glena would
reap. And she went home to her mother-in-law,
Nelmie, and the mother-in-law saw that bag of grain she had
brought in, and she said, Daughter, where in the world have you been?
Where have you been? What field have you been drilling
in?" And she said, I was drilling in the field of a man named Boaz.
And then her mother shouted. She shouted, she said, verse
20, And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be the Lord God, who
hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Norma said unto her, That
man, or this man, is a near kinsman unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth said, He told me to
stay right in his field. And his mother-in-law said, Don't
you dare leave his field. You stay right there. Don't leave the gospel. Don't leave the church where
the gospel is proclaimed. This is one of God's candlesticks,
where the gospel is proclaimed. And if you do not get anything out
of this, if you're learning what you are before God and before
the law, that you're dead, you're trashed Stay right there. Stay
right there. Don't leave. The good news comes
later. You've got to learn what you
are before God, under the law condemned, and not worthy of
anything from Him. If you learn that, blessed are
you. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
That's what Christ said, because they are the kingdom of heaven.
So don't get discouraged if you just come to church and you just
feel down more and more. Good news, good news is on its
way. And here they always shop, oh,
a redeemer, a man that can redeem us. She told him, stay there,
keep fast by the lady. Well, when she finished up the
barley harvest, she brought the barley home and And a mother
said, a mother-in-law said, now they're down at the threshing
floor, the men down there at the threshing floor. I guess
it's just a swept-off clean where they went on the grain and beaten
it out. And she said, now, I need to
look out for you and I both in this thing. We need to be redeemed,
and we can't. Without a Redeemer, a kinsman
Redeemer, we're just going to remain in this condition. She
said, I'll tell you what to do. You bathe yourself and put on
your prettiest dress, prettiest rags, wash them real good, and
you go down there where they're threshing the wheat or the grain. And she said, you watch where
a boy is, where his bunk is or where his sleeping bag is. When they get through eating
and drinking, out today in the evening, says, you just mark
the spot where he lays down. And when he gets down, after
they've all gone to sleep, you slip down there. You slip down
there, and you lay at his feet. Don't let anybody know you're
there. And that's what she did. And Naomi said, all that he said unto thee, I
will do. And she went down to the threshing floor and waited, and
then at night she came softly, it says in verse 7. She came softly and uncovered
his feet, and laid her down." That's a wonderful thing, but
I'll tell you, there's mercy at Christ's feet. All of his
enemies are going to be put under his feet, but there's mercy at
his feet. And the only reason God has found
this old world and allowed us to go on is because his long-suffering
toward us was us-worth, not willing that any us-worth, that any should
perish, but that all who us-worth should come and repent." That's
the reason God's letting this world go on the way it is, because
he has his people that he's bringing to the feet of Christ, the Redeemer.
And she went down and she laid his feet, and then in the middle
of the night, he said, boys, woke up and he was startled as
a woman at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? Verse
9, I am Ruth, thy handmaid, and spread thou, therefore thou squirt
over me, over thy handmaid, for thou art a near counselor. And he said, Blessed be thou
of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast shown more kindness
in the latter end than at the beginning, in so much as thou
fallest in vain. I'll just jump on down. Fear not, I will do to thee all
that thou requirest. For all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman." What is her virtue? What
is this virtue he's talking about? She was a widow. He's talking
about her remaining in the field of Boaz, and continuing with
Boaz. You know, that's faith. If it
doesn't have a virtue, it's dead. Virtue is the value of the faith. Perseverance is the virtue of
faith. And she had remained there in
Boaz's field, and her faith was manifested, real one. Perseverance is the manifestation
of true saving faith. But saving faith is not the cause
of salvation. The cause of salvation is in
Christ. But he talked about the virtue of our Savior. I've got
to hurry. And he says in verse 12, And
now this is true, that I am thy kinsman, There is a kinsman near
that I am. Tell this night, and it shall
be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part
of a kinsman, we'll let him do the kinsman's part. But if he
will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then I will do the part
of a kinsman to thee, as he swears. As the Lord liveth, lie down
unto the morning of the morning." You know, God is sworn by himself. of his promises to us in Christ
Jesus. God doesn't have to swear, but
he swore by himself that we might have sure consolation in Christ. All the blessings and promises
of God in Christ Jesus are yes and amen. And he swore by himself. And that's what Boaz is doing
here. And she lay at his feet into
the morning. That's what faith is, laying at the feet of our
Redeemer. Trusting in his word, trusting
in his promise, and his promises will never fail. He that believeth
in the Son hath everlasting life. All that the Father giveth to
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. Those are the words of our kinsman,
Redeemer. We just trust in that. Now, early in the morning, a
boy has loaded her down with a token. You know, when a girl
gets a wedding ring, that's a token. I heard some squealing the other
day going on. Someone got an engagement ring
and, boy, there was some squealing going on. I came upstairs and
I said, I... But she got a... She got that barley that he put
on her. all she could carry, and she
carried it back to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Naomi said, Now
you sit still, my daughter. She said, That man's not going
to rest until he takes care of this situation. He's not going
to rest until he has finished the thing this day. That's what
Christ did on the cross. He said, It's finished. He dealt
with that one that had the first claim on us. Who was that one
that had the first claim? Well, I don't know exactly in
this story, but I know the first claim on us sinners is the law
demands satisfaction. Do you know God has never justified
one sin in all the universe? He has never justified one little
sin in all the universe. He doesn't justify our sins. He justifies us. by condemning
our sins in our substitute. And that's what Boyers had to
deal with this one that had the first claim. And he went down
to the city gate, and he got ten witnesses. And when this
kinsman that's called Such-a-One came by, he called him over and
he said, Are you going to redeem Naomi and her land and everything? He said, I'll never redeem her.
Get more land. Well, that boy said, now, when
you redeem her, you're going to have to take in this Gentile
woman, Ruth, and raise up the family. He said, oh, no, no,
no. No, I'm not going to. Those witnesses,
that ten witnesses out in the law, it was legal before. It wasn't done in the corner.
This thing done at Calvary wasn't done in the corner. It was done
before all the universe, angels, that God might be just and the
justifier of all that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. So he did this in Oakland before
the law, and it was established. This man, such a wand, that had
the first claim, he wanted to, but he couldn't. So he had to
take off one of his shoes and give it to Boaz. It was a sign
that he was not able. He was a high-shot person, and
walking around high-shot. I'll tell you, Boaz had both
shoes on, and he had the will, and he had the power. That's
our Savior, our Redeemer. Now, don't just have a desire.
He has a desire plus the power. And he'll not lose any of his
sheep. He's going to call them out to the preaching of the gospel.
So we need not be discouraged. Just keep on proclaiming the
gospel and trying to—even though we have discouragements like
this young man leaving, saying he hadn't learned anything. Have
you learned anything from what I'm talking about? If you've learned, if you've
learned, that you're a sinner, you've learned something. Bless the Lord, you've learned
something. But wait, wait, wait for the good news. The good news
is what Christ did for us in Calvary, paying our sin debt
that we couldn't pay. And for His pains and our debts,
He received His mercy. And he received Ruth, and he had a son from Ruth, and
that son was called Obed. And you know what Ruth became?
A great, great, great grandmother of David, the king of Israel. And from the tribe of Judah,
David, that's where the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ when
he was born into this world. He was born under the law. He
was born according to the scriptures. And this is one of the women
in the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ that manifest the grace
of God. There are several of them. I
don't have time to name them, but what a wonderful, wonderful
story. And if the light of the Spirit
of God shines hearts and reveals the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. It's like that sun shining on
those rain clouds, and it's just glowing. I called Betty out,
and I said, Come on, Betty, you're missing it. You're missing it.
It's changing every minute. And that's my hope right now,
that the Spirit of God reveals these beautiful colors of the
light. The colors is not in anything. It's in the light. And I know
in your minds that you could this evil claypot, trying to
preach this message. Lord bless you. That was a real blessing. I couldn't help but think of
this verse of scripture. I'm not adding anything to that
message. Nothing should be or can be. Isaiah 28, 11 says, With stammering
lips, and another tongue. Will he speak to his people? And that's a blessing, buddy. That was a real blessing. It sure was. It's God's Word,
and he's promised to bless it no matter what language or our
poor attempts at it. I thank you for that. We can't
enter into what he was saying about trying to speak in another
language. You speak for 37 years in one
language. That's the way you think. That's
the way you talk. You read the Bible, like he said, in one language,
and that's how you memorize those scriptures. Now, I can enter in a little
bit. Tonight, I'm going to try to
read a Spanish Bible, and it's going to sound like a three-year-old
standing up here. I'm going to butcher it. I'm
going to try to lead. I'm going to try to talk to people
in a language I don't know, and it's a daunting task. Try it.
Try it. But somebody's got to do it.
And the Lord promised to bless. It's not us, it's his word. One word in the power of God's
Spirit, God is able to use mightily. Not by might, not by power, but
by my Spirit, saith the Lord. With stammering lips and another
tongue will he speak to this people. There's but one song
to sing, number 475, Redeemed. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim
it, number 475. Let's stand as we sing. Brother
Walter, I want you to go back to the back door so folks can
greet you. 475. We drink our love to proclaim
Him, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We drink to His infinite
mercy, this child and forever I. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever Lamb. Last verse. I know I shall see
in His face the King in whose law I'm divine. Lovingly guarded
my footsteps and giveth me songs in the night. Redeemed, redeemed,
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed,
this child and forever I am. Thank you. Thank you.

The Kinsman Redeemer

What does the Bible say about redemption in Ruth?

How do we know God's love is sovereign?

Why is knowing our condition as sinners important?

What role does perseverance play in faith?

Why is the story of Ruth significant to Christians?

Sermon Transcript

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The Kinsman Redeemer

What does the Bible say about redemption in Ruth?

How do we know God's love is sovereign?

Why is knowing our condition as sinners important?

What role does perseverance play in faith?

Why is the story of Ruth significant to Christians?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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