1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. Here you'll find practical, relevant, biblical information. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:19,000 The Bible will be broken down verse by verse so that you get the full context of the scripture to better grow in your relationship with Jesus. 3 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:30,000 There we go. Check. Can you all hear me? No more technical difficulties I hope. 4 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Alright. Well, good morning church. Thanks for coming out. Thanks for everybody watching online as well. 5 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000 So, I don't know about you guys, this week was pretty tiring for me. 6 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:46,000 I think this week kind of wore on a lot of people. I love that we all get to come here. 7 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,000 My wife would be the first to tell you that when I leave, it really energizes me. 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:55,000 And I like to think of Sundays as really the beginning of my week. I know most of us are like, oh, it's the end of the weekend. 9 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000 But really, we should always start with the Lord at the forefront of everything. 10 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:04,000 And really Sunday gives us a great opportunity to start our week just like that. 11 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:09,000 So maybe a little change of mindset there kind of picks us up a little bit. 12 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:14,000 So, last couple weeks we've been going through the book of Ruth. 13 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Today is no different. We're going into Ruth chapter 3. 14 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Before we get into it, we're going to recap a little bit before we dive in. 15 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Just kind of refresh everybody's memory, what we've been looking at. 16 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Ruth and Naomi, of course, they're in-laws. They've lost their husbands. 17 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:40,000 For Naomi, she lost her children. Ruth's husband. 18 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:47,000 They've basically turned everything around, gone back down the path, and returned to the promised land. 19 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,000 They're starting over. They're drawing back close to God. 20 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 It's never too late to turn around and go back. 21 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:59,000 And for them, there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of insecurity. 22 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,000 It's a very dark time in their life. 23 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:13,000 Really, what they're looking at as far as a dark time, beyond that insecurity, they're looking at a life of poverty. 24 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:17,000 And really, when I say poverty, we're talking essentially being destitute. 25 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,000 They're scavenging for scraps. 26 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:30,000 So, moving forward, this leap of faith, starting anew, Ruth went out and started gleaning the fields. 27 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:37,000 And Boaz, who already had an idea of who she was from people talking in the community, shared kindness, 28 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:42,000 showed his godliness, his love towards her, blessed her in a process of doing it, 29 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:49,000 blessed Naomi as well as taking care of these people, as we all should. 30 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:57,000 And really, the result of this was rekindling that hope for both of these women for a bright future moving forward. 31 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Second chances, right? We all deserve that second chance in life. 32 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,000 And Jesus came, so we have that. It's a beautiful thing. 33 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:11,000 So, a reminder as we go through this book, it refers to the guardian redeemer. 34 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:18,000 The guardian redeemer, this is a position of great importance because of inheritance. 35 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:24,000 When the husband would die, the guardian redeemer is somebody that usually the brother or cousin, 36 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,000 whoever that next closest in line is, has the option, if they're available, to marry the wife 37 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,000 in order to carry on the name and provide that first child for that inheritance to continue down. 38 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:40,000 It's very important because inheritance, it's not like how we live today where the man in the house dies 39 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,000 and everything goes to their wife or their daughters if they don't have a son or anything. 40 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:51,000 It was very specific that it went to the firstborn son. 41 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:57,000 So, in having this guardian redeemer law, this provided a way for there to be a son, 42 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,000 for the name to continue, and for that inheritance to pass down and to continue to take care of the family. 43 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 That inheritance isn't just money like we look at it now. 44 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:12,000 It was the farms, the animals, all the various properties that they owned. 45 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 So, things that we tend to take for granted sometimes. 46 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,000 It's part of why today having a home, having a car, certain things, certain types of ownership 47 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 still mean something because that's how it's been passed down for so many centuries. 48 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Look at my mom's house. It's a house she grew up in, my grandfather's house. 49 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:34,000 They're the first ones who lived in it. There's generation after generation. 50 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,000 When she goes, it's going to pass to my son. 51 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 So, there's certain things there that we take for granted. 52 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:49,000 We need to remember that. We also need to remember that for us, we have a guardian redeemer in Jesus Christ. 53 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:57,000 God come to earth, born as a man, born to a virgin, went upon the cross, died for our sins, 54 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:07,000 paid the price for our freedom from sin and His blood so that we could be redeemed and reconnected with God. 55 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:15,000 It also secured our chance for that bright future as well, being adopted into the family of God. 56 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,000 So, with that said, we're going to start moving into the message. 57 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:26,000 With that, this week we're going to be looking at more so at planning and the importance of planning. 58 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,000 It's important to have a goal in life. 59 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,000 We can't just blindly go through hoping for the next great thing to pop down in front of us. 60 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Remember, we talked about this last week. 61 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Eleanor Roosevelt was quoted saying, it takes much energy to wish as it does to plan. 62 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 Remember, you have to pick yourself up and get to work. 63 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Instead of waiting for a handout, you get to work knowing that eventually a handout is going to come. 64 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:57,000 The Lord's going to provide, right? 65 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:04,000 That's what Ruth has started doing as she's moving into this new future. 66 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Alan Lakin put it this way, planning is bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it now. 67 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 And Warren Buffett summed it up like this. 68 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Someone's sitting in shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. 69 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,000 When it comes to the future, we have to lay the foundation, right? 70 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:29,000 The Bible talks about Jesus being our rock, our firm foundation. 71 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,000 Our future is no different. 72 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:38,000 We need God right there as our foundation to build upon. 73 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Another way of doing it, a tool that we have today, of course, we get to write things down. 74 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,000 We have technology at our fingerprints. 75 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000 Diamond Dallas Page, wrestler from the 90s, he put it up like this. 76 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Once you have a goal, don't just ink it. 77 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Write it down. 78 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Do something because once you've settled on a goal, you need to do something to keep it right there at the forefront. 79 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,000 Never let it fall to the back. 80 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:08,000 You need to remember the struggles that you're going through, the hardships that you're seeing, the sacrifices that you're making, they're all amounting to something. 81 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:14,000 God's working on your character and building you and working on you now so that you can get to where you need to be. 82 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,000 And you need to keep that in sight. 83 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:22,000 You need to keep Jesus in sight and not focus on the storm that's going on around you. 84 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,000 So let's go ahead. 85 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Let's open our Bibles, your Bible app, whatever it is you're using. 86 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:32,000 We're going to go to Ruth, chapter three, and we're going to start off with verses one through four. 87 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:40,000 And the word says this, that Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek security for you? 88 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:44,000 Security meaning rest, that it may be well with you. 89 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? 90 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000 In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 91 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Therefore, wash yourself and anoint yourself. 92 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,000 Put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor. 93 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:07,000 But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 94 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:12,000 Then it shall be when he lies down that you shall notice the place where he lies, 95 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:22,000 and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will tell you what you should do. 96 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,000 So Naomi being ever vigilant, she's still looking out for Ruth's future, right? 97 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,000 She's still putting her daughter-in-law before herself. 98 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 She's still showing love. 99 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,000 She's still acting in action for love, right? 100 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,000 Love is an action. 101 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:45,000 And she sees a vision with Boaz starting to emerge. 102 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Boaz, you know, currently he's on the threshing floor. 103 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Now the threshing floor it's referring to, this is a place that was put up, it was an elevated area, typically outside. 104 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,000 It's really hard soil or sometimes they lay rocks and everything, 105 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:05,000 and this is where they would take their wheat and their barley and they either use oxen or they do it by hand 106 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,000 and basically they'd be crushing it down to separate the grains from the rest, right? 107 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:16,000 And the winnowing that it's referring to is basically they would take this empty husk that the grains come through 108 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,000 and they're throwing it in the air on a breeze where it wouldn't come through 109 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,000 and would blow out all the worthless stuff, right? 110 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:28,000 It's like Jesus working in our lives, shaping us, molding us, 111 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,000 helping us to work to get over the addictions and the various things that we're going through, right? 112 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:41,000 The poor choices that we make in life and helping us so we can see the right things and we can move forward, 113 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,000 bring out the best that's in us, right? 114 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:49,000 So every day, piece by piece, we're better every day than we were the day prior. 115 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Some places they say, you know, beating your clone, but the goal is to always leave better than you were. 116 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:03,000 And it's something that we can do no matter where we're at in life. 117 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,000 You know, this chaff would get blown away, like I said, that was called winnowing, 118 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,000 and Boaz, he would spend the night there and it was for a couple of reasons. 119 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:19,000 And the first one would seem fairly obvious to prevent people from going in and stealing the grain. 120 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:26,000 The other part was because he, even though he owned the land, right, and he had all these people working for him, 121 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,000 he didn't separate himself from it. 122 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,000 He was a leader and he was leading from the front. 123 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:41,000 So he put himself in line and he was waiting for his turn on the threshing floor as well. 124 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,000 You know, it wasn't just do as I say, it was do as I do. 125 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,000 He was showing the example. 126 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:48,000 That's what leaders do. 127 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,000 They set that example by doing it themselves, right? 128 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 They embody it so other people can see it. 129 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 These are the people, when we see them out there, whether it's in work or some other aspect of our lives, 130 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:07,000 these are the people that really we respect the most because they're not just talking the talk, they're walking the walk. 131 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:14,000 Now, at first glance, Naomi's advice to Ruth here as well, this could seem a little bit alarming, right? 132 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,000 It's like, oh, you know, go get dressed up. 133 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,000 Put on your lotions, put on your perfume, right? 134 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Make sure you're smelling real good, looking real good. 135 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:28,000 At first glance, we read this, it's like, oh, hold on a second. 136 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:32,000 The thing here, though, is she's not actually doing anything seductive. 137 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:43,000 What Naomi is instructing her on and encouraging her to do is to actually follow through on an Israelite custom, right? 138 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:51,000 By uncovering Boaz's feet, lying down at his feet, you know, underneath and basically pulling what he is covering over herself, 139 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:55,000 she's putting herself in a place of submission. 140 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:06,000 She's making an outward proclamation to him, letting him know that she's ready for him to step up and become her guardian redeemer, right? 141 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:17,000 You know, he, you know, and by being the guardian redeemer, he has the option to either marry her himself or to find her a husband, right? 142 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:24,000 So it's these two choices that he can choose from, and she's entrusting him essentially with her life, 143 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:30,000 saying, you know what, hey, I'm doing this and I trust you to make the best decision for me. 144 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:42,000 You know, and it's not a small act, just like it's not a small act when we put ourselves at the feet of Jesus and we truly give ourselves over to him. 145 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,000 We have to trust in him because he knows what's best in our lives. 146 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,000 He's going to guide us where we need to be. 147 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:54,000 It's not all going to be roses. It's not all going to be candy and cake and fluffy things. 148 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 You know, it's going to be trial. There's going to be tribulation, but he's going to get us through it. 149 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:04,000 He's going to guide us through and provide us a way through, and that way that he's providing is through him. 150 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,000 We have to remember this. It's no small act. 151 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,000 It's not something that we go into blindly either. 152 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:17,000 Here, Ruth is going blindly, but in faith that the best is going to happen. 153 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:27,000 That's the beauty with us. When we go and we put ourselves down at the feet of Christ, we already know there is no doubt that the best thing is to come, 154 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:36,000 that he is going to take care of us and our future is very bright indeed, and it is a sure thing. 155 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:43,000 By putting herself down here in this advice, it's actually a reference to 2 Samuel 12, verse 20. 156 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,000 So in 2 Samuel 12, verse 20, the word says, 157 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Then David got up from the ground, after he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes. 158 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 He went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 159 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food and he ate. 160 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:08,000 You see here, David, he had been told of his son's death. 161 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Not too much similar to what Naomi and Ruth had gone through, the death of a loved one. 162 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:22,000 What did he do? He got up, he got cleaned up, he got dressed, and then he went to worship and spend time with the Lord. 163 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,000 Exactly what we should all do when we are going through our tough times. 164 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Our good times too, but especially our tough times. 165 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,000 When he was done, he returned home and essentially he had a feast. 166 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,000 He had a little wake. 167 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:41,000 And the reason why this stuck out, everybody who was there, they were very taken back by it. 168 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,000 Like, whoa, what are you doing? You should be mourning. 169 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:50,000 But by doing this, he was signaling that his time of mourning was done. 170 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:59,000 He was done mourning his son. Yes, he was going to miss him, but he was ready to start moving forward again in a normal life with the Lord. 171 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:09,000 Similarly, Naomi was telling Ruth that it was time for her mourning to stop and to start moving forward in a normal life. 172 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:16,000 Because changing her clothes, as well, this was part of it. 173 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000 This was part of that change, part of that signal, that outward proclamation. 174 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:26,000 If we go to Genesis chapter 38 verse 14, so Genesis 38 verse 14, the word tells us, 175 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:31,000 Ruth took off her widow's garments, covered herself with the veil, and wrapped herself, 176 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:44,000 and sat in the open place which was on the way to Timnah, for she saw what Shella had, was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 177 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,000 See, she, you know, here, Ruth is no different. 178 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,000 She continued to dress as a widow. 179 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 So she wasn't just out doing the things expected of a widow. 180 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,000 She had a dressing as well. 181 00:15:54,000 --> 00:16:01,000 You know, in other parts of the Bible, they talk about how people would put on essentially what's a burlap sack, right? 182 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,000 This itchy kind of thing when they're repenting and everything. 183 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000 And it's no different. 184 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 She was wearing specific clothes that let everybody know, hey, I'm still in mourning. 185 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:15,000 I'm still going through hardship. 186 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:23,000 So in changing her clothes, it was also an outward signal to let people know, hey, it's time for a new chapter. 187 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,000 It's time to move forward. 188 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000 I'm not going to be stuck here anymore. 189 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:35,000 You know, and this outward declaration not only meant that she was ready to normalize her life again, 190 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:43,000 but she was also ready for the possibility of marriage if that were to come as well. 191 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 Continuing on, back at Ruth chapter 3, verses 5 through 9. 192 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:54,000 So, Ruth 3, verses 5 through 9, the word says, And he said to her, All that you say to me I will do. 193 00:16:54,000 --> 00:17:01,000 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 194 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:09,000 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was cheerful, she went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. 195 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,000 And she came softly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 196 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:18,000 Now it happened at midnight and the man was startled and turned himself. 197 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,000 And there a woman was lying at his feet. 198 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,000 And he said, Who are you? 199 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,000 So she answered, I am Ruth, your maidservant. 200 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:35,000 Take your maidservant under your wing, meaning to spread the corner of your garment over her. 201 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 For you are a close relative. 202 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:41,000 The Hebrew for close relative here meaning redeemer, right? 203 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,000 So this is also tying into that whole guardian redeemer piece. 204 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:50,000 Now, as a foreigner, of course, Ruth, she wasn't obligated to do this. 205 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:59,000 Matter of fact, for locals and with a local custom, she wouldn't even be expected to, right? 206 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Here these days we expect things different. 207 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,000 Like you're coming to my country, you're going to do what we do. 208 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,000 You're going to speak my language. 209 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,000 You're going to dress how we dress. 210 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000 You're going to work how we work. 211 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,000 It's not a very good expectation. 212 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,000 The expectation here is actually much better. 213 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,000 Because instead of putting people in a hostile place, like, hey, you know what? 214 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Let's make you comfortable. 215 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,000 If you stay, you stay. 216 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,000 Things will work out. 217 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,000 But we're not going to force things on you. 218 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,000 Much like when we talk to others about our faith. 219 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:37,000 We need to remember that we can't chase them away by trying to force our faith on them. 220 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,000 It's our responsibility to share the gospel, to tell them about it, right? 221 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:48,000 As the verbiage goes, to plant the seed. 222 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:51,000 But then the Holy Spirit will work in them and convict them. 223 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,000 And it's at that point that they'll start to develop that relationship. 224 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,000 We can't force it. 225 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,000 Just like I can't force you to be my friend, right? 226 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:06,000 If you don't like me, you don't like me, and vice versa. 227 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Our sharing of the gospel is no different. 228 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,000 All we do is share it, and the truth will speak for itself. 229 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:21,000 However, in the case of Ruth, you know, this advice that she was given, while it was probably odd to hear, 230 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000 you know, she was hearing it from somebody that she absolutely revered. 231 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:30,000 Somebody she adored, loved, and trusted with her best interest. 232 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,000 So it was very easy at that point to already start doing it. 233 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:42,000 And it was made easy here because as we saw in chapter 2, she had actually been out there. 234 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,000 She had interacted with Boaz. 235 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:50,000 He had seen just how godly he was, how kind he was to strangers and widows and children, 236 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:58,000 how much loving he was, how, you know, how he would go above and beyond what was required of him. 237 00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,000 And this meant a lot. 238 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,000 It carried weight. 239 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,000 So even at that point, it's like, okay, this is a good man. 240 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,000 I have no problem doing this. 241 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:15,000 You know, she's a first-hand witness to the love of God and the compassion of others that was working through Boaz. 242 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:21,000 You know, it's that character that stands at that test of time. 243 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000 Naomi, she's acting very much as a parent should. 244 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:28,000 You know, we all have those people in our lives, whether it's a parent, some other relative, 245 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:35,000 a close friend that's willing to work with us, talk to us, mentor us, telling when we're messing up, right, 246 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,000 giving us those reality checks that we all need from time to time. 247 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:44,000 You know, sometimes those bitter truths are much better, although harder to swallow, 248 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,000 than those easy lies we like to tell ourselves, right? 249 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:57,000 So, you know, these are people who influence us. 250 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:02,000 When it comes to the older people in our lives, these are people that we really need to listen to. 251 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,000 These are the people who have the life experiences to share. 252 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:08,000 They've been there. 253 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:09,000 They've done that. 254 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,000 And when they're trying to tell us about things, it's not because, oh, I'm better than you. 255 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,000 That's not their intent at all. 256 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,000 They're trying to share so that we don't make the same mistakes that they did. 257 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,000 They're trying to help us so that we have an easier life. 258 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000 So we're already going to make our mistakes. 259 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000 And unfortunately, some of the stuff we're just, we're not going to hear, 260 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,000 we're going to make those same mistakes ourselves. 261 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,000 You know, I'm the first to say there's a many a lesson I had to learn the hard way. 262 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:33,000 A lot of us are there, right? 263 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 We've all had certain things that we had to learn the hard way. 264 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000 But there's certain things when we listen and we pick up what they're saying, 265 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:45,000 and it makes our lives just a little bit easier. 266 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,000 You know, sometimes it's just our best interest to just close our mouths and to listen, though. 267 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 Sometimes it's not the easiest. 268 00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Instead of, you know, listening to respond, we need to listen to what's actually being said to learn and take it in. 269 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,000 You know, like Ruth laying submissively at Boaz's feet and waiting for instruction, 270 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,000 going back to Jesus, it's the same thing for us. 271 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,000 Remember I talked earlier, we lay ourselves down at his feet. 272 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,000 It's the same thing. 273 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,000 We need to sit there and we need to listen. 274 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,000 Sometimes it takes a while, kind of like Habakkuk. 275 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:25,000 When he prayed, he voiced his concern and then he went and he sat in the ramparts waiting for God to answer him. 276 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Sometimes it's hard for us to hear over our own voice when we're trying to tell God what we want the answer to be, 277 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,000 even though we're not necessarily prepared for what the answer will be. 278 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:42,000 Picking back up, verses 10 through 15, the word says, 279 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Then he said, Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, 280 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,000 and that you did not go after young men, whether rich or poor. 281 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000 And now, my daughter, do not fear. 282 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:04,000 I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 283 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000 Now, it is true that I am a close relative. 284 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:12,000 However, there is a relative closer than I. 285 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:18,000 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be, excuse me, 286 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:26,000 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be, that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you, good, let him do it. 287 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:33,000 But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives. 288 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,000 Lie down until morning. 289 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:41,000 So she laid his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. 290 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Then he said, Do not let it be known that the woman who came to the, do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. 291 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:55,000 Also he said, Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it. 292 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:02,000 And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley and laid it on her. 293 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,000 Then she went into the city. 294 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:11,000 So you remember when Ruth first went out and she first set foot on these fields, it was all business, right? 295 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:16,000 It was just looking for survival, looking for something for her and her mother-in-law to eat. 296 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:22,000 Very quickly they learned it wasn't just business, it was a family business. 297 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:28,000 Family business means a little bit more for us in our lives, doesn't it? 298 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:36,000 Wasn't waiting for that hand out, it was getting to work and working towards that hand up, which surely came. 299 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000 You know, it's making the best of that hard situation. 300 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,000 And now we're starting to see things change. 301 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,000 She's taken notice of Boaz. Boaz has taken notice of her. 302 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,000 A relationship is forming. 303 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 Boaz is also recognizing what Ruth is suggesting to him. 304 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,000 You know, she didn't have to do any of the things that she's been doing. 305 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,000 She didn't have to submit herself in the way that she has submitted herself. 306 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,000 She could have gone back home. 307 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,000 She could have gone back to Moah, back to her family. 308 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,000 And it would have been a much easier restart, right? A reboot in her life. 309 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:20,000 But she didn't do that. Instead she chose the harder path, that narrow path that we all take to Jesus, right? 310 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:25,000 You know, it wasn't the customs she was from, it wasn't the stuff that she knew. 311 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:30,000 And when it comes to these customs, you know, a lot of us, when it comes to customs that are foreign to us, 312 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,000 we're not really willing to bend, are we? 313 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000 We get very stiff. 314 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Something as simple as going to someone's house and right there at their front door, 315 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:43,000 they have a place where they expect everyone to take off their shoes, regardless of the reason. 316 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,000 The reason doesn't matter. 317 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,000 But some of us are like, no, I'm not taking off my shoes. Are you crazy? 318 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:54,000 Do you smell my feet? Do you smell my kids? No. 319 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:59,000 But we become very rigid, like, I don't want to do it. 320 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,000 Sometimes we need to be willing to bend. We don't know what's going on, right? 321 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:07,000 You go to that person's house, they're having you take off those shoes for a reason. 322 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:12,000 You've been outside, you've been trudging through stuff, you've been in and out of buildings, 323 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,000 maybe in and out of a hospital. 324 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,000 They have a loved one or an elderly person who's very frail in the back, 325 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000 and they're trying to keep germs out of the house. 326 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:25,000 You don't know this, and that's why they're having people take off their shoes, 327 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,000 trying to keep germs away from them. 328 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:35,000 But in our own rigidity, we could be infecting somebody, not even know it. 329 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,000 The same comes with how we treat each other. 330 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:44,000 You treat people with love, you treat strangers with love, and they remember it. 331 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:49,000 If you're a cold, nasty, bitter person, they're going to be like, haha, I remember this guy's a jerk. 332 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,000 Right? It's the same thing. 333 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:58,000 Our own actions, we inject either love or poison into whatever situation we're in. 334 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 You know, Ruth could have looked to anybody to secure her future. 335 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Like I said, she could have returned home and married a local there, 336 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,000 stayed with the customs and the stuff that she knew, the stuff she'd grown up with, 337 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,000 but instead, she was following a new norm, new customs. 338 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:18,000 She was getting out and showing that she was a woman of substance. 339 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:25,000 You know, as Boaz said, a woman of virtue, a very respectable person. 340 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,000 And because of what they're seeing in each other, 341 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,000 and what they've seen from the start, what they already were hearing of each other as well, 342 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:42,000 this is all influencing, and now they're starting to develop a deep respect for each other and genuine love. 343 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,000 True love is an unselfish love, right? 344 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,000 And Boaz has truly been unselfish, just as her. 345 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,000 You know, he gave her an inch, she didn't try to take a mile, she said, thank you. 346 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,000 And she put a little bit to take home to her mother-in-law. 347 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,000 You know, life's hard. We know it's going to be hard. 348 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:07,000 Jesus warned us it was going to be hard, and that was going to stay this way. 349 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:13,000 Life, walking this earth, wasn't any easier for him, was it? 350 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:19,000 However, he uses these difficulties to shape us, to mold us, to develop us into better people. 351 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,000 Like Winnowing the Chaff, I was talking about earlier. 352 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:27,000 You know, those hardships, they clear up that false image that we try to put up, that fake front, right? 353 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:33,000 It removes that second face that's in front of us, and these are the things that reveal who we really are, 354 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:40,000 the things that break us down, the things that bring us down emotionally. 355 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:47,000 It's one of the beauties of being in the military is when you're there and you see people are broken, 356 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,000 and you see that they're broken the same way that you are. 357 00:28:50,000 --> 00:29:00,000 You see that humanity, not the statue, but the person, and they become so much easier to love. 358 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000 And that's what's happening to us. 359 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:09,000 Things are being broken down in us so that we can be built up better, right? 360 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:17,000 Taking out those weak points and putting in strong points. 361 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:21,000 You know, Ruth and Naomi, these past few weeks, we've been looking at it. 362 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:26,000 We've been going over all those hardships, you know, having time to meditate it for the last few weeks. 363 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:34,000 You know, this is a good time to ask yourself questions and be honest in how you answer yourself, right? 364 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:42,000 You know, the difficulties, the struggles in your life, you know, how are these things winnowed you? 365 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,000 How are they showing your true character, your true nature? 366 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:52,000 You know, how are they showing you the very things that you need to work on? 367 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000 Because we all have things that we need to work on. 368 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:59,000 You know, in the Marine Corps, we have a leadership principle, know yourself and seek self-improvement. 369 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:03,000 And it's the exact same thing that the Bible is telling us here. 370 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:09,000 You know, find your weaknesses and then find the solution to improve them. 371 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:17,000 Whether it's removing a weakness from your life entirely or changing it into a strength. 372 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:21,000 You know, how do you treat others? 373 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:26,000 How have your life experiences built you with how you treat others? 374 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,000 Have they hardened you? Have they made you soft? 375 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:38,000 Have they made you, as we saw in Chapter 1 with Naomi, have they made you, Naomi or Mara, pleasant or bitter? 376 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:44,000 You know, it's not uncommon for us to use the hardships and the struggles and the pain in life to build up walls, 377 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:50,000 to keep people out and to be nasty to other people. 378 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,000 But it's not the right way. 379 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:59,000 You know, we use these things to justify our biases, our prejudices, our ugliness. 380 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,000 And it shouldn't be that way. 381 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,000 We see these things about ourselves and we should say, hey, this is what I need to fix. 382 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:12,000 This is when we should be turning to the Lord and praying, asking for guidance, asking for help, 383 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:17,000 asking for those other people to be put into our lives that can help us to fix these things. 384 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000 Right? It's kind of like you break a bone. 385 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000 Do you get to break a bone by yourself? No. 386 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000 The Lord's given us doctors to help with that. 387 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000 And it's no different with all these other things that we experience in life. 388 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:35,000 There are certain things here we can all go to each other here in our church family and help each other with. 389 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 We all have struggles. 390 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:44,000 So we need to take those lessons that we learn and build up. 391 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,000 Use them to learn for ourselves, use them to teach others. 392 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:54,000 You know, we take these experience and when we come through the other side, that's our testimony. 393 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,000 That's how Jesus has given us our testimony so we can talk to others, we can share that with them. 394 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Hey, you're not alone. You're never alone. 395 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,000 Jesus is always with you. And guess what? 396 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:11,000 I've gone through the same thing. So even if you just need a shoulder to cry on right now, 397 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:18,000 and when you're willing and you're ready to talk, I'll be here and we can talk. 398 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:25,000 But it's reflecting that light of God for others to see. 399 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,000 You know, are you the person who flows in negativity and the discontent around you? 400 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000 Excuse me, the discontent? 401 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:38,000 Or are you the person who goes in and always has that smile, that positivity that just lifts people up and cheers them up? 402 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,000 It's like, oh, I love this person when they come. 403 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,000 Right? Because we all have those people that come in and out of our lives. 404 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,000 We're like, oh, this guy again. 405 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,000 You know, that friend, we're like, oh, it's going to be a good day. 406 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,000 I got my partner over here. Right? 407 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:59,000 Now, Naomi and Ruth, they probably made the assumption that Boaz was their closest relative. 408 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:11,000 And we can get this also, you know, based on the response of Boaz that likely, you know, he's already kind of thinking like, oh, 409 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Ruth just made herself available to me. Sweet. Right? 410 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,000 That's kind of how us guys are. Right? 411 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,000 It's one of those moments where we're all kind of like dogs. 412 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:27,000 A little bit. 413 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,000 But he did the right thing. He did the honorable thing. 414 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,000 He's like, you know what? This is great. Thank you for trusting me. 415 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:40,000 However, there's another person who's closer. Right? 416 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:44,000 So there's some people that would have skipped over that. 417 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:49,000 They were showing that flaw in their own character and just going, you know what? Hey, let's do this. Sweet. 418 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:54,000 But he wasn't doing that. He wanted to do the right thing. He wanted to do the, you know, the godly thing. 419 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:58,000 The godly thing isn't always the easy thing. 420 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:03,000 So even though this might have been a tough pill for him to swallow, might not have been. 421 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,000 He might have already had an idea what the answer was going to be. Sometimes it happens. Right? 422 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,000 But he did the right thing and he was going to go to this other relative and be like, hey, guess what? 423 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:17,000 We had this coming up. You have for, you know, first dibs basically. Right? 424 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:22,000 Do you want to do this or not? 425 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:28,000 So Boaz went and referred to him first. The nice thing for Boaz though is that this guy wasn't interested, 426 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:33,000 which we learned he isn't, he's able to marry Ruth. 427 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000 You know, spoiler alert, we know that's exactly what happens. Right? 428 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:42,000 Because through that lineage, eventually Jesus comes. 429 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:47,000 You know, this is probably one of those cases and making the right decision, doing the right thing, you know, 430 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:52,000 it's a prime example that when we do these things, these are the things that bring us closer to God. 431 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:57,000 You know, and it's really easy to see how it brings us closer to God because in doing the right thing, 432 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:05,000 this brings God joy. And that reflects in the joy in our own lives, our own happiness that we get to see. 433 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:10,000 Right? Sometimes it's not always the thing that we look forward to doing, but we should still do these things, 434 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:14,000 knowing in our hearts that, you know, this is the better way. This is the high ground. 435 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:20,000 You know, we look at Jesus. Jesus wasn't looking forward to the cross. He knew what was coming. 436 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:27,000 When we go to Luke chapter 22, verses 42 through 44, we can see exactly how Jesus responds. 437 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:36,000 He prayed and he says, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. 438 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:42,000 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him, and being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly. 439 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:50,000 And his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. You know, Jesus, he knew what was about to come. 440 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,000 He knew it was going to be absolute horror. He wasn't looking forward to it. 441 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:58,000 Let's face it, he had the power where he could have changed things if, like that, right? 442 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:04,000 But he didn't do that. You know, he marched forward with the knowledge of what was to come. 443 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:15,000 And he did it knowing that it was for our best interest, his love for us. 444 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:19,000 A prime example of what we need to do in our lives when we're facing these hardships. 445 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,000 The right thing isn't always going to be the easy thing. Sometimes it's going to hurt. 446 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:29,000 Sometimes it's going to hurt a lot. Some of those tough decisions really are painful. 447 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:36,000 But we still need to do them. Let's go to these last couple of verses of Ruth here. 448 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:43,000 Ruth chapter 3, verses 16 through 18. The word says, when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, 449 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:50,000 and depending on your translation, it'll either say, how are you? Or is that you, my daughter? 450 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:58,000 Then she told her all that the man had done for her, and she said, these six ephos of barley he gave me. 451 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:03,000 For he said to me, do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law. 452 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:10,000 Then she said, sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out. 453 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:16,000 For the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day. 454 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:19,000 So Naomi, she's being very reassuring to Ruth here, right? 455 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:26,000 You know, Boaz is going to do the right thing. You know, he's going to follow through on his promises. 456 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:34,000 In Isaiah 66, verse 13, the word says, as a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you, 457 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,000 and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. 458 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:44,000 And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, maybe, there we go. 459 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:52,000 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 3 through 4, the word tells us, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 460 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:58,000 the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, 461 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:05,000 so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 462 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:10,000 So just as Naomi is comforting Ruth here, we need to comfort each other, right? 463 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:18,000 One of the greatest ways that we can do this is to share the gospel and to share our testimony of Jesus in our lives. 464 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:27,000 You know, we need to be willing to share with people that Jesus came to redeem those who accept him, 465 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,000 that he wants relationship with them. 466 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:35,000 You know, from this passage, we can assume that Boaz likely had a reputation, 467 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:42,000 not only for just following through on his word, but also being tenacious in doing so, right? 468 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:49,000 You know, the kind of person who gets that mission and just becomes fixated on it, very hyper-focused. 469 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:55,000 Anybody in here have that thing where something comes up in front of them and you just kind of hyper-focus, 470 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,000 like everything kind of goes to the side, it's like I'm on a mission, let's get this done? 471 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,000 My wife's pointing at me because she knows I do that a lot. 472 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:08,000 She's looking for something, have you seen this? And I drop it, let's find it, and I'll spend two hours looking for it, right? 473 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,000 But we all kind of get hyper-focused on different things in our lives, you know, 474 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:17,000 especially the things that we're really passionate about or the things that we really want. 475 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,000 We just, right there, everything else goes to the side or just kind of blurs out. 476 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,000 That one thing is all that we're looking at. 477 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:29,000 You know, so likely Boaz was the same kind of person, and these are the types of person, you know, 478 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:33,000 that we have in our lives, the type of people that we see as very reliable. 479 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,000 These are the people that, you know, we go to when we need something, you know. 480 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:40,000 This is another one of those character traits that stands the test of time 481 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,000 and that people look forward to seeing and get excited about, you know. 482 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:48,000 We all want to have that reputation that we're someone that people could come to in their time of need 483 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:51,000 or it could depend on to have certain things done. 484 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:57,000 But I'll remind you that this is one of those character traits, this is the type of reputation while we all want it, 485 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,000 it doesn't just come at the snap of a finger. 486 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,000 People don't just look at it and go, oh, that's the guy, he's going to do it. 487 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:10,000 This is one of those things that we have to go and that reputation is built piece by piece, action by action, right. 488 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,000 Conversation by conversation, it takes time. 489 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:20,000 And after a while, people come to see, okay, he wasn't just doing it, this wasn't, he wasn't just acting. 490 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,000 This is him, this is part of him, this is part of her. 491 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:26,000 You know, this is the person that I know I could go to for these things, 492 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:32,000 and they're going to get things taken care of, you know. 493 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:41,000 Psalm 37 verse 5, the word says, commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. 494 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:46,000 You know, the same way as Boaz had that reputation for following through, Jesus keeps his promises to us. 495 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:50,000 You know, step by step, he's shown us the way he set the example. 496 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,000 He didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk. 497 00:40:53,000 --> 00:41:00,000 You know, it's an example to each and every one of us, you know, of what can be achieved 498 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,000 and what we should strive towards. 499 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,000 You know, we're all imperfect, we're never going to be perfect while we're here, 500 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000 but it's all something that we can work towards, 501 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:13,000 and it's something he will help us with in our relationship with him, right. 502 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:20,000 Like I said earlier, better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today. 503 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:25,000 You know, and just like, you know, I was talking about the responsibility of being reliable, 504 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:30,000 we need to be willing to do things when people come to us, not to say, 505 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:34,000 hey, that's not my part of my job, that's not my scope of practice, you know, 506 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,000 that's not what I'm paid for or anything like that. 507 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,000 They're coming to you for a reason. 508 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000 They're seeing you as a person to get the job done. 509 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,000 So you should take that with a happy heart. 510 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,000 Say, hey, you know what, I can do this. 511 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,000 Let's do it. 512 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:51,000 Not bicker about it, not argue about it, not complain about it. 513 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,000 Just go and do it. 514 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,000 Be happy that someone trusts you enough to look to you to do it 515 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:02,000 and to place that responsibility upon you. 516 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:07,000 You know, it's one of the ways that we show our own love. 517 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:11,000 You know, sometimes we get asked to do something and we go and do it, 518 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,000 and we fail miserably. 519 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,000 No one likes to fail, right. 520 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,000 It can be a little embarrassing. 521 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,000 Sometimes it can be very embarrassing. 522 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,000 But you know what, sometimes that's part of the process. 523 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,000 Sometimes they're like, hey, I'd like for you to do this, 524 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,000 and you go and do it, and you fail miserably, 525 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,000 and you come back and be like, you know what, I tried. 526 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:34,000 This is what I did, and this was the outcome. 527 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:38,000 It was the best I could do. 528 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,000 And people respect that. 529 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:45,000 This doesn't become that one time you did something bad 530 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:49,000 because you had the integrity, that fortitude to go forward 531 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:54,000 and be like, you know what, I did my best and I failed. 532 00:42:54,000 --> 00:43:00,000 And that actually improves how people look at you in the long run. 533 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,000 That little piece of embarrassment was worth it 534 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:12,000 because you're honest and you did what God has told us to do. 535 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,000 You know, we're all going to have hardships, 536 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,000 we're all going to have struggles. 537 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:20,000 Like Ruth and Naomi, we're all going to lose people in our lives. 538 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:26,000 But we need to take these things, learn the lessons that are from it, 539 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:31,000 let God's love build up in us and guide us through it, 540 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,000 you know, and not get wrapped up in these things. 541 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:37,000 Not let these hard things be the end-all, be-all of who we are. 542 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:40,000 Let's face it, we all know people that are very much like that, 543 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:42,000 that one thing happened and that's what they get hung up on 544 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:45,000 is that point where they walked away from their faith 545 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:50,000 and they become very angry and very bitter with God. 546 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,000 That's very much the time that we should be turning to Him. 547 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,000 You know, Ruth and Naomi, they didn't let these things become their end-all, be-all. 548 00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:01,000 This wasn't who they were, it was just something that happened. 549 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,000 And then they started moving forward. 550 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:08,000 They started moving towards God and doing the right thing. 551 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:14,000 An example for all of us, you know, a final quote here today, 552 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,000 from Anne Frank. 553 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,000 She said, I don't think of all the misery, 554 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:26,000 but all the beauty that still remains. 555 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,000 We can have part of that beauty as well. 556 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,000 When we go to Jesus on the threshing floor, 557 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:36,000 we entrust in Him as our guardian, redeemer. 558 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:41,000 You know, let Him be that voice, that wind of change that comes through our lives 559 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:49,000 and blows out all the chaff, blows away all the meaningless, bitter, hard, ugly parts of us 560 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:59,000 to show the parts that truly matter, who we truly are for Him and His kingdom. 561 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:03,000 That lets the world know just how much He loves each and every one of us 562 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,000 and how much He will love each and every one of them 563 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:13,000 and how they come to a relationship with Him as well. 564 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,000 You know, we can rest in Him and we can find that comfort, you know, 565 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:19,000 especially in our times of pain. 566 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,000 And later on down the line, you know, while we're going through these hardships, 567 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:27,000 it doesn't always click right away that this is only for a moment. 568 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,000 But afterwards, we can realize it was just for a moment. 569 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:37,000 And we have a very tremendous, a very bright future with Jesus and in God's kingdom. 570 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:40,000 Let us pray. 571 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,000 Lord, we thank You for today. 572 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:46,000 We thank You for bringing us together, our time in fellowship together, our time in worship. 573 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:52,000 We ask that You help us to take all these things that we've covered in Your Word, 574 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,000 apply them in our lives to go out, 575 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:57,000 and remember that we need to lean on You, but not just lean on You, 576 00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:01,000 but to share our love of You and Your love with us, our relationships with others 577 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:06,000 so they can see exactly what we're working towards and what we're talking about. 578 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:13,000 To break the stereotypes and to break through the boundaries, the bias, the prejudices, 579 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:16,000 and to show Your hope. 580 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:20,000 Because we know Your hope is really the true light, the only light 581 00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:25,000 in this world of darkness that we're in right now. 582 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:30,000 And in our own struggles and the struggles that are unspoken of those that we know and love, 583 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:37,000 we ask for Your peace and Your comfort in our hearts, our minds, our very lives, 584 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:41,000 that when we walk with You, when we talk with You, 585 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:48,000 that not only do we gain knowledge, but we gain understanding. 586 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:52,000 That it's not just for this day, but so that we can be better each and every day, 587 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:55,000 better tomorrow than we are today, 588 00:46:55,000 --> 00:47:01,000 and to become the people that You need us to be for others to come to Your kingdom as well. 589 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:03,000 In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. 590 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:08,000 Alright, thank you everybody for coming today. 591 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:13,000 Thank you all for joining us here today at Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. 592 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:20,000 Please like, subscribe, and share our podcast on any platform it is that you tune into us on. 593 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:27,000 If you do have any questions, any prayer requests, or would like to know more about our ministry, 594 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:38,000 you can find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary. 595 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:43,000 You can also find how to contact us there, whether it's direct message or email. 596 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:50,000 We look forward to hearing from you all. God bless.