WEBVTT 00:00:01.229 --> 00:00:04.110 Good morning, good evening, good afternoon, whatever 00:00:04.110 --> 00:00:08.689 the case may be. We are here with our Bible study 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:12.949 in the Book of Ruth. This is part two. Part one, 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:16.989 as you know, we went through kind of some background 00:00:16.989 --> 00:00:21.850 as to the Book of Ruth, along with explaining 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:24.109 what this Bible study was going to be kind of 00:00:24.109 --> 00:00:28.170 set up as. But we only did chapter one, verse 00:00:28.170 --> 00:00:35.130 one. So, Today we're gonna pick back up in chapter 00:00:35.130 --> 00:00:38.969 1 of the book of Ruth starting in verse 2 See 00:00:38.969 --> 00:00:43.710 how far we can get through today Depends on what 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:46.689 all we go over how far we go But I'm just gonna 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.770 jump right in and start with the first I'm gonna 00:00:49.770 --> 00:00:53.549 read chapter 1 verse 2 through 5 Didn't give 00:00:53.549 --> 00:00:57.070 you what I got Told you last time kind of how 00:00:57.070 --> 00:01:00.509 I teach Sunday school is kind of how I'm teaching 00:01:00.509 --> 00:01:03.590 this I wish I had an audience here with me to 00:01:03.590 --> 00:01:05.730 give some feedback or give some of their points 00:01:05.730 --> 00:01:09.769 of view but again, I would love if you have anything 00:01:09.769 --> 00:01:14.890 you would like to add Send me a text email Message 00:01:14.890 --> 00:01:19.010 on if you can on one of these apps on Facebook 00:01:19.010 --> 00:01:24.209 whatnot because I too need to learn more and 00:01:24.209 --> 00:01:27.859 I'm not gonna learn more teaching myself if that 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:31.879 makes sense because I Only know what I know or 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:34.719 what God reveals to me and I need other people's 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.420 input anyway Let's just get into it. How about 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:42.719 that? So Ruth chapter 1 verse 2 I'll go ahead 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.060 and read verse 1 again, but it's really gonna 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:47.579 be 2 through 5 that we're gonna look at So let's 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:50.640 just read Ruth chapter 1 starting in verse 1 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.640 now it came to pass in the days when the judges 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:57.430 ruled that there was a famine in the land, and 00:01:57.430 --> 00:02:00.890 a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to Sojourn 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:04.370 in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his 00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:08.590 two sons. Verse two says, and the name of the 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:11.889 man, and bear with me as I say these names, because 00:02:11.889 --> 00:02:14.430 I'm probably gonna butcher them. Verse two says, 00:02:14.530 --> 00:02:17.469 and the name of the man was Limelek, and the 00:02:17.469 --> 00:02:20.810 name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two 00:02:20.810 --> 00:02:25.789 sons, Malon and Chillion. Euphrates of Bethlehem 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:29.889 Judah and They came unto the country of Moab 00:02:29.889 --> 00:02:34.210 and continued there and Elimelech Naomi's husband 00:02:34.210 --> 00:02:39.210 died and she was left and her two sons Verse 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:42.590 four and they took them wives of the women of 00:02:42.590 --> 00:02:46.810 Moab The name of the one was Orpah and the name 00:02:46.810 --> 00:02:49.750 of the other Ruth and they dwelled there about 00:02:49.750 --> 00:02:52.289 ten years now circle that if you're reading along 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:55.180 in your Bible because that's important to me, 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:57.139 how long they were there. They dwelled there 00:02:57.139 --> 00:03:01.659 10 years. This is, Elimelech's been dead for 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.520 10 years. Well, I don't know that he's been dead 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.500 the whole 10 years, but he died before they took 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:10.900 their sons. The sons took the wives. Anyway, 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.460 circle the 10 years part, because that's important 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:21.900 to me. And then verse 5, it says, The woman was 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:25.680 left of her two sons and her husband. So we find 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:29.199 ourselves here. Elimelech took his that there's 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.500 famine in the land of Bethlehem. There's famine 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:37.740 in Israel. We said last time that Bethlehem means 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:40.259 in Hebrew, the house of bread. There's famine 00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:42.319 in the house of bread, yet they left and went 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.659 to Moab, which is a foreign country. They went 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:48.699 to Sojourn, which was a temporary stay in a foreign 00:03:48.699 --> 00:03:52.159 country that worshiped a foreign God, not the 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.780 God of Israel. So that's where we're at. And 00:03:56.780 --> 00:04:02.139 as we get there, we think. Alemelek thinks he's 00:04:02.139 --> 00:04:06.340 leading his family out of famine to a land where 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:07.819 they're gonna have things, where they're gonna 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:10.800 have food, they're gonna find jobs, the two sons 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:14.120 find their wives, everything's gonna be better. 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:20.180 But we find that life - And Moab wasn't necessarily 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:23.920 better and easier than it was back in Israel, 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:28.040 back in Bethlehem. What do you mean? Well, ultimately 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.740 Elimelech died, both the sons died, and there's 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:35.509 Naomi left without a male in her household. They 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:38.129 went out of the frying pan and into the fire 00:04:38.129 --> 00:04:41.550 as the old saying goes, or the other old saying, 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:44.129 the grass isn't always greener on the other side. 00:04:44.269 --> 00:04:46.750 Another saying is that hindsight sometimes is 00:04:46.750 --> 00:04:52.730 20 -20. In a nutshell, they went out looking 00:04:52.730 --> 00:04:57.430 for something, but didn't necessarily get. what 00:04:57.430 --> 00:04:59.089 they thought they were going to get on it. We 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:01.649 look back at verse 1, why did they leave in the 00:05:01.649 --> 00:05:06.069 first place? They were looking to leave the famine. 00:05:06.250 --> 00:05:11.750 They were looking to find a better situation 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:16.009 somewhere that, my Bible doesn't say it, but 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:17.829 somewhere where maybe God necessarily wasn't 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:20.589 telling them to go. I had mentioned in the first 00:05:20.589 --> 00:05:26.399 one that sometimes We try to run from our problems 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.720 instead of face our problems with God. Sometimes 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.279 we think we can just move away from our problems, 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:34.879 but we find out that we just bring our problems 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.399 with us. We don't necessarily get away from them. 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:42.560 The problems go with us. But I want you to focus 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:47.040 through all of this on that 10 years. And like 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.310 I said earlier, last go round. and I'll probably 00:05:50.310 --> 00:05:52.870 say five million more times as we study the Book 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:57.610 of Ruth, is that my focus in the Book of Ruth 00:05:57.610 --> 00:06:01.589 is not so much on the character of Ruth, but 00:06:01.589 --> 00:06:04.410 the character of Naomi. And not just the character 00:06:04.410 --> 00:06:09.430 as in the character being a person, but her character, 00:06:11.009 --> 00:06:14.870 her makeup, what makes her up, what makes Naomi 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:20.180 who Naomi is. happened in these 10 years. Because 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:23.959 for these 10 years, Ruth was looking at Naomi 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:27.079 and looking at how she responded when her husband 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.939 died, how she responded when her sons died, how 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.959 she responded to all these negative things going 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:35.860 on in her life. So I want you to keep that in 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:40.319 the back of your head too. That we've run away 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:43.660 from our problems or a limelight has attempted 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:49.480 to run From the problem of famine into the land 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:53.740 of Moab, but sometimes our problems We camouflage 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:57.139 our problems and we do that today That's one 00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:01.839 thing I think personally That drugs and alcohol 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:05.860 are a big camouflage that people use is we've 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:09.459 got this problem and deep down everybody's problem 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.540 is really the same problem. It's not a financial 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:16.899 problem. It's not a health problem. It's not 00:07:16.899 --> 00:07:21.939 a anxiety problem. I struggle with anxiety so 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:25.500 I can deal. I can say that. I know what it is 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.889 to be anxious all the time and get... worried 00:07:28.889 --> 00:07:31.949 about things, we struggle with family problems, 00:07:31.970 --> 00:07:36.870 all that. But the real problem that we try to 00:07:36.870 --> 00:07:41.730 run from is the God -shaped hole in each and 00:07:41.730 --> 00:07:44.769 every one of our hearts. And we try to fill it 00:07:44.769 --> 00:07:47.110 with other things. We try to fill it with alcohol. 00:07:47.129 --> 00:07:49.569 We think run into an alcohol bottle or a pill 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:54.959 bottle or... a job or power or education or a 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:57.500 man or a woman or whatever it might be that we 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:02.699 try to fill with. After all of that wears after 00:08:02.699 --> 00:08:05.040 the honeymoon phase, so to say, or after the 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.300 new wears off, or a good example is the drugs 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:14.620 and alcohol after the alcohol, the drunkness. 00:08:14.910 --> 00:08:19.029 or the drug dupness, whatever term, I'm not good 00:08:19.029 --> 00:08:21.529 with terms, but whatever the terms are, the high, 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:26.790 wears off, the problem's still there. And then 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:28.990 we run back to the bottle again and we get drunk 00:08:28.990 --> 00:08:31.290 again or we get high again or we seek another 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:33.870 woman or we seek another job or we seek more 00:08:33.870 --> 00:08:36.750 money and after the money runs out, the problem's 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:39.889 still there and will always be there until we 00:08:39.889 --> 00:08:42.590 get the problem filled with Jesus because it 00:08:42.590 --> 00:08:48.220 is a Jesus sized, shaped problem in our heart 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:49.919 that we're trying to fill with all these things. 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:52.019 And that's free because that really doesn't have 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:54.480 anything to do with this other than the fact 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.919 that in verse 1, I feel like that was part of 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:01.899 the issue was instead of trusting God through 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:04.879 the famine, Elimelech made the decision to take 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:09.159 his family and flee thinking, hey, if I get somewhere 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:11.980 else, maybe the problem won't be as bad. The 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:16.570 problems go with us. That's life. But moving 00:09:16.570 --> 00:09:21.769 on, we'll read verses six and seven here. Ruth 00:09:21.769 --> 00:09:27.450 chapter one verse six, it says, then she, being 00:09:27.450 --> 00:09:30.090 Naomi, then she arose with her daughters -in 00:09:30.090 --> 00:09:33.190 -law, that she might return from the country 00:09:33.190 --> 00:09:36.389 of Moab. For she had heard in the country of 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:40.970 Moab how that the Lord had visited his people 00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:47.379 in giving them bread. verse 7 wherefore she went 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:50.899 forth out of the place where she was and Her 00:09:50.899 --> 00:09:55.960 two daughters in law with her and they went on 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:59.759 the way to return into the land of Judah So here 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:06.000 we are we have left Bethlehem because of famine 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.879 with a limelight leading the family out during 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:14.759 our ten years of sojourning whatever you want 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:18.580 to call it, our 10 years of being out in Moab. 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:20.799 We've had some things that we've had to deal 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:25.000 with. Elimelech's died. The two sons, Malon and 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:30.259 Chilean, have died. And now we're returning back 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.620 to Bethlehem. We're returning back to Israel 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.519 because she had heard that the famine was over 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.720 and God was giving bread to his people. Now what 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:41.620 would have happened if they had stayed through 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:46.250 those 10 years? I don't know. The Bible doesn't 00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:52.090 say we can speculate. Maybe Elimelech, Malon, 00:10:52.169 --> 00:10:54.990 and Chilean die anyway. But maybe they're still 00:10:54.990 --> 00:10:59.570 alive. Maybe they find other wives. Well, I know 00:10:59.570 --> 00:11:02.610 they wouldn't have found Ruth and Orpah because 00:11:02.610 --> 00:11:04.549 they didn't go to Moab. Things would have been 00:11:04.549 --> 00:11:09.429 different, but my point is sometimes I believe 00:11:09.429 --> 00:11:11.610 that God expects us to wait through the hard 00:11:11.610 --> 00:11:15.250 times. not to run, and we've beat this like a 00:11:15.250 --> 00:11:18.370 dead horse about running away from our problems, 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:22.909 but sometimes we need to, as the song says, and 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:26.409 as God says in Psalms, or David writes in Psalms, 00:11:26.429 --> 00:11:30.529 God inspired him to write, is be still. We need 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:32.970 to be still and watch God move. We need to be 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:37.269 still and wait upon the Lord. It's when we're 00:11:37.269 --> 00:11:40.970 in our weakest. When we're in our waiting that 00:11:40.970 --> 00:11:42.909 he's doing the most that's when he's working 00:11:42.909 --> 00:11:48.070 and I think God expects us to do that Excuse 00:11:48.070 --> 00:11:52.330 me anyway, so Naomi heard the Lord had visited 00:11:52.330 --> 00:11:56.870 his people And it was time for her to go back 00:11:56.870 --> 00:11:59.870 and I think there's some things that we can get 00:11:59.870 --> 00:12:02.990 about going back and let's Look at some other 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:06.970 scripture here about a time When somebody went 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:11.419 back, okay? If you want to flip you'll find this 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:14.639 scripture in Genesis chapter 35 I'm gonna read 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:17.679 verses 1 through 3 Genesis 35 1 through 3 and 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:20.600 we're talking about Jacob and a time when he 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:25.259 needed to get back so Genesis 35 and 1 says and 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:29.039 God said unto Jacob arise go up to Bethel and 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:32.279 dwell there and Make there an altar unto God 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.120 that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.279 the face of Esau thy brother and I'll stop right 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:41.429 there see Bethel is a place where Jacob had already 00:12:41.429 --> 00:12:46.350 been previously, but he had left it. Okay, now 00:12:46.350 --> 00:12:49.429 let's jump into verse two. Then Jacob said unto 00:12:49.429 --> 00:12:52.250 his household, and to all that were with him, 00:12:52.250 --> 00:12:54.370 and this is important, we need to do this today, 00:12:54.950 --> 00:12:57.169 put away the strange gods that are among you 00:12:57.169 --> 00:13:01.330 and be clean and change your garments. Verse 00:13:01.330 --> 00:13:04.169 three says, and let us arise and go up to Bethel. 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:07.740 and I will make there an altar unto God who answered 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:11.379 me in the day of my distress and was with me 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:16.740 in the way which I went." So Jacob had been in 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.480 Bethlehem before, just like Naomi had been in 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.940 Bethlehem before. Jacob had fled Bethlehem, just 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:25.659 like Naomi with her husband and her two sons 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:31.519 had left Bethlehem. Now God himself here is telling 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.440 Jacob, it's time for you to arise and go back 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:36.820 to Bethel. But there's some things that he had 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:40.580 to take care of, and there's some things that 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:44.340 we have to take care of when we go back. It said 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:46.139 here that he had to tell them to put away the 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:48.299 strange gods that they had among them, to be 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:50.360 clean, to change their garments, to get back 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:52.860 to Bethel. And he had to repair, he had to build 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:55.679 the altar back up that he once had at Bethel. 00:13:56.059 --> 00:14:00.480 Now Bethel, just like we said Bethlehem in Hebrew 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:04.799 meant house of bread, Bethel means house of God. 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:14.179 And I feel like today in 2025, we could say just 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:16.799 like Olimolec and Naomi when they were there 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.840 in Bethlehem, we're facing a spiritual famine. 00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:24.659 And the only way to get that spiritual famine 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:28.059 to get through and to get what we need is to 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:31.059 go back to Bethel, go back to the house of God. 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:33.840 God wants to bless our country. God wants to 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:36.980 see lost, or we want God to bless our country. 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:40.879 We want to see lost souls saved. We want to see 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:43.139 our churches grow. We want to see all these things 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.600 happen. But in order for them to happen, we first 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:51.879 have to get back to Bethel. And in the Bible, 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:54.279 I believe it's in Proverbs, I could be wrong, 00:14:54.340 --> 00:14:56.620 but I believe it's in Proverbs where it says, 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:58.879 judgment begins at the house of God. If we want 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.840 to see all these things change in our nation, 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:06.100 in our families, in our communities, in our world, 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:09.799 we've got to get to where we're supposed to be 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:13.080 first before we can try to help anybody else 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:15.799 or try to point anybody else in the right direction 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:19.549 to get back to where they need to be. Naomi could 00:15:19.549 --> 00:15:23.990 have heard she had a choice here, just like Jacob 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:27.909 did when God spoke to him to go back to Bethel. 00:15:28.409 --> 00:15:30.730 Naomi could have heard that God had visited his 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:34.490 people and wished that she had gone back, but 00:15:34.490 --> 00:15:38.090 she had to actually put it into action. Okay, 00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:40.710 sometimes we pray all these prayers. We want 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:42.909 to see this accomplished. We want to see that. 00:15:43.009 --> 00:15:46.110 We need this. God, I'm looking for this answer. 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:48.730 But sometimes we have to put it into action. 00:15:48.830 --> 00:15:52.110 God wants to see, He wants to answer, but we 00:15:52.110 --> 00:15:55.690 have to put feet to our prayer sometimes. He 00:15:55.690 --> 00:15:58.350 expects us, believe it or not, He expects us 00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:01.110 to do a little bit of the work. Only He can answer 00:16:01.110 --> 00:16:03.769 those prayers. Only He can provide, but there's 00:16:03.769 --> 00:16:06.730 some things that... we're expected as Christians 00:16:06.730 --> 00:16:12.750 to do. We get over into the book of James, and 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:15.230 we studied that not too long ago in Sunday school 00:16:15.230 --> 00:16:19.129 at our church, but the big part of the book of 00:16:19.129 --> 00:16:21.990 James to me was where he talks about being doers 00:16:21.990 --> 00:16:26.570 and not hearers only. Well, let's go a bit further. 00:16:26.570 --> 00:16:29.389 Instead of it being just a speaker or a sayer, 00:16:29.470 --> 00:16:32.230 We've got to be a doer. I can tell you the Bible 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:34.570 says to do this, the Bible says to do that. This 00:16:34.570 --> 00:16:36.210 is how the Bible says we're supposed to live 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:40.289 our life. This is what God expects out of me, 00:16:40.309 --> 00:16:42.929 you, each and every one of us. But if I'm not 00:16:42.929 --> 00:16:47.110 a doer of what I'm saying, what good is it doing? 00:16:47.509 --> 00:16:49.549 Just like Naomi here, she heard there was bread. 00:16:49.629 --> 00:16:51.289 She heard that the famine was gone. There was 00:16:51.289 --> 00:16:55.710 bread back. The Lord had visited Bethlehem. She 00:16:55.710 --> 00:16:57.409 heard all these great things, but she could have 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:01.000 just stayed in Moab. She wasn't forced to go 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.579 back to Bethlehem. She heard all the great things, 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:07.720 but she had to put some feet to action and actually 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.500 move and go back to Bethlehem. If we want to 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.000 get back to God, the first thing we're gonna 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:15.519 have to do, first we're gonna have to acknowledge 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.640 that we've walked away from God, that we've left 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:23.480 Bethlehem, or we've left Bethel. it hadn't been 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.220 that God left us because he never will I think 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:28.579 we said that last time God will never leave us 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:31.759 but we sure will leave him especially when we're 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:33.500 up on the mountaintop and everything seems to 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.460 be going good and we don't think we need him 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:38.059 then we start to stray away but that's another 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:41.599 topic altogether but to get back to God we need 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:45.339 to do not a 360 because if you turn 360 you go 00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:46.960 all the way around and you're headed in the same 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:48.599 direction you were headed to begin with we need 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:53.099 to do a 180 and head back to Bethel, head back 00:17:53.099 --> 00:17:56.900 to Bethlehem, head back to God, where we sat 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:59.180 down, where we sat down our testimony, where 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:01.920 we sat down our witness, where we sat down our 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.720 desire, where we sat down our fire to get closer, 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:07.619 our desire to see the church grow, our desire 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:12.480 to grow closer to God. I believe it was Sunday, 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:14.180 it may have been Wednesday night when I preached 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:17.319 and said something about the Bible being a living, 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:21.900 breathing Word of God. But I don't have, my Bible 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.940 doesn't have feet that's going to just plop out 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:27.079 of it and it's going to walk over to me to force 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:31.160 me to read it. I have to put forth effort to 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:35.960 read to grow closer to God. And that goes along 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:39.180 here with, too, I have this big thing on words 00:18:39.180 --> 00:18:45.220 and cause and effects and things. You'll find 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:48.119 this in several different verses, but I'll read 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:50.460 this one here because it's the main one that 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.460 a lot of people know. It's the if -then. If we'll 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:56.200 do our part, then God will do his part. Now listen 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:00.539 to what it says in 2 Chronicles 7 -14. If, okay, 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:02.640 now following the if is what we're supposed to 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:07.339 do. If my people, which are called by my name, 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:10.740 shall humble themselves. Oh, we've got to get 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:16.299 humble. Nobody wants to do that and pray we Find 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:18.859 time to do everything but pray it seems like 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:23.819 and seek my face now will seek Baseball game 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:26.440 will seek money will seek time with our family 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:28.640 will seek vacations will seek all this stuff, 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:34.200 but we don't seek God and Turn from their wicked 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:37.720 ways not continue in your ways not continue doing 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.960 the same thing over and over and over but turn 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.039 from it. Not turn all the way around until you're 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:49.000 facing it again. Turn from it. If my people, 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:51.839 which are called by my name, shall humble themselves 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.059 and pray and seek my face and turn from their 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:57.539 wicked ways, then, here comes God's part, then 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:00.859 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:05.259 sins and will hear their land. So why do we try 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:07.880 to be stubborn and keep pushing on a door that 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:12.990 says pull? We know if we'll do our part, God 00:20:12.990 --> 00:20:16.150 is faithful and just to do His part. If we will 00:20:16.150 --> 00:20:19.170 confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive 00:20:19.170 --> 00:20:26.230 our sins. If we will seek His face, He will pour 00:20:26.230 --> 00:20:30.990 Himself out to us. If we will pray to Him and 00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:35.769 step out when the stepping is not easier or do 00:20:36.539 --> 00:20:39.319 like I've said the other night, do all these 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:41.519 things that make us look weird and stupid and 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:43.380 don't make sense, but it's what God tells us. 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:46.980 If we'll do our part, He's gonna do His. But 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:51.539 God expects us to do our part too. So we find, 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.859 let's do a quick summary here. Let's back up 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:56.660 to verse one and summarize through verse seven 00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:59.319 real quick. So there was a famine in the land, 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:02.279 Elimelech and his family left. They went to Moab. 00:21:03.150 --> 00:21:06.170 While in Moab over the course of this ten -year 00:21:06.170 --> 00:21:11.470 period the limelight died the sons Malon and 00:21:11.470 --> 00:21:16.069 Chilean took on wives being Orpah and Ruth Malon 00:21:16.069 --> 00:21:21.890 and Chilean died Naomi hears that God's visited 00:21:21.890 --> 00:21:25.329 Bethlehem and brought bread to his people She's 00:21:25.329 --> 00:21:28.509 deciding it's time we turn and go back or or 00:21:28.509 --> 00:21:34.750 she turn and go back to her people But she wasn't 00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:37.309 forced to do that. She had to make the choice 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:42.170 to go back. So there's where we're at, and now 00:21:42.170 --> 00:21:43.910 we're at verse eight. I'm gonna read verses, 00:21:43.950 --> 00:21:46.390 this is Ruth, chapter one, verses eight through 00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:50.650 13. Verse eight says, and Naomi said unto her 00:21:50.650 --> 00:21:54.869 two daughters -in -law, go, return each to her 00:21:54.869 --> 00:21:57.630 mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you 00:21:57.630 --> 00:22:00.170 as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 00:22:00.410 --> 00:22:04.960 Verse nine. the Lord grant you that you may find 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.559 rest each of you in the house of her husband 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:12.579 then she kissed them and they let's underline 00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.500 they right there because it's Orpah and Ruth 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:19.960 they lifted up their voices and wept verse 10 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.480 and they underlined they again if you're reading 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:27.859 along and they said unto her surely we will return 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:31.849 with thee into thy people verse 11 Naomi said 00:22:31.849 --> 00:22:34.609 turn again my daughters why will you go with 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:39.029 me are there yet any more sons in my womb that 00:22:39.029 --> 00:22:42.509 they may be your husbands verse 12 turn again 00:22:42.509 --> 00:22:46.029 my daughters go your way for I'm too old to have 00:22:46.029 --> 00:22:50.009 a husband and if I should say I have hope if 00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:54.509 I should should have a husband also tonight and 00:22:54.509 --> 00:22:58.910 should also bear sons verse 13 would you tarry 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:02.940 for them till they were grown? Would you stay 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:06.920 for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters, 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:11.420 for grieveth me much for your sakes that the 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:15.480 hand of the Lord has gone out against me." So 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:19.099 Naomi is telling them that in verse 9 and verse 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.720 10, I've told you to underline the words, they 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:28.019 both, Orpah and Ruth are there. Naomi says, look, 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:31.109 I'm going back. Bethlehem and this is the if 00:23:31.109 --> 00:23:32.930 you are in Sunday school with me You've heard 00:23:32.930 --> 00:23:34.849 me say the Jeremy international version, but 00:23:34.849 --> 00:23:37.869 this is the Jeremy summary of how I read this 00:23:37.869 --> 00:23:41.390 and Take it as you will read it for yourself 00:23:41.390 --> 00:23:44.730 in the Bible But this is my interpretation. Okay, 00:23:44.789 --> 00:23:49.890 so Naomi says look My husband's died my two sons 00:23:49.890 --> 00:23:52.849 who girls were married to died y 'all are from 00:23:52.849 --> 00:23:54.849 Moab y 'all have your own gods You have your 00:23:54.849 --> 00:23:58.319 family here. It's just me here I've heard that 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:02.779 God has returned and blessed Israel with food. 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:06.059 I'm going back home. I'm turning back to the 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:09.460 God I know. I'm turning back to what? I'm going 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:12.240 back to where I need to be. Y 'all go back to 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.799 your families. And it says they both wept. They 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:18.519 both lifted up their voice, both girls. They 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.420 both said unto her that they would return with 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.700 them. And she's like, why would you go with me? 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:26.880 I'm old. I have no husband and even if I did 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.000 have a husband tonight and did end up having 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.680 two sons, y 'all are gonna sit around and wait 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.099 for them to be of age so you can marry them. 00:24:36.539 --> 00:24:38.660 You're young, you've still got your life ahead. 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:41.660 Go back to your family. I've brought all this 00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:45.220 bad stuff upon y 'all. Y 'all dealt with me kindly. 00:24:45.980 --> 00:24:49.019 I appreciate it. Y 'all are awesome daughter 00:24:49.019 --> 00:24:53.549 -in -laws. Go back to your family. I'm going 00:24:53.549 --> 00:24:59.670 back to my land and my God. Now that's what all, 00:25:00.190 --> 00:25:02.970 I feel like Naomi was kind of in a summary saying 00:25:02.970 --> 00:25:06.269 to them, but what I find in here also is despite 00:25:06.269 --> 00:25:09.789 all that has happened in Naomi's life, all the 00:25:09.789 --> 00:25:13.470 loss, I don't read where Naomi was bitter when 00:25:13.470 --> 00:25:17.329 she talked to him. She could have been, but I 00:25:17.329 --> 00:25:21.839 feel like she was like Jobe. where Job said, 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:25.039 the Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:29.980 be the name of God. Naomi, she had all the reasons 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:32.420 in the world to be bitter. She had lost her husband, 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:34.700 she had lost both her sons. She's in a foreign 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:38.559 land with no family, but I don't read it as if 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:43.299 she's bitter. But I also want to look at me and 00:25:43.299 --> 00:25:46.970 have you look at you. Where would we fall in 00:25:46.970 --> 00:25:49.230 these situations and circumstances? How would 00:25:49.230 --> 00:25:51.750 I have responded? How would I have responded 00:25:51.750 --> 00:25:56.210 if I took Amanda and the kids away from Bree 00:25:56.210 --> 00:25:59.630 City and we go to some foreign land and and and 00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:01.970 they all die and everything goes wrong and it 00:26:01.970 --> 00:26:06.450 starts falling apart? Naturally, I just go Huh, 00:26:06.490 --> 00:26:08.230 what was me throw my hands up in the air, but 00:26:08.230 --> 00:26:10.670 I don't see her as this way and maybe that's 00:26:10.670 --> 00:26:13.509 just me Maybe that's my impression of Naomi, 00:26:13.509 --> 00:26:16.410 but I think that's also important because of 00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:20.509 during those ten years and All that went wrong 00:26:20.509 --> 00:26:22.710 in Naomi's life. You got to remember you got 00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:25.809 two girls Who were watching her and watching 00:26:25.809 --> 00:26:29.450 how she lived and how she responded to all these 00:26:29.450 --> 00:26:36.470 things? You know How do we respond when bad things 00:26:36.470 --> 00:26:38.549 come to our life when we go to the doctor because 00:26:38.549 --> 00:26:41.589 everything good our life is not just going to 00:26:41.589 --> 00:26:45.869 be Roses all through life Okay, it's not always 00:26:45.869 --> 00:26:47.430 gonna be great. We're gonna go to the doctor 00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.710 and get bad news. Okay, that's life We're gonna 00:26:50.710 --> 00:26:52.730 lose loved ones. We're gonna we're gonna lose 00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:57.190 jobs. We're gonna bad things happen How do we 00:26:57.190 --> 00:27:00.289 respond? Do we turn to God or do we blame God? 00:27:00.329 --> 00:27:04.140 Do we get angry at God? The answer to our problems 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:07.819 in life or any circumstances we don't understand 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:11.240 while we're having to face them, the answers 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:14.460 are never in pushing God away but are always 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:17.700 found in drawing closer to him. No matter how 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:19.819 bad it is, when the doctor comes in and says 00:27:19.819 --> 00:27:22.039 you've got cancer and it's the worst kind you 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:25.480 can have and you might have six weeks to live, 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:30.400 God's still God and God's still good. Don't push 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:33.259 him away draw closer. That's where our strength 00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:38.519 is and I believe Naomi had that relationship 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:44.259 where she drew strength from God and Orpah and 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:48.160 Ruth more so Ruth saw that and responded to that 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:51.319 and that's let me read verse 14 verse 14 says 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:55.359 and They you can underline they again and they 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.619 lifted up their voices and way up both of them 00:27:57.559 --> 00:28:00.220 But now here's where the difference is, okay? 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:05.960 And Orpah kissed her mother -in -law, but Ruth 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:09.500 clave unto her. Only Ruth clave unto her. It 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:12.720 says they both way -upped, but they also both 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.720 had a choice to make. And although they both 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:17.559 way -upped, we see here that there's a difference 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:21.380 in saying and doing. Orpah was sad, Orpah said 00:28:21.380 --> 00:28:24.779 I'm gonna go, Orpah said I'm gonna do this, all 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:29.119 these things. Ruth did. She claved to her. Life 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:32.900 is going, guaranteed, going to give us hard roads 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:36.440 to go down at times. And the Bible tells us we'll 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:39.400 have trials and tribulations, but at some point 00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:42.599 we have to become more than just a sayer and 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:46.140 become a doer. And there, James, like we mentioned 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:52.240 earlier, James 1 and 22 says, but be doers of 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:54.579 the words and not hearers only deceiving your 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:58.529 own selves. Sometimes we've got to put rubber 00:28:58.529 --> 00:29:00.750 to the road. We've got to put feet to our prayers. 00:29:00.910 --> 00:29:05.690 We have to be a doer. If we are truly one of 00:29:05.690 --> 00:29:09.410 His, we know what we should do, but do we always 00:29:09.410 --> 00:29:12.170 do it or are we sometimes just bystanders just 00:29:12.170 --> 00:29:15.430 hearing it without responding? Are we an orpa 00:29:15.430 --> 00:29:18.690 or are we a Ruth? Ruth saw all these things in 00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:23.480 Naomi and she said, I'm going to be a doer. Our 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:27.119 life our choices in life might not always be 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:31.079 clear The end may not always be visible to us. 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:33.299 We talked last time about I believe it was last 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:35.700 time I said that our life is like a jigsaw puzzle 00:29:35.700 --> 00:29:37.859 We see a couple of pieces, but God sees it all 00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:40.579 put together We're not always going to understand 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:44.559 but we need to take on with God And I preached 00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:48.839 on this a couple of days weeks ago whenever the 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:52.349 Nike slogan of just do it. We need to have that 00:29:52.349 --> 00:29:56.049 attitude towards God. Ruth maybe couldn't fully 00:29:56.049 --> 00:29:58.750 understand what was ahead, but she was going 00:29:58.750 --> 00:30:00.470 forward anyway. She was just going to do it. 00:30:00.589 --> 00:30:03.950 She was just like, I've been with you 10 years 00:30:03.950 --> 00:30:07.089 now. I don't fully understand all this, but I'm 00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:08.910 going with you. I'm just going to do it. And 00:30:08.910 --> 00:30:11.390 I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit. But 00:30:11.390 --> 00:30:15.150 that's the attitude we need to have. And what 00:30:15.150 --> 00:30:17.500 I preached the other night... come from John 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:20.160 and I want to read these verses. John chapter 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.460 2 verses 1 through 5. We're at the marriage supper 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:27.599 where Jesus turns water into wine and says, and 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:30.200 the third day there was a marriage in Cana of 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:33.480 Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:35.940 both Jesus was called and his disciples to the 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:38.480 marriage and when they wanted wine the mother 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:42.339 of Jesus saith unto them unto him they have no 00:30:42.339 --> 00:30:45.559 wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:48.099 I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:51.740 Now listen at verse five close. His mother saith 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:54.779 unto the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, 00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:57.940 do it. And that's the kind of attitude we need 00:30:57.940 --> 00:31:01.220 to have. That's what it means to be a doer. Whatever 00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:04.420 God says, it doesn't have to make sense to me. 00:31:05.960 --> 00:31:07.880 In teaching and preaching, I've mentioned this 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:10.740 several times since I read this one book. about 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:14.119 a pastor who his church caught on fire and he 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:16.660 thought everything was going bad and he was just 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:19.059 gonna give up. He wasn't gonna preach anymore. 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:21.839 And as I was reading that, there was something 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:24.660 said in there and it hit home to me and it makes 00:31:24.660 --> 00:31:29.319 sense to me. What is this? 2025? I've been saved. 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:33.980 This month will be 15 years and in the 15 years 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:36.359 I've been walking with the Lord, he's never once 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:39.960 asked my opinion on anything. Because really 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:42.099 at the end of the road, at the end of the day, 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:45.299 my opinion doesn't matter. If he says do it, 00:31:45.299 --> 00:31:49.220 just do it. Does it make sense? Always no. Did 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:55.500 I, Jeremy, did I want to be a preacher? Not necessarily, 00:31:55.579 --> 00:31:59.019 but God said I'm calling you to preach. I had 00:31:59.019 --> 00:32:02.039 to just do it. There's a lot of things in life 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:05.339 we don't necessarily want to do or it doesn't. 00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:08.480 Sound fun or it doesn't look the way we think 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:11.579 it's gonna be But if God says do it we need to 00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:15.180 have the attitude of just do it the Nike attitude 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:18.200 Ruth took that attitude. She went beyond just 00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:20.539 saying it. She went beyond just lifting up her 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:25.140 voice and weeping she claved she clung to Naomi 00:32:25.140 --> 00:32:28.480 and was like no, I'm doing it. And what is she 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:30.099 doing? Well, let's read here and we'll finish 00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:35.039 up on these last four verses right here and we'll 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:39.740 just end today's podcast or Bible study in Ruth 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:42.619 right here. I'm going to read Ruth chapter 1 00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:47.960 verses 15 through 18. Verse 15 it says, and she 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:52.160 said, this is being Naomi, back to Ruth, who's 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.420 cleaving to her. I can see, can you picture when 00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:56.279 you were a little kid or maybe you had a little 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.779 kid and the little kid that locks around your 00:32:58.779 --> 00:33:00.539 leg and you're trying to walk out the door and 00:33:00.539 --> 00:33:02.740 you're dragging them behind you. I can picture 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:05.960 Ruth just clinging to Naomi like that. Naomi's 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:08.579 trying to go back and Orphus hugged her, kissed 00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:12.240 her and was like, love you. I'm peace, I'm out. 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:16.430 And Ruth is just hanging on for dear life. Then 00:33:16.430 --> 00:33:19.190 Naomi says this it says and she said behold thy 00:33:19.190 --> 00:33:21.190 sister -in -law has gone back into her people 00:33:21.190 --> 00:33:25.069 and into her gods Return thou after thy sister 00:33:25.069 --> 00:33:28.809 -in -law Or 16 and Ruth said and treat me not 00:33:28.809 --> 00:33:31.930 to leave thee or to return from following after 00:33:31.930 --> 00:33:36.130 thee For whither thou goest I will go and where 00:33:36.130 --> 00:33:40.589 thou lodgest I will lodge Thy people shall be 00:33:40.589 --> 00:33:56.380 my people and thy God my God Verse 17. Verse 00:33:56.380 --> 00:34:12.550 18. So verse 18 in summary when after Ruth says 00:34:12.550 --> 00:34:14.610 to Naomi, look, where you go, I'm going to go. 00:34:14.650 --> 00:34:16.650 Where you lodge, I'm going to lodge. Your people 00:34:16.650 --> 00:34:18.349 is going to be my people. Your God's my God. 00:34:18.429 --> 00:34:20.090 Wherever you go to die, that's where I'm going 00:34:20.090 --> 00:34:22.849 to die because I'm following you to the end. 00:34:24.869 --> 00:34:28.230 And Naomi sees there in verse 18, hey, Ruth ain't 00:34:28.230 --> 00:34:33.550 playing around. So, okay, let's go. Ruth was 00:34:33.550 --> 00:34:36.309 a Moabite. She was not one of God's chosen people. 00:34:36.329 --> 00:34:39.800 She was not an Israelite. But despite this, She 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:43.920 had watched Naomi for 10 years live in her country. 00:34:44.820 --> 00:34:48.079 She had seen how she lived her life. Ruth had 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:52.579 seen how Naomi responded to adversity. Ruth had 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:57.320 seen Naomi's witness. She had seen her live out 00:34:57.320 --> 00:34:59.980 what she believed. She may not have known exactly 00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:03.480 what Naomi had or exactly the God that Naomi 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:07.059 served. She might not have understood at all, 00:35:07.059 --> 00:35:13.780 but she had seen enough. in Naomi that Ruth said, 00:35:14.699 --> 00:35:18.619 whatever Naomi have, whatever you got, I want 00:35:18.619 --> 00:35:23.099 it too. So let's end tonight, today, whatever, 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:26.380 let's end this Bible study in Ruth by asking 00:35:26.380 --> 00:35:29.260 that question, can that be said about you? Can 00:35:29.260 --> 00:35:32.659 that be said about me? Does the world look at 00:35:32.659 --> 00:35:36.980 me or you and say, look, you've gone through 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:42.179 X, Y, and Z. You've had some curveballs thrown 00:35:42.179 --> 00:35:46.519 in your life It's not always been perfect. I 00:35:46.519 --> 00:35:51.500 don't understand exactly How you've responded 00:35:51.500 --> 00:35:56.079 to this I don't understand exactly What you have 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:59.539 I don't understand exactly this Relationship 00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:02.280 not religion this relationship with God that 00:36:02.280 --> 00:36:06.159 you talk about But I've seen you live it and 00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:10.039 whatever it is you have Dog on it. I want it 00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:15.480 to Can the world say that about me and you? So 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:19.039 that's where I Wrote that book that I talked 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:20.840 about last time or pamphlet whatever you want 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:25.980 to call it about my mama awakens is I Saw I was 00:36:25.980 --> 00:36:30.670 young growing up. We all were young anyway I 00:36:30.670 --> 00:36:33.190 saw, you know, life wasn't always easy for my 00:36:33.190 --> 00:36:36.050 mom, but she always put her faith and trust in 00:36:36.050 --> 00:36:37.849 God. Now, I could say that about Papa Aikens. 00:36:37.909 --> 00:36:40.429 I could say that about Ma. I could say that about 00:36:40.429 --> 00:36:43.070 my mom. I could go on to all these different 00:36:43.070 --> 00:36:46.150 people who have been influences in my life, but 00:36:46.150 --> 00:36:48.929 I always look back to Mama Aikens and how she 00:36:48.929 --> 00:36:52.929 was the Naomi in my life. I didn't quite understand 00:36:52.929 --> 00:36:55.809 it all, and the older I got, the more I saw it. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:37:02.300 as a teen and in my early twenties, knowing that 00:37:02.300 --> 00:37:05.079 I was living in sin, knowing deep down that I 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:09.179 wasn't where I needed to be, but I saw she didn't 00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:12.139 have, they weren't rich, they weren't wealthy, 00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:18.119 she had health problems. All the bad in life 00:37:18.119 --> 00:37:20.880 that we all have, but she had a hope, she had 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:23.860 something. I didn't understand it, but deep down 00:37:23.860 --> 00:37:26.920 I knew whatever it was. I really want that too. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:32.300 Now, look at me. Here I am, Jeremy, at 44 years 00:37:32.300 --> 00:37:36.539 old, quote unquote, youth pastor at Victory Bible. 00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:43.780 Why Mike chose me, I don't know. But I have to 00:37:43.780 --> 00:37:47.159 look at myself and say, am I living a life that 00:37:47.159 --> 00:37:51.539 these kids at church or my coworkers at work 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:56.889 or my... unchurched family around me. Am I living 00:37:56.889 --> 00:38:01.530 a life that makes them want what I have? Am I 00:38:01.530 --> 00:38:04.170 living, am I truly living my testimony? See, 00:38:04.750 --> 00:38:07.510 we all have this thing in common, and I'm sorry, 00:38:07.789 --> 00:38:10.110 Jeff, Uncle Jeff, if you hear this, I think I 00:38:10.110 --> 00:38:13.170 stole this idea from you, but I love it. We all 00:38:13.170 --> 00:38:15.550 have some things in common, and two of them are, 00:38:15.969 --> 00:38:18.280 If God Terries is Coming. We're gonna have a 00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:20.699 tombstone with a birthday on it and a death day 00:38:20.699 --> 00:38:23.019 on it. But those two really aren't important. 00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:26.320 The little dash in between. That's our testimony. 00:38:26.699 --> 00:38:29.139 That's what's important. What's in our dash. 00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:32.739 What people have seen. What we have left behind. 00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:35.800 If you want to use the word legacy. What we've 00:38:35.800 --> 00:38:39.760 left for them to look at and say, I don't understand 00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:43.860 it, but I know that they trusted in God. And 00:38:43.860 --> 00:38:47.809 he saw... Jeremy through this that and the other 00:38:47.809 --> 00:38:50.489 a lot of people don't understand Jeremy because 00:38:50.489 --> 00:38:53.070 he's weird and crazy but as a youth pastor as 00:38:53.070 --> 00:38:56.889 a as a Leader here at work. I'm the director. 00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:59.409 So I guess everybody's supposed to I don't know 00:38:59.409 --> 00:39:02.369 We're all equal here at work another story. But 00:39:02.369 --> 00:39:06.949 anyway, I Want people to be able to look at me? 00:39:08.269 --> 00:39:12.019 And not won't my house 102 Quinn Drive because 00:39:12.019 --> 00:39:14.360 it's nothing it's temporary. It's gonna fade 00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:17.780 away It's it's it's not going with me. My car 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:21.139 is nothing special. I wear the pretty much the 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:23.460 same clothes I have for the last 20 years I don't 00:39:23.460 --> 00:39:25.519 buy new clothes when I do I get them at Goodwill. 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:28.380 They're nothing special. I Don't want people 00:39:28.380 --> 00:39:32.000 to want that I want people to see what's on the 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:35.800 inside and See that there's something different 00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:41.519 and whatever it is. I want what he has And in 00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:45.599 them wanting what he has, I need to live a life 00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:49.099 where I can show them how you can have that same 00:39:49.099 --> 00:39:53.340 relationship that I have. Not a religion, not 00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:56.320 a name on a church roll. Y 'all that see me on 00:39:56.320 --> 00:39:58.519 Facebook know I probably make you sick throwing 00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:00.960 Victory Bible Church and we're doing this and 00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:04.239 come listen to this and watch this. Victory Bible 00:40:04.239 --> 00:40:06.840 Church doesn't amount to a hill of beans. There's 00:40:06.840 --> 00:40:10.510 the church, Jesus Christ and his church. Okay? 00:40:10.929 --> 00:40:12.710 I would love for you to be in my church with 00:40:12.710 --> 00:40:15.949 me at Victory Bible Church. But more importantly, 00:40:16.010 --> 00:40:18.369 I want you to be safe because your name on a 00:40:18.369 --> 00:40:21.690 roll means nothing. You get baptized every other 00:40:21.690 --> 00:40:25.329 month, it means nothing. You pay your tithes, 00:40:25.329 --> 00:40:28.469 your 10%, or you go above and beyond and give 00:40:28.469 --> 00:40:30.650 25%. You can give your whole check. I really 00:40:30.650 --> 00:40:33.829 don't care. None of that means anything. That's 00:40:33.829 --> 00:40:36.969 all religion. Okay? Let's talk relationship. 00:40:37.739 --> 00:40:40.340 The blood of Jesus applied to our heart and life. 00:40:40.559 --> 00:40:43.599 That's all that matters and I want others to 00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:47.599 see that Jeremy has that They want that and I 00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:49.679 want to be able to point them to how they can 00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:54.340 get it for themselves So let me end Since I tend 00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:57.559 to ramble I'm just gonna bluntly end right here 00:40:57.559 --> 00:41:00.159 on one of my favorite verses I used to have like 00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:02.039 a favorite verse and now then I had favorite 00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:04.980 verses and then all of them is my favorite but 00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:07.780 one of my favorite verses that goes along with 00:41:07.780 --> 00:41:10.719 this. Chew on this until we pick up next time 00:41:10.719 --> 00:41:14.980 in Ruth chapter 1. We'll start in verse 19. But 00:41:14.980 --> 00:41:17.940 when people are looking at our lives, we're asking 00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:22.099 the question, do they see, are we and Naomi in 00:41:22.099 --> 00:41:24.800 front of them? Do they see God in us? Do they 00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:29.179 see, do they want what we have? 2 Corinthians 00:41:29.179 --> 00:41:34.519 4 and 3, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid 00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:38.579 to them. that are lost. I'm just going to leave 00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:41.420 it right there, open -ended. If our gospel be 00:41:41.420 --> 00:41:44.699 hid, it's hid to them that are lost. I love each 00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:47.139 and every one of you. If anybody listen to this, 00:41:47.199 --> 00:41:49.679 I hope you got a blessing out of it. Next time 00:41:49.679 --> 00:41:55.019 we will pick up in Ruth chapter 1 and verse 19. 00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:58.699 Go out, share your gospel, and be a Naomi.