[0:00] I want to wish everybody a very good evening as we join together here at Storway Free Church and pray that we might all know God's blessing as we come under his word.
[0:12] And we're going to begin our service tonight singing from Psalm 103, pre-recorded singing. Psalm 103, this is from the Scottish Psalter. O thou my soul, bless God the Lord and all that in me is.
[0:25] Be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless. Bless, O my soul, the Lord thy God, and not forgetful be of all his gracious benefits he hath bestowed on thee.
[0:38] All thine iniquities who doth most graciously forgive, who thy diseases all unpains doth heal and thee relieve, who doth redeem thy life that thou to death mayest not go down, who thee with loving kindness doth untender mercy's crown.
[0:54] These verses are Psalm 103. O thou my soul, bless God the Lord. O thou my soul, bless God the Lord and all that in me is.
[1:13] Be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless.
[1:24] Bless, O my soul, the Lord thy God, and not forgetful be of all his gracious benefits he hath bestowed on me.
[1:49] All thine iniquities who doth most graciously forgive, who thy diseases all unpains doth heal and be relieved.
[2:13] Who doth redeem thy life that thou to death mayest not go down, who thee with loving kindness doth and tender mercy's crown.
[2:38] Let us bow in prayer. Let us bow in prayer. O Lord, O Lord our gracious God, as we bow before you this evening, we ask for grace to worship you in a right way.
[2:53] We pray that you will keep our thoughts which are so prone to wander, and that we will be focused upon you as you reveal yourself to us in your word again.
[3:03] We give thanks, O Lord, for the great privilege of worship. And although we are all in our own homes at this time, yet there is a collectiveness about the family of God.
[3:16] That physical separation cannot really stop, because we are bound all one in Christ Jesus. We give thanks for technology that can link us up.
[3:29] But we give thanks for your spirit which joins us together, and that we are able to enjoy and pray for one another, and pray with one another. And that there is that sense of identity and sense of belonging that the people of God have, because we are family.
[3:47] And we pray then that you will bless us. And we pray that any of your people who may feel tonight that they are outside the family. We pray in particular for those who are maybe just finding their way in, those who maybe have just come into the kingdom, or are not altogether sure yet whether they are in the kingdom, or they are lacking assurance.
[4:08] We pray that even tonight that you will grant them that assurance, and that they may indeed come to know you, that they might be absolutely persuaded that you are their Lord and their God.
[4:20] We give thanks when every person is able to say, my Lord and my God. And we pray that even tonight that some may come to that place and point in their own experience, where finally they are able to see and be persuaded that Jesus Christ really is their Saviour.
[4:42] We ask that you will be with us all, and bless us in our homes and in our families. And we ask that you will do us good. We need you, Lord. We need your guidance and direction.
[4:54] We need your forgiveness and cleansing. We need your protection. We need your hope and peace. We need all these things. And we give thanks, Lord, for what you give us in life.
[5:06] Because in this world, when you strip it all down, we have very little. In fact, we have nothing, really. Nothing that endures, nothing that lasts. And help us then, Lord, to be more taken up with the things that are of our eternal good.
[5:23] Lord, if ye be risen with Christ, set your affections upon the things that are above us, what the word tells us. And so we pray, Lord, to help us in that, and that you would be gracious to us.
[5:34] Forgive us, Lord, for our sins, for our wandering heart. Forgive us, Lord, for our recklessness as Christians. Forgive us, Lord, for our disobedience. And how so often we turn aside from your word, that we know what your word says, and yet we push it under.
[5:52] We tread upon it, as it were. Because we want to say what we want to say. We want to be who we want to be, instead of seeking more and more to be conformed to the image of Christ.
[6:04] But we give thanks, O Lord, that deep down there is a desire within us, that we will be conformed more and more to the image of Christ. Deliver us from temptation. We're so inclined to all that is wrong.
[6:19] And when temptation comes vehemently and violently, we are so ready to yield. But, O Lord, be merciful and gracious to us, we pray. We pray, Lord, that you will bless those who are sick, those who are ill, those who are maybe even hovering at the very borders of death.
[6:36] We pray, Lord, that you will prepare the dying for death. And that you will close in with those who may be struggling. That they may be able to close in with you.
[6:48] And that they will find, even in their dying moments, the peace that maybe for long they looked for. We pray that you will, indeed, bless all who care and tend for the sick and for the ill, for the dying.
[7:04] We give thanks, Lord, for the amazing compassion and care that is administered in our hospitals and in our homes. We give thanks, Lord, for all nurses and doctors and consultants and all the various levels in the medical profession.
[7:22] And for all our caring profession as well. Lord, we give thanks for them. We are so indebted to them for all that they do. And often at a huge cost to their own personal lives as well.
[7:35] We pray for our emergency services. We remember the fire and the police and the ambulance, all the paramedics. The lifeboat, Lord, and the Coast Guard.
[7:47] And all the mountain rescue. All the different fields that are so often involved in putting their own lives at risk.
[7:58] And for the good of others. And so we commit them to you and ask to watch over them. We pray, Lord, that you will protect us nationally as we face this pandemic.
[8:08] We give thanks for the encouragements that we see. We pray for those that we know who have been struck with this virus. And pray for full recovery from this sickness.
[8:19] We pray, Lord, that you will bless them and be with them. We pray, Lord, for those whose lives have been torn apart by it. Because we see so often sometimes people cannot attend funerals of loved ones.
[8:33] Sometimes people aren't able to see their loved ones as they die. It's a terrible thing. And, O Lord, O God, we pray that in all the tears, the floods of tears and broken heart that is in this land that your healing may come.
[8:49] Lord, grant wisdom to our leaders. May they turn to look to you. We long to hear our leaders even speak about the Lord. Looking for some wisdom, direction. That there will be some evidence that they're praying to you.
[9:02] O Lord, O God, we ask that you will be gracious to us. And that even if they're not looking to you, we ask, Lord, that you will look upon us in favour.
[9:13] And that you will bless our land. That you will heal our land. We pray that you will watch over us and that you will do us good. And as we wait upon you, we pray that we might hear what God the Lord will speak.
[9:26] Bless our young people. Give thanks for them. Bless them in their homes. Bless our teachers, our Sunday school teachers and our day teachers. And, Lord, we know there's extra pressures and demands upon them.
[9:37] So, Lord, we pray for them and that you will encourage them and grant them grace and wisdom in all the different challenges that they face. We pray for our young folk who find it so difficult at this time where life has become so restrictive for them.
[9:55] And it's hard for young folk. And we pray, Lord, for all those who are victims of economic downturn. And those, Lord, who are in financial straits and crisis, which prior to this pandemic they weren't.
[10:10] And life seemed so ordinary. And all of a sudden, so unexpectedly, life has so changed. And so we ask that you will be with those who are really struggling at this time.
[10:24] We commit them to your care. We give thanks for those who have kept the lifeline going. We think of our supermarkets. We think, Lord, of our drivers. And we think of all those who do so many things that maybe we don't really take note of.
[10:37] And, Lord, we ask that you will protect them. We give thanks, Lord, for all that we have in our country. So often when we look around, we sometimes take for granted the many, many blessings that we have.
[10:51] Watch over us and we pray and do us good. May we be able to rejoice in you. Forgive us our sin, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Just a wee word to any of the young folk who might be listening in.
[11:06] One day I was making my way out to the recycling centre, out to the road there, to the dump where you're able to take.
[11:20] There's a general waste, or if it's metals, or cardboard, or grass cuttings, or various things. It's a great place. And there's plastics and whatnot, different containers that you can put all your rubbish in.
[11:36] And as I was making my way out towards it, just after Macaulay Farm, which is on your left-hand side, climb up the brain, Macaulay Farm is there. And just a little past, you have the Lochside Arena, which has been built.
[11:52] This great big arena there, which is primarily for horses they can do. Show jumping and things. Wonderful facility that's there. Great place. And there's this, it's called Lochside Arena because it's beside this great big loch.
[12:08] So they're driving out, Macaulay Farm, the left-hand side, Lochside Arena there, and the great big loch that's there beside it. And what caught my eye was a lovely day, but it was one of those wintry days.
[12:21] Sun was shining, but as you know, we've had all this snow and stuff just now. So it's driving along. What really caught my eye was it looked like it was steam that was rising from the loch, but it was little, little wisps of mist and it looked lovely.
[12:40] And then all of a sudden I saw this seagull just land in the water. It just came down and it kind of went into the water. I caught it. This was all happening at the one moment because when you're driving here, you can't spend too much time looking that way.
[12:56] But it caught my eye. But what caught my eye even more was almost beside where the seagull landed in the water, I saw another seagull walking, walking across the water.
[13:09] Now, that got me turning. And I thought, how come? And then I realised that part of the loch was frozen and some of the loch wasn't.
[13:19] And where the seagull landed wasn't frozen, but obviously where the seagull that was walking was walking on the ice. And it got me thinking there, looking at these wisps of mist, but it looked like steam rising.
[13:34] That was what it looked like steam rising from the loch. It got me thinking about the whole thing, about how you can get three in one. Because a lot of people struggle with the idea that there is one God, but three passions in the Godhead.
[13:53] That there is a Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. That there are three distinct passions.
[14:05] And yet there are one. And a lot of people say, oh, that's rubbish, you can't have that. Oh, of course you can. And it's an absolute truth.
[14:16] There's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And if ever a person says, you cannot have three in one, just point to the example of water.
[14:28] Because water is liquid. You splash about in it, you pour it out. You can have a bath or a shower or drink it, it's liquid. But then, like the weather we have just now, it's frozen.
[14:42] It's like you take a block of ice and you drop it on the floor and you hear a clump, bam. Because it's solid. So it can be liquid. And then it can be solid.
[14:53] But if you take that lump of ice and put it in the kettle, and put the kettle on, then you'll see steam coming out, vapour. So it's steam, it's vapour.
[15:05] So it can be like a gas, it's like a steam. And it can be solid. And it can be liquid. But it's a one thing. And if we can look at something that's here in this world, it's just three in one.
[15:22] How much more can we look up and see our God three in one? And you asked, you know the wonderful thing, having the three in one? Every day go to God the Father and say, Father in heaven.
[15:35] Will you watch over me? Protect me? Keep me safe? Ask him to do that. And ask God the Son, his great work is to save.
[15:48] Ask Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Lord Jesus, save me. And then the Holy Spirit, his great work is to come within us and to show us the things of Jesus Christ.
[16:04] To lead us, to guide us, to be a light, to direct us in the right way to go. What a wonderful thing. To have this, what we call a triune God.
[16:16] Three gods in one. The three Persians, I should say. Three Persians in one. The Father, to be our Father, to act like a really good Father to us and to protect us and to keep us.
[16:30] The Son to save us. And the Holy Spirit to guide us on the right path, which will eventually take us home to glory. Isn't that a wonderful thing?
[16:42] Remember the three in one. Let's say the Lord's Prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[16:54] Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.
[17:08] Amen. We're going to read God's Word now. And this is in the book of Ruth. Ruth chapter 3. Ruth chapter 3. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, that's to Ruth.
[17:23] My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it might be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young woman you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
[17:38] Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor. But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
[17:51] But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.
[18:02] And she replied, All that you say I will do. So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
[18:21] Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. And at midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. He said, Who are you?
[18:34] And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings, or that is to spread your cloak, over your servant, for you are a redeemer.
[18:45] And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
[19:00] And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask. For all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer.
[19:13] Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight and in the morning. If he will redeem you, good, let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you.
[19:28] Lie down until the morning. So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.
[19:42] And he said, Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it out, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
[19:54] And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, How did you fare, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, These six measures of barley he gave to me.
[20:05] For he said to me, You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law. She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out.
[20:16] For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today. Amen. And we go and bless to us this reading of his own holy word. And I want us to look at this chapter, as we've been just looking very briefly at the book of Ruth.
[20:33] And maybe if we could think in particular here at verse 9. And it tells us here, At midnight the man was startled and turned over.
[20:43] And behold, a woman lay at his feet and said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your servant. Spread your wings. Or that is really to spread his cloak.
[20:59] Spread his garment. Spread your wings over your servant. For you are our redeemer. Now, as we've been through this book, we know that this book, the book of Ruth, is not only a story of tragedy and love, but it's also a book that displays real goodness and honesty.
[21:23] It's one of these stories that although it begins with so much tragedy, as it goes on, it's a book that really lifts your spirits. Because there's so much goodness.
[21:36] And when you see the goodness that's in people, you see it coming out. And God tells us that in the New Testament, that the Old Testament, that many of our, all that he has recorded for us, that God has chosen to record.
[21:54] When you think of all the characters and all the history that was there over all the generations, all the years, it's only little bits that God has chosen to have recorded for us.
[22:11] And we're told in the Bible that they're there for our example. They're there for us to learn from. They're there for our understanding, our edification.
[22:22] They're there to teach us so many lessons. And that's why it's great going into the Old Testament. Because not only would people say, what's the point looking back at the history? What's history got to do with today?
[22:33] Because the biblical history is there to teach us. And it's bang up to date. All the experiences there, we can find right into our own life.
[22:44] We can identify with these things. And we saw last week of how Ruth had gone, of course, by God's guidance, although she didn't realise it, to Boaz's field to glean.
[22:56] And we saw how Boaz was so good to Ruth. And we saw how Boaz had said how wonderful that she had come to rest under the wings of the God of Israel.
[23:09] And we saw what a great place that is to be. To be sheltering under the protection and under the grace of God. And I hope that that's where all of us are tonight.
[23:21] Because there's no safer. This is an angry, evil, wicked, dangerous world. It's a world that is out to destroy. It's a world that is ultimately going to be destroyed.
[23:33] There's only one safe haven in this world. And that is in Jesus Christ. In resting in Jesus Christ. And I hope tonight that that is where you are.
[23:44] That you are safe in the arms of Jesus. Well, Ruth, that's what happened. That happened in Ruth's experience. That's where she had come. And we find at the end of chapter 2 that Ruth is sharing everything with Naomi.
[24:00] You know, they have a beautiful relationship. And when Ruth had come back from Moab with her, had come from Moab with Naomi, her plan simply was to look after Ruth, her mother-in-law.
[24:14] And that both of them would try and just get by in whatever way possible. There weren't like government handouts. There weren't benefits as such.
[24:25] It was going to be difficult. Difficult for two widows to make a living in the land. But they were, Ruth was committed to the mother-in-law.
[24:37] And we saw how initially Naomi had been wallowing in grief. But gradually God was working in her. And we're beginning to see a new Naomi developing.
[24:49] Because as God works in her, Naomi is beginning to see, God hasn't left me alone after all. Naomi thought God had abandoned us. But he hadn't. And sometimes when we're going through very difficult circumstances, and painful circumstances, and tragedies, and pains, and sorrows, we feel that God has abandoned us.
[25:08] But he hasn't. He's still there. He's still with us. And so we find that Naomi now, she's beginning to see that there's new potentials on the horizon.
[25:19] And now that Boaz has begun to, as it were, enter into Ruth's life, Naomi sees her all kinds of potential here. And there's our lovely openness we find in the relationship of Ruth and Naomi.
[25:33] There's no hidden agendas. And Naomi, who knows God's law, and how the law of the kinsman-redeemer works, is going into overdrive with her plans.
[25:45] And I love one of the things, there's many things, but one of the things I love about Ruth, so many things that she's absolutely amazing with, is her willingness to listen to advice from her mother-in-law.
[26:00] And I think this is one of the lessons that all people, and particularly younger people, should take on board. The importance of listening to the advice of the older generation.
[26:15] You see, you cannot put a price on experience. And that's one thing that the older generation have. They've got experience. They've often learnt by mistakes.
[26:27] They have learnt through hardships. They've learnt through different things. And it was important for me, and our generation, to have learnt and listened to the generation that went before us.
[26:39] And it's also important for the generation coming after, as my generation, I'm speaking to the younger people who may be listening, you listen to the older generation as well.
[26:50] And can I also say to the older generation, people like myself, it's important to that we listen, as it were, and tap in to what our young people also are showing us.
[27:03] Because the world has so changed. And it's important to tap into their energy, and their vision, and to the way things are.
[27:14] Because if we close our minds to that, we lose out a lot. If young people close their minds to the older people, and the older to the young people, both generations lose out a lot.
[27:25] It's important for young and old to be together, and to learn from one another. Well, this is what Ruth and Naomi were very much about. And Naomi is seeing here that our wedding could be on the cards.
[27:41] But she's going to go about it God's way. And that's the beauty of it. Ruth is ready to listen to what her mother-in-law is saying. So, see, it looks like there's a marriage on the cards.
[27:53] And we've got to remember that the Bible tells us that a prudent wife is from the Lord. And again, could I say to any young people listening tonight, marriage is one of the greatest blessings that has been given in this world.
[28:07] Now, marriage isn't for everybody. Not every person will get married. Some people, as they go through life, they will say, well, it's not for me. They'll never meet somebody that will say, well, this is somebody I want to live the rest of my life with.
[28:23] And that's fine. That's the way. Some people will remain single. But many people will marry. Remember, a prudent wife is from the Lord.
[28:34] God, marriage is God's idea. God is the greatest matchmaker. And you go to the Lord and ask him that he will, if marriage is for you, that he will lead you in the right way.
[28:45] I being in the right way, the Lord led me. I being in the way, the Lord led me. And of course, we know that marriage is a great picture that God gives us of the relationship between Jesus Christ and the church.
[29:02] The church of Jesus Christ is termed the bride. And we remain the bride right throughout this world. But when we get to glory, we see that the bride now becomes the lamb's wife.
[29:16] We become Christ's wife. It talks about the marriage supper of the lamb. It's our journey. We're on our journey here with the bride at the moment. Glory, we will become the wife of Christ.
[29:28] And so, Boaz here is a kinsman redeemer. And this was something that God had set out in his law, the law for Israel.
[29:40] And this was particularly to help the poor and those who had really fallen into difficulties. And the purpose of the law was to protect the name and to protect the identity, to protect the possessions of families in Israel.
[29:56] And what happened was when someone, that someone of a near relation would act as a redeemer and bear the responsibilities and would buy back what belonged to the family so that the possessions, the land or whatever, came back into the family's name.
[30:17] God took this law very seriously because it was a law that was there to protect and to help the vulnerable and the poor. And widows and those who had come into hardship.
[30:29] And God often sent his prophets to remind the people of the whole redeemer, the kinsman redeemer law that was in the land.
[30:40] And in fact, it was part of the reason for the captivity, was their greed and refusal to go down this road. And so we find that Boaz was very closely related to Elimelech, to Naomi's husband.
[31:00] And Naomi knew that Boaz could be a redeemer and that he could marry Ruth and buy back the land and procession. So Naomi says to Ruth, I want you to get ready and see what happens.
[31:14] Wash yourself, prepare yourself, anoint yourself, and you go tonight. Because they've been collecting all the barley. Boaz will be staying at the place there tonight.
[31:28] And this is what I want you to do, prepare yourself. And in fact, Naomi is asking Ruth to prepare herself almost like a bride for a wedding.
[31:41] And so that's when we find that Ruth, before she goes to Boaz, she prepares herself. She washes, anoints herself, and gets her cloak. And you know, as we've said before, we see in the book of Ruth a picture of Christ in the church with Boaz and Ruth.
[31:58] It's very important that we prepare ourselves when we come into the presence of Christ. When we come before the Lord, whether it's in private devotions or in public worship, and although we're in our own homes just now, we're engaged at one level.
[32:14] This is the best that we can do just now of what is our public worship, because we're collectively gathered in our own homes, but we're centered around the one service.
[32:26] And it's very important that when we come into the presence of the Lord, that we seek to prepare ourselves. Before Israel were to come to the presence of the Lord at Sinai, they had to wash themselves and prepare themselves.
[32:38] God doesn't want us just to breeze in. Yes, part of the beauty is that we can come to the Lord anytime, in any situation, and yes, even in our sin, and wherever we are, we can call upon it.
[32:52] But when we come to the Lord, like we're doing just now, it's important that we prepare our heart. And that's why even just now, when we're doing church at home, it's very easy just to get into the situation where we're, and we are, we're more chilled than we would normally be.
[33:12] But it's important that our hearts are prepared, because you can't really be cherishing sin, nourishing sin, engaging in sin, wallowing in sin, enjoying sin, and then just breeze into the presence of the Lord and expect everything to be normal and right.
[33:29] You can't. And you know, sometimes a Christian can say, you know, I'm not getting anything, I'm not getting any blessing. God's saying, of course you can't. You're breezing into my presence, and you've come in from a heart that is twisted and full of sin, and you've been gossiping, and your heart is filled with all kinds of lusts and so on.
[33:49] And you know, sometimes when we do come in like that and we're under God's word, then we can get really rebuked. And God can remind us and say, hey, look, get a grip.
[34:00] You can't just come into my presence the way you're doing. And sometimes, I'm sure like me, there have been times you've felt really condemned before God, and saying, Lord, I'm sorry.
[34:13] See, it's important. Remember what it tells us in the Bible. It says, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness and bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
[34:29] So it's important that we prepare ourselves, just like Ruth was preparing herself there. So Naomi told Ruth what to do. So she goes and she watches Boaz, and after Boaz has eaten and drunken and as hard as merry, he goes to lie down to sleep on the threshing floor.
[34:49] So Ruth marks the spot where he has gone, and she goes and she uncovers the cloak that would have been covering at his feet, and she lies down at his feet.
[35:03] And she does it all so silently that Boaz isn't aware that she's with it. And then all of a sudden he awakens, and there's a woman there, and he cries out, who's there? And Ruth tells her who it is, and you can see the spontaneous joy in the heart of Boaz.
[35:18] It's all in the dark. She's there. He's there. But Boaz's heart is so thrilled and excited. And you see in verse 10, Boaz said, you know, you could have gone after some of the younger men in the place, and Boaz is delighted that she hasn't, but that she has asked him, spread your wings, your cloak over me.
[35:44] And this was an expression of claiming for marriage. And I think she's using the word the wings, because remember back in the previous chapter, how Boaz had used that very expression about God having put his wings round Ruth and claiming Ruth as his own.
[36:04] And now Ruth is saying, I want you, Boaz, to claim me as your own. But you know, when you see Ruth at the feet of Boaz, and again, if we think of the picture of Christ and his people, being at the feet is an absolutely imperative.
[36:22] It's an important thing for the Christian faith. What does the feet speak to us all? It speaks of the place of humility. It speaks of lowering ourself, of humbling ourself in the presence of God and realizing, here is God.
[36:40] Here is the great God. Does this just prove we, me, Lord, I need you. I am nothing in and of myself without you. So it's a place of humility.
[36:51] Again, it's a place of learning. Remember Mary, that great woman, Mary and Martha in the New Testament. We often found Mary at the feet of Christ, whether it was anointing Christ or just sitting at his feet.
[37:07] And you know, Mary became probably the, the greatest follower that Jesus had, the most spiritually minded follower that Jesus had. She understood things that nobody else understood.
[37:19] She understood about his death and his burial that even Peter and James and John hadn't understood. And she grasped these things because she was always at the feet of Jesus, which is the place of learning, the place of being willing to be taught by Jesus.
[37:38] And so it is important that we have, seek for teachable spirits that the Lord will be teaching us. Again, when we think of the, the feet, it's also the place of pleading.
[37:50] You remember Jairus, his daughter was seriously ill and he comes to Jesus and he throws himself down at the feet of Jesus, pleading. And that's what we do as well.
[38:01] We throw ourselves, how often in our life we have cast ourselves at the feet of the Lord, saying, Lord, you have to help me. If you don't help me, I'm finished. I can't do any more myself.
[38:14] It's got to be you. So it's a place of pleading. It's also the place of rest and peace. You have a beautiful picture of that in the New Testament of that man, Legion, a demon-possessed man who was deranged.
[38:31] They couldn't tie him down. They tried to chain him and he was berserk. Remember how Jesus cast the demons out of him. And we have the picture of the village of the Gadarenes coming up and they were, they just, they were stunned to find Legion sitting at the feet of Christ, clothed and in his right mind.
[38:58] This man, who was a picture of absolute frenzy, is now a picture of peace and calmness. Why? Because of what Christ has done in his life.
[39:09] And that's what, what Jesus does. And in this world of, that is world that is just crying out in distress and anxiety and so full of every kind of worry, Lord is saying, will you, won't you come to me?
[39:26] Come to me and I will give you rest. That's what he says. That great invitation of finding rest. It's also the place of gratitude at the feet of Jesus.
[39:36] Remember the leper, there were the ten lepers cleansed. And one came back, he was so full of gratitude and thankfulness to Jesus that he flung himself down at the feet of Jesus in order to thank him.
[39:51] And again, it's a place of submission. Then Boaz tells, explains to, to, to Ruth about the kinsman. But he says, you know, there's one person who's even closer to Elimelech, to the family line than I am.
[40:08] So, I will deal with this because this man, that person must be given the first opportunity. But Boaz says to Ruth, fear not my daughter.
[40:20] Don't, don't be afraid. Because that's what we find that he's, he's, he's telling her not to, not to be afraid that everything, everything will, will work out all right.
[40:35] And, you know, that, this is part of the, the beautiful thing. There's just this kind of a reassurance coming from, from, uh, Boaz said, everything will work out.
[40:47] And, you know, God does that to us often in the dark. And he speaks to us in the dark. And sometimes he'll come to us when our hearts are perplexed and they're sore. And all of a sudden you're aware this is the Lord in the dark.
[41:01] He's speaking to you. And he's bringing a peace and a calmness and things change. Sometimes they don't, but sometimes they do. And then, he gives, fine Boaz gives, uh, Ruth, all his gift, this gift, uh, and he, he gives her all this barley to take home with her from the threshing floor, uh, find out, she held out, uh, six measures of barley.
[41:28] And when Ruth comes home, Naomi says, how did it go? How, how, how have things gone? And so when Ruth tells everything, Naomi says to her, Luke, the one thing you're going to need today is patience.
[41:44] You see, at the beginning of the chapter, Naomi is telling Ruth, I'll, I'll seek rest for you. That's what she says at the very beginning of the chapter. My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it might be well with you?
[41:57] And now here we are at the end of the chapter and we find, wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.
[42:11] It's all happening and Ruth here is in the center. Naomi's been at work, Boaz is going to be at work, and here's Ruth in the center. And all that she is being required to do is to sit still.
[42:25] Wow. That, you know, you put yourself in Ruth's situation and you can imagine her sort of pacing the floor. Is there, what can I do? Can I go out? Maybe I should go again and speak to Boaz.
[42:36] Maybe I can really put the pressure on even a wee bit more than the mother says. No, just sit still. And you know, God says that to us so often. Sometimes he says, stand still.
[42:48] Sometimes he says, sit still. Sometimes he says, be still. And why does he say that to us? In order that we will see his work. That's what he said to Moses.
[43:00] Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. And that's what, all Moses had to do was to lift up his rod. God parted the water. The impossible, all of a sudden became possible when God became involved.
[43:16] And far too often we get in God's way by not being submissive enough, not being silent enough, not being patient enough.
[43:27] We feel we've got to do, I've got to, and so often you, you can almost say the Lord, saying, oh, won't you stand back? Won't you just be still, this is not a matter of not doing anything.
[43:39] This is not being lazy. That's a totally different thing. But it's where, where you realize, where you have handed a situation over to God. When you hand something over to the Lord, it's important that you stand still and allow God to work.
[43:55] There's no point in hand something to the Lord and then you say, well, I'm going to sort this out. If you give it to the Lord, you wait for the Lord to guide you and show you in the way to go. And so we see here that there's, at the end that Naomi is saying, you must wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.
[44:21] And again, if we just spiritualize and see here, Boaz, as a type of Christ, you know, when the Lord begins a work in you, he doesn't stop.
[44:33] He will complete that work. And if today, your heart has been drawn to Christ and you find that within you there is a new desire growing, that's not of your shell.
[44:46] The Lord Jesus Christ is at work in you through his Holy Spirit. But yield to him and say, Lord, help me to submit to you. Help me to, just to wait upon you with an expectant heart.
[45:01] Do for me, Lord, what I can't do for myself. We're going to conclude by singing from Psalm 36 and sing Psalms.
[45:11] Psalm 36 from Sing Psalms. We're going to sing verses 5 to 9. Psalm 36 verses 5 to 9 and sing Psalms. Your steadfast love is great, O Lord, it reaches heaven high.
[45:26] Your faithfulness is wonderful, extending to the sky. Your righteousness is very great, like mountains high and steep. Your justice is like ocean depths, both man and beast.
[45:39] You keep. These verses of Psalm 36, 5 to 9. Your steadfast love is great, O Lord. Your steadfast love is great, O Lord.
[45:56] It reaches heaven high. Your faithfulness is wonderful, Your faithfulness is wonderful, Extending to the sky.
[46:18] Your righteousness is every great, Like heart is high and steep.
[46:34] Your justice is like ocean depths, O Lord, my man, means to thee.
[46:50] O precious is your steadfast love, What on heaven and steadfast love, O Lord.
[47:08] But high and low find sheltering, The shadow of your wings.
[47:22] They will grace on earth resource, What when you be the electriceman?
[47:40] Now with you is the source of life, in your light we see life.
[47:56] Now may the grace, mercy and peace of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen. Thank you again for being with us all tonight and pray that the Lord will bless you all, not only tonight but throughout this coming week. God bless.