Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. For some of you, there is an opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ. but you're still resistant, you know what you should do. Will you step out in radical Faith. Today, brother sister, step out.
It's radical. Faith. Because God Always bless us. The life. radical Okay.
Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. God is active and sovereign in the lives of his people all over the world. He wants to do great things through believers just like you and me.
So how can we position ourselves to be ready for God's mighty purposes? Today we're discovering the answer as we continue our study in the book of Ruth.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled, The Life God Blesses. Yesterday, we saw that even in supremely difficult circumstances, God is still in control. working out his purposes. and is active in the lives of ordinary people like you and me. There's nothing particularly special about Naomi, this woman from Bethlehem, who moved to Moab with her husband and sons.
But she comes to trust in the Lord. and exhibits our radical faith. Her daughter-in-law Ruth is another ordinary woman. which is also going to display the same radical faith. God in His grace touches the lives of these two ordinary women.
And he can touch your life as well. Yes, you can be a person of radical faith. God is pleased when we live by this radical faith. Let's listen and learn. from this wonderful example of Naomi.
The Christian life, if it is anything, is a life of faith. The writer of the Hebrews says that without faith It is impossible. to please God. Not just that it is difficult to please God. But without faith, it is impossible To please God.
For those who come to God, Must believe that he is. and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Now this life of faith is not simply making a public profession of faith. or merely repeating a prayer. But is rather a faith in God. In particular, it is a faith in Jesus Christ. as we open our hearts and our lives to To our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and who rose.
Again. And this faith which pleases God then It's not just a belief in our heads. It's not just something that we assent to intellectually. But it is a faith which impacts our hearts. Our whales Our lives and also our future.
Today I'm calling all of us to live lives of radical Faith. Willie Mullen was a famous preacher from Northern Ireland. I never met him. I've heard him. preach on tape Quite a character.
Before he came to Christ, Uh he lived on the streets. He was a homeless hobo. but was gloriously saved by the grace of God. And this homeless man became one of the most powerful preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a man who truly lived by faith. The story is told that one day A man came to Willie Mullin and said, The Lord told me to give you this suit.
So Willie took the suit and said to the man, Thank you. The man said to Woolly Mullen. Are you not going to try on the suit? Willie said. No need to do that.
The Lord knows my size. No, that's living. By faith. Isn't it? And sure enough, the suit fitted.
Willie Mullen perfectly. Today, as we continue our study Of the book of Ruth, we will learn about living by radical Faith. As we began The story last week as we Open their Bibles, as I would invite you to do now, to the this little book of Ruth in the Old Testament We are learning that it is one of the most beautiful and one of the most compelling stories in all of literature. And last week we saw that an understanding of the providence and the sovereignty of God in our lives gives us great security. And when we talk of the providence of God, we're referring to the truth that God is active in this world and in particular, as we're studying this book of Ruth, that He is active in the lives of ordinary people, people like you and me.
How wonderful. You see, there's nothing particularly special about Naomi. This woman from Bethlehem who moves to Moab with her husband and sons. But she's a woman who trusts God. and a woman who exhibits radical faith.
Here is another ordinary woman, Ruth, a pagan, a despised Moabite. But she's also going to display this radical faith. God in His providence, God in His grace, touching and changing the lives of two ordinary women. each responding as God wants you, And me to do to respond with radical faith.
Now here is the point I want you to grasp this morning. God bless us. the life. of radical Face. I can guarantee this.
If you live by radical faith in God, God will bless you. your life. Do you want God to bless your life? Of course you do. You want your life to count.
And God's grace and God's love and kindness to us is shown in the most intimate knowledge of the most detailed aspects of our life. King David understood that as he wrote Psalm 139, he says, Lord, you know when I sit down and when I rise up. Quite honestly, I don't want to know when you sit down and when you rise up. I don't have that kind of interest in your life, and you don't have that kind of interest in my life. But the Lord is that interested, He knows you from the moment you get up in the morning to the moment you lie down.
At night. David says that the Lord is intimately acquainted with all. My ways. How reassuring in life. and how important it is in life that we are aware of God's guidance and God's care in our lives.
And how important, how essential it is then that we trust this great God. Our Heavenly Father, We trust him. And we live. This radical faith.
Now, this morning We rejoin her story. They are going to see that in the midst of Naomi's devastation Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy, what seems to be a road which hits a brick wall. turns into a doorway of hope A blessing of grace and of new beginnings in ways that she could not have possibly imagines. Let me invite you to open your Bible then to Ruth chapter one. It's at the beginning of the Old Testament, only four chapters.
and we are first of all going to read from verses six through fourteen. Last week we saw two scenes. A weeping middle aged widow standing in a Moabite graveyard was scene one. Scene two, Naomi hearing of God's tender grace. Verse six then of Ruth one.
Then she arose That is Naomi, with her daughters-in-law. that she might return from the land of Moab For she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited his people. In giving them food.
So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on their way to return. The majority of the family. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.
Then she kissed them. And they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, No, but we will surely return with you to your people. But Naomi said, Return, my daughters why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
Return, my daughters go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is harder for me than for you. For the hand of the Lord.
has gone forth against me. And they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpa kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth Clan. to her.
Here is our third scene. Three women standing at the crossroads between Maab and Bethlehem. I want us, first of all, to think of Naomi. as a wonderful example of radical Faith. Naomi had a crossroads in her life decides to return to Bethlehem, verse six.
After the death of her husband and her two sons, Naome, verse six, hears that the Lord had visited his people in giving them food. That is back in Bethlehem, back in Israel.
So, in the middle of this dear woman's disappointments and darkness and heartaches, This brilliant ray of light shines. The Lord had visited his people. Then it is the Lord that caused it to rain in Israel. The crops have grown, the harvest is abundant, now there is plenty of food. Once again, Bethlehem is going to live up to its meaning.
Bethlehem means the house of bread. And now, once again. Bread is there in Bethlehem. It is God, of course, who gives us our daily bread. And now Naomi is, as she hears that the Lord had visited his people, now she is, to use Paul Simon's phrase, she is homeward bound.
She's going home. She's leaving Maub. She is going back to Bethlehem. For years she had lived in pagan mob. But now it is time to go back, to go back home.
to go back to our own people. to go back to Bethlehem. to go back to the promised land. Above all, to go back. to the Lord.
I regard this woman, Naomi, as a remarkable woman. She's a widow. And she's prepared to walk the 60 or 70 miles or so from Moab to Bethlehem on her own. With all of the danger that that would involve a woman With no one at our side. making that long journey back from Moab.
to Bethlehem. That's faith. That's radical faith, that's trusting God. In her brokenness Naomi understands that God is still at work in her life. And at the death of her husband and sons, at this crossroad in her life, she has a choice.
As we always have a choice, In these difficult circumstances of life, either she can turn to the Lord. and away from her despair and bitterness or she can turn from God and towards her bitterness and despair. But her heart has softened. She hears the report of what is happening back Home. and she's determined to retrace perception.
She's going to live by radical faith. She's going to return. This word, translated return or go back in some translations, is the key word in this passage. It occurs in verses six, seven, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, fifteen, sixteen, twenty one and twenty two. The translation of this Hebrew word which is often used in Scripture to refer to a return to a change of mind.
to the individual repenting, It's the word that God uses when his people have fallen away. And he wants them to return to him. He wants them to come back to him. He wants them. to repent.
And Naomi. is going to retrace her steps. She's going to go back. back home. back.
to the people. of God. Haven't you found out? In your own spiritual life, I'm sure many of you have, like me, that spiritually speaking, sometimes in our Christian life. we need to retrace our steps.
Spiritually speaking, you've been in the land of Moab too long. You have been in a far country, you have been away from the Lord. On a road to nowhere. And your back has been towards God. You know it.
You may have put on a good act in front of other people, but spiritually speaking, you have made some very bad decisions and you're. Actions and your attitudes not only have adversely impacted you spiritually, they've impacted others, members of your family, your colleagues. Your friends. and you need to acknowledge that you have done wrong. You need to repent.
You need, as it were, to get back to the old paths. Today For some of you, it is time to. to break from the old way of doing things. God's grace awaits you. God's forgiveness awaits you.
Scripture tells us there is no pardon in God like us.
Sometimes when we do wrong and we go to an individual and express we've done wrong, we're not sure of their reaction. Will they forgive us? Will they continue in a self-righteous, judgmental, harsh, cruel attitude toward us? We never need to think of that with God. Because when gods receives us.
And when we come humbly and repentantly and in our brokenness Our Saviour always receives us. Today place radical faith Fresh faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Neome. at the crossroads of our life. decides to head.
to Bethlehem But even more astonishingly, Orpah and Ruth, as we've just read, want to go with Naome, their mother-in-law, to Bethlehem. They too are at a crossroads in their life. This is absolutely astonishing. Orpah and Ruth have never been in Israel, in all probability they've never been out of Moab. All they know is mob, their parents.
their siblings, their hometown. Their friends, their gods, their future, all wrapped up in Moab, but now they're saying to Naomi, We're going to come back with you to Bethlehem, a place which is totally unknown to them. These young mobitesses, Orpa and Ruth, Brought up in a pagan culture, worshipping false gods, they know something about the true God. How would they know that? Their husbands may have taught them about the Lord, certainly they've learned about the Lord from their mother-in-law, Naomi.
displayed in her life There must have been something of the grace and the mercy of the living Lord. She must have taught them something of the truth. of the Lord. Why else would they want to leave Moab and all they knew and go with their mother in law to Israel? Naomi must have been a remarkable woman to draw out such loyalty from her daughters-in-law.
Daughters-in-law, how do you get on with your mother-in-law? It is possible to have a great relationship. Here are two young women. who have a wonderful relationship. with their mother-in-law.
Now Naomi's prayer in verses eight and nine, her prayer for her daughters-in-law, point to the deep love which they have for one another. And Naomi is going to explain several factors which should cause No doubt do cause Orpa and Ruth to think again about leaving Moab. She wants them to count the cost. If they're going to come with her, it's not out of an emotional basis. It is because they understand all that is involved.
Neomi. In verses 11, 12, and 13 is really saying to them, Listen, I have nothing to offer you. I am now beyond the age of childbearing myself. But even if I remarried and had children, it would be too long for Orpa and Ruth to wait to marry them. This is a reference to the custom in those cultures of a man marrying his brother's widow.
Mercifully, we don't have that custom. in our world But the idea was it was a custom designed to continue the brothers' name. Naomi is making it very clear to Ruth and making it very clear to ARPA that they are released from any obligation to her. to care for her. They're released from any obligation to bear her grandchildren.
They should find new husbands. as no doubt they would, in Moab, and live happily ever after there, as it were. From a human perspective, there is absolutely no future for these two young women in going with Naomi. She also wants them to understand verse thirteen. At the end of verse 13, for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.
The NIV translates this it is more bitter, which is a better translation, a more literal translation. One commentator Bush not George Bush Frederick Bush in his commentary on Ruth It says translates it this way. He says, for my life. is much too bitter for you to share. Naomi is saying, listen, take a look at me.
Think of all that has happened to me, the Lord's hand. has been against me. Life has been very difficult. Life has been a veil of tears for me. Why on earth would you want to come with me?
Do you want to experience that kind of bitterness? Why not go back and stay in Moab and start a new life for yourself? If they come with Naomi, they need to realize. that life may be as hard for them. as it has been for Naomi.
Why then would Orpah and Ruth want to come with Naomi in these difficult circumstances. Or pa clearly loves her mother-in-law. She kisses her. But having regard to all that Naomi has said, She returns to Moab.
However, Ruth is still determined to go with Naomi. Did you notice at the end of verse fourteen? It says that Orpa kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth Clung. to her.
Ruth Kwang. Yeah. That word translated Clung is the same word that we have in Genesis 2 verse 24 where the Lord says For this cause, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave, and shall cling to his wife. Ruth, as she's going to say, I'm going to claim. Till death I do part.
To you. Naomi. What a scene. at the crossroads. What an example of faith.
In Naomi. But also, Think of Ruth's example of radical faith. If Naomi's faith is moving, Naomi is much more so. Naomi obviously wants Ruth to know the cost of following the true God. Let's read from verse fifteen.
Then she neomi says, talking to Ruth, who Behold, your sister-in-law, that's Orpah, has gone back to her people and her gods. Return after your sister in law. But Ruth said Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you. for where you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge.
Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me. When she Neal Misaw. that Ruth was determined to go with her.
She said No more. to her. Verse fifteen, Orpah has gone back to her people and their gods. The Mobile's chief guard was Kamish. To go with Naomi probably would have meant I'm sure Orpah is thinking like this that Orpa would remain single for the rest of her life.
If she goes to Israel, to Bethlehem, who's going to provide for her? of what's going to await her in Israel. How are the Jews going to treat her and mobile tessers after all? The Moabites and the Jews are implacable enemies. No, there is familiarity.
There is some comfort in Moab. There is a possibility of a brighter future in Moab, Orpah thinks. Implicit in the OMI's challenge is the cost of following the true and the living Lord. Or per plays it safe. and stays in Moab.
She chooses the familiar. She chooses the known rather than the unknown. Can I say that there is always a cost in following. the Lord Jesus. Christ.
But here Ruth confesses her trust. In the true Lord. As we read in verses 16 and 17, and these are some of the most memorable, most moving. most radical and most poetic words ever recorded. They're not just courageous words of human love from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law, although they're certainly that.
These are the words of a radical living faith of a woman. Who was raised a pagan, who worshipped false gods, who now not only is confessing her faith in the true God, But is demonstrating that our faith is real, it's authentic, it's radical. as she turns her back on all that she knows. and steps out. with God.
Radical. Face. And this is the faith that pleases God. This is the life. Which God Bless us.
This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Today's message is titled, The Life God Blesses. Remember, you can find these lessons and listen anytime by going online to theverdict.org. Right now we're at the start of a study in the Book of Ruth, and we're offering a custom listening guide specifically written to complement each of these daily lessons with details on key points, questions for review, and practical ideas for daily application. And we'd like to send you this helpful resource.
It's a great tool for your own personal study or for hosting a group discussion with family and friends.
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You'll also receive John's weekly Avizandam commentary, offering biblical insight on current events. Find us on all major podcast platforms or visit theverdict.org. And then we also want to invite you to join us for Sunday morning worship at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the verdict. To find directions or to worship with us via our live stream online, just go to theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson.
Well, what's your verdict? Have you ever had the courage to step out in faith? Have you ever acknowledged the need to stop after a bad decision, to change direction and start again? It's never too late to turn back toward the Lord. Trusting in His provision, His forgiveness, and a saving grace Perhaps your heart is cold because of some bitter experience.
Today turn to God. Allow him to guide you. Begin living a life of radical faith.
Next time we'll think of how God blesses those who live a life of faith. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mm.
