Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. God bless us. The life. of radical Face. I can guarantee this.
If you live by radical faith, In God, God will bless. Your life. Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Are you trusting in God's plan for your life, even if you don't understand His purposes right now? Today on the verdict, we're discussing this challenge as Ruth and Naomi arrive at a significant crossroads.
How do we trust God in the hard times? How do we demonstrate radical faith? We're continuing in the Book of Ruth. Let's join Pastor John Monroe for today's message about the life God blesses. Today we continue our study in the Little Old Testament book of Ruth.
Last time we left Naomi and her daughters-in-law at a significant crossroads in the foreign land of Moab. After the death of her husband and her two sons, Naomi hears of the Lord's blessing on Israel. steps out in faith. She plans to walk many miles to return home. That's radical faith.
That's trusting God. In her brokenness God is still at work in her life. Having made her decision, Naomi encourages her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to stay in Moab. where they may have a chance. for the future.
These are significant decisions. That will impact the rest of their lives. What would they choose? Think about what you would say as we consider their answers. Let me invite you to open your Bible then to Ruth chapter 1.
One and we are first of all I'm 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 the way to return. To the land of Judah. 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 Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth Kwang.
to her. Here is our third scene. Three women standing at the crossroads between Moab 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. 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.
Now, Naomi's prayer in verses 8 to 9, 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. Or pa Clearly, she loves her mother-in-law. She kisses her. But having regard to all that Naomi has said, She returns.
to move up.
However, Ruth is still determined to go with Naomi. Let's read from verse fifteen. Then she Naomi says, talking to Ruth. Behold, your sister-in-law, that's Orpa, 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 me saw. 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. She chooses the familiar. She chooses the known rather than the unknown. There's a possibility of a brighter future in Moab, Orpa thinks. Implicit in Naomi's challenge is the cost of following the true and the living Lord.
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.
That's Radical. Faith. And this is the faith that pleases God. This is the life which God Bless us.
Now, of course, we know the end of the story, we know how it's going to turn out, but remember, Naomi and Ruth have no conception at all of how it will turn out. Ruth. steps out into the unknown. But she steps out with our trust. In the Lord.
Now Ruth's words are not only words of conversion, as it were, they're also covenant words. Come with me to Exodus. Six. Exodus, the second book in the Old Testament. Exodus chapter six, verse seven.
I'm saying that her words are covenant words. Exodus 6. Verse seven. End of verse 6, the Lord is saying, I'm going to redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. To Israel when they're still slaves in Egypt.
Verse 7: Then I will take you for my people. And I will be your God. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will take you for my people, and I will be. Your God.
Similarly, in Leviticus, the next book, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus. Leviticus chapter twenty-six. Verse twelve. There is a covenant between God and his people. And in the words which Ruth is articulating to Arpa, she has an understanding of this.
Leviticus twenty-six verse twelve I will also walk among you and be your God. And you shall be My People. How wonderful Ruth. Understands something of God's promise of grace and provision for his special people.
Now the people of God will be her people.
Now their God will be her God. This is a radical binding of herself in allegiance to the Lord and His people for all of life. She is entering into a covenant with the Lord. Neomi sees the spiritual determination. of Ruth, and now together Can you picture it?
They're at the crossroads, but they move from the crossroads. They now set out. on a journey. These two women of radical faith setting out on a journey From Moab To Bethlehem. Naomi, a believer for many years, having gone through extraordinary heartaches and bereavements, no doubt a time of questioning of the Lord, no doubt with some bitterness in her heart still, but she understands that the Lord is for her And with her.
She retraces her steps to Bethlehem. She's going home. She's going back to fellowship with the people of God. She's going back to worship the true and the living. Lord.
At her side is this young woman. this young Morbite widow Ruth. She too has known heartache, true not as deeply as Naomi, but she too has known heartache. But she has experienced this Hesid, this covenantal loyal love that Naomi refers to in verse eight of the Lord's kindness. She understands something of the Lord's kindness and grace and mercy in her life.
And she sees in Naomi a woman of true faith. and she binds herself to Naomi's people. to Naomi's home. to Naomi's God. And now these two women perhaps hand in hand, Naomi and Ruth.
have their backs to Maurice. and they are going to retrace their steps. to Bethlehem, the house. Of bread. They're going to experience, as this beautiful story unfolds, they're going to experience the truth that God.
Always blesses a life of radical faith.
Now what would have been your decision? If you had been Naomi, if you had been Ruth. What would you do? What do you do in such circumstances? What do you do when life hits a brick wall?
And you sense that God is leading you, you sense that God is guiding you, what do you do? Stay in your comfort zone. with your familiar circumstances play it safe as it were. Or Junior. Or will you Exercise this radical faith.
Like Ruth.
Now what are we learning in these two studies of Ruth? We're learning that God is a sovereign God. Providentially overruling the most difficult of circumstances, the mistakes. The problems of our lives, even the evil things that people do to us. But God is so great that he uses all of these for our goods.
He is watching over you. He knows your name. He cares for you. He is with you. God watching over us.
is at the heart Of divine providence. Doesn't that give you a great assurance in life? A great security in the midst of the storm to know that my God watches over me. And that he hasn't abandoned me, although sometimes I may feel that he has. He has not abandoned me, he has not forgotten me, he's watching over me.
and I am to trust him. with all of my heart. Today As you sit here, you may be a true believer in Jesus Christ. You have in the past opened your heart and your life and received Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Lord. Praise God for that.
But if you're honest, And before God, you must be honest. Today your heart is cold. towards the Lord. Perhaps there's some bitterness in your heart. Because of some problem or tragedy in your life.
Perhaps others have hurt you, wronged you, but you need today. to take Godly. Yes, godly. decisions. You need to repent.
Of all known sin. in your life. You need, brother, sister, to retrace your steps. You need to humble yourself before the Lord. You need afresh to express your humble trust.
In the Lord, you're in a spiritual rut, a rut which is taking you further and further from the Lord. It's time to stop. It's time to take spiritual infantry and to realize that you have gone too far from the Lord, and it's time to retrace your steps. It's time to get back. to the Lord.
It's time to experience His grace and His forgiveness and His leading and His goodness. He will guide you because God always blesses the life. of radical Faith. Perhaps there are some here like Ruth. And up till now, you've not been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps, like Ruth, you've been brought up and lived as a pagan. Or perhaps You've been brought up in a kind of cultural Christianity And while you would say with your lips you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you only pay lip service to Christ and to Christian living, your faith is not radical. You have never really committed your life. Your future. To the Lord Jesus Christ.
Will you stop playing a game? You're not impressing God, obviously. You're probably not impressing anyone. Will you get real? Will you get radical?
Will you truly come to Jesus Christ? Turning from your sin and embracing the one who loves you. Who died for you? And who has wonderful plans for your life? Will you do that?
Today Jesus says If anyone wishes to come after me, Let him deny himself. Take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What are you going to accomplish?
You gain the world. You achieve your dreams, but in so doing, you lose your own soul. You've gained absolutely nothing. Yeah. have radical faith.
In the Lord Jesus. You say Pastor, I am a believer. Whether some evidences and examples of radical faith openly confessing Christ. as your Saviour and Lord, Some of you are true believers in Jesus Christ, but you've never confessed it, perhaps even in your family. You've never taken a stand at work as a follower of Christ.
You say, well, you don't know the office, the bank, the hospital, the store, the factory, the school where I am. It's easy for you, you work at church, but What about me? exercise radical faith. Trust God. Openly confess, not in a Pharisaical, self-righteous way, but humbly tell people of what Christ has done in your life.
That's what baptism is, publicly displaying that you're a follower of Jesus Christ, stepping out in faith into the unknown, trusting in the true God. You see, Ruth would never go back to Moab. Her decision was radical. She would, she is saying, be buried in Bethlehem. You see Christ's followers are to have our backs to our sinful past.
Jesus said that if a man takes the plow And looks back, he's not fit for the kingdom of heaven. No, we are to keep looking forward. You say, Well, I don't know where the Lord will lead me. I understand that. You say, I would like to trust God, but I'd like to know what He's got in store for me, but often He doesn't tell us.
That's what it means to live. By faith, by radical faith. We are to follow Christ and trust Christ wherever He leads us and whatever the cost. But living a life of radical faith brings Tremendous freedom and blessing. Setting off for Bethlehem, Naomi and Ruth must have been the freest two women in the whole universe.
Their hope Is in the Lord. They don't know what lies ahead, but they do know that they're Lords. is with them. and is guiding them. and is directing them.
and will provide for them. Today Will you step out in radical faith? Will you trust God? The Lord will guide you, provide for you, use you, bless you. For some of you, a new ministry opportunity awaits you, but you fear failure.
Today, step out in radical faith. For some of you, there is an opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ. But you are still resistant. You know what you should do. But you are resistant when you step out in radical faith.
For some of you, a godly new relationship is ahead of you, but still you wonder, step out in radical faith. The Lord is calling you. To a new beginning, perhaps, a new location, a new situation, but still you're anxious today. Brother, sister, step out. in radical Faith.
I had practiced law for ten years in Scotland. Enjoyed being an attorney. I liked the law. I thought God had put me on this planet. uh to be an attorney I enjoyed it.
had been a criminal prosecutor and then For five years in a private law practice. A great practice with great Colleagues, interesting work. good financial return. Wonderful life. And then out of the blue, One day Out of the blue, as far as I was concerned, as I was having lunch with a fellow attorney, he said to me, John.
Do you think you're going to be a lawyer all your life? I said, of course I am. And as I went from him, I thought, What a strange question. Of course, I enjoyed being a lawyer. I'd worked hard to get where I was.
Of course I was going to be a lawyer for the rest of my life, but that Seemingly Chance question. was a question Which the Spirit of God used to penetrate deep into my heart and my soul. And as I thought about that question, I couldn't get a question out of my mind. And I realized that I had answered that question far too quickly Far too arrogantly, after all, I did say that I was a follower of Jesus Christ and that He was Lord of my life. And as I began to think and to pray, I realized to my utter astonishment thinking I was a most unlikely candidate to go into full-time ministry.
And I know some of you agree with that, but there you are. Blame the Lord for that and on me. I didn't want to do it either. The Lord Yeah. This is what I want you to do.
I began some research and found that through various circumstances that the best place then where I thought I could study and prepare to be a preacher of the Word of God and a shepherd of souls was at Dallas Theological Seminary. And when I told my dear wife We'd been married for Seven years. She was very hesitant, to put it mildly. She looked at me. As if, wait a minute, I left the Faroe Islands, I left Scandinavia to come to Scotland.
Now you're telling me that you're going to end your legal career and you're going to go uh to Dallas and you want me to come with you, do you? And we're going to have no income for four years, and no one is going to pay us a cent. And I said Good name if God is in this. As I think he is, will you pray with me? And if God is not in this, We'll stay where we are, but if God is in this, we must Obey.
And after some time Goodney came to me and said, John. I'm ready. I'm with you. I remember when we told our parents on both sides They were absolutely astonished. They thought I had lost my mind.
My older brother being a physician. concerned about money as physicians usually are. Um Lawyers, of course, you know, we make some money, we don't care about it, but anyhow. My older brother called me and said, John. What are you going to live on for four years?
I said, Well, we're selling our home. I got some money in my law practice, and God will provide. And we're not going to ask anyone for anything. And so We landed in Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas. We'd never been there.
Never been to Dallas before, I'd only been twice to the US, once. on vacation with Goodney to Florida Once when there's a student to the big apple. didn't know people. Why did we do it? Because we wanted to do it?
No. And I thought after four years in the US, that would be enough for me, and God would have an assignment back for me in Scotland, which again would have been my desire. Never worked out that way. stepping out In radical faith. You say, John, that was a tremendous sacrifice.
It was not a sacrifice at all. Think of all that Christ and saving my soul. And the greatest privilege that any of us can have is to know that what we are doing. Whether thousands of miles away in a foreign land or whether next door or whether in your office or your school or across the street, the greatest privilege that any of us can have is to know that the hand of God is on us. and that we have obeyed God.
Because God Always bless us. The life. of radical Faith. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and a message titled, The Life God Blesses.
If you missed any part of this lesson or you'd like to share it with a friend, Just go to our website at the verdict.org. And as we continue our series in the Book of Ruth, we want to make sure you don't miss out on the valuable study guide that goes along with each of these lessons. John has created a special listening guide full of insightful notes, engaging questions, and helpful prompts so that you can apply this biblical teaching to your everyday life. just go to our website to download your free copy of the Ruth Listening Guide. That's the verdict.org.
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You can listen on your favorite podcast app. and through our website at the verdict.org. And now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you a person of radical faith? Are you following Christ wherever he may lead? Are you trusting in God's plan for your life even if you don't have a clear picture of His purposes right now? You may be saying, you don't know what I've been through.
I understand you've been through tough circumstances. But God is faithful. And you can trust him. Join me next time as we see how we can rely on God even in the worst of circumstances when God is hidden in the storm. 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.
