In the Midst of the Mess - Week 2 - The CORE - Pastor Tim Glende
In the Midst of the Mess
Week 2 - The CORE
Pastor Tim Glende
Good morning again. Welcome to our worship service week to of in the midst of the mess. As we study, the Book of Ruth.
I'm excited to be here with you at out Downtown Church campus in church family here at 022 Ministries at The CORE. And again, welcome to everyone who is online. How many of you were here last week. Week 1 campus or another you caught week one? All right. If you didn't, you can catch it on our YouTube page. As we'd love to have you be able to hear the whole story from beginning to end and come back next week for week number three. Because we're going to continue to see how about that work in the midst of all the mess.
So if you were here last week, we left Ruth and Naomi coming back to Naomi's hometown of Bethlehem. And Ruth along the way made some bold statements made said these strong words of conviction, that wherever her mother-in-law Naomi went, she would go, she would stay. The God of Naomi would be the God of Ruth unto the day that she died she would remain by her side. And within your mind, I have a question for you in the midst of the mess. Like Naomi's life as Pastor. Michael reminded us was a mess lost her husband lost her two sons, nothing left, she left everything so bad. She said, I want to do a name change from Naomi, the pleasant one to Mara the bitter one. In the midst of that mess. I want you to really answer this question from personal experience. Or as you look at the world, can one person in the midst of a mess. Make a difference. What can one person in the midst of a mass? Make a difference? Have you experienced it? Have you seen it are there stories in our world of when one person stands out steps up? Does something in the midst of the mess that matters and impacts a whole lot of lives.
The next few weeks we're going to see as the journey goes on. I want you to keep that. In mind Ruth, the one individual who came back Ruth who the author has described over and over again. In chapter one and you're going to hear it in Chapter 2 was a Moabitess. Like, She was from Moab. She was the Moab woman over and over and over and over chapter 2. I think, has it five times chapter one had it several times. Like the author wants you and me to consider Ruth as this person who's an outsider a foreigner and identified in this way it because in her world, in that city of Bethlehem. Most people don't look looked at her and said, you can't do much like, A, and that culture day and age. You are a woman who is now widowed, who is a foreigner. Like what could She bring to the table. What difference could she make? Our world is filled with stories of one person who makes a difference in the midst of a mess. Let me tell you about a person named Stanislav, Petrov anyone hurt him for Stanislav Petrov going, going, gone. Okay. None of you have Pastor Michael probably has. He knows Russian history. You're like the Russian expert 1983. We are in the midst of a mess in the Americans who lived in the early 1980s. You remember? That time was the time of the Cold War like Russia and America.
Erica. We're at odds. Russia and America had nuclear weapons pointed at each other, Russia and America. The Cold War was a really scary time to live in, right? Well, Stanislav Petrov basically in the midst of the mess saved history. like made it possible that you and I are here. Because when the warning Bells went off because he was responsible for being the one who would say, when the nuclear arms were up in the air when the missiles were headed Russia's way, it was his job to alert his authorities of the oncoming strike so that they could attack. And the alarms went off in front of him that the code was high alert. He should have been an instant called the authorities and set off bombs sent back towards America, but he didn’t?
Because he thought something was off and wrong.
In the course of human history was changed. By one person. Who made a choice in the moment.
And today, we're going to see that story continue with Ruth. Can one person a Moabitess an outsider, a widow, make a difference. We're going to learn about a new character in just a minute. Can one person make a difference? But before we get there, I want you to remember where we left off last week in the midst of the mess. Like, as bad as it was for Naomi, what left, her bitter. I want you to see this at work to see God at work behind the stories. We go forward because you didn't see much of God in chapter one, but in chapters 2 and 3 and 4, we're going to see how God is at work behind the scenes. How God is acting and working through people. And for people remember, God's promise, God wants you to hold on to this in the midst of the meso right now. If you are here and you're in the midst of a mess, I know that we have members at 922 who are in the midst of loss and pain and suffering. Whether it's relational, whether it's literally the loss of a loved one, whether it's job-related, what, whatever it might be in the midst of the mess. Here's God's promise. We left last week with it Romans 8:28, if you don't know, this passage by heart as a Christian, when the mess comes. You probably are missing out on something big when God says, we know that in all things, God works for the saint with me. God. For the good say it louder God works for the he works for the good of those who would love him, love him. And the only didn't think much like God was showering her with love in the mess.
And Ruth as we're going to see was making a difference in the midst of it. She was almost good things happening in the life of Naomi. And we're going to see how that plays out. So let's jump into Ruth chapter 2. What we're going to do for today much like we did last week read some sections stop and highlight a few things, keep moving on with the story at the end. I'm gonna give you three Ruth truths to take away things. I believe you can apply to your life. If you're in the midst of the mess, things to apply to your life right now that can benefit and maybe be a blessing to others who are in the Midst of the Mess. How would God have you look how a God have you lived? And then it the ultimate truth at the end that's going to help us move forward into week number three because it's a whole story as we see Ruth and Naomi and their Journey. Now in Bethlehem and here's the thing it's still a mess. So Naomi made it back home, which all of us love being home. She no longer a foreigner but she's a widow.
She has no husband and no land that she's working right now to provide. She can't get a job. Didn't wasn't available to her. So she's at the mercy of others. Like, so as much as the mess was and all the loss was now, you know, what the mess is. The same mess that her and Elimelech left Bethlehem for. There was no food. There was a famine chapter one. She now comes back. She has nothing. She has no husband or sons, who are working the land. So, she has no access to food, security. The basic things in life that are needed. All right.
Chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelech whose name was Boaz. Hold on to that. We're going to come back to him. The author of the book of Ruth is giving you information in advance. That isn't necessarily part of the story, but that's going to play out in the story and Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the field and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone whose eyes. I find favor Naomi said to her, go ahead my daughter. So she went out entered a field and began to clean behind the Harvesters as it turned out and I put that in quotes because the author is definitely drawing you. And as it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Sorry, told you three big things in that section. 1 we introduced to the next main character. We're going to come back to him a few times. The authors connecting the dots, the family tree that's going to be important. Hold on to that Elimelech has a relative named Boaz, which means Naomi has a relative named Boaz. The situation is still a mess. They don't have food, Naomi's, probably still paralyzed. She's still bitter. She doesn't know what to do. Maybe she can't go out and do what Ruth offers to do and then we see Ruth gleaning. I don't know if any of, you know what gleaning looks like, I didn't grow up on a farm. If you were someone who grew up on a farm back in the day, when I didn't have all the fancy equipment. Sometimes people would walk behind what was picked up the main things that were picked up to pick up the scraps, The Leftovers, the extras. It gleaning was An Old Testament law of Moses that was allowed for for foreigners and widows. So Ruth qualified on two accounts and so she could go behind the Harvesters who were gathering up the Harvest and the things that were left in the field. The scraps that were left behind the bits and pieces. They were the workers were told not to go back over and over and over again and get every last drop for their employer. They were to leave some behind for the people who were in need, was God's way of providing for the broken, the hurting people in a mess. That's what's taking place in the section. And as it turned out, this person we get introduced to named Boaz whose of the family tree, Ruth stumbles into his field. Hold on to that thought because it should be in your brain right now. In the midst of the mess, can one person make a difference Naomi doesn't tell her to go find the last Naomi has other relatives in Bethlehem but Ruth just happens across the fields of this guy Boaz. Now those of you know, the core there's a guy named Boaz out here somewhere. So think of Boaz, you know, nice guy, owns a field. He's going to let this lady walk through it and glean.
Story continues in the fields of Boaz. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the Harvesters. The Lord be with you.
11:35 AM
The Lord be with you answered Boaz asked the overseer of his Harvesters. Who does that young woman belong to the overseer replied. She's the moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi like let's just stop for a second. Like this is the environment that she's in. Can one person make a difference like the guy in charge doesn't even refer to her by name. She has no identity other than she's that outsider. From that land. Like think about that for a second. Like, how would you like being referred to like that? It probably gives you some insight into what she was dealing with or thinking about, here's how it goes on. She said, please let me clean and gather among the sheaves behind the Harvesters, so that the guy who was in charge, the one running the Harvest basically went up to her, she came up to him. She asked permission to glean which she didn't have to ask permission for. The law said, she had the right to it so it Naomi then tell her this Ruth and probably know of the laws and every detail of them. Remember, she's from Moab, she's a Moabitess but she also not only did something she didn't have to. Do she asked for something that she wasn't allowed to do?
But she actually asked to take some out of the stuff that they had gathered. Like can I pull some out of the sheaves that you are gathering? My gleaning was to go pick up the scraps. She was actually asking for far better than that. Probably mistakenly, right? She didn't know. Which plays into that last part. In that first part of the sentence makes a whole lot of sense. But she came into the field, and his remain here from morning until now, except for a short rest in the shelter.
Now there are two interpretations of it. One is the way they NIV took it and it's plausible and invalid and both of these are good. It's she came to the field. She got there. She started gleaning. She didn't stop working. She kept cleaning, and she kept working, and she's a hard worker. She's been here all day. She's been working, and makes sense. Until you kind of read the brokenness of it until you're going to hear, what comes next? Like perhaps the brokenness of the Hebrew in the way. It's written actually says something more like this. She asked permission to take from the sheaves and got embarrassed and perhaps became the butt of a few jokes and snickering and here's how might be translated. She started going to the shelter her home, but then she sat down in the field and has stayed there all day.
But maybe just maybe she got there, she made this ask, she asked to do something she wasn't allowed to do in the guy in charge. Look, they said, “Lady. Who Do You Think You Are? Like, do you think that you have a right to any of this? Like, you're the Moabitess, who's from Moab? Like he identified her that way And so when he's telling Boaz because Bo has a seen her off in the field, like the impression might be that, she's just paralyzed in the field. She kind of started her way home but she knew she couldn't go home empty-handed. It was already a mess that would make it more of a mess. We need food. And so, she starts going home but she realizes. She needs food and she's paralyzed and she's sitting just out in the middle of the field all day. Like, I like that interpretation, it makes sense with what the the guy in charge is saying, and it makes sense to what you're going to see next from Boaz. So let's look at verses eight and what follows, so Boaz said to Ruth so he identifies her, he notices her and I think there's some things about Boaz maybe that we should say before we get to this part but was is it was a man of means, he's wealthy owns land. Boaz is a good, dude. A godly, dude.
Right. Did you notice the way he greeted his workers like some of you work for guys who are over you who the first words out of their mouth is a famous is a popular four-letter word or some bad word that you don't want to hear, right? Like a lot of you would say it would be great to work at a Godly place. Like that was Boaz’s filled. God be with you. They could you imagine that like you get to work and go like God bless you, too. That's why as and he's observant, like, there's a lady, how the fields? Who is it? What's going on? So Boaz said to Ruth calls her over My daughter listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me, watch the field where the men are harvesting follow along after the women, I've told the men not to lay a hand on you and whenever you were thirsty, just go and get a drink for the water jars. The men have filled like help yourself to anything and everything that's mine. Stay in my field. Stay by the ladies that are walking behind the men that are working for me, you will be taken care of. I've told those dudes to not lay a hand on you like. Maybe, just maybe some of them had bad intentions.
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground and asked him. Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me a foreigner? Why would you care? She probably had gotten. Every possible stare and a lot of snickers and a whole lot of looks of disappointment up to this point if we're time and Bethlehem, like, why would you care about me? Boaz replied, “I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you left, your father and mother, and your Homeland, and you can to live with the people. You did not know before, may the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord the God of Israel under whose wings. You have come to take refuge May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my Lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking. Kindly to your servant though. I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” Like, I want to focus on the why before we get it to the what?
Like a why Boaz did what he did. Like, boys is why I was very clearly. I've seen you I've heard about you. Your reputation precedes, you young lady Like, the way you have behaved in the things, you have done the choices, you have made part of me senses Boaz and his words are exclaiming. There are people of God's people who are here in town who wouldn't do the same things that you have done. Like, I've noticed.
That's the why behind all of the what?
Like the what of Drink from my water jars. The what of glean in my fields. All the what of him caring for her wanting to provide, for her, asking for God to bless her.
Can one person make a difference?
Like Ruth was out there in the fields. Putting herself at risk to other men. Ruth was willing to go out and clean and do what she didn't understand and not could have completely follow through on the law because she knew her mother-in-law needed food. And here is Boaz, a rich man, a wealthy man, a man of means And she identifies. You have bought so blessed. Your servant who's lower than your servants.
But that's not the end of it. Like boys goes on. He invites her to his lunch table as the day is getting hotter. He wants her to enjoy some food, no one who's gleaning? No Foreigner or Widow, is coming to the dinner table with the dudes, but Ruth gets an invitation to sit with Boaz. Come over here, have some bread and dip it into wine vinegar. Not only is she out there working and hopefully going to make some have some grain that she can take home. But now she's getting to eat and she's not just getting to eat. She's actually getting to eat bread and dip it in the vinegar, the oil. This is the good stuff. The boss is here, the dinner is going to be good. When she sat down with the Harvesters, he offered her, some roasted grain even better something that's cooked. She ate all she wanted and had some leftovers. How many of you like to ask for the to-go box? Like some of you don't take leftovers shame on you. Your mother-in-law might be at home and might need the food later. We're going to see that or you could just give it to me, because I have enough to was at home that I'm looking forward to the anyway. Sorry, for the side point. They're leftovers. She got to go box and she got up to glean Boaz. Gave orders to the men. Let her gather from among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. Like let her actually take out of the good stuff. All right, not just pick up after you even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them. Her to pick up and don't rebuke her like if she wants to let her come and take it out of the sheaves. In fact, take some of my good stuff out of the sheaves come up behind, let her pick it up, don't let her see. She can gather more and more and more this way she can be blessed. He's being generous to her and allowing her to have everything she wants. So at the end of the day, Ruth gleaned in the evening, the field until evening, and she thrashed The Barley,g she had gathered Ruth was a hard worker and it amounted to about an epha. Now, I don't know how much an ephah far. Literally,you can look it up. It will produce about 20 loaves of bread like she made enough and was able to thresh it at the end of the day, to have enough to take home to her mother-in-law. 20 loaves of bread like security peace of mind. One person making the difference in the lives of two people and blessing them for maybe several days. Even if she didn't go out the next few days, they could be provided for. They could eat. They could get strength, they could be nourished and in the midst of the mess. That's so vital. And so, so, so important.
And so, here's the thing. I want you to see it in Boaz. Like maybe just maybe ladies who are here and come back for the rest of the story because it's kind of a love story.
Like this Boaz, be like him.
Like, I don't know if it was because he looked at Ruth and saw someone who he was maybe a little attracted to, he might have. But I think the text tells us from that point forward, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
And I'm just guessing there's a traction to her. The thing that caught is attention was her character, her godliness. Like she recognized the love of Jesus, the roots that she had, that her willingness to sacrifice her whole life. What was known to go along with a woman who was bitter And didn't see that anything better could come.
Like Boaz has Godly character.
Like and that's rare in a season where remember the book of Judges says, everyone did, as they saw fit? Like it's why Boaz put the clamps down on his dudes because in that day and age we're there was no law and order and an Israelite there like doing something inappropriate to a foreigner in a widow would have probably gotten, no one's attention, but Boaz was not that kind of guy. So he stepped up and stepped in and spoke up to defend her. He had her best interest in mind. We're going to see how the story goes in the next few weeks, but But boy has character. Is a character to emulate. Because there are many people who are in a mess. That are going to be in your life and connected to and people of character will bless. God wants us to be those kind of people. In the midst of a mess when you're going through it, when people see you Ruth shines, like a Star like her reputation oozed God. Like she was light in a dark World, boys. Knew it went before her in front of her, and all around her. Like character and reputation are huge, are going to come back to that. But before we do, let's wrap up the story. We leave the fields because at this time we're going to see what happens next.
So Ruth carried it back to town for to her all her, all that she had harvested and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out what in gave her what she had left over after. She had eaten enough, her Mother-in-law asked her. Where did you glean today? Where did you work blessed? Be the man who took notice of you like, hey moms as a what you guys do to your kids, like they come home, they come home with something amazing. You like ask for the 411 and you ask for all the information and you start bombarding them with questions. Like give me all the details, like Naomi didn't know what was happening, all Ruth comes home with the to-go box. She comes home with enough for 20 loaves of bread and you know what's happening in Naomi and her heart, you know what's going on in the scene, in the midst of the mess, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of the bitterness. There's a little bit of hope that is being developed.
Suffering, produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character. God is at work in Naomi and God is at work through Ruth. Can one person make a difference? God wants you to hear these words and see these words Naomi has seen it and experiencing it firsthand then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. The name of the man I work with the day is Boaz, like we got introduced the Boaz she randomly stumbles across a field, a man introduced himself. His name is Boaz. She now tells Naomi I just happened to cross this field in this kind man gave me stuff in his name was Boaz. As the Lord bless him, Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, he has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead. His character speaks volumes. She added that this man is a close relative. He is one of one of our Guardian redeemers.
Then Ruth, a Moabite said. Even he even said to me, stay with my workers until they finish harvesting. All my grain Naomi said, to Ruth her daughter-in-law, it will be good for you. My daughter to go with the women who work for him because in someone else's field you might be harmed. In other words, Naomi knew other dudes weren't so good. So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat Harvest was finished. And she lived with Her mother-in-law. Kind of wonder how fast we just got home. Like all this food, here's the to-go box. I can't wait to tell her like we're it's going to be okay at least for a few days and then Naomi says it's not just okay? Like this is great news. You stumbled into one of the fields of one of our own relatives and even more he's such a kind and generous man and he's gonna continue to let you work in there. Keep working there until the last day of the Harvest like don't go anywhere else, like this is so good. Naomi realized. There's one verse in there, that's really important, the rest of the story as we go on that Naomi reveals. Can one person make a difference? Well, in Israel and those day and age in that day and age for someone like they only one person could.
Here's what Naomi had said. That man is our close relative. She added, he is one of our Guardian redeemers. Like in Hebrew the word for Guardian redeemer is gowhale. Maybe. If you're older like me you heard the term kinsman-redeemer it kind of like gives a little more flavor to the understanding of what this is what's going on. In the Old Testament law of Moses, I'll gowhale kinsman redeemer a guardian. Redeemer was someone who could step up and step in and make a difference in the life of someone that they knew a family member or someone they were connected to. There are four specific instances in the Old Testament law of Moses, in regards to a gowhale, if it interests you. For any reason they were these avenging, a wrongful, death of a family member. I'll gowhale was someone who had the right according to the law to avenge, a wrongful, death of a fellow family member. That's your kinsman redeemer second. One to come to the aid of a family member in financial hardship. No doubt Naomi new. This she understood the law. She understood the position. She was in, we're going to talk about that in just a second, third to buy Freedom. If you if someone was to have to be forced to go into slavery so that they could be made free. Aa family member could be your gowhale pay the price to get you out from being a slave and that family member could redeem you. So to speak. Last one, the guardian of the family land assigned. After the concrete, the Conquering of the land, someone who would oversee the land for the Only make sure it stayed in the family protected, it for the future of the family. This is a gowhale. The second one I talked about was what Naomi knew to be true. He's one of our Guardian redeemers. Like Naomi knew that in coming back to Bethlehem someone because this is what God's people did would eventually become their, gowhale and basically pay for her land. Take care of her land farmer land, use the land to provide for her food. Give her a place to stay. And when she died, he would get the land. He would stay in the family tree.
Like Naomi knew and coming back. She could have a gowhale. There was one catch. Like Ruth being with her was a problem. Like no gowhale was obligated to Ruth because Ruth had other options Ruth could have stayed home. Her family could have taken care of her, wasn't the go ales responsibility. There's now two mouths to feed. Every parent knows that on mouth is enough to is even more right now. You have two adults that you got to take care of, I'll go away, L would have found that heart, and let alone Ruth is not going to be the desire of many people's affections. Like there's some rules that we're going to see come out like Naomi knew in her mind that there was an option that may be the best of all scenarios would happen. Like maybe Ruth will meet somebody someone who's the gowhale and he might even marry her. And if someone like that did that not going to go there because that's the rest of the story. You need to come back next week for that.
But you kind of get the flavor of the story. Here's a put a guardian kinsman Redeemer was related by blood. Have this in your mind able to pay the price they had means and inability to pay the price tag and willing to redeem The hold on to that is what's going through your brain right now is hmm, sounds like some dude, I know of .
Who's willing to redeem? Related by blood able to pay the price. All right, chapter 2, you gotta come back. Next week is 20 loaves of bread, is not enough to cover the mess. What's God going to do next? Come back next week. Let's have three takeaways on Ruth chapter 2 before we get there. All right, here's where we gotta get. I guess I start to get too excited with these three takeaways. Takeaway number one if you're taking notes, right, at the end of the your notes, here's a bunch of fill in the blanks when it comes to truth chapter 2. When it comes to this story, when it comes to what's taking place and going on right here, this is not mere coincidence. Mere coincidence,absolutely, positively not. It's not mere coincidence.
Like Elimelech took his family to Moab to save their life, God is at was at work in doing that. Sadly Elimelech, lost his life, his two sons have died, but by going to Moab, you know, who they got introduced to, by going to Moab, you know, who got to learn about Jesus and God, a lady named Ruth, Like those three people made a difference. Those four people made a difference in the life of that one person by bringing her the knowledge of God. It's God's Providence. That's what's taking place on the pages of Ruth chapter 2, Absolutely, positively, yes. God's Providence. Remember the Book of Esther, we study the last year, great series Gods, who knows, for such a time as this, that maybe God put me here for just this reason to save his people. Providence like sovereignty is God's rule his power God's Providence, is his ruling control for his people. You see the Bible says this when it comes to things like this in their hearts, humans plans, their course, but the Lord establishes their steps like Ruth, chose the field, but God is at work behind the scenes. Like I don't think God spoke to her directly. Nope, left turn there, right? Turn there. Outside of Bethlehem on East hand side, that's the field. You want to go to. No. But God used the step. She took God that work behind the scenes is Providence, his purpose. It prevails in this prevailing right now. You see, one person here, one person. They're making a difference. And I know some of you are doing the Bible, reading plan, you've already checked read chapter 4, you know how amazing the story ends I should have told you guys to stop reading before the end of this will help you understand it. But God is going to continue to work behind the scenes somewhere somehow, at some time, God is going to bring about good.
That's 3 generations down the road Providence, take away number to your reputation and your character speak volumes.
Like Ruth’s reputation preceded. ER, it speaks volumes in the midst of the mess. Her faith and Jesus routes were a message to everyone in Bethlehem out who she was and who she loved God himself. And that's why she was doing what she was doing. It was why she was there her reputation even in the midst of the mess, preceded, her And so did Boaz’s character.
Like he was a man of God. He greeted his, his workers in the name of God, he saw a Moabitess as woman from Moab out in his fields, and he didn't say woman. How dare you take for my shoes? He said, lady come and eat at my table. Dudes, keep your hands off the lady. Like leave an extra behind for her.
In the midst of the mess, I'm just telling you. The way in which you live. Is a bold message to the world. Like Ruth, it was in the midst of the mess and she just simply trusted God like hey i’m going to go walk in the field. See what happens. I'm going to stay with you wherever you go. I go.
She had a deeper faith and more trusting God, that I think Naomi the Israelite did
That's what God says about reputation. A good reputation is better than fine perfume like better than the leftovers in my fridge for sure. Like it, smells that good. God would have you consider that what can you learn from Ruth and Boaz? Be people of Godly character because your character will speak volumes for you about your reputation so that others may, see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven, like, in the midst of the mess, some of the greatest witnessing happens.
I should ask the Novotny girls if they know these three words that you need to remember in the midst of the mess.
God is here. Pastor Mike wrote a book with that title. God is here.
Like, in the midst of the mess, God
The all power, almighty, saving God they only acknowledge that the Lord bless you, the Lord bless him. She knew who was at work right now in the moment.
Messaging, knew God is. Is. Like when you're in the mess, you're not alone when you're in the mess, others can make a difference. But when you're in the message, God is here. God is here. Like we see it in the pages of Ruth, right there, he's on the scene. He's he's working things out. He's not puppet mastering them but he is, he's blessing them in the process. He's blessing the routes that they had God is here. And I want you to think about God being here in your mess with just a little bit of a twist. Because it's going to play out over the next few days, but here's the passage and I want you to think of his and it's the words of Jesus himself in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. I've overcome the mess, like, in the midst of the mess. Remember those definitions of what a gowhale, a guardian Redeemer. A kinsman redeemer related by blood, Willing to pay the price able to pay the price willing to redeem. Like Jesus is the greater Boaz. The perfect Boaz.
The one who is on the scene of your mess.
Like he's the the Redeemer of your life and my life.
Like the person who did that the person who defends you, the person who speaks up for you, the person who looks at you as perfect as the one who came to redeem you, body and soul to pay the price you and I could not pay in the midst of the mess. Remember, God is here. He was once here on Earth, he went to a cross with his arms spread open so that one day he could have them wrapped them around you in heaven. That one is here in the midst of a mess. He's related to you by Flesh and Blood, he's redeemed you with his own blood and was willing to pay the price. God is here. Like hold on to that truth. We see it in Ruth if he's there we're going to see it over the next few weeks and as more plays out about that go away, go away L seen with Boaz and Ruth and you got to come back for that.
But before you do,
Like don't forget what's going on. God's Providence God is at work through the Jesus roots that Ruth and Boaz had and fruit is being experienced. One person is making a difference. And God is here reminds me of another person who made a difference by his blood. They gave her the name of this man, James Harrison. Going going gone. At age 14, he had to have major operation. The only way you made it through their made operation was because of blood. Transfusions doctor told him, like, without the blood transfusions, you would have died. And so he made a promise at when he was 14, that when you could at age 18 and every time he could after that, he would donate blood to make a difference in the life of one. But you know what, all those donations did from age 18 on ever heard of Reese's disease? The blood disorder and disease. That that that children who are not yet. Born can get. And the only way the the best treatment the only treatment is through the blood, that is very rare, he didn't know it. But when he started donating, his blood alone, save 2.5 million people's lives they say. Including one of his own kids. Can one person make a difference? We see it in the story. Ruth and Boaz, for sure, for you and for me, God is here.
The one who gave his life in very blood for you and me, don't forget in the midst of the mess. That you have Redeemer who loves you and is with you.
