A Story of Redemption (Contd)
The Greatest Story • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
In these words we here the call of our savior, “come to me”
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Christ makes a place at his table for those that are despised and rejected by this world, all the Ruth’s and the Rahab’s, the tax collector’s and sinner’s.
Were we not like Ruth, sitting alone, an outsider, feeling like we do not belong, when we heard the invitation of our savior, bidding us to come and sit with Him.
He welcomes all, they must only come.
In Christ we find the bread that truly satisfies and the wine that never runs out.
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
What He gives He does not give sparingly, He gives in abundance, that we even have some left over.
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
Oh how things can change in just one day when the favor of God looks upon us in our lowly condition.
Ruth’s life seemed to be destined for difficulty up until this point, yet her one decision to go out and glean in the field was enough to cause God’s hand of providence to change her circumstance.
She could have stayed and wallowed in self-pity but she got up and went to work, and she worked hard.
Never underestimate the difference that one decision can make in your life.
Many a man has been ruined by one bad decision, and yet many have been restored through one good decision, when God is working in it.
God had brought her to her redeemer.
9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 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. 11 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. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.
Boaz faced a problem, he was able to redeem her, he wanted to redeem her, but there was a redeemer closer than him.
His character and integrity would not allow him to subvert the proper order of events.
We have to understand that if Christ had not redeemed us, there was no one else who was able.
Apart from Christ, we have no hope.
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
So the story of Ruth ends with the birth of a child, a son is born.
But that isn’t the end of the greatest story.
The gospel of Matthew picks up the story again beginning with the birth of a child, a son is born.
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
He traces the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to this child of Ruth, even further.
All this time, God has been working, connecting the dots, even the mistakes and failures of fallen human beings of the past have worked together by God’s hand to bring about His redemptive purpose.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
We desperately need to regain an understanding of God’s redemptive plan in our own lives.
He is no less at work today as He was back then.
Do you believe that!?
God is still working redemption, and He is doing it through normal people like you and I.
I don’t want to live my life unaware of what the Lord is doing in these days and in these years.
There is a greater story that is unfolding, but if we don’t get outside of ourselves and our own little world, we will miss it.