Extraordinary Rescue

I - On Facebook Getting overwhelmed by the trouble in the world and in the lives of people I love

Y -

Y -

When faced with the trouble in the world and honestly in our own lives we respond in all kinds of different ways.

“look for the helpers.”

“Give up. We cant make a difference anyway.”

“Craft solutions and get to work. Engineer.”

“desensitize and become callous.

“Wonder if it really matters what we do anyway.” We are so small world is so big.

Try harder.

If i’m so small

We carry them, walk around heavy laden not knowing how to help but praying worried prayers. Ground down by trouble or giving in to hopelessness

How do we follow God with this stuff? How do we live out our faith when surrounded by ordinary trouble and ordinary problems that don't always have solutions? When we are weighed down by ordinary worry.

G

G

World’s Problems - Impacts of Sin

“everyone does what is right in their own eyes”

Isreal in the Judges

“everyone does what is right in their own eyes”

Ruth’s story

“Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi do what’s right in God’s eyes.”

Finish the story

Naomi left without, Naomi not left w/o.

NAOMI RESCUED

that would be enough

“God uses people in ways they never could plan to bring rescue they never could imagine.”

Geanology - the bibles flash forward/back

Naomi’s RESCUE leads to David who RESCUES Isreal for a time.

David the Good king who rules isreal as God would, for a time

(if not for R/B/N) - FLASH-FORWARD

“God uses people in ways they never could plan to bring rescue they never could imagine.”

Geneology

David leads to JESUS RESCUE

Matthew tells the story of God being born into a chaotic and troubled time just like Ruth’s and Ours, where people do as they see fit and defeats that in his life, death, and Resurrection.

In Jesus, life death and Resurrection, death sin and the evil that is behind the evil in the world is defeated. Not for a time, but for all time.

Naomi need for rescue and the rescue God provided through people like Ruth and Boaz

led to

the Rescue of the whole nation of Isreal under Naomi’s great grandson David.

led to

the RESCUE of the whole world under her descendent Jesus.

Now, through Jesus we have been made new, reconciled, rescued. Our mission is to in ordinary acts of love and faithfulness help others do the same.

SO NOW...

“In Christ God uses us in ways we never could plan to bring rescue we never could imagine.”

SUM IT UP

The Story of Ruth, the OT, and the whole bible remind us taht our unnoticed, small, and insignificant acts of LOVE, KINDNESS, BOLDNESS, LOYALTY, and FAITH really do impact others.

and do so far more than we are willing to admit

When you add time into the mix our impact only grows long after we are gone. In ways we cant possibly know.

b/c....

and God’s love weaves them together.

2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NIV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

2 Cor 5:

1 Corinthians 5 NIV

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

Y - I dont know where this message finds you today.

We have been made new, reconciled, rescued. Our mission is to in ordinary acts of love and faithfulness help others do the same.

or/

“In Christ God uses us in ways we never could plan to bring rescue we never could imagine.”

SUM IT UP

The Story of Ruth, the OT, and the whole bible remind us taht our unnoticed, small, and insignificant acts of LOVE, KINDNESS, BOLDNESS, LOYALTY, and FAITH impact others.

and do so far more than we are willing to admit

When you add time into the mix our impact only grows long after we are gone. In ways we cant possibly know.

b/c....

and God’s love weaves them together.

Y - I dont know where this message finds you today.

Y - I dont know where this message finds you today.

Maybe you are...

Overwhelmed by the trouble in the world. The hurt in your life, the tragedy your friends and family are facing. And your asking, “What is the point?” does God even care, can things ever really get better. Perhaps your frozen and want to withdraw, to give up, or simply stop caring.

REMEMBER

Rescue beyond your imagination is possible. Remember we have been given the mission of RESCUE and reconciliation for others. Remember the big things that come from small things.

REMEMBER

“In Christ God uses us in ways we never could plan to bring rescue we never could imagine.”

Tired. The weight of tragedy, hurt and struggle feels like it might crush you. You dont know how to fix the problems in the world and in your life no matter how hard you plan.

REMEMBER

Rescue beyond your imagination is possible. Remember we have been given the mission of RESCUE and reconciliation for others. Remember the big things that come from small things.

REMEMBER

“In Christ God uses us in ways we never could plan to bring rescue we never could imagine.”

Convicted. you have been living your life doing what is right in your eyes and your starting to notice the wreckage. How your actions have hurt or are still hurting yourself and others.

Know that Jesus freely died and ROSE so that you could die to that way of life and rise to a new one.

You are invited to receive that gift for free. Ask God for forgiveness, to be rescued and God will rescue you and use you to rescue others.

W

Some of us hear a message like this this and want to put all the burden back on our shoulders, we want to rescue. We walk around weighed down by our burdens and our kids burdens and our parents burdens and our friends burdens and our church families burdens. Searching for a plan to fix everything, praying worried prayers and risking being crushed the impossible needs of others.

Ive told you this sotry before but its changed a bit.

But Ruth diddnt, Boaz didnt, even Naomi didnt. They didn't worry about the redemption of the world or isreal. She didn't carry all of that and we don't have to either. We walk around carrying all that hurt by that fear that anxiety and our prayers turn into lists of worries.

Mankato

Got a bad reveiw

We get paralyzed into inaction or we buzz around trying to solve all the problems trying to make plans to make everyone better.

We can't solve by worrying the problems that weigh us down, but the thing is God can.

Wanted to quit and give up on my call

He can take our lives and bring rescue in ways we could never plan or imagine.

On the cross Jesus defeated sin, death, and evil and he invited us to join him. Not by worrying more or getting busy solving the world's problems but by walking after him. Being faithful in the ways we can, in small and big, and everyday ordinary ways. By allowing him to weave the threads of out faithfulness together.

He said come all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest

Really struggling.

My boss called me up and invited me out to BWWS to chat.

Reframed the review, gave me a little hope to do better. ANd things went better. (For a long time I credited my Boss for being faithful, for calling and having that second conversation with me.)

I told this story a few months ago here and Erin...

At first I was sad, b/c I thought this story was a God Thing. But now im realizing it was.

God used Erin’s boldness to make a difference in my life when I wanted to quite in ways she couldn't have imagined. It changed our lives.

God has used you to bring about rescue in someone’s life and he wants to do it again.

“In Christ God uses us in ways we never could plan to bring rescue we never could imagine.”

lets pray.