Ruth: A Simple Life

Heavenly Father and we're so thankful for this time that you've given us to come together. Thankful for Jesus and all he has done for us. And I pray these next few minutes that we be mindful if you had a life can throw at a so many different distractions. But father I pray that as we come before your throne today. Not only in singing these prices with sitting under your word. I pray that you would speak to each and everyone of us where we are. Show us the value. You've given to allies. Ask all this in Jesus name. You may be seated.

As we gather together in this room right now.

in Mount Pleasant There's an old man who's sitting in a nursing home.

a suffering from a very late stage of dementia

I doubt that he very seriously knows where he is. I'm not sure if he even still knows who.

Noma

Don Malone was born on January 21st 1936 at a house not even in a hospital, but at a house in Paris, Texas growing up. He grew up between Paris and hooks for his dad's family and his mom family was he he went back and forth. He spent his senior year of high school in Hook's where he graduated from there. He met a young lady by the name is Margaret Prater. And they were married just after school. Other than 18 years old. begin a life together I got a job at Red River Army Depot, which is a very good job at that time. And I had a son Harry. And after Terry was born.

Now I'm alone got the call to preach. And he spent the next years of his life until he retired in full-time Ministry pastoring churches all over this area from Talco to hooks to Grand Prairie North there for very long. He didn't like the big city. And it wasn't that big of a city than any.

A few years after Terry Don was born in 1959. Malone was born and then a few years after that 1964 my mother. Karen Ladonna, Sharon Malone

Everybody calls it here.

She grew up and married. Joe Whitaker a 1986 January 15th to be exact.

They had their first child Jonathan Whitaker.

Someone who stands up for you now. Now why am I telling you all this? Everything I said is pretty much normal lifestyle, isn't it? You you work? You get married you have kids you do this that and the other just try to survive and make it through this line.

and every single one of us goes through Similar stages even though our stories are all different. You were born a different times and different location you had different experiences. We're all at a different stage in this life, but the truth is we're all in together or not. No, I don't tell you the story my grandfather. Some people would look at his life and say that it was a fairly simple life. I didn't write any great books. He's not going to be remembered in the annals of history for the things that he has done.

I'm not famous. It doesn't have any buildings named after him. None of those kinds of things.

and some people would look at that life and say that that was an unsuccessful life and I don't some people look at that life and say that's a simple life because he was not successful because he didn't do all of these great things this Didn't really matter.

It's one of the reasons why I love the Book of Ruth, which we've been going through for the past couple.

because sometimes Especially if you have a simple life, like my grandfather's or simple life like mine. You can feel very disconnected from the world of the Bible. Have you ever felt this?

The Bible is full of stories of God doing incredible earth-shattering like this world shaking things. You think about the Exodus story and God coming down and sending the 10 plagues on Egypt in completely destroying basically the entire country so that God will deliver his people never seen God do anything like that. Not on that scale have it.

We see the stories of David and Goliath story about Jesus coming and dying on the cross for our sins.

We see stories of Jesus walking on water in the Miracles and we see all of these amazing huge things that God has done.

and yet tomorrow morning Some of you were going to wake up you're going to go to school. You're going to go to work. You going to see your friends your coworkers? have breakfast lunch and dinner hopefully some of

It's hard to see how the simple life in square away with a normal life.

But the Book of Ruth reminds us that the simple life is important.

Because if you read the book of Ruth, here's what you're going to find you going to see people. Who worked? You're going to see people who got married. You're going to see people who had children. You're going to see people who lost loved ones. You're going to see people who try to survive. What's your not going to see is the voice of thundering from heaven in speaking Boaz. God the say at the Lord you do this. Ruth Doyle shout go with my mother-in-law Israel. You don't see any of that. You just see people trying to live Faithfully for God in the simple life that they have. And because you see them living that simple life.

God uses that simple line. To be a stage in his Grand Story of saving the world.

We're going to the Book of Ruth and spoiler alert Ruth and Boaz.

And we're going to talk next week about how that happens and what that means for yours and my relationship with Jesus Christ, but this week I just want to take a step back and think about the entire book is old and ask this question. Where is God leading Us in this? Where is this story going? You know, if you were an author or a writer or a preacher and you were writing something that people were going to read you probably want to say something really powerful and impactful for last. Would you not you want to lead the people with something that they could remember? I want you to look with me in Ruth Chapter 4 verses 18 through 22 and I want to show you where this story is leading after Boaz and Ruth get together. This is what it says. Look on that for me.

This is what it say. Then this then is the family line appear as who's Pires even in the story was the father of husband. And has run the father of ram ram the father of a mini dab a minute ab the father of Nashawn. Nashan, the father of Salman Salman the father of Boaz Boaz, the father of Obed the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David.

Spell is that bless anyone so reading that list of names? Right at first it doesn't because we don't think about genealogies the way that ancient Israelites thought about genealogies. and yet just because we get one line for some of these people like Ram. You don't know the story of Randy. You don't know the story of immunity.

And yet these were very real people. Whose names are included in the story of God.

I'd only that but we see Boaz here who we've been learning Boaz who is as a matter of fact the great-grandfather of

Now if you know the story of David, like I know the story of David, you know that that is one of those earth-shaking stories one of those stories that changed history David who did great things who was a Shepherd boy who became a king.

and yet The Book of Ruth is trying to tell us that there would be no David without

even though Boaz was just a simple farmer.

He's a successful man, but just a simple man.

He is a part of the story of David and incidentally this is a spoiler work next week. He and Ruth the moabite are a big part of the story of Jesus Christ himself.

And what does that tell?

I think it tells us it's simply. If you're taking notes, you can write this down. It tells us. a simple life in God's hands is not a wasted life. A simple life in God's is not a wasted life.

There's a lot in the story of Ruth and Boaz and Naomi that really inspires.

Bruce chose to do the hard thing because it was the right thing. Rather than choosing the easy way out. When she saw that her mother-in-law was returning to a land where she would not be able to provide for herself. And so rather than going back and starting her own life her own. She made the decision.

And she made the decision because she trusted in God. Cuz she was going to go back with her and help provide for her. However, she could Boaz did the right thing even though it was not the easy thing.

he could have squandered his grain and said I'm not going to give you anything, but he did not. He sacrificed and was generous with the things that he had.

In chapter 3 when Ruth comes to Boaz and lays at his feet in this is something that would have been completely scandalous it time.

Boaz could have taken advantage of her.

Boaz

rather than getting what? He took it out of the relationship for her. He did the right thing. Even if it wasn't necessarily the easy thing. And he did this because he was conscious. I'm gone. He'd given his life in faithfulness to him before he had given it to anyone else including himself.

And I asked you could the same thing he said. Have you? Because like Boaz & Ruth and like nishawn and RAM in a minute ab and all of these people we have a life to live on this Earth. We are presented with choices every single day.

Who are you going to live for? Sometimes we are presented with a choice.

We're doing the right thing is not always the easy thing.

What are you doing?

Maybe if you're like me sometimes.

You haven't made the right choice. Maybe by God's grace. Sometimes you have we think God for that.

but regardless as I look back on my life, I see that

And sure maybe just maybe. It's easy for us to have dreams and aspirations of grand things.

but maybe

God's story for us is better than the story we would have written for ourselves.

Where are you and your story right now?

Are you a parent? Are you married? Are you single? You have a job. Are you retired? Are you in the nursing home? Do you go to school everyday? Are you home school? You have brothers and sisters or are you an only child? Are you a grandparent? an aunt or an uncle

what are the things that God has given you in this life? What are those responsibilities?

I love what it says in Psalm 139. Or talks about how all of our days are written in God's book for even one of them came to be. Now that tells me. That tells me just as God was recording stories of people crammed in a minute.

Is recording stories of mine. Is recording stories of Scott recording stories of Matt and Linda and Cody. and Stacey But all of our names and our stores all of our days are written in his book as well. And maybe people on the outside would look at our life and say you know what? That's not something special. That's not a very noteworthy or an important person, but you know what?

Whether the world looks at your life is important or great or not. You are important to God. And what God asks of you is the same thing that he asked from Ruth and from Boa to be tasteful.

And if you will even though you like me go through time to struggle and hardship you will be blessed.

What is the promise of the Book of Ruth is at the end of the story is better than the beginning. What does that say? Someone like my grandfather?

Who is sitting in that nursing home today? And I have no idea what's going through his mind. I know that if I go to visit him or her see him, he doesn't know who I am.

Surely for someone who is served for five Decades of his life.

Serving God still after his retirement.

surely the story would end better than

Have you ever seen someone that you love suffering someone who was faithful?

I watch looking.

Why would you let this happen to someone who is so faithful?

I can tell you confidently this. My grandfather's hope is the same as mile. And it's the same as your hope. It's the same hope that we celebrate every time we come together and we take the cup and we take the cracker. It's the same hope that we celebrate every time we go to a funeral for someone who is dying.

at the end of the story

Is better than the beginning? And that death is not the end of the story. But if this is a new beginning

and that even looking back on a simple life such as those of yours and mine and those are so many who have gone before.

satellites sauna waist

I can tell you that.

Some of the days that my heart has been so the most full.

Has been a days that I've stood before a crowd of people and spoken at a funeral.

For people that I've known and care about people that I've gone to church with here.

I think of Papa Hodges her or doobie. I Miss Dorothy

and to look back on their lies.

In the eyes of most people people would look at that life and say it was just simple.

And yet she had touched so many lives.

And sure maybe my grandfather never preached to the masses.

But I can tell you that I still hear from people for this very day. You're asking about him because he had such an impact on their life.

the first one

and maybe God has put you in this whatever it is. So that you can impact those lives as well. You know all that we know about RAM and a minute ab is that they were fathers.

That's a that's a special Rosemond. We might look at that and say oh, well, they didn't do great things. We don't know. We don't know.

I think God looks at that and says maybe being a father. And that's what needed to be remember. Whatever role God has given you.

Look for him in the everyday things that you do in the simple. I know that God's in the things that you do.

And walk Faithfully with him.

Pictures of simple life in God's hands is not a wasted life.

So wake up tomorrow morning.

And with me ask this question.

How what do you want me? to do today I promise you your feet hit the floor. And you may not hear the audible voice of God saying Jonathan Thou shalt go to the bank.

But you might find that you need to go to the bank.

Thou shalt feed dye kids

but I bet your kids will let you know that they're hungry.

God's not going to tell you step by step by step. But that doesn't mean that he's not watching over you that doesn't mean that he doesn't care for you. That doesn't mean that he is not with you every step of the way.

It's his promise that he will never leave us or forsake us.

And during your lifetime you may not even know what it's all for.

but at the end of all things when Jesus returns and when that book that God is writing about your life and my life in about every line is open. I believe one day we'll be able to see. What purpose got had for each of us in the place where?

Generations after Boaz & Ruth simple life God changed Israel forever through a man named David and centuries later through David God changed the entire world in the entire history of the universe forever through a man named Jesus and your story and my story it is small part of that. Thank God. Are you thankful for that? Ram

so the next time you feel like things that you've been given aren't that important remember?

Even the most unimportant person is important to God.

Heavenly father. I thank you so much for your encouraging words. I thank you so much that. You are with us. Whether we're aware of it or not. Father I pray this week that you would help us all to be mindful.

Got in that we would be conscious of the story of our life that we want to be told.

Because God we know that you with us.

I pray if there's anyone here who feels that. Your life is a waste. Maybe because of choices that they've made.

Maybe because things haven't worked out the way that they want.

God that you would help them to see that there's nowhere. There's nowhere that we can go.

Where you cannot reach us where you cannot find us where you cannot turn us around.

And I pray that you would help us to commit Our Lives to you today every single one of us. Delete face falling for you. Set a time set my put us at odds with the world in my put us at odds with our bosses with a friends in my pussy. In all of these different ways.

But have helped his father to see that our lives are a part of your story or not.

We love you and we thank you Jesus for all that. You've done fry. Thank you for giving worse.

immeasurable worth the simple people in like a

I asked all of this in Jesus name. Are you staying with the church? Nice going to come up. He's going to lose at least in one more song If you're here today and you need prayer for anyting it doesn't have to be related to what I said encourage you to come for the elders and I will be here to receive you. If you don't know what it is to have that relationship with Jesus Christ like we've been talking about do you want to know more about being baptized in the Jesus I encourage you to come forward as well. May the Lord bless and keep you Church.